SURA
64 LOSS
AND GAIN. S.64 resembles S.32in length and content. It is called
sometimes “Mutual Deceit, ” without apparent justification.
Medinan, 18
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1.
Everything
in Heavens and earth glorifies God!
To Him belongs the Kingdom and the Glory.
He has power over everything!
2.
He is the
One, Who has created you.
Some of you disbelieve, and others believe.
God observes everything you do!
3.
He has
created the Heavens and the earth in Truth.
He gave you shape,
He perfected your image,
and to Him is your return!
4.
He knows
what is in Heavens and earth,
and He knows what you conceal and what you reveal —
God is well aware of what is in the hearts!
5.
Has not an
account of those
who disbelieved in the past reach you?
They tasted the evil of their deeds
and suffered a painful punishment.
6.
When Our
Messengers came to them with the Proofs,
they said:
“Is it possible that we’ll be led by men?”
They disbelieved and turned away.
But God can do without them —
indeed, God is rich and praiseworthy!
7.
The
disbelievers think that they will never be raised.
Say:
“Yes! By my Lord, you will be raised
and you’ll be told about your deeds —
that’s easy for God!”
8* So believe in God and His Messenger,
and in the Light We have descended upon you.
God is well aware of your deeds!
3. The Day He brings you together will be the Day
of Gathering, the Day of Loss and Gain.
To anyone who has
believed in God and did good works,
He
will forgive his sins and admit him into the Gardens under which the rivers
flow to abide in them for ever.
That shall be a
great success!
4. But the disbelievers who rejected Our Signs,
shall be the inmates of the Fire
and shall dwell in
it for ever — what an evil outcome!
5.
No
disaster strikes you without God’s permission!
If someone
believes in God,
He
will guide his heart on the right path — indeed, God is aware of everything!
6.
So
obey God and obey the Messenger!
But if you turn
away...
then, upon our
Messenger,
there is only a
clear proclamation!
7.
God!
There is no god, but Him,
so let [all] the
believers rely upon God!
14* O, you who
have believed!
Verily,
among your wives and children, some are hostile to you, so beware of them! But
if you relent, forbear, and forgive...
then,
verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
12. Your wealth and your children are just a
temptation for you, but the great reward is with God.
16* Fear God as much as you can, listen and obey, and contribute for
the sake of your souls! Successful will be those
who restrain the
greed of their soul!
2. If you lend God a good loan,
He
will double it and forgive you — indeed, God is appreciative and commiserating!
3. He knows the hidden and the revealed;
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
V. 8: “The Light
We have descended upon you” — the light of reason and conscience, the light of
the Koran.
Vv. 14-15: Both
wealth and children are God’s blessings, but they may also be a test on His
part.
V. 16: “Contribute
for...your souls,” i.e., give to charity.
SURA 14 Abraham. This sura, replete with Warning passages,
comprises a section on Moses and other Messengers (vv. 6'14) and a passage on
Abraham in the form of a fervent prayer (vv. 35'41).
Meccan, 52
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
[This
is] a Scripture We have sent down to you, so that by permission of their Lord,
you lead mankind from darkness into light, on the path of the Mighty, the
Praiseworthy —
2. of God, the Owner of everything in Heavens and
earth.
Woe to the
disbelievers because of the mighty punishment!
3. Indeed, they love the present life
more than they
long for the Hereafter;
they
divert [others] from the way of God and try to make it crooked — they are far
astray!
4* We have been sending a Messenger only to give clear explanations
in the language of his people.
God
sends astray anyone He wills, and guides anyone He wills.
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
1. We sent Moses with Our Signs:
— Bring your people from darkness into light and remind
them of God’s days.
There are Signs in this for all the patient and thankful.
“Remember
God’s favor to you.
He
saved you from the people of Pharaoh who imposed upon you an evil punishment by
killing your sons and sparing your women.
This
was a mighty test from your Lord.”
— If you are
grateful,
I will increase
[my favors] to you,
but terrible shall
be My punishment if you’re ungrateful!
“Even
if you and all the people on earth are ungrateful, then, verily,
God will remain
rich and praiseworthy!”
9* Has not an account of the people of the past reach you: of Noah,
of the peoples of ’Ad and Thamood, and of those who came after them and are
known only to God?
Their
Messengers had been coming to them with Proofs, but, covering their mouths with
their hands, they used to say:
“We
deny everything you’ve been sent with and we have strong doubts
about what you’re
calling us to!”
“How
can one have doubts about God, the Creator of Heavens and earth, Who calls you
to forgive your sins and respites you till the appointed time?” They said:
“You’re
people like us!
If
you want to turn us away
from
what our fathers used to worship, then come to us with a clear mandate!”
“Yes, we are
people like you,
but
God bestows [His] favor upon the servants He chooses. We can’t show you [our]
power without God’s permission. Let all the believers trust in God!
12. How shall we not trust in God
if He is the One,
Who guided us on our path?
We’ll patiently
endure your abuse —
let those who
trust put their trust in God!”
13. Then the disbelievers said to their Messengers:
“We’ll
expel you from our land if you don’t return to our creed!” But God inspired
[the Messengers]:
— We will destroy
those who do wrong
14. and We will settle you on this land after them.
This
is for those who fear standing before Me and who dread My threat.
15* [The Messengers] asked for a victory, and every stubborn sinner
was defeated.
13. Before him is Hell, where he shall drink fetid
water!
14. He will gulp it up, but will hardly swallow it.
Death shall assail him from every side.
Yet
he shall not die: before him will be a punishment that will never end.
15. The deeds of those who disbelieve in their Lord
are like ashes in a furious wind on a stormy day.
They
have no control over what they have earned — see, how far they are astray!
16. Do you not see that God has created the Heavens
and earth in Truth?
If
He only wished, He would remove you and replace you with a new Creation —
17. that will not be difficult for God!
18. When they are all brought before God, the weak
shall say to the arrogant: “We’ve followed you, now divert from us at least a
part of God’s punishment!” And [the arrogant] shall say:
“Had
God guided us, we would’ve guided you in turn. [Now] it’s the same for us if we
lament or we endure — indeed, we don’t have a way out!”
22*After sentencing, Satan shall say: “Verily, God has fulfilled His
promise.
I’ve
also made promises, but I deceived you — indeed, I had no authority over you.
I’ve
only motioned to you, and you obeyed, so don’t blame me, but blame yourselves!
I can’t help you,
and you can’t help me;
and I disavow your
associating me [with God].”
Verily, a painful
punishment is [in store] for the unjust!
16. But those who have believed and have done good
works shall enter the Gardens under which the rivers flow.
They
shall dwell therein for ever by leave of their Lord. The greeting there is
“Peace!”
17. Do you not see how God comes up with
comparisons?
A good word is
like a good tree
with firmly
planted roots and branches to the sky!
18. When the time comes, it produces edible fruit
by permission of
its Lord.
God
comes up with such comparisons to people — perhaps they will come to their
senses!
19. But a bad word is like a bad tree
whose
roots can be [easily] pulled from the ground because it is not [anchored]
securely.
20. By [His] true Word God strengthens
those who believed
in this life and the Hereafter.
As
for the sinners, God allows them to lose their way — God does what He wills!
21. Have you not seen those who traded God’s mercy
for disbelief and sent their people to the place of perdition —
22. to Hell, where they shall be burnt.
Dreadful is this
abode!
23. They set up equals to God to divert [others]
from His way. Say:
“Enjoy
yourselves, but, verily, your destination is straight into the Fire!”
24. Tell My believing servants to observe the
prayer and to give alms openly or secretly from the sustenance We are providing
them with till the coming of the Day, when there shall be neither trade nor
friendship!
25. God is the One, Who has created Heavens and
earth.
He
sends down from the sky the rain with which He grows fruit for your sustenance.
He
is the One, Who has submitted to you the ships that sail on the sea by His
command.
He has subjected
the rivers to you.
26. He has subjected to you the sun and the moon,
and each follows its course.
He has subjected
to you the night and the day.
27. He gives you everything you ask for.
And
if you [start] counting all of God’s favors, you will never end counting them!
But, verily, man
is unjust and ungrateful!
35* And Abraham
said:
“O my Lord!
Make this city
secure
and keep me and my
sons from worshiping idols.
They’ve
surely led many people astray!
The
one who follows me is with me, and the one who disobeys me... verily, You’re
forgiving and merciful!
I’ve
settled some of my offspring in a barren valley by Your holy House to let them,
o our Lord, observe the prayer.
So
fill the people’s hearts with love for them and feed them with fruit — then,
perhaps they will be thankful!
You
know what we conceal and what we reveal — indeed, nothing is hidden from God on
earth or in Heaven.
39. Praised be God, Who gave me Ishmael and Isaac
in my old age. Verily, my Lord is the Hearer of prayer!
Make
me and my offspring the keepers of prayer, and accept my prayer, o our Lord!
Forgive
me, my parents, and [all] the believers on the Day when reckoning is due!”
42. Do not think that God is indifferent
to the actions of
the transgressors.
He
is only reprieving them till the Day when with horrified stares
43* they will rush ahead, their heads turned up, their eyes
transfixed, and their hearts emptied out!
44. Warn the people about the Day when the punishment comes and the
wrong-doers will say: “O our Lord!
Give us a short
reprieve,
and we’ll respond
to Your call and follow the Messengers!”
—
But have you not sworn before that you will never retreat?
45*When you lived
in the houses
of those who
wronged themselves,
have
you not been shown how We had dealt with them? Indeed, We have given you [many]
examples!
46. They were scheming their schemes, but God had
their schemes in His sight,
even if their
schemes were such as to move mountains!
47. Do not expect God to break the promise He made
to His Messengers.
Verily, mighty is
God, the wielder of retribution!
48*On the Day when the earth becomes another earth, and the Heavens
follow suit,
they shall appear
before God, the One, the Victorious.
49. On that Day you shall see the sinners bound in
chains,
50. clothed in pitch, their faces covered with
Fire!
51. God will reward every soul according to her
deeds. Verily, God is quick at reckoning!
52. This is a Message for all the people.
Let
it be a Warning to them, let them know that He is One God!
And let those who
understand come to their senses!
V. 4: This is an answer to those who complained that the
language of the Koran was not that of any other Scripture. The Koran is known
in its original version, while the Bible and the New Testament are accessible
to believers only as translations from one language to another. Some Muslims,
even those who do not know Arabic, insist that the Koran should be read only in
Arabic — the language God chose for His Message (one can also say that God
chose Arabic because it was the language of those He wanted to reach).
V. 9: They spoke “covering their mouths with their
hands,” or “sticking their hands into their mouths.” According to this verse,
’Ad and Thamood preceded the Exodus.
V. 15: Both the Messengers and the disbelievers wanted to
win.
V. 22: “I disavow your associating me [with God].” Other
translators have rendered Satan’s simple words differently:
”I never believed
that I was His equal with whom ye joined me” (JMR).
”Lo! I disbelieved
in that which you before ascribed to me” (MMP).
”I never thought,
as you did, that I was God’s equal” (NJD).
”I had already
beforehand rebelled against God with Whom you associated me” (AYA, in notes).
Because of the different nature of time in the Unseen
(S.32:5) and of the unlimited mercy of God, it is possible that not only all
the sinners, but Satan himself will be pardoned in the end. The Koran does not
speak of a periodic destruction and re-creation of the world, yet some Muslim
scholars think that such events are possible because of the teaching of
renovation (bid'a), which is rejected by Islamic sects outside the
mainstream of Islam, especially the Wah- habites of Saudi Arabia and Iranian
Shi’ites. These sects forcefully defend the continuity of the social mores and
cults of early Islam. In so doing, they overstep the Koran and invent new
oppressive rules, such as the prohibition to women to ever leave their homes or
drive a car.
V. 35: This city is Mecca.
V. 43: “Their hearts emptied out,” or “filled with air.”
V. 45: The ruined houses of the cities of ’Ad and Thamood.
V. 48: The world as it is known to us will be replaced on
Judgment Day by a new spiritual realm.
SURA 2 (I) The Cow. S.2, the longest sura of the Koran, consists
of286verses, some of which are inordinarily long and prosc'likc. Some parts of
the sura recall the earlier period by their style, but most of the material
postdates the battle of Badr (2 H) and the final break between the Muslim
andJewish communities.
In content and tone, S.2
can be smoothly divided into the general purpose Part I (vv. 1'162) and the
legislative Part II (vv. 163'286). At v.163 there is a pause signaling the
train sition.
Omitting short Warning and
Sign passages and verses supporting the authority of Messengers, Part I can be
summarized as follows:
1) In
troduction:
contrast between the Muslims and the disbelievers with a Warning to the
Associators (vv. 1'24).
2) The story of Adam
and Iblis (vv. 30'38) and a lengthy criticism of the Jews (vv. 30'103) that
includes the stories of Moses (vv. 49'61; 67'73) and Abraham (vv. 124'13.3),
and a condemnation of the Christians as Associators.
3) Conclusion
: instructions on
praying (vv. 142'150) and Admonitions that include the late topics of dying in
the cause of God and pilgrimage to Mecca (vv. 151'162).
Some commentators believe
that the Prophet himself wanted to start the Scripture with this compendium of
ideas. S.2 may produce a strong impression on anyone already initiated to the
Koran.
Meccan, 286
verses
Part I. (Vv.
1-162)
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2.
This is a
Scripture that raises no doubts!
It is a Guidance for the God-fearing
3* who believe in the Unseen, observe the prayer,
and contribute from what We have given to them.
4.
They
believe in what has been sent down to you and in what has been sent down before
you,
and they are sure
of the Hereafter.
5. They are of those who follow their Lord’s
Guidance and they will prosper!
6. As for the disbelievers, warn them or warn them
not, they will not believe!
7.
God has
sealed their hearts and ears, and veiled their eyes.
A great punishment
[is in store] for them!
“We
believe in God and the Last Day!” But they do not believe!
9. They want to deceive God and the believers,
but they deceive
only themselves and do not understand [it].
10* There is sickness in their hearts, and God aggravates their
sickness.
A painful
punishment is [in store] for their lies.
“Don’t spread
corruption in the land,”
they say:
“Truly, we’re
doing nothing but goodness!”
11. They spread corruption and do not understand [it].
“Believe like the
others believe,”
they say:
“Why should we
believe like the fools who believe?”
But no! Th
ey are the fools, and they do not know [it]!
14* Upon meeting
the believers they say:
“We believe!”
But left alone
with their Satans, they say:
“We’re on your
side, we were only joking!”
15.
God will
turn their jokes against them and increase their error
so that they will
wander blindly in it!
16.
They are
of those who have traded Guidance for error; but this trade will not benefit
them,
and they will lose
the way.
17. They are like [people] who kindle a fire.
After
it lits up the surroundings,
God
takes their light away and leaves them in the dark, so that they do not see
anything!
18. Deaf, dumb, and blind, they cannot turn back.
19. A cloud loaded with rain has appeared in the
sky.
It
carries darkness, thunder and lightning.
Scared
to death by the thunderclaps, they plug their ears with their fingers. This is
how God will surround the disbelievers!
20. Lightning almost blinds them.
When
it lights up their way, they go ahead, but when darkness grows on them, they
stand still.
If God so willed,
He
would have taken away their hearing and sight! Verily, God has power over all
things!
21. O people! Worship your Lord,
Who
has created you and your predecessors — perhaps you will fear God!
Who
has spread for you the earth like a carpet, Who has made the sky like a canopy,
Who has poured water down from the sky and produced with its help fruits for
your sustenance. Do not associate rivals with God now that [the Truth] has come
to you!
23* If you have doubts about what We have revealed to Our servant,
then come up with a sura like this one and call your witnesses besides God if
you are telling the truth.
24*But if you do not do it — and you cannot do it, then beware of
the Fire prepared for the disbelievers that shall be fueled with people and
rocks.
25* Announce to those who have believed and done right that there
are Gardens for them under which the rivers flow. Therein, each time they get
some fruit, they will say: “That’s what we’ve been given before.” But the
resemblance is only apparent!
They
shall be accompanied by their pure spouses, and they shall abide therein for
ever.
26* Verily, God is not above using a gnat as an example, or what is
larger than it. The believers know that this is the Truth from their Lord,
while the disbelievers say:
“What
does God mean by this example?” He uses it to send many [people] astray and to
guide many others.
But
He sends astray only the reprobates
26. who violate the Covenant with God after
accepting it. They separate what God has commanded to join
and spread
corruption in the land.
They are of those
who shall sustain losses!
You were lifeless
and He gave you life.
Then
He will make you die, then He will revive you, and in the end you shall return
to Him.
28. He is the One, Who has created for you
everything on earth. Turning to the sky, He raised seven firmaments —
He is aware of
everything!
30* Your Lord said
to the Angels:
— I am going to
appoint a regent on earth.
They
said:
“Would
You appoint someone
who
will spread corruption on it and shed blood, while we’re singing Your praise
and glorify Your holy Name?”
[God]
said:
— I know what you
do not know.
31.
[God] has
taught Adam the names of all [things] and, showing them to the Angels, He said:
— Tell Me their
names if you know the truth.
“Glory
to You! We have no other Knowledge than the one You’ve imparted to us.
Verily, You’re the
Knowing, the Wise.
— O Adam! Tell
them their names!
After he had named
them, [God] said:
— Did I not tell
you
that I know the
secrets of Heavens and earth,
and that I know
what you reveal and what you conceal?
— Prostrate
yourselves before Adam!
They
all prostrated themselves, except Iblis, who disobeyed and out of pride became
a disbeliever.
35* We said:
— O Adam! Dwell in
Paradise with your spouse.
Eat whatever and
wherever you like,
but do not
approach this tree, lest you become sinners.
36* But Satan
caused them to stumble
and to lose the
state they were in.
We said:
— Get out, all of
you, and be enemies to one another!
Your
dwelling place and your sustenance shall be on earth, but only for a definite
time.
37* Adam accepted the Words of His Lord, Who turned to him, for He
is the Yielding, the Merciful.
— Out of here, all
of you!
Soon
you shall receive My Guidance, and whoever follows My Guidance shall be free of
fear and grief.
39.
But those
who disbelieve and reject Our Signs shall be the inmates of the Fire for ever.
Remember
the mercy which I bestowed upon you and fulfill your Covenant with Me, as I
fulfill My Covenant with you.
And
fear Me!
41. Believe in what I have sent down to you
to confirm what
you had already received.
Do
not be among the first to deny it, and do not sell My Signs for a small price.
And be wary of Me!
42*Do not cover
the Truth with falsehood
and do not conceal
the Truth
after it has
become known to you.
43* Observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and bow with those who bow.
44. How can you urge the people to righteousness if
you neglect [it] yourselves,
albeit you recite
the Scripture?
Do you not
understand?
45. Seek help in patience and prayer!
Surely, this is
difficult, but not for the unassuming one
46. who remembers that he will meet his Lord and
return to Him.
47* O Children of
Israel!
Remember
that I have bestowed mercy upon you and that I favored you over the Worlds.
48. Fear the Day when one soul
will
not be able to assist [another] soul,
when
she will be refused intercession, when her ransom will not be accepted, when
nobody will receive any help.
49. We rescued you from the people of Pharaoh who
treated you harshly,
killing your sons
and sparing your women.
That was a mighty
test for you from your Lord!
50. Then, to save you, We parted the sea
and We drowned the
people of Pharaoh in your sight.
51. We gave Moses forty nights [to meet with Us].
But
in his absence you worshiped a calf and became unjust.
52. Later on We forgave you, hoping that you would
be grateful.
53* We gave Moses the Scripture and the Assurance, hoping that you
would accept Guidance.
54* Moses said to
his people:
“O
my people!
You’ve
wronged yourselves by worshiping the calf.
Now
turn to your Creator and slay the guilty ones — that will be better for you in
your Creator’s eyes and He’ll relent to you — indeed, He’s the Relentful, the
Merciful.”
55. And he got the
reply:
“O
Moses! We shall never believe you till we see God face to face!”
But a thunderbolt
hit you while you were looking!
56* We will raise you up after you die — perhaps you will be grateful!
57. Then We gave you the shade of the clouds and
showered you with manna and quails:
—
Eat of the good things We are providing you with! They did not harm Us, but
they harmed themselves.
58* And We said:
—
Go to this town and eat there to your health whatever you please, but do
obeisance while entering the gate and say “hittaton.” Then We will forgive your
sins and increase [the share] of those who do good.
59. But the wrong-doers replaced this word by
another one. For their perversion, We sent a pestilence
upon the sinners
down from the sky!
60. And when Moses requested water for his people,
We said:
— Strike the rock
with your staff!
Thereupon
twelve springs gushed forth from it, and every man knew from which to drink.
Eat
and drink of God’s provisions and do not spread corruption in the land.
61* Then they
said:
“O
Moses! We’re fed up eating the same food.
Call
to your Lord in our behalf
and
ask Him to grow for us some produce of the soil: vegetables, cucumbers, garlic,
lentils, and onions,” He said:
“Do
you really want to swap the better for the worse?
Then
return to Egypt where you’ll find what you’re asking for.” Thus they called the
wrath of God upon themselves.
They
fell prey to misery and humiliation for rejecting the Signs of God, for killing
His Prophets unjustly, for rebelling and transgressing.
62* Verily, all the believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the
Sabi’un — those who believed in God and the Last Day and acted uprightly shall
receive a reward from their Lord, and shall neither fear nor grieve!
63* When We concluded a Covenant with you and raised a mountain over
you, [We said]:
— Hold securely onto what We have given to you, and
remember everything [in the Covenant] — perhaps you will become God-fearing!
64. But later on you turned away.
Had
it not been for the Grace of God and His mercy to you, you would have been
among the losers.
65. Indeed, you knew who of you violated the
Sabbath.
We said to them:
— Be despicable
apes!
66. We made it an example for their times and for
those who followed them.
This was a lesson
for the God-fearing!
67* When Moses
said to his people:
“God enjoins you
to sacrifice a cow.”
They said:
“Are you laughing
at us?”
[Moses] said:
“O God, preserve
me from ignorance!”
“Call
upon your Lord and ask Him to describe her!” [Moses] said:
“A cow not too old
and not too young, but of middle age.
Now, do as
commanded!”
“Call
upon your Lord and ask Him to specify her color!” [Moses] said:
“A yellow cow,
rich in color, a delight to the eyes.”
“Call
upon your Lord and ask Him to tell us exactly what she looks like, because all
cows are alike to us. Then, God willing, we’ll be on the right path!”
—
A cow not broken in to plough the soil or irrigate the cultures, and sound,
without blemishes.” They said:
“Now,
you have told us the [whole] truth!” Upon that, they sacrificed her, but
reluctantly.
72* When you killed a man and then argued about it, God revealed
what you were hiding.
— Strike him with
a part of [the cow].
This is how God
revives the dead
and shows you His
Signs — perhaps you will understand!
74. Then your hearts became harder than rocks, or
even harder. But among the rocks there are some
through
which springs gush forth and some that produce water when split, and some that
collapse in fear of God.
God is not
heedless of your deeds!
75. How can you expect [the Jews] to believe you if
some of them heard and understood the Word of God, yet knowingly [continued to]
pervert it?
76* When they meet
the believers, they say:
“We believe,”
but in private
they say to one another:
“Why shall you
tell [the believers]
what God has
revealed to you
if
they argue with you about it before your Lord?” Do you not understand?
77. Do they not
realize that God knows
all that they
conceal and all that they reveal?
78* Some of them are
illiterate and, not knowing the Scripture, abandon themselves to dreams and
conjectures!
79* Woe to those who write a
scripture with their hand and then say:
“It’s from God,”
only to sell it
for a measly price.
Woe
to them for what their hands are writing, and woe to them for what they are
earning!
“Even
if the Fire touches us, it’ll be only for a few days!” Say:
“Hasn’t
God made you a promise, and did God ever break His promise?
Then why do you
say about God what you don’t know?”
81. Yes! Those who enriched themselves through evil
and sank into sin shall be the inmates of the Fire to abide in it for ever!
82. But those who believed and did right
shall be the
dwellers of Paradise to abide in it for ever!
83. We have made a Covenant with the Children of
Israel:
— Serve no one,
but God.
Be
kind to parents and relatives, to orphans and the needy. Speak kindly to the
people, observe the prayer, and pay the zakat.
But
you turned away and relapsed, except a few.
84*When We made a Covenant with you, you agreed not to shed the
blood [of your kin] and not to expel one another from dwellings — you are
witnesses [to that]!
85. Now you kill one another, evict others from their homes, and
conspire against them in evil-doing and enmity.
And
when they are returned to you as prisoners, you ransom them, albeit you had
exiled them unlawfully.
Why
do you believe only in a part of the Scripture and deny the rest?
Those
who do it shall receive no reward, but only disgrace in this life.
On Judgment Day
they shall be submitted
to the harshest
punishment —
God is not
heedless of what you do!
86. Such people buy the life of this world for the
price of the Hereafter.
Their
punishment shall not be reduced, and they shall not be helped!
87. We gave a Scripture to Moses,
and We sent a
succession of Messengers in his footsteps.
To
Jesus, son of Mary, We gave the Proofs and fortified him with the Holy Spirit.
Did
you not make much of yourselves whenever a Messenger brought you something you
disliked? Some of them you rejected, and some others you murdered.
88* [The Jews]
say:
“Our hearts are
covered.”
God
will curse them for their disbelief — so tiny is their faith!
89* In the past
they prayed for a victory over the disbelievers.
But
when the Scripture from God came to them, which they ought to have recognized
because it confirmed what had been given to them before, they refused to
believe in it.
Let
the curse of God fall upon the disbelievers!
90. They sold their souls for a small price
when
they denied what God had sent down to them.
They
bring upon themselves wrath upon wrath by resenting what God gives out of His
favors to those of His servants He pleases.
There
is a shameful punishment for the disbelievers!
91* When told:
“Believe in what
has been sent down by God,”
they say:
“We’ll believe
[only] in what has been revealed to us!”
They
reject the rest, albeit it is true and confirms what they already have.
Say:
“Why
have you killed God’s Prophets in the past, if you were believers?”
92. Moses came to you with the Proofs, but you worshiped a calf and
fell into error.
93* When We
concluded a Covenant with you,
We raised a
mountain over you, saying:
— Hold tightly to
what We have given to you, and listen!
But they said:
“We hear, but we
won’t obey!”
In their disbelief
their hearts were drunk with the calf.
Say:
“Bad are the
demands of your faith if such is your faith!”
94*Say:
“If
the final abode with God is only for you, but not for [all] people,
then wish
yourselves to die if you’re sincere!”
95. But they shall never wish it
because
they know what their hands have brought forth. God is well aware of the
sinners!
96. — [O Muhammad!] You will find that of all the
people they are the most greedy for life,
even
more so than the Associators.
Each
of them would like to live a thousand years, but even a long life shall not
save them from punishment. God observes everything they do!
97* Say:
“Every
enemy of Gabriel who, by God’s will, has delivered [the Koran] into your heart
as a confirmation of the previous [Revelations], and as a Guidance and good tidings
for the believers...
98. every enemy of God, of His Angels, of His
Messengers, of Gabriel and Michael...
verily, God is the
enemy of all the disbelievers.
99. We have sent down to you some clear Signs that
only the reprobates deny.
100*Each time they conclude a treaty, some of them violate it, as
most of them are disbelievers!
101*And when the Messenger of God came to them to confirm what had
been given to them before, some of the People of the Scripture threw the
Scripture of God behind their backs, as if they did not know!
102*They had
learned from the Satans
some incantations
against the power of Solomon.
But
it was not Solomon, who denied [faith] — the Satans denied [it].
They taught people
sorcery
and
what had been sent down in Babylon to the Angels Harut and Marut.
