Part 4
Say: O people of the Book! why
disbelieve you the signs of God? But God is witness of your doings.
Say: O people of the Book! why
repel believers from the way of God? You fain would make it crooked, and yet
you are its witnesses! But God is not regardless of what you do.
O
believers! if you obey some amongst those who have
received the Scripture, after your very Faith will they make you infidels!
But
how can you become infidels, when the signs of God are recited to you, and his
prophet is among you? Whoever holdest fast by God, is already guided to a
straight path.
O you
believers! fear God as He deserveth to be feared! and die not till you have become Muslims.
And
hold you fast by the cord of God, all of you, and break not loose from it; and
remember God's goodness towards you, how that when you were enemies, He united
your hearts, and by his favour you became brethren;
And
when you were on the brink of the pit of fire, he drew you back from it. Thus
God clearly sheweth you his signs that you may be guided;
3:100 And that
there may be among you a people who invite to the Good, and enjoin the Just,
and forbid the Wrong. These are they with whom it shall be well.
And be
you not like those who have formed divisions, and fallen to variance after the
clear proofs have come to them. These! a terrible
chastisement doth await them,
On the
day when faces shall turn white, and faces shall turn black! And as to those
whose faces shall have turned black "....What! after
your belief have you become infidels? Taste then the chastisement, for that you
have been unbelievers."
And as
to those whose faces shall have become white, they shall be within the mercy of
God: therein shall they abide for ever.
These
are the signs of God: we recite them to thee
in truth: And God willeth not injustice to
mankind.
Whatever
is in the Heavens, and whatever is on the Earth, is God's. And to God shall all
things return.
You
are the best folk that hath been raised up unto
mankind. You enjoin the Just, and you forbid the Evil, and you believe in God: And if the people of the Book had believed, it had
surely been better for them! Believers there are among them, but most of them
are perverse.
They
will never inflict on you but a trifling damage; and if they do battle with
you, they shall turn their backs to you: then
they shall not be succoured.
Shame shall
be stamped upon them wherever found, unless they ally them with God and men!
And the wrath of God will they incur, and poverty shall be stamped upon them!
This -- for that they believed not in the signs of God, and slew the prophets
unjustly: This -- because they rebelled, and
became transgressors.
Yet
all are not alike: Among the people of the
Book is an upright folk, who recite the signs of God in the night-season, and
adore:
3:110 They believe
in God and in the latter day, and enjoin justice, and forbid evil, and speed on
in good works. These are of the righteous.
And of
whatever good you do, you shall not be denied the meed. God knoweth those who
fear Him.
But as
for the infidels, their wealth, and their children shall avail them nothing
against God. They shall be the inmates of the fire, to abide therein eternally.
The
alms which they bestow in this present life, are like
a freezing wind, which falleth upon and destroyeth the cornfields of a people
who have been to themselves unjust. God doeth them to injustice, to to
themselves are they unjust.
O you
who have believed! form not intimacies among others
than yourselves. They will not fail to corrupt you. They long for your ruin.
Hatred hath already shewn itself out of their mouths, but more grievous is what
their breasts conceal. The tokens thereof we have already made plain to you, if
you will comprehend.
See
now! you love them, but they love not you. You believe
the entire Book. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe;" but
when they are apart, they bite their fingers' ends at you, out of wrath. Say: "Die in your wrath!" God truly knoweth
the very recesses of your breasts.
If
good befalleth you it grieveth them, and when ill lighteth on you, they rejoice
in it. But if you be steadfast and fear God, their craft shall in no way harm
you. For God is round about their doings.
And
remember when thou didst leave thy household at early morn, that thou mightest
prepare the faithful a camp for the war; -- God heard, knew it --
When
two troops of you became full of anxious thoughts, and lost heart, and when God
became the protector of both! In God, then, let the faithful trust.
God
had already succoured you at Bedr, when you were the weaker! Fear God,. then, that you may be thankful.
3:120 Then thou didst say to the faithful,
"is it not enough for you that your Lord aideth you with three thousand
angels sent down from on high?"
