The Koran
by
Muhammad
Part 12 out of 14
forbid evil, and speed on in good works. These are of the
righteous.
And of whatever good ye do, ye shall not be denied the meed. God
knoweth those who fear Him.
But as for the infidels, their wealth, and their children shall avail
them nothing against God. They shall be the inmates of the fire, to
abide therein eternally.
The alms which they bestow in this present life, are like a freezing
wind, which falleth upon and destroyeth the cornfields of a people
who have been to themselves unjust. God doeth them no injustice,
but to themselves are they unjust.
O ye who have believed! form not intimacies among others than
yourselves. They will not fail to corrupt you. They long for your
ruin. Hatred hath already shewn itself out of their mouths, but
more grievous is what their breasts conceal. The tokens thereof we
have already made plain to you, if ye will comprehend.
See now! ye love them, but they love not you. Ye believe the entire
Book. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe;" but when
they are apart, they bite their fingers' ends at you, out of wrath.
SAY: "Die in your wrath!" God truly knoweth the very recesses of
your breasts.
If good befalleth you it grieveth them, and when ill lighteth on
you,
they rejoice in it. But if ye be steadfast and fear God, their craft
shall in no way harm you. For God is round about their doings.
And remember when thou didst leave thy household at early morn,
that thou mightest prepare the faithful a camp for the war;37 God
heard, knew it
When two troops of you became full of anxious thoughts, and lost
heart, and when God became the protector of both! In God, then,
let the faithful trust.
God had already succoured you at Bedr, when ye were the
weaker! Fear God, then, that ye may be thankful.
Then thou didst say to the faithful, "Is it not enough for you that
your Lord aideth you with three thousand angels sent down from
on high?"
Aye: but ye if be steadfast and fear God, and the foe come upon
you in hot haste, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels
in their cognisances!38
This, as pure good tidings for you, did God appoint, that your
hearts might be assured for only from God, the Mighty, the Wise,
cometh the Victory and that He might cut off the uttermost part
of those who believed not, or cast them down so that they should
be overthrown, defeated without resource.
It is none of thy concern whether He be turned unto them in
kindness or chastise them: for verily they are wrongful doers.
Whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's! He forgiveth
whom He will, and whom He will, chastiseth: for God is
Forgiving, Merciful.
O ye who believe! devour not usury, doubling it again and again!
But fear God, that ye may prosper.
And fear the fire which is prepared for them that believe not; and
obey God and the apostle, that ye may find mercy:
And vie in haste for pardon from your Lord, and a Paradise, vast
as the Heavens and the Earth, prepared for the God-fearing.
Who give alms, alike in prosperity and in success, and who master
their anger, and forgive others! God loveth the doers of good.
They who, after they have done a base deed or committed a wrong
against their own selves, remember God and implore forgiveness
of their sins and who will forgive sins but God only? and
persevere not in what they have wittingly done amiss.
As for these! Pardon from their Lord shall be their recompense,
and gardens 'neath which the rivers flow; for ever shall they abide
therein: And goodly the reward of those who labour!
Already, before your time, have examples been made! Traverse the
earth, then, and see what hath been the end of those who treat
prophets as liars.
This Koran is a manifest to man, and a guidance, and a warning to
the God-fearing!
And be not fainthearted, and be not sorrowful: For ye shall gain
the upper hand if ye be believers.39
If a wound hath befallen you, a wound like it hath already befallen
others: we alternate these days of successes and reverses among
men, that God may know those who have believed, and that He
may take martyrs from among you, but God loveth not the
wrongful doers
And that God may test those who believe, and destroy the infidels.
Thought ye that ye should enter Paradise ere God had taken
knowledge of those among you who did valiantly, and of those
who
steadfastly endure?
Ye had desired death ere ye met it. But ye have now seen it and
ye have beheld it and fled from it!
Muhammad is no more than an apostle; other apostles have
already passed away before him: if he die, therefore,40 or be slain,
will ye turn upon your heels?41 But he who turneth on his heels
shall not injure God at all: And God will certainly reward the
thankful!
No one can die except by God's permission, according to the Book
that fixeth the term of life.42 He who desireth the recompense of
this world, we will give him thereof; And he who desireth the
recompense of the next life, we will give him thereof! And we will
certainly reward the thankful.
How many a prophet hath combated those who had with them
many myriads! Yet were they not daunted at what befel them on
the
path of God, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit!
God loveth those who endure with steadfastness,
Nor said they more than this:43 "O our Lord! forgive us our sins
and our mistakes in this our work; and set our feet firm; and help
us against the unbelieving people." And God gave them the
recompense of this world, and the excellence of the recompense of
the next. For God loveth the doers of what is excellent.
O ye who have believed! if ye obey the infidels, they will cause
you
to turn upon your heels,44 and ye will fall back into perdition:
But God is your liege lord, and He is the best of helpers.
We will cast a dread into hearts of the infidels because they have
joined gods with God without warranty sent down; their abode
shall be the fire; and wretched shall be the mansion of the evil
doers.
Already had God made good to you His promise, when by His
permission ye destroyed your foes, until your courage failed you,
and ye disputed about the order,45 and disobeyed, after that the
Prophet had brought you within view of that for which ye
longed.46
Some of you were for this world, and some for the next.47 Then,
in
order to make trial of you, He turned you to flight from them, yet
hath He now forgiven you; for all-bounteous is God to the
faithful
When ye came up the height48 and took no heed of any one, while
the Prophet in your rear was calling you to the fight! God hath
rewarded you with trouble upon trouble, that ye might learn not to
be chagrined at your loss of booty, or at what befel you! God is
acquainted with your actions.
Then after the trouble God sent down security upon you. Slumber
fell upon a part of you: as to the other part their own passions
stirred them up to think unjustly of God with thoughts of
ignorance! They said What gain we by this affair? SAY: Verily
the affair resteth wholly with God. They hid in their minds what
they did not speak out to thee, saying, "Were we to have gained
aught in this affair, none of us had been slain at this place." SAY:
Had ye remained in your homes, they who were decreed to be slain
would have gone forth to the places where they lie: in order that
God might make trial of what was in your breasts, and might
discover what was in your hearts, for God knoweth the very
secrets of the breast.
Of a truth it was Satan alone who caused those of you to fail in
duty who turned back on the day when the hosts met, for some of
their doings! But now hath God pardoned them; For God is
Forgiving, Gracious.
O ye who believe! be not like the infidels, who said of their
brethren when they had travelled by land or had gone forth to war,
"Had they kept with us, they had not died, and had not been
slain!" God purposed that this affair should cause them heart
sorrow! God maketh alive and killeth; and God beholdeth your
actions.
And if ye shall be slain or die on the path of God, then pardon
from God and mercy is better than all your amassings;
For if ye die or be slain, verily unto God shall ye be gathered.
Of the mercy of God thou hast spoken to them in gentle terms.
Hadst thou been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have
broken away from thee. Therefore, forgive and ask for pardon for
them, and consult them in the affair of war, and when thou art
resolved, then put thou thy trust in God, for God loveth those who
trust in Him.
If God help you, none shall overcome you; but if He abandon you,
who is he that shall help you when He is gone? In God, then, let
the faithful trust.
It is not the Prophet who will defraud you;49 But he who shall
defraud, shall come forth with his defraudings on the day of the
resurrection: then shall every soul be paid what it hath merited,
and they shall not be treated with injustice.
Shall he who hath followed the good pleasure of God be as he who
hath brought on himself wrath from God, and whose abode shall
be Hell? and wretched the journey thither!
There are varying grades with God: and God beholdeth what ye
do.
Now hath God been gracious to the faithful, when he raised up
among them an apostle out of their own people, to rehearse unto
them his signs, and to cleanse them, and to give them knowledge
of
the Book and of Wisdom: for before they were in manifest error.
When a reverse hath befallen you,50 the like of which ye had
before
inflicted, say ye, "Whence is this?" SAY: It is from yourselves. For
God hath power over all things.
And that which befel you on the day when the armies met, was
certainly by the will of God, and that he might know the faithful,
and that he might know the hypocrites! And when the word was
"Advance, fight on the path of God, or drive back the foe," they
said, "Had we known how to fight, we would have followed you."
Nearer were some of them on that day to unbelief, than to faith:
They said with their lips what was not in their hearts! But God
knew what they concealed,
Who said of their brethren while themselves sat at home,
"Had they obeyed us, they had not been slain." SAY: Keep back
death from yourselves if ye speak truth.
And repute not those slain on God's path to be dead.51 Nay, alive
with their Lord, are they richly sustained;
Rejoicing in what God of his bounty hath vouchsafed them, filled
with joy for those who follow after them, but have not yet
overtaken them, that on them nor fear shall come, nor grief;
Filled with joy at the favours of God, and at his bounty: and that
God suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.
As to those who after the reverse52which befel them, respond to
God and the Apostle such of them as do good works and fear
God, shall have a great reward:
Who, when men said to them, "Now are the Meccans mustering
against you; therefore fear them!" it only increased their faith,
and they said, "Our sufficiency is God, and He is an excellent
protector."
They returned, therefore, with the favour of God, enriched by Him,
and untouched by harm; and they followed what was well pleasing
to God. And God is of great Munificence.
