Part 4 of 30

To the children of Israel was lawful all food except what Israel forbade himself before the Torah was revealed. Say: "Bring the Torah and recite it, if what you say is true."

And anyone who fabricates lies about God even after this, is wicked indeed.

Say: "God has veritably spoken the truth. So now follow the way of Abraham the upright, who was not of idolaters."

The first House of God to be set up for men was at Bakkah the blessed, a guidance for the people of the world.

It contains clear signs, and the spot where Abraham had stood. And anyone who enters it will find security. And whosoever can afford should visit the House on a pilgrimage as duty to God. Whosoever denies, should remember that God is independent of the peoples of the world.

Say: "O people of the Book, why do you reject the word of God when God is a witness to all that you do?"

Then say: "O people of the Book, why do you turn the believers away from the path of God, looking for obliquities in the way when you are witness to it? And God is aware of all that you do."

O believers, if you follow what some of the people of the Book say, it will turn you into unbelievers even after you have come to belief.

And how can you disbelieve? To you are being recited the messages of God, and His prophet is among you. And whosoever holds fast to God shall verily be guided to the path that is straight.

O believers, fear God as He should be feared, and do not die but submitting (to Him).

Hold on firmly together to the rope of God, and be not divided among yourselves, and remember the favours God bestowed on you when you were one another's foe and He reconciled your hearts, and you turned into brethren through His grace. You had stood on the edge of a pit of fire and He saved you from it, thus revealing to you His clear signs that you may find the right way perchance.

So let there be a body among you who may call to the good, enjoin what is esteemed and forbid what is odious. They are those who will be successful.

So be not like those who became disunited and differed among themselves after clear proofs had come to them. For them is great suffering.

On the Day when some faces would be bright, and some others will be black (with despair), those with black faces (will be told): "Having come to the faith you denied it; now taste therefore the penalty for you disbelieved."

And those with bright faces shall be under God's grace and enjoy it for ever.

These are the commandments of God We recite to you verily; God does not wish injustice to the creatures of the world.

For to God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, and to God do all things return.

Of all the communities raised among men you are the best, enjoining the good, forbidding the wrong, and believing in God. If the people of the Book had come to believe it was best for them; but only some believe, and transgressors are many.

They will do you no harm but annoyance; and if they fight you they will only turn their backs, then no help will reach them.

Degraded they shall live wheresoever they be unless they make an alliance with God and alliance with men, for they have incurred the anger of God, and misery overhangs them. That is because they denied the signs of God and killed the prophets unjustly, and rebelled, and went beyond the limit.

Yet all of them are not alike. Among the people of the Book is a section upright, who recite the scriptures in the hours of the night and bow in adoration and pray,

And believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong, and who hasten to give in charity: they are among the upright and the doers of good.

And the good they do will not go unaccepted; for God is aware of those who keep away from evil.

As for those who disbelieve, neither wealth nor children will avail them in the least against God. They are the residents of Hell where they will live for ever.

What they spend in the life of this world is like a frosty wind which smites and destroys the crops of a people who had wronged themselves. God did not wrong them, they wronged themselves.

O believers, do not make others except your own people your confidants. They will spare no effort to ruin you: They surely desire your annihilation. Hate is on their tongues, and what they hide in their hearts is worse. We have shown you the signs if you have sense.

Just think! You hold them as your friends but they do not, even though you believe in all the Scriptures. When they meet you they say: "We believe;" but when they are alone they bite their fingers in rage. Say: "Die of your rage. God is aware of the secrets of the hearts."

If good comes your way, they are vexed; but if evil befalls you they are pleased and rejoice; yet if you are patient and guard yourselves against evil, their cunning will not harm you in the least, for whatsoever they do is well within the reach of God.

Remember when you set forth in the morning from your house assigning the faithful positions for the battle, God heard everything and knew all.

When two of your bands were about to lose heart God befriended them; and in Him should the faithful place their trust.

