Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
The revelation of the Book, the Qur’ān (tanzīlu’l-kitābi, the subject) is from God (mina’Llāhi, the predicate thereof), the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Wise, in His actions.
Verse 3
We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them except, as a creation, in truth, so that it may be an indication of Our power and Our Oneness, and for an appointed term, until [the point of] their annihilation on the Day of Resurrection. Yet those who disbelieve are disregardful of what they are warned, [of what] they are threatened with in the way of [impending] chastisement.
Verse 4
Say: ‘Have you considered, [say] Inform me [about], what you invoke, [what] you worship, besides God?, namely, the idols (min dūni’Llāhi, constitutes the first object [of the verb]). Show me — inform me — (arūnī, [repeated] for emphasis), what they have created (mādhā khalaqū, the second object) of the earth (mina’l-ardi, the explication of mā, ‘what [part]’). Or do they have any share, any partnership, in, the creation of, the heavens?, with God? (am, ‘or’, has the significance of the [rhetorical interrogative] hamza of denial). Bring me a scripture, [that has been] revealed, before this, Qur’ān, or some vestige, some remnant, of knowledge, transmitted from the ancients confirming the soundness of your claim that your worship of the idols brings you closer to God, if you are truthful’, in your claim.
Verse 5
And who is (man here is interrogative but meant [rhetorically] as a negation: in other words, ‘no one is’) further astray than him who invokes, [him who] worships, besides God, that is to say, other than Him, such as would not respond to him [even] until the Day of Resurrection — these are the idols, who never answer those who worship them in anything that they ask for — and who are heedless of their supplication?, their worship, because they are inanimates that possess no [faculty of] comprehension.
Verse 6
And when mankind are gathered, they, the idols, will be enemies to them, to those who had worshipped them, and they will deny, they will disavow, their worship, the worship of those who had worshipped them.
Verse 7
And when Our signs, the Qur’ān, are recited to them, namely, [to] the people of Mecca, being clear signs, manifest [signs] (bayyinātin is a circumstantial qualifier), those who disbelieve, from among them, say of the truth, that is, the Qur’ān, when it comes to them, ‘This is plain sorcery!’, clear and evident [sorcery].
Verse 8
Or (am has the significance of bal, ‘nay, but …’ and the [rhetorical interrogative] hamza of denial) do they say, ‘He has invented it?’, that is, the Qur’ān. Say: ‘If I have invented it, hypothetically [speaking], still you would have no power to avail me against God, that is to say, against His chastisement, in any way, in other words, you would not be able to ward it off from me if God chooses to chastise me. He knows best what you delve into [of gossip] concerning it, what you say about the Qur’ān. He, exalted be He, suffices as a witness between me and you. And He is the Forgiving, to the one who repents, the Merciful’, to him, and so He does not hasten to punish you.
Verse 9
Say: ‘I am not a novelty, unprecedented, among the messengers, that is to say, [I am not] the first to be sent [by God as His Messenger]. Already many of them have come before me, so how can you deny me? Nor do I know what will be done with me or with you, in this world: will I be made to leave my [native] land, or will I be slain as was done with [some] prophets before me, or will you stone me to death, or will the earth be made to swallow you as [it did] deniers before you? I only follow what is revealed to me, that is, the Qur’ān, and I do not invent anything myself. And I am only a plain warner’, one whose warning is plain.
Verse 10
Say: ‘Have you considered?, [say:] inform me, what will be your predicament, if it, the Qur’ān, is from God and you disbelieve in it (wa-kafartum bihi, the sentence is a circumstantial qualifier), and a witness from the Children of Israel has [already] testified, this was ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām, to the like of it, that is to say, to it [the Qur’ān], that it is from God, and he, the witness, has believed [in it], while you act with arrogance …’, you are disdainful of faith (the response to the conditional [‘if …’] is given [by implication] in what has been supplemented to it, in other words: ‘Would you not then be [considered] wrongdoers?’; this [understanding of the response] is indicated by [what follows]). Truly God does not guide wrongdoing folk’.
Verse 11
And those who disbelieve say of those who believe, that is, [they say] with regards to them: ‘Had it, faith, been [anything] good, they would not have attained it before us’. And since they, the ones [now] speaking, will not be guided by it, that is, [by] the Qur’ān, they say, ‘This, that is, the Qur’ān, is an ancient lie!’
Verse 12
Yet before it, that is, [before] the Qur’ān, [there was] the Book of Moses, that is, the Torah, as a guidepost and a mercy, for those who believed in it (imāman wa-rahmatan are two circumstantial qualifiers) and this, Qur’ān, is a Book that confirms, scriptures before it, in the Arabic tongue (lisānan ‘arabiyyan is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of musaddiqun, ‘that confirms’) to warn those who do wrong, the idolaters of Mecca, and, it is, good tidings for the virtuous, the believers.
Verse 13
Assuredly those who say, ‘Our Lord is God’ and then remain upright, in [their adherence to] obedience, no fear will befall them, nor will they grieve.
Verse 14
Those will be the inhabitants of Paradise, abiding therein (khālidīna fīhā is a circumstantial qualifier) as a reward (jazā’an is in the accusative as a verbal noun, because of the implied verbal action, that is to say, yujzawna, ‘they will be rewarded’) for what they used to do.
Verse 15
And We have enjoined man to be kind (husnan: a variant reading has ihsānan), that is to say, We have commanded him to act kindly towards both of them (thus ihsānan is in the accusative as a verbal noun, because of the implied verbal action; the same applies to husnan) to his parents. His mother carries him in travail, and gives birth to him in travail, that is to say, with suffering; and his gestation and his weaning, from suckling, take thirty months, six months being the minimum period for gestation, the remainder being the maximum period of suckling; it is also said that, regardless of whether she bore him for six or nine months, she should suckle him for the remainder. So that (hattā is a [particle of] purpose for an implied sentence, that is to say, wa-‘āsha hattā, ‘and he lived on so that …’) when he is mature, namely, at his prime in terms of his strength, intellect and reasoning, the minimum [age] for which is thirty or thirty three years, and reaches forty years, that is, exactly [forty years], which is the maximum for [attaining] maturity, he says, ‘My Lord!, [this] to the end [of this verse] was revealed regarding Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, when he had reached forty years of age, two years after the [beginning of the] Prophet’s Mission (s). He [Abū Bakr] believed in him, whereafter his parents believed [in the Prophet], followed by his son ‘Abd al-Rahmān, then ‘Abd al-Rahmān’s son Abū ‘Atīq [Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahmān]. Inspire me to give thanks for Your favour with which You have favoured me and my parents, namely, [the grace of] affirming [God’s] Oneness, and that I may act righteously in a way that will please You, thus he [Abū Bakr] emancipated nine believers who had been enduring torture [at the hands of the idolaters] for [their belief in] God, and invest my seed with righteousness, all of them were believers. Indeed I repent to You and I am truly of those who submit [to You]’.
Verse 16
Those, that is, those who say such words, Abū Bakr and others, are they from whom We accept the best of what they do, and overlook their misdeeds, [as they stand] among the inhabitants of Paradise (fī ashābi’ll-jannati, a circumstantial qualifier, in other words, ‘being among them’) — [this is] the true promise which they were promised, by His words, God has promised the believers, both men and women, Gardens … [Q. 9:72].
Verse 17
As for him who says to his parents (li-wālidayhi: a variant reading has li-wālidihi, ‘his parent’, denoting the generic noun): ‘Fie (read uffin or uffan, as a verbal noun, meaning: ‘[something] putrid and disgusting’) on you both: I am exasperated at both of you. Do you threaten me (a-ta‘idāninī: a variant reading has a-ta‘idānnī) that I shall be raised, from the grave, when already generations, communities, have passed away before me?’, and they have not been raised from their graves. And they call on God for succour, that he [their child] repent, saying [to him]: if you do not repent, ‘Woe to you (waylaka, that is to say, halākaka, ‘you are ruined!’). Believe!, in resurrection. Surely God’s promise is true’. But he says, ‘This, belief in resurrection, is nothing but the fables of the ancients’, lies of theirs.
Verse 18
Such are the ones against whom the Word, of chastisement, is due, is necessary, concerning communities of jinn and humans that have passed away before them. Truly they are losers.
Verse 19
And for each one, of both categories, believer and disbeliever, there will be degrees [of status] , thus the degrees of the believers in Paradise are high, while the degrees of disbelievers in the Fire are despicable, according to what they have done, that is to say, [according to what] believers [have done] in the way of acts of obedience, and disbelievers, in the way of acts of disobedience, and that He may recompense them fully, namely, God (li-yuwaffiyahum: a variant reading has li-nuwaffiyahum, ‘that We may recompense them fully’) for their deeds, that is, [pay them] their deserts, and they will not be wronged, [not even] in a single thing that may be diminished for believers or increased for disbelievers.
Verse 20
And on the day when those who disbelieve are exposed to the Fire, by its being revealed for them, it will be said to them: ‘You squandered (read with one hamza, adhhabtum, or with two hamzas [as an interrogative], a-adhhabtum, ‘have you sqaundered …?’; or with one hamza, adhhabtum, or with an initial long ‘a’, ādhhabtum, with both of these [pronounced fully] or without pronouncing the second [hamza]) your good things during your life of the world, by preoccupying yourselves with sensual delights, and enjoyed them. So today you will be requited with the chastisement of humiliation in return for acting arrogantly in the earth without right and in return for that regarding which you used to act immorally’, and [for] the torture you used to inflict [upon others] therein.
