1. In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

2. Praise be to God,
The Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds;

3. Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

4. Master of the Day of Judgment.

5. Thee do we worship, And Thine aid we seek.

6. Show us the straight way,

7. The way of those on whom
Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace,
Those whose (portion)
Is not wrath,
And who go not astray.

In the name of God, most Gracious,
Most Merciful.

1. A. L. M.

2. This is the Book;
In it is guidance sure, without doubt,
To those who fear God;

3. Who believe in the Unseen,
Are steadfast in prayer, And spend out of what We Have provided for them;

4. And who believe in the Revelation
Sent to thee, And sent before thy time,And (in their hearts) Have the assurance of the Hereafter.

5. They are on (true) guidance,
From their Lord, and it is
These who will prosper.

6. As to those who reject Faith,
It is the same to them
Whether thou warn them
Or do not warn them;
They will not believe.

God hath set a seal
On their hearts and on their hearing,
And on their eyes is a veil;
Great is the penalty they (incur).

8. Of the people there are some who say:
“We believe in God and the Last Day;”
But they do not (really) believe.

9. Fain would they deceive
God and those who believe,
But they only deceive themselves,
And realize (it) not!

10. In their hearts is a disease;
And God has increased their disease:
And grievous is the penalty they (incur),
Because they are false (to themselves).

11. When it is said to them:
“Make not mischief on the earth,”
They say: “Why, we only
Want to make peace!”

12. Of a surety, they are the ones
Who make mischief,
But they realize (it) not.

13. When it is said to them:
“Believe as the others believe:”
They say: “Shall we believe
As the fools believe?”
Nay, of a surety they are the fools,
But they do not know.”

14. When they meet those who believe,
They say: “We believe;”
But when they are alone
With their evil ones,
They say: “We are really with you:
We (were) only jesting.”

15. God will throw back
Their mockery on them,
And give them rope in their trespasses;
So they will wander like blind ones
(To and fro).

16. These are they who have bartered
Guidance for error:
But their traffic is profitless,
And they have lost true direction,

17. Their similitude is that of a man
Who kindled a fire;
When it lighted all around him,
God took away their light
And left them in utter darkness.
So they could not see.

18. Deaf, dumb, and blind,
They will not return (to the path).

19. Or (another similitude)
Is that of a rain-laden cloud
From the sky: in it are zones
Of darkness, and thunder and lightning:
They press their fingers in their ears
To keep out the stunning thunder-clap,
The while they are in terror of death.
But God is ever round
The rejecters of Faith!

20. The lightning all but snatches away
Their sight; every time the light
(Helps) them, they walk therein,
And when the darkness grows on them,
They stand still.
And if God willed, He could take away
Their faculty of hearing and seeing;
For God hath power over all things

21. O ye people!
Adore your Guardian-Lord,
Who created you
And those who came before you,
That ye may have the chance
To learn righteousness;

22. Who has made the earth your couch,
And the heavens your canopy;
And sent down rain from the heavens;
And brought forth therewith
Fruits for your sustenance;
Then set not up rivals unto God
When ye know (the truth).

23. And if ye are in doubt
As to what We have revealed
From time to time to Our servant,
Then produce a Sura
Like thereunto;
And call your witnesses or helpers
(If there are any) besides God,
If your (doubts) are true.

24. But if ye cannot
And of a surety ye cannot—
Then fear the Fire
Whose fuel is Men and Stones,—
Which is prepared for those
Who reject Faith.

25. But give glad tidings
To those who believe
And work righteousness,
That their portion is Gardens,
Beneath which rivers flow.
Every time they are fed
With fruits therefrom,
They say: “Why, this is
What we were fed with before,”
For they are given things in similitude;
And they have therein
Companions pure (and holy);
And they abide therein (for ever).

26. God disdains not to use
The similitude of things,
Lowest as well as highest.
Those who believe know
That it is truth from their Lord;
But those who reject Faith say:
“What means God by this similitude?”
By it He causes many to stray,
And many He leads into the right path;
But He causes not to stray,
Except those who forsake (the path),—

27. Those who break God’s Covenant
After it is ratified,
And who sunder what God
Has ordered to be joined,
And do mischief on earth:
These cause loss (only) to themselves.

28. How can ye reject
The faith in God?—
Seeing that ye were without life,
And He gave you life
Then will He cause you to die,
And will again bring you to life;
And again to Him will ye return.

29. It is He Who hath created for you
All things that are on earth;
Moreover His design comprehended the heavens,
For He gave order and perfection
To the seven firmaments;
And of all things
He hath perfect knowledge.

30. Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create
A vicegerent on earth.” They said:
“Wilt Thou place therein one who will make
Mischief therein and shed blood?—
Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises
And glorify Thy holy (name)?”
He said: “I know what ye know not.”

31. And He taught Adam the nature
Of all things; then He placed them
Before the angels, and said:
“Tell Me The nature of these if ye are right.”

32. They said: “Glory to Thee: of knowledge
We have none, save what Thou
Hast taught us: in truth it is Thou
Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom.”

33. He said: “O Adam! tell them
Their natures.” When he had told them,
God said: “Did I not tell you
That I know the secrets of heaven
And earth, and I know what ye reveal
And what ye conceal?”

34. And behold, We said to the angels:
“Bow down to Adam”: and they bowed down:
Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty:
He was of those who reject Faith.

35. We said: “O Adam! dwell thou
And thy wife in the Garden;
And eat of the bountiful things therein
As (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree,
Or ye run into harm and transgression.”

36. Then did Satan make them slip
From the (Garden), and get them out
Of the state (of felicity) in which
They had been. We said:
“Get ye down, all (ye people),
With enmity between yourselves.
On earth will be your dwelling-place
And your means of livelihood—
For a time.”

37. Then learnt Adam from his Lord
Words of inspiration, and his Lord
Turned towards him; for He
Is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

38. We said: “Get ye down all from here;
And if, as is sure, there comes to you
Guidance from Me, whosoever
Follows My guidance, on them
Shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

39. “But those who reject Faith
And belie Our Signs,
They shall be Companions of the Fire;
They shall abide therein.”

40. O Children of Israel! call to mind
The (special) favour which I bestowed
Upon you, and fulfil your Covenants
With Me as I fulfil My Covenant
With you, and fear none but Me.

41. And believe in what I reveal,
Confirming the revelation
Which is with you,
And be not the first to reject
Faith therein, nor sell My Signs
For a small price; and fear Me,
And Me alone.

42. And cover not Truth
With falsehood, nor conceal
The Truth when ye know (what it is).

43. And be steadfast in prayer;
Practise regular charity;
And bow down your heads
With those who bow down (in worship).

44. Do ye enjoin right conduct
On the people, and forget
(To practise it) yourselves,
And yet ye study the Scripture?
Will ye not understand?

45. Nay, seek (God’s) help
With patient perseverance
And prayer:
It is indeed hard, except
To those who bring a lowly spirit,—

46. Who bear in mind the certainty
That they are to meet their Lord,
And that they are to return to Him.

47. O Children of Israel! call to mind
The (special) favour which I bestowed
Upon you, and that I preferred you
To all others (for My Message).

48. Then guard yourselves against a day
When one soul shall not avail another
Nor shall intercession be accepted for her,
Nor shall compensation be taken from her,
Nor shall anyone be helped (from outside).

49. And remember, We delivered you
From the people of Pharaoh: they set you
Hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered
Your sons and let your women-folk live;
Therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

50. And remember We divided
The Sea for you and saved you
And drowned Pharaoh’s people
Within your very sight.

51. And remember We appointed
Forty nights for Moses,
And in his absence ye took
The calf (for worship),
And ye did grievous wrong.

52. Even then We did forgive you;
There was a chance for you
To be grateful.

53. And remember We gave
Moses the Scripture and the Criterion
(Between right and wrong): there was
A chance for you to be guided aright.

54. And remember Moses said
To his people: “O my people!
Ye have indeed wronged
Yourselves by your worship of the calf:
So turn (in repentance) to your Maker,
And slay yourselves (the wrong-doers);
That will be better for you
In the sight of your Maker.”
Then He turned towards you (in forgiveness):
For He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

55. And remember ye said: “O Moses!
We shall never believe in thee
Until we see God manifestly,”
But ye were dazed
With thunder and lightning
Even as ye looked on.

56. Then We raised you up
After your death:
Ye had the chance
To be grateful.

57. And We gave you the shade of clouds
And sent down to you
Manna and quails, saying:
“Eat of the good things
We have provided for you:”
(But they rebelled);
To Us they did no harm,
But they harmed their own souls.

58. And remember We said:
“Enter this town, and eat
Of the plenty therein
As ye wish; but enter
The gate with humility,
In posture and in words,
And We shall forgive you your faults
And increase (the portion of)
Those who do good.”

59. But the transgressors
Changed the word from that
Which had been given them;
So We sent on the transgressors
A plague from heaven,
For that they infringed
(Our command) repeatedly.

60. And remember Moses prayed For water for his people;
We said: “Strike the rock
With thy staff.” Then gushed forth
Therefrom twelve springs. Each group knew its own place
For water. So eat and drink
Of the sustenance provided by God,
And do no evil nor mischief
On the (face of the) earth.

61. And remember ye said: “O Moses! we cannot endure
One kind of food (always);
So beseech thy Lord for us
To produce for us of what the earth
Groweth,— its pot-herbs, and cucumbers,
Its garlic, lentils, and onions.”
He said: “Will ye exchange
The better for the worse?
Go ye down to any town,”
And ye shall find what ye want!”
They were covered with humiliation
And misery; they drew
On themselves the wrath of God.
This because they went on
Rejecting the Signs of God
And slaying His Messengers
Without just cause. This because they rebelled
And went on transgressing.

62. Those who believe (in the Qur-an), And those who follow the Jewish (scriptures),
And the Christians and the Sabians,—
Any who believe in God
And the Last Day,
And work righteousness,
Shall have their reward
With their Lord: on them
Shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

63. And remember We took
Your Covenant
And We raised above you
(The towering height)
Of Mount (Sinai):
(Saying): “Hold firmly
To what We have given you
And bring (ever) to remembrance
What is therein:
Perchance ye may fear God.”

64. But ye turned back thereafter:
Had it not been for the Grace
And Mercy of God to you,
Ye had surely been
Among the lost.

65. And well ye knew
Those amongst you
Who transgressed
In the matter of the Sabbath:
We said to them:
“Be ye apes,
Despised and rejected.”

66. So We made it an example
To their own time
And to their posterity,
And a lesson
To those who fear God.

67. And remember Moses said
To his people: “God commands
That ye sacrifice a heifer.”
They said: “Makest thou
A laughing-stock of us?”
He said: “God save me
From being an ignorant (fool)!”

68. They said: “Beseech on our behalf
Thy Lord to make plain to us
What (heifer) it is!”
He said: “He says: the heifer
Should be neither too old
Nor too young, but of middling
Age: now do what ye are commanded!”

69. They said: “Beseech on our behalf
Thy Lord to make plain to us
Her colour.” He said:
“He says: A fawn-coloured heifer,
Pure and rich in tone,
The admiration of beholders!”

70. They said: “Beseech on our behalf
Thy Lord to make plain to us
What she is: to us are all heifers
Alike: we wish indeed for guidance,
If God wills.”

71. He said: “He says: a heifer
Not trained to till the soil
Or water the fields: sound
And without blemish.”
They said: “Now hast thou brought
The truth.” Then they offered
Her in sacrifice,
But not with good-will.

72. Remember ye slew a man
And fell into a dispute
Among yourselves as to the crime:
But God was to bring forth
What ye did hide.

73. So We said: “Strike the (body)
With a piece of the (heifer).”
Thus God bringeth the dead
To life and showeth you His Signs:
Perchance ye may understand.

74. Thenceforth were your hearts
Hardened: they became
Like a rock and even worse
In hardness. For among rocks
There are some from which
Rivers gush forth; others
There are which when split
Asunder send forth water;
And others which sink
For fear of God. And God is
Not unmindful of what ye do.

75. Can ye (O ye men of Faith)
Entertain the hope that they
Will believe in you?—
Seeing that a party of them
Heard the Word of God,
And perverted it knowingly
After they understood it.

76. Behold! when they meet
The men of Faith, they say:
“We believe”: but when
They meet each other in private,
They say: “Shall you tell them
What God hath revealed to you,
That they may engage you
In argument about it
Before your Lord?”—
Do ye not understand (their aim)?

77. Know they not that God
Knoweth what they conceal
And what they reveal?

78. And there are among them
Illiterates, who know not the Book,
But (see therein their own) desires,
And they do nothing but conjecture.

79. Then woe to those who write
The Book with their own hands,
And then say: “This is from God,”
To traffic with it
For a miserable price!—
Woe to them for what their hands
Do write, and for the gain
They make thereby.

80. And they say: “The Fire
Shall not touch us
But for a few numbered days:”
Say: “Have ye taken a promise
From God, for He never
Breaks His promise?
Or is it that ye say of God
What ye do not know?”

81. Nay, those who seek gain
In Evil, and are girt round
By their sins,
They are Companions of the Fire:
Therein shall they abide
(For ever).

82. But those who have faith
And work righteousness,
They are Companions of the Garden:
Therein shall they abide
(For ever).

83. And remember We took
A Covenant from the Children
Of Israel (to this effect):
Worship none but God;
Treat with kindness
Your parents and kindred,
And orphans and those in need;
Speak fair to the people;
Be steadfast in prayer;
And practise regular charity.
Then did ye turn back,
Except a few among you,
And ye backslide (even now).

84. And remember We took
Your Covenant (to this effect):
Shed no blood amongst you,
Nor turn out your own people
From your homes: and this
Ye solemnly ratified,
And to this ye can bear witness.

85. After this it is ye, the same people,
Who slay among yourselves,
And banish a party of you
From their homes; assist
(Their enemies) against them,
In guilt and rancour;
And if they come to you
As captives, ye ransom them,
Though it was not lawful
For you to banish them.
Then is it only a part of the
Book That ye believe in,
And do ye reject the rest?
But what is the reward for those
Among you who behave like this
But disgrace in this life?—
And on the Day of Judgment
They shall be consigned
To the most grievous penalty.
For God is not unmindful
Of what ye do.

86. These are the people who buy
The life of this world at the price
Of the Hereafter: their penalty
Shall not be lightened
Nor shall they be helped.

87. We gave Moses the Book
And followed him up
With a succession of Apostles;
We gave Jesus the son of Mary
Clear (Signs) and strengthened him
With the holy spirit. Is it
That whenever there comes to you
An Apostle with what ye
Yourselves desire not, ye are
Puffed up with pride?—
Some ye called impostors,
And others ye slay!

88. They say, “Our hearts
Are the wrappings (which preserve
God’s Word: we need no more).”
Nay, God’s curse is on them
For their blasphemy:
Little is it they believe.

89. And when there comes to them
A Book from God, confirming
What is with them,— although
From of old they had prayed
For victory against those
Without Faith,— when there comes.
To them that which they
(Should) have recognized,
They refuse to believe in it
But the curse of God
Is on those without Faith.

