SURA 2 (II) The
Cow . Here begins the second part of S.2. By
its contents and style, S.2 (II) resembles S.5. It deals with at least four
main themes in mixed order: 1) food (vv. 168'169,172'73), wine and gambling
(v.219), proper behavior (vv. 189, 267), and usury and lending (vv. 275,280,
282'283); 2) prayer (vv. 238'239), making contributions (vv. 195, 215, 254,
261'267, 270'274), pilgrimage (vv. 189, 194, 196'203, 217), and fasting (vv.
183' 187); 3) justice (v.188), oaths (vv. 224'225), retaliation and murder (vv.
178'179), wills (vv. 180'182, 240), orphans (v.220), marriage (vv. 221'223),
and divorce (vv. 226'237, 241); and
4) the absence of
compulsion in religion (v.256), the Christians (v.253), a few Biblical Prophets
(vv. 246'251), and conduct in war (vv. 190'195, 216'218, 243'244).
Medinan,
286 verses
Part II. (Vv.
163-286)
163. Your God is
One God!
There is no god
but Him, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
164*Verily, in the
creation of Heavens and earth,
in the succession
of night and day,
in the ships that
sail upon the sea for man’s benefit,
in the water that
God sends down from the sky
to revive the
earth after it had died,
in
the dispersal of animals on it, in the change of winds, in the clouds caught
between the sky and the earth, there are Signs for the people who think.
165.Some people
take [gods] besides God as [His] equals
and
love them as they love God,
but
the love of the believers for God is much stronger.
If
the wrong-doers were able to see, they would see the punishment and realize
that all power is with God, and that God is severe in retaliation!
165. When the leaders will abandon their followers,
they
will see the punishment and their ties will break off.
166. Those who followed them shall say:
“If
we only had a chance,
we
would’ve disowned them, just as they’ve disowned us!” Then God will show them
how much their actions were damaging to them, and that they have no way out of
the Fire!
168.O people! Of all that is upon the earth, eat only what is lawful
and good, and do not walk in the footsteps of Satan — indeed, he is your
declared enemy.
169. He urges you to commit evil and indecency,
and to accuse God
of something you do not know.
“Follow
God’s Revelation,”
they
say:
“No,
we’ll follow what we’ve inherited from our fathers.” But their fathers had
little understanding and did not follow the Guidance.
171. The disbelievers are like those who respond
only to yelling. They hear nothing but calls and cries —
they are deaf,
dumb, and blind; they lack understanding.
172. O you, who have believed!
Eat
of the good things We have provided you with and be grateful to God if you are
worshiping Him.
173*He has forbidden you carrion, blood, pork, and [food] over which
a name other than God’s had been invoked. But if someone does it under duress
and not out of disobedience or enmity, there will be no sin upon him.
Verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
174. Verily, those who conceal for a small gain
the
smallest part of the Scripture revealed by God are stuffing their bellies with
Fire.
On
Resurrection Day God will not turn to them and will not purify them.
A painful
punishment is [in store] for them!
175. They are of those who traded Guidance for error
and forgiveness for punishment.
They are obstinate
even before the Fire!
176. It is because God has sent down a Scripture
with the Truth — verily, those who contest the Scripture are in deep dissent.
177*Righteousness is not in turning your faces east or west.
Righteousness is in believing in God, the Last Day, the Angels, the Scripture,
and the Prophets;
in contributing,
out of love for Him,
to
relatives, to orphans, to the needy, to travelers, to beggars, and to the
captives;
in
observing the prayer, paying the zakat, and fulfilling one’s obligations;
in
being patient in suffering, adversity, and war — such are the truthful, such
are those who fear God!
178*O you, who
have believed!
Here
is the balanced retaliation imposed on you for murder: a free [man] for a free
[man], a slave for a slave, and a woman for a woman.
If
the brother [of the victim] forgives, then resolve the [case] according to
custom, and compensate him in an amiable way.
There
is relief in this and mercy from your Lord;
but a repeat transgressor shall get a painful punishment! 179. O
people with sense!
There
is life for you in balanced retaliation — perhaps you will fear God!
180*If you own property, and death approaches you, you ought to draw
a will, as required by custom, naming your parents and relatives. Such is the
duty of the God-fearing!
181. If [a will] is changed after its reading, then
those who changed it are guilty. Verily, God hears and knows [everything]!
182. But if someone, fearing partiality
or
malice on the part of the testator, reconciles [the contenders], no guilt shall
be upon him.
Verily,
God is forgiving and merciful!
183.O you who have
believed!
Fasting
is prescribed to you, as it has been prescribed to your predecessors, perhaps,
you will fear God!
184. There is a prescribed number of days [for
fasting]; but if anyone of you is sick or is traveling,
their
number should [be completed] on other days. Any one who cannot do it must
redeem himself by feeding a poor person, but it is better for him to give more
of his own accord.
Fasting
is better for you, if you [only] knew!
185. Ramadan is the month of the revelation of the
Koran — a Guide with clear Proofs for men,
for
their Guidance and Salvation.
Everybody
should spend this month fasting!
But
if any one is sick or is on the road, let him complete the missed days later on
— indeed, God wants to make things easy for you. After completing the number
[of days], glorify Him for His Guidance — perhaps, you will be grateful!
186. If My servants ask you about Me, [tell them]
that I am nearby and that I will answer the prayer of everyone who prays if he
calls upon Me.
Let
them respond to Me and believe in Me — perhaps, they will walk in the right
path!
187*You are allowed to
approach your wives during the fast at night.
They
are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them.
God
knows that you will be deceiving yourselves, so He turned to you and forgave
you.
Therefore,
approach them and seek what God has prescribed to you. Eat and drink till dawn,
until you can tell a white thread from a black one, and then keep fasting till
nightfall.
And
do not approach [your wives] when you retreat to the mosques. Such are the
limits of God — do not transgress them.
This
is how God makes His Signs clear to the people — perhaps, they will be
God-fearing!
188. Do not consume your property among yourselves frivolously, and
do not use it to bribe judges
in
order to consume unlawfully and knowingly a part of [other] people’s property.
189*If you are asked about the new moons, say: “They are Signs for
people to keep time and [to perform] the pilgrimage.”
It
is not proper to sneak into a house from the back, but it is proper to fear
God.
So
enter a house through the front door and fear God — perhaps, you will prosper!
190. Fight in the cause of God against those who
fight you, but do not transgress any limits.
Verily, God does
not love the transgressors.
191. Slay them wherever you come upon them
and expel them
from where they have expelled you.
Indeed,
persecution is worse than murder!
But
do not fight them at the Sacred Mosque, unless they attack you first.
Slay
them if they fight you — such is the retribution for those who disbelieve!
192. But if they refrain themselves,
then, verily, God
is forgiving and merciful!
193. Fight them to the end of the persecutions, and
until religion is restored to God.
If
they stop, hostility will end, except against the wrong-doers.
194*A sacred month
— for a sacred month.
The
law of balanced retaliation applies to prohibitions. If anyone attacks you,
attack him as he attacked you; but fear God and know that God is with the
God-fearing.
195.Contribute to
the cause of God
and do not let your hands lead you to destruction.
Do good works — verily, God loves those who do good!
196*Complete the
pilgrimage and the [rite of] ’umra
for
God’s sake; but if something stands in your way, contribute according to your
means.
And
do not shave your head until the offering reaches its destination.
If
any one of you is sick or has sores on his scalp, let him substitute shaving by
fasting, almsgiving, or making an offering.
When
peace returns, anyone can carry over [the rite] of ’umra to pilgrimage;
but
first let him make an offering according to his means.
If
he does not have the means,
let
him fast three days while in pilgrimage and seven upon his return for a total
of ten.
This
does not apply to the families living by the Sacred Mosque.
Fear God and remember that God is severe in punishment. 197*The
months of pilgrimage are known to all.
Whoever
takes upon himself the duty of pilgrimage must abstain from intercourse and
vice and avoid quarreling during pilgrimage.
Whatever
good you do, God will be aware of it!
Prepare
provisions, but the best provision
is
the fear of God. So fear Me if you have sense.
198*You shall not be at fault if [during pilgrimage] you seek a
bounty from your Lord.
After
coming down from [Mount] ’Arafat, celebrate God at the Sacred Memorial and
remember how He has guided you, even if you were astray before.
199. Then move further along with the other people
and ask God for forgiveness —
verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
200. After performing your religious duties,
remember God, as you remember your fathers, but even with more fervor. Some
people say:
“Our Lord! Give us
[Your bounty] in this world!”
But they shall
have no part in the Hereafter!
201. Among them there are those who say:
“Our Lord! Give us
goodness in this world
and goodness in
the Hereafter,
protect us from
the punishment by the Fire!”
202. These shall receive a share of their earnings —
indeed, God is quick at accounting.
203*Celebrate God
on the appointed days!
There
shall be no blame on someone who leaves two days earlier, as there shall be no
blame on someone who stays longer. This is for those who fear God — so fear God
and remember that you shall [all] appear before Him.
204.Among the
people [you may find] someone
who
will impress you by his talk about the life of this world,
and he will call
God to witness what is in his heart.
He is your most
implacable enemy!
205.Indeed, turning around, he will spread disorder in the land and
destroy cultures and young cattle.
God does not love
corruption!
“Fear God,”
his arrogance
entices him to sin.
Hell is enough for
him — what a bad couch it is!
207. Among the people [you may find] someone
who devotes his
soul to winning God’s satisfaction.
God is full of
kindness for [His] servants!
208.O you who have
believed!
Surrender
yourselves [to God] completely and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps — verily,
he is your declared enemy!
209. But if you falter after receiving the Proofs,
know that God is almighty and wise!
210. Are they waiting for God to descend upon them
with the Angels under the canopy of clouds, thus bringing the matter to an end?
But [all] affairs
return to God!
211. Ask the Children of Israel
how many clear
Signs We have sent them!
If someone altered
the favor of God
after
it had reached him, then, verily, God is severe in punishment.
212. The life of this world is embellished for the
disbelievers.
They
laugh at the believers, but on Resurrection Day the God-fearing shall be raised
above them.
God gives
limitless provisions to anyone He wills.
213*[At first]
people formed one community.
God
used to send them Prophets as Carriers of good tidings and Warners.
He
sent down with them a Scripture with the Truth to resolve all contentions
between people.
But
those who received it continued to argue in order to oppress the others after
the clear Proofs came to them.
By
His Grace God disclosed to the believers
the true cause of
the discord.
God guides to the
straight path those He wills.
214. Do you think that you will enter Paradise
without
going through what your predecessors went through? They had suffered such
grief, distress, and shock that even the Messenger and those who believed with
him kept saying: “When will God help us?”
But, verily, God’s
help is nearby!
215. They ask you what they should contribute.
Say:
“Everything
valuable! Indeed, all you contribute is for parents, relatives, and orphans,
the poor and the wayfarers.
Verily, God is
well aware of your good works.”
216. It is prescribed for you to fight,
even though you
dislike it.
Yet,
you may dislike what is good for you and like what is bad for you.
God knows, but you
do not know.
217. They ask you about war during the sacred month.
Say:
“Fighting during
[this month] is a great [sin].
But a greater
[sin] in the eyes of God
is preventing
access to God while denying Him,
and
[admission] to the Sacred Mosque, while expelling people from it.”
Oppression is
worse than murder!
They will not
cease to fight you
until they turn
you away from your religion,
if they only could
do it.
But those who turn
away from their religion
and
die in disbelief, their deeds will be to no avail both in this world and in the
Hereafter.
They are the
inmates of the Fire
in which they
shall stay for ever!
218. Verily, the believers who had been exiled
while
fighting in the cause of God, aspire to God’s mercy — indeed, God is forgiving
and merciful!
219. They ask you about wine and the game of maisir.
Say:
“There is a great
sin in them
and also some
profit for people,
albeit more sin
than profit.”
They ask you how
much they have to contribute.
Say:
“All you can
spare!”
This is how God
explains the Signs to you — perhaps, you will start thinking about this life
and the Hereafter!
220. They ask you about the orphans.
Say:
“It’s best to act
in their interest.
If
you become their partners, they become your brothers. God can tell the corrupt
from the righteous.
If
God so willed, He could cause you trouble — verily, He is all-mighty and
all-wise!”
221. Do not marry [female] Associators until they
believe. A believing female slave is better than an Associator who appeals to
you.
Do
not wed [your women] to Associators until they believe. A believing male slave
is better than an Associator who appeals to you and calls you to the Fire.
But
by His Grace God calls you to the Garden and to forgiveness.
Thus
He explains His Signs to the people — perhaps they will come to their senses!
222*They ask you
about menstruation.
Say:
“It’s a pain and a
pollution!
So withdraw from
women in menstruation
and
don’t come near them until they purified themselves. After they purified
themselves,
approach
them as God has commanded you to do.” Verily, God loves those who turn to him,
and He loves those who purify themselves.
223. Your women are like your fields,
so
go to your fields whenever you wish, but first do something good for your soul.
Fear
God and keep in mind that you shall meet Him; and announce the good tidings to
the believers!
224. Do not use God’s Name in your oaths
as
an excuse for abstaining from good works, devotion, and peace-making among
people. God is hearing and all-knowing!
225. God will not hold you accountable for the
superficial in your oaths, but He will hold you accountable for the intentions
in your hearts. God is forgiving and full of love!
226. Those who swore not to approach their wives
have to wait four months, but if they return, then, verily, God is forgiving
and merciful!
227. And if they decide to divorce,
then verily, God
is hearing and all-knowing!
228. Divorced women must wait three periods.
If
they believe in God and the Last Day, they are not allowed to hide what God has
created in their wombs.
It
is more honorable for their husbands to take them back during that time if they
incline toward reconciliation.
By
custom, [women] have the same rights as men, albeit men have a degree of
advantage over them. God is all-mighty and all-wise!
229. Divorce [is allowed] twice.
After
that, let them stay together as customary or separate on kindly terms.
[The
husband] should not take back any of his gifts if they are both apprehensive
of
transgressing the limits set up by God.
But
if you fear that they will not be able to keep the limits set up by God, then
neither of them shall be at fault if [the wife] buys herself out.
Such
are the limits set up by God — do not transgress them!
Whoever exceeds
God’s limits is doing wrong.
230*A man who divorces [irrevocably] cannot remarry [his wife]
before she marries someone else, and [the latter] divorces her.
After
that neither of them shall be at fault if they return [to each other] and agree
to keep the limits set up by God.
Such
are the limits set up by God
which
He makes clear to the people who understand.
231. When you divorce your wives,
you
can retain them according to custom, to the end of the time prescribed for
them, or let them go according to custom.
But
do not retain them to harm or to oppress them. Whoever does that is harming his
soul.
Do
not take the Signs of God lightly, but remember the goodness you have received
from God and what He has sent down to you for your edification from the
Scripture and Wisdom.
Fear God and know
that God is aware of everything.
232. When you divorce your wives,
then,
after they reach the term prescribed for them, do not prevent them from
marrying their [former] husbands if they both agree on the usual terms.
This is an
instruction for everyone who believes in God and the Last Day — this is clearer
and purer for you.
God knows what you
do not know!
233. Let mothers breast-feed their children two full
years if the father wants to complete this term.
His
duty is to feed and clothe them as customary.
No
soul should bear a burden greater than she can bear; no mother should suffer
because of her child, and no father because of his child.
This
applies to the father’s heir as well.
If
by mutual agreement the [parents] decide to wean early, there will be no fault
upon either of them.
There
will be no fault upon you
if
you decide to get a wet nurse for your children, but by custom you must pay
[her] the fee agreed upon. Fear God and know that God sees everything you do.
234.If widows are left after one of you dies let them wait four
months and ten [days].
At
the end of this period, it will not be sinful of them, if they dispose of
themselves according to custom.
God is well aware
of everything you do.
235. You will not be blamed if you make a proposal
or if you conceive it in your soul:
God
knows that you cannot abstain from [women].
Do
not make them secret promises, but speak, as required by custom.
And
do not tie the marriage knot with them until the prescribed term is over.
Know
that God is aware of what is in your hearts. Beware of Him and know
that God is
forgiving and full of love!
236. There will be no fault upon you if you divorce
wives before touching them or determining their dower.
Make
them [a gift] — the rich according to his means, and the poor according to his
means.
This is binding
for the upright.
237*If you divorce them before consummation, but after the dower has
been agreed upon, then half of the dower is theirs, unless they relinquish it
themselves or it is relinquished by the one who holds the [marriage] ties.
But
to relinquish is nearer to righteousness. Do not forget to be generous to each
other. Verily, God observes everything you do.
238.Attend to prayers, [especially] the mid[day] prayer and stand
reverently before God!
239.If you fear
[the enemy], pray standing or on horseback; and when the danger is over,
remember God — indeed, He is the One,
Who taught you
what you did not know.
240. Those of you who might leave widows upon dying
should bequeath to their widows upkeep for a year. But if they leave on their
accord,
there will be no
fault upon you
if they dispose of
themselves according to custom.
God is mighty and
wise!
241. Provide divorced women with the customary
upkeep — such is the duty of the God-fearing.
242. This is how God explains His Signs to you —
perhaps you will understand!
243*Didn’t your sight turn to those who left their houses fearing for
their life? There were thousands of them! God said to them:
— Let you die!
Then
He brought them back to life. Verily, God is full of mercy for man, but most
people are ungrateful.
244.So fight in
the cause of God,
and know that God
is hearing and all-knowing!
245.Who will give
God a good loan,
which
God will return multiplied many times? God gives you either poverty or
prosperity — to Him is your return.
246*Have you not
turned your sight
to
the leaders of the Sons of Israel after Moses?
They
said to their Prophet:
“Anoint
us a King, and we’ll fight in the cause of God!”
He
said:
“And
what if you refuse to fight when required to go to battle?” They said:
“How
can we refuse to fight in the cause of God
after
we’ve been chased away from our houses and children?” But when they were
ordered to fight, they turned back, except a few of them.
God knows those
who do wrong!
247*The Prophet
said to them:
“God
has appointed Talut as your King.”
They
said:
“How
can he rule over us
if
we’ve more rights to kingship than he; moreover, he’s not that wealthy!” [The
Prophet] said:
“God has chosen
him over you
and
has raised him in Knowledge and strength. God bestows His power upon anyone He
wills.
God is
all-encompassing and all-knowing!”
248*And the
Prophet also said:
“The
Sign of his kingship is the coming to you of an Ark, carried by Angels, with
the Sakina of your Lord and relics of the family of Moses and the family of
Aaron. There’s a Sign for you in this if you believe.”
249*Then Talut set out with [his] forces and said: “God is going to
test you by a river — whoever drinks from it, isn’t with me, but whoever
doesn’t taste it, is with me;
and
whoever scoops a little with his hand won’t be counted.” They all drank from
it, except a few.
When
he and those who believed with him crossed [the river], they said:
“Today
We won’t be able to cope with Djalut and his forces!” But those who believed in
the meeting with God, said: “How many times with God’s permission, a small
force has defeated a stronger one!
God is with those
who endure!”
250. Advancing to meet Djalut and his armies, they
said:
“O
our Lord! Fill us with endurance, steady our feet, and help us against the
disbelievers!”
251. They prevailed, with God’s permission, and
David killed Djalut.
God
gave him kingship and wisdom, and taught him everything He willed.
Had
not God restrained people from one another, the land would have been swamped
with iniquity; but God is full of Grace for the Worlds.
252. These are the Verses of God
which We recite to
you in Truth.
Verily, you are
one of the Messengers!
253*We have given preference to some Messengers over the others: God
spoke to some of them; others He raised in rank.
To
Jesus, son of Mary, We gave the Proofs, and We supported him by the Holy
Spirit. Had God so willed, the next generations would not have fought among
themselves. But when the Proofs came to them, they went separate ways: some
believed and others rejected the faith.
Had
God so willed, they would not have fought one another, but God does whatever He
wills.
254.O you who have
believed!
Contribute from the provisions We
have given to you, till the Day when there shall be no trade nor friendship,
nor intercession — those who rejected faith are sinners.
255*God! There
is no god but Him.
He is the Living,
the Existing!
Neither slumber
nor sleep can overcome Him.
To Him belongs
everything in the Heavens and earth!
Who
can intercede for you before Him without His permission?
He
knows their past and their future, but without His permission, they cannot
grasp a speck of His Knowledge!
His
Throne extends over the Heavens and earth, and He is not tired of caring for
them.
He is the Exalted,
the Great.
256*There is no
compulsion in religion!
It is easy to tell
righteousness from error.
Whoever
rejects the idols and believes in God leans onto the sturdiest support that
nothing can break. God is hearing and all-knowing!
257.God is the
Protector of the believers.
He
leads them out of darkness into the light, but those who reject faith are
sponsored by idols who lead them out of the light into darkness.
They
are the inmates of the Fire, and they shall abide in it for ever.
258*Have you not turned your sight to the man who argued with
Abraham about his Lord because God had given him power?
Abraham
said:
“My
Lord is the One, Who gives life and death!”
He
said:
“I’m
the one who gives life and death!”
Abraham
said:
“God
makes the sun rise from the east, try to make it rise from the west!” This
confounded the disbeliever —
God
does not guide the people who do wrong!
259*Or another
example.
Someone
passing by a ruined town with overturned roofs said: “How can God bring back to
life what has been destroyed?” God caused him to die for a hundred years, then
He revived him and said:
— How long have
you waited?
He said:
“A day or less.”
[God] said:
— No, you have
waited for a hundred years.
Look at your food
and your drink: they have not changed.
Now, look at your
donkey:
to
let you become a Sign for the people, see how We assemble his bones and cover
them up with flesh.
After
this was clearly demonstrated to him, he said: “I know that God has power over
everything!”
260*And Abraham
said:
“O
my Lord! Show me how You revive the dead.” [God] said: — Have you not believed
yet?
He said:
“Yes, but reassure
my heart.”
[God] said:
—
Take four birds and teach them to return to you, then place them in pieces on
different hills.
Call them, and
they will hurry back to you!
Know that God is
mighty and wise!
261. He who contributes of his wealth to the cause
of God is like a seed that produces seven ears
with a hundred
grains in each ear.
God enriches
anyone He wills —
God is boundless
and all-knowing!
262. Those who spend of their wealth in the cause of
God and contribute without reproaches or insults,
shall receive
their reward from their Lord;
they shall have no
fear nor grief.
263. Kind words and forgiveness
are better than
charity with abuse.
God is rich and
full of love!
264.O you who have
believed!
Do
not depreciate your charitable acts by reproaches and abuse like someone who
contributes of his property just to show off, without believing either in God
or the Last Day. He is like a rock covered with soil: rain will fall and wash
it bare.
What
they have earned will be in vain —
God
does not guide the people who reject faith.
265. But those who contribute of their property,
seeking to please God and fortify their souls, are like a garden on a high
place.
A
downpour will fall and double the crop, and if not a downpour, then some dew
will suffice — God sees well all what you do.
266. Would not each of you like to have a garden
with rivers flowing under it,
with
palm trees and vines, with fruit of all kinds? What if old age comes and the
children are still weak, and suddenly a fire-bearing whirlwind alights and sets
it on fire?
This
is how God makes the Signs clear to you — perhaps you will reflect?
267.O you who have
believed!
Contribute
from the best of your possessions and of from what We have grown for you on the
land. When you contribute, do not look for worthless things that you would
accept for yourselves only with closed eyes. Let you know that God is rich and
praiseworthy!
268.Satan
threatens you with poverty
and calls you to
indecency;
whereas God
promises you His forgiveness and Grace.
God is limitless
and all-knowing!
269. He grants wisdom to whom He wills, and the one
who is granted wisdom receives an abundance of goodness.
But only those who
have sense remember [it].
270. God knows about each of your contributions and
about each of your pledges.
And the
wrong-doers will not have any helpers!
271. It is all right if you give alms in the open,
but it is better for you to do it in secret and to give to the poorest;
this
will atone for some of your sins — God is well aware of what you do.
It
is not up to you to set [people] on the right path — It is God Who sets on the
right path anyone He wills. Everything good you donate will benefit your souls,
but donate only while seeking the Face of God!
Whatever
good you donate shall be returned to you in full, and you shall not be treated
wrongly.
273*All this is for the needy who have devoted themselves to the
cause of God, but are unable to travel in the land.
They
are so modest that the ignorant may think that they are not in need.
But
you recognize them by their mark: they do not importune people, [begging] for
help. Verily, God is aware of whatever of value you give away.
274. Those who contribute of their wealth by night
or day, in secret or in public, shall get a reward from their Lord, and they
shall neither fear nor grieve.
275. But those who feed on usury shall rise like
those whom Satan has driven to madness by his touch.
They say:
“Trade is like
usury,”
although
God has allowed trade and forbidden usury. Those who abstain upon learning the
prohibition of their Lord shall have their past forgiven —
indeed, their case
is in God’s hands.
But
those who relapse shall be the inmates of the Fire to abide in it for ever.
276. God does not condone usury, but encourages
almsgiving — God does not love disbelieving sinners!
277. But those who have believed, have done good
works, prayed, and paid the zakat, their reward is with their Lord;
they shall neither
fear nor grieve.
278.O you who have
believed!
If
you really believe, fear God and give up your profit from usury.
279.If you do not do it, then may you know that God and His
Messenger shall go to war against you.
But if you repent,
you shall retain most of your property.
Do not oppress
anyone — then nobody will oppress you.
280.If [a debtor]
is in difficulty,
give
him time to recover.
But
it will be better for you to remit out of charity, if you [only] knew!
281. Beware of the Day when you shall be returned to God: then every
soul shall be paid what she earned, and nobody shall be wronged.
282.O you who have
believed!
If
you contract a debt for a stated term, write it down. Let a scribe record it
faithfully for both sides.
and let him not
refuse to write as God has taught [him].
Let the debtor
himself dictate to him,
but let him fear
God, his Lord,
and avoid reducing
his debt by the least amount.
If the debtor is
feeble-minded
or
if he is in ill health, or unable to dictate, then let his caretaker dictate,
but in fairness.
Call in two of
your men as witnesses
or, if two men are
not available,
one
man and two women from among those whom you approve as witnesses.
If
one makes a mistake, the other one will correct her. When summoned, witnesses
should not recuse themselves.
Do
not neglect to write the term [of a transaction], be it small or large as this
is more equitable in the sight of God, more authentic as evidence, and more
convenient to avoid doubt.
But
if the transaction is done between you hand to hand, you shall not be blamed
for not writing it down.
Bargain
with each other before witnesses, but see that no harm is caused to the scribe
or to the witness.
If
you cause [them harm], it shall be a sinful act on your part.
Fear
God! God teaches you — indeed, God is aware of all things!
283.Deposits are in order when you are traveling
and cannot find a scribe,
but
if one party trusts the other party with a deposit, the one receiving the
deposit should return it.
Let
him fear God, his Lord, and let him avoid concealing a testimony.
If
anyone conceals it, his heart is really corrupt — God knows all that you do.
284. To God belongs everything in Heavens and earth.
If
you reveal or conceal what is in your soul, God will bring you to account.
He will forgive
whom He wills and punish whom He wills.
God has power over
all things.
285.The Messenger and the faithful believe in the
Revelation sent down to him from his Lord.
They
all believe in God, in His Angels, in His Scriptures, and in His Messengers.
[The faithful
say]:
“We make no
distinction between His Messengers.”
They also say:
“We hear and we
obey! Forgive us, o our Lord!
To You is [our]
return!”
286. God does not burden any soul beyond her
strength.
She
earns something to her good, and something to her harm.
[Say:]
“O our Lord! Don’t
condemn us
if we forget
something or make a mistake.
O
our Lord! Don’t load us with the same burden You’ve loaded on those who were
before us.
O our Lord! Don’t
load us beyond our strength.
Overlook [our
sins], pardon us and have mercy upon us —
You are our
Sovereign indeed!
And help us
against disbelieving people!”
V. 173: “Over
which any name other than God’s was invoked,” or: “what has not been consecrated
to God.”
V. 177: A
description of righteousness. “The wayfarers” or “those who fight for God” (cf.
v.215). “In war” or “in calamity.”
V. 178: “A
balanced retaliation,” — qisas — is the lawful vengeance, mitigated by
the possibility of ransom (S.27:48).
V. 180-2: A more detailed
legislation of inheritance is given in S.5:106-8. “According to custom” (al-ma'ruf)
also means “in the accepted way,” ’’honorably,” “reputedly,” “as required.”
Islamic law is based on the Koran, tradition, and the hadith
— a collection of a few hundred thousand sayings of the Prophet and his
associates on a variety of social occasions.
V. 187: “They are a garment for you,” meaning: they are
for your comfort (lit.: “they are your covers”). “What God has prescribed to
you” is the offspring of marriage.
V. 189: “Enter through the front door,” figuratively, be
open, straightforward.
V. 194: “Fear of God” (taqawa) is the highest
virtue, the constant feeling of God’s presence (S.88:24); the epithet “the
God-fearing” al-muttaqin is met at every turn of the Koran; it can also
been understood as “those who fear evil.”
V. 196: Pilgrimage is the duty of every Muslim, but it
depends on financial and other considerations listed in the Koran.
”An offering,” probably an animal.
V. 197: The three months of pilgrimage — Shawwal,
Dhul-qa'da, and Dhul-hajj, the latter meaning “[the month] of
pilgrimage.”
V. 198: Trade is allowed during pilgrimage.
V. 203: The last three days of pilgrimage — tashrik.
V. 213: The first Scripture was the Bible; clear Proofs
came with the Koran, later on, but many Jews rejected them.
V. 222: Pollution and ailment are one word in Arabic.
V. 230: “[Irrevocably],” i.e., for a third time. “The
limits of God” are the waiting periods and financial settlements.
V. 237: “Who holds the [marriage] ties,” i.e., the
husband.
V. 243: A reference to the expulsion of Muslims from
Mecca.