Verse 21
And mention the brother of ‘Ād, namely, Hūd, peace be upon him, when (idh … [from here] to the end [of the verse] constitutes an inclusive substitution) he warned his people, he threatened them, at Ahqāf, [‘the Sand dunes’ is the name of] a valley in Yemen, where their dwellings were located — and already warners, messengers, had passed away before him and after him, that is to say, before Hūd [came to them] and after him, to their peoples — saying, ‘Do not worship anyone but God (the statement [beginning with] wa-qad khalat, ‘and already [warners] had passed away’, is a parenthetical one). Truly I fear for you — should you worship other than God — the chastisement of a dreadful day’.
Verse 22
They said, ‘Have you come to divert us from our gods?, to turn us away from worship of them. Then bring us what you threaten us with, of chastisement for worshipping them, if you are of the truthful’, in [saying] that it will befall us.
Verse 23
He, Hūd, said, ‘The knowledge is with God only, He is the One Who knows when chastisement will befall you, and I am [merely] conveying to you what I have been sent with, to you. But I see that you are an ignorant lot’, given your hastening on of the chastisement.
Verse 24
Then, when they saw it, that is, [when they saw] what chastisement [really] was, as a sudden cloud, a cloud that appeared [out of nowhere] on the horizon, heading towards their valleys, they said, ‘This is a cloud that will bring us rain!’. God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but it is what you sought to hasten, of the chastisement — a hurricane (rīhun substitutes for mā, ‘what’) containing a painful chastisement,
Verse 25
destroying, ruining, everything, it passes through, by the command of its Lord, by His will, that is to say, [destroying] everything that He wants to destroy with it. And so it destroyed their men, women, children and properties by flinging them up into the air high above the ground and tearing them to pieces. Only Hūd and those who believed with him remained [unscathed]. So they became such that nothing could be seen except their dwellings. Thus, in the way that We requited them, do We requite guilty folk, besides them.
Verse 26
And verily We had empowered them in ways in which We have not (in is either for negation or extra) empowered you, O people of Mecca, in the way of strength and means, and We had vested them with ears and eyes and hearts. But their ears and their eyes and their hearts did not avail them in any way (min shay’in: min is extra) since (idh, is operated by aghnā, ‘avail’, and imbued with the sense of [a particle introducing a] reason) they used to deny the signs of God, His clear proofs, and they were besieged by, there befell them, what they used to deride, of chastisement.
Verse 27
And We certainly destroyed the towns [that were] around you, that is, [We destroyed] their inhabitants, the likes of Thamūd, ‘Ād and the people of Lot, and We dispensed the signs, We repeated the clear proofs, so that perhaps they might return.
Verse 28
So why did they not help them, by averting from them the chastisement, those whom they had chosen besides God, that is to say, other than Him, as [a means of] nearness, through whom they may secure nearness to God, to be gods?, alongside Him, and these are the idols (the first object of ittakhadhū, ‘they had chosen’, is the omitted pronoun referred to by the relative clause [alladhīna, ‘those who …’], and it is hum, ‘they’; qurbānan, ‘nearness’, is the second [object], with ālihatan, ‘gods’, as its substitution). Nay, but they forsook them, when the chastisement came down [on them], and that, that is to say, [that] choosing of theirs of idols as gods as a means of nearness [to God], was their lie and what they used to invent — the lies they used to speak (mā, ‘what’, either relates to the verbal action [‘their lying’], or it indicates a relative clause with the referential pronoun omitted, this being fīhi, ‘about’).
Verse 29
And, mention, when We sent a company of jinn your way — the jinn of Nasībīn in Yemen, or the jinn of Nineveh, who were seven or nine, [and this was] while the Prophet (s) was leading the dawn prayer with some of his Companions at Batn Nakhla, as reported by the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim] — to listen to the Qur’ān and, when they were in its presence, they said, that is, they said to one another: ‘Listen carefully!’, concentrate in order to hear it [carefully]. Then, when it was finished, [when] he was finished reciting it, they went back to their people to warn [them], to threaten their people with the chastisement [from God] if they do not believe — they had been Jews, but then become Muslims.
Verse 30
They said, ‘O our people! Indeed we have heard a Book, namely, the Qur’ān, which has been revealed after Moses, confirming what was before it, what preceded it, such as the Torah. It guides to the truth, submission [to God] (islām), and to a straight way, that is, the way thereto [to Islam].
Verse 31
O our people! Respond to God’s summoner, Muhammad (s), by embracing faith, and believe in him, and He, God, will forgive you some of your sins, because some of these [sins] are wrongs [done to others] and which [therefore] can only be forgiven after those wronged are reconciled — and shelter you from a painful chastisement.
Verse 32
And whoever does not respond to God’s summoner cannot thwart God on earth, that is to say, he will not be able to thwart God by escaping from Him and eluding Him, and he, the one who does not respond, will not have, besides Him, that is, [besides] God, any protectors, any helpers to ward off the chastisement from him — those, who do not respond, are in manifest error’, plain and evident [error].
Verse 33
Have they not seen, [have they not] realised, that is, the deniers of resurrection, that God, Who created the heavens and the earth and [Who] was not wearied by their creation, [Who] did not fail therein, is able to give life to the dead? (bi-qādirin is the predicate of anna, ‘that’, the bi- having been added to it because the statement has the same force as [the construction]: a-laysa’Llāhu bi-qādirin, ‘Is God not able …?’). Yes, indeed, He is able to give life to the dead. Indeed He has is able to do all things.
Verse 34
And on the day when those who disbelieve are exposed to the Fire, when they are being chastised in it, it will be said to them: ‘Is not this, chastisement, the truth?’ They will say, ‘Yes, by our Lord!’ He will say, ‘Then taste the chastisement for what you used to disbelieve [in]’.
Verse 35
So endure [with patience], the harm done [to you] by your people, just as the resolute, those of constancy and [power of] endurance during hardships, from among the messengers endured [with patience], before you, so that you may be one of resolve [like them] (min [of mina’l-rusuli] is explicative, as all of them were men of resolve; but some say that this [particle min] is [actually] meant to be partitive, since excluded from their number are: Adam, on the basis of God’s saying, exalted be He: And We did not find in him any constancy [Q. 20:115]; and Jonah, on the basis of His words: And do not be like the One of the fish [Q. 68:48]). And do not seek to hasten [it] for them, for your people, the sending down of the chastisement on them. Some say that he [the Prophet] seemed [by this stage] to have become exasperated because of them and desired that chastisement be sent down on them, which is why he was enjoined to [exercise] patience and to refrain from hastening the chastisement [for them] — for it would befall them [eventually] without doubt. It shall seem for them, on the day when they see what they are promised, of chastisement in the Hereafter, given its long duration, as though they had tarried, in this world, by their reckoning, only an hour of a day. This Qur’ān is, a communication, a proclamation from God to you. So shall any be destroyed, that is to say, none [shall be destroyed] upon seeing the chastisement, but the immoral folk?, that is to say, the disbelieving [folk].
Verse 1
Those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca, and bar, others, from the way of God, that is to say, [from] faith, He will leave their works to waste, such as giving food [to the poor] or being kind to kin, and so they will find no reward for these [works of theirs] in the Hereafter; [but] they are requited for them in this world [purely] out of His bounty, exalted be He.
Verse 2
But those who believe, namely, the Helpers (al-Ansār) and others [like them], and perform righteous deeds and believe in what has been revealed to Muhammad, namely, the Qur’ān — and it is the truth from their Lord — He will absolve them of, He will forgive them, their misdeeds and rightly dispose their mind, their state, so that they do not disobey Him.
Verse 3
That, rendering void of their works and the absolution of evil deeds, is because those who disbelieve follow falsehood, Satan, and because those who believe follow the truth, the Qur’ān, from their Lord. Thus, in the same manner of clarification, does God strike for mankind similitudes of themselves, [that is how] He clarifies for them their states, in other words, the disbeliever has his work rendered void while the believer is forgiven.
Verse 4
So when you encounter [in battle] those who disbelieve, then [attack them with] a striking of the necks (fa-darba’l-riqābi is a verbal noun in place of the [full] verbal construction, that is to say, fa’dribū riqābahum, ‘then strike their necks’), in other words, slay them — reference is made to the ‘striking of the necks’ because the predominant cause of being slayed is to be struck in the neck. Then, when you have made thoroughly decimated them, bind, spare them, take them captive and bind firmly, the bonds (al-wathāq is what is used to bind [yūthaqu] a captive). Thereafter either [set them free] by grace (mannan is a verbal noun in place of the [full] verbal construction), that is to say, either show them grace by setting them free unconditionally; or by ransom, ransoming them with payment or with Muslim captives, until the war, that is to say, its participants, lay down its burdens, its heavy loads of weaponry and other things, so that either the disbelievers surrender or enter into a treaty. This [last clause] constitutes the ‘purpose’ of [enjoining the Muslims to] slaying and taking captive. So [shall it be] (dhālika is the predicate of an implied subject, [such as] al-amr, ‘the ordinance’, in other words, ‘the ordinance [of God] regarding them is as mentioned’). And had God willed, He could have [Himself] taken vengeance on them, without any fighting, but, He has commanded you to [do] it, that He may test some of you by means of others, from among them, by way of battle, so that the slain among you will end up in Paradise, while those [slain] among them [will end up] in the Fire. And those who are slain (qutilū: a variant reading has qātalū, ‘those who fight’) — this verse was revealed on the day of [the battle of] Uhud, after the dead and the wounded had become numerous among the Muslims — in the way of God, He will not let their works go to waste, He will [not] render [them] void.
