The Koran
by
Muhammad
Part 13 out of 14
against God: But God came upon them whence they looked not for
Him, and cast such fear into their hearts that by their own hands as
well as by the hands of the victorious believers they demolished
their houses! Profit by this example ye who are men of insight!
And were it not that God had decreed their exile, surely in this
world would he have chastised them: but in the world to come the
chastisement of the fire awaiteth them.
This because they set them against God and his apostle; and whoso
setteth him against God. ! God truly is vehement in punishing.
Your cutting down some of their palm trees and sparing others was
by God's permission, and to put the wicked to shame.
After the spoils of these Jews which God hath assigned to his
apostle, ye pressed not with horse or camel.2 But God giveth his
apostles power over what he will. God is Almighty.
The spoil taken from the people of the towns and assigned by God
to his apostle, belongeth to God, and to the apostle, and to his
kindred, and to the orphan, and to the poor, and to the wayfarer,
that none of it may circulate among such of you only as are rich:
What the apostle hath given you, take: What he hath refused you,
refuse: And fear ye God, for God is severe in punishing.
To the poor refugees (Mohadjerin) also doth a part belong, who
have been driven from their homes and their substance, and who
seek favour from God and his goodwill, and aid God and his
apostle. These are the men of genuine virtue.
They of Medina who had been in possession of their abodes and
embraced the faith before them, cherish those who take refuge
with them; and they find not in their breasts any desire for what
hath fallen to their share: they prefer them before themselves,
though poverty be their own lot. And with such as are preserved
from their own covetousness shall it be well.
And they who have come after them into the faith say, "O our
Lord! forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in the
faith, and put not into our hearts ill-will against those who believe.
O our Lord! thou verily art Kind, Merciful."
Hast thou not observed the disaffected saying to their unbelieving
brethren3 among the people of the Book, "If ye be driven forth, we
will go forth with you; and in what concerneth you, never will we
obey any one; and if ye be attacked we will certainly come to your
help." But God is witness that they are liars.
No! if they were driven forth, they would not share their
banishment; if they were attacked they would not help them, or if
they help them they will surely turn their backs: then would they
remain unhelped.
Assuredly the fear of you is more intense in their hearts than the
fear of God! This because they are a people devoid of discernment.
They (the Jews) will not fight against you in a body except in
fenced towns or from behind walls. Mighty is their valour among
themselves! thou thinkest them united but their hearts are
divided. This for that they are a people who understand not.
They act like those who lately preceded them,4 who also tasted the
result of their doings; and a grievous chastisement awaiteth
them
Like Satan when he saith to a man, "Be an infidel:" and when he
hath become an infidel, he saith, "I share not thy guilt:5 verily, I
fear God the Lord of the Worlds."
Of both, therefore, shall the end be that they dwell for ever in the
fire: This is the recompense of the evil doers.
O ye who believe! fear God. And let every soul look well to what it
sendeth on before for the morrow. And fear ye God: Verily, God is
cognisant of what ye do.
And be ye not like those who forget God, and whom He hath
therefore caused to forget their proper selves. Such men are the
evil doers.
The inmates of the Fire and the inmates of Paradise are not to be
held equal. The inmates of Paradise only shall be the blissful.
Had we sent down this Koran on some mountain, thou wouldst
certainly have seen it humbling itself6 and cleaving asunder for the
fear of God. Such are the parables we propose to men in order that
they may reflect.
He is God beside whom there is no god. He knoweth things visible
and invisible: He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.
He is God beside whom there is no god: He is the King, the Holy,
the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Strong,
the Most High! Far be the Glory of God from that which they unite
with Him!
He is God, the Producer, the Maker, the Fashioner! To Him are
ascribed excellent titles. Whatever is in the Heavens and in the
Earth praiseth Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise!
_______________________
1 The Jews of Nadhir, three miles from Medina, had broken a
treaty made with Muhammad, and in the month RabΠof the fourth
year of the Hejira were besieged by him and driven first to the
Jews of Kainoka, who had emigrated previously, under
compulsion, after the battle of Bedr, and subsequently out of
Arabia. Weil, Life of M. p.137.n.
2 On which account these spoils were entirely assigned to
Muhammad, and not divided in the usual manner. See Sura [xcv.]
viii. 42. Weil, p. 138, 184.
3 To the Jews of the tribe of Nadhir.
4 The idolaters slain at Bedr (Djal.) or the Jews of Kainoka, who
had been plundered previously to those of Nadhir.
5 Lit. I am clear of thee.
6 This may be derived from the Rabbinical idea that Mount Sinai
was chosen, on account of its lowness, to be the scene of the
revelation to Moses, in order to shew that God loves the humble.
SURA XXXIII. THE CONFEDERATES1 [CIII.]
MEDINA. 73 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O PROPHET, fear thou God, and obey not the unbelievers and the
hypocrites; Truly God is Knowing, Wise:
But follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord: Cognisant truly
is He of all your actions
And put thou thy trust in God, for a sufficient guardian is God.
God hath not given a man two hearts within him; neither hath he
made your wives whom ye divorce2 to be as your mothers; nor hath
he made your adopted sons to be as your own sons. Such words are
indeed in your mouths; but God speaketh the truth, and in the right
way He guideth.
Name them after their fathers: this will be more right before God.
But if ye know not who their fathers are, then let them be your
brethren in the faith, and your comrades. And unless made with
intent of heart, mistakes in this matter shall be no crime in you: for
God is Lenient, Merciful.
Nearer of kin to the faithful is the Prophet, than they are to their
own selves. His wives are their mothers. According to the Book of
God, they who are related by blood, are nearer the one to the other
than other believers, and than those who have fled their country3
for the cause of God: but whatever kindness ye shew to your
kindred, shall be noted down in the Book.
And remember that we have entered into covenant with the
Prophets, and with thee, and with Noah, and Abraham, and Moses,
and Jesus, Son of Mary: and we formed with them a strict
covenant,
That God may question the men of truth as to their truth.4 But a
sore torment hath He prepared for the unbelievers.
O believers!5 remember the goodness of God towards you, when
the armies came against you, and we sent against them a blast, and
hosts that ye saw not; for the eye of God was upon your doings:
When they assailed you from above you, and from below you,6 and
when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts came up into
your throat, and ye thought divers thoughts of God:
Then were the faithful tried, and with strong quaking did they
quake:
And when the disaffected and the diseased7 of heart said, "God and
his Apostle have made us but a cheating promise:"
And when a party of them said, "O people of Yathrib!8 there is no
place of safety for you here;9 therefore return into the city." And
another party of you asked the prophet's leave to return, saying,
"Our houses are left defenceless." No! they were not left
defenceless: but their sole thought was to flee away.
If the enemy had effected an entry at all points, and they (the
disaffected) had been asked to promote confusion, they would
have done so; but only a short time would they have remained in
it. (Medina).10
They had before pledged themselves to God that they would not
turn their backs; and a pledge given to God must be enquired of.
SAY: Flight shall not profit you; if ye have fled the death or the
slaughter, yet even then, but a little while shall ye enjoy your good
things!
SAY: Who is he that will screen you from God, whether He choose
to bring evil on you, or to shew you mercy? None beside God shall
they find to be their patron or helper.
God well knoweth those among you who cause hindrances, and
those who say to their brethren, "Come hither to us;" and who
come not to the fight except a little.
It is out of covetousness in your regard: for when an alarm cometh,
thou mayest see them look to thee, and roll their eyes like him on
whom the shadows of death have fallen! Yet, when the alarm is
passed, with sharp tongues will they assail you, covetous of the
best of the spoil. No faith have these! God will make their doings
of no avail! And easy is this with God.
They thought that the CONFEDERATES would never retire:11 and
were the confederates to come again, they would fain be dwelling
among the Arabs of the desert, and there ask news about you! for
though they were with you, they fought not except a little.
A noble pattern had ye in God's Apostle, for all who hope in God,
and in the latter day, and oft remember God!
And when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, "This is
what God and His Apostle promised us,12 and God and His Apostle
spoke truly:" and it only increased their faith and self-devotion.
Some were there among the faithful who made good what they had
promised to God. Some have fulfilled their course, and others
await its fulfilment, and have not been changelings who change
That God may reward the faithful for their faithfulness, and may
punish the hypocrites, if He so please, or be turned unto them: for
God is Forgiving, Merciful.
And God drove back the infidels in their wrath; they won no
advantage; God sufficed the faithful in the fight: for God is Strong,
Mighty!
And He caused those of the people of the Book (the Jews), who
had aided the confederates, to come down out of their fortresses,
and cast dismay into their hearts: some ye slew, others ye took
prisoners.13
And He gave you their land, and their dwellings, and their wealth,
for an heritage even a land on which ye had never set foot: for
the might of God is equal to all things.
O Prophet! say to thy wives,14 If ye desire this present life and its
braveries, come then, I will provide for you, and dismiss you with
an honourable dismissal.
But if ye desire God and His Apostle, and a home in the next life,
then, truly, hath God prepared for those of you who are virtuous, a
great reward.
