 6. Cattle. Revealed Ekmecca. In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, who hath created the heavens and the earth, and hath appointed darkness and light, yet those who disbelieve ascribe rivals unto their Lord. He it is who hath created you from clay, and hath decreed a term for you. A term is fixed with him. Yet, still, ye doubt. He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth. He knoweth both your secret and your utterance, and he knoweth what ye earn. Never came there unto them a revelation of the revelations of Allah, but they did turn away from it. And they denied the truth when it came unto them. But there will come unto them tidings of that which they used to deride. See they not how many a generation we destroyed before them, whom we had established in the earth more firmly than we have established you, and we shed on them abundant showers from the sky, and made the rivers flow beneath them. Yet we destroyed them for their sins and created after them another generation. Had we sent down unto the Muhammad actual writing upon parchment, so that they could feel it with their hands, those who disbelieve would have said, This is not else than mere magic. They say, Why hath not an angel been sent down unto him? If we sent down an angel, then the matter would be judged. No further time would be allowed for them for reflection. Had we appointed him our messenger and angel, we assuredly had made him as a man that he may speak to men, and thus obscured for them the truth that they now obscure. Messengers of Allah have been derided before thee, but that whereat they scoffed surrounded such of them as did deride. Say unto the disbelievers, Travel in the land, and see the nature of the consequence for the rejecters. Say, Unto whom belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth? Say unto Allah. He hath prescribed for himself mercy that he may bring you all together to the day of resurrection, whereof there is no doubt. Those who ruin their souls will not believe. Unto him belongeth whatsoever resteth in the night and the day. He is the hearer, the knower. Say, I shall choose for a protecting friend other than Allah, the originator of the heavens and the earth, who feedeth and is never fed. Say, I am ordered to be the first to surrender unto him, and be not thou, O Muhammad, of the idolaters. Say, I fear if I rebel against my Lord the retribution of an awful day. He from whom such retribution is averted on that day, Allah hath in truth had mercy on him. That will be a signal triumph. If Allah touch thee with affliction, there is none that can relieve therfrom save him, and if he touch thee with good fortune, there is none that can impair it, for he is able to do all things. He is the omnipotent over his slaves, and he is the wise, the knower. Say, O Muhammad, what thing is of most weight in testimony? Say, Allah is witness between me and you. And this Quran hath been inspired in me that I may warn therwith you and whom soever it may reach. Do ye in sooth bear witness that there are gods beside Allah? Say, I bear no such witness. Say, he is only one God. Lo, I am innocent of that which ye associate with him. Those unto whom we gave the scripture recognize this revelation as they recognize their sons. Those who ruin their own souls will not believe. Who doth greater wrong than he who invented the lie against Allah or denyeth his revelations? Lo, the wrongdoers will not be successful. And on the day we gather them together we shall say unto those who ascribe to partners unto Allah, where are now those partners of your make-believe? Then will they have no contention save that they will say, By Allah, our Lord, we were never idolaters. See how they lie against themselves, and how the thing which they devised hath failed them. Of them are some who listen unto thee, but we have placed upon their hearts fails, lest they should understand, and in their ears a deafness. If they saw every token they would not believe therein, to the point that, when they come unto thee to argue with thee, the disbelievers say, This is not else than fables of men of old. And they forbid men from it and avoid it, and they ruin none save themselves, though they perceive not. If thou couldst see when they are set before the fire and say, Oh, would that we might return, then would we not deny the revelations of our Lord, but we would be of the believers. Nay, but that hath become clear unto them, which before they used to hide. And if they were sent back they would return unto that which they are forbidden. Lo, they are liars. And they say, There is not save our life of the world, and we shall not be raised again. If thou couldst see when they are set before their Lord, he will say, Is not this real? They will say, Ye verily by our Lord, he will say, Taste now the retribution for that ye used to disbelieve. They indeed are losers who deny their meeting with Allah until, when the hour cometh on them suddenly they cry, Alas for us that we neglected it. They bear upon their backs their burdens. Ah, evil is that which they bear. Not is the life of the world save a pastime and a spot. Better far is the abode of the hereafter for those who keep their duty to Allah. Have ye then no sense? We know how well their talk grieveeth thee, though in truth they deny not thee, Muhammad, but evildoers flout the revelations of Allah. Messengers indeed have been denied before thee, and they were patient under the denial and the prosecution till our sucker reached them. There is none to alter the decisions of Allah. Already their hath reached thee somewhat of the tidings of the messengers we sent before. And if their aversion is grievous unto thee, then if thou canst seek away down into the earth or a ladder into the sky, that thou mayest bring them to a portent to convince them all. If Allah willed, he could have brought them all together to the guidance, so be not thou among the foolish ones. Only those can accept who hear. As for the dead, Allah will raise them up, then unto him they will be returned. They say, why hath no portent been sent down upon him from his lord? Say, lo, Allah is able to send down a portent, but most of them know not. There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you. We have neglected nothing in the book of our decrees. Then unto their lord they will be gathered. Those who deny our revelations are deaf and dumb in darkness, whom Allah will sendeth astray, and whom he will places on a straight path. Say, can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you, or the hour come upon you, calling upon other than Allah? Do ye then call for help to any other than Allah? Answer that if ye are truthful. Nay, but unto him ye call, and he removeeth that because of which ye call unto him, if he will, and ye forget whatever partners ye ascribed unto him. We have already sent unto peoples that were before thee, and we visited them with tribulation and adversity, in order that they might grow humble. If only when our disaster came on them they had been humble, but their hearts were hardened, and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them. Then when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, we opened unto them the gates of all things, till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, we seized them unawares, and lo, they were dumbfounded. So of the people who did wrong the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Say, have ye imagined, if Allah should take away your hearing and your sight, and seal your hearts, who is God who could restore it to you, save Allah? See how we display the revelations unto them. Yet still they turn away. Say, can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you unawares or openly? Would any parish save wrongdoing folk? We send not the messengers, save as bearers of good news and warners, who so believeth and doeth right, there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve. But as for those who deny our revelations torment will afflict them for that they used to disobey. Say, O Muhammad, to the disbelievers, I say not unto you that I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the unseen, and I say not to you, lo, I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me. Say, are the blind man and the seeer equal? Will ye not then take thought? Warn hereby those who fear, because they know that they will be gathered unto their Lord, for whom there is no pretending ally, nor intercessor beside him, that they may ward off evil. Repel not those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening, making his countenance. Thou art not accountable for them in ought, nor are they accountable for thee in ought, that thou shouldst repel them and be of the wrongdoers. And even so, do we try, some of them, by others, that they say, are these they whom Allah favoured among us? Is not Allah best aware of the thanksgivers? And when those who believe in our revelations come unto thee, say, Peace be unto you, your Lord hath prescribed for himself mercy, but whoso of you doeth evil through ignorance and repenteth afterward thereof doeth right? For him, lo, he is forgiving, merciful. Thus do we expound the revelations that the way of the unrighteous may be manifest. Say, I am forbidden to worship those on whom ye call in Sedevalah. Say, I will not follow your desires, for then should I go astray, and I should not be of the rightly guided. Say, I am relying on clear proof for my Lord, while ye deny him. I have not that for which ye are impatient. The decision is for Allah only. He telleth the truth, and he is the best of deciders. Say, if I had that for which ye are impatient, then would the case ere this have been decided between me and you. Allah is best aware of the wrongdoers. And with him are the keys of the invisible. None but he knoweth them. And he knoweth what is in the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falleth, but he knoweth it. Not a grain am in the darkness of the earth. Not of wet or dry, but it