Economic Justice

And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God or give the lie to His messages? Verily, those who are lost in sin will never attain to a happy state 25 -

There and then will every human being clearly apprehend what he has done in the past; and all will be brought back unto God, their true Lord Supreme, and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.

notwithstanding that no human being can ever attain to faith otherwise than by God's leave, and [that] it is He who lays the loathsome evil [of disbelief] upon those who will not use their reason?"

And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God? [On the Day of Judgment, such as] these shall be arraigned before their Sustainer, and those who are called upon to bear witness [against them] shall say, "It is they who uttered lies about their Sustainer!" Oh, verily, God's rejection is the due of all evildoers 37

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AND [one day] the King said:44 "Behold, I saw [in a dream] seven fat cows being devoured by seven emaciated ones, and seven green ears [of wheat] next to [seven] others that were withered. O you nobles! Enlighten me about [the meaning of] my dream, if you are able to interpret dreams!"

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HE IT IS who displays before you the lightning, to give rise to [both] fear and hope, and calls heavy clouds into being;

AND NEVER have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than [with a message] in his own people's tongue, so that he might make [the truth] clear unto them; but God lets go astray him that wills [to go astray], and guides him that wills [to be guided] - for He alone is almighty, truly wise.

: [And all shall be judged on that Day,] so that God may requite every human being for all that he has earned [in life]: verily, God is swift in reckoning!

and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration!"

[so] turn, not thine eyes [longingly] towards the worldly benefits which We have granted unto some 63 of those [that deny the truth]. And neither grieve over those [who refuse to heed thee], but spread the wings of thy tenderness over the believers,

He causes the angels to descend with this divine inspiration, [bestowed] at His behest upon whomever He wills of His servants: "Warn [all human beings] that there is no deity save Me: be, therefore, conscious of Me!"

Hence, on Resurrection Day they shall bear the full weight of their own burdens, as well as some of the burdens of those ignorant ones whom they have led astray:18 oh, how evil the load with which they shall be burdened!

AND [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired:45 and if you have not [yet] realized this, ask the followers of [earlier] revelation,

And [We grant you nourishment] from the fruit of date-palms and vines: from it you derive intoxicants as well as wholesome sustenance - in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who use their reason!

And on some of you God has bestowed more abundant means of sustenance than on others: and yet, they who are more abundantly favoured are [often] unwilling to share their sustenance with those whom their right hands possess, so that they [all] might be equal in this respect. Will they, then, God's blessings [thus] deny?

for one Day We shall raise up within every community a witness against them from among themselves. And thee [too, O Prophet,] have We brought forth to bear witness regarding those [whom thy message may have reached], inasmuch as We have bestowed from on high upon thee, step by step, this divine writ, to make everything clear, and to provide guidance and grace and a glad tiding unto all who have surrendered themselves to God.

BEHOLD, God enjoins justice, and the doing of good, and generosity towards [one's] fellow-men; and He forbids all that is shameful and all that runs counter to reason, as well as envy; [and] He exhorts you [repeatedly] so that you might bear [all this] in mind. 105 See note 100 above. 106 Although the Arabian contemporaries of the Prophet were, naturally, the first to whom his revelation was conveyed - a fact that gave a particular weight to the manner in which they responded to it - the Qur'anic message as such is addressed to all mankind (see in this connection, in particular, 7:158 and 21:107, as well as the corresponding notes). 107 I.e., everything that pertains to the knowledge of good and evil, in both the individual and social senses of these terms. - Regarding my rendering of nazzalna, it should be borne in mind that this particular grammatical form is often used in the Qur'an to bring out the fact that it was revealed gradually ("step by step") over a considerable period of time, and not in one piece. 108 Lit., "the giving to [one's] kinsfolk (dhu 'l-qurba)". The latter term usually denotes "relatives", either by blood or by marriage; but since it occurs here in the context of a comprehensive ethical exhortation, it obviously alludes to man's "kinsfolk" in the widest sense of the term, namely, to his "fellow-men". 109 The term al-munkar (rendered by me in other places as "that which is wrong") has here its original meaning of "that which the mind [or the moral sense] rejects", respectively "ought to reject". Zamakshari is more specific, and explais this term as signifying in the above context "that which [men's] intellects disown" or "declare to be untrue" (ma tunkiruhu al-'uqul): in other words, all that runs counter to reason and good sense (which, obviously, must not be confused with that which is beyond man's comprehension). This eminently convincing explanation relates not merely to intellectually unacceptable propositions (in the abstract sense of the term) but also to grossly unreasonable and, therefore, reprehensible actions or attitudes and is, thus, fully in tune with the rational approach of the Qur'an to questions of ethics as well as with its insistence on reasonableness and moderation in man's behaviour. Hence my rendering - of al-munkar, in this and in similar instances, as "all that runs counter to reason".