O wives of the Prophet! should any of you be guilty of a proven
lewdness, doubly shall her chastisement be doubled: and with God
this is easy.
But whoever of you shall obey God and His Apostle, and shall do
that which is right, twice over will we give her her reward, and we
have prepared for her a noble provision.
O wives of the Prophet! ye are not as other women. If ye fear God,
be not too complaisant of speech, lest the man of unhealthy heart
should lust after you, but speak with discreet speech.
And abide still in your houses, and go not in public decked as in
the days of your former ignorance,15 but observe prayer, and pay
the impost, and obey God and the Apostle: for God only desireth to
put away filthiness from you16 as his household, and with cleansing
to cleanse you.
And recollect what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the Book
of God, and of wisdom: for God is keen-sighted, cognisant of all.
Truly the men who resign themselves to God (Muslims), and the
women who resign themselves, and the believing men and the
believing women, and the devout men and the devout women, and
the men of truth, and the women of truth, and the patient men and
the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women,
and the men who give alms and the women who give alms, and the
men who fast and the women who fast, and the chaste men and the
chaste women, and the men and the women who oft remember
God: for them hath God prepared forgiveness and a rich
recompense.
And it is not for a believer, man or woman, to have any choice in
their affairs, when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter: and
whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle, erreth with palpable
error.
And, remember, when thou saidst to him unto whom God had
shewn favour,17 and to whom thou also hadst shewn favour, "Keep
thy wife to thyself, and fear God;" and thou didst hide in thy mind
what God would bring to light.18 and thou didst fear man; but more
right had it been to fear God. And when Zaid had settled
concerning her to divorce her, we married her to thee, that it might
not be a crime in the faithful to marry the wives of their adopted
sons, when they have settled the affair concerning them. And the
behest of God is to be performed.
No blame attacheth to the prophet where God hath given him a
permission. Such was the way of God with those prophets who
flourished before thee; for God's behest is a fixed decree
Who fulfilled the mission with which God had charged them,19 and
feared Him, and feared none but God. And God taketh a sufficient
account.
Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the
Apostle of God, and the seal of the prophets: and God knoweth all
things.
O Believers! remember God with frequent remembrance, and
praise Him morning and evening.
He blesseth you, and His angels intercede for you, that He may
bring you forth out of darkness into light: and Merciful is He to the
Believers.
Their greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be
"Peace!" And He hath got ready for them a noble recompense.
O Prophet ! we have sent thee to be a witness, and a herald of glad
tidings, and a warner;
And one who, through His own permission, summoneth to God,
and a light-giving torch.
Announce, therefore, to believers, that great boons do await them
from God;
And obey not the Infidels and Hypocrites yet abstain from
injuring them: and put thou thy trust in God, for God is a sufficient
guardian.
O Believers! when ye marry believing women, and then divorce
them before ye have consummated the marriage, ye have no term
prescribed you, which ye must fulfil towards them: provide for
them, and dismiss them with a reputable dismissal.
O Prophet! we allow thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered, and
the slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which
God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy uncle, and of thy
paternal and maternal aunts who fled with thee to Medina, and any
believing woman who hath given herself up to the Prophet, if the
Prophet desired to wed her a Privilege for thee above the rest of
the Faithful.
We well know what we have settled for them, in regard to their
wives and to the slaves whom their right hands hold, that there
may be no fault on thy part:20 and God is Indulgent, Merciful!
Thou mayst decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and
thou mayest take to thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever
thou shalt long for of those thou shalt have before neglected; and
this shall not be a crime in thee. Thus will it be easier to give them
the desire of their eyes, and not to put them to grief, and to satisfy
them with what thou shalt accord to each of them. God knoweth
what is in your hearts, and God is Knowing, Gracious.
It is not permitted thee to take other wives hereafter,21 nor to
change thy present wives for other women, though their beauty
charm thee, except slaves whom thy right hand shall possess.22
And God watcheth all things.
O Believers! enter not into the houses of the Prophet,23 save by his
leave, for a meal, without waiting his time. When ye are invited
then enter, and when ye have eaten then disperse at once.24 And
engage not in familiar talk, for this would cause the Prophet
trouble, and he would be ashamed to bid you go; but God is not
ashamed to say the truth. And when ye would ask any gift of his
wives, ask it from behind a veil. Purer will this be for your hearts
and for their hearts. And ye must not trouble the Apostle of God,
nor marry his wives, after him, for ever. This would be a grave
offence with God.
Whether ye bring a matter to the light or hide it, God truly hath
knowledge of all things.
No blame shall attach to them (your wives) for speaking to their
fathers unveiled, or to their sons, or to their brothers, or to their
brothers' sons, or to their sisters' sons, or to their women, or to the
slaves whom their right hands hold. And fear ye God: for God
witnesseth all things.
Verily, God and His Angels bless the Prophet! Bless ye Him, O
Believers, and salute Him with salutations of Peace.
Verily, they who affront God and His Apostle, the curse of God is
on them in this world, and in the world to come: and He hath
prepared for them a shameful chastisement.
And they who shall affront believing men and believing women,
for no fault of theirs, they shall surely bear the guilt of slander, and
of a clear wrong.
O Prophet! speak to thy wives and to thy daughters,25 and to the
wives of the Faithful, that they let their veils fall low. Thus will
they more easily be known, and they will not be affronted. God is
Indulgent, Merciful!
If the Hypocrites, and the men of tainted heart, and the stirrers of
sedition in Medina desist not, we will surely stir thee up against
them. Then shall they not be suffered to dwell near thee therein,
but a little while:
Cursed wherever they are found; they shall be seized and slain
with slaughter!
Such hath been the way of God with those who lived before them;
and no change canst thou find in the way of God.
Men will ask thee of "the Hour." SAY: The knowledge of it is with
God alone: and who can tell thee whether haply the Hour be not
nigh at hand?
Verily, God hath cursed the Infidels, and hath got ready for them
the flame:
For aye shall they abide therein; none to befriend them, no helper
shall they find!
On the day when their faces shall be rolled in the fire, they shall
cry: "Oh! would that we had obeyed God, and obeyed the
Apostle!"
And they shall say: "Oh our Lord! indeed we obeyed our chiefs and
our great ones, and they misled us from the way of God
O our Lord! give them a double chastisement, and curse them with
a heavy curse."
O Believers! be not like those who affronted Moses.26 But God
cleared him from what they said of him, and of God was he highly
esteemed.
O Believers! fear God, and speak with well-guided speech.
That God may bless your doings for you, and forgive you your sins.
And whoso obeyeth God and His Apostle with great bliss shall be
blessed.
Verily, we proposed to the Heavens, and to the Earth, and to the
Mountains to receive the Faith, but they refused the burden, and
they feared to receive it. Man undertook to bear it, but hath proved
unjust, senseless!
Therefore will God punish the hypocritical men and the
hypocritical women, and the men and the women who join gods
with God; but to the believing men and women will God turn him:
for God is Indulgent, Merciful!
_______________________
1 Medina was besieged, when this Sura was revealed, by certain
confederate tribes at the instigation of the Jews, an. Hej. 5. The
first nine verses, however, have no immediate reference to this
event, but to Muhammad's cotemporary marriage with Zeinab. See
below, verse 37.
2 The Arabians had been accustomed, before the time of
Muhammad, to divorce their wives with the words, thy back be
to me as the back of my mother. The drift and motive of this
passage is explained by verse 37 below. It had also been the
custom to hold adopted sons to be as nearly related to them as their
natural ones. See Sura lviii. 2, p. 451.
3 The Mohadjers those who had emigrated with Muhammad
from Mecca. This verse abrogates Sura [xcv.] viii. 73.
4 How they have discharged their prophetic functions.
5 Verses 9 33 have reference to the events of the year Hej. 5,
towards the close. See next note. His. 688; Waq. 4 f.
6 In the engagement which took place under the walls of Medina,
some of the enemy were posted on a height to the east of the city,
others in a valley on the west. The besiegers were 12,000, the
Muslims 3,000 strong, when a violent storm, which upset the tents,
put out the camp fires, and blinded the eyes of the confederates
with sand, turned the scale of victory against them. Muhammad
ascribes the storm to angelic agency.
7 That is, with infidelity.
8 The ancient name of El-Medina.
9 In the trenches which had been dug around the city by the advice
of Salmƒn, the Persian.
10 They would speedily have quitted the city to attack the faithful
in the trenches.
11 That is, raise the siege.
12 That is, that through trials we should attain to Paradise, v. 29.
13 After the siege of Medina had been raised, Muhammad made a
successful expedition against the Jews of Koreidha, for their
treason and violation of treaties.
14 Muhammad's wives having caused him much annoyance by
demands of rich dresses, etc., he gave them the choice of
continuing with him as before, or of divorce. They chose the
former. See Abulfeda's Hist. Moh. p. 77, and Gagnier's Vie de
Moh. i. 4, chap. ii.
15 That is, Idolatry. Acts xvii. 30. Freytag (Einl. p. 453) thinks that
previous to Islam, the Arabian women went in public unveiled.
