Verse 93
The way [of blame] is only against those who ask leave of you, to stay behind, when they are rich. They are content to be with those who stay behind and God has set a seal on their hearts, so that they do not know: a similar statement has already been made.
Verse 94
They will make excuses to you, for having stayed behind, when you return to them, from the campaign. Say, to them: ‘Do not make excuses; we will never believe you! God has already told us tidings of you, that is, He has already informed us of your [true] status. And God will see your work, and [so will] His Messenger, then you will be returned, through resurrection, to the Knower of the unseen and the visible, meaning [to] God, and He will tell you what you used to do’, and requite you for it.
Verse 95
They will swear to you by God, when you turn back, [when] you return, to them, from Tabūk, that they had [genuine] excuses for staying behind, so that you may leave them be, refraining from reproaching them. So leave them be, for they are an abomination, filth, on account of their inner vileness, and their abode shall be Hell, as requital for what they used to earn.
Verse 96
They will swear to you, that you may be satisfied with them; but if you are satisfied with them, God will surely not be satisfied with the wicked folk, that is, with them: your satisfaction is of no avail in the face of the wrath of God.
Verse 97
The Bedouins, the [Arab] nomads, are more intense in unbelief and hypocrisy, than the city-dwellers, on account of their harshness and crude nature and their being too remote to hear the Qur’ān, and are more likely not to know the bounds of what God has revealed to His Messenger, in the way of rulings and [legal] prescriptions; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in what He does with them.
Verse 98
And of the Bedouins there is he who takes what he expends, in the way of God, as a penalty, as a liability and a [financial] loss, because he does not aspire to be rewarded for it, but expends it out of fear: these were Banū Asad and [Banū] Ghatafān; and awaits for you [evil] turns of fortune, the fortunes of time, for you, that these should turn against you, and so be rid [of you]. Theirs shall be the evil (read as al-sū‘, or al-saw‘) turn of fortune, that is, chastisement and destruction shall turn on them, not on you. And God is Hearer, of the sayings of His servants, Knower, of their actions.
Verse 99
And of the Bedouins there is he who believes in God and the Last Day, such as [men from among the tribes of] Juhayna and Muzayna, and takes what he expends, in the way of God, as [pious] offerings to bring [him] nearer to God, and, as a means, to [secure] the prayers, the supplications, of the Messenger, for him. Surely these, the expenditure of such [men], will bring them nearer (read qurubatun or qurbatun), to Him. God will admit them into His mercy, His Paradise. Truly God is Forgiving, to those who obey Him, Merciful, to them.
Verse 100
And the first to lead the way, of the Emigrants and the Helpers, namely, those who were present at [the battle of] Badr, or [it means] all the Companions, and those who follow them, up to the Day of Resurrection, by being virtuous, in deeds, God will be pleased with them, for their obedience of Him, and they will be pleased with Him, for His reward [to them]; and He has prepared for them Gardens — with rivers flowing beneath them (a variant reading adds min [min tahtihā, ‘beneath which’]) — to abide therein forever: that is the supreme triumph.
Verse 101
And among those around you, O inhabitants of Medina, of the Bedouins there are hypocrites, such as [the tribes of] Aslam, Ashja‘ and Ghifār, and among the townspeople of Medina, there are also hypocrites, who are obstinate in hypocrisy, engrossed in it and persisting [in it]. You do not know them — an address to the Prophet (s) — but We know them, and We shall chastise them twice, by disgracing them or having them killed in this world, and by way of punishment in the grave, then they will be returned, in the Hereafter, to a terrible chastisement, namely, the Fire.
Verse 102
And [there are] others (ākharūn is the subject), [another] folk, who have confessed their sins, for having stayed behind (i‘tarafū bi-dhunūbihim is an adjectival qualification of it [the subject] and the predicate is [the following, khalatū ‘amalan sālihan]) they have mixed a righteous deed, that is, their former [participation in the] struggle, or the their confession of their sins, or otherwise, with another that was bad, which is their having stayed behind. It may be that God will relent to them. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful: this was revealed regarding Abū Lubāba and a group of men who tied themselves to the walls of the mosque after they heard what had been revealed regarding those who stayed behind; they swore that only the Prophet (s) would untie them, which he did when this [verse] was revealed.
Verse 103
Take of their wealth some alms, to purify them and to cleanse them thereby, of their sins; he thus took a third of their wealth and gave it away as charity; and pray for them, that is, supplicate for them; truly your prayers are a comfort, a mercy, for them: it is also said [to mean] reassurance [for them], that their repentance has been accepted. And God is Hearer, Knower.
Verse 104
Do they not know that God is He Who accepts repentance from His servants and takes, accepts, the voluntary alms, and that God is He Who is the Relenting, to His servants, by accepting their repentance, and the Merciful?, to them (the interrogative is intended as an affirmative [statement] and is meant to incite them to [offer] repentance and charity).
Verse 105
And say, to them, or to people [in general]: ‘Act, as you will, for God will surely see your actions, and [so will] His Messenger and the believers, and you will be returned, through resurrection, to the Knower of the unseen and the visible, that is, [to] God, and He will tell you what you used to do’, and so requite you for it.
Verse 106
And [there are] others, from among those who stayed behind, who are deferred (read murja’ūna or murjawna), whose repentance is delayed, to God’s command, concerning them, according to His will, whether He chastises them, by causing them to die without [their having made any] repentance, or relents to them; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in what He does with them. These [others mentioned] are the three, who will be mentioned afterwards: Murāra b. al-Rabī‘, Ka‘b b. Mālik and Hilāl b. Umayya. They stayed behind out of laziness and their inclination for peace and quiet, not out of hypocrisy. Unlike the others, however, they did not excuse themselves before the Prophet (s), and so the matter regarding them was suspended for fifty days, during which time people avoided them, until it was later revealed that God had relented to them.