And, indeed, full well do We know that they say, "It is but a human being that imparts [all] this to him!" [notwithstanding that] the tongue of him to whom they so maliciously point is wholly outlandish, whereas this is Arabic speech, clear [in itself] and clearly showing the truth [of its source]. 125 I.e., by substituting the message of the Qur'an for the earlier dispensations - and not, as some Muslim scholars maintain, "abrogating" one Qur'anic verse and replacing it by another. (Regarding the untenable "doctrine of abrogation", in the latter sense, see 2:106 and the corresponding note 87; see also note 35 on 41:42.) 126 I.e., the gradualness of revelation (implied in the verbal form yunazzil) corresponds to God's plan, according to which He has gradually unfolded His will to man, substituting one dispensation for another in the measure of mankind's intellectual and social development, bringing it to its culmination in the message of the Qur'an. 127 I.e., they do not understand the necessity of a new dispensation and, therefore, do not really understand the Qur'an. 128 As in the three other places in which the expression ruh al-qudus occurs (2:87 and 253, and 5:110), am rendering it here, too, as "holy inspiration" (see surah 2, note 71), a term which, to my mind, is a Qur'anic synonym for "divine revelation". However, a literal rendering-"spirit of holiness" - is also possible if one applies this term to the angel who communicates God's revelations to the prophets. (See also verse 2 of this surah and the corresponding note 2.) 129 I.e., to Muhammad - thus insinuating that his claim to divine revelation was false. 130 Whereas some of the pagan Quraysh regarded the ideas expressed in the Qur'an as "invented" by Muhammad, others thought that they must have been imparted to him by a foreigner - perhaps a Christian - who lived in Mecca at that time, or whom the Prophet was supposed to have encountered at an earlier period of his life. Various conjectures have been advanced - both by early Muslim commentators and by modern orientalists - as to the "identity" of the person or persons whom the suspicious Meccans might have had in mind in this connection; but all these conjectures are purely speculative and, therefore, of no historical value whatever. The suspicion of the pagan Meccans implies no more than the historical fact that those of the Prophet's opponents who were unwilling to pay him the compliment of having "invented" the Qur'an (the profundity of which they were unable to deny) conveniently attributed its authorship or at least its inspiration - to a mythical non-Arab "teacher" of the Prophet. 131 For an explanation of this composite rendering of the descriptive term mubin, see surah 12, note 2. 'the term is used here to stress the fact that no human being - and certainly no non-Arab - could ever have produced the flawless, exalted Arabic diction in which the Qur'an is expressed.

[Be conscious, then, of] the Day when every human being shall come to plead for himself [alone], and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged. 132 I.e., the scurrilous allegation referred to in verse 103. Although this statement alludes, in the first instance, to the hostile contemporaries of the Prophet, it extends, by obvious implication, to people of all times who refuse to believe in the reality of Muhammad's revelations, and try to explain them away as obsessive illusions or even as deliberate fabrications. 133 Lit., "except" - but the Arabic construction of the sentence that follows makes it necessary to render the simple particle ills in the manner adopted by me ("and this, to be sure, does not apply to ..., etc.). 134 Lit., "one who is coerced, the while his heart is at rest in [his] faith". This relates to believers who, under torture or threat of death, ostensibly "recant" in order to save themselves. Although the Qur'an makes it clear in several places that martyrdom in the cause of faith is highly meritorious, "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (cf. 2:233 and 286, 6:152, 7:42, 23:62, and many other Qur'anic statements to the same effect). 135 Sc., "of what is good and what is bad for them". - For an explanation of God's "sealing" the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth, see 2:7 and the corresponding note. 136 For an explanation of the concept of fitnah (appearing here in the verbal form futinu) and of my rendering it as "temptation to evil", see surah 8, note 25. As regards the expression alladhina hajaru in its spiritual connotation, see surah 2, note 203 and surah 4, note 124.