Aye: but if you be steadfast
and fear God, and the foe come upon you in hot haste, your Lord will help you
with five thousand angels in their cognisances!
This,
as pure good tidings for you, did God appoint, that your hearts might be
assured -- for only from God, the Mighty, the Wise, cometh the Victory - and
that He might cut off the uttermost part of those who believed not, or cast
them down so that they should be overthrown, defeated without resource.
It is
none of thy concern whether He be turned unto them in
kindness or chastise them: for verily they are
wrongful doers.
Whatever
is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's! He forgiveth whom He will, and whom
He will, chastiseth: for God is Forgiving,
Merciful.
O you
who believe! devour not usury, doubling it again and
again! But fear God, that you may prosper.
And
fear the fire which is prepared for them that believe not; and obey God and the
apostle, that you may find mercy:
And
vie in haste for pardon from your Lord, and a
Who
give alms, alike in prosperity and in success, and who master their anger, and
forgive others! God loveth the doers of good.
They
who, after they have done a base deed or committed a wrong against their own
selves, remember God and implore forgiveness of their sins -- and who will
forgive sins but God only? -- persevere not in what they have wittingly done
amiss.
3:130 As for these! Pardon from their Lord
shall be their recompense, and gardens 'neath which the rivers flow; for ever
shall they abide therein: And goodly the
reward of those who labour!
Already,
before your time, have examples been made! Traverse the earth, then, and see
what hath been the end of those who treat prophets as liars.
This
Koran is a manifest to man, and a guidance, and a warning to the God-fearing!
And be
not fainthearted, and be not sorrowful: For
you shall gain the upper hand if you be believers.
If a
wound hath befallen you, a wound like it hath already befallen others: we alternate these days of successes and reverses
among men, that God may know those who have believed, and that He may take
martyrs from among you, - but God loveth not the wrongful doers --
And
that God may test those who believe, and destroy the infidels.
Thought
you that you should enter
You
had desired death ere you met it. But you have now seen it -- and you have
beheld it -- and fled from it!
Muhammad
is no more than an apostle; other apostles have already passed away before him: if he die, therefore, or be slain, will you turn
on your heels? But he who turneth on his heels shall not injure God at all: And God will certainly reward the thankful!
No one
can die except by God's permission, according to the Book that fixeth the term
of life. He who desireth the recompense of this world, we will give him
thereof; And he who desireth the recompense of the next life, we will give him
thereof! And we will certainly reward the thankful.
3:140 How many a prophet hath combated those
who had with them many myriads! Yet were they not daunted at what befel them on
the path of God, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit! God loveth
those who endure with steadfastness.
Nor
said they more than this: "O our Lord!
forgive us our sins and our mistakes in this our work; and set our feet firm;
and help us against the unbelieving people." And God gave them the
recompense of this world, and the excellence of the recompense of the next. For
God loveth the doers of what is excellent.
O you
who have believed! if you obey the infidels, they will cause you to turn upon
your heels, and you will fall back into perdition:
But
God is your liege lord, and He is the best of helpers.
We
will cast a dread into hearts of the infidels because they have joined gods
with God without warranty sent down; their abode shall be the fire; and
wretched shall be the mansion of the evil doers.
Already
had God made good to you His promise, when by His permission you destroyed your
foes, until your courage failed you, and you disputed about the order, and
disobeyed, after that the Prophet had brought you within view of that for which
you longed.
Some
of you were for this world, and some for the next. Then, in order to make trial
of you, He turned you to flight from them, -- yet hath He now forgiven you; for
all-bounteous is God to the faithful --
When
you came up the height and took no heed of any one, while the Prophet in your
rear was calling you to the fight! God hath rewarded you with trouble upon trouble,
that you might learn not to be chagrined at your loss of booty, or at what
befel you! God is acquainted with your actions.
Then
after the trouble God sent down security upon you. Slumber fell upon a part of
you: as to the other part -- their own passions
stirred them up to think unjustly of God with thoughts of ignorance! They said
-- What gain we by this affair? Say: Verily
the affair resteth wholly with God. They hid in their minds what they did not
speak out to thee, saying, "Were we to have gained aught in this affair,
none of us had been slain at this place." Say:
Had you remained in your homes, they who were decreed to be slain would have
gone forth to the places where they lie: -- in
order that God might make trial of what was in your breasts, and might discover
what was in your hearts, for God knoweth the very secrets of the breast.