Only would that Satan 53 instil the fear of his adherents: Fear them
not, but fear me if ye are believers.
Let not those who vie in haste after infidelity grieve thee: Verily
not one whit shall they injure God! God will refuse them all part in
the life to come: a severe chastisement shall be their lot.
They truly who purchase infidelity at the price of their faith, shall
not injure God one whit! and a grievous chastisement shall be
their lot.
Let not the infidels deem that the length of days we give them is
good for them! We only give them length of days that they may
increase their sins! and a shameful chastisement shall be their lot.
It is not in God to leave the faithful in the State in which they are,
until he sever the bad from the good:
Nor is God minded to lay open the secret things to you, but God
chooseth whom he will of his apostles to know them.54 Believe,
therefore, in God and his apostles: and if ye believe and fear God,
a great reward awaiteth you.
And let not those who are niggard of what God hath vouchsafed
them in his bounty, think that this will be good for them Nay, it
will be bad for them
That of which they have been niggard shall be their collar on the
day of the resurrection. God's, the heritage of the Heavens and of
the Earth! And God is well-informed of all ye do.
Now hath God heard the saying of those who said: "Aye, God is
poor and we are rich."55 We will surely write down their sayings,
and their unjust slaughter of the prophets; and and we will say,
"Taste ye the torment of the burning.
This, for what your hands have sent before you; and because God
will not inflict a wrong upon his servants!"
To those who say, "Verily, God hath enjoined us that we are not to
credit an apostle until he present us a sacrifice which fire out of
Heaven shall devour,"
SAY: Already have apostles before me come to you with miracles,
and with that of which ye speak. Wherefore slew ye them? Tell
me,
if ye are men of truth.
And if they treat thee as a liar, then verily apostles have been
treated as liars before thee, though they came with clear proofs of
their mission, and with Scriptures, and with the light-giving Book.
Every soul shall taste of death: and ye shall only receive your
recompenses on the day of resurrection. And whoso shall scape the
fire, and be brought into Paradise, shall be happy. And the life of
this world is but a cheating fruition!
Ye shall assuredly be tried in your possessions and in yourselves.
And many hurtful things shall ye assuredly hear from those to
whom the Scriptures were given before you, and from those who
join other gods with God. But if ye be steadfast, and fear
God this verily is needed in the affairs of life.
Moreover, when God entered into a convenant with those to whom
the Scriptures had been given, and said, "Ye shall surely make it
known to mankind and not hide it," they cast it behind their backs,
and sold it for a sorry price! But vile is that for which they have
sold it.
Suppose not that they who rejoice in what they have brought to
pass, and love to be praised for what they have not
done56 suppose not they shall escape the chastisement. An
afflictive chastisement doth await them,
For the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth is God's, and God
hath power over all things.
Verily, in the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, and in the
succession of the night and of the day, are signs for men of
understanding heart;
Who standing, and sitting, and reclining, bear God in mind, and
muse on the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth. "O our
Lord!" say they, "thou hast not created this in vain. No. Glory be
to Thee! Keep us, then, from the torment of the fire.
O our Lord! surely thou wilt put him to shame whom thou shalt
cause to enter into the Fire, and the wrong-doers shall have none
to help them.
O our Lord! we have indeed heard the voice of one that called. He
called us to the ye on your Lord' and we have believed.
O our Lord! forgive us then our sin, and hide away from us our
evil deeds, and cause us to die with the righteous.
O our Lord! and give us what thou hast promised us by thine
apostles, and put us not to shame on the day of the resurrection.
Verily, Thou wilt not fail thy promise."
And their Lord answereth them, "I will not suffer the work of him
among you that worketh, whether of male or female, to be lost.
The
one of you is the issue of the other.57
And they who have fled their country and quitted their homes and
suffered in my cause, and have fought and fallen, I will blot out
their sins from them, and I will bring them into gardens beneath
which the streams do flow."
A recompense from God! and God! with His is the perfection of
recompense!
Let not prosperity in the land 58 on the part of those who believe
not, deceive thee. 'Tis but a brief enjoyment! Then shall Hell be
their abode; and wretched the bed!
But as to those who fear their Lord for them are the gardens
'neath which the rivers flow: therein shall they abide for aye. Such
their reception with God and that which is with God is best for
the righteous.
Among the people of the Book are those who believe in God, and
in what He hath sent down to you, and in what He hath sent down
to them, humbling themselves before God. They barter not the
signs of God for a mean price.
These! their recompense awaiteth them with their Lord: aye! God
is swift to take account.
O ye who believe! be patient, and vie in patience, and be firm, and
fear God, that it may be well with you.
_______________________
1 Verses 1 87 probably belong to the period between the battle of
Bedr and Hej. 6. Muhammad supposed Imran or Amran to be the
father of the Virgin Mary (Sura [cix.] lxvi. 12) Mary and
Elizabeth to be sisters; who, with Jesus, John, and Zacharias,
make up the family of Imran. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion
that Muhammad is guilty of the anachronism of confounding
Miriam with the Virgin Mary. On the other hand is the difficulty of
conceiving that as the sequence of time and fact is observed with
tolerable accuracy in regard to the main features of Jewish and
Christian History, he should have fallen into so serious an error,
or have so inadvertently adopted, as Mr. Muir supposes, the
phraseology of his Jewish informants (amongst whom the only
well-known Mary (Miriam) was the daughter of Imran and the
sister of Moses) as to have overlooked the discrepancy in their
respective dates. But it is possible that Muhammad believed, as
some Muslim writers assert, that Miriam's soul and body were
miraculously preserved till the time of Jesus in order to become
Mary his mother. Certainly the Talmudists fabled that the Angel of
Death and the worm of corruption had no power over Miriam.
Comp. Babha Bathra, 17. Jos. Ant. iv. 4, 6.
2 See note, p. 32.
3 See Sura xxi. 49, p. 154, n.
4 Lit. mother.
5 In the battle of Bedr, Muhammad, with 319 followers routed
1000 Meccans, A.H. 2.
6 That is, knowledge, or revelation, became the cause of
disputings.
7 That is, will ye receive Islam? The Ummiin, or common folk, the
heathen Arabians destitute of Revelation. In the earliest extant
biography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq, we find these words
addressed by Zaid, previous to the assumption of the prophetic
office by Muhammad, to the Koreisch. This is one of the facts
which shew that the way was to a great extent prepared for Islam.
This whole address of Zaid's which contains not less than six
passages afterwards repeated in the Koran may be seen in Dr.
Sprenger's Life of M. p. 42. The instances of others who had
learned to disbelieve in idolatry, and had either become Jews or
Christians, or held their minds in suspense, might easily be
multiplied. Comp. Sharastani, p. 437. Masudi, ch. 6.
8 The King of the Kingdom, or, Lord of Might. This verse and the
following are either fragments of some lost Sura, or belonging to
one of the Meccan Suras. At any rate, they are misplaced,
interrupting as they do the connection of the preceding and
subsequent verses.
9 The wife of Imran is Hannah or Anne. Comp. Protev. Jac. iv.
[greek text]. Evang. de Nat. Mar. 1: Voverunt tamen (Mari‘
parentes) si forte donaret eis Deus sobolem, eam se Dni servitio
mancipaturos. Although Muhammad had no direct access to the
Apocryphal Gospels, yet these may have influenced, or at any rate,
contained much in common with, the ordinary traditions of S.
Syria. And of this, the Immaculate Conception of the B. V. Mary,
supposed by Gibbon (ch. 50) to have been "borrowed from the
Koran," probably formed a part.
10 That is, the female could not become a priest.
11 See note, p. 114.
12 According to a tradition of Muhammad every new-born child is
touched by Satan, with the exception of Mary and her Son,
between whom and Satan God interposed a veil. (Djelal. Beidh.)
Hence this passage may imply the Immaculate Conception of the
B. V. Mary. See v. 37 below.
13 Evang. de Nat. Mar. 7: Quotidie ab angelis frequentabatur,
quotidie divinƒ visione fruebatur, qu‘ eam a malis omnibus
custodiebat et bonis omnibus redundare faciebat. Protev. Jac. 8:
[greek text]. Hist. Nativ. Mar. 6: Quotidie escƒ, quam de manu
angeli accipiebat, ipsƒ tantum reficiebatur.
14 The word rendered descendants is a collective noun. Gerock (p.
20) thinks that Zacharias' prayer was not for a son of his own, but
for an adopted son as, for instance, the future husband of Mary
who might become his heir, and hence accounts for his surprise
and unbelief at the announcement of John.
15 Lit. chamber. By this may be meant an [greek text] of the
Temple Comp. Luke i. 21.
16 Luke i. 28.
17 Hist. de Nativ. Mar. 6: Abierunt simul Joachim et Anna uxor
ejus ad templum domini, et tradiderunt Mariam in
contubernio virginum qu‘ die noctuque in Dei laudibus manebant.
18 These reeds, say the commentators, were written over with
passages from the law, and cast into Jordan. That of Zacharias
alone swam, and was the token that the charge of Mary was to
devolve on him. Others render, their divining arrows. See a
detailed account of the manner in which this matter was settled by
[greek text], virgae, in Protev. Jac. Thilo. p. 204. Hist. Nat. Mar.
ib. p. 359 sqq.