Verse 107
And, among them, those who have chosen a mosque — these were twelve men from among the hypocrites — by way of harm, to cause distress for those of the mosque of Qubā’, and disbelief, since they built it on the orders of the monk Abū ‘Āmir, as a sanctuary for him, so that whoever comes from his side may stay there: he had gone to the Byzantine Emperor (qaysar) to bring troops to fight against the Prophet (s), and to cause division among the believers, who pray in the mosque of Qubā’, by having some of these pray in their [the hypocrites’] mosque, and as an outpost, an observation post, for those who waged war against God and His Messenger before, that is, before it was built — meaning the above-mentioned Abū ‘Āmir — they will swear: ‘We desired nothing, by building it, but, to do, good’, by way of kindness towards the poor in times of [heavy] rain or [extreme] heat and in order to provide [a place of worship] for the Muslims; and God bears witness that they are truly liars, in this [claim of theirs]. They had asked the Prophet (s) to perform prayers in it, and so the following was revealed:
Verse 108
Never stand, [never] perform prayer, there: and so he sent a group of men to destroy and burn it, and in its place they left a refuse pit where decaying cadavers would be dumped. A mosque which was founded, one whose foundations were built, upon piety from the first day, constructed the day you arrived in Medina (dār al-hijra) — this was the mosque of Qubā’, as mentioned in Bukhārī — is worthier, than that [other one], for you to stand, to perform prayer, therein; in it are men, namely, the Ansār, who love to purify themselves; and God loves those who purify themselves (muttahhirīn: the original tā’ [of mutatahhirūn] has been assimilated with the tā’) that is, He will reward them. Ibn Khuzayma reported in his Sahīh [by way of an isnād] from [‘Uwaym] b. Sā‘ida that: ‘The Prophet (s) came to them at the mosque of Qubā’ and said, “God, exalted be He, has praised handsomely the way you purify yourselves in the story about your mosque, so what is this purification which you perform?” They said, “By God, O Messenger of God, all that we know is that we used to have Jews in our vicinity and they used to wash their behinds after defecation, and so we began to wash in the way they did”’. According to one hadīth reported by al-Bazzār [they said]: ‘We use stones [to scrape off remnants] and follow this with water’; to which he [the Prophet] said, ‘That is the way [for proper purification]. Let this be your way’.
Verse 109
Is he who founded his building upon fear of God and, in hope of, beatitude, from Him, better, or he who founded his building upon the brink, the edge, of a bank, an overhang, that is crumbling, about to collapse (read juruf or jurf) so that it toppled with him, so that it collapsed [taking] with it the one who built it, into the fire of Hell?: [this is] an excellent similitude for building upon that which constitutes the opposite of fear of God and [for] what it leads to; the interrogative is meant as an affirmative: in other words, the former is the better, which is the likeness of the [building of the] mosque of Qubā’, while the latter is the likeness of the mosque of ‘harm’ (masjid al-dirār). And God guides not the evildoing folk.
Verse 110
The buildings which they have built will never cease to be a misgiving, a point of doubt, in their hearts unless their hearts are cut, torn, to pieces, such that they die; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in what He does with them.
Verse 111
Indeed God has purchased from the believers their lives and their possessions, that they expend it in obedience of Him — for example by striving in His way — so that theirs will be [the reward of] Paradise: they shall fight in the way of God and they shall kill and be killed (this sentence is independent and constitutes an explication of the [above-mentioned] ‘purchase’; a variant reading has the passive verb come first [sc. fa-yuqtalūna wa-yaqtulūn, ‘they shall be killed and shall kill’], meaning that some of them are killed while those who remain, fight on); that is a promise which is binding (both [wa‘dan, ‘promise’, and haqqan, ‘binding’] are verbal nouns, and are in the accusative on account of their omitted [implicit] verbs) upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’ān; and who fulfils his covenant better than God?, that is, no one is better in fulfilling it. Rejoice then (there is a shift from the third [to second] person here) in this bargain of yours which you have made, for that, bargain, is the supreme triumph, the one that secures the ultimate goal.
Verse 112
Those who repent (al-tā’ibūna is in the nominative as a laudative, the subject being implicit), from idolatry and hypocrisy, those who worship, who devote their worship sincerely to God, those who give praise, to Him in every state, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate themselves, that is, those who perform prayers, those who enjoin decency and forbid to indecency, those who maintain God’s bounds, His rulings, by implementing them, and give good tidings to the believers, of Paradise.
Verse 113
The following was revealed regarding the Prophet (s) asking forgiveness for his uncle Abū Tālib, and some of the Companions asking forgiveness for their idolatrous parents: It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to ask forgiveness for the idolaters, even though they be kinsmen, relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are inhabitants of the Hell-fire, for having died as disbelievers.
Verse 114
Abraham’s prayer for the forgiveness of his father was only because of a promise he had made to him, when he said to him, I will ask my Lord forgiveness for you [Q. 19:47], in the hope that he would submit [to God]; but when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of God, upon his death as an disbeliever, he declared himself innocent of him, and refrained from asking forgiveness for him; truly Abraham was soft of heart, making frequent entreaty and supplication [to God], forbearing, enduring harm patiently.
Verse 115
And God would never send a people astray after He had guided them, to Islam, until He had made clear to them that which they should be wary of, in the way of deeds, but when they are not wary of it, then they deserve to be sent astray. Surely God is Knower of all things, including who deserves to be sent astray, or to be guided.
Verse 116
Surely to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth. He gives life and He makes to die; and you do not have, O mankind, besides God, that is, other than Him, any protector, to preserve you from Him, or helper, to defend you against His hurt.
Verse 117
God has truly relented, that is, He has [truly] perpetuated His relenting, to the Prophet and the Emigrants and the Helpers who followed him in the hour of hardship, that is, during the time of this [hardship], which was their predicament during the raid at Tabūk, where two men would share a single date, ten men would take turns on one camel, and where the heat became so intense that they resorted to drinking filth; after the hearts of a party of them had almost deviated (read either as tazīghu or yazīghu), [had almost] inclined away from following him, in favour of staying behind due to the hardship that afflicted them, then He relented to them, by making them steadfast. Truly He is Gentle, Merciful to them.
Verse 118
And, He relented, to the three who were left behind, [formerly denied] His relenting to them, for the same reason [as those mentioned above], when the earth was straitened for them, for all its breadth, that is, despite its vastness, so they could find no place wherein to feel secure, and their souls, that is, their hearts, were straitened for them, because of the anxiety and their [sense of] alienation resulting from the delay of God’s relenting to them [with mercy], such that they [their souls] could not find happiness or solace; until they thought, they were certain, that (read the softened an) there is no refuge from God except in Him. Then He turned [relenting] to them, He made them successful in finding repentance, that they might also turn [in repentance]. Truly God is the Relenting, the Merciful.
Verse 119
O you who believe, fear God, by refraining from [acts of] disobedience to Him, and be with those who are truthful, in [their] faith and covenants, by adhering to sincerity.
Verse 120
It is not for the people of Medina and for the Bedouins [who dwell] around them to stay behind God’s Messenger, when he sets out on a campaign, and to prefer their lives to his life, by guarding them against hardships which he [the Prophet] is content [to suffer] himself (this statement is a prohibition expressed as a predicate); that, prohibition against staying behind, is because neither thirst nor toil nor hunger afflicts them in the way of God, nor tread they any tread (mawti’an is a verbal noun, meaning wat’an) that enrages the disbelievers, nor gain any gain from the enemy, of God, be it through slaughter, capture or plunder, but a righteous deed is therefore recorded for them, that they may be rewarded for it. Truly God does not leave the wage of the virtuous to go to waste, that is, the wage of those [mentioned], rather He rewards them.
Verse 121
Nor expend they, therein [in the way of God], any sum, small, even if it be a single date, or great, nor do they cross a valley, during a [campaign] march, but it is recorded for them, as a righteous deed, that God may reward them the best of what they used to do, that is, the [due] reward thereof.