16 The pronoun is in the pl. masc., whereas the pl. fem. is used in
the previous part of the verse. The partisans of Ali quote this
passage to prove the intimate union of Ali and his posterity with
the Prophet.
17 That is, to Zaid. The favour of God to Zaid consisted in having
caused him to become a Muslim: the favour of Muhammad in
adopting him as his son. Zaid and Abu Lahab (Sura cxi. p. 29) are
the only contemporaries of Muhammad mentioned by name in the
Koran.
18 Thy plan to obtain Zeinab, or Zenobia, Zaid's wife, as thy wife.
19 Lit, who brought the messages of God.
20 If thou makest use of the special prerogative (conferred in verse
49).
21 He had nine wives at this period, beside slaves. The number of
wives allowed to the faithful is four. See note, p. 411.
22 The first slave whom Muhammad took to wife was Raihana, at
the conquest of the Banu Koreidha. His. 693. Weil, 170.
23 Verses 53 55 refer to the conduct of the guests at Muhammad's
house after his marriage with Zeinab. Albuhari passim. Muslim i.
824 ff. Wah. Comp. Caussir, iii. 151.
24 Ullmann, p. 263, quotes a similar precept from the Talmud,
"Do all that the master of the house biddeth, but wait not to be
asked to depart."
25 This verse cannot be of later date than 8, when Muhammad's
daughter Omm Kulthum died. leaving only Fatima.
26 This may refer to the charge of adultery said by the Rabbins to
have been brought by Korah against Moses. Comp. Tr. Sanhedrin,
fol. 110a. and Numbers xii. 1. The verse is said to have been
revealed on account of aspersions thrown on Muhammad for
unfairly dividing spoils, whereupon he said, "God be merciful to
my brother Moses. He was wronged more than this, and bore it
with patience."
SURA LXIII.1 THE HYPOCRITES [CIV.]
MEDINA. ii Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
WHEN the Hypocrites come to thee, they say, "We bear witness
that thou art the Sent One of God." God knoweth that thou art His
Sent One: but God beareth witness that the HYPOCRITES do
surely lie.
Their faith2 have they used as a cloak, and they turn aside others
from the way of God! Evil are all their doings.
This, for that they believed, then became unbelievers!Therefore
hath a seal been set upon their hearts, and they understand not.
When thou seest them, their persons make thee marvel; and if they
speak, thou listenest with pleasure to their discourse. Like timbers
are they leaning against a wall!3 They think that every shout is
against them. They are enemies Beware of them then God do
battle with them! How false are they!
And when it is said to them, "Come, the Apostle of God will ask
pardon for you," they turn their heads aside, and thou seest them
withdraw in their pride.
Alike shall it be to them whether thou ask forgiveness for them, or
ask it not. By no means will God forgive them: God hath no
guidance for a perverse people.
These are they who say to you of Medina, "Spend not aught upon
those who are with the Apostle of God, and they will be forced to
quit him." Yet the treasures of the Heavens and of the Earth are
God's! But the Hypocrites have no understanding.
They say: "If we return to the city, the mightier will assuredly
drive out the weaker from it." But might is with God, and with the
Apostle, and with the Faithful! Yet the Hypocrites understand not.
O ye who believe! let not your wealth and your children delude
you into forgetfulness of God. Whoever shall act thus, shall surely
suffer loss.
And expend in the cause of God out of that with which we have
supplied you, ere death surprise each one of you, and he say, "O
Lord! wilt thou not respite me to a term not far distant, that I may
give alms, and become one of the just?"
And by no means will God respite a soul when its hour hath come!
And God is fully cognisant of what ye do.
_______________________
1 Revealed shortly after the expedition against the Banu 'l
Mustaliq in Hej. 6. See N”ld. p. 156 n. The "Hypocrites"
mentioned in the later Suras are the disaffected portion of the
population of Medina, who covertly opposed the claims of
Muhammad to temporal authority over that city. They were
gradually absorbed, as the authority of Islam increased.
2 Or, in accordance with another reading, oaths. Comp. Ps. cix. 18.
3 Like timbers or joists supported in a wall or leaned against it,
i.e., their persons are bulky, but their hearts so hypocritical and
cowardly that they are afraid of the slightest noise. In the original,
saykat is perhaps an allusion to the shout of Gabriel, that is to
exterminate the wicked.
SURA XXIV. LIGHT [CV.]
MEDINA. 64 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
A SURA which we have sent down and sanctioned! Clear signs
have we sent down therein, that ye may take warning.
The whore and the whoremonger scourge each of them with an
hundred stripes; and let not compassion keep you from carrying
out the sentence of God, if ye believe in God and the last day: And
let some of the faithful witness their chastisement.1
The whoremonger shall not marry other than a whore or an
idolatress; and the whore shall not marry other than a
whoremonger or an idolater. Such alliances are forbidden to the
faithful.
They who defame virtuous women,2 and bring not four witnesses,
scourge them with fourscore stripes, and receive ye not their
testimony for ever, for these are perverse persons
Save those who afterwards repent and live virtuously; for truly
God is Lenient, Merciful!
And they who shall accuse their wives, and have no witnesses but
themselves, the testimony of each of them shall be a testimony by
God four times repeated, that he is indeed of them that speak the
truth.3
And the fifth time that the malison of God be upon him, if he be of
them that lie.
But it shall avert the chastisement from her if she testify a
testimony four times repeated, by God, that he is of them that lie;
And a fifth time to call down the wrath of God on her, if he have
spoken the truth.
And but for the goodness and mercy of God towards you, and that
God is He who loveth to turn, Wise. !
Of a truth, they who advanced that lie4 were a large number of
you; but regard it not as an evil to you. No, it is an advantage to
you.5 To every man among them shall it be done according to the
offence he hath committed; and as to that person6 among them
who took on himself to aggravate it, a sore punishment doth await
him.
Did not the faithful of both sexes, when ye heard of this, form a
favourable judgment in their own minds, and say,
"This is a manifest lie?"
Have they brought four witnesses of the fact? If they cannot
produce the witnesses, they are the liars in the sight of God.
And but for the goodness of God towards you, and His mercy in
this world and in the next, a severe punishment had come upon
you for that which ye spread abroad, when ye uttered with your
tongues, and spake with your mouths that of which ye had no
knowledge. Ye deemed it to be a light matter, but with God it was
a grave one.
And did ye say when ye heard it, "It is not for us to talk of this
affair! O God! By thy Glory, this is a gross calumny?"
God hath warned you that ye go not back to the like of this for
ever, if ye be believers:
And God maketh His signs clear to you: for God is Knowing,
Wise.
But as for those who love that foul calumnies should go forth
against those who believe, a grievous chastisement awaits them
In this world and in the next. And God hath knowledge, but ye
have not.
And but for the goodness of God towards you and His Mercy, and
that God is Kind, Merciful !
O ye who believe! follow not the steps of Satan, for whosoever
shall follow the steps of Satan, he will enjoin on him what is base
and blameworthy; and but for the goodness of God towards you,7
and His mercy, no one of you had been cleansed for ever: but God
maketh whom He will to be clean, and God Heareth, Knoweth.
And let not persons of wealth and means among you swear that
they will not give to their kindred, to the poor, and to those who
have fled their homes in the cause of God; let them rather pardon
and pass over the offence.8 Desire ye not that God should forgive
you? And God is Gracious, Merciful!
Verily, they who throw out charges against virtuous but careless
women, who yet are believers, shall be cursed in this world and in
the world to come; and a terrible punishment doth await them.
Their own tongues, and hands, and feet, shall one day bear witness
against them of their own doings.9
On that day will God pay them their just due, and they shall know
that God is the clear Truth itself.
Bad women for bad men, and bad men for bad women; but
virtuous women for virtuous men, and virtuous men for virtuous
women! These shall be cleared from calumnies; theirs shall be
forgiveness and an honourable provision.
O ye who believe! enter not into other houses10 than your own,
until ye have asked leave, and have saluted its inmates. This will
be best for you: haply ye will bear this in mind.
And if ye find no one therein, then enter it not till leave be given
you; and if it be said to you, "Go ye back," then go ye back. This
will be more blameless in you, and God knoweth what ye do.
There shall be no harm in your entering houses in which no one
dwelleth, for the supply of your needs: and God knoweth what ye
do openly and what ye hide.
Speak unto the believers that they restrain their eyes and observe
continence. Thus will they be more pure. God is well aware of
what they do.
And speak to the believing women that they refrain their eyes, and
observe continence; and that they display not their ornaments,
except those which are external; and that they throw their veils
over their bosoms, and display not their ornaments, except to their
husbands or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons,
or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or
their sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male
domestics who have no natural force, or to children who note not
women's nakedness. And let them not strike their feet together, so
as to discover their hidden ornaments.11 And be ye all turned to
God, O ye Believers! that it may be well with you.
And marry those among you who are single, and your good
servants, and the handmaidens. If they are poor, God of His bounty
will enrich them. God is all-bounteous, Knowing.
