Verse 1
Indeed (qad is for confirmation) prosperous, victorious, are the believers,
Verse 2
those who in their prayers are humble,
Verse 3
and who shun vain talk, and other [nonsense],
Verse 4
and who fulfil payment of alms,
Verse 5
and who guard their private parts, against what is unlawful,
Verse 6
except from their spouses, that is, to their spouses, and what [slaves] their right hands possess, that is, concubines, for then they are not blameworthy, in having sexual intercourse with them.
Verse 7
But whoever seeks [anything] beyond that, [intercourse with] wives and concubines, such as masturbation: those, they are transgressors, who have overstepped [the bounds] into what is not lawful for them.
Verse 8
And who are keepers of their trusts (may be read as plural, amānātihim, ‘their trusts’, or singular, amānatihim, ‘their trust’) and covenants, [made] between them, or between them and God, such as [the observance of] prayer and so on.
Verse 9
And who are watchful of their prayers (may be read as plural, salawātihim, ‘their prayers’, or singular, salātihim, ‘their prayer’) observing them at their appointed times.
Verse 10
Those, they are the inheritors, and none other than them,
Verse 11
who shall inherit Paradise (al-firdaws), the name of a garden, the highest of the gardens of Heaven — wherein they will abide; herein is an allusion to the Return [in the Hereafter] and so it is fitting that the Beginning [of creation] should be mentioned next:
Verse 12
And, by God, We certainly created man, Adam, from an extraction (min sulālatin, derives from [the verbal expression] salaltu’l-shay’a mina’l-shay’, ‘I drew one thing out of another’, meaning, ‘I extracted it therefrom’) his [Adam’s] substance being, of clay (min tīnin is semantically connected to sulālatin, ‘an extraction’).
Verse 13
Then We made him, namely, man, the progeny of Adam, a drop, a sperm-drop, in a secure lodging, which is the womb.
Verse 14
Then We transformed the drop [of semen] into a clot, congealed blood. Then We transformed the clot into a [little] lump of flesh (mudgha), a piece of flesh, about the size of what one would be able to chew (mā yumdagh). Then We transformed the lump of flesh into bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh (a variant reading in both instances [instead of the plurals ‘izāman and al-‘izāma, ‘the bones’] is [singular] ‘azman [and ‘al-‘azma], ‘the bone’; and in all three instances above khalaqnā, means ‘We made it become’ [as opposed to ‘We created’]). Then We produced him as [yet] another creature, by breathing into him [Our] Spirit. So blessed be God, the best of creators!, that is, [the best of] determiners (the specificier noun for ahsana, ‘the best’, has been omitted because it is obvious: khalqan, ‘in terms of creation’).
Verse 15
Then indeed after that you die.
Verse 16
Then on the Day of Resurrection you shall surely be raised, for reckoning and requital.
Verse 17
And verily We created above you seven paths, that is, [seven] heavens (tarā’iq is the plural of tarīqa [so called] because they are the paths used by the angels) and of creation, that lies beneath these [paths], We are never unmindful, lest these should fall upon them and destroy them. Nay, but We hold them back, as [stated] in the verse: And He holds back the heaven lest it should fall upon the earth [Q. 22:65].
Verse 18
And We sent down water out of the heaven in measure, that suffices them, and We lodged it within the earth; and We are indeed able to take it away, so that they die of thirst together with their livestock.
Verse 19
Then We produced for you therewith gardens of date palms and vines — these being the most common fruits of the Arabs — wherein is abundant fruit for you, and whereof you eat, in summer and winter.
Verse 20
And, We produced, a tree that grows on Mount of Sinai (read Sīnā’ or Saynā’, indeclinable as it is a proper noun with the feminine ending denoting a location) that produces (read either as tunbitu from the fourth form [anbata], or as tanbutu from the trilateral form [nabata]) oil (bi’l-duhni: in the case of the former [reading of tunbitu] the bā’ [bi-] here would be extra, whereas in the case of the second [reading of tanbutu], it would be [a preposition needed] for the transitive) — and this [tree] is the olive tree, and seasoning for those who eat (wa-sibghin li’l-ākilīna, a supplement to bi’l-duhni, ‘oil’, [that is to say] it is [like] a dye that colours a morsel dipped in it) — and this [seasoning] is the [olive] oil.
Verse 21
And surely in the cattle, that is, [in] camels, cows and sheep, there is for you a lesson, an admonition for you to heed. We give you to drink (read nasqīkum or nusqīkum) of what is in their bellies, [of] milk, and you have many uses in them, such as [the extraction of] wool, fur and hairs and other [uses], and you eat of them.
Verse 22
And on them, the camels, and on ships you are carried.
Verse 23
And verily We sent Noah to his people, and he said, ‘O my people, worship God, obey God and affirm His Oneness. You have no [other] god besides Him (ghayruhu is the subject of mā, ‘no’; the preceding [min ilāhin, ‘god’] is the predicate, the min being extra). Will you not then fear?’ His punishment in worshipping [gods] other than Him?
Verse 24
But the council of his people, who disbelieved, said, to their followers, ‘This is just a human being like you who desires to gain superiority, to have the honour, over you, by acquiring followers, you being [his] followers. And had God willed, that none other than Him be worshipped, He would have sent down angels, with that [Message], and not [assigned] a human being [for it]. We never heard of such, an affirmation of God’s Oneness as that which Noah summons [us], among our forefathers, [among] past communities.
Verse 25
He, Noah, is just a man possessed by madness, a case of dementia. So bear with him for a while’, until he dies.
Verse 26
He, Noah, said, ‘My Lord, help me, against them, because they deny me’, because of their denial of me, by destroying them. God, exalted be He, says, responding to his supplication:
Verse 27
So We revealed to him [saying], ‘Build the Ark, the ship, under Our watch, under Our observation and protection, and [by] Our revelation, Our command. Then, when Our command comes, that they be destroyed, and the oven, of the baker, gushes, with water — and this was Noah’s sign — bring into it, admit into the ship, of every kind [of animal] two mates, a male and a female, that is, [two] of every species thereof (ithnayn is an object; min, ‘of’, is semantically connected to usluk, ‘bring into [it]’). According to the story God, exalted be He, gathered all the beasts of prey and the birds and other [animals] for Noah. As he [Noah] pushed forth his hands into each species, his right hand would fall upon a male and the left upon a female, whereafter he would take them on board the ship (a variant reading [for min kuli, ‘of every’] is min kullin, ‘of every [kind]’, in which case zawjayni, ‘[two] mates’, becomes a direct object, with ithnayn, ‘two’, [being repeated] for emphasis thereof); together with your family — his wife [?] and children — except for those against whom the Word has already gone forth, that they be destroyed, namely, his wife and his son Canaan (Kan‘ān), unlike Shem (Sām), Ham (Hām) and Japheth (Yāfith) whom, together with their three wives, he carried on board. In sūrat Hūd [the following is mentioned where Noah is told who he should carry in the ship]: ‘… and those who believe.’ And none believed with him except a few [Q. 11:40]. It is said that these were six men and their wives. Moreover it is said that all those who were on the ship numbered seventy eight, half of them were men and half were women. And do not plead with Me concerning those who have done wrong, those who have disbelieved, that I should refrain from destroying them. They shall indeed be drowned.
Verse 28
And when you have settled, [when] you are balanced, in the Ark together with those with you, say, “Praise be to God Who has delivered us from the wrongdoing folk”, [from] the disbelievers and the destruction that came upon them.
Verse 29
And say, upon disembarking from the ship: “My Lord, cause me to land with a landing (read munzalan as the verbal noun as well as the noun of place [for ‘landing’]; or manzilan as [meaning] the site of the landing) blessed, being that landing or place, for You are the best of all who bring to land” ’, that which has been mentioned.
Verse 30
Surely in that, mentioned matter of Noah, the ship and the destruction of the disbelievers, there are signs, indicators of God’s power, exalted be He, and indeed (wa-in, in has been softened in place of the hardened form, its subject being the pronoun of the matter) We were putting to the test, [indeed We were] trying the people of Noah by sending him [as God’s messenger] to them and [by] his admonitions [to them].
Verse 31
Then, after them, We brought forth another generation, [another] people, namely, and these were [the people of] ‘Ād.
Verse 32
And We sent among them a messenger of their own, namely, Hūd, saying, ‘Worship God! You have no other god besides Him. Will you not then be wary?’, of His punishment and become believers?
