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The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light Helps them, they walk therein, and when the darkness grows on them, they stand still. And if God willed, He could take away their faculties of hearing and seeing; for God has power over all things. God disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means God by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path; but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake the path, How can you reject the faith in God, seeing that you were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will you return. It is He Who has created for you all things that are on earth; Moreover His design comprehended the heavens, for He gave order and perfection to the seven firmaments; and of all things He has perfect knowledge. Behold, your Lord said to the angels: "I will create a viceregent on earth." They said: "Will You place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? While we do celebrate Your praises and glorify Your Holy name?" He said: "I know what you know not." And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell Me the nature of these if you are right." He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he had told them, God said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?" And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam.", and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: He refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith. Then learned Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! You have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf: So turn in repentance to your Maker, and slay yourselves the wrong-doers; that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker." Then He turned towards you in forgiveness: For He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. And remember you said: "O Moses! We cannot endure one kind of food always; so beseech your Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth grows - its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, Its garlic, lentils, and onions." He said: "Will you exchange the better for the worse? Go you down to any town, and you will find what you want!" They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of God. This because they went on rejecting the Signs of God and slaying His Messengers without just cause. This because they rebelled and went on transgressing. And remember Moses said to his people: "God commands that you sacrifice a heifer." They said: "Make you a laughing-stock of us?" He said: "God save me from being an ignorant fool!" They said: "Beseech on our behalf Your Lord to make plain to us what heifer it is!" He said; "He says: The heifer should be neither too old nor too young, but of middling age. Now do what you are commanded!" They said: "Beseech on our behalf Your Lord to make plain to us Her color." He said: "He says: A fawn-colored heifer, pure and rich in tone, the admiration of beholders!" He said: "He says: A heifer not trained to till the soil or water the fields; sound and without blemish." They said: "Now have you brought the truth." Then they offered her in sacrifice, but not with good-will. And they say: "The Fire will not touch us but for a few numbered days.": Say: "Have you taken a promise from God, for He never breaks His promise? Or is it that you say of God what you do not know?" Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls, in that they deny the revelation which God has sent down, in insolent envy that God of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have they drawn on themselves Wrath upon Wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith. You will indeed find them, of all people, most greedy of life, even more than the idolaters: Each one of them wishes He could be given a life of a thousand years: But the grant of such life will not save him from due punishment. For God sees well all that they do. It is never the wish of those without Faith among the People of the Book, nor of the Pagans, that Any good should come down to you from your Lord. But God will choose for His special Mercy whom He will - for God is Lord of grace abounding. To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decrees a matter, He says to it: "Be.", and it is. And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make you an Imam to the Nations." Abraham pleaded: "And also Imams from my offspring!" He answered: "But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers." And remember Abraham said: "My Lord, make this a City of Peace, and feed its people with fruits, such of them as believe in God and the Last Day." He said: "Yea, and such as reject Faith, for a while will I grant them their pleasure, but will soon drive them to the torment of Fire. An evil destination indeed!" Behold! His Lord said to him: "Bow your will to Me.": He said: "I bow my will to the Lord and Cherisher of the Universe." So if they believe as you believe, they are indeed on the right path; but if they turn back, it is they who are in schism; but God will suffice you as against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our religion is the Baptism of God, and who can baptize better than God, and it is He Whom we worship. Say: Will you dispute with us about God, seeing that He is our Lord and your Lord; that we are responsible for our doings and you for yours; and that We are sincere in our faith in Him? The fools among the people will say: "What has turned them from the Qibla, the direction they face towards in prayer, to which they were used?" Say: To God belong both east and West: He guides whom He will to a Way that is straight. Behold! Safa and Marwa are among the Symbols of God. So if those who visit the House in the Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them. And if any one obeys his own impulse to good, be sure that God is He Who recognizes and knows. And your God is One God. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth; Here indeed are Signs for a people that are wise. He has only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name has been invoked besides that of God. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, then is he guiltless. For God is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. Ramadhan is the month in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear Signs for guidance and judgment Between right and wrong. So every one of you who is present at his home during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period Should be made up by days later. God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. He wants you to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance you will be grateful. Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and you are their garments. God knows what you used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them, and seek what God Has ordained for you, and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while you are in retreat in the mosques. Those are Limits set by God, approach not nigh thereto. Thus does God make clear His Signs to men: That they may learn self-restraint. And complete the Hajj or 'Umra in the service of God. But if you are prevented From completing it, send an offering for sacrifice, such as you may find, and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches the place of sacrifice. And if any of you is ill, or has an ailment in his scalp, Necessitating shaving, He should in compensation either fast, or feed the poor, or offer sacrifice; and when you are in peaceful conditions again, if any one wishes to continue the 'Umra on to the hajj, He must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, He should fast three days during the hajj and seven days on his return, Making ten days in all. This is for those whose household is not in the precincts of the Sacred Mosque. And fear God, and know that God Is strict in punishment. It is no crime in you if you seek of the bounty of your Lord during pilgrimage. Then when you pour down from Mount Arafat, celebrate the praises of God at the Sacred Monument, and celebrate His praises as He has directed you, even though, before this, you went astray. When it is said to him, "Fear God., He is led by arrogance to more crime. Enough for him is Hell; An evil bed indeed To lie on! The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith, and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrection; for God bestows His abundance without measure on whom He will. Mankind was one single nation, and God sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. God by His Grace Guided the believers to the Truth, concerning that wherein they differed. For God guided whom He will to a path that is straight. Their bearings on this life and the Hereafter. They ask you concerning orphans. Say: "The best thing to do is what is for their good; if you mix their affairs with yours, they are your brethren; but God knows the man who means mischief from the man who means good. And if God had wished, He could have put you into difficulties: He is indeed Exalted in Power, Wise." They ask you concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution: So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, you may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by God. For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean. God will not call you to account for thoughtlessness in your oaths, but for the intention in your hearts; and He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing. So