English Al-Mukhtasar — Al-Ma'idah 5:1 – At-Tawbah 9:129

O you who believe in Allah, follow His Messenger and practice His laws, fulfil the firm promises of faith and practice that were made between you and your Creator. Also, fulfil the promises made with His creation in sale transactions, marriage, etc. Allah has permitted for you, out of His mercy, livestock animals (camels, cattle, sheep and goats), except those the prohibition of which have been read to you and the land game that He has prohibited you from in the state of sanctity during the pilgrimage of Hajj or Umrah. Allah decides to permit and prohibit as He wills in accordance with His wisdom. No one can compel Him or object to His decision.

O you who believe in Allah, follow His Messenger and practice His laws, do not violate the sanctity of those things that Allah has instructed you to honour. Stay away from those things that are prohibited when you are in the state of pilgrim sanctity, such as wearing your normal clothing, and those things that are prohibited within the Sanctuary, such as hunting. Do not regard fighting in the sacred months of Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram and Rajab to be permissible. Do not violate the sacrificial animal by siezing it or preventing it from reaching its place of sacrifice. Do not violate those animals with garlands indicating that they are offerings. Do not violate those intending to go to the Sacred House of Allah, seeking profit in their trade and Allah’s pleasure. When you come out of the state of pilgrim sanctity and you leave the Sanctuary, you may hunt if you wish. The hatred for a people who prevented you from the Sacred Mosque should not cause you to be oppressive and unfair towards them. Help one another, O believers, to do what you have been instructed and to leave what you have been prohibited from. Fear Allah by holding on to His obedience and avoiding His disobedience. Allah’s punishment for the one who disobeys Him is severe, so be careful of it.

Allah has forbidden you from eating those animals that die without being ritually slaughtered. He has also forbidden you from spilled blood; pig’s meat; an animal on which other than the name of Allah was taken at the time of slaughter; an animal that was strangled or beaten to death, or one that fell from a high place; or an animal that was gored by another animal and an animal that was hunted by a predator, such as a lion, tiger or wolf, unless you reach any of these animals while they are alive and you slaughter them – in which case they will be lawful for you. He has forbidden you from those animals that were sacrificed for idols. He has also prohibited you from drawing lots to know whether something is destined for you or not, or to use as a means of making a decision when intending to do something or not. By doing these prohibited things a person is leaving obedience to Allah. Today the disbelievers have lost hope that you will leave the religion of Islam, because they see its strength. So do not fear them, but fear Me alone. Today I have perfected for you your religion, which is Islam. I have completed My apparent and hidden favours on you. I have selected Islam as your religion, so I will not accept any other. If anyone is forced due to hunger to eat from an animal that was not slaughtered correctly, with no inclination to sin, there is no sin on such a person to do so. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate.

Your companions ask you, O Messenger, what Allah has permitted them to eat. Say, O Messenger: Allah has permitted you to eat any food that is pure and also what is hunted by trained animals that have canines, such as dogs, cheetahs, or birds that have talons such as falcons. These are animals that you train to hunt as Allah has blessed you with knowledge of its methods, such that they follow instructions and leave something when told to do so. You may eat any game caught by such animals, even if they kill them, as long as you take the name of Allah when releasing them. Be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and staying away from His prohibitions. Allah is quick in taking account.

Today Allah has allowed you to eat those things that are wholesome, and the animals slaughtered by the Jews and Christians who are the People of the Scripture. He has also made lawful for them animals that you slaughter. He has permitted you to marry free, chaste women from the believers, as well as free, chaste women from the Jews and Christians who received scripture before you. This is if you give them their dowries and you are trying to stay away from committing an immoral action, such as adultery or fornication, by taking them as lovers. Yet whosoever disbelieves in Allah and His laws which He has given to his slaves, then his actions are void, because the condition for good actions to be accepted is true faith. On the Day of Judgement, such a person will be a loser due to entering the fire of Hell, where they will live eternally.

O you who believe in Allah, follow His Messenger and practice His laws, when you intend to stand up to offer the prayer and you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, then perform ablution by washing your faces and then your hands together with the elbows, then wiping your heads and finally washing your feet together with the ankles. If you are in the state of major ritual impurity, then take a full bath. If you are sick and you fear that the sickness will get worse or the healing will be delayed, or if you are on a journey even though you are not sick, or if you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, such as after going to the toilet, or in a state of major ritual impurity, such as after having had sexual intercourse, and you do not find water to purify yourselves with, despite having searched for it, then make use of the ground by striking it with your hands and then wiping over your faces and then wiping your hands with it. Allah does not wish to make the laws difficult for you by forcing you to use water that may lead to harm or difficulty. He has therefore given you a substitute when this is not possible due to sickness or the lack of water. This is a completion of His favour on you, so that you give thanks for such favour and are not ungrateful.

