so constituted that I cannot say anything about God but the truth. I have now come unto you with a clear evidence from your Sustainer: let, then, the children of Israel go with me!"
But if afterwards it should come to light that the two [witnesses] have become guilty of [this very] sin, then two others - from among those whom the two former have deprived of their right* - shall take their place and shall swear by God, "Our testimony is indeed truer than the testimony of these two, and we have not transgressed the bounds of what is right - or else, may we indeed be counted among the evildoers!"
OH, THE LAYING-BARE of the truth!*
How awesome that laying-bare of the truth!
And what could make thee conceive what that laying-bare of the truth will be?*
And, lo, God gave you the promise that one of the two [enemy] hosts would fall to you: and you would have liked to seize the less powerful one,* whereas it was God's will to prove the truth to be true in accordance with His words, and to wipe out the last remnant of those who denied the truth* -
so that He might prove the truth to be true and the false to be false, however hateful this might be to those who were lost in sin.*
whereas by His words God proves the truth to be true,* however hateful this may be to those who are lost in sin!"
DO THEY, perchance, say, "[Muhammad] has attributed his own lying inventions to God"? But then, had God so willed, He could have sealed thy heart [forever]: for God blots out all falsehood, and by His words proves the truth to be true.* Verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men];
And the divorced women shall undergo, without remarrying,* a waiting-period of three monthly courses: for it is not lawful for them to conceal what God may have created in their wombs,* if they believe in God and the Last Day. And during this period their husbands are fully entitled to take them back, if they desire reconciliation; but, in accordance with justice, the rights of the wives [with regard to their husbands] are equal to the [husbands'] rights with regard to them, although men have precedence over them [in this respect].* And God is almighty, wise.
And their prophet said unto those elders:* "Behold, now God has raised up Saul to be your king." They said: "How can he have dominion over us when we have a better claim to dominion than he, and he has not [even] been endowed with abundant wealth?" [The prophet] replied: "Behold, God has exalted him above you, and endowed him abundantly with knowledge and bodily perfection. And God bestows His dominion* upon whom He wills: for God is infinite, all-knowing."
But if afterwards it should come to light that the two [witnesses] have become guilty of [this very] sin, then two others - from among those whom the two former have deprived of their right* - shall take their place and shall swear by God, "Our testimony is indeed truer than the testimony of these two, and we have not transgressed the bounds of what is right - or else, may we indeed be counted among the evildoers!"
And why should I fear anything that you worship side by side with Him, seeing that you are not afraid of ascribing divinity to other powers beside God without His ever having bestowed upon you from on high any warrant therefor? [Tell me,] then, which of the two parties has a better right to feel secure -if you happen to know [the answer]?
Would you, perchance, fail to fight against people who have broken their solemn pledges, and have done all that they could to drive the Apostle away,* and have been first to attack you? Do you hold them in awe? Nay, it is God alone of whom you ought to stand in awe,* if you are [truly] believers!
[The hypocrites] swear to you by God [that they are acting in good faith], with a view to pleasing you [O believers] - the while it is God and His Apostle whose pleasure they should seek above all else, if indeed they are believers!*
Never set foot in such a place!* Only a house of worship founded, from the very first day, upon God-consciousness is worthy of thy setting foot therein* -[a house of worship] wherein there are men desirous of growing in purity: for God loves all who purify themselves.
Say: "Does any of those beings to whom you ascribe a share in God's divinity guide unto the truth?" Say: "It is God [alone] who guides unto the truth. Which, then, is more worthy to be followed - He who guides unto the truth, or he who cannot find the right way unless he is guided?* What, then, is amiss with you and your judgment?"*
AND LO,* [O Muhammad,] thou didst say unto the one to whom God had shown favour and to whom thou hadst shown favour,* Hold on to thy wife, and remain conscious of God!" And [thus] wouldst thou hide within thyself something that God was about to bring to light* for thou didst stand in awe of [what] people [might think], whereas it was God alone of whom thou shouldst have stood in awe!* [But] then, when Zayd had come to the end of his union with her,* We gave her to thee in marriage, so that [in future] no blame should attach to the believers for [marrying] the spouses of their adopted children when the latter have come to the end of their union with them.* And [thus] God's will was done.
Whereas they who are bent on denying the truth harboured a stubborn disdain in their hearts - the stubborn disdain [born] of ignorance* God bestowed from on high His [gift of] inner peace upon His Apostle and the believers, and bound them to the spirit of God-consciousness:* for they were most worthy of this [divine gift], and deserved it well. And God has full knowledge of all things.
some [of you] He will have graced with His guidance, whereas, for some a straying from the right path will have become unavoidable:* for, behold, they will have taken [their own] evil impulses for their masters in preference to God, thinking all the while that they have found the right path!"
Thus is thy Sustainer's word proved true with regard to such as are bent on sinful doings: they will not believes*
Verily, they against whom thy Sustainer's word [of judgment] has come true* will not attain to faith -
And indeed, within every community* have We raised up an apostle [entrusted with this message]: "Worship God, and shun the powers of evil!"* And among those [past generations] were people whom God graced with His guidance,* just as there was among them [many a one] who inevitably fell prey to grievous error:* go, then, about the earth and behold what happened in the end to those who gave the lie to the truth!
But when [this has been done, and] it is Our will to destroy a community, We convey Our last warning* to those of its people who have lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures;* and [if] they [continue to] act sinfully, the sentence [of doom] passed on the community takes effect, and We break it to smithereens.
ART THOU NOT aware that before God prostrate themselves all [things and beings] that are in the heavens and all that are on earth* the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the beasts? And many human beings [submit to God consciously],* whereas many [others, having defied Him,] will inevitably have to suffer [in the life to come];* and he whom God shall scorn [on Resurrection Day] will have none who could bestow honour on him: for, verily, God does what He wills.
[whereupon] they against whom the word [of truth] shall thus stand revealed* will exclaim: O our Sustainer! Those whom we caused to err so grievously, we but caused to err as we ourselves had been erring.* We [now] disavow them before Thee: it was not us that they worshipped!"*
Yet had We so willed, We could indeed have imposed Our guidance upon every human being:* but [We have not willed it thus - and so] that word of Mine has come true: Most certainly will I fill hell with invisible beings as well as with humans, all together!"*
Indeed, the word [of God's condemnation] is bound to come true* against most of them: for they will not believe.
to the end that it may warn everyone who is alive [of heart], and that the word [of God] may bear witness* against all who deny the truth.
But now our Sustainer's word has come true against us [as well]: verily, we are bound to taste [the fruit of our sins].
not one [was there] but gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon My retribution fell due.
