Juz 22

But if any of you devoutly obeys God and His Apostle and does good deeds, on her shall We bestow her reward twice-over: for We shall have readied for her a most excellent sustenance [in the life to come].

O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God. Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way.

And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance; and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you to utmost purity.

And bear in mind all that is recited in your homes of God’s messages and [His] wisdom: for God is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware.

VERILY, for all men and women who have sur­rendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for [all of] them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward.

Now whenever God and His Apostle have decided a matter, it is not for a believing man or a believing woman to claim freedom of choice insofar as they themselves are concerned: for he who [thus] rebels against God and His Apostle has already, most obviously, gone astray.

AND LO, [O Muhammad,] thou didst say unto the one to whom God had shown favour and to whom thou hadst shown favour, “Hold on to thy wife, and remain conscious of God!” And [thus] wouldst thou hide within thyself something that God was about to bring to light for thou didst stand in awe of [what] people [might think], whereas it was God alone of whom thou shouldst have stood in awe! [But] then, when Zayd had come to the end of his union with her, We gave her to thee in marriage, so that [in future] no blame should attach to the be­lievers for [marrying] the spouses of their adopted children when the latter have come to the end of their union with them. And [thus] God’s will was done.

[Hence,] no blame whatever attaches to the Prophet for [having done] what God has ordained for him. [Indeed, such was] God’s way with those that have passed away aforetime and [remember that] God’s will is always destiny absolute-;

[and such will always be His way with] those who convey God’s messages [to the world], and stand in awe of Him, and hold none but God in awe: for none can take count [of man’s doings] as God does!

[And know, O believers, that] Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but is God’s Apostle and the Seal of all Prophets. And God has indeed full knowledge of everything.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Remember God with unceasing remembrance,

and extol His limitless glory from morn to evening.

He it is who bestows His blessings upon you, with His angels [echoing Him], so that He might take you out of the depths of darkness into the light. And, indeed, a dispenser of grace is He unto the believers.

On the Day when they meet Him, they will be welcomed with the greeting, “Peace”; and He will have readied for them a most excellent reward.

[And as for thee,] O Prophet - behold, We have sent thee as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner,

and as one who summons [all men] to God by His leave, and as a light-giving beacon.

And [so,] convey to the believers the glad tiding that a great bounty from God awaits them;

and defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites, and disregard their hurtful talk, and place thy trust in God: for none is as worthy of trust as God.

O YOU who have attained to faith! If you marry believing women and then divorce them ere you have touched them, you have no reason to expect, and to calculate, any waiting period on their part: hence, make [at once] provision for them, and release them in a becoming manner.

O PROPHET! Behold, We have made lawful to thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowers, as well as those whom thy right hand has come to possess from among the captives of war whom God has bestowed upon thee. And [We have made lawful to thee] the daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who have migrated with thee [to Yathrib]; and any believing woman who offers herself freely to the Prophet and whom the Prophet might be willing to wed: [this latter being but] a privilege for thee, and not for other believers - [seeing that] We have already made known what We have enjoined upon them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands may possess. [And] in order that thou be not burdened with [undue] anxiety - for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace –

[know that] thou mayest put off for a time whichever of them thou pleasest, and mayest take unto thee whichever thou pleasest; and [that,] if thou seek out any from whom thou hast kept away [for a time], thou wilt incur no sin [thereby]: this will make it more likely that their eyes are gladdened [whenever they see thee], and that they do not grieve [whenever they are overlooked], and that all of them may find contentment in whatever thou hast to give them: for God [alone] knows what is in your hearts - and God is indeed all-knowing, for­bearing.

No [other] women shall henceforth be lawful to thee nor art thou [allowed] to supplant [any of] them by other wives, even though their beauty should please thee greatly -: [none shall be lawful to thee] beyond those whom thou [already] hast come to possess. And God keeps watch over everything.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet’s dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right. And [as for the Prophet’s wives,] whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen: this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs. Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God’s Apostle - just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away: that, verily, would be an enormity in the sight of God.