Remember Allah’s favour upon you by guiding you to Islam and the promise He took from you when you said at the time of pledging allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to listen and follow in ease or difficulty: ‘We hear your words and we follow your instruction’. Be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions, including His promises, and avoiding His prohibitions. Allah knows what is in the hearts and nothing is hidden from Him.

O you who believe in Allah and His Messenger and follow His laws, uphold Allah’s rights over you, seeking His pleasure. Be witnesses for justice and not for oppression. The hatred for a people should not make you leave justice: justice is a requirement with a friend, as well as with an enemy, so be just with both. Justice is closer to the fear of Allah, and oppression is closer to disrespect against Him. Be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. Allah knows what you do. Nothing of your actions is hidden from Him and He will repay you accordingly.

Allah has made a promise to those who have faith in Allah and His messengers of forgiveness for their sins and a great reward which is to enter into Paradise. Allah never fails His Promise.

Those who disbelieve in Allah and reject His verses are the companions of the fire of Hell, which they will enter as a punishment for their disbelief and rejection. They will remain in the fire of Hell eternally, just as a companion remains with his companion.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, remember, with your hearts and tongues, the favours Allah has given you, such as safety and the placing of fear in the hearts of your enemies, when they intended to stretch their hands towards you in order to attack you. Allah turned them away from you and protected you from them. Be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. Let the believers place their reliance in Allah alone, in order to achieve their religious and worldly interests.

Allah had taken a firm promise from the Children of Israel, when He appointed over them twelve chiefs who were placed in authority over them. Allah said to the Israelites: I am with you- with my help and support if you establish the prayer in the complete manner, give Zakat from your wealth, accept all of my messengers without distinction, honour them, assist them and spend in good causes. If you do all of this, I will wipe out the sins you commit and I will enter you, on the Day of Judgement, into gardens with palaces overlooking flowing streams. Whoever disbelieves after making this promise has knowingly and deliberately deviated from the path of truth.

Because of their breaking the promise that was taken from them, I distanced them from My mercy and I made their hearts so hard that no good could enter them and no advice could be of any benefit to them. They distort the placing of words by replacing them with other words, and by interpreting them according to their desires. They also left out practicing some of what they were advised to do. You will continuously discover, O Messenger, their betrayal of Allah and His believing servants, with the exception of a few of them, who fulfil the promise taken from them. So pardon them and do not take them to task. Overlook what they do, because that is being good and Allah loves those who do good.

Just as I took a firm promise from the Jews, I also took a promise from those who declare themselves to be pure followers of Jesus (peace be upon him). They also left out practicing some of what they were advised to do, just as their predecessors from among the jews did. I then placed enmity and hatred between them and they began fighting and killing one another, each one declaring the other to be a disbeliever. Allah will inform them about what they used to do and will repay them for the same.

O People of the Scripture – referring to the Jews who had the Torah and the Christians who had the Gospel – My messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you to explain much of what you hide from the scripture revealed to you, and to overlook much of that in which there is no benefit besides disgracing you. The Qur’ān has come to you as a Book from Allah, which is a light to guide you and a Book that makes clear all of what people require for their worldly and religious affairs.

By this Book, Allah guides the person who follows faith and does good actions, which please Him, to the paths of safety from Allah’s punishment. These are the paths that lead to Paradise. He removes them from the darkness of disbelief and disobedience to the light of faith and obedience, and He guides them to the straight path: the path of Islam.

Those Christians who say that ‘Allah is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary’ have committed disbelief. Say to them, O Messenger: Who is able to prevent Allah from destroying the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, as well as his mother and all of those on earth if He wishes to do so? If no one is able to stop Allah from this, it is a clear indication that there is no god but Allah and that all of those people – Jesus, son of Mary, his mother and all of creation – are all Allah’s creation. The dominion of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, is Allah’s. He creates whatever He wishes and one such creation of His was Jesus (peace be upon him), who was His servant and messenger. Allah is able to do all things. nothing is outside His ability. He created Adam without a father or mother. He created Eve without a mother and He created Jesus without a father.

Both the Jews and the Christians claimed: ‘We are Allah’s children and loved ones’. Say, O Messenger, in refutation of their claim: Why does Allah punish you for the sins you commit? If you were His loved ones, as you claim, He would not have punished you, by your being killed or disfigured in the world, and by means of the fire of Hell in the Afterlife, because He does not punish those He loves. Instead, you are just like all other human beings. If any of them do good, Allah will reward them with Paradise. If any of them do evil, He will punish them in the fire of Hell. Allah forgives whomever He wishes through His grace; and He punishes whomever He wishes through His justice. The dominion of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is in between them, is Allah’s alone. To Him alone is the return.