90. Miserable is the price
For which they have sold
Their souls, in that they
Deny (the revelation)
Which God has sent down,
In insolent envy that God
Of His Grace should send it
To any of His servants He pleases:
Thus have they drawn
On themselves Wrath upon Wrath.
And humiliating is the punishment
Of those who reject Faith.

91. When it is said to them,
“Believe in what God
Hath sent down,” they say,
“We believe in what was sent down
To us”: yet they reject
All besides, even if it be
Truth Confirming what is with them.
Say: “Why then have ye slain
The prophets of God in times
Gone by, if ye did indeed
Believe?”

92. There came to you Moses
With clear (Signs); yet
Ye worshipped the Calf
(Even) after that, and ye
Did behave wrongfully.

93. And remember We took
Your Covenant and We raised
Above you (the towering height)
Of Mount (Sinai):
(Saying): “Hold firmly
To what We have given you,
And hearken (to the Law)”
They said: “We hear,
And we disobey”
And they had to drink
Into their hearts
(Of the taint) of the Calf
Because of their Faithlessness.
Say: “Vile indeed
Are the behests of your Faith
If ye have any faith!”

94. Say: “If the last Home,
With God, be for you specially,
And not for anyone else,
Then seek ye for death,
If ye are sincere.”

95. But they will never seek
For death, on account of the (sins)
Which their hands have sent
On before them.
And God is well-acquainted
With the wrong-doers.

96. Thou wilt indeed find them,
Of all people, most greedy
Of life,— even more
Than the idolaters:
Each one of them wishes
He could be given a life
Of a thousand years:
But the grant of such life
Will not save him
From (due) punishment.
For God sees well
All that they do.

97. Say: Whoever is an enemy To Gabriel— for he brings down
The (revelation) to thy heart
By God’s will, a confirmation
Of what went before,
And guidance and glad tidings
For those who believe,—

98. Whoever is an enemy to God
And His angels and apostles,
To Gabriel and Michael,—
Lo! God is an enemy to those
Who reject Faith.

99. We have sent down to thee
Manifest Signs (āyāt);
And none reject them
But those who are perverse.

100. Is it not (the case) that
Every time they make a Covenant,
Some party among them
Throw it aside?— Nay,
Most of them are faithless.

101. And when there came to them
An Apostle from God,
Confirming what was with them,
A party of the People of the Book
Threw away the Book of God
Behind their backs,
As if (it had been something)
They did not know!

102. They followed what the evil ones
Gave out (falsely)
Against the power
Of Solomon: the blasphemers
Were, not Solomon, but
The evil ones, teaching men
Magic, and such things
As came down at Babylon
To the angels Harut and Marut.
But neither of these taught anyone
(Such things) without saying:
“We are only for trial;
So do not blaspheme.”
They learned from them
The means to sow discord
Between man and wife.
But they could not thus
Harm anyone except
By God’s permission.
And they learned what harmed them,
Not what profited them.
And they knew that the buyers
Of (magic) would have
No share in the happiness
Of the Hereafter. And vile
Was the price for which
They did sell their souls,
If they but knew!

103. If they had kept their Faith And guarded themselves from evil, Far better had been The reward from their Lord,
If they but knew!

104. Ye of Faith!
Say not (to the Apostle)
Words of ambiguous import,
But words of respect;
And hearken (to him):
To those without Faith
Is a grievous punishment.

105. It is never the wish
Of those without Faith
Among the People of the Book,
Nor of the Pagans,
That anything good
Should come down to you
From your Lord.
But God will choose
For His special Mercy
Whom He will— for God is
Lord of grace abounding.

106. None of Our revelations
Do We abrogate
Or cause to be forgotten,
But We substitute
Something better or similar:
Knowest thou not that God
Hath power over all things?

107. Knowest thou not
That to God belongeth
The dominion of the heavens
And the earth?
And besides Him ye have
Neither patron nor helper.

108. Would ye question
Your Apostle as Moses’s
Was questioned of old?
But whoever changeth
From Faith to Unbelief,
Hath strayed without doubt
From the even way.

109. Quite a number of the People
Of the Book wish they could
Turn you (people) back
To infidelity after ye have believed,
From selfish envy,
After the Truth hath become
Manifest unto them:
But forgive and overlook,
Till God accomplish
His purpose; for God
Hath power over all things.’

110. And be steadfast in prayer
And regular in charity:
And whatever good
Ye send forth for your souls
Before you, ye shall find it
With God: for God sees
Well all that ye do.

111. And they say: “None
Shall enter Paradise unless
He be a Jew or a Christian.”
Those are their (vain) desires.
Say: “Produce your proof
If ye are truthful.”

112. Nay,— whoever submits
His whole self to God
And is a doer of good,
He will get his reward
With his Lord;
On such shall be no fear,
Nor shall they grieve.

113. The Jews say: “The Christians
Have naught (to stand) upon;
And the Christians say:
“The Jews have naught
(To stand) upon.” Yet they
(Profess to) study the (same) Book.
Like unto their word
Is what those say who know not;
But God will judge
Between them in their quarrel
On the Day of Judgment.

114. And who is more unjust
Than he who forbids
That in places for the worship
Of God, God’s name should be
Celebrated?— whose zeal
Is (in fact) to ruin them?
It was not fitting that such
Should themselves enter them
Except in fear. For them
There is nothing but disgrace
In this world, and in the world
To come, an exceeding torment.

115. To God belong the East
And the West: whithersoever
Ye turn, there is the Presence
Of God. For God is All-Pervading,
All-Knowing.

116. They say: “God hath begotten
A son”: Glory be to Him.— Nay,
To Him belongs all
That is in the heavens
And on earth: everything
Renders worship to Him.’”

117. To Him is due
The primal origin
Of the heavens and the earth:
When He decreeth a matter,
He saith to it: “Be,”
And it is.

118. Say those without knowledge:
“Why speaketh not God
Unto us? Or why cometh not
Unto us a Sign?”
So said the people before them
Words of similar import.
Their hearts are alike.
We have indeed made clear
The Signs unto any people
Who hold firmly
To Faith (in their hearts).

119. Verily We have sent thee
In truth as a bearer
Of glad tidings and a warner:
But of thee no question
Shall be asked of the Companions
Of the Blazing Fire.

120. Never will the Jews
Or the Christians be satisfied
With thee unless thou follow
Their form of religion. Say:
“The Guidance of God,— that
Is the (only) Guidance.”
Wert thou to follow their desires
After the knowledge
Which hath reached thee,
Then wouldst thou find
Neither Protector nor Helper
Against God.

121. Those to whom We have sent
The Book study it as it
Should be studied: they are
The ones that believe therein:
Those who reject faith therein,—
The loss is their own.

122. O Children of Israel! call to mind
The special favour which I bestowed
Upon you, and that I preferred you
To all others (for My Message).

123. Then guard yourselves against a Day
When one soul shall not avail another,
Nor shall compensation be
accepted from her
Nor shall intercession profit her
Nor shall anyone be helped (from outside).

124. And remember that Abraham
Was tried by his Lord
With certain Commands,
Which he fulfilled:
He said: “I will make thee
An Imām to the Nations.”
He pleaded: “And also
(Imāms) from my offspring!”
He answered: “But My Promise
Is not within the reach
Of evil-doers.”

125. Remember We made the House
A place of assembly for men
And a place of safety;
And take ye the Station
Of Abraham as a place
Of prayer; and We covenanted
With Abraham and lsmā’īl,
That they should sanctify
My House for those who
Compass it round, or use it
As a retreat, or bow, or
Prostrate themselves (therein
In prayer).

126. And remember Abraham said:
“My Lord, make this a City
Of Peace, and feed its People
With fruits,— such of them
As believe in God and the Last Day.”
He said: “(Yea), and such as
Reject Faith,— for a while
Will I grant them their pleasure,
But will soon drive them
To the torment of Fire,—
An evil destination (indeed)!”

127. And remember Abraham
And Ismā’īl raised
The foundations of the House
(With this prayer): “Our Lord!
Accept (this service) from us:
For Thou art the All-Hearing,
The All-Knowing.

128. “Our Lord! make of us
Muslims, bowing to Thy (Will),
And of our progeny a people
Muslim, bowing to Thy (Will);
And show us our places for
The celebration of (due) rites;
And turn unto us (in Mercy);
For Thou art the Oft-Returning,
Most Merciful.

129. “Our Lord! send amongst them
An Apostle of their own,
Who shall rehearse Thy Signs
To them and instruct them
In Scripture and Wisdom,
And sanctify them:
For Thou art the Exalted in Might,
The Wise.”

130. And who turns away
From the religion of Abraham
But such as debase their souls
With folly? Him We chose
And rendered pure in this world:
And he will be in the Hereafter
In the ranks of the Righteous.

131. Behold! his Lord said
To him: “Bow (thy will to Me):”
He said: “I bow (my will)
To the Lord and Cherisher
Of the Universe.”

132. And this was the legacy
That Abraham left to his sons,
And so did Jacob;
“Oh my sons! God hath chosen
The Faith for you; then die not
Except in the Faith of Islam.”

133. Were ye witnesses
When Death appeared before Jacob?
Behold, he said to his sons:
“What will ye worship after me?”
They said: “We shall worship
Thy God and the God of thy fathers,—
Of Abraham, Ismā'īl, and Isaac,—
The One (True) God:
To Him we bow (in Islam).”

134. That was a People that hath
Passed away. They shall reap
The fruit of what they did,
And ye of what ye do!
Of their merits
There is no question in your case!

135. They say: “Become Jews
Or Christians if ye would be guided
(To salvation).” Say thou:
“Nay!(I would rather) the Religion
Of Abraham the True,
And he joined not gods with God.”

136. Say ye: “We believe
In God, and the revelation
Given to us, and to Abraham,
Ismā'īl, Isaac, Jacob,
And the Tribes, and that given
To Moses and Jesus, and that given
To (all) Prophets from their Lord:
We make no difference
Between one and another of them:
And we bow to God (in Islam).”

137. So if they believe
As ye believe, they are indeed
On the right path; but if
They turn back, it is they
Who are in schism; but God will
Suffice thee as against them,
And He is the All-Hearing,
The All-Knowing.

138.(Our religion is)
The Baptism of God:
And who can baptize better
Than God? And it is He
Whom we worship.

139. Say: Will ye dispute
With us about God, seeing
That He is our Lord
And your Lord; that we
Are responsible for our doings
And ye for yours; and that
We are sincere (in our faith) In him?

140. Or do ye say that
Abraham, Ismā'īl, Isaac,
Jacob and the Tribes were
Jews or Christians?
Say: Do ye know better
Than God? Ah! who
Is more unjust than those
Who conceal the testimony
They have from God?
But God is not unmindful
Of what ye do!

141. That was a people that hath
Passed away. They shall reap
The fruit of what they did,
And ye of what ye do!
Of their merits
There is no question in your case:

142. The Fools among the people
Will say: “What hath turned
Them from the Qibla to which
They were used?” Say:
To God belong both East and West:
He guideth whom He will
To a Way that is straight.

143. Thus have We made of you
An Ummat justly balanced,
That ye might be witnesses
Over the nations,
And the Apostle a witness
Over yourselves;
And We appointed the Qibla
To which thou wast used,
Only to test those who followed
The Apostle from those
Who would turn on their heels
(From the Faith). Indeed it was
(A change) momentous, except
To those guided by God.
And never would God
Make your faith of no effect.
For God is to all people
Most surely full of kindness,
Most Merciful.

144. We see the turning Of thy face (for guidance)
To the heavens: now
Shall We turn thee
To a Qibla that shall
Please thee. Turn then
Thy face in the direction
Of the sacred Mosque:
Wherever ye are, turn
Your faces in that direction.
The people of the Book
Know well that that is
The truth from their Lord.
Nor is God unmindful
Of what they do.

145. Even if thou wert to bring
To the people of the Book
All the Signs (together),
They would not follow
Thy Qibla; nor art thou
Going to follow their Qibla;
Nor indeed will they follow
Each other’s Qibla. If thou
After the knowledge hath reached thee,
Wert to follow their (vain)
Desires,— then wert thou
Indeed (clearly) in the wrong.

146. The people of the Book
Know this as they know
Their own sons; but some
Of them conceal the truth
Which they themselves know.

147. The Truth is from thy Lord;
So be not at all in doubt.

148. To each is a goal
To which God turns him;
Then strive together (as in a race)
Towards all that is good.
Wheresoever ye are,
God will bring you
Together, For God
Hath power over all things.

149. From whencesoever
Thou startest forth, turn
Thy face in the direction
Of the Sacred Mosque;
That is indeed the truth
From thy Lord. And God
Is not unmindful
Of what ye do.

150. So from whencesoever
Thou startest forth, turn
Thy face in the direction
Of the Sacred Mosque;
And wheresoever ye are,
Turn your face thither:
That there be no ground
Of dispute against you
Among the people,
Except those of them that are
Bent on wickedness; so fear
Them not, but fear Me;
And that I may complete
My favours on you, and ye
May (consent to) be guided;

151. A similar (favour
Have ye already received)
In that We have sent
Among you an Apostle
Of your own, rehearsing to you
Our Signs, and sanctifying
You, and instructing you
In Scripture and Wisdom,
And in new Knowledge.

152. Then do ye remember
Me; I will remember
You. Be grateful to Me,
And reject not Faith.

153. O ye who believe! seek help
With patient Perseverance
And Prayer: for God is with those
Who patiently persevere.

154. And say not of those
Who are slain in the way
Of God: “They are dead.”
Nay, they are living,
Though ye perceive (it) not.

155. Be sure we shall test you
With something of fear
And hunger, some loss
In goods or lives or the fruits
(Of your toil), but give
Glad tidings to those
Who patiently persevere,—

156. Who say, when afflicted
With calamity: “To God
We belong, and to Him
Is our return”:—

157. They are those on whom
(Descend) blessings from God,
And Mercy,
And they are the ones
That receive guidance.

158. Behold! Safa and Marwa
Are among the Symbols
Of God. So if those who visit
The House in the Season
Or at other times,
Should compass them round,
It is no sin in them.
And if any one obeyeth his own
Impulse to Good,—
Be sure that God
Is He Who recogniseth
And knoweth.

159. Those who conceal
The clear (Signs) We have
Sent down, and the Guidance,
After We have made it
Clear for the People
In the Book,— on them
Shall be God’s curse,
And the curse of those
Entitled to curse,—

160. Except those who repent
And make amends
And openly declare (the Truth):
To them I turn;
For I am Oft-returning,
Most Merciful.

161. Those who reject Faith,
And die rejecting,—
On them is God’s curse,
And the curse of angels,
And of all mankind;

162. They will abide therein:
Their penalty will not
Be lightened, nor will
Respite be their (lot).

163. And your God
Is One God:
There is no god
But He,
Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.

164. Behold! In the creation
Of the heavens and the earth;
In the alternation
Of the Night and the Day;
In the sailing of the ships
Through the Ocean
For the profit of mankind;
In the rain which God
Sends down from the skies,
And the life which He gives therewith
To an earth that is dead;
In the beasts of all kinds
That He scatters
Through the earth;
In the change of the winds,
And the clouds which they
Trail like their slaves
Between the sky and the earth;—
(Here) indeed are Signs
For a people that are wise.