is noted in a clear record. He it is who gathereth you at night, and knoweth that which ye commit by day. Then he raiseth you again to life therein, that the term appointed for you may be accomplished. And afterward unto him is your return. Then he will proclaim unto you what ye use to do. He is the omnipotent over his slaves. He sendeth guardians over you until, when death cometh unto one of you, our messengers receive him, and they neglect not. Then are they restored unto Allah, their Lord, the just. Surely his is the judgment, and he is the most swift of reckoners. Say, who delivereth you from the darkness of the land and the sea? Ye call upon him humbly and in secret, saying, if we are delivered from this fear, we truly will be of the thankful. Say, Allah delivereth you from this and from all affliction, yet ye attribute partners unto him. Say, he is able to send punishment upon you from above you, or from beneath your feet, or to bewilder you with dissension and make you taste the tyranny of one another. See how we display the revelations so that they may understand. Thy people, O Muhammad, have denied it, though it is the truth. Say, I am not put in charge of you. For every announcement there is a term, and you will come to know. And when thou seest those who meddle with our revelations, withdraw from them until they meddle with another topic. And if the devil cause thee to forget, sit not, after the remembrance with the congregation of wrongdoers. Those who ward off evil are not accountable for them in ought, but the reminder must be given them that happily they too may ward off evil. And forsake those who take their religion for a pastime and a jest, and whom the life of the world beguileth. Remindeth mankind hereby lest a soul be destroyed by what it earneth. It hath beside Allah no protecting ally nor intercessor, and though it offer every compensation it will not be accepted from it. Those are they who perish by their own desserts. For them is a drink of boiling water and a painful doom, because they disbelieve. Say, shall we cry, instead of unto Allah, unto that which neither profited us nor hurt us us? And shall we turn back after Allah hath guided us, like one bewildered whom the devils have infatuated in the earth, who hath companions who invite him to the guidance, saying, Come unto us. Say, lo, the guidance of Allah is guidance, and we are ordered to surrender to the Lord of the worlds. And to establish worship and be dutiful to him, and he it is unto whom you will be gathered. He it is who created the heavens and the earth in truth. In the day when he sayeth, Be, it is. His word is the truth, and his will will be the sovereignty on the day when the trumpet is blown. Knower of the invisible and the visible, he is the wise, the aware. Remember when Abraham said unto his father, Asar, Take us thou idols for gods, lo, I see thee and thy folk in error manifest. Thus did we show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might be of those possessing certainty. When the night grew dark upon him he beheld a star. He said, This is my Lord. But when it set he said, I love not things that set. And when he saw the moon uprising he exclaimed, This is my Lord. But when it set he said, Unless my Lord guide me I shall surely become one of the folk who are astray. And when he saw the sun uprising he cried, This is my Lord. This is greater. And when it set he exclaimed, O my people, lo, I am free from all that ye associate with him. Lo, I have turned my face toward him who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not one of the idolaters. His people argued with him. He said, Dispute ye with me concerning Allah when he hath guided me. I fear not at all that which ye set up beside him unless my Lord willeth ought. My Lord included all things in his knowledge. Will ye not then remember? How should I fear that which ye set up beside him when ye fear not to set up beside Allah that for which he hath revealed unto you no warrant? Which of the two factions hath more right to safety? Answer me that, if ye have knowledge. Those who believe and obscure not their belief by wrongdoing theirs is safety, and they are rightly guided. That is our argument. We gave it unto Abraham against his folk. We raise unto degrees of wisdom whom we will. Lo, thy Lord is wise, aware. And we bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob each of them we guided, and Noah did we guide a foretime, and of his seed we guided David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do we reward the good. And Zacharias and John and Jesus and Elias. Each one of them was of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did we prefer above our creatures, with some of their forefathers in their offspring and their brethren, and we chose them and guided them unto a straight path. Such is the guidance of Allah wherewith he guideth whom he will of his bondmen. But if they had set up for worship ought beside him, all that they did would have been in vain. Those are they unto whom we gave the scripture and command and prophethood. But if those disbelieve therein, then indeed we shall entrust it to a people who will not be disbelievers therein. Those are they whom Allah guideth, so follow their guidance. Say, O Muhammad, unto mankind, I ask of you no fee for it. Lo it is not but a reminder to his creatures. And they measure not the power of Allah. It's true measure when they say, Allah hath not revealed unto a human being. Say, unto the Jews, who speak thus, who revealed the book which Moses brought, a light and a guidance for mankind, which ye have put on parchment's which ye show, but ye hide much thereof, and by which ye were taught, that which ye knew, not yourselves, did your fathers know it? Say, Allah, then leave them to their play of caviling. And this is the blessed scripture which we have revealed, affirming that which was revealed before it, that thou mayest warn the mother of villages and those around her. Those who believe in the hereafter believe herein, and they are careful of their worship. Who is guilty of more than he who forges a lie against Allah, or sayeth, I am inspired, when he is not inspired in ought, and who sayeth, I will reveal the like of that which Allah hath revealed. If thou couldst see when the wrongdoers reach the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out, saying, Shower up your souls. This day ye are awarded doom of degradation for that which ye spoke concerning Allah other than the truth, and used to scorn his portents. Now have ye come unto us solitary as we did create you at the first, and ye have left behind all that we bestowed upon you, and we behold not with you those your intercessors, of whom ye claimed that they possessed a share in you. Now is the bond between you severed, and that which ye presumed hath failed you. So Allah it is who spliteth the grain of corn, and the date-stone for sprouting. He bringeth forth the living from the dead, and is the bringer forth of the dead from the living. Such is Allah. How then are ye perverted? He is the cleaver of the daybreak, and he hath appointed the night for stillness, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the measuring of the mighty, the wise. And he it is who hath set for you the stars that ye may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land in the sea. We have detailed our revelations for a people who have knowledge. And he it is who hath produced you from a single being, and hath given you a habitation and a repository. We have detailed our revelations for a people who have understanding. He it is who sendeth down water from the sky, and wherewith we bring forth buds of every kind. We bring forth the green-played from which we bring forth the thick clustered grain, and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereofs bring pendent bunches, and we bring forth gardens of grapes and the olive and the pomegranate alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit upon its ripening. Low herein verily are portents for a people who believe. Yet they ascribe as partners unto him the jain, although he did create them, and impute falsely without knowledge, sons and daughters unto him. Glorified be he in high exalted above all that they ascribe unto him. The originator of the heavens and the earth. How could he have a child when there is for him no consort, when he created all things and is aware of all things? Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no God save him, the creator of all things, so worship him, and he taketh care of all things. Vision comprehendeth him not, but he comprehendeth all vision. He is the subtle, the aware. Proofs have come unto you from your Lord, so who seeth it is for his own good, and who so is blind is blind to his own hurt. And I am not a keeper over you. Thus do we display our revelations that they may say unto thee, Muhammad, Thou hast studied, and that we may make it clear for people who have knowledge. Follow that which is inspired in thee from the Lord. There is no God save him, and turn away from the idolaters. Had Allah willed, they had not been idolatrous. We have not set thee as a keeper over them, nor art thou responsible for them. Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through their ignorance. Thus unto every nation we have made their deeds seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return, and he will tell them what they used to do. And they will swear a solemn oath by Allah that if there come unto them a portent, they will believe they're in. Say, portents are with Allah, and so is that which telleth you that if such came unto them they would not believe. We confound their hearts and their eyes, and they believed not therein at the first. We let them wander blindly on in their contumacy. And though we should send down the angels unto them, and the dead should speak unto them, and we should gather against them all things in array, they would not believe unless Allah so willed. How be it most of them are ignorant. Thus have we appointed unto every prophet an adversary, devils of humankind, and jinn who inspire in one another plausible discourse through guile. If thy Lord willed, they would not do so, so leave them alone with their devising. That the hearts of those who believe not in the hereafter may incline there too, and that they may take pleasure therein, that they may earn what they are earning. Shall I seek other than Allah for judge, when he it is who hath revealed unto you this Scripture fully explained? Those unto whom we give the Scripture a foretime know that it is revealed from thy Lord in truth. So be not thou, O Muhammad, of the waverers. Perfected is the word of thy Lord in truth and justice. There is not that can change his words. He is the hearer, the knower. If thou obeyest most of those on earth, they would mislead thee far from Allah's ways. They follow not but an opinion, and they do but guess. Low, thy Lord, he knoweth best who erreth from his ways, and he knoweth best who are rightly guided. Eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, if ye are believers in his revelations. How should ye not eat of that over which the name of Allah hath been mentioned, when he hath explained unto you that that which is forbidden unto you, unless ye are compelled there too? But, Low, many are led astray by their own lust through ignorance. Low, thy Lord, he is best aware of the transgressors. Forsake the outwardness of sin and the inwardness thereof. Low, those who garner sin will be awarded that which they have earned. And eat not of that wherein Allah's name hath not been mentioned, for, Low, it is an abomination. Low, the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters. Is he who was dead, and we have raised him to life, and set for him a light wherein he walked among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness once he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fair seeming for the disbelievers. And thus have we made in every city great ones of its wicked ones that they should plot therein. They do but plot against themselves, though they perceive not. And when a token cometh unto them, they say, We will not believe till we are given that which Allah's messengers are given. Allah knoweth best with whom to place his message. Humiliation from Allah and heavy punishment will smite the guilty for their scheming. And whomsoever it is Allah's will to guide, he expanded his bosom unto the render, and whomsoever it is his will to send astray, he maketh his bosom close and narrow as if he were engaged in sheer ascent. Thus Allah layeth ignamy upon those who believe not. This is the path of thy Lord, a straight path. We have detailed our revelations for a people who take heed. For them is the abode of peace with their Lord. He will be their protecting friend because of what they used to do. In the day when he will gather them together he will say, O ye assembly of the gene, many of humankind did ye seduce. And their adherents among humankind will say, Our Lord, we enjoyed one another, but now we have arrived at the appointed term which thou appointedst for us. He will say, Fire is your home, abide therein for ever, save him whom Allah willest to deliver. Lo, thy Lord is wise, aware. Thus we let some of the wrongdoers have power over others because of what they are want to earn. O ye assembly of the gene and humankind, came there not unto you messengers of your own who were counted unto you, my tokens, and warned you of the meeting of this your day. They will say, We testify against ourselves, and the life of the world beguiled them. And they testify against themselves that they were disbelievers. This is because thy Lord destroyeth not the townships arbitrarily while their people are unconscious of the wrong they do. For all there will be ranks from what they did. Thy Lord is not unaware of what they do. Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of Mercy. If he will, he can remove you and can cause what he will to follow after you, even as he raised you from the seed of other folk. Lo, that which ye are promised will surely come to pass, and ye cannot escape. Say, O Mohammed, O my people, work according to your power. Lo, I too am working. Thus ye will come to know for which of us will be the happy sequel. Lo, the wrongdoers will not be successful. They assign unto Allah of the crops in the cattle which he created, a portion, and they say, This is Allah's, in their make-believe, and this is for his partners in regard to us. Thus, that which they assign unto his partners in them reaches not Allah, and that which they assign unto Allah goeth to their so-called partners. Evil is their ordinance. Thus have their so-called partners of Allah made the killing of their children to seem fair unto many of the idolaters, that they may ruin them and make their faith obscure for them. Had Allah willed otherwise, they had not done so. So leave them alone with their devices. And they say, Such cattle and crops are forbidden. No one is to eat of them, save whom we will, in their make-believe. Cattle whose backs are forbidden, cattle over which they mention not the name of Allah. All that is a lie against him. He will repay them for that which they invent. And they say, That which is in the bellies of such cattle is reserved for our males, and is forbidden to our wives. But if it be born dead, then they all may be partakers thereof. He will reward them for their attribution of such ordinances unto him. Lo, he is wise, aware. They are losers who besottedly have slain their children without knowledge, and have forbidden that which Allah bestowed upon them, inventing a lie against Allah. They indeed have gone astray and are not guided. He it is who produceeth gardens, trellist and untrellist, and the date-palm, and the crops of diverse flavors, and the olive and the pomegranate, like and unlike. Eat ye of the fruit thereof when it fruiteth, and pay the due thereof upon the harvest day, and be not prodigal. Lo, Allah loveth not the prodigals. And of the cattle he produceeth some for burdens, some for food. Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you, and follow not the footsteps of the devil. For lo, he is an open foe to you. Eight pairs of the sheep twain and of the goats twain. Say, hath he forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Expound to me the case with knowledge, if ye are truthful. And of the camels twain and of the oxen twain. Say, hath he forbidden the two males or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Or were ye by to witness when Allah commanded you all this? Then who doth greater wrong than he who deviseseth a lie concerning Allah, that he may lead mankind astray without knowledge? Lo, Allah guideeth not wrongdoing folk. Say, I find not, in that which is revealed unto me, ought prohibited to an eater that he eat thereof, except it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or swine flesh. For that verily is foul, or the abomination which was emulated to the name of other than Allah. But whoso is compelled there too, neither craving nor transgressing for him? Lo, thy Lord is forgiving, merciful. Unto those who are Jews we forbad every animal with claws, and of the oxen and the sheep forbad we unto them from the fat thereof, save that upon the backs or the entrails, or that which is mixed with the bone. That we awarded them for their rebellion, and lo, we verily are truthful. So if they give the lie to thee, Muhammad, say, your Lord is a Lord of all embracing mercy, and his wrath will never be withdrawn from guilty folk. They who are idolaters will say, had Allah willed, we had not ascribed unto him partners, neither had our fathers, nor had we forbidden ought. Thus did those who were before them give the lie to Allah's messengers till they tasted of the fear of us. Say, have ye knowledge that she can adduce for us? Lo, ye follow not but an opinion. Lo, ye do but guess. Say, for Allah's is the final argument. Had he willed he could indeed have guided all of you. Say, come, bring your witnesses, who can bear witness that Allah forbade all this. And if they bear witness, do not thou bear witness with them. Follow thou not the whims of those who deny our revelations, those who believe not in the hereafter and deem others equal with their Lord. Say, come, I will recite unto you that which your Lord hath made a sacred duty for you, that she ascribe no thing as partner unto him, and that ye do good to parents, and that ye slay not your children because of penury. We provide for you and for them, and that ye draw not nigh to lewd things whether open or concealed, and that ye slay not the life which Allah hath made sacred save in the course of justice. This hath he command you in order that you may discern. And approach not the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better till he reach maturity. Give full measure and full weight in justice. We task not any soul beyond its scope. And if ye give your word, do justice thereunto, even though it be against a kinsman, and fulfill the covenant of Allah, this he commandeth you that happily ye may remember. And he commandeth you saying, this is my straight path, so follow it. Follow not other ways lest ye be parted from his way. This hath he ordained for you that ye may ward off evil. Again we gave the scripture unto Moses, complete for him who would do good, an explanation of all things, a guidance and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. And this is a blessed scripture which we have revealed, so follow it and ward off evil that ye may find mercy. Lest ye should say, the scripture was revealed only to two sects before us, and we in soothe were unaware of what they read, or lest ye should say, if the scripture had been revealed to us, we surely had been better guided than they are. Now hath there come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, a guidance and mercy, and who doeth greater wrong than he who denied the revelations of Allah, and turneth away