19 Ar. El-Mesich Isa ben Mariam, illustrious in this world as a
Prophet, in the next as an Intercessor. Beidh.
20 Evang. Thom‘, ch. 2 (Thilo. p. 281) and Evang. Infanti‘ Arab.
ch. 36, 46. (Thilo. p. 111, 123.)
21 See Sura [cxiv.] v. 111.
22 Muhammad probably believed that God took the dead body of
Jesus to Heaven for three hours according to some while the
Jews crucified a man who resembled him. Sura [c.] iv. 156. The
word motewaffika (comp. Sura [lxxx.] xxxix. 156) means, in
speaking of God, to cause to die, take to himself. It would also
seem from Sura [lviii.] xix. 34, that Muhammad supposed Jesus to
have died a natural death, though it is nowhere said how long he
continued in that state. The Muhammadans believe that Jesus on
his return to earth at the end of the world will slay the Antichrist,
die, and be raised again. A vacant place is reserved for his body in
the Prophet's tomb at Medina. See Lieut. Burton's Pilgrimage,
vol. ii.
23 Lit. verily the similitude or analogy of Isa is as the similitude or
analogy of Adam, i.e. neither of them had a human father.
24 This refers to an embassy from the Christians in Nedjran in
Arabia, with their Bishop, Abu Hareth, at their head, to
Muhammad at Medina, who had now acquired political power.
The embassy declined to be parties to the strange mode of settling
the dispute here proposed, but consented to pay tribute on
condition of not being molested in their religion or lands.
25 If this be not a mere figure of speech, it must mean let us call
over and curse the names, the persons being at a distance.
26 As the Christians do their Bishops and Priests.
27 Whether he were a Jew or Christian.
28 About Moses and Jesus, and their respective faiths.
29 See Sura xvi. 121, p. 209, note.
30 Muhammad insinuates that the claim to be equal with God
could never have been made by Jesus himself, but by his followers,
in ignorance of the Scriptures and of his true nature.
31 That is, to call them rabb a title due only to God.
32 Assembled on Mount Sinai. Compare the Jewish legend, that
all
the prophets, even those who were not yet born, were present on
Mount Sinai, when God gave the law to Moses. See Shemoth
Rabba. Parashah 28, according to which, not only the Prophets
but the Rabbis of every generation, were present at the giving of
the Law.
33 Becca, place of crowding, i.e. Mecca. This sentence, together
with other Suras the Cave, Mary, Imran, Repentance, T, H, are
woven into the Kiswah or covering of the Caaba, which is renewed
annually.
34 The Makam Ibrahim (praying place of Abraham) is a small
building supported by six pillars about 8 ft. high, four of which are
surrounded from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, while they
leave the space between the two hind pillars open; within the
railing is a frame about 5 ft. square, said to contain the sacred
stone on which Ibrahim stood when he built the Caaba.
Burckhardt. Lieut. Burton (Pilgrimage, iii. 336) says that as the
Arab tradition speaks clearly and consistently as to the fact of
Abraham having visited Mecca to build the Caaba, it may be
considered an open question. Thus also Dr. G. W. Freytag (Einl.).
35 The Koran.
36 Or, they are smitten with. Sale. S'etendra comme une tente.
Kas.
37 This probably refers to the battle of Ohod.
38 The Arabic word occurs at verse 13 of horses as known by
certain marks. So here these angels would be known by their
accoutrements, etc.
39 This and the following verses to 154 were probably revealed
shortly after the reverse of Ohod.
40 This verse and xxxix. 31 (p.257) were recited at Muhammad's
death by Abu Bekr, in order to convince Omar and the other
Muslims of the possibility of that event. It has been supposed that
these passages were invented by Abu Bekr on this occasion, and
inserted into the Koran. But this is more than doubtful. See
N”ldeke, pp. 199 201.
41 That is, return to idolatry. A report had been spread in the
battle of Ohod that Muhammad had been slain.
42 Lit. according to a writing (i.e. of God) definite. The Rabbins
also teach (Com. Tract. Rosch. Haschanah) that there are books in
which God has written down the lifetime of every individual. Lit.
No soul can die.
43 Lit. and their saying was no other than that they said.
44 To relapse into infidelity. The Koreisch attempted to seduce the
Muslims to renounce their faith after the battle of Ohod.
45 The command to abstain from taking the spoils. This
disobedience turned the scale of victory against the Muslims.
46 Victory and plunder.
47 Some took to flight, others stood firm, and were not careful of
their lives.
48 That is, in confused rout.
49 Muhammad had been accused of having secretly appropriated
a portion of the spoil.
50 At Ohod.
51 See Sura [xci.] ii. 149.
52 At Ohod; lit. wound.
53 Lit. that Satan. Said to refer to Noaim, or Abu Sofian, the
leader of the Koreisch.
54 This is an answer to the taunt that Muhammad could not
distinguish true believers from hypocrites.
55 This was the taunt of the Jews of the tribe of Kainoka, when
Muhammad demanded tribute of them in the name of God.
56 That is, who rejoice in their successful corruptions of their own
sacred books, especially the testimony of Moses to Muhammad,
and in their own fancied righteousness. Thus some of the
commentators.
57 Lit. some of you are from others. These words were occasioned
by one of the Prophet's wives having told him that God often
praised the men, but not the women, who had fled their country for
the faith. Beidh.
58 Lit. their movements, their comings and goings. Hence, the
success of the Meccans in their trading journeys. This may point to
the comparative freedom from trade and general independence of
the Meccans after the affair at Ohod.
SURA LXI. BATTLE ARRAY [XCVIII.]
MEDINA. 14 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
ALL that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth praiseth
God. He is the Mighty, the Wise!
Believers! why profess ye that which ye practise not?1
Most hateful is it to God that ye say that which ye do not.
Verily God loveth those who, as though they were a solid wall, do
battle for his cause in serried lines!
And bear in mind when Moses said to his people, "Why grieve ye
me, O my people, when ye know that I am God's apostle unto
you?" And when they went astray, God led their hearts astray; for
God guideth not a perverse people:
And remember when Jesus the son of Mary said, "O children of
Israel! of a truth I am God's apostle to you to confirm the law
which was given before me, and to announce an apostle that shall
come after me whose name shall be Ahmad!"2 But when he
(Ahmad) presented himself with clear proofs of his mission, they
said, "This is manifest sorcery!"
But who more impious than he who when called to Islam deviseth
a falsehood concerning God? God guideth not the wicked!
Fain would they put out the light of God with their mouths! but
though the Infidels hate it, God will perfect his light.
He it is who hath sent his apostle with guidance and the religion of
truth, that, though they hate it who join other gods with God, He
may make it victorious over every other religion.
O ye who believe! shall I shew you a merchandise that shall
deliver you from the sore torment?
Believe in God and his apostle, and do valiantly in the cause of
God with your wealth and with your persons! This, did ye but
know it, will be best for you.
Your sins will He forgive you, and He will bring you into gardens
beneath whose shades the rivers flow into charming abodes in
the gardens of Eden: This shall be the great bliss.
And other things which ye desire will he bestow, Help from God
and speedy conquest!3 Bear thou these tidings to the faithful.
O ye who believe! be helpers (ansars) of God; as said Jesus the son
of Mary to his apostles, "Who will come to the help of God?"
"We," said the apostles, "will be helpers of God." And a part of
the children of Israel believed, and a part believed not. But to those
who believed gave we the upperhand over their foes, and soon did
they prove victorious.
_______________________
1 Addressed to the Muslims who had turned their backs to the
enemy at Ohod.
2 Muhammad had no doubt heard that Jesus had promised a
Paracletos, John xvi. 7. This title, understood by him, probably
from the similarity of sound, as equivalent to Periclytos, he
applied to himself with reference to his own name Muhammad
(i.e. praised, glorified) from the same root and of the same
meaning as Ahmad, also one of the Prophet's names. It may be
here remarked that the name Muhammad, if pronounced
Muhammed, "might be understood by an Arab in an active instead
of a passive sense." (Lane, Kor. p. 52.) Other passages of Scripture
understood by Muslims of their Prophet are Deut. xxxiii. 2, where
Paran is said to mean Islam; Isai. xxi. 6, where the "rider on the
ass" is Jesus, the "rider on the camel" Muhammad; Matt. xx. 1-16,
where the morning, noon, and even are Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam; John iv. 21; 1 John iv. 2, 3, where Muhammad is said to be
"the spirit that is of God," because he proclaimed that Jesus was a
true man and not God.
3 If this allude to a meditated attack on the Banu Nadir (see Sura
[cii.] lix.) we have a clue to the probable date of the Sura. The
promise, however, may be general. But the tone of verse 9
evidently points to a period when, as at Medina, the prospects of
Islam were becoming hopeful.
SURA LVII. IRON [XCIX.]
MEDINA.1 29 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
ALL that is in the Heavens and in the Earth praiseth God, and He
is the Mighty, the Wise!
His the Kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; He maketh alive
and killeth; and He hath power over all things!