Whether you do anything openly or in secret, [remember that,] verily, God has full knowledge of everything.

[However,] it is no sin for them [to appear freely] before their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their womenfolk, or such [male slaves] as their right hands may possess. But [always, O wives of the Prophet,] remain con­scious of God - for, behold, God is witness unto everything.

Verily, God and His angels bless the Prophet: [hence,] O you who have attained to faith, bless him and give yourselves up [to his guidance] in utter self-surrender!

Verily, as for those who [knowingly] affront God and His Apostle - God will reject them in this world and in the life to come; and shameful suffering will He ready for them.

And as for those who malign believing men and believing women without their having done any wrong - they surely burden themselves with the guilt of calumny, and [thus] with a flagrant sin!

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters, as well as all [other] believing women, that they should draw over themselves some of their outer garments [when in public]: this will be more con­ducive to their being recognized [as decent women] and not annoyed. But [withal,] God is indeed much- forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

THUS IT IS: if the hypocrites, and they in whose hearts is disease, and they who, by spreading false rumours, would cause disturbances in the City [of the Prophet] desist not [from their hostile doings]. We shall indeed give thee mastery over them, [O Muhammad] - and then they will not remain thy neighbours in this [city] for more than a little while:

bereft of God’s grace, they shall be seized wherever they may be found, and slain one and all.

Such has been God’s way with those who [sinned in like manner and] passed away aforetime - and never wilt thou find any change in God’s way!

PEOPLE will ask thee about the Last Hour. Say: “Knowledge thereof rests with God alone; yet for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near!”

Verily, God has rejected the deniers of the truth, and has readied for them a blazing fire,

therein to abide beyond the count of time: no protec­tor will they find, and none to bring them succour.

On the Day when their faces shall be tossed about in the fire, they will exclaim, “Oh, would that we had paid heed unto God, and paid heed unto the Apostle!”

And they will say: “O our Sustainer! Behold, we paid heed unto our leaders and our great men, and it is they who have led us astray from the right path!

O our Sustainer! Give them double suffering, and banish them utterly from Thy grace!”

O YOU who have attained to faith! Be not like those [children of Israel] who gave offence to Moses, and [remember that] God showed him to be innocent of whatever they alleged [against him or demanded of him]: for of great honour was he in the sight of God.

O you who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God, and [always] speak with a will to bring out [only] what is just and true -

[whereupon] He will cause your deeds to be virtuous, and will forgive you your sins. And [know that] whoever pays heed unto God and His Apostle has already attained to a mighty triumph.

Verily, We did offer the trust [of reason and volition] to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains: but they refused to bear it because they were afraid of it. Yet man took it up - for, verily, he has always been prone to be most wicked, most foolish.

[And so it is] that God imposes suffering on the hypocrites, both men and women, as well as on the men and women who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him. And [so, too, it is] that God turns in His mercy unto the believing men and believing women: for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

ALL PRAISE is due to God, to whom all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth belongs; and to Him will be due all praise in the life to come. For He alone is truly wise, all-aware:

He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them. And He alone is a dispenser of grace, truly-forgiving.

And yet, they who are bent on denying the truth assert, “Never will the Last Hour come upon us!” Say: “Nay, by my Sustainer! By Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception: it will most certainly come upon you!” Not an atom’s weight [of whatever there is] in the heavens or on earth escapes His knowledge; and neither is there anything smaller than that, or larger, but is recorded in [His] clear decree,

to the end that He may reward those who believe and do right­eous deeds: [for] it is they whom forgiveness of sins awaits, and a most excellent sustenance

whereas for those who strive against Our messages, seeking to defeat their purpose, there is grievous suffering in store as an outcome of [their] vileness.

NOW THEY who are endowed with [innate] knowl­edge are well aware that whatever has been be­stowed upon thee from on high by thy Sustainer is indeed the truth, and that it guides onto the way that leads to the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due!