Verse 122
When the Prophet (s) was about to dispatch a raiding party — after they [certain Muslims] had been reproached for staying behind — all of them went forth, and so the following was revealed: It is not for the believers to go forth, on a raid, altogether: why should not a party, a group, of every section, of every tribe, of them go forth, while the others remain behind, so that they, those who remain behind, may become learned in religion and that they may warn their folk when they return to them, from the raid, by teaching them some of the rulings which they have come to learn, so that they may beware? of God’s punishment, by adhering to His commands and prohibitions. Ibn ‘Abbās said that this [verse] is specifically [intended] for raiding parties, while the previous one is [specifically] to prohibit any individual staying behind when the Prophet (s) sets out [on a campaign].
Verse 123
O you who believe, fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, that is, the nearest, followed by the next nearest of them, and let them find harshness in you, that is, severity, in other words, be harsh with them, and know that God is with the pious, helping and granting [them] victory.
Verse 124
And whenever a sūra, of the Qur’ān, is revealed, there are some of them, that is, the hypocrites, who say, to their companions, mockingly: ‘Which of you has this increased in faith?’, and God says: As for those who believe, it has increased them in faith, because they accept that it is true, and they rejoice, because of it.
Verse 125
But as for those in whose hearts is sickness, a weakness of faith, it only adds abomination to their abomination, that is, [it only adds] disbelief to their disbelief, since they disbelieve in it, and they die while they were disbelievers.
Verse 126
Do they not see, that is, the hypocrites ([in which case] read a-wa-lā yarawna; or if read a-wa-lā tarawna, ‘do you, O believers, not see’) that they are tested, afflicted, every year once or twice?, with drought and diseases. Still they do not repent, of their hypocrisy, nor do they remember, [nor] do they heed admonition.
Verse 127
And whenever a sūra is revealed, wherein is mention of them, and the Prophet (s) recites it, they look at one another, desiring to flee, and saying: ‘Will anyone see you?’, if you get up [and flee]?, and so if no one can see them they get up [and leave], otherwise they stay put. Then they turn away, persisting in their disbelief. God turns their hearts away, from guidance, because they are a folk who do not understand, the truth, for they do not reflect [on it].
Verse 128
Verily there has come to you a messenger from among yourselves, that is, one of you — Muhammad (s) — for whom it is grievous, hard, that you should suffer, that is, your suffering, your experiencing hardship and encountering harm [is hard on him]; who is full of concern for you, that you should be rightly guided; to the believers full of pity, profoundly compassionate, merciful, desiring good for them.
Verse 129
So if they turn away, [refraining] from believing in you, say: ‘God suffices me. There is no god except Him. Upon Him I rely, in Him have I put my trust, and in none other, and He is the Lord of the Tremendous Throne’ (al-‘arsh al-azīm), the kursī, which is singled out for mention because it is the greatest of all things created. Al-Hākim reported in al-Mustadrak [by way of an isnād] from Ubayy b. Ka‘b that he [Ubayy] said: ‘The last verse to be revealed was [from], Verily there has come to you a messenger… to the end of the sūra’ [sc. Q. 9:128-129].
Verse 1
Alif lām rā’: God knows best what He means by these [letters]. Those, namely, these signs, are the signs of the wise Book, that is, the Qur’ān (the genitive annexation [āyāt al-kitāb] has the meaning of min [sc. min āyāti’l-kitāb, ‘from among the verses of the Book’]), which has been made clear.
Verse 2
Is it for the people, the people of Mecca (this interrogative is meant as a disavowal; the preposition [li-, ‘for’] and its dependent genitive noun [al-nās, ‘the people’] constitute a circumstantial qualifier of His saying): a wonder (‘ajaban: read in the accusative as a predicate of kāna; or if read in the nominative [‘ajabun] as its subject: its predicate, which is also its subject if read according to the former [accusative] reading, is [the following, an awhaynā]) that We have inspired a man from among them, Muhammad (s), [saying] (an, ‘that’, is explicative): ‘Warn, threaten, the people, the disbelievers, with chastisement, and give good tidings to those who believe that they have a prior, a preceding, [promise of] truth with their Lord’?, that is a [preceding] fair reward, in return for the deeds they have sent forward. The disbelievers say, ‘Truly this, Qur’ān that comprises all of that [mentioned], is manifest sorcery’: a variant reading [for la-sihrun] has la-sāhirun, ‘a sorcerer’, where it is the Prophet (s) to whom they are referring [as being ‘a manifest sorcerer’].
Verse 3
Truly your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, of the days of this world, that is, in the same measure [of time], since there was no sun or moon then: had He willed He could have created them in an instant, but the reason for His not having done so is that He wanted to teach His creatures to be circumspect; then He presided upon the Throne, a presiding befitting of Him, directing affairs, among creatures. There is no (mā min indicates a relative clause) intercessor, to intercede for anyone, save after His permission: a refutation of their saying, ‘The idols intercede for us!’; that, Creator and Director, is God, your Lord, so worship Him, affirm His Oneness. Will you not remember? (tadhakkarūna: the original tā’ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl).
Verse 4
To Him, exalted be He, is the return of all of you: God’s promise, in truth (both [wa‘da and haqqan] are verbal nouns, and in the accusative because of the verbs implicit in them). Truly He (read innahu as a new sentence, or annahu with an implied lām [sc. li-annahu, ‘Because He’] originates creation, that is, He began it by originating [it], then recreates it, through resurrection, that He may requite, reward, those who believe and perform righteous deeds, justly. And those who disbelieve, for them will be a draught of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved.
Verse 5
He it is Who made the sun a radiance, that is, emitting light, and the moon a light, and determined it, with respect to its movement, in stations: 28 stations in 28 nights every month, becoming concealed for two nights when a particular month has 30 days, or [concealed] for one night, when it has 29 days, so that you might know, thereby, the number of the years and the reckoning. God did not create that, which is mentioned, save in truth, not in vain, exalted be He above such things. He details (read yufassilu or nufassilu, ‘We detail’) the signs for a people who know, who reflect.
Verse 6
Truly in the alternation of night and day, in [their] coming and going, increasing and diminishing, and [in] what God has created in the heavens, of angels, sun, moon, stars and other things, and, in, the earth, of animals, mountains, seas, rivers, trees, and other things, there are signs, indications of His power, exalted be He, for a people who fear, Him, and so believe: He singles these out for mention because they are the ones to benefit from them [such signs].
Verse 7
Truly those who do not expect to encounter Us, through resurrection, and are content with the life of this world, instead of [the life] the Hereafter, since they reject [the truth of] it, and feel reassured, feel secure, in it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, [of] the proofs of Our Oneness, neglecting to ponder them,
Verse 8
those, their abode will be the Fire because of what they used to earn, in the way of [practising] idolatry and [performing] acts of disobedience.