if a husband divorces his wife irrevocably, He cannot, after that, re-marry her until after she has married another husband and He has divorced her. In that case there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by God. Such are the limits ordained by God, which He makes plain to those who understand. When you divorce women, and they fulfill the term of their 'Iddat, either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable terms; but do not take them back to injure them, or to take undue advantage; if any one does that; He wrongs his own soul. Do not treat God's Signs as a jest, but solemnly rehearse God's favors on you, and the fact that He sent down to you the Book and Wisdom, for your instruction. And fear God, and know that God is well acquainted with all things. If you fear an enemy, pray on foot, or riding, as may be most convenient, but when you are in security, celebrate God's praises in the manner He has taught you, which you knew not before. Did you not Turn by vision to those who abandoned their homes, though they were thousands In number, for fear of death? God said to them: "Die.": Then He restored them to life. For God is full of bounty to mankind, but Most of them are ungrateful. Have you not Turned your vision to the Chiefs of the Children of Israel after the time of Moses? They said to a prophet That was among them: "Appoint for us a king, that we May fight in the cause of God." He said: "Is it not possible, if you were commanded to fight, that that you will not fight?" They said: "How could we refuse to fight in the cause of God, seeing that we were turned out of our homes and our families?" but when they were commanded to fight, they turned back, except a small band among them. But God Has full knowledge of those who do wrong. Their Prophet said to them: "God has appointed Saul as king over you." They said: "How can he exercise authority over us when we are better fitted than he to exercise authority, and he is not even gifted, with wealth in abundance?" He said: "God has Chosen him above you, and has gifted him abundantly with knowledge and bodily prowess: God Grants His authority to whom He pleases. God cares for all, and He knows all things." When Saul set forth with the armies, he said: "God will test you at the stream: If any drinks of its water, He goes not with my army: Only those who taste not of it go with me: A mere sip out of the hand is excused." But they all drank of it, except a few. When they crossed the river, he and the faithful ones with him. they said: "This day We cannot cope with Goliath and his forces." But those who were convinced that they must meet God, said: "How oft, by God's will, Has a small force vanquished a big one? God is with those who steadfastly persevere." By God's will they routed them; and David slew Goliath; and God gave him power and wisdom and taught him whatever else He willed. And did not God Check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief: But God is full of bounty to all the worlds. Those apostles We endowed with gifts, some above others: To one of them God spoke; others He raised to degrees of honor; to Jesus, the Son of Mary, We gave clear Signs, and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. If God had so willed, succeeding generations would not have fought among each other, after clear Signs had come to them, but they chose to wrangle, some believing and others rejecting. If God had so willed, they would not have fought each other; but God Fulfills His plan. God. There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep, his are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what appears to His creatures as before or after or behind them. Nor will they compass anything of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne does extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. For He is the Most High, the Supreme in glory. God is the Protector of those who have faith: From the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones: From light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein For ever. Have you not Turned your vision to one who disputed with Abraham About his Lord, because God had granted him power? Abraham said: "My Lord is He Who Gives life and death." He said: "I give life and death." Said Abraham: "But it is God that causes the sun to rise from the east: Do you then cause him to rise from the West." Thus was he confounded who in arrogance rejected faith. Nor does God Give guidance to a people unjust. Or take the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet, all in ruins to its roofs. He said: "Oh! How will God bring it ever to life, after this its death?" But God caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up again. He said: "How long did you tarry thus?" He said: Perhaps a day or part of a day." He said: "Nay, you have tarried thus a hundred years; but look at your food and your drink; they show no signs of age; and look at your donkey: And that We may make of you a sign unto the people, Look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh." When this was shown clearly to him, he said: "I know that God has power over all things." Behold! Abraham said: "My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead." He said: "Do you not then believe?" He said: "Yea! But to satisfy My own undertaking." He said: "Take four birds; Tame them to turn to you; put a portion of them on every hill and call to them: They will come to you Flying with speed. Then know that God is Exalted in Power, Wise." The parable of those who spend their substance in the way of God is that of a grain of corn: It grows seven ears, and each ear Has a hundred grains. God gives manifold increase to whom He pleases: And God cares for all and He knows all things. Kind words and the covering of faults are better than charity followed by injury. God is free of all wants, and He is Most-Forbearing. The Evil one threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. God promises you His forgiveness and bounties, and God cares for all and He knows all things. He grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted receives indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the Message but men of understanding. It is not required of you O Messenger, to set them on the right path, but God sets on the right path whom He pleases. Whatever of good you give benefits your own souls, and you will only do so seeking the "Face" of God. Whatever good you give, will be rendered back to you, and you will not Be dealt with unjustly. God will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity: For He loves not creatures ungrateful and wicked. To God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. Whether you show what is in your minds or conceal it, God Calls you to account for it. He forgives whom He pleases, and punishes whom He pleases, for God has power over all things. God. There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal. It is He Who sent down to you step by step, in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion of judgment between right and wrong. He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. He it is Who has sent down to you the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental of established meaning; they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord.": and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. "Our Lord! You are He that will gather mankind Together against a day about which there is no doubt; for God never fails in His promise." "There has already been for you a Sign in the two armies that met in combat: One was fighting in the cause of God, the other resisting God. These saw with their own eyes Twice their number. But God does support with His aid whom He pleases. In this is a warning for such as have eyes to see." There is no god but He: That is the witness of God, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise. Say: "Whether you hide what is in your hearts or reveal it, God knows it all: He knows what is in the heavens, and what is on earth, and God has power over all things. Right graciously did her Lord accept her: He made her grow in purity and beauty: To the care of Zacharias was she assigned. Every time that he entered Her chamber to see her, He found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "O Mary! Whence comes this to you?" She said: "From God, for God Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure." There did Zacharias pray to his Lord, saying: "O my Lord! Grant unto me from You a progeny that is pure: For You are He that hears prayer! He said: "O my lord! How will I have a son seeing I am very old and my wife is barren?" "Thus", was the answer, "does God accomplish what He wills." He said: "O my Lord! Give me a Sign!" "Your Sign", was the answer, "Will be that you will speak to no man for three days but with signals. Then celebrate the praises of your Lord again and again, and glorify Him in the evening and in the morning." "He will speak to the people in childhood and in maturity, and he will be of the company of the righteous." She said: "O my Lord! How will I have a son when no man has touched me?" He said: "Even so: God creates what He wills: When He has decreed a plan, He but says to it, `Be´, and it is! When Jesus found Unbelief on their part He said: "Who will be My helpers to the work of God." Said the disciples: "We are God's helpers: We believe in God, and do you bear witness that we are Muslims. The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be.", and