He is the first and the last; the Seen and the Hidden;2 and He
knoweth all things!
It is He who in six days created the Heavens and the Earth, then
ascended His throne. He knoweth that which entereth the earth,
and that which goeth forth from it, and what cometh down from
Heaven, and what mounteth up to it; and wherever ye are, He is
with you; and God beholdeth all your actions!
His the kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth; and to God shall all
things return!
He causeth the night to pass into the day, and He causeth the day to
pass into the night: and He knoweth the very secrets of the bosom!
Believe in God and his apostle, and bestow in alms of that whereof
God hath made you heirs: for whoever among you believe and give
alms their's shall be a great recompense.
What hath come to you that ye believe not in God, although the
apostle exhorteth you to believe in your Lord, and He hath
accepted your alliance if ye are true believers?
He it is who hath sent down clear tokens upon His servant, that He
may bring you out of darkness into light; and truly, Kind, Merciful
to you is God.
And what hath come to you that ye expend not for the cause of
God? since the heritage of the Heavens and of the Earth is God's
only! Those among you who contributed before the victory, and
fought, shall be differently treated from certain others among you!
Such shall have a nobler grade than those who contributed and
fought after it. But a goodly recompense hath God promised to all;
and God is fully informed of your actions.
Who is he that will lend a generous loan to God? So will He
double it to him, and he shall have a noble reward.
One day thou shalt see the believers, men and women, with their
light running before them, and on their right hand.3 The angels
shall say to them, "Good tidings for you this day of gardens
beneath whose shades the rivers flow, in which ye shall abide for
ever!" This the great bliss!
On that day the hypocrites, both men and women, shall say to
those who believe, "Tarry for us, that we may kindle our light at
yours." It shall be said, "Return ye back, and seek light for
yourselves." But between them shall be set a wall with a gateway,
within which shall be the Mercy, and in front, without it, the
Torment. They shall cry to them, "Were we not with you?" They
shall say, "Yes! but ye led yourselves into temptation, and ye
delayed, and ye doubted, and the good things ye craved deceived
you, till the doom of God arrived: and the deceiver deceived you
in regard to God."
On that day, therefore, no ransom shall be taken from you or from
those who believe not: your abode the fire! This shall be your
master!4 and wretched the journey thither!
Hath not the time come, for those who believe, to humble their
hearts at the warning of God and at the truth which he hath sent
down? and that they be not as those to whom the Scriptures were
given heretofore, whose lifetime was prolonged, but whose hearts
were hardened, and many of them were perverse?
Know that God quickeneth the earth after its death! Now have we
made these signs clear to you, that ye may understand.
Verily, they who give alms, both men and women, and they who
lend a generous loan to God, doubled shall it be to them and
they shall have a noble recompense.
And they who believed in God and his apostle are the men of truth,
and the witnesses in the presence of their Lord;5 They shall have
their recompense and their light: But as for the infidels, and those
who give the lie to our signs, these shall be the inmates of Hell.
Know ye that this world's life is only a sport, and pastime, and
show, and a cause of vainglory among you! And the multiplying of
riches and children is like the plants which spring up after
rain Their growth rejoiceth the husband-man; then they wither
away, and thou seest them all yellow; then they become stubble.
And in the next life is a severe chastisement,
Or else pardon from God and His satisfaction: and this world's
life is but a cheating fruition.6
Vie in hasting after pardon from your Lord, and Paradise whose
outspread is as the outspread of the Heaven and of the Earth:
Prepared is it for those who believe in God and His apostles: Such
is the bounty of God: to whom He will He giveth it: and of
immense bounty is God!
No mischance chanceth either on earth or in your own persons, but
ere we created them, it was in the Book;7 for easy is this to
God
Lest ye distress yourselves if good things escape you, and be over
joyous for what falleth to your share. God loveth not the
presumptuous, the boaster,
Who are covetous themselves and incite others to covetousness.
But whose turneth away from almsgiving Ah! God is the Rich,
the Praiseworthy.
We have sent our apostles with the clear tokens, and we have
caused the Book and the balance8 to descend with them, that men
might observe fairness. And we have sent down IRON. Dire evil9
resideth in it, as well as advantage, to mankind! God would know
who will assist Him and his apostle in secret. Verily, God is
Powerful, Strong.
And of old sent we Noah and Abraham, and on their seed
conferred the gift of prophecy, and the Book; and some of them we
guided aright; but many were evil doers.
Then we caused our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and we
caused Jesus the son of Mary to follow them; and we gave him the
Evangel,10 and we put into the hearts of those who followed him
kindness and compassion: but as to the monastic life, they invented
it themselves. The desire only of pleasing God did we prescribe to
them, and this they observed not as it ought to have been observed:
but to such of them as believed gave we their reward, though many
of them were perverse.
O ye who believe! fear God and believe in his apostle: two
portions of his mercy will He give you. He will bestow on you
light to walk in, and He will forgive you: for God is Forgiving,
Merciful;
That the people of the Book may know that they have no control
over aught of the favours of God, and that these gifts of grace11 are
in the hands of God, and that He vouchsafeth them to whom he
will; for God is of immense bounty.
_______________________
1 The general tone of this Sura shews it to have been revealed at
Medina, and from verse 22 it may be inferred that its true date lies
between the battle of Ohod and the battle of the Ditch.
2 Lit. the exterior and the interior.
3 To guide them on their route to paradise.
4 Patronus. Mar. Beschutzer. Ullm. Or, what ye have deserved.
5 Against the infidels.
6 Supellex deceptionis. Mar.
7 Of our eternal decrees.
8 Brought by Gabriel to Noah, who imparted its use to his
posterity. So say the commentators. But the expression seems
rather to be figurative. Comp. Sura lv. 6, p. 74.
9 Or, mighty warlike strength, but the antithesis requires the
rendering given in the text. Comp. Gen. iv. 22, and Michna Tr.
Aboth, 5, 9.
10 We are not to understand by the word Evangel the actual
volume of the New Testament, or any one of its component parts,
but rather the revelation made to Jesus by God himself, which
Muhammad may have imagined to have been committed to writing
subsequently, in the same way as his own Koran.
11 The word in the original is the same for favours, gifts of grace,
bounty. The reference is to the gift of prophecy (Beidh.) mentioned
verse 27.
SURA IV. WOMEN1 [C.]
MEDINA. 175 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O MEN! fear your Lord, who hath created you of one man (nafs,
soul), and of him created his wife, and from these twain hath
spread abroad so many men and WOMEN. And fear ye God, in
whose name ye ask mutual favours, and reverence the wombs
that bare you. Verily is God watching over you!
And give to the orphans their property; substitute not worthless
things of your own for their valuable ones, and devour not their
property after adding it to your own; for this is a great crime.
And if ye are apprehensive that ye shall not deal fairly with
orphans, then, of other women who seem good in your eyes, marry
but two, or three, or four;2 and if ye still fear that ye shall not act
equitably, then one only; or the slaves whom ye have acquired: this
will make justice on your part easier. Give women their dowry
freely; but if of themselves they give up aught thereof to you, then
enjoy it as convenient, and profitable:
And entrust not to the incapable the substance which God hath
placed with you for their support; but maintain them therewith,
and clothe them, and speak to them with kindly speech.
And make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage;
and if ye perceive in them a sound judgment, then hand over their
substance to them; but consume ye it not wastefully, or by hastily
entrusting it to them;
Because they are growing up. And let the rich guardian not even
touch it; and let him who is poor use it for his support (eat of it)
with discretion.
And when ye make over their substance to them, then take
witnesses in their presence: God also maketh a sufficient account.
Men ought to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave;
and women3 a part of what their parents and kindred leave:
whether it be little or much, let them have a stated portion.
And when they who are of kin are present at the division, and the
orphans and the poor, let them too have a share; and speak to them
with kindly speech.
And let those be afraid to wrong the orphans, who, should they
leave behind them weakly offspring, would be solicitous on their
account. Let them, therefore, fear God, and let them propose what
is right.
Verily they who swallow the substance of the orphan wrongfully,
shall swallow down only fire into their bellies, and shall burn in
the flame!
With regard to your children, God commandeth you to give the
male the portion of two females; and if they be females more than
two, then they shall have two-thirds of that which their fatherhath
left: but if she be an only daughter, she shall have the half; and the
father and mother of the deceased shall each of them have a sixth
part of what he hath left, if he have a child; but if he have no child,
and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third:
and if he have brethren, his mother shall have the sixth, after
paying the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and his debts. As to
your fathers, or your children, ye know not which of them is the
most advantageous to you. This is the law of God. Verily, God is
Knowing, Wise!
Half of what your wives leave shall be your's, if they have no
issue; but if they have issue, then a fourth of what they leave shall
be your's, after paying the bequests they shall bequeath, and debts.
And your wives shall have a fourth part of what ye leave, if ye
have no issue; but if ye have issue, then they shall have an eighth
part of what ye leave, after paying the bequests ye shall bequeath,
and debts.
If a man or a woman make a distant relation their heir, and he or
she have a brother or a sister, each of these two shall have a sixth;
but if there are more than this, then shall they be sharers in a third,
after payment of the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and debts,
Without loss to any one. This is the ordinance of God, and God is
Knowing, Gracious!