Verse 5
He will guide them, in this world and in the Hereafter to what benefits them, and rightly dispose their minds, their condition in both, with that [guidance and disposal] in this world being for those who were not slain, but who have been included in [the statement] ‘and those who were slain’ (qutilū) because of [the] predominance therein [of those who were slain].
Verse 6
And He will admit them into Paradise, which He has made known, [which] He has pointed out, to them, so that they are guided to their dwellings in it, and to their spouses and servants without asking to be shown the way.
Verse 7
O you who believe! If you help God, that is to say, His religion and His Messenger, He will help you, against your enemy, and make your foothold firm, He will make you stand firm [while you fight] on the battleground.
Verse 8
And as for those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca (wa’lladhīna kafarū is the subject, the predicate of which is [an implicit] ta‘isū, ‘they shall be wretched’, as indicated [by what follows]) wretchedness shall be their lot, that is, destruction and defeat from God. And He will make their works go to waste (wa-adalla a‘mālahum is a supplement to [the implied] ta‘isū, ‘they shall be wretched’).
Verse 9
That, wretchedness and wasting [of their works], is because they are averse to what God has revealed, of the Qur’ān with all that it includes of religious obligations (takālīf), so He has made their works fail.
Verse 10
Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? God destroyed them — He destroyed them, their children and their possessions; and [a fate] the like thereof will be for the disbelievers, that is to say, the like of the fate of those before them.
Verse 11
That, granting of victory to the believers and the vanquishing of the disbelievers, is because God is Patron, Ally and Helper, of those who believe and because the disbelievers have no patron.
Verse 12
God will surely admit those who believe and perform righteous deeds into gardens underneath which rivers flow. As for those who disbelieve, they take their enjoyment, in this world, and eat as the cattle eat, that is to say, they are only concerned with [filling] their bellies and [satisfying] their private parts, without giving any thought to the Hereafter; and the Fire will be their habitation, their home, their station and their [final] destination.
Verse 13
And how many (ka-ayyin means kam) a town, by which is meant the inhabitants thereof, mightier in power than your town, Mecca, that is to say, its inhabitants, which expelled you (akhrajatka [is feminine despite the plural sense of inhabitants meant is because it] takes into account the [feminine] form of qarya, ‘town’), have We destroyed (ahlaknāhum takes into account the former [plural] import of qarya, ‘town’), and they had none to help them, against Our destruction [of them].
Verse 14
Is he who follows a clear sign, a definitive argument and proof, from his Lord, and these are the believers, like those whose evil deeds have been adorned for them, so that they see them as fair [deeds], and these are the disbelievers of Mecca, and who follow their desires?, by worshipping graven images. In other words, there is no similarity between the two.
Verse 15
A similitude, a description, of the Garden promised to the God-fearing: [the Garden] that is shared equally by all those who enter it (this first clause is the subject, of which the predicate [follows:]) therein are rivers of unstaling water (read āsin or asin, similar [in form] to dārib, ‘striker’, and hadhir, ‘cautious’), that is to say, one that does not change, in contrast to the water of this world, which may change due to some factor; and rivers of milk unchanging in flavour, in contrast to the milk of this world, on account of its issuing from udders, and rivers of wine delicious to the drinkers, in contrast to the wine of this world, which is distasteful to drink; and [also] rivers of purified honey, in contrast to the honey of this world, which when it issues out of the bellies of bees becomes mixed with wax and other elements; and there will be for them therein, varieties [of], every fruit and forgiveness from their Lord, for He is pleased with them, in addition to His beneficence towards them in the way mentioned, in contrast to one who is a master of servants in this world, who while being kind to them may at the same time be wrathful with them. [Is such a one] like him who abides in the Fire? (ka-man huwa khālidun fī’l-nāri, the predicate of an implied subject, which is a-man huwa fī hādha’l-na‘īm, ‘Is one who is amidst such bliss [as him who abides in the Fire]?’). And they will be given to drink boiling water which rips apart their bowels, that is, their entrails, so that these will be excreted from their rears. (Am‘ā’, ‘bowels’, is the plural of mi‘an, its alif being derived from the yā’ of their saying mi‘yān [as an alternative singular to mi‘an]).
Verse 16
And there are some among them, namely, the disbelievers, who listen to you, during the Friday sermon — and these are the hypocrites; until, when they go forth from you, they say to those who have been given knowledge, that is to say, to the knowledgeable ones among the Companions [of the Prophet], such as [‘Abd Allāh] Ibn Mas‘ūd and [‘Abd Allāh] Ibn ‘Abbās, in derision and mockery: ‘What was he saying just now?’ (read ānifan or anifan, meaning al-sā‘a, ‘just now’). In other words, [they mean to say] ‘we will not go back to [listen to] him again’. Those are the ones on whose hearts God has set a seal, of disbelief, and who follow their own desires, in [acting with] hypocrisy.
Verse 17
But those who are [rightly] guided, namely, the believers, He, God, enhances their guidance and invests them with fear [of Him], He inspires them to [do] that by which they can be wary of [ending up in] the Fire.
Verse 18
Do they, then, await, they do not await, namely, the disbelievers of Mecca, anything except that the Hour should come upon them (an ta’tiyahum is an inclusive substitution for al-sā‘ata, ‘the Hour’; in other words, it cannot be other than that it will come upon them […]) suddenly? For already its portents, the signs thereof, have come, among which are the sending of the Prophet (s), the splitting of the Moon [Q. 54:1] and the Smoke [Q. 44:10]. So, when it, the Hour, has come upon them, for what [benefit] will their reminder be?, their remembering; in other words, it will be of no benefit to them.
Verse 19
Know, then, that there is no god except God, that is to say, adhere, O Muhammad (s), to knowledge of this [fact] that will benefit you at the Resurrection, and ask forgiveness for your sin — this was said to him, despite his infallibility (‘isma), so that his community might emulate him [in this respect]. Indeed he did do this. The Prophet (s) said, ‘Verily I do ask God for forgiveness a hundred times every day’ — and for the believing men and believing women — herein is an honouring for them, by having their Prophet enjoined to ask forgiveness for them. And God knows your going to and fro, your bustle during the day in pursuit of your business, and your place of rest, when you retire to where you sleep at night. In other words, He has knowledge of all your states, nothing of which can be hidden from Him, so be mindful of Him — the address [in this verse] is meant for believers as well as others.
Verse 20
And those who believe say, seeking to take part in the struggle: ‘Why has a sūra not been revealed?’, [one] in which there is mention of the [command to participate in the] struggle. But when a definitive sūra is revealed, one in which nothing is abrogated (naskh), and fighting, that is to say, requirement for it, is mentioned in it, you see those in whose hearts is a sickness, that is, doubt — and they are the hypocrites — looking at you with the look of someone fainting at [the point of] death, because of [their] fear of it and [their] aversion to it; in other words, they fear fighting and are averse to it. Yet more fitting for them (fa-awlā lahum is a subject, the predicate of which [is the following, tā‘atun wa-qawlun ma‘rūfun])
Verse 21
would be [to offer] obedience and honourable words, that is, [words] that are kind to you. Then, when the matter has been resolved upon, that is to say, [when] fighting has been prescribed, if they are loyal to God, in faith and obedience, it will be better for them (the sentence beginning with law, ‘if’, constitutes the response to idhā, ‘when’).
Verse 22
May it not be [the case] with you, (read ‘asītum or ‘asaytum; there is a shift here from the third person to the second person address), that if you were to turn away, [if] you were to shun faith, you would then cause corruption in the land and sever your kinship ties?, in other words, [that] you would then return to the ways of pagandom such as belligerence and fighting.
Verse 23
Those, that is, the agents of corruption, are the ones whom God has cursed, so made them deaf, to hearing the truth, and blinded their eyes, to the path of guidance.
Verse 24
Do they not contemplate the Qur’ān?, and so recognise the truth. Or (am here is like bal, ‘nay, but’) is it that there are locks on, their, hearts?, so they are unable to comprehend it.
Verse 25
Truly those who have turned, by way of hypocrisy, their backs after the guidance has become clear to them, Satan has seduced, he has adorned [disbelief for], them and has given them [false] hopes (read wa-umliya lahum, ‘[false] hopes have been given to them’, or wa-amlā lahum, where the one who gives the [false] hopes is Satan, [but only] by God’s will, exalted be He, for he [Satan] is the one who leads them astray).
Verse 26
That, leading of them astray, is because they said to those who were averse to what God revealed, namely, to the idolaters: ‘We will obey you in some matters’, that is to say, by cooperating to maintain enmity against the Prophet (s) and preventing people from participating in the struggle alongside him: they had said as much secretly, but God, exalted be He, exposed it; and God knows their secrets (read asrārahum, as the plural of sirr, ‘a secret’, or isrārahum, ‘their keeping [of things] secret’, as the verbal noun).
Verse 27
Then how will it be, their predicament, when the angels take them away, beating (yadribūna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the angels) their faces and their backs?, with hooked iron rods.
Verse 28
That, taking of them away in the state mentioned, is because they followed what angers God, and [because] they were averse to what pleases Him, that is to say, [they were averse to] doing what pleases Him. Therefore He has made their works fail.
Verse 29
Or did those in whose hearts is a sickness suppose that God would not expose their rancour?, [that] He would [not] bring to light their spite against the Prophet (s) and the believers.
Verse 30
And if We will, We could show them to you, We could have pointed them out to you (the lām is repeated in [the following, fa-la-‘araftahum]), then you would recognise them by their mark. And you will certainly recognise them (wa-la-ta‘rifannahum: the wāw is for an omitted oath, and what follows it [fī lahni’l-qawl] is its response) by [their] tone of speech, that is to say, [by] the meaning thereof when they speak in your presence, alluding [as they do] to what amounts to a scathing attack upon the Muslims; and God knows your deeds.