from them. We award unto those who turn away from our revelations an evil doom because of their aversion. Wait, they, indeed, for nothing less than the angels should come unto them, or thy Lord should come, or there should come one of the portents from thy Lord. In the day when one of the portents from the Lord cometh, its belief availeth not a soul which theretofore believed not, nor in its belief earned good by works. Say, Wait ye, lo, we too are waiting. Lo, as for those who sunder their religion and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, who then will tell them what they used to do. Whoso bringeth a good deed will receive tenfold the like thereof, while whoso bringeth an ill deed will be awarded but the like thereof, and they will not be wronged. Say, Lo, as for me my Lord hath guided me into a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater. Say, Lo, my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He hath no partner. This I am commanded, and I am first of those who surrender unto him. Say, Shall I seek another than Allah for the Lord, when he is Lord of all things? Each soul earneth only on its own account, nor doth any laden bear another's load. Then unto your Lord is your return, and he will tell you that wherein ye differed. He it is who hath placed you as vicories of the earth, and hath exalted some of you in rank high above others, that he may try you by the test of that which he hath given you. Lo, thy Lord is swift in prosecution, and lo, he verily is forgiving, merciful. The Heights Revealed at Mecca, in the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful. Alif lam mim sadh. It is a scripture that is revealed unto thee, Muhammad, so let there be no heaviness in thy heart therefrom, that thou mayest warn thereby, and it is a reminder unto believers. Saying, Follow that which is sent down unto you from your Lord, and follow no protecting friends beside him. Little do ye recollect. How many a township have we destroyed? As arrayed by night, or while they slept at noon, our terror came unto them. No plea had they, when our terror came unto them, save that they said, Lo, we were wrongdoers. Then verily we shall question those unto whom our message hath been sent, and verily we shall question the messengers. Then verily we shall narrate unto them the event with knowledge, for we were not absent when it came to pass. The weighing on that day is the true weighing. As for those who scale is heavy, they are the successful. And as for those who scale is light, those are they who lose their souls because they used to wrong our revelations. And we have given you, mankind, power in the earth, and appointed for you therein livelihoods. Little give ye thanks. And we created you, then fashioned you, then told the angels, Fall ye prostrate before Adam. And they fell prostrate, all save Iblis, who was not of those who make prostration. He said, What hindered thee that thou didst not fall prostrate when I bad thee? Iblis said, I am better than him. Thou createdst me a fire, while him thou didst create of mud. He said, Then go down hence. It is not for thee to show pride here. So go forth. Lo, thou art of those degraded. He said, Reprieve me till the day when they are raised from the dead. He said, Lo, thou art of those reprieved. He said, Now, because thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on thy right path. Then I shall come upon them, from before them, and from behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left hands, and thou wilt not find most of them beholden unto thee. He said, Go forth from hence, degraded, banished. As for such of them as follow thee, surely I will fill hell with all of you. And unto man, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden, and eat from whence you will. But come not nigh this tree, lest you become wrongdoers. Then Satan whispered to them that he might manifest unto them, that which was hidden from them of their shame. And he said, Your Lord forbade you from this tree, only lest you should become angels, or become of the immortals. And he swore unto them, saying, Lo, I am a sincere advisor unto you. Thus he did lead them on with guile. And when they tasted of the tree, their shame was manifest to them, and they began to hide, by heaping on themselves some of the leaves of the garden. And their Lord called them, saying, Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you, Lo, Satan is an open enemy to you? They said, Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If thou forgive us not, and have not mercy on us, surely we are of the lost. He said, Go down from hence, one of you, a foe unto the other. There will be for you on earth a habitation and a provision for a while. He said, There shall you live, and there shall you die, and then you shall be brought forth. O children of Adam, we have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture. But the raiment of restraint from evil, that is best. This is of the revelations of Allah that they may remember. O children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you as he caused your first parents to go forth from the garden and tore off from them their robe of innocence, that he might manifest their shame to them. Lo, he seeth you, he in his tribe, from whence ye see him not. Lo, we have made the devils protecting friends for those who believe not. And when they do some lewdness they say, We found our fathers doing it, and Allah hath enjoined it on us. Say, Allah, fairly enjoineth not lewdness. Tell ye concerning Allah that which ye know not. Say, My Lord enjoineth justice, and set your faces upright toward him at every place of worship, and call upon him, making religion pure for him only. As he brought you into being, so return ye unto him. A party he hath led aright, while error hath just told over another party. For lo, they choose the devils for protecting supporters instead of Allah, and deem that they are rightly guided. O children of Adam, look to your adornment at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo, he loveth not the prodigals. Say, who hath forbidden the adornment of Allah which he hath brought forth for his bondmen, and the good things of his providing? Say, such, on the day of resurrection, will be only for those who believed during the life of the world. Thus we do detail our revelations for people who have knowledge. Say, My Lord forbideth only indecencies, such of them as our apparent and such as our within, and sin and wrongful oppression, and that ye associate with Allah, that for which no warrant hath been revealed, and that ye tell concerning Allah that which ye know not. And every nation hath its term, and when its term cometh, they cannot put it off in an hour, nor yet advance it. O children of Adam, when messengers of your own come unto you who narrate unto you, My revelations, then whosoever with frayneth from evil and amendeth, there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they grieve. But they who deny our revelations and scorn them, each are rightful owners of the fire, they will abide therein. Who doeth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah or denyeth our tokens? For such their appointed portion of the Book of Destiny reaches them till, when our messengers come to gather them, they say, Where now is that to which she cried beside Allah? They say, They have departed from us, and they testify against themselves that they were disbelievers. He saith, Enter into the fire among nations of the gene and humankind who passed away before you. Every time a nation entereth, it curseth its sister-nation, till, when they have all been made to follow one another thither, the last of them saith unto the first of them, Our Lord, these let us astray, so give them double torment of the fire. He saith, For each one there is double torment, but he know not. And the first of them saith unto the last of them, You are no wit better than us, so taste the doom for what ye use to earn. Low, they who deny our revelations and scorn them, for them the gates of heaven will not be opened, nor will they enter the garden till the camel goeth through the needle's eye. Thus we do requite the guilty. There's will be a bed of hell, and over them, covering of hell. Thus do we requite the wrongdoers. But as for those who believe and do good works, we tax not any soul beyond its scope, such are the rightful owners of the garden. They abide therein. And we remove whatever rancor may be in their hearts. Rivers flow beneath them, and they say, The praise to Allah, who hath guided us to this. We could not truly have been led to right if Allah had not guided us. Verily the messengers of our Lord did bring the truth. And it is cried unto them, This is the garden. Ye inherit it for what ye use to do. And the dwellers of the garden cry unto the dwellers of the fire. We have found that which our Lord promised us to be the truth. Have you too found that which your Lord promised the truth? They say, Ye verily. And a cryer in between them cryeth, The curse of Allah is on evildoers. Who debar men from the path of Allah and would have it crooked, and who are disbelievers in the last day. Between them is avail. And on the heights are men who know them all by their marks. And they call unto the dwellers of the garden, Peace be unto you. They enter it not, although they hope to enter. And when their eyes are turned toward the dwellers of the fire, they say, Our Lord, place us not with the wrongdoing folk. And the dwellers on the heights call unto men whom they know by their marks, saying, What did your multitude? And that in which ye took your pride avail you. Are these they of whom ye swore that Allah would not show them mercy? Unto them it hath been said, Enter the garden. No fear shall come upon you. Where is it ye who will grieve? And the dwellers of the fire cry unto the dwellers of the garden, Pour on us some water, or some wherewith Allah hath provided you. They say, Lo, Allah hath forbidden both to disbelievers in his