An-Nisa--Women O mankind! Be mindful of your Lord, who had created you out of one single man, and out of him created He his mate and from the twain hath spread so many men and women. Be careful of your duty to God in whose name you claim your rights of one over the other and respect the rights of relationship. God is watchful over you. Give unto orphans what belongs to them and do not substitute worthless stuff for their valuable goods and consume not their property along with your own for this is a serious crime. And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly with the orphan wards under you, marry other women you like up to two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably then marry only one free or captive under your charge. Offer the woman their dower ungrudgingly but if they remit aught thereof, you can use it as you like. And entrust not the weak of understanding the property which god hath placed with you for their support and maintain them herewith and clothe them and speak to them gently. Keep on testing the orphans till they attain marriageable age, when ye perceive in them signs of understanding, hand over their property to them; do not expend it wastefully or in haste lest they should come of age. And let him who is above want abstain from charging anything for his stewardship but he who is not above want, can-charge something reasonable. Deliver their goods in the presence of witnesses. Those who devour the wealth of orphans unjustly, only swallow down fire into their bellies and anon shall be exposed to a blazing fire. Men and women both have a share in what their parents or kindred leave behind. And when at the division appear kinsfolk and orphans and those in want make some provision for them and speak to them in a gentle manner. In respect of inheritance God commandeth you to give the male the portion of two females, and if they be only females, two or more, they shall together have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, but if only one, she shall have half. If the deceased has left children, hid father and mother each shall have sixth part of the inheritance, but if he has no child, his mother shall have one-third (and the father two-thirds) but if he has brothers and sisters, his mother shall have the sixth. The entire arrangement is valid after paying the bequests, which he had bequeathed, and his debts. And your wives shall have a fourth of what you leave if you have no issue but one-eight if there are issues. And if the man or the woman leaving the heritage have neither parent nor children, but hath a brother or sister, either shall have a sixth, and if more than one they shall alike have a third, after the payments of bequests or debts. This is the ordinance of God and God is Knowing Gracious. If any of you woman is accused of immorality, then call for four witnesses against them from among yourselves, then, if they bear witness, restrict their movements by confining them to their houses for life or until God opens out a way for them. And if two men among you are found guilty of it then subject them to duress; but if they repent and amend, then leave them alone. Verily, God is Relenting, Merciful. But repentance of those is of no avail who persist in evil till death stareth any one of them in the face nor of those who die in state of unbelief. O ye who believe! It is not lawful for you to forcibly appropriate woman as part of heritage nor should you subject them to duress for taking away part of what you have given them unless they are guilty of open immorality, and should live with them in an appropriate manner. If ye dislike them in any manner, maybe you have disliked that in which God hath placed abundant good for you. If you have given her even a talent of gold, do not take back aught of it from the wife you divorce. Would you have it by slandering her or charging her with an open sin? And marry not women whom your fathers have married, for this is a shameful, hateful and an evil way. Forbidden to you in marriage are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father's sisters and your mother's sisters and your brother's daughters and your sister's daughter and the mothers who have fostered you and your foster-sisters and the mothers of your wives and your step-daughters whom you have brought up, the wives of your sons and two sisters together. And forbidden to you are all married women other than those you rightfully possess (through wedlock). This is God's ordinance to you. But all the rest are lawful to you in wedlock by paying the dower and not to satisfy mere lust. And those of you who owing to circumstances, are not in a position to wed free believing women, they can marry believing captive maidens with the leave of their custodians and give them customary dower. Only see to it they are chaste, not debauched, nor given to secret amours. If they are guilty of immoral conduct after marriage, their punishment is half of that prescribed for the married woman. This permission to marry slave-girls is for those who otherwise fear to fall into sin. But it is much better for you to practice continence till things get easy for you. God desireth to make this clear to you, and direct you to the way of righteous, to be indulgent towards you and to lighten your burden, for man is born weak. O ye who believe! Squander not your wealth among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual consent, and kill not one another. Should you abstain from enormities which you are forbidden to commit God will efface your minor evil deeds and will accord you an honourable station. And covet not that God hath given to some more than to some others. Men shall have what they have earned and women shall have what they have earned. Men stand above women on account of the qualities they have been gifted with and on account of what they spend over them from their substance. The virtuous women are dutiful carefully protecting in their husband's absence what God would have them protect. As for those women who seem to have gone refractory, first admonish them and then if necessary remove them to separate beds and (if this fails) give them a shaking. If they return to obedience seek not to harm them. If you fear a breach between the couple, appoint an arbiter from the man's family and an arbiter from the woman's family. If the two desire to reach a settlement, God may effect reconciliation between them. Serve ye God and join not aught with Him. And be good to parents, to kinsfolk, to orphans, to the needy, to the neighbour who is of kin and to the neighbour who is not of kin and to the fellow-traveller and wayfarer and to those under your care and control (slaves). Verily, God loveth not the proud and the boastful who themselves being niggardly bid others to be niggardly. What would they have lost, had they believed in God and in the Last Day and given to others in charity out of what God had given them? For any goodness done He will requite two-fold and of His own accord will he bestow a great reward. That day the unbelievers and those who rebelled against the Apostle shall wish they were levelled with the earth. O ye who believe! Come not to the prayer in a drunken state until you know what you utter nor when you have had a seminal discharge until you have had a bath. But if ye be sick or on a journey or ye have come from the privy or have touched a woman, and ye find not water, then seek clean earth and wipe with it your faces and your hands. Of the Jews there are some who displace words of Scripture and say, 'We have heard and we have not obeyed' instead of saying 'we have heard and we have obeyed' making a play with their tongues and implying that the true faith is false. But God has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth--for it is in but few things that they believe. O you who have been granted revelation afore time! Believe in what God hath (now) revealed in confirmation of what you possess ere God makes you loose face and turns you back or cast you away as He cast away Sabbath breakers and God's command is always done. Verily, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to anything besides Him although He forgives any lesser sin unto whomever He wills; for he who ascribes divinity to anything beside God has indeed contrived to an awesome sin. Behold how they invent lies about God--than which there is no sin more obvious. Art thou not aware of those who, having been granted their share of divine writ, now believe in baseless mysteries and in the powers of evil and maintain that those who are bent on denying the truth are more surely guided than those who believe? It is they God hath rejected; and he whom God rejects shall find none to succour him. If it could be so, they would not give to other people as much as would fill the groove of a date-stone. Do they envy other people for what God has granted them out of His bounty? But then God did grant revelation and wisdom onto the House of Abraham, and God did bestow on them a mighty kingdom. Some believed in him and some turned away from him. And nothing could be as burning as hell. Verily, those who are bent on denying the truth of Revelations, God shall replace them with new skins so that they may go on testing the torment. But those who believe and do righteous deeds, God shall admit them into gardens through which streams flow, therein to abide forever, and there shall have spouses of stainless purity and God shall bring them unto happiness abounding. God bids you to restore trusts to their owners and when ye judge between men, to judge with fairness. Verily, most excellent is what God exhorts you to do and God is all-hearing, all-seeing! O you who believe! Obey God and His Apostle and those of you invested with authority. And if in anything you differ, refer it to God and the Apostle and abide by their decision. This is the best for you and the best in the end. The hypocrites evade it and when any misfortune befalls them, they come to you swearing that they meant only good-will and concord. God knows that they hide in their hearts; so leave them alone and instruct them and speak to them in appealing terms. They shall not be taken as believers until they make thee (O Prophet) a judge in matters they differ and willingly accept thy decisions. And they who obey God and the Apostle shall have the companionship of those whom God hath blessed, the prophets, and the steadfast in truthfulness, and the martyrs and the upright, --a goodly fellowship indeed! O ye who believe! Be prepared fully against danger, whether you go to war in detachments or advance in a body. Let them fight in God's cause--all who are willing to barter the life of this world for the life to come; for unto him who fights in God's cause, whether he be slain or victorious, God shall in time grant a great reward. And how could you refuse to fight in the cause of God and of the utterly helpless men and women and children who are crying "O our Lord! Take us out of this land whose people are oppressors and raise for us out of Thy grace a protector and one who will bring us succour." Those who believe fight in the cause of God and those who believe not fight in the cause of evil. Fight, then, the friends of Satan and verily Satan's guile is weak indeed. Art thou not aware of those who have been told "Withhold your hands for a while from war and observe prayer and pay the poor-due." But when fighting in God's cause was required of them, some of them feared men as one fears God or with a greater fear saying 'Couldst Thou not have given us respite for a little further term?" Say, O Prophet, to hem! "Brief is the enjoyment of this world. Whereas the life to come is the best for the righteous. You shall not be wronged by even a hair's breadth. Wherever you may be death shall death shall overtake you even though you be in massive towers." If good betide them, they say, "This is from God" and if evil befalls them they say "This is because of thee" Say, "All is from God." What hath come to these people that they even do not understand this much. Say, "Whatever good happens to thee is from God and whatever evil befalls thee is from thyself. And we have sent the (O Prophet) as an apostle unto mankind and all-sufficing is God as witness. Whosoever obeyeth the Apostle, he, indeed, obeyeth God and as for those who turn away We have not sent thee as keeper." Will they not, then, try to understand the Qur'an? Were it from any other than God, they would surely have found it in many inconsistencies. And if any secret matter pertaining to peace or war comes within their ken, they spread it abroad--whereas if they had only carried to the Apostle or to those in authority among them, they would know what to do about it. Were it not for God's goodness and graciousness towards you, all except a few of you would have followed Satan. Fight them in the cause of God and urge on the faithful to fight. Maybe, God will soon check the onslaught of the unbelievers. For God is stronger in might and stronger to punish. Whoso rallies to a good cause shall share its good result and whosoever rallies to an evil cause shall be answerable for his part in it. When you are greeted with a greeting, answer with an even better greeting or at least with the like thereof. God keeps count of everything. They desire you to be faithful even as they are, and be on level with them. Take not therefore any of them for friends till they have forsaken their homes in the cause of God, but if they turn traitors catch them and put them down wherever you find them. And do not take any of them as your ally except those who have sought an asylum with a people betwixt whom and you there is alliance, or have come over to you because their hearts shrink from making war either on you or their own folk. If they leave you alone and make not war upon you and offer you peace, then God alloweth you no cause to proceed against them. It is not for a believer to slay believer except by mishap. And whoso slayeth a believer by mishap shall set free a believing bondsman and pay blood-money to his family unless they themselves forego it. But whoever shall kill a believer intentionally, his recompense shall be Hell to abide therein; God's displeasure shall rest on him and He shall reject him and prepare for him a great chastisement. The believers who sit at home barring the disabled and those who fight in the cause of God with their property and persons cannot be esteemed alike. Although God has promised the ultimate good unto all believers, yet has God exalted those who strive hard above those who sit at home by giving them a greater recompense--ranks, forgiveness and favours from Him; and verily God is Indulgent, Merciful! While taking the souls of those who were engaged in pursuits hurtful to themselves, the angels will ask them: "What was wrong with you?" They will answer: "We were too weak on earth." They will rejoin, "Was not God's earth wide enough for you to migrate elsewhere." For such, then, the goal is hell--and how evil a journey's end except for those feeble among men and women and children who had not the ability to seek means of escape and did not know whither to go. And he who forsakes his home in the cause of God shall find in the earth many a place of refuge and plentiful resources and if death overtakes him in the way--his reward is ready with God. And when you travel in land it will not be sin in on your part to shorten your prayers, if you fear that the unbelievers may attack you. In truth the unbelievers are an open enemy to you. While confronting enemy forces your men should divide themselves in two ranks--one saying its prayers and the other providing cover and saying its prayers after the first has finished both being armed all the while. The unbelievers want you to be careless of your arms and baggage so that they may suddenly fall upon you. And when you have finished your prayers, remember God standing and sitting and lying down and when you are once again secure, observe full prayers. Verily, for all believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty to be observed at stated hours. O Prophet! God has sent thee the Book so that thou mayst judge between men according to the light God has given thee, and be not an advocate for the dishonest. You can pray to God to forgive them but do not argue on behalf of those who are false to their own selves. God does not love those who betray their trust and persist in sinful ways. They would conceal their doings from men but from God they cannot conceal them for He is present when they hold nightly counsels displeasing to Him and He encompasses whatever they do. Yet he who does evil or sins against himself and thereafter seeks pardon shall find God much-forgiving, Merciful. And whoever commiteth a sin doth so to his hurt and whoever commiteth a fault or crime and foisteth it on innocent, hath indeed taken upon himself the added burden of calumny and manifest sin. As for him who sets himself against the Apostle after guidance has been vouchsafed to him and follows a path other than that of the believers-him shall God leave unto that which he himself has chosen and shall cast him into hell--an evil destination indeed. Beside God they call upon goddesses and invoke the rebel Satan who hath said, 'I shall draw to myself a certain number of thy servants and I will lead them astray and fill them with vain desires and I will command them to corrupt God's creation.' He maketh them promises and filleth them with vain hopes and what Satan promiseth is nothing but delusion. Such as these have hell for their goal. It is not your wishes or the wishes of the people of the Book, which matter. He who doth evil shall reap the consequence thereof and he shall not find for himself save God a friend or a helper. But whoso shall do good deeds shall enter the garden of bliss. If a woman fears from her husband ill-treatment or estrangement, then no fault shall lie if they settle things amicably; an amicable settlement is always good. The human mind is prone to emphasize self-interest. But if you act with an eye on the interest of others and be mindful of God, your actions will not go un-noticed by God. It will not be possible for you to hold the balance evenly between your wives, however keenly you may desire it and so do not allow yourself to incline wholly to one leaving another like one in suspense. Observe fairness and avoid excesses. O ye people! If it pleased God, He can remove you altogether and bring forth other beings in your stead. O you who believe! Be ever steadfast in upholding justice, and for sake of God be truthful in giving evidence though it be against your own selves or your parents or kinsfolk, whether the party be rich or poor, God safeguards the interest of both. Therefore follow not your inclinations lest you swerve from justice. If you prevaricate or decline to speak the truth, God is aware of what you do. Verily, those who believe, then disbelieve, then believe again and disbelieve, and wax in unbelief, God does not forgive them nor direct them to the right way. And indeed God has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God's message and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk other things or else you will become like them. Verily, God will gather together in Hell all hypocrites and unbelievers. The hypocrites attempt to deceive God: but He over-reaches them; when they stand up for prayer grudgingly, only to be seen of men, and give to God little thought. And for him whom God hath discarded (for his inordinacy) thou shall never find a way. Why should God deal out chastisement for you if you appreciate Divine favours, and are obedient, for God is Himself the Appreciator of every good deed and the Knower of everything. God does not like any evil to be talked about publicly unless one hath been wronged! And God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing whether you do good openly or in secret or pardon others for evil done to you. Lo! Those who disbelieve in God and His messengers, and seek to make distinction between God and His messengers and say "We believe in some and disbelieve in others" and seek to pursue a path in-between, it is they who are disbelievers for whom a humiliating chastisement has been prepared. The People of Book ask of thee to cause a book to be sent down to them from heaven. An even greater thing than this they demanded of Moses when they said, "Make us see God with our own eyes" whereupon a thunderbolt seized them for their in-ordination. And so God punished them for their breaking of pledges, their refusal to acknowledge God's messages and their slaying of prophets against all right and the awesome calumny they uttered against Mary, and for their boast that they slew Christ Jesus, son of Mary, although they slew him not, they crucified him not. It was only an illusion for them. Verily those who hold conflicting views about this matter are indeed confused having no real knowledge thereof and follow mere conjecture. For, of a certainty, they did not slay him: nay, God exalted him unto Himself. For the wickedness of the Jews God forbade them certain goodly things which hitherto had been lawful to them and also because of their having so often turned away from the path of God and for having taken to usury and devouring wrongfully others' properties. For the unbelievers among them has been prepared a grievous chastisement. But those among them who make a right approach to knowledge and the believers who have faith in what hath been sent down to thee and that was sent down before thee, and who observe prayer and pay the poor due and who have faith in God an the Day after, God will anon give them a great reward. Verily, God inspired in thee (O Prophet) His word as He inspired in Noah and in the prophets after him--Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and their progeny Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon and David--apostles all, who had been bearers of glad tidings and warners in order that men may have no plea against God after the prophets had come. O ye men! Now that an apostle hath come to you bearing the truth from your Lord, believe in him for your own good, but if ye believe not, then mark, unto God belongeth all that is in the heavens and the earth and God is all-knowing, the Wise. O Followers of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds of truth in your religious beliefs and do not say of God anything but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's apostle, and His promise, which he conveyed to Mary, and a soul created by Him. Believe, therefore, in God and His apostles and call Him not a Trinity. Forebear for your own good. Verily! God is the only God worthy of worship; utterly remote is He, in His glory from having a son; unto Him belongs all that is in the heaven and the earth. O Mankind! A manifestation of the truth has now come unto you from your Lord, and He hath sent down unto you a clear light. Wherefore those who believe in God and hold fast unto Him--soon will He cover them with His mercy and grace and guide them unto Himself by a straight way. O ye who believe! Fulfill your engagements. Co-operate one with another in goodness and piety and do not co-operate in sin and transgression and avoid displeasure of God for He is strict in dealing out chastisement. Made lawful for your food are animals that feed on plants and forbidden to you are carrion, and blood and swine's flesh and whatever that hath been sacrificed in the name of any other than God, and also the strangled and that which is killed by a blow or a fall or by goring and anything that hath been partaken of by a beast of prey and that which hath been slain on any altar or hath been apportioned by means of divining arrows. As for him, however, who is driven by hunger to partake of anything forbidden without being inclined on sin, God is forgiving, Merciful. And you can also eat that hunting animals trained by you seize for you and mention God's name over it and be mindful of God. Now the unbelievers have given hope of turning you from your faith: do not then fear them but stand in awe of God. Today God hath perfected your religion for you and hath bestowed upon you the full measure of His blessings and hath been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion. Today every wholesome thing has been made lawful for you. And the food of those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime is lawful for you and your food is lawful to them. And lawful to you are chaste believing women and chaste believing women from amongst those who received the book aforetime, provided you give them their dowers and enter into wedlock with them with no thought of mere sexual satisfaction or keeping them as concubines. Vain the work of him who renounces the faith; and in the Life-hereafter, he shall be amongst the lost. O believers! When you want to pray, wash your faces and your hands up to elbows and wipe your heads and wash your feet up to the ankles. If you have had a seminal discharge, then take a full bath. But if ye be sick or are travelling or have just satisfied a want of nature or have cohabited with a woman and can find no water, then take resort to pure dust passing there with lightly over your face and hands. And always remember the blessings God has bestowed upon you and the solemn pledge you made to Him saying, "We have heard and will obey," and be mindful of God. O you who believe! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God conscious. And do remain conscious of God. And recollect the favour of God shown to you when hostile people were about to lay hands on you and He stated their hands from you. Be mindful of God and in God let the faithful repose their trust. And, indeed, God accepted a similar solemn pledge from the children of Israel and raised up from among them twelve leaders and said, "Truly I am with you if you observe prayer and pay the poor-due and believe in My apostles and give them assistance and lend God a goodly loan (by helping the poor) I will surely efface your bad deeds and bring you into gardens wherein streams flow. But whoever turneth back after this, he hath indeed drifted from the right path." Then for their having broken the covenant, God disowned them and hardened their hearts. They tampered with Divine Scripture and neglected to profit by what was commanded to them and from all but a few of them thou wilt always experience acts of treachery. But pardon them and forgive: verily, God loves the doers of good. And likewise for those who say they are Christians, God accepted a solemn pledge but they too have neglected to profit by what was commanded to them. So God let them develop enmity and spite between them to last until Resurrection Day and in time God will let them know what they contrived. O followers of Bible! Now hath an apostle come to you to clear up much that you were wont to conceal from out of the Scripture and to over look many of your shortcomings. Now there has come to you from God a light, and a book of illumination by which He will guide those who seek His pleasure to path of salvation and will, as He likes, bring them out of darkness into light and direct them to the straight path. They indeed commit blasphemy who say that Messiah, son of Mary is God. Say, "Who could have prevailed with God had He chosen to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother and all who were on the earth?" The Jews and Christians say, "We are the sons of God and are the loved of Him." Say, "Why then doth He chastise you for your sins?" Nay! Ye are but as other men whom He hath created. He pardoneth whom He pleaseth and chastiseth whom He pleaseth." Call to mind when Moses addressed his people, "O my people! Remember the favour of God shown to you by raising prophets among you and giving you sovereign status. Enter boldly the holy land God hath assigned to you." They said, "O Moses! Never shall we enter while there remain the powerful people. On our part, we shall sit down here." God said to Moses, "Then they shall not enter the holly land for forty years. They shall wander in the wilderness in utter distraction. Fret not thyself for these unruly folk." Relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam who had offered each an offering to God. The offering of one of them (Abel) was accepted while that of the other (Cain) was not accepted. Out of spite Cain slew Abel and became of those deprived of Divine grace. Then God sent a raven which scratched the ground to show how he might hide the corpse of his brother and he felt deeply ashamed of himself. So God laid down that if anyone slayeth another for other than man-slaughter or for spreading disorder in the land, it shall be as if he hath slain all mankind. But if one saveth the life of a single person, it will be as if he hath saved the life of all mankind. The recompense for those who rise against God and His Apostle and go about spreading disorder in the land is naught but that they should be slain or crucified or have their alternate hands and feet cut off or be banished from the land. There is for them disgrace in this world and in the next severe chastisement. Whether a thief be a man or a woman, cut off his or her hand as punishment from God for what one hath done. But he who shall repent after his transgression and amend, then verily God will turn to him in forgiveness. O ye who believe! Be mindful of God and seek the means of approach to Him and strive earnestly in His path for your own good. Even if those who reject the Faith ever posses all that is in the earth and as much again, and offer this as a ransom on the Day of Resurrection to save themselves from chastisement, it will not be accepted from them and for them will be a severe chastisement. O Apostle! Let not those grieve thee who hasten towards unbelief. Eavesdroppers coining lies, greedy, devourers of forbidden, if these come to thee, decide fairly between them or leave them alone. But if you have to decide, judge fairly between them. Verily, God sent down Torah affording guidance and light wherein is laid down the law "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose and ear for ear, and tooth for tooth and for other hurts likewise but who so shall forego retaliation in kindliness shall have done an act of expiation." In the line of prophets came Jesus, son of Mary, to confirm what was in Torah. God gave him Evangel with guidance and light afforded therein. Let the followers of Torah and the Evangel administer justice in accordance with what God revealed therein and those who do not do so are transgressors. To you also--O Prophet--God sent down the book in proper form conforming the Scriptures already delivered and determining what is true in the later. Judge, then, between the followers of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has revealed, and do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee. Unto every people God appointed a law and way of life. And if God has so willed, He could have sure made you all a single community, but (He willed it otherwise) in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you must all return; and then He will make you understand all that on which you were wont to differ. O believers! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies: they are but allies of one another and whoever of you allies himself with them becomes one of them and behold God does not bestow His guidance upon such wrongdoers. And all those who ally themselves with God and His Apostles and those who believe--they are truly helpers of God; and they shall be victorious. The Jews say, "The hand of God is tied up." Tied up shall be their own hands and condemned shall they stand for what they say. Aye, wide open are both his hands, He grants as He wills. And what hath been revealed to thee from thy Lord will assuredly cause greater disdainfulness and disbelief on their part. As oft they kindle the fire of war, doth God put it out. They run about spreading the mischief in the land: but God liketh not the mischief-mongers. O Apostle! Preach what hath been delivered to the from thy Lord. And God will certainly protect thee from men. Verily, they who believe in this message and they are who are Jews and Sabians and Christians--whoever believeth in God and the Day to come and doeth what is right--shall have their recompense from their Lord: fear shall not come upon them neither shall they grieve. They surely are not believers in God who say that Messiah, son of Mary, is God, whereas the Messiah himself hath said, "O children of Israel! Serve God who is my Lord and your Lord." They surely are not believers in God who say that 'God is the Third of Three.' Whosoever takes for God anyone other than He, surely to him God denieth Paradise, and Fire shall be his abode. The unjust shall not have any helpers. The Messiah, son of Mary, was but an apostle. Surely apostles before him have passed away, and his mother was a truthful person. The two did live on food like other mortals. Say, "Will you, beside God, serve aught that hath no power either to harm you or benefit you, when it is God alone who hears (one's prayers) and knows (the needs of every one)." Say, 'O followers of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds of truth in your religious beliefs; and do not follow the errant views of people who have gone astray aforetime and have led many others astray, and are still straying from the right path.' O you who believe! Do not treat as unlawful the goodly things of life made lawful to you and do not transgress the bounds of what is right. Then, partake of the lawful wholesome things which God grants you as sustenance and be mindful of God in whom you believe. God will not take you to task for oaths you may have uttered without thought but He will take you to task for oaths sworn in earnest. Atonement for breaking an oath is the feeding of ten needy persons with food you normally take or by clothing them or by freeing a bondsman and he who has not the wherewithal shall fast for three days. O you who believe! Intoxications, games of chance, and idolatrous practices and of divining of future are but a loathsome evil of Satan's doing. So shun them that ye may prosper. Verily Satan desireth to breed enmity and spite among you by means of wine and games of chance and turn you aside from prayer. Obey God and obey the Apostle and be on your guard. But if ye turn away, then know, that the Apostle has only to deliver the message plainly. Say, "The evil and the good shall not be valued alike, even though very many of the evil things may seem attractive to you. Fear God, ye men of understanding so that you might be graced with good everlasting. O believers! Do not ask of things which if declared to you will only harm you; but if ye ask do of them when the Qur'an is being revealed, your questions will certainly be answered. God in the past hath overlooked such questioning. God has not sanctioned anything in the nature of bahirah nor a saibah nor a wasilah nor a ham (i.e. the practice of dedicating certain kinds of cattle to deities and setting them free to pasture and prohibiting their use or slaughter). But the unbelievers have foisted this superstition on God and most of them lack understanding. O you believe! It is for your own selves that you are responsible: those who go astray cannot harm you if you are on the right path. O believers! If on death approaching you wish to make a bequest, let there be two upright men as witnesses who shall give testimony on oath after saying their prayers. But if afterwards it is found that they have perjured let two among the heirs deprived of their rights swear in all solemnity. Thus it will be more likely that they will be true to facts fearing contradiction by an equally solemn oath. On the Day God will assemble all the apostles and question them. He will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember the blessing I bestowed on thee and thy mother--how I strengthened thee with holy inspiration so that thou will speak unto men in the early childhood and as grown man, and I imparted unto the Book and the Wisdom, including the Torah and the Gospel; and how by My leave thou didst fashion out of clay a thing like a bird, thou didst breathe into it, and by My leave it became, a bird and how thou didst heal the blind-born and the leper by My leave; and how I prevented the children of Israel from harming thee as thou brought to them clear sign (of thy mission) and when such of them as believed not said: "This is nothing but plain sorcery," and when I bade thy companions "Believe in Me and My apostles," They said, "we believe and bear thou witness that we have surrendered unto Thee." And when God will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say to men, 'Worship me and my mother as deities beside God." He will say, "Transcendent art Thou! It ill-becomes me to say that which I know to be not the truth. Had I said this, surely thou wouldst have known it…..I said nothing to them except what thou didst bid me to say, "Serve God, my Lord, and your Lord . . ." If Thou chastise them, they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgive them then verily Thou art the Mighty, the Wise." God will say, "This is the day when the truthfulness of the truthful shall stand in good stead……God is pleased with them and they with Him. This indeed is the highest bliss." All praise belongs to God who has created heavens and the earth, and brought into being darkness and light. Yet those who disbelieve set up peers for God and treat His revelation as lie. Have they not seen how many generations before them God had destroyed who had been given a bountiful place on earth the like of which has not been given to you, yet God destroyed them for their sins and gave rise to other people in their stead. They say, "Why has not an angel been sent down to him." But had God sent down an angel, all would have been indeed decided, and they would have allowed no respite for repentance. Even if an angel had been appointed as message bearer, he would have appeared as man leading to doubts much in the same way as they are now confusing themselves. And apostles before thee have been likewise laughed to scorn but what they derided inevitably recoiled on them. Say: Go through the land; then see what hath been the end of those who rejected (the apostles). God hath made the exercise of Mercy incumbent upon Himself. It is only those who seek their own ruin that will never believe. If God causes thee affliction there is none to remove it but He; and if He brings the good, it is He who hath power over everything. And it is He who has a supreme hold over His servants. This He doeth with wisdom, fully aware of their condition. Who is more wicked than he who foisteth a lie on God or who treateth His signs as lies? Surely, the wicked will not prosper. The unbelievers themselves do not listen to Qur'an and keep others away from listening to it. They say it is nothing but the self-same ancient talks. But (O man!) if thou were to see when they shall be set before the Fire, they will say, "Oh! Would that we were sent back we would not treat the signs of our Lord as false and be the believers." They also say, "We have no life other than the life of this world and for us there is no life hereafter." They shall get to know the truth when they will face the Day of Judgment while bearing their burdens up on their back. How hurtful is what they bear. The life of this world is nothing but a play of pastime and the life of Hereafter is the bliss for the virtuous. O Prophet! God knoweth that what they say grieves thee; but it is not thee they charge with falsehood! It is the signs of God, which is in fact these reprobates hold to ridicule. Even before thee the messengers have been charged with falsehood. But they bore the wrong done them with patience till God's help came to them. They alone will respond who have the willingness to hear. The dead (of heart) God will raise up, for to Him they shall return. There is not an animal that moveth on the earth or a bird that flieth with its wings that doth not live in a community its own even like yours. Nothing has been missed in the scheme of creation. Then to their Lord will they be all gathered? And they who gainsay God's message are like deaf and dumb and grope in darkness deep. Whomever God wills, He lets go astray and whomever He wills, He places upon a straight way. Say (to them O Prophet!) 'What think ye? If the chastisement of God befalls you or if the last hour were to come upon you, will ye cry to any other than God? (Answer) if you could speak the truth. Surely, to Him alone will you cry; and if He pleases, He will remove the ill which cause you to cry unto Him and you will have forgotten all those whom you join with Him." Messengers were sent to all communities before thy time and (when they were rejected) misfortune and hardship visited them so that they might humble themselves but their hearts grew hard for Satan had inured them to the course of conduct they followed. Say: What think ye? If God should take away your hearing and sight and seal your hearts-what deity besides God can restore them to you. Say to them: I do not assert that I posses the treasures of God neither do I assert I know the things unseen nor that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me. Say: Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equal? Will you not, then, take thought? Warn hereby those who fear meeting their Lord: haply they may take heed. And do not keep away from thee who at morn and evening invoke their Lord seeking His countenance. Thou art in no wise accountable for them--just as they are in no wise accountable for thee. The affluent taunt the poor, "Are these they to whom God hath chosen for His grace from amongst us." Tell them: "Doth not God know those who appreciate the graciousness of God." So clearly doth God set forth His revelation in order that the way of the wicked might become easily distinguishable from that of righteous. Say to deniers of truth, "I am forbidden to worship those whom you invoke instead of God. I do not follow your errant views or else I should have gone astray." Say: Behold, I take my stand on a clear evidence from my Lord which you treat as false. You ask fro immediate decision from God, but what ye ask is not my power to hasten; the final word resteth with none but God. Had it been in my power the matter between you and me would have been long before settled. And with Him are the keys of the Unseen; none knoweth them but He. He knoweth whatsoever is in the land or in the sea; not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it; and there is not a grain in the earth's deep darkness nor anything living or dead, but is recorded in His clear decree. And it is He who layeth you to rest in the night and knoweth what you work in daytime, and He brings you back to life each day that the prescribed term of life be fulfilled. Then unto Him you will return and He alone holds sway over His servants. And He sends forth heavenly God's messengers cause him to die and fail not. Say, "Who rescueth you from the dark dangers of land and sea when you call unto Him humbly and in secrecy of your hearts, "If He will save us from this distress, we shall most certainly be grateful." Say: God alone can save you from every distress--and still you ascribe divinity to other things besides Him. Behold in how many ways God doth explain His message so that they might understand the truth. And whenever thou meet such as indulge in blasphemous talk about God's messages, turn thy back upon them until they begin to talk of other things. No responsibility lieth on the righteous except to admonish them that haply they may abstain. And (O prophet!) leave alone those who have made of their religion a sport and a pastime and whom the life of this world hath deluded, but remind them herewith that in the life to come every human being will be held in pledge for whatever wrong be has done and shall have none to protect him from God and none to intercede for him. Say: Verily God's guidance is the only guidance. He it is who, when He sayeth, 'Be', there it is. His word is the truth; and His the sovereignty on the Day when the trumpet shall blow--knower alike of the seen and the unseen and He is the wise, the cognizant. And, lo, (thus) spoke Abraham unto his father Azar: Takest thou idols for gods? Verily, I see that thou and thy people have gone astray! And thus God gave Abraham (his first) insight into God's mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth so that he might become one of those fully convinced. Then when the nights spread its darkness over him, he beheld a star and exclaimed: This is my Lord! But when it went down he said, "I love not the things that set." Likewise