Verse 31
And We will assuredly try you, We will assuredly test you by way of [commanding you to participate in] the struggle and in other ways, until We know, with knowledge outwardly manifested, those of you who struggle [for God’s cause] and those who are steadfast, in [adhering to] the struggle and in other ways, and We will appraise, We will reveal, your record, in terms of [whether you acted with] obedience or disobedience in what concerns the struggle (all three verbs may be read with the [third person singular] yā’ or with the [first person plural] nūn).
Verse 32
Indeed those who disbelieve and bar from the way of God, the path of truth, and defy the Messenger, opposing him, after the guidance (this is the meaning of ‘the way of God’) has become clear to them, they will not hurt God in any way, and He will make their works fail, He will invalidate them, [good works] such as voluntary alms and the like, and so they will not find any reward for it in the Hereafter — this was revealed either regarding those [Meccan] participants at [the battle of] Badr who provided food [for the needy], or regarding [the Jewish tribes of] Qurayza and al-Nadīr.
Verse 33
O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger, and do not render your own works void, by [engaging in] acts of disobedience, for example.
Verse 34
Indeed those who disbelieve and bar from the way of God, His path, namely, guidance, and then die as disbelievers, God will never forgive them — this was revealed regarding the men of the Well (al-qalīb).
Verse 35
So do not falter, [do not] be weak, and [do not] call for peace (read salm or silm), that is to say, a truce with the disbelievers should you encounter them, when you have the upper hand (al-a‘lawna: the third letter of the triliteral root, wāw, has been omitted), [when you are] the victors, the vanquishers, and God is with you, helping and assisting, and He will not stint you, diminish you, in [the reward for] your works, that is to say, of the reward for them.
Verse 36
The life of this world, that is to say, preoccupation [solely] with it, is merely play and diversion; but if you believe and are wary, of God, [both of] which pertain to [the goal of] the Hereafter, He will give you your rewards, and will not ask you your wealth [in return], all of it, rather, only the alms that are required from it.
Verse 37
If He were to ask you for it, and press you, demand it persistently, you would be niggardly, and this, niggardliness, would expose your rancour, towards the religion of Islam.
Verse 38
Lo! there you are, O, those who are being called to expend in the way of God, that which has been prescribed for you; yet among you there are those who are niggardly; and whoever is niggardly is niggardly only to his own soul (one may say bakhila ‘alayhi or [bakhila] ‘anhu [to mean, ‘he was niggardly to someone’]). For God is the Independent One, [without need] of your expending; while you are the needy, of Him. And if you turn away, from obedience to Him, He will replace you with another people, that is to say, He will bring them in your place, and they will not be the likes of you, in turning away from obedience to Him, but [they will be] obedient to Him, Mighty and Majestic [is He].
Verse 1
Verily We have given you, We have ordained [for you] the conquest (fath) of Mecca, and other places in the future by force, as a result of your struggle, a clear victory, [one that is] plain and manifest;
Verse 2
that God may forgive you, by virtue of your struggle, what is past of your sin and what is to come, of it, so that your community might then desire to struggle [like you] — this [verse] also constitutes a justification of the [concept of the] infallibility (‘isma) of prophets, peace be upon them, against sin, by way of a definitive rational proof (the lām [in li-yaghfira, ‘that He may forgive’] is for [indicating] the ultimate reason [for the conquest], so that the content [of this latter statement] constitutes an effect and not the cause), and that He may perfect, by way of the mentioned victory, His favour to you and guide you, thereby, to a straight path, upon which He will confirm you — and this [straight path] is the religion of Islam;
Verse 3
and that God may grant you, therein, a mighty victory, one of glory, involving no humiliation.
Verse 4
He it is Who sent down the spirit of Peace, [Divine] reassurance, into the hearts of the believers, that they might add faith to their faith, by way of [their embracing of] the legal stipulations of religion: for every time He revealed one [of these], they would believe in it — including the [command to] struggle. And to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and so if He wanted to bring victory to His religion by means of others, He would have done so. And God is ever Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in His actions, in other words, He is ever possessed of such attributes;
Verse 5
so that He may admit (li-yudkhila is semantically connected to an omitted clause, that is to say, amara bi’l-jihād, ‘He has enjoined the struggle [so that He may admit]’) the believing men and believing women into gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide, and that He may absolve them of their misdeeds; for that, in God’s sight, is a supreme triumph;
Verse 6
and so that He may chastise the hypocrites, men and women, and the idolaters, men and women, and those who make evil assumptions about God (read al-saw’ or al-sū’, ‘evil’, in all three places); they assumed that He will not assist Muhammad (s) and the believers. For them will be an evil turn of fortune, by way of abasement and chastisement; and God is wroth with them, and He has cursed them, He has banished them [far from His mercy], and has prepared for them Hell — and it is an evil destination!, [an evil] place to return to.
Verse 7
And to God belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth; and God is ever Mighty, in His kingdom, Wise, in His actions, in other words, He is ever possessed of such attributes.
Verse 8
Indeed We have sent you as a witness, against your community at the Resurrection, and a bearer of good tidings, to them in this world, and a warner, to threaten those in it who do evil with [the punishment of] the Fire;
Verse 9
that you may believe (li-tu’minū, may also here be read li-yu’minū, ‘that they may believe’; and similarly read either the second person plural or the third person plural in the next three instances) in God and His Messenger, and that you may support Him (tu‘azzirūhu: a variant reading has tu‘azzizūhu) and revere Him (the [third person suffixed] pronoun [-hu, ‘him’] may refer either to God or to His Messenger) and glorify Him, that is, God, morning and evening.
Verse 10
Truly those who pledge allegiance to you, the ‘Pledge of Beatitude’ (bay‘at al-ridwān) given at al-Hudaybiyya, in fact pledge allegiance to God — this [statement] is akin to: Whoever obeys the Messenger, verily obeys God [Q. 4:80]. The Hand of God is above their hands, [the hands] with which they pledged allegiance to the Prophet, in other words, God, exalted be He, has observed their pledge of allegiance and will requite them in accordance with [their adherence to] it. So whoever reneges, [whoever] breaches the pledge, reneges — [that is] the evil consequences of his breach will eventually be — against his own soul; and whoever fulfils the covenant which he has made with God, He will give him (fa-sa-yu’tīhi; or read fa-sa-nu’tīhi, ‘We will give him’) a great reward.
Verse 11
Those of the Bedouins who were left behind, around Medina — that is to say, those whom God made to stay behind and not to accompany you when you had asked them to set out with you for Mecca, fearing that Quraysh would attack you upon your return, in the year of al-Hudaybiyya — will say to you, ‘Our possessions and our families kept us occupied, [preventing us] from going forth with you. So ask forgiveness for us!’, of God, for our failure to go forth with you. God, exalted be He, exposes their mendacity by saying: They say with their tongues, that is to say, in asking forgiveness, and in the preceding statement [of theirs], what is not in their hearts, and so they are lying in the excuse which they give. Say: ‘Who can (an interrogative meant [rhetorically] as a negation, that is to say, ‘none [can]’) avail you anything against God should He desire to cause you harm (read darran or durran) or desire to bring you benefit? Nay, but God is ever Aware of what you do, in other words, He is ever possessed of such an attribute.
Verse 12
Nay (bal in both instances marks a transition from one subject to another), but you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, and that [thought] was adorned in your hearts, that is to say, [you thought] that they would be annihilated by being slain and would not return, and you thought evil thoughts, that [just mentioned], and other things, and you were a ruined lot’ (būr is the plural of bā’ir), in other words, [a lot to be] destroyed according to God for [having entertained] such [evil] thoughts.
Verse 13
And whoever does not believe in God and His Messenger, We have prepared for the disbelievers a blaze, a severe fire.
Verse 14
And to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth: He forgives whomever He will and chastises whomever He will; and God is ever Forgiving, Merciful, that is to say, He is ever possessed of the attributes mentioned.
Verse 15
Those, mentioned, who were left behind will say, when you set forth after spoils, namely, the spoils of Khaybar, in order to capture them, ‘Let us follow you’, that we might [also] take a share of it. They desire, thereby, to change the words of God (kalāma’Llāhi: a variant reading has kalima’Llāhi), in other words, His promising of the spoils of Khaybar exclusively for those who were at al-Hudaybiyya. Say: ‘You shall never follow us! Thus has God said beforehand’, that is, prior to our return. Then they will say, ‘Nay, but you are envious of us’, lest we might acquire a share of the spoils, and therefore you say this [that you say]. Nay, but they never understood, anything of religion, [all] except a few, of them.
Verse 16
Say to those of the Bedouins, mentioned, who were left behind, to test them: ‘You shall be called against a people possessed of great might — these are said to have been the [tribe of] Banū Hanīfa, the inhabitants of [the region of] al-Yamāma; but it is also said that these were the Persians and the Byzantines — you shall fight them (tuqātilūnahum is a circumstancial qualifier referring to an implied [future] situation, which constitutes that to which the ‘call’ will be made); or they will submit, so that you will not [have to] fight. So if you obey, [the command] to fight them, God will give you a good reward; but if you turn away like you turned away before, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement’.
Verse 17
There is no blame on the blind, nor [is there] blame on the lame, nor [is there] blame on the sick, to refrain from [participating in] the struggle. And whoever obeys God and His Messenger, He will admit him (read yudkhilhu, or nudkhilhu, ‘We will admit him’) into gardens underneath which rivers flow; and whoever turns away, him He will chastise (read yu‘adhdhibhu, or nu‘adhdhibhu, ‘him We will chastise’) with a painful chastisement.