As against this, they who are bent on denying the truth say [unto all who are of like mind]: “Shall we point out to you a man who will tell you that [after your death,] when you will have been scattered in countless fragments, you shall - lo and behold! - be [restored to life] in a new act of creation?

Does he [knowingly] attribute his own lying inventions to God - or is he a madman?” Nay, [there is no madness in this Prophet -] but they who will not believe in the life to come are [bound to lose themselves] in suffering and in a profound aberration.

Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them? [or that,] if We so willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them, or cause fragments of the sky to fall down upon them? In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for every servant [of God] who is wont to turn unto Him [in repentance].

AND [thus], indeed, did We grace David with Our favour: “O you mountains! Sing with him the praise of God! And [likewise] you birds!” And We softened all sharpness in him,

[and inspired him thus:] “Do good deeds lavishly, without stint, and give deep thought to their steady flow.” And [thus should you all, O believers,] do righteous deeds: for, verily, I see all that you do!

AND UNTO Solomon [We made subservient] the wind: its morning course [covered the distance of] a month’s journey, and its evening course, a month’s journey. And We caused a fountain of molten copper to flow at his behest; and [even] among the invisible beings there were some that had [been constrained] to labour for him by his Sustainer’s leave and whichever of them deviated from Our command, him would We let taste suffering through a blazing flame -:

they made for him whatever he wished of sanctuaries, and statues, and basins as [large as] great watering - troughs, and cauldrons firmly anchored. [And We said:] “Labour, O David’s people, in gratitude [towards Me] and [remember that] few are the truly grateful [even] among My servants!”

Yet [even Solomon had to die; but] when We decreed that he should die, nothing showed them that he was dead except an earthworm that gnawed away his staff. And when he fell to the ground, those invisible beings [subservient to him] saw clearly that, had they but understood the reality which was be­yond the reach of their perception, they would not have continued [to toil] in the shameful suffering [of servitude]

INDEED, in [the luxuriant beauty of] their homeland, the people of Sheba had an evidence [of God’s grace] two [vast expanses of] gardens, to the right and to the left, [calling out to them, as it were:] “Eat of what your Sustainer has provided for you, and render thanks unto Him: a land most goodly, and a Sustainer much-forgiving!”

But they turned away [from Us], and so We let loose upon them a flood that overwhelmed the dams, and changed their two [expanses of luxuriant] gardens into a couple of gardens yielding bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [wild] lote-trees:

thus We requited them for their having denied the truth. But do We ever requite [thus] any but the utterly ingrate?

Now [before their downfall,] We had placed between them and the cities which We had blessed [many] towns within sight of one another; and thus We had made traveling easy [for them, as if to say]: “Travel safely in this [land], by night or by day!”

But now they would say, “Long has our Sus­tainer made the distance between our journey- stages!” - for they had sinned against themselves. And in the end We caused them to become [one of those] tales [of things long past], and scattered them in countless fragments. Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grate­ful [to God].

Now, indeed, Iblis did prove that his opinion of them had been right: for [when he called them,] they followed him - all but some of the believers [among them].

And yet, he had no power at all over them: [for if We allow him to tempt man,] it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who [truly] believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt thereof: for thy Sustainer watches over all things.

SAY: “Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside God: they have not an atom’s weight of power either in the heavens or on earth, nor have they any share in [governing] either, nor does He [choose to] have any helper from among them.”

And, before Him, intercession can be of no avail [to any] save one in whose case He may have granted leave [there for]: so much so that when the terror [of the Last Hour] is lifted from their hearts, they [who have been resurrected] will ask [one an­other], “What has your Sustainer decreed [for you]?” - [to which] the others will answer, “Whatever is true and deserved - for He alone is exalted, great!”

Say: “Who is it that provides for you sus­tenance out of the heavens and the earth?” Say: “It is God. And, behold, either we [who believe in Him] or you [who deny His oneness] are on the right path, or have clearly gone astray!”