he was. This is the true account: There is no god except God. And God, He is indeed the Exalted in Power, the Wise. "And believe no one unless he follows your religion." Say: "True guidance is the Guidance of God. Fear you Lest a revelation be sent to someone else Like unto that which was sent unto you? Or that those Receiving such revelation should engage you in argument before your Lord?" Say: "All bounties are in the hand of God. He grants them to whom He pleases: And God cares for all, and He knows all things." For His Mercy He specially chooses whom He pleases; for God is the Lord of bounties unbounded. As for those who sell the faith they owe to God and their own plighted word for a small price, they will have no portion in the Hereafter: Nor will God Deign to speak to them or look at them on the Day of Judgment, nor will He cleans them of sin: They will have a grievous penalty. It is not possible that a man, to whom is given the Book, and Wisdom, and the prophetic office, should say to people: "Be you my worshippers rather than God's.": On the contrary He would say "Be you worshippers of Him Who is truly the Cherisher of all: For you have taught the Book and you have studied it earnestly." Behold! God took the covenant of the prophets, saying: "I give you a Book and Wisdom; then comes to you an apostle, confirming what is with you; do you believe in him and render him help." God said: "Do you agree, and take this my Covenant as binding on you?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses." If anyone desires a religion other than Islam submission to God, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost All spiritual good. O you who believe! Fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God stretches out for you, and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's favor on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does God make His Signs clear to you: That you may be guided. That He might cut off a fringe of the Unbelievers or expose them to infamy, and they should then be turned back, frustrated of their purpose. Not for you, but for God, is the decision: Whether He turn in mercy to them, or punish them; for they are indeed wrong-doers. To God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. He forgives whom He pleases and punishes whom He pleases; but God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. If a wound has touched you, be sure a similar wound has touched the others. Such days of varying fortunes We give to men and men by turns: That God may know those that believe, and that He may take to Himself from your ranks Martyr-Witnesses to Truth. And God loves not those that do wrong. Nay, God is your protector, and He is the best of helpers. Soon will We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with God, for which He had sent no authority: Their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers! God did indeed fulfill His promise to you when you with His permission Were about to annihilate your enemy, until you flinched and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed it after He brought you in sight of the booty which you covet. Among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then did He divert you from your foes in order to test you, but He forgave you: For God is full of grace to those who believe. After the excitement of the distress, He sent down calm on a band of you overcome with slumber, while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, Moved by wrong suspicions of God's suspicions due to ignorance. They said: "What affair is this of ours?" Say you: "Indeed, this affair is wholly God's." They hide in their minds what they dare not reveal to you. They say to themselves: "If we had had anything to do with this affair, We should not have been in the slaughter here." Say: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death."; But all this was that God might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. For God knows well the secrets of your hearts. If God helps you, none can overcome you: If He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? In God, then, Let believers put their trust. No prophet could ever be false to his trust. If any person is so false, He will, on the Day of Judgment, restore what he misappropriated; then will every soul receive its due, whatever it earned. And none will be dealt with unjustly. God did confer a great favor on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of God, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom. While before that, they had been in manifest error. What you suffered on the day the two armies Met, was with the leave of God, in order that He might test the believers, Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you.": And frightened them: But it only increased their Faith: They said: "For us God suffices, and He is the best disposer of affairs." Let not those grieve you who rush headlong into Unbelief: Not the least harm will they do to God. God's plan is that He will give them no portion in the Hereafter, but a severe punishment. God will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He separates what is evil from what is good. Nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen, but He chooses of His Messenger, For the purpose whom He pleases. So believe in God, And His apostles: And if you believe and do right, you have a reward without measure. They also said: "God took our promise not to believe in an apostle unless He showed us a sacrifice consumed by Fire From heaven." Say: "There came to you apostles before me, with clear Signs and even with what you ask for: Why then did you slay them, if you speak the truth?" God does wish to make clear to you and to show you the ordinances of those before you; and He does wish to turn to you In Mercy: And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. God is never unjust in the least degree: If there is any good done, He doubles it, and gives from His own presence a great reward. God forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed. Have you not turned Your vision to those who claim sanctity for themselves? Nay. but God Does sanctify whom He pleases, but never will they fail to receive justice in the least little thing. God does command you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when you judge between man and man, that you judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He gives you! For God is He Who hears and sees all things. He who obeys the Messenger, obeys God. But if any turn away, We have not sent you to watch over their evil deeds. God. There is no god but He: Of a surety He will gather you together against the Day of Judgment, about which there is no doubt. And whose word can be truer than God's? Except those who join a group between whom and you there is a treaty of peace, or those who approach you with hearts restraining them from fighting you as well as fighting their own people. If God had pleased, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you: Therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and instead send you Guarantees of peace, then God Has opened no way for you to war against them. Not equal are those believers who sit at home and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of God with their goods and their persons. God has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit at home. Unto all in Faith Has God promised good: But those who strive and fight Has He distinguished above those who sit at home by a special reward, He who forsakes his home in the cause of God, finds in the earth Many a refuge, wide and spacious: Should he die as a refugee from home for God and His Messenger, His reward becomes due and sure with God. And God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. They may hide Their crimes from men, but they cannot hide Them from God, seeing that He is in their midst when they plot by night, in words that He cannot approve: And God Does compass round all that they do. But if any one earns a fault or a sin and throws it on to one that is innocent, He carries on himself Both a falsehood and a flagrant sin. God forgives not The sin of joining other gods with Him; but He forgives whom He pleases other sins than this: One who joins other gods with God, Has strayed far, far away from the right. But to God belong all things in the heavens and on earth: And He it is that Encompasses all things. But if they disagree and must part, God will provide abundance for all from His All-Reaching bounty: For God is He that cares for all and is Wise. If it were His will, He could destroy you, o mankind, and create another race; for He has power this to do. If any one desires a reward in this life, in God's gift is the reward both of this life and of the hereafter: For God is He that hears and sees all things. O you who believe! Believe in God and His Messenger, and the scripture which He has sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before him. Any who denies God, His angels, His Books, His Messenger., and the Day of Judgment, has gone far, far astray. Already has He sent you Word in the Book, that when you hear the signs of God held in defiance and ridicule, you are not to sit with them unless they turn to a different theme: If you did, you would be like them. For God will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith - all in Hell: The Hypocrites - they think they are over-reaching God, but He will over-reach them: When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold God in remembrance; God loves not that evil should be noised abroad in public speech, except where injustice has been done; for God is He who hears and knows all things. But God bears witness that what He has sent unto you He has sent from His own knowledge, and the angels bear witness: But enough is God for a witness. O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of God anything but the truth. Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary, was no more than an apostle of God, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: So believe in God and His apostles. Say not "Trinity": Desist: It will be better for you: For God is one God, glory be to Him: far exalted is He above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth, and enough is God as a Disposer of affairs. Christ disdains nor to serve and worship God, nor do the angels, those nearest to God: Those who disdain His worship and are arrogant, He will gather them all together unto Himself to answer. But to those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, He will give their due rewards, and more, out of His bounty: But those who are disdainful and arrogant, He will punish with a grievous penalty; Nor will they find, besides God, any to protect or help them. Then those who believe in God, and hold fast to Him, soon will He admit them to mercy and grace from Himself, and guide them to Himself by a straight way. And call in remembrance the favor of God unto you, and His covenant, which He ratified with you, when you said: "We hear and we obey.": And fear God, for God knows well the secrets of your hearts. In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is Christ, the son of Mary. Say: "Who then has the least power against God, if His will were to destroy Christ, the son of Mary, his mother, and all every - one that is on the earth? For to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He creates what He pleases. For God has power over all things." Both the Jews and the Christians say: "We are sons of God, and his beloved." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but men, of the men he has created: He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases: And to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between: And unto Him is the final goal of all" Remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Call in remembrance the favor of God unto you, when He produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. He said: "O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: So separate us from this rebellious people!" The selfish soul of the other led him to the murder of his brother: He murdered him, and became himself one of the lost ones. Know you not that to God alone belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He pleases, and He forgives whom He pleases: And God has power over all things. To you We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: So judge between them by what God has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that has come to you. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If God had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in what He has given you: So strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to God, it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute; And this He commands: Judge you between them by what God has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they beguile you from any of that teaching which God has sent down to you. And if they turn away, be assured that for some of their crime it is God's purpose to punish them. And truly most men are rebellious. O you who believe! if any from among you turn back from his Faith, soon will God produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him, lowly with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of God, and never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault. That is the grace of God, which He will bestow on whom He pleases. And God encompasses all, and He knows all things. Say: "Will I point out to you something much worse than this, as judged by the treatment it received from God, those who incurred the curse of God and His wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil; these are many times worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!" The Jews say: "God's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the blasphemy they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched: He gives and spends of His bounty as He pleases. But the revelation that comes to you from God increases in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. Among them we have placed enmity and hatred till the Day of Judgment. Every time they kindle the fire of war, God does extinguish it; but they ever strive to do mischief on earth, and God loves not those who do mischief. Say: "Will you worship, besides God, something which has no power either to harm or benefit you? But God, He it is that hears and knows all things." God will not call you to account for what is futile in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: For expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn. But keep to your oaths. Thus does God make clear to you His signs, that you may be grateful. O you who believe! God does but make a trial of you in a little matter of game well within reach of your hands and your lances, that He may test who fears him unseen: Any who transgress thereafter, will have a grievous penalty. O you who believe! Guard your own souls: If you follow right guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who stray. The goal of you all is to God, it is He that will show you the truth of all that you do. And behold! God will say: "O Jesus, the Son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God.?" He will say: "Glory to You! Never could I say what I had no right to say. Had I said such a thing, you would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, You I know not what is in Yours. For You know in full all that is hidden. To God does belong the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, and it is He Who has power over all things. He it is created you from clay, and then decreed a stated term for you. And there is in His presence another determined term; yet you doubt within yourselves! And He is God in the heavens and on earth. He knows what you hide, and what you reveal, and He knows the recompense which you earn by your deeds. Say: "To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?" Say: "To God, He has inscribed for Himself the rule of Mercy. That He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment, there is no doubt whatever. It is they who have lost their own souls, that will not believe. Say: "Will I take for my protector any other than God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth? And He it is that feeds but is not fed." Say: "Nay! But I am commanded to be the first of those who bow to God in Islam, and be not you of the company of those who join gods with God." "If God touch you with affliction, none can remove it but He; if He touch you with happiness, He has power over all things. "He is the irresistible, watching from above over His worshippers; and He is the Wise, acquainted with all things." Say: "What thing is most weighty in evidence?" Say: "God is witness between me and you; This Qur'an has been revealed to me by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches. Can you possibly bear witness that besides God there is another God." Say: "Nay! I cannot bear witness!" Say: "But in truth He is the one God, and I truly am innocent of your blasphemy of joining others with Him." If you could but see when they are confronted with their Lord! He will say: "Is not this the truth?" They will say: "Yea, by our Lord!" He will say: "Taste you then the penalty, because you rejected Faith." If their spurning is hard on your mind, yet if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the skies and bring them a sign. what good?. If it were God's will, He could gather them together unto true guidance: So be not you among those who are swayed by ignorance and impatience! Those who reject our Signs are deaf and dumb, in the midst of darkness profound: Whom God wills, He leaves to wander: Whom He wills, He places on the way that is straight. "Nay. On Him would you call, and if it be His will, He would remove the distress which occasioned your call upon Him, and you would forget the false gods which you join with Him!" When those come to you who believe in Our signs, Say: "Peace be on you: Your Lord has inscribed for Himself the rule of mercy: Verily, if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented, and amend his conduct, lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Say: "For me, I work on a clear sign from my Lord, but you reject Him. What you would see hastened, is not in my power. The command rests with none but God, He declares the truth, and He is the best of judges." With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knows but He. He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf does fall but with His knowledge: There is not a grain in the darkness or depths of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry green or withered, but is inscribed in a record clear to those who can read. It is He who does take your souls by night, and has knowledge of all that you have done by day: By day does He raise you up again; that a term appointed be fulfilled; In the end unto Him will be your return; then will He show you the truth of all that you did. He is the irresistible, watching from above over His worshippers, and He sets guardians over you. At length, when death approaches one of you, Our angels take his soul, and they never fail in their duty. Then are men returned unto God, their protector, the only reality: Is not His the command? And He is the swiftest in taking account. Say: "Who is it that delivers you from the dark recesses of land and sea, when you call upon Him in humility and silent terror: `If He only delivers us from these dangers, we vow we will truly show our gratitude´.?" Say: "He has power to send calamities on you, from above and below, or to cover you with confusion in party strife, giving you a taste of mutual vengeance - each from the other." See how We explain the signs by various symbols; that they may understand. It is He who created the heavens and the earth in true proportions: the day He says, "Be.", behold! It is. His word is the truth, his will be the dominion the day the trumpet will be blown. He knows the unseen as well as that which is open, for He is the Wise, well acquainted with all things. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I will surely be among those who go astray." His people disputed with him. He said: "Come you to dispute with me, about God, when He Himself has guided me? I fear not the beings you associate with God. Unless my Lord wills, nothing can happen. My Lord comprehends in His knowledge all things. Will you not yourselves be admonished? This is the guidance of God, He gives that guidance to whom He pleases, of His worshippers. If they were to join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for them. It is God Who causes the seed-grain and the date-stone to split and sprout, He causes the living to issue from the dead, and He is the one to cause the dead to issue from the living. That is God. Then how are you deluded away from the truth? He it is that cleaves the day-break from the dark: He makes the night for rest and tranquillity, and the sun and moon for the reckoning of time: Such is the judgment and ordering of Him, the Exalted in Power, the Omniscient. It is He Who makes the stars as beacons for you, that you may guide yourselves, with their help, through the dark spaces of land and sea: We detail Our signs for people who know. It is He Who has produced you from a single person: Here is a place of sojourn and a place of departure: We detail Our signs for people who understand. It is He Who sends down rain from the skies: With it We produce vegetation of all kinds: from some We produce green crops, out of which We produce grain, heaped up at harvest; out of the date-palm and its sheaths or spathes come clusters of dates hanging low and near: And then there are gardens of grapes, and olives, and pomegranates, each similar in kind yet different in variety: When they begin to bear fruit, feast your eyes with the fruit and the ripeness thereof. Behold! In these things there are signs for people who believe. Yet they make the Jinns equals with God, though God did create the Jinns; and they falsely, having no knowledge, attribute to Him sons and daughters. Praise and glory be to Him! for He is above what they attribute to Him! To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: How can He have a son when He has no consort? He created all things, and He has full knowledge of all things. That is God, your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator of all things: Then worship you Him: And He has power to dispose of all affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things. Follow what you are taught by inspiration from your Lord: There is no god but He: And turn aside from those who join gods with God. Say: "Will I seek for judge other than God. - when He it is Who has sent unto you the Book, explained in detail." They know full well, to whom We have given the Book, that it has been sent down from your Lord in truth. Never be then of those who doubt. The word of your Lord does find its fulfillment in truth and in justice: None can change His words: For He is the One Who hears and knows all. Your Lord knows best who strays from His way: He knows best who they are that receive His guidance. Why should you not eat of meats on which God's name has been pronounced, when He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you - except under compulsion of necessity? But many do mislead men by their appetites unchecked by knowledge. Your Lord knows best those who transgress. Those whom God in His plan wills to guide, He opens their breast to Islam; those whom He wills to leave straying, He makes their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: Thus does God heap the penalty on those who refuse to believe. For them will be a home of peace in the presence of their Lord: He will be their friend, because they practised righteousness. One day will He gather them all together, and say: "O you assembly of Jinns! Much toll did you take of men." Their friends among men will say: "Our Lord! We made profit from each other: But alas! we reached our term - which you did appoint for us." He will say: "The Fire be your dwelling-place: You will dwell therein for ever, except as God wills." For your Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge. Your Lord is self-sufficient, full of Mercy: If it were His will, He could destroy you, and in your place appoint whom He will as your successors, even as He raised you up from the posterity of other people. And they say that such and such cattle and crops are taboo, and none should eat of them except those whom - so they say - We wish; further, there are cattle forbidden to yoke or burden, and cattle on which, at slaughter, the name of God is not pronounced; - inventions against God's name: Soon will He requite them for their inventions. They say: "What is in the wombs of such and such cattle is specially reserved for food for our men, and forbidden to our women; but if it is still-born, then all have share therein. For their false attribution of superstitions to God, He will soon punish them: For He is full of wisdom and knowledge. It is He Who produces gardens, with trellises and without, and dates, and tilth with produce of all kinds, and olives and pomegranates, similar in kind and different in variety: eat of their fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered. But waste not by excess: For God loves not the wasters. Take eight head of cattle in four pairs: Of sheep a pair, and of goats a pair; say, has He forbidden the two males, or the two females, or the young which the wombs of the two females enclose? Tell me with knowledge if you are truthful: Of camels a pair, and oxen a pair; say, has He forbidden the two males, or the two females, or the young which the wombs of the two females enclose? - Were you present when God ordered you such a thing? But who does more wrong than one who invents a lie against God, to lead astray men without knowledge? For God guides not people who do wrong. Say: "With God is the argument that reaches home: If it had been His will, He could indeed have guided you all." Say: "Come, I will rehearse what God has really prohibited you from.": Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want; We provide sustenance for you and for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law: Thus does He command you, that you may learn wisdom. And come not nigh to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he attain the age of full strength; give measure and weight with full justice; no burden do We place on any soul, but that which it can bear; whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill the covenant of God. Thus does He command you, that you may remember. Verily, this is My way, leading straight: Follow it: Follow not other paths: They will scatter you about from His great path: Thus does He command you, that you may be righteous. As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least: Their affair is with God. He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did. He that does good will have ten times as much to his credit: He that does evil will only be recompensed according to his evil: No wrong will be done unto any of them. No partner has He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His will. Say: "Will I seek for my Cherisher other than God, when He is the Cherisher of all things that exist? Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: No bearer of burdens can bear of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is towards God, He will tell you the truth of the things wherein you disputed." It is He Who has made you His agents, inheritors of the earth: He has raised you in ranks, some above others: That He may try you in the gifts He has given you: For your Lord is quick in punishment: Yet He is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who bow down. God said: "What prevented you from bowing down when I commanded you?" He said: "I am better than he: You did create me from fire, and him from clay." He said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up." He said: "Because you have thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on your straight way: He said: "Therein will you live, and therein will you die; but from it will you be taken out at last." O you Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame: For he and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends only to those without faith. Say: "My Lord has commanded justice; and that you set your whole selves to Him at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion sincere as in His sight: Such as He created you in the beginning, so will you return." Some He has guided: Others have by their choice deserved the loss of their way; in that they took the evil ones, in preference to God, for their friends and protectors, and think that they receive guidance. Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful gifts of God, which He has produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, which He has provided for sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, and purely for them on the Day of Judgment. Thus do We explain the signs in detail for those who understand. Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: Shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to God, for which He has given no authority; and saying things about God of which you have no knowledge. He will say: "Enter you in the company of the peoples who passed away before you - men and Jinns, - into the Fire." Every time a new people enters, it curses its sister-people that went before, until they follow each other, all into the Fire. Says the last about the first: "Our Lord! It is these that misled us: So give them a double penalty in the Fire." He will say: "Doubled for all.": But this you do not understand. Your Guardian-Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne of authority: He draws the night as a veil o'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, all governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds! It is He Who sends the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: When they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith: Thus will We raise up the dead: Perchance you may remember. We sent Noah to his people. He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day! He said: "O my people! No wandering is there in my mind: on the contrary I am an apostle from the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds! To the 'Ad people, We sent Hud, one of their own brethren: He said: O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him will you not fear God?" He said: "O my people! I am no imbecile, but I am an apostle from the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds! "Do you wonder that there has come to you a message from your Lord through a man of your own people, to warn you? Call in remembrance that He made you inheritors after the people of Noah, and gave you a stature tall among the nations. Call in remembrance the benefits you have received from God, that so you may prosper." He said: "Punishment and wrath have already come upon you from your Lord: dispute you with me over names which you have devised - you and your fathers, without authority from God. Then wait: I am among you, also waiting." To the Thamud people We sent Salih, one of their own brethren: He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. Now has come unto you a clear Sign from your Lord! This she-camel of God is a Sign unto you: So leave her to graze in God's earth, and let her come to no harm, or you will be seized with a grievous punishment. "And remember how He made you inheritors after the 'Ad people and gave you habitations in the land: You build for yourselves palaces and castles in open plains, and care out homes in the mountains; so bring to remembrance the benefits you have received from God, and refrain from evil and mischief on the earth." We also sent Lot: He said to his people: "Do you commit lewdness such as no people in creation ever committed before you? To the Madyan people We sent Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. Now has come unto you a clear Sign from your Lord! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has been set in order: That will be best for you, if you have Faith. "And squat not on every road, breathing threats, hindering from the path of God those who believe in Him, and seeking in it something crooked; But remember how you were little, and He gave you increase. And hold in your mind's eye what was the end of those who did mischief. "And if there is a party among you who believes in the message with which I have been sent, and a party which does not believe, hold yourselves in patience until God does decide between us: For He is the best to decide. The leaders, the arrogant party among his people, said: "O Shu'aib! We will certainly drive you out of our city - you and those who believe with you; or else you you and they will have to return to our ways and religion." He said: "What! Even though we do detest them? He said: "Yea, and more, for you will in that case be raised to posts nearest to my person." Said the chiefs of Pharaoh's people: "Will you leave Moses and his people, to spread mischief in the land, and to abandon you and your gods?" He said: "Their male children will we slay; only their females will we save alive; and we have over them power irresistible." Said Moses to his people: "Pray for help from God, and wait in patience and constancy: For the earth is God's, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as He pleases; and the end is best for the righteous. They said: "We have had nothing but trouble, both before and after you came to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you inheritors in the earth; that so He may try you by your deeds." We took the Children of Israel with safety across the sea. They came upon a people devoted entirely to some idols they had. They said: "O Moses! Fashion for us a god like unto the gods they have." He said: "Surely you are a people without knowledge. He said: "Will I seek for you a god other than the true God, when it is God Who has endowed you with gifts above the nations?" When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: "O my Lord! show Yourself to me, that I may look upon you." God said: "By no means can you see Me direct; But look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then will you see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust, and Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to You! To You I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe." When Moses came back to his people, angry and grieved, he said: "Evil it is that you have done in my place in my absence: Did you make haste to bring on the judgment of your Lord?" He put down the tablets, seized his brother by the hair of his head, and dragged him to him. Aaron said: "Son of my mother! The people did indeed reckon me as nothing, and went near to slaying me! Make not the enemies rejoice over my misfortune, nor count you me among the people of sin." "And ordain for us that which is good, in this life and in the Hereafter: For we have turned unto You." He said: "With My punishment I visit whom I will; but My mercy extends to all things. That mercy I will ordain for those who do right, and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs; "Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own scriptures, in the law and the Gospel; for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good and pure and prohibits them from what is bad and impure; He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, it is they who will prosper." day: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of God, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: There is no god but He: It is He That gives both life and death. So believe in God and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believes in God and His words: follow him that so you may be guided." Behold! Your Lord did declare that He would send against them, to the Day of Judgment, those who would afflict them with grievous penalty. Your Lord is quick in retribution, but He is also Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Whom God does guide, he is on the right path: Whom He rejects from His guidance. such are the persons who perish. Do they not reflect? Their companion is not seized with madness: He is but a perspicuous warner. To such as God rejects from His guidance, there can be no guide: He will leave them in their trespasses, wandering in distraction. They ask you about the final Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say: "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord alone: None but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you." They ask you as if you Were eager in search thereof: Say: "The knowledge thereof is with God alone, but most men know not." It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her in love. When they are united, she bears a light burden and carries it about unnoticed. When she grows heavy, they both pray to God their Lord, saying: "If You give us a goodly child, we vow we will ever be grateful." But when He gives them a goodly child, they ascribe to others a share in the gift they have received: But God is exalted high above the partners they ascribe to Him. "For my Protector is God, Who revealed the Book from time to time, and He will choose and befriend the righteous. If a suggestion from Satan assail your mind, seek refuge with God, for He hears and knows all things. That He might justify Truth and prove Falsehood false, distasteful though it be to those in guilt. Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord, and He answered you: "I will assist you with a thousand of the angels, ranks on ranks." Remember He covered you with a sort of drowsiness, to give you calm as from Himself, and he caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you therewith, to remove from you the stain of Satan, to strengthen your hearts, and to plant your feet firmly therewith. It is not you who slew them; it was God. When you threw a handful of dust, it was not your act, but God's: In order that He might test the Believers by a gracious trial from Himself: for God is He Who hears and knows all things. That, and also because God is He Who makes feeble the plans and stratagem of the Unbelievers. If God had found in them any good, He would indeed have made them listen: As it is, if He had made them listen, they would but have turned back and declined Faith. O you who believe! give your response to God and His Messenger, when He calls you to that which will give you life; and know that God comes in between a man and his heart, and that it is He to Whom you will all be gathered. Call to mind when you were a small band, despised through the land, and afraid that men might despoil and kidnap you; But He provided a safe asylum for you, strengthened you with His aid, and gave you Good things for sustenance: That you might be grateful. O you who believe! if you fear God, He will grant you a criterion to judge between right and wrong, remove from you all evil that may afflict you, and forgive you: For God is the Lord of grace unbounded. But God was not going to send them a penalty while you were among them; nor was He going to send it while they could ask for pardon. Remember you were on the hither side of the valley, and they on the farther side, and the caravan on lower ground than you. Even if you had made a mutual appointment to meet, you would certainly have failed in the appointment: But thus you met, that God might accomplish a matter already enacted; that those who died might die after a clear Sign had been given, and those who lived might live after a Clear Sign had been given. And verily God is He Who hears and knows all things. Remember in your dream God showed them to you as few: If He had shown them to you as many, you would surely have been discouraged, and you would surely have disputed in your decision; but God saved you: For He knows well the secrets of all hearts. And remember when you met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes, and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: That God might accomplish a matter already enacted. For to God do all questions go back for decision. "Because God will never change the grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their own souls: And verily God is He Who hears and knows all things." But if the enemy incline towards peace, do you also incline towards peace, and trust in God, for He is One that hears and knows all things. Should they intend to deceive you, verily God suffices you: He it is That has strengthened you with His aid and with the company of the Believers; And moreover He has put affection between their hearts: Not if you had spent all that is in the earth, could you have produced that affection, but God has done it: For He is Exalted in might, Wise. For the present, God has lightened your task, for He knows that there is a weak spot in you: But even so, if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish two thousand, with the leave of God. For God is with those who patiently persevere. O Messenger, say to those who are captives in your hands: "If God finds any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." But if they have treacherous designs against you, O Messenger., they have already been in treason against God, and so has He given you power over them. And God so He Who has full knowledge and wisdom. And still the indignation of their hearts, for God will turn in mercy to whom He will; and God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. But God did pour His calm on the Messenger and on the Believers, and sent down forces which you saw not: He punished the Unbelievers; thus does He reward those without Faith. Again will God, after this, turn in mercy to whom He will: For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. O you who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque. And if you fear poverty, soon will God enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. They take their priests and their monks to be their lords in derogation of God, and they take as their Lord Christ, the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One God, there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: Far is He from having the partners they associate with Him. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest it. The number of months in the sight of God is twelve in a year - so ordained by Him the day He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are sacred: That is the straight usage. So wrong not yourselves therein, and fight the Pagans all together as they fight you all together. But know that God is with those who restrain themselves. Unless you go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him you would not harm in the least. For God has power over all things. If you help not your leader, it is no matter: for God did indeed help him, when the Unbelievers drove him out: He had no more than one companion; they two were in the cave, and he said to his companion, "Have no fear, for God is with us.": then God sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which you saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of God is exalted to the heights: For God is Exalted in might, Wise. If they had intended to come out, they would certainly have made some preparation therefor; but God was averse to their being sent forth; so He made them lag behind, and they were told, "Sit you among those who sit inactive." Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what God has decreed for us: He is our protector.": And on God let the Believers put their trust. Among them are men who molest the Prophet and say, "He is all ear." Say, "He listens to what is best for you: He believes in God, has faith in the Believers, and is a Mercy to those of you who believe." But those who molest the Messenger will have a grievous penalty. The Hypocrites, men and women, have an understanding with each other: They enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are close with their hands. They have forgotten God, so He has forgotten them. Verily the Hypocrites are rebellious and perverse. Among them are men who made a covenant with God, that if He bestowed on them of His bounty, they would give largely in charity, and be truly among those who are righteous. But when He did bestow of His bounty, they became covetous, and turned back from their covenant, averse from its fulfillment. So He has put as a consequence hypocrisy into their hearts, to last till the Day, whereon they will meet Him: Because they broke their covenant with God, and because they lied again and again. They will present their excuses to you when you return to them. Say you: "Present no excuses: We will not believe you: God has already informed us of the true state of matters concerning you: It is your actions that God and His Messenger will observe: In the end will you be brought back to Him Who knows what is hidden and what is open: Then will He show you the truth of all that you did." Some of the desert Arabs look upon their payments as a fine, and watch for disasters for you: On them be the disaster of evil: For God is He That hears and knows all things. The vanguard of Islam - the first of those who forsook their homes and of those who gave them aid, and also those who follow them in all good deeds, well-pleased is God with them, as are they with Him: For them has He prepared gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: That is the supreme felicity. Know they not that God does accept repentance from His votaries and receives their gifts of charity, and that God is verily He, the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful? And say: "Work righteousness: Soon will God observe your work, and His Messenger, and the Believers: Soon will you be brought back to the knower of what is hidden and what is open: then will He show you the truth of all that you did." There are yet others, held in suspense for the command of God, whether He will punish them, or turn in mercy to them: And God is All-Knowing, Wise. And God will not mislead a people after He has guided them, in order that He may make clear to them what to fear and avoid - for God has knowledge of all things. Unto God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, He gives life and He takes it. Except for Him you have no protector nor helper. God turned with favor to the Prophet, the Muhajirs, and the Ansar, who followed him in a time of distress, after that the hearts of a part of them had nearly swerved from duty; but He turned to them also: For He is unto them Most Kind, Most Merciful. He turned in mercy also to the three who were left behind; they felt guilty to such a degree that the earth seemed constrained to them, for all its spaciousness, and their very souls seemed straitened to them, and they perceived that there is no fleeing from God and no refuge but to Himself. Then He turned to them, that they might repent: For God is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. But if they turn away, Say: "God suffices me: there is no god but He: On Him is my trust, He the Lord of the Throne of Glory Supreme!" To Him will be your return - of all of you. The promise of God is true and sure. It is He Who begins the process of creation, and repeats it, that He may reward with justice those who believe and work righteousness; but those who reject Him will have draughts of boiling