Verse 18
Verily God was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, at al-Hudaybiyya, under the tree, this was an acacia — they [these believers] numbered 1300 or more; he took an oath of allegiance from them that they would fight against Quraysh and not [attempt to] flee from death. And He, God, knew what was in their hearts, of sincerity and loyalty, so He sent down the spirit of Peace upon them, and rewarded them with a near victory, which was the conquest of Khaybar, following their departure from al-Hudaybiyya,
Verse 19
and abundant spoils which they will capture, from Khaybar, and God is ever Mighty, Wise, that is to say, He is ever possessed of such attributes.
Verse 20
God has promised you abundant spoils which you will capture, through the [various] conquests. So He has expedited this one, the spoils of Khaybar, for you, and withheld men’s hands from you, with regard to your families, after you had set off [on the campaign], as the Jews had intended [to plot] against them; but God cast terror into their hearts; so that it, the expedited one (wa-li-takūna is a supplement to an implied verb, that is to say, li-tashkurūhu, ‘that you may give thanks to Him’) may be a sign for the believers, of their being assisted [by God], and that He may guide you on a straight path, that is to say, the way in which you should rely on Him and entrust any affair to Him, exalted be He;
Verse 21
and others (wa-ukhrā is an adjectival qualification of the implied subject maghānima, ‘spoils’) which you were not able to capture — namely, [spoils] from the Persians and the Byzantines; God has verily encompassed these [already], that is to say, He knows that they will be yours. And God has power over all things, that is to say, He is ever possessed of such an attribute.
Verse 22
And if those who disbelieve had fought you, at al-Hudaybiyya, they would have turned their backs [to flee] — then they would not have found any protector, to guard them, or helper.
Verse 23
[That is] the way of God (sunnata’Llāhi is a verbal noun emphasising the import of the preceding sentence about the defeat of the disbelievers and the victory of the believers, that is to say, sanna’Llāhu dhālika sunnatan, ‘God has established this as [His] way [of dealing with believers and disbelievers]’) which has taken its course before, and you will never find in God’s way any change, by Him.
Verse 24
And it is He Who withheld their hands from you, and your hands from them, in the valley of Mecca, at al-Hudaybiyya, after He had made you victors over them: for eighty of them surrounded your camp in order to inflict losses upon you, but they were captured and taken to the Prophet (s), who pardoned them and set them free, and this resulted in the truce. And God is ever Seer of what you do (read ta‘malūna, or ya‘malūna, ‘they do’), that is to say, He is ever possessed of this attribute.
Verse 25
They are the ones who disbelieved and barred you from the Sacred Mosque, that is, [barred you] from reaching it, and [prevented] the offering (wa’l-hadya is a supplement to the [suffixed pronoun] –kum, ‘you’ [of saddūkum, ‘they barred you’]), which was detained (ma‘kūfan is a circumstantial qualifier), from reaching its destination, that is, [from] the place at which it is customarily sacrificed, namely, the Sanctuary [itself] (an yablugha mahillahu, is an inclusive substitution). And were it not for [some of] the believing men and believing women, being present at Mecca alongside the disbelievers, whom you did not know, to be believers — lest you should trample them, that is to say, [lest] you should slay them together with the disbelievers, had you been given permission to embark on the conquest (an tata’ūhum is an inclusive substitution for –hum, ‘them’ [of lam ta‘lamūhum, ‘whom you did not know’]), and thus incur sin on account of them without, your, knowing, it … (the third person pronouns in both groups [of people] predominantly imply males; the response to lawlā, ‘were it not’, has been omitted [through ellipsis], being [something along the lines of] la-udhina lakum fī’l-fathi, ‘you would have been permitted to embark on the conquest’), but permission for this was not given at the time, so that God may admit into His mercy whom He will, such as those believers mentioned. Had they been clearly separated, [had] they [the believers] been distinguishable from the disbelievers, We would have surely chastised the disbelievers among them, of the people of Mecca [immediately] thereat, by permitting you to go ahead with the conquest thereof, with a painful chastisement.
Verse 26
When those who disbelieve (alladhīna kafarū is the subject [of the following verb ja‘ala]) nourished (idh ja‘ala is semantically connected to ‘adhdhabnā) in their hearts zealotry (al-hamiyya, [means] ‘disdain of something’), the zealotry of pagandom (hamiyyata’l-jāhiliyyati substitutes for al-hamiyyata, ‘zealotry’), namely, their barring of the Prophet and his Companions from [visiting] the Sacred Mosque, [but] then God sent down His spirit of Peace upon His Messenger and the believers, and so they [the disbelievers] made a truce with them on the condition that they [the believers] would [be allowed to] return the following year, and [such] zealotry would not overcome them [the believers] as it did the disbelievers [then] until they would come to fight them [later], and He made them, the believers, abide by the word of God-fearing (kalimata’l-taqwā): ‘there is no god except God, [and] Muhammad is His Messenger’ (it [kalima, ‘word’] is annexed to al-taqwā because it is the cause of it), for they were worthier of it, of the word, than the disbelievers, and deserving of it (wa-ahlahā is an explanatory supplement). And God is ever Knower of all things, that is to say, He is ever possessed of such an attribute, and among the things He knows is that they are worthy of it.
Verse 27
Verily God has fulfilled the vision for His Messenger in all truth: The Messenger of God (s) saw in his sleep, in the year of al-Hudaybiyya before his departure [from Medina], that he would enter Mecca together with his Companions safely, whereafter they would shave [completely] or shorten [their hair]. He informed his Companions of this and they rejoiced. But when they set off with him [from Medina], and the disbelievers impeded them at al-Hudaybiyya such that they had to retreat, which was distressing for them, for some of the hypocrites began to have doubts [about the Prophet’s sincerity], this [verse] was revealed (bi’l-haqqi, ‘in all truth’, is semantically connected to sadaqa, ‘fulfilled’, or it is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-ru’yā, ‘the vision’, and what comes after it is the explanation thereof): ‘You will assuredly enter the Sacred Mosque, God willing — this is [said] to secure blessings — in safety, to shave your heads, that is, all the hair, or to shorten [it], [to shorten] some of the hair (both muhalliqīna and muqassirīna are implied circumstantial qualifiers), without any fear’, ever. So He knew, [there to be] in the truce, what you did not know, in the way of reconciliation [between the believers and the Meccans], and assigned [you] before that, entry, a near victory, namely, the conquest of Khaybar — the vision was fulfilled in the following year.
Verse 28
It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it, that is, the religion of truth, prevail over all religion, over all the other religions. And God suffices as witness, to the fact that you have been sent with what has been mentioned, as God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 29
Muhammad (the subject) is the Messenger of God (its predicate) and those who are with him, that is, his Companions from among the believers (wa’lladhīna ma‘ahu, [another] subject, the predicate of which [is the following, ashiddā’u]) are hard, tough, against the disbelievers, showing them no mercy [but], merciful among themselves (ruhamā’u is a second predicate [of wa’lladhīna ma‘ahu, ‘and those who are with him’]), that is to say, they show mutual sympathy and affection for one another, much like a father and a son. You see, you observe, them bowing, prostrating [in worship] (both rukka‘an and sujjadan are circumstantial qualifiers). They seek (yabtaghūna is the beginning of a new sentence) bounty from God and beatitude. Their mark (sīmāhum is a subject), their distinguishing feature, is on their faces (fī wujūhihim is its predicate): this is a light and a radiance by which, in the Hereafter, they will be recognised as having been those who used to prostrate in this world, from the effect of prostration (min athari’l-sujūdi is semantically connected to the same thing to which the predicate is semantically connected, that is to say, kā’inatan, ‘[this] being [from the effect of prostration]’; syntactically, it is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject [of kā’inatan], which is also the subject of the predicate [sc. wujūhihim, ‘their faces’]). That, mentioned description, is their description (mathaluhum is the subject) in the Torah (fī’l-tawrāti is the predicate thereof); and their description in the Gospel (wa-mathaluhum fī’l-injīli, is a subject, the predicate of which is [what follows]) is as a seed that sends forth its shoot (read shat’ahu or shata’ahu) and strengthens it (read āzarahu or azarahu), nourishing it and assisting it, and it grows stout and rises firmly, becoming strong and upright, upon its stalk, its roots (sūq is the plural of sāq), delighting the sowers, that is to say those who planted it, on account of its fairness. The Companions, may God be pleased with them, are being described in this way, for at the outset they were weak and very few in number; but then their number grew and they acquired strength in the most wholesome way, so that He may enrage the disbelievers by them (li-yaghīza bihimu’l-kuffāra is semantically connected to an omitted clause, which is suggested by what preceded, that is to say, ‘they are likened to this [so that God may enrage the disbelievers]’). God has promised those of them who believe and perform righteous deeds, the Companions (minhum, ‘of them’: min, ‘of’, is an indicator of the genus and not partitive, for they are all possessed of the mentioned attributes) forgiveness and a great reward — Paradise. Both of these [rewards] will also be given to those who will come after them, as is stated in other verses.
Verse 1
O you who believe, do not venture ahead of (tuqaddimū, [derives] from qaddama, with the sense of [the 5th form] taqaddama), that is to say, do not come forward with any [unwarranted] saying or deed [ahead of], God and His Messenger, the one communicating [the Message] from Him, that is to say, without their permission, and fear God. Surely God is Hearer, of your sayings, Knower, of your deeds: this was revealed regarding the dispute between Abū Bakr and ‘Umar, may God be pleased with them both, in the presence of the Prophet (s), over the appointment of al-Aqra‘ b. Hābis or al-Qa‘qā‘ b. Ma‘bad as commander [of his tribe].