On the other hand,* could one on whom [God's] sentence of suffering has been passed [be rescued by man]? Couldst thou, perchance, save one who is [already, as it were,] in the fire?*
And those who were bent on denying the truth will be urged on in throngs towards hell till, when they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will ask them, Have there not come to you apostles from among yourselves, who conveyed to you your Sustainer's messages and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgment]? "They will answer: Yea, indeed!" But the sentence of suffering will [already] have fallen due upon the deniers of the truth;*
And thus shall thy Sustainer's word come true against all who are bent on denying the truth: they shall find themselves in the fire [of hell].
for [when they became oblivious of Us,] We assigned to them [their own evil impulses as their] other selves,* and these made appear goodly to them whatever lay open before them and whatever was beyond their ken.* And so, the sentence [of doom] will have fallen due upon them together with the [other sinful] communities of invisible beings* and humans that passed away before their time: verily, they [all] will indeed be lost!
It is [such as] these upon whom the sentence [of doom] will fall due, together with the [other sinful] communities of invisible beings* and humans that have passed away before their time. Verily, they will be lost:
and the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan], and the people of Tubba:* they all gave the lie to the apostles - and thereupon that whereof I had warned [them] came true.
obeying its Sustainer, as in truth it must;
obeying its Sustainer, as in truth it must -:
Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or of something [even] less than that.* Now, as for those who have attained to faith, they know that it is the truth from their Sustainer - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth say, "What could God mean by this parable?" In this way does He cause many a one to go astray, just as He guides many a one aright: but none does He cause thereby to go astray save the iniquitous,
And do not overlay the truth with falsehood, and do not knowingly suppress the truth;*
And [remember] when you said: "O Moses, indeed we cannot endure but one kind of food; pray, then, to thy Sustainer that He bring forth for us aught of what grows from the earth - of its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils, its onions." Said [Moses]: "Would you take a lesser thing in exchange for what is [so much] better?* Go back in shame to Egypt , and then you can have what you are asking for!"* And so, ignominy and humiliation overshadowed them, and they earned the burden of God's condemnation: all this, because they persisted in denying the truth of God's messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all this, because they rebelled [against God], and persisted in transgressing the bounds of what is right.*
[Moses] answered: "Behold, He says it is to be a cow not broken-in to plough the earth or to water the crops, free of fault, without markings of any other colour."Said they: "At last thou hast brought out the truth!"-and thereupon they sacrificed her, although they had almost left it undone.*
For when they are told, "Believe in what God has bestowed from on high," they reply, "We believe [only] in what has been bestowed on us"-and they deny the truth of everything else, although it be a truth confirming the one already in their possession. Say "Why, then, did you slay God's prophets aforetime, if you were (truly] believers?"*
Out of their selfish envy, many among the followers of earlier revelation would like to bring you back to denying the truth after you have attained to faith - [even] after the truth has become clear unto them. None the less, forgive and forbear, until God shall make manifest His will: behold, God has the power to will anything.
Verily, We have sent thee [O Prophet] with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: and thou shalt not be held accountable for those who are destined for the blazing fire.
Those unto whom We have vouchsafed the divine writ [and who] follow it as it ought to be followed* -it is they who [truly] believe in it; whereas all who choose to deny its truth -it is they, they who are the losers!
We have seen thee [O Prophet] often turn thy face towards heaven [for guidance]: and now We shall indeed make thee turn in prayer in a direction which will fulfil thy desire. Turn, then, thy face towards the Inviolable House of Worship; and wherever you all may be, turn your faces towards it [in prayer]. And, verily, those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime know well that this [commandment] comes in truth from their Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what they do.
They unto whom We have vouchsafed revelation aforetime know it as they know their own children: but, behold, some of them knowingly suppress the truth -
the truth from thy Sustainer!* Be not, then, among the doubters:
Thus, from wherever thou mayest come forth, turn thy face [in prayer] towards the Inviolable House of Worship-for,. behold, this [commandment] comes in truth from thy Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what you do.
Thus it is: since it is God who bestows* the divine writ from on high, setting forth the truth, all those who set their own views against the divine writ* are, verily, most deeply in the wrong.
IT IS ordained for you, when death approaches any of you and he is leaving behind much wealth, to make bequests in favour of his parents and [other] near of kin in accordance with what is fair:* I this is binding on all who are conscious of God.
ALL MANKIND were once one single community; [then they began to differ - ] whereupon God raised up the prophets as heralds of glad tidings and as warners, and through them bestowed revelation from on high, setting forth the truth, so that it might decide between people with regard to all on which they had come to hold divergent views.* Yet none other than the selfsame people who had been granted this [revelation] began, out of mutual jealousy, to disagree about its meaning after all evidence of the truth had come unto them. But God guided the believers unto the truth about which, by His leave, they had disagreed: for God guides onto a straight way him that wills [to be guided].*
You will incur no sin if you divorce women while you have not yet touched them nor settled a dower upon them;* but [even in such a case] make provision for them - the affluent according to his means, and the straitened according to his means - a provision in an equitable manner: this is a duty upon all who would do good.*
And the divorced women, too, shall have [a right to] maintenance in a goodly manner:* this is a duty for all who are conscious of God.
THESE are God's messages: We convey them unto thee, [O Prophet,] setting forth the truth-for, verily, thou art among those who have been entrusted with a message.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you give or take credit* for a stated term, set it down in writing. And let a scribe write it down equitably between you; and no scribe shall refuse to write as God has taught him:* thus shall he write. And let him who contracts the debt dictate; and let him be conscious of God, his Sustainer, and not weaken anything of his undertaking.* And if he who contracts the debt is weak of mind or body, or, is not able to dictate himself,* then let him who watches over his interests dictate equitably. And call upon two of your men to act as witnesses; and if two men are not available, then a man and two women from among such as are acceptable to you as witnesses, so that if one of them should make a mistake, the other could remind her.* And the witnesses must not refuse [to give evidence] whenever they are called upon. And be not loath to write down every contractual provision,* be it small or great, together with the time at which it falls due; this is more equitable in the sight of God, more reliable as evidence, and more likely to prevent you from having doubts [later]. If, however, [the transaction] concerns ready merchandise which you transfer directly unto one another, you will incur no sin if you do not write it down. And have witnesses whenever you trade with one another, but neither scribe nor witness must suffer harm;* for if you do [them harm], behold, it will be sinful conduct on your part. And remain conscious of God, since it is God who teaches you [herewith] - and God has full knowledge of everything.