Of a
truth it was Satan alone who caused those of you to fail in duty who turned
back on the day when the hosts met, for some of their doings! But now hath God
pardoned them; For God is Forgiving, Gracious.
3:150 O you who believe! be not like the
infidels, who said of their brethren when they had travelled by land or had
gone forth to war, "Had they kept with us, they had not died, and had not
been slain!"| God purposed that this affair should cause them heart
sorrow! God maketh alive and killeth; and God beholdeth your actions.
And if
you shall be slain or die on the path of God, then pardon from God and mercy is
better than all your amassings;
For if
you die or be slain, verily unto God shall you be gathered.
Of the
mercy of God thou hast spoken to them in gentle terms. Hadst thou been severe
and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from thee. Therefore, forgive
and ask for pardon for them, and consult them in the affair of warn, and when
thou art resolved, then put thou thy trust in God, for God loveth those who
trust in Him.
If God
help you, none shall overcome you; but if He abandon you, who is he that shall
help you when He is gone? In God, then, let the faithful trust.
It is
not the Prophet who will defraud you; -- But he who shall defraud, shall come
forth with his defraudings on the day of the resurrection: then shall every soul be paid what it hath
merited, and they shall not be treated with injustice.
Shall
he who hath followed the good pleasure of God be as he who hath brought on
himself wrath from God, and whose abode shall be Hell? and wretched the journey
thither!
There
are varying grades with God: and God beholdeth
what you do.
Now
hath God been gracious to the faithful, when he raised up among them an apostle
out of their own people, to rehearse unto them his signs, and to cleanse them,
and to give them knowledge of the Book and of Wisdom:
for before they were in manifest error.
When a
reverse hath befallen you, the like of which you had before inflicted, say you,
"Whence is this?" Say: It is from
yourselves. For God hath power over all things.
3:160 And that which befel you on the day
when the armies met, was certainly by the will of God, and that he might know
the faithful, and that he might know the hypocrites! And when the word was
"Advance, fight on the path of God, or drive back the foe," -- they
said "Had we known how to fight, we would have followed you." Nearer
were some of them on that day to unbelief than to faith:
They
said with their lips what was not in their hearts! But God knew what they
concealed,
Who
said of their brethren while themselves sat at home, "Had they obeyed us,
they had not been slain." Say: Keep back
death from yourselves if you speak truth.
And
repute not those slain on God's path to be dead. Nay, alive with their Lord,
are they richly sustained;
Rejoicing
in what God of his bounty hath vourchsafed them, filled with joy for those who
follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them, that on them nor fear shall
come, nor grief;
Filled
with joy at the favours of God, and at his bounty:
and that God suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.
As to
those who after the reverse which befel them, respond to God and the Apostle --
such of them as do good works and fear God, shall have a great reward:
Who,
when men said to them, "Now are the Meccans mustering against you;
therefore fear them!" it only increased their faith, and they said,
"Our sufficiency is God, and He is an excellent protector."
They
returned, therefore, with the favour of God, enriched by Him, and untouched by
harm; and they followed what was well pleasing to God. And God is of great
Munificence.
Only
would that Satan instill the fear of his adherents:
Fear them not, but fear me if you are believers.
3:170 Let not those who view in haste after
infidelity grieve thee: Verily not one whit
shall they injure God! God will refuse them all part in the life to come: a severe chastisement shall be their lot.
They
truly who purchase infidelity at the price of their faith, shall not injure God
on whit! and a grievous chastisement shall be their lot.
Let
not the infidels deem that the length of days we give them is good for them! We
only give them length of days that they may increase their sins! and a shameful
chastisement shall be their lot.
It is
not in God to leave the faithful in the state in which they are, until he sever
the bad from the good:
Nor is
God minded to lay open the secret things to you, but God chooseth whom he will
of his apostles to know them. Believe, therefore, in God and his apostles: and if you believe and fear God, a great reward
awaited you.