V. 246: The Prophet in question is Samuel.
V. 247: Talut is the Biblical king Saul.
V. 248: Sakina, the Hebrew “shekhina,” symbolizes
the Spirit and the Presence of God. The Prophets who have “seen” God, Moses,
for example, have not experienced God Himself, but His sakina. The “Ark” is the
symbol of man’s heart and soul.
V. 249. Djalut is Goliath. In the Bible the story
of crossing the river is attributed to Gideon (Judges 7:4-7).
V. 253: It is Moses who has “spoken with God.”
V. 255: Called “the verse of the Throne,” (ayat
al-kursi), this remarkable verse is one of the best known of the Koran.
V. 256: Idols or “taghut” (S.39;17).
V. 258: The person who disputed with Abraham could have
been Nimrod. However, identification of Koranic characters with Biblical
characters is often problematic.
V. 259: The man is a stereotype of several Biblical
figures.
V. 260: In another version of this story Abraham was told
to place four birds on the hilltops instead of pieces of four birds, but then
the strong image of miraculous revival is lost.
V. 273: To travel in order to make a living.
Sura 58 The Plaintiff. This late sura, addressed directly to the
Prophet, is without introduction or conclusion. It consists of four
pronouncements on 1) the validity of pagan divorce, the so-called zihar (vv.
1-4); 2) the proper conduct of a Muslim in private and public life (vv. 5-13);
3) the conduct of disbelievers (vv. 14-20); and 4) the inevitable triumph of
Islam (vv. 21-22).
Meccan, 22
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* — [O Muhammad!] God has heard the words of [the woman] who
petitioned you concerning her husband.
She complained to
God,
and God listens to
the arguments of both sides.
Verily, God is hearing
and observing!
2* Some of you
divorce their wives by the rite of zihar,
[calling them
their mothers’ spine].
But they are not
their mothers!
Their mothers are
those who gave them birth.
Of
course, their words are offending and deceptive, but, verily, God is relenting
and forgiving!
3. Whoever divorces his wives by the rite of
zihar, and later on wants to go back on his words, [should] free a slave before
resuming relations — this is prescribed for you.
God is well
informed of [everything] you do.
4. If this is above his means, he should fast
two consecutive
months before resuming relations.
If this is still
too much for him,
let him feed sixty
poor people.
This is to make
you believe in God and His Messenger.
Such are the
limits set up by God.
There will be a
painful punishment for the disbelievers!
5. Verily, those who oppose God and His Messenger
shall be
humiliated
like their
predecessors have been humiliated.
Indeed, We had
been sending down clear Signs in the past.
There will be a
humiliating punishment for the disbelievers!
6. On the Day when God raises them all,
He
will inform them of what they have done. Indeed, God takes all into account,
but they have forgotten!
God is witness of
all things.
7. Do you not see that God knows everything in
Heavens and earth?
Three people
cannot meet in private
without
[God] being the fourth;
or
five people without Him being the sixth; or a smaller or larger number without
Him being among them.
He
is with them wherever they are.
Then,
on Resurrection Day,
He
will inform them of what they have done.
Verily,
God is aware of everything.
8* Do you not see that those who were forbidden to hold secret
meetings continue to do what has been prohibited?
They
confer in private about sin, enmity, and disobedience to the Messenger. When
they meet you, they greet you, but not like God would greet you, and say among
themselves:
“Why
doesn’t God punish us for our words?” Hellfire is sufficient for them, and in
it they shall burn.
What
a bad destination!
When
you confer in private, do not plot sin, enmity, and disobedience to the
Messenger, but talk about virtue and fear of God.
Fear
God: to Him is your return!
10. Private meetings are from Satan, who wants to
grieve the believers.
But
he cannot harm them a bit without God’s permission. Let the believers put their
trust in God!
If
you are asked to make room at a meeting, step aside, then God will make room
for you. If you are asked to stand up, stand up, then God will elevate those of
you who have believed and received Knowledge. God is well informed of
everything you do.
Before
consulting the Messenger in private, give some alms: that will be better and
purer for you.
But
if you cannot do it, then, verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
13. Or do you fear to spend on alms before the
meeting?
If
you did not give anything, and God forgave you, then stand up to pray, pay the
zakat, and obey God and His Messenger.
God
is well informed of everything you do.
14* Do you not see those who befriend the people that incurred the
wrath of God?
They are neither with you nor with them,
and they knowingly swear to falsehood.
15.
God has
prepared for them a grievous punishment.
Verily, evil are their deeds!
16.
They use
their oaths as a cover-up,
to turn [people] away from God’s path.
There is a degrading punishment for them.
17.
Neither
wealth nor children
shall help them against God.
They are the inmates of the Fire,
and they shall abide in it for ever!
18.
On the Day
when God will raise them all,
they shall swear to God,
as they have been swearing to you.
They think that they stand on firm ground,
but in reality, they are liars!
19.
Satan
prevailed upon them and made them forget God.
They belong to the party of Satan,
but, verily, the party of Satan is bound to lose.
20.
Verily,
those who oppose God and His Messenger
shall be among the most humiliated.
— I and My Messengers will prevail!
Verily, God is strong and almighty!
22.
Among
those who believe in God and the Last Day, you will not find people
who love the enemies of God and His Messenger,
be they their fathers, sons, brothers, or relatives.
God will admit into the Gardens
under which the rivers flow — their everlasting abode —
only those in whose hearts He has inscribed faith
and whom He has fortified with a Spirit from Himself.
God is satisfied with them, and they are satisfied with
Him.
They are the party of God,
and verily, the party of God shall succeed!
V. 1: Based on an actual case (Khaula vs. ’Aus ibn
as-Samit).
V. 2: “You’re like my mother’s back” was the formula by
which a pagan divorced, leaving his wife tied to the house as a slave.
V. 4: The Koran spells out in detail the conditions for
legal marriage and divorce. Islamic marriage is a civil contract concluded by
the bridegroom and the bride (or her legal guardian) before a judge (qadi)
and witnesses. It is confirmed by the transfer of the dowry that was agreed
upon to the bride. In some countries, the marriage is announced by a noisy
parade of the newlyweds in the vicinity of their houses with a display of the
gifts to the bride. It is illegal to marry a woman without her consent.
Divorce, which the Prophet used to call a necessary evil,
is also described in detail in the Koran and sha’ria. There are two
possibilities: dissolution of marriage on the basis of strict conditions and
waiting periods, and divorce based on mutual consent. In both cases the dowry
remains with the divorced wife, and the parents must abide by certain definite
rules concerning the upkeep and education of their children.
V. 8: Instead of saying as-salamu 'aleik (peace be
upon you), they used to say as-samu 'aleik (poison be upon you).
V. 11: A Muslim must be polite with people, kind at home,
reserved with strangers, respectful with the elderly, hospitable to the
traveler and the needy, and honest in fulfilling his promises. He must
scrupulously observe the traditions, for example, using his right hand for good
deeds, greetings and eating, and his left hand for everything considered to be
unclean.
Good manners demand the exchange of salutations with
proper responses and pious expressions. It is rude, even insulting, to sit
cross legged, turning the soles of one’s shoes to the interlocutor, and it is
especially ill-mannered to put one’s feet on the table.
Whatever his status in society, a Muslim must behave in
all occasions with self-respect. He is adverse to any laissez-faire and to any
manifestation of light-mindedness. The pre-Islamic times are called the Times
of Ignorance. People overcame ignorance when they received Knowledge and came
to believe in Islam. Those who stay outside of Islam are “ignorant,” whatever
historical time they belong to. There is a strong conviction in the Muslim
world that the Western countries have returned to the state of cultural
ignorance and that their life is less enlightened than that of the ancient
heathens.
V. 14: The “falsehood” is that the Jews would accept
Islam.
SURA
4 (I) ^VOMEN. This lengthy late sura with numerous warnings and
prescriptions is better read in separate parts.
The first part deals with
the following topics: 1) Proper conduct (vv. 15-18, 29, 32); 2)prayer (v.43);
3) justice (v.58), murder (v.29), betrayal, sedition (vv. 105-109, 114-115),
and orphans (vv. 2-5, 8-10,127); 4) marriage (vv. 3-4,19-25, 34), divorce (vv.
35, 128-130), and inheritance (vv. 7-8,11-13, 33); and 5) a criticism of the
Jews (vv. 44-47).
The Koranic laws are
interpreted and acted upon by Muslim jurists on the basis of the Arabic
original of the Scripture, with reference to the hadith (sayings of the Prophet)
and the commentaries of scholars. According to their understanding of the Law,
Muslim scholars form several “schools, ” four of which are canonical.
Part II of the sura is on
p. 482.
Medinan,
176 verses
Part I. Vv.
1-60; 105-134
1* O people! Fear your Lord,
Who has created you from a single soul.
From her He has created a mate of like nature,
then He multiplied them
and dispersed them as men and women.
Fear God Whom [you invoke]
when you socialize with one another,
and [respect] the wombs [that have borne you].
Verily, God is watching over you.
2. Return their property to orphans
without replacing valuable items by worthless ones, and do not consume their
property by absorbing it into your own. Verily, this is a great sin.
3* If you fear to be unfair to female orphans, then marry those who
appeal to you, two, three, or four, but if you fear to be unfair to them, then
[marry] only one or a slave — that will be nearer to righteousness.
4* Leave their dower to the women as a gift. But if they wish to
return a part of it to you, use it to your satisfaction.
5. Do not give to the feeble-minded the property
which God has consigned to you,
but use it to feed
and clothe them.
And speak to them
with kindness.
6. Examine orphans when they reach marriageable
age. If you find their judgment sound,
return to them
their property.
And
do not consume it in excess and in haste before they have grown up.
Let
a rich one show restraint [in remuneration], and let a poor one get as much as
allowed by custom. Return the property in the presence of witnesses, although
God suffices for settling the account.
7. There is a share for men in the inheritance
left by parents and near relatives,
and
there is a share for women in the inheritance left by parents and near
relatives.
Small or large,
[everyone] has a definite share in it.
8. If other relatives, orphans, or the poor
take
part in the distribution, give them their share and treat them with kindness.
9. Let [the executors] fear, as they would fear
to
leave after themselves an indigent posterity. Let them fear God and speak
appropriate words.
10. And those who wrongfully devour the property of
orphans are stuffing their bellies with Fire.
Soon they shall
burn in the blazing Fire!
11* This is what God enjoins you about your children’s [inheritance].
To a son — the share of two daughters. If there are two or more daughters,
their share is two-thirds of the inheritance. If there is only one, her share
is one half.
For the parents it
is one sixth each
if [the deceased]
has left children;
if there are no
children
and
the parents are the inheritors, the mother gets one third.
If
he has left children, the mother gets one sixth after the payment of all
obligations and debts. You do not know who are closer to you in benefit, your
parents or your children, as God has decreed — verily, God is all-knowing and
wise!
12* Half of your wives’ inheritance belongs to you if they are
childless, but if they have a child, then your share is one-fourth after the
payment of all obligations and debts.
If
you do not have a child, [your wives’] share of inheritance is one-fourth.
If
you have a child, their share is one-eighth after the payment of all
obligations and debts.
If
the man or the woman who leaves an inheritance has neither parents nor children
and if he [or she] has a brother or sister, then the share of each of them is
one-sixth.
But
if there are more [of them], then they share one-third after the payment of any
obligations and debts. This is to avoid causing loss to [anyone].
Such is God’s
decree —
indeed, God is
all-knowing and full of love!
13. Such are the limits of God.
He
will usher into the Gardens under which the rivers flow those who obey God and
His Messenger to abide [there] for ever.
This will be a
great success!
14. But those who disobey God and His Messenger and
transgress His limits
will
be ushered into the Fire to abide [there] for ever.
This will be a
degrading punishment!
15* If your women have committed indecency, call four witnesses from
your midst.
If
they confirm it, confine them to houses till they die, or till God opens for
them [another] way.
16. If two men among you are guilty of it, punish
them both,
but
let them go if they repent and mend their ways. Verily, God is relenting and
merciful!
17. God accepts the repentance of those
who
did evil out of ignorance and then quickly repented. God relents towards them —
indeed, God is
all-knowing and wise!
18. Repentance is not accepted from someone who
continues to commit evil
and
says only in the face of death: “Now, I repent,”
or from someone
who died in disbelief.
We have prepared
for them a painful punishment.
It
is unlawful for you to inherit women against their will.
If
they are innocent of obvious indecency, do not force them to return to you
even a part of
what you have given to them.
Treat them
according to custom.
If you hate them,
then think
that God could
have put much good in something you hate.
20* If you wish to replace one wife by another one, do not take back
even a bit
of
what you have given [to the first one], even if it is a qintar [of gold].
Would you like to
take it back
by lying and doing
a manifest wrong?
21. How can you take it back after you came into
each other, and gave a solemn pledge?
22. Do not marry women your fathers have been
married to. But what has passed, has passed.
Verily, it is
indecent and repulsive — evil is that way!
23. Forbidden to you are your mothers, daughters,
sisters; your paternal and maternal aunts;
your
brothers’ and sisters’ daughters;
your
suckling nurses, your sisters in suckling;
the
mothers of your wives;
the
stepdaughters under your guardianship from the wives you have been intimate
with;
and
if you have not been intimate with them, then, you are not to be blamed.
Forbidden
to you are the wives of your natural sons and two sisters at the same time.
But what has
passed, has passed.
Verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
24* [Are also forbidden] married women, except your slaves. Such is
God’s decree!
[Other
women] are allowed to you on condition that you will seek them by your means,
decently, and without lust.
If
you have relations with them, give them the compensation agreed upon. You will
not to be blamed if, after making a promise, you change your promise by mutual
consent. Verily, God is all-knowing and wise!
25* If any one of you does not have the means to marry free
believing women, he may [marry] your believing slaves. God is well aware of
your faith — indeed, you are all from one another. Marry them with their
masters’ permission and give them their compensation according to custom. Let
them be chaste, not lustful, and let them abstain from lovers.
If
they commit indecency after marriage, they shall get half the punishment given
to free women. This is for those of you who are afraid of sin;
but
it is better for you to abstain. God is forgiving and merciful!
26* God wants to give you clear instructions to guide you in the
customs of those who lived before you and to forgive you. God is all-knowing
and wise!
but
those who follow their passions want to lead you far away.
28. God wishes to make it easy for you, [indeed],
man has been created weak!
29* O you who have
believed!
Do
not consume each other’s property unjustly, but engage in trade in a mutually
profitable way. Do not destroy yourselves — verily, God is merciful to you.
30. And those who do it out of hostility and
injustice, We will soon cast them into the Fire —
easy it is for
God!
31. If you avoid the most hateful transgressions
that
have been forbidden to you, then We will free you of evil and lead you through
the Gate of honor.
32. And do not covet what God has bestowed upon
some of you more than upon the others. Men shall receive according to their
deeds,
and
women shall receive according to their deeds, so ask God for His favors!
Verily, God knows
about all things!
33* For everyone
We have designated heirs
to what is left by
parents and near relatives.
Give their share
to those
with whom you are
tied by a sworn pledge.
Verily, God is
witness to all things!
34* Men keep women
in their care
because
God gave an advantage to some over the others and because they support them out
of their means.
Upright
women are obedient to God
and
they guard the concealed that God protects.
As
to those whose loyalty you doubt, admonish them, avoid them in bed, and beat
them; but do not get at them if they start obeying you. Verily, God is sublime
and great!
35* If you fear a breach between two [spouses], appoint referees —
one from his
family and one from her family.
God
will bring them back together if they want to be reconciled.
Verily, God is
all-knowing and well-informed!
36* Worship God
and do not associate any partners with Him.
Be
kind to [your] parents and relatives, to orphans and the needy, to neighbors,
related or unrelated to you, to a close friend, to the traveler, and to your
slaves.
Verily, God does not love the arrogant and the haughty, 37. the
stingy ones who urge the others to stinginess,
and those who
conceal the favors bestowed upon them by God.
We have prepared a shameful punishment for disbelievers 38* and
those who spend of their wealth to show off before men,
but
have no faith in God and the Last Day, and for those who befriend Satan, what a
bad friend he is!
39. Why do they refuse to believe in God and the
Last Day and to contribute of what God has provided them with? God knows everything
about them —
40*God would not
wrong anyone a bit.
And
to the one who does goodness, He will double it and will give a great reward
from Himself.
41. What if We bring forth a witness from each
community and bring you, [o Muhammad!], as a witness against them?
42. On that Day, those who disbelieved
and disobeyed the
Messenger
will wish to be
leveled to the earth.
They cannot hide
anything from God!
Do
not start praying when you are intoxicated and do not understand what you say;
or when you are
polluted
and
have not washed your whole body.
But
if you are ailing or undertaking a journey, or if you have relieved yourselves,
or if you have touched women and cannot find water, then wash yourselves with
clean soil, rubbing your faces and hands with it.
Verily,
God is relenting and forgiving!
44*Have you not
seen those
who were given a
part of the Scripture?
They are trading
in error and want you to lose the way.
45. But God knows your enemies well.
Sufficient
is God as a Protector, sufficient is God as a Helper!
46*There are some among the Jews who transpose words and say: “We
hear and disobey!”
“Hear
the unhearable!” “Look at us!”
They
revile religion by twisting their tongues!
It
would be better and more becoming for them to say: “We hear and obey!”
“Listen!” “Take care of us!” God has cursed them for their disbelief — indeed,
only a few of them have faith.
47. O you, who have received the Scripture!
Believe
in what has been sent down by Us as a confirmation of what you possess before
We disfigure your faces
by
twisting them backwards; before We curse you, as We used to curse the violators
of the Sabbath!
God’s Design shall
be ever fulfilled!
48. God may forgive anything He pleases to anyone
He pleases, but He will not forgive association to Him.
An Associator to
God is guilty of a great sin!
49. Have you seen anyone who purified himself [of
sin]?
No!
Only God purifies anyone He pleases, and no one shall be wronged by the skin of
a date stone.
50. See, how they invent lies against God — indeed,
this is a manifest sin!
51* Have you not
seen those
who
received a part of the Scripture?
They
believe in witchcraft and idols and say to the disbelievers that they are
better guided than the believers.
52. God has cursed them, and for those who have
been cursed by God, you shall not find any helper.
53. Even if they had a share in power,
they would not give a man even the skin of a date stone. 54*Or do
they envy people
for what God has
bestowed upon them of His favors?
We
have given the Scripture and Wisdom to the descendents of Abraham,
We have endowed
them with a great power!
55* Some of them have believed in [God], others turned away from
Him.
Is there not
enough Fire burning in Hell?
56. Soon We will cast in the Fire those who
rejected Our Signs. As their skin burns through, We will be replacing it with
fresh skin to give them a full taste of punishment. Verily, God is mighty and
wise!
57* We will soon admit into the Gardens under which the rivers flow
those
who have believed and have done good works, to abide in them with their pure spouses
for ever. We shall lead them into the shadiest shade!
58. God commands you to return to their owners
whatever they have entrusted to you.
Be
just when you judge between people. Verily, excellent is what God teaches you!
Verily, God is hearing and seeing!
Obey
God and obey the Messenger and those among you who are in command.
If
you disagree among yourselves about something and if you believe in God and the
Last Day, then refer the matter to God and the Messenger — such a resolution is
the best and the most fitting!
60. Have you not seen those who profess their
belief in what has been sent down to you and before you, and yet prefer to seek
the judgment of idols,
even
though they were commanded to disavow them — Satan leads them far astray!
V. 61-104: see S.4
(II), p. 482.
105*We have sent down to you the Scripture with the Truth to let you
judge between the people as instructed by God. Do not intercede in behalf of
the traitors,
106. but ask for God’s forgiveness.
Verily, God is
all-forgiving and merciful!
107. Do not intercede for those who betray their
souls! Verily, God does not love the traitors and the sinners.
108. They can hide from people, but they cannot hide
from God! He is among them when they hold the nightly palavers that He does not
condone —
indeed, God
encompasses everything they do.
109. You may intercede for them in this life, but
who will intercede for them before God
on Resurrection
Day? Who will be their trustee?
110. Whoever does evil or wrongs his soul and then
asks for God’s forgiveness,
will find that God
is forgiving and merciful.
111. But whoever accumulates sins is hurting himself
— indeed, God is knowing and wise!
112. Whoever commits an error or a sin
and
then blames it on an innocent person, is guilty of slander and brazen sin.
113. — [O Muhammed!] Had it not been for the favors
of God to you and His mercy, a band of them would have surely conspired to lead
you astray.
But
they cannot injure you in the least without leading astray their own souls.
God
has sent down to you the Scripture and the Wisdom and taught you what you did
not know.
Indeed, great is
God’s Grace for you!
114. There is nothing good in many of their secret
palavers. If any one of them urges to alms-giving,
to honorable
conduct, or to peace between men,
and does it to
please God,
We will give him
soon a great reward.
115. But whoever, after receiving the clear
Guidance, repudiates the Messenger
and strays from
the way of the believers,
We
will abandon him astray on the path he has chosen and burn him in Hell. Evil
will be this outcome!
116. Verily, God does not forgive associating with
Him, but He forgives other offenses to anyone He wills. Whoever associates with
God is far astray in error.
117. Whom do they call to besides Him? —
Some female
[idols] or Satan, the rebel
“I’ll surely take
some of your servants for myself,
119*I’ll surely
lead them astray and fill them with lust.
I’ll
inspire them to slit the ears of cattle and thus to tamper with God’s
creation!”
Whoever
takes Satan as protector instead of God, will surely suffer a manifest loss.
120.Satan makes them promises and fills them with passions, but his
promises are mere delusions.
121. Their abode shall be Hell
from which they
will not find a way to escape.
122.But those who have believed and did good, We
shall soon admit into the Gardens
under which the
rivers flow to abide in them for ever.
God’s
promise is true, and are there words more truthful than God’s?
123. Your wishes shall not come true
like
the wishes of the People of the Scripture. Whoever does evil shall receive the
same in return, and he shall not find any protector or helper besides God.
124.But men and women who do good and believe,
shall enter Paradise and shall not be wronged by the skin of a date stone!
125. Who is better in religion than the one
who
fully surrenders to God, does good works, and follows the creed of Abraham, the
Hanif?
Indeed, God had
taken Abraham for a friend.
126.[Everything] in Heavens and earth belongs to
God, and God encompasses all things.
127*They ask you
to make a pronouncement about women.
Say:
“God
gives you a pronouncement about them in the Book and instructs you about the
female orphans
whom
you wish to marry, but to whom you don’t give the prescribed compensation;
and also about
defenseless children.
This is to make
you treat the orphans equitably.
The
moment you do something good, verily, God is already aware of it!”
128.If a woman fears duress or abandonment on the part of her
husband, there shall be no blame upon both of them if they reach a settlement.
A
settlement is the best thing!
Greed
lives in everyone’s soul, but if you do good deeds and fear God... God is well
aware of your deeds!
129*You would never be equally just to all [your] wives, even if you
eagerly wanted to be!
But
do not abandon [any of them] completely, leaving her without support.
If
you reach a settlement and fear God, then, verily, God is forgiving and
merciful!
130.But if the two separate, God will enrich them
both out of His abundance, for God is limitless and wise!
131. To God belongs everything in Heavens and earth!
We have guided
those who received the Scripture before you
as well as yourselves to make you fear God.
If you deny God, verily,
everything in Heavens and earth [still] belongs to God.
God is rich and praiseworthy!
132.
Indeed,
everything in Heavens and on earth belongs to God,
and God is sufficient as a Protector.
If such is His will, He would remove you
and replace you by others —
indeed, this is in the power of God!
134.
And if
someone desires the reward in this world,
surely, the reward is with God
in this world and in the Hereafter.
God is all-hearing and all-seeing!
V. 1: “Who created you from a single soul.” The
modernistic interpretation “who created you from a single cell” (AA) is hardly
suitable in the Koran.
V. 3: New rules concerning marriage were needed because
of the large number of ruined families and orphans during the wars and
migrations, especially after Uhud (3 H). Marrying off orphan girls was a
social need. The slaves are “those held in your right hands.”
V. 4: Dowers or dowries are a compensation paid by men to
their brides (S.2:236). In those times women did not pay dowries to their
husbands, as usual in modern cultures, the Muslim ones included, but the
husbands “bought” wives for the dowries they paid.
V. 11: “You do not know which are more useful to you:
your parents or your children.” There is a variant: “you do not know to whom
your inheritance will be more useful, to your parents or to your children.”
V. 12: It could have been followed by v.176 (S.4,II p.
605).
V. 15: The ruling may apply to lesbians.
V. 20: A qintar — a hundred pounds.
V. 24: This verse does not condone adultery. Simply,
during religious wars all previous civil ties between the captives, including
marriage, were void.
V. 25: “Free” women, lit., women “under somebody’s care,”
i.e., belonging to a reputable family or living with it.
”You are all from one another,” or “you are [all] one
nation,” is an emphatic renouncement of ethnic or racial prejudice.
V. 26: Muslims believe that the oral Revelations to the
Prophets and the three written Scriptures, the Bible, the Evangel, and the
Koran form together one Reminder, one Truth, obvious to those who possess
Knowledge. Therefore, to deny the Koran is to deny the whole Prophetic
tradition and with it the belief in one God.
Islam does not exclude from Heaven those who led
exemplary lives without ever hearing about the Koran. In contrast, Christians
hold that baptism is a necessary condition to be saved. Muslims think that even
though Truth is absolute, it can be reached in many ways. Therefore, there is
no need for destroying foreign cultures and religions and desecrating their
monuments. All monuments are valuable because God has allowed their creation
and has let them stand for ages. Even the heathen idols can be spared because
they cannot hurt the established religions. More hurtful for Islam are the c
ults and movements like the Taliban in Afghanistan, contrived by
fanatics bent on destroying Hindu temples, churches and synagogues. Equally
reprehensible are the Christian extremists who have destroyed objects of art
in ancient Egypt and in America.
V. 29: “Do not destroy yourselves” may be a warning
against suicide or spiritual suicide, or homicide in general.
V. 33: A sworn pledge might refer to obligations in
marriage, as well as to family and social relationships.
V. 34: “They guard the concealed that God protects,”
i.e., the couple’s reputation.
“Beat them.” Some critics of Islam see in this verse a
licence for husbands to violate the human rights of their wives. Muslim
scholars argue that beating of wives is made unnecessary by the call in the
next verse for a family arbitration in marital disputes (cf. vv.125-129).
V. 35: According to Islamic jurisprudence, the judge must
be a man with Knowledge, a 'alim, and not necessary a theologian. He must
base his decisions on the three disciplines: idjma' (common law), qias
(comparative law) and idjtihad (use of reason).
V. 36: “The traveler” or “the follower of the [right]
way.”
V. 38: “Who takes Satan as a friend.” This companion is
the double of the opposite sex, the qarin or qarina (S.49:25).
V. 40: All sins may be forgiven, except association to
God.
V. 44: Those who have received a part of the Scripture
are the Jews and the Christians.
V. 46: Obviously, one cannot convey in English the
word-play based on the mispronunciation of Arabic and Hebrew words.
In several verses of this sura God “curses” the
disbelievers. By this strong expression the Koran means that God rejects the
sinners for rejecting Him.
V. 51: “They believe in sorcery and idols,” lit., “in Jibt
and Taghut. The latter are the names of two idols (S.2:256).
S.113 deals with sorcery (blowing on knots while
pronouncing some imprecations), but it must be understood on the spiritual
level: the knots are the evil acts that disrupt the peace of the soul, and the
women who blow on the knots are the human passions that cause the disruption.
V. 54: The people who have received the favors of God are
the Muslims, the rightful descendants of Abraham.
Vv. 55f: An admonition to the Jews.
V. 57: “The pure spouses,” as in S.2:25.
V. 105: About a case in which the Prophet acquitted a Jew
unjustly accused by a Muslim.
V. 119: Cutting the ears of consecrated animals was a
pagan custom, and so was the mutilation of slaves. The Muslims believe that it
is sinful to alter God’s creatures. One can see in this attitude a call to
respect the environment.
V. 127: A clarification of the treatment due to women and
children who are deprived of family support.
V. 129: The first sentence of this verse is considered to
be a justification of monogamy.
Sura 22 The Pilgrimage. S. 22is complex, combining Warning, Sign,
and Say passages with references to food (vv. 30-37), animal sacrifices (vv.
36-37), prayer (v.35), contributions (vv. 41, 78), pilgrimage (vv. 27-33),
rites (vv. 34, 67), the possibility of changes in the Koran (vv. 52-55),
retaliation (v.60), sedition (vv. 3-4,11-13,19-25), attitude towardJews and
Christians (vv. 17,19, 67-70), and Holy War (vv. 39-40, 58).
S.22 is not only
complicated in content, it is also “mixed”: some of its verses are early Meccan
and others — late Medinan.
22.
T H E P
I L G R I M A G E
Medinan, 78 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
Verily, the commotion of the
[Last] Hour shall be a mighty event!
2.
On the Day
when you see it,
every breast-feeding woman shall forget whom she feeds
and every pregnant woman shall drop her burden.
You shall see people acting drunk without being drunk,
[you shall see] how strong is God’s wrath.
3* There are people who argue about God without
knowledge.
They follow every rebellious Satan
4.
about whom
it is written that if anyone befriends him, he will make him lose the way
and will lead him to the punishment by the Fire.
You doubt the Resurrection, but We have created
you first from dust, then from a seed drop,
then from a blood clot, and then from a piece
of partly formed and partly formless flesh
to make [Our power] manifest to you!
We keep in the wombs what We will for a set time,
then We bring you forth as infants
and let you grow to maturity.
Some of you will die [young],
and some will approach the feeble age
when man forgets all he had known before.
You see how barren the earth can be,
but as soon as We pour water upon
it, it stirs and swells, and produces all kinds of handsome pairs.