Step by step has He bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ,* setting forth the truth which confirms whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations]:* for it is He who has bestowed from on high the Torah and the Gospel
Verily, as for those who deny the truth of God's messages, and slay the prophets against all right, and slay people who enjoin equity* - announce unto them a grievous chastisement.
[This is] the truth from thy Sustainer; be not, then, among the doubters!
Behold, this is indeed the truth of the matter, and there is no deity whatever save God; and, verily, God - He alone - is almighty, truly wise.
O followers of earlier revelation! Why do you cloak the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth of which you are [so well] aware?
How would God bestow His guidance upon people who have resolved to deny the truth after having attained to faith, and having borne witness that this Apostle is true, and [after] all evidence of the truth has come unto them?* For, God does not guide such evildoing folk.
O you who have attained to faith! Be conscious of God with all the consciousness that is due to Him, and do not allow death to overtake you ere you have surrendered yourselves unto Him.
These are God's messages: We convey them unto thee, setting forth the truth, since God wills no wrong to His creation.*
Overshadowed by ignominy are they wherever they may be, save [when they bind themselves again] in a bond with God and a bond with men;* for they have earned the burden of God's condemnation, and are overshadowed by humiliation: all this [has befallen them] because they persisted in denying the truth of God's messages and in slaying the prophets against all right: all this, because they rebelled [against God], and persisted in transgressing the bounds of what is right.*
Then, after this woe, He sent down upon you a sense of security, an inner calm which enfolded some of you,* whereas the others, who cared mainly for themselves, entertained wrong thoughts about God - thoughts of pagan ignorance - saying, "Did we, then, have any power of decision [in this matter]?"* Say: "Verily, all power of decision does rest with God"* - [but as for them,] they are trying to conceal within themselves that [weakness of faith] which they would not reveal unto thee, [O Prophet, by] saying, "If we had any power of decision, we would not have left so many dead behind."* Say [unto them]: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those [of you] whose death had been ordained would indeed have gone forth to the places where they were destined to lie down." And [all this befell you] so that God might put to a test all that you harbour in your bosoms, and render your innermost hearts* pure of all dross: for God is aware of what is in the hearts [of men].
God has indeed heard the saying of those who said, "Behold, God is poor while we are rich!"* We shall record what they have said, as well as their slaying of prophets against all right,* and We shall say [unto them on Judgment Day]: "Taste suffering through fire
BEHOLD, We have bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, setting forth the truth, so that thou may judge between people in accordance with what God has taught thee.* Hence, do not contend with those who are false to their trust,
Yet those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds We shall bring into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: this is, in truth, God's promise - and whose word could be truer than God's?
it is they, they who are truly denying the truth: and for those who deny the truth We have readied shameful suffering.
And so, [We punished them* ] for the breaking of their pledge, and their refusal to acknowledge God's messages, and their slaying of prophets against all right, and their boast, "Our hearts are already full of knowledge"- nay, but God has sealed their hearts in result of their denial of the truth, and [now] they believe in but few things - ;*
O mankind! The Apostle has now come unto you with the truth from your Sustainer: believe, then, for your own good! And if you deny the truth - behold, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and God is indeed all-knowing, wise!
O FOLLOWERS of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs,* and do not say of God anything but the truth. The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him.* Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, "[God is] a trinity". Desist [from this assertion] for your own good. God is but One God; utterly remote is He, in His glory, from having a son: unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and none is as worthy of trust as God.
AND CONVEY unto them, setting forth the truth, the story of the two sons of Adam* -how each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from one of them whereas it was not accepted from the other. [And Cain] said: "I will surely slay thee!" [Abel] replied: "Behold, God accepts only from those who are conscious of Him.
And unto thee [O Prophet] have We vouchsafed this divine writ, setting forth the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations and determining what is true therein.* Judge, then, between the followers of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high,* and do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee. Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life.* And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsafed unto, you.* Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you were wont to differ.*
Say: "O followers of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs;* and do not follow the errant views of people who have gone astray aforetime, and have led many [others] astray, and are still straying from the right path."*
For, when they come to understand what has been bestowed from on high upon this Apostle, thou canst see their eyes overflow with tears, because they recognize something of its truth;* [and] they say: "O our Sustainer! We do believe; make us one, then, with all who bear witness to the truth.
And how could we fail to believe in God and in whatever truth has come unto us, when we so fervently desire that our Sustainer count us among the righteous?"
AND LO! God said:* O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, `Worship me and my mother as deities beside God'?" [Jesus] answered: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! It would not have been possible for me to say what I had no right to [say]! Had I said this, Thou wouldst indeed have known it! Thou knowest all that is within myself, whereas I know not what is in Thy Self. Verily, it is Thou alone who fully knowest all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception.
and so they give the lie to this truth now that it has come unto them. In time, however, they will come to understand what it was that they were wont to deride.*
If thou couldst but see [them] when they shall be made to stand before their Sustainer [and] He will say, "Is not this the truth?" They will answer: "Yea, indeed, by our Sustainer!" [Whereupon] He will say: "Taste, then, the suffering that comes from* your having refused to acknowledge the truth!"
Say: "Behold, I take my stand on a clear evidence from my Sustainer-and [so] it is to Him that you are giving the lie! Not in my power is that which [in your ignorance] you so hastily demand:* judgment rests with none but God. He shall declare the truth, since it is He who is the best judge between truth and falsehood."
And they [who have died] are thereupon brought before God,* their true Lord Supreme. Oh, verily, His alone is all judgment: and He is the swiftest of all reckoners!
and yet, to all this thy peoples* have given the lie, although it is the truth. Say [then]: "I am not responsible for your conduct.
And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth* - and whenever He says, "Be," His word comes true; and His will be the dominion on the Day when the trumpet [of resurrection] is blown. He knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception, as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind:* for He alone is truly wise, all-aware.
For, no true understanding of God have they when they say, "Never has God revealed anything unto man." Say: "Who has bestowed from on high the divine writ which Moses brought unto men as a light and a guidance, [and] which you treat as* [mere] leaves of paper, making a show of them the while you conceal [so] much - although you have been taught [by it] what neither you nor your forefathers had ever known?"* Say: "God [has revealed that divine writ]!" - and then leave them to play at their vain talk.
And who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God,* or says, "This has been revealed unto me," the while nothing has been revealed to him? - or he who says, "I, too, can bestow from on high the like of what God has bestowed"?* If thou couldst but see [how it will be] when these evildoers find themselves in the agonies of death, and the angels stretch forth their hands [and call]: "Give up your souls! Today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having attributed to God something that is not true, and for having persistently scorned His messages in your arrogance!"