But
neither of them had ever taught anyone without warning: “We’re a temptation for
you, don’t deny [your] faith!” They learned from them how to separate a husband
from his wife;
but
they could not hurt anyone without God’s permission.
They
learned from them what harmed them and not what benefited them.
Yet
they knew that those who practice [sorcery] shall be denied the bliss of the
Hereafter.
If
they [only] knew how small was the price for which they sold their souls!
103. Had they believed and feared God, a reward from God would have
been better for them, if they [only] knew!
104*O you who
believe!
Do
not say [to the Prophet] “ra’ina”, but say “unzurna,” and listen to him.
A painful
punishment is [in store] for the disbelievers.
105.The disbelievers among the People of the Scripture and the
Associators do not want you to receive any favors from your Lord.
But
God singles out by His Grace anyone He pleases. God is full of abundant Grace!
106*Each time We cancel a Verse [of the Koran], or cause it to be
forgotten,
We replace it by a
better or a similar one.
Do you not know
that God has power over everything?
107. Do you not know that it is God,
Who controls the
Heavens and the earth
and that, besides
Him, you have no protector and no helper?
108. Perhaps you want to question your Messenger, as
Moses had been questioned in the past? But whoever trades belief for disbelief
has surely lost
the right way!
109*After Truth became obvious to the People the Scripture, many of
them envied you and wanted to return you to disbelief after you had come to
faith.
Forgive
them and forget until God accomplishes His purpose. Verily, God has power over
everything!
110*Observe the
prayer and pay the zakat,
All
the good you send forth for your souls, you will find with God — verily, God
sees everything you do!
“Nobody
shall enter Paradise, except the Jews and the Christians,” But this is only
their wish!
Say:
“Produce your
proofs if you’re telling the truth!”
112. But no! Only those who surrendered to God
and
did good works shall get their reward from their Lord. And they shall neither
fear nor grieve.
“The Christians
have no foundation!”
The Christians
say:
“The Jews have no
foundation!”
They both read the
Scripture,
yet they talk like
those who have no knowledge.
God will judge
their differences On Resurrection Day.
114*Who is more unjust than the one who forbids mentioning the Name
of God in God’s mosques and strives to destroy them?
Yet, they ought to
enter them only in fear!
They
have nothing to expect, but humiliation in this life and a great punishment in
the Hereafter.
115*To God belongs
the East and the West.
Whichever
direction you turn to, the face of God is there! Verily, God is limitless and
all-knowing.
“God has taken a
son for Himself.”
Glory
to Him! He owns everything in Heavens and earth, and everything worships Him!
117. He is the Creator of Heavens and earth.
When He decides
upon a matter, He says to it:
— Be! And there it
is!
118. Those who lack Knowledge say:
“Why
doesn’t God speak to us or send us a Sign?” Their predecessors used to say the
same thing — their hearts are so alike!
Yet, We have
explained the Signs to people with conviction!
119. Verily, We have sent you with the Truth
as a Bearer of
good news and a Warner;
you are not responsible
for the inmates of the blazing Fire!
120. Neither the Jews nor the Christians will be
pleased with you until you convert to their creed.
Say:
“Verily, God’s
Guidance is the [true] Guidance!”
If you followed
their desires
after you had
received Knowledge,
you would not find
in God a protector or a helper.
121. But those who have received Our Scripture read
it as it should be read, and believe in it. And those who deny it shall suffer
a loss.
122.O Children of Israel! Remember My mercy to you when I favored
you over [the nations of] the Worlds.
123. Beware of the
Day
when
no soul shall intercede for another soul, when ransom shall not be accepted
from her, when no intercession shall assist her, when nobody shall be helped.
124*When his Lord tested Abraham by His Commands, and he fulfilled
them, [God] said:
— I am going to
make you an Imam of men.
[Abraham] said:
“And my posterity
too?”
[God] said:
— My Covenant does
not cover the sinners.
125*When We made
of [Our] House a meeting place for the people, and assured its security,
the
station of Abraham became a place of prayer.
We
concluded a Covenant with Abraham and Ishmael to let them sanctify My House for
those who walk [around it] and use it as a shelter, who bow and prostrate
themselves.
“O
my Lord! Make it a City of Peace and provide with fruit those of its dwellers
who believe in God and in the Last Day,” [God] said:
—
I will give a little enjoyment to those who disbelieve, and then I will drive
them for punishment into the Fire. What a bad destination it will be!
127. When Abraham, [together] with Ishmael, raised
the foundations of the House, [he prayed]: “O our Lord!
Accept [this] from
us!
Verily, You are
the Hearer, the All-Knowing.
128.O our Lord!
Make Muslims of us
and a Muslim
community of our posterity.
Show us the places
[of prayer] and turn to us.
Verily, You’re the
Indulgent, the Merciful!
129.O our Lord!
Send
them a Messenger from their midst to let him recite Your Verses to them, teach
them the Scripture and Wisdom, and purify them.
Verily,
You are the Mighty, the Wise!”
130. Whoever rejects the creed of Abraham
impoverishes his soul. We have chosen him in this world
and, verily, in
the Hereafter he will be among the upright.
131. When his Lord said to him:
— Be a Muslim!,
he said:
“I’m submitting myself
to the Lord of the Worlds!”
132. Abraham enjoined upon his sons and Jacob:
“O
my sons! God has chosen [this] religion for you; then, die only as Muslims!”
133*You have not been there when death approached Jacob, and he said
to his sons:
“What will you worship
after I’m gone?”
They said:
“We’ll worship
your God: the God of your fathers,
[the God] of
Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac —
the One God to Whom we’re submitting ourselves.”
134.
That
nation belongs to the past.
It
shall reap what it had sowed, and you [shall reap] what you have sowed —
you shall not be
asked about their deeds.
“Be
Jewish or Christian, then you’ll find the right way!” Say:
“No,
the faith of Abraham, the Hanif, is better — indeed, he was not an Associator!”
136*Let you all
say:
“We
believe in God and in what has been sent down to us, and in what had been sent
down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes [of Israel], and in
what had been given by their Lord to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets.
We
make no distinction between them, and to Him we submit ourselves!”
137. If they believe, as you believe, they are on the right path;
but
if they turn back, they are in schism and God is sufficient for you against
them. He is the Hearing, the Knowing.
138*The baptism of
God!
What is better
than the baptism of God?
Indeed it is Him
that we worship!
139.Say:
“Why
should we argue about God if He’s our Lord and your Lord, if we have our works,
and you have your works, and if we’re all sincerely devoted to Him?”
140*How can you contend that Abraham,
Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes [of Israel] were Jewish or Christian?
Say:
“Do you know it better than God?
Who is more unjust than the one who conceals the testimony of God?
God does not overlook what you do!” 141. That people belong to the past.
They
will receive what they had earned, and you will receive what you have earned.
You shall not be asked about their deeds.
142*The foolish
among the people will say:
“What
has made [the Muslims] abandon the qibla they used to hold on to?
Say:
“To God belongs the East and the West;
He guides to the straight path anyone He wills.” 143*We have made of
you a well balanced community to let you be witnesses for the people, and to
let the Messenger be your witness.
We
had appointed the qibla to which you held [before] only to distinguish those
who follow the Messenger from those who turned their backs.
Indeed,
that was difficult, except for those whom God guided aright. God would never
let your faith be devalued. Verily, God is all-forgiving and merciful to
people!
144. We see how you turn your face to the sky.
Now
We will turn you to a qibla that shall satisfy you. Turn your face toward the
Sacred Mosque!
Wherever
you are, turn your face in its direction! The People of the Scripture surely
know that this is the Truth from their Lord, and that God does not overlook
their deeds.
145.But even if you showed all the Signs to the
People of the Scripture, they would not turn to your qibla,
just
as you would not turn to their qibla. Indeed, nobody would turn to each other’s
quibble! But if after receiving Knowledge, you still followed their desires,
then you would surely be among the sinners.
146.The People of the Scripture know that as well
as they know their sons,
but some of them
knowingly conceal the Truth.
147. Truth proceeds from your Lord,
so do not be among
those who have doubts!
148. Everyone has a direction he turns to.
Compete
[with one another] in good deeds! Wherever you are, God will bring you
together. Verily, God has power over everything!
149. Wherefrom you come forth,
turn
your face to the Sacred Mosque — such is the Truth of your Lord.
God is not
heedless of what you do.
150.When you come out of any place, turn your face
to the Sacred Mosque. Wherever you are, turn your face to it,
then
nobody will blame you, except the sinners. Do not fear them, but fear Me and I
will complete My favor to you.
Perhaps
you will accept Guidance!
151*We have sent to you a
Messenger from your midst to recite Our Verses to you, to purify you, to teach
you the Scripture and the Wisdom, and to enlighten you about what you did not
know.
152. Remember Me, and I will remember you.
Be thankful to Me
and do not reject your faith!
Seek help in
patience and prayer —
verily, God is with those who endure!
154.
Do not say
about those who died in the way of God:
“They’ve died.”
— No! They are alive, only you do not perceive [it].
155.
We test
you by fear and hunger,
by loss of property, souls, and fruits [of your labor].
So give the good news to those who endure,
156.
to those
who say when misfortune befalls them:
“We belong to God and to Him we shall return.”
157.
They are
those who received the blessings
and the mercy of their Lord.
They are those who received Guidance.
158*[The hills] of Safa and Marwa are Memorials to God.
It is not sinful to walk around them,
when you visit the House or perform the ’umrah.
Indeed, those who strive to do good...
verily, God is generous and knowing!
159.
Verily,
those who conceal the Proofs and the Guidance
that We have sent down to the people
after We explained them in the Scripture,
will be cursed by God and by those able to curse;
160.
but not
those who repented, made amends,
and professed [the Truth].
I turn to them as the Relentant, the Merciful!
161.
Verily,
let the curse of God, the Angels, and the people be upon those who disbelieved
and died in disbelief!
162.
It shall
be upon them for ever.
Their punishment shall not be
reduced, and they shall not receive a reprieve!
Vv. 3-4: The basic requirements for being a Muslim.
V. 10: The sick in hearts are the wavering Arabs, later
called the party of the Hypocrites. They were the last inside opponents the
Prophet had to contend with (cf. S.63).
V. 14: The Satans of the Jews might be their rabbis.
V. 23: “Our servant” is the Prophet Muhammad.
V. 24: The stone idols of the pagans will serve as fuel.
V. 25: The tasty fruit that the dwellers of Paradise will
eat is an allegory for spiritual gifts. The good in this life and the good in
Paradise are linked together by having one source — God.
V. 26: The Koran often uses insects as examples: the gnat
(S.101), the ant (S.27), the spider (S.29), the bee (S.16), and the fly
(S.22:73). Apparently these analogies had a strong effect on the listeners.
V. 30: It is not clear was the regent Adam or somebody
else.
Were there other acts of Creation before that of Adam? Having
unlimited creative power, God does not stop creating new worlds and new forms
of life. The creation of man just at one point space and time would have
limited His power.
A regent is a khalif.
The first khalif was Adam. The khalifs who succeeded after the Prophet’s death
were his relatives: Abu-Bakr, the father of his wife ’Aisha, ’Omar, the father
of his wife Hafsa, ’Othman, the husband of two of his daughters, and 'Ali
ibn Abi Talib, the husband of his daughter Fatima.
At first, the khalifs were no more than the caretakers of
the community. Later on they became absolute leaders. The Khalifate was in
constant contention with the shi’ite imams who considered themselves to have
been anointed by God.
V. 35: The stories of the creation and fall of Adam and Eve
differs from the versions of Genesis. The Koranic Adam and Eve were exiled to
earth for disobedience. Before the Fall they ate of the Tree of Kn o
wledge to become rational beings with God’s consent.
V. 36: Here Satan and Iblis are one personage.
V. 37: Adam repented and was pardoned by God after the
fall. Therefore, he did not pass to his posterity any “original” sin that
needed to be expiated by the Messiah and all mankind.
V. 42: An example of the misinterpretation of the Bible
by the Jews is given in v.76.
V. 43: The tax known as “zakat” becomes more and
more compulsory, even though it is still collected as charity. Collecting the
zakat is not easy because it is based on different modes of evaluation, and
because a part of property is not submitted to it. Moreover, it is unclear
whether the zakat must be raised from the income of the taxpayer or his whole
property.
V. 47: The mercy to the Jews consists in sending down to
them the Torah and the Evangel and in drawing up the Covenant.
V. 53: “Assurance” or Salvation furkan, as in
S.25.
V. 54: “Slay the guilty ones,” lit., “slay one another.”
V. 56: “We raised you after you died,” in the original.
V. 58: The town could be the Biblical Shittim
(Num.25:1-9), or either Jericho or Jerusalem. The exact meaning of hittaton is
unknown (this word is perhaps a “shibbolet,” the pronunciation of which could
reveal the origin of the speaker).
Vv. 58-59 are not unlike S.7:161-162.
V. 61: “Then go back to Egypt” or to a place like Egypt.
Some of the Jews regretted having left Egypt and did not appreciate the gift of
manna and quails. It is not clear which of the Prophets was slain — probably
not Jesus — because according to Muslim tradition Jesus died a natural death.
V. 62: The Sabi'un or “Sabeians” were Mesopotamian
sects, the vestiges of which still exist in Iraq: one sect, downstream on the
Euphrates, recalls the Hanifs, other sects upstream resemble star worshipers.
V. 63: The mountain is probably Mount Sinai.
Vv. 67f: Although S.2 is traditionally called The
Cow, this is the story of the sacrifice of a heifer in expiation
for murder as described in Num.19:1-9. The parable ridicules those who go after
details, while losing sight of the main point.
Vv. 72-73: If a man is found slain and the murderer is
not known, a cow is to be sacrificed on the spot of the murder in order to lift
the sin from the community (Deut.21:1-9).
V. 76: In their attempts at refuting the Koran, the Jews
used their own Scripture.
V. 78: Among the Jews there were ignorant, uneducated
people, “ummi people” in the original.
V. 79: The Jews were accused of forging the Scriptures.
V. 84: “Treaty” or “Covenant.” The text of the verse may
refer to the Muslim-Jewish peace agreement at Medina, but it might have a
universal application as well.
V. 88: “Our hearts are covered,” lit., “our hearts are
under wraps,” or “our hearts are uncircumcised.” Incidentally, Islam follows
the Jews in circumcising male children, but they do it around the age of seven.
They see in this rite both purification and sacrifice of a part of the body to
God.
V. 89: The “Scripture of God” is the Koran. Apparently,
there were times when the Jews joined the Muslims against Idolaters and
Christians.
V. 91: “All the rest,” i.e., the Koran.
V. 93: “They absorbed the calf into their hearts”: in the
Bible, Moses made the Hebrews drink its ashes mixed with water (Ex. 32: 20). In
the Koran this episode is treated allegorically.
V. 94: An affirmation of the universality of Islam.
Vv. 97-98: Earlier, Gabriel was called “Spirit”
(S.19:17). The claim that Gabriel played a role in descending the Koran could
have distressed the Jews. But the Muslims know that his role of God’s
intermediary is rooted in the Bible. Comp.: “... I Daniel, had seen the
vision..., there behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And
I heard a man’s voice..., which ... said, Gabriel, make this man to understand
the vision” (Dan.8: 15-16).
V. 100: The “treaty” may be the Sinai Covenant or a
treaty with the Muslims.
V. 101: It is not clear whether the Jews neglected their
own Scripture or the Koran.
V. 102: Harut and Marut are fallen Angels
or Babylonian scholars who dabbled in magic. “Those who acquired it” — using
sorcery.
V. 104: The first foreign word is Hebrew and the second
is Arabic.
V. 106: A passage among several in the Koran that
legitimizes later changes and additions in its text (cf. S.87:6-7).
V. 109: God’s command, apparently, about fighting the
Jews. The Arabic words safaha (turn away), 'afa (forget) and ghafara
(forgive) express different degrees of completeness in
forgiving.
V. 110: “The good you send forth...” are the deeds
submitted to God for judgment.
V. 114: The places of worship in Mecca and its vicinity
were then controlled by the Prophet’s opponents.
V. 115: This verse seems to negate the importance of
facing a certain direction while praying.
V. 124: The request concerning the immolation of his son.
V. 125: “The House” is the Mosque of Mecca with the Ka'ba,
that was reputedly build by Abraham and Ishmael (S.106:3). The Ka’ba is a
nearly cubic building of gray stone about 40’ high, with blind walls. It
recalls the New Jerusalem of the Revelation that is cubic in shape (Rev.
21:16). A black meteoric stone is set in a silver rim in one of the corners of
the Ka’ba, symbolic, perhaps, of the gems set in the walls of the New
Jerusalem (Rev. 21).
The Ka’ba is covered with a black cloth (kiswa)
carrying excerpts from the Koran. At the end of the ten days of pilgrimage, the
kiswa is cut to pieces and distributed to pilgrims who take them to their country.
The arrival of the kiswa on the back of a camel [the mahmal] in Cairo is
the occasion of a festivity.
The Ka’ba was a place of devotion for the inhabitants of
Mecca (Bacca) for centuries before Islam. In the “times of Ignorance” the Arab
tribes were ever at war with one another, but they were united in their love of
poetry, both epic and romantic. The best poems were hung in or on the Ka’ba.
They were known as mu'allaqat (the hung ones).
The station of Abraham is a couple of meters from the
black stone corner of the Ka’ba.
Stones and rocks usually symbolize stability and
strength. V. 133: The verse is addressed to the Jews. Notice that the
first-born, Ishmael, had precedence over Isaac.
V. 136: “The Tribes [of Israel]” or the patriarchs.
The Prophets were equal among equals, though their
achievements were different.
V. 138: True baptism is the willful surrender to God’s
Will or the mystical rebirth of a person upon becoming a Muslim.
V. 140: Abraham and his successors could not have been
called Jewish before Moses received the Torah or Christian before the coming of
Christ and the establishment of the New Testament.
Vv. 142f: At the beginning Muslims prayed facing
Jerusalem, their first qibla (S.10:87). It is the site of the Muslim
shrine, the “Dome of the Rock” built in the VII century on the site of the
“Holy of Holies” of the Jewish Temple. By tradition, Muhammad began his travel
to Heaven from this spot (the “Remote Mosque,” S.17:1). The Golden Dome is a
masterpiece of art and a symbol of the unity of the three semitic religions.
For the Jews, it stands on such holy ground that the most devout of them feel
unworthy of treading there. It is decorated inside out with Koranic verses
about Jesus. The “Remote Mosque” stands beside it.
In mosques, the direction of Mecca is indicated by a
wooden or marble niche, the mihrab. It symbolizes a cave in the mountain
and represents the hidden and the spiritual. It is the heart of the mosque, and
the mosque represents the whole world. Beside it stands the minbar — a movable
raised platform from which the imam reads the lesson of the day. It may have
any number of steps, but the preacher usually stands on its second step in
deference to the Prophet who liked to stand on the third one.
V. 143: “We have made you a well balanced community” or
“We placed your community in the middle” to let you be “witnesses” or
“intercessors.” In an ideal community the strict observance of the law is
mitigated by tolerance towards those who break it.
V. 151: “To purify” or “to remind about paying the
zakat.”
V. 158: Safa and Mar'wa are two hills near
Mecca. The 'umra is a visit to Mecca other than a regular pilgrimage.
The three major sins are: disbelief in God, association
of idols to God, and ingratitude to God. Gratitude is such a virtue, that God
Himself can be appreciative for it.
Sura 46 T he Sand Dunes. S. 46 exposes polytheists in general and
affirms that the Koran does not abrogate any tenets of the Judeo-Christian
Scriptures, but only confirms and validates them. Like S.31, which follows it,
S.46 invites to respect one's parents (vv. 15-18) and recounts the story of
'Ad's Prophet, Hood, who reprimanded his people for their idolatry (vv. 21-28).
The sandy hills (Al-Ahqaf) were probably a region of southern Arabia.
Meccan, 35
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2. This is a revelation of the Scripture from God,
the Sublime, the Wise.
3. We have created the Heavens and earth and what
is in between
only by the Truth
and for a fixed time.
However,
the disbelievers turn away from what they have been warned about.
4* Say:
“Don’t you see
what you call on besides God?
Show
me what they have created on earth, or what is their share in the Heavens!
Show
me a Scripture revealed before this one, or at least a trace of [your]
Knowledge if you’re telling the truth!”
5. Who is further astray than the one who, besides
God,
calls
to those who will not answer him on Resurrection Day and will be heedless to
his prayer?
6. And when all the people are rounded up,
they will be
hostile to them and reject their worship.
7. When Our clear Verses are recited to the
disbelievers, they say of the Truth that came to them:
“This is obvious
magic!”
8. And [of Muhammad] they say:
“He forged [the
Koran]!”
Say:
“If I forged it,
you wouldn’t save me from God!
He’s
well aware of your insinuations, and sufficient He is as a witness between us!
He is the
Forgiving, the Merciful.”
“I’m
not an innovator among the Messengers and I don’t know what will happen to you
or me.
I’m just following
what I’m inspired with;
I’m just a lucid
Warner!”
10* Say:
“If
you think that [the Koran] is from God, how can you reject it?
Indeed,
a witness from among the Children of Israel came forward and confirmed its
similarity [to the Torah].
He believed, while
you’re still boasting around.
Verily, God
doesn’t guide a people of transgressors!”
11* The
disbelievers say to those who believed:
“If
[your Revelation] were such a good thing, then nobody would’ve beaten us to
it!”
But they don’t
follow it and say:
“It’s an old
fabrication!”
12* In the past the Scripture of Moses was a Guidance and a mercy.
This Scripture
confirms it in the Arabic language.
It warns the
wrong-doers
and brings good
tidings to those who do right.
“Our Lord is God!”
and stand firmly [on it] shall neither fear nor grieve.
14. They own Paradise where they shall dwell for
ever in recompense for their good deeds.
15* We have enjoined on man to be kind to his parents.
His mother carries him in pain and gives birth in pain.
She carries and nurses him thirty months till weaning.
And when he is forty and reaches maturity, he says:
“O my Lord!
Make me grateful
for the favor
You’ve bestowed
upon me and my parents.
[Inspire] me to do
good and to satisfy You.
Extend [Your]
favor to me and to my offspring.
Truly I’m turning
to You,
and truly [to You]
I’m submitting myself!”
16. Such are those whose their best deeds We
accept, and to whom We forgive their sins.
We truly promise
them
to be among the
dwellers of Paradise.
17* [There is the one
who] says to his parents:
“Fie
upon you! You’re threatening me with resurrection, but what about the
generations that preceded me?” Seeking God’s help, they say:
“Woe to you! God’s
promise is surely true!”,
but he says:
“These are some
tales of the old!”
18* Such are those of the past generations of Jinn and men who have
already been judged and became losers.
19. Everyone has a degree [of guilt] for his deeds,
for which he shall get a retribution — nobody shall be treated unjustly!
20. On the Day when the disbelievers face the Fire,
[they shall hear]:
— Did you receive the amenities of this life?
Did you enjoy
them?
Your
reward today is a humiliating punishment for your unjustified conceit on earth
and your corruption.
21* Remember the brother of
the [people] of ’Ad, who has been warning his people in the sand dunes.
Messengers had come before and after him, and each [said]:
“Don’t worship
anyone, except God,
I truly fear for
you the punishment of the Great Day.”
“Did you come to
separate us from our gods?
Then
bring your threats upon us if you’re telling the truth!”
“Knowledge
is with God; I’m only relaying to you what I’ve been sent with,
but I see that
you’re ignorant people!”
24. Observing a cloud approaching their valleys,
they said: “Here is a cloud that brings us rain!”
— No! This is what
you have been asking to hasten!
It is a gust that
carries a painful punishment
25. and shall destroy everything by the command of
its Lord! And so it was.
In
the morning one could see only ruins at the site of their dwellings — this is
how We reward the people who transgress!
26* We gave them opportunities you did not have; We gave them
hearing, sight, and a heart. But hearing, sight, and a heart did not benefit
them. When they denied the Signs of God, they were overcome by what they had
been laughing at!
27. In the past, before destroying some towns in
your vicinity, We had been showing the Signs,
hoping that they
would have turned [to Us].
28.
Why have
they not been helped by those whom they had worshiped besides God,
and
who, as they hoped, would accede them [to Him]? [The idols] deserted them
because they were fake, just like all their fabrications.
29*We have sent to you a band
ofJinn to listen to the Koran.
When they came,
they said:
“Let’s listen!”
They returned to
their people with a Warning
“O
our people! We’ve listened to a Scripture which has been sent down after Moses.
It
confirms what had been sent down before
and guides to the
Truth and to the straight path.
Respond
to the call of the man who calls to God, and believe him: then [God] will
forgive your sins and save you from a painful punishment.
32. Anyone who doesn’t respond to the call of the
man who summons to God, won’t weaken God on earth. He has no protector besides
Him —
he is plainly in
error!”
33* Do they not see that God,
Who has created the Heavens and earth,
is not tired of creating and can revive the dead?
Yes! He has power over all things!
34. The Day when the disbelievers face the Fire,
[they shall hear]:
— Is this not the Truth?
They shall say:
“Yes, by our Lord, it is!”
— Then taste the punishment for what you have denied!
35* — [O Muhammed!] Be as patient
as the most resolute of the Messengers,
and do not hasten their [punishment]!
The Day they see what has been promised to them,
they will think they had waited
only for one hour of a day.
Proclamation!
Will anyone perish, except the corrupt?
V. 4: “Bring me a Scripture revealed before this one”
i.e., bring me any old Scripture that contradicts the Koran.
V. 10: The witness from among the Children of Israel
might be Moses on the strength of the prediction made to him that another
Prophet like him will be sent to the people (Deut. 18:18).
V. 11: The wealthy Meccans resented that God had sent His
Message through a person of lower social standing than their own.
V. 12: The Book of Moses prescribed to the Hebrews a
standard of conduct. Jesus had no intention of changing it, but only to correct
the errors that crept into its observance (”Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matt.
5:17). Similarly, the Prophet did not want to change the Laws of Moses, but
only to confirm them before his people.
The prescriptive compendium of laws that teaches people
how to behave in the righteous way is called the shari'a. It is just one
aspect of the doctrine of Islam, a legislation supported by tradition that
explains the relation of man to other people and to the whole world.
V. 15: It was believed that man reaches spiritual maturity
only after he is forty years of age.
V. 17: “What about the generations that preceded me,”
meaning: they have died and we don’t know what happened to them. Were they
resurrected and judged, or not?
V. 18: These words prepare the story of vv. 29-32 about
the Jinn that was interrupted by the segment on Hood.
V. 21: This brother of [the people] of ’Ad is Hood, the
subject of S.11.
V. 26: “Heart” (fu'ad) includes reason and
knowledge.
Vv. 29-32: Like men, the Jinn must listen to the
Prophet’s preaching (S.72).
V. 33: The Muslims consider it blasphemous to think that
God could be tired after creating the Universe (S.50:38).
V. 35: The
conclusion of the sura “Proclamation! Will anyone perish, except the corrupt?”
can also be understood as: “[You must] proclaim [the Message]! Will anyone
perish, except the corrupt?”
SURA 31
LUQMAN. The title of S.31 is the name of the mythical Luqman,
an ancient Arab sage, compared sometimes to Solomon and Aesop, famous for
giving people judicious advice.
31. L U Q M A N
Meccan, 34 verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2. Here are some Verses from the wise Scripture.
3. It is a Guidance and a mercy for those who do
good,
4. observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and firmly
believe in the Hereafter.
5. They follow their Lord’s Guidance — they are
the ones who will prosper.