guidance. Who took their religion for a sport in pastime, and whom the life of the world beguiled? So this day we have forgotten them, even as they forgot the meeting of this their day, and they used to deny our tokens. Verily we have brought them a scripture which we expounded with knowledge, and a guidance and a mercy for people who believe. Await they ought save the fulfilment thereof. On the day when the fulfilment thereof cometh, those who are before forgetful thereof will say, The messengers of our Lord did bring the truth. Have we any intercessors that they may intercede for us, or can we be returned to life on earth, that we may act otherwise than we used to act? They have lost their souls, and that which they devised has failed them. Lo, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then mounted he the throne. He covereth the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and hath made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by his command. His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds. O mankind, call upon your Lord humbly and in secret. Lo, he loveth not aggressors. Work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering thereof, and call on him in fear and hope. Lo, the mercy of Allah is nigh unto the good. And he it is who sendeth the winds as tidings heralding his mercy. Till when they bear a cloud heavy with rain we lead it to a dead land, and then cause water to descend thereon, and thereby bring forth fruits of every kind. Thus bring we forth the dead. Happily you may remember. As for the good land, its vegetation cometh forth by permission of its Lord, while as for that which is bad, only the useless cometh forth from it. Thus do we recount the tokens for people who give thanks. We sent Noah of old unto his people, and he said, O my people, serve Allah. ye have no other God save him. Lo, I fear for you the retribution of an awful day. The chieftains of his people said, Lo, we see thee surely in plain error. He said, O my people, there is no error in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds. I convey unto you the messages of my Lord, and give good counsel unto you, and know from Allah that which ye know not. Marvel ye that there should come unto you a reminder from your Lord, by means of a man among you, that he may warn you, and that ye may keep from evil, and that happily ye may find mercy. But they denied him, so we saved him, and those who were with him in the ship, and we drowned those who denied our tokens. Lo, they were blind folk. And under the tribe of Ad we sent their brother, Hud. He said, O my people, serve Allah. ye have no other God save him. Will ye not ward off evil? The chieftains of his people, who were disbelieving, said, Lo, we surely see in thee foolishness, and Lo, we deem thee of the liars. He said, O my people, there is no foolishness in me, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds. I convey unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am for you a true advisor. Marvel ye that there should come unto you a reminder from your Lord, by means of a man among you, that he may warn you. Remember how he made you viceroys after Noah's folk, and gave you growth of stature. Remember all the bounties of your Lord, that happily he may be successful. They said, haste come unto us that we should serve Allah alone, and forsake what our fathers worshiped. Then bring upon us that wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou art of the truthful. He said, terror and wrath from your Lord have already fallen on you. Would you wrangle with me over names, which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which no warrant from Allah hath been revealed? Then await the consequence, Lo, I am also of those awaiting it. And we saved him and those with him by a mercy from us, and we cut off the root of those who denied our revelations, and were not believers. And unto the tribe of Tamud we sent their brother Salih. He said, O my people, serve Allah. Ye have no other God save him. A wonder from your Lord hath come unto you. Lo, this is the camel of Allah, a token unto you. So let her feed in Allah's earth, and touch her not with hurt, lest painful torment seize you. And remember how he made you viceroys after Ad, and gave you station in the earth. He choose castles in all the plains, and hew the mountains into dwellings. So remember all the bounties of Allah and do not evil, making mischief in the earth. The chieftains of his people, who were scornful, said unto those whom they despised, unto such of them as believed, No ye that Salih is once sent from his Lord, they said, Lo, in that wherewith he hath been sent we are believers. Those who were scornful said, Lo, in that which ye believe we are disbelievers. So they hamstrung the she-camel, and they flouted the commandment of their Lord, and they said, O Salih, bring upon us that thou threatenest, if thou art indeed of those sent from Allah. So the earthquake seized them, and mourning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. And Salih turned from them and said, O my people, I delivered my Lord's message unto you and gave you good advice, but ye love not good advisers, and lot. Remember when he said unto his folk, Will ye commit abomination such as no creature ever did before you? Lo, ye come with less unto men instead of women, nay, but ye are wanton folk. And the answer of his people was only that, they said, one to another, turn them out of your township, they are folk sooth who keep pure. And we rescued him in his household, save his wife, who was of those who stayed behind. And we reigned upon them, see now the nature of the consequence of evildoers. And unto Midian we sent their brother Shueb. He said, O my people, serve Allah, ye have no other God save him. Lo, a clear proof hath come unto you from your Lord, so give full measure and full weight and wrong not mankind in their goods, and work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering thereof. That will be better for you if ye are believers. Work not on every road to threaten wayfarers, and to turn from Allah's path him who believeth in him, and to seek to make it crooked. And remember when ye were but few how he did multiply you, and see the nature of the consequence for the corruptors. And if there is a party of you which believeth in that wherewith I have been sent, and there is a party which believeth not, then have patience until Allah judge between us. He is the best of all who deal in judgment. The chieftains of his people who were scornful said, Surely we will drive thee out, O Shueb, and those who believe with thee from our township unless ye return to our religion. He said, Even though we hate it. We should have invented a lie against Allah if we return to your religion after Allah hath rescued us from it. It is not for us to return to it unless Allah our Lord should so will. Our Lord comprehendeth all things and knowledge. In Allah do we put our trust. Our Lord, decide with truth between us and our folk, for thou art the best of those who make decision. But the chieftains of his people who were disbelieving said, If ye follow Shueb, then truly ye shall be the losers. So the earthquake seized them and morning found them prostrate in their dwelling place. Those who denied Shueb became as though they had not dwelt there. Those who denied Shueb, they were the losers. So he turned from them and said, O my people, I delivered my Lord's messages unto you and gave you good advice, then how can I sorrow for a people that rejected truth? And we sent no prophet unto any township, but we did afflict its folk with tribulation and adversity that happily they might grow humble. Then changed we the evil plight for good till they grew affluent and said, Tribulation and distress did touch our fathers. Then we seized them unawares when they perceived not. And if the people of the townships had believed and kept from evil, surely we should have opened for them blessings from the sky and from the earth. But unto every messenger they gave the lie, and so we seized them on account of what they used to earn. Are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of our wrath upon them as a night raid while they sleep? Or are the people of the townships then secure from the coming of our wrath upon them in daytime while they play? Are they then secure from Allah's scheme? None deemeth himself secure from Allah's scheme save folk that perish. Is it not an indication to those who inherit the land after its people, who thus reaped the consequence of evil doing, that if we will we can smite them for their sins and print upon their hearts so that they hear not? Such were the townships. We relate some tidings of them unto thee, Muhammad. Their messengers verily came unto them with clear proofs of Allah's sovereignty, but they could not believe because they had before denied. Thus doth Allah print upon the hearts of disbelievers that they hear not. We found no loyalty to any covenant in most of them. Nay, most of them we found wrongdoers. Then after them we sent Moses with our tokens unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they repelled him. Now see the nature of the consequence for the corruptors. Moses said, O Pharaoh, lo, I am a messenger from the Lord of the worlds, approved upon condition that I speak concerning Allah nothing but the truth. I come unto you, lords of Egypt, with a clear proof from your Lord, so let the children of Israel go with me. Pharaoh said, If thou comest with the token, then produce it, if thou art of those who speak the truth. Then he flung down his staff and lo, it was a serpent manifest, and he drew forth his hand from his bosom and lo, it was white for the beholders. The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, Lo, this is some knowing wizard who would expel you from your land. Now what do you advise? They said unto Pharaoh, Put him off a while, him and his brother, and send into the city summoners, to bring each knowing wizard unto thee. And