[say thou:] "Am I, then, to look unto anyone but God for judgment* [as to what is right and wrong], when it is He who has bestowed upon you from on high this divine writ, clearly spelling out the truth?"* And those unto whom We have vouchsafed revelation aforetime know that this one, too, has been bestowed from on high, step by step, by thy Sustainer.* Be not, then, among the doubters-
For it is He who has brought into being gardens-[both] the cultivated ones and those growing wild* -and the date-palm, and fields bearing multiform produce, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate: [all] resembling one another and yet so different!* Eat of their fruit when it comes to fruition, and give [unto the poor] their due on harvest day. And do not waste [God's bounties]: verily, He does not love the wasteful!
Say: "Come, let me convey unto you what God has [really] forbidden to you: "Do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him; and [do not offend against but, rather,] do good unto your parents;* and do not kill your children for fear of poverty - [for] it is We who shall provide sustenance for you as well as for them;* and do not commit any shameful deeds, be they open or secret; and do not take any human being's life-[the life] which God has declared to be sacred -otherwise than in [the pursuit of] justice: this has He enjoined upon you so that you might use your reason;*
And true will be the weighing on that Day; and those whose weight [of good deeds] is heavy in the balance -it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state;
Say: "Verily, my Sustainer has forbidden only shameful deeds, be they open or secret, and [every kind of] sinning, and unjustified envy, and the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him - since He has never bestowed any warrant therefor from on high and the attributing unto God of aught of which you have no knowledge."
after We shall have removed whatever unworthy thoughts or feelings may have been [lingering] in their bosoms. Running waters will flow at their feet;* and they will say: "All praise is due to God, who has guided us unto this; for we would certainly not have found the right path unless God had guided us! Indeed, our Sustainer's apostles have told us the truth!" And [a voice] will call out unto them: "This is the paradise which you have inherited by virtue of your past deeds!"
And the inmates of paradise will call out to the inmates of the fire: "Now we have found that what our Sustainer promised us has come true; have you. too, found that what your Sustainer promised you has come true?" [The others] will answer, "Yes!"-whereupon from their midst a voice* will loudly proclaim: "God's rejection is the due of the evildoers
Are [the unbelievers] but waiting for the final meaning of that [Day of Judgment] to unfold?* [But] on the Day when its final meaning is unfolded, those who aforetime had been oblivious thereof will say: "Our Sustainer's apostles have indeed told us the truth! Have we, then, any intercessors who could intercede in our behalf? Or could we be brought back [to life] so that we might act otherwise than we were wont to act?"* Indeed, they will have squandered their own selves, and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.
We should be guilty of blaspheming against God* were we to return to your ways after God has saved us from them! It is not conceivable that we should return to them-unless God, our Sustainer, so wills.* All things does our Sustainer embrace within His knowledge; in God do we place our trust. O our Sustainer! Lay Thou open the truth between us and our people -for Thou art the best of all to lay open the truth!"*
so constituted that I cannot say anything about God but the truth. I have now come unto you with a clear evidence from your Sustainer: let, then, the children of Israel go with me!"
whereupon the truth was established, and vain was proved all that they had been doing.
From My messages shall I cause to turn away all those who, without any right, behave haughtily on earth: for, though they may see every sign [of the truth], they do not believe in it, and though they may see the path of rectitude, they do not choose fo follow it-whereas, if they see a path of error, they take it for their own: this, because they have given the lie to Our messages, and have remained heedless of them,"*
AND AMONG the folk of Moses there have been people who would guide [others] in the way of the truth and act justly in its light.*
And they have been succeeded by [new] generations who - [in spite of] having inherited the divine writ-clutch but at the fleeting good of this lower world and say, "We shall be forgiven,* the while they are ready, if another such fleeting good should come their way, to clutch at it [and sin again]. Have they not been solemnly pledged through the divine writ not to attribute unto God aught but what is true,* and [have they not] read again and again all that is therein? Since the life in the hereafter is the better [of the two] for all who are conscious of God -will you not, then, use your reason?
Now, among those whom We have created there are people who guide [others] in the way of the truth and act justly in its light.*
it is they, they who are truly believers! Theirs shall be great dignity in their Sustainer's sight, and forgiveness of sins, and a most excellent sustenance.*
EVEN AS thy Sustainer brought thee forth from thy home [to fight] in the cause of the truth, although some of the believers were averse to it,
[so, too,] they would argue with thee about the truth [itself] after it had become manifest* - just as if they were being driven towards death and beheld it with their very eyes.
And, lo, God gave you the promise that one of the two [enemy] hosts would fall to you: and you would have liked to seize the less powerful one,* whereas it was God's will to prove the truth to be true in accordance with His words, and to wipe out the last remnant of those who denied the truth* -
so that He might prove the truth to be true and the false to be false, however hateful this might be to those who were lost in sin.*
And, lo, they would say, "O God! If this. be indeed the truth from Thee, then rain down upon us stones from the skies, or inflict [some other] grievous suffering on us!*
And they who have attained to faith, and who have forsaken the domain of evil and are striving hard in God's cause, as well as those who shelter and succour [them]-it is they, they who are truly believers! Forgiveness of sins awaits them, and a most excellent sustenance.*
[And] fight against those who - despite having been vouchsafed revelation [aforetime]* -do not [truly] believe either in God or the Last Day, and do not consider forbidden that which God and His Apostle have forbidden,* and do not follow the religion of truth [which God has enjoined upon them]* till they [agree to] pay the exemption tax with a willing hand, after having been humbled [in war].*
He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with the [task of spreading] guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He may cause it to prevail over all [false] religion* -however hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God.
Indeed, even before this time* have they tried to stir up discord and devised all manner of plots against thee, [O Prophet,] until the truth was revealed and God's will became manifest, however hateful this may have been to them.
BEHOLD, God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return, ,[and so] they fight in God's cause, and slay, and are slain: a promise which in truth He has willed upon Himself in [the words of] the Torah, and the Gospel, and the Qur'an. And who could be more faithful to his covenant than God? Rejoice, then, in the bargain which you have made with Him: for this, this is the triumph supreme!
Unto Him you all must return: this is, in truth, God's promise-for, behold, He creates [man] in the first instance, and then brings him forth anew* to the end that He may reward with equity all who attain to faith and do righteous deeds; whereas for those who are bent on denying the truth there is in store a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.*
He it is who has made the sun a [source of] radiant light and the moon a light [reflected],* and has determined for it phases so that you might know how to compute the years and to measure [time]. None of this has God created without [an inner] truth.* Clearly does He spell out these messages unto people of [innate] knowledge:
Yet as soon as He has saved them from this [danger], lo! they behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right !* O men! All your outrageous deeds are bound to fall back upon your own selves!* [You care only for] the enjoyment of life in this world: [but remember that] in the end unto Us you must return, whereupon We shall make you truly understand all that you were doing [in life].