165. Yet there are men
Who take (for worship)
Others besides God,
As equal (with God):
They love them
As they should love God.
But those of Faith are
Overflowing in their love
For God. If only
The unrighteous could see,
Behold, they would see
The Penalty: that to God
Belongs all power, and God
Will strongly enforce
The Penalty.

166. Then would those
Who are followed
Clear themselves of those
Who follow (them):
They would see the Penalty,
And all relations
Between them would be cut off.

167. And those who followed
Would say: “If only
We had one more chance,
We would clear ourselves
Of them, as they have
Cleared themselves of us.”
Thus will God show them
(The fruits of) their deeds
As (nothing but) regrets.
Nor will there be a way
For them out of the Fire.

168. O ye people!
Eat of what is on earth,
Lawful and good;
And do not follow
The footsteps of the Evil One,
For he is to you
An avowed enemy.

169. For he commands you
What is evil
And shameful,
And that ye should say
Of God that of which
Ye have no knowledge.

170. When it is said to them:
“Follow what God hath revealed:”
They say: “Nay! we shall follow
The ways of our fathers.”
What! even though their fathers
Were void of wisdom and guidance?

171. The parable of those
Who reject Faith is
As if one were to shout
Like a goat-herd, to things
That listen to nothing
But calls and cries:
Deaf, dumb, and blind,
They are void of wisdom.

172. O ye who believe!
Eat of the good things
That We have provided for you,
And be grateful to God,
If it is Him ye worship.

173. He hath only forbidden you Dead meat, and blood,
And the flesh of swine,
And that on which
Any other name hath been invoked
Besides that of God.
But if one is forced by necessity,
Without wilful disobedience,
Nor transgressing due limits,—
Then is he guiltless.
For God is Oft-forgiving
Most Merciful.

174. Those who conceal
God’s revelations in the Book,
And purchase for them
A miserable profit,—
They swallow into themselves
Naught but Fire;
God will not address them
On the Day of Resurrection,
Nor purify them:
Grievous will be
Their Penalty.

175. They are the ones
Who buy Error
In place of Guidance
And Torment in place
Of Forgiveness.
Ah! what boldness
(They show) for the Fire!

176.(Their doom is) because
God sent down the Book
In truth but those who seek
Causes of dispute in the Book
Are in a schism
Far (from the purpose).

177. It is not righteousness That ye turn your faces
Towards East or West;
But it is righteousness—
To believe in God
And the Last Day,
And the Angels,
And the Book,
And the Messengers;
To spend of your substance,
Out of love for Him,
For your kin,
For orphans,
For the needy,
For the wayfarer,
For those who ask,
And for the ransom of slaves;
To be steadfast in prayer,
And practice regular charity;
To fulfil the contracts
Which ye have made;
And to be firm and patient,
In pain (or suffering)
And adversity,
And throughout
All periods of panic.
Such are the people
Of truth, the God-fearing.

178. O ye who believe! The law of equality
Is prescribed to you
In cases of murder:
The free for the free,
The slave for the slave,
The woman for the woman.
But if any remission
Is made by the brother
Of the slain, then grant
Any reasonable demand,
And compensate him
With handsome gratitude.
This is a concession
And a Mercy
From your Lord.
After this whoever
Exceeds the limits
Shall be in grave penalty.

179. In the Law of Equality
There is (saving of) Life
To you, O ye men of understanding;
That ye may
Restrain yourselves.

180. It is prescribed,
When death approaches
Any of you, if he leave
Any goods, that he make a bequest
To parents and next of kin,
According to reasonable usage;
This is due
From the God-fearing.

181. If anyone changes the bequest
After hearing it,
The guilt shall be on those
Who make the change.
For God hears and knows
(All things).

182. But if anyone fears
Partiality or wrong-doing
On the part of the testator,
And makes peace between
(The parties concerned),
There is no wrong in him:
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

183. O ye who believe!
Fasting is prescribed to you
As it was prescribed
To those before you,
That ye may (learn)
Self-restraint,—

184.(Fasting) for a fixed
Number of days;
But if any of you is ill,
Or on a journey,
The prescribed number
(Should be made up)
From days later.
For those who can do it
(With hardship), is a ransom,
The feeding of one
That is indigent.
But he that will give
More, of his own free will,—
It is better for him.
And it is better for you
That ye fast,
If ye only knew.

185. Ramadhān is the (month)
In which was sent down
The Qur-ān, as a guide
To mankind, also clear (Signs)
For guidance and judgment
(Between right and wrong).
So every one of you
Who is present (at his home)
During that month
Should spend it in fasting,
But if any one is ill,
Or on a journey,
The prescribed period
(Should be made up)
By days later.
God intends every facility
For you; He does not want
To put you to difficulties.
(He wants you) to complete
The prescribed period,
And to glorify Him
In that He has guided you;
And perchance ye shall be grateful.

186. When My servants
Ask thee concerning Me,
I am indeed
Close (to them): I listen
To the prayer of every
Suppliant when he calleth on Me:
Let them also, with a will,
Listen to My call,
And believe in Me:
That they may walk
In the right way.

187. Permitted to you,
On the night of the fasts,
Is the approach to your wives.
They are your garments
And ye are their garments.
God knoweth what ye
Used to do secretly among yourselves;
But He turned to you
And forgave you;
So now associate with them,
And seek what God
Hath ordained for you,
And eat and drink,
Until the white thread
Of dawn appear to you
Distinct from its black thread;
Then complete your fast
Till the night appears;
But do not associate
With your wives
While ye are in retreat
In the mosques. Those are
Limits (set by) God:
Approach not nigh thereto.
Thus doth God make clear
His Signs to men: that
They may learn self-restraint.

188. And do not eat up Your property among yourselves
For vanities, nor use it
As bait for the judges,
With intent that ye may
Eat up wrongfully and knowingly
A little of (other) people’s property.

189. They ask thee
Concerning the New Moons.
Say: They are but signs
To mark fixed periods of time
In (the affairs of) men,
And for Pilgrimage.
It is no virtue if ye enter
Your houses from the back:
It is virtue if ye fear God.
Enter houses
Through the proper doors:
And fear God:
That ye may prosper.

190. Fight in the cause of God
Those who fight you,
But do not transgress limits;
For God loveth not transgressors.

191. And slay them
Wherever ye catch them,
And turn them out
From where they have
Turned you out;
For tumult and oppression
Are worse than slaughter;
But fight them not
At the Sacred Mosque,
Unless they (first)
Fight you there;
But if they fight you,
Slay them.
Such is the reward
Of those who suppress faith.

192. But if they cease,
God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

193. And fight them on
Until there is no more
Tumult or oppression,
And there prevail
Justice and faith in God;
But if they cease,
Let there be no hostility
Except to those
Who practise oppression.

194. The prohibited month
For the prohibited month,—
And so for all things prohibited,—
There is the law of equality.
If then any one transgresses
The prohibition against you,
Transgress ye likewise
Against him.
But fear God, and know
That God is with those
Who restrain themselves.

195. And spend of your substance
In the cause of God,
And make not your own hands
Contribute to (your) destruction;
But do good;
For God loveth those
Who do good.

196. And complete
The Hajj or ‘umra
In the service of God.
But if ye are prevented
(From completing it),
Send an offering
For sacrifice,
Such as ye may find,
And do not shave your heads
Until the offering reaches
The place of sacrifice.
And if any of you is ill,
Or has an ailment in his scalp,
(Necessitating shaving),
(He should) in compensation
Either fast, or feed the poor,
Or offer sacrifice;
And when ye are
In peaceful conditions (again),
If any one wishes
To continue the ‘umra
On to the hajj,
He must make an offering,
Such as he can afford,
But if he cannot afford it,
He should fast
Three days during the hajj
And seven days on his return,
Making ten days in all.
This is for those
Whose household
Is not in (the precincts
Of) the Sacred Mosque.
And fear God,
And know that God.
Is strict in punishment?

197. For Hajj
Are the months well known.
If any one undertakes
That duty therein,
Let there be no obscenity,
Nor wickedness,
Nor wrangling
In the Hajj.
And whatever good
Ye do,(be sure)
God knoweth it.
And take a provision
(With you) for the journey,
But the best of provisions
Is right conduct.
So fear Me,
O ye that are wise.

198. It is no crime in you
If ye seek of the bounty
Of your Lord (during pilgrimage).
Then when ye pour down
From (Mount) ’Arafāt,
Celebrate the praises of God
At the Sacred Monument,
And celebrate His praises
As He has directed you,
Even though, before this,
Ye went astray.

199. Then pass on
At a quick pace from the place
Whence it is usual
For the multitude
So to do, and ask
For God’s forgiveness.
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

200. So when ye have
Accomplished your holy rites,
Celebrate the praises of God,
As ye used to celebrate
The praises of your fathers,—
Yea, with far more
Heart and soul.
There are men who say:
“Our Lord! Give us
(Thy bounties) in this world!”
But they will have
No portion in the Hereafter.

201. And there are men who say:
“Our Lord! Give us
Good in this world
And good in the Hereafter,
And defend us
From the torment
Of the Fire!”

202. To these will be allotted
What they have earned;
And God is quick in account.

203. Celebrate the praises of God
During the Appointed Days.
But if any one hastens
To leave in two days,
There is no blame on him,
And if any one stays on,
There is no blame on him,
If his aim is to do right.
Then fear God, and know
That ye will surely
Be gathered unto Him.

204. There is the type of man
Whose speech
About this world’s life
May dazzle thee,
And he calls God to witness
About what is in his heart;
Yet is he the most contentious
Of enemies.

205. When he turns his back,
His aim everywhere
Is to spread mischief
Through the earth and destroy
Crops and cattle.
But God loveth not mischief.

206. When it is said to him,
“Fear God,”
He is led by arrogance
To (more) crime.
Enough for him is Hell;—
An evil bed indeed
(To lie on)!

207. And there is the type of man
Who gives his life
To earn the pleasure of God;
And God is full of kindness
To (His) devotees.

208. O ye who believe!
Enter into Islam
Whole-heartedly;
And follow not
The footsteps
Of the Evil One;
For he is to you
An avowed enemy.

209. If ye backslide
After the clear (Signs)
Have come to you,
Then know that God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise.

210. Will they wait
Until God comes to them
In canopies of clouds,
With angels (in His train)
And the question
Is (thus) settled?
But to God
Do all questions
Go back (for decision).

211. Ask the Children of Israel How many Clear (Signs)
We have sent them.
But if any one,
After God’s favour
Has come to him,
Substitutes (something else),
God is strict in punishment.

212. The life of this world
Is alluring to those
Who reject faith,
And they scoff at those
Who believe.
But the righteous
Will be above them
On the Day of Resurrection;
For God bestows His abundance
Without measure
On whom He will.

213. Mankind was one single nation,
And God sent Messengers
With glad tidings and warnings;
And with them He sent
The Book in truth,
To judge between people
In matters wherein
They differed;
But the People of the Book,
After the clear Signs
Came to them, did not differ
Among themselves,
Except through selfish contumacy.
God by His Grace
Guided the Believers
To the Truth,
Concerning that
Wherein they differed.
For God guides
Whom He will
To a path
That is straight.

214. Or do ye think
That ye shall enter
The Garden (of Bliss)
Without such (trials)
As came to those
Who passed away
Before you?
They encountered
Suffering and adversity,
And were so shaken in spirit
That even the Apostle
And those of faith
Who were with him
Cried: “When (will come)
The help of God?”
Ah! Verily, the help of God
Is (always) near!

215. They ask thee
What they should spend
(In charity). Say: Whatever
Ye spend that is good,
Is for parents and kindred
And orphans
And those in want
And for wayfarers.
And whatever ye do
That is good,— God
Knoweth it well.

216. Fighting is prescribed
For you, and ye dislike it.
But it is possible
That ye dislike a thing
Which is good for you,
And that ye love a thing
Which is bad for you.
But God knoweth,
And ye know not.

217. They ask thee
Concerning fighting
In the Prohibited Month.
Say: “Fighting therein
Is a grave (offence);
But graver is it
In the sight of God
To prevent access
To the path of God,
To deny Him,
To prevent access
To the Sacred Mosque,
And drive out its members.
Tumult and oppression
Are worse than slaughter.
Nor will they cease
Fighting you until
They turn you back
From your faith
If they can.
And if any of you
Turn back from their faith
And die in unbelief,
Their works will bear no fruit
In this life
And in the Hereafter;
They will be
Companions of the Fire
And will abide therein.

218. Those who believed
And those who suffered exile
And fought (and strove and struggled)
In the path of God,—
They have the hope
Of the Mercy of God;
And God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

219. They ask thee
Concerning wine and gambling.
Say: “In them is great sin,
And some profit, for men;
But the sin is greater
Than the profit.”
Whey ask thee how much
They are to spend;
Say: “What is beyond
Your needs.”
Thus doth God
Make clear to you
His Signs: in order that
Ye may consider—

220.(Their bearings) on
This life and the Hereafter.
They ask thee
Concerning orphans.
Say: “The best thing to do
Is what is for their good;
If ye mix
Their affairs with yours,
They are your brethren;
But God knows
The man who means mischief
From the man who means good.
And if God had wished,
He could have put you
Into difficulties:
He is indeed
Exalted in Power, Wise.

221. Do not marry
Unbelieving women (idolaters),
Until they believe:
A slave woman who believes
Is better than an unbelieving woman,
Even though she allure you.
Nor marry (your girls)
To unbelievers until
They believe:
A man slave who believes
Is better than an unbeliever,
Even though he allure you.
Unbelievers do (but)
Beckon you to the Fire.
But God beckons by His Grace
To the Garden (of Bliss)
And forgiveness,
And makes His Signs
Clear to mankind:
That they may
Celebrate His praise.

222. They ask thee
Concerning women’s courses.
Say: They are
A hurt and a pollution:
So keep away from women
In their courses, and do not
Approach them until
They are clean.
But when they have
Purified themselves,
Ye may approach them
In any manner, time, or place
Ordained for you by God.
For God loves those
Who turn to Him constantly
And He loves those
Who keep themselves pure and clean.

223. Your wives are
As a tilth unto you;
So approach your tilth
When or how ye will;
But do some good act
For your souls beforehand;
And fear God,
And know that ye are
To meet Him (in the Hereafter),
And give (these) good tidings
To those who believe.

224. And make not
God’s (name) an excuse
In your oaths against
Doing good, or acting rightly,
Or making peace
Between persons;
For God is One
Who heareth and knoweth
All things.

225. God will not
Call you to account
For thoughtlessness
In your oaths,
But for the intention
In your hearts;
And He is
Oft-forgiving
Most Forbearing.