For God had helped you during the Battle of Badr at a time when you were helpless. So act in compliance with the laws of God; you may well be grateful.

Remember when you said to the faithful: "Is it not sufficient that your Lord should send for your help three thousand angels from the heavens?

Indeed if you are patient and take heed for yourselves, and the (enemy) come rushing at you suddenly your Lord will send even five thousand angels on chargers sweeping down."

And God did not do so but as good tidings for you, and to reassure your hearts for victory comes from God alone, the all-mighty and all-wise --

In order that He may cut off a part of unbelievers or overthrow them, and they turn back in frustration.

You have no say in the matter if He pardon them or punish them, for they are unjust.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth: He may pardon whom He please and punish whom He will. Yet God is forgiving and kind.

O you who believe, do not practice usury, charging doubled and redoubled (interest); but have fear of God: you may well attain your goal.

Keep away from the Fire prepared for the infidels;

Obey God and the Prophet, that you may be treated with mercy.

And hasten for the pardon of your Lord, and for Paradise extending over the heavens and the earth, laid out for those who take heed for themselves and fear God,

Who expend both in joy and tribulation, who suppress their anger and pardon their fellowmen; and God loves those who are upright and do good,

And those who, if they commit a shameful act or some wrong against themselves, remember God and seek forgiveness for their sins: For who can forgive except God? They should not be perverse about their doings, knowingly.

Their recompense is pardon by their Lord, and gardens with streams of running water where they will abide for ever. How fair is the recompense of those who act!

There have been many dispensations before you; so travel in the land and see what befell those who denied the truth.

This is a clear declaration for mankind, and a guidance and a warning for those who preserve themselves from evil.

So do not lose heart or be grieved, for you will surely prevail if you are believers.

If you have been wounded they too have suffered a wound. We cause this alternation of night and day in the affairs of men so that God may know those who believe, taking some as witness (of truth) from your ranks, for God does not like those who are unjust.

This is so that God may try the faithful and destroy the unbelievers.

Do you think you will go to Paradise while God does not know who among you strive and persist?

You had wished to know death before you faced it (in battle); so now you have seen it before your own eyes.

Muhammad is only a messenger; and many a messenger has gone before him. So what if he dies or is killed! Will you turn back and go away in haste? But he who turns back and goes away in haste will do no harm to God. But God will reward those who give thanks (and are grateful).

No one can die before his appointed term except in accordance with the law of God. And to him who desires a reward in this world, We shall give it; and to him who desires a reward in the life to come, We shall do that. We shall certainly reward those who are grateful.

Many a seeker after God has fought in the way of God by the side of many an apostle, undaunted (by disaster), and did not disgrace themselves; -- verily God loves those who are steadfast.

Nor did they say aught but: "O our Lord, forgive us our sins and excesses in our acts, and steady our steps, and help us against unbelieving people."

So God rewarded them in this world, and a better reward awaits them in the next; for God loves those who do good.

O believers, if you listen to the infidels they will make you turn your backs, and you will be the losers.

But God is your protector, and He is the best of helpers.

We shall strike terror into the hearts of unbelievers for ascribing compeers to God for which He has sent down no sanction. Hell is their residence, the evil abode of the unjust.

The promise made to you by God was verified when you destroyed (the foe) by His leave, until you were unmanned and disputed the order, and thus disobeyed (the Apostle) even after He had brought you in sight of (victory) you longed for. Some of you desired this world, and some of you the next. Then He put you to flight before (them) in order to try you. But (now) He has forgiven you, for surely God is kind to the faithful.