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.
seeing that He is God, your Sustainer, the Ultimate Truth?* For, after the truth [has been forsaken], what is there [left] but error? How, then, can you lose sight of the truth?"*
Say: "Does any of those beings to whom you ascribe a share in God's divinity guide unto the truth?" Say: "It is God [alone] who guides unto the truth. Which, then, is more worthy to be followed - He who guides unto the truth, or he who cannot find the right way unless he is guided?* What, then, is amiss with you and your judgment?"*
For, most of them follow nothing but conjecture: [and,] behold, conjecture can never be a substitute for truth.* Verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do.
And some people* ask thee, "Is all this true?" Say: "Yea, by my Sustainer! It is most certainly true, and you cannot elude [the final reckoning]!"
Oh, verily, unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth! Oh, verily, God's promise always comes true-but most of them know it not!
And so, when the truth came to them from Us, they said, "Behold, this is clearly nothing but sorcery!"*
Said Moses: "Do you speak thus of the truth after it has been brought to you? Can this be sorcery? But sorcerers can never come to a happy end!"*
whereas by His words God proves the truth to be true,* however hateful this may be to those who are lost in sin!"
AND SO, [O man,] if thou art in doubt about [the truth of] what We have [now] bestowed upon thee from on high,* ask those who read the divine writ [revealed] before thy time:* [and thou wilt find that,] surely, the truth has now come unto thee from thy Sustainer. Be not, then, among the doubters -
[For thus it always happens: We seal the doom of all who deny the truth and give the lie to Our messages;] and thereupon We save Our apostles and those who have attained to faith.* Thus have We willed it upon Ourselves: We save all who believe [in Us],*
SAY [O Prophet]: "O mankind! The truth from your Sustainer has now come unto you. Whoever, therefore, chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt. And I am not responsible for your conduct."
Can, then, [he who cares for no more than the life of this world be compared with* ] one who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer, conveyed through [this] testimony from Him,* as was the revelation vouchsafed to Moses aforetime-[a divine writ ordained by Him] to be a guidance and grace [unto man]? They [who understand this message-it is they alone who truly] believe in it;* whereas for any of those who, leagued together [in common hostility],* deny its truth - the fire shall be their appointed state [in the life to come]. And so,* be not in doubt about this [revelation]: behold, it is the truth from thy Sustainer, even though* most people will not believe in it.
And Noah called out to his Sustainer, and said: "O my Sustainer! Verily, my son was of my family;* and, verily, Thy promise always comes true, and Thou art the most just of all judges!"
They answered: "Thou hast always known that we have no use whatever for thy daughters;* and, verily, well dost thou know what we want!"
AND [remember:] out of all the accounts relating to the [earlier] apostles We convey unto thee [only] that wherewith We [aim to] make firm thy heart:* for through these [accounts] comes the truth unto thee, as well as an admonition and a reminder unto all believers.
[Thereupon the King sent for those women; and when they came,] he asked: "What was it that you hoped to achieve when you sought to make Joseph yield himself unto you?"* The women answered: "God save us! We did not perceive the least evil [intention] on his part!" [And] the wife of Joseph's former master* exclaimed: "Now has the truth come to light! It was I who sought to make him yield himself unto me - whereas he, behold, was indeed speaking the truth!"
And he raised his parents to the highest place of honour;* and they [all] fell down before Him, prostrating themselves in adoration.* Thereupon [Joseph] said: "O my father! This is the real meaning of my dream of long ago, which my Sustainer has made come true.* And He was indeed good to me when He freed me from the prison, and [when] He brought you [all unto me] from the desert after Satan had sown discord between me and my brothers. Verily, my Sustainer is unfathomable in [the way He brings about] whatever He wills:* verily, He alone is all-knowing, truly wise!
Alif. Lam. Mim. Ra.* THESE ARE MESSAGES of revelation:* and what has been bestowed upon thee from on high by thy Sustainer is the truth-yet most people will not believe [in it]?*
Unto Him [alone] is due all prayer aiming at the Ultimate Truth,* since those [other beings or powers] whom men invoke instead of God* cannot respond to them in any way - [so that he who invokes them is] but like one who stretches his open hands* towards water, [hoping] that it will reach his mouth, the while it never reaches him. Hence, the prayer of those who deny the truth amounts to no more than losing oneself in grievous error.
[Whenever] He sends down water from the sky, and [once-dry] river-beds are running high* according to their measure, the stream carries scum on its surface;* and, likewise, from that [metal] which they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments or utensils, [there rises] scum. In this way does God set forth the parable of truth and falsehood: for, as far as the scum is concerned, it passes away as [does all] dross; but that which is of benefit to man abides on earth. In this way does God set forth the parables
CAN, THEN, he who knows that whatever has been bestowed from on high upon thee by thy Sustainer is the truth be deemed equal to one who is blind? Only they who are endowed with insight keep this in mind:
ART THOU NOT aware that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth?* He can, if He so wills, do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead] :*
And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!* I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you -but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you-and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.* It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:* for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity."* Verily, for all evildoers* there is grievous suffering in store.
[Yet] We never send down angels otherwise than in accordance with the [demands of] truth;* and [were the angels to appear now,] lo! they [who reject this divine writ] would have no further respite!*
They answered: "We have given thee the glad tiding of something that is bound to come true. -* so be not of those who abandon hope!"
and we are bringing thee the certainty [of its fulfilment] :* for, behold, we are speaking the truth indeed.
AND [remember:] We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth;* but, behold, the Hour [when this will become clear to all] is indeed yet to come. Hence, forgive [men's failings] with fair forbearance:
He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth;* sublimely exalted is He above anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!*
As it is,* they swear by God with their most solemn oaths, "Never will God raise from the dead anyone who has died!"* Yea indeed! [This very thing has God promised] by a promise which He has willed upon Himself; but most people know it not.
Say: "Holy inspiration* has brought it down from thy Sustainer by stages, setting forth the truth, so that it might give firmness unto those who have attained to faith, and provide guidance and a glad tiding unto all who have surrendered themselves to God."
And give his due to the near of kin,* as well as to the needy and the wayfarer,* but do not squander [thy substance] senselessly.*
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 say: "The truth has now come [to light], and falsehood has withered away: for, behold, all falsehood is bound to wither away!"