he took the moon when it arose but when it went down he said, "Indeed, If my Lord guides me not, I will most certainly become one of the people who go astray! Then when he beheld the Sun shining forth he exclaimed, 'This is my Lord: this is the greatest,' but when it set, he said, 'O my people! I disassociate myself from joining others with God. Single-mindedly do I now turn my face towards Him who originated the heavens and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. But when his people remonstrated with him, he said, "Why should I fear them whom you have joined with God when you fear not to join them with Him without any authority." They who believe and have not tarnished their faith with wrong-doing for them is peace and security and they have found the right path. And God gave him Isaac and (to Isaac his son) Jacob who were guided aright even as Noah was guided afore time and so were guided in later times hid descendants, David and Solomon, and Job and Joseph, Moses and Aaron. And likewise was guided Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias and also Ismael, Elishah, Jonah and Lot. All these God favoured and exalted them above the rest of mankind. And they ascribed divinity to anything beside Him--in vain, indeed, would have been all the good that they ever did. To them was vouchsafed revelation, sound judgment and prophet hood. Say: No reward do I ask of you for this truth (Qur'an). Behold! It is but an admonition unto all mankind! No true understanding of God have they when they say, 'Never has God revealed anything unto man.' Ask them, 'Who sent down the Book which Moses presented to the world, a light and guidance to man which you treat as mere leaves of paper, revealing a part and concealing much.' And who does greater wrong than one who invents a lie about God or says that a revelation hath come to me when nothing has come or who says 'I can reveal the like of what hath been revealed.' Couldst thou but see when these wrong doers are in the throes of death and angels take out their souls saying 'this day shall ye be recompensed with a humiliating chastisement for imputing to God what was untrue and scorning His messages in arrogance." And God shall say, "And now, indeed, you have come unto Us all by yourself, even as we created you, leaving behind you all that we bestowed on you. And We do not see with you those intercessors of yours whom you imagined to be associated with God in all your concerns. Indeed all the bonds between you and your earthly life are severed and all your fancies have forsaken you!" Verily, it is God who cleaves the grain and the fruit-kernel asunder, bringing forth the living out of that which is dead and the dead out of the living. This then is God: and yet, how perverted are your minds. He causeth the dawn to break and hath made he night for rest, and the sun and the moon to run their appointed courses and hath set for you stars that ye may be guided in the darkness of land and sea. And He it is who has brought you all into being out of one living entity and has appointed a time limit on earth and a resting place after death. He hath made His signs clear for those who understand. And He is who has caused waters to come down from the sky and by its means brings forth buds of plants and from them green foliage and then close packed ears of corn and palm trees with dates in thick clusters and gardens of vines, and the olive tree and the pomegranate; all so alike, and yet so different. Behold their fruit when it grows and ripens. Truly herein are signs for a people who believe. And they set up Jinn as peers for God and in ignorance ascribe to Him falsely sons and daughters. Transcendent is He and far above that which they attribute to Him, Originator of the heavens and of the earth! How can there be an offspring for Him when there never was for Him a mate? Every thing hath he created and He is the Guardian of all things. No vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all vision, for He is unfathomable, all-aware. Say, "Now are things clearly disclosed to reflect on. Should anyone take note of them that will be to his own advantage, and should one choose to remain blind that will be to his own disadvantage. Remember: I am not your keeper." Had God pleased, they would not have ascribed divinity to anything beside Him and He had not appointed the Prophet as a keeper or guardian over them. O believers! Revile not those whom they call upon besides God lest they in their ignorance revile God by way of rejoinder. God has made the actions of every people seem fair to them. After all, they are to return to their Lord when He will declare to them the nature of deeds they have done. Those people swear solemnly that they would believe if a miracle were shown to them but for all you know, they would not believe even if a miracle was shown to them. God shall leave them in their overweening arrogance blindly stumbling to and fro. Be sure that even if God were to send down angels to them and even if the dead were to speak to them and all things were assembled before them, they would still not believe unless God directed otherwise. Most of them are ignorant. And so it is that against every prophet rose enemies from among men and Jinn--the evil minded who whisper unto one another glittering half-truths to delude the mind. Wert thou to follow the majority in the land (who have gone astray), they would lead thee away from the path of God; they but follow their fancies and indulge in guesses. The Lord knoweth best who has strayed from His path and knoweth those who are rightly guided. Do not indulge in sin either openly or in secret. Those who commit sin will one day reap the result thereof. Goodly seem all their own doings to those who deny the truth. And it is in this way that God causes the big people in every land to become its greatest evil doers, there to weave their schemes. Yet is only against themselves that they scheme--and they perceive it not. Abasement in the sight of God and a severe chastisement will be their recompense. And whomsoever God willeth to guide, his breast will He open to Islam but whomsoever He willeth to let go astray, his breast will He make strait and constricted. Thus God imposes chastisement upon those who believe not. "Clearly, indeed, have We spelled out Our Message unto people who heed. Theirs shall be an abode of peace with their Lord; and He shall be near unto them." And as for the evil-doers, fire shall be their abode, therein to abide, unless God wills it otherwise. The life of this world had deluded them but on the Day of Reckoning they shall bear witness against themselves. Everyone is assigned a place according to what he has wrought, and thy Lord is not inattentive to what they do. The wrong-doers assign to God, from the tilth and cattle that He has produced, a portion and say "This is for God"--so deem they--and this for our associate gods. But that which is assigned to their associate gods will not go to God (or be spent for the poor), while that which is assigned to God goes to their associate gods. How fanciful is their settlement! And, like-wise, their belief in associate gods makes even the sacrifice of their children seem goodly to many polytheists thus bringing them to ruin and confusing them in their faith. And they say such and such cattle and produce of fields are sacred and are not to be partaken without their permission and such and such cattle are not to be loaded with burden and name of God not to be pronounced on some and they falsely attribute these directions to him. Soon will they be requited. He is who hath produced wine gardens, trellised and un-trellised, palm trees, corn of different kinds, olives and pomegranates, resembling one another yet so different. Eat of their fruit and give to the poor their due on harvest day and do not waste for God liketh not the wasteful. Of the cattle reared for work and those of slender build reared for sake of their flesh, eat whatever God has provided you as sustenance and follow not Satan's footstep for he is your open foe. Those who set up peers for God will say, 'Had God so willed, we should not have set up peers for Him nor would have our forefathers done so and neither would we have declared any thing forbidden (that He has allowed). Even so, did those who lived before them give the lie to the truth until they tasted the punishment. Say (O Prophet), "Have you any authority which you can produce before us? Ye but follow fancies and indulge in sheer guesses." Say, "Come, I will rehearse what your Lord hath made binding on you--that ye associate naught with Him and that ye be good to your parents; and that ye slay not your children because of poverty; for them and for you We will afford provision--that ye draw not near indecencies--either open or secret, and do not slay any human being except in pursuit of justice. And do not touch the property of a n orphan, save to improve it, until he comes of age; and use your measure and balance with due sense of justice and when ye speak be just even though it affects a kinsman and observe your bond with God. And know that this is the way leading straight unto Me; follow it then; and follow not other ways, lest they cause you to deviate from His way." God gave Moses the Book; He has sent this Book also lest ye should say, The Book was sent down only on two people (the Jews and the Christians) before us…and had it been sent to us we should have followed its guidance better then they. Now a clear exposition has come to you from your Lord, a guidance and a mercy. Who then is more wicked than he who treateth the Revelation of God as lies and turneth away from them? Await they to see any angels coming down to them or thy Lord Himself or some of thy Lord's (final) portents to appear? But on the Day thy Lord's portents do appear, believing will be no avail to any human being who did not believe before, or who while believing hath not done any good deeds." Verily these are those who have split their religion and divided themselves into sects. Thou hast nothing to do with them. Behold, their case rests with God: in time He will make them understand what they have been doing. Whoever shall come before God with a good deed will receive ten times the like thereof; but whoever shall come with a bad deed will be requited with no more than the like thereof; and none shall be wronged. Say: Behold, my Lord has guided me unto a straight way through an ever-true faith--the way of Abraham, who was wholly devoted to God and was not of those who ascribe divinity to any besides Him. Say, 'my prayer, my all acts of worship, my living and my dying are all for God, the Lord of all domains of existence. He hath no partner whatsoever. Thus have I been bidden--and I shall be foremost among those who surrender themselves unto Him.' Say: Am I, then, to seek a sustainer other than God, when He is sustainer and cherisher of all things. He it is who has made you
to inherit the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others
so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed on you. Verily,
the Lord is swift in retribution but, behold, He is indeed Forgiving, Merciful.
Al-A’raf—The Heights Alif Lam Sad. This Divine Book has been revealed unto thee—and let there be no doubt about this in thy heart, in order that thou mayest warn the erring thereby and admonish the believers. Follow what has been revealed to you and follow no patrons apart for Him. And how many a rebellious community God destroyed and they had nothing to say for themselves. Everyone will be called to account on the day of judgment and God will, through His knowledge, recount to them their deeds. For never has He been absent from them. The weighing of one’s deeds that day is a matter of certainty. They who weigh heavy in the scales will alone prosper while those whose scales are light—they are those who have lost their souls having disregarded God’s messages. God has given you habitation on earth, and also provided for you means of livelihood, and yet seldom are you grateful! Indeed God created you and gave you shape, and on His command the angels bowed to Adam except Iblis who thought he was a higher creature, having been created out of fire, while Adam was made of clay. Iblis was turned away and became one of the despised. On his request, respite was granted to him till the Day of Resurrection. Whereupon he said: "Now that Thou has turned me away, I shall most certainly lie in ambush for them all along Thy straight way and shall come upon them from all directions and by all possible means and Thou shalt find few of them truly loyal." And God said, “Go forth from here, disgraced and disowned! As for such of them as shall follow thee I will most certainly fill hell with all you all.” Adam and his wife were allowed to dwell in the garden of heaven and to eat whatever they wished, but were directed not to approach a particular tree lest they became wrongdoers. As soon as both had tasted the fruit of the forbidden tree under the guile of Satan, their nakedness dawned upon them and they began to cover themselves up with pieced-together leaves from the garden. They were directed to descend from heaven and to have earth as their abode and livelihood for awhile, to live and die there till they are brought forth. O children of Adam! God gave you the knowledge to prepare garments to hide your nakedness and to serve as an adornment but the garment of God—consciousness is the best of all. O children of Adam! Do not allow Satan to seduce you for he and his tribe are lying in wait for you where you cannot perceive them. Say my Lord hath enjoined what is right. Be steadfast and fervent in your worship and call upon Him in sincere devotion to Him. Some of you He will have graced with His guidance while some will deservedly be left in error. For they took Satans as their masters in preference to God and fancied that they had been guided aright. O children of Adam! Adorn yourself for every act of worship and eat and drink permitted things, but do not waste, for God does not love the wasteful. Say: 'Verily, my lord has forbidden shameful deeds, be they open or secret, and sinning and unjust rebellion and ascribing divinity to any beside Him.' Every people have a term set for them; when the appointed time comes they can neither delay it nor can they hasten it. Those who follow the directives of God will be blessed but those who discredit them and feel too proud to yield to them shall be the inmates of Fire. When God’s agents will question them at the time of their death, “Where are they [whom] ye had invoked besides God?” they will answer, “They have forsaken us” and will admit that they were foolishly unyielding. For them the gates of heavens shall not be opened; it is not possible for them to enter Paradise even as it is not possible for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. For them Hell shall serve both as bed and a covering and thus are the unjust requited. But they who have believed in God and done what is right shall be the inmates of the Garden. God shall remove from their breasts every sense of rancour towards anyone and cause streams to roll before them and they shall be grateful for God's guidance. And between the inmates of Paradise and [the] inmates of [the] Fire there shall be a partition; and on the Heights shall be men who will recognise people on either side by their visage. They will hail the people of Paradise having not entered it themselves but ardently expecting to do so and praying that they may not be placed along with inmates of the Fire. They will enquire from later, “What have your amassings and your pride availed you? They had made religion but a sport and a pastime and enticed themselves in the life of the world. And God will say, “Will We this day take no notice of them even as they had failed to remember that they were to face this Day and knowingly had lightly treated our messages.” Verily your Lord is God who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit, with the Sun, the moon and the stars subservient to His command. Oh, verily, His is all creation and all command. Blessed be God, the Lord of all domains of Existence. Call unto your Lord humbly and silently. He loveth not those who do not observe proprieties: hence, do not spread corruption on earth after it has been so well ordered. And call unto Him with fear and longing: verily, God’s grace is always near unto the doers of good. And He it is who sendeth forth the winds spreading the tidings of blessings to follow, till they bring up the laden clouds to move towards dead land to pour water thereupon to cause up growth of all kind of fruits. In like manner doeth God revive those who are lost to life, if only ye can reflect over. In good land vegetation springs forth in abundance by the will of its Lord whereas in the bad the growth is but scanty. Noah preached to his people to worship God alone and cautioned them against the chastisement of the great Day but they treated him as a liar; so when the deluge came, God rescued him and his companions in the ark and drowned the deniers of the messages. And Hud was sent to the tribe of Ad with the same message, but he too was belied and his people said, “Art thou come to us to make us serve one God only, and give up the gods that our fathers were worshiping. Then bring upon us that with which thou threatenest us, if thou be a man of truth.” So God saved him and those who stood by him and wiped out those who had denied the message and would not believe. And to the tribe of Thamud was sent one of their kinsfolk, namely Saleh. Said he to them, ‘O my people! serve God, ye have no god other than Him. A clear guidance of truth has now come to you from your Lord. Yonder she-camel dedicated to God shall be token for you. Leave her to pasture on God’s earth and cause her no harm, lest a grievous chastisement seize you. And remember how God had made you successors to the tribe of Ad, and settled you firmly in the land so that you build castles in the plains and hew out mountains as dwellings: remember, then, God’s favours and spread no disorder in the land by your high-handedness. In arrogant pride the chiefs of the people refused to believe and slaughtered the she-camel. Thereupon an earthquake seized them unaware and they lay dead in their very homes. Lot remonstrated with his people that they committed the obscene crime of homosexuality, which no body before had committed in the world but they decided to turn away Lot and his followers who were making a show of purity. God rescued him and his household except his wife and rained a rain of destruction upon the people. Behold what was the end of the wicked! And unto Madyan was sent their brother Shu’aib who also exhorted the people to believe in and worship one God, to give full measure and weight and not to deprive people of what is rightfully theirs and not to spread corruption on earth for their own good. He asked them not to attempt to turn away people from the path of God by distorting it. And if there be some who believed in the message and some who denied it, they should wait till God judged between them; for He is the best of judges. Said the leader of his people who were puffed up with pride, ‘O Shu’aib! We shall expel thee and thy followers from the city unless you return to our faith.’ Said Shu’aib, ‘Why, even though we abhor it? We should be guilty of blaspheming against God if we were to return to your ways after God has saved us from them. In God do we place our trust who would decide between us.’ Thereafter an earthquake overtook them and they were annihilated as if they had never dwelt [there]. And whenever God sent a prophet to any place, He let the people thereof go through trials and tribulations in order that they might humble themselves. Then He transformed their affliction into ease. In their altered condition of prosperity they began to upbraid, ‘Even our fathers were touched with both joy and sorrow’ and made light of the relief till chastisement overtook them. Had these people believed in God and abstained from evil, God would have opened out for them the doors of the heavens and the earth to afford them His bounties. But they were taken to task through what they themselves had been doing. Can, then, the people of any community feel secure that God’s punishment will not come upon them by night or by day. Stories of some cities are now related which had flourished in days gone by. To every one of these had come apostles with clear proofs of their mission but they were rejected. Moses was sent with clear signs but Pharaoh asked him to demonstrate his signs. Moses cast down his staff and it became a serpent and he drew forth his hand, and it appeared brilliantly white. Pharaoh and his nobles, however, took it only as sorcery and they got all the sorcerers of the land assembled. The magicians threw down their rods and ropes and cast a spell upon the people’s eyes and struck them with awe. God inspired Moses to throw down his staff and lo! it swallowed up all their deceptions. Thus did the truth prevail and all they had wrought came to naught. And down fell the sorcerers prostrating themselves in adoration of God of Moses and Aaron. Enraged did Pharaoh say to them, “You have believed in him without my permission. Surely, this is a plot, which you have planned to drive out from my city the people living therein. But anon shall know my revenge. Most certainly I shall cut off your hands and crucify you.” They said, “Be it so. After all we have to return to our Lord,” and they prayed, “Lord! Grant us constancy in faith and call us back in a state of absolute trust in Thee.” The nobles said to Pharaoh, “Wilt thou let Moses and his people go to spread corruption on earth and flout they thy gods.” Pharaoh replied, “We shall slay their sons in great numbers and shall spare only their women: for verily, we hold sway over them.” And Moses said unto his people, “Turn unto God for aid and have patience in adversity. Verily, all the earth belongs God: He gives it as heritage to such of His servants as He wills; and the future belongs to the God-conscious. It may well be that your Lord will destroy your foe and make you inherit the earth and see how you act.” God chastised the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and scarcity of fruits that haply they might make amends for their evil past but they ascribed good fortune to their desserts and suffering to the evil influence of Moses and his followers. God sent upon them flood, locust, vermin, frogs and blood as clear signs of warning but they persisted in their arrogance. Whenever punishment visited them they would beseech Moses to pray to God promising that they would accept the faith on lifting the travail but they would break the pledges as often as they were made. Ultimately they were effaced by drowning and their gardens and castles were totally destroyed. The children of Israel were brought across the sea to a place where idolatry prevailed. Having appointed his brother Aaron to take his place and advising him to act righteously and not to follow the path of the wicked, Moses went to Mount Sinai to commune with God for forty nights. In his ecstasy Moses cried out, “O Lord! Show me Thy countenance that I may behold it.” He said, ‘Thou shall not see Me, but look towards the mountain and if that (could bear the effulgence of My countenance and) could remain firm in its place, then alone thou shall see Me.’ When God manifested His glory before the mountain it turned into dust and Moses fell down in a swoon. When Moses came to himself, he said, “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Unto Thee do I return in repentance, and I shall be foremost among those who believe in Thee.” Said God, ‘O Moses, I have exalted thee by allowing the privilege of conversing with Me and by entrusting My message to thee. So hold fast unto what I have vouchsafed thee and be among the grateful.’ He was asked to follow the commandments inscribed in the tablets given to him and to ask his people to follow them implicitly. In his absence, the people of Moses took to worshiping the effigy of a calf made of their ornaments even though it could neither speak to them nor guide them. And when Moses returned to his people, full of wrath and sorrow, he exclaimed, ‘Vile is the course you have adopted in my absence!’ and he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the tuft of his head and pulled him. Said his brother to him, ‘Your people regarded me as of no consequence and almost slew me, so let not my enemies rejoice at my affliction and count me not among wrongdoers.’ Moses prayed for forgiveness for himself, and his brother and said, ‘The displeasure of the Lord shall rest on those who had worshipped the calf and ignominy will be their lot in the life of this world. When his anger subsided, he took up the tablets and chose seventy men to collect at settled time. When an earthquake shook them, he prayed to God to have mercy on them. God answered, ‘With My chastisement do I afflict whom I will, but My grace overspreads everything, and so I shall ordain for all who are conscious of Me, pay the poor-due and believe in Our messages; who shall follow the Apostle, the unlettered prophet, whose advent is foretold in Torah and the Evangel. He will enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and free them of the burdens under which they groan.” The Israelites were divided into twelve tribes and they asked Moses for water. God inspired him to strike the rock with his staff whereupon twelve springs gushed forth from it. God caused the clouds to comfort them with their shade and sent down on them manna and salva and permitted them to settle in a city. And (O Prophet) ask them of the town that stood by the sea where fish came up to the shore on the Sabbath day and not on other days. Thus were they tried as they were transgressors. When the people disregarded the warnings a severe chastisement was inflicted upon them and on their persistence God said to them, “Be ye like apes despised.” They were dispersed as groups upon the earth, some of them upright and some not. And they had for their successors unworthy generations to inherit the Book. They seize only the vain things of this passing world and they will continue to do so whenever they get a chance to barter the truth. Was not the condition laid upon them by their Scripture not to attribute to God anything but what is true? Do they not study the book? For those who live righteously the abode of the next world is of greater value. Cannot this simple truth be realised by them? And (O Prophet!) when thy Lord brought forth from the loins of the children their progeny to be, and made them vouch for themselves whether He was not their Lord, they said, “Yes we admit.” And this God did lest ye should say on the day of Resurrection, “Truly, of this were we uninformed.” How evil is the example they have set of those who reject his signs. They have injured none but themselves by what they have done. He who desireth to be rightly guided, him God guideth and those who disdain to be guided, God declineth to guide. How many men and Jinn are there not who have been marked out for Hell—men who have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are just like cattle and indeed worse than those. Those who treat God’s signs as lies, He will by degrees bring them down in ways they hardly perceive, and although God gives them respite, the law of retribution is careful enough to overtake them inevitably. Cannot they mark the God’s dominion over the heavens and the earth and all the things He has created and ask themselves whether possibly the end of their own term might already have drawn near? In what other message then, will they, after this, believe? O Prophet! they ask thee when after all is the Hour of Judgement to come. Say: Verily, knowledge thereof rests with my Lord alone. It will be a catastrophe, which will overtake the heavens, and the earth and it will come upon you suddenly. (O Prophet!) Tell them, ‘It is not within my power to bring benefit to, or avert harm from myself, except as God may please. And if I knew that which is beyond the reach of human perception, abundant good fortune would surely have fallen to my lot, and no evil would ever have touched me. I am nothing but a warner unto men and herald of glad tidings unto those who believe.’ He it is who created you all from a single individual and from him brought forth his mate that the two might dwell in mutual comfort. Yet instead of being grateful they join with Him those who cannot create anything and are themselves created, who have no power to help others or help themselves and if you pray to them for guidance they do not respond to you. Have they (the idols) feet to walk with, eyes to see with and ears to hear with. Say (O Prophet): Summon to your aid all those whom you join with God and contrive anything against me, and give me no respite (and see what is the result). Verily, my protector is God who hath revealed this Book and He befriends the righteous. Exercise forbearance, and enjoin what is right and turn away from those who decline to understand. If any provocation is given by Satan, turn to God for refuge. He verily heareth, knoweth. And remember thy Lord silently, morn and evening, in awe and humility and do not be un-heedful. They ask the (O Prophet!) about the spoils of war. Say: All spoils of war belong to God and the apostle. Therefore be mindful of God and the apostle. Therefore be mindful of God without quarrelling among yourselves and obey God and the prophet if ye be true believers. They alone are believers whose hearts thrill whenever the name of God is mentioned; and whose faith is strengthened whenever His messages are conveyed to them; and who place implicit trust in their Lord; who observe the prayers and spend on others. Theirs shall be great dignity in their Lord's sight as well as His forgiveness and a most excellent sustenance. Remember how thy Lord caused thee to go forth from thy home in the cause of truth (to Badr) and how some of the believers were averse to it and thought they were being led forth to death with open eyes. And remember when God promised you that one of the two enemy parties should fall in your hands, the believers desired that the unarmed party should fall in their hands but God proposed to root out the armed unbelievers that He might prove that the truth always prevails and falsehood comes to nought. In the battle of Badr, God aided the Muslims and they were victorious in spite of smallness of their numbers. God directed, "O ye who believe! When you meet the marshaled hosts of the unbelievers, do not turn your back on them. He who shall turn his back on them that day, unless he turns aside to fight or to rally some other troop, shall incur the displeasure of God. Hell shall be his abode, a wretched destination. O Meccans! if you had sought to force a decision, that decision hath now come to you. It will be better if you desist, for your forces thought they may be many, shall avail you not for God for God is on the side of the believers." O ye believers! Obey God and His Apostle, and turn not away from him now that you have the truth and be not like those who say "We are listening" and yet they do not, for the vilest beast in the sight of God are those deaf and dumb ones who decline to understand. If God had seen any good in them, He would certainly have made them hearken the truth. Know that God intervenes between man and (the desire of) his heart and that unto Him you shall be gathered and beware of temptation to evil, which by no means cometh to wicked alone, and know that God is severe in chastisement. O ye who believe! Deal not falsely with God and His Apostle and do not betray your trusts knowingly. And know that your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation and that with God there is tremendous reward. And (call to mind O Prophet) how the unbelievers plotted to imprison thee or to kill thee or to banish thee, but God had His own plan and He is best of the planners. They said, "God! If this be the very truth from thee, rain down stones upon us or lay on us some severe chastisement." But God chose not to chastise them while thou wast in their midst nor would He chastise them while they seek forgiveness. But now what plea can they advance that God should not chastise them for having debarred the faithful from entering the Holy mosque. (O Prophet!) Say to the unbelievers
that if they should desist, that which is past will be forgiven them and
if they revert (to their wrongdoing), let them remember what happened to
the likes of them in the times gone by. And fight against them until there
is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone. Know that
God is your Lord Supreme, and how Excellent Protector is He and How Excellent
Helper.
And know ye that whatever spoils of war ye obtain, one-fifth thereof is for God and the apostle and for the near of kin, the orphans, the needy and the wayfarer. On the day of battle of Badr, God led you into action to accomplish what He had already decreed. When you confronted the enemy, He made them appear to your eyes as few just as He made you appear as of little account in their eyes. Those who were perishing realised that God was not on their side and they who were winning realised that God was on their side. O Believers, when you confront the enemy force, stand firm and remember God intently that it may be fare well with you. And obey God and His Apostle and do not quarrel among yourselves, lest you become faint-hearted and weak. And be not like those (unbelievers) who went forth from their homelands full of self-conceit and a desire to be seen and praised by men. For they were trying to turn others away from the path of God. And if thou couldst but see when He causes the unbelievers to die: the angels will strike their faces and backs and will say taste the chastisement of burning for what your own hands have wrought and know that God never does the least wrong to His creatures. God never changes the blessings with which He has graced a people so long as they do not alter themselves. The vilest creatures in the sight of God are those who have denied the truth. Punish those who repeatedly break their covenants with thee so severely that those who back them secretly may take to heels be warned for the future. If you fear treachery from a people who have covenanted with you, throw back the covenant at them. Truly God does not like the treacherous. And let not the disbelievers fancy that they shall escape God: behold, they can never frustrate (His purpose). Keep ready then against them what force you can muster together with strong squadrons whereby you may strike terror into the enemy. But if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it and repose thy trust in God. But if they seek to dupe thee, God is All-sufficient for thee. He it is who hath strengthened thee with His help and hath instilled in the hearts of the faithful the feeling of oneness. Hadst thou spent all the riches of the earth, thou could have not united their hearts but God united them in affection. O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. Twenty of them firm in faith will be able to vanquish two hundred of the enemy and a hundred of them a thousand of the enemy. For the time being, however, God has lightened your task--those who stand resolutely by their faith shall be able to vanquish double the number of their enemies. It is not meet [i.e. appropriate] for a prophet to take enemy ranks as captives until he had given them a severe punishment. You may desire the fleeting good of this world (ransom money) but God desireth for you the good of life to come. O Prophet say unto the captives in your hands: 'if God finds any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken away from you and will forgive you your sins.' And should they seek to play false with thee, well, they were false to God Himself ere this but He gave the believers mastery over them. Believers who have forsaken their homes and have staked their lives and wealth in the cause of God as also those who have given help and shelter to them are friends of one another. You are in no wise responsible for protection of those believers who have not migrated unless they ask for it in the name of faith and, that too, not against a people with whom you have entered into a treaty. Those who are united by ties of blood have the first claim on one another in accordance with God's decree. The unbelievers lend one another mutual help and unless you act likewise oppression will reign on earth and great mischief done to you. Disavowal by God and His Apostle is herewith announced to the polytheists with whom you (O believers) have made a covenant. Announce unto them: Go, then, freely about the earth for four months but know that you cannot frustrate the will of God and that, verily, God shall bring disgrace upon all who refuse to acknowledge the truth! And a proclamation from God and His Apostle is herewith made unto mankind on this day of the greatest pilgrimage: God and His Apostle disavow all polytheists and a great chastisement awaits them. But excepted shall be those with whom you have made a covenant and who have not breached it and aided anyone against you: observe, then, your covenant with them till the end of the term agreed upon. And so, when the sacred months are over, slay the polytheists wherever you come upon them and take them captive, and besiege them and ambush them. But if they repent and take to prayer and render the purifying dues, let them go their way. And if any of them seeks protection, grant him asylum and give him safe conduct to his place of security. The polytheists are a people who, whenever they get the better of you, respect neither the ties of kinship nor any engagement they have entered into. They seek to please you with their mouths while their hearts belie them and most of them are iniquitous. God's message they have bartered away for a trifling gain, and have thus turned away from His path. Evil is all that they are wont to do. If after taking the oaths of alliance with you, they break them and revile your religion, then fight against those archetypes of faithlessness so that they may desist from aggression. Would you, perchance, fail to fight against people who have broken their solemn pledges and tried to expel the Apostle and attacked you first! Do you hold them in awe? Nay, it is God alone who should be held in awe. Fight against them! God will chastise them by your hands and will bring disgrace upon them and will succour you. O believers! Do you think you will not be tried for ascertaining as to who will successfully bear the trials ahead of you and reckon as friends none except God and His Apostle? It is not for the polytheists to visit and tend God's houses of worship [all] the while they hold to their unbelief. Their works shall come to naught and in fire shall they abide. Do you place him who gives drink to the pilgrims and attends the Holy Place of Prayer on the same level with him who believes in God and the Last Day and striveth in the way of God? They are certainly not equal. The latter rank high in the estimation of God and shall attain success. Their Lord gives them the glad tidings of grace and blessing from Him, and of His good pleasure and of the gardens of lasting bliss wherein they shall abide forever. O believers! Do not take your fathers and brothers for friends if they prefer unbelief to belief. If you do so you will be wrongdoers. If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kith and kin, your wealth and merchandise and your dwellings are dearer to you than God and His Apostle and striving in the way of God, then wait until God makes manifest His will; and know that God does not guide the impious. O believers! God hath helped you on many occasion and on the day of Hunain, when your numbers availed you not and the earth with all its vastness had straitened on you and you had to turn back in retreat. It was then that God infused into the prophet and the faithful, the spirit of steadiness and self assurance and succoured them with unseen hosts and defeated the unbelievers. O ye believers! Surely those who ascribe partners to God are an unclean lot. Let them not after this year approach the Holy Mosque. And if you apprehend poverty by loss of business, God will, if He please, give you riches out of His abundance. The Jews declare Ezra to God's son and the Nazarenes declare Messiah to be God's son. This is what they say. Similar assertions were made by unbelievers gone before. The malison [curse] of God on them! Whither are they tending? How perverted are their minds? They have taken their rabbis and monks, Christ son of Mary, for their lords beside God, although they were bidden to worship none but the One God save whom there is no deity. They want to extinguish God's guiding light with their utterances, but God will not allow this to pass, for he has willed to spread His light in all its fullness. He hath sent His Apostle with guidance and true religion to the end that He make it prevail over every religion, however hateful it may be to the polytheists. As for all who lay up treasures of gold and silver and do not spend them for sake of God, give them the tidings of grievous suffering on the Day their hoarded wealth shall be heated in fire and their foreheads, their sides and their backs branded therewith. Behold, the number of months in the sight of God is twelve. Out of these, four are sacred (Rajab, Ziqada, Zil-Hajja and Muharram). Wrong not yourselves by initiating any warfare in this period. But if the polytheists attack you, notwithstanding the sacred character of these months, do ye also strike back in a body. The polytheists intercalate the months and consider it permissible in one year and forbidden in another. This evil way of theirs is fair seeming to them. O believers if you don't march forth in the way of God, you will be severely punished and replaced by another set of people. If you assist not your Prophet, God will assist him. You know that God had assisted him on a previous occasion when the disbelievers had driven him out of Mecca with only a second by his side (Abu Bakr) and the two had repaired to a cave and the prophet had to say to his companion, "Sorrow not; be certain God is with us." The vauntings [bragging] of the disbelievers fell to the ground and the assurance of God triumphantly prevailed. March ye forth (O Muslims) with whatever equipment you have, light or heavy, and strive with all your possessions and your lives in the way of God. Had the hypocrites been assured of a speedy gain and a short journey, they would readily have agreed to follow thee. But with a long journey ahead, they try to find excuses and swear falsely that they would have gone forth had they been able to do so. Those who seek exemption are only those who have no faith in God or in the Last Day and whose hearts are filled with doubts. God was averse to their marching forth for had they taken the field with you, they would have been only a burden sowing disaffection among your ranks. If success betide thee it will grieve them; if a reverse overtakes thee, they applaud their caution and turn away rejoicing. Say: nothing will befall us except what God hath destined for us. He is our Supreme Lord and in God let the believers place their trust. Say: You may spend anything willingly or unwillingly [but] it shall never be accepted from you, for you do not believe in God and His prophet, never pray without reluctance, and never spend without resentment. Let not their worldly goods and their children excite thy admiration. Even by these means God chastises them in the life of this world. And they swear by God that they are indeed of you while they are not of you. Indeed if they could find a place of refuge or any cavern or any crevice, they would go to it in headlong haste. Some of them are not satisfied with the distribution of Sadaqat or alms. If they are not given anything they get infuriated. Alms [which here mean Zakat or compulsory levy by the State] are meant only for the poor and the needy, those appointed to collect alms, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and for redemption of slaves, for clearance of debts of those who are unable to pay and for those striving in God's cause, and for the wayfarer. And among the hypocrites are some who wish to malign the Prophet. A grievous suffering awaits them in the life to come. Do they not know that for him who sets himself against God and His Apostle there is in the store fire of Hell. The hypocrites are afraid that a full chapter of Qur'an may not be sent disclosing what lies in their hearts. If thou wert to question them why it is they jest at thee, they would say, 'We were only amusing ourselves in a light talk.' 