These are the precepts of God; and whoso obeyeth God and his
prophet, him shall God bring into gardens beneath whose shades
the rivers flow, therein to abide for ever: and this, the great
blessedness!
And whoso shall rebel against God and his apostle, and shall break
His bounds, him shall God place in the fire to abide therein for
ever; and his shall be a shameful torment.
If any of your women be guilty of whoredom, then bring four
witnesses against them from among yourselves; and if they bear
witness to the fact, shut them up within their houses till death
release them,4 or God make some way for them.
And if two men among you commit the same crime, then punish
them both; but if they turn and amend, then let them be: for God is
He who turneth, Merciful!
With God himself will the repentance of those who have done evil
ignorantly, and then turn speedily unto Him, be accepted. These!
God will turn unto them:for God is Knowing, Wise!
But no place of repentance shall there be for those who do evil,
until, when death is close to one of them, he saith, "Now verily am
I turned to God;" nor to those who die unbelievers. These! we have
made ready for them a grievous torment!
O believers! it is not allowed you to be heirs of your wives against
their will; nor to hinder them from marrying, in order to take from
them part of the dowry you had given them, unless they have been
guilty of undoubted lewdness; but associate kindly with them: for
if ye are estranged from them, haply ye are estranged from that in
which God hath placed abundant good.
And if ye be desirous to exchange one wife for another, and have
given one of them a talent, make no deduction from it. Would ye
take it by slandering her, and with manifest wrong?
How, moreover, could ye take it, when one of you hath gone in
unto the other, and they have received from you a strict bond of
union?
And marry not women whom your fathers have married: for this is
a shame, and hateful, and an evil way: though what is past5 may
be allowed.
Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your
sisters, and your aunts, both on the father and mother's side, and
your nieces on the brother and sister's side, and your
foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and the mothers of your
wives, and your step-daughters who are your wards, born of your
wives to whom ye have gone in: (but if ye have not gone in unto
them, it shall be no sin in you to marry them;) and the wives of
your sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye may not have two
sisters; except where it is already done. Verily, God is Indulgent,
Merciful!
Forbidden to you also are married women, except those who are in
your hands as slaves: This is the law of God for you. And it is
allowed you, beside this, to seek out wives by means of your
wealth, with modest conduct, and without fornication. And give
those with whom ye have cohabited their dowry. This is the law.
But it shall be no crime in you to make agreements over and above
the law. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise!
And whoever of you is not rich enough to marry free believing
women, then let him marry such of your believing maidens as have
fallen into your hands as slaves; God well knoweth your faith. Ye
are sprung the one from the other. Marry them, then, with the leave
of their masters, and give them a fair dower: but let them be chaste
and free from fornication, and not entertainers of lovers.
If after marriage they commit adultery, then inflict upon them half
the penalty enacted for free married women. This law is for him
among you who is afraid of doing wrong:6 but if ye abstain,7 it will
be better for you. And God is Lenient, Merciful.
God desireth to make this known to you, and to guide you into the
ways of those who have been before you, and to turn Him unto you
in mercy. And God is Knowing, Wise!
God desireth thus to turn him unto you: but they who follow their
own lusts, desire that with great swerving should ye swerve! God
desireth to make your burden light: for man hath been created
weak.
O believers! devour not each other's substance in mutual
frivolities;8 unless there be a trafficking among you by your own
consent: and commit not suicide: of a truth God is merciful to
you.
And whoever shall do this maliciously and wrongfully, we will in
the end cast him into the fire; for this is easy with God.
If ye avoid the great sins which ye are forbidden, we will blot out
your faults, and we will cause you to enter Paradise with
honourable entry.
Covet not the gifts by which God hath raised some of you above
others. The men shall have a portion according to their deserts, and
the women a portion according to their deserts. Of God, therefore,
ask his gifts. Verily, God hath knowledge of all things.
To every one have we appointed kindred, as heirs of what parents
and relatives, and those with whom ye have joined right hands in
contract, leave. Give therefore, to each their portion. Verily, God
witnesseth all things.
Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which
God hath gifted the one above the other, and on account of the
outlay they make from their substance for them. Virtuous women
are obedient, careful, during the husband's absence, because God
hath of them been careful.9 But chide those for whose
refractoriness ye have cause to fear; remove them into beds apart,
and scourage them: but if they are obedient to you, then seek not
occasion against them: verily, God is High, Great!
And if ye fear a breach between man and wife, then send a judge
chosen from his family, and a judge chosen from her family: if
they are desirous of agreement, God will effect a reconciliation
between them; verily, God is knowing, apprised of all!
Worship God, and join not aught with Him in worship. Be good to
parents,10 and to kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to a
neighbour, whether kinsman or new-comer, and to a fellow
traveller, and to the wayfarer, and to the slaves whom your right
hands hold; verily, God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster,
Who are niggardly themselves, and bid others be niggards, and
hide away what God of his bounty hath given them. We have made
ready a shameful chastisement for the unbelievers,
And for those who bestow their substance in alms to be seen of
men, and believe not in God and in the last day. Whoever hath
Satan for his companion, an evil companion hath he!
But what blessedness would be theirs, if they should believe in
God and in the last day, and bestow alms out of what God hath
vouchsafed them; for God taketh knowledge of them!
God truly will not wrong any one of the weight of a mote; and if
there be any good deed, he will repay it doubly; and from his
presence shall be given a great recompense.
How! when we shall bring up against them witnesses from all
peoples, and when we shall bring thee up as witness against these?
On that day they who were Infidels and rebelled against the
prophet, shall wish that the earth were levelled with them! But
nothing shall they hide from God.
O ye true believers,11 come not to prayer when ye are drunken, but
wait till ye can understand what ye utter; nor when ye are polluted,
unless ye be travelling on the road, until ye have washed you. If ye
be sick, or on a journey, or have come from the unclean place, or
have touched a woman, and ye find not water, then rub pure sand,
and bathe your face and your hands with it: verily, God is Lenient,
Merciful.
Hast thou not remarked those12 to whom a part of the Scriptures
hath been given? Vendors are they of error, and are desirous that
ye go astray from the way. But God knoweth your enemies; and
God is a sufficient patron, and God is a sufficient helper!
Among the Jews are those who displace the words of their
Scriptures, and say, "We have heard, and we have not obeyed.
Hear thou, but as one that heareth not; and LOOK AT US;"13
perplexing with their tongues, and wounding the Faith by their
revilings.
But if they would say, "We have heard, and we obey; hear thou,
and REGARD US;" it were better for them, and more right. But
God hath cursed them for their unbelief. Few only of them are
believers!
O ye to whom the Scriptures have been given! believe in what we
have sent down confirmatory of the Scripture which is in your
hands, ere we efface your features, and twist your head round
backward, or curse you as we cursed the sabbath-breakers:14 and
the command of God was carried into effect.
Verily, God will not forgive the union of other gods with Himself!
But other than this will forgive to whom He pleaseth. And He who
uniteth gods with God hath devised a great wickedness.
Hast thou not marked those who hold themselves to be righteous?
But God holdeth righteous whom He will; and they shall not be
wronged the husk of a date stone.
Behold how they devise a lie of God! Therein is wickedness
manifest enough!
Hast thou not observed those to whom a part of the Scriptures hath
been given?15 They believe in Djibt and Thagout, and say of the
infidels, "These are guided in a batter path than those who hold the
faith."
These are they whom God hath cursed: and for him whom God
hath cursed, thou shalt by on means find a helper.
Shall they have a share in the kingdom who would not bestow on
their fellow men even the speck in a date stone?a
Envy they other men what God of his bounty hath given them? We
gave of old the Scriptures and wisdom to the line of Abraham, and
we gave them a grand kingdom:
Some of them believe on the prophet and some turn aside from
him: the flame of Hell is their sufficing punishment!
Those who disbelieve our signs we will in the end cast into the
fire: so oft as their skins shall be well burnt,16 we will change them
for fresh skins, that they may taste the torment. Verily God is
Mighty, Wise!
But as for those who have believed, and done the things that are
right, we will bring being them into gardens 'neath which the
rivers flow therein to abide eternally; therein shall they have
wives of stainless purity: and we will bring them into
aye-shadowing shades.
Verily, God enjoineth you to give back your trusts to their owners,
and when ye judge between men, to judge with fairness. Excellent
is the practice to which God exhorteth you. God Heareth,
Beholdeth!
O ye who believe! obey God and obey the apostle, and those
among you invested with authority; and if in aught ye differ, bring
it before God and the apostle, if ye believe in God and in the latter
day. This is the best and fairest way of settlement.
Hast thou not marked those who profess that they believe in what
hath been sent down to thee, and what hath been sent down before
thee? Fain would they be judged before Thagout, though
commanded not to believe in him; and fain would Satan make
them wander with wanderings wide of truth.
And when it is said to them, "Accede to that which God hath sent
down, and to the apostle," thou seest the hypocrites avert them
from thee with utter aversion.
But how, when some misfortune shall fortune them, for their
previous handywork? Then will they come to thee, swearing by
God, "We desire nothing but to promote good and concord!"