And let those who cannot find a match12 live in continence till God
of His bounty shall enrich them. And to those of your slaves who
desire a deed of manumission, execute it for them, if ye know
good in them, and give them a portion of the wealth of God which
He hath given you.13 Force not your female slaves into sin, in order
that ye may gain the casual fruitions of this world, if they wish to
preserve their modesty. Yet if any one compel them, then Verily to
them, after their compulsion, will God be Forgiving, Merciful.
And now have we sent down to you clear signs, and an instance
from among those who flourished before you, and a caution for the
God-fearing.14
God is the LIGHT of the Heavens and of the Earth. His Light is
like a niche in which is a lamp the lamp encased in glass the
glass, as it were, a glistening star. From a blessed tree is it lighted,
the olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would well
nigh shine out, even though fire touched it not! It is light upon
light. God guideth whom He will to His light, and God setteth
forth parables to men, for God knoweth all things.
In the temples which God hath allowed to be reared, that His name
may therein be remembered, do men praise Him morn and even.
Men whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the
remembrance of God, and from the observance of prayer, and the
payment of the stated alms, through fear of the day when hearts
shall throb and eyes shall roll:
That for their most excellent works may God recompense them,
and of His bounty increase it to them more and more: for God
maketh provision for whom He pleaseth without measure.
But as to the infidels, their works are like the vapour in a plain
which the thirsty dreameth to be water, until when he cometh unto
it, he findeth it not aught, but findeth that God is with him; and He
fully payeth him his account: for swift to take account is God:
Or like the darkness on the deep sea when covered by billows
riding upon billows, above which are clouds: darkness upon
darkness. When a man reacheth forth his hand, he cannot nearly
see it! He to whom God shall not give light, no light at all hath he!
Hast thou not seen how all in the Heavens and in the Earth uttereth
the praise of God? the very birds as they spread their wings?
Every creature knoweth its prayer and its praise! and God knoweth
what they do.
God's, the Kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth: and unto
God the final return!
Hast thou not seen that God driveth clouds lightly forward, then
gathereth them together, then pileth them in masses? And then
thou seest the rain forthcoming from their midst; and He causeth
clouds like mountains charged with hail, to descend from the
heaven, and He maketh it to fall on whom He will, and from whom
He will He turneth it aside. The brightness of His lightning all
but taketh away the sight!
God causeth the day and the night to take their turn. Verily in this
is teaching for men of insight. And God hath created every animal
of water.15 Some go upon the belly; some go upon two feet; some
go upon four feet. God hath created what He pleased. Aye, God
hath power over all things.
Now have we sent down distinct signs. And God guideth whom
He will into the right path:
For there are who say "We believe on God and on the Apostle, and
we obey;" yet, after this, a part of them turn back.16 But these are
not of the faithful.
And when they are summoned before God and His Apostle that He
may judge between them, lo! a part of them withdraw:
But had the truth been on their side, they would have come to Him,
obedient.
What! are they diseased of heart? Do they doubt? Are they afraid
that God and His Apostles will deal unfairly with them? Nay,
themselves are the unjust doers.
The words of the believers, when called to God and His Apostle
that He may judge between them, are only to say, "We have heard,
and we obey:" these are they with whom it shall be well.
And whoso shall obey God, and His Apostle, and shall dread God
and fear Him, these are they that shall be the blissful.
And they have sworn by God, with a most solemn oath, that if thou
give them the word, they will certainly march forth. Say: swear ye
not: of more worth is obedience. Verily, God is well aware of what
ye do.
Say: Obey God and obey the Apostle. Suppose that ye turn back,
still the burden of his duty is on him only, and the burden of your
duty rests on you. If ye obey Him, ye shall have guidance: but plain
preaching is all that devolves upon the Apostle.
God hath promised to those of you who believe and do the things
that are right, that He will cause them to succeed others in the
land, as He gave succession to those who were before them, and
that He will establish for them that religion which they delight in,
and that after their fears He will give them security in exchange.
They shall worship Me: nought shall they join with Me: And
whoso, after this, believe not, they will be the impious.
But observe prayer, and pay the stated alms, and obey the Apostle,
that haply ye may find mercy.
Let not the Infidels think that they can weaken God on His own
Earth: their dwelling place shall be the Fire! and right wretched the
journey!
O ye who believe! let your slaves, and those of you who have not
come of age, ask leave of you, three times a day, ere they come
into your presence; before the morning prayer, and when ye lay
aside your garments at mid-day, and after the evening prayer.
These are your three times of privacy. No blame shall attach to you
or to them, if after these times, when ye go your rounds of
attendance on one another, they come in without permission. Thus
doth God make clear to you His signs: and God is Knowing, Wise!
And when your children come of age, let them ask leave to come
into your presence, as they who were before them asked it. Thus
doth God make clear to you his signs: and God is Knowing, Wise.
As to women who are past childbearing, and have no hope of
marriage, no blame shall attach to them if they lay aside their outer
garments, but so as not to shew their ornaments. Yet if they abstain
from this, it will be better for them: and God Heareth, Knoweth.
No crime17 shall it be in the blind, or in the lame, or in the sick, to
eat at your tables: or in yourselves, if ye eat in your own houses, or
in the houses of your fathers, or of your mothers, or of your
brothers, or of your sisters, or of your uncles on the father's side,
or of your aunts on the father's side, or of your uncles on the
mother's side, or of your aunts on the mother's side, or in those of
which ye possess the keys, or in the house of your friend. No
blame shall attach to you whether ye eat together or apart.
And when ye enter houses, salute one another with a good and
blessed greeting as from God. Thus doth God make clear to you
His signs, that haply ye may comprehend them.
Verily, they only are believers who believe in God and His
Apostle, and who, when they are with him upon any affair of
common interest, depart not until they have sought his leave. Yes,
they who ask leave of thee, are those who believe in God and His
Apostle. And when they ask leave of Thee on account of any
affairs of their own, then grant it to those of them whom thou wilt,
and ask indulgence for them of God: for God is Indulgent,
Merciful.
Address not the Apostle as ye address one another.18 God knoweth
those of you who withdraw quietly from the assemblies, screening
themselves behind others. And let those who transgress his
command beware, lest some present trouble befall them, or a
grievous chastisement befall them, hereafter.
Is not whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth God's? He
knoweth your state; and one day shall men be assembled before
Him, and He will tell them of what they have done: for God
knoweth all things.
_______________________
1 With this verse commences the reference to the scandal against
Ayesha, to which verses 6 9 read like a later addition. See His.
731 ff. Albuhari, passim. Muslim ii. 628 ff. Tirm. 524. Tabari and
Weil, p. 151.
2 Said to refer to Hilal ben Umaiya (Muslim i. 886. Tirm. 523.
Annasai, 409 f. Assamarq.) who had accused his wife of adultery.
Two of these commentators, however, give the name of another
Muslim as the person intended.
3 Comp. Numb. v. ii, 31, with which Muhammad must have been
acquainted.
4 The rumour of improper intimacy between Ayesha and Safwan
Ibn El Moattal, during Muhammad's return from the expedition
against the tribe of Mostaliq (an. Hej. 9), in which he was
separated from her for an entire day, which she passed in the
company of Safwan, who had found her when accidentally left
behind. Verses 4 26 were revealed shortly after the return.
5 Whose characters are cleared.
6 Abdallah Ibn Obba. (Abulf. p. 83.)
7 Comp. verse 10, 11 (n.).
8 Abubekr had been desirous to punish one of his relatives,
Mestah, who had propagated the scandal against Ayesha, by
refusing him gifts or alms.
9 "The very members of a man shall testify against him, for thus
we read (Jer. xliii. 12), Ye are yourselves my witnesses saith the
Lord." Chagiga, 16. Thaanith, 11a.
10 It was the custom in Arabia, before Islam, to enter houses
without permission. Freyt. Einl. p. 216.
11 That is, the anklets. Comp. Isai. iii. 16, 18
12 On account of poverty.
13 Comp. Deut. xv. 12 15.
14 The meaning probably is, that the scandal raised against Ayesha
resembled the scandal in the case of Joseph in Egypt, and of the
Virgin Mary, detailed in previous suras.
15 An idea perhaps derived from Gen. i. 20, 21. Comp. Tr. Cholin,
fol. 27a.
16 Verses 46-56 obviously refer to a period, perhaps that between
the battle of Ohod and the end of the war of the Ditch, when
Muhammad's prospects were overclouded and the confidence of
his followers shaken.
17 This verse was intended to relieve the scruples of the Muslims,
who. following the superstitious customs of the Arabs, thought that
they ought not to admit the blind, etc. to their tables, to eat alone,
or in a house of which they were entrusted with the key, etc.
18 Lit. make not the calling of the Apostle among you, like the
calling of some of you to others, i.e., address him by some
respectful and honourable title. Thus in the Talmud, "It is
forbidden to a disciple to call his Rabbi by name even when he is
not in his presence;" and again: "Neither is he to salute his Rabbi,
nor to return his salutation, in the same way that salutations are
given and returned among friends." "Whoever despises the wise
men hath no portion in the world to come." See Hilchoth Torah,
c.5.
SURA LVIII. SHE WHO PLEADED [CVI.]
