The Koran
by
Mohammed

Part 13 out of 14



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.


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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 man2 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 that4 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 House6 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 Nöld, 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 Muta (?), 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. quae rimam suam tuita est, in quam (rimam)
inflavimus Spiritus nostri partem. Thus Beidh.


SURA1 LX.–SHE WHO IS TRIED [CX.]

MEDINA.–13 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 Haleb (?) 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 Nöld. 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 knowledge one of
another. Truly, the most worthy of honour in the sight of God is he who
feareth Him most.8 Verily, God is Knowing, Cognisant.

The Arabs of the desert9 say, "We believe." Say thou: Ye believe not; but
rather say, "We profess Islam;" for the faith hath not yet found its way into
your hearts. But if ye obey God and His Apostle, he will not allow you to
lose any of your actions: for God is Indulgent, Merciful.

The true believers are those only who believe in God and His Apostle, and
afterwards doubt not; and who contend with their substance and their persons
on the path of God. These are the sincere.

SAY: Will ye teach God about your religion? when God knoweth whatever is in
the Heavens and on the Earth: yea, God hath knowledge of all things.

They taunt thee with their having embraced Islam.10 SAY: Taunt me not with
your having embraced Islam: God rather taunteth you with His having guided
you to the faith: acknowledge this if ye are sincere.

Verily, God knoweth the secrets of the Heavens and of the Earth: and God
beholdeth what ye do.


_______________________

1 Or anticipate not, take not the lead of God and His Apostle.

2 All the ancient Interpreters (as His. 933 ff., Ibn Sa'd. 320, Tab. Agâní.
116 f.–comp. also Weil 244 ff., Caussin, iii. 271) refer from 1-5 to the
disrespectful demeanour, in Muhammad's presence, of the envoys of the Banu
Tamim in Hej. 9 or 10.

3 Lit. from without.

4 The commentators mentioned in the last note, as well as others, explain
this verse of Al Walid ben Uqba, who had brought a false report of the
refusal of the Banu'lmustaliq to pay certain alms which Muhammad had sent him
to demand. This Al Walid became governor of Kufa under Othman. He probably
was never really converted to Islam.

5 Upon this passage 91-2, die Muslimen, says Nöldeke, verschiedene
Geschichten erzählen, so dass sich Nichts sicher bestimmen Iässt, p. 164.
This remark applies to the great mass of Muhammadan comment.

6 Said to refer to Safia, one of Muhammad's wives. who had been taunted by
his other wives with being a Jewess.

7 Lit. Bad the name, wickedness, after faith.

8 That is, not the most nobly born, like the Koreisch. This verse is said to
have been revealed in Mecca on the day of its conquest. See Weil, Leben,
p.372, and n.

9 The Banû Asad had come to Medina in a year of famine to seek support for
themselves and families, and made profession of Islamism. Beidh.–Thus, also
Ibn Sad. Tabari. Wah.

10 As if by so doing they had conferred a favour on the Prophet.


SURA IX.1–IMMUNITY [CXIII.]

MEDINA.–130 Verses

An IMMUNITY from God and His Apostle to those with whom ye are in league,
among the Polytheist Arabs! (those who join gods with God).

Go ye, therefore, at large in the land four months: but know that God ye
shall not weaken;2 and that those who believe not, God will put to shame–

And a proclamation on the part of God and His Apostle to the people on the
day of the greater pilgrimage, that God is free from any engagement with the
votaries of other gods with God as is His Apostle! If, therefore, ye turn to
God it will be better for you; but if ye turn back, then know that ye shall
not weaken God: and to those who believe not, announce thou a grievous
punishment.

But this concerneth not those Polytheists with whom ye are in league, and who
shall have afterwards in no way failed you, nor aided anyone against you.
Observe, therefore, engagement with them through the whole time of their
treaty: for God loveth those who fear Him.

And when the sacred months3 are passed, kill those who join other gods with
God wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait
for them with every kind of ambush: but if they shall convert, and observe
prayer, and pay the obligatory alms, then let them go their way, for God is
Gracious, Merciful.

If any one of those who join gods with God ask an asylum of thee, grant him
an asylum, that he may hear the Word of God, and then let him reach his place
of safety. This, for that they are people devoid of knowledge.

How shall they who add gods to God be in league with God and with His
Apostle, save those with whom ye made a league at the sacred temple? So long
as they are true to you, be ye true to them; for God loveth those who fear
Him.

How can they? since if they prevail against you, they will not regard in you
either ties of blood or faith. With their mouths will they content you, but
their hearts will be averse. The greater part of them are perverse doers.

They sell the signs of God for a mean price, and turn others aside from his
way: evil is it that they do!

They regard not in a believer either ties of blood or faith; these are the
transgressors!