And
let not those who are niggard of what God hath vouchsafed them in his bounty,
think that this will be good for them -- Nay, it will be bad for them --
That
of which they have been niggard shall be their collar on the day of the
resurrection. God's, the heritage of the Heavens and of the Earth! And God is
well-informed of all you do.
Now
hath God heard the saying of those who said:
"Aye, God is poor and we are rich." We will surely write down their
sayings, and their unjust slaughter of the prophets; and we will say,
"Taste you the torment of the burning.
This,
for what your hands have sent before you; and because God will not inflict a
wrong upon his servants!:
To
those who say, "Verily, God hath enjoined us that we are not to credit an
apostle until he present us a sacrifice which fire out of Heaven shall
devour,"
3:180 Say:
Already have apostles before me come to you with miracles, and with that of
which you speak. Wherefore slew you them? Tell me, if you are men of truth.
And if
they treat thee as a liar, then verily apostles have been treated as liars
before thee, though they came with clear proofs of their mission, and with
Scriptures, and with the light-giving Book.
Every
soul shall taste of death: and you shall only
receive your recompenses on the day of resurrection. And whoso shall scape the
fire, and be brought into
You
shall assuredly be tried in your possessions and in yourselves. And many
hurtful things shall you assuredly hear from those to whom the Scriptures were
given before you, and from those who join other gods with God. But if you be
steadfast, and fear God -- this verily is needed in the affairs of life.
Moreover,
when God entered into a covenant with those to whom the Scriptures had been
given, and said, "You shall surely make it known to mankind and not hide
it," they cast it behind their backs, and sold it for a sorry price! But
vile is that for which they have sold it.
Suppose
not that they who rejoice in what they have brought to pass, and love to be
praised for what they have not done -- suppose not they shall escape the
chastisement. And afflictive chastisement doth await them,
For
the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth is God's, and God hath power over all
things.
Verily,
in the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, and in the succession of the
night and of the day, are signs for men of understanding heart;
Who
standing, and sitting, and reclining, bear God in mind, and muse on the
creation of the Heavens and of the Earth. "O our Lord!" say they,
"thou hast not created this in vain. No. Glory be to Thee! Keep us, then,
from the torment of the fire.
O our
Lord! surely thou wilt put him to shame whom thou shalt cause to enter into the
Fire, and the wrong-doers shall have none to help them.
3:190 O our Lord! we have indeed heard the
voice of one that called. He called us to the faith -- 'Believe you on your
Lord' -- and we have believed.
O our
Lord! forgive us then our sin, and hide away from us our evil deeds, and cause
us to die with the righteous.
O our
Lord! and give us what thou has promised us by thine apostles, and put us not
to shame on the day of the resurrection. Verily, Thou wilt not fail thy
promise."
And
their Lord answereth them, "I will not suffer the work of him among you
that worketh, whether of male or female, to be lost. The one of you is the
issue of the other.
And
they who have fled their country and quitted their homes and suffered in my
cause, and have fought and fallen, I will blot out their sins from them, and I
will bring them into gardens beneath which the streams do flow."
A
recompense from God! and God! with Him is the perfection of recompense!
Let
not prosperity in the land on the part of those who believe not, deceive thee.
'Tis but a brief enjoyment! Then shall Hell be their abode; and wretched the
bed!
But as
to those who fear their Lord -- for them are the gardens 'neath which the
rivers flow: therein shall they abide for aye.
Such their reception with God -- and that which is with God is best for the
righteous.
Among
the people of the Book are those who believe in God, and in what He hath sent
down to you, and in what He hath sent down to them, humbling themselves before
God. they barter not the signs of God for a mean price.
These!
their recompense awaiteth them with their Lord:
aye! God is swift to take account.
3:200 O you who believe! be patient and vie
in patience, and be firm, and fear God, that it may be well with you.
Sura IV (4)
Women
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O men!
fear your Lord, who hath created you of one man (nafs, soul), and of him
created his wife, and from these twain hath spread abroad so many men and
women. And fear you God, in whose name you ask mutual favours, -- reverence the
wombs that bare you. Verily is God watching over you!