Medina. 22 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
God hath heard the words of HER1 WHO PLEADED with thee
against her husband, and made her plaint to God; and God hath
heard your mutual intercourse: for God Heareth, Beholdeth.
As to those of you who put away their wives by saying, "Be thou
to me as my mother's back" their mothers2 they are not; they
only are their mothers who gave them birth! they certainly say a
blameworthy thing and an untruth:
But truly, God is Forgiving, Indulgent.
And those who thus put away their wives, and afterwards would
recall their words, must free a captive before they can come
together again. To this are ye warned to conform: and God is
aware of what ye do.
And he who findeth not a captive to set free, shall fast two months
in succession before they two come together. And he who shall not
be able to do so, shall feed sixty poor men. This, that he may
believe in God and His Apostle. These are the statutes of God: and
for the unbelievers is an afflictive chastisement!
Truly they who oppose God and His Apostle shall be brought low,
as those who were before them were brought low. And now have
we sent down demonstrative signs: and, for the Infidels is a
shameful chastisement.
On the day when God shall raise them all to life, and shall tell
them of their doings. God hath taken count of them, though they
have forgotten them! and God is witness over all things.
Dost thou not see that God knoweth all that is in the Heavens and
all that is in the Earth? Three persons speak not privately together,
but He is their fourth; nor five, but He is their sixth; nor fewer nor
more, but wherever they be He is with them. Then on the day of
resurrection He will tell them of their deeds: for God knoweth all
things.
Hast thou not marked those who have been forbidden secret talk,
and return to what they have been forbidden, and talk privately
together with wickedness, and hate, and disobedience towards the
Apostle? And when they come to thee, they greet thee not as God
greeteth thee:3 and they say among themselves, "Why doth not God
punish us for what we say?" Hell shall be their meed:4 they shall be
burned at its fire: and a wretched passage thither!
O Believers! when ye hold private converse together, let it not be
with wickedness, and hate, and disobedience towards the Apostle;
but let your private talk be with justice and the fear of God: aye,
fear ye God unto whom ye shall be gathered!
Only of Satan is this clandestine talk, that he may bring the faithful
to grief: but, unless by God's permission, not aught shall he harm
them! in God then let the faithful trust.
O ye who believe! when it is said to you, "Make room in your
assemblies," then make ye room. God will make room for you in
Paradise! And when it is said to you, "Rise up," then rise ye up.
God will uplift those of you who believe, and those to whom "the
Knowledge" is given, to lofty grades! and God is cognisant of your
actions.
O ye who believe! when ye go to confer in private with the
Apostle, give alms before such conference. Better will this be for
you, and more pure. But if ye have not the means, then truly God is
Lenient, Merciful.
Do ye hesitate to give alms previously to your private conference?
Then if ye do it not (and God will excuse it in you), at least
observe prayer, and pay the stated impost, and obey God and His
Apostle: for God is cognisant of your actions.
Hast thou not remarked those who make friends of that people
with whom God is angered? They are neither of your party nor of
theirs; and they swear to a lie,5 knowing it to be such.
God hath got ready for them a severe torment: for, evil is that they
do.
They make a cloak of their faith, and turn others aside from the
way of God: wherefore a shameful torment awaiteth them.
Not at all shall their wealth or their children avail them aught
against God. Companions shall they be of the fire: they shall abide
therein for ever.
On the day when God shall raise them all, they will swear to Him
as they now swear to you, deeming that it will avail them. Are they
not yes they the liars?
Satan hath gotten mastery over them, and made them forget the
remembrance of God. These are Satan's party. What! shall not
verily the party of Satan be for ever lost.
Verily, they who oppose God and His Apostle shall be among the
most vile. God hath written this decree: "I will surely prevail, and
my Apostles also." Truly God is Strong, Mighty.
Thou shalt not find that any of those who believe in God, and in
the last day, love him who opposeth God and His Apostle, even
though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brethren, or their
nearest kin. On the hearts of these hath God graven the Faith, and
with His own Spirit hath He strengthened them; and He will bring
them into gardens, beneath whose shades the rivers flow, to
remain therein eternally. God is well pleased in them, and they in
Him. These are God's party! Shall not, of a truth, a party of God be
for ever blessed?
_______________________
1 Khaula, daughter of Thalaba, who had been divorced by the
formula in verse 2, which was understood among the Arabs to
imply perpetual separation. This Muhammad had asserted in her
case; but in consequence of the woman's prayers, etc., a relaxation
of the law, on fulfilment of the conditions mentioned in verses 4,
5, was hereby allowed. None of the earlier traditions fix any date
for this Sura, though later authorities (Weil, 184) fix the end of
Hej. 6, or the beginning of Hej. 7. The subject matter is in part
similar to that of Sura xxiv.
2 See Sura [ciii.] xxxiii. 4.
3 Instead of saying, Es-salam aleika, "Peace be on thee," the
Infidels and Jews said, Es-sam aleika, "a plague, or poison on
thee." See Geiger, p. 18.
4 Lit. sufficiency.
5 The Jews swear that they are Muslims.
SURA XXII. THE PILGRIMAGE [CVII.]
Medina.1 78 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O Men of Mecca, fear your Lord. Verily, the earthquake of the last
Hour will be a tremendous thing!
On the day when ye shall behold it, every suckling woman shall
forsake her sucking babe; and every woman that hath a burden in
her womb shall cast her burden; and thou shalt see men drunken,
yet are they not drunken: but it is the mighty chastisement of God!
There is a man 2 who, without knowledge, wrangleth about God,
and followeth every rebellious Satan;
Concerning whom it is decreed, that he shall surely beguile and
guide into the torment of the Flame, whoever shall take him for his
Lord.
O men! if ye doubt as to the resurrection, yet, of a truth, have We
created you of dust, then of the moist germs of life, then of clots of
blood, then of pieces of flesh shapen and unshapen, that We might
give you proofs of our power! And We cause one sex or the other,
at our pleasure, to abide in the womb until the appointed time;
then We bring you forth infants; then permit you to reach your age
of strength; and one of you dieth, and another of you liveth on to
an age so abject that all his former knowledge is clean forgotten!3
And thou hast seen the earth dried up and barren: but when We
send down the rain upon it, it stirreth and swelleth, and groweth
every kind of luxuriant herb.
This, for that God is the Truth, and that it is He who quickeneth
the dead,-and that He hath power over everything:
And that "the Hour" will indeed come there is no doubt of
it and that God will wake up to life those who are in the tombs.
A man there is who disputeth about God without knowledge or
guidance or enlightening Book,
Turning aside in scorn to mislead others from the way of God!
Disgrace shall be his in this world; and on the day of the
resurrection, We will make him taste the torment of the burning:
"This, for thy handywork of old! for God is not unjust to His
servants."
There are some who serve God in a single point. If good come
upon one of them, he resteth in it; but if trial come upon him, he
turneth him round (to infidelity) with the loss both of this world
and of the next! This same is the clear ruin!
He calleth upon that beside God which can neither hurt him nor
profit him. This same is the far-gone error!
He calleth on him who would sooner hurt than profit him. Surely,
bad the lord, and, surely, bad the vassal!
But God will bring in those who shall believe and do the things
that are right, into gardens 'neath which the rivers flow: for God
doth that which He pleaseth.
Let him who thinketh that God will not help His Apostle in this
world and in the next, stretch a cord aloft as if to destroy himself;
then let him cut it, and see whether his devices can bring that 4 to
nought at which he was angry!
Thus send we down the Koran with its clear signs (verses): and
because God guideth whom He pleaseth.
As to those who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeites,5 and the
Christians, and the Magians, and those who join other gods with
God, of a truth, God shall decide between them on the day of
resurrection: for God is witness of all things.
Seest thou not that all in the Heavens and all on the Earth adoreth
God? the sun and the moon and the stars, and the mountains, and
the trees, and the beasts, and many men? But of many is
chastisement the due:
And whom God shall disgrace there shall be none to honour: God
doth that which pleaseth Him.
These, the Faithful and the Infidels, are the two disputants who
dispute concerning their Lord: but for those who have disbelieved,
garments of fire shall be cut out; the boiling water shall be poured
down upon their heads:
All that is in their bowels, and their skins, shall be dissolved: and
there are maces of iron for them!
So oft as they, for very anguish, would fain come forth thence,
back shall they be turned into it: and "Taste ye the torment of the
burning."
But God will bring in those who shall have believed, and done the
things that are right, into gardens 'neath which the rivers flow.
Adorned shall they be therein with golden bracelets and with
pearls, and their raiment therein shall be of silk;
For they were guided to the best of words; guided to the glorious
path!
But those who believe not, and seduce others from the way of God,
and from the Holy Mosque which we have appointed to all men,
alike for those who abide therein, and for the stranger;
And those who seek impiously to profane it, we will cause to taste
a grievous punishment.
And call to mind when we assigned the site of the House 6 to
Abraham and said: "Unite not aught with Me in worship, and
cleanse My House for those who go in procession round it, and
who stand or bow in worship:"
And proclaim to the peoples a PILGRIMAGE: Let them come to
thee on foot and on every fleet7 camel, arriving by every deep
defile:
That they may bear witness of its benefits to them, and may make
mention of God's name on the appointed days,8 over the brute
beasts with which He hath supplied them for sustenance: Therefore
eat thereof yourselves, and feed the needy, the poor:
Then let them bring the neglect of their persons to a close,9 and let
them pay their vows, and circuit the ancient House.