AND AS a guide towards the truth* have We bestowed this [revelation] from on high; with this [very] truth has it come down [unto thee, O Prophet]:* for We have sent thee but as a herald of glad tidings and a warner,
[And now] We shall truly relate to thee their story:* Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their Sustainer: and [so] We deepened their consciousness of the right way*
AND IN THIS way* have We drawn [people's] attention to their story,* so that they might know - whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave]* that God's promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour. And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory;* God knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!"
And say: "The truth [has now come] from your Sustainer: let, then, him who wills, believe in it, and let him who wills, reject it." Verily, for all who sin against themselves [by rejecting Our truth]* We have readied a fire whose billowing folds will encompass them from all sides;* and if they beg for water, they will be given water [hot] like molten lead, which will scald their faces: how dreadful a drink, and how evil a place to rest!
For thus it is: all protective power belongs to God alone, the True One. He is the best to grant recompense, and the best to determine what is to be.*
But We send [Our] message-bearers only as heralds of glad tidings and as warners - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth contend [against them] with fallacious arguments, so as to render void the truth thereby, and to make My messages and warnings a target of their mockery.
Said [the King]: "This is a mercy from my Sustainer! Yet when the time appointed by my Sustainer* shall come, He will make this [rampart] level with the ground: and my Sustainer's promise always comes true!"*
SUCH WAS, in the words of truth, Jesus the son of Mary, about whose nature they so deeply disagree.*
[Know,] then, [that) God is sublimely exalted. the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth* and [knowing this,] do not approach the Qur'an in haste,* ere it has been revealed unto thee in full, but [always) say: "O my Sustainer, cause me to grow in knowledge!*
Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood,* and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away.* But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God] *
and yet,* they choose to worship [imaginary] deities instead of Him! Say [O Prophet]: Produce an evidence for what you are claiming:* this is a reminder [unceasingly voiced] by those who are with me, just as it was a reminder [voiced] by those who came before me."* But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away [from it]*
They asked: Hast thou come unto us [with this claim] in all earnest - or art thou one of those jesters?''
the while the true promise [of resurrection] draws close [to its fulfillment]. But then, lo! the eyes of those who [in their lifetime] were bent on denying the truth will stare in horror, [and they will exclaim:] Oh, woe unto us! We were indeed heedless of this [promise of resurrection]! - nay, we were [bent on] doing evil!"*
Say:* O my Sustainer! Judge Thou in truth!'' - and [say]: ''Our Sustainer is the Most Gracious, the One whose aid is ever to be sought against all your [attempts at] defining [Him]!"*
All this [happens] because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,* and because He alone brings the dead to life, and because He has the power to will anything.
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 Gods 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,
And [God renders Satan's aspersions null and void] so that they who are endowed with [innate] knowledge might know that this [divine writ] is the truth from thy Sustainer, and that they aught believe in it, and that their hearts might humbly submit unto Him. For, behold, God does guide onto a straight way those who have attained to faith
Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,* so that all that men invoke beside Him is sheer falsehood, and because God alone is exalted, great!
No true understanding of God have they [who err in this way]: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty!
And strive hard in God's cause with all the striving that is due to Him: it is He who has elected you [to carry His message], and has laid no hardship on you in [anything that pertains to religion,* [and made you follow] the creed of your forefather Abraham.* It is He who has named you in bygone times as well as in this [divine writ] those who have surrendered themselves to God",* so that the Apostle might bear witness to the truth before you, and that you might bear witness to it before all mankind. Thus, be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and hold fast unto God. He is your Lord Supreme: and how excellent is this Lord Supreme, and how excellent this Giver of Succour!
And then the blast [of Our punishment] overtook them, justly and unavoidably,* and We caused them to become as the flotsam of dead leaves and the scum borne on the surface of a torrent: and so - away with those evildoing folk!
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.
Or do they say. There is madness in him"? Nay, he has brought them the truth - and the truth do most of them detest!*
But if the truth* were in accord with their own likes and dislikes, the heavens and the earth would surely have fallen into ruin, and all that lives in them [would long ago have perished]!* Nay, [in this divine writ] We have conveyed unto them all that they ought to bear in mind:* and from this their reminder they [heedlessly] turn away!
Nay, We have conveyed unto them the truth: and yet, behold, they are intent on lying [to themselves]!*
[KNOW,] then, [that] God is sublimely exalted, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth:* there is no deity save Him, the Sustainer, in bountiful almightiness enthroned!*
On that day God will pay them in full their just due, and they will come to know that God alone is the Ultimate Truth, manifest, and manifesting [the true nature of all that has ever been done].*
but if the truth happens to be to their liking, they are quite willing to accept it!*
on that Day [it will become obvious to all that] true sovereignty belongs to the Most Gracious [alone]: hence, a Day of distress will it be for all who deny the truth,
and [that] they [who deny the truth] might never taunt thee with any deceptive half-truth* without Our conveying to thee the [full] truth and [providing thee] with the best explanation.*
and who never invoke any [imaginary] deity side by side with God, and do not take any human beings 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
Hence, place thy trust in God [alone] - for, behold, that in which thou believest is truth self-evident.*
We [now] convey unto thee some of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, setting forth the truth for [the benefit of] people who will believe.
And thus We restored him to his mother, so that her eye might he gladdened, and that she might grieve no longer, and that she might know that God's promise always comes true - even though most of them know it not!
Thus arrogantly, without the least good sense,* did he and his hosts behave on earth - just as if they thought that they would never have to appear before Us [for judgment]!*
And yet, now that the truth has come unto them from Us, they say, Why has he not been vouchsafed the like of what Moses was vouchsafed?"* But did they not also, before this, deny the truth of what Moses was vouchsafed? [For] they do say, Two examples of delusion, [seemingly] supporting each other!"* And they add, Behold, we refuse to accept either of them as true!"
and whenever it is [clearly] conveyed unto them, they [are bound to] profess, We have come to believe in it, for, behold, it is the truth from our Sustainer - and, verily, even before this have we surrendered ourselves unto Him!"
And [they will remain silent: for by then] We will have called forth witnesses from within every community,* and will have said [unto the sinners]: Produce an evidence for what you have been claiming!"* And so they will come to understand that all truth is God's [alone];* and all their false imagery will have forsaken them.*
[[and hence are certain that] God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth:* for, behold, in this [very creation] there is a message indeed for all who believe [in Him].
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?