Verse 33
The council of his people, who disbelieved and denied the encounter of the Hereafter, [they denied] that they will end up thereat, and whom We had given affluence, whom We had provided with comforts, in the life of this world, said: ‘This is only a human being like you: he eats what you eat and drinks what you drink.
Verse 34
And, by God, if you obey a human being like yourselves (this [clause] contains both an oath and a conditional; the response belongs to the former [the oath], which [at the same time] suffices in place of a response for the latter [the conditional]) you will surely then, that is, should you obey them, be losers, you will have been duped.
Verse 35
Does he promise you that when you have died and become dust and bones, you shall be brought forth? (mukhrajūna, this is the predicate of the first annakum, ‘that … you’; the second annakum [simply] reiterates it because of the long separation [between the subject and its predicate]).
Verse 36
Far-fetched, far-fetched (hayhāt is a noun of action in the past tense, functioning as a verbal noun, meaning ba‘uda ba‘uda, ‘far from it, far from it!’) is what you are promised!, in the way of being brought forth from the graves (li-mā: the lām is extra, for explication).
Verse 37
There is nothing, that is, there is no life, but our life in this world: we die, and we live, [again only] through the lives of our offspring, and we shall not be raised [again].
Verse 38
He is, the Messenger is, just a man who has invented a lie against God, and we will not believe in him’, we will [not] accept the truth of resurrection after death.
Verse 39
He said, ‘My Lord, help me because they have denied me’.
Verse 40
He said, ‘In a little while, of time (‘ammā: the mā is extra), they will become remorseful’, about their disbelief and their denial.
Verse 41
So the Cry, the Cry of chastisement and destruction, seized them rightfully, and they died, and We made them as husks (ghuthā’ is desiccated vegetation, in other words, We transformed them into similarly desiccated [worthless] things). So a far removal, from mercy, for the evildoing folk, the denying [folk].
Verse 42
Then, after them, We brought forth other generations, [other] peoples.
Verse 43
No community can precede its term, by dying before it, nor be deferred, beyond it (the person [in the second verb yasta’khirūna, ‘be deferred’] is masculine, having been feminine [in the first verb tasbiqu, ‘precede’] because this [masculine plural] takes into account the [plural masculine] content [of the term ‘community’]).
Verse 44
Then sent We Our messengers successively (read tatran or tatrā: one following the other, with a long interval between every two). Whenever there came to a community (jā’a ummatan: read pronouncing both hamzas, or without pronouncing the second one between it and the wāw [vowel]) its messenger they denied him; so We made them follow one another, to destruction, and We turned them into folktales. So away with a people who do not believe!
Verse 45
Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our signs and a manifest warrant, a clear proof, namely, the hand, the staff and other signs,
Verse 46
to Pharaoh and his council; but they disdained, to believing in them and in God, and they were a tyrannical folk, subjugating the Children of Israel through oppression.
Verse 47
And they said, ‘Shall we believe two humans like ourselves, while their people are servile to us?’, obedient and submissive.
Verse 48
So they denied them [both] and became of those who were destroyed.
Verse 49
And verily We gave Moses the Scripture, the Torah, that perhaps they, his people, the Children of Israel, might be guided, thereby from error — he [Moses] was given it [the Scripture] after the destruction of Pharaoh and his folk all at once.
Verse 50
And We made the son of Mary, Jesus, and his mother a sign — He did not say ‘two signs’ because the same sign is in both of them: his being born without [his mother’s having] a male spouse. And We gave them refuge on a height (rabwa), a highland — in this case [either] the Holy House [of Jerusalem], Damascus or Palestine, all of which are [alternative] opinions — level (dhāt qarār), an flat [high-] land on which its inhabitants are able to settle (yastaqirru), and watered by springs, running water, over ground, which the eyes can see.
Verse 51
‘O messengers, eat of the good things, the lawful things, and perform righteous acts, such as obligatory and supererogatory [rituals]. Surely I know what you do, and will requite you for it.
Verse 52
And know, that this, creed of Islam, is your community, your religion, O you being addressed, that is, you must adhere to it as, one community — a necessary state [of affairs] (a variant reading [for anna, ‘that’] has the softened form [in]; a variant has inna, ‘truly’, indicating the beginning of [an independent] new sentence) and I am your Lord, so fear Me’, so be fearful of Me.
Verse 53
But they, the followers, split into sects regarding their affair, their religion (zuburan, ‘sects’, is a circumstantial qualifier of the subject of the verb taqatta‘ū, ‘they split’), in other words, [they became] opposing parties, the likes of the Jews and the Christians and others, each party rejoicing in, exultant with, what they had, that is, with the religion they had.
Verse 54
So leave them, the disbelievers of Mecca, in their error, their misguidance, for a while, until they die.
Verse 55
Do they suppose that in the wealth and children with which We provide them, in the life of this world,
Verse 56
We are hastening to [provide] them with good things? No. Rather, they are not aware, that this is a way of gradually drawing them [into their punishment].
Verse 57
Surely those who, for fear of their Lord, are apprehensive, are fearful of His chastisement,
Verse 58
and who believe in, [who] accept the truth of, the signs of their Lord — the Qur’ān;
Verse 59
and who do not associate others with their Lord,
Verse 60
and who give what they give, of voluntary alms and righteous deeds, while their hearts tremble [with awe], fearful lest it not be accepted from them, because (the particle lām, ‘for’, is taken as implied before annahum, ‘that they’) they are going to return to their Lord —
Verse 61
those [are the ones who] hasten to [perform] good works, and they [are the ones who] shall come out ahead in them, according to God’s knowledge.
Verse 62
And We do not task any soul beyond its capacity, what it can bear — thus he who is not able to pray standing, let him pray sitting down and he who is not able to fast, let him eat; and with Us is a Record that speaks the truth, regarding what it [a soul] has done — and this [Record] is the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), wherein deeds are written down; and they, namely, the souls in their acts, will not be wronged, in a single thing thereof, and so nothing is diminished of the reward for good deeds, nor is anything [extra] added to the evil deeds.
Verse 63
Nay, but their hearts, that is, [the hearts of] the disbelievers, are in ignorance of this, Qur’ān, and they have other deeds which they will perpetrate besides, the ones mentioned, against the believers, and they will therefore be chastised for them.
Verse 64
Indeed (hattā is for inceptiveness) when We seize their affluent ones, their wealthy and their leaders, with chastisement, [with] the sword, on the day of Badr, behold! they are supplicating loudly, clamouring [in supplication]. It is [then] said to them:
Verse 65
‘Do not supplicate [out loud] on this day! Truly you will not receive help, you will not be protected, against Us.
Verse 66
Verily My signs, in the Qur’ān, used to be recited to you, but you used to take to your heels, falling back in retreat,
Verse 67
disdainful, of [embracing] faith, because of it, that is, because of the [Sacred] House or the [Meccan] Sanctuary and their being inhabitants thereof, secure, in contrast to [the situation with] all [other] peoples in their hometowns, while in [your] night sessions (sāmiran is a circumstantial qualifier,) in other words, they come together to converse at night around the [Sacred] House, you talked nonsense’ ([if read as] tahjurūna, the third form [from hajara] means [while] ‘you disregarded’ the Qur’ān; [but if read] as the fourth form [tuhjirūna, from ahjara] it means [while] ‘you speak falsehood’ about the Prophet and the Qur’ān).
Verse 68
God, exalted be He, says: Have they not contemplated (yaddabbarū should actually be yatadabbarū, but the tā’ has been assimilated with the dāl) the discourse, namely, the Qur’ān that is proof of the Prophet’s sincerity, or has there come upon them that which has not come upon their forefathers?
Verse 69
Or is it that they do not recognise their [own] Messenger and so they reject him?
Verse 70
Or do they say, ‘There is a madness in him’? — this interrogative is meant as an affirmation of the truth of the Prophet’s sincerity, and [of the fact] that messengers did come to past communities, and [of the fact] that they [do indeed] recognise their Messenger to be truthful and trustworthy, and [of the fact] that there is no madness in him. Nay (bal is for transition), he has brought them the truth, namely, the Qur’ān that comprises [affirmations of] the Oneness [of God] and the Laws of Islam; but most of them are averse to the truth.
Verse 71
And if the truth, namely, the Qur’ān, had followed their desires, and come to them with [mention of] what they fancied in the way of God having a partner and a child, may God be exalted above such [associations], indeed the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted, they [the heavens and the earth] would have deviated from their observed order, because contradictions would ensue, as is usually the case, when there is more than one ruler. Nay, We have brought them their Remembrance, namely, the Qur’ān, in which they are remembered and honoured, but they are disregardful of their [own] Remembrance.