Say: “Neither shall you be called to account for whatever we may have become guilty of, nor shall we be called to account for whatever you are doing.”

Say: “Our Sustainer will bring us all together [on Judgment Day], and then He will lay open the truth between us, in justice - for He alone is the One who opens all truth, the All-Knowing!”

Say: “Point out to me those [beings] that you have joined with Him [in your minds] as partners [in His divinity]! Nay - nay, but He [alone] is God, the Almighty, the Wise!”

NOW [as for thee, O Muhammad,] We have not sent thee otherwise than to mankind at large, to be a herald of glad tidings and a warner; but most people do not understand [this],

and so they ask, “When is this promise [of resurrection and judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!”

Say: “There has been appointed for you a Day, which you can neither delay nor advance by a single moment.”

And [yet,] those who are bent on denying the truth do say, “We shall never believe in this Qur’an, and neither in whatever there still remains of earlier revelations!” But if thou couldst only see [how it will be on Judgment Day,] when these evildoers shall be made to stand before their Sustainer, hurling reproaches back and forth at one another! Those [of them] who had been weak [on earth] will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: “Had it not been for you, we would certainly have been believers!”

[And] those who were wont to glory in their arrogance will say unto those who had been weak: “Why - did we keep you [forcibly] from following the right path after it had become obvious to you? Nay, it was but you [yourselves] who were guilty!”

But those who had been weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: “Nay, [what kept us away was your] devising of false arguments, night and day, [against God’s messages- as you did] when you persuaded us to blaspheme against God and to claim that there are powers that could rival Him!” And when they see the suffering [that awaits them], they will [all] be unable to express [the full depth of] their remorse: for We shall have put shackles around the necks of those who had been bent on denying the truth: [and] will this be aught but a [just] requital for what they were doing?

For [thus it is:] whenever We sent a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures would declare, “Behold, we deny that there is any truth in [what you claim to be] your message!” –

and they would add, “Richer [than you] are we in wealth and in children, and [so] we are not going to be made to suffer!”

Say: “Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills: but most men do not understand [God’s ways].”

For, it is neither your riches nor your children that can bring you nearer to Us: only he who attains to faith and does what is right and just [comes near unto Us]; and it is [such as] these whom multiple recompense awaits for all that they have done; and it is they who shall dwell secure in the mansions [of paradise] –

whereas all who strive against Our messages, seeking to defeat their purpose, shall be given over to suffering.

Say: “Behold, my Sustainer grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant measure, unto whomever He wills of His servants; and whatever it be that you spend on others, He [always] replaces it: for He is the best of providers.”

And [as for those who now deny the truth,] one Day He will gather them all together, and will ask the angels, “Was it you that they were wont to worship?”

They will answer: “Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! Thou [alone] art close unto us, not they! Nay, [when they thought that they were worshipping us,] they were but [blindly] worshipping forces concealed from their senses; most of them believed in them.”

And [on that Day God will say]: “None of you [created beings] has today any power to benefit or to harm another!” And [then] We shall say unto those who had been bent on evildoing: “Taste [now] that suffering through fire which you were wont to call a lie!”

For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on denying the truth] say [to one another], “This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what your forefathers were wont to worship!” And they say, “This [Qur’an] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!” And [finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: “This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!”

And yet, [O Muhammad,] never have We vouchsafed them any revelations which they could quote, and neither have We sent unto them any warner before thee.

Thus, too, gave the lie to the truth [many of] those who lived before them; and although those [earlier people] had not attained to even a tenth of [the evidence of the truth] which We have vouch­safed unto these [late successors of theirs], yet when they gave the lie to My apostles, how awesome was My rejection!

Say: “I counsel you one thing only: Be [ever­ conscious of] standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or alone; and then bethink yourselves [that] there is no madness in [this pro­phet,] your fellow-man: he is only a warner to you of suffering severe to come.”