Yet if they turn to God and observe prayer, and pay the impost, then are they
your brethren in religion. We make clear our signs to those who understand.

But if, after alliance made, they break their oaths and revile your religion,
then do battle with the ring-leaders of infidelity–for no oaths are binding
with them that they may desist.

What! will ye not fight against those Meccans who have broken their oaths and
aimed to expel your Apostle, and attacked you first? Will ye dread them? God
is more worthy of your fear, if ye are believers!

So make war on them: By your hands will God chastise them, and will put them
to shame, and will give you victory over them, and will heal the bosoms of a
people who believe;

And will take away the wrath of their hearts. God will be turned unto whom He
will: and God is Knowing, Wise.

Think ye that ye shall be forsaken as if God did not yet know those among you
who do valiantly, and take none for their friends beside God, and His
Apostle, and the faithful? God is well apprised of your doings.

It is not for the votaries of other gods with God, witnesses against
themselves of infidelity, to visit the temples of God. These! vain their
works: and in the fire shall they abide for ever!

He only should visit the temples of God who believeth in God and the last
day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the legal alms, and dreadeth none but
God. These haply will be among the rightly guided.

Do ye place the giving drink to the pilgrims, and the visitation of the
sacred temple,4 on the same level with him who believeth in God and the last
day, and fighteth on the way of God? They shall not be held equal by God: and
God guideth not the unrighteous.

They who have believed, and fled their homes, and striven with their
substance and with their persons on the path of God, shall be of highest
grade with God: and these are they who shall be happy!

Tidings of mercy from Himself, and of His good pleasure, doth their Lord send
them, and of gardens in which lasting pleasure shall be theirs;

Therein shall they abide for ever; for God! with Him is a great reward.

O Believers! make not friends of your fathers or your brethren if they love
unbelief above faith: and whoso of you shall make them his friends, will be
wrong doers.

SAY: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and
your kindred, and the wealth which ye have gained, and merchandise which ye
fear may be unsold, and dwellings wherein ye delight, be dearer to you than
God and His Apostle and efforts on his Path, then wait until God shall
Himself enter on His work:5 and God guideth not the impious.

Now hath God helped you in many battlefields, and, on the day of Honein,6
when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you nothing; and
the earth, with all its breadth, became too straight for you:7 then turned ye
your backs in flight:

Then did God send down His spirit of repose8 upon His Apostle, and upon the
faithful, and He sent down the hosts which ye saw not, and He punished the
Infidels: This, the Infidels' reward!

Yet, after this, will God be turned to whom He pleaseth; for God is Gracious,
Merciful!

O Believers! only they who join gods with God are unclean! Let them not,
therefore, after this their year, come near the sacred Temple. And if ye fear
want,9 God, if He please, will enrich you of His abundance: for God is
Knowing, Wise.

Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe
not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His
Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth,
until they pay tribute out of hand,10 and they be humbled.11

The Jews say, "Ezra (Ozair) is a son of God";12 and the Christians say, "The
Messiah is a son of God." Such the sayings in their mouths! They resemble the
saying of the Infidels of old! God do battle with them! How are they
misguided!

They take their teachers, and their monks, and the Messiah, son of Mary, for
Lords13 beside God, though bidden to worship one God only. There is no God
but He! Far from His glory be what they associate with Him!

Fain would they put out God's light with their mouths: but God only desireth
to perfect His light, albeit the Infidels abhor it.

He it is who hath sent His Apostle with the Guidance and a religion of the
truth, that He may make it victorious14 over every other religion, albeit
they who assign partners to God be averse from it.

O Believers! of a truth, many of the teachers and monks do devour man's
substance in vanity, and turn them from the Way of God. But to those who
treasure up gold and silver and expend it not in the Way of God, announce
tidings of a grievous torment.

On that day their treasures shall be heated in hell fire, and their
foreheads, and their sides, and their backs, shall be branded with them. . .
. "This is what ye have treasured up for yourselves: taste, therefore, your
treasures!"

Twelve months is the number of months with God,15 according to God's book,
since the day when He created the Heavens and the Earth: of these four are
sacred: this is the right usage: But wrong not yourselves therein; attack
those who join gods with God in all, as they attack you in all: and know that
God is with those who fear Him.

To carry over a sacred month to another, is only a growth of infidelity. The
Infidels are led into error by it. They allow it one year, and forbid it
another, that they may make good the number of months which God hath
hallowed, and they allow that which God hath prohibited. The evil of their
deeds hath been prepared for them by Satan: for God guideth not the people
who do not believe.

O Believers! what possessed you, that when it was said to you, "March forth
on the Way of God," ye sank heavily earthwards? What! prefer ye the life of
this world to the next? But the fruition of this mundane life, in respect of
that which is to come, is but little.16

Unless ye march forth, with a grievous chastisement will He chastise you; and
He will place another people in your stead, and ye shall in no way harm Him:
for over everything is God potent.