'Do you amuse yourselves at the expense of God and His revelations and His Apostle.' For certain, they have gone back after having professed belief. The hypocrites, whether men or women, go but one way. They enjoin what is evil and forbid what is good and are close-fisted. They are unmindful of God and so God has left them in neglect. God has rejected them and long-lasting suffering awaits them. Have they not heard of those who had gone before them--of the people of Noah and of Aad and of Thamud and of people of Abraham and the residents of Madian and the uprooted cities. The believers, men and women, are close to one another--they enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. They observe prayer and pay the poor-due and they obey God and His Apostle. God will bestow His grace upon them. O Prophet! Strive against the infidels and the hypocrites and be strict with them. Some of them had pledged with God that if they were given His bounty, they would give alms and live righteously, but they acted otherwise when God gave them affluence. Hypocrisy has taken root in their hearts to remain till the day they meet their Lord. The hypocrites scoff at believers who spend generously and also at those who, for lack of means, offer only their services instead of alms. God will not forgive them. The hypocrites were averse to striving in the cause of God and stayed back (from the Tabuk Campaign) and instigated others not to join the expedition in the heat of season. The fire of hell is hotter by far. Had they but grasped the truth. Let them laugh a little for they will weep a lot in return for what they have earned. And never shalt thou pray over any of them that has died and never shalt thou stand by his grave. They denied God and died in their iniquity. But no blame shall attach to the weak, nor to the sick nor to those who have no means to equip themselves (if they could not join the expedition) provided that they are sincere towards God and his Apostle. Only they may be rightly reproached who asked thee for exemption even thought they were fully able to go an preferred to stay at home. Their hearts have been sealed and they understand not. But when you return to them from your expedition, they will come forward to offer apologies. Say to them (O Prophet), "Offer no apologies, by no means can we now believe you. God hath already posted [informed] us with everything about you." Better it is that you leave them alone for they are an unclean lot. Their destination is hell. The Bedouins are very unyielding lot and incapable of appreciating the character of ordinances of God sent down to the Apostle. Of them there are some who reckon what they give away in [the] cause of God as a fine and wait for some change of fortune to befall you. It is they whom evil fortune shall encompass. But among them are some who believe in God and the Day Hereafter and deem their spending in the way of God as a means of securing nearness of God and the blessings of the Prophet. Indeed as a means of nearness will it serve them. Those from among the Muhajirin and the Ansar who were the foremost in accepting Islam and those also who followed their noble example, God is pleased with them and they are pleased with God. They are to live forever in gardens in high felicity. And among Bedouins some are hypocrites and even among the people of Madina, there are some adepts in hypocrisy. God will chastise them two-fold. There are some who have done both good and evil deeds. God may accept their repentance. Accept their contributions for the poor (Sadaqa) in order to cleanse them and pray for their welfare. And there are yet others whose cases are deferred until God wills to judge them. He may chastise them or turn unto them in mercy. And there are hypocrites who have established a house of worship in order to create mischief, and to promote apostasy and disunity among the believers and to provide an outpost for all who have been from the beginning warring against God and His Apostle. O prophet! never step into it. More worthy for you to enter is that mosque, the foundation of which has been laid in piety from its very first day, and to which repair those who aspire to purity, and God loves those who purify themselves. Which of the two is better, he who hath laid the foundation of his edifice on devotion to God and desires to please Him, or who hath raised it on the brink of a crumbling bank which is bound to drag him into the fire of Hell. Surely, God doth not guide those who commit excesses. Verily, God hath (so to say) purchased of the faithful their very persons and their worldly possessions in return for Paradise. They shall fight in the cause of God and slay and be slain. Ad the promise of Paradise is binding on Him even as similar promises were held out in the Torah and the Evangel: These are they who in penitence serve and praise Him, and go on seeking God's pleasure and prostrate themselves in adoration, who enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil, and live within the bounds prescribed by God. Give the glad tidings of God's promise to all such believers. It is not for the Prophet and the believers to pray for the forgiveness of those who set up peers for God even though they be near of kin, once it has become clear to them that such people are to be inmates of Hell. It is not the way of God to condemn a people after having invited them to His guidance, before they are reminded of what they have to guard themselves against. Indeed, God had mercifully shown consideration to the Prophet as well as to the Migrants (Muhajirin) and the Helpers (Ansar) despite the fact that the hearts of some of the latter had well-nigh failed them. Likewise hath He mercifully turned unto those three persons also who had been left in suspense, and who had felt that the spacious earth had become too strait [difficult] for them and their lives had become a burden unto them and who had realised that there was no refuge from God except in Himself. It does not behoove [i.e. is not proper] the people of Prophet's city and [the] Bedouins living around to refrain from following God's apostle or to care for their own selves more than for him. Whenever they suffer from thirst or weariness or hunger and whenever they take measures to thwart the unbelievers, a good deed is recorded in their favor. Verily, God does not fail to requite the doers of good! With all this, it is not desirable that all the believers should march forth to war. Some of them should engage themselves in acquiring deeper knowledge of religion so that they can instruct their homecoming brethren for guarding themselves against evil. Now hath come to you an Apostle from amongst yourselves, your suffering weighs heavily upon him, ardently desirous is he of your welfare and to the believers he is compassionate merciful. Even then, if they turn away, (O Prophet), say to them, "God sufficeth, there is no god but He; in Him alone do I place my trust; and He is the Lord of the Universe, enthroned in His almighty glory." These are the verses of the Book full of wisdom. O ye people! Verily your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six periods and has supreme authority over all things. Without His permission none can intercede with Him. Therefore, serve Him. Will ye not be mindful of Him in all that you do? Unto Him shall ye all have to return; truly the promise of God holds good. He will reward those who have believed in Him and acted righteously. The unbelievers shall have a draught that boileth and chastisement, which is painful. He it is who that fashioned the Sun for brightness and the Moon to reflect light, and marked for her stations that ye may reckon time and mark the number of years. God hath not created all this except in proper form and with right intent. Verily, in the alteration of night and day and in His creation are signs for those who are mindful of God. Should God hasten [the] recompense for evil on men with the alacrity they show for securing what is gainful for them, they would have forthwith met with the end marked for them. God leaves those who do not expect to return into His presence, to indulge in their excesses. When any affliction toucheth a man, he crieth to God, whether sitting, standing or lying down but when He gives him relief he passeth by God as if he hath never called on Him. Such behaviour is fair seeming to them! Some of the polytheists say, "Bring a different Qur'an or alter some of its provisions." Say "It is not for me to make any changes in it. I follow only that which is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear the chastisement of the Great day if I go against my Lord." Already have I dwelt among you for years before the Divine revelations began to come (but I said nothing like this). Can you not understand this much? Who can be more unjust than one who either invententh a lie against God or treateth His revelations as lies? Mankind were at first but one united people; they then fell at variance (and resolved themselves into different communities). Had not a decree of respite from thy Lord gone forth, their differences would have borne their natural results. Verily, the life of present is like the rain which causes vegetation to grow and decks out the earth so that dwellers consider it is fully in their grasp when suddenly goes forth the decree of God and the crop is reduced to more stubble. Thus are made clear God's ways to those inclined to understand. And God beckoneth men to the Abode of Peace and He directeth whom He will to the straight path. His way is to afford goodness to those who do good. Never shall their faces be covered with shame or disgrace. But those who have wrought evil there shall be no one to protect them from God. Shame shall cover their faces, as if darkness of night has draped their countenance. On the day of Resurrection everyone will realize what he had done before; and they shall be brought back to their God and all the images of fancy they had created for themselves shall disappear from their view. Ask them (O Prophet!) "Who nourisheth you out of the bounties of the heavens and the earth, who hath power over your hearing and seeing, and who bringeth forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living and who regulated the affairs of existence?" They will promptly answer "God". Then say to them, "if so, will you not be mindful of Him?" Most of them are perverted and follow mere fancies but surely fancy cannot avail against truth. The Qur'an is not such as could be conceived by anyone except God. It not only confirmeth what was revealed before it, but offers an apt elucidation of them. Do they say the prophet has fashioned it himself? Say to them, "If you think so, then bring forth even a 'Sarah' (chapter) like it and call anyone for your assistance." But the fact is that they have charged with false hood what they cannot comprehend and even before its reality dawned on them. Even in like manner the people of yore had brought charges of imposture against prophets of their time. You cannot show the way to the deaf and the blind. On the day when he will gather them together, it will seem to them that they had tarried in this world but for an hour of the day just to recognize each other. Those who had refused to believe will be at a great loss. Every people have had their apostle; and when their apostle came to them, the issue between them was decided and they were not wronged. Every people have a term set for them and when it is to expire, they cannot retard or advance it by a moment. O man! Now hath an admonition come to you from your Lord, and a healing for the ailments of your hearts, and guidance and mercy for those who pay heed. Truly, God is full of bounty to men but most of them are ungrateful. There is no work in which thou art engaged or any verse thou reciteth out of Qur'an and there is nothing ye man do over which God does not keep His watch. And remember, nothing, not even an atom in the earth or heavens escapeth His notice and there is absolutely nothing small or great, which is not noted in the perspicacious knowledge of God. And (O Prophet!) do not let the babbling of thy enemies grieve thee. Power belongs to God alone. He hears what they say and knows what they do. Remember! Whatever is in the heavens or in the earth is subject to His control. He it is who hath ordained for you the night wherein to rest and the day to move about in the light. They say that God has taken to Himself a son. No! by His glory He is self-sufficient; whatever is in the heavens and in the earth is His! Have you any warranty to make such a statement. Do you attribute to God what ye know not? They may enjoy what there is in this world but they shall taste the chastisement for having blasphemed against God. O Prophet! Relate to them the story of Noah who said to his people, "O my people, if my dwelling with you and admonishing you is unpleasant to you, then I can only fall back upon my God. You may go on designing against me in cooperation with your partners and leave no stone unturned and delay not in carrying out your decision. For my part, I ask no reward from you. My reward is with God alone." But they still treated him as a liar. Therefore, God rescued him and his companions in the ark and caused them to succeed in authority those who had treated God's signs as false and who were drowned. Likewise, the people of Pharaoh were drowned and when they refused to listen to Moses and Aaron and falsified God's signs. Were there any people of any city who accepted faith and enjoyed the resultant benefits before any doom overtook them except the people of Jonah? God saved them from chastisement and provided them with means of comfortable living. But (O prophet!) if thy Lord had pleased, surely all the dwellers of the earth could not but have believed (but He has not decreed compulsion). Will you then bring pressure to bear on them till they believe in what thou suggest? No one can believe in God except by the process fixed for it by God. It is why He lets those who do not follow reason to stink in their own dirt. And turn steadfastly towards the faith, which is completely straightforward and never keep company with those who set peers for God. Should God let any harm come to thee, none can deliver thee from it except He. Should He bring thee any good none there is who can cross His will. Say to them (O Prophet!) "O ye men! the truth from your Lord hath now definitely come to you. He who cares to be guided by it, will be guided to his own advantage; but he who chooseth to err, will only err to his own disadvantage; and I am in no way responsible to protect you." Here is a book whose verses are complete in their form and content and are set forth by One who is All-wise and All-informed. Seek pardon of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance Should you do so, the goodly things of life will He give you to enjoy for a term and His favours He bestows on everyone who deserves it. But if ye turn away, a very trying day of retribution might befall you. Ultimately you have to return to him. He knoweth what you hide and what you disclose. Indeed He knoweth every secret of your breasts. There is nothing that moveth on earth, the nourishment of which doeth not depend on God. He knoweth the haunts of every moving object and its final resting place. If God defers the chastisement the people deserve, they say 'what holds it back'. Mark! It will come upon them suddenly and what they had scoffed at shall press them from every side. If God were to withdraw any blessing bestowed on a man, he will surely fall into despair and show ungratefulness but if he is allowed to enjoy them after going through some trouble, he boasts at the relief. Those who bear trouble with patience and do what is right shall receive pardon and a great reward from their Lord. Those who choose the life of the present with all its false glamour, God deals out to them in full measure in this world, but they shall have nothing but the Fire in the next world. All their works shall come to nought and their deeds shall go waste. May God destroy the people who prevent others from pursuing the way of God and seek to misrepresent it and decline to believe in a life to come. These people shall by no means weaken the power of God on earth and have no protector except God Himself. They shall receive two-fold punishment. When Noah warned his people that a dreadful day of chastisement might overtake them if they continued associating anyone with God, the elders said to him, "You are just a human being like us and only the meanest have thoughtlessly followed thee and we see nothing to prefer thee above ourselves. In fact, we regard thee as a liar," He said, "O my people! Think over! If I act upon a clear direction from my Lord, who had bestowed on me the talent of seeing the right way, a way which you cannot see for yourselves, does it follow that I can force you to take the right path. I do not seek any return from you for all that I have been doing for you. That is for my God to determine. But I cannot forsake those who believe in God however low in status they may appear to you. You are a people who do not care to understand . . . I do not tell you that I have with me the treasures of God, nor do I tell you that I know things unseen or that I am an angel:" They said, "O Noah! Thou hast disputed with us and disputed very tenaciously. Better you bring upon us what thou has threatened us with, if thou art true to thy word." He said, "God will certainly bring it on you if He so wills it." It was revealed to Noah that none of his people will believe in him except those who have already believed and he should build an ark and plead not for those who were doomed to be drowned. At length God's decree came to pass and water gushed forth from the earth. God said to Noah "Cary into the ark one pair of every kind and thy family also except him on whom sentence has already been passed and all those who have believed in God." And Noah said to his companions, 'embark ye in it; in the name of God; may God direct its course and its mooring. Without doubt God will overlook our weaknesses and be Merciful to us.' And the ark moved on with them amid waves appearing mountain-high; and Noah called to his son to embark it but he replied that he would betake himself to a mountain. A wave rushed forth between them and he was drowned. The Divine command issued forth, "O Earth! Swallow up thy water and O sky! Cease pouring" and the flood abated and the decree was fulfilled and the ark settled down at Judi. And Noah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord! My son is of my family and thy promise always holds good." God said, "O Noah! Thy son is not to be reckoned as of thy family for his conduct has not been righteous. Thy attitude is not correct. Do not plead before me in a matter of thou has no real knowledge. I do not wish thee to be counted amongst the ignorant." Noah asked for forgiveness and it was said to him, "Get down from thy ark with peace from Us and blessings be on thee, and on those who are with thee and on the generations which follow them. But to others will We give good things in this world, but in the Hereafter a grievous punishment from Us shall light on them." An unto Aad did God send Hud one of their own kin. He said to them, "O my people! Serve God, ye have no God to serve except Him. You are simply creating baseless obstacles in the way of truth. Ask forgiveness of your Lord and in contrition turn towards Him. He will send on you copious rain from above and carry you forward from strength to strength increasingly and do not turn ungrateful. They said, "O Hud! Thou hast not brought us any clear proof of your mission. We will not give up our gods at thy mere bidding, and in fact, we do not believe thee. You appear to be obsessed by some apparition." Hud said, "You may conspire against me as you will and give me no quarter. On my part I lay my trust in God who is my Lord as well as your Lord. There is none whom God doth not hold by His forelock. If you turn back, my Lord will raise another people to replace you." Only Hud and his followers were rescued when God's decree of doom came to pass. A curse fell on them in this world and will follow them in the Hereafter. They had to be rejected. Unto Thamud was sent Salih, one of their own kind. He admonished his people likewise but they paid no heed to him. Salih said, "O my people! this she-camel dedicated to God is symbol of my mission, a determining factor for you. Let her go about freely to pasture in God's earth and cause no harm to her lest a speedy punishment overtakes you." Yet they hamstrung her. A violent tempest shook the wicked and they lay dead in their dwellings. Only Salih and his followers were saved. God sent his messengers to Abraham with glad tidings and he tried to feast them with roasted calf but when they touched it not, he became apprehensive. They reassured him and said that they had been sent by God to people of Lot. They gave the glad tidings of a son to be named Isaac to his aged wife and of God's mercy and blessing upon his house. When Abraham's fear passed away he pleaded with God for Lot's people, for he was of a forbearing nature, of kindly disposition and easily relenting. The messengers told him that God's decree hath already been passed and nothing could avert it. When the angels came to Lot, he was distressed on their account. And his people came running to him, for they were addicted to a wicked practice. Lot reprimanded them that daughters of his people would be proper mates for them and they should not put him to shame by attempting to misbehave with his guests. The angels revealed their identity to him advised him to leave the town with his family, except his wife who would be staying back, in the dead of the night. The morning was to be the hour of doom for the wicked people. So when the morning came God turned the city upside down and rained down incessantly upon its blocks of clay-stone. The people of Madain was sent their brother Shuaib. He said to them 'O my people! Serve God. There is no God but He. Give weigh and measure with fairness. Purloin not the goods of other men and do not mischievously spread disorder in the land.' They said, 'O Shuaib it is thy prayers which induce thee to say to us that we should discard whom our fathers had served, or that we