Verse 72
Or do you ask them for any recompense?, any remuneration, in return for the faith that you have brought them? Yet the recompense of your Lord is, His remuneration, His reward and His provision [are], better (one reading has kharjan, ‘recompense’, in both instances [sc. kharjan fa-kharju]; another has kharājan in both [sc. kharājan fa-kharāju]) and He is the best of providers, the best of givers and remunerators.
Verse 73
And truly you summon them to a straight path, a [straight] route, that is, the religion of Islam.
Verse 74
And truly those who do not believe in the Hereafter, in resurrection, reward and punishment, deviate, swerve away, from the path, that is, the route [to salvation].
Verse 75
And had We shown them mercy and relieved them of the harm afflicting them — the famine that befell them in Mecca for seven years — they would surely persist in their insolence, [in] their error, bewildered, hesitating.
Verse 76
And We have already seized them with chastisement, [with] hunger, yet they did not humble themselves to their Lord, nor did they devote themselves to prayer, [nor] did they seek [the pleasure of] God through supplication.
Verse 77
Until (hattā is for inceptiveness), when We opened on them the gate of a severe chastisement, namely, the day of Badr, slaying [them], behold! they are aghast thereat, despairing of anything good.
Verse 78
And He it is Who made, created, for you hearing, meaning, ears, and eyes and hearts. Little thanks do you show (qalīlan mā: mā emphasises the paucity [of the thanks]).
Verse 79
And He it is Who dispersed, created, you on earth, and to Him you shall be gathered, resurrected.
Verse 80
And He it is Who gives life, by breathing the Spirit into the embryo (mudgha), and brings death, and due to Him is the alternation of night and day, in darkness and brightness, [and through] increase and diminution. Will you not then comprehend?, His handiwork, exalted be He, and so reflect?
Verse 81
Nay, but they say the like of what the ancients said.
Verse 82
They, the ancients, said, ‘What, when we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we then be raised? No! (the two hamzas in each of the two instances are either pronounced fully, or with the second one not pronounced, but with an alif inserted between the two [hamzas] in both [readings]).
Verse 83
Already We and our fathers have been promised this, resurrection after death, before: these are nothing but the fables, the lies, of the ancients’, [mere] jokes and strange tales (asātīr, the plural of ustūra).
Verse 84
Say, to them: ‘To whom does the earth and whoever is in it, of creatures, belong, if you [truly] knew?’, their Creator and Owner.
Verse 85
They will say, ‘To God’. Say, to them: ‘Will you not then remember?’ (tadhakkarūna, the second tā’ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl) will you [not then] be admonished and so realise that the One Who has the power to originate creation also has the power to resurrect after death?
Verse 86
Say: ‘Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne?’, that is, the throne (kursī).
Verse 87
They will say, ‘God’. Say: ‘Will you not then be God-fearing?’, will you then [not] be wary of worshipping [things] other than Him?
Verse 88
Say: ‘In whose hand is the dominion, the possession, of all things (the [final] tā’ [in malakūt] is hyperbolic), and who protects, while from Him there is no protection, if you know?’
Verse 89
They will say, ‘God.’ (a variant reading [for Allāh, ‘God’] in both instances [verses 87 and 89] has li’Llāh, ‘to God’, which is in keeping with the sense of ‘to whom belongs what has been mentioned?’). Say: ‘How then are you bewitched?’, [how then] are you duped and turned away from the truth, the worship of God alone, in other words, ‘How do you envisage [all] this to be invalid?’.
Verse 90
Nay, but We have brought them the truth, veracity, and they are indeed liars, in rejecting it, namely [the truth of the following]:
Verse 91
God has not taken any son, nor is there any god along with Him; for then, that is, if there were a god along with Him, each god would have taken away what he created, he would have made it exclusively his and prevented the other [god] from having any mastery over it; and some of them would surely rise up against others, in challenge, just as the kings of this world are wont to do. Glorified be God — an exaltation of Him — above what they ascribe, to Him, of what has been mentioned.
Verse 92
Knower of the Unseen and the visible, what is hidden and what is observed ([if] read in the genitive [‘ālimi’l-ghaybi, ‘Knower of the Unseen’], this is an adjectival qualification; [if] in the nominative [‘ālimu’l-ghaybi, ‘the Knower of the Unseen], this would be the predicate of an implied [preceding] huwa, ‘He is’) and exalted, magnified, be He above what they associate!, with Him [of partners].
Verse 93
Say: ‘My Lord! If (immā, this contains an assimilation of the conditional particle in with the extra mā) You should show me what they are promised, in the way of chastisement, that it is true, by their being slain at Badr,
Verse 94
my Lord, then do no put me among the evildoing folk’, lest I be destroyed when they are destroyed.
Verse 95
And truly We are able to show you what We promise them.
Verse 96
Ward off with that which is better, that is to say, with the [better] trait of pardoning and shunning them, the evil [act], the hurt they cause you — this was [revealed] before the command to fight [them]. We know best what they allege, [what] they invent of lies and [what they] say and so We will requite them for it.
Verse 97
And say: ‘My Lord, I seek protection in You from the promptings of devils, [from] their [evil] suggestions, which they whisper.
Verse 98
And I seek protection in You, my Lord, lest they visit me’, in any of my affairs, for they only visit to bring ill.
Verse 99
Until (hattā is for inceptiveness) when death comes to one of them, and he sees his place in the Fire and his [would-be] place in Paradise, had he been a believer, he says, ‘My Lord! Send me back (arji‘ūn, the plural [person] is [used] to indicate the gravity [of the plea]),
Verse 100
that I might act righteously, by witnessing that ‘there is no god but God’, that this might be, in that which I have left behind’, [in what] I have wasted of my life, in other words [that this affirmation might be] in its place. God, exalted be He, says: By no means!, that is, there shall be no return. It, namely, [the statement] ‘My Lord! Send me back’, is merely a word that he speaks, but [a word] in which there is no benefit for him; and behind them, ahead of them, there is a barrier, which prevents them from going back [to this world], until the day when they are raised, after which [day] there will be no more return.
Verse 101
And when the Trumpet is blown, the Horn, at the first or second blast, there will be no more ties [of kinship] between them on that day, for them to boast of among themselves, nor will they question one another, about such [ties], in contrast to their state in the life of this world, because of the gravity of the situation that will distract them from such [questioning] at certain points during the [Day of] Resurrection. At other [points] they are awake and [as is stated] in one verse: Some of them will turn to others, questioning each other [Q. 37:50].
Verse 102
Then those whose scales are heavy, with good deeds, they are the successful, the winners;
Verse 103
and those whose scales are light, because of evil deeds, they are the ones who have lost their souls, and so they will be, abiding in Hell.
Verse 104
The Fire will scorch their faces, it will burn them, while they glower therein, their upper and lower lips having receded from their teeth, and it will be said to them:
Verse 105
‘Were not My signs, in the Qur’ān, recited to you, were you [not] threatened therewith, and you used to deny them?’
Verse 106
They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness (shiqwatunā: a variant reading has shaqāwatunā, both of which are verbal nouns with the same meaning) overcame us, and we were an erring folk, [astray] from guidance.
Verse 107
Our Lord, bring us out of it! Then, if we revert, to disobedience, we will indeed be evildoers’.
Verse 108
He will say, to them by the tongue of a Keeper [of Hell], whose proportion is twice the size of this world: ‘Begone in it, away with you in the Fire, despicable [as you are], and do not speak to Me, about relieving you from the chastisement — so that [all] their hope is extinguished.
Verse 109
Indeed there was a party of My servants — namely, the Emigrants — who would say, “Our Lord, we believe; therefore forgive us, and have mercy on us, for You are the best of the merciful”.
Verse 110
But then you took them as an object of ridicule (read sukhriyyan or sikhriyyan, a verbal noun meaning ‘mockery’). Among those [ridiculed] were Bilāl [al-Habashī], Suhayb [al-Rūmī], ‘Ammār [b. Yāsir] and Salmān [al-Fārisī]; until they made you forget My remembrance, which you disregarded, as you were engaged in deriding them. Thus these [men] were the cause of the forgetting, which is why this [act] has been attributed to them, and you used to laugh at them.
Verse 111
Indeed I have rewarded them this day, abiding bliss, for the endurance they showed, while you mocked them and caused them hurt. They are indeed the winners’, of what they sought (read innahum as [indicating] a new sentence, or annahum as [indicating] a second direct object of the [verb] jazaytuhum, ‘I have rewarded them’).