If ye assist not your Prophet . . . God assisted him formerly, when the
unbelievers drove him forth, in company with a second only!17 when they two
were in the cave; when the Prophet said to his companion, "Be not distressed;
verily, God is with us." And God sent down His tranquillity upon him, and
strengthened him with hosts ye saw not, and made the word of those who
believed not the abased, and the word of God was the exalted: for God is
Mighty, Wise.

March ye forth the light and heavy armed,18 and contend with your substance
and your persons on the Way of God. This, if ye know it, will be better for
you.

Had there been a near advantage and a short journey, they would certainly
have followed thee; but the way seemed long to them.19 Yet will they swear by
God, "Had we been able, we had surely gone forth with you:" they are self-
destroyers! And God knoweth that they are surely liars!

God forgive thee! Why didst thou give them leave to stay behind, ere they who
make true excuses had become known to thee, and thou hadst known the liars?

They who believe in God and in the last day will not ask leave of thee to be
exempt from contending with their substance and their persons. But God
knoweth those who fear Him!

They only will ask thy leave who believe not in God and the last day, and
whose hearts are full of doubts, and who are tossed up and down in their
doubtings.

Moreover, had they been desirous to take the field, they would have got ready
for that purpose the munitions of war.20 But God was averse to their
marching forth, and made them laggards; and it was said, "Sit ye at home with
those who sit."

Had they taken the field with you, they would only have added a burden to
you, and have hurried about among you, stirring you up to sedition; and some
there are among you who would have listened to them: and God knoweth the evil
doers.

Of old aimed they at sedition, and deranged thy affairs, until the truth
arrived, and the behest of God became apparent, averse from it though they
were.

Some of them say to thee, "Allow me to remain at home, and expose me not to
the trial." Have they not fallen into a trial already? But verily, Hell shall
environ the Infidels!

If a success betide thee, it annoyeth them: but if a reverse betide thee,
they say, "We took our own measures before:" and they turn their backs and
are glad.

SAY: Nothing can befall us but what God hath destined21 for us. Our liege-
lord is He; and on God let the faithful trust!

SAY: Await ye for us, other than one of the two best things?22 But we await
for you the infliction of a chastisement by God, from himself, or at our
hands. Wait ye then; we verily will wait with you.

SAY: Make ye your offerings willingly or by constraint; it cannot be accepted
from you, because ye are a wicked people:

And nothing hindreth the acceptance of their offerings, but that they believe
not in God and His Apostle, and discharge not the duty of prayer but with
sluggishness, and make not offerings but with reluctance.

Let not, therefore, their riches or their children amaze thee. God is only
minded to punish them by means of these, in this life present, and that their
souls may depart while they are unbelievers.23

And they swear by God that they are indeed of you, yet they are not of you,
but they are people who are afraid of you:

If they find a place of refuge, or caves, or a hiding place, they assuredly
turn towards it and haste thereto.

Some of them also defame thee in regard to the alms; yet if a part be given
them, they are content, but if no part be given them, behold, they are angry!

Would that they were satisfied with that which God and His Apostle had given
them, and would say "God sufficeth us! God will vouchsafe unto us of His
favour, and so will His Apostle: verily unto God do we make our suit!"

But alms are only to be given to the poor and the needy,24 and those who
collect them, and to those25 whose hearts are won to Islam, and for ransoms,
and for debtors, and for the cause of God, and the wayfarer. This is an
ordinance from God: and God is Knowing, Wise.

There are some of them who injure26 the Prophet and say, "He is all ear."
Say: An ear of good to you! He believeth in God, and believeth the believers:
and is a mercy to such of you as believe:

But they who injure the Apostle of God, shall suffer a dolorous chastisement.

They swear to you by God to please you; but worthier is God, and His Apostle,
that they should please Him, if they are believers.

Know they not, that for him who opposeth God and His Apostle, is surely the
fire of Hell, in which he shall remain for ever? This is the great ignominy!

The hypocrites are afraid lest a Sura should be sent down concerning them, to
tell them plainly what is in their hearts. SAY: Scoff ye; but God will bring
to light that which ye are afraid of.

And if thou question them, they will surely say, "We were only discoursing
and jesting." SAY: What! do ye scoff at God, and His signs, and His Apostle?

Make no excuse: from faith ye have passed to infidelity! If we forgive some
of you, we will punish others: for that they have been evil doers.

Hypocritical men and women imitate one another.27 They enjoin what is evil,
and forbid what is just, and shut up their hands.28 They have forgotten God,
and He hath forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the perverse doers.

God promiseth the hypocritical men and women, and the unbelievers, the fire
of Hell–therein shall they abide–this their sufficing portion! And God hath
cursed them, and a lasting torment shall be theirs.