These are they whose hearts God knoweth. Therefore break off
from them, and warn them, speak words that may penetrate their
souls.
We have not sent any apostle but to be obeyed, it God so will: but
if they, after they have sinned to their own hurt by unbelief, come
to thee and ask pardon of God, and the apostle ask pardon for
them, they shall surely find that God is He who turneth unto man,
Merciful.
And they will not I swear by thy Lord they will not believe,
until they have set thee up as judge between them on points where
they differ. Then shall they not find in their own minds any
difficulty in thy decisions, and shall submit with entire submission.
Had we laid down such a law for them as "Kill yourselves, or
abandon your dwellings," but few of them would have done it. But
had they done that to which they were exhorted, better and it been
for them, and stronger for the confirmation of their faith.
In that case we had surely given them from ourself a great
recompense, and on the straight path should we surely have guided
them.
And whoever shall obey God and the Apostle, these shall be with
those of the Prophets, and of the Sincere, and of the Martyrs, and
of the Just, to whom God hath been gracious. These are a goodly
band!
This is the bounty of God; and in knowledge doth God suffice.
O ye who believe! make use of precautions; and advance in
detachments, or , advance in a body.
There is of you who will be a laggard: and if a reverse befall you
he saith, "Now hath God dealt graciously with me, since I was not
with you in the fight:"
But if a success from God betide you, he will say, as if there had
never been any friendship between you and him, "Would I had
been with them! a rich prize should I have won!"
Let those then fight on the path of God, who barter this present life
for that which is to come; for whoever fighteth on God's path,
whether he be slain or conquer, we will in the end give him a great
reward.
But what hath come to you that ye fight not on the path of God,
and for the weak among men, women and children, who say, "O
our Lord! bring us forth from this city17 whose inhabitants are
oppressors; give us a champion from thy presence; and give us
from thy presence a defender."
They who believe, fight on the path of God; and they who believe
not, fight on the path of Thagout: Fight therefore against the
friends of Satan. Verily craft of Satan shall be powerless!
Hast thou not marked those to whom it was said, "Withhold your
hands awhile from war; and observe prayer, and pay the stated
alms." But when war is commanded them, lo! a portion of them
fear men as with the fear of God, or with a yet greater fear, and
say: "O our Lord! why hast thou commanded us war? Couldst thou
not have given us respite till our not distant end?" SAY: Small the
fruition of this world; but the next life is the true good for him
who feareth God! and ye shall not be wronged so much as the skin
of a date stone.
Wherever ye be, death will overtake you although ye be in lofty
towers! If good fortune betide them, they say, "This is from God;"
and if evil betide them, they say, "This is from thee." SAY: All is
from God: But what hath come to these people that they are not
near to understanding what is told them?
Whatever good betideth thee is from God, and whatever betideth
thee of evil is from thyself; and we have sent thee to mankind as
an apostle: God is thy sufficing witness.
Whoso obeyeth the Apostle, in so doing obeyeth God: and as to
those who turn back from thee, we have not sent thee to be their
keeper.
Moreover, they say: "Obedience!" but when they come forth from
thy presence, a party of them brood by night over other than thy
words; but God writeth down what they brood over: therefore
separate thyself from them, and put thou thy trust in God. is a
sufficient protector!
Can they not consider the Koran? Were it from any other than
God, they would surely have found in it many contradictions.
And when tidings, either of security or alarm, reach them, they tell
them abroad; but if they would report them to the apostle, and to
those who are in authority among them, those who desire
information would learn it from them. But for the goodness and
mercy of God towards you, ye would have followed Satan except a
few!
Fight, therefore, on God's path: lay not burdens on any but thyself;
and stir up the faithful. The might of the infidels haply will god
restrain, for God is the stronger in prowess, and the stronger to
punish.
He who shall mediate between men for a good purpose shall be the
gainer by it. But he who shall mediate with an evil mediation shall
reap the fruit of it. And God keepeth watch over everything.
If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a better
greeting, or at least return it: God taketh count of all things.
God! there is no god but He! He will certainly assemble you on the
day of resurrection. There is no doubt of it. And whose word is
more true than God's?
Why are ye two parties on the subject of the hypocrites, when God
hath cast them off for their doings? Desire ye to guide those whom
god hath led astray? But for him whom God leadeth astray, thou
shalt by no means find a pathway.
They desire that ye should be infidels as they are infidels, and that
ye should be alike. Take therefore none of them for friends, till
they have fled their homes for the cause of God. If they turn back,
then seize them, and slay them wherever ye find them; but take
none of them as friends or helpers,
Except those who shall seek and asylum among your allies, and
those who come over to you their hearts forbidding them to
make war on you, or to make war on their own people. Had God
pleased, he would have given them power against you, and they
would have made war upon you! But, if they depart from you, and
make not war against you and offer you peace, the God alloweth
you no occasion against them.
Ye will find others who seek to gain your confidence as well as
that of their own people: So oft as they return to sedition, they
shall be overthrown in it: But if they leave you not, nor propose
terms or peace to you nor withhold their hands, then seize them,
and slay them, wherever ye find them. Over these have we given
you undoubted power.
A believer killeth not a believer but by mischance: and whoso
killeth a believer by mischance shall be bound to free a believer
from slavery; and the blood-money shall be paid to the family of
the slain, unless they convert it into alms. But if the slain believer
be of a hostile people, then let him confer freedom on a slave who
is a believer; and if he be of a people between whom and
yourselves there is an alliance, then let the blood-money be paid to
his family, and let him set free a slave who is a believer: and let
him who hath not the means, fast two consecutive months. This is
the penance enjoined by God; and God is Knowing, Wise!
But whoever shall kill a believer of set purpose, his recompense
shall be hell; for ever shall he abide in it; God shall be wrathful
with him, and shall curse him, and shall get ready for him a great
torment.
O believers! when ye go forth to the fight for the cause of God, be
discerning, and say not to every one who meeteth you with a
greeting, "Thou art not a believer"18 in your greed after the chance
good things of this present life! With God are abundant spoils.
Such hath been your wont in times past; but god hath been
gracious to you. Be discerning, then, for God well knoweth what
ye do.
Those believers who sit at home free from trouble, and those who
do valiantly in the cause of God with their substance and their
persons, shall not be treated alike. God hath assigned to those who
contend earnestly with their persons and with their substance, a
rank above those who sit at home. Goodly promises hath He made
to all. But God hath assigned to the strenuous a rich recompense,
above those who sit still at home,
Rank of his own bestowal, and forgiveness, and mercy; for God is
Indulgent, Merciful.
The angels,19 when they took the souls of those who had been
unjust to their own weal, demanded, "What hath been your
state?"20 They said, "We were the weak ones21 of the earth." They
replied, "Was not God's earth broad enough for you to flee away
in?" These! their home shall be Hell, and evil the passage to it
Except the men and women and children who were not able,
through their weakness, to find the means of escape, and were not
guided on their way. These haply God will forgive: for God is
Forgiving, Gracious.
Whoever flieth his country for the cause of God, will find in the
earth many under like compulsion, and abundant resources; and if
any one shall quit his home and fly to God and his apostle, and
then death overtake him, his reward from God is sure: for God is
Gracious, Merciful!
And when ye go forth to war in the land, it shall be no crime in you
to cut short your prayers,22 if ye fear lest the infidels come upon
you; Verily, the infidels are your undoubted enemies!
And when thou, O apostle! shalt be among them, and shalt pray
with them, then let a party of them rise up with thee, but let them
take their arms; and when they shall have made their prostrations,
let them retire to your rear: then let another party that hath not
prayed come forward, and let them pray with you; but let them
take their precautions and their arms. Pleased would the infidels be
for you to neglect your arms and your baggage, that they might
turn upon you at once! And it shall be no crime in you to lay down
your arms if rain annoy you, or if ye be sick. But take your
precautions.23 Verily, God hath made ready a shameful torment for
the infidels.
And when ye shall have ended the prayer, make mention of God,
standing, and sitting, and reclining: and as soon as ye are secure,
observe prayer; for to the faithful, prayer is a prescribed duty, and
for stated hours.
Slacken not in pursuit of the foe. If ye suffer, assuredly they suffer
also as ye suffer; but ye hope from God for what they cannot hope!
And God is Knowing, Wise!
Verily, we have sent down the Book to thee with the truth, thou
that mayest judge between men according as God hath given thee
insight: But with the deceitful ones dispute not: and implore
pardon of God. Verily, God is Forgiving, Merciful.24
And plead not with us for those who are self-deceivers; for God
loveth not him who is deceitful, criminal.
From men they hide themselves; but they cannot hide themselves
from God: and when they hold nightly discourses which please
Him not, He is with them. God is round about their doings!
Oh! ye are they who plead in their favour in this present life; but
who shall plead with God for them on the day of the resurrection?
Who will be the guardian over them?
Yet he who doth evil, or shall have acted against his own weal, and
then shall ask pardon of God, will find God Forgiving, Merciful:
And whoever committeth a crime, committeth it to his own hurt.
And God is Knowing, Wise!
And whoever committeth an involuntary fault or a crime, and then
layeth it on the innocent, shall surely bear the guilt of calumny and
of a manifest crime.