226. For those who take
An oath for abstention
From their wives,
A waiting for four months
Is ordained;
If then they return,
God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

227. But if their intention
Is firm for divorce,
God heareth
And knoweth all things.

228. Divorced women
Shall wait concerning themselves
For three monthly periods.
Nor is it lawful for them
To hide what God
Hath created in their wombs,
If they have faith
In God and the Last Day.
And their husbands
Have the better right
To take them back
In that period, if
They wish for reconciliation.
And women shall have rights
Similar to the rights
Against them, according
To what is equitable;
But men have a degree
(Of advantage) over them.
And God is Exalted in Power, Wise.

229. A divorce is only
Permissible twice: after that,
The parties should either hold
Together on equitable terms,
Or separate with kindness.
It is not lawful for you,
(Men), to take back
Any of your gifts (from your wives)
Except when both parties
Fear that they would be
Unable to keep the limits
Ordained by God.
If ye (judges) do indeed
Fear that they would be
Unable to keep the limits
Ordained by God,
There is no blame on either
Of them if she give
Something for her freedom.
These are the limits
Ordained by God;
So do not transgress them
If any do transgress
The limits ordained by God,
Such persons wrong
(Themselves as well as others).

230. So if a husband
Divorces his wife (irrevocably),
He cannot, after that,
Re-marry her until
After she has married
Another husband and
He has divorced her.
In that case there is
No blame on either of them
If they re-unite, provided
They feel that they
Can keep the limits
Ordained by God.
Such are the limits
Ordained by God,
Which He makes plain
To those who understand.

231. When ye divorce
Women, and they fulfil
The term of their (’Iddat),
Either take them back
On equitable terms
Or set them free
On equitable terms;
But do not take them back
To injure them,(or) to take
Undue advantage;
If any one does that,
He wrongs his own soul.
Do not treat God’s Signs
As a jest,
But solemnly rehearse
God’s favours on you,
And the fact that
He Sent down to you
The Book
And Wisdom,
For your instruction.
And fear God,
And know that God
Is well acquainted
With all things.

232. When ye divorce
Women, and they fulfil
The term of their (’Iddat),
Do not prevent them
From marrying
Their (former) husbands,
If they mutually agree
On equitable terms.
This instruction
Is for all amongst you,
Who believe in God
And the Last Day.
That is (the course
Making for) most virtue
And purity amongst you,
And God knows,
And ye know not.

233. The mothers shall give suck
To their offspring
For two whole years,
If the father desires
To complete the term.
But he shall bear the cost
Of their food and clothing
On equitable terms.
No soul shall have
A burden laid on it
Greater than it can bear.
No mother shall be
Treated unfairly
On account of her child.
Nor father
On account of his child,
An heir shall be chargeable
In the same way.
If they both decide
On weaning,
By mutual consent,
And after due consultation,
There is no blame on them.
If ye decide
On a foster-mother
For your offspring,
There is no blame on you,
Provided ye pay (the mother)
What ye offered,
On equitable terms.
But fear God and know
That God sees well
What ye do.

234. If any of you die
And leave widows behind,
They shall wait concerning themselves
Four months and ten days:
When they have fulfilled
Their term, there is no blame
On you if they dispose
Of themselves in a just
And reasonable manner.
And God is well acquainted
With what ye do.

235. There is no blame
On you if ye make
An offer of betrothal
Or hold it in your hearts.
God knows that ye
Cherish them in your hearts:
But do not make a secret contract
With them except in terms
Honourable, nor resolve on the tie
Of marriage till the term
Prescribed is fulfilled.
And know that God
Knoweth what is in your hearts,
And take heed of Him;
And know that God is
Oft-forgiving, Most Forbearing.

236. There is no blame on you If ye divorce women
Before consummation
Or the fixation of their dower;
But bestow on them
(A suitable gift),
The wealthy
According to his means,
And the poor
According to his means;—
A gift of a reasonable amount
Is due from those
Who wish to do the right thing.

237. And if ye divorce them
Before consummation,
But after the fixation
Of a dower for them,
Then the half of the dower
(Is due to them), unless
They remit it
Or (the man’s half) is remitted
By him in whose hands
Is the marriage tie;
And the remission
(Of the man’s half)
Is the nearest to righteousness.
And do not forget
Liberality between yourselves.
For God sees well
All that ye do.

238. Guard strictly
Your (habit of) prayers,
Especially the Middle Prayer;
And stand before God
In a devout (frame of mind).

239. If ye fear (an enemy),
Pray on foot, or riding,
(As may be most convenient),
But when ye are
In security, celebrate
God’s praises in the manner
He has taught you,
Which ye knew not (before).

240. Those of you
Who die and leave widows
Should bequeath
For their widows
A year’s maintenance
And residence;
But if they leave
(The residence),
There is no blame on you
For what they do
With themselves,
Provided it is reasonable.
And God is Exalted in Power, Wise.

241. For divorced women
Maintenance (should be provided)
On a reasonable (scale).
This is a duty
On the righteous.

242. Thus doth God
Make clear His Signs
To you: in order that
Ye may understand.

243. Didst thou not
Turn by vision to those
Who abandoned their homes,
Though they were thousands
(In number), for fear of death?
God said to them: “Die”:
Then He restored them to life.
For God is full of bounty
To mankind, but
Most of them are ungrateful.

244. Then fight in the cause
Of God, and know that God
Heareth and knoweth all things.

245. Who is he
That will loan to God
A beautiful loan, which God
Will double unto his credit
And multiply many times?
It is God that giveth (you)
Want or Plenty,
And to Him shall be
Your return.

246. Hast thou not
Turned thy vision to the Chiefs
Of the Children of Israel
After (the time of) Moses?
They said to a Prophet
(That was) among them:
“Appoint for us a King, that we
May fight in the cause of God.”
He said: “Is it not possible,
If ye were commanded
To fight, that that ye
Will not fight?” They said:
“How could we refuse
To fight in the cause of God,
Seeing that we were turned out
Of our homes and our families?”
But when they were commanded
To fight, they turned back,
Except a small band
Among them. But God
Has full knowledge of those
Who do wrong.

247. Their Prophet said to them:
“God hath appointed
Talut as king over you.”
They said: “How can he
Exercise authority over us
When we are better fitted
Than he to exercise authority,
And he is not even gifted,
With wealth in abundance?”
He said: “God hath
Chosen him above you,
And hath gifted him
Abundantly with knowledge
And bodily prowess: God
Granteth His authority to whom
He pleaseth. God careth
For all, and He knoweth
All things.”

248. And (further) their Prophet
Said to them: “A Sign
Of his authority
Is that there shall come
To you the Ark of the Covenant,
With (an assurance) therein
Of security from your Lord,
And the relics left
By the family of Moses
And the family of Aaron,
Carried by angels.
In this is a Symbol
For you if ye indeed
Have faith.”

249. When Talut set forth With the armies, he said:
“God will test you
At the stream: if any
Drinks of its water,
He goes not with my army:
Only those who taste not
Of it go with me:
A mere sip out of the hand
Is excused.” But they all
Drank of it, except a few.
When they crossed the river,—
He and the faithful ones with him,
They said: “This day
We cannot cope
With Goliath and his forces.”
But those who were convinced
That they must meet God,
Said: “How oft, by God’s will,
Hath a small force
Vanquished a big one?
God is with those
Who steadfastly persevere.”

250. When they advanced
To meet Goliath and his forces,
They prayed: “Our Lord
Pour out constancy on us
And make our steps firm:
Help us against those
That reject faith.”

251. By God’s will,
They routed them;
And David slew Goliath;
And God gave him
Power and wisdom
And taught him
Whatever (else) He willed,
And did not God
Check one set of people
By means of another,
The earth would indeed
Be full of mischief:
But God is full of bounty
To all the worlds.

252. These are the Signs
Of God: we rehearse them
To thee in truth: verily
Thou art one of the Apostles.

253. Those apostles
Were endowed with gifts,
Some above others
To one of them God spoke;
Others He raised
To degrees (of honour);
To Jesus the son of Mary
We gave Clear (Signs),
And strengthened him
With the holy spirit.
If God had so willed,
Succeeding generations
Would not have fought
Among each other, after
Clear (Signs) had come to them,
But they (chose) to wrangle,
Some believing and Others
Rejecting. If God had so willed,
They would not have fought
Each other; but God
Fulfilleth His plan.

254. O ye who believe!
Spend out of (the bounties)
We have provided for you,
Before the Day comes
When no bargaining
(Will avail), nor friendship
Nor intercession.
Those who reject Faith— they
Are the wrong-doers.

255. God! There is no god
But He,— the Living,
The Self-subsisting, Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him
Nor sleep. His are all things
In the heavens and on earth.
Who is there can intercede
In His presence except
As He permitteth?
He knoweth
What (appeareth to His creatures
As) Before or After
Or Behind them.
Nor shall they compass
Aught of His knowledge
Except as He willeth.
His Throne doth extend
Over the heavens
And the earth, and He feeleth
No fatigue in guarding,
And preserving them
For He is the Most High,
The Supreme (in glory).

256. Let there be no compulsion
In religion: Truth stands out
Clear from Error: whoever
Rejects Evil and believes
In God hath grasped
The most trustworthy
Hand-hold, that never breaks.
And God heareth
And knoweth all things.

257. God is the Protector
Of those who have faith:
From the depths of darkness
He will lead them forth
Into light. Of those
Who reject faith the patrons
Are the Evil Ones: from light
They will lead them forth
Into the depths of darkness.
They will be Companions
Of the fire, to dwell therein
(For ever).

258. Hast thou not
Turned thy vision to one
Who disputed with Abraham
About his Lord, because
God had granted him
Power? Abraham said:
“My Lord is He Who
Giveth life and death.”
He said: “I give life and death.”
Said Abraham: “But it is God
That causeth the sun
To rise from the East:
Do thou then cause him
To rise from the West.”
Thus was he confounded
Who (in arrogance) rejected
Faith. Nor doth God
Give guidance
To a people unjust.

259. Or (take) the similitude
Of one who passed
By a hamlet, all in ruins
To its roofs. He said:
“Oh! how shall God
Bring it (ever) to life,
After (this) its death?”
But God caused him
To die for a hundred years,
Then raised him up (again).
He said: “How long
Didst thou tarry (thus)?”
He said: “(Perhaps) a day
Or part of a day.” He said:
“Nay, thou hast tarried
Thus a hundred years;
But look at thy food
And thy drink; they show
No signs of age; and look
At thy donkey: and that
We may make of thee
A Sign unto the people,
Look further at the bones,
How We bring them together
And clothe them with flesh.”
When this was shown clearly
To him, he said: “I know
That God hath power
Over all things.”

260. Behold! Abraham said: “My Lord! Show me how
Thou givest life to the dead.”
He said: “Dost thou not
Then believe?” He said:
“Yea! but to satisfy
My own understanding.”
He said: “Take four birds;
Tame them to turn to thee;
Put a portion of them
On every hill, and call to them:
They will come to thee
(Flying) with speed.
Then know that God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise.”

261. The parable of those
Who spend their substance
In the way of God is that
Of a grain of corn: it groweth
Seven ears, and each ear
Hath a hundred grains.
God giveth manifold increase
To whom He pleaseth:
And God careth for all
And He knoweth all things.

262. Those who spend
Their substance in the cause
Of God, and follow not up
Their gifts with reminders
Of their generosity
Or with injury,— for them
Their reward is with their Lord:
On them shall be no fear,
Nor shall they grieve.

263. Kind words
And the covering of faults
Are better than charity
Followed by injury.
God is Free of all wants,
And He is most Forbearing.

264. O ye who believe!
Cancel not your charity
By reminders of your generosity
Or by injury,— like those
Who spend their substance
To be seen of men,
But believe neither
In God nor in the Last Day.
They are in Parable like a hard,
Barren rock, on which
Is a little soil: on it
Falls heavy rain,
Which leaves it
(Just) a bare stone.
They will be able to do nothing
With aught they have earned.
And God guideth not
Those who reject faith.

265. And the likeness of those
Who spend their substance,
Seeking to please God
And to strengthen their souls,
Is as a garden, high
And fertile: heavy rain
Falls on it but makes it yield
A double increase
Of harvest, and if it receives not
Heavy rain, light moisture
Sufficeth it. God seeth well
Whatever ye do.

266. Does any of you wish
That he should have a garden
With date-palms and vines
And streams flowing
Underneath, and all kinds
Of fruit, while he is stricken
With old age, and his children
Are not strong (enough
To look after themselves)—
That it should be caught
In a whirlwind,
With fire therein,
And be burnt up?
Thus doth God make clear
To you (His) Signs;
That ye may consider.

267. O ye who believe! Give of the good things
Which ye have (honourably) earned,
And of the fruits of the earth
Which We have produced
For you, and do not even aim
At getting anything
Which is bad, in order that
Out of it ye may give away
Something, when ye yourselves
Would not receive it
Except with closed eyes.
And know that God
Is Free of all wants,
And Worthy of all praise.

268. The Evil One threatens
You with poverty
And bids you to conduct
Unseemly. God promiseth
You His forgiveness
And bounties.
And God careth for all
And He knoweth all things.

269. He granteth wisdom
To whom He pleaseth;
And he to whom wisdom
Is granted receiveth
Indeed a benefit overflowing;
But none will grasp the Message
But men of understanding.

270. And whatever ye spend
In charity or devotion,
Be sure God knows it all.
But the wrong-doers
Have no helpers.

271. If ye disclose (acts
Of) charity, even so
It is well,
But if ye conceal them,
And make them reach
Those (really) in need,
That is best for you:
It will remove from you
Some of your (stains
Of) evil. And God
Is well acquainted
With what ye do.

272. It is not required
Of thee (O Apostle),
To set them on the right path,
But God sets on the right path
Whom He pleaseth.
Whatever of good ye give
Benefits your own souls,
And ye shall only do so
Seeking the “Face”
Of God. Whatever good
Ye give, shall be
Rendered back to you,
And ye shall not
Be dealt with unjustly.

273.(Charity is) for those
In need, who, in God’s cause
Are restricted (from travel),
And cannot move about
In the land, seeking
(For trade or work):
The ignorant man thinks,
Because of their modesty,
That they are free from want.
Thou shalt know them
By their (unfailing) mark:
They beg not importunately
From all and sundry.
And whatever of good
Ye give, be assured
God knoweth it well.

274. Whose who (in charity)
Spend of their goods
By night and by day,
In secret and in public,
Have their reward
With their Lord:
On them shall be no fear,
Nor shall they grieve.

275. Those who devour usury
Will not stand except
As stands one whom
The Evil One by his touch
Hath driven to madness.
That is because they say:
“Trade is like usury,”
But God hath permitted trade
And forbidden usury.
Those who after receiving
Direction from their Lord,
Desist, shall be pardoned
For the past; their case
Is for God (to judge);
But those who repeat
(The offence) are Companions
Of the Fire: they will
Abide therein (for ever).

276. God will deprive
Usury of all blessing,
But will give increase
For deeds of charity:
For He loveth not
Creatures ungrateful
And wicked.