Ye act like those who flourished before you. Mightier were they than you in
prowess, and more abundant in wealth and children, and they enjoyed their
portion: so ye also enjoy your portion, as they who were before you enjoyed
theirs; and ye hold discourses like their discourses. These! vain their works
both for this world and for that which is to come! These! they are the lost
ones.

Hath not the history reached them of those who were before them?–of the
people of Noah,29 and of Ad, and of Themoud, and of the people of Abraham,
and of the inhabitants of Madian, and of the overthrown cities? Their
apostles came to them with clear proofs of their mission: God would not deal
wrongly by them, but they dealt wrongly by themselves.

The faithful of both sexes are mutual friends: they enjoin what is just, and
forbid what is evil; they observe prayer, and pay the legal impost, and they
obey God and His Apostle. On these will God have mercy: verily, God is
Mighty, Wise.

To the faithful, both men and women, God promiseth gardens 'neath which the
rivers flow, in which they shall abide, and goodly mansions in the gardens of
Eden. But best of all will be God's good pleasure in them. This will be the
great bliss.

O Prophet! contend against the infidels and the hypocrites, and be rigorous
with them: Hell shall be their dwelling place! Wretched the journey thither!

They swear by God that they said no such thing: yet spake they the word of
infidelity, and from Muslims became unbelievers! They planned what they could
not effect;30 and only disapproved of it because God and His Apostle had
enriched them by His bounty! If they repent it will be better for them; but
if they fall back into their sin, with a grievous chastisement will God
chastise them in this world and the next, and on earth they shall have
neither friend nor protector!

Some there are of them who made this agreement with God–"If truly He give us
of His bounties, we will surely give alms and surely be of the righteous."

Yet when he had vouchsafed them of His bounty, they became covetous thereof,
and turned their backs, and withdrew afar off:

So He caused hypocrisy to take its turn in their hearts, until the day on
which they shall meet Him–for that they failed their promise to God, and that
they were liars!

Know they not that God knoweth their secrets and their private talk, and that
God knoweth the secret things?

They who traduce such of the faithful as give their alms freely, and those
who find nothing to give but their earnings, and scoff at them, God shall
scoff at them; and there is a grievous torment in store for them.

Ask thou forgiveness for them, or ask it not, it will be the same. If thou
ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will by no means forgive them.
This, for that they believe not in God and His Apostle! And God guideth not
the ungodly people.

They who were left at home were delighted to stay behind God's Apostle, and
were averse from contending with their riches and their persons for the cause
of God, and said, "March not out in the heat." SAY: A fiercer heat will be
the fire of Hell." Would that they understood this.

Little, therefore, let them laugh, and much let them weep, as the meed of
their doings!

If God bring thee back from the fight to some of them, and they ask thy leave
to take the field, SAY: By no means shall ye ever take the field with me, and
by no means shall ye fight an enemy with me: ye were well pleased to sit at
home at the first crisis: sit ye at home, then, with those who lag behind.

Never pray thou over anyone of them who dieth, or stand at his grave31–
because they believed not in God and His Apostle, and died in their
wickedness.

Let not their riches or their children astonish thee: through these God is
fain only to punish them in this world, and that their souls should depart
while they are still infidels.

When a Sura was sent down with "Believe in God and go forth to war with His
Apostle," those of them who are possessed of riches demanded exemption, and
said, "Allow us to be with those who sit at home.

Well content were they to be with those who stay behind: for a seal hath been
set on their hearts so that they understand not:–

But the Apostle and those who share his faith, contend for the faith with
purse and person; and these! all good things await them: and these are they
who shall be happy.

God hath made ready for them gardens 'neath which the rivers flow, wherein
they shall remain for ever: this will be the great bliss.

Some Arabs of the desert came with excuses, praying exemption; and they who
had gainsaid God and His Apostle sat at home: a grievous punishment shall
light on such of them as believe not.

It shall be no crime in the weak, and in the sick, and in those who find not
the means of contributing, to stay at home, provided they are sincere with
God and His Apostle. Against those who act virtuously, there is no cause of
blame: and God is Gracious, Merciful:–

Nor against those, to whom when they came to thee that thou shouldst mount
them, thou didst say "I find not wherewith to mount you," and they turned
away their eyes shedding floods of tears for grief, because they found no
means to contribute.

Only is there cause of blame against those who, though they are rich, ask
thee for exemption. They are pleased to be with those who stay behind; and
God hath set a seal upon their hearts: they have no knowledge.

They will excuse themselves to you when ye come back to them. SAY: Excuse
yourselves not; we cannot believe you: now hath God informed us about you:
God will behold your doings, and so will His Apostle: to Him who knoweth
alike things hidden and things manifest shall ye hereafter be brought back:
and He will tell you what ye have done.