the wizards came to Pharaoh saying, Surely there will be a reward for us if we are the victors. He answered, Yes, and surely ye shall be of those brought near to me. They said, O Moses, either throw first, or let us be the first throwers. He said, Throw, and when they threw they cast a spell upon the people's eyes and overrob them, and produced a mighty spell. And we inspired Moses saying, Throw thy staff, and lo, it swallowed up their lying show. Thus was the truth vindicated, and that which they were doing was made vain. Thus were they there defeated and brought lo. And the wizards fell down prostrate, crying, We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said, Ye believe in him before I give you leave. Lo, this is the plot that ye have plotted in the city, that ye may drive its people hence. But ye shall come to know. Surely I shall have your hands and feet cut off upon alternate sides. Then I shall crucify you every one. They said, Lo, we are about to return unto our Lord. Thou takest vengeance on us only for as much as we believe the tokens of our Lord when they came unto us. Our Lord vouchs safe unto us, steadfastness, and make us die as men who have surrendered unto thee. The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, O King, wilt thou suffer Moses and his people to make mischief in the land, and flout thee and thy gods? He said, We will slay their sons and spare their women, for lo, we are in power over them. And Moses said unto his people, Seek help in Allah and endure. Lo, the earth is Allah's. He giveth it for an inheritance to whom he will. And lo, the sequel is for those who keep their duty unto him. They said, We suffered hurt before thou camest unto us, and since thou hast come unto us. He said, It may be that your Lord is going to destroy your adversary and make you viceroy's in the earth, that he may see how ye behave. And we straightened Pharaoh's folk with famine and earth of fruits, that paraventure they might heed. But whenever good befell them they said, This is ours, and whenever evil smote them they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moses and those with him. Surely their evil auspice was only with Allah, but most of them knew not. And they said, Whatever portent thou bringest wherewith to bewitch us, we shall not put faith in thee. So we sent against them the flood and the locusts and the vermin and the frogs and the blood, a secession of clear signs, but they were arrogant and became a guilty folk. And when the terror fell on them they cried, O Moses, pray for us unto thy Lord, because he hath a covenant with thee. If thou removeest the terror from us, we verily will trust thee, and will let the children of Israel go with thee. But when we did remove from them the terror for a term which they must reach, behold, they broke their covenant. Therefore we took retribution from them, therefore we drowned them in the sea, because they denied our revelations and were heedless of them. And we caused the folk who were despised to inherit the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which we had blessed. And the fair word of thy Lord was fulfilled for the children of Israel because of their endurance, and we annihilated all that Pharaoh and his folk had done and that they had contrived. And we brought the children of Israel across the sea, and they came unto a people who were given up to idols which they had. They said, O Moses, make for us a God even as they have gods. He said, Lo, ye are a folk who know not. Lo, as for these, their way will be destroyed and all that they are doing is in vain. He said, Shall I seek for you a God other than Allah when he hath favoured you above all creatures? And remember, when we did deliver you from Pharaoh's folk who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, slaughtering your sons and sparing your women. That was a tremendous trial from your Lord. And when we did appoint for Moses thirty nights of solitude and added to them ten, and he completed the whole time appointed by his Lord of forty nights, and Moses said unto his brother Aaron, Take my place among the people, do right, and follow not the way of mischief-makers. And when Moses came to our appointed tryst and his Lord had spoken unto him, he said, My Lord, show me thyself that I may gaze upon thee. He said, Thou wilt not see me, but gaze upon the mountain. If it stands still in its place, then thou wilt see me. And when his Lord revealed his glory to the mountain, he sent it crashing down. And Moses fell down senseless. And when he woke he said, Glory unto thee, I turn unto thee repentant, and I am the first of true believers. He said, O Moses, I have preferred thee above mankind by my messages and by my speaking unto thee. So hold that which I have given thee and be among the thankful. And we wrote for him, upon the tablets, the lesson to be drawn from all things and the explanation of all things. Then, bad him, hold it fast, and command thy people, saying, Take the better course made clear therein. I shall show thee the abode of evil livers. I shall turn away from my revelations those who magnify themselves wrongfully in the earth. And if they see each token, believe it not. And if they see the way of righteousness, choose it not for their way. And if they see the way of error, choose it for their way. This is because they deny our revelation and are used to disregard them. Those who deny our revelations and the meaning of the hereafter, their works are fruitless. Are they were quite it ought, save what they used to do? And the folk of Moses, after he left them, chose a calf for worship, made out of their ornaments, of saffron hue, which gave a lowing sound. Saw they not that it spake not unto them, nor guided them to any way? They chose it, and became wrongdoers. And when they feared the consequences thereof, and saw that they had gone astray, they said, Unless our Lord have mercy on us and forgive us, we verily are of the lost. And when Moses returned unto his people, angry and grieved, he said, Evil is that course which she took after I had left you. Would ye hasten on the judgment of your Lord? And he cast down the tablets, and he seized his brother by the head, dragging him toward him. He said, Son of my mother, Lo, the folk did judge me weak and almost killed me. Oh, make not mine enemies to triumph over me and place me not among the evildoers. He said, My Lord, have mercy on me and on my brother. Bring us into thy mercy, thou the most merciful of all who show mercy. Lo, those who choose the calf for worship, terror from their Lord in humiliation, will come upon them in the life of the world. Thus do we requite those who invent a lie. But those who do ill deeds and afterwards repent and believe, lo, for them, afterward, Allah is forgiving, merciful. And when the anger of Moses abated, he took up the tablets, and in their inscription there was guidance and mercy for all those who fear their Lord. And Moses chose of his people seventy men, for our appointed trist, and when the trembling came on them he said, My Lord, if thou hest willed, thou hest destroyed them long before, and me with them. Wilt thou destroy us for that which the ignorant among us did? It is but thy trial of us. Thou sendeth whom thou wilt astray and guide us to whom thou wilt. Thou art our protecting friend. Therefore forgive us and have mercy on us. Thou, the best of all who show forgiveness. And ordain for us in this world that which is good, and in the hereafter that which is good. Lo, we have turned unto thee. He said, I smite with punishment whom I will, and my mercy embraces all things. Therefore I shall ordain it for those who ward off evil and pay the poor due, and those who believe our revelations. Those who follow the messenger, the prophet, who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel, which are with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right, and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things, and prohibit them only the fowl, and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they are used to wear. Then those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, they are the successful. Say, O Muhammad, O mankind, lo, I am the messenger of Allah to you all, the messenger of him unto whom belongeth the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no God save him. He quickeneth, and he giveth death. So believe in Allah and his messenger, the prophet, who can neither read nor write, who believeeth in Allah and in his words, and follow him that happily you may be led aright. And of Moses's folk there is a community who lead with truth and establish justice therewith. We divided them into twelve tribes, nations, and we inspired Moses when his people asked him for water, saying, Smite with thy staff the rock, and there gust forth therefrom twelve springs, so that each tribe knew their drinking place. And we caused the white cloud to overshadow them, and sent down for them the manna and the quail, saying, Eat of the good things wherewith we hath provided you. They wronged us not, but they were want to wrong themselves. And when it was said unto them, Dwell in this township, and eat therefrom when she will, and say repentance, and enter the gate prostrate, we shall forgive your sins. We shall increase reward for the right doers. But those of them who did wrong changed the word which had been told them for another, saying, We sent down upon them wrath from heaven for their wrongdoing. Ask them, O Muhammad, of the township that was by the sea, how they did break the Sabbath, how their big fish came unto them visibly upon their Sabbath day, and on a day when they did not keep the Sabbath came they not unto them. Thus did we try them, for that they were evildoers. And when a community among them said, Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy or punish with an awful doom, they said, In order to be free from guilt before your Lord, and that happily they may ward off evil. And when they forgot, that whereof they