6* Some people who are deprived of knowledge collect frivolous tales
to
drive [others] away from God’s path that they subject to ridicule.
A shameful
punishment is [in store] for them!
7. When Our verses are recited to such [a man],
he turns away in
disdain as if he were deaf in both ears.
So announce to him
a painful punishment!
8. But for those who believe and do right there
will be the Gardens of Bliss
9. in which they shall abide for ever. God’s promise
is true —
He is the Sublime,
the Wise.
10* He has created the Heavens without visible supports.
He
buttressed the earth with mountains to prevent it from shaking under you; then
He spread on it a great many of creatures.
We
send water down from the sky and We produce on earth noble pairs of all kinds.
Show Me what has
been created
by others besides
Him!
Yes, deep is the
error of the wrong-doers!
12. We have bestowed Wisdom upon Luqman:
—
Be grateful to God! A grateful man is grateful for his own good, but an
ungrateful man...
verily, God is
rich and praiseworthy!
13. Once Luqman admonished his son, saying: “O my
dearest son! Don’t associate with God! Verily, association is a great sin!”
14. We enjoined on man [respect for] his parents.
His
mother carries him in weakness after weakness and weans him after two years.
So,
be grateful to Me and to your parents, for you will return to Me!
15. But do not yield to them if they insist that
you associate with Me something you do not know anything about.
Keep
them company in this life in good faith, but follow the way of those who have
turned to Me.
In the end, when
you all return to Me,
I will inform you
of your deeds.
16* [Luqman said]:
“O
my dearest son! God will retrieve anything even if it weighs as little as a
grain of mustard, and be it [hidden] under a rock in Heavens or on earth.
Verily, God is gracious, well-informed!
17. “O my dearest son! Observe the prayer, urge to
the reputable, resist evil,
and
patiently endure what befalls you — verily, this shall impart firmness to
[your] affairs.
18. Don’t puff up your cheeks before the people and
don’t walk boisterously upon the earth. Verily, God doesn’t love conceited
braggarts!
19. Be moderate in your pace and lower your voice.
Verily, the most
repulsive sound is the braying of an ass!”
20. Do you not see that God has given you
everything in Heavens and earth
and
that He has showered you with His mercy, seen and unseen?
Yet,
there are people who argue about God without Knowledge, Guidance, or an
enlightening Scripture!
“Follow what God
has sent down to you,” they say:
“No! We’ll follow
in our fathers’ footsteps!”
— Even if Satan
calls them to the punishment by the Fire?
22. Whoever totally submits himself to God and does
good deeds is holding fast onto the surest support —
indeed, in God is
the outcome of all affairs!
do not take his
rejection to heart!
Indeed,
they shall all return to Us, and We will tell them the truth about their deeds.
Verily, God knows
well what is in the hearts!
24. We will let them enjoy [life] for a while,
then We will drive
them to a severe punishment.
25. Ask them, Who has created the Heavens and
earth.
They will surely
say:
“It’s God!”
Say:
“Praise be to
God!”
But most of them
do not understand.
26. To God belongs everything in Heavens and earth.
Verily, God is the Rich, the Praiseworthy.
27* If all the trees on earth were used to make writing reeds, and
if the sea were ink, and seven seas were added to it, even then it will not
suffice
[to write] all of
God’s Words.
Verily, God is
mighty and wise!
28* You will be resurrected as one soul, as you have been created.
Verily, God is
hearing and all-seeing!
29. Do you not see how God merges the night with
the day and merges the day with the night;
and
how He has subjected the sun and the moon to run their course in a fixed time?
Verily, God is
well aware of all what you do!
30* This is because God is the Truth, and what they call upon
besides Him are lies. Verily, He is the Exalted, the Great.
31. Do you not see how by the grace of God the ships
sail upon the sea
to let Him show
you some of His Signs?
Verily, these
Signs are for the patient and grateful.
32. When a wave covers them like a cloud, they call
to God with sincere faith, but as soon as He brings them to land, some of them
begin to doubt.
Indeed, only the
deceitful and ungrateful deny Our Signs!
Be
devout to your Lord and dread the Day when a father will fail his son, and a
son will fail his father.
Verily, God’s
promise is true.
So do not let this
life deceive you,
and do not let the
Deceiver deceive you about God!
34. Verily, God knows about the Hour.
He is the One, Who
sends down the rain
and knows what is in the wombs.
But nobody knows what he will get tomorrow
or in what land death will claim him.
Verily, God is all-knowing and well-informed!
V. 6: The Meccans who were hostile to the Prophet used to
compare the Koran to tales, conceivably, of Persian origin.
V. 10: Pronouns referring to God often change without
apparent reason. “He,” “We,” and “I” standing for God differ in formality and
expression: “He” is found in descriptions of God, “We” — in His commands, and
“I” — in His addresses to a person (S. 25:45).
V. 16: God is “the source of beauty,” or kind (latif).
V. 27: An admonition to those who believe that their
Scripture and not the Koran is the ultimate Revelation.
V. 28: God is aware of His Creation as a whole.
V. 30: God is the Truth. God and Truth are
one concept. Even the least educated man wants to perceive his own nature and
his place in the universe, and he looks for the Truth through an understanding
of God. This religious and humanistic quest continues in the era of computers
and wholesale information. But Truth crumbles and vanishes when man, without
believing in it, seeks it everywhere: in creeds, in philosophical systems,
in mysticism, in astrology, in humanism, in science, in atheism. Vain are the
attempts at understanding all the facts with the help of reason alone. The
path to Truth based on Knowledge and Wisdom lies through the intellect guided
by high spirituality and culture.
The translation of the Koran must strive to emulate the
original in building and developing the concept of God as the absolute Truth.
If it doesn’t do it, it’s worthless. A translator is above all a transmitter of
thought and not a transmitter of words. He is humble because he knows that his
translation can only impoverish the original, yet an accessible translation is
necessary to facilitate the understanding of Islam, the religion of a billion
people.
SURA 6 (I) CATTLE. In order to understand the gist of the Koranic Revelation, one must
internalize the relationship between God, Truth, Knowledge, and Wisdom.
Guidance, Warnings, Reminders, the Prophetic stories, and al the “Say” passages
have one goal: to make man one, whole, poised, and worthy of His Creator.
Therefore, for Musims the Koran is the path to the Truth, it is God's Light, it
is Truth itself.
S. 6
gets its name from its dietary prescriptions concerning meat. Like SS. 2 and 3,
this sura can be divided into two parts. The first part contains 1) Warnings to
the disbelievers in vv. 1-10; 2) a long string of Say and Warning passages in
vv. 11-73; 3) the reasoning that led Abraham to reject polytheism in vv. 74-83;
4) a list of Prophet Muhammad's predecessors in vv. 84-90; 5) an accusation of
those who hide parts of the Revelation or fake divine inspiration in vv. 91-
94; 6) Sign passages with a doxology in vv. 95-117. The remainder of S.6
(vv.118-165) is in Part VI of this work that deals with of L
egisla tion.
6.
C A
T T L E
Meccan, 165 verses
Part I. (Vv.
1-117)
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
Who
created the Heavens and the earth and made darkness and light!
Yet, the
disbelievers make [others] equal to their Lord!
2. He is the One, Who created you from clay
and
fixed [your] term and a time for [meeting] with Him. Yet, you are still in
doubt!
3. He is God in Heavens and earth.
He
knows what you conceal and what you reveal; He knows what you deserve.
4. Not a single Sign of the Signs of God had
reached them that they have not rejected.
5. And when they faced the Truth, they disbelieved
in it! But soon they shall receive some news
about the object
of their derision.
6. Do they not see how many generations We have
destroyed before them?
We
had given them opportunities on earth that We have not given you.
We
had been sending upon them abundant rain and We made rivers flow at their feet.
But
We destroyed them for their sins and created other generations after them.
7. — [O Muhammad!] Had we sent down to you a
Scripture on parchment that they could touch with their hands, still the
disbelievers would have said:
“This is obvious
magic!”
8* They say:
“Why
hasn’t an Angel been sent down to him?”
But
had We sent down an Angel, their case would have already been decided, and they
would not have received a reprieve.
9. And had We made him as an Angel resembling a
human being, it would have compounded their confusion.
10. Messengers were laughed at before you,
but what they were
laughing at has turned against them.
“Travel about in
the land
and see the fate
of those who rejected [the Truth].”
“To whom does everything belong
in Heaven and earth?” Say:
“To God! He has ordained mercy
upon Himself;
surely He’ll gather you all
together on Resurrection Day!” And those who lost their souls will remain
unbelievers.
13.
To Him
belongs everything dwelling in the night and the day. He is the Hearing, the
All-Knowing.
“How can I take another protector
besides God, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth,
Who feeds the others, but Who is fed by no one.”
Say:
“Yes! I’m ordered to be the first to surrender to God.
So don’t be among the Associators!”
“If I disobeyed my Lord,
I’d fear the punishment of the Great Day.”
16.
And if
anyone avoids it on that Day,
it will be only by His mercy: it shall be a great
success!
17.
If God
touches you with distress, only He can remove it from you;
if He touches you with goodness,
then He has power over everything!
18.
His power
extends to His servants — He is the Wise, the All-Knowing.
“Whose testimony carries the most
weight?”
Say:
“God is witness between us.
This Koran has been inspired to
me
to make me warn you and anyone it
reaches.
How can you affirm that there are
other gods besides God?” Say:
“No! I can’t affirm that!”
Say:
“In truth He is One God,
and I’m not involved in what you associate.”
20.
Those to
whom We have given the Scripture know it as well as they know their sons;
but those who lost their souls do not believe.
21.
Who does
more harm than the one
who invents lies against God or rejects His Signs?
The wrong-doers shall not be successful!
22.
The Day
when We gather them all together,
We will say to the Associators:
— Where are the partners you have fabricated?
23.
Their only
recourse will be to deceive by saying:
“By God our Lord, we haven’t been Associators!”
24.
You see
how they lie against themselves!
And those they have invented have abandoned them.
25* Some of them [pretend to] listen to you, but We have
cast veils upon their hearts and sealed their ears
to prevent them from
understanding [the Koran].
Even if they see all the Signs,
they will not believe in them and will come to you just to argue.
Those who
disbelieve say:
“These are only
some old tales!”
26. They turn away from [the Koran] and turn others
away.
They ruin their
souls without even noticing [it].
27. If you could see them lined up before the Fire!
They will say:
“If
we’re sent back, we won’t reject the Signs of our Lord and we’ll join the
believers!”
28. Yes, what they have been hiding will appear
before them.
If
they were brought back, they would surely return to what was forbidden to them
— indeed, they are such liars!
“There
is nothing, except our life on earth, and we shall not be raised.”
30. If you could see them lined up before their
Lord!
He will say:
— Is this not
real?
They will say:
“Yes! By our Lord!”
He will say:
— Then taste the
punishment for your disbelief!
31. When the Hour suddenly dawns upon them,
those who denied
their meeting with God shall be the losers.
They will say:
“Woe to us for not
having thought of that!”
There is a burden
on their back, and evil is this burden!
32. The present life is only play and amusement,
but
the abode in the Hereafter is better for the righteous. Do you not understand?
33. — [O Muhammad!] Yes, We know how their words
sadden you. But it is not you that they reject —
they reject the
Signs of God.
34. Messengers have been rejected before you; they
suffered from lies and persecutions until We came to their rescue.
Indeed, nobody can
change God’s Words!
You have surely
heard some reports about the Messengers.
35. You are so distressed that they were scorned,
that you would like to find a crevice in the ground or a ladder to the sky to
bring them a Sign.
But had God so
willed,
He
would have gathered them all on [His] path! Then, do not be [one] of the
ignorant!
36. God responds to those who listen [to Him].
And He will raise
the dead — to Him is their return!
“Why doesn’t his
Lord send him a Sign?”
Say:
“Verily,
God has the power to send down a Sign!” But most of them do not understand!
38. There are no beasts on earth nor birds on the
wing that [do not form] communities like yours.
We
have not omitted anything in the Scripture — they shall all be gathered to
their Lord!
39. Those who reject Our Signs are deaf and dumb,
they [wander] in darkness.
God sends astray
anyone He wills
and sets on the
straight path anyone He wills.
“Think,
would you call to any one besides God at the approach of God’s retribution or
the Hour? But be truthful!
41. Yes, you’ll call to Him! And if He wills,
He
will free you from what you ask Him [to remove], and you’ll forget what you
have been associating!”
42. And before you We have sent [Warners] to the
nations that We afflicted with suffering and distress, hoping that they would
humble themselves.
43. Why have they not humbled themselves when Our
afflictions reached them? — Because their hearts have been hardened, and Satan
had embellished their deeds.
44. Although they forgot the Reminder, We gave them
access to everything, and they began rejoicing at their gifts.
But
when We suddenly took hold of them, they sank in utter despair!
45. Thus the wrong-doers were destroyed, all to the
last one. Praised be God, the Lord of the Worlds!
“Imagine,
if God takes away your hearing and sight and seals your hearts,
what
god besides God will return them to you?” You see how We explain the Signs —
yet they are still turning away!
“Think that if
God’s punishment
came
upon you either suddenly or with warning, who would be destroyed other than the
sinful people?”
48. We are sending Messengers to bring good news
and to warn. The one who believed and mended his ways
should neither
fear, nor grieve.
49. But those who rejected Our Signs
shall be punished
for their iniquity.
“I’m not telling
you
that
I possess the treasuries of God and that I know the Unseen.
I don’t pretend to
be an Angel —
I’m only following
what has been inspired to me.”
Say:
“Can
the blind be compared to the keen-sighted? Perhaps you’ll reflect!”
51. — [O Muhammad!] Warn [by the Koran] those who
fear that if they were brought before their Lord
they
would have no protector nor intercessor besides Him — then, perhaps they will
be true to God!
52. Do not drive away those who call to their Lord
mornings and evenings and strive to His Countenance. You are not responsible
for them in the least,
and
they are not responsible for you in the least. Do not drive them away, lest you
be a wrong-doer.
53. We test them one by the other to let them say:
“Are they those of
you
to whom God has
given His favors?”
Does not God know
best those of you who are grateful?
54. When those who believe in Our Signs come to you,
say: “Peace upon you!”
Your
Lord has taken upon Himself to be merciful to you, and if anyone of you
committed evil out of ignorance, and later repented and amended his ways...
[God]
is forgiving and compassionate!
55. This is how We explain the Signs and expose the
ways of the sinners.
“I’ve been forbidden to worship
those you call apart from God.” Say:
“I
won’t follow your passions, lest I go astray and won’t be with those who follow
the Guidance.”
57* Say:
“I
stand upon the Proofs of my Lord that you deny.
I
have no power over what you would like to hasten. Indeed, decision belongs only
to God — He proclaims the Truth and He’s the best of those who decide!”
“If
what you’d like to hasten depended on me, then the matter between us would’ve
already been settled. But God knows best those who are doing wrong!”
59. He holds the keys to the Unseen, He alone knows
about it. He knows what is on the land and at sea, and not a leaf can fall
without His knowledge. There is no seed in the darkness of the soil, and there
is nothing that sprouts or withers that is not in the clear Record.
60. He is the One, Who withdraws your souls at
night and knows what you have done during the day. Then He returns you to life
until the appointed term is reached.
At
the end you shall return to Him, and He will tell you how well you have done.
61* Exalted He is
above His servants!
He
sends Guardians to you, and when one of you dies, Our Envoys carry him away —
they never miss anything!
62. Then they are returned to God, their true
Protector — indeed, the judgment is His,
and He is the
quickest at accounting!
“Who
else can deliver you from danger on land or on sea? You call to Him with
humility and fear:
’If
You save us from this [danger], then we’ll be thankful!’”
“If
God saves you from this and other dangers, then, why do you become
Associators?”
“He
has the power to send you the punishment from above or from under your feet, or
to confuse you by [dividing you] into factions in order to give you a taste of
infighting.” See how We explain the Signs — perhaps they will understand!
66. But your people reject [the Koran], albeit it
is the Truth. Say:
“I’m not your
trustee!
67. Each message has its time, and soon you shall
know!”
68. When you meet those who prattle about Our
Signs, turn away from them until they change the subject. And if Satan makes
you forget,
do
not sit beside the transgressors after you recover your senses.
69* The righteous are not responsible for their account, but if they
keep reminding them, perhaps they will become God-fearing!
70. Avoid those who take their religion for play or
fun and are seduced by the life of this world.
Remind
them that a soul destroys herself by her deeds, that she has no protector nor
intercessor besides God, and that no ransom shall be accepted from her.
This
is what will happen to those who destroyed themselves by what they have earned.
For them there is a boiling drink and a painful punishment for their disbelief.
“Shall
we call on something besides God that can neither benefit nor harm us?
If
we turn back after receiving God’s Guidance, we’ll be like the one who has been
seduced by the Satans, and is now wandering in the land, while his companions
are calling him to the straight path: ‘Come to us!’”
Say:
“God’s Guidance is
[the true] Guidance.
We’ve been ordered
to submit ourselves
to the Lord of the
Worlds,
72. to observe the prayer, and to fear God —
indeed, you shall all be gathered to Him!”
73. He is the One, Who has created Heavens and
earth in Truth.
The day He says:
— Be! It will be.
Indeed, His Word is the Truth.
He
is the Sovereign of the Day when the trumpet will be blown.
He knows the
hidden and the revealed —
He is the Wise,
the Well-informed.
74* Abraham said
to his father Azar:
“How can you
mistake your idols for gods?
I see that you and
your people are in manifest error!”
75. To sustain Abraham, We showed him Our power
over the Kingdom of Heavens and earth.
76. When the night covered him, he saw a star and
said:
“This is my Lord!”
But when it set,
he said:
“I don’t like
anything that sets!”
77. When he saw the rising moon, he said:
“This is my Lord!”
But when it set,
he said:
“If my Lord
doesn’t guide me,
I’ll be among the
people who lost their way!”
78. When he saw the rising sun, he said:
“This is my Lord,
the greatest of them all!”
But when it set,
he said:
“O my people! I’m
innocent of what you associate!
79. As a Hanif, I’m turning my face towards the
One, Who created the Heavens and the earth,
and I’m not an
Associator!”
80. When the people started arguing with him, he
said:
“Do
you want to argue with me about God, the One, Who has guided me?
I
won’t fear those you associate with Him, unless my Lord wills it,
for my Lord’s
Knowledge encompasses all things.
Wouldn’t you come
to your senses?
81.
Why would
I fear whatever you associate with God if you aren’t afraid of associating
something He hasn’t allowed?
Do you know which
of the two parties is more secure? —
82. More secure is the one which believes,
doesn’t
confuse its belief with evil, and stays on the right path.”
83. Such are Our Proofs that We gave to Abraham to
use them in convincing his people.
We raise in ranks
anyone We will.
Verily, your Lord
is wise and all-knowing!
84. We gave him Isaac and Jacob
who
were both under Our Guidance.
Before
them We had guided Noah, and then his posterity: David, Solomon, Job, Joseph,
Moses, and Aaron.
This
is how We reward those who do good!
85. And Zechariah, John, Jesus, and Elias — they
were all among the righteous;
86. and Ismail, Elisha, Jonas, and Lot,
We favored all of
them above the nations of the Worlds.
87. We chose them from among their fathers, their
posterity, and their brothers, and We guided them to the straight path.
88. This is God’s Guidance by which He guides any
of His servants, as He pleases.
But
had they been Associators, all their deeds would have been in vain.
89. We gave them the Scripture, Wisdom, and
Prophecy, but if they reject them,
We shall entrust
them to a people who will not deny them.
90. Follow the guidance of those who received God’s
Guidance!
Say:
“I’m not asking
you to be paid for that.
This’s just a
Reminder to the Worlds!”
91* They do not value God at His true value when they say: “God
hasn’t sent down anything to man!”
Say:
“And
Who has sent down the Scripture that was brought by Moses?
It’s
a Light and a Guidance for people, but you tear it to sheets for display, and
much of it you conceal.
Yet, you’ve
learned with its help
what you and your
fathers hadn’t known before.”
Say:
“It’s God [Who has
sent it down]!”
Then let them have
fun in vain palabers!
92*This is a
blessed Scripture
that We have sent
down to confirm what they already had.
Use it to warn the
Mother of Towns and its vicinity.
Those who believe
in the Hereafter
believe in [the
Scripture] and observe their prayers.
93* Who does a greater evil
than the one who invents lies against God or says: “I’ve received an inspiration,”
although he has not received anything like it!
Or:
“I
can produce something like what God has sent down!” If you could see the
sinners in the agony of death when the Angels stretch their hands to them:
“Give
up your souls!
Today
you’ll receive a humiliating punishment as a reward for lying about God and
scornfully rejecting His Signs!”
94. And now you came to Us as you are,
as
We have created you from the beginning, leaving behind what We have given to
you.
Why
do We not see beside you the intercessors whom you considered to be your
partners?
Now
your ties with them have been broken, and your fancies have vanished from
sight!
95. Verily, God lets the grain and the fruit seed
germinate.
He
produces the living from the dead and the dead from the living. He is God!
But how far you
are from the Truth!
96. He ushers the daybreak; He assigns the night
for rest, and the sun and the moon for keeping [time] — such is the ruling of
the Sublime, the All-knowing.
97* He is the One, Who gave
you the stars to let you find your way in the dark on the land and the sea!
This is how We
explain Our Signs to people who know!
98* He is the One, Who produced you from one soul and [gave] you a
place to reside and a place to rest. This is how We explain Our Signs to people
who understand!
99. He is the One, Who sends water down from the
sky.
With
it We grow plants of all kinds, thus producing greenery from which We bring
forth rows of grain and clusters of fruit, hanging low from the sheaves of
palm-trees, and gardens of grapes, olives, and pomegranates of similar and
different [kinds].
Look
at the fruit: how they grow, how they ripen!
Verily,
there are Signs in this for people who believe!
100.
Yet, they
associated some Jinn as partners to God, the One, Who created them.
In
[their] ignorance they falsely attributed to [God] daughters and sons.
Glory to Him,
exalted He is above what they ascribe to Him!
101.
How can
the Originator of Heavens and earth have a son without a wife?
He has created everything, He knows everything!
There is no god but Him, the Creator of all things.
So worship Him: does He not control everything?
103*Vision cannot encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision! He
is the Ineffable, the Well-Informed.
104*[Say]:
“You’ve received eye-opening Proofs from your Lord.
They
benefit the one who sees them, and they hurt the one who is blind to them. And
I’m not your guardian!”
05. We explain the Signs to let them say:
“You taught us,”
and to let Us explain everything to the people who know.
106.So follow what
your Lord has inspired to you.
There is no god but Him! So shun the Associators!
107.
Had God so
willed, they would not have become Associators. We have not made you their
guardian and caretaker.
108. Do not revile those they call on besides God,
lest they revile God out of spite and ignorance.
We
made the actions of every community alluring to them, but when they are
returned to their Lord, He shall tell them what they have done.
109*They swore by the strongest oath — by God, that they will
believe if [a new] Sign came to them. Say:
“Verily, all Signs
are from God!
But
how to convince you that they wouldn’t believe even if all [the Signs] came
down to them!”
110*We shall turn their
hearts and sight upside down, so that they would not believe like the first
time, and We shall let them wander blindly in sin.
111. Even if We had sent them down some Angels or
allowed the dead to speak to them,
or
brought everything before them, still they would not believe without God’s
permission — indeed, most of them ignore [the Truth].
112.
To each Prophet
We have appointed enemies — Satans from among men and Jinn,
who deceive one another by
flowery words.
If your Lord had willed it,
they would not have done it. So leave them alone with their fabrications
113. that fill the hearts of those
who do not believe
in the Hereafter.
Let them enjoy them and gain from them
what they would like to gain.
“Why would I want another judge besides God?
Indeed, He is the One, Who has sent down to you
the Scripture that explains everything.”
Those who have received the Scripture know
that it had been revealed by your Lord in Truth.
So, don’t be among those who
doubt!
115.
The Words
of your Lord are true and just;
no one has the power to change His Words.
He is the Hearer, the Knowing.
116.
If you
obeyed the majority on earth,
they would lead you astray from the path of God.
Indeed, they follow only conjectures and invent lies.
117.
Verily,
your Lord knows best who has left His path, and He knows best who goes by [His]
Guidance!
V. 2: “Another term” — the Last Day.
V. 8: The Angels come to earth only to collect the souls
of the dead (S.98:18).
V. 25: The disbelievers will be separated from God by a
curtain (S.83:15). They consider the Koran to be a collection of fables (see
note to S.31:6).
V. 57: The sinners want to hasten the Hour ofJudgment.
V. 61: “The Guardians” are Angels, symbols of God’s
solicitude to man. The “Envoys” are the Angels who receive the souls of the
dying (cf. v.8).
V. 69: “For their account” — the account of the
disbelievers.
V. 74: In the Bible, Abraham’s father is called Terah.
Azar is possibly Assur, a name that recalls the Assyrian origin of the
Hebrews.
V. 91: “To sheets” — “to papyri” in the original.
V. 92: The “Mother of Towns” is Mecca.
V. 93: At the time of the Prophet Muhammad there were
other preachers in Arabia; the best known was Musailima (died in 633).
V. 97: The Koran can be considered as a collection of
Signs that prove of God’s existence and His Oneness. They are seen everywhere:
the sun, the stars, the animals, the natural phenomena. In the spiritual
realm, they are the soul, the mind, love, beauty, intelligence, the Koranic
Verses themselves. By extension, the Signs are all that surrounds man and all
that he experiences.
Quite a few verses are concluded by appeals to use one’s
mind (cf. vv. 32, 50, 80). The Koran is not just a collection of tales and old
fables (S.46:17), but a normative divine Revelation.
V. 98: “A place for dwelling and a place for repose” —
other translations are possible.
V. 103: Latif — “ineffable” or “kindly” (S.
31:16).
V. 104: These words should have been introduced by “Say.”
V. 109: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after
a sign” (Matt. 16:4).
V. 110: “We shall turn their hearts and sight upside down” — “We shall
confuse their hearts and sight.” In vv. 25,43,46 the heart is qalb, in
vv. 110,113, it is fu'ad (cf. S.28:10).
To preclude any
doubt, the text of the Scripture must be clear, as is said at the beginning of
SS.15, 28, 11, 12, 34, 43, and it cannot be doubted (cf. SS. 32,2). In every
page one senses the care for the clarity of words and expressions, for the
vividness of style, and for the respect of grammar. Solecisms and ugly
borrowings from foreign languages that make possible uncalled for jokes and
taints are condemned.
SURA 16 T HE Bee. Judging by the topic and the shortness of
some verses, S.16 seems to be Meccan; but a couple of passages, such as the
appeal to Meccan Muslims to emigrate to Medina, definitely belong to the later
Medinan period. As a whole, this sura is an indictment of the pagan Associators.
It ends with some dietary prescriptions (vv. 114' 118) and an appeal to
patience and moderation.
Meccan, 128
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. God’s Command has arrived, so do not hasten it!
Glory to Him!
Exalted He is above what they associate!
2. He sends down the Angels with the spirit of His
Command
to those of His
servants He pleases:
— Warn that there
is no god besides Me and be God-fearing!
3. He has created the Heavens and the earth in
Truth.
Exalted He is
above what they associate!
4. He has created man from a drop of semen, yet
man openly resists [Him]!
5. He has created for you the cattle that give you
warmth and benefit you. You use them for food.
when you drive
them in or drive them out.
7. They carry your goods to a land
that you cannot
reach without exhausting yourselves.
Verily, your Lord
is kind and merciful!
8. He has created horses, mules and asses for you
to ride upon and to show, and much else that you do not know.
9. The straight path leads to God, but the other
paths lead aside.