Verse 9
Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them, He will lead them, through their faith, in Him, by appointing for them a light with which they will be able to find their way on the Day of Resurrection. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Bliss,
Verse 10
their prayer therein, their request for what they desire in Paradise will be to say: ‘Glory be to You, O God!’, so that, lo!, what they request they find before them; and their greeting, between them, therein will be: ‘Peace.’ And their final prayer will be: ‘Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds’.
Verse 11
When the idolaters sought to hasten [their] chastisement, the following was revealed: And if God should hasten for mankind evil as they would hasten good, their term [of life] would already have been concluded for them (read as the passive, with nominative ajaluhum [sc. la-qudiya ajaluhum]; or read as the active with accusative ajalahum [sc. la-qadā ajalahum, ‘He would have already concluded their term’]), by His destroying them, but He gives them respite. But We leave those, who do not expect to encounter Us, to wander blindly in their insolence, hesistant and perplexed.
Verse 12
If misfortune, illness or poverty, should befall a, disbelieving, man, he calls upon Us on his side, that is, lying down, or sitting or standing, in other words, in every state; but when We have relieved him of his misfortune, he passes on, in his unbelief, as if (ka-an is softened, its subject omitted, in other words [read as] ka-annahu) he had never called upon Us because of a misfortune that befell him. So, in the same way that supplication during misfortune and abstention [from supplication] in times of comfort were adorned for him, is adorned for the prodigal, the idolaters, that which they do.
Verse 13
And indeed We have destroyed generations, communities, before you, O people of Mecca, when they did evil, by way of idolatry, and, indeed, their messengers brought them clear proofs, indicating their truthfulness; but they would not believe (wa-mā kānū li-yu’minū: this is a supplement to zalamū, ‘they did evil’). So, just as We destroyed those, We shall requite the sinning, the unbelieving, folk.
Verse 14
Then We made you, O people of Mecca, successors (khalā’if is the plural of khalīfa) in the earth after them, that We might behold how you would behave, in it, and whether you would take heed from their example and believe in Our messengers.
Verse 15
And when Our clear, manifest (bayyināt is a circumstantial qualifier), verses, [from] the Qur’ān, are recited to them, those who do not expect to encounter Us, those who do not fear the Resurrection, say, ‘Bring a Qur’ān other than this, one in which our gods are not denigrated, or change it’, of your own accord. Say, to them: ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which is revealed to me. Truly I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, by changing it, the chastisement of a dreadful day’, that is, the Day of Resurrection.
Verse 16
Say: ‘If God had willed I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, [nor] would He have made you aware of it (the lā [of wa-lā adrākum] is for negation, and is a supplement to what preceded; a variant reading has the lām [sc. la-adrākum, ‘He would have made it known to you’] as the response to the [conditional] law, ‘if’, in other words, He would have made it known to you by the tongue of someone other than myself). For I have already dwelt among you a [whole] lifetime, of forty years, before this [Qur’ān], not relating to you anything [of the sort], so will you not understand?’, that this [Qur’ān] is not from myself?
Verse 17
And who, that is, no one, does greater evil than he who invents a lie against God, by ascribing a partner to Him, or denies His signs?, [denies] the Qur’ān. Surely, it is that, the sinners, the idolaters, shall not prosper, they shall [never] find happiness.
Verse 18
And they worship, besides God, that is, other than Him, that which can neither hurt them, should they not worship it, nor profit them, if they do worship it — and these are the idols; and they say, of them: ‘These are our intercessors with God’. Say, to them: ‘Would you tell, would you inform, God of what He does not know in the heavens or in the earth?’ (the interrogative is meant as a disavowal), for if He had a partner, He [Himself] would know it, since nothing can be hidden from Him. Glory be to Him!, in [affirmation of] His transcendence, and High be He exalted above what they associate! with Him.
Verse 19
Mankind was but one community, following one religion, that is submission [to the One God], from the time of Adam to the time of Noah; but it is also said [that this was the case] from the time of Abraham to that of ‘Amr b. Luhayy; then they differed, some of them remaining firmly [upon belief in One God], while others disbelieved. And had it not been for a word that had already preceded from your Lord, [to the effect] that requital would be deferred until the Day of Resurrection, it would have been decided between them, that is, [between] mankind, in this life, regarding that over which they differed, in religion, by the disbelievers being punished.
Verse 20
And they, the people of Mecca, say, ‘Why has a sign not been sent down on him, on Muhammad (s), from his Lord?’, as was the case with [previous] prophets, in the way of a she-camel, a staff or a [glowing] hand. Then say, to them: ‘The Unseen, that which is concealed from servants, in other words, its affair, belongs only to God, and it is from this [Unseen] that signs come forth; therefore He alone can bring them forth: mine is only to covey the Message. So wait, for the chastisement, if you do not believe. I am waiting with you’.
Verse 21
And when We made people, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, taste of mercy, [of] rain and fertility, after adversity, misery and drought, that had afflicted them, behold! they have some plot concerning Our signs, in the way of mockery and denial. Say, to them: ‘God is swifter at plotting, at requiting; surely Our, guardian, messengers are writing down that which you are plotting’ (tamkurūn, is also read yamkurūn, ‘they are plotting’).
Verse 22
He it is Who conveys you (yusayyirukum: a variant reading has yanshurukum) across the land and the sea, until when you are in ships and they sail with them (there is a shift of address from second [to third] person) with a fair, gentle, breeze and they rejoice therein, there comes upon them a stormy wind, blowing violently, destroying everything, and waves come on them from every side, and they think that they are overwhelmed, that is, [that] they shall perish, they call upon God, secure in their faith, their supplication, only to Him: ‘If (la-in: the lām is for oaths) You deliver us from these, terrors, we shall verily be of the thankful’, [of those] who affirm [Your] Oneness.
Verse 23
Yet when He has delivered them, behold! they are insolent in the earth wrongfully, by associating others with God. O mankind, your insolence, wrongdoing, is only against yourselves, since the sin thereof shall fall against them; it is [but], the enjoyment of the life of this world, which you will enjoy for a short while, then to Us is your return, after death, and We shall inform you of what you used to do, and then requite you for it (a variant reading [for nominative matā‘u] has accusative matā‘a, ‘an enjoyment’, in other words [read as with an omitted verb such as] tatamatta‘ūna, ‘[one which] you shall enjoy’).
Verse 24
The likeness, the description, of the life of this world is only as water, rain, which We send down from the heaven, then the plants of the earth mingle with it, [they mingle] because of it, attaching themselves one to another, whereof mankind eat, [plants] such as wheat and barley and so on, and cattle [eat], of pasture, until, when the earth has taken on its ornaments, its splendour of plants, and has adorned itself, with flowers (izzayyanat, ‘adorned itself’, is originally tazayyanat, but the tā’ has been substituted with the zāy and assimilated with it) and its inhabitants think that they are masters of it, fully capable of harvesting its fruits, Our command, Our decree or Our chastisement, comes upon it by night or day, and We make it, that is, its crops, as reaped corn, like that which has been reaped with sickles, as though (ka-an is softened, in other words [read it as] ka-annahā) the previous day it had not flourished, [as though] it never were. Thus do We detail, [do] We make clear, the signs for a people who reflect.