But for the grace and mercy of God upon thee, a party among them
had resolved to mislead thee, but they shall only mislead
themselves; nor in aught shall they harm thee. God hath caused the
Book and the wisdom to descend upon thee: and what thou
knowest not He hath caused thee to know: and the grace of God
toward thee hath been great.
In most of their secret talk is nothing good; but only in his who
enjoineth almsgiving, or that which is right, or concord among
men. Whoso doth this, out of desire to please God, we will give
him at the last a great reward:
But whoso shall sever himself from the prophet after that "the
guidance" hath been manifested to him, and shall follow any other
path than that of the faithful, we will turn our back on him as he
hath turned his back on us, and we will cast him into Hell; an
evil journey thither!
God truly will not forgive the joining other gods with Himself.
Other sins He will forgive to whom He will: but he who joineth
gods with God, hath erred with far-gone error.
They call, beside Him, upon mere goddesses! they invoke a rebel
Satan!
On them is the malison of God. For he said, "A portion of thy
servants will I surely take, and will lead them astray, and will stir
desires within them, and will command them and they shall cut the
ears of animals;25 and I will command them, and they shall alter
the creation of God."26 He who taketh Satan rather than God for
his patron, is ruined with palpable ruin:
He hath made them promises, and he hath stirred desires within
them; but Satan promiseth, only to beguile!
These! their dwelling Hell! no escape shall they find from it!
But they who believe and do the things that are right, we will bring
them into gardens beneath which the rivers flow; For ever shall
they abide therein. Truly it is the promise of God: And whose word
is more sure than God's?
Not according to your wishes, or the wishes of the people of the
Book, shall these things be. He who doth evil shall be
recompensed for it. Patron or helper, beside God, shall he find
none.
But whoso doth the things that are right, whether male or female,
and he or she a believer, these shall enter Paradise, nor shall they
be wronged the skin of a date stone.
And who hath a better religion than he who resigneth himself to
God, who doth what is good, and followeth the faith of Abraham
in all sincerity? And God took Abraham for his friend.
All that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth is God's: and
God encompasseth all things!
Moreover, they will consult thee in regard to women: SAY: God
hath instructed you about them; and His will is rehearsed to you, in
the Book, concerning female orphans to whom ye give not their
legal due, and whom ye refuse to marry; also with regard to weak
children; and that ye deal with fairness towards orphans. Ye
cannot do a good action, but verily God knoweth it.
And if a wife fear ill usage or aversion on the part of her husband,
then shall it be no fault in them if they can agree with mutual
agreement, for agreement is best. Men's souls are prone to avarice;
but if ye act kindly and fear God, then, verily, your actions are not
unnoticed by God!
And ye will not have it at all in your power to treat your wives
alike, even though you fain would do so; but yield not wholly to
disinclination, so that ye leave one of them as it were in suspense;
if ye come to an understanding, and fear God, then, verily, God is
Forgiving, Merciful;
But if they separate, God can compensate both out of His
abundance; for God is Vast, Wise;
And whatever is in the Heavens and in the Earth is God's! We
have already enjoined those to whom the Scriptures were given
before you, and yourselves, to fear God. But if ye become
unbelievers, yet know that whatever is in the Heavens and in the
Earth is God's: and God is Rich, Praiseworthy.
All that is in Heaven and all that is in Earth is God's! God is a
sufficient protector!
If he pleased, he could cause you to pass away, O mankind! and
create others in your stead: for this hath God power.
If any one desire the reward of this world, yet with God is the
reward of this world and of the next! And God Heareth, Beholdeth.
O ye who believe! stand fast to justice, when ye bear witness
before God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or
your kindred, whether the party be rich or poor. God is nearer than
you to both. Therefore follow not passion, lest ye swerve from
truth. And if ye wrest your testimony or stand aloof, God verily is
well aware of what ye do.
O ye who believe! believe in God and his Apostle, and the Book
which he hath sent down to his Apostle, and the Book which he
hath sent down aforetime. Whoever believeth not on God and his
Angels and his Books and his Apostles, and in the last day, he
verily hath erred with far-gone error.
Verily, they who believed, then became unbelievers, then believed,
and again became unbelievers, and then increased their
unbelief it is not God who will forgive them or guide them into
the way.
Announce27 to the hypocrites that a dolorous torment doth await
them.
Those who take the unbelievers for friends besides the
faithful do they seek honour at their hands? Verily, all honour
belongeth unto God!
And already hath He sent this down to you in the Book28 "WHEN
YE SHALL HEAR THE SIGNS OF GOD THEY SHALL NOT BE
BELIEVED BUT SHALL BE MOCKED AT." Sit ye not therefore
with such, until they engage in other discourse; otherwise, ye will
become like them. Verily God will gather the hypocrites and the
infidels all together in Hell.
They watch you narrowly. Then if God grant you a victory, they
say, "Are we not with you?" and if the infidels meet with a
success, they say to them, "Were we not superior to you: and did
we not defend you from those believers?" God shall judge betwixt
ye on the day of the resurrection, and God will by no means make
a way for the infidels over the believers.
The hypocrites would deceive God, but He will deceive them!
When they stand up for prayer, they stand carelessly, to be seen of
men, and they remember God but little:
Wavering between the one and the other belonging neither to
these nor those! and by no means shalt thou find a path for him
whom God misleadeth.
O believers! take not infidels for friends rather than believers.
Would ye furnish God with clear right to punish you?
Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire: and,
by no means shalt thou find a helper for them;
Save for those who turn and amend, and lay fast hold on God, and
approve the sincerity of their religion to God; these shall be
numbered with the faithful, and God will at last bestow on the
faithful a great reward.
Why should God inflict a chastisement upon you, if ye are grateful,
and believe? God is Grateful, Wise!
God loveth not that evil be matter of public talk, unless any one
hath been wronged: God it is who Heareth, Knoweth!
Whether ye publish what is good, or conceal it, or pardon evil,
verily God is Pardoning, Powerful!
Of a truth they who believe not on God and his Apostles, and seek
to separate God from his Apostles, and say, "Some we believe, and
some we believe not," and desire to take a middle way;
These! they are veritable infidels! and for the infidels have we
prepared a shameful punishment.
And they who believe on God and his Apostles, and make no
difference between them these! we will bestow on them their
reward at last. God is Gracious, Merciful!
The people of the Book will ask of thee to cause a Book to come
down unto them out of Heaven. But a greater thing than this did
they ask of Moses! for they said, "Shew us God plainly!" and for
this their wickedness did the fire-storm lay hold on them. Then
took they the calf as the object of their worship, after that our clear
tokens had come to them; but we forgave them this, and conferred
on Moses undoubted power.
And we uplifted the mountain 29 over them when we made a
covenant with them, and we said to them, "Enter the gate
adoring:"and we said to them, "Transgress not on the Sabbath,"
and we received from them a strict covenant.
So, for that they have broken their covenant, and have rejected the
signs of God, and have put the prophets to death unjustly, saying
the while, "Our hearts are uncircumcised," Nay, but God hath
sealed them up for their unbelief, so that but few believe.
And for their unbelief, and for their having spoken against Mary
a grievous calumny,
And for their saying, "Verily we have slain the Messiah, Jesus the
son of Mary, an Apostle of God." Yet they slew him not, and they
crucified him not, but they had only his likeness.30 And they who
differed about him were in doubt concerning him: No sure
knowledge had they about him, but followed only an opinion, and
they did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself. And
God is Mighty, Wise!
There shall not be one of the people of the Book but shall believe
in Him before his death, and in the day of resurrection, He will be
a witness against them.
For the wickedness of certain Jews, and because they turn many
from the way of God, we have forbidden them goodly viands
which had been before allowed them.
And because they have taken usury, though they were forbidden it,
and have devoured men's substance in frivolity, we have got ready
for the infidels among them a grievous torment.
But their men of solid knowledge, and the believers who believe in
that which hath been sent down to thee, and in what hath been sent
down before thee, and who observe prayer, and pay the alms of
obligation, and believe in God and the latter day, these! we will
give them a great reward.
Verily we have revealed to thee as we revealed to Noah and the
Prophets after him, and as we revealed to Abraham, and Isma‰l,
and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,
and Aaron, and Solomon; and to David gave we Psalms.
Of some apostles we have told thee before: of other apostles we
have not told thee And discoursing did God discourse with
Moses
Apostles charged to announce and to warn, that men, after those
apostles, might have no plea against God. And God is Mighty,
Wise!
But God is himself witness of what He hath sent down to thee: In
His knowledge hath He sent it down to thee. The angels are also its
witnesses: but God is a sufficient witness!
Verily, they who believe not and pervert from the way of God,
have indeed erred with error wide of truth.
Verily, those who believe not, and act wrongfully, God will never
pardon, and never will he guide them on path,
Than the path to Hell, in which they shall abide for ever! And this
is easy for God.
O men! now hath an apostle come to you with truth from your
Lord. Believe then, it will be better for you. But if ye believe not,
then, all that is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's; and God is
Knowing, Wise!
O ye people of the Book! overstep not bounds in your religion;31
and of God, speak only truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is
only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed into
Mary, and a Spirit32 proceeding from himself. Believe therefore in
God and his apostles, and say not, "Three:" (there is a
Trinity) Forbear it will be better for you. God is only one God!