He has forbidden to you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any name other than God's has been invoked; but if one is driven [to it] by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need - verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray goes but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. Moreover. We would never chastise [any community for the wrong they may do] ere We have sent an apostle [to them].

And do not commit adultery" - for, behold, it is an abomination and an evil way.

And do not take any human being's life - [the life] which God has willed to be, sacred - otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice." Hence, if anyone has been slain wrongfully, We have empowered the defender of his rights [to exact a just retribution] ; but even so, let him not exceed the bounds of equity in [retributive] killing. [And as for him who has been slain wrongfully -] behold, he is indeed succoured [by God]!

AND CONVEY [to the world] whatever has been revealed to thee of thy Sustainer's writ. There is nothing that could alter His words; and thou canst find no refuge other than with Him.

and kept herself in seclusion from them, whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.

"Behold, [although] I have willed to keep it hidden, the Last Hour is bound to come, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with what he strove for [in life].

And never turn thine, eyes [with longing] towards whatever splendour of this world's life We may have allowed so many others to enjoy in order that We might test them thereby: for the sustenance which thy Sustainer provides [for thee] is better and more enduring. 110 Regarding this rendering of the phrase man asrafa, see surah 10, note 21, in which I have discussed the meaning of the participial noun musrif, derived from the same verbal root. 111 Lit., "Is it, then, no guidance for them how many a generation...", etc. It is to be borne in mind that, in Qur'anic usage, the noun qarn signifies not only "a generation", but also - and rather more often - "people belonging to one particular epoch", i.e., "a civilization" in the historical sense of this term. 112 Lit., "and a term set [by Him]". This phrase, placed in the original at the end of the sentence, connects - as most of the classical commentators point out - with the opening clause of this verse, and has been rendered accordingly. 113 Cf. 10:11 and 16:61. 114 Lit., "at the sides [or "extremities"] of the day". See in this connection also 11:114 and the corresponding note 145. 115 Lit., "groups for "kinds"] of them" (azwajan minhum ). According to most of the commentators, this relates to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding passages; but since the above injunction has obviously a wider purport, condemning envy in general, I have rendered this expression as "so many others". 116 Implying that whatever God grants a person is an outcome of divine wisdom and, therefore, truly appropriate to the destiny which God has decreed for that person. Alternatively, the phrase may be understood as referring to the life to come and the spiritual sustenance which God bestows upon the righteous.

For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] "If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation"

But We shall set up just balance-scales on Resurrection Day, and no human being shall be wronged in the least: for though there be [in him but] the weight of a mustard-seed [of good or evil], We shall bring it forth; and none can take count as We do!

AND [remember] her who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed into her of Our spirit and caused her, together with her son, to become a symbol [of Our grace] Unto all people.

those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying, "Our Sustainer is God!" For, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, [all] monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques - in [all of] which God's name is abundantly extolled - would surely have been destroyed [ere now]. And God will most certainly succour him who succours His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty,

[not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock] -:3 for then, behold, they are free of all blame,

And [withal,] We do not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear: for with Us is a record that speaks the truth [about what men do and can do]; and none shall be wronged.

Say: "In whose hand rests the mighty dominion over all things, and who is it that protects, the while there is no protection against Him? [Tell me this] if you happen to know [the answer]!"

whereas they whose weight is light in the balance - it is they who will have squandered their own selves, [destined] to abide in hell:

And as for those who accuse their own wives [of adultery], but have no witnesses except themselves, let each of these [accusers) call God four times to witness that he is indeed telling the truth,

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity, and not to display their charms [in public] beyond what may [decently] be apparent thereof; hence, let them draw their head-coverings over their bosoms. And let them not display [more of] their charms to any but their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or those whom they rightfully possess, or such male attendants as are beyond all sexual desire, or children that are as yet unaware of women's nakedness; and let them not swing their legs [in walking] so as to draw attention to their hidden charms. And [always], O you believers - all of you - turn unto God in repentance, so that you might attain to a happy state!