Verse 2
The following was revealed regarding those who raised their voices in the presence of the Prophet (s): O you who believe, do not raise your voices — when you [want to] speak — above the voice of the Prophet, when he is speaking, and do not shout words at him, when you [wish to] confide in him, as you shout to one another, but [speak] lower than that, out of reverence for him, lest your works should be invalidated without your being aware, that is to say, for fear of this [happening] as a result of the raising of voices and the shouting mentioned.
Verse 3
The following was revealed regarding those who used to lower their voices in the presence of the Prophet (s), such as Abū Bakr, ‘Umar and others, may God be pleased with [all of] them: Truly those who lower their voices in the presence of God’s Messenger — they are the ones whose hearts God has tested for God-fearing, that is to say, [He has tested them] so that this [fear of God] may manifest itself in them. For them will be forgiveness and a great reward: Paradise.
Verse 4
The following was revealed regarding a group of people who came to see the Prophet (s) during the midday [resting] period while he was in his house, and called out to him: Truly those who call you from behind the apartments, the [private] chambers of his womenfolk (hujurāt is the plural of hujra, which is an area of ground on which stones are laid [yuhjaru ‘alayhi] to form a wall or the like), and it happened that each one of them called out, in that rough and crude Bedouin manner, from behind one of the apartments, as they did not know in which apartment he was, most of them do not understand, given the way in which they acted, your exalted status and the reverence that befits it.
Verse 5
And had they been patient (annahum, ‘they’, has independent status, on account of inceptiveness; alternatively, it is said to govern an implied verb such as thabata, ‘had [their patience] been maintained’) until you came out to them, it would have been better for them; and God is Forgiving, Merciful, to those of them who repent.
Verse 6
The following was revealed regarding al-Walīd b. ‘Uqba whom the Prophet had sent to the Banū al-Mustaliq in order to ascertain [their loyalty to Islam]. He already feared them on account of an old feud between him and them from the time of pagandom [before Islam], and so [upon seeing them come out to him] he returned and claimed that they had refused to give the voluntary alms and intended to kill him. And just as the Prophet (s) was making plans to raid them, they came to him to disavow what he [al-Walīd] had said about them: O you who believe, if a reprobate should come to you with some tiding, some piece of information, verify [it], [ascertain] his truthfulness from his mendacity (fa-tabayyanū: a variant reading has fa-tathabbatū, from al-thabāt, ‘to ascertain’), lest you injure a folk (an tusībū qawman, an object denoting reason), that is to say, for fear of this [happening], out of ignorance (bi-jahālatin is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject [of the verb]), that is to say while you are ignorant; and then become remorseful of what you have perpetrated, erroneously against that folk. After they had returned to their homelands, the Prophet (s) sent Khālid [b. al-Walīd] to them, who observed only obedience and goodness in them and [later] informed the Prophet of this.
Verse 7
And know that the Messenger of God is among you, so do not speak falsehood, for God will inform him of the [real] state of affairs. If he were to obey you in many matters, which you communicate contrary to reality, so that the necessary [evil] consequences ensue, you would surely be in trouble, you would earn in addition to that sin, the sin for the consequences that ensue [from your error]. But God has endeared faith to you, adorning your hearts with it, and He has made odious to you disbelief and immorality and disobedience ([an instance of] suppletion with respect to import, as opposed to [lexical] form; for the one to whom ‘faith has been endeared …’ and so forth, will naturally be dissimilar in character to the mentioned [reprobate]). Those (there is here a shift from the second [to the third] person address) — they are the right-minded, the ones firmly established upon [the way of] their religion;
Verse 8
[that is] a favour from God (fadlan is a verbal noun, in the accusative because of the implied verbal action, that is, afdala, ‘He gives a favour’) and a grace, from Him, and God is Knower, of them, Wise, in His bestowal of graces on them.
Verse 9
And if two parties of believers (in tā’ifatāni mina’l-mu’minīna ... [to the end of] the verse, was revealed regarding a particular incident where the Prophet (s) was riding a donkey and happened to pass by Ibn Ubayy; the donkey urinated and so Ibn Ubayy held his nose, whereupon [‘Abd Allāh] Ibn Rawāhā said, ‘By God, the smell of the donkey’s urine is sweeter-smelling than your musk. Fighting then ensued between the two clans with fists, sandals and palm branches [being thrown about]) fall to fighting (iqtatalū: the plural is used on account of the [plural] import, for each party is made up of several individuals; a variant reading has [the dual form] iqtatalatā), make peace between them (baynahumā: the dual here takes into account the actual [dual] form [of tā’ifatān, ‘two parties’]). And if one of them aggresses against the other, fight the one which aggresses until it returns to God’s ordinance, [to] the truth. Then, if it returns, reconcile them, fairly, and act justly. Surely God loves the just.
Verse 10
The believers are indeed brothers, in religion. Therefore [always] make peace between your brethren, when they fall into dispute with one another (a variant reading [for the dual form akhawaykum, ‘your two brethren’] has ikhwatakum, ‘your brothers’) and fear God, so that perhaps you might receive mercy.
Verse 11
O you who believe, do not let any people, that is, any men among you, deride (yā ayyuhā’lladhīna āmanū lā yaskhar … [to the end of] the verse, was revealed regarding the [Banū] Tamīm delegation when they derided the poor among the Muslims, like ‘Ammār [b. Yāsir] and Suhayb [al-Rūmī]; al-sukhriya means ‘scorn’ and ‘disdain’) another people: who may be better than they are, in God’s sight; nor let any women, from among you, deride [other] women who may be better than they are. And do not defame one another, do not cast aspersions [on others] and hence have aspersions cast on you, that is, let none among you denigrate another; nor insult one another by nicknames, do not call another by a nickname which he detests, such as ‘O degenerate one!’ or ‘O disbeliever!’. Evil is the name, mentioned out of mockery, derision and mutual reviling, of immorality after faith! (al-fusūqu ba‘da’l-īmāni substitutes for al-ismu, ‘the name’, to indicate that it [such naming of others] is ‘immorality’ as it is [an action which is] usually repeated). And whoever does not repent, of such [immorality], those — they are the evildoers.
Verse 12
O you who believe, shun much suspicion. Indeed some suspicions are sins, that is to say, it causes one to fall into sin. This [suspicion] may have many forms, such as thinking ill of the good folk from among the believers — and such [good folk] are many — in contrast to the immoral individuals among them in whose case there is no sin, so long as it [the suspicion] is in accordance with their outward behaviour. And do not spy (tajassasū: one of the two tā’ letters [of tatajassasū] has been omitted): do not pursue the imperfections and faults of Muslims by searching them out; nor backbite one another, do not speak of him by [mentioning] something which he is averse to [having mentioned of himself], even if it be true. Would any of you love to eat the flesh of his brother dead? (read maytan or mayyitan). That is to say, it would not be right for him [to do so]. You would abhor it. Thus to backbite him in life would be like eating his flesh when he is dead. This latter [form of behaviour] has been suggested to you and you were averse to it, so be averse to the former too. And fear God, that is, His punishment for backbiting, by repenting of it; assuredly God is Relenting, accepting of the penitence of those who repent, Merciful, to them.
Verse 13
O mankind! We have indeed created you from a male and a female, [from] Adam and Eve, and made you nations (shu‘ūb is the plural of sha‘b, which is the broadest category of lineage) and tribes (qabā’il, which are smaller than nations, and are followed by ‘amā’ir, ‘tribal districts’, then butūn, ‘tribal sub-districts’, then afkhādh, ‘sub-tribes’, and finally fasā’il, ‘clans’; for example Khuzayma is the sha‘b, while Kināna is the qabīla, Quraysh is the ‘imāra, Qusayy is the batn, Hāshim is the fakhdh, and ‘Abbās is the fasīla) that you may come to know one another (ta‘ārafū: one of the two tā’ letters [of tata‘ārafū] has been omitted), that you may acquire knowledge of [the customs of] one another and not to boast to one another of [whose is the more] noble lineage, for pride lies only in [the extent to which you have] fear of God. Truly the noblest of you in the sight of God is the most God-fearing among you. Truly God is Knower, of you, Aware, of your inner thoughts.
Verse 14
The Bedouins — a group of men from among the Banū Asad — say, ‘We believe’, we affirm the truth in our hearts. Say, to them: ‘You do not believe; but rather say, “We have submitted”, we are outwardly compliant; for faith has not yet entered into your hearts’, hitherto; however, it is expected of you. Yet if you obey God and His Messenger, by [embracing] faith and in other ways, He will not diminish for you (read ya’litkum or yalitkum, by making the hamza an alif) anything of your deeds, that is, of the reward for them. God is indeed Forgiving, to believers, Merciful, to them.
Verse 15
The [true] believers, that is, those who are true in their [affirmation of] faith — as He makes explicit in what follows — are only those who believe in God and His Messenger, and then have not doubted, they have not been uncertain of [their] faith, and who strive with their wealth and their souls for the cause of God, hence their striving manifests the sincerity of their faith. It is they who are sincere, in their faith, not those who say, ‘We believe’, and from whom all that has been forthcoming is their submission [to the religion].
Verse 16
Say, to them: ‘Do you [pretend to] inform God about your religion (read the doubled [2nd verbal] form a-tu‘allimūna, ‘do you inform’), in other words, are you intimating to Him your [religious] status when you say, ‘We believe’, when God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and [even though] God is Knower of all things?’