Have they never learned to think for themselves?* God has not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them without [an inner] truth and a term set [by Him]:* and yet, behold, there are many people who stubbornly deny the truth that they are destined to meet their Sustainer!
Hence, give his due to the near of kin, as well as to the needy and the wayfarer;* this is best for all who seek God's countenance: for it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state!
And indeed, [O Muhammad, even] before thee did We send forth apostles - each one unto his own people* and they brought them all evidence of the truth: and then, [by causing the believers to triumph,] We inflicted Our retribution upon those who [deliberately] did evil: for We had willed it upon Ourselves to succour the believers.
Remain, then, patient in adversity: verily, Gods promise [of resurrection] is true indeed - so let not those who are devoid of all inner certainty disquiet thy mind!
to abide therein in accordance with God's true promise: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.*
Thus it is, because God alone is the Ultimate Truth,* so that all that men invoke instead of Him is sheer falsehood; and because God alone is exalted, truly great!
O MEN! Be conscious of your Sustainer, and stand in awe of the Day on which no parent will be of any avail to his child, nor a child will in the least avail his parent! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world deludes you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*
and yet,* they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, [Muhammad] has invented it!" Nay, but it is the truth from thy Sustainer, enabling thee to warn [this] people to whom no warner has come before thee, so that they might follow the right path.
NEVER has God endowed any man with two hearts in one body:* and [just as] He has never made your wives whom you may have declared to be as unlawful to you as your mothers' bodies" [truly] your mothers,* so, too, has He never made your adopted sons [truly] your sons:* these are but [figures of] speech uttered by your mouths - whereas God speaks the [absolute] truth:* and it is He alone who can show [you] the right path.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet's dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right.* And [as for the Prophet's wives,] whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen:* this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs. Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God's Apostle - just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away:* that, verily, would be an enormity in the sight of God.
NOW THEY who are endowed with [innate] knowledge are well aware that whatever has been bestowed upon thee from on high by thy Sustainer is indeed the truth, and that it guides onto the way that leads to the Almighty, the One to whom all praise is due!
And, before Him, intercession can be of no avail [to any] save one in whose case He may have granted leave [there for]:* so much so that when the terror [of the Last Hour] is lifted from their hearts, they [who have been resurrected] will ask [one another], What has your Sustainer decreed [for you]?" - [to which] the others will answer, Whatever is true and deserved - for He alone is exalted, great!"*
Say: Our Sustainer will bring us all together [on Judgment Day], and then He will lay open the truth between us, in justice - for He alone is the One who opens all truth, the All-Knowing!"
For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on denying the truth] say [to one another], This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what your forefathers were wont to worship!" And they say, This [Qur'an] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!" And [finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!"*
Say: Verily, my Sustainer hurls the truth [against all that is false]* He who fully knows all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception!"
Say: The truth has now come [to light, and falsehood is bound to wither away]:* for, falsehood cannot bring forth anything new, nor can it bring back [what has passed away]."*
O men! Verily, God's promise [of resurrection] is true indeed: let not, then, the life of this world delude you, and let not [your own] deceptive thoughts about God delude you!*
Verily, We have sent thee with the truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner: for there never was any community but a warner has [lived and] passed away in its midst.*
And [know that] all of the divine writ with which We have inspired thee is the very truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier revelations* for, behold, of [the needs of] His servants God is fully aware, all-seeing.
Nay, but he [whom you call a mad poet] has brought the truth; and he confirms the truth of [what the earlier of God's] message-bearers [have taught].*
As they came upon David, and he shrank back in fear from them, they said: Fear not! [We are but] two litigants. One of us has wronged the other: so judge thou between us with justice, and deviate not from what is right, and show [both of] us the way to rectitude.
[And We said:] O David! Behold, We have made thee a [prophet and, thus, Our] vicegerent on earth: judge, then, between men with justice, and do not follow vain desire, lest it lead thee astray from the path of God: verily, for those who go astray from the path of God there is suffering severe in store for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning!"
Such, behold, will in truth be the [confusion and] mutual wrangling of the people of the fire!
[And God] said: This, then, is the truth!* And this truth do I state:
for, behold, it is We who have bestowed this revelation upon thee from on high, setting forth the truth: so worship Him, sincere in thy faith in Him alone!
He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth.* He causes the night to flow into the day, and causes the day to flow into the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him].* Is not He the Almighty, the All-Forgiving?
BEHOLD, from on high have We bestowed upon thee this divine writ, setting forth the truth for [the benefit of all] mankind. And whoever chooses to be guided [thereby], does so for his own good, and whoever chooses to go astray, goes but astray to his own hurt; and thou hast not the power to determine their fate.*
And no true understanding of God have they [who worship aught beside Him], inasmuch as the whole of the earth will be as a [mere] handful to Him on Resurrection Day, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand:* limitless is He in His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything to which they may ascribe a share in His divinity!
And the earth will shine bright with her Sustainer's light.* And the record [of everyone's deeds] will be laid bare,* and all the prophets will be brought forward, and all [other] witnesses;* and judgment will be passed on them all in justice. And they will not be wronged,
And thou wilt see the angels surrounding the throne of [God's] almightiness, extolling their Sustainer's glory and praise.* And judgment will have been passed in justice on all [who had lived and died], and the word will be spoken:* All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"
to the truth gave the lie, before their time, the people of Noah and, after them, all those [others] who were leagued together [against God's message-bearers];* and each of those communities schemed against the apostle sent unto them,* aiming to lay hands on him; and they contended [against his message] with fallacious arguments, so as to render void the truth thereby: but then I took them to task - and how awesome was My retribution!
And God will judge in accordance with truth and justice, whereas those [beings] whom they invoke beside Him* cannot judge at all: for, verily, God alone is all-hearing, all-seeing.
Now [as for Pharaoh and his followers,] when he came to them, setting forth the truth from Us, they said, Slay the sons of those who share his beliefs,* and spare [only] their women!" - but the guile of those deniers of the truth could not lead to aught but failure.
hence, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true - and ask forgiveness for thy sins, and extol thy Sustainer's glory and praise by night and by day.*
this is an outcome of your having arrogantly exulted on earth without any [concern for what is] right, and of your having been so full of self-conceit!
HENCE, remain thou patient in adversity - for, verily, God's promise always comes true. And whether We show thee [in this world] something of what We hold in store for those [deniers of the truth], or whether We cause thee to die [ere that retribution takes place - know that, in the end], it is unto Us that they will be brought back.*
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 manifest,* judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand].*
Now as for [the tribe of] Ad, they walked arrogantly on earth, [offending] against all right, and saying, Who could have a power greater than ours?" Why - were they, then, not aware that God, who created them, had a power greater than theirs? But they went on rejecting Our messages;
In time We shall make them fully understand* Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within themselves,* so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth. [Still,] is it not enough [for them to know] that thy Sustainer is witness unto everything?*
[for] it is God [Himself] who has bestowed revelation from on high, setting forth the truth, and [thus given man] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong].* And for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near!