277. Those who believe,
And do deeds of righteousness,
And establish regular prayers
And regular charity,
Will have their reward
With their Lord:
On them shall be no fear,
Nor shall they grieve.

278. O ye who believe!
Fear God, and give up
What remains of your demand
For usury, if ye are
Indeed believers.

279. If ye do it not,
Take notice of war
From God and His Apostle:
But if ye turn back,
Ye shall have
Your capital sums:
Deal not unjustly,
And ye shall not
Be dealt with unjustly.

280. If the debtor is
In a difficulty,
Grant him time
Till it is easy
For him to repay.
But if ye remit it
By way of charity,
That is best for you
If ye only knew.

281. And fear the Day
When ye shall be
Brought back to God.
Then shall every soul
Be paid what it earned,
And none shall be
Dealt with unjustly.

O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other,
In transactions involving
Future obligations
In a fixed period of time,
Reduce them to writing
Let a scribe write down
Faithfully as between
The parties: let not the scribe
Refuse to write: as God
Has taught him,
So let him write.
Let him who incurs
The liability dictate,
But let him fear
His Lord God,
And not diminish
Aught of what he owes.
If the party liable
Is mentally deficient,
Or weak, or unable
Himself to dictate,
Let his guardian
Dictate faithfully.
And get two witnesses,
Out of your own men,
And if there are not two men,
Then a man and two women,
Such as ye choose,
For witnesses,
So that if one of them errs,
The other can remind her.
The witnesses
Should not refuse
When they are called on
(For evidence).
Disdain not to reduce
To writing (your contract)
For a future period,
Whether it be small
Or big: it is juster
In the sight of God,
More suitable as evidence,
And more convenient
To prevent doubts
Among yourselves
But if it be a transaction
Which ye carry out
On the spot among yourselves,
There is no blame on you
If ye reduce it not
To writing.
But take witnesses
Whenever ye make
A commercial contract;
And let neither scribe
Nor witness suffer harm.
If ye do (such harm),
It would be wickedness
In you. So fear God;
For it is God
That teaches you.
And God is well acquainted
With all things.

283. If ye are on a journey,
And cannot find
A scribe, a pledge
With possession (may serve
The purpose).
And if one of you
Deposits a thing
On trust with another,
Let the trustee
(Faithfully) discharge
His trust, and let him
Fear his Lord.
Conceal not evidence;
For whoever conceals it,—
His heart is tainted
With sin. And God
Knoweth all that ye do.

284. To God belongeth all That is in the heavens
And on earth. Whether
Ye show what is in your minds
Or conceal it, God
Calleth you to account for it.
He forgiveth whom He pleaseth,
And punisheth whom He pleaseth.
For God hath power
Over all things.

285. The Apostle believeth
In what hath been revealed
To him from his Lord,
As do the men of faith.
Each one (of them) believeth
In God, His angels,
His books, and His apostles.
“We make no distinction (they say)
Between one and another
Of His apostles.” And they say:
“We hear, and we obey:
(We seek) Thy forgiveness,
Our Lord, and to Thee
Is the end of all journeys.”

286. On no soul doth God
Place a burden greater
Than it can bear.
It gets every good that it earns,
And it suffers every ill that if earns.
(Pray:) “Our Lord!
Condemn us not
If we forget or fall
Into error; our Lord!
Lay not on us a burden
Like that which
Thou Didst lay on those before us;
Our Lord! lay not on us
A burden greater than we
Have strength to bear.
Blot out our sins,
And grant us forgiveness,
Have mercy on us.
Thou art our Protector;
Help us against those
Who stand against Faith”

In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.

1. A. L. M.

2. God! There is no god
But He,— the Living,
The Self-Subsisting, Eternal.

3. It is He Who sent down
To thee (step by step),
In truth, the Book,
Confirming what went before it;
And He sent down the Law
(Of Moses) and the Gospel
(Of Jesus) before this,
As a guide to mankind,
And He sent down the Criterion
(Of judgment between right and wrong).

4. Then those who reject
Faith in the Signs of God
Will suffer the severest
Penalty, and God
Is Exalted in Might,
Lord of Retribution.

5. From God, verily
Nothing is hidden
On earth or in the heavens.

6. He it is Who shapes you
In the wombs as He pleases.
There is no god but He,
The Exalted in Might,
The Wise.

7. He it is Who has sent down
To thee the Book:
In it are verses
Basic or fundamental
(Of established meaning);
They are the foundation
Of the Book: others
Are allegorical. But those
In whose hearts is perversity follow
The part thereof that is allegorical,
Seeking discord, and searching
For its hidden meanings,
But to one knows
Its hidden meanings except God.
And those who are firmly grounded
In knowledge say: “We believe
In the Book; the whole of it
Is from our Lord:” and none
Will grasp the Message
Except men of understanding.

8. “Our Lord!” (they say),
“Let not our hearts deviate
Now after Thou hast guided us,
But grant us mercy
From Thine own Presence;
For Thou art the Grantor
Of bounties without measure.

9. “Our Lord! Thou art He
That will gather mankind
Together against a Day about which
There is no doubt; for God
Never fails in His promise.”

10. Whose who reject Faith,—
Neither their possessions
Nor their (numerous) progeny
Will avail them aught
Against God: they are themselves
But fuel for the Fire.

11.(Their plight will be)
No better than that
Of the people of Pharaoh,
And their predecessors:
They denied our Signs,
And God called them to account
For their sins.
For God is strict
In punishment.

12. Say to those who reject Faith:
“Soon will ye be vanquished
And gathered together
To Hell,— an evil bed
Indeed (to lie on)!

13. “There has already been
For you a Sign
In the two armies
That met (in combat):
One was fighting in the Cause
Of God, the other
Resisting God; these saw
With their own eyes
Twice their number.
But God doth support
With His aid whom He pleaseth.
In this is a warning
For such as have eyes to see.”

14. Fair in the eyes of men
Is the love of things they covet:
Women and sons;
Heaped-up hoards
Of gold and silver; horses
Branded (for blood and excellence);
And (wealth of) cattle
And well-tilled land.
Such are the possessions
Of this world’s life;
But in nearness to God
Is the best of the goals
(To return to).

15. Say: Shall I give you
Glad tidings of things
Far better than those?
For the righteous are Gardens
In nearness to their Lord,
With rivers flowing beneath;
Therein is their eternal home;
With Companions pure (and holy);
And the good pleasure of God.
For in God’s sight
Are (all) His servants,—

16.(Namely), those who say:
“Our Lord! we have indeed
Believed: forgive us, then,
Our sins, and save us
From the agony of the Fire;”—

17. Those who show patience,
Firmness and self control;
Who are true (in word and deed);
Who worship devoutly;
Who spend (in the way of God);
And who pray for forgiveness
In the early hours of the morning.

18. There is no god but He
That is the witness of God,
His angels, and those endued
With knowledge, standing firm
On justice. There is no god but He,
The Exalted in Power,
The Wise.

19. The Religion before God
Is Islam (submission to His Will):
Nor did the People of the Book
Dissent therefrom except
Through envy of each other,
After knowledge had come to them.
But if any deny the Signs of God,
God is swift in calling to account.

20. So if they dispute with thee,
Say: “I have submitted
My whole self to God
And so have those
Who follow me.”
And say to the People of the Book
And to those who are unlearned:
“Do ye (also) submit yourselves?”
If they do, they are in right guidance,
But if they turn back,
Thy duty is to convey the Message;
And in God’s sight
Are (all) His servants.

21. As to those who deny The Signs of God, and in defiance
Of right, slay the prophets,
And slay those who teach
Just dealing whith mankind,
Announce to them a grievous penalty.

22. They are those whose works
Will bear no fruit
In this world
And in the Hereafter,
Nor will they have
Anyone to help.

23. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who have been given a portion
Of the Book? They are
Invited to the Book of God,
To settle their dispute,
But a party of them
Turn back and decline
(The arbitration).

24. This because they say:
“The Fire shall not touch us
But for a few numbered days”:
For their forgeries deceive them
As to their own religion.

25. But how (will they fare)
When We gather them together
Against a Day about which
There is no doubt,
And each soul will be paid out
Just what it has earned,
Without (favour or) injustice?

26. Say: “O God!
Lord of Power (and Rule),
Thou givest Power
To whom Thou pleasest,
And Thou strippest off Power
From whom Thou pleasest:
Thou enduest with honour
Whom Thou pleasest,
And Thou bringest low
Whom Thou pleasest:
In Thy hand is all Good.”
Verily, over all things
Thou hast power.

27. “Thou causest the Night
To gain on the Day,
And Thou causest the Day
To gain on the Night;
Thou bringest the Living
Out of the Dead,
And Thou bringest the Dead
Out of the Living;
And Thou givest sustenance
To whom Thou pleasest,
Without measure.”

28. Let not the Believers
Take for friends or helpers
Unbelievers rather than
Believers: if any do that,
In nothing will there be help
From God: except by way
Of precaution, that ye may
Guard yourselves from them,
But God cautions you
(To remember) Himself;
For the final goal
Is to God.

29. Say: “Whether ye hide
What is in your hearts
Or reveal it,
God knows it all:
He knows what is
In the heavens,
And what is on earth.
And God has power
Over all things.

30. “On the Day when every soul
Will be confronted
With all the good it has done,
And all the evil it has done,
It will wish there were
A great distance
Between it and its evil.
But God cautions you
(To remember) Himself.
And God is full of kindness
To those that serve Him.”

31. Say: “If ye do love God,
Follow me: God will love you
And forgive you your sins:
For God is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.”

32. Say: “Obey God
And His Apostle”:
But if they turn back,
God loveth not those
Who reject Faith.

33. God did choose
Adam and Noah, the family
Of Abraham, and the family
Of ’Imrān above all people,—

34. Offspring, one of the other:
And God heareth
And knoweth all things.

35. Behold! a woman of ’Imrān
Said: “O my Lord! I do
Dedicate unto Thee
What is in my womb
For Thy special service:
So accept this of me:
For Thou hearest
And knowest all things.”

36. When she was delivered,
She said: “O my Lord!
Behold! I am delivered
Of a female child!”—
And God knew best
What she brought forth—
“And nowise is the male
Like the female.
I have named her Mary,
And I commend her
And her offspring
To Thy protection
From the Evil One,
The Rejected.”

37. Right graciously
Did her Lord accept her:
He made her grow
In purity and beauty:
To the care of Zakarīya
Was she assigned.
Every time that he entered
(Her) chamber to see her,
He found her supplied
With sustenance. He said:
“O Mary! Whence (comes) this
To you?” She said:
“From God: for God
Provides sustenance
To whom He pleases,
Without measure.”

38. There here did Zakarīya
Pray to his Lord, saying:
“O my Lord! Grant unto me
From Thee a progeny
That is pure: for Thou
Art He that heareth prayer!

39. While he was standing
In prayer in the chamber,
The angels called unto him:
“God doth give thee
Glad tidings of Yaḥyā,
Witnessing the truth
Of a Word from God, and (be
Besides) noble, chaste,
And a Prophet,
Of the (goodly) company
Of the righteous.”

40. He said: “O my Lord!
How shall I have a son,
Seeing I am very old,
And my wife is barren?”
“Thus,” was the answer,
“Doth God accomplish
What He willeth,”

41. He said: “O my Lord!
Give me a Sign!”
“Thy Sign,” was the answer,
“Shall be that thou
Shalt speak to no man
For three days
But with signals.
Then celebrate
The praises of thy Lord
Again and again,
And glorify Him
In the evening
And in the morning.”

42. Behold! the angels said:
“O Mary! God hath chosen thee
And purified thee— chosen thee
Above the women of all nations.

43. “O Mary! worship
Thy Lord devoutly:
Prostrate thyself,
And bow down (in prayer)
With those who bow down.”

44. This is part of the tidings
Of the things unseen,
Which We reveal unto thee
(O Apostle!) by inspiration:
Thou wast not with them
When they cast lots
With arrows, as to which
Of them should be charged
With the care of Mary:
Nor wast thou with them
When they disputed (the point).

45. Behold! the angels said:
“O Mary! God giveth thee
Glad tidings of a Word
From Him: his name
Will be Christ Jesus,
The son of Mary, held in honour
In this world and the Hereafter
And of (the company of) those
Nearest to God;

46. “He shall speak to the people
In childhood and in maturity.
And he shall be (of the company)
Of the righteous.”

47. She said: “O my Lord!
How shall I have a son
When no man hath touched me?”
He said: “Even so:
God createth
What He willeth:
When He hath decreed
A Plan, He but saith
To it, ‘Be,’ and it is!

48. “And God will teach him
The Book and Wisdom,
The Law and the Gospel,

49. “And (appoint him)
An apostle to the Children
Of Israel,(with this message):
“‘I have come to you,
With a Sign from your Lord,
In that I make for you
Out of clay, as it were,
The figure of a bird,
And breathe into it,
And it becomes a bird
By God’s leave:
And I heal those
Born blind, and the lepers,
And I quicken the dead,
By God’s leave;
And I declare to you
What ye eat, and what ye store
In your houses. Surely
Therein is a Sign for you
If ye did believe;

50. “’(I have come to you),
To attest the Law
Which was before me.
And to make lawful
To you part of what was
(Before) forbidden to you;
I have come to you
With a Sign from your Lord.
So fear God,
And obey me.

51. “‘It is God
Who is my Lord
And your Lord;
Then worship Him.
This is a Way
That is straight.’”

52. When Jesus found
Unbelief on their part
He said: “Who will be
My helpers to (the work
Of) God?” Said the Disciples:
“We are God’s helpers:
We believe in God,
And do thou bear witness
That we are Muslims.”

53. “Our Lord! we believe
In what Thou hast revealed,
And we follow the Apostle;
Then write us down
Among those who bear witness.”

54. And (the unbelievers)
Plotted and planned,
And God too planned,
And the best of planners
Is God.

55. Behold! God said:
“O Jesus! I will take thee
And raise thee to Myself
And clear thee (of the falsehoods)
Of those who blaspheme;
I will make those
Who follow thee superior
To those who reject faith,
To the Day of Resurrection:
Then shall ye all
Return unto me,
And I will judge
Between you of the matters
Wherein ye dispute.

56. “As to those who reject faith,
I will punish them
With terrible agony
In this world and in the Hereafter,
Nor will they have
Anyone to help.

57. “As to those who believe
And work righteousness,
God will pay them (in full)
Their reward;
But God loveth not
Those who do wrong.

58. “This is what we rehearse
Unto thee of the Signs
And the Message
Of Wisdom.”

59. The similitude of Jesus
Before God is as that of Adam;
He created him from dust,
Then said to him, “Be”:
And he was.

60. The Truth (comes)
From God alone;
So be not of those
Who doubt.

61. If any one disputes
In this matter with thee,
Now after (full) knowledge
Hath come to thee,
Say: “Come! let us
Gather together,
Our sons and your sons,
Our women and your women,
Ourselves and yourselves:
Then let us earnestly pray,
And invoke the curse
Of God on those who lie!”