Remember, as you were rushing up (the hill) without turning back to look, though the Prophet was calling you from the rear, He requited you with anguish for an anguish that you do not fret for missed opportunity and what befell you, for God is aware of all that you do,

Then after affliction He Sent you a drowsiness as comes after security, overwhelming some among you, and making some anxious for themselves, and made them think thoughts of pagan ignorance; and they said: "Have we a say in any affair?" Say: "All affairs rest with God." They hide in their hearts what they do not disclose to you. They say: "If we had a say in the affair we would not have been killed in this place." Tell them: "Even had you stayed at home, those of you who were ordained to fight would have gone to their place of (eternal) rest. God had to try them to bring out what they concealed in their breasts, and to bring out the secrets of their hearts, for God knows your innermost thoughts.

All those among you who turned their backs on the day the two armies clashed (at 'Uhud) were surely induced by Satan to fail in their duty because of their sinful deeds. But God has already forgiven them, for God is forgiving and kind.

O you who believe, do not be like those who deny, and say of their brethren (who died) travelling in the land or fighting: "Had they stayed with us here they would not have died or been killed." This happened so that God may fill their hearts with grief. God is the giver of life and death and sees all that you do.

If you are killed in the cause of God or you die, the forgiveness and mercy of God are better than all that you amass.

And if you die or are killed, even so it is to God that you will return.

It was through God's mercy that you dealt with them gently; for had you been stern and hard of heart they would surely have broken away from you. So pardon them and pray that forgiveness be theirs, and seek their counsel in all affairs, And when you have come to a decision place your trust in God alone, for He loves those who place their trust in Him.

If God is there to help you none will overcome you; and if He forsake you, who will help you other than Him? So only in God should the faithful place their trust.

It is not for a prophet to be false; and whoever is false will indeed bring his falsehood with him on the Day of Reckoning when each will receive his reward without favour or wrong.

Is a man who has followed the pleasure of God the same as he who has incurred His wrath, whose abode is surely Hell, a dreadful place?

There are different ranks with God, And God sees everything you do.

God has favoured the faithful by sending an apostle to them from among themselves, who recites to them His messages, and reforms and teaches them the Law and the judgement, for they were clearly in error before.

How is it that when misfortune befell you, you said: "Where has this come from?" -- even though you had inflicted disaster twice as great on (the enemy). Say: "This has come from your own selves." Surely God has power over all things.

What you suffered on the day the two armies had met was by God's dispensation, so that He may distinguish the faithful,

And may distinguish the hypocrites who were told: "Fight in the way of God, or defend yourselves," and who had replied: "If we knew of the fight we would have followed you." They were nearer unbelief than faith on that day, and they said with their tongues what was not in their hearts; but God is aware of what they hide.

To those who sit at home and say of their brothers: "They would never have been killed had they listened to us, say: "Drive away death from your midst if what you say is true."

Never think that those who are killed in the way of God are dead. They are alive, getting succour from their Lord,

Rejoicing at what God has given them of His grace, and happy for those who are trying to overtake them but have not joined them yet, and who will have no fear or regret.

They rejoice at the kindness and mercy of God; and God does not suffer the wages of the faithful to go waste.

Those who obeyed the call of God and His Messenger, even after they were wounded, and took heed for themselves, shall indeed have an ample reward,

Those who were told: "They have gathered an army, beware," and their faith increased and they said: "God is sufficient for us, and the best of protectors,"

And returned with God's favour and grace without harm, for they attended the pleasure of God; and great is the benevolence of God.

It is no one but Satan who frightens you with his allies. But do not fear him, fear Me, if indeed you are believers.

And do not be grieved by those who rush into disbelief. They do no harm to God; and God will not give them any share in the life to come, and their torment shall be great.

Those who barter unbelief for faith, will not harm God in the least, and the punishment for them will be painful.

The unbelievers must not think that the respite We give them augurs well. We do so that they sink deeper into sin, and suffer an ignominious doom.

God will not leave the believers in the state they are in till He has sifted the evil from the good; nor will God reveal the secrets of the Unknown. He chooses (for this) from His apostles whom He will. So believe in God and the prophets, for if you believe and fear the displeasure of God your reward will be great.