Verse 112
He, exalted be He, will say, to them by the tongue of a Keeper [of Hell] (a variant reading [for qāla, ‘He will say’] has qul, ‘say’): ‘How long did you tarry in the earth, in this world and in your graves, in years?’ (‘adada sinīna is a specification).
Verse 113
They will say, ‘We tarried a day, or part of a day — they are uncertain thereof, deeming it shorter [than what it was] because of the gravity of the chastisement they are suffering. Yet ask those who keep count!’, namely, [ask] the angels who number the deeds of [all] creatures.
Verse 114
He, exalted, will say, to them, also by the tongue of Keeper [of Hell] (a variant reading [for qāla, ‘He will say’] has qul, ‘say’): ‘You tarried but a little, if only you knew, the length of time you tarried, [you would have realised that it is] trivial relative to how long you will tarry in the Fire.
Verse 115
Did you suppose that We created you aimlessly, and not for an underlying reason, and that you would not be returned to Us?’ (read active tarji‘ūna, ‘you [would not] return’, or passive turja‘ūna, ‘you [would not] be returned’) Nay! But [it was] so that We might enthral you with commands and prohibitions, where after you would be returned to Us for Us to requite [you] accordingly: And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they may worship Me [Q. 51:56].
Verse 116
So exalted be God, above aimless action and other such things that do not befit Him, the King, the Truth! There is no god except Him, the Lord of the Noble Throne (‘arsh), the throne (kursī), which is a seat [similar to a king’s] that is exquisite.
Verse 117
And he who calls on another god along with God has no proof thereof (lā burhāna lahu bihi, an [extra] explicative adjectival qualification that has no [other syntactical] signification), his reckoning, his requital, will indeed be with his Lord. Truly the disbelievers will not be successful, they will not be felicitous.
Verse 118
And say: ‘My Lord, forgive and have mercy, on believers — [this] ‘mercy’ adds to the ‘forgiveness’ [in terms of God’s grace] — and You are the best of the merciful’, the most excellent of those who have mercy.
Verse 1
This is, a sūra which We have revealed and prescribed (read faradnāhā, or [the intensive form] farradnāhā, on account of the large number of prescriptions contained in it) and wherein We have revealed manifest signs, [signs] containing clear indications, that perhaps you might remember (tadhakkarūna: the second tā’ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl), that you might be admonished.
Verse 2
As for the fornicatress and the fornicator, that is, of those not in wedlock — because those [in wedlock] are stoned according to the Sunna (the al [in al-zāniya, ‘the fornicatress’, and al-zānī, ‘the fornicator’] according to some mentioned [opinions] is a relative [particle]; the clause [al-zāniyatu wa’l-zānī] is a subject, and because of its similarity to a conditional, the fā’ has been inserted into the predicate, which is [the following, fa’jlidū]): strike each of them a hundred lashes, [a hundred] strikes (one says jaladahu to mean daraba jildahu, ‘he struck him on the skin’). According to the Sunna, in addition to this [punishment] there is also banishment for a whole year. The slave, however, receives half of the mentioned [punishment]. And do not let any pity for them overcome you in God’s religion, that is to say, in [the fulfilment of] His rulings, by disregarding any part of their prescribed punishment, if you believe in God and the Last Day, namely, the Day of Resurrection: in this [statement] there is an incitement to [abide by] what was [mentioned] before the conditional [above] and it also constitutes the response to the latter, or [at least is] an indication of the response to it. And let their punishment, the flogging, be witnessed by a group of the believers — some say [that this should be a group of] three; some say four, as in the number of witnesses testifying to an act of fornication.
Verse 3
The fornicator shall not marry anyone but a fornicatress or an idolatress, and the fornicatress shall be married by none except a fornicator or an idolator, in other words, what is suitable for each of the two [for the purposes of marriage] is the above-mentioned; and that, namely, marrying of fornicators, is forbidden to believers, who are better [than those]. This was revealed when the poor among the Emigrants resolved to marry the wealthy whores of the idolaters, so that they [the women] would provide for them. Thus it is said that the prohibition applies specifically to them; but it is also said to apply in general; but it was abrogated by God’s words: Marry off the spouseless among you [Q. 24:32].
Verse 4
And those who accuse honourable women [in wedlock], who are chaste, of fornication, and then do not bring four witnesses, to testify as eyewitnesses to their fornication, strike them eighty lashes, that is, each one of them, and do not accept any testimony from them ever, in anything; and those, they are the immoral, for committing a grave sin (kabīra);
Verse 5
except those who repent thereafter and make amends, in their deeds, for God is indeed Forgiving, of their [unsubstantiated] accusations, Merciful, to them, in inspiring them to make repentance whereby their immorality is curbed and their testimony becomes [once again] acceptable — some say, however, that it can never be accepted [thereafter], if the proviso is taken to refer to the last clause.
Verse 6
And those who accuse their wives, of fornication, but have no witnesses, to [substantiate] this, except themselves — which happened with some Companions — then the testimony of one of them (fa-shahādatu ahadihim, the subject) shall be to testify [swearing] by God four times (araba‘a shahādātin, is in the accusative as a verbal noun) that he is indeed being truthful, in accusing his wife of committing fornication,
Verse 7
and a fifth time that God’s wrath shall be upon him if he were lying, in this (the predicate of the subject [fa-shahādatu ahadihim, ‘then the testimony of one of them’] is [the implicit] ‘will spare him the prescribed [legal] punishment for [false] accusation’).
Verse 8
And the punishment, namely, the prescribed [legal] punishment for fornication that is established upon his testimony, shall be averted from her if she testify [swearing] by God four times that he is indeed lying, in accusing her of having fornicated;
Verse 9
and a fifth time that God’s wrath shall be upon her if he were being truthful, therein.
Verse 10
And were it not for God’s bounty to you and His mercy, in shielding you [from being exposed] in such [situations], and that God is the Relenting, in His acceptance of repentance in such [situations] and otherwise, Wise, in the rulings He has given for this and other matters, that He might make clear the truth therein and hasten punishment for those deserving it.
Verse 11
Truly those who initiated the slander, the worst calumny against ‘Ā’isha — mother of the believers, may God be pleased with her — accusing her [of fornication], are a band from among yourselves, a group from among the believers. She said [that these were] Hassān b. Thābit, ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy, Mistah [b. Uthātha], and Hamna bt. Jahsh. Do not suppose, O you believers other than the [mentioned] band, that it is bad for you; rather it is good for you, for God will reward you for it and reveal ‘Ā’isha’s innocence and [the innocence of] the one who [is supposed to have] committed it with her, namely, Safwān [b. al-Mu‘attal]. She [‘Ā’isha] related: ‘I accompanied the Prophet (s) during a raid, and this was after the [requirement to wear the] veil had been revealed. When he was through with it [the raid], he headed back [to the campsite] and one night, having drawn close to Medina, he announced that all should march off [home]. So I walked a distance [away from the campsite] and relieved myself. But when I came back to the campsite, [I realised that] my necklace (‘iqd meaning qilāda) had snapped. So I went back to look for it. In the meantime they had strapped my litter’ — in which one rides — ‘thinking that I was inside, for in those days women were slight and ate very small portions (‘ulqa). [Finally] I found my necklace, but when I went back to where I had been staying overnight, they had already departed. I sat in the place where I had camped; I assumed that the group would notice my absence and come back for me. But my eyes were overcome [by drowsiness] and I fell asleep. Safwān had pitched camp behind the army to rest for some of the night (‘arrasa), then set off while it was still night until he reached the site of the camp. He saw what looked like a person sleeping and recognised me when he [eventually] saw me, having seen me on numerous occasions before the [requirement of the] veil. I woke up to the sound of him saying, ‘To God we belong and to Him we shall surely return’ (innā li’Llāhi wa-innā ilayhi rāji‘ūn), for he had recognised me. So I concealed my face with my gown (jilbāb) — in other words, I covered it up with my wrap (mulā’a). By God he did not so much as say a word to me, nor did I hear him say anything other than the words, ‘To God we belong and to Him we shall surely return’, as he brought his camel to its knees and pressed with his foot against its foreleg [for me to mount it]. I then mounted it and he set off leading me back on the camel until we reached the army which had stopped because of the extreme midday heat; some had died [searching] for me. The one who bore the greater share of it [the sinful accusation] was ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy b. Salūl’ … her [‘Ā’isha’s] words end here; this was reported by the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]. God, exalted be He, says: Upon every man of them shall be the [onus of the] sin which he has earned, in this [affair], and as for him who bore the greater share thereof, that is, [him who] assumed most of [the responsibility for] it, having initiated it and made it public, namely, ‘Abd Allah b. Ubayy: there will be an awful chastisement for him, namely, the Fire in the Hereafter.