should not do what we please with our wealth? Are you the only person to display clemency and straightforwardness?' He said, 'I only wish to reform you to the extent I can, and the accomplishment of my mission resteth with God. In Him do I place my trust and to Him do I turn for help. O my people! Let not your opposition to me draw down upon you the like of what befell the people of Noah or Hud or Salih or Lot." His people refused to listen to him and said that but for his family, they would have stoned him to death. When God's decree came to pass, Shuaib and those who shared his faith were saved and a violent tempest annihilated all the rest. The people of Pharaoh had also met a similar fate. God did not deal by them unfairly; it was they who dealt unfairly by themselves. Such was the grip of thy Lord when He grips any city that has gone wicked. Here is a sign of warning for him who feareth the chastisement of the Day to follow. That shall be a day when mankind shall be gathered together and a time is fixed for it. On that day no one shall speak a word except by His leave--the blessed shall be happy and the rejected shall be miserable in the fire of Hell, abiding therein while the heavens and the earth shall last unless thy Lord wills it otherwise. And truly thy Lord will recompense everyone according to his deserts. So then, go straight as thou hast been bidden and lean not on the evildoers and observe prayer at early morn, at the close of the day and during the early hours of the night. Remember that things good nullify things evil. This is a counsel for those who care to profit by any counsel. And patiently persevere for truly God doth not let the reward of the righteous go unpaid. Had there been among the generations before you, a set of people endowed with the talent to forbid and prevent wrongdoing on the earth, the evildoers among them would not have gone on following their selfish pursuits and turn transgressors. And remember, thy Lord had not destroyed any township where there were among them a body of persons actively devoted to the task of reforming. And all that God has related to thee from accounts of the previous apostles is only to strengthen thy heart. You will find therein truth emphasized, admonition dealt to the unbelievers and tidings of good held out to the believers. And (O Prophet!) say to those who believe not, "Act as you care to act in your way, we will act in our own way. And await the result; we too will await." Here is now narration of the fairest of stories of which thou were not fully aware hitherto. When Joseph related to his father his dream that he had beheld eleven stars, the Sun and the Moon making obeisance to him, his father asked him not to disclose the dream to his brothers who might become jealous and hatch a plot against him. The dream meant that God will exalt Joseph, enable him to know the reality of things and bestow His favour on him and the house of Jacob, even as he had bestowed earlier on his forefathers Abraham and Isaac. The stepbrother of Joseph felt that he and his brother were better-loved of their father and they proposed to kill or expel him and finally decided to throw him in a blind well. They said, 'O our father! why dost thou not trust us and let Joseph go with us tomorrow to sport with us. We mean him well and will take care of him." He [the father] expressed his fear that some wolf might devour him while they happened to be heedless of him. They said how was it possible when they were so many in number and they were not a worthless lot. They took Joseph with them and executed their plot. God revealed to him, "Joseph! do not despair; a time will come when you will oblige them and they will not recognize their benefactor (as their forsaken brother)." At nightfall they came weeping to their father and told him that a wolf had devoured Joseph while they were busy in their races and as a proof showed him a shirt stained with false blood. Jacob said that the story was a fabrication but he would have to bear the loss in patience with God's help. And there came a caravan who sent one of them to fetch water from this well. As he drew up his bucket out came with it Joseph. In order to make use of him as a merchandise, they hid him away and sold him for a paltry price in the Egyptian market. The man who bought him said to his wife, "Treat him honourably; [that] haply he may bring profit to us or we may adopt him as a son." Thus did God settle Joseph in the land in order to instruct him in the manner of reading into the meaning of things. And when he reached manhood, God bestowed on him knowledge and wisdom. The woman in whose house he lived became infatuated with him and wanted to entice him to adultery. But Joseph with God's help, did not succumb to the temptation and ran to the exit door. The woman caught him by his shirt and rent it in the struggle. Seeing her husband at the door she said, "What should be the punishment of one who hath intended evil to thy wife." Joseph said it was she who tried to entice him. A member of the family observed that if Joseph's shirt was rent in front she spoke the truth and Joseph lied but if it was rent in hind part of it, she was lying and he spoke the truth. As the shirt was torn on its back side, the husband was convinced of Joseph's innocence and said to his wife, "This is one of the guiles of you women, and great indeed are your guiles!" And when the news of this incident spread in the city, several women said, "the wife of Potiphar hath tried to seduce her servant and indeed she has fallen in love with him. Verily we see that she is in manifest error." When she heard of this slander, she invited the women to a banquet and gave a knife to each of them and called out [to] Joseph. The women were so bewitched by his sight that they cut their hands and exclaimed, "God keep us! This is no mortal man, this is none other than a gracious angel." She said, "This is he on whose account you taunted me. I did wish him to yield to my desires but he stood firm. Now, if he obey not my command, he shall surely be cast into prison." Joseph then prayed "O Lord! Imprisonment is more welcome to me than that to which they call me, and unless thou turn away their snares, I may likely incline towards them and become one of the witless." Even after they had witnessed the proof they thought it desirable to imprison him for a while. It so happened that two other youths entered the prison with him. Said one of them to Joseph, "I dreamt I was pressing grapes to make wine" and other said, "I dreamt that I was carrying on my head bread of which the birds were pecking, "He said that he would give the interpretation of the dreams out of the knowledge God had given him, that he had abandoned the religion of those who do not believe in God and that he had followed the religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and associated nought with God. Asked he, "O my fellow-prisoners! Which is better? -- to believe in a variety of lords or in God the One, the All-powerful? What ye worship beside Him are mere names, which you have coined, you and your fathers, for which God hath sent down no sanction. The right to exercise sovereign authority belongeth only to God. Now listen to the interpretation of the dreams. The one, who dreamt he was pressing grapes, will serve his master with wine, but the other will be crucified and the birds shall eat off his head. To the one who was to be released, he said, 'Remember me to thy lord' but Satan caused him to forget the request and Joseph had to remain some more years in prison. Now the king saw in a dream that seven fat kines were devoured by seven lean ones and saw seven green areas of corn and a like number of withered ones. His nobles could not interpret the dream. His cup bearer, who had been set free from prison, contacted Joseph to find its meaning. Joseph not only interpreted the dream but showed the way out. He said that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of scarcity. In the years of plenty they should store up the corn except what was needed for actual consumption. The years of scarcity would be followed by an year of abundant rain giving growth to plenty of fruits. The king ordered the Joseph be set free but before leaving the prison, he wanted the king to verify his innocence from the women concerned who confirmed his chastity and wife of Potiphar confessed her guilt. La-ma-Ubareyu (Joseph continued) I do not exculpate [absolve] myself, for the human heart is prone to evil except of those on God hath mercy. The king gave him a place of honour and trust and put him in charge of the treasury. (When famine spread in the neighbouring land), Joseph's step-brothers approached him for grain without recognizing him. He met their requirements and asked them to bring their other brother, who had stayed with his father, the next time they came and as an inducement secretly put back their money in their saddle bags. The brothers were overjoyed to see the money and prevailed upon their father to let the real brother of Joseph accompany them in their next trip to Egypt. When they appeared before Joseph, he drew his brother (Benjamin) to his side and informed him that he was his own brother. He supplied them with the provisions they needed and had his own drinking cup placed in his brothers' sack. Then a crier cried after them, 'O camel-riders, ye are surely thieves.' They enquired what was that which had been lost and were told that it was the prince's cup. They professed their ignorance about it and agreed that if it was found in possession of any one of them he could be detained. The cup was found in the sack of his brother and the stratagem succeeded. They beseeched Joseph to let Benjamin go as he had a very aged father and to detain one of them in his place. To this Joseph did not agree. The eldest brother also stayed back for he had not the heart to face his father having failed to keep his promise of safe conduct for Benjamin. When the sons reported back to their father, he did not believe their story and said that there was nothing for him but to exercise patience and to hope that God would bring back his two sons to him. His eyes turned bleak with grief and he was full of silent sorrow. The sons said, "By God, thou will never cease to yearn for Joseph till thou art at the point of death." He replied, "I am only bewailing to God my great distress and sorrow and I know from God what you do not know." He advised his sons to go and seek Joseph and his brother and not to despair of God's mercy for none but the unbelieving despair the mercy of God. And when they once again appeared before Joseph, they said, "O Prince! Distress hath overtaken us and our family and small is the amount of money we have brought; wherefore out of pity for us measure out grain for us in sufficient quantity and be charitable." He said, "Do you remember what you did to Joseph and his brother in ignorance." Joseph then disclosed his identity and said, "God hath indeed been gracious to us as he is to those who fear Him and endure trial. God doth not suffer the righteous to go unrewarded." They said, "By God! Surely God hath exalted thee above us and we were certainly in the wrong." He said, "Let no blame rest on you, this day God will forgive you, and He is the most merciful of those who show mercy. Go ye with this my shirt and lay it on the face of my father; he will recover his sight. And bring to me all your family." And when the caravan had departed, their father exclaimed at their home in Canaan, "I surely catch the smell of Joseph if you say not that I am in my dotage." They said, "Thou art still suffering under the old delusion." And when the bearer of good tidings arrived, he placed the shirt on Jacob's face and instantly his eyesight returned to him. He said, "Did I not tell you that I knew from God what you knew not?" They said, "O our father ask for forgiveness for our sins; for indeed we have been sinners." And when they appeared before Joseph, he raised his parents to the seat of state and they all bowed down to him and his dream thus came true. Then he prayed to God, "O my Lord! Thou hast given me dominion and hath given me insight to interpret dreams. O Thou makers of the heavens and of the earth! My Guardian art thou in this world and the next! Cause Thou me to die as Muslim and grant me the company of those who have lived in purity." This story is naught but an admonition for all mankind. Assuredly, in the annals of the prophets there is a meaning for men of understanding. This is no tale of fiction but a confirmation of previous scriptures and an explanation of things, and a guidance and mercy to those who have faith in God. These are the verses of the Book of Truth. God it is who hath raised up the heavens without visible support and assumed dominion over the universe and subjected the Sun and the Moon to function for an appointed term and settled everything in order. He hath stretched out the earth and provided therein the firm mountains and rivers and hath caused fruits to grow therein in pairs. He causeth the night to cover the day. And in the earth are neighbouring tracts with gardens of grapes and palm trees and corn, alike yet also so different, though watered with the same water. Verily in these are signs for those who care to reflect. God knoweth everything and even what is in the wombs and their lessening and enlarging. He is the knower of the hidden and the manifest, the Great, the Exalted. Alike to Him is what one sayeth in subdued tone or speaketh aloud or who lurketh in the night and he who freely goeth about in the day. Each hath in front of him and behind angels who watch over him by God's behest. God does not change the condition of a people unless they make a move to change it. If God willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it, nor [do] they have a defender beside Him. He it is who, to cause fear and hope in you, letteth flashes of lightning on you and raiseth up laden clouds. And the thunder of the clouds voiceth His praise and so do angels. And all that there is in the heaven and on the earth bow down to God in adoration, willingly or by constraint; even the very shadows bow down, morning and evening. He sendeth down rain from [the] heavens; then flow streams in due measure and the torrent beareth along a swelling foam. Likewise a foam arises when metals are smelt in fire to make ornaments or utensils. Thus God suggesteth the difference between truth and falsehood. As to the foam it is quickly gone as of no value to men, and as to what is useful remaineth on the earth. Those who hearken to the behest of God shall have everything worth having but those who do not hearken shall have a strict reckoning even though if they had all that is in the earth and the like thereof to proffer as ransom. Hell shall be their abode. God provideth liberally or sparingly to whom He wills and they rejoice in life present whereas the life of this world is a trifle and passing comfort as compared with the Hereafter. Say (O Prophet), "God will let go astray him who chooses to do so and will guide to Himself who cares to turn to Him." At rest in the thought of God are hearts of those who believe in Him! Verily, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest. Those who believe and do right: joy is for them and bliss their journey's end. Do you think these people would have believed if a Qur'an had been revealed causing the mountains to move or the earth to be cleft or the dead made to speak -- nay, but God's is the sole command. (He can certainly let wonders work, but that is not the way of God.) Had God so willed, everyone would have necessarily believed (but He lets everyone be free to pursue the way he likes and meet the consequences). Dire punishment shall pursue the unbelievers for their deeds till the promise of God come to pass. And verily messengers were mocked before thee but respite was given to the unbelievers. But at length they were seized and given condign [appropriate] punishment. It is He who is aware of deserts of every soul like one who is aware of nothing. Yet they ascribe unto God partners. Say, "Name them. Or will you tell Him something, which He knoweth not? Or is this a mere empty talk?" The fact is that contrivances of the unbelievers look fair-seeming to them and they have withheld themselves from taking to the right path. If God guideth not anyone, who is there to give him guidance? The Qur'an has come to you as a Code of Conduct. If you follow the caprices of the unbelievers after this revelation, you shall have no friend or protector. Truly apostles came before thee and they had wives and offspring. Yet it was not given to any messenger to bring portents without God's leave. For every age there hath been a Book of guidance. What God pleaseth will He wipe out or confirm; for with Him is the source of all Revelation. See they not how God is reducing the territory of the unbelievers. When God issues forth a decree, there is none to thwart it. And swift is He at reckoning. He knoweth everyone's doings. This is a Scripture that God hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) that thereby thou mayest bring forth mankind from darkness into light, by the permission of their Lord, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy. Never was sent a messenger to any people except one speaking their language that he may make the message clear for them. Of old did God send Moses with His directions to bring forth his people from darkness Into light and to recall to them epoch-making events for their guidance. For, verily, in this are signs for every steadfast and grateful person. Moses had said to his people, "Remember God's kindness to you when he delivered you from Pharaoh's people who had subjected you to cruel oppression and had proclaimed, 'If ye give thanks, I will give you more; but if ye are ungrateful, My punishment is dire.' " And Moses said, "If you and all the inhabitants of the earth feel ungrateful, it will matter nothing to God who is self-sufficient, praiseworthy. Hath not the story reached you of people gone by -- the people of Noah and Aad and Thamud and of those who came after them." Their apostles came to them with clear proof of their mission but they rebuffed them. It looked strange to them that apostles were mere human beings and they demanded [the] exhibition of miracles. They said it was not for them to bring any miracles except by the leave of God. The unbelievers threatened to expel them unless they returned to their faith. Thereupon their Lord revealed to them, "Of a surety We will destroy the unruly and make you dwell in the land after them." The apostles sought God's help and every stubborn and forward tyrant was frustrated. Before him is Hell where he shall be given festering water to drink which he shall scarcely swallow. From every side death shall assail him and yet he will die not, and a grievous chastisement shall pursue him. The deeds of such are like the ashes, which a stormy wind bloweth away. Whatever they have done will avail them not. That is the extreme failure. Seest thou not that God hath created the heavens and the earth for a definite purpose. If He will, He can replace you with a new creation. When all mankind will appear before God, the weak among them shall say to the proud, "We just followed you, will you not then avert at least in some degree the chastisement of God?" They would say, "Had God opened out a way of escape for us, we would have shown the way out to you. Whether we bear the punishment patiently or grow restive, there is no escape from it.' And when the issue is decided, Satan would say, "God surely promised you a true promise and I made a false promise. And I had no power over you save that I called unto you and you obeyed me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you nor can ye help me." Do ye not reflect on the similitude described by God that a goodly saying is like a goodly tree, its roots [are] set firm and its branches rise towards the sky, yielding fruits in all seasons by the will of its Lord. And the likeness of an evil word is that of a worthless tree uprooted from the ground. God giveth stability to those who believe in this life and in the next, but the wrongdoers He leaves to continue to err. Those who have repaid the goodness of God with thanklessness have dragged themselves into the perdition of Hell. Say to them, "Enjoy your pleasures for a while, but your ultimate wending [journeying] shall be towards the Fire." To the believers, say that before the Day comes when neither transaction nor friendship shall avail, they should establish worship and spend of that God hath given them. God it is who hath created the heavens and the earth, and sendeth down water from above, and so bringeth forth fruit for food, and maketh the ships to run upon the sea and hath subjected to you rivers, the sun and the moon in their constant courses and the day and the night. He hath given you everything you need, and if you were to count the favours of God, you cannot do so. Surely, man is unjust, ungrateful! And call to mind when Abraham prayed, "O my Lord, make this city (Mecca) a place of peace and preserve me and my progeny from serving idols who have led many of mankind astray . . . O Lord, verily, I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley near thy Holy House that they may establish worship. May thou turn the hearts of men towards them and provide them with means of sustenance. O Lord! Thou truly knowest what we hide and what we disclose, for nothing in the earth or in the heavens is hidden from God. Praise be to God who hath, in old age, given me Ishmael and Isaac. Verily, my Lord hearkeneth to prayer. O Lord! let me and my posterity remain constant in prayer, Or Lord! grant this my petition. O Lord! cover us with mercy -- me, my parents and all believers on the Day of Reckoning." Deem not that God is unaware
of what the wicked do. He but giveth them respite till a day when eyes
will stare in terror, rushing hither and thither, their heads raised, their
gaze rivetted and their minds stunned. They will beseech for reprieve for
a little while but it will not be granted. On that Day, the Earth shall
be given a different form as also heaven, when men shall appear before
God, the guilty ones bound in chains, their clothes of pitch with flames
covering their faces, that God may give everyone what he has worked for.