And
give to the orphans their property; substitute not worthless things of your own
for their valuable ones, and devour not their property after adding it to your
own; for this is a great crime.
And if
you are apprehensive that you shall not deal fairly with orphans, then, of
other women who seem good in your eyes, marry but two, or three, or four; and
if you still fear that you shall not act equitably, then one only; or the
slaves whom you have acquired: this will make
justice on your part easier. Give women their dowry freely; but if of
themselves they give up aught thereof to you, then enjoy it as convenient, and
profitable.
And
entrust not to the incapable the substance which God hath placed with you for
their support; but maintain them therewith, and clothe them, and speak to them
with kindly speech.
And
make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; and if you perceive
in them a sound judgment, then hand over their substance to them; but consume
you it not wastefully, or by hastily entrusting it to them;
Because
they are growing up. And let the rich guardian not even touch it; and let him who
is poor use it for his support (eat of it) with discretion.
And
when you make over their substance to them, then take witnesses in their
presence: God also maketh a sufficient
account.
Men
ought to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave; and women a part
of what their parents and kindred leave:
whether it be little or much, let them have a stated portion.
And
when they who are of kin are present at the division, and the orphans and the
poor, let them too have a share; and speak to them with kindly speech.
4:10 And let those be afraid to wrong the
orphans, who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would be
solicitous on their account. Let them, therefore, fear god, and let them
propose what is right.
Verily
they who swallow the substance of the orphan wrongfully, shall swallow down
only fire into their belies, and shall burn in the flame!
With
regard to your children, God commandeth you to give the male the portion of two
females; and if they be females more than two, then they shall have two-thirds
of that which their father hath left: but if
she be an only daughter, she shall have the half; and the father and mother of
the deceased shall each of them have a sixth part of what he hath left, if he
have a child; but if he have no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his
mother shall have a third: and if he have
brethren, his mother shall have the sixth, after paying the bequests he shall
have bequeathed, and his debts. As to your fathers, or your children, you know
not which of them is the most advantageous to you. This is the law of God.
Verily, God is Knowing, Wise!
Half
of what your wives leave shall be your's, if they have no issue; but if they
have issue, then a fourth of what they leave shall be your's, after paying the
bequests they shall bequeath, and debts.
And
your wives shall have a fourth part of what you leave, if you have no issue;
but if you have issue, then they shall have an eighth part of what you leave,
after paying the bequests y shall bequeath, and debts.
If a
man or a woman make a distant relation their heir, and he or she have a brother
or a sister, each of these two shall have a sixth; but if there are more than
this, then shall they be sharers in a third, after payment of the bequests he
shall have bequeathed, and debts.
Without
loss to any one. This is the ordinance of God, and God is Knowing, Gracious!
These
are precepts of God; and whoso obeyeth God and his prophet, him shall God bring
into gardens beneath whose shades the rivers flow, therein to abide for ever: and this, the great blessedness!
And
whoso shall rebel against God and his apostle, and shall break His bounds, him
shall God place in the fire to abide therein for ever; and his shall be a
shameful torment.
If any
of your women be guilty of whoredom, then bring four witnesses against them
from among yourselves; and if they bear witness to the fact, shut them up
within their houses till death release them, or God make some way for them.
4:20 And if two men among you commit the
same crime, then punish them both; but if they turn and amend, then let them
be; for God is He who turneth, Merciful!
With
God himself will the repentance of those who have done evil ignorantly, and
then turn speedily unto Him, but accepted. These! God will turn unto them: for God is Knowing, Wise!
But no
place of repentance shall there be for those who do evil, until, when death is
close to one of them, he saith, "Now verily am I turned to God;" nor
to those who die unbelievers. These! we have made ready for them a grievous
torment!
O
believers! it is not allowed you to be heirs of your wives against their will;
nor to hinder them from marrying, in order to take from them part of the dowry
you had given them, unless they have been guilty of undoubted lewdness; but
associate kindly with them: for if you are
estranged from them, haply you are estranged from that in which God hath placed
abundant good.