Verse 12
Why, when you [first] heard about it, did the believing men and women not think good of themselves, that is, [why did] some [not] think good of others, and say, ‘This is a manifest calumny?’, [this is] a patent lie? (there is a shift here in the address from the second to the third person), in other words, [why did] you [not] assume [good of them], O band [of believers] and say:
Verse 13
Why did they, that is, this band [of accusers], not produce four witnesses to it?, who had witnessed it. And since they did not produce the witnesses, those, in God’s sight, in His judgement, they are liars, in this [matter].
Verse 14
And were it not for God’s bounty to you and His mercy in the life of this world and the Hereafter there would have befallen you, for what you, O band [of accusers], engaged in, [for] what you indulged in, an awful chastisement, in the Hereafter;
Verse 15
when you were receiving it [welcomingly] with your tongues, that is to say, [when] you were reporting it one from the other (one of the two letters tā’ has been omitted from the verb [tatalaqqawnahu, ‘you were receiving it’]; idh, ‘when’, is dependent because of massakum, ‘befallen you’, or afadtum, ‘engaged in’) and were uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, supposing it to be a light matter, a sinless [act], while with God it was grave, in sinfulness.
Verse 16
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, ‘It is not for us to speak about this. Glory be to You! — this [exclamation] here is meant to indicate amazement — This is an awful calumny?’, [an awful] lie?
Verse 17
God admonishes you, He forbids you, lest you should ever repeat the like of it, if you are [in truth] believers, [then] you will be admonished by this.
Verse 18
And God clarifies for you the signs, through commands and prohibitions, and God is Knower, of what He enjoins and what He prohibits, Wise, therein.
Verse 19
Truly those who love that indecency should be spread, by the tongue, concerning those who believe, by its being associated with them — and the ones [meant] are the band — theirs will be a painful chastisement in the life of this world, by way of the prescribed [legal] punishment for [false] accusation, and the Hereafter, by way of the Fire, as is God’s due, and God knows, that such [indecency] does not apply in their case, and you, O band [of accusers], as regards the calumny of which you spoke, do not know, whether such [indecency] took place among them.
Verse 20
And were it not for God’s bounty to you, O band [of accusers] and His mercy and that God is Gentle, Merciful, to you, He would have surely hastened to [bring about] your punishment.
Verse 21
O you who believe, do not follow in the steps of Satan, that is, his ways of making things seem attractive. For whoever follows in the steps of Satan, assuredly he, the one being followed, enjoins indecency, that is, [he enjoins] vile acts, and what is reprehensible, if followed, according to the Law. And were it not for God’s bounty to you and His mercy not one of you, O band [of accusers], would ever have grown pure, after the calumny of which you spoke, that is to say, [not one of you] would have ever been reformed or purified from this sin by repenting of it. But God purifies whom He will, from sin, by accepting his repentance from him, and God is Hearer, of what you have said, Knower, of your intentions.
Verse 22
And do not let those of you who possess bounty, the wealthy, and the affluent swear not to give to the near of kin and the poor and those who emigrate in the way of God — this was revealed regarding Abū Bakr who swore to provide no more for Mistah, his maternal cousin, a destitute Emigrant who had fought at [the battle of] Badr, because of his involvement in the calumny, when thitherto he had provided for him. And [it was revealed also regarding] certain Companions who swore not to give voluntary alms to those who had participated in [spreading] the calumny in any way. Let them forgive and excuse, them in this matter. Do you not love that God should forgive you? And God is Forgiving, Merciful, to believers. Abū Bakr said: ‘Indeed. I would love that God forgive me’, and he restored [thereafter] to Mistah what he used to expend on him.
Verse 23
Truly those who make accusations, of fornication, against honourably married, chaste, women who are unaware, of indecent acts — since it would never occur to them to commit such [acts] — who believe, in God and His Messenger, shall be cursed in this world and the Hereafter; and there will be an awful chastisement for them
Verse 24
on the day (yawma is in the accusative because of the [implicit sense of] ‘permanence’ to which lahum, ‘for them’, is semantically connected) when their tongues and their hands and their feet shall testify against them (read [feminine person] tashhadu or [masculine person] yashhadu, ‘testify’) concerning what they used to do, in terms of speech and action — this [day] is the Day of Resurrection.
Verse 25
On that day God will pay them in full their just due, He will requite them with the requital they deserve, and they shall know that God is the Manifest Truth, since He will have realised for them that requital of His whereof they had been in doubt. Among such [people] is ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy. The ‘honourable women’ mentioned above are the Prophet’s (s) wives, regarding whom no repentance has been mentioned [as being possible] in the case of their being falsely accused; those women regarding whom repentance has been mentioned, however, at the beginning of the sūra [verses 4-5], in the case of their being falsely accused, are women other these [wives of the Prophet].
Verse 26
Vile women, and [vile] words, are for vile men, and vile men for vile women, and the mentioned [vile words]. Good women, and as mentioned [good words], are for good men, and good men for good women, and the mentioned [good words], that is to say, what suits something vile is its like, and what suits something good is its like — such, good men and women, the like of ‘Ā’isha and Safwān, are absolved of what they say, [what] the corrupt men and women [say] about them. For them, for good men and women, will be forgiveness and a glorious provision, in Paradise. ‘Ā’isha felt honoured by some of the things [mentioned] in this [verse], namely, that she was created ‘a good woman’ and was promised ‘forgiveness and a glorious provision’.
Verse 27
O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your houses until you have [first] asked permission and greeted their occupants. So a person must say, ‘Peace be upon you, may I enter?’, as is stated in one hadīth. That is better for you, than entering without permission, that perhaps you might remember (tadhakkarūna: the second tā’ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl) the superiority of such [conduct] and so follow it.
Verse 28
And if you do not find anyone in them, to give you permission, [still] do not enter them until permission has been given to you. And if it is said to you, when you are seeking permission, ‘Go away,’ then go away, for this, going away, is purer, that is, better, for you, than sitting [and waiting] at the doorstep. And God knows what you do, whether you enter with permission or without it, and He will requite you for it.
Verse 29
You would not be at fault if you enter [without permission] uninhabited houses wherein is comfort, some benefit, for you, in the way of finding shelter and so on, as in the case of travellers inns and charitable hostels. And God knows what you disclose, [what] you do openly, and what you hide, what you do secretly when entering houses other than your own, be it for a righteous purpose or otherwise. It will be mentioned shortly that they should bid themselves peace when entering their own houses.
Verse 30
Tell believing men to lower their gaze, from what is unlawful for them to look at (min [of min absārihim, ‘their gaze’] is extra) and to guard their private parts, from doing with them what is unlawful [for them to do]. That is purer, in other words, better, for them. Truly God is Aware of what they do, with their gazes and private parts, and He will requite them for it.
Verse 31
And tell believing women to lower their gaze, away from what is not lawful for them to look at, and to guard their private parts, from what is not lawful for them to do with them, and not to display their adornment except for what is apparent, namely, the face and the hands, which may be seen by a stranger, when there is no danger of [either or both falling into] temptation — this being one of two opinions. The second [of these] is that [even] this is forbidden because there is a presumption that these [parts] will cause temptation — and this is the preferred opinion, if one must settle this topic [with a definitive opinion]; and let them draw their veils over their bosoms, that is, let them cover up their heads, necks and chests with veils, and not reveal their, hidden, adornment, namely, all that is other than the face and the hands, except to their husbands (bu‘ūl is the plural form of ba‘l, ‘male spouse’) or their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers, or their sons, or their husbands’ sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or what their right hands own, all of whom are permitted to look thereat, except for the part from the navel down to the knees, which is unlawful for any other than their husbands to see; ‘their women’, however, excludes disbelieving women, for it is not permitted for Muslim women to reveal themselves to these; ‘what their right hands own’ comprises slaves; or such men who are dependant, on what food may be left over, not (ghayri, read as an adjective, or read ghayra as an exceptive) possessing any sexual desire, [not] those men who are in [sexual] need of women, so for example those whose male member cannot become erect; or children who are not yet aware of women’s private parts, in [the context of] sexual intercourse, and so to these they may reveal themselves except for that part from the navel to the knees. And do not let them thump with their feet to make known their hidden ornaments, as in a rattling anklet [and the like]. And rally to God in repentance, O believers, [repenting] of the occasions on which you may have looked at what is forbidden [to look at] of such [parts] and otherwise, so that you might be prosperous, [so that you might] be saved from such [sinful acts] when your repentance thereof is accepted — in this verse the prevalent address is to males over females.