6.
This is
because God is the Truth.
He revives the dead and has power over all things.
7.
There is
no doubt that the Hour is near, and that, verily, God will raise
those who inhabit the graves.
8.
Some
people argue about God without Knowledge or Guidance, or an enlightening
Scripture.
they
lead astray from the way of God. Shame on them in this life!
On
Resurrection Day We will make them taste the punishment of the Fire:
10. — This is for you, for what your hands have
sent forth! Verily, God will not be unjust to His servants.
11* Among those who serve God there are people who waver. When
something good comes their way, they are elated, but as soon as they are put to
test, they turn their faces away.
Thus
they waste both this life and the Hereafter — this is an obvious loss.
12. They call on something besides God that can
neither harm nor benefit them: this is how far they have gone astray!
13. They worship someone who harms more than
assists, who is a bad protector and a bad companion.
14. Verily, God will admit into the Gardens under
which the rivers flow
those who have
believed and done good works.
Verily, God does
what He wills!
15* And if someone thinks that God will not help [the Prophet] in
this life and in the Hereafter,
let
him stretch a rope to the sky and then cut it off, and see if his trick abates
whatever enrages [him].
16. We have sent down [the Koran] in clear Verses. Verily, God
guides anyone He wills.
17* On Resurrection Day God will judge between the believers and the
Jews, Sabeians, Christians, Magi, and Associators. Verily, God is witness to
all things!
18. Do you not see that everything in Heavens and
earth bows down in worship before God: the sun, the moon, the stars, the hills,
the trees,
the beasts, and a
multitude of people.
Yet many of them
deserve to be punished.
Whoever
God has abased will never raise in dignity. Verily, God does whatever He
pleases!
19. Two opposing parties argue about their Lord.
Garments of Fire shall be cut for the disbelievers, and their heads shall be
doused with boiling water
20. that will melt their innards and skins.
21* Iron maces for
them!
22. Each time they try to get away from suffering, they shall be
returned into it:
— Taste the
punishment by the Fire!
23. Verily, God will admit into the Gardens under
which the rivers flow
those
who have believed and have done good works. They shall be adorned therein with
golden bracelets and pearls, and garments of silk.
24. Indeed, they have been guided to the good Word,
they have been guided to the path of the Praiseworthy!
25* But those who
disbelieved and turned [others]
away
from the path of God and from the Sacred Mosque, which We have opened to all
people — the local residents and the nomads as well, — and those who defile it
and do evil in it, We will make them taste a painful punishment.
26* We gave Abraham the site of the [Sacred] House, saying to him:
—
Do not associate anything with Me and sanctify My House for those who walk
around it, stand in it, bow, and prostrate themselves.
27. Announce the pilgrimage
to the people.
Let they come to you on foot or on lean [camels] emerging from every
deep mountain gap 28* to witness the favors that they have been granted, to
invoke on certain days the name of God over the cattle He gave them, and then
to eat it and feed the unfortunate poor. 29*Then let them spruce themselves up,
complete their vows, and walk around the Ancient House.
Indeed,
whoever respects the rites of God is commendable in his Lord’s sight!
[During
pilgrimage] you are allowed meat,
but not the one
prohibited to you.
Avoid the
pollution of idols and deceiving words.
31. Be [like] Hanifs before God and do not
associate to Him.
Whoever associates
to God is like someone
who fell from the sky or was snatched by birds, or was blown by the
wind to a remote place. 32* And so it is!
Respect
for the rites of God truly comes from the devotion of the hearts.
33. [Cattle] is useful to you till a certain time,
and then their place is near the Ancient House.
34. We have set up devotional rites for every community
to let them pronounce the name of God
over the cattle
that He has given them.
Your God is one
God, so surrender to Him!
— And you, [o Muhammad!],
announce the good news to the humble [people]
35. whose hearts fill with awe at the mention of
God.
They patiently bear their
afflictions, observe the prayer, and contribute from what We have given to
them.
36. We have made for you sacrificial camels
for performing the rites of God and to be useful to you.
So
pronounce the name of God over them when they are lined up for sacrifice.
And
after they fall on their sides, eat their meat and feed those who beg with
restraint and humility. This is how We have subjected [the cattle] to you —
perhaps you will be grateful!
37. Neither their flesh nor their blood will reach
God — it is your devotion that will reach Him.
He
has subjected them to you, so glorify God for His Guidance and announce the
good news to those who do good!
38. God will protect those who have believed, but
verily, God does not love the traitors and those who have no faith.
39. Those who are attacked are allowed [to fight
back] — indeed, they have been treated unjustly!
Verily, God has
the power to help those
40. who have been unlawfully expelled from their
houses only for their words:
“Our Lord is God.”
If
God had not protected some people from the others, then monasteries, churches,
synagogues, and mosques, where the name of God is often pronounced, would have
certainly been destroyed.
God
will help those who help Him, for, verily, God is powerful and all-mighty!
41. Indeed, they belong to those who, when We
settle them in the land, observe the prayer, pay the zakat, urge to the
reputable, and forbid evil. In God is the conclusion of [all] affairs!
42. — And if they reject you, [o Muhammad!], others
have been rejected before
by the peoples of
Noah, ’Ad, and Thamood,
43. by the people of Abraham, the people of Lot,
44. and the dwellers of Madyan.
Moses had been rejected [too].
I gave a respite to the disbelievers
and then I seized them — so great was My indignation!
45. How many towns have We have turned upside down
in the midst of their wrong-doing!
We destroyed them
to their foundations
[together] with
many wells and mighty castles.
46. Why do their hearts fail to understand and
their ears fail to hear
when
they travel in the land?
Insensitive
are not their eyes, but the hearts in their chests.
47. They ask you to hurry up with punishment, but
God will not break His promise.
Verily, one Day
with your Lord
is like a thousand
years by your reckoning.
48. And how many towns have I respited
in the midst of their
wrong-doing!
Then I seized them
— indeed, to Me is the return!
“O people! I’m
your clear Warner!”
50. For those who have believed and have done good
works, there will be forgiveness and a generous provision.
51. But those who try to belittle our Verses shall
be the inmates of the blazing Fire.
52* And before you, when We
sent a Messenger or a Prophet with the intent of bringing a revelation, Satan
threw [something of his own] into his intent.
But God canceled
whatever Satan threw in
and confirmed His
Verses — indeed, God is knowing and wise!
53. Of the suggestions thrown in by Satan,
[God]
makes a test for those whose hearts are diseased, whose hearts are hardened.
Verily, the
wrong-doers are deeply alienated!
54. Let those who have been given Knowledge
realize that [the
Koran] is the Truth from your Lord.
Let
them believe in Him, and let their hearts open to Him. Verily, God guides the
believers to the straight path.
55. The disbelievers shall continue to doubt
until the Hour
suddenly comes upon them,
and they are hit by
the punishment of Devastation Day.
56. On that Day all power shall be with God, and He
will judge between them. For those who believed and did good works — the
Gardens of Bliss,
57. and for those who disbelieved
and rejected Our
Signs — a humiliating punishment.
58. God will surely give a good provision to those
who have been exiled in the cause of God and then were killed or died.
Verily, God is the
best of providers!
59. Verily, He will lead them to the entrance that
will be to their liking.
Verily, God is
all-knowing and forbearing!
60. And if someone retaliates in kind,
and
then is treated harshly, God will surely help him. Verily, God is exonerating
and ever-forgiving!
61. God merges the night with the day and merges
the day with the night. Verily, God is hearing and observing!
62. God is the Truth, and what they are calling to
besides Him is falsehood!
Verily, God is the
Lofty, the Great.
63. Do you not see how the earth turns green when
God pours water from the sky?
Verily, God is
gracious and well informed!
64. Everything in Heavens and earth belongs to Him.
Verily, God is the Wealthy, the Praiseworthy.
65. Do you not see that God has subjected to you
everything on earth, including the ships that sail in the sea by His command?
He
supports the sky to keep it from falling upon the earth without His permission.
Verily, God is
kind and merciful to man!
66. He is the One, Who gave you life,
Who
will cause you to die, and Who will bring you back to life. But verily, how
ungrateful is man!
67. We have established for each nation the rites
they ought to observe.
Do
not let anyone argue with you about them, but call to your Lord.
Verily, you are on
the right path!
68. And if they argue with you, say:
“God knows best
everything you do,
69. and God will judge your differences on
Resurrection Day.”
70. Do you not know that God is aware of everything
in Heaven and earth?
Indeed,
everything is in the Book — verily, this is simple for God!
71. Besides God they worship [idols]
for
which they have not received any authority, and about which they have no
knowledge.
The sinners shall
not have any helper!
72. When Our clear Proofs are recited to the
disbelievers, you see in their faces that they reject them!
They
are even ready to assault those who recite Our Verses.
Say:
“Shall I announce
to you something worse?
Worse is the Fire
that God has promised to the disbelievers.
What a bad outcome
it will be!”
73. O people! Listen to this example:
the ones you are
calling to besides God
are
not able to create a fly, even if they joined forces, or even to retrieve what
a fly has snatched from them, Weak is the petitioner, and weak is the
petitioned one.
74. They do not value God at His true value.
Verily, God is
strong and powerful!
75. God chooses Messengers from among the Angels
and men.
Verily, God is
hearing and observing!
76. He knows what was before them and what will be
after them.
All matters return
to God.
Bow, prostrate
yourselves, and worship your Lord!
And do good works
— perhaps you will succeed!
78* Fight in His
cause an honorable fight.
He chose you and
gave you a burden-free religion.
Such was the faith
of your father Abraham.
Now, as before,
[God] is calling you Muslims.
His Messenger is
your witness,
and you are
witnesses for the people.
So observe the
prayer, pay the zakat,
and hold onto God,
your Protector.
What an excellent
Protector,
what an excellent
Helper He is!
V. 3: Against an
enemy of the Prophet, Abu Jahl (cf. v.9).
V. 11: “On the
edge,” lit., “on a blade.”
V. 15: This verse
can be understood in different ways: 1) is “him” the Prophet or the reprobate?
2) the sama' might be the sky or “the ceiling”; 3) was h e
cut off, or the rope?
“Let him stretch a
rope to the ceiling, then let him cut [it] off (MHS),
“Let him hook a
rope onto the sky and strangle himself” (GSS).
The rope stretched
to the sky is a common trick among Persian magicians and Indian fakirs.
V. 17: With those
whom God will judge are listed the Magi and the Associators. According to the
Koran, even the pagans are to appear before Him if they are sincere in their
faith.
V. 21: “Iron
maces,” or shepherd’s staffs or hooks.
V. 25: The nomads
are the Bedouins of S.49:14-17.
V. 26: Abraham’s
site is beside the Ka’ba in Mecca (S.2:125).
V. 27:
“Pilgrimage” is hajj in Arabic.
V. 28: The fixed
days — the first ten days of the month of pilgrimage (Dhul-hajj). Among
the favors are the receipts of licit trade the pilgrims might be engaged in.
V. 29: Pilgrims are expected to shave, clip their nails, and keep
their bodies clean.
V. 32: The marked
cattle: the animals kept for sacrifices.
V. 52f: God can
correct the Koranic Verses to replace those which were inspired by Satan
(S.13:39).
V. 78: “A
burden-free religion” — in opposition to Christianity, Islam does not demand
humility and retreat from life, and redemption from an original sin for which
man is not responsible.
Sura 65 Divorce. This short sura, aimed through the Prophet
at the whole community, completes in its first six verses the legislation of
divorce that was promulgated in S.2.
Medinan, 12
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them during the term
prescribed for them and compute the prescribed time correctly. Fear God, your
Lord, and do not expel them from their houses. They themselves should not leave
either, unless they are guilty of flagrant indecency. Such are the limits of
God, and whoever transgresses the limits of God does wrong to his soul. Perhaps
God will give this matter a new turn!
2. When they reach their term,
retain them
equitably or part with them equitably.
Call two just
[people] from your midst as witnesses
and testify before
God.
This Admonition is
for anyone
who believes in
God and the Last Day.
God will find a
way out for the one who fears God,
3. and provide for him from unexpected sources.
God is sufficient
for any one who trusts Him.
Verily, God will
fulfill His purpose.
Verily, everything
has a measure with God!
4* If you have any
doubts,
the prescribed
term is three months
for
those of your women who have stopped expecting menses, and also for those who
have not had their menses yet.
For pregnant
women, their term is at delivery.
God will make his
commands easy for the God-fearing.
which He has sent
down to you.
He
will free the God-fearing of evil and will increase his reward.
6. Lodge [women during the waiting period] where
you live and according to your means. Do not harass them to make their life
difficult;
if
they are pregnant, spend on them until they deliver. If they are breast-feeding
your [child], pay them their dues and consult with them in good faith. If you
disagree, [leave] breast-feeding to another woman.
7. Let a man of means spend from his wealth
and
let a man in want spend from what God has given him. God will not burden any
soul
with
more than what He has assigned to her; indeed, soon after hardship God brings
you relief.
8. How many towns have rebelled against the
commands of their Lord and His Messengers!
We
called them to strict account and inflicted upon them a severe punishment.
9. They tasted the evil of their deeds, and their
deeds led them to losses.
10. God has prepared a harsh punishment for them!
O
people with sense and faith, fear God! Indeed, God has sent down to you a
Reminder
11. and a Messenger who recites to you the clear
Verses of God to bring those who believed and did good works
out of darkness
into the light.
And
those who believed in God and did good works, He will admit into the Gardens
under which the
rivers flow to abide in them for ever.
What an excellent
provision God bestows upon them!
12* God is the One, Who has created seven heavens and the earth in
the same number!
His commands
descend between them
to
let you know that God has power over everything, and that God’s Knowledge
encompasses all things.
V. 1: The words “God will give this matter a new turn”
open the possibility for reconciliation.
V. 4: “Those who did not have their menses yet” — in
those days, some girls were given in marriage at a very young age.
V. 12: Seven is a mystical number. The seven skies are
the seven levels of spiritual growth corresponding to the seven planets known
in those times. The seven earths are the levels of righteousness, corresponding
to the implied geological strata of the earth.
Sura 66 Prohibition. A short sura defending the Prophet from
slander. One of his wives, Hafsa, saw him with his Coptic consort, Mariam, and
reported it to another wife, 'A'isha. Hence, the lesson: women should not
bother their husbands with jealousy and petty squabbles.
Medinan, 12
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* O Prophet!
Why, in order to
please your wives,
do you deprive
yourself
of what God has
made lawful for you?
God is forgiving
and merciful!
2* God has made it lawful for you all to dissolve your oaths.
God is your
Protector —
He is the Knowing,
the Wise.
3* After the
Prophet told a secret
to one of his
wives,
she
reported it [to another one], and God made him aware of that.
He told her a part
of it
and kept silent
about the rest.
When he disclosed
it to her, she said:
“Who told you
that?”
He said:
“The Knowing, the
Well-Informed.”
4* If you both repent before God, then your hearts are inclined to
it, but if you conspire against [your husband], then, verily, God is his
Protector
and
Gabriel, and the upright among the believers, and the Angels will all lend him
their support!
5* If he divorces
you,
his
Lord will replace you by better wives — widows and virgins who submitted
themselves to God, who believe and are devout, who repent and worship God, who
go on pilgrimage and keep the fasts.
Save
yourselves and your families from the Fire, which will be fueled by men and
rocks!
It
is controlled by tough and powerful Angels. who are committed to enforcing
God’s orders and to acting as commanded. [They will say:]
7. “O you who haven’t believed!
Don’t make excuses
on this Day!
Verily, you shall
be punished for what you have done!”
8* O you who have
believed!
Repent to God
sincerely
and hope that God will absolve you
from your sins and usher you into the Gardens
under which the rivers flow.
On that Day God will not allow to humiliate the Prophet
and those who believe with him.
Light shall shine forward from them
and from their right hands. They will say:
“O our Lord!
Bring our Light to perfection and forgive us!
Verily, You have power over all things!”
9* O Prophet!
Fight the disbelievers and the Hypocrites
and be tough with them!
Their dwelling shall be Hell — what an awful outcome!
10* God gave to the disbelievers the examples
of the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot.
Both were married to two of Our upright servants
and both betrayed them.
Nothing could help them with God and they were told:
— Enter the Fire with those who enter [it]!
11* God gave to the believers the example
of Pharaoh’s wife, who said:
“O my Lord! Build me a house near You in Paradise
and deliver me from Pharaoh and his deeds,
deliver me from the people who do wrong!”
12* And Mary, the daughter of
’Imran, who kept herself chaste...
We breathed into her from Our Spirit,
and she believed in the Words of her Lord
and in His Scriptures.
She was one of those who feared God.
V. 1: The Prophet Muhammad had nine wives. Of these, the
daughter of Abu Bakr, ’Aisha, and the daughter of ’Omar, Hafza, were literate.
He also had several concubines: one of them, Raihana, was a former slave and the
other, Mary or Mariam, was Christian. His two boys (by Hadidja) died in
infancy.
Details about the personal life of the Prophet may seem
to be out of place in the Koran. However, they are in the spirit of the Holy
Book because they are a pretext for a practical lesson about family ties and
responsibilities that still ought to be upheld in modern society.
V. 2: An oath may be void if it interferes with
righteousness or if it concerns a trivial matter (cf. S.5:91).
V. 3: The principle is more important than the details of
the gossip about which the Prophet kept silent. The sura teaches that domestic
problems should be resolved with love and tact.
V. 4: It is not enough to believe: man must also earn his
righteousness by his own deeds (S.7:147).
V. 5: “Who go on pilgrimage” or “who travel.”
V. 8: For the mystic
interpretation of Light, see S.24:35f.
V. 10: There is nothing in the Bible about the wife of
Noah being unfaithful to her husband.
V. 11: The reference should be to the daughter of Pharaoh
and not to his wife.
V. 12: Mary, daughter of ’Imran, is Jesus’s mother. “We
breathed into her from Our Spirit” or “We breathed into her [body] from Our
Spirit”
The whole sura deals with good breeding, courtesy,
politeness, [adab], which are considered serious matters in Islam.
“Adab” covers dignified behavior, respecting clansmen and foreigners, granting
asylum, visiting the sick and avoiding rough language.
Good manners are the object of an elaborate code of
ethics that also covers respect for one’s body. This code prescribes
cleanliness and teaches to have more respect for the right side of the body
than for the left side: thus, the right hand is for eating, writing, and
greeting, and the left hand is for less dignified actions. Politeness requires
that a meal or at least coffee be offered to a visitor and that he be allowed
to relax and feel himself at home before starting a business conversation.
Tidiness, modesty, and composure require that women dress conservatively and
cover their hair with shawls. Country women wear long black attire and veils
covering their faces when they go outside their property or their fields. Such
customs are part of the social culture of Muslim people.
Sura 24 The Light. S.24 owes its name to a remarkable mystical
passage, “God is the light of the Heavens and the earth...” (vv. 35'44).
The other topics of the
sura are:proper conduct (vv. 21'22, 26'33, 58'63), respect for the Prophet (vv.
58'59, 62'63), prayer (v.56), support of the destitute (vv. 22, 61), obe'
dience to God (vv. 47'54), sedition and slander (vv. 11'20, 23'25, 47'52),
marriage (vv. 26, 32'33), and adultery (vv. 2'10, 26).
24. T H E L I G H T
Medinan, 64 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. We have descended this sura and made it a law.
We have descended it in clear
Verses — perhaps you will remember!
2* Flog an adulterer and an adulteress a hundred lashes.
If you believe in God and the Last Day,
do not let pity prevent you
from carrying out God’s prescription.
And let some believers witness their punishment.
3* An adulterer is allowed to marry
only an adulteress or an Associator.
And an adulteress is allowed to marry
only an adulterer or an Associator.
This is forbidden to believers.
4. Flog eighty lashes those who accuse decent
women without producing four witnesses,
and
do not accept their testimony ever again — indeed, they are reprobates,
5. except those who repent and mend their ways.
Verily, God is all-forgiving and merciful!
and
cannot produce any witness other than himself, must call God to witness four
times that he is telling the truth.
7. And the fifth time he will call upon himself
the curse of God if he is telling a lie.
8. Punishment shall be withheld from [the wife]
if she calls God
to witness four times that he is a liar.
9. The fifth time she will call on herself
the wrath of God
if he is telling the truth.
10. If it were not for the Grace of God to you and
His mercy... but, verily, God is relentful and wise!
11* Verily, those
who slander you are from your midst!
Do
not think that it can harm you — on the contrary, it is to your advantage.
Indeed, each of [the slanderers] will get what he deserved for this sin, and
the one who assumed the greater part of it shall receive a mighty punishment.
12. When you heard about it, how is it that you,
believing
men and women, did not think of goodness and say: “This is an obvious slander!”
13. And why have they not produced four witnesses?
Indeed, if they have not produced witnesses, then they are liars before God.
14. Had it not been for the favors of God towards
you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter,
a
mighty punishment would have landed upon you for making [a false rumor] public.
15* You picked up
on your tongues
and you said with
your mouths what you did not know.
You
think that it is a trifle, yet it is serious in the eyes of God.
16. When you heard it, why did you not say:
“It isn’t proper
for us to talk about that.
Glory to You! This
is a monstrous slander!”
17. God directs you to never do it again as long as
you believe.
18. God makes the Signs clear to you — God is
knowing and wise!
19. Verily, there is a painful punishment in this
world and in the Hereafter
for
those who spread gossip among the believers. God knows, and you do not know.
20*W ere it not for the favors of God and His mercy to you... God is
kind-hearted and merciful!
21. O you who have
believed!
Do not follow in the footsteps of
Satan. Anyone who follows in his footsteps is urged by Satan to indecency and
evil.
Were
it not for the favors of God and His mercy to you, no one of you would have ever
been pure.
God purifies
anyone He wills —
God is hearing and
all-knowing!
22* Let the virtuous and affluent ones among you cease swearing that
they will not support their relatives, the poor, and the exiled in the way of
God.
Let them forgive
and forget!
Do you not want
God to forgive you?
God is forgiving
and merciful!
23* Let those who slander chaste and naive believing women be cursed
in this world and in the Hereafter — a mighty punishment [is in store] for
them!
24. On that Day their tongues, hands, and feet will testify against
them for what they have done.
25* On that Day God will pay them back what they truly deserve, and
they will understand that God is the manifest Truth.
26. Wicked [women] are for wicked [men] and wicked
[men] — for wicked [women]. Good [women] are for good [men]
and
good [men] — for good [women]. The [good ones] are innocent of heresy — there
is forgiveness and a generous provision for them.
Do
not enter other people’s houses without permission and without wishing peace to
their dwellers.
This is better for
you — perhaps you will remember!
28. If you see that no one is home, do not enter
without permission.
If
you are told to go away, go away — this will be more decent of you.
God is well aware
of what you do!
29. There will be no fault upon you
if
for some reason you have entered deserted houses. God knows what you reveal and
what you conceal.
30. Tell believing men to keep their eyes downcast
and to guard their private parts —
this is more
decent of them.
Verily, God is
well aware of all their deeds.
31* Tell believing women to keep their eyes downcast, to guard their
private parts, and to avoid displaying their loveliness if it is not naturally
exposed to the eyes.
Let
them cover their cleavage with scarves and conceal their loveliness from
everyone, except their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their
sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their
sisters’ sons, their female relatives, their slaves, male attendants who are free
of desire, and children who do not notice female nakedness. And let them not
stomp their feet in a way that reveals their hidden loveliness.
O
believers!
Let
you all turn to God — perhaps you will succeed!
32. Marry the single ones among you and the virtuous ones among your
male and female slaves.
If
they are poor, God will enrich them by His Grace. God is limitless and
all-knowing!
33* Let those who do not have the means to marry restrain themselves
until God enriches them by His Grace.
If some of your slaves
ask you
for
a writ granting them freedom, give them the writ if you know that there is some
good in them,
and
give them something of the means that God has given you. Do not force your
girls into prostitution for material gain in this life if they wish to keep
their chastity.
But
if anyone compels them... Verily, after compulsion, God is forgiving and
merciful!
34. We have sent down to you some Verses with an Admonition for the
God-fearing. They explain everything by the examples of those who died before
you.
35* God is the Light of the Heavens and earth. His Light is like a
lamp in a niche.
The
lamp is behind glass, which shines like a star, lit from a blessed olive tree
neither from the
East nor the West.
Its oil lights up
without being touched by fire.
Light upon Light!
God guides to His Light anyone He wills.
God teaches people by examples — God is aware of all things. 36.
[His Light] is in the houses built with God’s permission,
in which His Name
is remembered,
and where He is
glorified mornings and evenings
37* by men who are not distracted from remembering God either by
bargain or trade, who observe the prayer and pay the zakat. They fear the Day
when their hearts and sight will be transformed.
38. God will reward them for the best of their
deeds, and will give them even more of His Grace.
God provides
without measure any one He wills.
39. And the works of the disbelievers are like a
mirage in the desert —
a
thirsty man imagines it to be water, and when he approaches, he finds it to be
nothing. But in himself he will find God, Who will demand his account — God is
quick at accounting!
40. Or they are like darkness in the deep ocean,
where a wave overlays a wave with a cloud above, where darkness overlays
darkness.
He
stretches his hand out, but he barely sees it. He to whom God did not give any
Light shall remain without Light!
41* Do you not see how everything in the Heavens and earth glorifies
God? The birds do it by flapping their wings. Everyone knows one’s prayer and
praise, and God knows well all their works.
42. To God belongs the Dominion of the Heavens and
earth, and to God is [our] return!
43. Do you not see how God drives the clouds, then
assembles them together,
piling them up on
top of each other?
Do
you not see how the rain seeps down between them? Then, down from the sky,
He
sends mountains [of clouds] loaded with hail.
He
strikes with them anyone He wills, or turns them away from anyone He wills. The
flash of His lightning obscures the sight!
44. God alternates the night and the day —
verily, there is a
lesson in this for those who can see!
45*God has created
all the beasts from water.
Some
crawl on their bellies, some walk on two or four feet. God creates whatever He
wills — verily, God has power over everything.
46. We have sent down Verses pouring forth Light. God
guides to the straight path anyone He wishes.
47* [The
Hypocrites] say:
“We
believe in God and the Messenger, and we obey!” Then some of them turn around —
they are the disbelievers!
48. When they are called to God and His Messenger
to let him decide between them,
some of them turn
away.
49. If they were supporting the Truth,
they would have
come to him in submission.
50. What is in their hearts? Is it disease or
doubt?
Or
do they fear that God and His Messenger might treat them unjustly?
But no, they
themselves are unjust!
51. When the believers are called to God
and
His Messenger to let him judge between them, they have just one answer:
“We hear and we
obey!”
They are the ones
who will succeed.
52. They obey God and His Messenger, they fear God
and are devout, they are the ones who will prevail!
53. They swear their most solemn oath, by God, that
the moment you command them, they will set forth [to fight].
Say:
“Stop swearing,
but obey as you should.
Verily, God is
well informed of everything you do!”
“Obey God and obey
the Messenger!
If
you turn away, he’s responsible for his burden and you are responsible for your
burden.
If you obey him,
you’ll follow the right path.
The Messenger’s
duty is only a clear transmission!”
55* God has
promised to those
who
believed and did good works that He will make them inherit the land, as He made
their predecessors inherit it;
that
He will establish the religion He chose for them, and that He will grant them
security after they have been in fear:
— Let them serve
Me
without
associating anything with Me!
Those who
disbelieve after that are reprobates.
56. Observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and obey the
Messenger. Then, perhaps you will be treated to mercy.
57. Do not think that the disbelievers can change
anything in the land.
Their abode will
be Hellfire — what an evil outcome!
Let
your slaves and those who are under age ask your permission [to enter] three
times a day: before the morning prayer, around noon when you divest yourself of
your garments, and after the evening prayer — three times when you are
undressed. There will be no fault upon anyone of you if you visit one another
at other times. Thus God makes the Signs clear to you. God is all-knowing and
wise!
59. Let the children who have come of age ask your
permission like adults. Thus God makes His Signs clear to you. God is
all-knowing and wise!
60*There is no fault upon elderly women with no hope for marriage if
they divest themselves of their garments without displaying their loveliness.
Modesty suits them
best — God is hearing and knowing!
61* There is no fault upon the blind, the lame, the sick, and upon
yourselves if you eat in your houses or in the houses of your fathers, mothers,
brothers and sisters, of your uncles, your aunts on both your father’s and
mother’s side, as well as in the houses to which you have keys or at your
friend’s [house]. There is no fault upon you if you eat with others or
separately.
Upon
entering a house, greet each other with a blessing and a kind salutation from
God. Thus God makes the Signs clear to you — perhaps you will understand!
who
believe in God and His Messenger.
When
you see him on official business, do not leave without his permission. Verily,
those who ask for permission believe in God and His Messenger.
If
they ask your permission to leave for personal business, give it to those you
wish and ask God to forgive them. Verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
63. Do not address the Messenger in your gatherings
in the same manner as you address one another.
God
knows who of you hides and then slips away unseen. Those who disobey [the
Prophet’s] orders, let them beware, lest some misfortune befalls them, or a
painful punishment is meted upon them.
64. Verily, everything in Heavens and earth belongs
to God. He surely knows your intentions.
The
Day they are brought back to Him, He will tell them what they have done. God is
well aware of everything!
V. 2: The Koran doesn’t
advocate the stoning of adulterers. Should she be flogged with a whip, a cane,
or a bunch of grass?
V. 3: An “Associator,” i.e., a Christian or an Idolater.
Vv. 11f: After being lost in the desert, the Prophet’s
wife 'Aisha was returned to camp by a soldier, provoking slanderous
rumors about her virtue. “The one who assumed the greater part [of the sin],” was
the main slanderer — the leader of the Hypocrites in Medina, 'Abdallah ibn
Ubay.