Say: “No reward have I ever asked of you [out of anything] that is yours: my reward rests with none but God, and He is witness unto everything!”

Say: “Verily, my Sustainer hurls the truth [against all that is false] He who fully knows all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being’s perception!”

Say: “The truth has now come [to light, and falsehood is bound to wither away]: for, falsehood cannot bring forth anything new, nor can it bring back [what has passed away].”

Say: “Were I to go astray, I would but go astray [due to my own self, and] to the hurt of myself; but if I am on the right path, it is but by virtue of what my Sustainer reveals unto me: for, verily, He is all-hearing, ever-near!”

IF THOU couldst but see [how the deniers of the truth will fare on Resurrection Day,] when they will shrink in terror, with nowhere to escape - since they will have been seized from so close nearby

and will cry, “We do [now] believe in it!” But how can they [hope to] attain [to salvation] from so far away,

seeing that aforetime they had been bent on denying the truth, and had been wont to cast scorn, from far away, on something that was beyond the reach of human perception?

And so, a barrier will be set between them and all that they had [ever] desired, as will be done to such of their kind as lived before their time: for, behold, they [too] were lost in doubt amounting to suspicion.

ALL PRAISE is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who causes the angels to be (His) message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four. [Unceasingly] He adds to His creation whatever He wills: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.

Whatever grace God opens up to man, none can withhold it; and whatever He withholds, none can henceforth release: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.

O men! Call to mind the blessings which God has bestowed upon you! Is there any creator, other than God, that could provide for you sustenance out of heaven and earth? There is no deity save Him: and yet, how perverted are your minds!

But if they [whose minds are perverted] give thee the lie, [O Prophet, remember that] even so, before thy time, have [other] apostles been given the lie: for [the unbelievers always refuse to admit that] all things go back to God [as their source].

O men! Verily, God’s promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world delude you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!

Behold, Satan is a foe unto you: so treat him as a foe. He but calls on his followers to the end that they might find themselves among such as are des­tined for the blazing flame –

[seeing that] for those who are bent on denying the truth there is suffering severe in store, just as for those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds there is forgiveness of sins, and a great reward.

Is, then, he to whom the evil of his own doings is [so] alluring that [in the end] he regards it as good [anything but a follower of Satan]? For, verily, God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], just as He guides him that wills [to be guided]. Hence, [O believer,] do not waste thyself in sorrowing over them: verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do!

AND [remember:] it is God who sends forth the winds, so that they raise a cloud, whereupon We drive it towards dead land and thereby give life to the earth after it had been lifeless: even thus shall resur­rection be!

He who desires might and glory [ought to know that] all might and glory belong to God [alone]. Unto Him ascend all good words, and the righteous deed does He exalt. But as for those who cunningly devise evil deeds - suffering severe awaits them; and all their devising is bound to come to nought.

And [remember:] God creates [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm; and then He fashions you into either of the two sexes. And no female conceives or gives birth unless it be with His knowledge; and none that is long-lived has his days lengthened - and neither is aught lessened of his days - unless it be thus laid down in [God’s] decree: for, behold, all this is easy for God.

[Easy is it for Him to create likeness and variety:] thus, the two great bodies of water [on earth] are not alike the one sweet, thirst-allaying, pleasant to drink, and the other salty and bitter: and yet, from either of them do you eat fresh meat, and [from either] you take gems which you may wear; and on either thou canst see ships ploughing through the waves, so that you might [be able to] go forth in quest of some of His bounty, and thus have cause to be grateful.

He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and He makes the day grow longer by shortening the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him]. Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion - whereas those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone!

If you invoke them, they do not hear your call; and even if they could hear, they would not [be able to] respond to you. And [withal,] on the Day of Resurrection they will utterly disown your having associated them with God. And none can make thee understand [the truth] like the One who is all-aware.

O men! It is you, who stand in need of God, whereas He alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due.

If He so wills, He can do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead]:

nor is this difficult for God.