Had
He so willed, He would have guided all of you on the straight path!
10. He is the One, Who sends down water from the
sky for you to drink
and for the
pastures on which cattle graze.
11. With it He grows for you crops, olives, palms,
vines, and fruit of all kinds.
Verily, there is a
Sign in this for the people who think!
12. He has subjected to you the night and the day,
the sun and the
moon; and the stars obey His Commands.
Verily, there are
Signs in this for the people who reason!
13. He has strewn upon the earth a variety of
colors.
Verily, there is a
Sign in this for the people who remember!
14* He is the One, Who has subjected the sea to let you eat its
fresh food and procure the ornaments you wear.
You
see the ships plowing the waters in search of His bounties — perhaps you will
be grateful!
15. He has cast firmly standing [mountains] upon
the earth to prevent it from quaking under you,
and rivers and
roads to let you follow the right path,
16. and signs — you find [your] way by the stars.
17. Can the One, Who creates be compared to someone
who does not create? Will you not come to your senses?
18. If you start counting the favors of God, you
will never be able to count them all!
Verily, God is
all-forgiving and most-merciful!
19. God knows what you conceal and what you reveal.
20. But those they invoke besides God
do not create
anything — they themselves have been created;
21* they are dead,
they are lifeless,
and they do not
know when they shall be raised.
But
those who do not believe in the Hereafter deny [it] in their hearts. How
arrogant they are!
23. God knows for sure what they conceal and what
they reveal. Verily, He does not love the arrogant!
“What has been
sent down by your Lord?”
They say:
“Some tales of the
Old!”
25. On Resurrection Day they shall bear their
burden in full, together with a part of the burden
of the ignorant
they have led astray.
Evil shall be
their burden!
26. Their predecessors have also plotted [against
God],
but
God knocked the supports from under their structures, so that the roofs fell
upon their heads.
The punishment
came to them from where they least expected.
27. And on Resurrection Day, He will put them to
shame and say:
— Where are “My
partners” you were arguing about?
The people with
Knowledge will say:
“Verily, shame and
evil fall today upon the disbelievers!
28. The Angels will take those who have wronged
their souls.” They shall humble themselves:
“We have done
nothing wrong!”
— No! Verily, God
knows best what you have done!
29. So enter the gates of Hell and dwell therein
for ever.
Evil shall be the
abode of the arrogant!
30. The God-fearing shall be told:
— What has been
sent down to you by your Lord?
They shall say:
“Goodness!”
Yes, goodness in
this life for those who do goodness!
But
still better is the abode in the Hereafter — beautiful is this abode for the
God-fearing!
31. They shall enter the Gardens of Eden under
which the rivers flow.
Therein
they shall have everything they want — this is how God will reward the
God-fearing!
32. The Angels shall carry away the souls of the
righteous, saying to them:
“Peace upon you!
Enter Paradise for what you have achieved!”
33. [And the others?] Are they waiting for the
coming of Angels
or for the coming
of your Lord’s Command?
Their predecessors
behaved like them:
God has not wronged
them — they have wronged themselves.
34. They have been overcome by the evil of their
deeds,
and what they were
laughing at came to pass!
35* The
Associators say:
“Had
God so willed, neither we nor our fathers would’ve worshiped anyone besides
Him, and we wouldn’t have prohibited anything without Him.” Those who were
before behaved like them.
And the
Messengers?...
They have only to
transmit a clear Message.
36* We used to
send a Messenger to each nation:
“Worship God and
avoid idolatry!”
God guided some
people and let the others err.
Travel in the land
and see the end of those who denied!
37. Even if you wanted to guide them,
God
would not guide those He leads astray, and nobody can help them!
38. They swear by God — their strongest oath —,
that God shall not revive the dead!”
What He pledges is
true, but most people do not know [it].
39. When their quarrels are resolved,
the disbelievers
will learn that they are liars.
40. Indeed, when We desire something,
it is enough for
Us to say: — Be! And there it is.
41* We shall give
a good home in this world to those
who fled from
persecution for God’s sake;
but
the reward is still greater in the Hereafter, if they [only] knew!
42. Indeed, they are those who endured and trusted
their Lord!
43. We have been sending before you only men who
had received Our inspiration —
if you do not know
it, ask those who keep the Reminder, —
44*men with the
Proofs and the Psalms.
We
have sent down the Reminder to you to let you make clear to the people what had
been sent down to them — perhaps they will reflect!
45. Are those who plot evil so sure
that
God will not make the earth swallow them, or that the punishment shall not fall
upon them from where they expect the least,
46. or that He will not seize them during their
wanderings — indeed, they cannot frustrate Him, —
47. or that He will not eliminate them one by one.
Verily, your Lord is kindly and merciful!
48* Do they not see how the shadow of everything that God has
created turns to the right and to the left and prostrates itself before God in
utter humility?
49. Everything in Heavens and earth
prostrates itself
before God:
animals and Angels
alike — nobody makes much of himself.
50. They all fear their Lord, Who towers high above
them, and they all obey His Commands!
—
Do not take two gods for yourselves. Indeed, God is One. And fear Me!
52. Everything in Heavens and earth belongs to Him,
and service to Him will never end.
Would you fear
anyone besides God?
53. There is no mercy for you, except from God!
When misfortune
touches you, you beseech him.
54. But as soon as He lifts the misfortune, some of
you start associating to their Lord,
55. denying everything We have bestowed upon them!
Enjoy yourselves for a while, but soon you shall know!
56. They give a part of the sustenance We bestowed
upon them to those about whom they do not know anything.
By God! You shall
be asked about your inventions!
57* They attribute daughters to God, to Him, the glorified, and they
prefer [sons] for themselves!
58. When one of
them learns about the [birth of] a daughter,
his face darkens
and he succumbs to grief.
59* Ashamed at this news, he hides from the people. Should he keep
her and live in shame, or should he bury her in the dirt? Evil is this choice!
60. Examples of evil are those who deny the
Hereafter, and the highest example [of goodness] is God!
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
61. Had God wanted to punish people for their
wrong-doing, He would not have left a single one of His creatures alive.
Instead, He gives them a reprieve for a fixed term. When this term is up, they
will not be able
either
to postpone the punishment or to advance it even by one hour.
62. They associate with God what they despise
and
assert with their tongues that the best is for them. There is no doubt that for
them is the Fire into which they shall be cast!
63. By God! We have been sending [Messengers]
before you to the people whose conduct was embellished by Satan. Today He
protects them,
but a painful
punishment [is in store] for them!
64. We have sent down to you a Scripture that
explains their differences.
Let it be Guidance
and mercy for the people who believe.
65. God sends water down from the sky and uses it
to revive the dead earth.
Verily, there is a
Sign in this for the people who listen!
66. Verily, there is a lesson for you in your
cattle.
In
their bellies, between excrement and blood, We produce milk, a pure drink
pleasant to the taste.
67* From the fruits of the palm trees and the vines you get
inebriating and nourishing drinks. Verily, there is a Sign in this for the
people who are wise!
68. Your Lord has inspired the bee:
—
Put up your hives in the hills, on the trees, and in the buildings of people.
and walk in the
paths of your Lord with humility.
There
comes forth from their bellies a drink of many colors, healing for the people.
Verily, there is a
Sign in this for the people who think!
70. God has created you, then He will recall you.
Some of you live to a feeble age,
when they forget
everything they have known.
Verily, God is
all-knowing and almighty!
71* To some of you God gives more provisions than to others. Those
who have received a larger portion should not give their share to their slaves
to make them their equals.
Then why do they
deny the mercy of God?
72. God has given you spouses like you.
From
them he gave you children and grandchildren. He has provided you with the best
of provisions.
Then
why do they believe in lies and reject God’s favors?
73. Besides God they worship others
who
have no provisions for them in Heavens or on earth, and who are not fit for
anything.
74. Do not invent substitutes for God!
Verily, God knows,
but you do not know.
75* God gives the example of a slave owned by another man and a man
who has received from Us a good sustenance from which he spends secretly or
openly.
Are
they equal? Praise God, not at all! But most of them do not know [it].
76. God gives the example of two men,
one
of them dumb, unable of doing anything, a burden to his master, unfit to fetch
anything from any place he is sent to.
Is
he equal to the one who upholds justice and stays on the right path?
77. To God belong the Unseen in Heavens and earth,
and the Hour that shall come
in the blinking of
an eye, or even faster.
Verily, God has
power over all things!
78. God brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs
when you were ignorant of everything.
He
gave you hearing, sight and a heart. Perhaps you will be grateful!
79. Don’t they see the birds soaring in the sky?
Only God can support them up there!
Verily, there are
Signs in this for the people who believe!
80. God has given you houses to dwell in and tents
made of the skins of cattle, that are light for you the day when you travel and
the day when you halt; and household articles made of wool, fur, and felt that
are useful to you for a certain time.
81. God has created for you the things that give
you shade; He has made for you shelters in the mountains;
He
has made for you clothes to protect you from heat and armor to protect you in
wars.
This
is how He completes His goodness to you — perhaps you will become Muslims!
82. If they turn away, your duty is only a clear
transmission.
83. They first recognize the goodness of God,
and then they deny
it — indeed, most of them do not believe!
84. On the Day when We call a witness from each
community, the disbelievers shall receive no dispensation
nor shall they
receive any favors.
85. When the wrong-doers see the punishment, they
will not be able to reduce or to postpone it!
86. When the Associators see what they associated,
they shall say:
“O
our Lord! Are these really the partners that we used to call to besides You?”
And [the latter]
will throw their words back at them:
“Truly, you’re
liars!”
87. On that Day, they shall submit themselves to
God, and their fakes shall vanish from their sight.
88. And for their spreading corruption,
We
shall heap penalty upon penalty on those who disbelieve and turn [others] away
from the path of God.
89. The Day shall come when from each community
We
will raise a witness against it, and We will call you to testify against them.
We have sent down
to you a Scripture explaining everything.
It is a Guidance
and a mercy, and good news for the Muslims!
90. Verily, God commands justice, charity, and
generosity towards relatives,
and
forbids indecency, deceit, and rebellion. And He admonishes you — perhaps you
will come to your senses!
91. Fulfill God’s Covenant once you have entered
it.
Do
not violate your oaths after swearing to them — indeed, you have made God your
guarantor, and, verily, God knows [all] what you do.
92* Do not be like the one who unraveled to fibers a yarn that she
spun, as soon as it became strong.
Do
not make deceitful oaths under the pretext that one nation is more numerous
than another one.
God
is testing you by that, and on Resurrection Day He will explain to you the
matter of your disputes.
93. If God willed, He would have made you one
people.
But
He leaves astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. You shall certainly be
asked to account for your deeds.
94. Do not use your oaths to deceive one another:
otherwise your foot may slip after you have planted it firmly.
You
shall taste evil for sidetracking from the path of God, and a mighty punishment
shall befall you.
95. Do not sell God’s Covenant for a lowly price —
indeed, what is with God is better for you,
if you only knew!
96. What is with you shall disappear, but what is
with God shall endure.
We
will surely give to the patient ones a reward worthy of their worthiest deeds!
97* We will surely
grant a good life
to
the men and women who do good works and believe. We will surely give them a
reward worthy of their worthiest deeds!
98. When you recite the Koran,
call upon God’s
protection from Satan, the stoned one,
99. who has no authority over those who believe and
trust their Lord.
100. He has authority only over those
who seek his
protection and associate [to God].
101*When We
replace one Verse by another one
(and
God knows best what He has revealed), they say: “You’re a forger!”
But
most of them do not understand.
102.Say:
“The
Spirit of Holiness has sent the Truth down from your Lord to strengthen the
believers,
and to let it be
Guidance and good tidings for the Muslims.”
103. We know that they say of him:
“He’s
instructed by a man,” and that they call his speech foreign, even though it is
the pure Arabic tongue!
104. God does not guide those who do not believe in
God’s Verses, a painful punishment [is in store] for them.
105.
Those who
do not believe in God’s Verses and invent fakes are liars!
106.
God’s
wrath and a stern punishment are for those who first believed in God,
and then opened
their hearts to disbelief
(but
not for those who were forced to relapse, while their hearts were firmly
committed to faith).
107. This is because they loved the life of this
world more than the Hereafter.
Verily, God does
not guide those who renounce faith.
108. God has sealed their hearts, hearing, and
sight;
but they do not
mind!
109.Surely, they
shall be losers in the Hereafter.
110.Verily, your Lord is with those who fled from
persecution, and then fought for their faith and persevered.
Verily, your Lord
is forgiving and merciful!
111.The Day shall come when each soul will fend for
itself; when each soul shall be compensated for her deeds and shall not be
wronged!
112.God gives the example of a town, peaceful and
secure, with adequate supplies from everywhere.
But
its [dwellers] denied God’s favors, and for their deeds God has clothed them in
the garment of hunger and fear.
113.And when a Messenger came to them from their
midst, they rejected him.
Punishment struck
them while they were sinning!
114. Eat of the permitted and wholesome [food]
that God provides
you with
and thank God for
His favors if you worship Him.
115.He has forbidden you carrion, blood, pork, and
[food] over which a name other than God’s had been invoked.
But
if anyone [eats] under compulsion, and not out of bad faith and enmity, then,
verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
116. Do not lie with your tongues:
“This’s
allowed, and that’s forbidden,” and do not ascribe fabrications to God.
Verily,
those who ascribe falsehood to God shall not be successful —
117. there is little profit [in it],
and painful shall
be the punishment!
118.We have forbidden to the Jews what We had told
you before. We did not wrong them — they have wronged themselves.
119.For those who have done evil in ignorance, and
then repented and amended...
Verily,
your Lord, even after that, verily, your Lord is forgiving and merciful!
120*Abraham was truly an exemplary man, a Hanif obedient to God and
not an Associator.
121. He was grateful for the favors [of God],
Who chose him and
guided him to the straight path.
122. We gave him goodness in this world,
and in the
Hereafter he shall be among the upright.
123.— We inspired you, [o Muhammad!]: Follow the
faith of Abraham, the Hanif who was not an Associator.
124.The Sabbath was enforced on those who disputed
about it. Your Lord shall settle their quarrels on Resurrection Day.
125.
Summon
them to the way of your Lord with Wisdom
and good admonition; be gracious when you argue with
them.
Verily, your Lord knows best who
strayed from His path, and He knows best who follows the Guidance.
126*If you want to punish them, punish them as they
punish you,
but patience is better for the forbearing.
127.
Be
patient, for your patience is from God.
Do not grieve over them
and do not let their plots distress you.
128.
Verily,
God is with those who fear God and do good!
V. 14: Travel helps to learn and gain experience. Many
Arabs were nomads or traders who often traveled abroad for commerce.
V. 21: On Judgment Day God will make the idols respond to
Him and will confound their worshipers.
V. 35: A common objection to religion is: if God loves
us, then why does He allow evil to exist?
V. 36: Nation, community — umma (S.3:104); evil or
idolatry — taghut (S.39:17).
V. 41: “Who fled...for God’s sake”: the ones who were
forced out of their houses for joining Islam.
V. 44: The Psalms (az-zubur), or the whole
Scripture. There are many parallel passages in the Koran and the Psalter; thus,
it is said in Ps.103 that the earth stands firmly and never shakes, that God
grows plants to feed man and beast, that the moon keeps the time. The Koran and
the Psalter are often in the same key.
Vv. 48-49: God’s laws are obeyed by all creatures,
animate and inanimate alike.
V. 57: “Sons,” lit. “what they desire for themselves.”
V. 59: Against the killing of infant girls (Cf.
S.81:8-9).
V. 67: “Inebriating and nourishing drinks” — wines that
were not prohibited at the time when this sura was received.
Vv. 71, 75-76: People are not equal in talent and status.
A man with a superior talent must protect it and keep his ascendancy over less
endowed people. The New Testament considers it from the point of view of the
slave-owner: “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the
flesh,” (Coloss. 3:22), “with fear and trembling” (Eph. 6:5), and “Let as many
servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor” (I
Tim. 6:1).
V. 92: “Do not make deceitful oaths”: do not conclude
imprudent temporary alliances just to appear numerically superior.
V. 97: Good deeds and faith are complementary. Faith as a
spiritual exercise does not make man righteous if he does not practice charity
and behave with dignity (Cf. S.17:22-40).
V. 101: “When We replace one Verse by another one” or
“when We replace one prescription by another one” (S.87:7). God’s Law is
immutable, but the form under which it is communicated to man may change
according to the level of his spiritual development.
V. 120: “An exemplary man” in Arabic — umma (nation),
i.e., an ideal representative of his people (cf. v.36).
V. 126: Punishment should be commensurate with the
offense, but it is always better to forgive.
Sura 17 The
Night Journey. In this
group of suras there are few descriptive passages, but numerous exhortations
and repetitions. The easily recognizable Warning/Sign/Say elements are mixed
with praises to God.
S17is named after the
statement in v 1, which verifies the Prophet's vision of a mystical tra vel
from Mecca to Jerusalem. This sura is sometimes called “The Children of Israel”
because of its frequent references to the history of the Hebrews. The verses
are often concise, and at times, impetuous. The proper behavior of the
believers in society is described in vv. 22-40.
17.
T H E N
I G H T J O U R N E Y
Meccan, 111
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* Glory to Him who carried His Servant [Muhammad] overnight from
the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Mosque, the vicinity of which We have blessed,
to show him some of Our Signs.
Verily, [God] is
the All-hearing, the All-Seeing.
2. We gave a Scripture to Moses
to guide the Sons
of Israel:
— Do not take any
protector besides Me!
3. O posterity of those whom We carried with Noah!
Verily, he was a
grateful servant!
4* We have warned the Children of Israel in [their] Scripture that
twice they will spread corruption on the earth, while displaying a mighty
arrogance.
5* When the first
prediction came true,
We sent against
you some servants of ours
skilled in mighty
warfare,
and allowed them
to enter your homes.
Thus the prediction
came true!
6. Then We let you overcome them.
We
multiplied your wealth and your sons and increased your number.
7. If you do good works, you do them for
yourselves, but if you do evil, you do it against your souls. Then the second
prediction came to pass
and
[your enemies] disfigured your faces when they entered the Temple as they did
the first time, destroying all that fell into their hands.
8. Perhaps your Lord will have mercy upon you, but
if you returned [to sin], We shall come back and make of Hell a jail for the
disbelievers!
9. Verily, this Koran guides you to the surest
way.
It
brings the tidings of a great reward to those who believe and do the right
works.
10. But for those who do not believe in the
Hereafter, We have prepared a painful punishment.
11* Man prays for evil even when he prays for goodness — indeed, man
is always in haste!
12. We have made two Signs of the night and the day. We obscure the
Sign of the night and We brighten the Sign of the day.
This
is to let you seek the bounties of your Lord, and to know the number of years
and their computation — indeed, We explain everything in detail!
13* We have fastened the bird [of his fate] around every man’s neck.
And
on Resurrection Day, We will give him a Scroll that he shall see wide open:
You will balance your account today!
15. Whoever accepts Guidance, it is for his good,
and whoever goes astray, it is for his loss. The bearer of a burden
should not bear
another man’s burden.
We never punish
without first sending a Messenger.
16. Each time We wanted to destroy a town, We
announced Our decision to those
who
lived there in comfort and persisted in sinning. And to fulfill the sentence
pronounced against them, We used to destroy them completely.
17. How many generations have We exterminated after
Noah! Sufficient is your Lord to know
and to observe the
sins of His servants.
18. If they desire the fleeting things,
We will hasten
what pleases Us and to whom it pleases Us.
Then
We will dispatch them to Hell where they shall burn, condemned and rejected.
19. But those who desire the Hereafter
strive to it with
their strongest striving
and believe that
their effort will be recognized.
20. We give the gifts of your Lord to everybody —
to these ones and
to those ones,
for the gifts of
your Lord are limitless.
21. You see that We give to some more than to
others, but the range in ranks and distinctions
will be still
greater in the Hereafter!
22* Do not
associate another god with God,
lest you be
condemned and vilified.
23. Your Lord demands that you serve no one but Him and that you be
kind to your parents.
Do not tell them
“fie” and do not reproach them
when one or both of them reach old age, but respect them! 24*Out of
compassion, lower before them the wing of humility
and say:
“O my Lord! Have
mercy upon them,
for they raised me
since I was little.”
25. Your Lord
knows best what is in your soul.
If you are
righteous...
Verily, He
forgives those who turn to Him.
26* Give their due
to [your] relatives,
also to the needy
and to the wayfarer,
but do not be a
spendthrift,
27. for the spendthrifts are the brothers of Satans
and Satan is
ungrateful to his Lord.
28. Speak to the [people] a kindly word even if you
turned away from them
in pursuit of the
desired mercy of your Lord.
29. Do not tie your hand to your neck,
but do not stretch
it too far either,
lest you be among
the rebuked and the destitute.
30. Verily, your Lord gives and distributes
rich sustenance to
anyone He pleases.
Verily, He knows
His servants and He observes them.
31. Do not slay your children if you fear poverty
because We will provide for them and for you! Verily, slaying them is a great
sin.
32. Do not indulge in fornication,
indeed, it is an
abomination, a foul way!
33* Do not kill a life that God has made untouchable, except for
just cause.
If
anyone is killed wrongfully,
We
give his next of kin the right [of redress]. But let him not go to excess in
slaying — indeed, [the law] is on his side.
34. Manage the estate of an orphan before his
majority, but only in order to improve it.
And fulfill [your]
promises —
verily, you are
accountable for your commitments.
35. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh
on an accurate scale — this is fairer and better in the long run.
36. Do not pursue what you have no knowledge about
— verily, your sight, hearing, and heart
will be
accountable for everything.
37. And do not strut on the earth with arrogance!
Verily,
you cannot split the earth nor grow as tall as the mountains!
38. All this is evil that is hateful to your Lord.
39. This is part of the Wisdom inspired to you by
your Lord. So do not associate to God any other god,
lest you be cast
into Hellfire, despised and rejected.
40. Is it possible that your Lord prefers sons for
you, and daughters from among the Angels for Himself? Verily, appalling are
your words!
41. We gave explanations in this Koran to warn you,
but it only increases their aversion!
“If,
as they pretend, there were gods besides Him, surely they would have tried
to find their way
to the Lord of the Throne!”
43. Glory to Him! Exalted He is above what they
say, exalted [He is] and great!
44. The seven Heavens and the earth,
and all that is
therein celebrate Him in praise.
There
is nothing that would not glorify Him! But this praise is beyond your
understanding.
Verily, He is
forbearing and forgiving!
45* — [O Muhammad!] When you recite the Koran, We drop an invisible
curtain between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter.
46. We cover their hearts with veils
and
put deafness in their ears to prevent them from understanding it. When you
mention your Lord in the Koran, and Him alone, they turn away in aversion.
47. We know well what they hear when they listen to
you.
In their secret
meetings the wrong-doers say:
“You follow a man
who is bewitched!”
48. You see whom they compare you to!
Yes, they are
astray and cannot find a way out.
“Would
we be really revived in a new creation after we became bones and dust?”
50* Say:
“Yes, even if you
were stone or iron,
51. or any created
matter that you think is superior to it!”
Then they shall
say:
“Who will revive
us?”
Say:
“The One Who
created you from the beginning!”
Then they will nod
in your direction and say:
“When will it
happen?”
Say:
“Soon enough,
perhaps.
52* On the Day when He calls you, you will answer Him by praising
Him and it will seem to you that you had waited for just a little while.”
53* Tell My
servants to speak only of what is best.
Verily, Satan is
sowing discord among them.
Verily, Satan is
man’s sworn enemy!
54. But your Lord
knows you best.
He
will have mercy upon you if He wills, and He will punish you if He wills.
We have not sent
you to be their caretaker!
55* Your Lord
knows best those
who are in Heavens
and on earth.
To some Prophets
We gave more than to others.
To David We gave
the Psalter.
56. Say:
“Call upon anyone
you wish besides Him,
but they won’t
remove your distress or change [it].”
57* And those they
are calling to,
even the nearest
[to God]
look
for a way to be still closer to their Lord. They hope for His mercy and fear
His wrath.
Verily, beware of
the wrath of your Lord!
58. There is no town We will not wreck before
Resurrection Day or will not subject to a stern punishment:
so it is written
in the Book.
59. We refrained from sending the Signs
only because the
first [generations] had rejected them.
We
sent a she-camel to [the people of] Thamood to open their eyes, but they
treated her unjustly. And now We send Signs only for intimidation!
60*We have already
told you that, verily,
your Lord
encompasses all people.
To test the
people,
We
gave them the vision We showed you and the cursed tree mentioned in the Koran.
Thus We intimidate
them,
but it only
increases their mighty aggression.
61. When We said to the Angels:
— Prostrate
yourselves before Adam,
they
all prostrated themselves, except Iblis, who said: “Why should I prostrate
myself
before someone
You’ve created from clay?”
62* He [also]
said:
“Have You looked
at the one You honored above me!
Give me a reprieve
till Resurrection Day
and I’ll surely
subjugate all his posterity, but a few!”
—
Go away! And if anyone of them follows you, then Hell shall be your reward, a
reward to the fullest!
64. Seduce whomever you can with your voice,
assault them with your horsemen and footmen, share with them money, children,
and promises, but Satan’s promises are bare deception!
65. Verily, you shall have no power over My
servants. Sufficient is your Lord as a caretaker.
66* Your Lord is the One who propels your ships at sea to let you
search for His bounty.
Verily, He is
merciful to you!
67. When distress befalls you out at sea,
those
whom you invoke besides Him disappear. But when He brings you back to dry land,
you turn away from Him. Man is so ungrateful!
that
He will not make the ground swallow you or He will not send upon you a
sandstorm, or He will not leave you without a caretaker?
69. Are you sure that He will not return you [to
the sea] and send a terrible storm
to drown you for
your ingratitude
and leave you
without any defender against Us?
70. We used to honor the children of Adam:
We
transported them by land and by sea, We supplied them with good provisions, and
We preferred them over a multitude of Our creatures.
71* On the Day We summon all men with their leaders, some of them
will receive their Record in their right hand. They shall read their Record
and shall not be
wronged by the skin of a date stone.
72. But the blind
in this [world]
shall be blind in
the Hereafter and still farther astray.
73* Their purpose is to tempt
you away from what We have revealed to you in order to make you fabricate lies
about Us. Then, they will surely befriend you.
74.
Had We not
strengthened you,
you could have leaned toward them just a little.
75. Then We would have made you taste a double
[punishment] in life and a double [punishment] in death,
and you would not have found any helper against Us!
76.
Their
purpose is to drive you away from the land.
But after you they shall stay on it only a little while.
77. [Such was] the Way of the Messengers whom We
had been sending before you, and you will find no changes in Our Way!
78* Keep up the prayer from sunset to the darkness of the night and
[keep up] the recitation at daybreak.
Verily, witnesses are present at the daybreak recitation!
79* During the night perform
an additional prayer for your good, then your Lord might raise you to an
admirable position!
80* Say:
“O my Lord! Let me enter through
the gate of Honor and exit through the exit of Honor,
and grant me the strength and
help of Your Presence.”
“Truth has arrived and falsehood has vanished.
Verily, falsehood is bound to disappear!”
82. We are sending with the Koran healing and mercy
to the believers, but to the disbelievers
it only increases their losses.
83. When We bestow Our favors to a man, he turns
away and steps aside.
But as soon as evil touches him,
he sinks into despair.
“Every one behaves as he wills,
but your Lord knows best whose way is the straightest.”
85* They ask you about the Spirit. Say:
“The Spirit depends on my Lord,
but you’re given only a tiny bit of Knowledge.”
86.