They will adjure you by God when ye are come back to them, to withdraw from
them: Withdraw from them, then, for they are unclean: their dwelling shall be
Hell, in recompense for their deserts.

They will adjure you to take pleasure in them; but if ye take pleasure in
them, God truly will take no pleasure in those who act corruptly.

The Arabs of the desert are most stout in unbelief and dissimulation; and
likelier it is that they should be unaware of the laws which God hath sent
down to His Apostle: and God is Knowing, Wise.

Of the Arabs of the desert there are some who reckon what they expend in the
cause of God as tribute, and wait for some change of fortune to befall you: a
change for evil shall befall them! God is the Hearer, the Knower.

And of the Arabs of the desert, some believe in God and in the last day, and
deem those alms an approach to God and to the Apostle's prayers. Are they not
their approach? Into His mercy shall God lead them: yes, God is Indulgent,
Merciful.

As for those who led the way, the first of the Mohadjers,32 and the Ansars,
and those who have followed their noble conduct, God is well pleased with
them, and they with Him: He hath made ready for them gardens under whose
trees the rivers flow: to abide therein for aye: this shall be the great
bliss:

And of the Arabs of the desert round about you, some are hypocrites: and of
the people of Medina, some are stubborn in hypocrisy. Thou knowest them not,
Muhammad: we know them: twice33 will we chastise them: then shall they be
given over to a great chastisement.

Others have owned their faults, and with an action that is right they have
mixed another that is wrong. God will haply be turned to them: for God is
Forgiving, Merciful.

Take alms of their substance,34 that thou mayst cleanse and purify them
thereby, and pray for them; for thy prayers shall assure their minds: and God
Heareth, Knoweth.

Know they not that when his servants turn to Him with repentance, God
accepteth it, and that He accepteth alms, and that God is He who turneth, the
Merciful?

SAY: Work ye: but God will behold your work, and so will His Apostle, and the
faithful: and ye shall be brought before Him who knoweth alike the Hidden and
the Manifest, and He will tell you of all your works.

And others await the decision of God; whether He will punish them, or whether
He will be turned unto them: but God is Knowing, Wise.

There are some35 who have built a Mosque for mischief36 and for infidelity,
and to disunite the faithful, and in expectation of him37 who, in time past,
warred against God and His Apostle. They will surely swear, "Our aim was only
good:" but God is witness that they are liars.

Never set thou foot in it.38 There is a Mosque39 founded from its first day
in piety. More worthy is it that thou enter therein: therein are men who
aspire to purity, and God loveth the purified.

Which of the two is best? He who hath founded his building on the fear of God
and the desire to please Him, or he who hath founded his building on the
brink of an undermined bank washed away by torrents, so that it rusheth with
him into the fire of Hell? But God guideth not the doers of wrong.

Their building which they40 have built will not cease to cause uneasiness in
their hearts, until their hearts are cut in pieces.41 God is Knowing, Wise.

Verily, of the faithful hath God bought their persons and their substance, on
condition of Paradise for them in return: on the path of God shall they
fight, and slay, and be slain: a Promise for this is pledged in the Law, and
in the Evangel, and in the Koran–and who more faithful, in to his engagement
than God? Rejoice, therefore, in the contract that ye have contracted: for
this shall be the great bliss.

Those who turn to God, and those who serve, who praise, who fast, who bow
down, who prostrate themselves, who enjoin what is just and forbid what is
evil, and keep to the bounds42 of God . . .43 Wherefore bear these good
tidings to the faithful.

It is not for the prophet or the faithful to pray for the forgiveness of
those, even though they be of kin, who associate other beings with God, after
it hath been made clear to them that they are to be the inmates of Hell.

For neither did Abraham ask forgiveness for his father, but in pursuance of a
promise which he had promised to him: but when it was shewn him that he was
an enemy to God, he declared himself clear of him. Yet Abraham was pitiful,
kind.

Nor is it for God to lead a people into error, after he hath guided them
aright, until that which they ought to dread hath been clearly shewn them.
Verily, God knoweth all things.

God! His the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth! He maketh alive and
killeth! Ye have no patron or helper save God.

Now hath God turned Him unto the Prophet and unto the refugees (Mohadjers),
and unto the helpers (Ansars)44, who followed him in the hour of distress,
after that the hearts of a part of them had well nigh failed them45. Then
turned He unto them, for He was Kind to them, Merciful.

He hath also turned Him unto the three46 who were left behind, so that the
earth, spacious as it is, became too strait for them; and their souls became
so straitened within them, that they bethought them that there was no refuge
from God but unto Himself. Then was He turned to them, that they might be
turned to Him, for God is He that turneth, the Merciful.

Believers!47 fear God, and be with the sincere.