fluids, and a penalty grievous, because they did reject Him. It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light of beauty, and measured out stages for her; that you might know the number of years and the count of time. Nowise did God create this but in truth and righteousness. Thus does He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand. When trouble touches a man, He cries unto Us in all postures - lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have solved his trouble, he passes on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him! Thus do the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes! Say: "If God had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried among you: Will you not then understand?" They serve, besides God, things that hurt them not nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with God." Say: "Do you indeed inform God of something He knows not, in the heavens or on earth? Glory to Him! And far is He above the partners they ascribe to Him!" He it is Who enables you to traverse through land and sea; so that you even board ships; they sail with them with a favorable wind, and they rejoice thereat; then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think they are being overwhelmed: They cry unto God, sincerely offering their duty unto Him saying, "If you do deliver us from this, we will truly show our gratitude!" But God does call to the Home of Peace: He does guide whom He pleases to a way that is straight. Say: "Of your `partners´ is there any that can give any guidance towards truth?" Say: "It is God Who gives guidance towards truth, is then He Who gives guidance to truth more worthy to be followed, or he who finds not guidance himself unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you? How judge you?" Or do they say, "He forged it"? Say: "Bring then a Sura like unto it, and call to your aid anyone you can besides God, if it be you speak the truth!" One day He will gather them together: It will be as if they had tarried but an hour of a day: They will recognize each other: Assuredly those will be lost who denied the meeting with God and refused to receive true guidance. It is He Who gives life and who takes it, and to Him will you all be brought back. Let not their speech grieve you: For all power and honor belong to God. It is He Who hears and knows all things. He it is That has made you the night that you may rest therein, and the day to make things visible to you. Verily in this are signs for those who listen to His Message. They say: "God has begotten a son!" - Glory be to Him! He is self-sufficient! His are all things in the heavens and on earth! No warrant have you for this! say you about God what you know not? Relate to them the story of Noah. Behold! He said to his people: "O my people, if it be hard on your mind that I should stay with you and commemorate the signs of God, yet I put my trust in God. Get you then an agreement about your plan and among your partners, so your plan be on to you dark and dubious. Then pass your sentence on me, and give me no respite. No soul can believe, except by the will of God, and He will place doubt or obscurity on those who will not understand. If God do touch you with hurt, there is none can remove it but He: If He do design some benefit for you, there is none can keep back His favor: He causes it to reach whomsoever of His servants He pleases. And He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Follow you the inspiration sent unto you, and be patient and constant, till God do decide: For He is the best to decide. "And to preach thus, `Seek you the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance; that He may grant you enjoyment, good and true, for a term appointed, and bestow His abounding grace on all who abound in merit! But if you turn away, then I fear for you the penalty of a great day: `To God is your return, and He has power over all things.´" Behold! They fold up their hearts, that they may lie hid from Him! Ah even when they cover themselves with their garments, He knows what they conceal, and what they reveal: For He knows well the inmost secrets of the hearts. There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance depends on God. He knows the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: All is in a clear Record. He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days - and His Throne was over the waters - that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct. But if you were to say to them, "You will indeed be raised up after death.", the Unbelievers would be sure to say, "This is nothing but obvious sorcery!" But if We give him a taste of Our favors after adversity has touched him, he is sure to say, "All evil has departed from me.": Behold! He falls into exultation and pride. Or they may say, "He forged it.", Say, "Bring you then ten Suras forged, like unto it, and call to your aid whomsoever you can, other than God. If you speak the truth! "If then they your false gods answer not your call, know you that this revelation is sent down replete with the knowledge of God, and that there is no god but He! Will you even then submit to Islam?" He said: "O my people! See you if it be that I have a Clear Sign from my Lord, and that He has sent Mercy unto me from His own presence, but that the Mercy has been obscured from your sight? Will we compel you to accept it when you are averse to it? He said: "Truly, God will bring it on you if He wills, and then, you will not be able to frustrate it! "Of no profit will be my counsel to you, much as I desire to give you good counsel, if it be that God wills to leave you astray: He is your Lord! And to Him will you return!" Or do they say, "He has forged it"? Say: "If I had forged it, on me were my sin! And I am free of the sins of which you are guilty! Forthwith he starts constructing the Ark: Every time that the chiefs of his people passed by him, they threw ridicule on him. He said: "If you ridicule us now, we in our turn can look down on you with ridicule likewise! The son replied: "I will betake myself to some mountain: It will save me from the water." Noah said: "This day nothing can save, from the command of God, any but those on whom He has mercy! "And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood. He said: "O Noah! He is not of your family: For his conduct is unrighteous. So ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge! I give you counsel, lest you act like the ignorant!" To the 'Ad People We sent Hud, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. Your other gods you do nothing but invent! "And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance: He will send you the skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your strength: So turn you not back in sin!" "We say nothing but that perhaps some of our gods may have seized you with imbecility." He said: "I call God to witness, and do you bear witness, that I am free from the sin of ascribing, to Him, "I put my trust in God, My Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving creature, but He has grasp of its fore-lock. Verily, it is my Lord that is on a straight Path. To the Thamud People We sent Salih, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. It is He Who has produced you from the earth and settled you therein: Then ask forgiveness of Him, and turn to Him in repentance: For my Lord is always near, ready to answer." He said: "O my people! Do you see? If I have a Clear Sign from my Lord and He has sent Mercy unto me from Himself, who then can help me against God if I were to disobey Him? What then would you add to my portion but perdition? When Our Decree issued, We saved Salih and those who believed with him, by special Grace from Ourselves - and from the Ignominy of that day, for your Lord - He is the Strong One, and able to enforce His Will. There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said, "Peace!" He answered, "Peace!" And hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf. They said: "Do you wonder at God's decree? The grace of God and His blessings on you, o you people of the house! For He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!" When Our messengers came to Lot, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless to protect them. He said: "This is a distressful day." And his people came rushing towards him, and they had been long in the habit of practising abominations. He said: "O my people! Here are my daughters: They are purer for you if you marry! Now fear God, and cover me not with shame about my guests! Is there not among you a single right-minded man?" He said: "Would that I had power to suppress you or that I could betake myself to some powerful support." To the Madyan People We sent Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: He said: "O my people! Worship God. You have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight: I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass you all round. He said: "O my people! see you whether I have a Clear Sign from my Lord, and He has given me sustenance pure and good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire your betterment to the best of my power; and my success in my task can only come from God. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look. He said: "O my people! Is then my family of more consideration with you than God. For you cast Him away behind your backs with contempt. But verily my Lord encompasses on all sides all that you do! |
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