If We
pleased, We could take away
what We have revealed to you — in
this matter you shall not find an intercessor before Us,
87.
if not for
the mercy of your Lord.
Verily, great is His favor to you!
“If
all men and Jinn met together to produce a Koran like this one, then even if
they joined forces, they wouldn’t create anything like it!”
89. In this Koran We propose various analogies to
man, yet most people reject everything, except disbelief.
“We
won’t believe you until you make a spring gush forth for us from the ground,
91. or until you get an orchard
with date palms
and grape vines,
through which
you’ll make abundant rivers flow,
92. or until, as you have promised, you crash the
sky in pieces upon us
or bring before us
God and the Angels,
93. or until you get a gilt house, or ascend to
Heaven.
But
even then we won’t believe in your ascension until you send down to us a
writing we can read.”
Say:
“Glory to my Lord!
I’m only a man and a Messenger!”
94. When Guidance reaches the people,
what
keeps them from believing more than their words: “Is it possible that God has
sent a man as a Messenger?”
“If Angels could
walk confidently on earth,
surely, We should’ve
sent down an Angel as a Messenger.”
“God is sufficient
as a witness between us!
Verily, He knows
and observes His servants.”
97. Only the one guided by God is on right way, but
for the one He misleads,
you would not find
any protector, except Him.
On Resurrection
Day
We
will gather them face down, blind, dumb, and deaf!
Their
abode shall be Hell, and each time it gets quiet, We will rekindle its Fire!
98. Such shall be their reward
for
rejecting Our Signs and saying: “Shall we be revived in a new Creation after
we’ve been reduced to bones and dust?”
Who
has created the Heavens and the earth, is capable of creating [others] like
them?
He
has fixed a term which cannot be doubted, yet the disbelievers reject
everything, but disbelief!
100.Say:
“If
you controlled the treasuries of my Lord’s mercy, you would have clung to them,
fearing to spend — indeed, man is so greedy!”
101. We gave Moses nine clear Signs — ask about them
the Children of Israel.
When he arrived, Pharaoh said to him:
“O Moses! I think you’re bewitched!”
“You know that these [Signs]
have been sent down as Proofs
by no other than the Lord of Heavens and earth.
O Pharaoh! I see that your days are counted!”
103.
[Pharaoh]
decided to drive them off the land,
but We drowned them all, him and his followers.
104*Then We said to the Children of Israel:
— Settle on the land,
and when the promise of the Hereafter comes true,
We will gather you all together.
105.We have sent down [the Koran] in Truth
and in Truth it has descended.
We have sent you only as an announcer and a warner.
106*We have divided the Koran
to let you recite it to the
people in sections — this is why We have sent it down in stages.
107.Say:
“Believe or believe it not, but those
who have received Knowledge
before, prostrate themselves and fall down on their beards when it is recited
to them.
108.
They say:
‘Glory to our Lord!
Verily, the promise of our Lord is coming true.’”
109.
They fall
down on their beards in tears
and grow in humility.
110*Say:
“Call upon God or call upon the Compassionate —
by whatever Name you call Him,
He has the most beautiful Names!”
Don’t be too loud in your prayer
and don’t whisper either, but follow the middle way.
111. Say:
“Praise be to God! He hasn’t taken a son for Himself
and He has no partner in [His] Kingdom!
He doesn’t need protection from humiliation —
so glorify His greatness!”
V. 1: These two places of worship are the Ka'ba in
Mecca and the “Remote Mosque” Al- Aqsa on the site of the Temple of
Solomon in Jerusalem (Al-Quds, meaning “the Sanctified”).
Fervor cannot be inspired by reason alone. Religion needs
striking imagery and supernatural visions: a teacher speaking from a mountain
top, an innocent man dying on the cross, a Prophet carried to Heaven in a
chariot or from city to city on a white horse.
The Prophet’s vision produced a strong impression on his
followers who added to it several legends. Thus, the Prophet’s horse had a
woman’s face and was called al-Buraq (barq means lightning)
because of its speed. It is the symbol of the intellect which can grasp in a
flash the reality of the world.
V. 4: Jerusalem was
destroyed by the Babylonian King Nabuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., then by the Romans
under Titus in A.D. 70.
V. 5: “Our servants skilled in mighty warfare” — these
were the Babylonian warriors who attacked Jerusalem.
V. 11: Man is in haste in his mindlessness and hurry.
V. 13: The Arabs imagined that fate was hanging around
each man’s neck in the shape of a bird.
Vv. 22-40: As Islam reaches maturity, the stories of the
Prophets become shorter and attention is shifted to Abraham.
V. 24: The wing of humility: a metaphor for protection.
Vv. 26-29: An appeal to restraint and moderation.
V. 33: The Biblical retaliation “eye for an eye” is
softened by moderation. The wali — “next of kin,” defender, caretaker.
Vv. 45-46: Predestination is supported both by the Old
and the New Testament. For example, God has hardened Pharaoh’s heart to make
him block the exodus of the Jews (Exod. 4:21); in the New Testament it is said:
“Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14), and “Unto you is given to
know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all
these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest at any time they should be
converted, and their sins should be forgiven them” (Mark 4:11-12).
Vv. 50-51: “Even if you were stone or iron, or any
created matter that you think superior to it!” — i.e., even if you were made of
stone or iron, or any other substance that you consider more difficult to
revive.
V. 52: They waited, presumably, in their graves.
V. 53: One should be fair both to enemies and friends.
V. 55: Man should not presume, who is near God. All
Prophets were not equal because their Scriptures were not equally vital.
V. 57: It is not proper to address prayers to those who
are in Heaven because those nearest to God turn only to Him. Muslims face God
directly while Christians address God through the Church, Jesus, Mary, the
saints, a priest, or a preacher. To explain their relation to God, the
Christians use elaborate theological constructions that Islam dispense with.
V. 60: “We have told you...” — cf. S.72:28. The accursed
tree is the zakkum of S.37:62.
V. 62: God has placed man above the Angels precisely
because only man can disobey God, and then repent and be redeemed.
Vv. 66f: The Koran often refers to the sea and to sailors
in illustrating God’s benevolence towards man, though both Mecca and Medina are
inland, and the Prophet seems to have never been at sea.
V. 71: The leaders or imams.
V. 73: “They” may be the Idolaters in general or the
Quraish.
V. 78: Here the “witnesses” are the Angels.
V. 79: The voluntary supplemental prayer after midnight
is called Tahajjud.
V. 80: “Grant me the power and help of Your Presence” or
“grant me righteousness from birth till death.”
V. 85: The Jews are asking about the “Spirit,” which may also be
“inspiration” or “the soul of man,” and not only Gabriel.
V. 104: The first
promise or warning is in v.5; the second one, in v.7. The “promise of the
Hereafter” is the third one.
V. 106: It is
implied that a substantial part of the Koran had already been revealed at that
time.
V. 110: A Muslim
prays to one God, even when he calls to Him by His different Names.
Sura 30 The
Greeks.
S.30 is a typical
sura made of Warnings, Signs, and appeals to the Prophet. Its name “Greeks,
“Romans” or “Byzantines” comes from vv. 2-5 that predict a Greek victory over
Persia in the interest of the Muslims. Vv 17'27 remind of some of David's
Psalms.
Meccan, 60
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1. Alif lam mim.
2* The Greeks have
been defeated
but after their
defeat they will be victorious
As
in the past and the future, all power is in God’s hands.
But on that day
the believers shall rejoice
indeed, God
assists anyone He wills.
He is the Sublime,
the Merciful.
and
God never fails at His promise, but most people do not know [it].
7. They know only the manifest in the present
life, and they are indifferent to the Hereafter.
8* They should
ponder that God has created
the
Heavens and the earth and everything in between by the Truth and for a fixed
time.
Yet, many people
deny the meeting with their Lord.
9. Do they not travel upon the earth and see what
was the end of their predecessors, although they exceeded them in power?
They
cultivated the land and populated it faster than the people of today.
Their
Messengers used to come to them with the Proofs. God did not wrong them — they
have wronged themselves!
10. Evil will be the end of those who did evil —
indeed, they
denied the Signs of God and mocked them!
11. God begins a Creation, then He repeats it; and
later you shall be returned to Him.
12. On the Day when the Hour comes, the sinners
shall fall in despair.
13. The partners they associate [to Him] will not
protect them, and they will reject those they have associated.
14. On the Day when the Hour comes, on that Day,
they shall be sorted out.
15* Those who have believed and have done good deeds shall enjoy
themselves in luxuriant meadows.
16. But those who have disbelieved and denied Our Signs and the
meeting in the Hereafter shall be lead to punishment.
17* Glorify God when the evening draws near and in the morning when
you rise.
18. Praise be to Him in Heavens and earth after
midday and when the day declines!
19. He raises the living from the dead and the dead
from the living.
He revives the
earth after it had died.
And so He will
revive you!
20. Among His Signs is that He has created you from
dust and that you, human beings, are scattered everywhere.
21. Among His Signs is that He has created from you
the spouses that share your lives
and
that He has established love and mercy between you. Verily, there are Signs in
this for the people who think!
22*Among His Signs is that He has created Heavens and earth and made
you different in tongues and complexion.
Verily, there are
Signs in this for those who know!
23. Among His Signs is your nightly sleep
and your pursuit
of His bounty during the day.
Verily, there are
Signs in this for the people who listen!
24. Among His Signs is that He displays to you the
lightning that carries fear and hope, and that He sends down water from the sky
and revives the earth after it has died.
Verily, there are
Signs in this for people with sense!
25. Among His Signs are the Heaven and the earth
that stand by His command.
When
He summons you from the earth by a single call, you shall come forth at once!
26. To Him belongs everything in the Heavens and
earth, and everything is subservient to Him!
27. He is the One, Who starts Creation and then
repeats it. That is easy for Him!
He is the highest
example in Heavens and earth.
He is the Sublime,
the Wise.
28* He sets for
you your own example.
Do
you have any partners among your slaves with whom you equally share the wealth
that We have bestowed upon you?
Do
you fear them as much as you fear one another?
This
is how We explain the Signs to people with sense.
29. The wrong-doers lack Knowledge and follow their passions. But
who will guide those whom God leaves astray?
They shall have no
helpers!
30* Turn your face
toward religion as a hanif.
It
is God’s Design by which He has established mankind. Permanent is God’s
Creation! This is the true religion, but most people do not know [it].
31. So turn to Him, fear Him, observe the prayer,
and do not be an Associator!
32. They split their religion into sects,
and each party is
happy with what it possesses.
33. When hardship touches people, they turn to
their Lord and call to Him in repentance,
but
when He gives them a taste of His mercy, some of them associate to their Lord
34. and reject what We have given to them.
Let you rejoice
[now], but soon you shall know!
35. Have We sent down to them the authority to
choose whom they associate?
36. When We give people a taste of Our mercy, they
exult in it; when evil hits them for their deeds, they fall in despair.
37. Do they not see how God increases or decreases
His provision to anyone He wills?
Verily, there are
Signs in this for people who believe!
38. Give their due to your kinsman, the poor, and
the wayfarer. This is better for those who seek the Countenance of God — they
will achieve success!
39* God will not
increase [your worth]
if you give loans
to sponge on the wealth of the people.
But
if you pay the zakat and seek the Countenance of God, you will receive twice as
much in return.
40. God is the One Who has created you.
Then
He provided for you, then He will cause you to die. Then He will return you to
life!
Is
there among those you associate [with Him] any one capable of doing something
like that?
Praise be to Him!
Exalted He is above what they associate!
41. Corruption has appeared on land and sea because
of what people had made with their hands. Let them have a taste of their deeds
—
perhaps they will return
[to God]!
“Travel about on
the land and see
what
was the end of your predecessors — indeed, most of them were Associators.”
43. Turn your face to the true religion
before
the inevitable Day comes from God — the Day when all the people are sorted out.
44. Denial shall turn against those who denied,
but those who did
right will spread their own bedding.
45. [God] will reward from His bounty those who
believed and did right — He does not like those who disbelieve!
46. Among His Signs is His sending of winds as carriers
of good tidings
to
let you have a taste His mercy, to let the ships sail under His Command,
to let you seek
His bounty — perhaps you will be grateful!
47. — [O Muhammad!] Before you We had been sending
to
the nations Messengers who came to them with the Proofs. Then We retaliated
against the sinners — indeed, Our privilege is to assist the believers.
48. God is the One, Who sends the winds,
which
raise the clouds; He spreads them over the sky or tears to pieces, as He wills.
You see how
raindrops seep down between them.
He
dispenses the rain upon those of His servants as He wills, and they rejoice [at
it],
49. even though they had lost hope before it came
down.
50. Look at the marks of God’s mercy,
at how He revives
the earth after it has died!
Verily,
He is the Reviver of the dead — He has power over everything.
51. But even if We send the wind,
and
they see that everything turns yellow, still they would not believe.
52. — [O Muhammad!] You cannot make the dead
listen, just as you cannot make the deaf hear [your] call
if they turn their
backs and go away.
53. Nor can you guide the blind when they go
astray.
You will be heard
only by those
who believed in
Our Signs and became Muslims.
54. God is the One, Who has created you weak, then
He replaced your weakness with strength. Then He will replace your strength
with weakness and
white hair.
He creates as He
wills — He is the Knowing, the Powerful.
55. The Day when the Hour comes, the sinners shall
swear that they have waited not more than one hour,
so great is their delusion!
56.
But those
who were given Knowledge and faith will say:
“Yes, by God’s Decision,
you’ve stayed there till Resurrection Day.
Didn’t you notice that Resurrection Day is today!”
57. On that Day no excuse shall help the
wrong-doers: they shall not be allowed to repent.
58.
We are
bringing up many examples for men in this Koran.
But show any Sign to the disbelievers
and they will surely say:
“You’re only deceiving [us]!”
59.
This is
how God sealed the hearts of the ignorant!
60.
— [O
Muhammad!] Be patient! Verily, God’s promise is true.
Do not be unsettled by those who are unsteady in faith!
V. 2: The capture ofJerusalem by the Persians in A.D.
614.
Vv. 2-5: The Muslims sided with the Greeks against
Persia, and the Quraish sided with the Persians. Heraclius invaded Persia in
624, the year of the Muslim victory over the Meccans at Badr.
V. 15: Here Paradise is rawda, “a luxuriant
meadow.”
Vv. 17-18: Faith (iman) is built on 1) personal devotion
to God (ihsan); 2) sincerity (ikhlas); 3) Knowledge (ma’rifa); 4) submission to
God (islam); and 5) good deeds and compassion to man.
V. 22: “For those who know” or “for the Worlds.”
V. 28: “One another” or “yourselves.” This verse states
that the established order on earth is tolerated by God.
V. 30: Islam is everlasting, universal, standard and
basic, as expected from a religion that is conform to the nature of man.
V. 39: Interest is illegal and so is modern banking.
V. 51: It is useless to call to Islam those whom God has
deprived of His grace.
SURA 13 T HUNDER. Revealed at Medina, S.13 is one of the latest suras. It is mostly of the
Sign/Say type and it sustains a strong doxological mood. In v 37 the Koran is
called the Codex of Laws.
V.7 of this sura has led to
separatist discussions. According to the Shi'ites, “the Warner and the Guide”
of this verse is 'Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law. They also believe that the
presumed 115-th sura The Two L igh t s, glorifying both Muhammad and 'Ali, has
been suppressed by the enemies of the latter.
13. T H E T H U N D E R
Medinan, 43 verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
These are Verses from the Scripture.
What
has been sent down to you from your Lord is the Truth, but most people still do
not believe.
2. God is the One, Who has raised the Heavens
without visible supports,
and then sat securely
upon the Throne.
He
controls the sun and the moon, and everything runs [its course] in a fixed
time.
He
manages the Design and explains the Signs — perhaps you will believe in the
meeting with your Lord?
3* He is the One, Who has spread the earth and distributed on it
mountain peaks and rivers;
He has grown all
the fruits in pairs;
He veils the day
with the darkness of the night.
Verily, there are
Signs in this for the people who think!
4. There are adjacent plots on the land with vineyards and corn
fields, with palm-trees [growing] single or otherwise, irrigated with the same
water.
We
have made some of them more fitting for food than others. Verily, there are
Signs in this for the people who reason!
5* This puzzles you, but more puzzling are their words: “Shall we be
revived in a new Creation after we turned to dust?”
They are the ones
who reject their Lord!
With
chains ’round their necks, they shall dwell in the Fire and stay in it for
ever!
6. They hasten you with wickedness instead of
goodness, though exemplary punishments have been meted before them. Verily,
your Lord is ready to forgive people their sins,
but, verily, your
Lord is stern in punishment!
“Why doesn’t his
Lord send him a Sign?”
Truly, you are a
Warner and a Guide for all nations!
8. God knows what each female will bear in her
womb, how briefly or how long —
everything is in
due measure with Him.
9. He knows the Unseen and the manifest, He is the
Great, the Sublime!
10. You are the same, the one who conceals his
speech and the one who speaks openly,
the
one who hides in the night and the one who gets out in daylight.
11* Every man has Guardians ahead of him and behind him, who guard
him as God commands.
Verily, God will
not change a man,
unless
the man changes himself!
But
if God intends to punish someone, nobody can repeal it — they have no protector
besides Him.
12. He is the One, Who displays to you the
lightning that brings fear and hope. He piles up heavy clouds,
13. thunder glorifies Him in praise and the Angels
join in awe of Him!
He
sends thunderbolts to strike anyone He wills. Yet they still argue about God,
although mighty is His vengeance!
14* True prayer is
for Him alone!
Those
they call upon besides Him do not hear anything. It is like extending a hand to
water wishing that it will reach your mouth.
But no, it will
not reach it!
So the prayer of
the disbelievers is just a deception!
15. All those who are in the Heavens and earth
prostrate
themselves before God willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows do the same
mornings and evenings!
“Who’s
the Lord of the Heavens and earth?
Say:
“It’s
God.”
Say:
“Then
why do you need other protectors besides Him if they neither benefit nor harm
you?” Say:
“Can
the blind be compared to the sharp-sighted?
Can
darkness be compared to light?”
Or
have they found that God has some partners who have created as He has created,
so that their creations seem to be alike?
Say:
“God is the
Creator of all things.
He’s the One, the
Victorious!”
17. Down from the sky He sends the water that is
apportioned among the streams. A scum rises in them,
and the current
carries it away.
A scum is also
formed
when
[ores] are smelted in the fire to make ornaments and utensils.
This is how God
compares the true to the false:
The
scum disappears without a trace, and what is useful for man remains on the
ground — this is how God comes up with analogies!
18. Goodness is for those who respond to their
Lord, but those who do not respond to Him
will
not redeem themselves with what is on earth, even with twice as much.
Dreadful will be
their Reckoning!
Hell will be their
abode — evil is that bedding!
19. Is a man like a blind one if he knows that
what
has been sent down to you from your Lord is the Truth? Only the wise remember
[God] —
20. they fulfill the Covenant of God and keep their
promises, 21* They join what God has commanded to join.
They are in awe
before their Lord and fear an evil Account.
22. They persist in striving to the Countenance of
their Lord; they observe the prayer, contribute openly and secretly from what
We have given to them, they repel evil with goodness.
An everlasting
dwelling shall be given to them:
23* the Gardens of Eden they shall enter with the righteous among
their fathers, spouses, and offspring.
The Angels shall
enter through every gate [saying]:
24. “Peace upon you for your perseverance! Splendid
is your last abode!”
25. But the lot of those who broke the Covenant of
God after they promised to uphold it,
shall be a curse
and an evil dwelling!
They
used to separate what God has commanded to join, and to spread corruption in
the land.
26. God increases or reduces the provision to
anyone He wills. Everyone enjoys the life of this world,
but
compared to the Hereafter, the life of this world is just a pastime.
“Why hasn’t a Sign
been sent to him from his Lord?”
Say:
“God sends astray
any one He wills,
and He guides to
Himself only those who turn [to Him],
28. those who believe, and those whose hearts
find comfort in
remembering God —
indeed, only the
remembrance of God comforts the hearts!
29. And [He also guides] those
who believed and
did good works.
Let them enjoy
bliss and a good place of rest!”
30. We have sent you to a people
that came in the
wake of many [others].
Recite
to them what We have inspired you with, even if they reject the Merciful!
Say:
“He’s my Lord! There’s
no god but Him!
I trust in Him and
to Him I turn.”
31* If the Koran could move the mountains, split the earth, and
untie the tongues of the dead!...
But the entire
Design is in God’s hands.
And
do not the believers know that had God so willed, He would have guided all men
on the right path.
Until
God’s promise is fulfilled, calamities will not cease to plague the
disbelievers for what they have done, and they will settle near their
dwellings.
Verily,
God will not fail in His promise!
32. Messengers have
been ridiculed before your time.
I
respited the disbelievers, then I seized them — and terrible was My punishment!
33* Who other than Him stands over each soul and over what she has
done?
Yet they associate
partners with God.
Say:
“Name
them! Or do you want to tell Him something He doesn’t know on the earth?
Or you’re just
playing with words?”
The
plots of the disbelievers are made attractive to them to seduce them away from
the right path.
One cannot guide a
man God has led astray!
34. There is a punishment for them in the present
life, but the punishment in the Hereafter
will be much more
distressing,
and they will have
no protector against God!
35. Here is the example of the Garden promised to
the God-fearing.
Rivers flow under
it,
and it will always
have [plenty] of food and shade.
Such
is the destiny of the God-fearing, but the destiny of the disbelievers is the
Fire!
36. Those to whom We have given the Scripture
rejoice in what has been sent down to you, but some sects reject some parts of
it.
Say:
“I’ve been commanded
to worship God and not to associate.
To Him I call, and
to Him is my return.”
37. We have sent down [the Koran] as an Arabic
Codex of Laws. But if you follow their passions after receiving Knowledge, you
will have no helper and no protector before God.
38. We have been sending Messengers before your
time
and We gave them wives and children.
No
Messenger has ever brought a single Verse without God’s approval!
There was a Scripture for each period of time.
39* God cancels or confirms whatever He wills — indeed, the Mother
of Scripture is with Him.
40. Shall We show you part of Our promise to them, or shall We
[first] let you die...
You are to transmit, and We are to account.
41* Do they not see that We walk upon [their] land, shrinking its
boundaries?
When
God judges, nothing opposes His Judgment — fast He is at accounting!
42. Their predecessors have been plotting as well,
but all their plots are in God’s hands,
and
He knows what each soul has acquired. Soon the disbelievers shall know who will
get [the best] abode.
“You’re not a
Messenger!”
Say:
“God is a sufficient witness
between us, between you and the one who knows the Scripture.”
V. 3: “All fruits
in pairs”: edible or inedible, sweet or sour, wild or cultivated?
V. 5: Several
verses in this sura seem to be incomplete. The thing that puzzles the Prophet
is probably lack of faith on the part of the disbelievers.
V. 11:
“Guardians,” lit., “those who follow.” Each man is responsible for his
salvation that is achieved by passing such of God’s trials or tests as poverty
and wealth. If people lost faith, tests would be useless, and the only way
opened to them would be the way to Hell (cf. S.43:33).
V, 13: Thunder (barq)
may be good in some of its manifestations (then it might be synonymous with
lightning). It may kill, but it also proclaims the majesty of God.
V. 15: Prayer as a
personal appeal to God (da'wa or du'a).
V. 21: God has
ordered to join faith to actions. True love for God is not possible without
caring for fellow man.
V. 23: The believers
will enter Paradise not only with their believing spouses (S.43:70), but also
with their entire families.
Vs. 30f and v. 41
seem to refer to events that took place after the treaty of Hudabiya, in 6-8 H.
V. 31: Without predestination everyone would have a
chance to be saved, and this would have been unjust to the believers.
V. 33: Its first words endorse the idea of a personal
God.
V. 35: “Food,” both in its material and spiritual
meaning.
V. 39: God can alter the Koranic Verses (S.87:7), if not,
how can be His power unlimited?
V. 41: A reference
to some territorial loss by the Muslims.
”The one who knows the Scripture” is the one who received
the Revelation. “The One Who knows the Scripture” is God.
Sura 45 Kneeling. Natural events and the Koranic Verses prove
the existence of God. Man has every opportunity to understand the Signs and the
Verses and to believe in them. God will judge each nation by its Scripture; the
Jews will have to answer for defaming Islam.
Meccan, 37
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2. This is a Revelation of the Scripture from God,
the Mighty, the Wise.
3. Verily, in Heavens and earth there are Signs
for the believers.
4. In your creation and in the dispersion of
animals, there are Signs for people with conviction.
5. In the succession of night and day,
in the pouring of
God’s sustenance down from the sky,
in the awakening
of the earth after it became lifeless,
and in the
shifting of the winds,
there are Signs
for people with sense.
which We recite to
you in Truth.
What
words would they believe if they reject God and His Signs?
8. When the Verses of God are recited to him, he
listens, but then, out of stubbornness and pride,
he
pretends that he did not hear them! So announce to him a painful punishment.
9. When he learns something about Our Verses, he
mocks them.
For such [people]
there is a humiliating punishment.
10. Before them is Hell, and neither their
acquisitions nor the protectors they have taken besides God
will help them — a
great punishment [is in store] for them!
11. Such is Guidance! And for those who reject the
Signs of their Lord — a painful punishment of abomination!
12. God is the One, Who has subjected to you the
sea to let the ships sail upon it at His Command, opening for you the way to
His bounty. Perhaps you will be grateful!
13. He has subjected to you from Himself everything
in Heavens and earth.
Verily, there are Signs in this for the people who think!
14* Tell the believers to forgive those who do not hope for the Days
of God. Everybody shall be rewarded according to his deeds.
15. Whoever does good, does it for his soul;
whoever does evil, does it against her.
In the end you
shall be returned to your Lord.
16. We gave the Children of Israel in the past the
Scripture, the Wisdom and the Prophecy.
We gave them the best of provisions, and We favored them in the
Worlds.
17* We gave them the Proofs of [Our] Design, but they split after
receiving Knowledge because of their mutual hatred. Verily, your Lord will
judge their differences on Resurrection Day.
18* We gave you
the laws of religion.
Follow them and do
not follow the passions of the ignorant
19. who will not help you before God in the least.
Verily,
they protect one another, but God is the Protector of the God-fearing.
20. These are clear Proofs for [all] people,
a Guidance and a mercy for people with conviction.
21. Do those who do evil think that We will treat
them like those who believed and did good works,
and that they are
alike in life and in death?
Bad is their
judgment!
22. God has created the Heavens and earth in Truth
to reward each soul for what she has earned. Nobody shall be wronged!
23. Have you seen the one who worships his
passions? Knowing him, God let him lose his way,
sealed
his hearing and heart, and veiled his sight. Who will guide him beside God?
Will you not come
to your senses?
“There
nothing in this world, except our life!
We
live and we die, and only time has power over us!” But they do not know
anything about it — they are only guessing.
25.
When Our
instructive Verses are recited to them, they follow one track in their mind and
say: “Bring our fathers back if you’re telling the truth!”
“God
gave you life, then He’ll make you die, and in the end He’ll gather you on
Resurrection Day that can’t be doubted!” But most people do not know [it]!
27. To God belongs the Kingdom of Heavens and
earth. On the Day when the Hour is due —
the Day when the
liars shall perish, —
28. you shall see all the communities kneeling.
Then
each community shall be called [to account] according to its Scripture.
— Today you shall
be rewarded for all you have done!
29. Here is Our Account with all the truth about
you — indeed, We have recorded all your deeds.
30. Their Lord will take into His mercy those who
believed and did good. This shall be an obvious success.
31. But those who rejected God [shall hear]:
— Were not My
Verses recited to you?
But you became
arrogant and joined the sinful people.