had been reminded, we rescued those who forbade wrong, and visited those who did wrong with dreadful punishment, because they were evildoers. So when they took pride in that which they had been forbidden, we said unto them Be ye apes despised and loathed, and remember when thy Lord proclaimed that he would raise against them till the day of resurrection, those who would lay on them a cruel torment. Lo, verily, thy Lord is swift in prosecution, and lo, verily, he is forgiving, merciful. And we have sundered them in the earth as separate nations. Some of them are righteous, and some far from that. And we have tried them with good things and evil things that happily they might return. And a generation hath succeeded them who inherited the scriptures. They grasped the goods of this low life as the price of evil doing, and say, It will be forgiven us. And if there came to them again the offer of the like, they would accept it and would sin again. Hath not the covenant of the scripture been taken on their behalf, that they should not speak ought concerning Allah save the truth? And they have studied that which is therein, and the abode of the hereafter is better for those who ward off evil. Have ye then no sense? And as for those who make men keep the scripture and establish worship, lo, we squander not the wages of reformers. And when we shook the mount above them, as if it were a covering, and they suppose that it was going to fall upon them, and we said, Hold fast that which we have given you, and remember that which is therein, that ye may ward off evil. And remember when thy Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, saying, Am I not your Lord? They said, Ye verily, we testify. That was, lest ye should say at the day of resurrection, lo, of this we were unaware. Or lest ye should say, It is only that our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old, and we were their seed after them. Wilt thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did? Thus we detail the revelations, that happily they may return. Recite unto them the tale of him to whom we gave our revelations, but he slept them off, so Satan overtook him, and he became of those who was led astray. And had we willed we could have raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his own lust. Therefore his likeness is as the likeness of a dog. If thou attackest him he panteth with his tongue out, and if thou leaveest him he panteth with his tongue out. Such is the likeness of the people who deny our revelations. Narrate unto them the history of the men of old, that happily they may take thought. Evil as an example are the folk who denied our revelations, and were want to wrong themselves. He whom Allah leadeth, he indeed is letter-right, while he whom Allah sendeth astray, they indeed are losers. Already have we urged and to hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle, nay, but they are worse, these are the neglectful. Allah's are the fairest names, invoke him by them, and leave the company of those who blaspheme his names. They will be requited what they do. And of those whom we created there is a nation who guide with the truth and establish justice therewith. And those who deny our revelations, step by step we lead them on from whence they know not. I give them rain, for low my scheme is strong. Have not they be thought them, that there is no madness in their comrade, he is but a plain warner? Have they not considered the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and what things Allah hath created, and that it may be their own term droth nigh? In what fact after this will they believe? Those whom Allah sendeth astray, there is no guide for them. He leveth them to wander blindly on in their contumacy. They ask thee of the destined hour. When will it come to port? Say, knowledge thereof is with the Lord only. He alone will manifest it at its proper time. It is heavy in the heavens and the earth. It cometh not to you, save unawares. They question thee, as if thou couldst be well informed thereof. Say, knowledge thereof is with Allah only, but most of mankind know not. Say, for myself I have no power to benefit, nor power to hurt. Save that which Allah willeth. Had I knowledge of the unseen I should have abundance of wealth, and adversity would not touch me. I am but a warner, and a bearer of good tidings unto folk who believe. He it is who did create you from a single soul, and therefrom did make his mate that he might take rest in her. And when he covered her she bore a light burden, and she passed unnoticed with it. But when it became heavy they cried unto Allah their Lord, saying, If thou giveest unto us a right we shall be of the thankful. But when he gave unto them a right they ascribed unto him partners in respect of that which he had given them. High is he exalted above all that they associate with him. A tribute they as partners to Allah those who created not, but are themselves created, and cannot give them help, nor can they help themselves. And if ye call them to the guidance they follow you not, whether ye call them or are silent is all one for you. Low, those on whom ye call beside Allah are slaves unto you. Call on them now and let them answer you if you are truthful. Have they feet wherewith they walk, or have they hands wherewith they hold, or have they eyes wherewith they see, or have they ears wherewith they hear? Say, Call upon your so-called partners of Allah, and then contrive against me. Spare me not. Low, my protecting friend is Allah who revealeth the Scripture. He befriendeth the righteous. They on whom ye call beside him have no power to help you, nor can they help you, nor can they help themselves. And if ye Muslims call them to the guidance they hear not, and thou, Muhammad, seeest them looking toward thee, but they see not. Keep to forgiveness, O Muhammad, and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant. And if a slander from the devil wound thee, then seek refuge in Allah. Low, he is hearer, knower. Low, those who ward off evil, when a glamour from the devil troubleeth them, they do but remember Allah's guidance, and behold them seers. Their brethren plunge them further into error, and cease not. And when thou bringest not a verse for them, they say, Why hast thou not chosen it? Say, I follow only that which is inspired in me from my Lord. This Quran is insight from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy for people that believe. And when the Quran is recited, give ear to it and pay heed that ye may obtain mercy. And do thou, O Muhammad, remember thy Lord within thyself humbly and with awe, below thy breath at morning and at evening, and be not thou of the neglectful. Low, those who are with thy Lord are not too proud to do him service, but they praise him and adore him. End of Surah 7 of the Meaning of the Glorious Quran. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org. This reading by Karl Manchester, 2008. The Meaning of the Glorious Quran, translated by Muhammad Mahmoudjouk Pictol. Surah 8 Spoils of War, Revealed at Medina. In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful. They ask the O Muhammad of the spoils of war. Say, the spoils of war belong to Allah and the messenger. So keep your duty to Allah and adjust the matter of your difference. And obey Allah and his messenger, if ye are true believers. They only are the true believers whose hearts feel fear when Allah is mentioned and when his revelations are recited unto them, they increase their faith and who trust in their Lord, who establish worship and spend of that we have bestowed on them. Those are they who are in truth believers. For them are grades of honour with their Lord and pardon and a bountiful provision. Even as thy Lord caused thee, Muhammad, to go forth from thy home with the truth and lo, a party of the believers were averse to it. Disputing with thee of the truth after it had been made manifest, as if they were being driven to death visible. And when Allah promised you one of the two bands of the enemy that it should be yours, and ye longed that other than the armed one might be yours, and Allah willed that he should cause the truth to triumph by his words and cut the root of the disbelievers. That he might cause the truth to triumph and bring vanity to naught, however much the guilty might oppose. When ye sought help of your Lord and he answered you saying, I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank. Allah appointed it only as good tidings, and that your hearts thereby might be at rest. Victory cometh only by the help of Allah. Lo, Allah is mighty wise. When he made the slumber fall upon you, as a reassurance from him, and sent down water from the sky upon you, that thereby he might purify you and remove from you the fear of Satan, and make strong your hearts and firm your feet thereby. When thy Lord inspired the angels saying, I am with you, so make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve, then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. That is because they opposed Allah and his messenger, who so opposed with Allah and his messenger, for him lo, Allah is severe in punishment. That is the award, so taste it, and know that for disbelievers is the torment of the fire. O ye who believe, when ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them. Who so on that day turneth his back to them, and, less manoeuvring for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey's end. Ye Muslims slew them not, but Allah slew them, and thou, Muhammad, threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that he might test the believers by a fair test from him. Lo, Allah is hearer, knower. That is the case, and know that Allah it is who maketh weak the plan of disbelievers. O Quraish, if ye sought a judgment, now hath the judgment come unto you, and if ye cease from persecuting the believers, it will be better for you, but if ye return to the attack we also shall return, and your host will avail you not, however numerous it