No cause had the people of Medina and the Arabs of the desert around them, to
abandon God's Apostle, or to prefer their own lives to his; because neither
thirst, nor the labour nor hunger, could come upon them when on path of
God;48 neither do they step a step which may anger the unbelievers, neither
do they receive from the enemy any damage, but it is written down to them as
a good work. Verily, God suffereth not the reward of the righteous to perish.

Nor give they alms either small or great, nor traverse they a torrent, but it
is thus reckoned to them; that God may reward them with better than they have
wrought.

The faithful must not march forth all together to the wars: and if a party of
every band of them march not out, it is that they may instruct themselves in
their religion, and may warn their people when they come back to them, that
they take heed to themselves.

Believers! wage war against such of the infidels as are your neighbours, and
let them find you rigorous: and know that God is with those who fear him.

Whenever a Sura is sent down, there are some of them who say, "Whose faith
hath it increased?" It will increase the faith of those who believe, and they
shall rejoice.

But as to those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add doubt to their
doubt, and they shall die infidels.

Do they not see that they are proved every year once or twice? Yet they turn
not, neither are they warned.

And whenever a Sura is sent down, they look at one another. . . . "Doth any
one see you?" then turn they aside. God shall turn their hearts aside,
because they are a people devoid of understanding.

Now hath an Apostle come unto you from among yourselves: your iniquities
press heavily upon him. He is careful over you, and towards the faithful,
compassionate, merciful.

If they turn away, SAY: God sufficeth me: there is no God but He. In Him put
I my trust. He is the possessor of the Glorious Throne!


_______________________

1 The "Immunity" is said by some commentators to have formed originally one
Sura with the eighth, p.375, and that on this account the usual formula of
invocation is not prefixed. The Caliph Othman accounted for this omission of
the Bismillah from the fact of this Sura having been revealed, with the
exception of a few verses, shortly before the prophet's death, who left no
instructions on the subject. (Mishcat 1, p. 526.) The former verses from 1-
12, or, according to other traditions, from 1-40, were recited to the
pilgrims at Mecca by Ali, Ann. Hej. 9.

2 Lit. that ye cannot weaken God.

3 Shawâl, Dhu'lkaada, Dhu'lhajja, Muharram. These months were observed by the
Arabians previous to the time of Muhammad.

4 Al Abbas, Muhammad's uncle, when taken prisoner, had defended his unbelief,
and declared that he had performed these two important duties. Beidh.

5 Or, shall issue his behest.

6 At the battle of Honein, a valley three miles from Mecca (A.H. 8), the
Muhammadans, presuming upon the great superiority of their numbers, 12,000
men, over the enemy who were only 4000 strong, were seized with a panic
throughout their ranks. Order was restored and victory obtained through the
bravery and presence of mind of Muhammad and his kindred.

7 The enemy attacked and routed you on all sides.

8 See ii. 249, p. 365.

9 Through the breaking off commercial relations.

10 Or, by right of subjection, Sale; in cash, Wahl.; all without exception,
K. i.e. as if by counting hands.

11 Thus Hilchoth Melachim, vi. 4. The Jews are commanded, in case of war with
the Gentiles, to offer peace on two conditions:–that they become tributaries,
and renounce idolatry. Thus also chap. viii. 4.

12 The Muhammadan tradition is that Ezra was raised to life after he had been
100 years dead, and dictated from memory the whole Jewish law, which had been
lost during the captivity, to the scribes. That the Jews regarded Ezra as a
son of God is due to Muhammad's own invention. See Sonna, 462 v. H. v.
Purgstall's Fundgruben des Orients, i. 288. The Talmudists, however, use very
exaggerated language concerning him. Thus, Sanhedrin, 21, 22. "Ezra would
have been fully worthy to have been the lawgiver, if Moses had not preceded
him." Josephus, Ant. xi. 5, 5, speaks of his high repute ([greek text]) with
the people, and of his honourable burial. Muhammad probably represents the
Jews as having deified Ezra with the view of showing that they, as well as
the Christians, had tampered with the doctrine of the Divine unity.

13 An allusion to the word Rabbi, used by Jews and Christians, of their
priests, etc., but in Arabic of God only. Comp. Matt. xxiii. 7, 8.

14 See Sur. [cxiv.] v. 85.

15 The intercalation of a month every third year, in order to reduce the
lunar to the solar years, is justified by the Muhammadans from this passage.

16 See Sur. xiii. 26, p. 336 (n.).

17 With Abubekr. lit. second of two.

18 Wahk. reich oder arm. Savary, young or old. Ibn Hisam (924) pronounces
this to be the oldest verse of the Sura.

19 This refers to the expedition of Tabouk, a town half-way between Medina
and Damascus, against the Greeks, A.H. 9. Muhammad was now at the head of an
army of 30,000 men. Verses 42-48 are said to have been revealed during the
march.