62. This is the true account:
There is no god
Except God;
And God— He is indeed
The Exalted in Power,
The Wise.

63. But if they turn back,
God hath full knowledge
Of those who do mischief.

64. Say: “O People
Of the Book! come
To common terms
As between us and you:
That we worship
None but God;
That we associate
No partners with Him;
That we erect not,
From among ourselves,
Lords and patrons
Other than God.”
If then they turn back,
Say ye: “Bear witness
That we (at least)
Are Muslims (bowing
To God’s Will).”

65. Ye People of the Book!
Why dispute ye
About Abraham,
When the Law and the Gospel
Were not revealed
Till after him?
Have ye no understanding?

66. Ah! Ye are those
Who fell to disputing
(Even) in matters of which
Ye had some knowledge!
But why dispute ye
In matters of which
Ye have no knowledge?
It is God Who knows,
And ye who know not!

67. Abraham was not a Jew
Nor yet a Christian;
But he was true in Faith,
And bowed his will to God’s,
(Which is Islam),
And he joined not gods with God.

68. Without doubt, among men,
The nearest of kin to Abraham,
Are those who follow him,
As are also this Apostle
And those who believe:
And God is the Protector
Of those who have faith.

It is the wish of a section
Of the People of the Book
To lead you astray.
But they shall lead astray
(Not you), but themselves,
And they do not perceive!

70. Ye People of the Book!
Why reject ye
The Signs of God,
Of which ye are
(Yourselves) witnesses?

71. Ye People of the Book!
Why do ye clothe
Truth with falsehood,
And conceal the Truth,
While ye have knowledge?

72. A section of the People
Of the Book say:
“Believe in the morning
What is revealed
To the Believers,
But reject it at the end
Of the day; perchance
They may (themselves)
Turn back;

73. “And believe no one
Unless he follows
Your religion.”
Say: “True guidance
Is the guidance of God:
(Fear ye) lest a revelation
Be sent to someone (else)
Like unto that which was sent
Unto you? Or that those
(Receiving such revelation)
Should engage you in argument
Before your Lord?”
Say: “All bounties
Are in the hand of God:
He granteth them
To whom He pleaseth:
And God careth for all,
And He knoweth all things.”

74. For His Mercy He specially chooseth
Whom He pleaseth;
For God is the Lord
Of bounties unbounded.

75. Among the People of the Book
Are some who, if entrusted
With a hoard of gold,
Will (readily) pay it back;
Others, who, if entrusted
With a single silver coin,
Will not repay it unless
Thou constantly stoodest
Demanding, because,
They say, “there is no call
On us (to keep faith)
With these ignorant (Pagans).”
But they tell a lie against God,
And (well) they know it.

76. Nay.— Those that keep
Their plighted faith
And act aright,— verily
God loves those
Who act aright.

77. As for those who sell
The faith they owe to God
And their own plighted word
For a small price,
They shall have no portion
In the Hereafter:
Nor will God
(Deign to) speak to them
Or look at them
On the Day of Judgment,
Nor will He cleanse them
(Of sin): they shall have
A grievous Penalty.

78. There is among them
A section who distort
The Book with their tongues
(As they read) you would think
It is a part of the Book,
But it is no part
Of the Book; and they say,
That is from God,
But it is not from God:
It is they who tell
A lie against God,
And (well) they know it!

79. It is not (possible)
That a man, to whom
Is given the Book,
And Wisdom,
And the Prophetic Office,
Should say to people:
“Be ye my worshippers
Rather than God’s”:
On the contrary
(He would say):
“Be ye worshippers
Of Him Who is truly
The Cherisher of all:
For ye have taught
The Book and ye
Have studied it earnestly.”

80. Nor would he instruct you
To take angels and prophets
For Lords and Patrons.
What! would he bid you
To unbelief after ye have
Bowed your will
(To God in Islam)?

81. Behold! God took
The Covenant of the Prophets,
Saying: “I give you
A Book and Wisdom;
Then comes to you
An Apostle, confirming
What is with you;
Do ye believe in him
And render him help.”
God said: “Do ye agree,
And take this my Covenant
As binding on you?”
They said: “We agree.”
He said: “Then bear witness,
And I am with you
Among the witnesses.”

82. If any turn back
After this, they are
Perverted transgressors.

83. Do they seek
For other than the Religion
Of God?— while all creatures
In the heavens and on earth
Have, willing or unwilling,
Bowed to His Will
(Accepted Islam),
And to Him shall they
All be brought back.

84. Say: “We believe
In God, and in what
Has been revealed to us
And what was revealed
To Abraham, Ismā’īl;
Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes,
And in (the Books)
Given to Moses, Jesus,
And the Prophets,
From their Lord:
We make no distinction
Between one and another
Among them, and to God do we
Bow our will (in Islam).”

85. If anyone desires
A religion other than
Islam (submission to God),
Never will it be accepted
Of him; and in the Hereafter
He will be in the ranks
Of those who have lost
(All spiritual good).

86. How shall God
Guide those who reject
Faith after they accepted it
And bore witness
That the Apostle was true
And that Clear Signs
Had come unto them?
But God guides not
A people unjust.

87. Of such the reward
Is that on them (rests)
The curse of God,
Of His angels,
And of all mankind;—

88. In that will they dwell;
Nor will their penalty
Be lightened, nor respite
Be their (lot);—

89. Except for those that repent
(Even) after that,
And make amends;
For verily God
Is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.

90. But those who reject
Faith after they accepted it,
And then go on adding
To their defiance of Faith,—
Never will their repentance
Be accepted; for they
Are those who have
(Of set purpose) gone astray.

91. As to those who reject
Faith, and die rejecting,—
Never would be accepted
From any such as much
Gold as the earth contains,
Though they should offer it
For ransom. For such
Is (in store) a penalty grievous,
And they will find no helpers.

92. By no means shall ye
Attain righteousness unless
Ye give (freely) of that
Which ye love; and whatever
Ye give, of a truth
God knoweth it well.

93. All food was lawful
To the Children of Israel,
Except what Israel
Made unlawful for itself,
Before the Law (of Moses)
Was revealed. Say:
“Bring ye the Law
And study it,
If ye be men of truth.”

94. If any, after this, invent
A lie and attribute it
To God, they are indeed
Unjust wrong-doers.

95. Say: “God speaketh
The Truth: follow
The religion of Abraham,
The sane in faith; he
Was not of the Pagans.”

96. The first House (of worship)
Appointed for men
Was that at Bakka:
Full of blessing
And of guidance
For all kinds of beings:

97. In it are Signs
Manifest;(for example),
The Station of Abraham;
Whoever enters it
Attains security;
Pilgrimage thereto is a duty
Men owe to God,
Those who can afford
The journey; but if any
Deny faith, God stands not
In need of any of His creatures.

98. Say: “O People of the Book!
Why reject ye the Signs
Of God, when God
Is Himself witness
To all ye do?”

99. Say: “O ye People of the Book!
Why obstruct ye
Those who believe,
From the Path of God,
Seeking to make it crooked,
While ye were yourselves
Witnesses (to God’s Covenant)?’
But God is not unmindful
Of all that ye do.”

100. O ye who believe!
If ye listen
To a faction
Among the People of the Book,
They would (indeed)
Render you apostates
After ye have believed!

101. And how would ye
Deny Faith while unto you
Are rehearsed the Signs
Of God, and among you
Lives the Apostle?
Whoever holds
Firmly to God
Will be shown
A Way that is straight.

102. O ye who believe!
Fear God as He should be
Feared, and die not
Except in a state
Of Islam.

103. And hold fast,
All together, by the Rope
Which God (stretches out
For you), and be not divided
Among yourselves;
And remember with gratitude
God’s favour on you;
For ye were enemies
And He joined your hearts
In love, so that by His Grace,
Ye became brethren;
And ye were on the brink
Of the Pit of Fire,
And He saved you from it.
Thus doth God make
His Signs clear to you:
That ye may be guided.

104. Let there arise out of you
A band of people
Inviting to all that is good,
Enjoining what is right,
And forbidding what is wrong:
They are the ones
To attain felicity.

105. Be not like those
Who are divided
Amongst themselves
And fall into disputations
After receiving
Clear Signs:
For them
Is a dreadful Penalty,—

106. On the Day when
Some faces will be (lit up
With) white, and some faces
Will be (in the gloom of) black:
To those whose faces
Will be black,(will be said):
“Did ye reject Faith
After accepting it?
Taste then the Penalty
For rejecting Faith.”

107. But those whose faces
Will be (lit with) white,—
They will be in (the light
Of) God’s mercy: therein
To dwell (for ever).

108. These are the Signs
Of God: We rehearse them
To thee in Truth:
And God means
No injustice to any
Of His creatures.

109. To God belongs all
That is in the heavens
And on earth: to Him
Do all questions
Go back (for decision).

110. Ye are the best
Of Peoples, evolved
For mankind,
Enjoining what is right,
Forbidding what is wrong,
And believing in God.
If only the People of the Book
Had faith, it were best
For them: among them
Are some who have faith,
But most of them
Are perverted transgressors.

111. They will do you no harm,
Barring a trifling annoyance;
If they come out to fight you,
They will show you their backs,
And no help shall they get.

112. Shame is pitched over them (Like a tent) wherever
They are found,
Except when under a covenant
(Of protection) from God
And from men; they draw
On themselves wrath from God,
And pitched over them
Is (the tent of) destitution.
This because they rejected
The Signs of God, and slew
The Prophets in defiance of right;
This because they rebelled
And transgressed beyond bounds.

113. Not all of them are alike:
Of the People of the Book
Are a portion that stand
(For the right); they rehearse
The Signs of God all night long,
And they prostrate themselves
In adoration.

114. They believe in God
And the Last Day;
They enjoin what is right,
And forbid what is wrong;
And they hasten (in emulation)
In (all) good works:
They are in the ranks
Of the righteous.

115. Of the good that they do,
Nothing will be rejected
Of them; for God knoweth well
Those that do right.

116. Those who reject Faith,—
Neither their possessions
Nor their (numerous) progeny
Will avail them aught against God:
They will be Companions
Of the Fire,— dwelling
Therein (for ever).

117. What they spend
In the life
Of this (material) world
May be likened to a Wind
Which brings a nipping frost:
It strikes and destroys the harvest
Of men who have wronged
Their own souls: it is not God
That hath wronged them, but
They wrong themselves.

118. O ye who believe!
Take not into your intimacy
Those outside your ranks:
They will not fail
To corrupt you. They
Only desire your ruin:
Rank hatred has already
Appeared from their mouths:
What their hearts conceal
Is far worse.
We have made plain
To you the Signs,
If ye have wisdom.

119. Ah! ye are those
Who love them,
But they love you not,
Though ye believe
In the whole of the Book,
When they meet you,
They say, “We believe”:
But when they are alone,
They bite off the very tips
Of their fingers at you
In their rage. Say:
“Perish in your rage;
God knoweth well
All the secrets of the heart.”

120. If aught that is good
Befalls you, it grieves them;
But if some misfortune
Overtakes you, they rejoice
At it. But if ye are constant
And do right,
Not the least harm
Will their cunning
Do to you; for God
Compasseth round about
All that they do.

121. Remember that morning
Thou didst leave
Thy household (early)
To post the Faithful
At their stations for battle:
And God heareth
And knoweth all things:

122. Remember two of your parties
Meditated cowardice;
But God was their protector,
And in God should the Faithful
(Ever) put their trust.

123. God had helped you
At Badr, when ye were
A contemptible little force;
Then fear God; thus
May ye show your gratitude.

124. Remember thou saidst
To the Faithful: “Is it not enough
For you that God should help you
With three thousand angels
(Specially) sent down?

125. “Yea,— if ye remain firm,
And act aright, even if
The enemy should rush here
On you in hot haste,
Your Lord would help you
With five thousand angels
Making a terrific onslaught.”

126. God made it but a message
Of hope for you, and an assurance
To your hearts:(in any case)
There is no help
Except from God,
The Exalted, the Wise:

127. That He might cut off
A fringe of the Unbelievers
Or expose them to infamy,
And they should then
Be turned back,
Frustrated of their purpose.

128. Not for thee,(but for God),
Is the decision:
Whether He turn in mercy
To them, or punish them;
For they are indeed wrong-doers.

129. To God belongeth all
That is in the heavens
And on earth.
He forgiveth whom He pleaseth
And punisheth whom He pleaseth
But God is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.

130. Ye who believe!
Devour not Usury,
Doubled and multiplied;
But fear God; that
Ye may (really) prosper.

131. Fear the Fire, which is prepared
For those who reject Faith:

132. And obey God
And the Apostle;
That ye may obtain mercy.

133. Be quick in the race
For forgiveness from your Lord,
And for a Garden whose width
Is that (of the whole)
Of the heavens
And of the earth,
Prepared for the righteous,—

134. Those who spend (freely),
Whether in prosperity,
Or in adversity;
Who restrain anger,
And pardon (all) men;—
For God loves those
Who do good;—

135. And those who,
Having done something
To be ashamed of,
Or wronged their own souls,
Earnestly bring God to mind,
And ask for forgiveness
For their sins,
And who can forgive
Sins except God?—
And are never obstinate
In persisting knowingly
In (the wrong) they have done

136. For such the reward
Is forgiveness from their Lord,
And Gardens with rivers
Flowing underneath,—
An eternal dwelling:
How excellent a recompense
For those who work (and strive)!

137. Many were the Ways of Life
That have passed away
Before you: travel through
The earth, and see what was
The end of those
Who rejected Truth.

138. Here is a plain statement
To men, a guidance
And instruction to those
Who fear God!

139. So lose not heart,
Nor fall into despair:
For ye must gain mastery
If ye are true in Faith.

140. If a wound hath touched you,
Be sure a similar wound
Hath touched the others.
Such days (of varying fortunes)
We give to men and men
By turns: that God may know
Those that believe,
And that He may take
To Himself from your ranks
Martyr-witnesses (to Truth).
And God loveth not
Those that do wrong.

141. God’s object also is to purge
Those that are true in Faith
And to deprive of blessing
Those that resist Faith.

142. Did ye think that ye
Would enter Heaven
Without God testing
Those of you who fought hard
(In His Cause) and
Remained steadfast?

143. Ye did indeed
Wish for Death
Before ye met him:
Now ye have seen him
With your own eyes,
(And ye flinch!)

144. Muhammad is no more
Than an Apostle: many
Were the Apostles that passed away
Before him. If he died
Or were slain, will ye then
Turn back on your heels?
If any did turn back
On his heels, not the least
Harm will he do to God;
But God (on the other hand)
Will swiftly reward those
Who (serve him) with gratitude.

145. Nor can a soul die
Except by God’s leave,
The term being fixed
As by writing. If any
Do desire a reward
In this life, We shall give it
To him; and if any
Do desire a reward
In the Hereafter, We shall
Give it to him.
And swiftly shall We reward
Those that (serve us with) gratitude.