Those who do not believe in it [mockingly] ask for its speedy advent* whereas those who have attained to faith stand in awe of it, and know it to be the truth. Oh, verily, they who call the Last Hour in question have indeed gone far astray!
DO THEY, perchance, say, "[Muhammad] has attributed his own lying inventions to God"? But then, had God so willed, He could have sealed thy heart [forever]: for God blots out all falsehood, and by His words proves the truth to be true.* Verily, He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men];
blame attaches but to those who oppress [other] people and behave outrageously on earth, offending against all right: for them there is grievous suffering in store!
Now [as for those who did come after him,] I allowed them - as [I had allowed] their forebears - to enjoy their lives freely until the truth should come unto them through an apostle who would make all things clear:*
but now that the truth has come to them, they say, All this is mere spellbinding eloquence" - and, behold, we deny that there is any truth in it!"*
INDEED, [O you sinners,] We have conveyed the truth unto you; but most of you abhor the truth.*
And those [beings] whom some invoke beside God* have it not in their power to intercede [on Judgment Day] for any but such as have [in their lifetime] borne witness to the truth, and have been aware [that God is one and unique].*
none of this have We created without [an inner] truth:* but most of them understand it not.
These messages of God do We convey unto thee, setting forth the truth. In what other tiding, if not in God's messages, will they, then, believe?*
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.
This Our record speaks of you in all truth: for, verily, We have caused to be recorded all that you ever did!"
for when it was said, 'Behold, God's promise always comes true, and there can be no doubt about [the coming of] the Last Hour' - you would answer, 'We do not know what that Last Hour may be: we think it is no more than an empty guess, and [so] we are by no means convinced!'"
We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them otherwise than in accordance with [an inner] truth, and for a term set [by Us]:* and yet, they who are bent on denying the truth turn aside from the warning which has been conveyed unto them.*
But whenever Our messages are conveyed to them in all their clarity, they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth as soon as it is brought to them: This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!"*
But [there is many a one] who says to his parents [whenever they try to imbue him with faith in God]: Fie upon both of you! Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth [from the dead], although [so many] generations have passed away before me?"* And [while] they both pray for God's help [and say], Alas for thee! For, behold, God's promise always comes true!" - he but answers, All this is nothing but fables of ancient times!"
And on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire, [they will be told:] You have exhausted your [share of] good things in your worldly life, having enjoyed them [without any thought of the hereafter]: and so today you shall be requited with the suffering of humiliation for having gloried on earth in your arrogance,* offending against all that is right, and for all your iniquitous doings!"
They said: O our people! Behold, we have been listening to a revelation bestowed from on high after [that of] Moses, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains [of the Torah]:* it guides towards the truth, and onto a straight way.
And so, on the Day when those who were bent on denying the truth will be brought within sight of the fire [and will be asked], Is not this the truth?" - they will answer, Yea, by Our Sustainer!" [And] He will say: Taste, then, this suffering as an outcome of your denial of the truth!"
whereas those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds, and have come to believe in what has been bestowed from on high on Muhammad - for it is the truth from their Sustainer - [shall attain to God's grace:] He will efface their [past] bad deeds, and will set their hearts at rest.*
This, because they who are bent on denying the truth pursue falsehood, whereas they who have attained to faith pursue [but] the truth [that flows] from their Sustainer. In this way does God set forth unto man the parables of their true state.*
Indeed, God has shown the truth in His Apostle's true vision:* most certainly shall you enter the Inviolable House of Worship, if God so wills, in full security, with your heads shaved or your hair cut short, without any fear:* for He has [always] known that which you yourselves could not know.* And He has ordained [for you], besides this, a victory soon to come.*
He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with the [task of spreading] guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over every [false] religion; and none can bear witness [to the truth] as God does.*
Nay, but they [who refuse to believe in resurrection] have been wont to give the lie to this truth whenever it was proffered to them; and so they are in a state of confusion.*
And [then,] the twilight of death brings with it the [full] truth* that [very thing, O man,] from which thou wouldst always look away!
[and bethink thyself, too, of] the Day on which all [human beings] will in truth hear the final blast - that Day of [their] coming-forth [from death].
and [would assign] in all that they possessed a due share unto such as might ask [for help] and such as might suffer privation.*
for, by the Sustainer of heaven and earth, this [life after death] is the very truth - as true as that you are endowed with speech!*
and [since] they have no knowledge whatever thereof,* they follow nothing but surmise: yet, behold, never can surmise take the place of truth.
Verily, this is indeed the truth of truths!*
IS IT NOT time that the hearts of all who have attained to faith should feel humble at the remembrance of God and of all the truth that has been bestowed [on them] from on high,* lest they become like those who were granted revelation aforetime,* and whose hearts have hardened with the passing of time so that many of them are [now] depraved?*
And thereupon We caused [other of] Our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and [in the course of time] We caused them to be followed by Jesus, the son of Mary, upon whom We bestowed the Gospel;* and in the hearts of those who [truly] followed him We engendered compassion and mercy. But as for monastic asceticism -* We did not enjoin it upon them: they invented it themselves out of a desire for God's goodly acceptance.* But then, they did not [always] observe it as it ought to have been observed:* and so We granted their recompense unto such of them as had [truly] attained to faith, whereas many of them became iniquitous.*
O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take My enemies - who are your enemies as well* - for your friends, showing them affection even though they are bent on denying whatever truth has come unto you, [and even though] they have driven the Apostle and yourselves away, [only] because you believe in God, your Sustainer!* If [it be true that] you have gone forth [from your homes] to strive in My cause, and out of a longing for My goodly acceptance, [do not take them for your friends,] inclining towards them in secret affection: for I am fully aware of all that you may conceal as well as of all that you do openly. And any of you who does this has already strayed from the right path.*
He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with [the task of] spreading guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over all [false] religion,* however hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to aught but God.
He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth,* and has formed you - and formed you so well;* and with Him is your journey's end.
for, verily, it is truth absolute!
and in whose possessions there is a due share, acknowledged [by them],
That will be the Day of Ultimate Truth:* whoever wills, then, let him take the path that leads towards his Sustainer!
unless he be of those* who attain to faith, and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping to truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity.