20 Lit. prepared a preparation.

21 Lit. written.

22 That is, victory or martyrdom.

23 Compare Sura iii. 172. Geiger, p. 76, shews that this is precisely the
teaching of the Talmudists with regard to the wicked.

24 The poor, i.e. absolute paupers; the needy i.e. those in some temporary
distress.

25 The petty Arab chiefs with whom Muhammad made terms after the battle of
Honein, in order to secure their followers.

26 There seems to be a play, in the original, upon the similarity of the
words for injure and ear.

27 Lit. (are) the one from the other.

28 From giving alms.

29 Comp. Sura liv. 15, p. 77. The traditions as to the collection of pitch
from wood of the Ark, in the time of Berosus (B.C. 250?) for amulets, and of
the wood itself, in the time of Josephus (Ant. i. 3, 6, c. Apion, i. 19) must
have reached Muhammad through his Jewish informants. Fragments are said to
have existed in the days of Benjamin of Tudela, and to have been carried away
by the Chalif Omar, from the mountain al Djoudi to the mosque of Gazyrat Ibn
Omar.

30 To kill Muhammad. The circumstances are given in a tradition preserved ap.
Weil, p. 265, note. The meaning is, that the people of Medina, who had become
enriched by Muhammad's residence among them, had no better motive for
disapproving the attempt upon his life. Lit. they had nothing to avenge but
that, etc.

31 Prayers for the dead were customary among the Arabians before Muhammad.
See Freyt. Einl. p. 221.

32 The Mohadiers were those who fled with Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, the
Ansars his auxiliaries in Medina.

33 The commentators are not agreed as to the nature of this double
punishment.

34 The fine of a third part of all their substance was imposed upon seven of
those who had held back from the expedition to Tabouk. This is the fault
spoken of in the preceding verse.

35 The tribe of Beni Ganim had built a mosque, professedly from religious
motives, which they invited Muhammad on his way to Tabouk to dedicate by a
solemn act of prayer. Muhammad, however, discovered that the real motive of
the Beni Ganim was jealousy of the tribe of Beni Amru Ibn Auf, and of the
mosque at Kuba, and that there existed and understanding between them and his
enemy the monk Abu Amir, who was then in Syria, for the purpose of urging the
Greeks to attack the Muslims and their mosque. It is to him that the word
irsâdan refers.

36 To the dwellers at Kuba. Verses 108-111 were probably promulged on the
return from Tabouk previous to the entry into Medina.

37 Abu Amir.

38 Or, never stand thou in it (to pray).

39 The mosque of Kuba, about three miles S.S.E. of Medina. The spot where
this verse was revealed is still pointed out, and called "Makam el Ayat," or
"the place of signs." Burton's "Pilgrimage," ii. p. 214.Muhammad laid the
first brick, and it was the first place of public prayer in El Islam. Ib. p.
209.

40 The Beni Ganim.

41 That is, up to the time of their death they will never reflect on what
they have done without bitter pangs of conscience. See Weil's M. der Prophet,
pp. 268, 269, and note.

42 Lit. limits, i.e. laws.

43 Shall have their recompense.

44 See verse 101.

45 Lit. turned aside, swerved.

46 Three Ansars who did not accompany Muhammad to Tabouk, and who on his
return were put under interdict, and not released from it till after fifty
days of penance.

47 Verses 120-128 probably belong to the period after the return from Tabouk
to Medina.

48 While fighting for the cause of God.


SURA V.–THE TABLE [CXIV.]

MEDINA.–120 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

O BELIEVERS! be faithful to your engagements. You are allowed the flesh of
cattle other than what is hereinafter recited, except game, which is not
allowed you while ye are on pilgrimage. Verily, God ordaineth what he
pleaseth.

O Believers! violate neither the rites of God, nor the sacred month Muharram,
nor the offering, nor its ornaments1, nor those who press on to the sacred
house seeking favour from their Lord and his good pleasure in them.

But when all is over2, then take to the chase: and let not ill will at those3
who would have kept you from the sacred mosque lead you to transgress4, but
rather be helpful to one another according to goodness and piety, but be not
helpful for evil and malice: and fear ye God. Verily, God is severe in
punishing!

That which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine's flesh, and all that hath
been sacrificed under the invocation of any other name than that of God, and
the strangled, and the killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by goring5, and
that which hath been eaten by beasts of prey, unless ye make it clean by
giving the death-stroke yourselves, and that which hath been sacrificed on
the blocks of stone6, is forbidden you: and to make division of the slain by
consulting the arrows,7 is impiety in you. Woe this day on those who forsake
your religion! And fear them not, but fear Me.