146. How many of the Prophets
Fought (in God’s way),
And with them (fought)
Large bands of godly men?
But they never lost heart
If they met with disaster
In God’s way, nor did
They weaken (in will)
Nor give in. And God
Loves those who are
Firm and steadfast.

147. All that they said was:
“Our Lord! forgive us
Our sins and anything
We may have done
That transgressed our duty:
Establish our feet firmly,
And help us against
Those that resist
Faith.”

148. And God gave them
A reward in this world,
And the excellent reward
Of the Hereafter. For God
Loveth those who do good.

149. O ye who believe!
If ye obey the Unbelievers,
They will drive you back
On your heels, and ye
Will turn back (from Faith)
To your own loss.

150. Nay, God is your Protector,
And He is the best of helpers.

151. Soon shall We cast terror
Into the hearts of the Unbelievers
For that they joined companions
With God, for which He had sew
No authority: their abode
Will be the Fire: and evil
Is the home of the wrong-doers!

152. God did indeed fulfil
His promise to you
When ye with His permission
Were about to annihilate
Your enemy,— until ye flinched
And fell to disputing
About the order,
And disobeyed it
After He brought you in sight
(Of the Booty) which ye covet.
Among you are some
That hanker after this world
And some that desire
The Hereafter. Then did He
Divert you from your foes
In order to test you.
But He forgave you:
For God is full of grace
To those who believe.

153. Behold! ye were climbing up
The high ground, without even
Casting a side glance
At any one, and the Apostle
In your rear was calling you
Back. There did God give you
One distress after another
By way of requital,
To teach you not to grieve
For (the booty) that had escaped you
And for (the ill) that had befallen you.
For God is well aware
Of all that ye do.

154. After (the excitement)
Of the distress, He sent down
Calm on a band of you
Overcome with slumber,
While another band
Was stirred to anxiety
By their own feelings,
Moved by wrong suspicions
Of God— suspicions due
To Ignorance. They said:
“What affair is this of ours?”
Say thou: “Indeed, this affair
Is wholly God’s.” They hide
In their minds what they
Dare not reveal to thee.
They say (to themselves):
“If we had had anything
To do with this affair,
We should not have been
In the slaughter here.”
Say: “Even if you had remained
In your homes, those
For whom death was decreed
Would certainly have gone forth
To the place of their death”;
But (all this was)
That God might test
What is in your breasts
And purge what is
In your hearts.
For God knoweth well
The secrets of your hearts.

155. Those of you
Who turned back
On the day the two hosts
Met,— it was Satan
Who caused them to fail,
Because of some (evil)
They had done. But God
Has blotted out (their fault):
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Forbearing.

156. O ye who believe! Be not like the Unbelievers,
Who say of their brethren,
When they are travelling
Through the earth or engaged
In fighting: “If they had stayed
With us, they would not
Have died, or been slain.”
This that God may make it
A cause of sighs and regrets
In their hearts. It is God
That gives Life and Death,
And God sees well
All that ye do.

157. And if ye are slain, or die,
In the way of God,
Forgiveness and mercy
From God are far better
Than all they could amass.

158. And if ye die, or are slain,
Lo! it is— unto God
That ye are brought together.

159. It is part of the Mercy
Of God that thou dost deal
Gently with them.
Wert thou severe
Or harsh-hearted,
They would have broken away
From about thee: so pass over
(Their faults), and ask
For (God’s) forgiveness
For them; and consult
Them in affairs (of moment).
Then, when thou hast
Taken a decision,
Put thy trust in God.
For God loves those
Who put their trust (in Him).

160. If God helps you,
Non can overcome you:
If He forsakes you,
Who is there, after that,
That can help you?
In God, then,
Let Believers put their trust.

161. No prophet could (ever)
Be false to his trust.
If any person is so false,
He shall, on the Day
Of Judgment, restore
What he misappropriated;
Then shall every soul
Receive its due,—
Whatever it earned,—
And none shall be
Dealt with unjustly.

162. Is the man who follows
The good pleasure of God
Like the man who draws
On himself the wrath
Of God, and whose abode
Is in Hell?—
A woeful refuge!

163. They are in varying grades
In the sight of God,
And God sees well
All that they do.

164. God did confer
A great favour
On the Believers
When He sent among them
An Apostle from among
Themselves, rehearsing
Unto them the Signs
Of God, sanctifying them,
And instructing them
In Scripture and Wisdom,
While, before that,
They had been
In manifest error.

165. What! When a single
Disaster smites you,
Although ye smote (your enemies)
With one twice as great,
Do ye say?—
“Whence is this?”
Say(to them):
“It is from yourselves:
For God hath power
Over all things.”

166. What ye suffered
On the day the two armies
Met, was with the leave
Of God, in order that
He might test the Believers,—

167. And the Hypocrites also.
These were told: “Come,
Fight in the way of God,
Or (at least) drive
(The foe from Your city).”
They said: “Had we known
How to fight, we should
Certainly have followed you.”
They were that day
Nearer to Unbelief
Than to Faith,
Saying with their lips
What was not in their hearts.
But God hath full knowledge
Of all they conceal.

168.(They are) the ones that say,
(Of their brethren slain),
While they themselves
Sit (at ease): “If only
They had listened to us,
They would not have been slain.”
Say: “Avert death
From your own selves,
If ye speak the truth.”

169. Think not of those
Who are slain in God’s way
As dead. Nay, they live,
Finding their sustenance
In the Presence of their Lord;

170. They rejoice in the Bounty
Provided by God:
And with regard to those
Left behind, who have not
Yet joined them (in their bliss),
The (Martyrs) glory in the fact
That on them is no fear,
Nor have they (cause to) grieve.

171. They glory in the Grace
And the Bounty from God,
And in the fact that
God suffereth not
The reward of the Faithful
To be lost (in the least).

172. Of those who answered
The call of God
And the Apostle,
Even after being wounded,
Those who do right
And refrain from wrong
Have a great reward;—

173. Men said to them:
“A great army is gathering
Against you”:
And frightened them:
But it (only) increased
Their Faith: they said:
“For us God sufficeth,
And He is the best
Disposer of affairs.”

174. And they returned
With Grace and Bounty
From God: no harm
Ever touched them:
For they followed
The good pleasure of God:
And God is the Lord
Of bounties unbounded.

175. It is only the Evil One
That suggests to you
The fear of his votaries:
Be ye not afraid
Of them, but fear Me,
If ye have Faith.

176. Let not those grieve thee
Who rush headlong
Into Unbelief:
Not the least harm
Will they do to God:
God’s Plan is that He
Will give them no portion
In the Hereafter,
But a severe punishment.

177. Those who purchase
Unbelief at the price
Of faith,
Not the least harm
Will they do to God,
But they will have
A grievous punishment.

178. Let not the Unbelievers
Think that Our respite
To them is good for themselves:
We grant them respite
That they may grow
In their iniquity:
But they will have
A shameful punishment.

179. God will not leave
The Believers in the state
In which ye are now,
Until He separates
What is evil
From what is good.
Nor will He disclose
To you the secrets
Of the Unseen,
But He chooses
Of His Apostles
(For the purpose)
Whom He pleases.
So believe in God
And His Apostles:
And if ye believe
And do right,
Ye have a reward
Without measure.

180. And let not those
Who covetously withhold
Of the gifts which God
Hath given them of His Grace,
Think that it is good for them:
Nay, it will be the worse
For them: soon shall the things
Which they covetously withheld
Be tied to their necks
Like a twisted collar,
On the Day of Judgment.
To God belongs the heritage
Of the heavens and the earth;
And God is well-acquainted
With all that ye do.

181. God hath heard The taunt of those
Who say: “Truly, God
Is indigent and we
Are rich!”— We shall
Certainly record their word
And (their act) of slaying
The Prophets in defiance
Of right, and We shall say:
“Taste ye the Penalty
Of the Scorching Fire!

182. “This is because
Of the (unrighteous deeds)
Which your hands
Sent on before ye:
For God never harms
Those who serve Him.”

183. They (also) said: “God took
Our promise not to believe
In an apostle unless
He showed us a sacrifice
Consumed by fire
(From heaven).” Say:
“There came to you
Apostles before me,
With Clear Signs
And even with what
Ye ask for: why then
Did ye slay them,
If ye speak the truth?”

184. Then if they reject thee,
So were rejected apostles
Before thee, who came
With Clear Signs,
Books of dark prophecies,
And the Book of Enlightenment.

185. Every soul shall have
A taste of death:
And only on the Day
Of Judgment shall you
Be paid your full recompense.
Only he who is saved
Far from the Fire
And admitted to the Garden
Will have attained
The object (of Life):
For the life of this world
Is but goods and chattels
Of deception.

186. Ye shall certainly
Be tried and tested
In your possessions
And in your personal selves;
And ye shall certainly
Hear much that will grieve you,
From those who received
The Book before you:
And from those who
Worship many gods.
But if ye persevere
Patiently, and guard
Against evil,— then
That will be
A determining factor
In all affairs.

187. And remember
God took a Covenant
From the People of the Book,
To make it known
And clear to mankind,
And not to hide it;
But they threw it away
Behind their backs,
And purchased with it
Some miserable gain!
And vile was the bargain
They made!

188. Think not that those
Who exult in what they
Have brought about, and love
To be praised for what
They have not done,—
Think not that they
Can escape the Penalty.
For them is a Penalty
Grievous indeed.

189. To God belongeth
The dominion
Of the heavens
And the earth;
And God hath power
Over all things.

190. Behold! In the creation
Of the heavens and the earth,
And the alternation
Of Night and Day,—
There are indeed Signs
For men of understanding,—

191. Men who celebrate
The praises of God,
Standing, sitting,
And lying down on their sides,
And contemplate
The (wonders of) creation
In the heavens and the earth,
(With the thought):
“Our Lord! not for naught
Hast Thou created (all) this!
Glory to Thee! Give us
Salvation from the Penalty
Of the Fire.

192. “Our Lord! any whom Thou
Dost admit to the Fire,
Truly Thou coverest with shame,
And never will wrong-doers
Find any helpers!

193. “Our Lord! we have heard
The call of one calling
(Us) to Faith, ‘Believe ye
In the Lord,’ and we
Have believed. Our Lord!
Forgive us our sins,
Blot out from us
Our iniquities, and take
To Thyself our souls
In the company of the righteous.

194. “Our Lord! Grant us
What Thou didst promise
Unto us through Thine Apostles,
And save us from shame
On the Day of Judgment:
For Thou never breakest
Thy promise.”

195. And their Lord hath accepted
Of them, and answered them:
“Never will I suffer to be lost
The work of any of you,
Be he male or female:
Ye are members, one of another:
Those who have left their homes,
Or been driven out therefrom,
Or suffered harm in My Cause,
Or fought or been slain,—
Verily, I will blot out
From them their iniquities,
And admit them into Gardens
With rivers flowing beneath;—
A reward from the Presence
Of God, and from His Presence
Is the best of rewards.”

196. Let not the strutting about
Of the Unbelievers
Through the land
Deceive thee:

197. Little is it for enjoyment:
Their ultimate abode
Is Hell: what an evil bed
(To lie on)!

198. On the other hand, for those
Who fear their Lord,
Are Gardens, with rivers
Flowing beneath; therein
Are they to dwell (for ever),—
A gift from the Presence
Of God; and that which is
In the Presence of God
Is the best (bliss)
For the righteous.

199. And there are, certainly,
Among the People of the Book,
Those who believe in God,
In the revelation to you,
And in the revelation to them,
Bowing in humility to God:
They will not sell
The Signs of God
For a miserable gain!
For them is a reward
With their Lord,
And God is swift in account.

200. O ye who believe!
Persevere in patience
And constancy; vie
In such perseverance;
Strengthen each other;
And fear God;
That ye may prosper.

In the name of God, Most Gracious
Most Merciful.

1. O mankind! reverence
Your Guardian-Lord,
Who created you
From a single Person,
Created, of like nature,
His mate, and from them twain
Scattered (like seeds)
Countless men and women;—
Reverence God, through Whom
Ye demand your mutual (rights),
And (reverence) the wombs
(That bore you): for God
Ever watches over you.

2. To orphans restore their property
(When they reach their age),
Nor substitute (your) worthless things
For (their) good ones; and devour not
Their substance (by mixing it up)
With your own.
For this is
Indeed a great sin.

3. If ye fear that ye shall not
Be able to deal justly
With the orphans,
Marry women of your choice,
Two, or three, or four;
But if ye fear that ye shall not
Be able to deal justly (with them),
Then only one, or (a captive)
That your right hands possess.
That will be more suitable,
To prevent you
From doing injustice.

4. And give the women
(On marriage) their dower
As a free gift; but if they,
Of their own good pleasure,
Remit any part of it to you,
Take it and enjoy it
With right good cheer.

5. To those weak of understanding
Make not over your property,
Which God hath made
A means of support for you,
But feed and clothe them
Therewith, and speak to them
Words of kindness and justice.

6. Make trial of orphans
Until they reach the age
Of marriage; if then ye find
Sound judgment in them,
Release their property to them;
But consume it not wastefully,
Nor in haste against their growing up.
If the guardian is well-off,
Let him claim no remuneration,
But if he is poor, let him
Have for himself what is
Just and reasonable.
When ye release their property
To them, take witnesses
In their presence:
But all-sufficient
Is God in taking account.

7. From what is left by parents
And those nearest relateds,
There is a share for men
And a share for women,
Whether the property be small
Or large,— a determinate share.

8. But if at the time of division
Other relatives, or orphans,
Or poor, are present,
Feed them out of the (property),
And speak to them
Words of kindness and justice.

9. Let those (disposing of an estate)
Have the same fear in their minds
As they would have for their own
If they had left a helpless family behind:
Let them fear God, and speak
Words of appropriate (comfort),

10. Those who unjustly
Eat up the property
Of orphans, eat up
A Fire into their own
Bodies: they will soon
Be enduring a blazing Fire!

11. God (thus) directs you
As regards your children’s
(Inheritance): to the male,
A portion equal to that
Of two females: if only
Daughters, two or more,
Their share is two-thirds
Of the inheritance;
If only one, her share
Is a half.

For parents, a sixth share
Of the inheritance to each,
If the deceased left children;
If no children, and the parents
Are the (only) heirs, the mother
Has a third; if the deceased
Left brothers (or sisters)
The mother has a sixth.
(The distribution in all cases
Is) after the payment
Of legacies and debts.
Ye know not whether
Your parents or your children
Are nearest to you
In benefit. These are
Settled portions ordained
By God; and God is
All-knowing, All-wise.

12. In what your wives leave, Your share is a half,
If they leave no child;
But if they leave a child,
Ye get a fourth; after payment
Of legacies and debts.
In what ye leave,
Their share is a fourth,
If ye leave no child;
But if ye leave a child,
They get an eighth; after payment
Of legacies and debts.