Rubama Surah 15
A time will come when those who believe not will ardently wish that they were Muslims. Let them eat and enjoy life and let [their] idle hopes beguile them. They will come to know! God never destroyed a township except as a consequence of a decree. No nation can forestall the inevitable nor put it off. These people describe you (O Prophet) as a madman and ask you to produce angels in support of your mission. Tell them that angels are sent when it is truly necessary and when they descend no respite is given. "Lo! We, even We, reveal this book of warning, and lo! We are its Guardian." And never came an apostle to a people whom they did not deride. Even if a gate of Heaven were to be opened and these people mounted through it, they would say their eyes are charmed or they have been bewitched. God hath set constellations in heaven, and decked them out fair to the beholders and guarded them from every accursed Satan expecting such as stealthily listens whom a bright flame pursues. He hath stretched forth the Earth and fixed mountains therein and caused to grow therein everything in a form suited to its nature to provide sustenance for you and all creatures whom you do not provide for. Not a thing is there which is not with God in abundance and He provides it not except in appropriate measure. It is God who sends forth moisture-laden clouds and causes water to fall. It is not you who have stored it. He gives life and He gives death and He would outlive everything. Of a surety, God created man of clay moulded out of black loam and created Jinn before of fire flaming. He directed the angels to bow down to man when He had shaped him and breathed into him His spirit. All except Iblis obeyed. He was outcast with curse resting upon him till the Doomsday. His request for respite till the day was granted. Thereupon he said, "My Lord! Since thou has outcast me, I will make the world fair-seeming to men on the earth and I shall mislead everyone save Thy devoted servants." God said, "Thou shalt have no power over my servants except such of the perverted as follow thee. Hell shall be the promised abode for them all . . . Without doubt, the pious will dwell among the gardens and fountains and they shall be greeted 'Enter ye in peace secure'." And remind them the stories of Abraham and destruction of the people of Lot and the city of Al-Aikah. The ruins of the two cities may still be seen on the high road. And the people of Hijr who hewed out from mountains abodes for their security, treated God's messengers as lairs. A calamity accompanied by a terrific noise overtook them and nothing could save them from extermination. O Prophet! forgive those who have wronged thee with becoming forgiveness. God hath given thee seven oft-repeated verses (Al-Fatiha) and the Qur'an. Do not vex thyself at what God has bestowed on the infields nor grieve on their account but be regardful of the faithful. Go on extolling thy lord and be of those who bow in adoration and serve thy Lord till what is certain comes to thee. The decree of God will come to pass, so seek not ye to hasten it. Glorified and Exalted is He above all that they associate with Him. He hath created the heavens and the earth with a purpose and he created man from a mere germ but he behaves as an open disputant. And the cattle hath He created whence ye have warm garments and other uses and they carry your loads to distant places and you ride horses, mules and asses. He sendeth down water from above and by it grows herbage, corn, olive, date-palm and grapes and other kinds of fruit. And He hath pressed to your service night and day, the sun, the moon and the stars and created for you many things in the earth of diverse hues. And He hath subjected for you the sea so that you have fresh fish for food and pearls etc. for ornaments. Thou seest how the ships plough [through] the billows that ye may seek of His bounty that haply ye may give thanks. He hath provided firm mountains, rivers and tracks and also landmarks. Is He then who createth like him who createth not? Can you not understand this much? If ye were to count the favours of God, ye cannot reckon it. The gods whom they call on beside God can create nothing. They are themselves created! Dead are they -- absolutely without life. They cannot even know when they will be raised. The unbelievers are arrogant and refractory. God disliketh the rebellious. They shall bear, on the day of Resurrection, not only their own burden but also the burden of those whom they have misled. Behold! how grievous the burden they shall have to bear. Those gone before them have similarly planned to oppose the invitation to truth but God shook the very foundations of the edifice built by them and chastisement waited for them from quarters they could never guess. Shame and distress shall be their lot in the Hereafter. For those who do good, there is good recompense in this world and how excellent [is] their abode in the next. The polytheists say, "Had God pleased, neither we nor our forbears would have worshipped anyone but God." Even so behaved they who were before them. Art the messengers charged with aught save plain conveyance of the message that ye serve God and shun false gods. If thou desirest (O Prophet) to give them guidance, then note that God does not guide him who deliberately goes astray. And they swear by God that God would never raise him who once is dead. Nay, it is a promise binding on Him and when He intends a thing to happen, He just pronounces 'Be' and it comes into existence. As to those who, as a result of persecution, have to leave their homes for sake of God, He shall give them a goodly abode in this world and a greater reward in the next. Do they who plan ill-deeds feel secure that God will not cause the earth to swallow them or that their doom will not overtake them unaware or that He will not seize them with a slowly wasting scourge? Every blessing that ye enjoy is assuredly from God alone, and whenever any misfortune befalleth you, you cry for help unto Him. But when He relieveth you from your trouble, some of you, strangely enough, set up peers for Him and present offerings to them. How strange they consider their goddesses as veritable daughters of God! Transcendent in purity is He! And for themselves they would like to have sons. If any of them gets the news of birth of a daughter to him, his face darkens with grief and he goes in hiding and begins to think whether he should suffer the disgrace and let the daughter live or bury her in the earth. How vile is their thinking! If God should take men to task for their evil-doing, He would not leave on earth one living creature. But He giveth them respite for an appointed term, and when that hour cometh they cannot delay or advance it one moment. And they assign to God what they are loath to assign to themselves and their tongues utter the lie that theirs will be happy end. Beyond a doubt Fire awaiteth them. The Book hath been revealed to thee to clear up what they have been wrangling about and as a guidance and mercy for a people who believe. And lo! even in cattle there is a lesson for you. God giveth you pure milk to drink out of what is in their bellies between the refuse and the blood. And likewise from the fruits of the palm and the vine you get inebriating beverage and healthful nutriment. And thy Lord inspired the Bee, "Choose thy habitations in the hills and in the trees and in what men build. Then feed out of all fruits and pursue the way of living prescribed for thee by the Lord." There comes forth out of their bellies a drink of diverse hues wherein is healing for men. And God hath created you, and then will He cause you to die and among you is one who reacheth an abject old age so that he knoweth nothing after he had knowledge. And God hath granted the provision of life to some of you more than to others; yet they who have been more favoured will not give out of it to those whom their right hands possess -- so that they may together profit by it. To God alone is known all that is hidden in the earth and the heavens, and for Him the bringing of the Hour of Judgement will be as twinkling of an eye or even less. And it is God who brought you forth from your mother's womb and gave you hearing, sight and hearts that haply ye may be grateful to your Maker. Have they not looked up at the birds fitted by nature to fly in the sky above? None sustaineth them save God. And God hath given you dwellings to rest in, skins of animals to make tents and wool, soft fur and hair for comfort and furnishing, shade and shelter and garments to protect you from heat, and coats of armour to save you from your own foolhardiness. Thus doth He perfect His favours unto you, in order that ye may surrender unto Him. Verily, God enjoineth justice and kindness and giving of assistance to kinsfolk and forbiddeth lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He exorteth you in order that ye may take heed. Fulfill the covenants of God when He have covenanted and break not your oaths after assertion when you have cited God as a surety. Verily, God knoweth all that you do. And be not like a woman who breaks her thread to pieces after having spun it firmly by making your oaths, to be means of deceit between you and others. Do not break your oaths for petty gains or to cheat others lest your foot slip after it has been firmly set. All that is with you passeth away while what is with God abideth. Those who are steadfast will be given a recompense in proportion to the best of what they used to do. And when thou wouldst read Qur'an, seek the protection of God from the accursed Satan who hath no power over those who believe, and rely on God and who hath power only over those who seek his friendship and associate partners with God under his influence. When God substituteth a regulation for another, and He knoweth best what He sendeth down, they say "Thou art a mere forger." Nay, but most of them understand not. Say, "The Holy Spirit hath brought it down from thy Lord to strengthen the faith of those who believe and as a guidance and glad tidings to those who have resigned themselves to God." God knoweth what these people say "Without doubt a human being teacheth him," but the person hinted does not know Arabic language while Qur'an is in Arabic language. Whoso denieth God after having believed in Him -- not he who renounces under compulsion and he still believes in his heart -- but who does it willingly, on him shall descend the wrath of God. On the Day when every soul shall come pleading for itself, it shall be repaid what it did, and none will be wronged. God giveth the example of a city that dwelt secure and well content, its provisions coming to it in plenty from every side but which was thankless to God's favours so God made it taste hunger and fear because of what they used to do. Eat then what is lawful and wholesome out of what God hath provided for you and thank the bounty of God -- if it is Him ye serve. Without doubt Abraham was a model for others, staunch in obedience to God, sound in faith, thankful to God for His bounties, exalted and favoured in this world and to be placed among the righteous in the world to come. "Follow thou the faith of Abraham, the sound in faith, and he was not of those who associated partners with God." O Prophet! invite people to the way of God in a suitable manner and with fair exhortation and reason with them in agreeable way. If you have to make reprisals, do it to the extent you have been harmed. But if you endure it with forbearance, it will be an act of goodness on your part. Endure then (O Prophet) with forbearance, and it is with God's help that thou can endure patiently. Grieve not for them and do not worry over their scheming. For, God is indeed with those who avoid evil and do good. Surah 17
Glory be to Him who conducted His servants (the holy prophet) by night from the holy mosque of Mecca to the distant mosque Aqsa (of Jerusalem), the precincts of which have been hallowed, so that He might show some of His signs. God gave Moses the book of guidance for the children of Israel who were the posterity of the people who were saved with Noah in the ark. They were foretold that twice they would cause disorder in the land and indulge in great tyranny. On the first occasion were sent against them people of great prowess who ravaged their country. The children of Israel were given another chance and were succoured with wealth and male issues to prevail over those people. Yet when they lapsed for a second time they were again overwhelmed by their conquerors who entered their mosque and laid waste all that they conquered. If they could make amends, God might have mercy on them but if they choose to return to evil ways, it will invite the inevitable reaction. This Qur'an guideth to the perfectly straight path and announces great rewards to the righteous believers and severe punishment to the unbelievers. Man occasionally coveteth evil as eagerly as he prayeth for good, for he is impetuous. And every man's misdeeds have been fastened to his neck and on the Day of Resurrection will he find his record laid bare before him and it will be said, "Thy soul suffices this day as a reckoner against thee." Whoso goeth the right way, doth so for his own good, and whosoever erreth, erreth only to his own hurt. None shall bear the burden of another, and no people were chastised till an apostle had been sent to warn them. Destruction overtakes a community when the affluent among them commit abominations. And many were the generations since Noah, which were destroyed. If one only desires the ephemeral things of this life, God giveth what He wills and to whom He pleases but Hell is kept ready for him to enter disgraced and outcast. But he who desireth the hereafter and striveth for it with necessary effort as a true believer, his effort findeth favour with his Lord. The bounties of thy Lord are denied to none. See how in this world some are preferred over others; in the Hereafter higher would be the forms of [their] preferences. Thy Lord hath ordained that ye serve none but Him and be good to parents and say not to them "Fie" nor reproach them when one or both grow old in your lifetime but speak to them respectfully and defer to them in humility and tenderness and say, "O our Lord! have compassion on them both, even as out of compassion they reared me from my childhood." And give to him who is of kin his due and also to poor and the stranded but do not indulge in willful extravagance. For the willfully extravagant belong to the fraternity of Satan; and Satan has always been ungrateful to his Lord. If, being in straitened circumstances, you cannot give anything, at least speak unto them gentle words. And let not thy hand be tied up to thy neck nor let it be so wide open that nothing is left with thee and thou art reduced to destitution. And kill not your children for fear of being reduced to poverty for it is God who doth provide for them as for you. Surely, the slaying of them is a grievous sin. And approach not fornication. It is an abomination and evil way. And do not take away the life of anyone which God holds sacred, except for a just cause, and do not touch the property of the orphan, unless it be to his benefit, till he reaches the stage where he can look after himself and fulfill your undertakings, for every undertaking will have to be answered for. And do not walk proudly on earth, for thou canst cleave the earth nor shalt thou ever attain the stature of mountains. Give full measure whenever you measure and weigh with right balance; that is meet and better in the end. O men, follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Verily, the ear, the eye and the heart, every one of them will have to account for what it did. The evil that is in every one of these ways is odious to thy Lord. These are some of the precepts, full of wisdom, which thy Lord revealeth to the. So, let none set up peers to God to avoid being thrown into Hell, rebuked, forsaken. Mark, in how many ways hath God explained in this Qur'an, so that they may reflect, yet, their aversion to it is ever on the increase. O Prophet! Say, "Were there any gods beside God, as they maintain, they would surely have rivalry sought a way against the lord of the throne." Transcendent in purity is He far above what they say of Him, the Exalted the Great! The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein extol Him, in fact there is nothing which does not celebrate His praise; only you do not understand their praise. "And say to My servants to speak gently, for Satan would stir up strife between them for he is man's avowed enemy. Your Lord knoweth you full well. He will have mercy on you if He pleases, or He may chastise you. We have not sent thee as a warden over them." Say "Call on those whom you regard as gods beside Him, you will find they have no power to remove affliction from you or to alter it." They themselves are desirous of seeking nearness to God, hoping for His mercy and fearing His chastisement. "And there is no city (peopled by the wicked) which We will not either destroy before the Day of Resurrection or chastise with dire punishment. This will be according to the decree laid down in the Book. And nothing hindereth Us from presenting visible proofs save that they were discredited by the people of old." Satan had looked with scorn at Adam and had avowed to mislead his progeny by giving them all sorts of allurements and attacking them from all directions, yet he has no power over faithful servants of God. And "We have given honour to the children of Adam; by land and by sea do We carry them. We provide food for them of goodly things and have made them superior to many of Our creation." On the Day of Judgement everyone will be given his record. He who has been blind here, shall be blind in the Hereafter and far away from the right path. "And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (O Prophet) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee that thou might substitute something else in Our name; and then would they have accepted thee as a friend. And if He had not made thee wholy firm, thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little." In that case, We would have made thee taste double punishment in this life and double in the next and thou wouldst have found no helper against Us." Observe prayer between the decline of Sun and the darkness of night and recite [the] Qur'an at daybreak for the reading of at daybreak is specially noted. And for some part of the night (O Prophet) keep awake -- a voluntary devotional pursuit for thee. Thy Lord will soon raise thee to a praiseworthy position." And the prayer should be, 'My Lord, lead me in with a just in-going and lead me out with a just out-going; grant me authority from Thee, to help me.' And say, "Truth has come and falsehood vanished. Verily, falsehood is ever bound to vanish." God sent down through the Qur'an a healing and a mercy to the believers, which causes distress to the wicked. Say, "Everyone goes the way he likes, but your Lord well knoweth who is going the right way." They will ask thee concerning the spirit. Say, "the spirit is by command of my Lord and of (inner) knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little." Say, "Should men and jinn together attempt to produce the like of this Qur'an, they cannot produce anything like it, however much they may help each other." And certainly We have described all kinds of similitudes in this Qur'an for the understanding of men, but most of them refuse aught save disbelief. And they say 'we will not believe in thee till thou cause a spring to gush forth from the earth or have an orchard of date-palms and grapes and cause streams to flow profusely therein or thou cause heaven to fall on us in pieces or thou bring before us God and angels to vouch for thee or thou have a mansion of gold built for thee or ascend to the heavens and we will not believe in thy ascension till thou cause a book to descend on us." Say to them, "Praise be to my Lord! Am I aught but a man and an apostle?" They consider it strange that a mere man has been sent as an apostle. If the earth had been inhabited by angels, an angel-apostle would have come. Say, "God sufficeth for a witness between you and me." And he whom He guideth is indeed the rightly guided; and whom He lets go the wrong way, shalt find none to assist him except Him." Such shall be gathered on the Day of Resurrection lying prone on their faces, blind, deaf and dumb. Their abode shall be fire. So oft as it dieth down it will be rekindled. They doubt that having been reduced to bones and dust, they would be raised as a new creation. Cannot they perceive that God who created the heavens and the earth is able to create the like of them. Yet they persist in denial. Of a surety God gave Moses nine clear signs, but Pharaoh took him only as a sorcerer. Then recalled what happened to Pharaoh and his people. "With truth We sent down the Qur'an indeed and with truth hath it descended -- and thee We have sent only as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And We have divided the Qur'an into various sections that thou mightest recite it with slow deliberation and it is why We have sent it piecemeal." Call Him (by the name of Allah) or Rahman -- by whichever name you like -- all His names are excellent. Only do not shout at the prayer nor say it in a very low tone but seek a way between. Extol His greatness in a manner worthy of His greatness. Praise be to God who hath sent the Book to His servant delineating a straight and not crooked path and to warn people and to give glad tidings to the believers who do good. Yet if they believe not in this declaration, wilt thou (Muhammad) torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps. God has made all that is on the earth as a decoration for it in order to try which of them is best in conduct and it is God who can turn it into a barren waste. Dost thou think that among God's signs, the inmates of the cave and of Er-Raqeem only excite wonder? These youths had believed in their Lord -- the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and had refused to invoke anyone beside Him. Fearing dire consequences at the hands of their people, they betook themselves to the cave and prayed, "Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence and direct aright our affairs." One might have seen the sun on its rise veering away to the right of their cave and at its setting kept to the left while they lay in the spacious chamber. And one might deem them awake whereas they were asleep while their dog with paws overstretched lay at the entrance. For long they were kept in this state. When they awoke one questioned the other how long they had tarried there. A day or part of a day was the answer. One of them was sent with a coin to the city to bring victuals and he was asked to exercise all care so that people may not know their whereabouts otherwise they would either stone them or compel them to return to their faith. But God disclosed the identity of these men to the people of the city so that they may know that God's promise always holds good and the Hour of Resurrection will undoubtedly come. When these young men died the people began disputing among themselves whether they should build a monument over their remains but those whose view prevailed