Verse 25
And God summons to the Abode of Peace, that is, [the Abode] of security, which is Paradise, by summoning [people] to faith, and He guides whomever He wills, that he be guided, to a straight path, the religion of Islam.
Verse 26
For those who do good, by having faith, is the fairest reward, Paradise, and more, which is to contemplate God, exalted be He, as [reported] in a hadīth by Muslim [in his Sahīh]; neither dust, soot, nor ignominy, grief, shall overcome, envelop, their faces. Those, they are the inhabitants of Paradise: therein they will abide.
Verse 27
And for those (wa’lladhīna is a supplement to li’lladhīna ahsanū, ‘for those who do good’, so [understand it as] wa-li’lladhīna, ‘and for those’) who earn evil deeds, by practising idolatry, [there shall be] the requital of an evil deed by the like thereof; ignominy shall overcome them — they have no protector, no defender, against God — as if their faces had been covered with, cloaked [in], strips of darkest night (read qita‘an, as the plural of qit‘a; or qit‘an, meaning juz’an, ‘a part’). Those, they are the inhabitants of the Fire: therein they will abide.
Verse 28
And, mention, the day on which We shall gather them, that is, creation, all together, then We shall say to those who associated others [with God]: ‘In your place! (makānakum is in the accusative because ilzamū, ‘adhere to’, is implied [sc. ilzamū makānakum]). You (antum: this emphasises the [second person plural] subject concealed in the implied verb [ilzamū], and allows for the supplement [that follows]:) and your associates!’, that is, the idols. Then We shall make a separation, We shall distinguish, between them, and the believers, as [is stated] in the verse, wa’mtāzū’l-yawma ayyuhā’l-mujrimūn, ‘Now be separate, you sinners, upon this day!’ [Q. 36:59]; and their associates will say, to them: ‘It was not us that you were worshipping (mā [of mā-kuntum, ‘you were not …’] is for negation; the direct object [iyyānā, ‘us’] precedes the verb in order [to accord] with the end-rhyme [of the Qur’ānic verse];
Verse 29
God suffices as a witness between us and you, that indeed (in is softened, so [read as] innā) we were unaware of your worship’.
Verse 30
There, that is, on that day, every soul shall experience (tablū derives from balwā, ‘a trial’; a variant reading has tatlū, ‘it shall recite’, derived from tilāwa, ‘recitation’) what it did before, [what] it offered in the way of deeds, and they shall be returned to God, their rightful, [their] established, everlasting, Lord, and that which they were inventing, [of lies] against Him, in the way of associates, shall fail them, shall be absent [before them].
Verse 31
Say, to them: ‘Who provides for you, rain, out of the heaven, and, plants [out of], the earth, or Who owns hearing, meaning the ability to make hear, that is, the creation of this [faculty], and sight, and Who brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living, and Who directs affairs?’, between creatures? They will surely say, ‘It is He, God.’ Then say, to them: ‘Will you not then fear?’, Him, and believe?
Verse 32
That, Doer of all these things, then is God, your true, established, Lord: so what is there, after truth, except error? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative, in other words, there is nothing after it [truth] other than that [error]; thus he who mistakes the truth, which is the worship of God, has fallen into error). How then are you turned away, from faith, despite the proofs having been established?
Verse 33
Thus, just as those are turned away from faith so, the Word of your Lord is justified concerning those who are wicked, [those who] disbelieve, and this [Word] is [either] the verse, [Q. 32:13]‘Verily I shall fill Hell [with jinn and mankind, together]’, or it is [the following:] that they do not believe.
Verse 34
Say: ‘Is there of those whom you associate [with God] one that originates creation, then recreated it?’ Say: ‘God originates creation, then recreates it. How then are you deviated?’, turned away from worshipping Him, despite proof having been established.
Verse 35
Say: ‘Is there of those whom you associate [with God] one that guides to the truth?’, by [means of] setting up [definitive] arguments and creating guidance. Say: ‘God guides to the truth; is One Who guides to the truth — and this is God — more deserving of being followed, or one who does not guide, [one who] is not [himself] guided, unless he is guided?, more deserving of being followed? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmation and a rebuke, in other words, the former is more deserving). So what is wrong with you, how do you judge?’, [how do you make] this corrupt judgement, one where what does not deserve to be followed is followed?
Verse 36
And most of them, in worshipping idols, follow nothing but conjecture, since they imitate their fathers therein; truly conjecture avails nothing against truth, when what is sought is knowledge. Surely God is Knower of what they do, and will requite them for it.
Verse 37
And this Qur’ān is not such as could ever be produced, that is, [it could not be] a fabrication, [by anyone] besides God; but it is, revealed [as], a confirmation of what is before it, of Scriptures, and a detailing of the Book, a exposition of the rulings and other matters which God has prescribed — wherein is no doubt, no uncertainty — from the Lord of the Worlds (min rabbi’l-‘ālamīn is semantically connected to tasdīqa, ‘a confirmation’, or to an omitted unzila, ‘revealed’; a variant reading [for accusative tasdīqa] has the nominative tasdīqu and nominative tafsīlu, ‘a detailing’, [for the accusative tafsīla] by [reading] an implied huwa, ‘it is’).
Verse 38
Or do they say, ‘He has invented it’?, Muhammad (s) has invented it. Say: ‘Then bring a sūra like it, in terms of the clarity and the rhetorical excellence of its language, by way of invention, for you are eloquent speakers of Arabic like me; and call upon whom you can, for help in this [matter], besides God, that is, other than Him, if you are truthful’, in [saying] that this is an invention. But they were not able to do this.
Verse 39
God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but they denied that, the knowledge whereof they did not comprehend, that is, [they denied] the Qur’ān and did not reflected upon it; and whereof the interpretation, the consequence of the threats [made] therein, has not yet come to them. So, in the same [manner of] denial, those who were before them denied, their messengers. Behold then what was the consequence for the evildoers!, for denying the messengers, in other words, [behold] how their affair was concluded, by their being destroyed. In a similar manner, We shall destroy these [people].
Verse 40
And of them, that is, [of] the people of Mecca, are some who believe in it, God being aware of this in their case, and some who would never believe therein. And your Lord knows very well the corrupters: this is a threat for them.
Verse 41
If they deny you, then say, to them: ‘Unto me is my work, and to you your work, that is, for each there will be a [due] requital of his deeds; you are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do’: this was abrogated by the ‘sword’ verse [Q. 9:5].