Verse 17
They deem it to be a favour to you that they have submitted, without [the need for any] fighting, unlike [those] others who submitted only after being fought. Say: ‘Do not deem your submission to be a favour to me (islāmakum, ‘your submission’, has dependent accusative status because of the omission of the genitive preposition bi-,which is also read as implicit before the an in both instances). Rather, it is God Who has done you a favour in that He has guided you to faith, if you are being sincere, when you say, ‘We believe’.
Verse 18
Truly God knows the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, that is, [He knows] all that is hidden in both, and God is Seer of what you do’ (may be read either as ya‘malūna, ‘they do’, or ta‘malūna, ‘you do’), nothing of which can be concealed from Him.
Verse 1
Qāf: God knows best what He means by this [letter]. By the glorious Qur’ān, [by] the noble [Qur’ān], the disbelievers of Mecca have [certainly] not believed in Muhammad (s).
Verse 2
Nay, but they consider it odd that there should have come to them a warner from among themselves, a messenger who is one of them, to threaten them with [the punishment of] the Fire after resurrection. So the disbelievers say, ‘This, warning, is an odd thing!
Verse 3
What! (read a-idhā pronouncing both hamzas, or not pronouncing the second, but inserting an alif between the two in both cases) When we are dead and have become dust?, shall we return [to life]? That is a far-fetched return!’, [an event that is] extremely remote.
Verse 4
We know what the earth diminishes, consumes, of them, and with Us is a preserving Book, namely, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), which contains everything that has been ordained [by God].
Verse 5
Nay, but they denied the truth, the Qur’ān, when it came to them and so they, with regard to the Prophet (s) and the Qur’ān, are [now] in a confounded situation, a troubled [one]. [For] on one occasion they said [that he was], ‘A sorcerer!’ [cf. Q. 38:4] and [that his statements were] ‘[Nothing but manifest] sorcery!’ [cf. Q. 37:15], on another, ‘A poet!’ [cf. Q. 21:5] and ‘Poetry!’ [cf. Q. 36:69], and still on another, ‘A soothsayer!’ [cf. Q. 52:29] and [that his statements were nothing more than] soothsaying [cf. Q. 69:42].
Verse 6
Have they not then looked, with their own eyes, at the heaven, being, above them, in order to take heed by their own minds [of the consequences for them] when they deny the Resurrection, how We have built it, without supports, and adorned it, with planets, and how there are no cracks in it?, no fissures blemishing it.
Verse 7
And the earth (wa’l-arda, is a supplement to the position of the words ilā l-samā’i, ‘at the heaven’), how, We have spread it out, [how] We have rolled it across the face of the water, and cast in it firm mountains, to fix it in place, and caused every delightful kind, [every delightful] specimen, causing delight by its [very] beauty, to grow in it,
Verse 8
as an insight (tabsiratan is a direct object denoting reason, that is to say, We did this to give an insight from Us) and a reminder for every penitent servant, who returns to obedience of Us.
Verse 9
And We send down from the heaven blessed water, containing much blessing, with which We cause to grow gardens, orchards, and the grain that is harvested,
Verse 10
and the date-palms that stand tall (bāsiqātin, is an implied [future] circumstantial qualifier) with piled spathes, one [cluster of dates] sitting on top of the other,
Verse 11
as provision for [Our] servants (rizqan li’l-‘ibādi, is a direct object denoting reason); and with it We revive a dead land (baldatan may be followed equally by the masculine [maytan] or the feminine [adjective, maytatan]). So, like that manner of reviving, shall be the rising, from the graves: so how can you deny it? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative; the meaning then is that they have indeed observed [all of these things] and are aware of what has been mentioned [yet they disbelieve]).
Verse 12
The people of Noah denied before them (kadhdhabat has a feminine person inflection because of the [feminine gender of the] import of qawm, ‘people’) and [so did] the dwellers at al-Rass — this was the name of a well around which they dwelt together with their livestock; they worshipped idols, and it is said that their prophet was one Hanzala b. Safwān; but some say that he was some other [person] — and Thamūd, the people of Sālih,
Verse 13
and ‘Ād, the people of Hūd, and Pharaoh, the brethren of Lot,
Verse 14
and the dwellers in the wood, a small forest — the people of Shu‘ayb — and the people of Tubba‘ — a king [who ruled] in Yemen; he had submitted [to God] and had summoned his people to [the same] submission [to God], but they denied him. Each, of those mentioned, denied the messengers, as [your tribe] Quraysh have, and so My threat became due, the sending down of chastisement on all [of them] became incumbent, so do not be anguished by Quraysh’s disbelieving in you.
Verse 15
Were We then wearied by the first creation?, that is to say, We were not wearied by it, and likewise We will not be wearied by restoring it. Nay, yet they are in doubt about a new creation, which will be [at] the Resurrection.
Verse 16
And verily We created man and We know (wa-na‘lamu is a circumstantial qualifier with an implicit [preceding] nahnu) what (mā relates to the verbal action) his soul whispers to him, [what] it speaks [to him] (the bi- [of bihi, ‘him’] is extra, or it is [required] for the intransitive verb to become transitive [and take a direct object]; the [suffixed] personal pronoun [in bihi, ‘him’] refers to man); and We are nearer to him, in knowing [him], than his jugular vein (habli’l-warīdi: the genitive annexation is explicative; al-warīdān are two [principal] veins on either side of the neck).
Verse 17
When (idh is dependent because of an implied udhkur, ‘mention’) the two Receivers, the two angels charged with [recording] a person’s deeds, receive, [when they] observe and record, seated, that is, [while] both of them are sitting (qa‘īdun, ‘seated’, is the subject, the predicate of which is the preceding [clause]), on the right and on the left, [hand side] of him —
Verse 18
he does not utter a word but that there is beside him a watcher, a guardian, [who is] ready, present (both [raqībun, ‘watcher’, and ‘atīdun, ‘ready’] are meant to indicate the dual).
Verse 19
And the agony of death, its throes and distress, arrives with the truth, of the Hereafter, such that the one who denied it sees it with his own eyes — and this is the distress itself. That, namely, death, is what you used to shun, [what you used] to flee from and be terrified by.
Verse 20
And the Trumpet will be blown, for resurrection. That, namely, the day of the blast, is the Day of the Promised Threat, of chastisement for the disbelievers.
Verse 21
And, thereat, every soul will come, to the site for the Gathering, accompanied by a driver, an angel to drive it there, and a witness, to testify to its deeds, namely, the hands and the feet and others; and it will be said to the disbeliever:
Verse 22
‘Verily, in the world, you were oblivious of this, that has befallen you on this day; So [now] We have removed from you your covering, We have done away with your oblivion by what you witness on this day, and so your sight on this day is acute’, [it is] sharp, able to perceive what you used to reject in the world.
Verse 23
And his companion, the angel charged with him, will say, ‘This is what I have ready with me [as testimony]’, whereupon it will be said to Mālik [the Keeper of the Fire]:
Verse 24
‘Cast into Hell (alqiyā: meaning [either] alqi alqi, ‘cast, cast …’ [to denote repetition], or [the emphatic form] alqiyan, ‘cast!’, which is the reading of al-Hasan [al-Basrī], in other words, the [final] nūn has been changed into an alif), every obdurate disbeliever, obstinate to the truth,
Verse 25
hinderer of good, such as [the payment of] alms, transgressor, wrongdoer, skeptic, a doubter of his religion,
Verse 26
who has set up alongside God another god! (alladhī ja‘ala ma‘a’Llāhi ilāhan ākhara is the subject, with an implicitly conditional import, the predicate of which is [the following]). Cast him then into the severe chastisement’ (the explanation of this [dual form of the verb alqiyāhu, ‘cast him’] is as above).
Verse 27
And his companion, Satan, will say, ‘Our Lord! I did not make him a rebel, I did [not] lead him astray, but he [himself] was in extreme error’, and so when I invited him [to disobedience] he heeded my call — for this one had said, ‘he [Satan] made me a rebel’, by way of his [Satan’s] invitation to him.
Verse 28
He, exalted be He, will say, ‘Do not dispute in My presence, in other words, disputing is of no use here, for I had already given you, in [the life of] the world, the threat, of chastisement in the Hereafter should you not believe, and so it is [now] inevitable.
Verse 29
The word [that comes] from Me, in this respect, cannot be altered, and I am not unjust to servants’, that I should chastise them without any guilt [on their part] (zallām means dhū zulm, ‘one of injustice’, because of His words, There will be no injustice today [Q. 40:17]);
Verse 30
on the day (yawma is in the accusative because of zallām, ‘unjust’) when We will say (naqūlu, may also be read yaqūlu, ‘He will say’) to Hell, ‘Are you [now] full?’ (this interrogative is for confirmation of His promise to fill it [with mankind and jinn]), and it will say, by way of an interrogative, such as a question: ‘Are there any more?’: that is to say, ‘I [Hell] only have capacity for what I have been filled with’, in other words, ‘I am full!’.
Verse 31
And Paradise will be brought near for the God-fearing, to a place, not far [anymore], from them, and so they see it, whereupon it will be said to them:
Verse 32
‘This, that you see, is what you were promised (read tū‘adūna, or [third person plural] yū‘adūna, ‘they were promised’), in the world (and [what follows] substitutes for li’l-muttaqīna, ‘for the God-fearing’) — [it is] for every penitent one, [for every] person reverting [after sin] to obedience of God, who is mindful, mindful of the bounds [of God’s religion],
Verse 33
who fears the Compassionate One [while He is] in the Unseen, [the one who] fears Him without having seen Him, and comes with a penitent heart’, [a heart] eagerly applying itself to obedience of Him.