This day have I perfected your religion for you, and have filled up the
measure of my favours upon you: and it is my pleasure that Islam be your
religion; but whoso without wilful leanings to wrong shall be forced by
hunger to transgress, to him,verily, will God be Indulgent, Merciful.

They will ask thee what is made lawful for them. Say: Those things which are
good8 are legalised to you, and the prey of beasts of chase which ye have
trained like dogs, teaching them as God hath taught you. Eat, therefore, of
what they shall catch for you, and make mention of the name of God over it,
and fear God: Verily, Swift is God to reckon:

This day, things healthful are legalised to you, and the meats of those who
have received the Scriptures are allowed to you, as your meats are to them.
And you are permitted to marry virtuous women who are believers, and virtuous
women of those who have received the Scriptures before you, when you shall
have provided them their portions, living chastely with them without
fornication, and without taking concubines. Vain the works of him who shall
renounce the faith! and in the next world he shall be of the lost.

O Believers! when ye address yourselves to prayer, wash your faces, and your
hands up to the elbow, and wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankles.

And if ye have become unclean, then purify yourselves. But if ye are sick, or
on a journey, or if one of you come from the place of retirement, or if ye
have touched women, and ye find no water, then take clean sand and rub your
faces and your hands with it.9 God desireth not to lay a burden upon you, but
he desireth to purify you, and He would fill up the measure of His favour
upon you, that ye may be grateful.

And remember the favour of God upon you, and His covenant which He hath
covenanted with you, when ye said, "We have heard and will obey;"10 and fear
God; verily, God knoweth the very secrets of the breast.

O Believers! stand up as witnesses for God by righteousness: and let not ill-
will at any, induce you not to act uprightly. Act uprightly. Next will this
be to the fear of God. And fear ye God: verily, God is apprised of what ye
do.

God hath promised to those who believe, and do the things that are right,
that for them is pardon and a great reward.

But they who are Infidels and treat our signs as lies–these shall be mated
with Hell fire.

O Believers! recollect God's favour upon you, when11 certain folk were minded
to stretch forth their hands against you, but He kept their hands from you.
Fear God then: and on God let the faithful trust.

Of old did God accept the covenant of the children of Israel,12 and out of
them we raised up twelve leaders, and God said, "Verily, I will be with you.
If ye observe prayer and pay the obligatory alms, and believe in my Apostles
and help them, and lend God a liberal loan, I will surely put away from you
your evil deeds, and I will bring you into gardens 'neath which the rivers
flow! But whoso of you after this believeth not, hath gone astray from the
even path."

But for their breaking their covenant we have cursed them, and have hardened
their hearts. They shift the words of Scripture from their places, and have
forgotten part of what they were taught. Thou wilt not cease to discover
deceit on their part, except in a few of them. But forgive them, and pass it
over: verily, God loveth those who act generously!

And of those who say, "We are Christians," have we accepted the covenant. But
they too have forgotten a part of what they were taught; wherefore we have
stirred up enmity and hatred among them that shall last till the day of the
Resurrection; and in the end will God tell them of their doings.

O people of the Scriptures! now is our Apostle come to you to clear up to you
much that ye concealed of those Scriptures, and to pass over many things. Now
hath a light and a clear Book come to you from God, by which God will guide
him who shall follow after his good pleasure, to paths of peace, and will
bring them out of the darkness to the light, by his will: and to the straight
path will he guide them.

Infidels now are they who say, "Verily God is the Messiah Ibn Maryam (son of
Mary)! SAY: And who could aught obtain from God, if he chose to destroy the
Messiah Ibn Maryam, and his mother, and all who are on the earth together?

For with God is the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all
that is between them! He createth what He will; and over all things is God
potent.

Say the Jews and Christians, "Sons are we of God and his beloved." SAY: Why
then doth he chastise you for your sins? Nay! ye are but a part of the men
whom he hath created! He will pardon whom he pleaseth, and chastise whom he
pleaseth, and with God is the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth,
and of all that is between them, and unto Him shall all things return.

O people of the Book! now hath our Apostle come to you to clear up to you the
cessation13 of Apostles, lest you should say, "There hath come to us no
bearer of good tidings, nor any warner." But now hath a bearer of good
tidings and a warner reached you. And God is Almighty.

And remember when Moses said to his people, "O my people! call to mind the
goodness of God towards you when he appointed Prophets among you, and
appointed you kings, and gave you what never had been given before to any
human beings:

Enter, O my people! the holy land which God hath destined for you. Turn not
back, lest ye be overthrown to your ruin."

They said, "O Moses! Therein are men of might. And verily, we can by no means
enter it till they be gone forth. But if they go forth from it, then verily
will we enter in."

Then said two men of those who feared their Lord and to whom God had been
gracious, "Enter in upon them by the gate: and when ye enter it, ye overcome!
If ye be believers, put ye your trust in God."


 


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