This do. And he that respecteth the sacred ordinances of God, this
will be best for him with his Lord. The flesh of cattle is allowed
you, save of those already specified to you. Shun ye, therefore, the
pollutions of idols; and shun ye the word of falsehood;
Sound in faith Godward, uniting no god with Him; for whoever
uniteth gods with God, is like that which falleth from on high, and
the birds snatch it away, or the wind wafteth it to a distant place.
This do. And they who respect the rites of God, perform an action
which proceedeth from piety of heart.
Ye may obtain advantages from the cattle up to the set time for
slaying them: then, the place for sacrificing them is at the ancient
House.
And to every people have we appointed rites, that they may
commemorate the name of God over the brute beasts which He
hath provided for them. And your God is the one God. To Him,
therefore, surrender yourselves: and bear thou good tidings to
those who humble them,
Whose hearts, when mention is made of God, thrill with awe; and
to those who remain steadfast under all that be-falleth them, and
observe prayer, and give alms of that with which we have supplied
them.
And the camels have we appointed you for the sacrifice to God:
much good have ye in them. Make mention, therefore, of the name
of God over them when ye slay them, as they stand in a row; and
when they are fallen over on their sides, eat of them, and feed him
who is content and asketh not, and him who asketh. Thus have We
subjected them to you, to the intent ye should be thankful.10
By no means can their flesh reach unto God, neither their blood;
but piety on your part reacheth Him. Thus hath He subjected them
to you, that ye might magnify God for His guidance: moreover,
announce to those who do good deeds
That God will ward off mischief from believers: for God loveth not
the false, the Infidel.
A sanction is given to those who, because they have suffered
outrages, have taken up arms; and verily, God is well able to
succour them:
Those who have been driven forth from their homes wrongfully,
only because they say "Our Lord is the God." And if God had not
repelled some men by others, cloisters, and churches, and
oratories, and mosques, wherein the name of God is ever
commemorated, would surely have been destroyed. And him who
helpeth God will God surely help:11 for God is right Strong,
Mighty:
Those who, if we establish them in this land, will observe prayer,
and pay the alms of obligation, and enjoin what is right, and forbid
what is evil. And the final issue of all things is unto God.
Moreover, if they charge thee with imposture, then already, before
them, the people of Noah, and Ad and Themoud, and the people of
Abraham, and the people of Lot, and the dwellers in Madian, have
charged their prophets with imposture! Moses, too, was charged
with imposture! And I bore long with the unbelievers; then seize
on them: and how great was the change I wrought!
And how many cities which had been ungodly, and whose roofs
are now laid low in ruin, have We destroyed! And wells have been
abandoned and lofty castles!
Have they not journeyed through the land? Have they not hearts to
understand with, or ears to hear with? It is not that to these sights
their eyes are blind, but the hearts in their breasts are blind!
And they will bid thee to hasten the chastisement. But God cannot
fail His threat. And verily, a day with thy Lord is as a thousand
years,12 as ye reckon them!
How many cities have I long borne with, wicked though they were,
yet then laid hold on them to chastise them! Unto Me shall all
return.
Say: O men! I am only your open warner:
And they who believe and do the things that are right, shall have
forgiveness and an honourable provision;
But those who strive to invalidate our signs shall be inmates of
Hell.
We have not sent any apostle or prophet before thee, among whose
desires Satan injected not some wrong desire, but God shall bring
to nought that which Satan had suggested. Thus shall God affirm
His revelations13 for God is Knowing, Wise!
That He may make that which Satan hath injected, a trial to those
in whose hearts is a disease, and whose hearts are
hardened. Verily, the wicked are in a far-gone severance from
the truth!
And that they to whom "the Knowledge" hath been given, may
know that the Koran is the truth from thy Lord, and may believe in
it, and their hearts may acquiesce in it: for God is surely the guider
of those who believe, into the straight path.
But the Infidels will not cease to doubt concerning it, until "the
Hour" come suddenly upon them, or until the chastisement of the
day of desolation come upon them.
On that day the Kingdom shall be God's: He shall judge between
them: and they who shall have believed and done the things that
are right, shall be in gardens of delight:
But they who were Infidels and treated our signs as lies these
then their's a shameful chastisement!
And as to those who fled their country for the cause of God, and
were afterwards slain, or died, surely with goodly provision will
God provide for them! for verily, God! He, surely, is the best of
providers!
He will assuredly bring them in with an in-bringing that shall
please them well: for verily, God is right Knowing, Gracious.
So shall it be. And whoever in making exact reprisal for injury
done him, shall again be wronged, God will assuredly aid him: for
God is most Merciful, Gracious.
So shall it be; for that God causeth the night to enter in upon the
day, and He causeth the day to enter in upon the night: and for that
God Heareth, Seeth.
So shall it be, for that God is the truth; and because what they call
on beside Him is vanity: and because God is the Lofty, the Mighty!
Seest thou not that God sendeth down water from Heaven, and that
on the morrow the earth is clad with verdure? for God is
benignant, cognisant of all.
His, all in the Heavens and all on Earth: and verily, God! He
assuredly is the Rich, the Praiseworthy!
Seest thou not that God hath put under you whatever is in the
earth; and the ships which traverse the sea at His bidding? And He
holdeth back the heaven that it fall not on the earth, unless He
permit it! for God is right Gracious to mankind, Merciful.
And He it is who hath given you life, then will cause you to die,
then will give you life of a truth man is all ungrateful.
To every people have we appointed observances which they
observe. Therefore, let them not dispute this matter with thee, but
bid them to thy Lord, for thou art on the right way:
But if they debate with thee, then Say: God best knoweth what ye
do!
God will judge between you on the day of resurrection, as to the
matters wherein ye differ.
Knowest thou not that God knoweth whatever is in the Heaven and
on the Earth? This truly is written in the Book: this truly is easy for
God.
They worship beside God, that for which He hath sent down no
warranty, and that of which they have no knowledge: but for those
who commit this wrong, no helper!
And when our clear signs are rehearsed to them, thou mayst
perceive disdain in the countenances of the Infidels. Scarce can
they refrain from rushing to attack those who rehearse our signs to
them! Say: Shall I tell you of worse than this? The fire which God
hath threatened to those who believe not! Wretched the passage
thither!
O men! a parable is set forth to you, wherefore hearken to it.
Verily, they on whom ye call beside God, cannot create a fly,
though they assemble for it; and if the fly carry off aught from
them, they cannot take it away from it! Weak the suppliant and the
supplicated!
Unworthy the estimate they form of God!14 for God is right
Powerful, Mighty!
God chooseth messengers from among the angels and from among
men: verily, God Heareth, Seeth.
He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them; and
unto God shall all things return.
Believers! bow down and prostrate yourselves and worship your
Lord, and work righteousness that you may fare well.
And do valiantly in the cause of God as it behoveth you to do for
Him. He hath elected you, and hath not laid on you any hardship in
religion, the Faith of your father Abraham. He hath named you the
Muslims
Heretofore and in this Book, that the Apostles may be a witness
against you, and that ye may be witnesses against the rest of
mankind. Therefore observe prayer, and pay the legal impost, and
cleave fast to God. He is your liege Lord a goodly Lord, and a
goodly Helper!
_______________________
1 This Sura is generally said to have been revealed at Mecca, but
this is probably only the case with verses 1-24; 43-56; 60-65;
67-75. Mr. Muir places it at the close of the Meccan Suras of the
fifth period. See N”ld, p. 158.
2 Said to be Abu Jahl. See Sura xcvi. p. 20, n. 2.
3 Lit. so that after knowledge he knoweth not aught.
4 The teachings and progress of Islam.
5 See Sura [xci.] ii. 59. The Sabeites were probably Hanyfs. See
Pref
6 The Kaaba. Sharastani informs us that there was an opinion
prevalent among the Arabs, that the walking round the Kaaba, and
other ceremonies, were symbolic of the motion of the planets and
of other astronomical facts. Watwat, Mabahij al Fikr., Lib. i., c. 2,
says that "most Arabic tribes were originally star-worshippers,
Sabeans. The people of Saba worshipped the Sun, the tribes of
Asad and Kaninah the Moon, etc. etc. At a later period they all
sunk into idolatry, and in the time of Muhammad, the idols round
the Kaaba amounted to 360."
7 Lit. thin, with the implied sense of fleet.
8 The ten first days of the Dhu'lhajja. For the ceremonies, see
Freytag's Einleitung, p. 418; Burton's Pilgrimage, vol. iii.; Sale's
Notes and Prelim. Disc.
9 That is, the uncut beards, nails, etc.
10 Offerings of animals are by no means confined to Mecca and
the Pilgrimage. "It is not uncommon," says Mr. Lane, "without any
definite view but that of obtaining general blessings, to make vows
(of animals): and sometimes a peasant vows that he will sacrifice,
for the sake of a saint, a calf which he possesses, as soon as it is
grown and fatted. It is let loose, by consent of all his neighbours, to
pasture where it will, even in fields of young wheat; and at last,
after it has been sacrificed, a public feast is made of its meat.