Far be it from His glory that He should have a son! His, whatever
is in the Heavens, and whatever is in the Earth! And God is a
sufficient Guardian.
The Messiah disdaineth not to be a servant of God, nor do the
angels who are nigh unto Him.
And whoso disdaineth His service, and is filled with pride, God
will gather them all to Himself.
And to those who believe and do the things that are right, will He
pay them their due recompense, and out of His bounty will He
increase them: but as for those who are disdainful and proud, with
a grievous chastisement will He chastise them;
And none beside God shall they find to protect or to help them.
O men! now hath a proof come to you from your Lord, and we
have sent down to you a clear light. As to those who believe in
God and lay fast hold on Him, these will He cause to enter into his
mercy and grace, and along the straight way unto Himself will He
guide them.
They will consult thee. SAY: God instructeth you as to distant
kindred. If a man die childless, but have a sister, half what he shall
have shall be her's; and if she die childless he shall be her heir.
But if there be two sisters, two-third parts of what he shall have
shall be theirs; and if there be both brothers and sisters, the male
shall have the portion of two females. God teacheth you plainly,
that ye err not! God knoweth all things.
_______________________
1 Most of the events alluded to in this Sura fall between the end of
the third and the close of the fifth year after the Flight to Medina.
2 Muhammad assumed to himself the privilege of having a yet
greater number of wives. But in doing so, he was probably
actuated by a desire for male offspring. Chadijah was his only wife
until quite a late period of his career. Comp. Arbah Turim. Ev.
Hazaer 1, "A man may marry many wives, for Rabba saith it is
lawful to do so, if he can provide for them. Nevertheless, the wise
men have given good advice, that a man should not marry more
than four wives." See also Yad Hachazakah Hilchoth Ishuth. 14, 3.
3 Verses 8 and 12 are said by the commentators to have been
revealed in consequence of the complaints of Omm Kuhha that, in
accordance with the ante-Islamitic custom, she had been excluded
from any portion of her deceased husband's property. The
unsatisfactory nature of the Muhammadan traditions may be
inferred from the fact, that no less than six different names are
assigned to him. It is, however, probable that these and similar
laws relative to inheritances were given at a time when many
heads of families had fallen, as at Ohod, in battle. This remark
applies to verses 33 45.
4 Women found guilty of adultery and fornication were punished
at the first rise of Islam, by being literally immured. But this was
exchanged, in the case of a maiden, for one year's banishment and
100 stripes; and in the case of a married woman, for stoning.
5 What took place in the times of ignorance, previous to the
revelation of the Koran. See Freytag's Einl. p. 201, as to the
incestuous nature of the ante-Islamitic Arabian marriages.
6 By marrying without means adequate to the support of a free
wife, or by remaining single.
7 From marrying slaves.
8 Games of chance, usury, etc.
9 By providing for them a home and the protection of a husband.
Or, of that which God would have them care for.
10 An undutiful child is very seldom heard of among the
Egyptians, or the Arabs in general. Sons scarcely ever sit, or sit, or
eat, or smoke, in the presence of the father unless bidden to do so;
and they often wait upon him and upon his guests at meals and on
other occasions: they do not cease to act thus when they have
become men. Lane's Mod. Egypt. vol. i. p. 69.
11 The Koranic precepts as to prayer savour of Jewish origin.
Thus, "Prayer should be said standing" is a Rabbinic
precept. Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 240. Misch.Berachoth 10 may
be shortened in dangerous places, ib. iv. 10 is forbidden to the
drunken, ib. 31, 2. Erubin, 64 and to the polluted; Berachoth iii.
4 and is to be preceded, in this case, by washings with water or
sand. See Sura xvii. 110, note 2, p. 173. 1 Cor. xi. 21.
12 The Jews and their Rabbis.
13 See Sura [xci.] ii. 98.
14 Lit. the companions of the sabbath. See [xci.] ii. 61.
15 This refers to certain renegade Jews, who out of hatred against
Muhammad, went over to the Koreisch. See N”ldeke. p. 149.
16 Lit. ripened.
17 Mecca.
18 And therefore a fit subject for plunder.
19 Some of the Meccans after embracing Islam did not thoroughly
break with the infidels and fly their country. These persons were
miraculously slain by angels at Bedr. Others suppose the angels to
be Nakir and Monkir, who examine the dead in the grave.
20 That is, to what religion did ye belong?
21 And therefore could not resist the unbelievers.
22 Thus the Rabbins Tr. Berachoth, iv. 4, "He that goeth in a
dangerous place may pray a short prayer."
23 See Mischna Tr. Berachoth, 10.
24 This verse is said to have been revealed when Muhammad was
about to acquit a Muslim who had committed theft, and laid the
guilt at the door of a Jew. But the particulars are given in a very
contradictory manner. See Noldeke, p. 151.
25 In allusion to an idolatrous and superstitious custom of the old
Arabians.
26 By the mutilation of slaves, branding their bodies, filing the
teeth, etc.
27 See Sura lxxxiv. 24, p. 47, note.
28 Sura vi.
29 See Sura [xci.] ii.7.
30 Lit.one was made to appear to them like (Jesus). Comp. [xcvii.]
iii.48. Photius, Bibl. Cod. cxiv.says that the Apocr. Book, [Greek
text] This individual according to the Basilidans was-Simon of
Cyrene; according to the Evang. Barnab‘, Judas. Mani, Ep.
Fund. ap. Evodium: "Princeps itaque tenebrarum cruci est affixus,
idemque coronam spineam portavit."
31 By believing too much, like the Christians who regarded Jesus
as God; or too little, like the Jews who would not believe on
Muhammad.
32 That is, a Being possessing a Spirit.
SURA LXV. DIVORCE1 [CI.]
MECCA. 12 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O PROPHET! when ye divorce women, divorce them at their
special times. And reckon those times exactly, and fear God your
Lord. Put them not forth from their houses, nor allow them to
depart, unless they have committed a proven adultery. This is the
precept of God; and whoso transgresseth the precept of God,
assuredly imperilleth his own self. Thou knowest not whether,
after this, God may not cause something new to occur which may
bring you together again.
And when they have reached their set time, then either keep them
with kindness, or in kindness part from them. And take upright
witnesses from among you, and bear witness as unto God. This is a
caution for him who believeth in God and in the latter day. And
whoso feareth God, to him will He grant a prosperous issue, and
will provide for him whence he reckoned not upon it.
And for him who putteth his trust in Him will God be
all-sufficient. God truly will attain his purpose. For everything hath
God assigned a period.
As to such of your wives as have no hope of the recurrence of their
times, if ye have doubts in regard to them, then reckon three
months, and let the same be the term of those who have not yet
had them. And as to those who are with child, their period shall be
until they are delivered of their burden. God will make His
command easy to him who feareth Him.
This is God's command which He hath sent down to you: Whoso
feareth God, his evil deeds will He cancel and will increase his
reward.
Lodge the divorced wherever ye lodge, according to your means;
and distress them not by putting them to straits. And if they are
pregnant, then be at charges for the them till they are delivered of
their burden; and if they suckle your children, then pay them their
hire and consult among yourselves, and act generously: And if
herin ye meet with obstacles, then let another female suckle for
him.
Let him who hath abundance of his abundance; let him, too, whose
store is scanty, give of what God hath vouchsafed to him. God
imposeth burdens only according to the means which He hath
given. God will cause ease to succeed difficulties.
How many cities have turned aside from the command of their
Lord and of his apostles! Therefore did we reckon with them in a
severe reckoning, and chastised them with a stern chastisement;
And they tasted the harmfulness of their own conduct: and the end
of their conduct was ruin.
A vehement chastisement hath God prepared for them! Fear God,
then, O ye men of understanding!2
Believers! Now hath God sent down to you a warning! a prophet,
who reciteth to you the clear signs of God, that he may bring those
who believe, and do the things that are right, out of the darkness
into the light. And-whoso believeth in God, and doeth the things
that are right, God will cause them to enter the gardens beneath
which the rivers flow, to remain therein for aye! A goodly
provision now hath God made for him.
It is God who hath created seven heavens and as many earths.3 The
Divine command cometh down through them all, that ye may
know that God hath power over all things, and that God in his
knowledge embraceth all things!
_______________________
1 Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 228, which this Sura is perhaps intended to
supplement. Wahidi and Beidhawi state that it was revealed on
account of Ibn Omar who had divorced his wife at improper time,
and was obliged to take her again.
2 In order to make good the rhyme, verse 10 ought to be continued
to the end of the first clause of verse II.
3 Lit. and of the earth, their likes. The style of this verse resembles
that of the Meccan Suras. Hence, probably; a tradition in Omar
ben Muhammad makes the whole Sura Meccan.
SURA LIX. THE EMIGRATION [CII.]
MEDINA. 24 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
ALL that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth praiseth
God! He, the Mighty, the Wise!
He it is who caused the unbelievers among the people of the Book
to quit their homes and join those who had EMIGRATED
previously.1 Ye did not think that they would quit them; and they
on their part thought that their fortresses would protect them
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