Verse 42
And of them are some who listen to you, when you recite the Qur’ān. But will you make the deaf to hear — He likens them [the Meccan disbelievers] to these [the deaf] because they are not able to benefit from what is recited to them — even though, with their deafness, they do not understand?, [even though they do not] reflect?
Verse 43
And of them are some who look toward you. But will you guide the blind, even though they do not see? — He likens them [the Meccan disbelievers] to these [the blind] because they fail to be guided, nay, [they are] much worse [since God says]: It is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts within the breasts [Q. 22:46].
Verse 44
Verily God does not wrong mankind in any way, but mankind wrong themselves.
Verse 45
And on the day when He shall gather them, it is, as if they had not tarried, in this world, or in the grave, but an hour of the day, because of the terror of what they see (the comparative sentence is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the [third person] pronoun); recognising one another, knowing one another, upon their being resurrected, but thereafter the recognition ceases on account of the severity of the terrors (the [last] sentence is either an implied circumstantial qualifier or one connected to the adverbial qualifier [yawma, ‘on the day’]); those will verily have lost who denied the encounter with God, through resurrection, for they were not guided.
Verse 46
And whether (wa-immā: the nūn of the conditional particle in has been assimiliated with the extra mā) We show you something of that which We promise them, of chastisement, during your lifetime (the response to the conditional statement has been omitted, in other words [understand it as being] fa-dhāka, ‘then so shall it be’), or We take you [to Us], before punishing them, to Us they shall return, and God, moreover, is Witness, Aware, of what they do, in the way of their denials and disbelief, and so will chastise them with the severest punishment.
Verse 47
And for every community, of the communities [of this world], there is a messenger. And when their messenger comes, to them, and they deny him, judgement is passed between them justly, fairly, such that they are punished and the messenger, and all those who accepted his truthfulness, are delivered; and they are not wronged, by being punished for no crime: similarly, We shall deal with these [disbelievers of your community].
Verse 48
And they say: ‘When will this promise, of chastisement, come to pass, if you are truthful, about it?’
Verse 49
Say: ‘I have no power to, avert, hurt, from, myself, or to, bring, benefit, except as God might will, to give me power over: so how could I possess the power to bring about the chastisement? For every community there is an appointed time, a fixed period until they perish. When their time comes, they cannot put it off, they will not miss it, by a single hour, nor bring it forward, [nor] overtake it’.
Verse 50
Say: ‘Have you considered?, [Say] inform me: If His, God’s, chastisement comes upon you by night or day, what, part, is there of it, that is, [of] the chastisement, that the sinners, the idolaters, seek to hasten? (an overt noun [al-mujrimūn, ‘the sinners’] has replaced the [second person, ‘you’] pronominalisation. The interrogative sentence is the response to the conditional, as [in the case where] you might say, ‘If I come to you, what would you give me?’; the intention here is to provoke terror [in them], in other words: how awful is that which they seek to hasten!)
Verse 51
Is it [only] then, when it has come to pass, [when] it has befallen you, that you will believe therein?, that is, in God, or [it means] in the chastisement, when it has come down (the [use of] hamza [in a-thumma, ‘is it then’] is to deny [the possibility of] deferrment [of chastisement], in other words, it [your belief] will not be accepted from you [in that instance] and it will be said to you: Now, do you believe, when [until now] you have been hastening it on?’, in mockery [of it].
Verse 52
Then will it be said to those who were evildoers: ‘Taste the everlasting chastisement!, that is, the one in which you shall abide. Are you, you are not, requited for anything but, the requital of, what you used to earn?’
Verse 53
And they ask you to tell, to inform, them, ‘Is it true?’, that which you promise us in the way of chastisement and resurrection? Say: ‘Aye, indeed, by my Lord! Verily it is true and you cannot escape’, [you cannot] elude the chastisement.
Verse 54
And if each soul that has done wrong, [that] has disbelieved, had all that is in the earth, of riches, it would offer it as ransom, against chastisement on the Day of Resurrection; and they will feel remorse within them, for having neglected faith, when they see the chastisement, their leaders keep it [their remorse] secret from the weak ones whom they had led astray, fearing reproach, but it has been decided justly between them, [between] all creatures, and they are not wronged, in anything.
Verse 55
Why, surely to God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Why, surely God’s promise, of resurrection and requital, is true, [is] fixed, but most of them, people, do not know, this.
Verse 56
He gives life and makes to die, and to Him you shall be returned, in the Hereafter, and He shall requite you for your deeds.
Verse 57
O people, that is, inhabitants of Mecca, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord, a Book which contains [mention] of that which is [permissible] for you and that which is enjoined on you, and this [Book] is the Qur’ān; and a healing, a cure, for what is in the breasts, of corrupt beliefs and uncertainties, and a guidance, from error, and a mercy for those who believe, in it.
Verse 58
Say: ‘In the bounty of God, [that is] Islam, and in His mercy, the Qur’ān, in that, bounty and mercy, let them rejoice: it is better than what they hoard’, in this world (read yajma‘ūn, ‘they hoard’, and tajma‘ūn, ‘you hoard’).
Verse 59
Say: ‘Have you considered, inform me, what provision God has revealed, has created, for you, how you have made some of it unlawful and some lawful?’, as in the case of [the camels called] al-Bahīra or al-Sā’iba, and carrion. Say: ‘Has God given you permission, to make that lawful or unlawful? No! Or do you, nay [you], invent lies concerning God?’, by attributing that to Him.
Verse 60
And what do they suppose, those who invent lies concerning God, [will happen to them] on the Day of Resurrection?: do they reckon that He will not chastise them? No! Truly God is Bountiful to mankind, by granting them respite and bestowing graces upon them, but most of them do not give thanks.
Verse 61
And you, O Muhammad (s), are not occupied with any business, any matter, nor do you recite anything regarding it, that is, regarding such a matter — [or it means: nor do you recite anything] from God, by way of the Qur’ān, which He has revealed to you, nor do you perform any action, God is addressing him and his community, but We are witnesses, watchers, over you when you are engaged therein, that is, [in] the action. And not so much as the weight of an atom, [the weight of] the smallest ant, in the earth or in the heaven escapes, is hidden from, your Lord, nor what is less than that or greater, but it is in a clear, a manifest, Book, namely, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz).
Verse 62
Assuredly God’s friends, no fear shall befall them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter.
Verse 63
They are, those who believe and fear, God, by observing His commandments and prohibitions.
Verse 64
Theirs are good tidings in the life of this world: in a hadīth verified by al-Hākim this has been explained as [referring to] a propitious vision which an individual might have or [a vision] which another might have of that person; and in the Hereafter: Paradise and reward. There is no changing the Words of God, no failing of His promises; that, mentioned, is the supreme triumph.
Verse 65
And let not what they say, to you, that you have not been sent [as a prophet] or otherwise, grieve you. Truly (inna: indicates a new sentence) power, might, belongs wholly to God. He is the Hearer, of speech, the Knower, of deeds, and will requite them and grant you victory.