V. 15: Events in the life of the Prophet and his
community served to bolster human rights. The Koran is not an abstract
discourse: it is based on real life in the Prophet’s time.
V. 20: The ellipsis emphasizes the threat of punishment.
V. 22: At first ’Aisha’s father wanted to kill his
daughter’s revilers; but being righteous, he pardoned and forgot their sin.
V. 23: Mary, mother ofJesus, was also a victim of
slander.
V. 25: “What they really deserve” or “by the true
religion”.
V. 31: Enemies of Islam see in this verse permission to
plunder other people’s houses.
V. 31: “Loveliness,” lit., “ornaments.” The male
attendants free of desire are old men and eunuchs. Is dancing banned, if women
“should not stomp their feet?”
V. 33: The Koran endorses a humane attitude towards
slaves.
V. 35: This verse ushers one of the most intense
spiritual passages. God’s Light shines from a niche in the wall — from the
depths of the Unknown. According to one interpretation, the niche is the symbol
of man’s five senses; the glass that of imagination that enhances the physical
sensation; the lamp that of the power of reason that brings logic into
imagination; the tree that of the power of generalization, which extends
through its branching the spiritual experience to the boundaries of the
universe and not only beyond the east and the west; and the oil that of the
energy which multiplies the Light to infinity.
“Light upon Light”: God is believed to be hidden under
seventy thousand veils of Light and Darkness.
Vv. 35f are Christian in spirit. Comp.: “We have also a
more sure word of prophecy; whereupon you do well that you take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise
in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19).
The beauty of the Koran is not only in its language, in
the rhythm of its verses, and in the sound of the Arabic words, but also in its
highly spiritual and moral thoughts that equal or surpass those found in many
other spiritual texts in the contemporary world. The Koran is not a difficult
Book, on the contrary, it is simple, deep and diverse, as life itself, and it
must be easy to read in translations to modern languages. An attentive reader
will find in it images and teachings that complement and explain the Old and
New Testaments.
V. 37: “When their hearts and sight will be transformed”
or “turned inside out.”
V. 41: “Each [creature] knows its prayer and praise,”
i.e., all living creatures have an innate knowledge of God. This is why it is
prescribed to pronounce the name of God while slaughtering animals: the sound
of God’s Name should divert the attention of the animal from its suffering and
remind the butcher that the life of all living creatures is sacred. The
existence of a soul is predicated on the existence of a central nervous system.
Therefore, most living creatures have a rudimentary soul, or at least the
potential to have a soul and to feel thereby the presence of their Creator.
To glorify God by prayer or action is a natural act, as
flapping their wings is natural for birds. Indeed, all that exists glorifies
God (S.17:44). Remembering God is like reciting His praise, and forgetting God
is like forgetting one’s existence (S.59:19).
V. 45: Such a version of the creation of animals is not
at odds with modern science.
Vv. 47-51: Notice that the Prophet Muhammad had the right
to judge people by the Koran. When these verses were promulgated, he was
already the recognized absolute leader of his nation.
V. 55: “He will grant them security after they have been
in fear.” This may be a reference to the retreat of the Meccans after their
siege of Medina during the War of Trenches (7 H).
V. 61: Abrogation of the bias against the poor and the
handicapped who, apparently, were fed separately in pre-Islamic times.
VII.
Fighting in the Way of God
Sura 8 The Spoils of War. S.8 is devoted to war in the way of God and
to the division of the booty after a victory. The date of the sura is probably
2 H, because the intervention of Angels on the side of the Prophet's troops tis
considered to have taken place at the battle of Badr (A.D. 624).
S.8 refers to some of the
problems the Muslims had to deal with at the time: lack of discipline in the
armed forces bent on looting and disobeying orders; bickering between the Ansar
(the Muslim converts of Medina) and the Muhajjirun (Muslim emigrants from
Mecca); the persecution of the Muslims who stayed behind in Mecca after the
emigration of the Prophet to Medina. The situation demanded a community based
on faith, discipline and legislation.
Medinan, 75
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* They ask you about the spoils of war.
Say:
“The spoils belong to God and the Messenger.
If you believe, then fear God, live in harmony,
and obey God and His Messenger.”
whose hearts throb at the mention of God
and whose faith grows at the recitation of His Verses.
They put their trust in their Lord,
3.
observe
the prayer, and give from the provisions
We have bestowed upon them.
4.
These are
the true believers!
They have degrees of honor,
forgiveness, and ample provision with their Lord.
5* Your Lord made you leave your home for the sake of
Truth, albeit some of the believers were against it.
But
after Truth manifested itself, they argued with you about it, as if they were
driven to death that was before their eyes.
God
had promised you that one of the two companies would fall in your hands, and
you chose the one that was unarmed.
By
His Words God wanted to affirm the Truth and cut the roots under the
disbelievers.
This
was in order to affirm the Truth and expose falsehood; however hateful that was
for the sinners.
Then
you called for your Lord’s help, and He answered you:
with a thousand
Angels in ranks upon ranks.
By
these glad tidings God wanted to give hope and comfort to your hearts.
No victory is
possible without God!
Verily, God is
almighty and wise!
Then
He induced sleepiness in you as a comfort from Himself.
He
sent down water upon you from the sky to purify you, to wash from you the
pollution of Satan, to fortify your hearts, and to make you stand firmly on
your feet.
Then your Lord
inspired the Angels:
— I am with you, support the believers!
I
will fill the hearts of the disbelievers with terror, and you, smite [them] on
their necks and chop all their fingers off!
This
was because they opposed God and His Messenger. And if any one opposes God and
His Messenger... verily, God is stern in punishment!
— This is for you, let you taste it!
The disbelievers
will suffer the penalty of the Fire!
O you who have
believed!
When
you meet disbelievers in battle array, do not turn your backs to them.
Whoever
turns his back to them on that day, will bring God’s wrath upon himself, unless
it is a maneuver in battle or a move to rejoin [one’s] company.
His
abode shall be Hellfire — what a terrible outcome!
It
is not you who killed them — it was God.
It
is not you who blinded their eyes — it was God, Who was testing believers by
His gracious intervention. Verily, God is hearing and all-knowing!
18. Verily, God
will weaken the plots of the disbelievers.
19* They were
asking for victory, and they received judgment!
It
would have been better for you to end [the war], but if you resume it, We will
resume it as well, and then your forces will not help you, even if they are
multiplied many times.
Verily,
God is on the side of the believers!
Obey God and His
Messenger and do not turn away, but listen.
21. Do not be like those who say:
“We hear,”
and do not listen.
22. Verily, the meanest creatures in God’s sight
are the deaf and
dumb — those who do not understand.
23. Had God found any good in them,
He
would have allowed them to hear, but even if He allowed them to hear, they
would have turned away and denied.
24*O you who have
believed!
Respond
to the call of God and His Messenger when He calls you to the source of life.
Know
that God stands between man and his heart, and that you shall be gathered to
Him.
25. Fear the ordeal that shall beset [you all] and
not only the sinners,
and know that God
is severe in punishment.
26. Remember the time when you were few in the
land.
You
were despised and feared eviction,
but
[God] sheltered you, supported you by His help, and provided you with good
sustenance — perhaps you will be grateful!
Do not betray the
trust of God and the Messenger;
do not knowingly
betray your trusts!
28. Know that your wealth and your children are
only a trial, and that with God there is a great reward for you.
29* O you who have
believed!
Fear
God, then He will grant you Salvation, absolve you from evil, and forgive you —
indeed, mighty is the grace of God!
30. Then the disbelievers plotted against you in
order to capture, murder, or expel you. They were plotting and God was
plotting, but God is the best of plotters!
31. When Our Verses were recited to them, they
said: “We’ve heard that before —
these are just
tales of the Ancients.
We would have made
others like them, if we wanted to.”
“O God! If this is
really the Truth from You, then pelt us with rocks from the sky or inflict upon
us a painful punishment.”
33. But God will not punish them as long as you are
among them.
He will not punish
them
as long as they
can ask for forgiveness.
34* But why is not God punishing them for denying access to the
Sacred Mosque, though they are not its custodians? Only the God-fearing can be
its custodians, but most of them do not know [it].
35. Their prayer at the [Sacred] House
is but whistling
and clapping of hands.
Let you taste the
punishment for your disbelief!
36. Verily, the disbelievers spend of their wealth
only to create diversions on the path of God. They spend, but then they regret
it.
In
the end the disbelievers shall be defeated and gathered in Hellfire.
37. God will separate the impure from the
righteous, pile the impure ones on top of each other,
and dump them into
Hellfire — indeed, they are the losers.
38. Tell the disbelievers that if they renounce
[disbelief], their past shall be forgiven, but if they start again, their fate
shall be that of the [nations] of Old!
39. So fight them until dissent is over,
and the entire
religion is returned to God!
If they desist,
then, verily, God sees everything they do.
then
know that God is your Protector, the best Protector and the best Helper.
41. One fifth of your spoils belongs to God and the
Messenger, to near relatives and orphans, to the poor and the wayfarer, if you
believe in God and in what We revealed
to
Our servant on salvation day — the day when the two companies clashed.
God has power over
everything!
42*Then you were on the nearer side [of the valley] and the
[enemy’s] caravan was below you on the farther side. Even if you had agreed on
the time, you would have still missed the appointment, so that God might
complete a pre-ordained matter: that those predestined to perish and those
predestined to survive, survive.
Verily, God is
hearing and knowing!
43. Then God made you dream that they were few in
number. Had he showed you that their number was great, you would have certainly
lost heart
and
begun to argue about [the fight]. But God saved [you]. Verily, He knows what is
in [people’s] hearts.
44. When you met, God reduced their number in your
eyes.
He
also reduced your number in their eyes to bring a pre-ordained matter to an
end. [All] affairs return to God.
When you meet a
[hostile] company, be steadfast
and remember God
oftentimes — perhaps you will succeed!
46. Obey God and His Messenger
and
do not argue among yourselves, lest you weaken and lose your resolve.
And endure —
verily, God is with those who endure!
47. Do not be like those who walk out of their
houses full of themselves, wanting to show off.
They
put obstacles in God’s way, but God encompasses everything they do.
48. Then Satan made their actions alluring to them,
saying: “Nobody will overcome you today if I stay beside you.”
But
when the two companies met, he turned around and said: “I’ve nothing to do with
you! I see what you can’t see and I fear God, for God is harsh in punishment.”
49. The Hypocrites and the diseased at heart say:
“These people are deluded by their religion!” But if one puts his trust in
God...
verily, God is
mighty and wise!
50. If you could only see the sinners dying,
while
the Angels beat them in their faces and backs: “Taste the punishment of the
burning flames!
51. Get it for the workings of your hands,
for God will never
be unjust to [His] servants!
52. [Get it] like the people of Pharaoh and their
predecessors!
They rejected the
Signs of God
and God seized
them for their sins.
Verily, God is
strong and stern in punishment!
53. God will not change the Grace He has given to
people, unless they change what is in their souls.
Verily, God is
hearing and all-knowing!
54. [Get it] like the people of Pharaoh and their
predecessors!” They had rejected the Signs of God,
so We destroyed
them for their sins.
We
drowned the people of Pharaoh — indeed, they were wrong-doers!
55. Verily, the worst creatures in God’s sight are
those who deny Him: they have no faith!
56. They are the ones with whom you entered a
treaty,
and who are ever
breaking the treaty without fearing God!
57. If you have the upper hand against them in war,
disperse them and those who follow in their steps —
perhaps they will
remember!
58. If you fear betrayal from certain quarters,
abrogate
[the treaty] to be on equal terms [with them]. Verily, God does not love
traitors!
59. Do not let the disbelievers think
that
they will have the upper hand — they cannot escape, anyway!
60* Prepare against them everything you can — the forces and the
cavalry to terrify God’s enemies and yours, and other enemies unknown to you,
but known to God. Whatever you spend in the way of God will be returned to you,
and you shall not be wronged.
61. But if they incline toward peace,
incline
toward it as well and put your trust in God. Verily, He is the Hearer, the
All-Knowing.
62. If they want to outsmart you,
then, verily, God
is sufficient for you.
He has fortified
you by His help and by the believers,
63. binding their hearts together.
You
would not achieve such a union of hearts even if you had spent all that exists
on earth. but God has bound them together — verily, He is mighty and wise!
64. — O Prophet! God is sufficient for you
and for the
believers who follow in your steps.
65. — O Prophet! Incite the believers to fight! If
among you there are twenty who endure, they will overcome two hundred
[disbelievers].
If
among you there are one hundred, they will overcome a thousand — indeed, these
people lack understanding!
66. God knows your weak spots and will lighten your
burden. If among you there are one hundred who endure,
they will overcome
two hundred [disbelievers].
If
among you there are a thousand, with God’s permission, they will overcome two
thousand — indeed, God is with those who endure.
67* It is not proper for a Prophet to take prisoners before he
conquers the entire land.
You
desire the vanities of this world, but God desires the Hereafter. God is mighty
and wise!
68. Had it not been for an earlier Divine
Ordinance,
a
severe punishment would have been meted upon you for [the spoils] you had
taken.
69. So enjoy the permissible and the rightful of
your spoils, and fear God — verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
70. — O Prophet! Tell the prisoners who have fallen
into your hands: “If God finds goodness in your hearts, He will give you
something better
than what has been taken away from you.
And He will
forgive you — God is forgiving and merciful!”
71. But if they intend to betray you,
then they have
already betrayed God,
Who gives [you]
power over them.
God is all-knowing
and wise!
72* Those who
believed, emigrated, and fought
with
their property and persons in the cause of God, and those who sheltered and
helped them, are all close to one another.
But
you are not close to those who had believed until they [joined you] in
emigration.
If they ask you
for help in religious matters,
it is your duty to
help them, but not against a people
with whom you are
bound by a treaty.
God sees
everything you do!
73. The disbelievers befriend one another, and if
you do not emulate them,
mutiny and a great
corruption will reign in the land.
74. The true believers are those who believed,
emigrated,
and fought in the
cause of God,
and those who gave
them shelter and help.
There is
forgiveness for them and a generous provision.
75* Those who have
believed at a later date,
then emigrated and
fought on your side,
are also with you,
but in God’s Book,
relatives are the
closest to one another.
Verily, God is
aware of everything!
V. 1: The division of spoils is further detailed in vv.
41 and 67-70. The injunction to obey both God and the Prophet testifies to the
rising prestige of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina.
Vv. 5f: “Your home” is Mecca (S.106:3). Some of the
followers of the Prophet did not emigrate with him to Medina and stayed in
Mecca, where they suffered persecution and forced exile.
V. 6: “Argued...
about the Truth,” i.e., about the war.
V. 7: The Muslims could attack either a poorly guarded
caravan coming from Syria or clash with superior forces from Mecca. After some
hesitation, the Prophet decided to engage the former.
V. 9: More about
the heavenly help in vv. 12 and 42-44.
V. 12: “Smite [them] on their necks and chop all their
fingers off.” These words, addressed here to the Angels, are often mentioned by
the enemies of Islam as a proof of its belligerence and intolerance. However,
they referred to internecine discords among the Arabs when there were several
attempts at killing the Prophet. They were an answer to the “terrorists” of
that time. Nowadays, these words incite to violence only the most fanatical
opponents of the spoliation of Arab lands by “infidels”.
V. 17: “Threw [dust] in their eyes.” According to
tradition, the Prophet’s forces were helped by a dust storm that blinded the
assailants. Badr is the first Muslim victory (Cf. SS.25,30,8,47).
V. 19: “Victory” and “judgment”
are expressed by the same word, fath, allowing a wordplay on the two
meanings of this word.
V. 24: “God stands between man and his heart,” meaning
that God knows the thoughts of man better than man himself.
V. 29: Salvation — furqan, see S.25. Same word in
v. 41.
V. 34: The Prophet claimed control of Mecca for his clan.
V. 42: “Predestined,” lit., “destined by a Sign.”
V. 60: First mention of cavalry in battle.
Vv. 67ff: Taking prisoners complicated the division of
the spoils of war. The Prophet opposed selling prisoners as slaves and he
greeted as full members of his community any prisoners who converted to Islam.
V. 72: “Those who
sheltered...” are the Ansars (S.3:52).
V. 75: Blood relations have precedence over casual
relationships. Breaking the ties within the family, the circle of friends, and
the clan is a great sin for the Muslims.
SURA 47 MUHAMMAD. This early Medinan sura (the first in which the Prophet is called by
name) is composed of Warnings and exhortations about war, probably issued after
the battle of Badr (2 H).
47. M U H A M M A D
Medinan, 38 verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. The works of those who disbelieve
and create obstructions in God’s path are doomed to fail.
2. [God] will absolve from evil deeds
and improve the well-being of
those who believe, do good works, and trust that the [Revelation] sent down to
Muhammad is the Truth of their Lord.
3. Indeed, the disbelievers follow falsehood,
and the believers follow the Truth of their Lord.
This is how God teaches people by their own examples!
4* When you meet disbelievers, smite [them] on their necks, and when
they are subdued, tighten [their] bonds.
[Free
them] out of mercy or for ransom after the war lays down its burdens.
Let it be so!
If
God wills, He will surely defeat them, but [first] He wants to test some of you
by the others.
Those
who died in the cause of God, He will never let their works fail.
5* He will guide
them, improve their conditions
6. and admit them to the Paradise He has described
to them.
If
you help God, He will help you and set you firmly on your feet.
8. But for the disbelievers there is a downfall!
[God] will fail
their works
9. for hating God’s Revelation,
and He will make
their works fruitless.
10. Have they not traveled in the land
and seen the fate
of their predecessors?
God
had brought destruction upon them, and so it shall be with the disbelievers.
11. Indeed, God protects the believers,
but the
disbelievers are without a protector.
12. Verily, God will lead those who believed and
did good into the Gardens under which the rivers flow.
As for the
disbelievers,
they
will indulge in pleasures and devour food like cattle.
The Fire will be
their abode!
13. How many towns We have destroyed that were more
powerful than the town which expelled you!
Nobody came to
their rescue!
14. Is the one who accepts the clear Proofs of his
Lord
like
the one whose evil deeds are made attractive to him and who follows his
passions?
15* Here is the Paradise promised to the God-fearing with rivers of
water that never corrupts, rivers of milk whose taste never changes, rivers of
wine delicious to taste, and rivers of pure honey;
with fruit of all
kinds and forgiveness of their Lord!
Are
they like those who shall stay in the Fire for ever and drink boiling water
that will tear up their entrails?
16* Some of them
seem to listen to you.
But as soon as
they leave you,
they say to those
who have received Knowledge:
“What was he
talking about?”
These
are the ones whose hearts God has sealed and who follow their passions.
17. [God] increases in righteousness
those who received
Guidance, and gives them devotion.
18. Let [the sinners] wait for the Hour
which
shall suddenly come upon them — its portents are already in plain view!
But will the
Reminder benefit them
when they are
suddenly confronted with it?
19* Be aware that there is no god but God, and ask forgiveness for
your sins and those of believing men and believing women.
God knows
everything: how you get around and where you rest.
“How come a sura
isn’t revealed?”
But
when a teaching sura mentioning fighting is revealed, just look at the diseased
at heart:
they stare at you
as if they were seeing death.
It would have been
better for them
21. to obey and to speak the just words.
When
their affairs come up for judgment, it will be better for them to be true to
God.
22* If they had
the power,
they
would have spread corruption in the land and broken the blood ties.
23. Such are those that God has cursed
and deprived of
hearing and sight.
24. Why do they not meditate on the Koran?
Are their hearts
so tightly locked?
25. Verily, Satan instigates and seduces with
[false] hopes those who turn around when Guidance is explained to them.
26. They say to those who hate God’s Revelation:
“We’ll follow you in some of these matters.” But God is aware of their secret
plots!
27* And how will it be when the Angels come to take them away, and
start beating them on their faces and backs!
28. Yes, they followed what angers God and hated
what satisfies Him.
So He ruined their
works!
29. Those who are diseased in their hearts, [do
they hope] that God will not bring their resentment to light?
30. Had We willed, We would have shown them to you
and you would have recognized them by their features, you would have surely
recognized them by their speech! God is aware of [all] what you do!
31. We test you to We find out
who
is the best among you in stamina and endurance, and We will check everything
that is said about you!
32. Verily, those who deny God turn away from God’s
path. They oppose the Messenger,
albeit Guidance
has been made clear to them.
They
cannot harm God in the least, and He will ruin their works.
Obey
God and obey the Messenger, and do not reduce your works to naught.
34. Verily, God will not pardon those who deny God,
go astray from
God’s path, and die after rejecting God.
35. Do do not falter and do not call for peace when
you have the upper hand!
God is with you —
He will not
nullify your works.
36* The life of this world is only play and fun.
If you believe and fear Him,
He will give you your reward,
and He will not demand anything
of your property in exchange.
37.
But if He
asked for it and pressured you,
you would cling to it,
and He would bring out your anger.
38.
Indeed,
you are called upon
to spend in the cause of God.
But some of you are miserly,
and whoever is miserly
is miserly to his own disadvantage.
God is rich and you are poor. If you turned away,
He would replace you by another people
that would not be like you!
V. 4: The reference is to the battle of Badr (S.8:7, 12).
For moderate Muslims there is only one just war — a war for monotheism,
provoked by the enemy. Participation in such a war (djihad, from the
root djhd — to strive toward something) is not an obligation like prayer
and alms-giving, but is the duty of Muslims who can bear arms (a Mudjahed is
someone who fights for faith). Jesus recognized a just war, as well: “Think not
that I come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword”
(Matt. 10:34).
“Tighten their bonds” i.e., take them prisoner. “Until
the war lays down its burdens” — “until the war is over.” About the humane
treatment of prisoners, cf. S.8:70.
Vv. 5,6: These verses are applied to the souls of the
dead.
V. 15: Afterlife is described in its symbolical aspect.
Fruit of all kinds are the bounties of God; water is for purifying and
freshening the spirit; milk is nourishment for the heart; wine is to celebrate
love; honey is to sweeten life after death.
V. 19: “How you get around and where you rest,” meaning
that God knows how you manage your affairs and how you behave at home — good
breeding is considered to be a religious duty (cf. SS.22,58). V. 22: “Had you
had the power” or “had you turned away.”
“Broken the blood ties” or “caused bloodshed.”
V. 27: “Beat them on their faces and backs” — on their
faces for open misdeeds, and on their backs for covert sins.
V. 36: God does not ask man to desist of all his worldly
possessions. He is too just to ask for unnatural means of salvation. Islam used
to allow abortion before the 120th day of conception, i.e., before, as they
believed, the soul entered the fetus and made it a person. In our times,
Muslims usually do not condone abortion.
Sura 3 (II) The House of
'Imran.
The second part of S3
contains passages about war, with several references to the victory at Badr (2
H), which has already been alluded to in the preceding suras, and to the defeat
at Uhud (3 H). The first part of S3 starts on p. 228.
3. T H E H O U S E O F 'I M R A N
Medinan, 200 verses
Part II. (Vv.
110-200)
110*You are the
best community established for man.
You
urge to what is lawful and you forbid evil, and you believe in God.
Had
the People of the Scripture believed, it would have been much better for them.
Some of them
believe, but most of them are reprobate.
111. If they harm you, it will be only slightly
and
if they fight you, they will show you their backs — nobody shall help them.
112*Wherever they are, humiliation shall hover over them, unless
they bind themselves by a Covenant with God and a Covenant with the people.
They
called upon themselves the wrath of God and agony for denying the Signs of God,
killing the Prophets unjustly, rebelling, and transgressing all bounds.
113. But they are not all alike!
Among
the People of the Scripture there is a steadfast community. They prostrate
themselves and recite the Verses of God all night long.
114. They believe in God and the Last Day,
they
urge to the acceptable and forbid the unlawful. They compete among themselves
in good deeds — they are the upright.
115. The good that they do shall never be in vain.
God is well aware of those who fear Him.
116. The disbelievers cannot protect themselves from
God by their wealth or their children!
They
shall be the inmates of the Fire in which they shall abide for ever.
117. Their life on earth is like a chilly wind that
destroys the harvest of the people who wronged their souls.
God has not
wronged them — they have wronged themselves!
Do
not choose close friends outside of your community, lest they harm you, as they
enjoy seeing you suffer.
Hatred
flows from their mouths, but still worse is what is hidden in their hearts.
This
is how We explain the Signs to you — if you [only] had wisdom!
119*You love them, but they do not love you, though you believe in
the whole Scripture. Upon meeting you, they say: “We have believed!”
But when alone,
they bite their nails in anger at you.
Say:
“Let you choke on
your anger!”
Verily, God knows
what is in the hearts!
120. It irks them when you get something good and
they cheer up when misfortune strikes you. But if you are patient and
God-fearing, their intrigues will not harm you in the least. Verily, God
encompasses everything they do!
121*You left your family one morning to lead the believers to their
battle positions. God is hearing and knowing!
122. Two of your sections were faltering, but God
took them under His protection. Let the believers put their trust in God!
123*God had already sustained you at Badr when you were helpless.
So, fear God — perhaps you will be grateful!
124. You said to the believers:
“Is
it not enough for you that your Lord assisted you by sending down three
thousand Angels?
125. Yes! Be patient and fear God.
If
you’re suddenly attacked, your Lord would reinforce you with five thousand
charging Angels.”
126. God did it to comfort you with good news and to
reassure your hearts.
Help is from God
alone, the Mighty, the Wise.
127*He can cut off a wing of the disbelievers or abase them so much
that they will withdraw before reaching their goal.
128. It does not depend on you if He forgives or
punishes them. Verily, they are among the evildoers!
129. Everything in Heavens and earth belongs to God.
He
forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. God is forgiving and
merciful!
130*O you who have
believed!
Do
not enrich yourselves by usury, doubling or twice-doubling [a loan], but fear
God — perhaps you will succeed!
131. And beware of the Fire prepared for the
disbelievers!
132. Obey God and the Messenger, perhaps you will be
shown mercy!
133. Hasten towards receiving your Lord’s
forgiveness and a Garden as wide as Heavens and earth prepared for the
God-fearing —
134. for those who contribute in prosperity and in
adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people.
God loves those
who do good deeds!
135. They are of those who, after committing
indecency or wronging their souls, remember God
and ask
forgiveness for their sins.
And who besides
God can forgive sins?
They do not
persist in evil, knowing
136. that their reward will be forgiveness from
their Lord and Gardens under which the rivers flow
where they will
abide for ever.
What a great
reward for those who toil!
137. There were many ways of life before you, but
travel in the land and see
what was the end
of those who denied!
138*This is an
oration to the people,
a Guidance and an
admonition for the God-fearing!
139. Do not lose
heart and do not grieve.
If you have faith,
you shall gain in stature;
140*and if
affliction touches you,
a
similar affliction will touch the others.
We
distribute such days equally among the people, so that God might identify the
believers and choose confessors in your midst (indeed, God does not love
sinners),
141. and so that God might purify the believers and abase the
disbelievers.
142.Or do you think that you will enter Paradise without God finding
out who of you fought and showed endurance?
143.You wished death before seeing it, and now here it is before
your eyes.
144*Muhammad is only a Messenger among many earlier Messengers.
Would you turn back if he died or was killed?
Those
who turn back will not hurt God in the least, and those who are grateful, God
will soon reward them.
145. Not a single soul can die, except by God’s
permission — her term is written in a Book.
If someone desires
the reward in this life,
We will give it to
him.
If someone desires
the reward in the Hereafter,
We will give it to
him.
Soon We will
reward all the grateful ones!
146. How many Prophets have led in battle numerous
companies of steadfast [fighters].
After
suffering setbacks in the way of God, they did not weaken or give up — God
loves those who endure!
147. All what they were able to say was:
“O
our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the excesses in our affairs.
Steady our feet,
help us
against the people
who disbelieve.”
148.
God will
give them a reward in this life
and an excellent
recompense in the Hereafter.
God loves those
who do good!
149.O you who have
believed!
If you obeyed the
disbelievers,
they would make
you turn back and join the losers.
150. Yes! God is your Protector and your best
Helper.
151. Soon We will cast terror in the hearts of the
disbelievers
for
their associating with God [some idols] for which He has not sent down any
power. Their abode shall be the Fire —
what
a bad dwelling for the wrong-doers!
152*God has
fulfilled His promise to you when,
with
His permission, you began defeating [the enemy];
but
later you lost heart and began to oppose His Command. You defied it when He
showed you the coveted [spoils]. Indeed, some of you want this life, while
others want the Hereafter!
Then, to test you,
[God] gave [the
enemy] the upper hand.
But He pardoned
you:
God is full of
mercy for the believers.
153*[Remember] how, oblivious of everyone, you clambered uphill,
while the Messenger was calling you back from the rear.
To
punish you [God] sent to you one setback after another to prevent you from
grieving over the loss and over what had befallen you. God is well aware of
your deeds!
154*After the setback, He sent to some of you a quiet sleep, and
anxiety into the souls of the others, so that they began to have doubts about
God, as they used to doubt in the Time of Ignorance; they said: “Does this
matter concern us?”
Say:
“Verily,
this matter is entirely in God’s hands!”
What
they don’t reveal to you, they hide in their souls.
They
say:
“If
we had anything to do with this matter, we wouldn’t have been slaughtered
here.” Say:
“Even
if you had stayed at home, those who were destined to die would have certainly
gone to the place of their death!” This would have been a Divine test
to
reveal what is in your souls and to purify you of what is in your hearts.
Indeed, God knows well what is in the souls!
155*And those who retreated on the day when the two armies met, it
was Satan who caused them to fail because of what they had done.
But
God pardoned them, for, verily, God is forgiving and full of love!
156. O you who
have believed!
Do not imitate the
disbelievers
who
say about their brothers while traveling in the land or fighting:
“Had
they stayed with us, they would’ve remained alive and wouldn’t have been
killed!”
Thus God filled
their hearts with remorse!