And as for those who are unable to marry, let them live in continence until God grants them sufficiency out of His bounty. And if any of those whom you rightfully possess desire [to obtain] a deed of freedom, write it out for them if you are aware of any good in them:46 and give them [their share] of the wealth of God which He has given you. And do not, in order to gain some of the fleeting pleasures of this worldly life, coerce your [slave] maidens into whoredom if they happen to be desirous of marriage; and if anyone should coerce them, then, verily, after they have been compelled [to submit in their helplessness), God will be much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

God has promised those of you who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds that, of a certainty, He will cause them to accede to power on earth, even as He caused [some of] those who lived before them to accede to it; and that, of a certainty, He will firmly establish for' them the religion which He has been pleased to bestow on them; and that, of a certainty, He will cause their erstwhile state of fear to be replaced by a sense of security [seeing that] they worship Me (alone], not ascribing divine powers to aught beside Me. But all who, after [having understood] this, choose to deny the truth - it is they, they who are truly iniquitous!

O YOU who have attained to faith! At three times [of day], let [even] those whom you rightfully possess, as well as those from among you who have not yet attained to puberty:79 ask leave of you [before intruding upon your privacy]: before the prayer of daybreak, and whenever you lay aside your garments in the middle of the day, and after the prayer of nightfall:80 the three occasions on which your nakedness is likely to be bared. Beyond these [occasions], neither you nor they will incur any sin if they move [freely] about you, attending to [the needs of] one another. In this way God makes clear unto you His messages: for God is all-knowing, wise!

[ALL OF YOU, O believers, are brethren:83 hence,] no blame attaches to the blind, nor does blame attach to the lame, nor does blame attach to the sick [for accepting charity from the hale], and neither to yourselves for eating [whatever is offered to you by others, whether it be food obtained] from your [children's] houses,~ or your fathers' houses, or your mothers' houses, or your brothers' houses, or your sisters' houses, or your paternal uncles' houses, or your paternal aunts' houses, or your maternal uncles' houses, or your maternal aunts' houses, or [houses] the keys whereof are in your charge, or [the house] of any of your friends; nor will you incur any sin by eating in company or separately. But whenever you enter [any of these] houses, greet one another with a blessed, goodly greeting, as enjoined by God. In this way God makes clear unto you His messages, so that you might [learn to] use your reason.

Yet they say: "What sort of apostle is this [man] who eats food (like all other mortals] and goes about in the market-places? Why has not an angel (visibly] been sent down unto him, to act as a warner together with him?"

and who never invoke any [imaginary] deity side by side with God, and do not take any human being's life - [the life] which God has willed to be sacred - otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice, and do not commit adultery. And [know that] he who commits aught thereof shall [not only] meet with a full requital

trustworthy divine inspiration has alighted with it from on high

[After a while] she was told: "Enter this court!" - but when she saw it, she thought that it was a fathomless expanse of water, and she bared her legs. Said he: "Behold, it is [but) a court smoothly paved with glass!" Cried she: "O my Sustainer! I have been sinning against myself [by worshipping aught but Thee]: but (now) I have surrendered myself, with Solomon, unto the Sustainer of all the worlds!"

And [some of] Pharaoh's household found [and spared] him: for [We had willed] that he become an enemy unto them and [a source of grief, seeing that Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were sinners indeed!

Yet most certainly will they have to bear their own burdens, and other burdens besides their own; and most certainly will they be called to account on Resurrection Day for all their false assertions!

THE PARABLE of those who take [beings or forces] other than God for their protectors is that of the spider which makes for itself a house: for, behold, the frailest of all houses is the spider's house. Could they but understand this!

O YOU servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Behold, wide is Mine earth: worship Me, then, Me alone!

And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God, or gives the lie to the truth when it comes unto him [through revelation]? Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who [thus] deny the truth?

He propounds unto you a parable drawn from your own life:20 Would you [agree to) have some of those Whom your right hands possess as [full-fledged] partners in whatever We may have bestowed upon you as sustenance, so that you [and they] would have equal shares in it, and you would fear [to make use of it without consulting] them, just as you might fear [the more powerful of] your equals? Thus clearly do We spell out these messages unto people who use their reason.