32. When told that the promise of God is true
and
that the Hour cannot be doubted, you said: “We don’t know what this Hour is
about.
We think it’s just
a guess; we aren’t sure of it.”
33. The evil of their deeds shall appear before
them when they are encircled by what they were laughing at.
—
Today We shall forget about you, just as you forgot about the meeting of this
Day. You will dwell in the Fire, and you will not find anyone to help you!
35. This is because you took the Signs of God in
jest and were seduced by the life of this world.
From
that Day on they shall not have a way out, and they shall not receive any
favor.
36. Praised be God, the Lord of the Heavens,
the Lord of the
earth, the Lord of the Worlds!
37. Glory to Him in Heavens and earth!
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
V. 14: “The Days
of God” — probably, the Afterlife.
V. 17: Some Arabian
Jews have received the Koranic Message, but the new Revelation only increased
dissensions among them.
V. 18: “The laws
of religion” or the shari'a (shariah).
Sura
67 T he
Kingdom. S.67is
Psalmlike. It is mainly a Doxology fol' lowed by a few “Say” passages.
Meccan, 37
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* Blessed be the One in whose hands is the Kingdom. He has power
over all things.
2* He has created death and life to test who is the best of you in
deeds.
He is the Mighty,
the Forgiving.
3* He has created
seven skies in layers.
You will not see
any disproportion
in
what has been created by the Compassionate. Look! Do you see any flaw?
4. Look again, and your gaze will return to you,
confused and exhausted.
5. We have adorned the lower sky with lights that
We made to repel the Satans.
To punish them We
have prepared a blazing Fire.
6* For those who
rejected their Lord,
their punishment
is Hellfire — what an evil outcome!
7. As they are thrown into it,
they shall hear it
gurgling and surging,
Each
time a group is thrown in, its Keepers will ask: “Hasn’t a Warner come to you?
“Yes,
a Warner came to us, but we rejected him, saying: ’God hasn’t sent down
anything.
You’re in deep
delusion!’”
“Had
we only listened and reflected, we wouldn’t have been here
among the dwellers
of the blazing Fire!”
11. Thus they will confess their sins — Get lost,
you, the dwellers of the Fire!
12. But forgiveness and a great reward
are for those who
secretly fear their Lord.
13. Whether you conceal your word or speak it out,
He surely knows what is in [your] hearts.
14. Would the One, Who has created be ignorant of
anything?
He is the Kindly,
the Knowing.
15. He is the One, Who made the earth obey you.
So
walk in its spaces and enjoy His provisions — unto Him is [your] Resurrection!
16. Are you sure that the One, Who is in Heaven
will not make the earth swallow you as it shakes?
17. Are you sure that the One, Who is in Heaven
will not send upon you a hurricane
to remind you how
[terrible] was My Warning!
18. But your predecessors had rejected it.
How [terrible] was
My disapproval!
19.
Don’t they
see the birds above them, spreading and folding [their wings]?
Who supports them if not the
Compassionate? Verily, He sees everything!
20.
What host
would help you other than the Compassionate?
Verily, the disbelievers only delude themselves.
21* Who will give you sustenance
if He withholds His provisions?
But no, they persist in arrogance and denial!
22* Who is the best of those who follow the Guidance:
the one who walks with his face downcast,
or the one who walks evenly on the straight path?
23* Say:
“He’s the One, Who has created you
and gave you hearing, sight, and a heart.
Yet, how small is your gratitude!”
“He’s the One, Who multiplied you on earth
and to Him is your return!”
“When will this promise come true
if you’re telling the truth?”
“Only God knows it — I’m just a clear Warner!”
27.
When the
disbelievers see [the promise] close by, grieved shall be their faces.
They will be told:
— This is what you were asking for!
28* Say:
“Consider, if God destroyed me and my followers,
or if He had mercy upon us,
who would save the disbelievers from a painful
punishment?”
“He, the Compassionate!
We’ve believed in Him and in Him we trust.
Soon you’ll know who is in manifest error!”
“Consider, if one morning your water leaks down under,
who would bring you back a clear spring?”
V. 1: “Kingdom,” the visible world (moolk).
V. 2: In the Koran death may be mentioned before life,
evil before goodness, night before day... indeed, the contrasting things and
ideas have been created simultaneously.
”He has created death.” The Koran uses several words that
convey the meaning of creation. Here, the word is khalaqa, applied to
definite states such as death, or to inanimate objects such as the seven skies
(v.3). For the creation of man, the word ansha'a is used. Its connotation
is raising, making grow (v.23). The word bana indicates that something
has been built according to a plan, as in “God has built the Heaven” (S.79:27).
V. 3: These are the seven
physical skies. In S.67 the divine Name “the Compassionate” (Ar-rahman) occurs
four times: such suras with multiple repetitions of the Name “the Compassionate”
form the group of the “Ar-rahman suras.”
V. 6: Kafara is to deny, and kafir is the
one who hides the Truth, i.e., God’s mercy and the Koranic teaching. To
disbelieve is to deny Knowledge and Truth: indeed, high Knowledge is
inconceivable without faith.
Unbelief (kufr) is not only rejection of God, but
also blasphemy against Him. Atheists or materialists are often called dahri from
dahr (time). According to the Koran, “we die and we live, and nothing
but time (or unbelief) destroys us” (S.45:24).
V. 21: “Sustenance” or “subsistence” includes all that is
necessary for the life of the body, the mind, and the soul.
V. 22: “Who walks
with his face downcast,” lit., “who walks falling on his face.”
V. 23: The deep
part of the heart (fu'ad) is the source of conscience, reason, and
feelings (S.114:5).
V. 28: “Or if He
had mercy upon us” — these words are out of context; they might be a late
addition.
SURA 42 ^MUTUAL COUNSEL. This rather late sura is wholly addressed to the Prophet Muhammad. It
enumerates the duties of a Muslim (Vv. 36'39) and dis' cusses in a conciliatory
tone the creeds based on revealed Scriptures. S.42 enjoins the Muslims to
submit public affairs to collective discussion in line with modern ideas ofgov'
ernment.
Meccan, 53
verses
In the Name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful!
3. — [O Muhammad!] Like your predecessors,
you are inspired
by God, the All-Mighty, the Wise.
4. Everything in Heavens and earth belongs to Him.
He is the Highest,
the Greatest.
5. The Heavens are about to be ripped open above
them;
the Angels
proclaim the praise of their Lord
and ask
forgiveness for those who are on the earth!
Verily, God is the
Forgiving, the Merciful.
6. Those who take for themselves protectors
besides Him
are being watched
by God;
and their
caretaker you are not!
7. We have inspired you with an Arabic Koran
to
let you inform the Mother of Towns and its vicinity, and warn of the Day of
Assembly that cannot be doubted. Then, some will be in Paradise and some in the
blazing Fire.
8. Were it God’s will, He would have made them one
community,
but He takes into
His grace only those He pleases.
The sinners shall
have no protector or defender.
9. How can they take protectors besides Him
if the [only]
Protector is God!
He revives the
dead, and He has power over all things.
10. Whatever the disputes you are engaged in, their
resolution is with God.
Such is God, my
Lord.
In Him I trust and
to Him I turn.
11. He is the Creator of Heavens and earth.
He
has made you in pairs and the cattle in pairs — this is how He multiplies you!
No one is like Him
— He is the Hearing, the Observing.
12. To Him belong the keys of the Heavens and
earth.
He multiplies
[His] provisions
or restricts them
to whom He pleases.
Verily, He is well
aware of everything.
13. He has established for you the religion
that
He enjoined upon Noah. We inspired it to you and willed it to Abraham, Moses,
and Jesus:
— Hold firmly onto religion, do
not allow any divisions! Hard is for the Associators what you are calling them
to. God chooses for Himself those He pleases and leads to Himself those who
turn [to Him].
14* After receiving Knowledge, they split out of mutual hatred. Had
it not been for your Lord’s Word about a fixed term, everything would have been
settled between them.
Verily,
the heirs to the Scripture have strong doubts about it.
15* — Therefore, [o Muhammad!], appeal to them and be firm as
commanded.
Do not follow
their passions, but say:
“I
believe in the Scripture that God has sent down to me, and I’m ordered to judge
between you in justice.
God is our Lord
and your Lord.
Our
deeds are ours, and your deeds are yours, and there’s no quarrel between us.
God will bring us
together — to Him is [our] destination!”
16. The arguments of those who argue about God
after they have accepted Him
are insignificant
in the sight of their Lord.
[His] wrath and a
severe punishment will fall upon them.
17. God is the One, Who has sent
the true Scripture
and the Balance.
How can you know?
— Perhaps the Hour is near.
18. Only those who do not believe in [the Hour]
want to hasten it, and those who believe in it are in awe of it because they
know that it is true. Verily, only those who are in deep error argue about the
Hour.
19. God is kindly to His servants — He provides for
any one He pleases. He is the Strong, the All-Mighty.
20. We will increase the harvest
to
him who desires a harvest in the Hereafter, and to him who desires a harvest in
this world, We will give a part of it, but he shall have no share in the
Hereafter.
21. Is it possible that they have “partners” who
established for them some religion not sanctioned by God?
Had
it not been for the Word about the Judgment, everything would have already been
decided between them. Verily, the wrong-doers shall get a painful punishment.
22. You will see how the wrong-doers shall be
scared by their deeds
when [these deeds]
turn against them.
But
those who have believed and have done good works shall find themselves in
meadows among Gardens, where they shall get everything they want from their
Lord: it shall be a mighty grace for them.
23* God will announce it to those of His servants who have believed
and have done good works. Say:
“I’m
not asking you a fee, only that you love your kindred.” To any one who does
good, We will add more goodness. Verily, God is forgiving and thankful!
“He’s invented a
lie against God!”
But if He willed,
God would have sealed your heart.
By
His Words God erases falsehood and sustains the Truth. Verily, He is well aware
of what is in the hearts!
25. He is the One, Who accepts the repentance of
His servants and pardons transgressions; He knows all what you do.
26. He responds to those who believed and did good
works, and He adds to them out of His bounty.
There is a severe
punishment for the disbelievers!
27. Had God opened to His servants a wide access to
His bounty, they would have rioted on the earth.
So
He sends it in due measure according to His will. Verily, He is cognizant and
observant of His servants!
28. He is the One, Who spreads His bounty around
and sends the rain when there is no more hope for it. He is the Protector, the
Praiseworthy.
29*Among His Signs is the creation of Heavens and earth, and of the
animals He has scattered everywhere.
It is in His power
to bring them together if He wills.
30. Whatever misfortune befalls you,
it is of your own
doing, but He pardons a lot!
31. You cannot avoid anything on the earth,
and you have no
protector nor helper besides God.
32. Among His Signs are the ships on the sea like
mountains.
33. If He wills, the wind dies,
and they stop on
the crest [of a wave].
Verily, there are
Signs in this
for any one who is
patient and grateful.
34. He could have destroyed them for what they had
done, but there is much He forgives.
35. Let those who argue about Our Signs know that
they have no way to escape!
36. Whatever you acquire is but a convenience of
this life. But what is with God is better and more lasting
for those who
believed and put their trust in their Lord,
37. who avoided great sins and indecencies and
forgave when in anger,
38. who responded to their Lord and practiced the
prayer, who [managed] their affairs by mutual counsel,
who contributed from what We had provided them with, 39* and stood
for themselves when treated unjustly.
40*The retribution for evil is a comparable evil, but for him who
forgives and makes peace, there shall be a reward from God.
Verily, God does
not love the unjust.
41. There is no blame upon those who resist
persecution,
42. but there is a blame upon those who persecute
the people and transgress lawlessly in the land.
There will be a
painful punishment for them!
43. And any one who is patient and forgiving is,
verily, steadfast in his affairs.
44. The one God sends astray will have no
Protector! You shall see that at the sight of the punishment the wrong-doers
will say:
“Is there a way to
return?”
45. And when they are rounded up, you will see them
subdued in disgrace, casting furtive glances around. Then the believers will
say:
“Those
who have hurt themselves and their families, verily, will sustain a loss on
Judgment Day.
Verily, the
wrong-doers will get a lasting punishment!”
46. They have no protectors besides God to help
them,
and there is no
escape for those whom God let go astray.
47. So respond to your Lord before the Day arrives
that cannot be postponed.
On that Day you
shall have no shelter and no excuse.
48. — [O Muhammad!] They might turn away, but We
have not sent you to guard them, but to transmit [the Koran]!
When
We allow a man to have a taste of Our mercy, he rejoices, but when evil befalls
him because of what his hands have sent forth...
Verily, man is so
ungrateful!
49. To God belongs the Realm of the Heavens and
earth.
He creates what He
wills.
He
gives daughters to whom He wills and sons to whom He wills.
50. He joins males and females, and leaves barren
whom He wills. Verily, He is knowledgeable and powerful!
51. God had spoken to man only by inspiration or
through a veil, or through a Messenger to let him convey
with His
permission whatever He desired.
Verily, He is
lofty and wise!
52* — [O Muhammad!] We have inspired you with the Spirit of Our
Design.
Indeed, you did
not know before the Scripture or the faith.
[And now] We made
[the Koran] a Light
by which We guide
those of Our servants whom We will.
Verily, you do
guide them to the straight path,
53. to the path of
God,
Who owns
everything in Heavens and earth.
Yes, all affairs
do return to God!
V. 14: This has
already been said in S.45:17.
V. 15 Note the
conciliatory tone of the Prophet’s words.
V. 23: “The
kindred” are family, neighbors, clan members or even “the others.” Muslims
address one another as “brothers.”
V. 29: Life is
“everywhere,” perhaps not only on our planet.
V. 39: Cowardice
impeded the raising of a reliable army.
V. 40: For “evil”
or for “injury.”
V. 52: The
idolaters had no faith and no Scripture.
SURA 35 The Angels. S.35, known under the names “The Angels” or
“The Originator, ” is a typical doxological sura.
Meccan, 45
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* Praised be God, the Originator of Heavens and earth, Who made the
Angels — the Envoys with two, three, or four pairs of wings.
He adds to His
Creation as He wills.
Verily, God has
power over all things!
2. Nobody can withhold what God gives to man of
His mercy, but what He does withhold, nobody can deliver, except Him. He is the
Mighty, the Wise.
3* O people!
Remember God’s goodness to you!
Is
there any other creator besides God, who provides your sustenance from heaven
and earth? There is no God, but Him, so why are you so deluded?
4. — [O Muhammad!] If they reject you, other
Messengers had been rejected before. But all affairs return to God!
5. O people! God’s promise is true. Do not let
this life seduce you
and do not let the
Seducer seduce you against God.
6. Verily, Satan is your foe, so treat him like a
foe.
He invites his
followers to his side
to turn them into
inmates of the blazing Fire.
7. There is a severe punishment for the disbelievers,
but for those who believed and did good works there is forgiveness and a great
reward.
8. Those, whose evil conduct has been embellished,
think that it was sound!
God
lets any one He wills go astray, and He guides any one He wills.
Do
not allow your soul to grieve for them — verily, God knows all what they do.
the winds that
stir up the clouds.
We drive them to a
lifeless land
to revive its
parched soil.
And such shall be
the Resurrection!
10. Everyone seeks honor, but all Honor belongs to
God.
Good
words ascend to Him, and He extols the good deeds. But there is a severe
punishment for those who plot evil. Their plotting will be to no avail!
11. God has created you from dust, then from a
seed, then He made you in pairs. No female can conceive or deliver without His
knowledge. Days are extended for an old man, and life is cut short only by
decision from Above — verily, it is easy for God!
12* The two seas
are not alike:
one
is tasty, fresh, and pleasant to drink;
the
other is salty and bitter.
But
you eat fresh fish from both and get the adornments you wear. You behold the
ships that plough [the waves], allowing you to search for His bounty — perhaps
you will be grateful!
13. [God] merges the night with the day, and He merges the day with
the night. He has subjugated the sun and the moon to make each run its course
in a given time. Such is God, your Lord! To Him belongs the Kingdom!
But
those you call upon besides Him do not own anything, not even the skin of a
date’s pit.
14* Try to call them, but they will not hear your call, and if they
heard you, they would not respond. On Resurrection Day they will deny your
associating them [with God].
Nobody will
enlighten you as well as the All-Knowing!
God is the Rich,
the Praiseworthy.
16. If He wills, He can remove you and start a new
Creation.
18* No one carrying a burden will carry someone else’s burden. If
someone is overburdened and calls [for help], nobody, even his close relative,
will carry the smallest part of it.
You
can warn only those who fear their Lord in secret and observe the prayer.
Whoever purifies himself, purifies himself to his soul’s advantage.
To God is [your]
return!
19. The blind and the seeing are not alike
21. nor shade and burning heat,
22. nor the living and the dead.
God gives hearing
to whom He wills,
but you cannot
compel to hear those who are in the graves!
as a Carrier of
good news and a Warner.
There
has never been a nation without a Warner from its midst.
25. If they reject you, so the people of old had
rejected the Messengers who came to them with clear Proofs, prophetic writings,
and an enlightening Scripture.
26. I seized the disbelievers,
and [stern] was My condemnation!
27. Do you not see how God sends water from the
sky, and how We grow with it fruits of different colors. And in the mountains
there are white and red streaks of different hues, and some striking black.
28. Among men, beasts, and cattle some are of
different hues. But only those of His servants
who are endowed
with Knowledge fear God.
Verily, God is
omnipotent and all-forgiving!
29. Verily, those who recite the Scripture of God,
observe the prayer, and contribute secretly or openly from what We have granted
them, hope for a sure profit.
30. [God] will give them a full reward
and will add to them more of His bounty.
Verily, He is forgiving and appreciative!
31. — [O Muhammad!] What We have inspired to you of
the Scripture is the Truth.
It confirms what
has been revealed before.
Verily, God knows His servants and observes them!
32. We have willed the Scripture to the servants We
chose. Some do wrong to themselves, others act in moderation, and some, with
God’s permission, lead in good works. This is a mighty Grace!
33. They shall enter the Gardens of Eden where they
shall be bedecked with bracelets of gold and pearls and clad in garments of
silk.
“Praised be God,
Who has freed us from grief.
Verily, our Lord
is forgiving and appreciative!
35. By His Grace He gave us a permanent abode where
we’ll not be touched by heavy toil, where we’ll not be touched by exhaustion.”
36. And for the disbelievers — Hellfire that will
never end.
They
shall not be allowed to die therein, and their punishment shall not be reduced.
Such is Our reward
for the ungrateful ones!
37. They shall cry from there:
“Our Lord! Let us
get out!
We’ll replace by
good works what we’ve done before!”
—
Have We not made your life long enough to allow you to recall the Reminder?
Has not a Warner
come to you?
Then, taste it!
Nobody will help
those who do wrong!
38. God knows the Unseen in Heavens and earth.
Verily, He knows
what is in the hearts!
39. He is the One, Who has made you inherit the
earth.
If anyone denies,
his denial will turn against him.
The disbelievers’
denial
will only increase
their Lord’s revulsion.
The disbelievers’
denial
will only increase
their loss!
“Have
you seen your partners whom you call to besides God?
Show
me what they have created on earth and what is their part in Heavens!”
Have We not given
them a Scripture with the Evidence?
But
no! The evildoers promise one another nothing but delusions!
41. Is it not God, Who supports the Heavens and
earth to keep them from caving in?
And
if they started collapsing, nobody would support them besides Him. Verily, He
is full of love and forgiveness!
42. They have sworn by the most solemn oath — by
God, that if a Warner came to them,
they would accept
his Guidance better than any nation.
Yet, the coming of
a Warner only increased their hostility.
43* Pretending to
be great in the land, they plotted evil.
But evil plots
shall turn against the plotters.
They
have nothing to expect, but the fate of the first [nations].
You
will find no changes in God’s way, you will find no substitutions in God’s way!
44. Have they not traveled in the land and seen
what was the end of their predecessors who were mightier than they are?
Nothing can
frustrate God in Heavens or on earth.
Verily, He is
all-knowing and powerful!
45* Had God wanted to punish men for their deeds, He would not have
left any creature alive on the surface [of the earth],
but He respites them till a stated time,
and when time is up...
Verily, God has all His servants in His sight!
V. 1: Originator (fatir) is still another word for
“Creator” with the connotation of initiator or masterminder. The wings of the
Angels symbolize their spiritual attributes.
V. 3: “Sustenance” — in the physical and spiritual sense.
V. 12: “The two seas are not alike,” meaning potable
water and salty water. “Fresh fish,” lit., “fresh meat.” The “adornments” from
the sea are pearls, corals, and nacre.
V. 14: “Nobody will enlighten” — about deeds or the
Truth.
V. 18: “His close relative,” as in S.42:23. Everyone is
responsible for one’s own deeds (cf. S.13:11).
V. 39: “You inherit the earth” — you will be “the
inheritors” of God or God’s representatives on earth.
V. 43: “You will never find any changes in the way of
God.” If God is perfect, He is immutable, and if He is almighty, He must be
able to change His Creation — that is beyond man’s understanding.
V. 45: Life in this world would be meaningless without
man. People of all faiths believe that man was created in the image of God in
order to complete His Design.
Sura 29 T he Spider. S.29 is another run-down on Abraham, Lot,
and other Prophets. This sura mentions the Hypocrites (S.2:10) — a faction of
“fellow travelers” quick to betray Islam when asked to fight.
Meccan, 69
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2.
Do people
really think that if they say:
“We have believed,”
they will be left alone and will not be tried?
3.
Yet, We
have tried their predecessors!
God surely knows who is telling
the truth, and He knows who is lying.
4.
Do the
evil doers think they can elude Us?
How bad is their judgment!
5.
As for the
ones who hope to meet God, verily, God’s term is sure to come.
He is the Hearer, the Knowing.
6.
Anyone who
strives, strives for himself.
Verily, God has no need for the Worlds!
7.
We will
surely cancel the evil deeds of those
who believed and did good works,
and We will reward them according to the best of their deeds.
8. We have enjoined man to be kind to his parents.
But do not obey
them
if
they try to make you associate with Me something you have no knowledge about.
You shall all
return to Me,
and I will announce
to you what you have done.
9. Those who believed and did good works,
We will make them
join the upright.
10* Some people
say:
“We believe in
God.”
But
as soon as they suffer in the way of God, they mistake men’s persecutions for
God’s punishment. If your Lord helped them, they would surely say: “We were
with you!”
Does not God know
best what is in people’s hearts?
11. God surely knows who is a believer and He
surely knows who is a Hypocrite.
12. The disbelievers say to the believers:
“Follow
our way, and we’ll take your sins upon us!” They will not take your sins upon
themselves — indeed, they are such liars!
13. They shall bear their burden and, in addition,
the burden [of others]; and on Resurrection Day
they shall be
asked about their fabrications.
14. We sent Noah to his people.
He lived among
them a thousand years, but fifty.
The flood overtook
them while they were sinning,
15. But We saved him and his companions on the ark,
of which We made a Sign for the Worlds.
16. Abraham said to his people: “Worship God and
fear Him.
That’s better for
you, if you [only] knew!
17. But you worship [idols] besides God and
fabricate lies. Those you worship besides God cannot feed you. Therefore, seek
provisions from God, worship Him, and be grateful to Him —
indeed, to Him is
your return!
18. If you refuse, so did the people before you.
The Messenger’s
duty is only a clear delivery.”
19. Do they not see how God starts the Creation and
then repeats it? Verily, this is easy for God!
20*Say:
“Travel in the
land and see
how God has
started the Creation.
Finally, God will
produce the last Creation.
Verily, God has
power over all things.
21. He punishes whom He wills and pardons whom He
wills.
To Him is your
return!
22.
You cannot
escape on earth or in Heaven,
and you have no protector and no helper besides God.”
23.
Only those
who despair of My mercy
deny
the Signs of God and the meeting with Him — they will get a painful punishment.
24.
[And
Abraham?] His people had only one response:
“Kill or burn
him!”
But God saved him
from the fire.
Verily,
there are Signs in this for the people who believe.
“You’ve
taken for yourselves some idols besides God because of your mutual affection in
this life,
but
on Resurrection Day you’ll disown and curse one another. Your abode shall be
the Fire,
and you’ll find no
one to help you.”
26.
Lot
believed in Him. He said:
“I’ll
resettle to my Lord, verily, He’s the Mighty, the Wise.”
27* [To Abraham] We gave Isaac and Jacob, and We established the
prophetic mission and the Scripture among his posterity.
We rewarded him in
this life,
and in the
Hereafter he will be among the upright.
“Indeed,
you commit indecency, unsurpassed by no one in the Worlds.
29.
Is it not
true that you come at men,
cut them off on their way,
and commit shameful acts at your gatherings?”
But his people had just one answer:
“Bring God’s wrath upon us if you’re telling the truth!”
Help me against
the corrupt people!”
31.
When Our
Envoys brought the news to Abraham, they said:
“We’ll destroy the
people of this town.
Verily, its dwellers
are transgressors!”
“But Lot is among
them!”
They said:
“We know better
who’s among them.
We’ll
save him and his family, but not his wife who shall be left behind!”
33. When Our Envoys came to Lot, he felt sorry for
them, but he had no power to help them.
They said:
“Don’t be afraid
and don’t grieve!
We’ll
save you and your family, except your wife who shall be left behind.
34. We shall send upon the people of this town
a punishment from Heaven for their depravation.” 35* And We left a
clear Sign about it for people who think.
36. To [the people of] Madyan [We sent] their
brother Shu’aib.
He said:
“O
my people! Worship God, fear the Last Day, don’t sin and don’t spread
corruption in the land.”
37. But they rejected him. Then an earthquake
overtook them, and the next morning they were lying prone in their houses.
38. And [the peoples of] ’Ad and Thamood!...
Everything
will become clear to you when you see [the ruins] of their houses. Satan made
their works look fair to them and diverted them from the [right] path. And yet
they had been enlightened!
39. And Korah, and Pharaoh, and Haman!...
Moses came to them
with the Proofs.
Even
though they made much of themselves in the land, they were unable to forestall
Us.
40. We seized them all for their sins:
upon some of them
We sent a sandstorm,
some
were hit by a thunderbolt or swallowed by the earth, and some others We
drowned. God was not unjust to them — they had been unjust to themselves.
41. Whoever takes protectors besides God is like
the spider who spins his web.
But a house made
of spider’s web
is the shoddiest
of houses — if they [only] knew!
42. Verily, God knows what they call on besides
Him.
He is the Mighty,
the Wise.
43. Such are the examples We bring to people,
but only those who
have Knowledge understand them.
44. God has truly created the Heavens and the earth
and, verily, there
is a Sign in this for those who believe.
45. Recite what has been inspired to you of the
Scripture and observe the prayer: verily, prayer protects
from indecent and
disreputable acts.
And
most important is the remembrance of God — indeed, God knows all what you do.
46. When you dispute with the People of the
Scripture (but not with those who persecute you),
do it in good
faith and say:
“We believe in
what has been sent down to us
and in what has
been sent down to you!
Our God and your
God is One, and we surrender to Him!”
47* We have sent
down to you the Scripture
in
which the People of the Scripture believe, as well as some others.
Only the
disbelievers reject Our Signs.
48. — [O Muhammad!] You have not read any Scripture
before, and you have not copied [it] with your right hand, otherwise the liars
would have surely doubted.
49. These Verses are clear Proofs
in the hearts of
those who have Knowledge.
Only the sinners
reject Our Verses!
“Why doesn’t his
Lord send down some Verses to him?”
Say:
“All Verses are
with God and I’m a only a clear Warner.”
51. We have sent down to you the Scripture
that is recited to
them. Is that not enough?
Verily, therein is
mercy and a Reminder for the believers.