God gives life and
death: God observes everything you do.
157*If you are killed or die in the cause of God, then God’s
forgiveness and His mercy will be better for you than the sum of your deeds.
158.Whether you die or are killed, you shall all be gathered to God.
159* — [O Muhammad!] By the mercy of God you are too soft-hearted
toward them; but had you been rough and inflexible, they would have certainly
broken away from you. So pardon them and ask God to forgive them. Consult with
them in the affairs,
but
while making decisions, put your trust in God — verily, God loves those who
trust Him.
160. Nobody will overcome you if God helps you, but if He abandons
you, then who will help you? Let all the believers put their trust in God!
161*It does not
befit a Prophet to deceive.
Anyone
who deceives shall have to return on Judgment Day everything he obtained by
deceit.
Then
every soul shall receive according to her deeds, and not a single one shall be
treated unjustly.
162.Is the one who follows God’s pleasure like the one who incurs
God’s wrath and whose abode will be Hell — [what] a bad outcome!
163. Everyone has his degree [of goodness] before
God; God observes everything they do.
164. God bestowed a favor upon the believers
when
He sent them a Messenger from their midst to recite God’s Verses to them, to
purify them, and to teach them the Scripture and Wisdom — indeed, they had been
in blatant error before!
165*But when you
suffered a defeat, even though they suffered it twice as much, you said:
“Where does it
come from?”
Say:
“It comes from
yourselves!”
Verily, God has
power over everything!
166. And if you suffered on the day when the two armies
met, it all happened with God’s permission
because He wanted
to test the believers,
167. as well as the Hypocrites, who were told:
“Join the fight in
the cause of God
or oppose
resistance!”
They said:
“Had
we known how to fight, we would’ve surely followed you!”
On
that day they were closer to disbelief than to belief — they were saying with
their mouths what was not in their hearts.
But
God knows best what they conceal!
168. They were saying while sitting out:
“Had they listened
to us, they would’ve stayed alive!”
Say:
“Then
avert death from yourselves if you’re telling the truth!”
169. Do not count as dead those who were killed
in the cause of
God. No! They are alive!
They will receive
their provision from their Lord
170. and enjoy what God has given them of His
bounty.
They
rejoice for those who stayed behind and have not joined them yet — they have no
fear and no grief!
171. They rejoice at the goodness and generosity of
God, and at God’s intention not to let
the reward of the
believers go to waste.
172. They are those who, regardless of defeat,
responded to God and the Messenger.
They
are those who do good deeds and fear God — a great reward is in store for them.
173. They are those who were told:
“These
people have gathered in force against you, so beware of them!”
That only increased
their faith, and they said:
“God is sufficient
for us, He’s the best of Trustees!”
174*They returned
with God’s grace and favor.
Misfortune did not
touch them —
indeed,
they sought God’s benevolence, and God is the possessor of a mighty Grace.
175. Only Satan can scare you by his followers,
but if you
believe, do not fear them, but fear Me.
176. Do not grieve over those who rush into
disbelief.
They
cannot harm God in the least, but God will give them a great punishment instead
of a share in the Afterlife.
177. Verily, those who buy disbelief at the price of
faith cannot hurt God a bit —
a painful
punishment is [in store] for them!
178. Let not the disbelievers think that the respite
that We have granted them will benefit them.
We
grant them a respite to let them sink into corruption — a humiliating
punishment [is in store] for them.
179*God will not leave the believers as they are now, but He will
separate the wrong from the right. And He will not reveal to you the Unseen,
but He will choose whom He wills among His Messengers. So believe in God and
His Messengers!
If
you believe in God and fear Him, you shall get a great reward.
180*Those who are too stingy to spend out of the gifts they have
received by the Grace of God, must not think that it is to their advantage. No,
it is worse for them! On Resurrection Day all they hoarded for themselves shall
be wound around their necks.
The
Heavens and the earth belong to God, and God is well aware of all you do.
181*God hears the words of those who say: “Truly, isn’t God poor and
we’re rich!” — We will record their words
and
how they have wrongfully murdered the Prophets, and We will say:
— Taste the
punishment by the Fire
182.for the deeds
you have brought forth!
Verily, God will
not be unjust to [His] servants!
183*They also say:
“Didn’t
God enjoin us not to believe a Messenger until he shows an offering that is
consumed by the Fire?” Say:
“There
have been Messengers who came to you before me with clear Proofs and with what
you were asking for.
Why have you murdered them if you’re telling the truth?” 184*If they
reject you,
they
have similarly rejected the Messengers who came before you with clear Proofs,
the Psalms, and an enlightening Scripture.
185. Everyone
shall taste death,
but
you shall receive your full reward only on Judgment Day. Successful shall be
the one
who
is saved from the Fire and enters Paradise.
Is not the life of this world just illusion and deception? 186*Yes,
your property and person shall be a test for you.
And
you shall hear much aggravating talk from those who had received the Scripture
before you and those who associate [with God].
But
if you are patient and God-fearing, verily, that will add resolve to [your]
deeds.
187. Remember how God made a Covenant
with
those who had been given the Scripture, [commanding] to make it clear to the
people and not to hide it!
But they threw it
behind their backs
and traded it for
a small gain. Evil is this trade!
188. Those who rejoice in their actions
and
love unmerited praise, let them not think — yes, let them not think that they
will avoid retribution.
A painful
punishment is [in store] for them!
189. To God belongs the Dominion of Heavens and
earth — indeed, God has power over everything.
190. Verily, in the creation of Heavens and earth
and in the succession of night and day there are Signs for those who think,
191. for those who remember God standing, sitting,
or on their sides, for those who meditate
on
the creation of Heavens and earth: “O our Lord!
You’ve not created
all this in vain!
Glory to You! Save
us from the punishment by the Fire!
192.O our Lord!
Truly,
You cover with shame anyone You send into the Fire! The sinners shall not have
any helpers!
193.O our Lord!
We’ve
heard a voice calling us to belief: ‘Believe in your Lord,’ and we have
believed. O our Lord!
Forgive us our
sins, absolve us from our evil deeds;
and let us die
with the righteous!
194.O our Lord!
Give
us what You’ve promised us through Your Messengers and don’t humiliate us on
Judgment Day.
Indeed, Your
promises You never forget!”
195*Their Lord
accepted their prayer:
—
I will not let a single work of yours go to waste, be you male or female —
indeed, you are
all [issued] the one from the other.
I
will surely absolve from evil deeds and introduce into the Gardens under which
the rivers flow those who emigrated or were expelled from their dwellings; who
suffered in My cause, fought, and were killed.
This is their
reward from God — with God is the best reward!
196*Do not be deluded by the fleeting success of the disbelievers in
the land.
197.
There is
little enjoyment in it for them.
Their dwelling shall be Hell — evil is this bedding!
198.
The
God-fearing shall have Gardens
under which the rivers flow to abide therein for ever.
Such is their gift from God
and what is from God is the best for the righteous.
199.
Verily,
among the people who have received the Scripture, there are some who believe in
God,
in the Revelation received by
you, and in the Revelation received by them.
They humble themselves before God
and do not sell the Signs of God for a small price.
Their reward is with their Lord.
Verily, God is quick at accounting!
200.O you who have believed!
Be patient, steadfast, firm, and
God-fearing, then, perhaps, you will prosper!
V. 110: “You urge to what is lawful,” i.e., to the
respect of the laws, the customs, and the rules of conduct of your people.
V. 110f apply only to the Jews.
V. 112: “They bind themselves by a Covenant with God and
a Covenant with the people,” lit., “they [are bound] by a rope to God and by a
rope to the people.”
V. 119: “Their nails,” lit., “their fingertips.”
V. 121: A reference to the battle of Uhud, west of
Medina.
V. 123: A rare designation of a place by its name (Badr).
Vv. 127-128: Reference to divine intervention in battle.
Vv. 130: It is not clear whether the prohibition of usury
covers only excessive interest or interest in general. Usury is sinful because
it is incompatible with the forgiveness of debts to the poor. This verse is not
a fortuitous addition. It completes the preceding verses that God might forgive
even His disbelieving enemies.
V. 138: This verse sounds like the beginning of a new
sura.
V. 140: A “martyr” or a “witness” — the same name, shahid,
is given to someone who has died fighting for the cause of God.
V. 144: The Prophet Muhammad was injured in the head at
the battle of Uhud.
V. 152: The Command about the spoils — cf. S.8.
V. 153: In reference to the victory at Badr and the
defeat at Uhud, when some Muslim disobeyed their Commander.
V. 154: “Doubts of the Time of Ignorance” or “doubts due
to ignorance.”
V. 155: The kindness of God to the rebels is noteworthy.
V. 157: To qualify as fight in the cause of God or djihad,
an armed intervention must meet several strict conditions. The aim of a true
djihad is to ensure the freedom of preaching the Koran. If the already existing
religions do not create obstacles to this preaching, they should be tolerated
and, if necessary, protected.
V. 159: “Them” are probably the Prophet’s companions. The
verse appeals to moderation in war and to a consultative form of government.
Islam spread much faster than Christianity. The victory
at Badr against the pagans of Arabia was won by the Prophet himself. After his
death, Persia and Byzantium were defeated in 14-16 H, and Egypt, then a part of
Byzantium, was conquered three years later. The triumph of Islam was followed
by a reduction of the power of priesthood, a curb on superstitions, the
introduction of laws protecting minorities and women, and a scientific,
literary and economic revival that brought this medieval society out of the
doldrums. The civilizing influence of Islam was the object of many a calumny on
the part of its opponents. One example of such calumny is the presumed
destruction of the famous Library in Alexandria by the Islamic conqueror ’Amru
ibn al-’As. In fact, the libraries of Alexandria had been plundered by the
Romans and destroyed by the Christian Emperor Theodosius I. A sumptuous modern
library was recently built in Alexandria to commemorate the ancient wonder of
the world. Muslims revere the relics of past civilizations and maintain exemplary
museums in Cairo, Baghdad, and other capital cities.
V. 161: The Prophet was accused of misappropriating some
of the booty.
V. 165: A double [defeat] for the enemy: at Badr and at
Uhud.
V. 174: A reference to the fighters who came back
victorious after the battle of Badr.
V. 179: “The wrong from the right,” or “the disbelievers
from the faithful.” This Verse may have other interpretations.
V. 180 is about the spoils taken against the Prophet’s
will.
V. 181: “God is poor,” meaning: “His supporters are few.”
V. 183: One of the slain Prophets could be Abel, the son
of Adam. About the Fire consuming the offerings God was satisfied with, cf.
Lev. 9:24.
V. 184: The Psalms or, more generally, the Scriptures.
V. 186: “That will add resolve to [your] deeds” or “this
is why you have resolve in [your] deeds.”
V. 195: “You are the one from the other” — all people are
equal regardless of gender, origin, clan, and position.
V. 196: “Fleeting success,” or “wanderings,” or
“fluctuations” of the disbelievers.
Sura 61 T he battle Array. S. 61 attacks hypocrisy and inaction (vv.
2-3); it summons to fight in the cause of God (v.4) and to devote one's life
and assets to this cause (v.11). In vv. 5-6 it castigates the Jews, and in v.14
it expresses some approval of the Christians.
In this sura, Jesus
predicts the coming of the Prophet Ahmad (or Muhammad — the two names have the
same root hmd).
61. T H E B A T T L E A R R A Y
Medinan, 14 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. Everything in Heavens and earth glorifies God.
He is the All-Mighty, the Wise.
2* O you who have
believed!
Why do you talk
about what you do not do?
3. Talking about what you do not do is hateful to
God!
4. Verily, God loves those who, in His cause,
fight in a battle array solid like a wall.
“O my people! Why
do you insult me
if you know that
I’m your Messenger from God?”
When they turned
around,
God turned their
hearts around —
indeed, God does
not guide sinful people!
6* Jesus, son of
Mary, said:
“O
Children of Israel! I’m the Messenger of God [sent down] to you to confirm the
Truth that had come before me in the Torah
and
to announce the good news that a Messenger by the name of Ahmad shall come
after me.” But when he came to them with the clear Proofs, they said:
“This’s obvious
magic!”
than
the one who lies about God when he is called to Islam?
God does not guide
sinful people!
8. They want to extinguish God’s light with their
mouths, but God will perfect His Light
even if the
disbelievers hate it.
9. He is the One, Who has sent His Messenger with
the Guidance and the religion of Truth to make him raise it above all
religions, even if the Associators hate it.
Should I offer you
a bargain
that will save you
from a painful punishment? —
11. Believe in God and His Messenger
and fight in the
cause of God
with your property
and your persons.
This is better for
you, if you only knew!
12. God will forgive your sins and usher you
into the Gardens
under which the rivers flow
and
into the beautiful dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. This will be a great
success!
13* There is something else that will delight you — God’s help and a
rapid victory.
So announce the
good news to the believers!
14* O you who have
believed!
Be God’s helpers.
When Jesus, son of Mary, said to the Apostles:
“Who are my helpers in God’s way?”
The Apostles said:
“We are God’s helpers!”
Then some of the Children of Israel believed,
and some did not believe.
We gave to the believers power
against their enemies, and they prevailed.
V. 2-3: Accusation directed at the Muslims who withdrew
at the battle of Uhud.
V. 6: Jesus aimed his preaching only at the Jews (Matt.
10: 5,6; 15:24). God has promised them “another Comforter” (John 14: 16;
15:26), predicting the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. “He” refers either to
Jesus or to the Prophet Ahmad (Muhammad).
V. 13: “A rapid victory” — the return of the Prophet to
Mecca.
V. 14: Cf. a similar question to the Apostles in
S.3:52-53. The Koran praises the Christians for vindicating the teachings of
Jesus. Not only did Christianity win after vicious persecutions, but it became
one of the main religions that united whole nations, while the Jews were scattered
all over the world.
SURA
63 The HYPOCRITES.
After addressing
Christianity and theJews, the Prophet fought the Hypocrites (munafiqun) who
supported the old ways of life, dodged the draft, and promoted civil
disobedience. Building a monolithic Muslim community andnation became a
necessity.
63. T H E H Y P O C R I T E S
Medinan, 11 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* — [O Muhammad!] When the
Hypocrites come to you, they say:
“We testify that you’re really the Messenger of God.”
Yes! God knows that you are really His Messenger,
and God testifies that the Hypocrites are liars!
2. With their oaths as shields,
they turn [men] away from the path of God.
Verily, evil are their deeds!
3. They have accepted faith, then they rejected
it.
Their hearts are sealed, and they cannot understand!
4* When you look at them, they charm you by their appearance.
But listen to the words they speak!
They are like propped up logs,
for them every call is hostile.
They are your enemies, so beware of them
and let God dispose of them, for deep is their deceit!
5. When told:
“Come, God’s Messenger will pray for your forgiveness,”
they shake their heads.
Look with what arrogance they turn away.
6.
They do
not care if you pray
or do not pray for their forgiveness
because God will not forgive them.
Verily, God does not guide sinful people!
“Don’t contribute to the followers of the Messenger of
God,
because they will abandon him soon!”
The treasuries of Heavens and
earth belong to God, but the Hypocrites do not understand [it].
8* They say:
“When we return to Medina, the most honorable ones
will expel the least honorable ones.”
But all honor is with God,
His Messenger, and the believers,
albeit the Hypocrites do not know [it].
9* O you who have believed!
Do not let your property and your children
divert you from remembering God!
The one who allows it will sustain a loss.
10.
Spend from
what We have provided you with
before death comes to any one of you, and he says:
“O my Lord! Had you given me a short respite,
I would’ve distributed alms and joined the upright!”
11.
But God
will not respite any soul after her term is up!
God is well informed of [all] you do.
V. 1: The Hypocrites (spelled with a capital letter
because they are the name of a party) were such a serious opposition to Islam
that they are mentioned in several late suras (S.59:11; S.33:1,73; S.48:6;
S.57:13; S.9:64,67,101). They are described in detail in S.4:88,138,142,145.
V. 4: “They are like buttressed logs,” i.e., they are
weak as supports.
V. 8: Medina, originally Yathrib, whose full name
is “al-Medina-al-munauara” (the Illuminated City) is the second holiest
city of Islam. The Prophet was born in an inconspicuous spot near Mecca, but he
spent his most productive years in Medina, a city that was often attacked by
Meccans and hostile surrounding tribes. Inside the city he had to face the opposition
of warring factions, indolent bedouins and unreliable “Hypocrites” among his
own kinsmen. It is there, in Medina, that the Prophet resided and died, it is
there that Islam was really born. The fourth Khalif, ’Ali, moved the capital of
Islam from Medina to Kufa situated in modern Iraq.
The original modest mosque in Medina in which the Prophet
and the first three Khalifs are buried has been rebuilt several times until it
has become a vast and richly decorated place of worship and pilgrimage. In the
twentieth century, most of the old city was razed and replaced by an
agglomeration of modern buildings, shopping centers, and hotels linked by
streets and highways.
Vv. 9-11: These verses seem to be out of context. They
might have found their way to S.63 from some other sura.
Sura 4 (II) ^V OMEN. The second part of S.4 belongs to the post-Uhud period (3 H). Its
emphasis is on military affairs and the consolidation of the power of Islam.
The sura also deals with the status of women and castigates the Hypocrites and
the Jews (vv. 153'170), as well as the Christians (vv. 171'175). Its last verse
(v. 176) is a post' script to the inheritance laws. Part I of S. 4 starts on p.
427.
Meccan, 176
verses
Part II. Vv. 61-104.
61.
— [O
Muhammad!] When the Hypocrites are told:
“Come to what has been sent down by God,
[come] to the Messenger,”
you see with what contempt they turn away from you.
62.
And what
will happen if misfortune befalls them
for what their hands have done?
Then they will come to you and swear by God:
“We want only goodness and conciliation!”
63.
God knows
what is in their hearts.
So, stay away from them,
but admonish them with words
that can reach into their souls.
64.
We have
been sending each Messenger
to be obeyed by everyone as God wills.
If they came to you after they had wronged themselves,
and ask for God’s forgiveness,
or if the Messenger pleaded to forgive them,
they would have found
that God is relenting and merciful!
65.
But no, [I
swear] by your Lord!
They will not believe until they make you
the arbiter of their disputes,
[until they] stop resisting
your decisions in their minds, and submit to them in full submission.
66.
If We have
commanded them to sacrifice their lives
or to abandon their dwellings,
only a few would have done it.
Yet, how much better it would
have been for them if they had done what was expected of them!
They would have grown [in faith],
67.
and We
would have given them Our great reward
68.
and would
have guided them on the straight path.
69.
Those who
obey God and the Messenger
are with the
Prophets, the Truthful,
the Martyrs, and
the Righteous,
with
those upon whom God has bestowed [His] Grace — excellent is this fellowship!
and sufficient is
God, the all-knowing!
Be
on the alert and go forward only in detachments or in a body.
72. There will always be a laggard among you who
would say if you were defeated: “God has done me the favor
of not becoming a
martyr like you!”
73* But had God
given you a victory,
he
would have surely said,
pretending
there was love between you and him: “What a pity that I hadn’t been with you,
then great would have been my success!”
74. Let those who exchanged this life for the Hereafter fight in the
way of God!
To the one who is
killed
while
fighting in the way of God or is victorious, We will soon give a great reward!
75* So why would
you not fight in the way of God
for
the weak men, women and children, and those who say: “O our Lord! Help us to
get away from this city where they oppress us.
Give
us a protector from Yourself, give us a helper from Yourself!”
76. The believers fight in the way of God, and the
disbelievers fight in the way of Taghut.
So fight against
Satan’s friends —
verily, the plots
of Satan are hanging by a thread!
77* Have you not seen those who were told to restrain their hands
[from the booty], to observe the prayer, and to pay the zakat? When they were
ordered to fight, some of them feared men
as much as they
feared God and even more.
They said:
“O our Lord! Why
have You ordered us to fight?
You had better
given us a short respite!”
Say:
“Brief is the
enjoyment of this life.
The Hereafter is
better for the God-fearing
and you won’t be
wronged by the skin of a date pit.
78* Death can overtake you anywhere, even if you climb the loftiest
towers.”
When
a benefit comes their way, they say: “It’s from God.”
And
when they experience evil, they say: “[O Prophet], that’s from you!” Say:
“It’s
all from God!”
What
is the matter with these people that they do not understand simple words?
79. Whatever benefit comes your way is from God,
whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.
We
have sent you as a Messenger to the people, and God is sufficient as a Witness!
80. Whoever obeys the Messenger is obeying God, and
if some of them turn away,
We have not sent
you to be their guardian!
“We obey!”
Yet
after they leave you, some of them spend the night discussing things that you
did not say.
God
keeps a record of their nightly [palavers], and you, stay clear of them and put
your trust in God. God is sufficient as a Trustee!
82. Why do they not ponder over the Koran?
If it were not
from God,
they would have
found it full of contradictions.
83. When some news reaches them, reassuring or
alarming, they spread it around.
It
would have been better to report it to the Messenger or to the men in command
in their midst who would have cleared it thoroughly.
If
it were not for God’s favors to you and His mercy, many of you would have
followed Satan.
84. But you are responsible only for yourself.
So
fight in God’s way and inspire the believers!
God
might curtail the fury of the disbelievers — indeed, God is the strongest in
wrath and the toughest in punishment.
85. Whoever supports a good cause shall be
recompensed for it. Whoever supports an evil cause shall carry a part of its
burden.
In truth, God has
power over everything.
86. Return a salutation with a better or equal
salutation. Verily, God keeps count of everything.
87. God!... There is no god but Him!
He
will surely gather you together on Judgment Day, about which there is no doubt.
So whose Words are
truer than God’s?
88* Why have you split into two parties regarding the Hypocrites?
Indeed, God has
crushed them for their deeds.
Do
you hope to put on the [right] path those whom God has sent astray?
For
those whom God has sent astray you will never find the [right] path!
89. They wish you
renounced faith and became like them.
So
do not befriend any one of them until they emigrate [from Mecca] in the cause
of God. But if they betray [you], catch them and slay them any place you find
them.
And do not take defenders or helpers from their midst, 90*except
those who had joined your allies, and whose conscience will prevent them from
fighting you and their own people.
Had
God so willed, He would have given them power over you and then they would have
surely fought against you, but if they retreat without a fight and offer you
peace, then God will not give you a pretext to attack them.
91* You shall also
meet those who will seek
to earn your
confidence and that of their people.
But
each time they are called to rebellion, they throw themselves into it!
If
they do not withdraw from you, do not offer you peace, and do not restrain
their hands, then capture and kill them any place you find them!
We
give you full authority over them.
92*A believer
should never kill a believer, unless by accident.
Anyone
who kills a believer by accident should free a believing slave and pay the
blood money to the [victim’s] family, unless they refuse it out of good will.
If
[the victim] is a believer from a hostile people, then [it is enough] to free a
believing slave, but if he belongs to a people allied to you, then pay the
blood money to his family and free a believing slave.
Those
for whom this is beyond their means should fast two consecutive months in
repentance to God. God is truly all-knowing and wise!
93. Anyone who kills a believer intentionally
will be rewarded
with Hellfire as an everlasting abode.
The
wrath and the curse of God shall be upon him — a great punishment is ready for
him.
94*O you who have
believed!
Be discriminating
when you go forth in the way of God.
Do not tell
someone who greets you with peace:
“You’re a
disbeliever,”
seeking
for yourself some fleeting profit in this life. Indeed, the greatest spoils are
with God!
And you were like
them before God granted you His favors.
So, be
discriminating!
Verily, God is
well aware of what you do.
95. Do not consider as equals the believers who
remained behind without exposing themselves to danger and those
who
strive in the way of God with their property and person. Those who strive with
their property and person, God raises to higher degrees than those who remain
behind.
God
has promised goodness, and God will distinguish those who fight from those who
stayed behind by a great reward —
96. by degrees [of distinction], forgiveness, and
mercy.
Truly, God is
forgiving and merciful!
97* When the Angels are carrying away those who damaged their souls,
they shall say to them: “How was it there, for you?” They shall say:
“We’ve been
oppressed in the land.”
The Angels shall
say:
“The
land of God is broad, you could have settled elsewhere!” Their abode shall be
Hellfire — what a bad outcome!
98. But the weak among men, women, and children who
are deprived of means and guidance,
99. let them hope that God will pardon them, for
God is exonerating and forgiving!
100. Whoever emigrates in the way of God
shall
find many shelters and a great expanse on earth. Whoever leaves his home to
follow God and His Messenger and meets with death,
shall
receive a sure reward from God.
In
truth, God is forgiving and merciful!
101. When you travel about in the land, there is no
fault upon you
if
you shorten the prayer fearing molestation from disbelievers — indeed,
disbelievers are your open enemies.
102. — [O Muhammad], when you are leading in prayer,
let a part of [the troops] stand
beside you with
their weapons.
After
they complete their prostrations, make them stand behind you.
Then
let those who have not prayed yet come forward and pray with you, keeping their
weapons and taking all precautions.
The
disbelievers are waiting until you put down your weapons and equipment to
attack you in one drive.
However,
there will be no fault upon you if you lay your weapons aside because of rain
or illness, while taking all precautions.
Verily,
God has prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers.
103*If you skip the prayer, remember God standing, sitting, or on
your side. And when you feel secure again, stand up for prayer, indeed, the
believers ought to pray at definite hours.
104.
Do not be
lax in seeking the enemy — if you suffer, they suffer like you.
But
you hope in God, and they have nothing to hope for.
In truth, God is
all-knowing and wise.
Part II. Vv.
135-176.
Stand
for justice and be witnesses before God, even against your parents or
relatives, even against yourselves.
God
is the Protector of the rich and the poor.
Do
not follow your passions, but hold onto [the Truth] to avoid evading [justice]
or swerving from it, verily, God knows everything you do.
Believe
in God and His Messenger, and in the Scripture He has sent down to His
Messenger and in the Scripture He had sent down before.
Whoever
denies God, His Angels, His Scriptures, His Messengers, and the Last Day, is
gone far astray.
137*God will not forgive or guide on the [right] path those who have
believed, then disbelieved;
then
believed again, then disbelieved, and continued to sink into disbelief.
138. Announce the good tidings to the Hypocrites
that a painful retribution is ready for them.
139. And those who befriend disbelievers instead of
believers, do they expect that they will honor them?
No! Verily, all
honors are with God.
140. [God] has already revealed to you in the
Scripture that if you hear that some people deny and mock the Verses of God,
you should not sit beside them until they speak of something else; otherwise
you would be like them. Verily, God will gather in Hell all the Hypocrites and
the disbelievers!
141. They are the ones who are watching you — when
God grants you victory, they say: “Were we not on your side?”
But
when success is on the disbelievers’ side, they say to them:
“Aren’t
you indebted to us
for
defending you against the believers?”
God
will judge between you on Resurrection Day, and God will never allow the
disbelievers to overcome the believers.
142. Verily, the Hypocrites try to double-cross God,
but it is He, Who will double-cross them! They stand in prayer indolently,
thinking
not so much of God, as of showing off before the people.
143. They waver, not knowing which side to join.
You
will never find a way for those whom God has sent astray!
144.O you who have
believed!
Do
not befriend disbelievers over the believers if you do not want to provide God
with a clear case against yourselves.
145*Verily, the Hypocrites will be in the lower circle of Fire, and
you will not find any helper for them.
146. But not for those who repent, amend their ways,
hold
fast to God, and purify their religion for God’s sake — they are the ones who
are with the believers, and soon God will give the believers a great reward.
147. Why would God punish you if you are grateful
and believing? In truth, God is appreciative and all-knowing!
148. God does not like if someone broadcasts evil,
except if he himself has been treated unjustly. In truth, God is hearing and
all-knowing!
149. Whether you divulge a good deed or conceal it,
whether you forgive evil...
verily, God is
forgiving and powerful!
150. Verily, those who reject God and His Messengers
wish
to separate God from His Messengers, and they say: “We believe in some and
reject the others,” and they seek a middle way.
151*In truth they
are disbelievers, and for the disbelievers
We have prepared a
humiliating punishment.
152. We will soon give their reward
to
those who believe in God and His Messengers and make no distinction between
them.
In truth, God is
forgiving and merciful!
153. The People of the Scripture ask you
to descend upon
them a Scripture from Heaven.
They had asked
even more of Moses, saying:
“Show us God as He
is!”
A
thunderbolt struck them for their blasphemy! After receiving the clear Proofs,
they worshiped a calf.
Even then, We
pardoned them and gave Moses a firm authority.
154. We raised a mountain over them
as a Sign of the
Covenant, and We said to them:
— Prostrate
yourselves when you enter the gate!
We [also] said to
them:
— Do not violate
the Sabbath!
We concluded with
them a solemn Covenant,
155*but they broke the Covenant, rejected God’s Signs, murdered some
Prophets unjustly, and said: “Closed are our hearts!” How weak is their faith!
God put a seal
upon them for their disbelief,
156*for departing
from faith, for viciously slandering Mary,
157*and for their
words:
“We’re
the ones who killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.”
But they did not
kill or crucify him: they just imagined it.
Verily, those who
argue about that are full of doubts.
They
have no knowledge about it — they are just guessing, as it is certain that they
have not killed him.
158. No! God has raised him up to Himself — indeed, God is mighty
and wise!
159*Verily, among the People of the Scripture there is not a single
one
who will not
believe [in Jesus] before he dies.
On Judgment Day he
will be a witness against them.
160*For their iniquity We have forbidden the Jews some food that was
[previously] allowed to them. They were turning [people] away from God’s way.
161. They practiced usury, although it was forbidden
to them, and consumed people’s wealth under false pretenses.
For
those among them who disbelieve, We have prepared a painful punishment.
162. But soon We will give a great reward
to those who are
firm in Knowledge
and
believe in what has been revealed to you, and what had been revealed before
you; to those who observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and believe in God and the
Last Day.