Many a large bull is thus given away." Modern Egyptians, i. 307.
Compare Dr. Gobat's Abyssinia, p. 294, 7, for similar customs
among Christians of probably Arabian extraction. Five or six
thousand animals are said to have been slain in the valley of Mina
by the pilgrims of the year 1854. (See Lieut. Burton's Pilgrimage,
iii. p. 313.) The victim is considered by the devout as an
expression of their conviction that death is their desert at the hands
of God.
11 See Ibn Batoutah, iv. 106. (Par. ed.)
12 Comp. Sur. xxxii. 4, p. 190.
13 The ayats, signs or verses of the Koran. It is said by tradition
that Muhammad was consoled by this revelation for the Satanic
suggestion mentioned Sur. liii. 20, p. 70 (n.). But in this view of
the text, for among whose desires, or affections, we should render
when he recited.
14 Lit. they measure not God with truth of His measurement.SURA XLVIII. THE VICTORY [CVIII.]
Medina. 29 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Verily, We have won for thee an undoubted VICTORY1 In
token that God forgiveth thy earlier and later faults, and fulfilleth
His goodness to thee, and guideth thee on the right way,
And that God succoureth thee with a mighty succour.
He it is who sendeth down a spirit of secure repose into the hearts
of the faithful that they might add faith to their faith; (for God's
are the armies of the Heavens and of the Earth: and God is
Knowing, Wise:)
And that He may bring the believing men and the believing women
into gardens 'neath whose trees the rivers flow, to dwell therein
for ever, and that He may cancel their evil deeds: for this is the
great bliss with God:
And that He may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical
women, and the men and women who join other gods with God,
and think evil thoughts of Him. Theirs shall be a round of evil; and
God is angry with them and curseth them, and hath prepared Hell
for them: and, an evil journey thither!
The armies of the Heavens and of the Earth are God's, and God is
Mighty, Wise!
Verily, we have sent thee to be a witness and a herald of good (an
announcer), and a warner,
That ye may believe on God and on His Apostle; and may assist
Him, and honour Him, and praise him, morning and evening.
In truth, they who plighted fealty to thee, really plighted that fealty
to God: the hand of God was over their hands! Whoever, therefore,
shall break his oath shall only break it to his own hurt; but
whoever shall be true to his engagement with God, He will give
him a great reward.
The Arabs who took not the field with you,2 will say to thee,3 "We
were engaged with our property and our families; therefore ask
thou pardon for us." They speak with their tongues what is not in
their hearts. Say: And who can have any power over God in your
behalf, whether he will you some loss, or whether he will you an
advantage? Yes, God is acquainted with your doings.
But ye thought that the Apostle and the faithful could never more
come back to their families; and your hearts were pleased at this;
and ye thought an evil thought of this expedition, and ye became
an undone people:
For, whoso believeth not in God, and His Apostle. Verily, we
have got ready the flame for the Infidels!
And God's is the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth: Whom
He will He forgiveth, and whom He will He punisheth: and God is
Gracious, Merciful!
They who took not the field with you will say, when ye go forth to
the spoil to take it, "Let us follow you." Fain would they change
the word of God.4 Say: Ye shall by no means follow us: thus hath
God said already. They will say, "Nay, ye are jealous of us." Nay!
they are men of little understanding.
Say to those Arabs of the desert, who took not the field, ye shall be
called forth against a people of mighty valour. Ye shall do battle
with them, or they shall profess Islam. If ye obey, a goodly
recompense will God give you; but if ye turn back, as ye turned
back aforetime, He will chastise you with a sore chastisement.
It shall be no crime on the part of the blind, the lame, or the sick, if
they go not to the fight. But whoso shall obey God and His
Apostle, he shall bring him into the gardens 'neath which the
rivers flow: but whoso shall turn back, He will punish him with a
sore punishment.
Well pleased now hath God been with the believers when they
plighted fealty to thee under the tree;5 and He knew what was in
their hearts: therefore did He send down upon them a spirit of
secure repose, and rewarded them with a speedy victory,
And with the rich booty which they took: for God is Mighty, Wise!
God promised you the taking of a rich booty6 and sped it to you;
and He withheld men's hands from you, for a sign to the faithful,
and that He might guide you along the right way:
And other booty, over which ye have not yet had power: but now
hath God compassed them for you; for God is over all things
Potent.
If the Infidels shall fight against you, they shall assuredly turn their
backs; then, neither protector nor helper shall they find!
Such is God's method carried into effect of old; no change canst
thou find in God's mode of dealing.
And He it was who held their hands from you and your hands from
them in the valley of Mecca,7 after that He had given you the
victory over them: for God saw what ye did.
These are they who believed not, and kept you away from the
sacred Mosque, as well as the offering which was prevented from
reaching the place of sacrifice. And had it not been that ye would
have trodden down believers, both men and women, whom ye
knew not, so that a crime might have lighted on you without your
knowledge on their account, and that God would bring whom He
will within His mercy, this would have been otherwise ordered.
Had they been apart,8 we had surely punished such of them as
believed not, with a sore punishment.
When the unbelievers had fostered rage in their hearts the rage of
ignorance (of heathens) God sent down His peace on His Apostle
and on the faithful, and stablished in them the word of piety, for
they were most worthy and deserving of it: and God knoweth all
things.
Now hath God in truth made good to His Apostle the dream9 in
which he said, "Ye shall surely enter the sacred Mosque, if God
will, in full security, having your heads shaved and your hair cut:
ye shall not fear; for He knoweth what ye know not; and He hath
ordained you, beside this, a speedy victory."
It is He who hath sent His Apostle with "the Guidance," and the
religion of truth, that He may exalt it above every religion. And
enough for thee is this testimony on the part of God.
Muhammad is the Apostle of God; and his comrades are vehement
against the infidels, but full of tenderness among themselves. Thou
mayst see them bowing down, prostrating themselves, imploring
favours from God, and His acceptance. Their tokens10 are on their
faces, the marks of their prostrations. This is their picture in the
Law, and their picture in the Evangel:11 they are as the seed which
putteth forth its stalk; then strengtheneth it, and it groweth stout,
and riseth upon its stem,12 rejoicing the husbandman that the
infidels may be wrathful at them. To such of them as believe and
do the things that are right, hath God promised forgiveness and a
noble recompense.
_______________________
1 This Sura was probably revealed shortly after the peace of
Hudaibiya. Ann. Hej. 6. Some commentators, however, understand
the Victory of the taking of Mecca two years later the preterite
being used in the prophetic style for the future others of the
taking of Chaibar, or MŠta, a town of the Roman empire.
2 Lit. were left behind.
3 On the return to Medina. See Weil's Leben M. p. 173 (n.).
4 The law relative to booty, viz. that those who were not at
Hudaibiya should have no share in the booty to be obtained from
the Jews at Chaibar. Muhammad marched against them in Hej. 7.
5 When the rumour reached Muhammad at Hudaibiya that Othman
Ibn Affan, whom he had sent to inform the Meccans that he was
merely coming to visit their temple, and with peaceable intentions,
had been slain by them.
6 At Chaibar.
7 The valley of Mecca may mean Hudaibiya. But the
commentators explain this verse of different events. It probably,
however, refers to the 50 (according to Djalalein 80) prisoners
whom Muhammad dismissed freely at Hudaibiya.
8 Had the believers been separate from the infidels.
9 This dream Muhammad had at Medina, before he set out for al
Hudaibiya. His followers expected its fulfilment within the year,
but when the truce frustrated their hopes, this verse was revealed
to pacify them.
10 Dust from the pavement. The Muhammadans who say their
prayers on carpets often place little bricks before them which they
touch in prostration with their forehead.
11 Comp. Mark iv. 28.
12 Lit. legs.
SURA LXVI. THE FORBIDDING [CIX.]
MEDINA. 12 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
WHY,1 O Prophet! dost thou hold that to be FORBIDDEN which
God hath made lawful to thee, from a desire to please thy wives,
since God is Lenient, Merciful?
God hath allowed you release from your oaths; and God is your
master: and He is the Knowing, Wise.
When the prophet told a recent occurrence as a secret to one of his
wives, and when she divulged it and God informed him of this, he
acquainted her with part and withheld part.2 And when he had told
her of it, she said, "Who told thee this?" He said, "The Knowing,
the Sage hath told it me.
"If ye both be turned to God in penitence, for now have your hearts
gone astray 3 but if ye conspire against the Prophet, then know
that God is his Protector, and Gabriel, and every just man among
the faithful; and the angels are his helpers besides.
"Haply if he put you both away, his Lord will give him in
exchange other wives better than you, Muslims, believers, devout,
penitent, obedient, observant of fasting, both known of men and
virgins."
O Believers! save yourselves and your families from the fire whose
fuel is men and stones, over which are set angels fierce and
mighty: they disobey not God in what He hath commanded them,
but execute His behests.