“Sufficient
is God as a Witness between us. He knows what is in Heavens and on earth. And
those who believed in lies and denied God shall be the losers.”
53. — [O Muhammad!] They hasten you with the
punishment, but had they not been respited,
the punishment
would have already befallen them.
It
shall come upon them so suddenly that they will be caught unawares.
54. So let them not hasten you with the punishment!
Verily, Hell will
encircle the disbelievers.
55. And on the Day when the punishment encircles
them from above and below, they will be told:
— Have a taste of
what you have done!
56. — O My believing servants!
Verily, wide is My
Land, so worship Me!
57. Every soul shall taste death,
then you shall all
be returned to Us!
58. Those who believed and have done well,
We
will settle them in Paradise in mansions under which the rivers flow, to remain
there for ever.
What an excellent
reward for those who toiled,
59. were patient, and trusted their Lord!
60. How many living creatures cannot provide for
themselves, but God feeds them and you.
He is the Listener,
the Knowing.
61. If you ask them who has created the Heavens and
earth and subjugated the sun and the moon,
they will
certainly say:
“God!”
Then, how come
they yield to deception?
62. God increases or lessens [His] provisions to
those of His servants He wills.
Verily, God is
well informed of everything!
63* If you ask them, Who sends down water from the sky and uses it
to revive the soil after it has died, they will certainly say: “God!”
Say:
“Praised be God!”
But most of them
do not understand.
64. Is not life in this world mere amusement and
play? Verily, real life is only in the abode of the Hereafter, if they [only]
knew!
65. When they board a ship, they call on God with a
pure heart. But as soon as He brings them ashore,
they associate
partners to Him,
66. reject Our gifts, and go after distractions.
But soon they
shall know!
67. Do they not see that We have given them a
secure Sacred Place,
while people are
being expelled in its vicinity?
Why do they
believe in lies and deny the goodness of God?
68. Who is more unjust than the one
who invents lies
against God
and rejects the
Truth that has come to him?
Will
there not be enough space in Hell for all the disbelievers?
69. But those who have toiled in Our cause, We will
surely guide them in Our way. Verily, God is with those who do right.
V. 10: “The
Hypocrites” are those who adhere to Islam only for profit and refuse to fight
in the cause of God (cf. S.63).
Vv. 20-22: The
injunction “Say” is addressed to Abraham.
V. 27: This verse
should logically follow v. 25.
V. 35: The “clear
Sign” — here it is the Dead Sea.
V. 47: “Some
others” are probably former pagans.
V. 63: Some
Hypocrites believe in God, but they do not try to improve themselves and to
lead a righteous life.
Sura 41 Made
Clear.
A Warning/Sign/Say
sura in the defense of the Koran, directed to Muhammad. 'Ad and Thamood are
mentioned briefly (vv. 13'18).
Meccan, 54
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
2. [This is] a Revelation from the Compassionate,
the Merciful,
3. a Scripture with Verses made clear,
an Arabic Koran
for the people who understand.
4. It contains good tidings and warnings,
yet most of them
turn away and do not listen.
“Our hearts are
veiled from what you’re calling us to.
Our ears are deaf,
between us is a curtain.
Do [as you want],
and we’ll do [as we want]!”
“I’am a man like
you.
I’ve been inspired
that your God is One God.
So stand before
Him and ask for His forgiveness!”
Woe to the
Associators —
7. to those who withhold the zakat and deny the
Hereafter!
for those who
believed and did good works.
9* Say:
“You’re denying
the One, Who created the earth in two days,
and
you associate equals to Him!” He is the Lord of the Worlds.
10. He has set firmly standing mountains.
He has blessed
[the earth], and in four days
He
has distributed provisions upon it, equitably for all the seekers.
11. Then He turned to the sky, which was then
[like] smoke,
and said to it and
to the earth:
— Come willingly
or unwillingly!
They said:
“We’re coming
willingly!”
12. He has installed seven skies in two days and
gave a function to each sky.
We
adorned the lower sky with lights and provided [it] with guard. Such was the
Decree of the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
“I’m warning you
about a thunderbolt
like the one
[which struck] ’Ad and Thamood!”
14* Messengers
came to them from all sides:
“Don’t worship
anyone, but God alone!”
But they said:
“Had Our Lord so
willed,
He would have
rather sent Angels.
We reject what
you’ve been sent with!”
15. Making much of themselves in the land
and defying the
Truth, [the people of] ’Ad said:
“Is there anyone
stronger than us?”
Did they not see
that the strongest is God, their Creator?
But
they continued to reject Our Signs until came the days of their demise.
16. We sent upon them a howling wind to make them
taste a shameful punishment in this life.
But
still more shameful is the punishment in the Hereafter when they will have no
assistance.
17. We gave Guidance to [the people of] Thamood,
but
they chose to stay blind. A humiliating punishment struck them like a
thunderbolt for all they had done.
18. But We saved those who believed and feared God.
19. On that Day the enemies of God
shall be rounded
up before the Fire and sorted out.
20*And when they reach it, their hearing, sight, and skins will bear
witness against them in their deeds.
21. They shall say to their skins:
“Why are you
witnessing against us?”
They shall say:
“God, Who gave
speech to all things, gave speech to us.
He
created you in the first Creation and to Him you shall return.
22. Wherever you hide, your hearing, sight, and
skins shall bear witness against you.
You shouldn’t have
thought
that God is
unaware of many of your deeds.
23. Your thoughts have caused your destruction
because of what you imagined about your Lord, and now you’re among the losers.”
24. Even if they endure, they shall abide in the
Fire.
And if they ask
for mercy,
they shall not be
of those who receive mercy.
25* We have
assigned to them companions
to make their past
and their future appealing to them.
The
sentence passed against the former generations of Jinn and men shall be passed
against them.
They shall all
turn out to be losers.
“Don’t listen to
this Koran!
Keep prattling
while it’s recited — perhaps you’ll prevail!”
27. Surely, We will make the disbelievers taste
a severe
punishment, and We will reward them
for the worst of their deeds.
28. The reward of God’s enemies shall be the Fire
in
which they shall abide for ever in retaliation for denying Our Signs.
29. The disbelievers will say:
“O our Lord!
Show us the Jinn and men who have deceived us.
We’ll trample them under our feet to better humiliate
them.”
“Our Lord is God,”
and
keep on holding firmly to it, the Angels alight on them: “Don’t fear and don’t
grieve,
but rejoice at the news of the promised Paradise.
31. We’re your friends in this life and the
Hereafter, where you’ll be fulfilled to your soul’s desire, getting all you ask
for.
32. That is a gift from the forgiving and
merciful!”
33. Who speaks better words than the one who calls
to God, does good works, and says:
“I’m of those who submitted themselves to God!”
34. Good and evil are not equal.
Drive
out [evil] with what is better, then your enemy will become your close friend.
35. But this is not for everyone, only for those
who endure, for the luckiest ones.
36. And if Satan incites you to discord, take
refuge with God. Verily, He is the Hearer, the All-Knowing.
37. Among His Signs are night and day, the sun and
the moon. Do not worship the sun or the moon,
but
worship God, their Creator, if it is Him that you want to serve.
38. While some make much of themselves, others, the
ones who are on your Lord’s side, tirelessly glorify Him night and day.
39. Among His Signs you see a barren soil that
swells
and
revives as soon as We send down some water upon it, Verily, the One, Who
revives it can surely revive the dead. Verily, He has power over everything!
40. Those who corrupt Our Signs cannot hide from
Us. Who will be better off: the one cast into the Fire, or the one safely
surviving Judgment Day?
Do whatever you want, but He sees everything you do.
41. Verily, those who denied the Reminder when it
came to them...
Verily, great is this Scripture!
42*It is a
Revelation from the wise and praiseworthy.
Lies cannot approach it from any side!
has been told to Messengers before you.
Verily,
your Lord wields forgiveness, and He wields a painful retribution!
44. Had We made the Koran in a foreign tongue, they
would have said:
“Why
aren’t its Verses made clear and why an Arab does not speak Arabic?” Say:
“This
is a Guidance and a healing for the believers,
As
for the disbelievers, their ears are deaf and [their eyes] are blind, as if
they’re being called from far away!”
45*When We gave the Scripture to Moses, conflicts arose about it.
Had
it not been for a previous Word of your Lord, the matter between them would
have already been settled, but they have serious doubts about it.
46. It benefits the soul to do right, and it hurts
her to do evil.
Your Lord will
never be unjust to [His] servants.
47. He is the One, Who knows about the Hour.
No
fruit would issue from an ovary without Him knowing it, and not a single female
would become pregnant or deliver!
On that Day He
will ask:
— Where are My
“partners”?
They shall say:
“No one of us can
vouch for that!”
48. Whatever they worshiped shall abandon them, and
they will realize that they cannot escape.
49. Man prays tirelessly for goodness,
but as soon as
evil touches him, he succumbs to despair.
50. If We gave him a taste of Our mercy after he
had been touched by hardship, he would surely say:
“I deserved that
and I’m sure that the Hour will never come.
If
I’m returned to my Lord, surely I would receive [much] goodness from Him.” Yes,
We will certainly show their deeds to the disbelievers, and We will make them
taste a severe punishment!
51. When We bestow a favor upon a man, he turns his
back and goes away,
but when evil
touches him, he resorts to lengthy prayers.
“If
you see that [the Koran] is from God, then why do you reject it?
Who is more in
error than someone in deep discord?”
53. Soon We will display Our Signs
to
the whole world and to themselves, and then it will become clear to them
that [the Koran] is the Truth.
Is it not enough that your Lord is witness to all things?
54.
Then, why
do they have doubts
about the meeting with their Lord?
Verily, He is the One, Who encompasses all things!
Vv. 9f: The Days of creation seem to total eight, or six
if we include the two days of v.9 in the four days of v.10. Our arithmetic is
not applicable to the Unseen. According to vv. 9-11 the earth was created before
the sky and according to S.79: 27-30 the sky was created before the earth —
again, the Unseen does not depend on our logic and on the physical sequence of
events.
V. 14: “From every side,” lit.: “from the front and from
the back” or “in the past and in the future.”
V. 20: “Their skins,” i.e., their sensory organs.
V. 25: The “companions” are the Qarinas and Qarins
(S.50:23; S.7:202). The idea of a female element in the male, and
vice-versa, i.e., of bisexuality is expressed in hermaphroditic representation
of the a n im a in man and the a nim us in women in
Medieval art. Both “abnormal halves” are the sources of psychological
deviations that find explanations in modern genetics and endocrinology.
V. 42: “From any side,” lit: “from the front and back”.
V. 45: “The Word” — the reprieve given by God to the
sinners.
SURA 49
THE CHAMBERS. This late well-constructed sura teaches how to behave in the presence of
the Prophet (vv. 1-5), towards each other (vv. 6-13), and towards the people
who havejoined Islam out of personal interest (vv. 14-17). The nomadic Arabs,
also known as “Bedouins” are introduced in v.14.
Medinan, 18
verses
In the Name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* O you who have
believed!
Do
not show off before God and His Messenger, but fear God.
Verily,
God is hearing and all-knowing!
Do not raise your
voices above the Prophet’s voice
and do not speak
with him
as loudly as you
speak among yourselves,
lest your actions
fail without your perceiving it.
3. Those whose hearts God has tested for devotion
lower their voices
in the presence of the Prophet of God.
For them there is
forgiveness and a great reward.
4* — [O Muhammad!] Most of those who call you from the outer
chambers do not know that it is better for them to wait until you came out to
them.
God is forgiving
and merciful!
If a reprobate
brings you some news, check it,
lest
you unwillingly hurt other people and then regret your action.
7. Know that the Messenger of God is with you and
that you could be hurt
if he complied
with your whims.
God
made you cherish faith and made it beautiful in your hearts.
He
made you hate disbelief, depravity, and dissent. Such are the righteous
8. by God’s Grace and His mercy.
God is all-knowing
and wise!
9* If two factions of believers fight each other, make peace between
them.
If
one of them is unjust to the other, then fight against the unjust one, until it
accepts God’s will.
And
when it does, make peace between them according to the law, and be fair.
Verily, God loves
those who are fair.
10* The believers are brothers, so make peace among your brothers
and fear God — perhaps you will receive mercy!
11* O you who have
believed!
Do
not allow some people to mock other people (indeed, the latter might be better
than the former), and some women [to mock] other women who might be better than
they are.
Do
not berate one another or call one another by nicknames. It is unseemly to
label dissolute anyone who has become a believer. And those who persist are
doing wrong.
12* O you who have
believed!
Carefully
avoid suspicion, for suspicion could be a sin!
Do
not spy on one another nor berate [others] behind their backs. Would you eat
the flesh of your dead brother? Of course not! You would find that disgusting.
So
fear God — verily, God is relenting and merciful!
13* O people! We have created you from a male and a female, and We
have arranged you into nations and tribes to let you interact among yourselves.
Verily,
the noblest amongst you before God is the one who is the most God-fearing.
Verily, God is
all-knowing and well-informed!
14* The Arab
nomads say:
“We believe!”
Say:
“You don’t believe, because you say:
‘We’ve submitted yourselves’
before belief has entered your hearts.
If you obey God and His Messenger,
then [God] will not belittle your deeds a bit —
verily, God is forgiving and merciful!”
15.
The
believers are those who believed
in God and His Messenger.
They did not succumb to doubts,
but contributed of their property
and their person to the cause of God:
they are the sincere ones.
“How will you teach your religion to God
if God knows everything in Heavens and earth?
God is aware of all things!”
17.
[The
nomads] think that they are doing you a favor
by becoming Muslims.
Say:
“Don’t think that you do me a favor by embracing Islam.
It’s God Who did you a favor by guiding you to belief,
if you’re really sincere!”
18.
Verily,
God knows the secrets of Heavens and earth.
God sees everything you do!
V. 1: Another translation: “Abstain from making suggestions
to God and His Messenger” (cf. v.16).
V. 9: “Fight each other” or “argue with each other.”
V. 10: Some of the extremist and fanatical Muslim
factions that continue to trouble Islam to this day by their intolerance and
terrorism in certain countries call themselves “Muslim Brotherhoods.” They have
no understanding of the respect and moderation taught in the Koran. They
pretend to fight for religious and moral principles, while the West is
presumably fighting for petroleum and other economic interests.
V. 11: “Nicknames” or demeaning names.
V. 12: “Suspicion” or vain curiosity.
V. 13: “Interact” — lit., recognize one another.
Vv. 14f: One cannot be a Muslim without real faith and
virtue (ihsan), i.e., a without a “purified” religion. The “Bedouins” are
Arab nomads, freedom-loving tribes of various persuasions. Those of them who
adopted Islam halfheartedly were often unreliable and unfit for an organized
fight against their opponents.
Sura 5 The T able Set. S.5is named after the Meal or the Table that
the disciples ofJesus challenged their master to bring down from Heaven
(v.114).
A mosaic of prescriptions
and pronouncements, this sura is probably one of the latest in the Koran
because it says in v.3: “Today, I have brought your religion to perfection'”
Attaining perfection brings any task to completion.
S.5
clarifies the relationship between the Muslims and the “People of the
Scripture,”
i.
e, the Christians, the Jews, and the
“Sabi'un” (Zoroastrians?). The tone of the sura is conciliatory, especially towards
the Christians. It is anticipated that theJews and the Christians will
continue bickering within their groups till the end of the world, while the
Muslims will form a united front.
The sura contains so many
prescriptions that only the most important of them are listed here:
1) about food (vv.
1, 3-5, 87-88, 93), wine (vv. 90-91), hunting (vv. 1-2, 94-96), and gambling
(vv. 90-91).
2) about prayer (vv.
6, 12, 55), ritual ablutions (v.6), making contributions (vv. 12, 55),
pilgrimage (vv. 1-2, 95, 97), animal offerings (vv. 2, 97, 103-104), asking
questions about reigion (v.101), and defecting from Islam (v.54).
3) about justice
(vv. 7-8), making oaths (v.79), murdering without provocation (v.32), stealing
(vv. 38-39), retaliation (v 45), and treatment of enemies (vv. 33-34).
4) about marriage
(v.5) and making bequests (vv. 106-108).
5) about the
attitude of the Muslims toward the Jews (vv. 13, 40-45, 64, 70-71, 7881), the
Christians (vv. 14,17, 46-47, 72- 77, 82-85,110-118), and the People of the
Scripture in general (v.15,18-19, 33-34, 48-53, 57-63, 65-69).
Meccan, 120
verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!
1* O you who have believed,
fulfill your obligations!
You are allowed [to eat] four-legged animals,
except the ones mentioned elsewhere;
but hunting during pilgrimage is proscribed.
Verily, God decrees what He wills.
O you who have believed!
Do not violate the sanctity of
God’s rituals, the sacred month, the animal offerings,
2.
their
ornaments, and [the rights]
of those who flock to the Sacred House
in the pursuit of their Lord’s bounty and goodwill.
You may hunt when you are allowed to.
Do not let your hatred for the people
who kept you away from the Sacred Mosque
incite you to hostility.
Assist one another in goodness and devotion,
but do not assist in corruption and enmity.
Fear God, for verily,
God is harsh in punishment!
3.
Forbidden
to you are carrion, blood, pork, and what has been slaughtered with the
invocation of anyone other than God. [And also] what has been strangled,
bludgeoned, killed in a fall, gored, or mangled by wild beasts, unless you have
slaughtered it [as prescribed].
[Forbidden]
is also what has been sacrificed on altars or apportioned with arrows — that is
sinful for you.
Today,
the disbelievers have lost all hope in your religion. Do not fear them, but
fear Me!
Today,
I have brought your religion to perfection. I fulfilled My goodness toward you
and approved Islam as your religion.
But
if hunger forces you to sin without premeditation, then, verily, God is
forgiving and merciful!
4* They are asking
you what they are allowed to eat.
Say:
“You’re allowed
wholesome food
and
what is caught for you by the hunting animals that you have trained, as God
instructed you.
Eat
what they catch for you, but mention the name of God and fear God.
Verily, God is
quick at reckoning!”
5. Today, you are allowed to eat wholesome food. You are allowed the
food of the people of the Scripture, and your food is allowed to them.
[Permitted]
to you are chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among
those who received a Scripture before you. Give them a compensation, seek in
them decency and not lewdness, and do not make of them your secret mistresses.
Worthless is the toil of him who denies faith: in the Hereafter he shall be
among the losers.
6* O you who have
believed!
Before
you stand up for praying, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe
your heads and feet down to your ankles, and purify yourselves if you are
polluted.
If
you are sick or on a journey, or if you come out from a privy, or if you have
touched women and have no water, then wash yourselves with clean soil, wiping
with it your faces and hands.
God
does not wish to burden you with hardship, but only to purify you and to
complete His goodness to you — perhaps you will be grateful!
7. Remember the
goodness of God towards you
and
the Covenant He concluded with you when you said: “We heard and we obeyed.”
Fear God,
for verily, God
knows best what is in the hearts!
8* O you who have
believed!
Be
staunch witnesses to justice before God and do not allow your hatred of sinful
people make you forsake justice.
Verily,
justice is next to devotion!
Verily,
God is well aware of everything you do!
9. To those who believed and did good works,
God has promised
forgiveness and a great reward,
10. and for those who disbelieved and rejected Our
Signs, there is a blazing Fire!
11* O you who have
believed!
Remember
the goodness God showed you when some people conspired to lay their hands upon
you, and He deflected their hands!
So
fear God, and let all the believers trust God!
12* [When] God made a Covenant with the Children of Israel, We
appointed twelve leaders from amongst them.
God
said:
—
I will be with you, if you pray, pay the zakat, trust and support My Messengers,
and lend God a good loan.
Then,
verily, I shall acquit you from the evil of your deeds and admit you into the
Gardens under which the rivers flow.
But
if any one of you disbelieves after that, he will wander away from the straight
path.
13* We cursed them
and hardened their hearts
for their breaking
the Covenant.
They
re-arrange the words [of the Message] and forget part of what has been reminded
them.
Time
and time again you shall hear that many of them are betraying you, but forgive
them and overlook, for, verily, God loves the good-hearted.
14. We concluded a Covenant with those who call
themselves Christians.
Yet
they forgot part of the Reminder, and We sowed enmity and hatred among them
till Resurrection Day.
Soon God will
announce to them what they have done.
15. O people of the Scripture!
Our
Messenger came to you to explain much of the Scripture that you were hiding or
were passing over.
God brought you a
Light and a clear Scripture.
16. God uses them to guide on the way of peace
those who followed His goodwill.
By
His will, He leads them out of darkness to the Light and puts them on the
straight path.
17* Those who say that God is
the Messiah, son of Mary, have no faith. Say:
“Who
would have the power to oppose God if He wished to destroy the Messiah, son of
Mary, his mother, and everybody on earth?” God is the Sovereign over Heavens
and earth and what is in between.
He creates
whatever He wills — God has power over everything!
18. The Jews and the Christians say:
“We’re the sons of
God, His beloved ones!”
Say:
“Then,
why does He punish you for your sins? — It’s because you’re a people He has
created!
He
forgives whom He pleases and punishes whom He pleases. God is the Sovereign of
the Heavens and earth and what is in between, and to Him is [our] return!”
19. O People of the Scripture!
Our
Messenger came to you with explanations after a break between Messengers, so
that you would not say:
“No
Carrier of good news nor a Warner has ever come to us!” But now a Carrier of
good news and a Warner did come to you. Indeed, God has power over all things!
“O
my people! Remember the goodness of God towards you when He appointed Prophets
from your midst, made you kings, and gave you what He hadn’t given to any
people in the Worlds!
Enter
the Promised Land that God ordained for you, and do not leave it, lest you be
losers!”
“O Moses! A mighty
people lives there
and We wouldn’t be
able to enter it before they leave —
We’ll enter it as
soon as they’re gone!”
23* Two men from
among the devout
upon whom God had
bestowed His Grace, said:
“Attack them at
the gate,
and you’ll
overcome them as soon as you get in.
Put your trust in
God if you believe!”
24. [The people]
said:
“O Moses!
We won’t be able
to enter while they’re there.
Go forth with your
Lord
and fight them,
while we’ll be sitting here!”
“O
my Lord! I am responsible only for myself and my brother, so separate us from
the dissolute people!”
—
Let [the Holy Land] be closed to them for forty years, and let them wander
about on the earth!
And you, do not
grieve over dissolute people!
27. Tell them the story of the two sons of Adam.
Both made offerings — one was accepted, but the other one’s was refused.
The latter said
[to his brother]:
“I’ll kill you,
for sure!”
[His brother]
said:
“Truly,
God accepts [offerings] only from those who fear Him!
28. I wouldn’t lay my hand upon you to kill you,
even if you laid your hand upon me to kill me. Verily, I fear God, the Lord of
the Worlds.
29. But I want you to add to your sins your sin against
me, and to join the inmates of the Fire —
such is the reward
for those who do wrong!”
30. But the soul [of his brother] gave in to the
idea of killing his brother:
he murdered him
and joined the losers.
31. God sent him a raven which scratched the
ground, showing him how to bury his brother’s body.
He said:
“Woe
to me! I’m not even equal to this raven to hide my brother’s corpse!”
And he joined
those who are torn by remorse.
32. We have ordained to the Children of Israel
that
killing a person is like killing a whole nation, except in [retaliation] for
murder or for causing corruption in the land;
and
that saving a life is like saving the life of a nation. But even after Our
Messengers came to them with the Proofs, many of them continued their
iniquities in the land.
33* Let execution or crucifixion, or cutting off a hand on one side
and a foot on the other, or exile from the land, be the retaliation for those
who fight God and His Messenger and spread corruption in the land. Let them be
disgraced in this life; and in the Hereafter a great punishment is [in store]
for them,
34. except for those who repent before falling in
your hands. Let you know that, verily, God is forgiving and merciful!
Fear
God, seek to approach Him and strive in His way — perhaps you will prosper!
36. If the disbelievers possessed everything on
earth or twice as much,
they
still would not be able to ransom themselves from the punishment of
Resurrection Day — a painful retribution [is in store] for them!
37. They will wish to get out of the Fire,
but
they will not be able to escape from it — their punishment shall be
everlasting.
38* To the thieves, men and women, cut their hands off to punish
them for what they have done, and as a deterrent from God — God is powerful and
wise!
39. But if someone repented after committing his
crime and mended his ways, God will turn to him. Verily, God is forgiving and
merciful!
is the Sovereign
of the Heavens and earth?
He
punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He wills. God has power over all
things!
41* — O Messenger!
Do
not grieve over those who are rushing to disbelief. They are of those who say
with their mouths: “We do believe,”
but
have no faith in their hearts.
Or
they are of the Jews who listen to lies and follow those who have never
approached you.
They
alter the meaning of words when they say: “Take what is given to you and beware
of what isn’t given to you!”
If
God decided to put someone to test, you could not [intercede] in his behalf
before God.
God
does not want to purify their hearts — there is shame for them in this life and
a great retribution in the Hereafter!
42. Indeed, they listen to lies and devour
forbidden food.
If
they come to you, judge between them or turn away from them. If you turn away
from them, they will not be able to hurt you in the least.
But
if you judge between them, then judge in fairness. Verily, God likes those who
are fair in judgment!
43. But why do they ask you to judge between them
if they possess the Torah with the Law of God? But if after that, they turn
away from you — they are disbelievers indeed!
44*We have sent down the Torah with Guidance and Light. The Jews
have been judged according to it by the Prophets who submitted themselves [to
God] and by their rabbis and scholars who were entrusted with God’s Scripture.
They guarded it
and witnessed by it.
So
do not fear the people, but fear Me, and do not trade My Signs for a small
price!
Those who do not
judge by God’s Revelation are disbelievers!
45*We have
ordained to them [in the Torah]:
—
A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, a ear for a ear, a
tooth for a tooth, and retaliation for a wound.
But if someone
abstained, he would be forgiven.
Those who do not
judge by God’s Revelation are sinners!
46. We have sent Jesus, son of Mary, in the
footsteps [of the Prophets],
and
he confirmed what was already in the Torah. We gave him the Evangel with
Guidance and Light. That was a confirmation of the Torah, a Guidance and a
Warning for the God-fearing.
47. Let the People of the Evangel judge by what God
has revealed in it.
Those who do not
judge by God’s Revelation are reprobates!
48*We have sent down to you the Scripture with the Truth to confirm
and preserve the Scripture sent down before.
So
judge between [the disbelievers] by God’s Revelation, but do not follow their
passions and do not deviate from the Truth which has come to you.
To
each [people] We gave a Law and a Path to perfection. Had God so willed, He
would have made you a single people, but He wishes to test you by what He has
revealed to you.
So compete with
one another in good works!
You
shall all return to God, and He will show you the point of your disputes.
49. Judge between
them by God’s Revelation.
Do
not follow their passions and beware of them, lest they seduce you away from a
part of the Revelation that God has sent down to you.
If
they turn away, let you know that God wants to punish them for some of their
sins. Verily, many people are reprobates!
50* Are they eager to be judged as in the Time of Ignorance? For
people with strong faith, who is a better judge than God?
Do
not befriend Jews and Christians: they are friends only among themselves.
Any
one of you who seeks [their friendship] is one of them. Verily, God does not
guide sinful people!
52. You see how the ones with disease in their
hearts flock to them, saying:
“We
fear that a calamity will strike us!”
If
God granted [you] success or a Decision from Himself, they would regret what
they were hiding in their souls.
“Aren’t these the
ones who swore
by
the most solemn oath — by God — that they are with you?” Vain shall be their
works, and they shall be the losers.
If
anyone of you defected from his religion, then God would soon raise a people
whom He will love, and who will love Him. They will be humble before the
believers and mighty against the disbelievers.