Verse 66
Why, surely to God belongs all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth, as servants, possessions and creatures. Those who call upon, [those who] worship, besides God, that is, other than Him, idols, are not following associates, of His, in reality, exalted be He above this: they are following nothing but conjecture, in this [matter], that is, their supposition that these are gods who intercede for them, and they are only telling lies, in this [matter].
Verse 67
He it is Who made for you the night that you should rest therein, and the day to see: the attribution of sight (ibsār) to ‘the day’ is figurative, since one is able to see during it. Surely in that are signs, indications of His Oneness, exalted be He, for a folk who are able to hear, hearing [in such a way so as] to reflect and be admonished.
Verse 68
They, that is, the Jews and the Christians, and those who claim that the angels are the daughters of God, say, ‘God has taken [to Him] a son’. God, exalted be He, says to them: Glory be to Him!, [in affirmation of] His transcending having offspring. He is Independent, [without need] of anyone, for only he who has need of a child would desire [to have] one. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. You have no warrant, [no] proof, for this, that you say. Do you say about God what you do not know? (an interrogative meant as a rebuke).
Verse 69
Say: ‘Truly those who invent lies concerning God, by attributing offspring to Him, shall not prosper’, they shall not find happiness.
Verse 70
Theirs will be, enjoyment, [only] a little, in this world, which they will enjoy for the duration of their lives, then to Us is their return, at death, then We shall make them taste terrible chastisement, after death, because they used to disbelieve.
Verse 71
And recite, O Muhammad (s), to them, that is, [to] the Meccan disbelievers, the story, the tale, of Noah (Nūhin is substituted by [the following, idh qāla]) when he said to his people, ‘O my people, if my sojourn, my stay among you, is too great [to bear], is a hardship, for you, as is my reminding you, my admonishing you, by the signs of God, in God have I put my trust; so decide upon your course of action, resolve upon what you will do to me, together with your associates (wa-shurakā’akum: the wāw [wa-] means here ‘with’), then let not your decision be a secret between you, concealed, nay, manifest it and proclaim it to me; then implement it against me, carry out what you desire, and do not put it off, [do not] give me respite, for I am not concerned by you.
Verse 72
But if you turn away, from my reminding [you], I have not asked you for any wage, any reward for it, so turn [and go] away: my wage, my reward, falls only on God, and I have been commanded to be of those who submit [to God]’.
Verse 73
But they denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and made them, that is, those with him, successors, in the earth, and We drowned those who denied Our signs, by [unleashing] the Flood. Behold then the nature of the consequence for those who had been warned!, in that they were destroyed: likewise We deal with those who deny.
Verse 74
Then, after him, that is, [after] Noah, We sent messengers to their people, such as Abraham, Hūd and Sālih, and they brought them clear proofs, miracles, but it was not for them to believe in that which they had denied before, that is, before the sending of messengers to them. Thus do We seal, stamp [upon], the hearts of the transgressors — so that they cannot accept faith — in the same way that We sealed the hearts of those [before].
Verse 75
Then, after them, We sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his council, that is, his folk, with Our, nine, signs, but they were disdainful, to believe in them, and were a sinful folk.
Verse 76
So, when the Truth came to them from Us, they said, ‘Surely this is manifest sorcery’, [sorcery that is] clear and evident.
Verse 77
Moses said, ‘Do you say [so] of the Truth when it has come to you, that it is sorcery? Is this sorcery?, when the one who has brought it has indeed prospered and has invalidated the sorcery of the sorcerers? Now sorcerers do not prosper’ (the interrogative in both instances is meant as a disavowal).
Verse 78
They said, ‘Have you come to us to divert us, to turn us away, from what we found our fathers following, and that yours both might be the greatness, the kingship, in the land, the land of Egypt? We will not believe you two’.
Verse 79
And Pharaoh said, ‘Bring me every cunning sorcerer’, [every] individual excelling in the art of sorcery.
Verse 80
And when the sorcerers came, Moses said to them, after they had said to him, Either you cast, or we shall be the casters! [Q. 7:115]: ‘Cast your cast!’
Verse 81
Then, when they had cast, their ropes and staffs, Moses said, ‘What (mā is interrogative and the subject, its predicate being [the following, ji’tum bihi]) have you brought? Sorcery? (ā’l-sihru [a-al-sihru] is a substitute [for the predicate ji’tum bihi, ‘have you brought’]; a variant reading has al-sihru with a single hamza, making it predicative, in which case mā is the relative particle of the subject) Verily God will bring it to nothing, He will efface it. Truly God does not make right the work of those who do corruption.
Verse 82
And God will vindicate, He will establish and make prevail, the Truth by His words, by His promises, however much the sinners be averse’.
Verse 83
But with Moses, none believed save a few descendants, a party, of, the children of, his, that is, Pharaoh’s, folk, out of fear of Pharaoh and their council, that he [Pharaoh] might persecute them, turn them away from his [Moses’s] religion by torturing them; and truly Pharaoh was despotic, arrogant, in the land, the land of Egypt, and truly he was of the prodigal, [of] those who transgress the bounds by claiming to be Lords.
Verse 84
And Moses said, ‘O my people, if you have believed in God then put your trust in Him, if you have [truly] submitted [to Him]’.
Verse 85
So they said, ‘In God we have put our trust. Our Lord, make us not a [cause of] temptation for the evildoing folk, that is, do not make them prevail over us, lest they then think that they are upon the right path and so end up succumbing to [the] temptation [of thinking that they are upon the right path] because of us;
Verse 86
and deliver us by Your mercy from the unbelieving folk’.
Verse 87
And We inspired Moses and his brother [saying]: ‘Appoint houses for your people in Egypt and make your houses oratories, places in which to perform prayers, so that you might be secure from fear — for Pharaoh had prohibited them from performing prayers — and establish, fulfil, worship; and give good tidings to the believers’, of victory and Paradise.
Verse 88
And Moses said, ‘Our Lord, You have indeed given Pharaoh and his council splendour and riches in the life of this world. Our Lord, You have given them this, that they may lead [people] astray, as a consequence thereof, from Your way, [from] Your religion. Our Lord, obliterate, transform, their riches and harden their hearts, stamp upon them and shackle [them], so that they do not believe until they see the painful chastisement’: he [Moses] invoked God against them and Aaron said ‘Amen’ at the end of his invocation.
Verse 89
He, [God] exalted be He, said, ‘Your prayer has been answered: thus their riches were transformed into stones and Pharaoh did not believe until he was about to drown. So the two of you remain upright, with the Message and the Call until such time as chastisement befalls them, and do not follow the way of those who have no knowledge’, when they seek to hasten on My judgement — it is reported that he [Moses] remained [alive] a further forty years thereafter.