163. Verily, We are inspiring you, as We inspired
Noah and the Prophets who followed him.
Thus
We have inspired Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the tribes [of Israel], Jesus,
Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon, and David to whom We gave the Psalter —
164. all the Messengers We have already mentioned to
you and others We have not mentioned.
And with Moses God
spoke face to face!
165. [We have inspired] the Messengers
who
brought good tidings and Warnings so that after the [admonition] of the
Messengers, people would not have any case against God. Indeed, God is mighty
and wise!
166*God witnesses that what has been revealed to you has been
revealed with His Knowledge.
The
Angels are witnessing it too, albeit God is sufficient as a witness.
167. Verily, those who renounce faith and turn
[others] from God’s path have strayed far away.
168. Verily, God does not forgive those
who disbelieve and
do wrong;
He does not guide them to a way 169.other than the way to Hellfire,
their everlasting
abode — that is easy for God!
170. O people!
The
Messenger came to you
with
the Truth from your Lord, therefore, you better believe! But if you
disbelieve....
Everything
in heavens and earth belongs to God.
God
is all-knowing and wise!
171*O People of
the Book!
Do not trespass
the limits of your religion
and do not say
about God anything but the Truth.
Indeed, the
Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
is
only a Messenger of God, He is His Word sent to Mary, and a Spirit from
Himself.
So
believe in God and His Messengers and do not say:
“[They are] a
trinity” —
do
not do that, as God is truly One God, and too exalted He is to have a son.
Everything
in Heavens and earth belongs to Him, and God is enough as a Protector.
172. Like the attending Angels,
the Messiah does
not disdain to be a servant of God.
He will soon
gather to Himself
those who disdain
serving Him and are haughty.
173. He will reward those who have believed and done
right;
He
will add to them still more of His bounty, but upon the haughty and the
disdainful, He will impose a painful punishment.
Besides
God they shall find for themselves neither a protector nor a helper.
There
have come to you the Proofs from your Lord, and the clear Light that We have sent
down to you.
175. Those who have believed in God and firmly stand
by Him, He will soon admit to His mercy and to His bounty
and guide them to
Himself on the straight path.
176*They ask you
for a pronouncement [about inheritance].
Say:
“Here
is God’s pronouncement for those who leave no parents and no offspring.
If
a childless man dies leaving a sister, she receives half of his inheritance.
If
a childless woman [dies] leaving a brother, he receives all of her inheritance.
If two [sisters]
are left,
they share
two-thirds of his estate.
If brothers and
sisters are left,
then a man gets
the share of two women.”
God makes this
clear to you, lest you err.
Indeed, God is
aware of all things!
V. 75: “This city
where they oppress us” is Mecca.
V. 77: “Restrain
their hands...” — avoid rushing into battle.
V. 78: In spite of
the doctrine of predestination, everyone is responsible for his/her misfortunes.
Righteousness (fitra), untainted by original sin, is the natural state
of man (S.30:30).
V. 88: Some
Muslims wanted to kill the Hypocrites; others to spare them. The next two
verses offer a reasonable compromise.
V. 90: “Their
conscience” or “their constrained hearts.”
V. 91: The
renegades in this verse are the Jews and the Hypocrites who intentionally
stayed behind in Mecca.
V. 92: Blood money
is a compensation, a fine, a ransom for a person killed unjustly.
V. 94: “Seeking
some fleeting profit in this life for yourself” — robbing someone because he is
not a Muslim.
V. 97: An
injunction against the Muslims who stayed behind.
V. 103: “When you
skip the prayer” or “after praying.”
V. 137: The Jews
doubted the Koran and ended up rejecting it.
V. 145: “A circle”
or “a layer” of Fire.
Vv. 151-153: All
Messengers, including Jesus, must be equally respected by the faithful.
V. 155: “Closed
are our hearts” — “our hearts are under wraps” or “our hearts are uncircumcised”
(cf. S.2:88).
V. 156: Mary was
slandered by the rumor that Jesus was born out of wedlock.
V. 157: The idea that God could allow Jesus, a righteous
man, suffer and die in ignominy for the sins of others was blasphemous for
Muslims.
V. 159: “Will not believe in him [Jesus] before h
is [o wn] death,” or “will not believe in him before his
[Jesus’s] death.”
V. 160: The Muslim dietary laws are less restrictive than
the Jewish ones.
V. 166: The expression “God is enough as a witness” is an
answer to the Christian belief that God’s will can be swayed by the testimony
of Jesus, supplications to the Saints, and even prayers of ordinary people.
V. 171: “Do not trespass...” is an appeal to moderation.
V. 176: This verse completes the inheritance laws
presented at the beginning of this sura (Part I, vv. 1-12). It is clearly an
addition to the sura.
Although a division of some long suras into two or three
parts according to their content, as has been done in this translation,
undoubtedly facilitates reading and understanding, an extensive fragmentation
of the Koran is unwarranted. Nevertheless, some scholars have submitted the
Koran to an extensive deconstruction. Thus, a medieval Azeri student of the
Koran, Ibn Hasan, whose work was translated to Russian (ChG, see Bibliography),
has divided the Koran into 133 parts in the numerological belief that the
number of suras should be 19x7= 137 and not 19x6= 114. He called his 137 chapters
suras, but wrongly, because the word sura is specifically attached to the
canonical Koran (chapters imply a division by subject matter — which is what he
attempted to achieve). He also transferred a few verses or even one half of a
verse from one sura to another one (e.g., vv. 158, 196-part of 200, and 203
from S.2 to S.22. Out of S.4 he carved four “suras”: Women (vv.
1-35; 127-130; 176), The Weight of a Speck of Dust (vv. 36-42), The
Membrane of a Date (vv. 43-70), and The Blessing (vv.
71-126; 131-175). A comparison with Rodwell (JMR) shows that the English
author, without mentioning his source, has practically copied the order in
which Ibn Hasan listed his chapters of the Koran.
SURA
59 EXPULSION. S59 deals with the division of spoils after the defeat
of the Jewish tribes Bani Qainuqa'and Bani Nadir (4 H). It was necessary then
to quell any dissension among the four groups of Muslims: 1) the Muhajjirun, of
Meccan descent, who accompanied the Prophet to Medina; 2) the Ansar — the
Musims native to Medina; 3) the recent emigrants from Mecca, who joined the
Muhajjirun; and 4) the party of the Hypocrites who refused to fight. The
gathering of Muslins was opposed by an armed “confederation ” of plotters.
Emigration (hijra) has the same root as Muhajjirun. The Muslim calendar starts
at the hijra to Medina in 620.
59. E X P U
L S I O N
Medinan, 24 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1.
Everything
in Heavens and earth glorifies God. He is the Mighty, the Wise.
2* He is the One Who at the first
expulsion evicted from their dwellings
those
who had not believed
among
the People of the Scripture.
You
did not think that they would leave, and they thought that their strongholds
will defend them from God.
Yet
God came upon them from unexpected quarters and brought [such] a terror into
their hearts that their dwellings were destroyed by their own hands and the
hands of the believers.
This
is a warning for those who have eyes to see!
3. If God had not decreed their expulsion,
He
would have certainly punished them in this world, and in the Hereafter He will
punish them by the Fire
4. for their opposition to God and His Messenger.
Verily, God is severe in punishing
anyone who opposes
God.
5* If you have cut down [their] young palm-trees, leaving some of
them on their roots, that was done by God’s decree to humiliate the reprobates.
6* You did not have to go on a campaign on horseback or camelback
to
get what God [took away] from them and gave to His Messenger.
God gives power to
His Messengers as He wills.
God has power over
all things.
7* The spoils from
the townspeople
that
God gave to His Messenger belong to God, His Messenger, the near relatives, the
orphans, the poor, and the wayfarers.
They
should not be allocated to the rich among you.
Take
what the Messenger gives you and abstain from what he withholds from you.
And fear God —
verily, God is severe in punishment!
8. [A part] of the spoils is for the indigent
emigrants who lost their dwellings and property, while seeking God’s bounty and
approval, and who were assisting God and His Messenger. They are the sincere
ones!
9* Those who owned houses [in Medina] and adopted the faith, love
those who emigrated to [their city], and they do not covet what has been given
to them. Although they are poor themselves, they put their needs above their
own.
Successful shall
be those
who free
themselves of greed!
10. And those who emigrated after them say: “O our Lord! Forgive us
and our brothers who came to faith before us, and don’t leave in our hearts any
ill-feelings toward the believers.
O
our Lord! Verily, You’re full of kindness and mercy!”
Do
you not know what the Hypocrites say to their disbelieving brothers among the
People of the Scripture: “If they exile you, surely we’ll follow you.
We’ll
never obey anyone in what concerns you, and if you’re attacked, surely we’ll
help you!” God is witness that they are liars!
If they are
expelled,
[the
Hypocrites] will not follow them and will never help them if they are attacked.
And
if they helped them, they would betray them and leave them without support.
Indeed,
God has filled their hearts with a fear of you that is stronger than their fear
of God — these people do not understand.
They
will not fight you in a body, but only inside fortified towns or hiding behind
walls. Strong is the rivalry among them.
You
think that they are united, yet their hearts are apart, but these people do not
think.
They
shall taste the evil of their actions like their immediate predecessors.
A
painful punishment is [prepared] for them.
And
such is Satan who said to a man:
“Deny
[God]!”
And
when [the man] denied, he said:
“Now
I’m repudiating you
because
I’m afraid of God, the Lord of the Worlds.” Both shall end up in the Fire where
they will abide for ever.
Such
is the reward of the sinners!
O
you who have believed! Fear God!
Let
each soul consider
what
she has prepared for tomorrow.
Fear
God! Verily, God is well informed of your deeds. Do not be like those who have
forgotten God and [God] made them forget themselves.
Indeed, they are
reprobates!
Can
one compare the inmates of the Fire to the dwellers of Paradise?
The dwellers of
Paradise are the ones to succeed.
If We descended
this Koran upon a mountain,
you would see how it will humble itself
and split asunder out of fear of God.
Such are the examples We bring up to the people —
perhaps they will reflect!
22* He is God!
There is no god, but Him.
He knows the hidden and the revealed.
He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.
There is no god, but Him.
He is the Sovereign, the Holy One,
the Source of Peace, the Guardian of Faith,
the Observer of security, the Mighty,
the Powerful, the Most High.
Glory to God!
[Exalted] He is above what they associate with Him!
24.
He is God,
the Creator, the Builder, the Source of Harmony.
To Him belong the most beautiful Names.
Everything in Heavens and earth glorifies Him!
He is the Mighty, the Wise.
V. 2: “At the first expulsion.” Expulsion in Arabic is hashr,
which also means “assembly” or “gathering.” If gathering is meant, here, it may
refer both to the Muslims and to their enemies who were mustering their forces
at the time. The Jewish tribe Bani Nadir was forced to leave the
vicinity of Medina after Uhud (4 H).
V. 5: The palm groves belonged to the Bani Nadir, who
might have destroyed them during their retreat.
Vv. 6-8: The lands confiscated from the Jews were not
considered to be spoils of war, as they were lands previously seized by the
Jews from their rightful owners.
V. 7: The Muslims justify the expulsion of the Jews by
the fact that they were recent immigrants who could not be assimilated into the
local Arabian communities for cultural reasons. The creation of a stable
community destined to become a nation required, besides funds, discipline and
full respect for Islam.
Many Koranic verses like this one speak of the high
standing of the Prophet beside God, but the Prophet is not the object of a
cult. The only celebration dedicated to Muhammad is his birthday (Mawlid
an-Nabi on 12 Rabi’ al-Awal), which is remembered only in some localities, with
no ritual is attached to it.
Vv. 9-10: The late Emigrants are the Meccan defectors to
the Prophet’s side after his first victories.
V. 11: The Hypocrites were accused of betraying Islam by
seeking a trade accommodation with the Jews.
V. 15: The “predecessors” referred to are Bani Qainuqa’
— the first Jewish tribe to be defeated by the Muslims.
V. 18: “Tomorrow,” probably, on Judgment Day.
Vv. 22-24: A doxology often quoted by Muslims (cf. S.24:
41). It contains several of God’s Names, which describe some facets of His nature
but do not explain who He is. The ineffable God (S.37:180) is the total
reality (S.20:114; S.4:171), but He cannot be understood by man
(S.37:180). Nevertheless, a man stripped by God of his veils can feel His
Presence and understand the deep sense of life and things (S.17:4; S.29:64).
God is the Holy One, Whose Oneness is His highest
attribute, as stated in S.112, which every Muslim must know by heart. The
statement that the Koran is easy to remember (S.54:17) is taken so seriously
that thousands of faithful achieve the feat of committing the whole Book to
memory.
Sura 48 Victory. This sura was revealed between the
disappointing expedition of the Muslims against the Meccans at Hudabiya (6
H),which ended with the treaty of the same name, and a successful operation at
Khaybar (7 H). Therefore, victory and defeat alternate from passage to passage.
The sura criticizes the nomadic Arabs (the Bedouins) who defected at Hudabiya
(vv. 11-12 and 15'16).
Medinan, 29
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* Verily, We have
granted you a decisive victory,
2. so that God would forgive your past and future
sins, fulfill His goodness to you,
guide you on the
straight path,
3. and sustain you by a mighty help.
4* He is the One, Who has sent Assurance into the hearts of the
believers
to add still more
belief to their belief.
To God belong the
hosts of Heavens and earth.
In truth, God is
all-knowing and wise!
5. He will admit the believers,
men and women,
into the Gardens
under
which the rivers flow to abide in them for ever.
He will absolve
them from evil deeds.
In the eyes of God
this is truly a great success!
6. He will punish the Hypocrites, men and women,
and the Associators, men and women.
Their
evil ideas about God encircle them in evil.
The
wrath of God is upon them. He has cursed them and prepared for them Hellfire —
what an evil outcome!
7* To God belong
the hosts of Heavens and earth.
God is truly
all-mighty and wise!
8. — [O Muhammad!] We have sent you as a witness,
a carrier of good
news, and a Warner
9. to let everyone believe in God and His
Messenger, assist Him, and glorify Him mornings and evenings.
10. Verily, those who pledge allegiance to you,
pledge allegiance to God.
The
hand of God is over their hands!
Whoever
breaks an oath, breaks it to his soul’s harm, and whoever fulfills his Covenant
with God shall soon receive from Him a great reward.
11* The Arab nomads who stayed behind will say to you: “We’ve to
mind our property and households, so ask forgiveness for us.”
Their tongues say
what is not in their hearts.
Say:
“Then,
who would intercede before God in your behalf if He intended to hurt or benefit
you?”
God is truly well
aware of your deeds.
12. You thought that the Messenger and the
believers will never return to their households.
This was a bad
idea made attractive to your hearts.
And now you are a
people of losers!
13. We have prepared a Fire for the disbelievers
who have not believed in God and His Messenger!
14. God is the Sovereign of Heavens and earth.
He forgives whom
He wills and punishes whom He wills.
God is truly
forgiving and merciful!
15* When you will set forth for the spoils, those who stayed behind
will say: “Allow us to follow you!”
This is how they
wish to breach God’s decision!
Say:
“No! You’ll not go
with us, as God has already told you!”
Then they will
say:
“You envy us!”
How little do they
understand!
16. Say to the Arab nomads who stayed behind:
“You’ll
be called against a people skilled in violent war, and you’ll have to fight
them till they surrender.
If
you obey, God will give you a good reward, but if you betray, as you’ve
betrayed before, He’ll punish you by a painful retribution.”
17. There is no blame upon the blind, as there is
no blame upon the lame and the sick [for not fighting].
[God]
will admit whoever obeys God and His Messenger into the Gardens under which the
rivers flow, and if any one retreats,
He
will punish him by a painful retribution.
18* God has been satisfied with the believers when they pledged you
allegiance under a tree.
He
knew what was in their hearts and He sent the Sakina down upon them.
He will reward
them with an upcoming victory
19. and a rich booty that will be their lot.
God is truly
mighty and wise!
20. God promised you a rich booty that will be your
lot.
He
rushed it to you, while restraining from you the people’s hands, so that it
might become a Sign for the believers, and He might guide you to the straight
path.
21. And there is another booty not within your
reach — it is in the power of God.
God truly has
power over all things!
22. If the disbelievers fight you, they will surely
retreat without finding a protector or a helper.
23. Such was God’s decree in the past,
and you will find
no change in God’s decrees!
24. He is the One, Who in the valley of Mecca has
restrained their hands from you and your hands from them
after He had
granted you victory over them.
God truly sees
well all that you do.
25*They are among the ones who disbelieved, kept you away from the
Sacred Mosque, and prevented animal offerings from reaching their destination.
But
[had you fought] at the time, you could have unknowingly trampled some
believing men and believing women, thus unwillingly committing sin.
God
[has restrained your hands] to admit to His mercy anyone He chooses. If [the
believers] had stood apart, We would have certainly inflicted a severe punishment
upon the disbelievers.
26* While the disbelievers were filling their hearts with violence —
the violence of the time of Ignorance, God has been sending down
His
Sakina upon His Messenger and the believers. They deserved it and were worthy
of it.
[God]
made them respect the word of devotion. God is truly well aware of all things!
27. God has truly fulfilled His Messenger’s vision!
God
willing, you shall enter the Sacred Mosque in full security, your heads shaven,
your hair cut short, and without fear.
[God]
knew what you did not know.
And
besides that, He granted you a speedy victory.
28.
He is the
One Who has sent His Messenger
with Guidance and the religion of
Truth to exalt it above all religions.
Sufficient is God as a witness!
29* Muhammad is God’s Messenger.
His followers are firm with the disbelievers
and compassionate to one another.
You see how they bow and
prostrate themselves, hoping for God’s favors and [His] approval.
Their faces are marked by the traces of prostrations.
This is how they are represented in the Torah.
Their image in the Evangel is a sprouting seed.
It grows strong and becomes a
straight stalk that pleases the sowers and angers the disbelievers.
To those who have believed and
have done good works, God has promised forgiveness and a great reward.
V. 1: The first three verses are addressed directly to
the Prophet Muhammad. The “decisive victory” is the treaty by which the Quraish
recognized Islam as a lawful power in Arabia.
V. 4: “Reassurance,” sakina, cf. S.48:26, S.2:248.
V. 7: “The hosts,” “the armies,” or “the forces.”
V. 11: The Bedouins asked to be excused from
conscription.
V. 15: “As God has said before” (cf. S.8:1). “Those who
stayed behind” — the Bedouins who defected in battle.
V. 18: “When they pledged you allegiance under a tree”:
the treaty of Hudabiya (6 H). The victory is that of Khaybar (7 H).
V. 25: In battle, the advancing Muslims could not discern
the believers from the disbelievers. God interfered to save innocent
bystanders.
At the reading of this verse, as well as S.41:37 and
S.96:19, it is customary to bow and prostrate oneself.
V. 26: “Respect the word of devotion” — show
self-restraint.
V. 29: A rare mention of the Prophet’s name. The mark is
the dark spot on the forehead produced by contact with the floor or the soil
during prostrations. Moses and Aaron “fell on their faces” (Num. 16:22); “The
angels... fell... on their faces”(Rev. 7:11).
SURA
57 THE IRON. S.57preaches humility before God and dismisses servility
before men. It describes the virtues of a true Muslim and reiterates the calls
to contributions (vv. 7 10-11,17). In v.25, iron may be a symbol of strength.
If the victory alluded to in v.10is the conquest of Mecca, S.57could be dated
as late as 8 H.
Medinan, 29
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. Everything in Heavens and earth glorifies God.
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
2. To Him belongs the Dominion of Heavens and
earth. He gives life and death.
He has power over
all things.
3. He is the First and the Last, the Evident and
the Unseen. He is well aware of everything.
4* He is the One Who has created the Heavens and the earth in six
days and then established Himself on the Throne. He knows what goes into the
earth and what comes out of it, what descends from the sky and what ascends to
it.
He is with you,
wherever you are!
God sees
everything you do!
5. To Him belongs the Dominion of Heavens and
earth. [All] matters return to God.
6. He merges the night with the day and merges the
day with the night. He knows best what is in the hearts.
7* Believe in God and His Messenger, and contribute from what you
have inherited from Him. Those of you who believe and contribute shall receive
a great reward.
8. What prevents you from believing in God?
The
Messenger is calling upon you to believe in your Lord, Who accepted your pledge
that you will not cease to believe.
9. He is the One, Who sends clear Proofs down to
His servant to let him bring you from darkness to Light.
Verily, God is
full of kindness and mercy for you!
10* What prevents you from contributing to the cause of God? Indeed,
the Heavens and the earth are God’s Dominion! Those who gave and fought before
victory are much higher in rank than those who gave and fought after it, but
God has promised goodness to everyone.
God is well aware
of your deeds.
11. Whoever lends a good loan to God, [God] will
double it, and he shall receive a noble reward.
12* On [that] Day you shall see how Light will stream from believing
men and believing women in front of them and to the right of them.
Good
tidings for you today: Gardens under which the rivers flow to abide in them for
ever; this is the highest achievement!
13. On [that] Day the Hypocrites, men and women,
shall say to the believers:
“Wait for us, we want to borrow some of your Light!”
— Go back to
search for [your] Light!
Then
a wall with a gate shall arise between them with mercy inside and punishment
outside.
“Were we not with
you?”
—
Yes, you were, but you fell into temptation, you waited, you doubted, and your
wishes deceived you. When God issued His Decision,
the Deceiver
deceived you about God.
15. Today no ransom shall be taken from you or the
disbelievers! Your abode is the Fire — what an evil outcome!
16* Is it not time
for the believers
to
humble their hearts at the remembrance of God and at the descent of Truth upon
them, and to stop emulating those who had received the Scripture in the past,
and whose hearts had hardened so much in the long run that many of them became
reprobate.
17. Know that God can revive the earth after it has
died.
We
have already shown you the Signs — perhaps you will understand!
18* Verily, charitable men and women who lend to God a good loan
shall receive twice as much in return with a liberal reward on top.
19* For their Lord, those who believe in God and His Messengers are
the Keepers of Truth and the Witnesses [of Faith] who will get their reward and
their Light, but those who denied God and rejected Our Signs will dwell in
Hellfire.
20* Let you know that this life is only sport and fun,
embellishment, bragging among yourselves, and competition for more wealth and
more children. An example for you is the rain that causes a sprout to burst
forth to the delight of the grower.
But
soon it withers and you see how it yellows and turns into stubble. There is a
severe punishment in the Hereafter, but also God’s forgiveness and approval.
And
this life is only a deceiving contentment.
21. So, compete
with one another
in
[seeking] the forgiveness of your Lord, and Paradise which is as immense as the
expanse of Heaven and earth.
It
is for those who believed in God and His Messengers, it is God’s favor which He
bestows upon anyone He wills. God wields a mighty Grace!
22* There is no misfortune in the land or in your souls that is not
recorded in the Book before We let it happen. Verily, this is easy for God!
23* Do not despair if something has passed by you and do not exult
over what you have received.
God does not love
the arrogant braggarts
24. who are
miserly themselves and urge people to stinginess!
And if anyone of
them turns away...
then, verily, God
is the Rich, the Praiseworthy.
25* And in the past We have been sending Our Messengers with clear
Proofs, the Book and the Balance to let the people stand by justice.
We sent down iron
for war and for the benefit of mankind.
God knows who
secretly supports Him and His Messengers.
Verily, God is
powerful and mighty!
26. We have sent
Noah and Abraham and established
in their posterity
the Prophetic gift and the Revelation.
Some
of them followed the Guidance, but many of them became reprobates.
27* We continued to send Our Messengers in their footsteps, and then
We sent Jesus, son of Mary,
We
gave him the Evangel and put kindness and mercy in the hearts of his followers.
We
have not prescribed them monastic life, which they have invented themselves,
but only the search of God’s satisfaction.
Yet,
they did not live up to expectations.
We
gave their reward to those of them who believed, but many of them became
reprobates.
Fear God and
believe in His Messenger.
Then
[God] will give you a double portion of His mercy and a Light for you to
follow. He will forgive you — indeed, God is forgiving and merciful!
29. Let the People of the Scripture know
that
they have no control over God’s Grace — it is in His hand, and He gives it to
whomever He wills.
God is the
Sovereign of abundant Grace!
V. 4: According to
the Bible, God has created the world in six days, but in fact, he will continue
to create and build it for ever. We cannot know what He will create in the
future.
V. 7: “Contribute,” i.e., give to charity.
V. 10: “The victory” is either the conquest of Mecca or
one of the successful campaigns of the Prophet.
V. 12: “And the believing women” might be a later
addition made to enhance the prestige of women.
V. 16: The Koran used to urge the faithful to fight
relentlessly; now, after victory, it invites them to soften their hearts.
Vv. 18-19: The four degrees of nearness to God are: the
Prophets (S.4:9), the Keepers of Truth, the Witnesses (v.19), and charitable
people (v.18). The Keepers of Truth and the Witnesses are sources of Light by
themselves.
Faith (iman) has four degrees of merit: submission
to God following the example of everything He has created; individual and
wholehearted submission; submission in fulfilling the prescriptions of
religion; and total immersion in faith and good works.
V. 19: “The
Witnesses” comprise the Martyrs.
V. 20: “The
growers” — “the disbelievers” in the original.
V. 22: “The Book”
is a record of all human actions.
Vv. 22-24: The
misfortune alluded to is probably the defeat at Hudabiya. For this reason, even
though S.57 resembles the Meccan suras, it is placed among the latest Medinan
suras.
V. 23: A righteous
person is as moderate in pain as in joy: he knows that both come from God.
V. 25: “The
Scripture” is the Koran; “the Balance” allows to distinguish the right from the
wrong, the valuable from the fake.
V. 27: Note the
conciliatory tone towards Christians.
“They did not
achieve what was expected from them”: monks will never satisfy God because
solitude is an unnatural way of life.
Sura 33 The
Confederates. S.33
deals essentially with two topics: the personal life of the Prophet (cf. S.66)
and the failed attempt of the Confederation to take Medina (5 H). While the
Quraish remained in Mecca, the other Confederates — the Jewish tribes, the
Hypocrites, and the Bedouins — were defeated in the trenches dug by the Musims
around the city. The Jewish tribe Bani Quraiza lost its lands.
33.
T H E C
O N F E D E R A T E S
Medinan,
~73 verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. O Prophet! Fear God and do not yield to the
disbelievers and the Hypocrites! Verily, God is all-knowing and wise!
2. Follow what is inspired to you by your Lord.
Verily, God is well informed of your deeds.
3. Trust God — God is sufficient as a Trustee.
4* God has not put
two hearts inside a man’s chest.
He
has not changed into your mothers the spouses you divorced by [the rite] of
zihar, and He has not made your adopted children your sons. These are just
words in your mouths, but God speaks the Truth and guides on the [right] way.
5. Call [adopted sons] after their fathers: that is more just in
God’s sight.
If
you do not know who their fathers are, then they are your brethren in faith or
your close friends.
There
will be no fault upon you if you have made a mistake in this matter, unless it
was intentional in your hearts.
In
truth, God is forgiving and merciful!
The
Prophet is closer to the believers than they are to one another and his wives
are [like] mothers to them.
In
the Book of God, blood relatives are closer to one another than the believers
or the emigrants among themselves. But you should treat your close friends
kindly as well — so it is written in the Book [of God].
Remember
that We made a Covenant with the Prophets — with you, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus, son of Mary. We made a solemn Covenant with them all, so that [God]
could question the Keepers of Truth about their truthfulness.
He
has prepared a painful punishment for the disbelievers.
O
you who have believed!
Remember
God’s goodness to you when you were besieged by armies. We sent against them a
violent storm, and for your support — invisible hosts. In truth, God sees well
all what you do! When they came upon you from above and below, when [your]
sight dimmed, and [your] hearts rose to [your] throats, you began to have
doubts about God. Thus the believers were tested and jolted a tremendous jolt.
Then
the Hypocrites and those with diseased hearts said: “The promise of God and His
Messenger is but a delusion.” Others among them said:
“O
you, people of Yathrib! Go back!
This’s not the
place for you!”
Then
some of them asked leave of the Prophet, saying: “Our houses are in danger!”
But
they were not in danger: they just wanted to run away.
If
[the enemies] surround them from all sides and incite them to revolt, they
would certainly rally to them without delay. Yet they had made a Covenant with
God that they will never betray.
They
shall be accountable for their Covenant with God!
Say:
“Running
away will not help you if you run away from death or slaughter, and even then,
brief would be your enjoyment.” Say:
“Nobody would
guard you from God if He wished you evil
or if He wished
you mercy.”
They shall not
find any protector or helper besides God.
18. Indeed, God knows those of you who restrain
others [from fighting]
and
those of you who say to their brothers: “Rally to us!”
If they go out to
fight,
it will be only
for a short while,
19. and they will be full of envy towards you! You
will see them overcome with fear, looking at you and rolling their eyes
as if death were
hovering over them!
But
when fear subsides, they will viciously lash at you with [their] sharp tongues
and covet the booty.
They
have no faith, and God has nullified their deeds — in truth, that is easy for
God.
20. They think that the Confederates did not go
away; but if the Confederates returned,
they
would go over to the Arab nomads in the desert to gather information about you.
And
if they stayed with you, they would fight only for a short while.
21. Indeed, the Messenger of God is a good example
for those who rely upon God and the Last Day, and frequently remember God.
22. When the believers saw the Confederates, they
said:
“This
is what God and His Messenger have warned us about. God and His Messenger had
been telling the truth!”
And this increased
their belief and submission.
23. Some believers are true to their Covenant with
God.
and are fulfilling
their vow,
while others are
waiting, but they firmly believe
24. that, God willing, He might reward
the
Keepers of Truth for their truthfulness and punish the Hypocrites or pardon
them.
Verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
25. God turned the disbelievers back in spite of
their fury. They gained no advantage —
indeed,
God is sufficient for the believers in their fight. God is truly powerful and
mighty!