They
will fight in the way of God, fearless of those who blame them.
Such
is the favor that God bestows upon anyone He pleases. God is all-encompassing
and all-knowing!
55. Your friends are God, His Messenger, and the
believers who observe the prayer, pay the zakat, and worship [God].
56*Those who turn to God, His Messenger, and the believers are the
party of God that shall certainly win.
Do
not befriend those who make your religion the object of derision and fun, even
if they had received the Scripture before you, or if they are disbelievers.
And
fear God if you believe!
58. They take your call to prayer for derision and
fun — indeed, these people lack sense.
“O
People of the Scripture!
Do
you denigrate us only because we believe in God and in the Revelation given to
us, and in the Revelation given before us, and because most of you are
reprobates!”
“Shall I tell you
about those
who are still
worse according to God’s judgment?
They
are those who incurred God’s imprecation and wrath. [God] changed some of them
into apes and swine.
But
the lowest in dignity are the idolaters — they are the farthest away from the
even path!”
61. When they come to you, they say:
“We believe,”
but they come with
disbelief and depart with it.
God is well aware
of what they conceal.
62. You see how many of them compete in sin, fight
one another, and consume forbidden [food]. Evil are their deeds!
63. Why the rabbis and the scholars do not restrain
them from sinful talk and forbidden [food]?
Evil are their
works!
64*The Jews say:
“The hands of God
are tied up!”
Let
their hands be tied up, and let them be cursed for such words!
No! His Hands are
outstretched and He expends as He pleases.
What
you have received from your Lord increases many of them in rebellion and
disbelief. We have sown enmity and hatred amongst them till Resurrection Day.
Each time they fan
the fire of war, God puts it out.
They
strive to spread corruption in the land, but God does not love those who spread
corruption!
65. Had the People of the Scripture believed and
feared God, We would have absolved them from their sins
and admitted them
to the Gardens of Bliss.
66. Had they held onto the Torah, the Evangel,
and
what had been sent down to them by their Lord, they would have received favors
from above and from under their feet.
Some
of them are moderate people, but evil is what many of them do.
Proclaim what has
been sent down to you from your Lord.
If
you do not do it, how will you transmit His Revelation? God will defend you
against people.
Verily, God will
not guide the people who disbelieve.
“O People of the
Scripture!
You’ll have
nothing to stand upon
if
you don’t hold onto the Torah, the Evangel, and what has come down to you from
your Lord.”
— [O Muhammad!]
What
has come down to you from your Lord only increases arrogance and disbelief in
many of them. But do not grieve over the disbelievers!
69* Verily, those who have
believed, and also the Jews, the Sabeians, and the Christians —
all
those who have believed in God and the Last Day, and acted uprightly shall
suffer neither fear nor grief.
70. We made a Covenant with the Children of Israel
to whom We had been sending Messengers. But each time the Messengers brought
them something they disliked,
they rejected some
of them and killed the others.
and presumed that
they would not be judged.
God
turned to them, but many stayed as blind and deaf as before.
God sees well all
what they do!
72. They are disbelievers if they say:
“Verily,
God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.” But the Messiah said:
“O
Children of Israel! Worship God, my Lord and your Lord.” God will forbid
Paradise to any Associator.
His abode will be
the Fire — nobody shall help the sinners!
73* They are
disbelievers if they say:
“Verily,
God is the third of a trinity.” There is no god other than One God!
If they do not
retract their words,
a painful penalty
shall befall the unbelievers among them.
74. Why would they not turn to God and ask Him for
forgiveness? Indeed, God is forgiving and merciful!
75. The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a Messenger
like many of the Messengers who died before him. His mother was a righteous
woman,
and both of them
ate food.
See
how We make the Signs clear to them, and look at them as they turn away.
“How
can you worship besides God something that neither benefits nor hurts you? God
is the All-hearing, the All-knowing.”
“O
People of the Scripture!
Don’t
go beyond the limits of Truth in your religion and don’t follow the passions of
the people who misled themselves in the past, misled many [others], and
wandered off the even path.”
78. The disbelievers among the Children of Israel
were
cursed by the tongues of David and Jesus, son of Mary, because they had
rebelled and transgressed.
79. They had not restrained one another from sinful
conduct. Evil were their deeds!
80* You see that many of them want to befriend the disbelievers.
Evil is what their souls have prepared! God is angry at them — their punishment
shall be everlasting.
81. Had they believed in God, the Prophet, and what has been
revealed to him, they would not have befriended them. Many of them are
reprobates!
82* You see that those who hate the believers the most are the Jews
and the idolaters.
You
see that the closest to the believers in affection are those who say: “We’re
Christians!”
Indeed,
among them there are people devoted to study, people who have left the world
and do not aggrandize themselves.
83. You see that their eyes overflow with tears
when they listen to the Revelation
that
was sent down to the Messenger because they recognize the Truth.
They say:
“O our Lord! We do
believe, so write us down as witnesses.
84. How wouldn’t we believe in God and in the Truth
that
has come to us if we want to be joined by our Lord to the righteous people?”
85.
For their
words God will reward them with Gardens under which the rivers flow to abide in
them for ever. Such is the reward for those who do good.
86.
And those
who disbelieved and rejected Our Signs shall dwell in the blazing Fire.
87.
O you, who
have believed! Do not forbid the good things that God has made lawful for you,
but avoid excess!
Verily, God does
not love those who are given to excess.
88. Eat the lawful and wholesome God is providing
you with and fear God in Whom you believe.
89. God will not take you to task for the trivial
in your oaths,
but
He will take you to task for serious oaths. In expiation, feed ten indigent
people with what you feed your families or clothe them, or free a slave.
If
this is beyond your means, then fast for three days. This will be in expiation
for the oaths you have sworn.
So keep to your
oaths!
This
is how God makes His Signs clear to you — perhaps you will be grateful!
Wine,
maisir, stone altars, and [divining] with arrows are abominations, the work of
Satan.
Avoid them —
perhaps you will be successful.
91. With the help of wine and maisir,
Satan
wishes to seed enmity and hatred among you and to divert you from praying and
remembering God. Will you not restrain yourselves?
92. Obey God, obey the Messenger, and be ever on
your guard. But if you turn away, then know
that Our
Messenger’s duty is only a clear proclamation.
93* Those who believed and
did right should not be blamed for what they had eaten [in the past] if they
fear God, believe, and do good works;
and again, if they
fear God and believe;
and again, if they
fear God and do good works.
God loves those
who do good works!
94. O you, who
have believed!
To find out who
fears Him in secret,
[God] will test
you by the game
that falls into
your hands or upon your spears.
And
whoever transgresses after that shall receive a painful retribution.
95* O you, who
have believed!
Do
not kill any game during pilgrimage.
And
whoever kills intentionally
must
make an offering of cattle to the Ka’ba, equivalent in value to the game he has
killed, as determined by two just people from among yourselves; or he must
atone by feeding the poor or doing its equivalent in fasting to taste the
penalty for his conduct.
God overlooks the
past,
but God exacts a
retribution from a repeat offender.
God is mighty and
demanding!
96* During pilgrimage, you and the travelers are allowed to catch
and consume seafood, but you are forbidden to hunt on land.
Fear God to Whom
you shall be gathered!
97. God has made the Sacred House, the Ka’ba, a
sanctuary for the people.
[He established]
the sacred month
and [animal]
offerings with [their] ornaments.
Know
that God is aware of everything in the Heavens and on earth.
God has knowledge
of everything!
98. Keep in mind that God is stern in punishment,
but God is also forgiving and merciful!
99. The duty of the Messenger is only to transmit.
God knows what you
reveal and what you conceal.
100.Say:
“Evil
and virtue aren’t equal, albeit the abundance of evil may seduce you.
Be
God-fearing, o you, men of understanding — perhaps you will prosper!”
101*O you, who
have believed!
Do
not ask questions about things that might cause you grief if they are disclosed
to you.
But
if you ask about them while the Koran is being revealed, and they become clear
to you, God will forgive you for that, indeed, God is forgiving and forbearing!
102*People have been asking such questions before your time, and
have lost their faith as a result.
103*[The rites] of bahira, sa’iba, wasila and hami have not been
instituted by God,
but
by the disbelievers who invent falsehood about God — indeed, most of them lack
sense.
“Come
to what God has revealed, come to the Messenger,” they say:
“What
has been observed by our fathers is enough for us!” Even if their fathers were
ignorant and had no Guidance!
105.O you, who
have believed!
Protect your
souls!
No
one who is astray will hurt you if you follow the Guidance.
You
shall all be returned to God, and He will tell you what you have done.
106*O you, who
have believed!
At
the approach of death, when it is time to make a bequest, call as witnesses two
just men from your midst.
And
if calamity strikes you during your travels in the land and you might die, then
[invite] two others from among the strangers. If you have doubts [about them],
retain them after the prayer and let them swear by God: “We shall not seek any
gain even for a near relative; and we shall not conceal any evidence before
God, or we will be guilty of sin!”
107*But if it appears that these two have perjured themselves, then
let them be replaced by two others more credible among those who disagreed with
them.
Let them also
swear by God:
“Our
testimony is more reliable than the testimony of these two, and we’ll not
transgress [the law];
or evil will be
upon us!”
108.This is appropriate, as their testimony will be
true if they fear that their oaths
will be followed
by other oaths.
Fear
God and listen [to Him] — indeed, God does not guide the reprobates.
109.The day will come when God will gather the
Messengers and say:
— How did they
respond?
They will say:
“We don’t know —
You’re the only One, Who knows the Unseen!” 110*Then God will say:
— O Jesus, son of
Mary!
Remember
My goodness to you and to your mother. Remember how I fortified you with the
Holy Spirit to let you speak to the people in infancy and in maturity.
Remember how I taught you the Scripture, the Wisdom, the Torah, and
the Evangel. Remember how, with My permission, you made the likeness of a bird
from clay, breathed upon it; and with My permission, it became a bird. Remember
how, with My permission, you healed the blind and the lepers.
Remember
how, with My permission, you revived the dead. Remember how I restrained from
you the Children of Israel when you came to them with clear Proofs and the
disbelievers among them called it a plain magic!
111* Remember how I inspired the apostles with faith in Me and My
Messenger. They said: “We’ve believed!
And you, be witness to our surrender to God!” 112*Remember how the
disciples said:
“O Jesus son of
Mary!
Can
your Lord descend upon us a set Table from Heaven?” [Jesus] said:
“Fear God if you
believe!”
“We
want to eat from it to appease our hearts and to make sure that you’ve told us
the truth. Then we ourselves will be witnesses to it!”
114. Jesus, son of Mary, said:
“O
God our Lord! Descend upon us a set Table from heaven! It’ll be a celebration
and a Sign from You for the first to the last one of us.
And
supply us with provisions — indeed, You’re the best of providers!”
—
I am going to descend it upon you, but if any one disbelieves after that, I
will punish him with a penalty that I have never inflicted on anyone in the
Worlds.
116*Then God said:
—
O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you really say to the people: “Take me and my mother
as two gods besides God”?
[Jesus]
said:
“Glory
to You! How could I say something I knew
I
had no right [to say]?
Had
I said so, You’d have known it; indeed, You know what’s in my soul, but I don’t
know Your intentions.
Verily, You’re the only One, Who knows the Unseen!
117.
I didn’t
tell them anything, except what you’ve ordered me:
“Serve God my Lord and your Lord!”
I’ve been their witness as long as I stayed with them.
And after You made me die, You
Yourself watched over them — indeed, You’re the Witness of all things.
118.
You can
punish them as Your servants or forgive them —
indeed, You’re the Sublime, the Wise.”
— This is the Day when the truthful
shall benefit from their truthfulness.
There shall be Gardens for them under which the rivers flow,
where they shall abide for ever.
God will be satisfied with them
and they will be satisfied with God.
That shall be a great success!
120.
God is the
Sovereign of Heavens and earth,
and of everything that is there.
He has power over everything!
Vv. 1-2: “During pilgrimage,” or “while you are in haram
(the state of sanctity).” Pilgrimage plays an important role in the life
of a Muslim. It reminds him of the gathering on Judgment Day, which will
culminate in a joyous reconciliation with God.
V. 4: Hunting with dogs, falcons and other trained
animals.
V. 6: To purify oneself is to take a ritual bath. Rubbing
oneself with clean sand or soil is the rite of tayammun.
V. 8: Reference to the Jews of Medina who joined Islam.
V. 11: The Prophet’s enemies were plotting his
assassination.
V. 12: Possibly, the twelve leaders who assisted Moses.
V. 13: The Jews are accused of twisting the words of the
Scriptures, demeaning the Evangel and the Koran, and following more restrictive
dietary laws than those prescribed in the Torah.
V. 17: If the Messiah were God, how God could have killed
him? The Arabs call the Christians Nasara (people of Nazareth) or Masihi
(followers of the Messiah).
V. 23: The two men in question were probably the scouts
sent by the Jews to investigate the Promised Land.
V. 33: Note that the punishment for sedition and
corruption is the one inflicted by Pharaoh on the disaffecting Magicians (S.20:
71). These words are said for intimidation: the Byzantine cruelty of
mutilation was alien to the true Muslims.
V. 38: “Cut their hands off to the thieves” or “hit them
on the hands.” If mutilation were really meant, the amends and pardon mentioned
in the following v.39 would be meaningless.
V. 41: “Take it if it’s given to you, and if it’s not
given to you, beware!” The Jews are accused of rejecting the Koran under the
pretense that it has not been revealed directly to them.
V. 44: Many Koranic verses start with a singular subject
and conclude with plural words ending in een or oon that easily
rhyme among themselves (S.26:21).
V. 45: Both Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad recommended
atonement by an act of charity.
V. 48: “The Law (shir'a)
and a Path to perfection (minhadj).” The first is the civil law, and the
second is the way to spiritual growth. The interpretation of the shariah is the
duty of the Muslim jurists ('ulema) who apply the tenets of the Koran
under changing conditions for centuries. They use three basic principles:
consensus (idjma'), comparison (qias), and analysis (idjtihad).
V. 50: The time of Ignorance (jahiliya) is the
pre-Islamic era in Arabia. Contemporary Muslims frequently perceive in modern
western lifestyle a return to “jahiliya”.
V. 56: The party of God, in Arabic: hezbu-lla.
V. 64: “The hand of God is tied up,” i.e., God is stingy.
V. 69: The Sabeians (Sabi'un) — the Zoroastrians,
S.2:62).
V. 73: Eating food is a sign of being human.
V. 80: Here the “disbelievers” are the Jews.
V. 82: The “people devoted to study, people who have left
the world” are, apparently, Christian priests and monks. The closest to Islam
are the Christians who accepted the Koran.
V. 93: The construction of this verse has not ben
changed. Grammatical elegance must sometimes yield to accuracy. If the editors
did not revere the Koranic words, the editorial process could have taken
centuries and “improvements” in style and form would have deprived the text of
authenticity, vivacity, and spontaneity. The phrases, modulations, and rhythm
of the Bible, be it English, Latin, Russian, French, even Greek and Hebrew have
been created by translators.
V. 95: “During pilgrimage,” lit., “when you are in haram.”
Haram is a sacred place or the state of the pilgrim (vv. 1-2).
V. 96: Here, “sea” includes rivers and lakes.
V. 101: The Muslims are advised to abstain from vacuous
questions. Clarification should be sought for at a recital of the Koran: then
it can be dispensed in the spirit of Islam.
V. 102: This is a reference to S.2:68-71 where Moses
asked the Jews to make the sacrifice of a cow.
V. 103: Bahira, sa'iba, wasila and hami are
breeds of camels revered by the pagans.
V. 107: “Perjure themselves” or “are committing sin.”
V. 110: The Evangel (ingil) is the primary account
of the life ofJesus and not the four Gospels. The Prophet Muhammad was aware of
the Christian dogmas. According to tradition, when he was twelve years old, he
had met a Christian monk, Bahira (or Sergius), a convinced monotheist. Bahira
discerned in Muhammad the mark of a Prophet. The Prophet could also have
learned about Jesus from his cousin Waraqa ibn Naufal, a Christian who
converted to Islam.
V. 111: The disciples, al-hawariyun.
V. 112: “The Table set” or “the Meal” may refer to the
Last Supper or the Eucharist.
V. 116: The trinity of God, Jesus, and his mother Mary.
SURA 6 (II) CATTLE. ThesecondpartofS.6dealsmainly with dietary prescriptions
(esp. vv. 118-121; 138-147). The first part is on p. 312.
6.
C A
T T L E
Meccan, 165 verses
Part II. (Vv.
118-165)
118*Consume [meat] over which the name of God has been pronounced if
you believe in His Signs.
119. Why do you consume only under coercion [food]
over which the Name of God has been pronounced? Has He not explained what is
forbidden to you? Verily, many [people] lead [others] astray
by their lusts
unfettered by Knowledge.
Verily, your Lord
knows best those who transgress.
120. Avoid sin, both open and secret.
Verily,
those who accumulate sins shall be rewarded for what they have amassed.
121. Do not consume [meat] over which the Name of
God has not been pronounced — verily, this is an iniquity. Indeed, the Satans
inspire their clients to challenge you, and if you obeyed them, you would
become Associators.
122*Does the lifeless [person] to whom We gave life and a light by
which he walks among the people resemble the one who remained in complete
darkness and cannot find a way out?
The deeds of the
disbelievers are embellished for them!
123. In every town We allow some notables — the wicked ones — to
spin their schemes. But their schemes turn against their own souls, albeit they
do not perceive [it].
124*When a Sign comes to them, they say: “We won’t believe until we
get ourselves what God has given to the Messengers.” But God knows best how to
transmit His Message. For their scheming the sinners shall suffer humiliation
before God and a severe punishment.
125.God opens the
heart to Islam
in
those He wants to guide to the straight path. But He narrows and constricts the
heart of those He lets go astray, so that they feel as if they were forced to
clamber to the sky.
This
is how God punishes those who disbelieve!
126.Such is the
straight path of your Lord.
We
have explained the Signs to the people who remember Admonition.
127.Theirs is the Abode of Peace with their Lord, and He is the
Guarantor of their deeds.
128*The Day will
come when He will gather them all:
— O you, assembly ofJinn!
Have you profited
much from men?
Their
clients from mankind shall say: “O our Lord! We were mutually useful.
But now we’ve
reached the term You’ve set for us.”
[God] will say:
—
Your abode shall be the Fire in which You shall stay for ever, unless God wills
it otherwise.
Verily, your Lord
is wise and all-knowing!
129. This is how we draw sinners together in their
doings:
130. — O you, company ofJinn and men!
Have
not some Messengers come from your midst to communicate My Signs to you and to
warn you about your meeting on this Day? They will say: “We’re witnessing
against ourselves!” This is how life on earth has deluded them and this is how
they will accuse themselves of having denied faith.
131.Your Lord does not destroy towns unjustly
without first warning their dwellers.
132.Their degree [of guilt] corresponds to their
actions — indeed, Your Lord will not overlook any of their deeds.
133. Your Lord is the Rich, He is the Wielder of
mercy.
If
He wills, He will destroy you and replace you by anyone He wills, just as He
raised you up from the progeny of another people.
134.Verily, what has been promised to you is
forecoming, and you will not be able to interfere!
135.Say:
“O
my people! Do what you want, and I’ll do [what I want]. But soon you’ll learn
who will get the best abode.
Verily, the wrong-doers shall not be successful!” 136*[The
disbelievers] set aside for God
a
share of tilth and cattle He has produced, and affirm: “This is for God, and
that is for our partners.” But the share of their partners does not reach God,
whereas the share of God goes to their partners.
How bad is their
judgment!
137. Moreover, their partners have made killing their children
appear commendable to many Associators, in order to destroy them and to muddle
their religion.
Had
God so willed, they would not have done that. So leave them with their
fabrications!
138*They say that a part of cattle and crops is prohibited. They
pretend that nobody may consume them, except those who have Our permission;
and
that there is cattle
on
which it is forbidden to ride,
and
cattle over which God’s Name should not be pronounced. All this has been
contrived against God — soon He will punish them for their fabrications!
139*They say:
“The innards of
this cattle
are allowed to our
men and forbidden to our spouses;
but they can share
the stillborn.”
Soon He shall
punish them for their interpretation.
Verily, He is wise
and all-knowing!
140.Those who kill
their children
out
of foolishness and ignorance,
who
forbid the food that God has given them, and who make false pretenses about God
will surely be among the losers.
They
are astray and do not follow the Guidance.
141*He is the One Who has provided trellised and untrellised
gardens, palm-trees and all sorts of produce, and olives and pomegranates of
one or various kinds. Eat their fruit when they are ripe and pay your dues on
harvest day, but do no spend foolishly — verily, God does not love the
profligate.
142*Some cattle are for carrying burdens and others for slaughter.
Eat
of the provisions provided by God and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps.
Verily, he is your declared enemy.
143. [Take] eight
heads [of cattle]:
a pair of sheep
and a pair of goats...
Say:
“Are
both males or both females forbidden to you, or what is in the wombs of the
females?
Convince me if
you’re telling the truth!”
144....and a pair
of camels and a pair of oxen.
Say:
“Are
both males or both females forbidden to you, or what is in the wombs of the
females?
Were you present
when God issued this command?”
Who
does a greater wrong than the one who invents a lie against God in order to
mislead ignorant people?
Verily, God does
not guide the people who do wrong!
145*Say:
“In
the inspiration I have received
I
don’t see anything forbidden, except carrion, spilled blood, and pork — this is
disgusting! And if a name other than God’s
has been invoked
over it, that’s corrupt!”
But if one eats it
by necessity
and is not enticed
by it or does not return to it...
Verily, your Lord
is forgiving and merciful!
146*We have forbidden to the Jews animals with undivided hoofs. We
have forbidden to them the fat of oxen and sheep, except when it adheres to the
backs and entrails or is mixed with bones.
Such
is Our punishment for their disobedience — indeed, We are supporting the Truth!
147. When they accuse you of lying, say:
“Broad is the mercy
of your Lord,
but His wrath
shall not spare the people who sin!”
148. The Associators will say:
“Had
God so willed, we wouldn’t have associated anyone with Him, and our fathers
would’t have done it. And we wouldn’t have had any restrictions.” Their predecessors
had also been lying, until they tasted Our punishment.
Say:
“If you have
Knowledge, show it to us.
But you’re only
following conjectures and spinning lies.”
149*Say:
“God
has the convincing Proofs. Had He so willed, He would’ve guided you all on the
straight path.”
150.Say:
“Bring
forth your witnesses and let them testify about God’s restrictions.”
If
they testify, don’t testify with them, and don’t follow the passions of those
who reject Our Signs and do not believe in the Hereafter — indeed, they make
[others] equal to their Lord.
151*Say:
“Come, and I’ll
tell you
what your Lord has
forbidden you.”
—
Do not associate anything with Him, be kind to your parents,
and
do not to slay your children if you are poor — We will provide for you and for
them.
Avoid indecencies,
overt or secret,
and
do not kill a soul that God has forbidden [to kill], except by the way of law.
This
is what He demands of you — perhaps you will understand!
152.Do not approach the property of an orphan until
he reaches maturity, unless you want to increase it.
Give a full
measure and be equitable in weighing.
We
do not load any soul with more than she can bear. Be fair when you speak, even
if it concerns a relative, and fulfill the Covenant with God.
This is what He
enjoined you — perhaps you’ll remember!
153. Verily, this is My straight path. Keep to it
and avoid the ways that might divert you from His direction.
This is what He
commanded you — perhaps you’ll fear God!
154. To Moses We gave the Scripture to fulfill
goodness
and
to explain all things, and also Guidance and Grace — perhaps they will believe
in the meeting with their Lord!
155. This is the Scripture We have sent down as a
blessing. Follow it and fear God — perhaps you will be pardoned!
156*Do not say:
“The
Scripture has been sent down before us to two nations, but we aren’t aware of
what they have learnt.”
“Had
the Scripture been sent down to us, we would’ve followed the Guidance better
than they.” The Guidance and the Grace that came to you are the clear Proofs
from your Lord.
Who
does a greater harm than the one who rejects the Signs of God and turns away
from them? We will soon reward with an evil punishment those who reject Our
Signs and turn away.
158. Are they waiting for the coming of the Angels
or your Lord, or for the coming before them of other Signs of your Lord? On the
Day of the coming of other Signs of your Lord, faith shall not help their
souls,
unless
they had believed before and had earned some goodness by their faith.
Say:
“Wait, and we will
also wait!”
159*Verily, you have nothing to do with those who have divided their
religion into sects. Their case is before God —
He will tell them
what they have done.
160. Whoever comes with good deeds shall get them
back, increased tenfold, and whoever comes with evil deeds shall get a
retribution of equal worth. And nobody shall be treated unjustly!
“Verily,
my Lord has guided me on the straight path of the right religion — the creed of
Abraham, the Hanif, who was not an Associator.”
162.Say:
“Verily,
my prayer, my devotion, my living, and my dying are all for God, the Lord of
the Worlds.
163. He has no god
associated with Him!
So it has been commanded to me,
and I’m the first to submit myself [to Him]!”
164.Say:
“Shall I seek someone else besides God,
the Lord of everything that exists?
All what a soul earns, she earns for herself.
No one bearing a burden will bear someone else’s burden.
In the end you shall all return to your Lord,
Who will tell you about your dissensions.”
165.
He is the
One, Who made you inherit the earth.
He has raised some of you above the others in ranks
to test you by what He has bestowed upon you.
Verily, your Lord is quick in retaliation.
Verily, He is all-forgiving and merciful!
Vv. 118f: Prohibitions concerning meat products.
V. 122: The “dead person” is a metaphor about spiritual
death and resurrection.
V. 124: That the Koran is God’s Truth is proven by the
Signs which are ubiquitous in the world and in the Unseen. The ability of man
to understand, love, and feel is by itself a clear Sign or a Proof of God’s
compassion. The Jews are accused of refusing a Revelation unless it is given
directly to them (cf. S.5:41).
V. 128: Here, the Jinn are forces of evil. “We were
useful to each other” — people to people, or people to the Jinn? There is a
glimpse of hope that the Compassionate could eventually cut the punishment
short.
V. 136: It is bad judgment to give God only a portion of
what belongs to Him in its entirety. The Pagans dedicated their crops both to
God and the idols, but favored their idols at harvest time. V. 138: The Pagans
used to consecrate animals to various gods.
Idols were usually in the image of idealized people or
animals. To underscore the fallacy of the cults of false gods, Islam initially
forbade the representation of people and animals in all decorative arts. The
description of Angels as creatures with many pairs of wings (S.35:1) is purely
allegorical and does not lead to pictorial representation. Angels are never
fancied as youths in white robes nor Demons as monsters with horns and goat’s
feet.
V. 139: A denunciation of superstitions (cf. also vv.
143-4).
V. 141: “Pay the dues” — to God or to the poor.
V. 142: Are all the beasts of burden fit for food?
V. 145: Is all blood forbidden or only the one that was
shed?
V. 146: “Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is
cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat (Lev.
11:3). Muslims call wholesome food “halal” and prohibited food “haram”
(harem is of the same root).
V. 149: Life would have been simpler if God had created
only one nation and allowed only one religion. Then hopelessly tragic
situations would not have occurred in many multi-ethnic states.
Vv. 151-152: It is unclear where the “Say” passage ends.
V. 156: It was difficult for the Muslims to understand
the Bible and the Evangel, which belonged to another age, and whose languages
were foreign for the Arabs. The Muslims revere the Torah that has been given to
Moses, David’s Psalms, the Evangel, and the lost Scrolls given to Abraham (cf.
C.87:19).
V. 159: To divide
religion is to choose in it only what is in one’s own interest.