Verse 32
And marry off the spouseless among you (ayāmā is the plural form of ayyim, namely, a spouseless female, whether she be a virgin or one previously married, or a spouseless male), this [stipulation] relates to free men and free women, and the righteous ones, the believers, among your male slaves and your female slaves (‘ibād is one plural form of ‘abd). If they, the free men, are poor, God will enrich them, through marriage, out of His bounty. God is Embracing, of [the needs of] His creatures, Knowing, of them.
Verse 33
And let those who cannot find the means to marry be continent, [those who do not have] the bridal money or the means for financial support needed for marriage, [let them restrain themselves] from fornication, until God enriches them, [until] He improves their means, out of His bounty, and they marry. And those who seek a written contract [of emancipation], from among those whom your right hand owns, of male slaves and female slaves, contract with them accordingly, if you know in them any good, such as trustworthiness and the ability to earn [income] in order to fulfil the amount stated in the written contract, which might be worded for example thus: ‘I contract you for [the amount of] two thousand to be paid over a period of two months, at one thousand a month, and if you fulfill this, you are a free man’, and the other would say, ‘I accept’; and give them — this is a command for the [slaves’] owners — out of the wealth of God which He has given you, in the measure that will help them to fulfill their commitment to you (the action of ītā’, ‘giving’, here suggests that some of the amount to which they have committed themselves should be waived). And do not compel your slave-girls, your handmaidens, to prostitution, fornication, when they desire to be chaste, to abstain therefrom (this ‘desire’ is the cause of the [act of] ‘compulsion’, so that the statement is not properly a conditional), that you may seek, through such compulsion, the transient things of the life of this world — this was revealed regarding ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy, who used to force his slave-girls to earn money through fornication. And should anyone compel them, then surely God, after their compulsion, will be Forgiving, to these [slave-girls], Merciful, to them.
Verse 34
And verily We have revealed to you clear verses (read mubayyanāt or mubayyināt), in this sūra, [verses] in which [if read mubayyanāt] what is mentioned is [already] clear, or which [if read mubayyināt] are clarificatory of [that which is mentioned], and an example, a curious tale, namely, that of ‘Ā’isha, of those who passed away before you, that is to say, of their kind of example, that is, [an example] of their curious tales, such as the tales of Joseph and Mary, and an admonition for those who fear God, in what He, exalted be He, has said: And do not let any pity for them overcome you in God’s religion [verse 2, above]; and, Why, when you [first] heard about it, did the believing men [and women] not think [good of themselves]… to the end [of verse 12, above]; and, And why, when you heard it, did you not say … to the end [of verse 16, above]; and, God admonishes you lest you should ever repeat [the like of it] … to the end [of verse 17, above]. This [admonition] is specifically for ‘those who fear God’ because they are the ones to benefit from such [an admonition].
Verse 35
God is the Light of the heavens and the earth, in other words, He illumines both of them with the sun and the moon. The likeness of His Light, that is, the description of it [as it resides] in the heart of a believer, is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass — this [glass] is the [case for the] lantern and the misbāh is the torch, that is, the wick that is lit; al-mishkāt is a recess that does not penetrate [to the other side], in other words, the tube inside the lantern, the glass, with the light inside it [is], as it were a glittering star, that is, a light-giving [star] (read dirrī’un or durrī’un, derived from al-dar‘, ‘to repel’, because it repels darkness; or read durriyyun, derived from al-durr, ‘pearls’) kindled, is this lamp (read past tense tawaqqada; a variant reading has the imperfect tense of awqada, in the passive voice: yūqadu; another reading has tūqadu, in which case the reference is to al-zujāja, ‘the glass’) from, the oil of, a Blessed Tree, an olive neither of the east nor of the west, but in between the two, so that no harmful cold or heat affects it; whose oil would almost glow forth [of itself], though no fire touched it, because of [the extent of] its purity. Light, by Him, upon light, by fire; the light of God is His guidance of the believer, light upon the light of faith. God guides to His Light, that is, [to] the religion of Islam, whom He will. And God strikes, He illustrates, similitudes for men, by approximating [such similitudes] to their comprehension, so that they might take heed and believe; and God is Knower of all things, including [knowledge of] how to strike similitudes.
Verse 36
In houses (fī buyūtin is semantically connected to yusabbihu, ‘glorify’, that will follow) [whose status] God has allowed to be raised, [houses He has allowed] to be venerated, and wherein His Name is remembered, through the affirmation of His Oneness, therein [they] make glorifications (read yusabbahu, ‘glorifications are made’, or yusabbihu, meaning ‘[therein] pray’) to Him in the mornings (al-ghuduww is a verbal noun, meaning al-ghadawāt, ‘the early mornings’) and the evenings, the darkness, after sunset,
Verse 37
men (rijālun, the subject of the verb yusabbihu, ‘make glorifications’; if [the passive is] read, yusabbahu, ‘glorifications are made’, it [rijālun, ‘men’] substitutes for the [impersonal] subject of lahu, ‘to Him’, so that rijālun, ‘men’, is the subject of an implied verb in response to an implied question as if one had asked: who makes glorifications to Him?) whom neither trading, purchase, nor sale distracts from the remembrance of God and the observance of prayer (the [final] hā’ of iqāmat, ‘the observance’, has been omitted to facilitate [the reading]) and payment of the alms. They fear a day when hearts and eyes will be tossed about, in fear, the hearts [tossed about] between [the hope of] deliverance and [the fear of] destruction, and the eyes to the right and to the left [out of anxiety] — this is the Day of Resurrection;
Verse 38
so that God may reward them for the best of what they did, that is, [reward them] the reward for it (ahsana means husna), and give them more out of His bounty; and God provides whomever He will without [any] reckoning (one says [of someone] yunfiqu bi-ghayri hisābin, to mean that such [a person] is so generous that it is as though he does not [need to] reckon what he spends).
Verse 39
And as for those who disbelieve, their works are like a mirage in a plain (qī‘a is the plural of qā‘, that is to say, fulāt, ‘an open space’). [A mirage is] a kind of radiation which one might observe therein at midday during extreme heat, resembling running water — which the thirsty man supposes to be water until he comes to it and finds it to be nothing, like what he had supposed. Likewise is [the case of] the disbeliever who supposes that his deeds, such as some voluntary alms, will benefit him; but when he dies and comes before his Lord he will not find his deed, in other words, it will be of no benefit to him; and he finds God there, namely, in the place of his deeds, Who pays him his account in full, that is, He requites him for it in this world; and God is swift at reckoning, that is, at requiting.
Verse 40
Or, [it is that] those who disbelieve, their evil deeds are, as the manifold darkness on a deep sea, covered by a billow, above which, that is, [above which] billow, there is [another] billow, above which, second billow, there are clouds, these being the, manifold [layers of] darkness, one on top of another, the darkness of the sea, the darkness of the first billow, the darkness of the second together with the darkness of the clouds. When he, an observer, holds out his hand, in such layers of darkness, he can scarcely see it, in other words, he would not [even] come close to seeing it. And he whom God has not granted any light has no light, that is to say, he whom God does not guide cannot be guided.
Verse 41
Have you not seen that God is glorified by all who are in the heavens and the earth, prayer being one form of glorification, and the birds (tayr is the plural of tā’ir), between the heaven and the earth, spreading their wings? (sāffātin is a circumstantial qualifier). Of each [one of them] He, God, verily knows its prayer and its glorification; and God knows what they do — the statement is predominantly directed to rational beings.
Verse 42
And to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, the treasuries of rain, provision and vegetation, and with God is the journey’s end, the [final] return.
Verse 43
Have you not seen how God drives the clouds, moves them along gently, then composes them, joining some with others and making scattered pieces as one, then piles them up, some on top of others, whereat you see the rain issuing from the midst of them, [from specific] outlets in them? And He sends down from the heaven out of the mountains (min jibālin: min is extra) that are therein, in the heaven (fīhā substitutes [for mina’l-samā’i, ‘from the heaven’] with the repetition of a genitive preposition) hail, that is, [He sends down] some [hail], and smites with it whom He will and turns it away from whom He will. The brilliance of its lightning, its flashing, would almost take away the eyes, that look at it, in other words, [it would almost] snatching them away.