If the man or woman Whose inheritance is in question,Has left neither ascendants nor descendants,But has left a brotherOr a sister, each one of the twoGets a sixth; but if moreThan two, they share in a third;After payment of legaciesAnd debts; so that no lossIs caused (to any one).Thus is it ordained by God;And God is All-knowing,Most Forbearing.

13. Those are limits
Set by God: those who
Obey God and His Apostle
Will be admitted to Gardens
With rivers flowing beneath,
To abide therein (for ever)
And that will be
The Supreme achievement.

14. But those who disobey
God and His Apostle
And transgress His limits
Will be admitted
To a Fire, to abide therein:
And they shall have
A humiliating punishment.

15. If any of your women Are guilty of lewdness,
Take the evidence of four
(Reliable) witnesses from amongst you
Against them; and if they testify,
Confine them to houses until
Death do claim them,
Or God ordain for them
Some (other) way.

16. If two men among you
Are guilty of lewdness,
Punish them both.
If they repent and amend,
Leave them alone; for God
Is Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

17. God accepts the repentance
Of those who do evil
In ignorance and repent
Soon afterwards; to them
Will God turn in mercy:
For God is full of knowledge
And wisdom.

18. Of no effect is the repentance
Of those who continue
To do evil, until Death
Faces one of them, and he says,
“Now have I repented indeed;”
Nor of those who die
Rejecting Faith: for them
Have we prepared
A punishment most grievous.

19. O ye who believe!
Ye are forbidden to inherit
Women against their will.
Nor should ye treat them
With harshness, that ye may
Take away part of the dower
Ye have given them,— except
Where they have been guilty
Of open lewdness;
On the contrary live with them
On a footing of kindness and equity.
If ye take a dislike to them
It may be that ye dislike
A thing, and God brings about
Through it a great deal of good.

20. But if ye decide to take
One wife in place of another,
Even if ye had given the latter
A whole treasure for dower,
Take not the least bit of it back:
Would ye take it by slander
And a manifest wrong?

21. And how could ye take it
When ye have gone in
Unto each other, and they have
Taken from you a solemn covenant?

22. And marry not women
Whom your fathers married,—
Except what is past:
It was shameful and odious,—
An abominable custom indeed.

23. Prohibited to you
(For marriage) are:—
Your mothers, daughters,
Sisters; father’s sisters,
Mother’s sisters; brother’s daughters,
Sister’s daugters; foster-mothers
(Who gave you suck), foster-sisters;
Your wives’ mothers;
Your step-daughters under your
Guardianship, born of your wives
To whom ye have gone in,
No prohibition if ye have not gone in;—
(Those who have been)
Wives of your sons proceeding
From your loins;
And two sisters in wedlock
At one and the same time,
Except for what is past;
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful;—

24. Also (prohibited are)
Women already married,
Except those
Whom your right hands possess:
Thus hath God ordained
(Prohibitions) against you:
Except for these, all others
Are lawful, provided
Ye seek (them in marriage)
With gifts from your property,—
Desiring chastity, not lust.
Seeing that ye derive
Benefit from them, give them
Their dowers (at least)
As prescribed; but if,
After a dower is prescribed, ye agree
Mutually (to vary it),
There is no blame on you,
And God is All-knowing
All-wise.

25. If any of you have not
The means wherewith
To wed free believing women,
They may wed believing
Girls from among those
Whom your right hands possess:
God hath full knowledge
About your Faith.
Ye are one from another:
Wed them with the leave
Of their owners, and give them
Their dowers, according to what
Is reasonable: they should be
Chaste, not lustful, nor taking
Paramours: when they
Are taken in wedlock,
If they fall into shame,
Their punishment is half
That for free women.
This (permission) is for those
Among you who fear sin;
But it is better for you
That ye practise self-restraint.
And God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

26. God doth wish
To make clear to you
And to show you
The ordinances of those
Before you; and
(He Doth wish to) turn to you
(In Mercy): and God
Is All-knowing, All-wise.

27. God doth wish
To turn to you,
But the wish of those
Who follow their lusts
Is that ye should turn
Away (from Him),
Far, far away.

28. God doth wish
To lighten your (difficulties);
For man was created
Weak (in flesh).

29. O ye who believe! sot
Eat not up your property
Among yourselves in vanities:
But let there be amongst you
Traffic and trade
By mutual good-will:
Nor kill (or destroy)
Yourselves: for verily
God hath been to you
Most Merciful!

30. If any do that
In rancour and injustice,—
Soon shall We cast them
Into the Fire: and easy
It is for God.

31. If ye (but) eschew
The most heinous
Of the things
Which ye are forbidden to do,
We shall expel
Out of you
All the evil in you,
And admit you to a Gate
Of great honour.

32. And in no wise covet
Those things in which God
Hath bestowed His gifts
More freely on some of you
Than on others: to men
Is allotted what they earn,
And to women what they earn:
But ask God of His bounty.
For God hath full knowledge
Of all things.

33. To (benefit) every one,
We have appointed
Sharers and heirs
To property left
By parents and relatives.
To those, also, to whom
Your right hand was pledged,
Give their due portion.
For truly God is witness
To all things.

34. Men are the protectors And maintainers of women,
Because God has given
The one more (strength)
Than the other, and because
They support them
From their means.
Therefore the righteous women
Are devoutly obedient, and guard
In (the husband’s) absence
What God would have them guard.
As to those women
On whose part ye fear
Disloyalty and ill-conduct,
Admonish them (first),
(Next), refuse to share their beds,
(And last) beat them (lightly);
But if they return to obedience,
Seek not against them
Means (of annoyance):
For God is Most High,
Great (above you all).

35. If ye fear a breach
Between them twain,
Appoint (two) arbiters,
One from his family,
And the other from hers;
If they wish for peace,
God will cause
Their reconciliation:
For God hath full knowledge,
And is acquainted
With all things.

36. Serve God, and join not
Any partners with Him;
And do good
To parents, kinsfolk,
Orphans, those in need,
Neighbours who are near,
Neighbours who are strangers,
The Companion by your side,
The way-farer (ye meet),
And what your right hands possess:
For God loveth not
The arrogant, the vainglorious;—

37.(Nor) those who are niggardly
Or enjoin niggardliness on others,
Or hide the bounties
Which God hath bestowed
On them; for
We have prepared,
For those who resist Faith,
A Punishment that steeps
Them in contempt;—

38. Not those who spend
Of their substance, to be seen
Of men, but have no faith
In God and the Last Day:
If any take the Evil One
For their intimate,
What a dreadful intimate he is!

39. And what burden
Were it on them if they
Had faith in God
And in the Last Day,
And they spent
Out of what God hath
Given them for sustenance?
For God hath full
Knowledge of them.

40. God is never unjust
In the least degree:
If there is any good (done),
He doubleth it,
And giveth from His own
Presence a great reward.

41. How then if We brought
From each People a witness,
And We brought thee
As a witness against
These People!

42. On that day
Those who reject Faith
And disobey the Apostle
Will wish that the earth
Were made one with them:
But never will they hide
A single fact from God!

43. O ye who believe! Approach not prayers
With a mind befogged,
Until ye can understand
All that ye say,
Nor in a state
Of ceremonial impurity
(Except when travelling on the road),
Until after washing
Your whole body.
If ye are ill,
Or on a journey,
Or one of you cometh
From offices of nature,
Or ye have been
In contact with women,
And ye find no water,
Then take for yourselves
Clean sand or earth,
And rub therewith
Your faces and hands.
For God doth blot out sins
And forgive again and again.

44. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were given a portion
Of the Book? They traffic
In error, and wish that ye
Should lose the right path.

45. But God hath full knowledge
Of your enemies:
God is enough for a Protector,
And God is enough for a Helper.

46. Of the Jews there are those
Who displace words
From their (right) places,
And say: “We hear
And we disobey”;
And “Hear what is not
Heard”; and “Rā’inā”;—
With a twist of their tongues
And a slander to Faith.
If only they had said:
“We hear and we obey”;
And “Do hear”;
And “Do look at us”:
It would have been better
For them, and more proper;
But God hath cursed them
For their Unbelief; and but few
Of them will believe.

47. O ye People of the Book!
Believe in what We
Have (now) revealed, confirming
What was (already) with you,
Before We change the face and fame
Of some (of you) beyond all recognition,
And turn them hindwards,
Or curse them as We cursed
The Sabbath-breakers,
For the decision of God
Must be carried out.

48. God forgiveth not
That partners should be set up
With Him; but He forgiveth
Anything else, to whom
He pleaseth; to set up Partners with God
Is to devise a sin
Most heinous indeed.

49. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who claim sanctity
For themselves?
Nay— but God
Doth sanctify
Whom He pleaseth.
But never will they
Fail to receive justice
In the least little thing.

50. Behold! how they invent
A lie against God!
But that by itself
Is a manifest sin!

51. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were given a portion
Of the Book? They believe
In Sorcery and Evil,
And say to the Unbelievers
That they are better guided
In the (right) way
Than the Believers!

52. They are (men) whom
God hath cursed:
And those whom God
Hath cursed, thou wilt find,
Have no one to help.

53. Have they a share
In dominion or power?
Behold, they give not a farthing
To their fellow-men?

54. Or do they envy mankind
For what God hath given them
Of his bounty? But We
Had already given the people
Of Abraham the Book
And Wisdom, and conferred
Upon them a great kingdom.

55. Some of them believed,
And some of them averted
Their faces from him: and enough
Is Hell for a burning fire.

56. Those who reject
Our Signs, We shall soon
Cast into the Fire:
As often as their skins
Are roasted through,
We shall change them
For fresh skins,
That they may taste
The Penalty: for God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise.

57. But those who believe
And do deeds of righteousness,
We shall soon admit to Gardens,
With rivers flowing beneath,—
Their eternal home:
Therein shall they have
Companions pure and holy: ye
We shall admit them
To shades, cool and ever deepening.

58. God doth command you
To render back your Trusts
To those to whom they are due;
And when ye judge
Between man and man,
That ye judge with justice:
Verily how excellent
Is the teaching which He giveth you!
For God is He Who heareth
And seeth all things.

59. O ye who believe!
Obey God, and obey the Apostle,
And those charged
With authority among you.
If ye differ in anything
Among yourselves, refer it
To God and His Apostle,
If ye do believe in God
And the Last Day:
That is best, and most suitable
For final determination.

60. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who declare that they believe
In the revelations
That have come to thee
And to those before thee?
Their (real) wish is
To resort together for judgment
(In their disputes)
To the Evil One,
Though they were ordered
To reject him.
But Satan’s wish
Is to lead them astray
Far away (from the Right).

61. When it is said to them:
“Come to what God hath revealed,
And to the Apostle”:
Thou seest the Hypocrites avert
Their faces from thee in disgust.

62. How then, when they are
Seized by misfortune,
Because of the deeds
Which their hands have sent forth?
Then they come to thee,
Swearing by God:
“We meant no more
Than good-will and conciliation!”

63. Those men,— God knows
What is in their hearts;
So keep clear of them, as:
But admonish them,
And speak to them a word
To reach their very souls.

64. We sent not an Apostle,
But to be obeyed, in accordance
With the Will of God.
If they had only,
When they were unjust
To themselves,
Come unto thee
And asked God’s forgiveness,
And the Apostle had asked
Forgiveness for them,
They would have found
God indeed Oft-returning,
Most Merciful.

65. But no, by thy Lord,
They can have
No (real) Faith,
Until they make thee judge
In all disputes between them,
And find in their souls
No resistance against
Thy decisions, but accept
Them with the fullest conviction.

66. If We had ordered them
To sacrifice their lives
Or to leave their homes,
Very few of them
Would have done it:
But if they had done
What they were (actually) told,
It would have been best
For them, and would have gone
Farthest to strengthen their (faith);

67. And We should then have
Given them from Our Presence
A great reward;

68. And We should have
Shown them the Straight Way.

69. All who obey God
And the Apostle
Are in the company
Of those on whom
Is the Grace of God,—
Of the Prophets (who teach),
The Sincere (lovers of Truth),
The Witnesses (who testify),
And the Righteous (who do good):
Ah! what a beautiful Fellowship!

70. Such is the Bounty
From God: and sufficient
Is it that God knoweth all.

71. O ye who believe!
Take your precautions,
And either go forth in parties
Or go forth all together.

72. There are certainly among you
Men who would tarry behind:
If a misfortune befalls you,
They say: “God did favour us
In that we were not
Present among them.”

73. But if good fortune comes to you
From God, they would be sure
To say— as if there had never been
Ties of affection between you and them—

“Oh! I wish I had been with them; A fine thing should I then
Have made of it!”

74. Let those fight
In the cause of God
Who sell the life of this world
For the Hereafter.
To him who fighteth
In the cause of God,—
Whether he is slain
Or gets victory
Soon shall We give him
A reward of great (value).

75. And why should ye not
Fight in the cause of God
And of those who, being weak,
Are ill-treated (and oppressed)?—
Men, women, and children,
Whose cry is: “Our Lord!
Rescue us from this town,
Whose people are oppressors;
And raise for us from Thee
One who will protect;
And raise for us from Thee
One who will help!”

76. Those who believe
Fight in the cause of God,
And those who reject Faith
Fight in the cause of Evil:
So fight ye against the
Friends of Satan: feeble indeed
Is the cunning of Satan.

77. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were told to hold back
Their hands (from fight)
But establish regular prayers
And spend in regular Charity?
When (at length) the order
For fighting was issued to them,
Behold! a section of them
Feared men as
Or even more than
They should have feared God:
They said: “Our Lord!
Why hast Thou ordered us
To fight? Wouldst Thou not
Grant us respite
To our (natural) term,
Near (enough)?” Say: “Short
Is the enjoyment of this world:
The Hereafter is the best
For those who do right:
Never will ye be
Dealt with unjustly
In the very least!

78. “Wherever ye are, Death will find you out,
Even if ye are in towers
Built up strong and high!”

If some good befalls them, They say, “This is from God”;But if evil, they say,“This is from thee” (O Prophet).
Say: “All things are from God.”But what hath comeTo these people,That they failTo understandA single fact?

79. Whatever good,(O man!)
Happens to thee, is from God;
But whatever evil happens
To thee, is from thy (own) soul.
And We have sent thee
As an Apostle
To (instruct) mankind.
And enough is God
For a witness.

80. He who obeys
The Apostle, obeys God:
But if any turn away,
We have not sent thee
To watch over
Their (evil deeds).

81. They have “Obedience”
On their lips; but
When they leave thee,
A section of them
Meditate all night
On things very different
From what thou tellest them.
But God records
Their nightly (plots):
So keep clear of them,
And put thy trust in God,
And enough is God
As a disposer of affairs.

82. Do they not consider
The Qur-ān (with care)?
Had it been from other
Than God, they would surely
Have found therein
Much discrepancy.

83. When there comes to them
Some matter touching
(Public) safety or fear,
They divulge it.
If they had only referred it
To the Apostle, or to those
Charged with authority
Among them, the proper
Investigators would have
Tested it from them (direct).
Were it not for the Grace
And Mercy of God unto you,
All but a few of you
Would have fallen
Into the clutches of Satan.