be, and know that Allah is with the believers in his guidance. O ye who believe, obey Allah and his messenger, and turn not away from him when ye hear him speak. Be not as those who say, we hear, and they hear not. Lo, the worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the deaf, the dumb, who have no sense. Had Allah known of any good in them, he would have made them here, but had he made them here they would have turned away a verse. O ye who believe, obey Allah and the messenger when he calleth you to that which quickeneth you, and know that Allah cometh in between the man and his own heart, and that he it is unto whom ye will be gathered, and guard yourself against the chastisement which cannot fall exclusively on those of you who are wrongdoers, and know that Allah is severe in punishment. And remember, when ye were few and reckoned feeble in the land, and were in fear lest men should extopate you, how he gave you refuge and strengthened you with his help and made provision of good things for you that happily ye might be thankful. O ye who believe, betray not Allah and his messenger, nor knowingly betray your trusts, and know that your possessions and your children are a test, and that with Allah is immense reward. O ye who believe, if ye keep your duty to Allah he will give you discrimination between right and wrong, and will rid you of your evil thoughts and deeds, and will forgive you. Allah is of infinite bounty, and when those who disbelieve plot against thee, O Muhammad, to wound thee fatally, or to kill thee, or to drive thee forth, they plot, but Allah also ploteth, and Allah is the best of plotters. And when our revelations are recited unto them, they say, we have heard, if we wish we can speak the like of this. Lo, this is naught but fables of the men of old. And when they said, O Allah, if this be indeed the truth from thee, then rain down stones on us, or bring us some painful doom, but Allah would not punish them whilst I was with them, nor will he punish them while they seek forgiveness. What plea have they that Allah should not punish them when they debar his servants from the inviolable place of worship, though they are not its fitting guardians? Its fitting guardians are those only who keep their duty to Allah, but most of them know not. And their worship at the holy house is naught but whistling and hand clapping. Therefore it is said unto them, taste of the doom because ye disbelieve. Lo, those who disbelieve spend their wealth in order that they may debar men from the way of Allah. They will spend it, then it will become an anguish for them, then they will be conquered, and those who disbelieve will be gathered unto Hell. That Allah may separate the wicked from the good, the wicked will he place piece upon piece and heap them all together and consign them unto Hell. Such verily are the losers. Tell those who disbelieve that if they cease from persecution of believers, that which is past will be forgiven them, but if they return there too, then the example of the men of old have already gone before them for a warning. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they cease, then lo Allah is seer of what they do. And if they turn away, then know that Allah is your befriender, a transcendent patron, a transcendent helper, and know that whatever ye take as spoils of war, lower fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger, and for the kinsmen who hath need, and orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer. If ye believe in Allah, and that which we revealed unto our slave on the day of discrimination, the day when the two armies met, and Allah is able to do all things. When ye were on the near bank of the valley, and they were on the yonder bank, and the caravan was below you on the coast plain, and had ye tristed to meet one another, ye surely would have failed to keep the trist. But it happened as it did, without the forethought of either of you, that Allah might conclude a thing that must be done, that he who perished on that day might perish by a clear proof of his sovereignty, and he who survived might survive by a clear proof of his sovereignty. Low Allah in truth is Hera Noah. When Allah showed them unto thee, O Muhammad, in thy dream as few in number, and if he had shown them to thee as many, ye Muslims would have faltered, and would have quarrelled over the affair. But Allah saved you, low he knoweth what is in the breasts of men. And when he made you Muslims, when ye met them, see them with your eyes as few and lessen you in their eyes, it was that Allah might conclude a thing that must be done, unto Allah all things are brought back. O ye who believe, when ye meet an army hold firm and think of Allah much that ye may be successful, and obey Allah and his messenger and dispute not with one another lest ye falter and your strength depart from you, but be steadfast. Low Allah is with the steadfast. Be not as those who came forth from their dwellings boastfully, and to be seen of men, and debar men from the way of Allah while Allah is surrounding all they do. And when Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said, No one of mankind can conquer you this day, for I am your protector. But when the armies came in sight of one another, he took flight saying, Low I am guiltless of you, Low I see that which ye see not, Low I fear Allah, and Allah is severe in punishment. When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, Their religion hath deluded these, Whoso puteth his trust in Allah, will find that low Allah is mighty wise. If thou could see how the angels receive those who disbelieve, smiting faces and their backs and saying, Taste the punishment of burning. This is for that which your own hands have sent before to the judgment, and know that Allah is not a tyrant to his slaves. Their way is as the way of Pharaoh's folk, and those before them. They disbelieved the revelations of Allah, and Allah took them in their sins. Low Allah is strong, severe in punishment. That is because Allah never changes the grace he hath bestowed on any people until they first change that which is in their hearts. And that is because Allah is hearer, knower. Their way is as the way of Pharaoh's folk, and those before them. They denied the revelations of their Lord, so we destroyed them in their sins, and we drowned the folk of Pharaoh. All were evildoers. Low the worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the ungrateful who will not believe. Those of them with whom thou made us to treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty and keep not their duty to Allah. If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them that happily they may remember. And if thou fearest treachery from any folk, then throw back to them their treaty fairly. Low Allah loveth not the treacherous. And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip Allah's purpose. Low they cannot escape. Make ready for them all thou canst of armed force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others beside them who ye know not. Allah knoweth them. Whatever ye spend in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and ye will not be wronged. And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it and trust in Allah. Low he even he is the hearer, the knower. And if they would deceive thee, then low Allah is sufficient for thee. He it is who supporteth thee with his help and with the believers. And as for the believers hath attuned their hearts. If thou had spent all that is in the earth, thou couldst not have attuned their hearts. But Allah hath attuned them. Low he is mighty, wise. O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for thee and those who follow thee of the believers. O Prophet, exhort the believers to fight. If they be of you 20 steadfast, they shall overcome 200. And if they be of you 100 steadfast, they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they, the disbelievers, are a folk without intelligence. Now hath Allah lightened your burden, for he knoweth that there is weakness in you. So if they be of you a steadfast 100, they shall overcome 200. And if they be of you a thousand steadfast, they shall overcome 2000 by permission of Allah. Allah is with the steadfast. It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. Ye desire the law of this world and Allah desireth for you the hereafter, and Allah is mighty, wise. Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which had gone before, an awful doom had come upon you on account of what he took. Now enjoy what you have won, as lawful and good, and keep your duty to Allah. Lo Allah is forgiving, merciful. O Prophet, say unto those captives who are in your hands, if Allah knoweth any good in your hearts, he will give you better than that which hath been taken from you, and will forgive you. Lo Allah is forgiving, merciful. And if they would betray thee, they betrayed Allah before, and he gave thee power over them. Allah is knower, wise. Lo those who believed and left their homes and strove with their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah, and those who took them in and helped them, these are protecting friends, one of another, and those who believed but did not leave their homes. Ye have no duty to protect them till they leave their homes, but if they seek help from you in the matter of religion, then it is your duty to help them, except against a folk between whom and you there is a treaty. Allah is seer of what ye do, and those who disbelieve are protectors one of another. If ye do not so, there will be confusion in the land and great corruption. Those who believed and left their homes and strove for the cause of Allah, and those who took them in and helped them, these are the believers in truth. For them is pardon and bountiful provision. And those who afterwards believed and left their homes and strove along with you, they are of you, and those who are akin are nearer one to another in the ordinance of Allah. Lo Allah is Noah of all things.