Verse 34
It will also be said to the God-fearing: ‘Enter it in peace!, that is to say, secure from every fear, or [it means enter it] with a greeting, that is to say, greet [yourselves] and enter. That, day in which this entry takes place, is the day of immortality’, [of] everlastingness in Paradise.
Verse 35
Therein they will have whatever they wish; and with Us there is yet more, as extra for what they did and for what they will request.
Verse 36
And how many a generation We destroyed before them, that is, before the disbelievers of Quraysh We destroyed many generations of disbelievers, who were mightier than these in prowess, and [who] then searched throughout the land [wondering]: is there any escape?, for them and others from death, but they found none.
Verse 37
Assuredly there is in that, which is mentioned, a reminder, an admonition, for him who has a heart, a mind, or gives ear, [or] listens to admonitions, in [full] witness, present in heart [and mind].
Verse 38
And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days, the first of which was Sunday and the last of which was Friday, and no weariness, no fatigue, touched Us: this was revealed as a refutation of the Jews’ claim that God rested on the Saturday and lay down upon the Throne. The preclusion of weariness in His case is [absolute] on account of His transcending of the attributes of creatures and the non-existence of any contiguity between Him and other [beings]: His command, when He wills a thing, is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is [Q. 36:82].
Verse 39
So endure [patiently], addressing the Prophet (s), what they, the Jews and others, say, in the way of [anthropomorphic] comparisons and denials, and glorify with praise of your Lord, perform prayers with praise [of Him], before the rising of the sun, in other words, [perform] the morning prayer, and before the sunset, that is to say, [perform] both the midday and the afternoon prayers;
Verse 40
and glorify Him at [some part of the] night, that is to say, perform the two evening prayers, and after prostrations (read adbār, as the plural of dubur, or idbār as the verbal noun from adbara, ‘to pass’), in other words, perform supererogatory prayers as prescribed by the Sunna after the obligatory ones; it is also said to mean the actual uttering of glorifications at these times, with continuous praise.
Verse 41
And listen — O addressee to My words — on the day when the caller, namely, [the archangel] Isrāfīl, calls out from a place that is near, to the heaven: this is the Rock of the Holy House [of Jerusalem], the place on earth that is the nearest to the heaven. He [Isrāfīl] will say: ‘O withered bones, severed limbs, torn flesh and scattered hairs! God verily commands you to come together for the passing of judgement’.
Verse 42
On the day (yawma substitutes for the previous yawma) when they, that is, all creatures, hear the Call of truth, of the Resurrection — this will be Isrāfīl’s second blast, and it may precede or follow his [initial] call — that, day of the call and the hearing, is the day of coming forth, from the graves (yawma, ‘on the day, is in the accusative because of an implied yunādī, ‘[when] he will call’), that is to say, they will come to know the consequence of their denial.
Verse 43
Indeed it is We Who give life and bring death, and to Us is the journey’s end.
Verse 44
On the day when (yawma substitutes for the previous yawma, with the intervening [statement] being a parenthetical) the earth is split asunder (read tashaqqaqu, or tashshaqqaqu, where the original second tā’ [of tatashaqqaqu] has been assimilated with it [the shīn]) from them, [they will come] hastening forth (sirā‘an: [sirā‘] the plural of sarī‘, a circumstantial qualifier referring to an implied clause, that is to say [together they would read] fa-yakhrujūna musri‘īna, ‘they come forth hastening’). That is an easy gathering for Us (dhālika hashrun ‘alaynā yasīr: there is here a separation of the noun from its adjective by what is semantically connected to it, for the purpose of specification — which is [rhetorically] unobjectionable; dhālika, ‘that’, is meant to point out the signification of the ‘gathering’, which itself is [also] predicated by this [demonstrative particle], and this signification is the bringing back to life after extinction and the assembly for the exposition and the reckoning [before God]).
Verse 45
We know best what they, the disbelievers of the Quraysh, say, and you are not [to be] a coercer of them, so as to coerce them to [embrace] faith — but this was [revealed] before the command to struggle [against these disbelievers]. So admonish by the Qur’ān those who fear My threat, namely, believers.
Verse 1
By the scatterers, the winds that scatter dust and other things, that scatter (dharwan is a verbal noun; one may also say, tadhrīhi dharyan, ‘it blows it [sweeping it] away’);
Verse 2
and those that bear, the clouds that bear moisture [as], a burden (wiqran is the direct object of al-hāmilat, ‘those that bear’);
Verse 3
and those that run, the ships that run upon the surface of the water, with ease (yusran is a verbal noun functioning as a circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, muyassaratan);
Verse 4
and those that apportion by command: the angels who distribute provisions and the rains and other things across the lands and to [all] servants,
Verse 5
assuredly what you are promised (mā, ‘what’, relates to the verbal action), in other words, the promise given to them of resurrection and other matters, is true, is indeed a true promise,
Verse 6
and assuredly judgement, requital after the reckoning, will take place!, without doubt.
Verse 7
And by the heaven with all its tracks (hubuk is the plural of habīka, similar [in pattern and meaning] to turuq, tarīqa, ‘paths’), that is to say, [by the heaven] that is created with tracks similar to tracks made in the sand,
Verse 8
indeed you, O people of Mecca, with regard to the matter of the Prophet (s) and the Qur’ān, are of differing opinions: some say [of the Prophet that he is] ‘a poet’, ‘a sorcerer’, or ‘a soothsayer’, and [of the Qur’ān, that it is] ‘poetry’, ‘sorcery’, or ‘soothsaying’.
Verse 9
He is turned away therefrom, from the Prophet (s) and the Qur’ān, that is, [turned away] from believing therein, who has deviated, [who has been] turned away from guidance in God’s, exalted be He.
Verse 10
Perish the conjecturers, accursed be the liars, those of differing opinions,
Verse 11
who are in a stupor, in ignorance that has stupefied them, heedless, oblivious of the matter of the Hereafter.
Verse 12
They ask, the Prophet, asking [him] derisively: ‘When is the Day of Judgement?’, in other words, ‘when will it come?’, and the response [given] to them is that it will come:
Verse 13
on the day when they will be tormented in the Fire, that is to say, chastised in it, and it will be said to them during the chastisement:
Verse 14
‘Taste this torment of yours, this chastisement of yours. This, chastisement, is what you sought to hasten on!’, in the world in derision.
Verse 15
Truly the God-fearing will be amid gardens, orchards, and springs, flowing therein,
Verse 16
receiving (ākhidhīna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person of the predicate of inna, ‘truly’) what their Lord has given them, of reward, for indeed formerly, [before] their entering Paradise, they had been virtuous, in the world.
Verse 17
Little of the night did they use to sleep (mā is extra; yahja‘ūna is the predicate of kānū; qalīlan, ‘little’, is an adverb), in other words, they used to sleep for a small portion of the night and perform prayers during most of it,
Verse 18
and at dawns they used to seek forgiveness: they used say, ‘Our Lord! Forgive us’,
Verse 19
and there was a share in their wealth [assigned] for the beggar and the deprived, [the latter being] the one who does not beg, because of his self-restraint.
Verse 20
And in the earth, in the way of mountains, seas, trees, fruits, plants and other things, there are signs, indications of God’s power, glory be to Him, exalted be He, and of His Oneness, for those who know with certainty,
Verse 21
and in your souls, there are also signs, from the beginning of your creation to its end, and in the marvelous aspects of your creation. Will you not then perceive?, [all] that and thus infer therefrom the Creator of it and His power.
Verse 22
And in the heaven is your provision, that is, the rain from which results the vegetation that is [your] provision, and [there is also] what you are promised, in the way of [the ultimate] return, reward and punishment, in other words, all of this is foreordained in the heaven.
Verse 23
So by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it, that which you are promised, is as assuredly true as [the fact] that you have [power of] speech (read mithlu, in the nominative, as an adjective, with the mā being extra; or read mithla, in the accusative, as being a compound with mā), that is to say: [it is as true] as your speech is in reality, that is, in your knowing it to be [true] necessarily by its issuing from you.
Verse 24
Has the story reached you — addressing the Prophet (s) — of Abraham’s honoured guests? — these were [said to be either] twelve, ten or three angels, one of whom was Gabriel.
Verse 25
When (idh is an adverbial qualifier of hadīthu dayfi, ‘the story of the guests’) they entered upon him and said, ‘Peace!’ — in other words [they said] these very words. He said, ‘Peace!’ — [also] these very words — [These are] an unfamiliar folk, whom we do not know — he said this to himself (qawmun munkarūna is the predicate of an implicit subject such as hā’ūlā’i, ‘these are’).
Verse 26
Then he went aside to his family, secretly, and brought a fat calf — in sūrat Hūd [it is said], a roasted calf [Q. 11:69] —
Verse 27
and he placed it near them saying, ‘Will you not eat?’: he invited them to eat, but they did not respond.
Verse 28
Then he conceived, he kept secret in himself, a fear of them. They said, ‘Do not be afraid!’, we are messengers from your Lord. And they gave him good tidings of [the birth of] a knowledgeable boy, one endowed with much knowledge, and this was Isaac, as mentioned in sūrat Hūd [Q. 11:71].
Verse 29
Then his wife, Sarah, came forward clamouring, shouting (fī sarratin is a circumstantial qualifier, that is to say, she came shouting) and smote, slapped, her face, and said, ‘A barren old woman!’, who has never given birth to a child, aged ninety-nine, with Abraham being one hundred years old; or [alternatively] he was a hundred and twenty years old and she was ninety years old.
Verse 30
They said, ‘So, just like what we have said with regard to the good tiding, has your Lord said. Indeed He is the Wise, in His actions, the Knower’, of His creatures.