26. And those of the People of the Scripture
who
supported [the Confederates], God chased them from their strongholds and filled
their hearts with terror. You killed some of them and others you captured.
27* [God] let you inherit their lands, dwellings, property, and a
land you had not trodden [before].
In truth, God has
power over all things!
28* — O Prophet!
Tell your wives:
“If
you desire the life of this world with its frills, then come! I’ll let you
enjoy it before sending you away graciously.
29. But if you desire God, His Messenger,
and
the Last Abode, God will prepare a great reward for those among you who do
good.”
If
one of you commits an open indecency, she shall receive a double punishment. In
truth, this is easy for God.
31. Those of you who are devoted to the service of
God and His Messenger and do good works
shall
receive from Us a double reward — We will prepare for them an ample provision.
You are not like
other women.
If you fear God,
do not talk too sweetly,
but talk in a
dignified way,
lest you seduce
someone with a corrupted heart.
33* Keep to your houses and avoid the showy garments of the times of
Ignorance. Observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and obey God and His Messenger. God
wants to cleanse of pollution you and your household, and to thoroughly purify
you.
34. Remember the Verses of God
which
are recited in your houses, and [His] Wisdom. Verily, God is graceful and
well-informed!
35* Verily, God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward for
Muslim men and women, believing men and women, obedient men and women, truthful
men and women, patient men and women, humble men and women, almsgiving men and
women, chaste men and women, and men and women who often remember Him.
God has prepared
for them forgiveness and a great reward.
36* Believing men or women should not take part in the decisions
made by God and His Messenger. Whoever disobeys God and His Messenger has
really gone astray!
37* — [O Muhammad!] Remember how you said to [Zeid], who had
received God’s grace and your favor: “Keep your wife to yourself and be
God-fearing.” But you concealed in your soul what God wanted to reveal. You
feared people instead of fearing God.
When
Zeid divorced, We married you to [his wife] to allow believers to marry without
hindrance the divorced wives of their adopted sons after [their marriage] had
been duly dissolved. Thus God’s Decision has been fulfilled.
38. There is no difficulty for the Prophet in what
God has assigned to him.
[Indeed],
those who have already passed away had also observed the Law of God.
God’s Decision
must be fulfilled!
39. [This is] for those who convey God’s Messages,
who fear Him, and fear nobody but Him. Sufficient is God to call to account!
40*Muhammad is
not the father of any of your men. He is God’s Messenger and the seal of the
Prophets. God is fully aware of all things.
Remember God and
do it frequently,
42. and glorify Him mornings and evenings.
43. He and His Angels are blessing you
to
bring you out of the darkness into the Light. He is truly merciful to the
believers.
44. The Day they meet Him, their greeting shall be:
“Peace!”
He has prepared
for them a generous reward.
45. — O Prophet! In truth, We have sent you as a
Witness, a Carrier of good news, and a Warner
46. who calls to God with His permission, and as an
illuminating Lamp.
47. Announce to the believers the good news that
they shall receive a great mercy from God.
48. Do not yield to the disbelievers and the
Hypocrites, disregard their insults and put your trust in God. God is
sufficient as a Trustee.
49*O you who have
believed!
If
you marry believing women, and then divorce them before consummation, you do
not have to observe the waiting period. Give them a gift
and
let them go in an honorable way.
50* — O Prophet! We allowed you to marry those to whom you have paid
their dowries: the slaves given to you by God as part of the spoils, the
daughters of paternal uncles and aunts, the daughters of maternal uncles and
aunts who have emigrated with you [from Mecca], and any believing woman ready
to dedicate herself to the Prophet if the Prophet desires to marry her. This is
for you, but not for the believers! We know what We have commanded in regard to
their wives and slaves, but you must be free of hindrance. In truth, God is
forgiving and merciful!
51* You may skip [the turn] of any [of your wives] and receive any
one you desire.
There
will be no blame upon you if you invite one of those [whose turn] you have
skipped. This is better to cool their eyes, to free them from grief, and to
satisfy them with what you are giving them.
God
knows what is in your hearts.
In
truth, God is all-knowing and forbearing!
52* You are not allowed in the future to marry again or to replace
your wives with others whose beauty might strike you, except your slaves. In
truth, God is observing everything.
53* O you who have
believed!
Enter
the houses of the Prophet when invited for a meal, but not while it is being
prepared.
If
invited, come in, and disperse after eating without engaging in conversation to
avoid annoying the Prophet.
Otherwise
he will feel embarrassed for you, but God is not embarrassed by the truth! When
you ask [women] for some utensil, ask from behind a curtain — that is purer for
your hearts and their hearts. You should not annoy God’s Messenger and you
should not marry his wives: that would be outrageous in God’s eyes.
54. Whatever you reveal, whatever you hide, verily, God is fully
aware of everything.
55* It is not sinful for [wives to appear unveiled] before their
fathers, their sons and their brothers, their brothers’ sons and sisters’ sons,
and before their women, or their [female] slaves. Let them fear God — verily,
God is witness to all things.
56. Verily, God and His Angels are blessing the
Prophet. And you who have believed,
bless him and
greet him a great greeting.
57. Verily, God has cursed in this world and in the
Hereafter those who slander God and His Messenger.
He has prepared
for them a humiliating punishment.
58. Those who undeservedly abuse believing men and
women, are guilty of calumny and obvious sin.
59* — O Prophet!
Tell
your wives, your daughters, and believing women to cover themselves with
over-garments [when going out]: this is more proper than to be recognized and
abused. God is truly forgiving and merciful!
60. If the Hypocrites, the diseased of heart,
and
those who spread sedition in Medina do not desist, We will surely rouse you
against them, and they shall cease to be your neighbors for long.
61. A curse will be upon them and they shall be
captured and utterly destroyed wherever they are found.
62. Such was God’s Decree for those who lived
before, and you will not find any changes in God’s Decrees.
63. People ask you about the Hour.
Say:
“[Only] God knows
it!”
How can you know —
perhaps the Hour is near!
64. Verily, God has cursed the disbelievers and has
prepared for them a blazing Fire
65. in which they shall dwell for ever.
And they shall not
find any protector or helper.
66. The Day when the Fire distorts their faces,
they shall say:
“O
woe to us! Why haven’t we obeyed God, why haven’t we obeyed the Messenger?”
“O our Lord! We’ve
been obeying
our chiefs and our
elite:
they are the ones
who led us astray.
68. O our Lord! Double their punishment and curse
them a great curse!”
69* O you who have
believed!
Do not be like
those who slandered Moses.
God
cleared him of all their accusations, as He was truly honorable in God’s sight!
Fear God and speak
the words of Truth,
71. then He will improve your works and forgive
your sins. Whoever obeys God and His Messenger
shall achieve the
greatest success.
72* Verily, We have offered Responsibility to the Heavens, the
earth, and the mountains, but it scared them, and they refused.
Then
man took it upon himself, [though] he was sinful and ignorant.
73. Thus God will punish the Hypocrites, men and
women, and the Associators, men and women, and will pardon the believing men
and women — indeed, God is forgiving and merciful!
V. 4: About the divorce by the Zihar, cf. S.58. The law
did not assimilate adopted sons to natural sons.
V. 6: “You should treat your close friends kindly” by
helping them and by remembering them in your wills.
V. 8: “The Keepers of Truth” or the righteous: cf.
S.57:19.
Vv. 9-10: The same had happened at Badr. The Confederates
were more numerous than the Muslims, yet they were defeated in the trenches of
Uhud, partly because of blinding sand storms (S.8:9).
V. 13: Yathrib is the old name of Medina. Some of its de
fenders refused to fight in the trenches dug around the city.
V. 27: The land that the faithful did not own before: the
Jewish settlements in the vicinity of Khaybar (S.48:18), about 100 miles north
of Medina.
Vv. 28f: The Prophet wanted his wives to play a leading
role in the establishment of Islam, and he gave them the freedom of choice.
Some misunderstandings about the Prophet’s wives have been revealed in S.66.
V. 33: It seems that the Prophet was hurt by the vanity
of some of his wives.
V. 35: Men and women are equal in obligations before God.
V. 36: The impression is created that during the later part
of his life the Prophet Muhammad took part in God’s Decisions.
V. 37: Apparently, this verse which excuses the Prophet
from abiding by the law prohibiting fathers to marry the divorced wives of
their sons was addressed during his life only to the members of his family and
to his close friends. Zeid, a freed slave adopted by the Prophet, was married
to Zeinab, a cousin of the Prophet. This union was not a happy one. At first,
the Prophet objected to their divorce, but then he approved it, but opposed its
divulgation. Later on, he married Zeinab himself, thus giving rise to sarcastic
rumors. Zeid is one of the two contemporaries of the Prophet called by name.
V. 40: The “seal of the Prophets,” i.e., the last of
them.
V. 49: A divorced wife has the right to keep half of her
dowry and to receive a present as well.
V. 50: In the year 7 H, the Prophet had nine wives and
several concubines; at the time of his death, he had twelve wives.
V. 51: The Prophet was free to break the rotation between
his wives that was considered proper for a husband.
V. 52: Of the Prophet’s wives, Raihana, was formerly a
slave.
V. 53: To come to a house uninvited during a meal was a
violation of good manners, especially as the rules of hospitality demanded
that the guest be invited to partake of the meal.
V. 55: “It is not sinful for [wives to appear unveiled]
before their fathers...” The meaning might be lost without the interpolation in
square brackets.
Vv. 55, 59 may apply to the wives of the Prophet and to
women in general. Women are required to hide behind a curtain (or veil?) in the
presence of strangers, but the Koran does not give details about how this
should be done. The veil covering the face or part of the face did not appear
as a regular item of apparel until the Abbasid times, even though the Koran is
full of prescriptions and images with veils and curtains. The veil (hidjab)
is called purdah in Persia and shador (a whole black garment) in
the Middle East. Veiling the entire body cannot be compatible with the
honorable status given to women in the Koran which stipulates that women are
equal to man before God, but the role of women in most societies is dependent
on cultural mores. In fringe Islamic societies like the Taliban of Afghanistan
or the Alawis of Syria, women are considered to be so inferior to men that they
seem to be without souls.
V. 59: Covering their faces and heads, or only their
heads, is one of the prevailing customs among Muslim women in many countries.
The Koran requires that women wear long and ample “over-garments”
that would disguise their features when they leave their houses.
V. 69: The Prophet was blamed by his opponents for
marrying Zeinab, just as Moses had been blamed by his sister and brother for
marrying an Ethiopian woman (Num. 12:1).
V. 72: “Trust” (amana) also means responsibility,
faith and obedience. God offered the responsibility for the Universe to the
highest powers, represented by the Heavens, the earth and the mountains, but
they declined it. Man took it upon himself, but did not live up to his pledge
because of his shortcomings.
Sura 60 The Woman Examined. This short sura was probably revealed after
the Meccans broke the treaty of Hudabiya (7'8 H). It questions the wisdom of
befriending members of other faiths and sets up some rules for the treatment of
believing and disbelieving women.
60. T H E W O M A N E X A M I N E D
Medinan, 13 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* O you who have believed!
Do do not befriend My enemies and
your enemies and do not offer them your affection.
Indeed, they rejected the Truth
after it came to you,
and expelled the Messenger and yourselves
because of your belief in God, your Lord.
When you came out to fight in My cause
and to seek My approval,
you concealed your friendship with them.
But I know well what you hide and what you reveal.
Whoever does it, has wandered off the straight path.
2.
If they
overcome you, they will be your enemies.
The hands they stretch to you and
their tongues are full of evil, indeed, they want you to renounce faith.
3.
Neither
your relatives nor your children shall help you when God will judge you on
Resurrection Day,
for He sees well all what you do.
4.
A good
example for you was Abraham and his followers
when they said to the people:
“We have nothing to do with you
or with whatever you worship besides God.
We
reject you! Unless you believe in One God, there shall be an everlasting enmity
and hatred between us.” But [a bad example] was Abraham when he said to his
father: “Yes, I’ll pray for your forgiveness, but I can’t help you with God in
any way.”
“O our Lord!
We’re putting our
trust in You,
We’re turning to
You — in You is our outcome!
Don’t
make of us a trial for those who don’t believe. And forgive us, O our Lord!
Verily, You’re the Mighty, the Wise.”
6. This is truly a good example
for
those who yearn for God and the Last Day. And the one who turns away...
then, verily, God
is the Rich, the Praiseworthy.
7* But it may happen that God establishes affection between you and
those you consider as enemies — indeed, all power is with God, and God is
forgiving and merciful!
8. God does not forbid you to be kind and fair to
those who do not fight you because of religion
and do not expel
you from your dwellings.
Verily, God loves
the just.
9. But God forbids you to befriend
those
who fight against you because of religion, who expel you from your dwellings,
and help to expel you.
Those
who befriend them are doing evil.
10* O you who have
believed!
Examine
the believing women who come to you as refugees. God knows best about their
faith.
If
you find out that they believe, do not send them back to the disbelievers —
indeed, they are unlawful for the disbelievers and [the disbelievers] are
unlawful for them. But return to them all they have spent on [a dowry]. There
will be no fault upon you if you marry them and pay them their dowries.
Do
not keep disbelieving women, but ask for the return of what you have spent on
them, and let the disbelievers ask for the return of what they have spent. Such
is God’s Judgment, and He is the Judge between you.
God is all-knowing
and wise!
11. If any of your wives crossed over to the
disbelievers, when your turn comes, reimburse those they have left the
equivalent of what they had spent [on the dowry]. And fear God in whom you
believe.
12* — O Prophet!
If believing women come to you and pledge
that they will not
associate anything with God,
that they will
neither steal nor commit adultery,
that they will not
kill their children,
that they will not
accuse others
for the deeds of
their hands and feet,
and that they will
not oppose you in what is lawful,
then accept their
pledge and ask God to forgive them.
Verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
13. O you who have
believed!
Do not befriend
people who have incurred the wrath of God.
They
despair in the Hereafter like the disbelievers despair in [the resurrection] of
the dwellers of the graves.
V. 1: “They rejected the Truth.” Truth is not an
abstraction: it is the whole world with God’s decrees and the laws of nature,
it is God Himself. A righteous person acquires Truth gradually and thus gains
in wisdom and spiritual growth step by step.
”God is the Truth” means that God is a reality and not a
fantasy. God is Light without admixture of darkness. Darkness is the negation
of existence. The world does not exist without God’s Light. Such are the ideas
of the Muslims about the Creator.
As everything else in the Universe, dualism, such as the
one between ineffability and nearness to man, is subservient to God.
Complementary dualism is expressed in the two categories of God’s Names: 1)
those that proclaim the qualities of God: Almighty, Most Powerful, Great; and
2) those that determine the relationship between God and man: Compassionate,
Relenting, Forgiving.
The Muslims consider it is blasphemous to call God
father, as the Christians do. It is a blasphemy to talk in human terms about
God’s family ties and friendly relationship with any man on earth, the Prophet
Jesus included.
Vv. 1f: Muslims are cautioned not to trust their
tribesmen who did not join them in Islam — a difficult thing to do, when
allegiances are split across families.
V. 7: Friendship between Muslims and their enemies is
conceivable only after the latter convert to Islam.
V. 10: “They are
not lawful for the disbelievers” — they cannot lawfully marry them.
V. 11: “If any of your wives went to the disbelievers” or
“if something belonging to your wives went to the disbelievers.”
V. 12: “The deeds
of their hands and feet” — their own deeds.
Sura 9 Repentance. This is the only sura without the introductory
words “In the name of God...” (is it the continuation of S.8?) It contains
passages that belong to the latest period of the Prophet's leadership, between
the treaty of Hudabiya (6
H) and the return of the Prophet to Medina
after his conquest of Mecca (8 H). The Prophet denounced the treaty with the
Confederates (vv. 1-5), took Mecca, fought the remaining opponents and, later,
Byzantium (89 H), preparing the territorial conquests that began after his
death (10 H).
S.9 contains exhortations
to unity and vigilance in fighting in God's way. Its focus is on the security
of the Ka 'ba and the pacification of hostile Christians and Jews. As the zakat
and the spoils were insufficientfor building a new nation, the faithful were
exhorted to pay additional subsidies in the form of “voluntary contributions”
or “alms” (sadaqat).
Since they predict the
creation of a powerful Islamic State and Nation, SS.9 and 110 form the natural
conclusion of the Koran.
9. R E P E
N T A N C E
Medinan,
129 verses
1* God and His Messenger are abrogating the alliance with the
Associators with whom you had entered a treaty.
2. [O Associators!] Roam in the land for four
months, but know that you cannot weaken God
and that God will
humiliate the disbelievers.
3. On the day of the great pilgrimage God and His
Messenger are announcing to the people that God and His Messenger are
abrogating the alliance with the Associators.
It
is better for you to repent, but if you turn away, then know that you cannot
cheat God.
Announce a painful
punishment to the disbelievers!
4. But this does not extend to the Associators
with whom you have
an alliance
and who,
subsequently, have not failed you in anything
and have not
supported anyone against you.
So observe your
agreement with them to the end of its term.
Verily, God loves
the God-fearing!
5* At the expiration of the prohibited months, fight the Associators
wherever you find them, capture them, assail them, and set up against them all
kinds of ambush. But if they repent, establish the prayer, and pay the zakat, then
open them the way. Verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
6. If any of the Associators asks you for asylum, shelter him and
let him hear the Word of God. Then escort him to a place safe for him — indeed,
these people lack knowledge.
7* How can there be an alliance of God and His Messenger with the
Associators, except with those with whom you concluded a treaty by the Sacred
Mosque? Be true to them as long as they are true to you —
verily, God loves
the God-fearing!
8. And the others? As soon as they get the upper
hand, they will stop respecting you and will forget
their
blood relationships and agreements.
They
are making lip service to you, but their hearts are set against you — indeed,
most of them are reprobate.
9. They trade the Signs of God for a small price,
and they turn away from His path.
Verily. evil is
what they do!
10. They respect in a believer neither kinship
nor trust — they
have transgressed all bounds.
11. If they repent, establish the prayer, and pay
the zakat, they will become your brothers in religion.
[This
is how] We explain the Signs to the people who understand.
12. But if they break their oaths after the treaty
and start taunting your religion,
then
fight the leaders of disbelief who violate their oaths — perhaps this will
restrain them.
13. Would you not fight the people who break their
pledges
and plot to expel
the Messenger?
Indeed, they were
the first to attack you.
Why are you afraid
of them?
God! He is the
One, Whom you must fear if you believe!
14. Fight them, and God will punish them at your
hands! He will humiliate them and sustain you against them.
He will heal the
hearts of the believing people
15. and remove hate from their hearts.
God turns to
anyone He wills — God is knowing and wise!
16. Or do you think that you will be forgotten
before
God finds out who of you was engaged in fighting and did not take for himself
[a protector] other than God, His Messenger, and the believers?
God is well aware
of what you do!
17* After the Associators have confessed their disbelief, they
should not have been left in charge of God’s mosques. Fruitless are their
works!
They shall abide
in the Fire for ever!
18. God’s mosques should be in the care of a person who believes in
God and the Last Day, establishes the prayer, pays the zakat, and does not fear
anyone, except God.
Such a person is
more likely to follow the straight path.
19* Is providing
water to pilgrims
or managing the
Sacred Mosque
is
[as important] as believing in God and the Last Day and fighting in the cause
of God?
No, this is not
alike before God,
and God does not
guide the people who do wrong.
20. The highest in merit before God
are
those who believed, were expelled, and fought in the cause of God with their
property and soul.
They are the ones
who will win!
the
good news of His mercy and goodwill, and of the Gardens with enduring
contentment
22. in which they shall abide for ever.
Verily, God wields
a great reward!
Do
not seek the protection of your fathers and brothers if they prefer disbelief
to belief.
Those who seek
their protection are sinners.
“If
your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, and your family, the
property you have acquired, your trade which worries you when it stagnates, and
the dwellings you enjoy, are more important for you than God, His Messenger,
and the fight in His cause, then wait until God announces His Decision.
God doesn’t guide
the people who are corrupt!”
25* God has
assisted you in many encounters
as on the day of
Hunain
when your great
number amazed you.
But
it had not helped you at all, for wide as it was, the land became too narrow
for you, and you retreated.
26*Then God
descended His Sakina
upon His Messenger
and the believers.
He
sent down forces invisible to you and punished the disbelievers.
Such was the
reward of those who disbelieved!
27. But after that God will pardon anyone He wills, indeed, God is
forgiving and merciful!
28* O you who have
believed!
The Associators
are really unclean,
so
do not let them manage the Sacred Mosque after their year is over.
If you fear
poverty,
God
will soon enrich you from His bounty if He wills, Verily, God is all-knowing
and wise!
29* Fight those
who do not believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His
Messenger have forbidden, and who do not follow the religion of Truth, even if
they belong to the People of the Scripture, until they pay the tribute with
their own hands in sign of obedience and submission.
30* The Jews say:
“Ezra
is the son of God,”
and
the Christians say:
“The
Messiah is the son of God,” but these are just words on their lips — they only
repeat what the disbelievers had said in the past. Let God wipe them out! How
deluded they are!
31. Besides God, they took for themselves as lords
their
scholars and monks, and the Messiah, son of Mary, albeit they were commanded to
worship only One God. There is no god but Him!
[Exalted] He is in
His glory above anything they associate.
32. They want to snuffle out God’s Light with their
mouths, but God wants only one thing: to perfect His Light, even if it is
hateful to the disbelievers!
33* He is the One, Who has sent His Messenger with the Guidance and
the true Religion to set it above all religions, even if this is hateful to the
Associators!
Many
scholars and monks consume the wealth of the people unjustly and turn them away
from God’s path. Some of them are hoarding gold and silver, rather than
spending them in the cause of God. Announce to them a painful punishment!
35. On that Day all this hoard will be heated in
Hellfire
and used to brand
them on their foreheads, sides, and backs:
— This is what you
have hoarded for yourselves!
Then taste what
you have hoarded!
36* Verily, in God’s Book, there are twelve months [in a year] since
the day when He created the Heavens and earth.
Four
of them are unlawful [for fighting], as prescribed by religion, so during
[these months] do not put yourselves in harm’s way.
Fight
the Associators in one body, as they fight you in one body, and know that God
is with the God-fearing!
37. Transposing [the prohibited months] only
promotes disbelief among the disbelievers.
One
year they consider them lawful and another, prohibited. They adjust them to the
number prohibited by God and make prohibited months lawful [for war].
The
evil of their actions is made attractive to them, but God does not guide people
without faith!
Why
do you cling so firmly to the ground when told: “Set forth in the cause of
God.”?
Do
you really prefer this life to the Hereafter? But the enticements of this life
are so small in comparison with the Hereafter!
39. If you do not set forth [to battle], you will
be submitted to a painful punishment and replaced by other people. You cannot
harm God in the least —
indeed, He has
power over all things.
40*God will help
[the Messenger] if you do not help him.
When
the disbelievers expelled him, he [hid] with his companion in a cave.
There
He said to his companion:
“Don’t
grieve, God is with us!”
Then
God sent down to him His Sakina, supported him with invisible hosts, and abased
the word of the disbelievers.
And
the Word of God was exalted to the highest — indeed, God is mighty and wise!
41. Set forth with heavy or light equipment and strive in the cause
of God with your property and soul.
If you [only] knew
how much better it is for you!
42* If the benefits were at hand and the journey easy, they would
have certainly followed you.
But
the journey seemed too long, and they swore by God: “We’d have gone with you if
we could!”
Thus
they have destroyed their souls — indeed, God knows what liars they are.
43* — May God forgive you! Why have you exempted them [from
fighting] before finding out who spoke the truth and before exposing the liars?
44. Those who believe in God and the Last Day do
not seek your exemption,
but
fight with their possessions and souls. God knows the God-fearing!
45. Only those who do not believe in God and the
Last Day are asking you for exemption.
Their hearts are
full of doubts
and they waver in
their indecision.
46. If they wanted to set forth,
they would have
certainly been ready for that.
But God opposed
their departure and delayed them.
They were told:
“Remain with those
who stay [behind]!”
47. Even if they go forth with you,
they
would not bolster your strength, but only bring confusion in your ranks and sow
dissent. Some of you might listen to them, but God is well aware of those who
do wrong.
48. Indeed, they had been sowing confusion and
upsetting the matters for you
long
before the Truth has manifested itself and God’s Design has been enforced much
to their aversion.
“Grant
me an exemption [from fighting] and don’t lead me into temptation!” But they
have already yielded to temptation and Hell has already encircled the
disbelievers.
50. They are upset when something good happens to
you, but when misfortune comes your way, they say: “We’ve already taken care of
our affairs!”
And they turn away
with glee.
51* Say:
“Nothing
can happen to us other than what God has destined us for.
He’s our
Protector, and the believers rely upon God.”
52* Say:
“You
cannot expect for us anything other than one of the two glorious [outcomes].
But
for you, we’re expecting the punishment which God will deliver either by
Himself or at our hands.
So keep waiting,
and we’ll also wait!”
“Whether
you give a contribution willingly or unwilling, it shall not be accepted
because
you’re truly a people of reprobates!”
54. Yes, their contributions shall not be accepted
because they deny God and His Messenger,
are lazy in
praying, and give only under compulsion.
55. Do not admire their wealth or their children,
indeed, their punishment from God in this life is in letting their souls perish
in disbelief.
56. They swear by God that they are on your side,
but they are not with you —
these people are
scared of everything.
57. They would like to find a shelter or a cave, or
some exit to rush into it in all haste!
58* Among them there are those who slander you because of the [new]
contributions.
If
they get a share of them, they rejoice, and if not, they are indignant.
59. They should be pleased with what God and His
Messenger gave them and say:
“God
is sufficient for us! Indeed, God and His Messenger shall soon give us some of
His bounty.
Our hopes are only
with God!”
60. Contributions are for the poor and the
destitute, for those who collect them,
for those whose
hearts strive to the Truth,
for the slaves and
the debtors,
for the cause of
God, and for the wayfarer.
Such is God’s
Decree! God is all-knowing and wise!
61* Some of them
slander the Prophet, saying:
“He’s
[all] ears.”
Say:
“He’s
[all] ears for your benefit.
He
believes in God, he believes in the believers, he’s a blessing for the
believers amongst you.” And for those who slander God’s Messenger, there shall
be a painful punishment.
62. Some of them swear to you by God only to please
you.
But if they
believed,
they would better
seek to satisfy God and His Messenger.
63. Do they not know that for each one who opposes
God
and His Messenger, there is the Fire of Hell as an everlasting abode?
That will be a
great humiliation!
64. The Hypocrites are afraid that a sura revealing
what is in their hearts might be sent down against them.
Say:
“Enjoy mocking as
much as you wish, but, verily,
God shall bring to
light what you’re so scared of!”
65. Ask them, and they will surely say:
“We were only
joking and having fun!”
Say:
“Were you not
mocking God, His Signs, and His Messenger?”
66. Make no excuses! You have denied after you had
believed.
If We pardon some
of you,
We will punish the
rest for their sins.
67. The Hypocrites, men and women, are all alike:
they urge to evil, forbid what is lawful,
and hold their
hands back to withhold contributions.
They
have forgotten God, and God has forgotten them. Verily, the Hypocrites are
corrupt!
68. To the Hypocrites, men and women, and to the
disbelievers, God has promised the Fire of Hell as an everlasting abode — that
will be enough for them!
God has cursed
them! A lasting punishment for them!
69. The same happened to your predecessors, albeit
they were stronger than you in power,
had more wealth
and children, and enjoyed their share,
as you are now
enjoying your share.
You lapse [into vain
talk], as they used to lapse.
Their
works will be useless in this life and the Hereafter — they shall be the
losers!
70* Have they not
heard about their predecessors:
the
people of Noah, ’Ad and Thamood, the people of Abraham, the owners of Madyan,
and the overthrown [cities]?
Indeed,
their Messengers came to them with clear Proofs. It is not God, Who has wronged
them — they have wronged themselves.
71. Believing men and women support one another, urge to the lawful,
and forbid evil;
they
observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and obey God and His Messenger.
God will be
merciful to them.
Verily, God is
mighty and wise!
72* To believing men and women God has promised Gardens under which
the rivers flow to abide in them for ever
and beautiful
dwellings in the Gardens of Eden.
But God’s approval
is best — this is a great success!
73. — O Prophet!
Fight
the disbelievers and the Hypocrites and be tough with them.
Hell shall be
their refuge — what a dreadful outcome!
74* They swear by
God that they did not say anything.
Yet
they spoke words of disbelief, and they did it after joining Islam. But all
their plots have failed!
They
responded with hatred to the bounty that God and His Messenger had bestowed
upon them.
It was better for
them to repent!
And
if they relapse, God will punish them harshly in this life and in the
Hereafter;
they shall have
neither a friend nor a helper on earth.
75. Some of them had a Covenant with God; [they
said]:
“If He gives us of
His bounty,
we promise to
contribute, we promise to be upright.”
76. But after [God] had given them of His bounty,
they became
greedy, turned away, and broke [their promise].
77. Then, for breaking the Covenant with God and
entangling themselves in lies,
[God]
filled their hearts with hypocrisy till the Day of their meeting with Him.
78. Do they not know that God is aware of their
secrets
and their covert
meetings, and that God knows the Unseen?
79. Those who slander the believers and ridicule
them because they willingly give contributions or help by their labor when they
have nothing [else] to give, God will ridicule them in return,
and they shall
receive a painful retribution.
80. Whether you pray for their pardon or not,
even
if you prayed for their pardon seventy times, it will not matter: God would not
forgive them! Indeed, they rejected God and His Messenger and God does not
guide the people who are corrupt!
81. Those who were left [at home] rejoiced
while
staying behind the back of the Messenger of God. They refused to contribute
their property and souls to the fight in the cause of God, saying: “Don’t set
out in this heat!”