AND NO BEARER of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden; and if one weighed down by his load calls upon [another] to help him carry it, nothing thereof may be carried [by that other], even if it be one’s near of kin. Hence, thou canst [truly] warn only those who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of their perception, and are constant in prayer, and [know that] whoever grows in purity, attains to purity but for the good of his own self, and [that] with God is all journeys’ end.

For [thus it is:] the blind and the seeing are not equal;

nor are the depths of darkness and the light;

nor the [cooling] shade and the scorching heat:

and neither are equal the living and the dead [of heart]. Behold, [O Muhammad,] God can make hear whomever He wills, whereas thou canst not make hear such as are [dead of heart like the dead] in their graves:

thou art nothing but a warner.

Verily, We have sent thee with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: for there never was any community but a warner has [lived and] passed away in its midst.

And if they give thee the lie - even so gave the lie to the truth [many of] those who lived before their time, [when] there came unto them their apostles with all evidence of the truth, and with books of divine wisdom, and with light-giving revelation;

[but] in the end I took to task all those who were bent on denying the truth: and how awesome was My rejection!

ART THOU NOT aware that God sends down water from the skies, whereby We bring forth fruits of many hues - just as in the mountains there are streaks of white and red of various shades, as well as (others) raven-black,

and (as) there are in men, and in crawling beasts, and in cattle, too, many hues? Of all His servants, only such as are endowed with [innate] knowledge stand [truly] in awe of God: [for they alone comprehend that,] verily, God is almighty, much-forgiving.

(It is) they who [truly] follow God’s revelation, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others, secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance - it is they who may look forward to a bargain that can never fail,

since He will grant them their just rewards, and give them yet more out of His bounty: for, verily, He is much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude.

And [know that] all of the divine writ with which We have inspired thee is the very truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations for, behold, of [the needs of] His servants God is fully aware, all-seeing.

And so, We have bestowed this divine writ as a heritage unto such of Our servants as We chose: and among them are some who sin against themselves; and some who keep half-way [between right and wrong]; and some who, by God’s leave, are fore­most in deeds of goodness: [and] this, indeed, is a merit most high!

[Hence,] gardens of perpetual bliss will they enter, therein to be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and therein to be clad in raiments of silk;

and they will say: “All praise is due to God, who has caused all sorrow to leave us: for, verily, our Sustainer is indeed much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude –

He who, out of His bounty, has made us alight in this abode of life enduring, wherein no struggle can assail us, and wherein no weariness can touch us!”

But as for those who are bent on denying the truth - the fire of hell awaits them: no end shall be put to their lives so that they could die, nor shall aught of the suffering caused by that [fire] be lightened for them: thus shall We requite all who are bereft of gratitude.

And in that [hell] they will cry aloud: “O our Sustainer! Cause us to come out [of this suffering]! We shall [henceforth] do good deeds, not such as we were wont to do [aforetime]!” [But We shall answer:] “Did We not grant you a life long enough so that whoever was willing to take thought could bethink himself? And [withal,] a war­ner had come unto you! Taste, then, [the fruit of your evil deeds]: for evildoers shall have none to succour them!”

Verily, God knows the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth: [and,] behold, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].

He it is who has made you inherit the earth. Hence, he who is bent on denying the truth [of God’s oneness and uniqueness ought to know that] this denial of his will fall back upon him: for their [per­sistent] denial of this truth does but add to the deniers’ loathsomeness in their Sustainer’s sight and, thus, their denial of this truth does but add to the deniers’ loss.

Say: “Have you ever [really] considered those beings and forces to whom you ascribe a share in God’s divinity, [and] whom you invoke beside God? Show me what it is that they have created on earth - or do [you claim that] they have a share in [govern­ing] the heavens?” Have We ever vouchsafed them a divine writ on which they could rely as evidence [in support of their views]? Nay, [the hope which] the evildoers hold out to one another [is] nothing but a delusion.