Verse 44
God alternates the night and the day, that is, He brings one in place of the other. Surely in that, alternation, there is a lesson, an indication, for those who see, those possessing insight, [an indication] of God’s power, exalted be He.
Verse 45
And God has created every beast, that is, [every] animal, from fluid, [from] a sperm-drop. Among them are some that creep upon their bellies, such as snakes and reptiles, and among them are some that walk on two feet, such as human beings and birds, and among them are some that walk on four, such as [four-legged] beasts and cattle. God creates whatever He will. Truly God has power over all things.
Verse 46
And verily We have revealed manifest signs, namely, the Qur’ān; and God guides whomever He will to a straight path, [a straight] route, and that is the religion of Islam.
Verse 47
And they, the hypocrites, say, ‘We believe in, we affirm [the truth of], God, [of] His Oneness, and the Messenger, Muhammad (s), and we obey’, them in what rulings they [God and Muhammad] give. Then after that a party of them turn away, they are averse to it, and those, those who are averse, they are not believers, as [believers] should be, [believers] whose hearts agree with [the words of] their tongues.
Verse 48
And when they are summoned to God and His Messenger, who conveys His words, that he may judge between them, behold, a party of them are averse, to come to him.
Verse 49
But if right be on their side they would come to him willingly, hastening compliantly.
Verse 50
Is there a sickness, disbelief, in their hearts? Or are they in doubt, are they uncertain of his prophethood, or do they fear that God and His Messenger will be unjust to them?, in judgement, in other words, that they will be wronged therein? No! Rather, those, they are the wrongdoers, for shunning him.
Verse 51
All that the believers say, when they are summoned to God and His Messenger, that he may judge between them, is that they say, in other words, the saying that befits them is [to say]: ‘We hear and we obey’, by responding [to the summons]. And those, then, are the successful, the ones who will be saved.
Verse 52
And he who obeys God and His Messenger, and fears God and fears Him (read yattaqh or yattaqhi), by being obedient to Him, those, they are the winners, of Paradise.
Verse 53
And they swear by God solemn oaths that if you order them, to [participate in the] struggle, they will surely go forth. Say, to them: ‘Do not swear! Acknowledged obedience, to the Prophet is better than the oaths to which you are not true. Surely God is Aware of what you do’, when you say you will obey but act otherwise.
Verse 54
Say: ‘Obey God, and obey the Messenger.’ But if you turn away, from obedience to him (tawallaw, ‘you turn away’: one of the two tā’ letters [in tatawallaw] has been omitted; an address to them), [know that] he is only responsible for that with which he has been charged, of conveying [the Message], and you are responsible for that with which you have been charged, of obedience to him. And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided. And the Messenger’s duty is only to convey [the Message] clearly’.
Verse 55
God has promised those of you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth, in place of the disbelievers, just as He made those, Children of Israel, who were before them successors, in place of the [ruling] tyrants ([the verb may be] read as active istakhlafa, ‘He made [them] successors’, or as passive istukhlifa, ‘were made successors’) and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, namely, [the religion of] Islam, by making it prevail over all religions and enrich them throughout the land, so that they become masters thereof, and that He will give them in exchange (read wa-la-yubdilannahum or wa-la-yubaddilannahum) after their fear, of disbelievers, security. And God fulfilled His promise to them in the way mentioned, and He praises them with His words: ‘They worship Me, without associating anything with Me’ (ya‘budūnanī lā yushrikūna bī shay’an is an [independent] new sentence, standing as a justification [for His promise]). And whoever is ungrateful after that, bestowal of grace, from among them, [whoever is ungrateful] for it, those, they are the immoral. The first to show ingratitude for that [grace of God] were the murderers of ‘Uthmān [b. ‘Affān], may God be pleased with him, and they began to kill one another [henceforth] after having been brothers.
Verse 56
And establish prayer and pay the alms, and obey the Messenger, that perhaps you may find mercy, that is to say, [do so] hoping for mercy.
Verse 57
And do not suppose (read tahsabanna or yahsabanna, the subject of the verb being the Messenger) that those who disbelieve can escape, Us, in the land, by eluding us. For their abode will be, their return will be [to], the Fire, and it is surely an evil destination, it is an [evil] place of return.
Verse 58
O you who believe, let those whom your right hands own, of male slaves and female slaves, and those of you who have not reached puberty, from among the free men, and who have not become [sexually] aware of women, ask leave of you three times: at three times [of the day]: before the dawn prayer, and when you put off your garments at noon, and after the night prayer. [These are] three periods of privacy for you (read thalāthu [‘awrātin lakum] with nominative inflection as the predicate of an implied subject followed by a genitive annexation, with the annexed term standing in place thereof [of the predicate], in other words [the implied predicate followed by the annexation is] hiya awqāt, ‘these are times of …’; or read thalātha [‘awrātin lakum] in the accusative, the implication being that awqāta is itself in the accusative as a substitute for the [syntactical] status of what precedes it, in place of which stands the annexed term). It is because clothes are taken off that private parts are revealed during such [periods]. Neither you nor they, namely, slaves and young boys, would be at fault, in entering upon you without asking leave, at other times, that is, after the three times of day [specified]; they frequent you, to provide service, [as] some of you [do] with others (this sentence corroborates the preceding one). So, just as He has clarified what has been mentioned, God clarifies for you the signs, the rulings; and God is Knower, of the affairs of His creatures, Wise, in what He has ordained for them. It is said that the ‘permission’ verse (āyat al-isti’idhān) was abrogated; but it is also said that it was not [abrogated], but that people thought little of neglecting to seek permission [in such situations].
Verse 59
And when the children among you, O free men, reach puberty, let them seek permission, at all times, just as those, [now] older free men, sought permission before them. So God clarifies His signs for you, and God is Knower, Wise.
Verse 60
And as for menopausal women, who have ceased to menstruate or to bear children because of old age, who do not expect to marry, for that reason, they would not be at fault if they put off their clothes, such a robe, a cloak, or the facial mask over a head veil, in such a way as not to display adornment, that is hidden, such as a necklace, a bracelet or an anklet; but to refrain [from doing so], by not putting them off, is better for them; and God is Hearer, of what you say, Knower, of what is in your hearts.
Verse 61
There is no blame upon the blind, nor any blame upon the lame, nor any blame upon the sick, that they be one’s table companions, nor, any blame, upon yourselves if you eat from your own houses, that is, [from] the houses of your offspring, or your fathers’ houses, or your mothers’ houses, or your brothers’ houses, or your sisters’ houses, or the houses of your paternal uncles or the houses of your paternal aunts, or the houses of your maternal uncles or the houses of your maternal aunts, or [from] that whereof you hold the keys, [from] that which you safeguard on behalf of others, or [from] those of your [faithful] friends (sadīq is [so called] because he is ‘faithful’ (sadaqa) to you in his affection). In other words: one is permitted to eat from the houses of those mentioned, even if they are not present, provided that they consent to it. You would not be at fault whether you eat together, in a group, or separately, individually (ashtāt is the plural of shatt). This was revealed concerning those who felt inhibited about eating alone and [who] when they could not find a table companion they would refrain from eating. But when you enter houses, that are yours, [houses] wherein there is no one, bid peace to yourselves, say, ‘Peace be upon us and upon God’s righteous servants’, for the angels will return your greeting; and if there is family therein bid peace to them, with a salutation (tahiyyatan is the verbal noun from hayyā, ‘he saluted’) from God, blessed and good, and for which one is rewarded. So God clarifies the signs for you, that is to say, He sets out for you in detail the [ritual] ceremonies of your religion, that perhaps you might comprehend, in order for you to understand this.
Verse 62
Only they are believers who believe in God and His Messenger and who, when they are with him, namely, the Messenger, in a collective affair, such as [during] the Friday sermon, do not leave, when they have an excuse, until they have asked leave of him. Truly those who ask leave of you — it is they who believe in God and His Messenger. So when they ask leave of you for some affair, [some] matter, of theirs, give permission to whom you will of them, to leave, and ask God to forgive them. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Verse 63
Do not, among yourselves, consider the calling of the Messenger to be like your calling of one another, by saying, ‘O Muhammad!’ (s), but say, ‘O Prophet of God’, or, ‘O Messenger of God!’ gently, respectfully and in a low voice. Verily God knows those of you who slip away surreptitiously, that is, those who leave the mosque secretly during the sermon without asking leave, hiding behind something (qad, ‘verily’, is for confirmation). So let those who contravene His command, that is, God’s command, or that of His Messenger, beware lest an ordeal, a trial, befall them, or there befall them a painful chastisement, in the Hereafter.