Verse 90
And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh pursued them, he caught up with them, together with his hosts, in insolence and transgression (baghyan wa-‘adwan: these constitute the [direct] object denoting reason), until, when the [fate of] drowning overtook him, he said, ‘I believe that (annahu is [to be understood as] bi-annahu; a variant reading has innahu, ‘truly it is …’ indicating a new sentence) there is no god save Him in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit [to Him]’: he reiterated this [his submission to God] so that it might be accepted from him, but it was not; and Gabriel thrust mud from the sea into his mouth, lest [God’s] mercy embrace him. And he [Gabriel] said to him:
Verse 91
‘Now, do you believe, when hitherto you have disobeyed and been of those who do corruption?, on account of your being astray and your leading [others] astray, away from belief.
Verse 92
But this day We shall save you, We shall bring you out of the sea, in your body, your lifeless corpse, that you may be, for those after you a sign, a lesson, that they might come to know your servitude and not venture upon deeds like yours. According to Ibn ‘Abbās, some of the Children of Israel doubted his death and so he was brought out [of the sea] for them to see. And truly most people, that is, the people of Mecca, are heedless of Our signs’, not learning the lesson therefrom.
Verse 93
And verily We appointed for the Children of Israel an excellent abode, a noble [place of] residence, namely, Syria and Egypt, and We provided them with good things; and they did not differ, such that some believed while others disbelieved, until the knowledge came to them. Truly your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they used to differ.
Verse 94
So, if you, O Muhammad (s), are in doubt concerning what We have revealed to you, of stories — hypothetically speaking — then question those who read the Scripture, the Torah, before you, for it is confirmed [therein] with them and they can inform you of its truth. The Prophet (s) said, ‘I have no doubt, nor will I question’. Verily the Truth from your Lord has come to you; so do not be of the waverers, [of] those who have doubts about it.
Verse 95
And do not be of those who deny God’s signs and so be of the losers.
Verse 96
Truly those against whom your Lord’s Word, of chastisement, is justified, [against whom] it is due, will not believe,
Verse 97
though every sign come to them, until they see the painful chastisement, at which time it [their belief] will be of no use to them.
Verse 98
If only there had been one town — meaning its inhabitants — that believed, before chastisement befell it, and profited by its belief — except for the people of Jonah: when they believed, after seeing a portent of the chastisement, for they did not wait [to believe] until it came to pass, We removed from upon them the chastisement of degradation in the life of this world and We gave them comfort for a while, until the conclusion of their terms [of life].
Verse 99
And if your Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Would you then compel people, to do what God did not will that they do, until they are believers? No!
Verse 100
And it is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of God, by His will, and He causes abomination, chastisement, to fall upon those who have no understanding, [those who do not] reflect upon God’s signs.
Verse 101
Say, to the disbelievers of Mecca: ‘Behold what is in the heavens and in the earth!’, of signs indicating God’s Oneness, exalted be He. But signs and warners (nudhur is the plural of nadhīr, that is, messengers) do not avail a folk who will not believe, according to God’s knowledge, in other words, these [signs and warners] will not benefit them.
Verse 102
What do they await, when they deny you, but the like of the days of those who passed away before them?, of communities, that is, the like of chastisements that befell them. Say: ‘Then await, this: I shall indeed be with you among the waiting’.
Verse 103
Then We shall deliver (nunajjī: the imperfect tense is [being used] to narrate a past situation) Our messengers and the believers, from the chastisement. In like manner, to [that] deliverance, it is incumbent upon Us to deliver the believers, the Prophet (s) and his Companions, when [the time comes for] chastising the idolaters.
Verse 104
Say: ‘O people, that is, O people of Mecca, if you are in doubt of my religion, [and] whether it is true, then [know that] I do not worship those whom you worship besides God, that is, [worshipping] other than Him — namely, idols — for you have doubts concerning God; but I worship God Who will take you to Him, [Who] will seize your souls, and I have been commanded to be of the believers.
Verse 105
And, it has been said to me: “Set your purpose for religion, as a hanīf, inclining towards it, and do not be of the idolaters;
Verse 106
and do not call upon, [do not] worship, besides God, that which can neither profit you, should you worship it, nor hurt you, should you not worship it; for if you do, this, hypothetically speaking, then you will surely be of the evildoers.
Verse 107
And if God afflicts you, smites you, with some hurt, such as impoverishment or illness, there is none who can remove it save Him; and if He desires good for you, there is none who can repel His bounty, that [bounty] which He has intended for you. He strikes with it, that is, with [such] good, whomever He will of His servants.” He is the Forgiving, the Merciful’.
Verse 108
Say: ‘O people, that is, people of Mecca, the Truth has come to you from your Lord. So whoever is guided, is guided only for the sake of his own soul, since the reward of his being guided will be his, and whoever errs, errs only against it, since the evil consequence of his erring shall befall [only] it [his soul]. And I am not a guardian over you’, that I might then compel you to [accept] guidance.
Verse 109
And follow what is revealed to you, from your Lord, and endure [patiently], the Call and their hurting [you], until God give judgement, concerning them, by giving His command, and He is the Best of Judges, the fairest of them: he [the Prophet] endured patiently until God judged that the idolaters be fought and that the People of the Scripture pay the jizya-tax.
Verse 1
Alif lām rā’: God knows best what He means by these [letters]; this is, a Book whose verses have been set clear, through marvellous arrangement and wonderful meanings, and then detailed, expounded, through rulings, stories and admonitions, from One Wise, Informed, that is, [from] God.
Verse 2
[Saying:] ‘Worship none but God. Truly I am to you a warner from Him, of chastisement, if you disbelieve, and a bearer of good tidings’, of reward, if you believe.
Verse 3
And [bidding you]: ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord, for [your] idolatry, then repent, return, to Him, through [acts of] obedience, and He will give you, in this world, fair enjoyment, in the way of pleasant living and abundant provision, until a time appointed, namely, death, and He will give, in the Hereafter, every person of merit, in deed, [the due for] his merit, his reward. But if you turn away (tawallaw: one of the two tā’ letters [of tatawallaw] has been omitted), in other words, if you object, I fear for you the chastisement of an awful day, namely, the Day of Resurrection.
Verse 4
Unto God is your return, and He has power over all things’, including reward and chastisement.
Verse 5
As reported by al-Bukhārī [by way of an isnād] from Ibn ‘Abbās, the following was revealed regarding those who were embarrassed to withdraw [to relieve nature] or to have sexual intercourse [without their clothes] and become exposed to the heaven. It is also said: [that it was revealed] regarding the hypocrites: Lo!, they fold up their breasts that they may hide from Him, that is, [from] God; lo! the moment they cover themselves with their garments, wrapping themselves up therewith, He, God, exalted be He, knows what they keep hidden and what they proclaim, and so their hiding is to no avail. Truly He knows what is in the breasts [of men], that is, what is in the hearts.