said they would build a prayer house instead. Some say they were three in number, some say they were five while others hold they were seven. Some say they had tarried in this cave for three hundred years while others add nine years more. Thy Lord knoweth best their number and how long they had tarried. It would serve no purpose to dispute over such details. Never say in any matter "I will surely do it tomorrow" without adding, "If God will." Whenever thou art uncertain about anything in your mind, call thy lord to mind and say, "May the Lord guide me to be clear about it." Stand fast by those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening, seeking His approbation and let not thine eyes turn away from them, desiring the adornment of the present life and listen not him whose heart is neglectful of God's remembrance and who followeth his own lust and hath exceeded bounds. And set forth the parable of two men unto one of whom had been provided two gardens of grapevines hedged with date-palms with corn fields in between and a stream flowing. He said to the other, "I am wealthier than you and have a larger following. And I do not think the Hour will come, and even if it comes, I shall surely find a better resort than this." His comrade exclaimed, "Dost thou deny Him who created thee of dust, then a drop of seed and then fashioned thee as man? And why didst thou not say when entering thy gardens, 'As God willeth'. All power lieth in God. He might turn thy garden into a barren piece of land." And so it did happen and he could do nothing besides winging his hands in regret. The life of this world is like the verdure of the land springing up with rainfall but ending in dry stubble scattered by winds. Wealth and children are the adornments of this life but the abiding good deeds are better in the sight of thy Lord and hold out hopes. Beware of the day when mountains shall disappear and earth will be levelled and each man shall be given his record. Will you then take Satan and his offsprings as friends instead of Me when they are your enemies! I did not invite them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth nor their own creation; nor did I take these seducers as my helpers." "And We have employed in this Qur'an all manner of similitudes but man is the most contentious of beings." Now that true guidance hath come to man, what hindereth them from believing in it and seeking the forgiveness of thy Lord? Do they want the doom, which overtook the earlier people, to stare them in the face? Call to mind when Moses said to his servant, "I will not give up till I reach the meeting of the two seas though I go on for many years." Then when they reached their confluence, they forgot their fish and it slipped into the sea and as if through a tunnel. Further ahead Moses asked his servant to bring out the food and then they noticed their loss. They both retraced their footsteps and at the place where fish had slipped away they met a servant of God (Khizr) on whom God had bestowed special favours. Moses requested him to let him remain in his company so that he could acquire knowledge vouchsafed to him. He said, "Thou canst not bear with me." Moses said, 'God willing thou shalt find me patient and I shall not in aught gainsay thee.' The man said,"Well, if thou go with me, ask me not concerning aught till I myself make mention of it." So they twain set out and they embarked [on] a boat in which Moses' companion made a hole. Moses said, "Hast thou made a hole to drown its occupants. Thou hast done a dreadful thing." He replied, Didst I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me." Said Moses, "Chide me not for my forgetfulness and be not hard to me for my fault." So the two journeyed on till they met a lad whom the companion slew. Moses exclaimed, "Hast thou slain a person who was not guilty of manslaughter! Verily thou hast done a horrid thing." The companion said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me." Moses said, "If ask thee after this concerning aught, keep me no longer in thy company." They journeyed on together till they reached a town the people of which refused to give them food. They found a wall, which was about to collapse. Moses' companion set it right whereupon Moses said that he had so wished he could have obtained wages for the work done. Said the companion, "This is the parting between us. I shall now tell thee what thou hast been impatient to know. The boat belonged to poor men who eked their livelihood by plying it. I damaged it so that the king, who was seizing every sound boat, may not capture it. As to the lad, his parents were believers, but the lad was to distress them with his insolence and disbelief. I expect God will grant them a better and virtuous son in his place. Now the wall belonged to two orphan boys whose father was a righteous man and underneath it lay a treasure. God desired that the boys should get the treasure when they reach the age of maturity. And know that I did not do all this for my own bidding." O Prophet! they ask thee of Dhul Qarneyn. God established his power in the land and allowed him access to everything. He set out till he reached the horizon where he noticed the Sun setting in murky water and found a people thereabout. He decided to chastise the evildoers among them and to reward the righteous believers. Then he followed another course towards the rising Sun and found a people who had no shelter against it. Then Dhul Qarneyn followed yet another course until he arrived between two mountains. The inhabitants of the area complained to him that Gog and Magog were committing havoc in the land and they were prepared to pay the tribute if he could get a rampart constructed to prevent Gog and Magog coming to them. Dhul Qarneyn said that what God had given him was better if they could help him with their labour, he would get the barrier set up. He filled the gap between the mountains by heated ingots of iron over which molten brass was poured. Gog and Magog could neither scale nor pierce it. He said that the barrier was a mercy from the Lord but it would be reduced to dust when His promise would come to pass. The work of the unbelievers who are labouring under the mistaken belief that what they are doing is right would go to waste nor any weight would be attached to them on the Day of Resurrection. But as for the believers who have done right they shall have gardens of Paradise to enter. Say O Prophet, "Even were the sea to become ink wherewith to write the words of my Lord and a like of it is added thereto, the sea will be exhausted but not the words of my Lord. I am only a mortal like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God. So let him, who hopes to meet his Lord, do what is right and let him not associate anyone with God in rendering service to Him." This is a narrative of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zachariah. He prayed to the Lord for [the] grant of a son to him, who could be his heir and that of the blessings of family of Jacob -- in spite of his old age and the fact that his wife was barren. The glad tiding of a son to be named Yahya (John) was given to him and he was asked not to speak to anyone for three nights as a token of the gracious assurance. While yet a child, God bestowed on him wisdom, tenderness of heart and purity of mind. He was God-fearing, dutiful to his parents and never unruly in conduct. He was asked to hold fast to the commandments. Blessed the day he was born, the day he died and the day he will be raised again. And make mention of Mary in the scripture when she had retired from the family to a secluded place. The angel (Gabriel) appeared before her to give her the glad tidings of the birth of a son of purity. She remarked how could she have a son when no mortal had touched her and she was not unchaste. The angel said, "Even so shall it be. Thy Lord saith, 'This is easy for Me and I shall present him to mankind as My sign of graciousness. And it is a thing ordained." And she conceived the child and went to a far off place. The pangs of childbirth surprised her beneath a palm tree. She said, "Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing completely forgotten." An angel said, "Grieve not; see thy Lord has set below thee a rivulet. Shake the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop on thee dates ripe and fresh." Eat and drink and be comforted, and should thou meet any mortal tell him, "I have vowed a fast to the All-Merciful and I will not speak this day to any mortal." Then she brought her babe to her people who said, "O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. O sister of Aaron! thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother unchaste." Mary asked them to enquire from the babe. They said, "How shall we speak to one in the cradle, a mere infant." But the babe spoke, "Verily, I am the servant of God; He hath given me the scripture and hath appointed me a prophet. And hath blessed me wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving as long as I live and to be dutiful to my mother; and He hath not made me arrogant, unblest. Blessed the day I was born, the day I die and the day I shall be raised to life." This is Jesus, son of Mary; this is a statement of truth concerning which they have doubted. It beseemeth not God that He should take unto Himself a son. Transcendent in purity is He, when He intendeth a thing, He just pronounces 'Be' and there it is. And Jesus said, "Verily, God is my Lord and your Lord; so serve Him alone. This is the straight path." But the sects that arose after him began to hold different views. Woe unto the unbelievers. Warn them of the Day of despair when everything shall have been settled, however much they may now be heedless. "Verily, it is We who after all are the true Master of the earth and all who live in it and it is Us that all shall have to return." And mention Abraham in the book who was a man of truth, a prophet. He said to his father, "O my father! why worshippest thou that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor can in aught avail thee . . . serve not the devil lest a punishment from God overtake thee and thou become Satan's follower." His father replied, "Dost thou reject my gods, O Abraham? If thou seize not, I shall stone thee. Begone from me." Abraham departed and God gave him Isaac and Jacob each of whom was a prophet. Moses also was a prophet who was called to Mount Tur to converse with God. So was his brother Aaron, a prophet. Ishmael was one true to his promise, an apostle and a prophet. So was Idris who was raised to a high station. These are from among the prophets in the line of Adam -- descendants of those who were carried in the ark with Noah and descendants of Abraham and Israel all blessed and exalted. Whenever the words of God were rehearsed to them they bowed down in devotion and in tears. Then succeeded them a later generation who wasted the prayer and followed their lusts. It will not be long before they face the result of their error except those who repent and believe and do what is right. For them is lasting garden, yet unseen. Those who disbelieve and the Satans shall be mustered and paraded round Hell hobbling on their knees and from every group will be plucked the most rebellious. None can avoid passing through this stage. This is definitely decreed by the Lord. When God's verses are recited to them, the unbelievers ask the believers, "Which of the two parties is better in station and fairer in assembly?" And how many generations were destroyed before although they surpassed them in riches and splendour? Say, "As for them who are in error, God will lengthen the time of respite until they behold what they were warned against -- whether punishment in the present or the Hour of Doom; they shall then know who were really weak in position and strength." God hath set the devils on the unbelievers who keep on inciting them. So hasten not thou against them. Their days are numbered. One day God will certainly gather [the] righteous as His honoured guests and drive the guilty unto Hell, a weary herd. They say, "God hath begotten a son." What a monstrous assertion! Well might the heavens be rent, and the earth cleave asunder and mountains fall down crashing at their blasphemies ascribing a son to God! It behoves not the All-Merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and the earth but cometh to the Beneficent as a servant. Verily, He hath taken note of them and their exact number. And on the Day of Resurrection, every one shall come to Him singly, all alone. "We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldest be distressed, but as a reminder unto him who feareth, a revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens, the Beneficent one, who is established on the Throne." There is no God, save Him. His are the most beautiful names. O Prophet! hath the story of Moses reached thee? When he noticed a far off fire (in his travel along with his family) he said to his family, "Stay here. I see a fire. I may probably bring a brand from there or someone to show us the way." When he reached the spot a voice was heard, "O Moses! I am indeed thy Lord, remove thy shoes, for thou art in the holy valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen thee. So hearken attentively to this revelation. Lo! I, even, I am Allah. There is no God save me. So serve Me and observe prayers for My remembrance. The Hour is coming but when it will come is a secret . . . what is it in thy right hand." Moses said, It is my staff whereon I lean and wherewith I beat down leaves for my sheep and it has other uses for me." God said, "Cast it down, O Moses!" and he cast it down and behold it was a moving serpent. God said, "Catch it and fear not, We shall restore it to its former state. And place thy right hand into thy armpit. It will come out shining white, untarnished. That is a second sign. Go to Pharaoh who has become an insolent transgressor." Moses requested, O my Lord! Expand my breast, unfasten the knot upon my tongue, strengthen my hands by appointing my brother Aaron as my counsellor." God said, 'O Moses, thy request is granted. At another time We have already shown thee favour. When We revealed to thy mother: "Put him (the babe Moses) into a chest and cast it in the river. He shall drift to the bank and [be] picked up by My enemy. I had made thee an object of My love that thou might be reared before My eyes." Thy sister went and said to Pharaoh, "Shall I tell you one who may nurse him (Moses)? Thus we returned thee to thy mother that she might be cheered and not grieve. And remember thou didst kill a man (in Egypt), We relieved thee of thy fears and tried thee several times. And thou didst tarry for years among the people of Midian. Then hither thou didst come as planned by Me. And go thou and thy brother with tokens from Me to Pharaoh, and speak to him gently; [that] haply he may [take] heed or fear. Ask him to let the children of Israel go with you and not to give them trouble." Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh who enquired, "Who is your Lord, O Moses." Moses said, "Our Lord is He who gave unto everything its nature and then guided it aright." Pharaoh said, "What shall await the people gone before?" Moses replied, "The knowledge of it is with my Lord who neither erreth nor forgetteth. He hath spread the earth as bed for you, and hath marked out paths therein, and sentdown rain from the sky and thereby hath brought forth diverse kinds of vegetation." Moses exhibited all kinds of signs to Pharaoh, but he treated them [as] unsubstantial and refused. He decided to counter the signs with a like magic and gathered his magicians for a contest. They threw their cords and they appeared to be moving like serpents. By inspiration from God, Moses threw his staff, which turned into a serpent and swallowed up the artifice of the enchanters. The magicians bowed down to Moses and Aaron and cried that they believed in their Lord. Said Pharaoh, "Ye believe in him before I give you leave. Surely he is your master who has taught you magic. I will cut off your hands and the feet [on] opposite [sides] and will crucify you on trunks of palm-trees and you shall know who can give [a] more severe punishment." They said, "Clear proof of the truth having been seen, we cannot place thee above Him who created us. Do what you like. Thou can at best decide as to the life present. Of a truth, we believe that our Lord will pardon us our sins and our sorcery which thou hast forced us to practice, for, God is the Good and the Lasting." Whoso cometh guilty before his Lord, verily for him is Hell where he will neither live nor die -- but whoso cometh unto Him as a believer and hath worked righteously, for such are loftiest places in the gardens of Eden wherein they shall dwell forever. God revealed to Moses to take away all His servants by night and to strike a dry path across the river without any fear. Pharaoh followed them with his army and they were all drowned by the rising waters. Thus God rescued the children of Israel from their enemy, and He promised them a life of prosperity and gave them Manna and Salva to eat, but forbade them from committing excesses which would invite His displeasure. When Moses appeared (on the mount Tur) God said to him, "What hath made thee hasten in advance of thy people, O Moses." He said, "They are coming close behind me and I have hastened that Thou be pleased with me." God said, "We have tried thy people in thine absence but Samiri has led them astray." Moses returned to his people in anger and sorrow and remonstrated with them. They told him that Samiri had beguiled them to bring their jewellery and from the molten metal he had carved out a calf producing a lowing sound and said it was their god and God of Moses but he hath forgotten. Could they not see that the golden calf could return them no answer and did not possess any power to hurt or help them? Moses also remonstrated his brother Aaron as to why he had not checked the people when he saw them going astray. Aaron said that he feared he might be hauled up for creating dissension among the children of Israel. Samiri explained that he had thrown a handful of the dust trodden by the messenger into the calf to produce the effect and this his heart had commended to him. Moses said, "Be-gone! and thy punishment in this life will be that thou will go on saying, 'Touch me not' and another doom awaits thee in the Hereafter. What thou took for worship will be reduced to ashes and thrown in the sea." "O Prophet! thus do we narrate [this] account of the past and from Ourselves also have We given thee indication of their import. Who shall fail to appreciate their import shall have to bear the responsibility of his lapse on the day of Resurrection, when the trumpet is blown and the guilty assembled wide-eyed with terror conjecturing that they tarried in this world for ten days and according to some for one day." No intercession shall avail that day except of him permitted to do so and whose word He is pleased to accept. And of old God has made a covenant with Adam but he forgot it and Satan tempted him saying, "O Adam! Shall I point out to thee the tree of immortality and of power that faileth not." Adam succumbed to the temptation and acted against the wishes of his Lord. God said, "Get ye both down from here, one foe to the other. Hereafter shall guidance come from Me and whoso followeth My guidance will not go astray nor come to grief. But he who disregardeth My admonitions, truly he shall have to live a life of misery and We will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection." Had not a decree of respite from thy Lord already gone forth and time fixed for it, assuredly the deserved judgement would have been delivered. So bear patiently what they say and celebrate the praise of thy Lord before sunrise and before sunset as also during the day and the night that thou mayest enjoy inward bliss. And strain not thy eyes after that which We have conferred on several of them in the form of fineries of this world that we may try them therewith. That which thy Lord hath apportioned thee is better and more lasting. Enjoin prayer on thy people and be constant therein." Say "Every one shall have
to await the result of his deeds. Wait you then and you shall soon know
which of us has followed the even path and has been rightly guided."
As-Saffat—Those Ranged in Ranks By those who range themselves in ranks and by those who encounter evil and by those who proclaim the message, your God is truly but One—Lord of the heavens and the earth and of all there is between them and the Lord of every point at the rising of the sun, who hath bedecked the lower heaven with beautiful stars and hath guarded it against every rebellious Satan who are driven off and condemned to lasting punishment lest they should over heart anything stealthily and they are pursued by a fiery flame.
Of old Noah had called on God and he and his family were rescued from a great distress and his prosperity made to survive. Peace be on Noah from every section of mankind. Thus God requites the doers of good. Of his persuasion was Abraham who came to God with a pure heart. He advised his father and his people to abjure the worship of deities of mere fancy and of idols they had themselves carved. When he smashed up the idols people built up a pyre and cast him into its blazing fire but God nullified their design. Abraham prayed for a virtuous son. When the son reached age when he could walk by his side, Abraham dreamt that he was sacrificing his son. The son willingly consented to submit himself to [this] supreme sacrifice and assured his father of steadfast endurance. When both had resigned themselves to God and Abraham had laid down his son for the sacrifice, God held him back saying, “O Abraham! Thou hast indeed proved true the vision” and He provided a ransom for the mighty sacrifice. It was indeed a great test! God left him a good name and posterity shall ever greet him, “Peace on Abraham! He was God’s devoted servant.” Likewise, God conferred blessings on Isaac, Moses, Aaron, Elias and Lot and made them His apostles. They were devoted servants of God and they left names for posterity to remember with greetings, “Peace on them.” And Jonah, too, was one of the apostles. In haste he reached the laden ship and agreed to [the] casting of lots, which went against him and he was thrown out to be swallowed by a big fish. God caused the fish to disgorge him on a barren shore in a state of sickness and caused a gourd plant to cover him under its shade. When he recovered, he was sent on a prophetic mission to more than a hundred thousand people and they believed and God gave them [the] comforts of life. Ask them (the Meccans) why is it they assign only daughters to God and male issues to themselves and why they consider angels as females. Have they seen them? It is fantastic that they say God has begotten children. Indeed, they are just telling lies. And they forge [a] relationship between God and Jinn, when the Jinn know they will have to account for their deeds to Him. The angels know their appointed places, range themselves in rows and hymn His praise. Transcendent is thy Lord,
the Lord of All-Greatness. Praise to be God, the Lord of all domains of
existence and peace be on the apostles.
MORE TO COME INSHA ALLAH |