Verse 64
Lo! surely to God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, by way of possession, creation and servitude. He is ever aware of how you, O you who are obligated to [the prescriptions of] the Law, are behaving, with regard to faith or hypocrisy, and, He knows, the day when they shall be returned to Him (there is a shift here from the second person address [to that of the third person]), in other words, [He knows] when this [day] will be — He will inform them, thereupon, of what they did, of good and evil, and God is Knower of all things, which they do and otherwise.
Verse 1
Blessed, exalted, is He Who revealed the Criterion (al-furqān), the Qur’ān — called thus [al-furqān] because it has discriminated (faraqa) between truth and falsehood — to His servant, Muhammad (s), that he may be to all the worlds, [to] mankind and the jinn, but not the angels, a warner, a threatening of God’s chastisement.
Verse 2
He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and Who has not taken a son, nor has He any partner in sovereignty; and He created everything, which was meant to be created, and then determined it in a precise measure, He fashioned it in a balanced form.
Verse 3
Yet they, the disbelievers, have taken besides Him, that is, [besides] God, in other words, other than Him, gods, from among the idols, who create nothing but have themselves been created, and who possess no harm for themselves, that is, [the power] to repel it, nor any benefit, that is, [the power] to attract it, nor do they possess [any power over] death or life, that is, [nor do they have the power] to make a person die or to give him life, or resurrection, that is, [nor do they have power] to raise the dead.
Verse 4
And those who disbelieve say, ‘This, Qur’ān, is nothing but a calumny, a lie, that he, Muhammad (s), has invented, and other folk have helped him with it’, who [according to the disbelievers] were from among the People of the Scripture. God, exalted be He, says: Verily thus they have committed wrong and [spoken] falsehood, [they have come with] disbelief and mendacity.
Verse 5
And they say, that it [the Qur’ān] is also, ‘Fables, their lies (asātir is the plural of ustūra) of the ancients which he has had written down, that he has had someone from among those people copy it down for him, so that they are read to him, for him to memorise, morning and evening’. God, exalted be He, responds to them saying:
Verse 6
Say: ‘It has been revealed by Him Who knows the secret, the Unseen, of the heavens and the earth. Truly He is ever Forgiving, of believers, Merciful’, to them.
Verse 7
And they also say, ‘What is it with this Messenger that he eats food and walks about in the marketplaces? Why has an angel not been sent down to him so as to be a warner along with him?, and confirm his truthfulness.
Verse 8
Or a treasure thrown down to him, from the heaven, for him to spend from so as not to be in need of walking through the marketplaces in order to earn his livelihood. Or he has a garden, an orchard, for him to eat from?’, that is, [to eat] from its fruits and satisfy himself therewith (a variant reading [for ya’kulu, ‘for him to eat’] has na’kulu, ‘for us to eat’) and thus possess because of that [garden] an advantage over us. The wrongdoers, namely, the disbelievers, say, to the believers: ‘You are just following a man bewitched!’, one duped, his mind overcome. God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 9
See how they strike similitudes for you, of [the fact that the Prophet is] a person bewitched and one in need of something to expend [from] and of an angel to help him carry out the task [of delivering the Message], so that they go astray, thereby from guidance, and are unable to find a way, a means thereto [to guidance].
Verse 10
Blessed is He, abundant is the good of God, Who, if He will, will give you better than that, treasure or orchard which they mentioned — gardens underneath which rivers flow, in this world, for He has already willed to give him such things in the Hereafter, and will give (read apocopated form wa-yaj‘al) you palaces, as well (a variant reading [of the apocopated yaj‘al] is yaj‘alu, ‘He will give’, beginning a new sentence).
Verse 11
Nay, but they deny the [coming of the] Hour, the Resurrection, and We have prepared for those who deny the Hour a blaze (sa‘īr), a fire that has been set ablaze (musa‘‘ara), in other words, an intense [fire].
Verse 12
When it sees them from a distant place, they will hear it raging, boiling like an enraged person when his heart boils with anger, and roaring, [producing] a powerful noise. Alternatively, what is meant by their ‘hearing it raging’ is their vision of it and awareness of it.
Verse 13
And when they are flung into a narrow place thereof (read dayyiqan or dayqan, ‘narrow’, such that it constricts them; minhā, ‘thereof’, is a circumstantial qualifier referring to makānan, ‘place’, because it is actually an adjectival qualification of it) bound together, shackled, with their hands bound to their necks in chains (the use of the intensive form muqarranīna [as opposed to muqranīna] is meant to indicate a large number), they will at that point pray for [their own] annihilation, and it will be said to them:
Verse 14
‘Do not pray for a single annihilation on this day, but pray for many annihilations!’, which will be [the nature of] your chastisement.
Verse 15
Say: ‘Is that, which is mentioned of the threat of chastisement and the description of the Fire, better, or the Garden of Immortality which has been promised to the God-fearing, which will be, in God’s knowledge, exalted be He, their requital, [their] reward, and journey’s end?’, [their] place of return.
Verse 16
In it they shall have what they wish, abiding [therein] — an irrevocable state — it, the promise to them of what is mentioned, is a promise binding on your Lord, [a promise] much besought, requested by those who have been promised it [as is clear from the following]: Our Lord, grant us what You have promised us through Your messengers [Q. 3:194], or requested on their behalf by the angels [who say]: Our Lord, and admit them into the Gardens of Eden which You have promised them [Q. 40:8].
Verse 17
And on the day when He will assemble them (yahshuruhum; a variant reading has nahshuruhum, ‘We assemble them’) and that which they worship besides God, that is, other than Him, such as the angels, Jesus, Ezra and the jinn, and will say, exalted be He, (fa-yaqūlu; a variant has fa-naqūlu, and We shall say’) to those who were worshipped, as a way of establishing the argument against the worshippers [of the former]: ‘Was it you (read a-antum pronouncing both hamzas, or by substituting the second one with an alif, or not pronouncing this [last] and inserting an alif between the one not pronounced and the former, or without [such an insertion]) who misled these servants of Mine, causing them to fall into error by commanding them to worship you, or did they go astray from the way?, the path of truth, by themselves?
Verse 18
They will say, ‘Glory be to You — exalted be You above what does not befit You! It was not, it would [not] have been right, for us to take any guardians besides You, that is, other than You (min awliyā’a, the first direct object, the min being extra, [added] to emphasise the negation; the preceding [min dūnika, ‘besides You’] is the second [direct object]). So how can we command that we be worshipped? But You gave them and their fathers, before them, ease [of living], by granting [them] long life and abundant provision, until they forgot the Remembrance, [until] they became remiss about admonitions and belief in the Qur’ān, and became a lost folk’, [a folk] destroyed. God, exalted be He, says:
Verse 19
Thus they will deny you, that is, the ones who were worshipped denied those who worshipped [them], in what you allege, namely, that they are gods, and they will neither be able to (read yastatī‘ūna, or [second person plural] tastatī‘ūna) in other words, neither they nor you will be able to, circumvent, ward off the chastisement from you, nor help, nor protect you from it. And whoever of you does evil, [whoever] ascribes partners to God, We shall make him taste an awful, a severe, chastisement, in the Hereafter.
Verse 20
And We did not send before you any messengers but that they ate food and walked in the marketplaces, and so you are like them in this respect, and truly what was said to them is being said to you. And We have made some of you a trial for others:, a test, trying the rich with the poor, the healthy with the sick, the honourable with the vulgar, in each case the latter would say, ‘Why can I not be like the other person?’ Will you be steadfast?, [and endure] what you hear from those with whom you are tried? (the interrogative is meant as an imperative, in other words, ‘Be steadfast!’. And your Lord is ever Watchful, of those who remain steadfast and those who become miserable.
Verse 21
And those who do not expect to encounter Us, [those] who have no fear of the Resurrection, say, ‘Why have the angels not been sent down to us, to act as messengers to us, or why do we not see our Lord?’, so that we might be informed [by Him] that Muhammad (s) is [truly] His Messenger? God, exalted be He, says: Assuredly they are full of arrogance within their souls and have become terribly insolent, in demanding to see God, exalted be He, in this world (read ‘utuwwan, ‘insolence’ with the wāw, according to the original root form, as opposed to ‘itiyyan with the [yā’] substitution as in [sūrat] Maryam [Q. 19:8]).