And [remember:] whatever you may give out in usury so that it might increase through [other] people's possessions will bring [you] no increase in the sight of God - whereas all that you give out in charity, seeking God's countenance, (will be blessed by Him:36] for it is they, they (who thus seek His countenance] that shall have their recompense multiplied!

and then He forms him in accordance with what he is meant to be, and breathes into him of His spirit:9 and [thus, O men,] He endows you with hearing, and sight, and feelings as well as minds:10 [yet] how seldom are you grateful!

The Prophet has a higher claim on the believers than [they have on] their own selves, [seeing that he is as a father to them] and his wives are their mothers:8 and they who are [thus] closely related have, in accordance with God's decree, a higher claim upon one another than (was even the case between] the believers [of Yathrib] and those who had migrated [there for the sake of God]. None the less, you are to act with utmost goodness towards your [other] close friends as well:10 this [too] is written down in God's decree. 6. I.e., "make it clear that your relationship is an adoptive one, and do not create the impression that they are your real children" - thus safeguarding their true identity. 7 I.e., by making a mistake in the attribution of the child's parentage, or by calling him or her, out of love, "my son" or "my daughter". 8 Thus, connecting with the preceding mention of voluntary, elective relationships (as contrasted with those by blood), this verse points to the highest manifestation of an elective, spiritual relationship: that of the God-inspired Prophet and the person who freely chooses to follow him. The Prophet himself is reported to have said: "None of you has real faith unless I am dearer unto him than his father, and his child, and all mankind" (Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Anas, with several almost identical versions in other compilations). The Companions invariably regarded the Prophet as the spiritual father of his community. Some of them - e.g., lbn Mas'ud (as quoted by Zamakhshari) or Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Ibn 'Abbas and Mu'awiyah (as quoted by Ibn Kathir) hardly ever recited the above verse without adding, by way of explanation, "seeing that he is (as] a father to them"; and many of the tabi'in - including Mujahid, Qatadah, 'Ikrimah and Al-Hasan (cf. Tabari and Ibn Kathir) - did the same: hence my interpolation, between brackets, of this phrase. (However, see also verse 40 of this surah and the corresponding note 50.) As regards the status of the Prophet's wives as the "mothers of the believers", this arises primarily from the fact of their having shared the life of God's Apostle in its most intimate aspect. Consequently, they could not remarry after his death (see verse 53 below), since all the believers were, spiritually, their "children".

(25) Thus, for all their fury, God repulsed those who were bent on denying the truth; no advantage did they gain, since God was enough to (protect] the believers in battle - seeing that God is most powerful, almighty -;

O PROPHET! Say unto thy wives: "If you desire [but] the life of this world and its charms - well, then, I shall provide for you and release you in a becoming manner;

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No [other] women shall henceforth be lawful to thee - nor art thou [allowed] to supplant [any of] them by other wives, even though their beauty should please thee greatly -: [none shall be lawful to thee] beyond those whom thou [already] hast come to possess. And God keeps watch over everything. 65 Some commentators (e.g., Tabari) assume that this restriction relates to the four categories of women enumerated in verse 50 above: it is, however, much more probable that it is a prohibition barring the Prophet from marrying any woman in addition to those to whom he was already married (Baghawi, Zamakhshari). Some of the earliest, most outstanding authorities on the Qur'an, like Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd (all of them cited by Ibn Kathir), or Al-Hasan al-Basri (quoted by Tabari in his commentary on verses 28-29), link this prohibition of further marriages with the choice between the charms of worldly life and the good of the hereafter with which the wives of the Prophet were confronted on the strength of verses 2~29, and their emphatic option for "God and His Apostle" (cf. note 32 above). All those early authorities describe the revelation of verse 52 - and the assurance which it was meant to convey to the wives of the Prophet as God's reward, in this world, of their faith and fidelity. Since it is inconceivable that the Prophet could have disregarded the categorical injunction, "No [other] women shall henceforth be lawful to thee", the passage in question cannot have been revealed earlier than the year 7 H., that is, the year in which the conquest of Khaybar and the Prophet's marriage with Safiyyah his last marriage - took place. Consequently, verses 28- (with which, as we have seen, verse 52 is closely connected) must have been revealed at that later period, and not, as some commentators think, in the year 5 H. (i.e., at the time of the Prophet's marriage with Zaynab). 66 I.e., to divorce any of them with a view to taking another wife in her stead (with the prohibitive accent on the 'supplanting" - i.e., divorcing - of any of his wives). 67 In my opinion, the expression ma malakat yaminuka (lit., "what thy right hand possesses", or "has come to possess") has here the same meaning as in 4:24, namely, "those whom thou hast come to possess through wedlock" (see surah 4, note 26); thus, the above verse is to be understood as limiting the Prophet's marriages to those already contracted.