Let not those who are niggardly of things that God has given them of His largesse think that this is good for them. In fact, it is worse; for what they grudged will be hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. To God belong the heavens and the earth, and God is aware of all you do.

God has indeed heard the words of those who said: "God is a pauper whereas we are rich." We shall make a note of their words, and the murders of the prophets they committed unjustly, and say to them: "Now taste the agony of burning."

This is (requital) for the deeds you had committed, for God is not unjust to any of His creatures.

To those who say: "God has ordained that we should not believe an apostle who does not bring burnt offerings," say: "Many an apostle had come to you before me with manifest proofs, even with what you mention; then why did you kill them if you were men of truth?"

If they call you a liar (remember) so had other apostles been called before you, who had come with clear signs and Scriptures and the Book enlightening.

Every soul will know the taste of death. You will get your recompense in full on the Day of Resurrection; and he who is spared the Fire and finds his way to Paradise will meet his desire. As for the life of this world, it is nothing but a merchandise of vanity.

You will, nonetheless, be tried with your wealth and life, and will hear many untoward things from the followers of former Books and the infidels. But if you endure with patience and follow the straight path, it will surely (accord) with God's fixed resolve about human affairs.

And remember when God took a promise from the people of the Book to make its (truth) known to mankind, and not keep back any part of it, they set aside (the pledge), and sold it away for a little gain but how wretched the bargain that they made!

Think not that those who exult at what they have done, and who love to be praised for what they have not done, shall escape the punishment, for grievous indeed will be their doom.

For God's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and God's is the power over all things.

In the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, are signs for the wise.

Those who honour God in meditation, standing or sitting or lying on their sides, who reflect and contemplate on the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say) "Not in vain have You made them. All praise be to You, O Lord, preserve us from the torment of Hell.

Whoever, O Lord, should be cast into Hell shall be verily disgraced; and the sinners shall have none to help (or save) them.

We have heard, O our Lord, the crier call inviting us to faith (and announcing): 'Believe in your Lord.' O our Lord, to faith we have come, so forgive our trespasses, deliver us from sin, and grant us (the glory of) death with the just.

Give us what You promised, O Lord, through Your prophets; and put us not to shame on the Day of Reckoning, for never do You go back on Your promise."

The Lord heard their prayer and answered: "I suffer not the good deeds of any to go waste, be he a man or a woman: The one of you is of the other. And those who were deprived of their homes or banished in My cause, and who fought and were killed, I shall blot out their sins and admit them indeed into gardens with rippling streams." -- A recompense from God, and the best of rewards is with God.

Be not deceived by the comings and goings of unbelievers in the land.

Their commerce is but short-lived, and then their abode shall be Hell: And what an evil abode!

But those who are pious and obedient to their Lord, will have gardens with streams of running water where they will abide as guests of God; and what is with God is best for the pious.

Certainly among the people of the Book are some who believe in God and in what has been revealed to you and had been revealed to them; and they bow in humility before God, and do not trade for paltry gain the signs of God. Their reward is verily with their Lord; and swift is the reckoning of God!

So you who believe, have endurance in suffering, be patient and persevere, strengthen each other and be firm, and be pious and fear God that you may find success.

O MEN, FEAR your Lord who created you from a single cell, and from it created its mate, and from the two of them dispersed men and women (male and female) in multitudes. So fear God in whose name you ask of one another (the bond of) relationships. God surely keeps watch over you.

Give to the orphans their possessions, and do not replace things of your own which are bad with things which are good among theirs, and do not intermix their goods with your own and make use of them, for this is a grievous crime.

If you fear you cannot be equitable to orphan girls (in your charge, or misuse their persons), then marry women who are lawful for you, two, three, or four; but if you fear you cannot treat so many with equity, marry only one, or a maid or captive. This is better than being iniquitous.

Give to women their dowers willingly, but if they forego part of it themselves, then use it to your advantage.