Verily, it is God [alone] who upholds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate [from their orbits] - for if they should ever deviate, there is none that could uphold them after He will have ceased to do so. [But,] verily, He is ever-forbearing, much-for­giving!

As it is, they [who are averse to the truth often] swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a warner should ever come to them, they would follow his guidance better than any of the communities [of old had followed the warner sent to them]: but now that a warner has come unto them, [his call] but increases their aversion,

their arro­gant behaviour on earth, and their devising of evil [arguments against God’s messages]. Yet [in the end,] such evil scheming will engulf none but its authors: and can they expect anything but [to be made to go] the way of those [sinners] of olden times? Thus [it is]: no change wilt thou ever find in God’s way; yea, no deviation wilt thou ever find in God’s way!

Have they never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [deniers of the truth] who lived before their time and were [so much] greater than they in power? And [do they not see that the will of] God can never be foiled by anything whatever in the heavens or on earth, since, verily, He is all-knowing, infinite in His power?

Now if God were to take men [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit [on earth], He would not leave a single living creature upon its surface. However, He grants them respite for a term set [by Him]: but when their term comes to an end - then, verily, [they come to know that] God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His servants.

O THOU human being!

Consider this Qur’an full of wisdom:

verily, thou art indeed one of God’s message-bearers,

pursuing a straight way

by [virtue of] what is being bestowed from on high by the Almighty, the Dispenser of Grace,

[bestowed upon thee] so that thou mayest warn people whose forefathers had not been warned, and who therefore are unaware [of the meaning of right and wrong].

Indeed, the word [of God’s condemnation] is bound to come true against most of them: for they will not believe.

Behold, around their necks We have put shack­les, reaching up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up;

and We have set a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and We have enshrouded them in veils so that they cannot see:

thus, it is all one to them whether thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe.

Thou canst [truly] warn only him who is willing to take the reminder to heart, and who stands in awe of the Most Gracious although He is beyond the reach of human perception: unto such, then, give the glad tiding of [God’s] forgiveness and of a most excellent reward!

Verily, We shall indeed bring the dead back to life; and We shall record whatever [deeds] they have sent ahead, and the traces [of good and evil] which they have left behind: for of all things do We take account in a record clear.

AND SET FORTH unto them a parable - [the story of how] the people of a township [behaved] when [Our] message-bearers came unto them.

Lo! We sent unto them two [apostles], and. they gave the lie to both; and so We strengthened [the two] with a third; and thereupon they said: “Behold, we have been sent unto you [by God]!”

[The others] answered: “You are nothing but mortal men like ourselves; moreover, the Most Gracious has never bestowed aught [of revelation] from on high. You do nothing but lie!”

Said [the apostles]: “Our Sustainer knows that we have indeed been sent unto you;

but we are not bound to do more than clearly deliver the mes­sage [entrusted to us].”

Said [the others]: “Truly, we augur evil from you! Indeed, if you desist not, we will surely stone you, and grievous suffering is bound to befall you at our hands!”

[The apostles] replied: “Your destiny, good or evil, is [bound up] with yourselves! [Does it seem evil to you] if you are told to take [the truth] to heart? Nay, but you are people who have wasted their own selves!”

At that, a man came running from the farthest end of the city, [and] exclaimed: “O my people! Follow these message-bearers!

Follow those who ask no reward of you, and themselves are rightly guided!

“[As for me,] why should I not worship Him who has brought me into being, and to whom you all will be brought back?

Should I take to worship­ping [other] deities beside Him? [But then,] if the Most Gracious should will that harm befall me, their intercession could not in the least avail me, nor could they save me:

and so, behold, I would have indeed, most obviously, lost myself in error!

“Verily, [O my people,] in the Sustainer of you all have I come to believe: listen, then, to me!”

[And] he was told, “[Thou shalt] enter paradise!” - [whereupon] he exclaimed: “Would that my people knew

how my Sustainer has forgiven me [the sins of my past], and has placed me among the honoured ones!”