O ye Infidels! make no excuses for yourselves this day; ye shall
surely be recompensed according to your works.
O Believers! turn to God with the turning of true penitence; haply
your Lord will cancel your evil deeds, and will bring you into the
gardens 'neath which the rivers flow, on the day when God will
not shame the Prophet, nor those who have shared his faith: their
light shall run before them, and on their right hands! they shall say,
"Lord perfect our light, and pardon us: for thou hast power over all
things."
O Prophet! make war on the infidels and hypocrites, and deal
rigorously with them. Hell shall be their abode! and wretched the
passage to it!
God setteth forth as an example to unbelievers the wife of Noah
and the wife of Lot; they were under two of our righteous servants,
both of whom they deceived: but their husbands availed them
nought against God: and it shall be said "Enter ye into the fire with
those who enter."
God also holdeth forth to those who believe the example of the
wife of Pharaoh,4 when she said, "Lord, build me an house with
thee in Paradise, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his doings; and
deliver me from the wicked:"
And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who kept her maidenhood, and
into whose womb5 we breathed of our spirit, and who believed in
the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was one of the
devout.
_______________________
1 The first verses of this Sura were revealed (Hej. 7.) on occasion
of Muhammad's reviving affection for Mary, a Copt slave sent
him by the governor of Egypt, from whom he had recently (verse
3) sworn to his wife Hafsa to separate entirely. Hafsa, who had
been greatly incensed at their amour, of which Muhammad had
himself informed her, communicated the matter in confidence to
Ayesha, from whose altered manner, probably, the prophet found
that his secret had been betrayed. To free Muhammad from his
obligation to Hafsa was the object of this chapter.
2 Muhammad withheld the fact that Ayesha, as well as God, was
his informant, but taxed Hafsa with not having kept his secret.
3 Supply God will pardon you.
4 Asia, a name, perhaps, corrupted from that of Pharaoh's daughter
Bithiah. 1 Chron. iv.18.
5 See Sura xxi. 91. Lit. qua rimam suam tuita est, in quam (rimam)
inflavimus Spiritus nostri partem. Thus Beidh.
SURA1 LX. SHE WHO IS TRIED [CX.]
MEDINA. Versus
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O YE who believe! take not my foe2 and your foe for friends,
shewing them kindness, although they believe not that truth which
hath come to you: they drive forth the Apostles and yourselves
because ye believe in God your Lord! If ye go forth to fight on my
way, and from a desire to please me, and shew them kindness in
private, I well know what ye conceal, and what ye discover!
Whoso doth this hath already gone astray from the even way.
If they meet with you they will prove your foes: hand and tongue
will they put forth for your hurt, and will desire that you become
infidels again.
Neither your kindred nor your children shall at all avail you on the
day of the resurrection. A severance between you will it make! and
your actions doth God behold.
A good example had ye in Abraham,3 and in those who followed
him, when they said to their people, "Verily, we are clear of you,
and of what ye worship beside God: we renounce you: and
between us and hath hatred and enmity sprung up for ever, until ye
believe in God alone." Yet imitate not the language of Abraham to
his Father, "I will pray for thy forgiveness, but not aught shall I
obtain for thee from God."4 O our Lord! in thee do we trust! to
thee do we turn! to thee we shall come back at the last.
O our Lord! expose us not for trial to the unbelievers, and forgive
us: for thou art the Mighty, the Wise!
A good example had ye in them, for all who hope in God and in
the last day. But let who will turn back, God truly is the Rich, the
Praiseworthy!
God will, perhaps, establish good will between yourselves and
those of them whom ye take to be your enemies:5 God is Powerful:
and God is Gracious, Merciful.
God doth not forbid you to deal with kindness and fairness toward
those who have not made war upon you on account of your
religion, or driven you forth from your homes: for God loveth
those who act with fairness.>Only doth God
forbid you to make friends of those who, on account of your
religion, have warred against you, and have driven you forth from
your homes, and have aided those who drove you forth: and
whoever maketh friends of them are wrong-doers.
O Believers! 6 when believing women come over to you as
refugees (Mohadjers), then make TRIAL of them. God best
knoweth their faith; but if ye have also ascertained their faith, let
them not go back to the infidels; they are not lawful for them, nor
are the unbelievers lawful for these women. But give them back
what they have spent for their dowers. No crime shall it be in you
to marry them, provided ye give them their dowers. Do not retain
any right in the infidel women, but demand back what you have
spent for their dowers, and let the unbelievers demand back what
they have spent for their wives.7 This is the ordinance of God
which He ordaineth among you: and God is Knowing, Wise.
And if any of your wives escape from you to the Infidels from
whom ye afterwards take any spoil, then give to those whose wives
shall have fled away, the like of what they shall have spent for
their dowers; and fear God in whom ye believe.
O Prophet! when believing women come to thee, and pledge
themselves that they will not associate aught with God, and that
they will not steal or commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor
bring scandalous charges,8 nor disobey thee in what is right, then
plight thou thy faith to them, and ask pardon for them of God: for
God is Indulgent, Merciful!
O Believers! enter not into amity with those against whom God is
angered; they despair of the life to come, even as the Infidels
despair of the inmates of the tombs.
_______________________
1 Revealed probably as far as verse 9 (Ramadhan Hej. 8) shortly
before the taking of Mecca.
2 HalŠb Ben Abu Baltaa had informed the Koreisch of an intended
surprise of Mecca on the part of Muhammad, with the view of
making terms for his own family who had been left there. The
offence was pardoned, but the revelation was nevertheless
published with the view of preventing similar acts of treachery in
future.
3 Speaking of the representatives of the different religious systems
prevalent in the Roman Empire, as Orpheus, Abraham, Christ,
Apollonius of Tyana, enshrined among the household deities of
Alexander Severus, Mr. Milman remarks (Hist. of Christianity, ii.
p. 231) that "It is singular that Abraham, rather than Moses, was
placed at the head of Judaism: it is possible that the traditionary
sanctity which attached to the first parent of the Jewish people,
and of many of the Arab tribes, and which was afterwards
embodied in the Koran, was floating in the East, and would
comprehend, as it were, the opinions, not only of the Jews, but of a
much wider circle of the Syrian natives."
4 Sura [cxiii.] ix. 115.
5 That is, by their conversion hereafter.
6 Said (see N”ld. p. 163) to have been revealed at, or shortly after,
the peace of Hudaibiya. According to the terms then agreed upon,
a mutual restitution of property was to take place.
7 Who are converted to Islam.
8 Lit. with a calumny which they have devised between their hands
and their feet. Said to have been revealed at the taking of Mecca.
Tab. Beidh.
SURA1 CX. HELP [CXI.]
MEDINA. 3 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
WHEN the HELP of God and the victory arrive,
And thou seest men entering the religion of God by troops;
Then utter the praise of thy Lord, implore His pardon;
for He loveth to turn in mercy.
_______________________
1 This Sura was revealed at the taking of Mecca, and is supposed
to have given Muhammad warning of his death.
SURA XLIX. THE APARTMENTS [CXII.]
MEDINA. 18 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O BELIEVERS! enter not upon any affair ere God and His
Apostle1 permit you; and fear ye God: for God Heareth, Knoweth.2
O Believers! raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet,
neither speak loud to him as ye speak loud one to another, lest
your works come to nought, and ye unaware of it.
They who lower their voices in the presence of the Apostle of God,
are the persons whose hearts God hath inclined to piety.
Forgiveness shall be theirs and a rich reward.
They who call out to thee while thou art within3 thine
APARTMENTS, have most of them no right perception of what is
due to thee.
But if they wait patiently till thou come forth to them, it were far
better for them. But God is Indulgent, Merciful.
O Believers! if any bad man4 come to you with news, clear it up at
once, lest through ignorance ye harm others, and speedily have to
repent of what ye have done.
And know that an Apostle of God is among you! should he give
way to you in many matters ye would certainly become guilty of a
crime. But God hath endeared the faith to you, and hath given it
favour in your hearts, and hath made unbelief, and wickedness,
and disobedience hateful to you. Such are they who pursue a right
course.
Through the bounty and grace which is from God: and God is
Knowing, Wise.
If two bodies of the faithful are at war, then make ye peace
between them:5 and if the one of them wrong the other, fight
against that party which doth the wrong, until they come back to
the precepts of God: if they come back, make peace between them
with fairness, and act impartially; God loveth those who act with
impartiality.
Only the faithful are brethren; wherefore make peace between
your brethren; and fear God, that ye may obtain mercy.
O Believers! let not men laugh men to scorn who haply may be
better than themselves; neither let women laugh women to scorn
who may haply be better than themselves!6 Neither defame one
another, nor call one another by nicknames. Bad is it to be called
wicked after having professed the faith:7 and whoso repent not of
this are doers of wrong.
O Believers! avoid frequent suspicions, for some suspicions are a
crime; and pry not: neither let the one of you traduce another in his
absence. Would any one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead
brother? Surely ye would loathe it. And fear ye God: for God is
Ready to turn, Merciful.
O men! verily, we have created you of a male and a female; and
we have divided you into peoples and tribes that ye might have
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