Say:
“The Fire of Hell
will be much hotter!”
If they could
[only] think!
82. So let them laugh a little more, then they will
cry a lot in recompense for what they have amassed.
83. If God makes you meet some of them again, and they
ask your permission to set out, say: “You’ll never set out with me again
and
we’ll never fight the enemy together! Indeed, you sat idle the first time,
so continue to sit
idle with those who stayed behind!”
84. Do not pray for any one of them who has died
and do not stand by his grave.
Indeed,
they have denied God and His Messenger and have died as reprobates.
85. Do not admire their wealth and their children —
God
intends to use that to punish them in this world. Their souls shall perish in
disbelief.
86. When a sura is revealed, [urging] to believe in
God and to fight on the side of His Messenger,
the
affluent among them ask you to be excused, saying: “Leave us with those who sit
[behind the lines]!”
87. Yes, they prefer to stay with women behind the
lines — Their hearts are sealed, they do not understand.
88. But the Messenger and those who believe with
him fight without sparing property or soul.
For them — all the
good things! For them is prosperity!
89. God has prepared for them the Gardens
under
which the rivers flow to abide therein for ever. That will be a great victory!
90. Some Arab nomads came with excuses to be
exempted, but only those who rejected God and His Messenger asked for
exemption. A painful punishment shall soon befall
those of them who
did not believe.
91. There is no blame on the frail, the sick, and
those who have nothing to contribute if they are honest before God and His
Messenger — there is no blame on those who do good!
God is forgiving
and merciful!
92*And when you
said to those who came to you for supplies:
“I
don’t have any supplies for you!” — they went back, their eyes filled with
tears of grief because they had no means to pay the expenses.
93. The rich who ask to be excused are to be blamed, for they prefer
to stay with women behind the lines. God has sealed their hearts, so that they
do not know.
94*If you turn to
them,
they will start
apologizing to you.
Say:
“Stop
apologizing! We won’t believe you:
God
has already told us the truth about you.
God
and His Messenger are observing your actions, and in the end you’ll be brought
back to the One, Who knows the concealed and the revealed;
then
He will reveal to you what you’ve done.”
95. If you turn to them again,
they will ask you
in God’s name to be left alone.
So
leave them alone — indeed, they are an abomination! Hellfire shall be their
refuge
in recompense for
what they have done.
96. They shall swear pledges to you,
hoping
that you will be satisfied with them. But even if you are satisfied with them,
God will never approve of a people of reprobates.
97. The Arab nomads are the worst in disbelief and
hypocrisy, and the less capable of understanding
what God has sent
down to His Messenger.
God is all-knowing
and all-wise!
98. Some of the nomads mistake contributions for
fines and only wait for a calamity to strike you.
Let a calamity
strike them!
God is hearing and
all-knowing!
99. But other nomads believe in God and the Last
Day, and hope that their contributions
will bring them
closer to God
and that they will
deserve the prayers of the Messenger.
Yes, they will
come closer [to God],
and God will soon
admit them to His mercy.
Verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
100. The vanguard are the Muhadjirin, the Ansars,
and those who follow them in good deeds.
God is pleased
with them, and they are pleased with [God].
He has prepared
for them Gardens under which the rivers flow
where they shall
abide for ever.
What a great
victory it will be!
101*Some of the
nomads among you
or
among the inhabitants of Medina are hypocrites, obstinate in their hypocrisy.
You
do not know them, but We know who they are, and We will punish them twice
before they face the great retribution.
102.Others who had been mixing good deeds with bad ones have
confessed their sins — perhaps God will pardon them. Verily, God is forgiving
and merciful!
103. Take contributions off their property
to
cleanse and sanctify them; and pray for them! Verily, your prayers will comfort
them.
God is hearing and
all-knowing!
104.Do they not know that God accepts the
repentance of His servants and accepts their contributions? God is truly the Relentant,
the Merciful.
105.Say:
“Toil,
and soon God, His Messenger, and the believers will see your works and you’ll
be returned to the One, Who knows the Unseen and the revealed.
Then He will announce to you what you’ve done.” 106.There are others
who are waiting for God’s decision.
He
might either punish them or forgive — God is all-knowing and wise!
107*And there are those who out of malice and disbelief have set up
a mosque to split the believers and to open the way to those who fought God and
His Messenger in the past.
They
naturally swear that they have good intentions, but God witnesses that they are
liars.
108. Do not ever pray over there!
It
is more honorable to pray in a mosque founded from the first day upon the fear
of God. People love to purify themselves therein, and God loves those who keep
themselves pure.
109.Who is better: the one who founds his building
on devotion to God and [His] approval
or
the one who founds his building on the edge of an eroding dune
ready to tumble
down with him into Hellfire?
God does not guide
the people who do wrong!
110.Their building will be tearing their hearts
with despair, until their hearts are shattered.
God is all-knowing
and wise!
111. Verily, God has bought the souls of the
believers and their possessions for the price of Paradise that was truly
promised them
in the Torah, the
Evangel, and the Koran.
They
fight in the cause of God, they kill, and are killed. But Who fulfills His
promise better than God?
So
rejoice in the deal you have made — it is such a great victory!
112. It is for those who repent and worship, who
glorify, and fast;
who bow and
prostrate themselves;
who
urge to the lawful, restrain from evil and observe the limits set up by God.
So announce the
good news to the believers!
113. It is not proper for the Prophet and the
believers to pray for the pardon of the Associators,
even
if they are related to them, when they will obviously dwell in the blazing
Fire.
114. Abraham has prayed for his father’s pardon only
because he promised it to him.
But
when he understood that he was God’s enemy, he dissociated himself from him.
Verily, Abraham
was soft-hearted and forbearing!
115. God would not lead people astray after He
guided them and explained to them what they ought to avoid. Verily, God is well
aware of everything.
116. Verily, God is the Sovereign of Heavens and
earth.
He
gives life and causes death; besides God you have no protector and no helper.
117. God is kind to the Prophet, the Muhadjirun, and
the Ansar! They followed Him in the difficult hour
when some hearts have almost been seduced away.
He is kind and merciful to them. He pardoned them 118*and those
three who were left behind when the earth, wide as it is, became so narrow for
them, that their souls felt constrained, and they realized that there is no
refuge from God other than in Himself. Then [God] turned to them to let them
repent.
Verily, God is the Relentful, the Merciful.
Fear God and stay
with the Keepers of Truth.
120*It is not proper for the dwellers of Medina and for the nomads
in its vicinity to abandon the Messenger of God nor to think of themselves more
than of him. Indeed, all their suffering in the cause of God is credited to
them as good work: be it thirst, exhaustion, hunger, the incursions that enrage
the disbelievers,
or the injuries caused by the enemy.
Verily, God will not waste the reward of those who do
good.
121*Any contribution they make, small or large,
their crossing a valley, — [all] will be accounted for,
so that God might reward them for the best of their
deeds.
122.
It is not
fitting for the believers to attack in one body.
It is better to leave behind a group from each company
to let them study religion
and admonish their people upon their return —
then, perhaps, they will be on the alert!
Fight the disbelievers who surround you,
let them see how tough you are!
Know that God is on the side of the God-fearing.
124.
Each time
a sura is revealed, some of them say:
“Whose faith will be increased by it?”
— It will increase the faith of the believers,
and they will rejoice at it;
125.
but it
will also increase in abomination
the diseased in hearts who shall die in disbelief.
126.
Do they
not see that [their faith]
is put to test once or twice a year?
But they do not want to repent or to remember.
127.
And when a
sura is descended, they glance at each other:
“Is anyone watching you?”
And again they turn away.
It is God, Who has averted
their hearts — indeed, these people lack sense!
128*Now, a Messenger came to you from your midst.
He is grieved by what befell you, and he worries about
you.
He is kind and merciful to the believers!
129. — [O Muhammad!] If they turn away, say:
“God is sufficient for me. There’s no god but Him!
In Him I put my trust — He’s the Lord of the great
Throne.”
V. 1: Some translators prefer “immunity” or “abrogation”
to “repentance,” but the latter fits the text much better. The abrogated treaty
is the one concluded at Hudabya (S.5:19). Vv. 129 were revealed in Meccas in
631.
V. 2: “For four months” — the months during which it was
forbidden to wage war (cf. v.37).
V. 3: The day of the great pilgrimage is probably its
ninth day when the pilgrims assemble in the plain of Arafat, some twelve miles
southwest of Mecca. The meeting, in which hundreds of thousands participate,
prefigures the assembly on Judgment Day.
V. 5: Leniency and tolerance to man, frequently described
in the Koran as one of the highest virtues, are suspended for the duration of
the last battles for the hegemony of Islam (S.5:69).
V. 7: Two pagan tribes, Bani
Hamza and Bani Kinana, remained faithful to their alliance with the
Muslims.
Vv. 17-18: After the conquest of Mecca by the Prophet (8
H), the management of the Ka’ba returned to Muslim caretakers.
V. 19: Being the custodian of a mosque is not as great a
deed as fighting in the way of God.
V. 25: Hunain, about 15 miles west of Mecca, is
where the Muslims won a difficult battle against the idolaters (8 H).
V. 26: “Sakina” — “Assurance,” cf. SS.48:4, 2:248.
V. 28: The reduction in the number of visitors to Mecca
during the war caused a loss of revenue for the city.
V. 29: The jizia or poll-tax has been imposed by
the Muslims on the non-believers remaining in Mecca after its conquest.
V. 30: Ezra was the object of veneration on the part of
the Jews for restoring their national identity after a period of decline (Ezra
7:6f).
V. 33: “[God] is the One who has sent His Messenger with
the Guidance and the true Religion.” These words occur in the Koran twice
elsewhere (cf. S.48:28 and S.61:9).
V. 36: The sacred months were apparently changed
according to the demands of the war. The twelve months of the Muslim calendar
are Muharram, Safar, Rabi’ al-Awal, Rabi’ al-Thani, Jumad al-Ula, Jumad
ath-Thania, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Zul-Qa’da, and Zul-Hijja.
V. 40: The Prophet’s companion was probably Abu Bakr.
V. 42: The reference is to an expedition to Tabuk,
halfway between Medina and Damascus in 631 (9 H). The center of Islam during
the first four Khalifs was Medina, then Damascus (661-750). Damascus was
followed by Baghdad and Cordova (VIIIth to the Xth century) and the Fatimid and
Abbasid Cairo. In 1517 Cairo was occupied by the Turks and Istambul, the former
Constantinople, became the capital of Islam till the XXth century. Nowadays,
Islam has several religious centers, Sunni Cairo and Shi’ite Qoom in Iran and
Najaf in Iraq, among others.
V. 43: Before the expedition to Tabuk, the Prophet was
too confident in his people to check out his men one by one.
V. 51: “Has predestined us to,” lit.: “has written” (kataba),
hence the word maktoob for resignation to God’s will.
V. 52: Two glorious outcomes: victory and martyrdom.
V. 58: The additional contributions (sadaqat) that
are mentioned repeatedly in this sura were instituted to complement the zakat.
Apparently, there were complaints about their distribution.
V. 61: There is an assonance between the Arabic words uzunun
(ears) and u'zunu (he hears). The words might be a disbelievers’ pun
about alleged eavesdropping (intelligence gathering) by the Prophet.
V. 70: The overthrown cities are Sodom and Gomorrah.
V. 72: “Approval” (ridwan) is also mercy, peace
and goodwill.
V. 74: “They have failed in the plot” to murder the
Prophet.
V. 92: “Supplies”: transportation or mounts.
V. 94: Note the closeness between the Prophet and God.
V. 101: The double punishment before castigation in Hell
consists of humiliation and death on earth.
V. 107: Someone “who fought God and His Messenger in the
past” was Abu 'Amir, also known as Rahib (the Monk).
V. 118: The three people left behind were three Ansars.
V. 120: References to the expedition to Tabuk (vv. 42,
81).
V. 121: “Crossing any valley,” or “executing a heroic
deed.”
V. 128: “To the believers, he is kind and merciful” — in
the early suras these words were used only in reference to God.
Sura 110 Help. A short uplifting sura suggesting that the appeal to the Jews and
Christians has started to bring results. It is said that in this sura the
Prophet saw the closure to his ministry.
Medinan, 3
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1.
When God’s
help and victory come to pass,
2.
and you
see people entering God’s religion in crowds,
3* celebrate the praise of your Lord
and ask for His forgiveness —
verily, He is ever forgiving!
Addendum
After the death of the Prophet, Islam was headed by four
deputies (Khalifs) related to the Prophet by blood or marriage: Abu Bakr,
'Omar, 'Othman, and 'Ali ibn Abi Taleb, the husband of the
Prophet’s daughter Fatima. The main Islamic movement was called Sunni (sunna
means law). Its leader, the Khalif, was a caretaker of the community, but
not someone anointed by God.
Islamic “dissidents,” mostly conservative and
fundamentalists (the Islamic puritans), began to appear soon after the death of
the Prophet. The first ones were the Kharadjites (kharadja means
to get out) who refused to recognize the leadership of the Prophet’s relatives,
according to C.49:13. The most important schism occurred when the Shi’ites (shi'a
'Ali, the party of ’Ali) announced that ’Ali’s sons — the “Imams” Hassan
and Hussein were the only legitimate heirs of the Prophet in his blood line.
This schism led to war and to the demise of the young Imams. The Shi’ites
founded the “Imamate” under which the community is ruled by Imams, carriers of
Truth, Knowledge and Light. Fighting between the Sunnis and the Shi’ites intensified
during the rule of the Khalif ’ummaya and his kin in Damascus. With time, the
Shi’ites came up with their own myths and traditions. The first eleven Imams
kept appearing and disappearing for the purpose of conspiracy. The
secretiveness and mystery surrounding the Shi’ites led them to accept hypocrisy
and a kind of “Jesuitism.” The twelth Imam disappeared to become the savior (Mahdi)
who will establish God’s law and peace in the world.
The Muslims of both confessions, the Sunni and the
Shi’ites, alternated in number and strength. Their struggle continues to this
day, especially in Iraq and Iran. Prominent among the other sects are the
mystics (Sufi) who support the cult of the “saints” (aktab) that
is foreign to the Koran and the early traditions.
The Khalifat and the Imamate led to a sultanate in
Turkey, a monarchy in Iran, various emirates in Arabia, and republics as in
Algeria and Egypt. The fight between the two main confessions continues until
now, but all Muslims are united in their disapproval of the dissolution of
ethical foundations, the immorality among young people, the ease of divorce,
and the vanishing of spiritual values in the West.
Understanding
the Koran
Six Stages
for the Understanding of the Koran
For the literary critic, the Koran (Al-qur'an,
from qara'a = to recite) is a collection of poetic and religious
fragments composed at the beginning of the Vllth century and assembled into 114
chapters or suras of unequal length. For the believer, the Koran is the Word of
God recorded in Arabic by Angels and kept in Heaven on scrolls or tablets
(SS.85, 80, 56). For the mystic, the language of the Koran imparts its being
and form to the Universe. One may ask: can the Koran be understood at all if
man should not even try to grasp the deep meaning of God’s Words that are
beyond scientific inquiry? If one takes that position, the Koran cannot be
understood in its entirety, but only perceived at one of several levels of
spiritual readiness on the part of the reader.
One can start by considering the Koran as a historic
document that can be subjected to scientific and linguistic study. One of the
tasks of the literary critic is to submit the basic tenets of the Koran to
logical analysis and to unravel its obscure themes. However, because criticism
breaks down texts rather than assembles them, this approach will empty the
Koran of its spiritual content and confuse the unprepared reader or strike him
as counterproductive.
One of the challenges in the study of the Koran is the
impossibility of dating the suras with precision. Linguistic analysis and the
elucidation of historic events can create apparently logical schemes, but many
of the Koranic chapters are combinations of pronouncements made at different
times and in different places. The dating of fragments within each sura has
been tackled by Bell (RB). By talking of the “plan” or “composition” of suras,
he might be suggesting that the VIIth century editors have exerted some
literary selectivity in assembling the Holy Book. It is evident, however, that
when the family and companions of Prophet, who staffed the editing commission,
were gathering the evidence and establishing the reliability of witnesses, they
did not aim at producing a literary masterpiece.
The Gospels were recorded in their canonical form decades
after the death ofJesus Christ by people who never knew him personally. They
knew beforehand what they were aiming at, and they edited well-structured texts
with obvious literary appeal. In contrast, the authenticity of the Koran is
felt precisely in the spontaneity of composition and the lack of elaborate
editing. Often lacking a central theme, most of the suras have no descriptive
or rational title and are named after one of their words. Apparently, it was
assumed that the faithful could forego the logical development of ideas and
exact descriptions of events: all they needed was a spiritual, timeless
message. Therefore, the scientific approach to the Book is only the first
tentative stage of its understanding.
The second level of understanding, the one afforded by
this translation, requires a judicious rearrangement of the suras in order to
introduce a clear picture of the key principles and ideas of Islam. If the
reader encounters the Koran in the sequence here proposed, he will become acquainted
step by step with the basic beliefs and duties of the faithful, the Muslim
representation of the Afterlife, the stories of pre-Islamic Prophets, the
attitude of Islam toward other religions, the legal and aesthetic
prescriptions, and the rise of the Islamic nation. This level of understanding
is best served by the use of plain American English. By respecting the
integrity of each sura and each verse, the proposed translation preserves both
the literary and spiritual content of the Koran.
The third level of understanding requires a free
emotional abandon on the part of the reader. The Koranic message is expressed
in similes, metaphors, and allusions that go beyond the comprehension of the
best linguists and must be “felt” by the reader. The supernatural is conveyed
in symbols that allude to religious, social, political, cultural, economic, and
calamitous events. To appreciate the Koran at this level, one must surrender to
its beauty, simplicity, and impetuousness. Poetic renditions (AJA, FN, TSh) may
seem to make pleasant reading until one realizes that they are fabrications.
Indeed, the Koran is not poetry, and the Prophet himself insisted that he was
not a poet. Therefore, the Koran must be translated only in prose, a measured,
straight prose that preserves its spiritual impetuousness and conveys some of
the flavor of the Koranic language that is rooted in the depths of Arab
spirituality and mode of life.
One can reach a fourth level of understanding of the
Koran by listening to tapes recorded by renowned Arabic cantors, now widely
available in US stores opened by immigrants from the Middle East. Indeed, the
Koran is meant to be chanted and is enhanced by modulations, loud exclamations,
and sudden pauses. With spiritual predisposition one can find in the recitation
of the Holy Book joy and peace of mind, perceive one of the prevailing human
sounds of the Universe, and communicate with millions of people in the world
for whom the Koran is precious and divine, even though most of them do not
understand all its words.
If the fourth level of understanding involves hearing,
the fifth level involves sight. The Koran proclaims itself to be a written
document preserved in Heaven on a tablet. Therefore, by immersing oneself
visually in the calligraphy of the Koran, a lettered Muslim sees it as a divine
script of sublime perfection that enhances his wonder of the sublime. In their
search for visual excellence, the best of the Muslim artists have devised
magnificent inspired scripts. The respected art of sacred calligraphy became
central to Islamic art. Its function is to make language accessible to the eye
in its fullest expression. With his hand the artist conjures to the tip of the
pen the poetry, rhetoric, geometry, music, and graphic arts, all to convey his
religious fervor and ecstasy. The written words of the Koran must be beautiful,
inspiring and, above all, bursting with life. Hence, the flowing rhythm, the
bold strokes of the pen, the studied asymmetry, the elongation and modulation
of the letters, all in brilliant color, gold, green, red, and blue. Hence, the
tempestuous movement from right to left, the trenchant lines thrust forward
like swords. The straight and curved lines, a reflection of the all-pervading
dualism, are launched free to interplay in a rigorously prescribed fashion.
Similar inscriptions set in mosaics or carved in stone adorn the walls of the
most beautiful mosques.
The vignettes — the elaborate frames of luxury editions —
are also lovingly designed to enhance the aspect, the color and the very
fragrance of the letters. What an enriching experience it is to let oneself
fall under the spell of the most splendid editions of the Korans!
The sixth and highest level of the perception of the
Koran is its religious and mystical acceptance by the “inner heart” of the
reader. The full spiritual absorption of the Holy Book might require the study
of classical Arabic and Islamic tradition. With an English text, faithful to
the spirit and the letter as humanly possible, it is difficult to imagine God’s
hand behind each of its words. But who will start studying the Arabic text
without knowing if he will be able to persevere to the end? Obviously, one
should start by reading a responsible version in one’s own language.
For the believers in Divine Guidance, Truth is
established on the revealed Word of God, a Word which has a deep meaning for a
religious person, even if he or she cannot grasp its full meaning by logic or
experience. But here, on Earth, the Scriptures have been written by men prone
to making mistakes. Wisely, Islam has recognized that differences in
interpretation are inevitable and has approved parallel schools of thought
within its fold. Who knows, Islam might accept one more school of thought, that
of Westerners who would live by a foreign version of the Koran without
destroying the unity of the Islamic world and even enriching it!
An enlightened Islam, with its love for beauty and
science, might recognize all the civilizations in the Universe as
manifestations of God’s mercy.
Translating
the Koran
In this version of the Koran the order of its Chapters
has been rearranged and relevant notes have been provided.
It is believed in the Muslim world that Koran has been
created to reveal God’s global design. No wonder then that according to many Muslims
the Holy Book should never be translated. They say: “How dare a measly
creature translate the Word of God? Haven’t the multilingual Muslim nations
already adopted the Arabic text as their own? Don’t the Iranian, Indonesian and
Nigerian Muslims trust their scholars to read and explain to them the Holy
Book? Wouldn’t the emergence of versions in different languages raise doubts
about its authenticity, as has been the case with the Bible?
These objections to translations are not justifiable
because the Koran does not condemn them. It purports to be addressed to all the
nations by “the Lord of the Worlds,” and it states that the Word of God was
“made easy in your tongue” (S.44:58) and “easy to remember” (S.54:22).
Accordingly, Muslim Centers in Western countries are stocking various English
and bilingual editions.
Some translations of the Koran are literal transcriptions
and others are paraphrased rewriting (see Bibliography). Both cryptic
transliterations and paraphrased texts may be confusing for the general
reader. The scholarly literalist translates word for word with such a keen
attention to definitions and grammar as to deaden the text, while the religious
zealot translates from his heart and produces a personal commentary in a
foreign language.
The current work seeks to fill the need for a translation
which offers a reasonable compromise between accuracy and clarity and presents
the Koran in an arrangement of suras and a style that makes its reading an
enlightening experience even for the non-Muslim.
While reading this Scripture, the reader must keep in
mind that the language of the Koran is special and inimitable. The Prophet
Muhammad preached to Arabic speakers in possession of a rich pre-Islamic
literary tradition who were able to appreciate the beauty of cadence and rhyme
put to the service of a fiery rhetoric. The Arabic scripts, Naskhi and Nabati,
and the cursive script circulating through commercial channels in the Middle
East, all predated Islam. It is just impossible for a twenty-first century
English speaker to fully grasp every single word, allusion, expression,
comparison and syntactic turn of the Holy Book. Thousands of commentators have
worked on explaining the most elliptic and arcane passages of the Koran, but
exegesis should not be a major concern for a modern translator. If a
significant word has different connotations or if a verse has several
interpretations, he may indicate the variants in appended notes without making
further comments.
American English and British English, Shakespearian
English and the King James Version’s English are products of their times and
culture. They differ in their semantics and in their projection of esthetic and
moral values. Modern American English, with its directness, expressiveness and
conciseness, is a more adequate vehicle for conveying the meaning of the Koran
than archaic forms of English or composite forms posing as sacramental.
A Scripture that says of itself: “These are the words of
a noble Messenger and not the words of a poet” (S.69:40), should not be forced
into the straitjacket of poetry, even if its inspired and vigorous language is
rich in similes, metaphors, and rhyming forms.
The Koran is meant to be recited and not to be silently
read. Its rhymes, alliterations, exclamations, and religious fervor make it
suitable for chanting, and its musical content is perceived from one end of
the Muslim world to the other, carrying a deep religious and experience and a
feeling of universal brotherhood across the continents. The English translation
cannot approach but only suggest the esthetic qualities of the original.
The Koran is also difficult to translate because of the
occasional succession or overlap of unrelated passages without visible
transitions, the surprising contour of some verses cut to comply with rhythm
and rhyme, and the elliptic style, compact to the extreme and yet prone to
endless repetitions and new starts. The absence of punctuation in the original
presents a real challenge because punctuation marks have two functions that are
not always compatible: helping the reader and enforcing the rules of grammar.
The translation must preserve the spirit and purpose of
the original text and mirror the faith and devotion of the original as closely
as possible. One should never forget that the epithets that the Koran attaches
to itself the most insistently are clarity and lucidity.
Rules followed by the translator in his work
1)
The
sequence of the Koranic chapters is rearranged to allow the reader to proceed
step by step from the simplest ideas to the most elaborate ones. The key to
understanding the Koran lies in this rearrangement.
2)
The number
and the integrity of verses is faithfully preserved, even at the price of some
awkwardness in English. Words are occasionally re-arranged, but only within the
same verse.
3)
For
clarity’s sake, a line is skipped between passages that differ in tone or
content. Far from hurting continuity, breaking the text into paragraphs helps
to emphasize missed connections and eliminate apparent obscurities.
4)
Paraphrasing
or substituting Arab metaphors with modern English cliches is avoided. Where
the meaning stays clear, Arabic figures of speech are translated rather than
replaced by English equivalents in order to keep at least some of the Arab
imagery.
5)
Verbal
forms are central and essential in Arabic. They give to the Koran its vigorous
motion and action; thus they are preserved as much as possible. However, lack
of correspondence between roughly equivalent Arab and English aspects and
tenses is a serious difficulty, aggravated by the fact that, as the Koran
unravels, the future might be described as occurring in the present or even as
having occurred in the past: indeed, in the “Unseen” events take place outside
of historical time and physical space. Naturally, the English verb forms should
be simple and grammatically correct in translation.
6)
A
recurrent feature of Arabic is the reinforcing of a verb by its own participial
form as in “he’s running running,” in which the second “running” emphasizes the
action of running. In English, one has to make do with adverbs with a different
root (he’s running fast) with an inevitable weakening of motion and meaning.
7)
Verbal
contractions are essential for conveying the dynamics of conversation: in the
Koran, verbal exchanges are short and to the point. Saying “Do you not know
that...” would weaken the text. “Don’t you know that...” is definitely called
for.
8)
The
frequent use of the phrases “they said” and “he said,” without identification
of the speaker(s), may render some passages ambiguous; however, ambiguity is
eliminated in the English text by parenthetical introduction of the speakers’
names.
9)
Occasionally,
the antecedents of pronouns are hard to find. The English text must use the
pronouns in an unequivocal manner and bring doubtful interpretations to
attention. If God refers to Himself as “We,” “your Lord,” “He,” and “I” — this
distinction is respected everywhere.
10)
The
declamatory emotional style of the Arabic Koran is sustained by a rich
repertory of expletives and interjections, which can be ignored in most cases.
The hortatory quality of the original can be restored by the introduction of
exclamation and interrogation marks and other devices of punctuation. Only the
expletive inna is consistently translated as “verily”; innama, which
can be understood in different ways, is ignored.
11)
English
words necessary for preserving the meaning are added in square brackets [ ],
except when they are mandated by the English syntax. Such words as all,
always, and, but, indeed are introduced without square brackets if they
are consistent with the meaning.
12)
Intelligibility
is served best by spelling names according to common English usage (Moses,
Jesus and Koran for Musa, 'Issa and Qur'an, respectively). Muhammad
is more correct phonetically than Mohammed. The pronunciation of Arabic
words is, of course, only approximate. The Arabic guttural stop, as in 'Omar,
is represented by the apostrophe ’, and so is the short
stop in the middle of some words such as Qur'an. The diphthongs heard in
“wand” is conveyed by the English w. Q represents
the Arabic guttural sound of k, and k — its
soft sound, as in kataba. Kh stands for the guttural h,
and h is pronounced as in the English “hit.” Arabic and English
have different systems of stress: that further complicates transliteration.
13)
Words are
spelled with small letters if they refer to the physical world (the stars in
heaven) and with capital letters if they refer to the Unseen (Angels in
Heaven).
14)
In the
view of Islam, every word of the Koran emanates from God Himself and the whole
Holy Book is a lengthy quotation. In this translation, quotation marks are used
for the speech of Angels and people, but not for the words attributed to God
with the exception of the “Say” passages that the Prophet was invited to transmit
to the people.
15)
Here is an
example of the application of the above rules (S.20: 49-52). First, consider
the Arabic text as such:
He said then who is the Lord of
you two o musa (49) he said our lord is he who gave to everything a form and
then guided (50) He said then what about the first centuries (51) He said
knowledge about them is with my lord in a book my lord errs not nor he forgets
(52).
Punctuation and an adjustment of the syntax produces:
49.
He said:
“Who is your Lord, O Musa?”
50.
He said:
“Our Lord is the One who gave form to all things as well as guidance.”
51.
He said:
“And what about the former generations?”
52.
He said:
“Knowledge about them is in my Lord’s Book. My Lord doesn’t err and doesn’t
forget.”
This passage is further improved by giving it the form
which appears in this translation:
49.
[Pharaoh]:
“O Moses! Who is your Lord?”
50.
[Moses]:
“Our Lord is the One Who shaped all things
and then provided Guidance.”
51.
[Pharaoh]:
“And what about the former generations?”
52.
[Moses]:
“Knowledge about them is in my Lord’s Book.
My Lord doesn’t err and doesn’t forget!
Note:
In preparing this work, the translator benefited from his
simultaneous translation of the Koran into English and Russian. Such an
experience offers new possibilities for the art of translation as knowledge of
several languages enriches the feeling for the original text and suggests
better words and nuances of meaning.