[However,] it is no sin for them [to appear freely] before their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or such [male slaves] as their right hands may possess. But [always, O wives of the Prophet,72] remain conscious of God - for, behold, God is witness unto everything.

And [remember:] God creates [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm; and then He fashions you into either of the two sexes. And no female conceives or gives birth unless it be with His knowledge; and none that is long-lived has his days lengthened - and neither is aught lessened of his days - unless it be thus laid down in [God's] decree: for, behold, all this is easy for God.

[Easy is it for Him to create likeness and variety:10] thus, the two great bodies of water [on earth] are not alike the one sweet, thirst-allaying, pleasant to drink, and the other salty and bitter: and yet, from either of them do you eat fresh meat, and [from either] you take gems which you may wear; and on either thou canst see ships ploughing through the waves, so that you might [be able to] go forth in quest of some of His bounty, and thus have cause to be grateful.

AND NO BEARER of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; and if one weighed down by his load calls upon [another] to help him carry it, nothing thereof may be carried [by that other], even if it he one's near of kin. Hence, thou canst [truly] warn only those who stand in awe of their Sustainer although He is beyond the reach of their perception, and are constant in prayer, and [know that] whoever grows in purity, attains to purity but for the good of his own self, and (that] with God is all journeys' end.

and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you down before him in prostration!"

If you are ingrate - behold, God has no need of you; none the less, He does not approve of ingratitude in His servants: whereas, if you show gratitude, He approves it in you. And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden. In time, unto your Sustainer you all must return, and then He will make you [truly] understand all that you were doing [in life]: for, verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].

Say: "[Thus speaks God:16] "O you servants of Mine who have attained to faith! Be conscious of your Sustainer! Ultimate good awaits those who persevere in doing good in this world. And [remember:] wide is God's earth, [and,] verily, they who are patient in adversity will be given their reward in full, beyond all reckoning!"'

[To this end,] God sets forth a parable: A man who has for his masters several partners, [all of them] at variance with one another, and a man depending wholly on one person: can these two be deemed equal as regards their condition? [Nay,] all praise is due to God [alone]: but most of them do not understand this.

And who could be more wicked than he who invents lies about God, and gives the lie to the truth as soon as it has been placed before him? Is not hell the [proper] abode for all who deny the truth?

Say: "O my [truth-denying] people! Do yet all that may be within your power, [whereas] I, behold, shall labour [in God's way]: in time you will come to know

On that Day will every human being be requited for what he has earned: no wrong [will be done] on that Day: verily, swift in reckoning is God!

But your Sustainer says: "Call unto Me, [and) I shall respond to you! Verily, they who are too proud to worship Me will enter hell, abased!"

And, indeed, [O Muhammad,] We sent forth apostles before thy time; some of them We have mentioned to thee, and some of them We have not mentioned to thee. And it was not given to any apostle to bring forth a miracle other than by God's leave. Yet when God's will becomes rqanifest, judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried to reduce to pothing [whatever they could not understand].

It is God who [at all times works wonders for you:61 thus, He] provides for you [all manner of] livestock, so that on some of them you may ride, and from some derive your food,

And thou wilt see them exposed to that [doom], humbling themselves in abasement, looking [around] with a furtive glance - the while those who had attained to faith will say, "Verily, lost on [this] Day of Resurrection are they who have squandered their own and their followers' selves!" 46 Oh, verily, the evildoers will fall into long-lasting suffering,

for, God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth, and [has therefore willed] that every human being shall be recompensed for what he has earned and none shall be wronged.

NOW WHEN you meet [in war] those who are bent on denying the truth, smite their necks until you overcome them fully, and then tighten their bonds; but thereafter [set them free,] either by an act of grace or against ransom, so that the burden of war may be lifted:6 thus [shall it be]. And [know that] had God so willed, He could indeed punish them [Himself]; but [He wills you to struggle] so as to test you [all] by means of one another. And as for those who are slain in God's cause, never will He let their deeds go to waste:

O you who have attained to faith! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and neither speak loudly to him, as you would speak loudly to one another, lest all your [good] deeds come to nought without your perceiving it.