Do not entrust (their) property God has given you to maintain (On trust), to those who are immature; but feed them and clothe them from it, and speak to them with kindness.

And test (and try) the orphans until they are of marriageable age. If you find they have acquired sound judgement, then hand over their property to them; but devour not their wealth, nor use it up hastily out of fear that soon they will grow up (and demand it). And (the guardian) who is rich should abstain from spending much (of their wealth); and he who is poor should use only as much as is fair. And when you give back their possessions have this witnessed, (and remember) that God is sufficient to take all account.

Men have a share in what the parents and relatives leave behind at death; and women have a share in what the parents and relatives leave behind. Be it large or small a legal share is fixed.

And when the relatives and orphans and the needy collect at the time of the division (of property) provide for them too, and talk kindly to them.

Let people fear the day when they leave small children behind them unprovided, and how concerned they would be for them. So fear God and say the right things to them.

Those who devour the possessions of the orphans unjustly devour only fire, and will surely burn in Hell.

As for the children, God decrees that the share of the male is equivalent to that of two females. If they consist of women only, and of them more than two, they will get two-thirds of the inheritance; but in case there is one, she will inherit one half. The parents will each inherit a sixth of the estate if it happens the deceased has left a child; but if he has left no children, and his parents are his heirs, then the mother will inherit one-third; but if he has left brothers, the mother will inherit one-sixth after payment of legacies and debts. Of parents and children you do not know who are more useful to you. These are the decrees of God who knows all and is wise.

Your share in the property the wives leave behind is half if they die without an issue, but in case they have left children, then your share is one-fourth after the payment of legacies and debts; and your wife shall inherit one-fourth of what you leave at death if you die childless, if not, she will get one-eighth of what you leave behind after payment of legacies and debts. If a man or a woman should die without leaving either children or parents behind but have brother and sister, they shall each inherit one-sixth. In case there are more, they will share one-third of the estate after payment of legacies and debts without prejudice to others. This is the decree of God who knows all and is kind.

These are the limits set by God, and those who follow the commandments of God and the Prophet, will indeed be admitted to gardens with streams of water running by, where they will for ever abide; and this will be success supreme.

Those who disobey God and the Prophet and exceed the bounds of law, will be taken to Hell and abide there for ever and shall suffer despicable punishment.

If any of your women is guilty of unnatural offence, bring four of your witnesses to give evidence; if they testify against them, retain them in the houses until death overtakes them or God provides some other way for them.

If two (men) among you are guilty of such acts then punish both of them. But if they repent and reform, let them be, for God accepts repentance and is merciful.

God does accept repentance, but only of those who are guilty of an evil out of ignorance yet quickly repent, and God turns to them again, for God is all-knowing and all-wise.

But (He does not accept) the repentance of those who continue indulging in evil until death draws near and they say: "We now repent;" nor of those who die disbelieving. For them We have a grievous retribution in wait.

O believers, you are not allowed to take perforce the women (of dead relatives) into your heritage, or tyrannise over them in order to deprive them of what you have given them, unless they are guilty of open adultery. Live with them with tolerance and justice even if you do not care for them. For it may well be you may not like a thing, yet God may have endued it with much goodness.

If you want to take another wife in place of the one you are married to, then even if you have given her a talent of gold, do not take back a thing. Would you take it away by slandering and using unjust means?

How could you do that having slept with one another, and when they had taken a solemn pledge from you?

And do not wed the women your fathers had wed. What happened in the past is now past: It was lewd and abhorrent, and only the way of evil.

Unlawful are your mothers and daughters and your sisters to you, and the sisters of your fathers and your mothers, and the daughters of your brothers and sisters, and foster mothers, foster sisters, and the mothers of your wives, and the daughters of the wives you have slept with who are under your charge; but in case you have not slept with them there is no offence (if you marry their daughters); and the wives of your own begotten sons; and marrying two sisters is unlawful. What happened in the past (is now past): God is forgiving and kind.