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that no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden;

Why, then, when [the last breath] comes up to the throat [of a dying man],

They [who will remain without] will call out to those [within], "Were we not with you?" - [to which] the others will answer: "So it was! But you allowed yourselves to succumb to temptation, and you were hesitant [in your faith17], and you were doubtful [of resurrection]; and your wishful thinking beguiled you until God's command came to pass:18 for, [indeed, your own] deceptive thoughts about God deluded you!

And the followers of earlier revelation should know that they have no power whatever over any of God's bounty, seeing that all bounty is in God's hand [alone]: He grants it unto whomever He wills - for God is limitless in His great bounty.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you [intend to] consult the Apostle, offer up something in charity on the occasion of your consultation:22 this will be for your own good, and more conducive to your [inner] purity. Yet if you are unable to do so, [know that,] verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

And [it shall be offered, too, unto the poor from among] those who, before them, had their abode in this realm and in faith - [those] who love all that come to them in search of refuge, and who harbour in their hearts no grudge for whatever the others may have been given, but rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot:13 for, such as from their own covetousness are saved - it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state!

As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity:9 for, verily, God loves those who act equitably.

And who could be more wicked than one who invents [such] a lie about [a message from] God, seeing that he is [but] being called to self-surrender unto Him? But God does not bestow His guidance upon evil-doing folk.

Say: "O you who follow the Jewish faith! If you claim that you [alone] are close to God, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should be longing for death - if what you say is true!"

And [We have propounded yet another parable of God-consciousness in the story of] Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed of Our spirit into that [which was in her womb], and who accepted the truth of her Sustainer's words - and [thus,] of His revelations - and was one of the truly devout.

all the angels and all the inspiration [ever granted to man] ascend unto Him [daily,] in a day the length whereof is [like] fifty thousand years.

[not giving way to their desires] with any but their spouses - that is, those whom they rightfully possess [through wedlock] :13 for then, behold, they are free of all blame,

BEHOLD, [O Prophet,] thy Sustainer knows that thou keepest awake [in prayer] nearly two-thirds of the night, or one-half of it, or a third of it, together with some of those who follow thee. And God who determines the measure of night and day, is aware that you would never grudge it:12 and therefore He turns towards you in His grace. Recite, then, as much of the Qur'an as you may do with ease. He knows that in time there will be among you sick people, and others who will go about the land in search of God's bounty, and others who will fight in God's cause. Recite, then, [only] as much of it as you may do with ease, and be constant in prayer, and spend in charity, and [thus] lend unto God a goodly loan: for whatever good deed you may offer up in your own behalf, you shall truly find it with God - yea, better, and richer in reward. And [always] seek God's forgiveness: behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

[On the Day of Judgment,] every human being will be held in pledge for whatever [evil] he has wrought

But they [who do not believe in the life to come] will not take it to heart unless God so wills:30 [for] He is the Fount of all God-consciousness, and the Fount of all forgiveness.

And so, God will preserve them from the woes of that Day, and will bestow on them brightness and joy,

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on the Day when all [human] souls and all the angels will stand up in ranks: none will speak but he to whom the Most Gracious will have given leave; and [everyone] will say [only] what is right.

Let man, then, consider [the sources of] his food:

WHEN THE SUN is shrouded in darkness,

every human being will [at last] comprehend, what he has sent ahead and what he has held back [in this world].

issuing from between the loins [of man] and the pelvic arch [of woman].

No food for them save the bitterness of dry thorns,

and you do not urge one another to feed the needy,

and you devour the inheritance [of others] with devouring greed,

[But unto the righteous God will say,] "O thou human being that hast attained to inner peace!

Consider the human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be,

For, distant from it shall remain he who is truly conscious of God:

in hosts descend in it the angels, 3 bearing divine inspiration by their Sustainer's leave; from all [evil] that may happen

YOU ARE OBSESSED by greed for more and more

and feels no urge to feed the needy.

"And I will not worship that which you have [ever] worshipped,