O People of the Scripture, Jews and Christians, My messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you after a period when there were no messengers and when there was a real need for his mission, so that you do not say as an excuse, ‘No messenger came to us bringing good news of Allah’s reward nor any warning of His punishment’. Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you to give you good news of My reward and warn you of My punishment. I am able to do all things. Nothing is outside My ability. It is through My power that I sent the messengers and I sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the final messenger.

Remember, O Messenger, when Moses said to his people, the Israelites, ‘O People, remember, with your hearts and tongues, Allah’s favour to you when He made prophets amongst you calling you to guidance, made you kings in control of your affairs after you were subjugated slaves, and gave you such favours that He had not given to any other people in your time’.

Moses said, ‘O People, enter the land that has been purified – Jerusalem and the surrounding area – which Allah has promised that you will enter, and fight the disbelievers in it. Do not become weak before the tyrants, because you will then end up as losers in the world and the Afterlife’.

His people said to him, ‘O Moses, in the Holy Land there is a powerful and mighty people and this is preventing us from entering it. We will not enter it as long as these people are there, because we do not have the ability to fight them. If they leave, we will go in’.

Two men from the companions of Moses who feared Allah and were afraid of His punishment, whom Allah had blessed by enabling them to obey Him, urged their people to fulfil the instruction of Moses and said, ‘Enter the gate of the city against the tyrants. Once you go through the gate you will – by Allah’s permission – defeat them, as Allah’s custom is to give victory after the means of having faith and making preparation are adopted. Place your reliance and trust in Allah alone, if you truly have faith. Faith in Allah requires you to rely on Him’.

The Children of Israel insisted on going against the instruction of their prophet, Moses, and said, ‘We will never enter the city as long as the tyrants are there. So you, O Moses, and your Lord go and fight the tyrants. We will remain sitting here and will not join you in the fight’.

Moses said to his Lord, ‘O Lord, I have no authority over anyone besides myself and my brother, Aaron. So separate us from those who do not obey You and Your messenger’.

Allah said to His Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), ‘Allah has forbidden entry into the Holy Land for the Israelites for a period of forty years, in which they will wander on earth aimlessly without direction. Do not grieve, O Moses, over those who do not follow Allah, because the punishment they receive is because of their sins’.

Relate with the truth O Messenger, to these Jews who are jealous and who do wrong, the incident of the two sons of Adam, Cain and Abel, When they both offered a sacrifice to gain closeness to Allah, Allah accepted the sacrifice offered by Abel because he was mindful of Him and did not accept the offering of Cain because he was not mindful of Allah. Cain was unhappy about the fact that Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and jealously said, ‘I will kill you, O Abel!’ Abel replied, ‘Allah only accepts the offering of the one who is mindful of Him by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions’.

If you lift your hand intending to kill me, I will not do the same as you. It is not because I am a coward, but because I fear Allah the Lord of all created things.

I want you to return with the sin of wrongly killing me, together with your previous sins, and become one of those who will enter the fire of Hell on the Day of Judgement and remain there. That is the reward of those who overstep the limits of Allah. I do not want to take on your crime and become one of the sinners.

The evil prompting soul of Cain persuaded him to wrongly kill his brother, Abel. So he killed him and because of that he became one of those who are losers in this world and the Afterlife. He set a bad example and will therefore bear that burden, as well as the burden of any person who does the same until the Day of Judgement, without any reduction in the burden of those who imitate him.

Allah sent a crow to dig the earth in front of him to bury another dead crow and teach him how to cover his brother’s body. He then became regretful. Regret is the end result of those who commit sins.

Due to Cain’s murder of his brother, I informed the Israelites that any person who kills another person for no valid reason – such as legal retribution or as punishment for causing corruption in the land by treason or waging war – it is as if he has killed all people, since he did not make a distinction between an innocent and a guilty person. Whoever refrains from killing a person whose soul I have made sacred, and regards it to be forbidden to kill such a person, it is as if he has given life to all people, because in such an action lies the safety of all people. My messengers brought to the Israelites clear signs and evidences. Despite this many of them overstepped My limits by committing sins and going against the messengers.

The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and who challenge them by spreading corruption on earth though killing, looting and creating fear on the roads, is that they be killed, or crucified, or that they have their alternate hands and feet cut off, and if the offence is repeated the left hands and right feet are to be cut off, or they are to be exiled. Such punishment is a disgrace for them in the world; and in the Afterlife, they will receive a great punishment –

Except for those warmongers who repent before you, people of authority, get hold of them. Know, then, that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful towards them after they repent. Due to His mercy, He overlooks the punishment that is due to them.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions, search for a means of closeness to Him by doing what He instructs you to do and staying away from what He prohibits you from, and strive against the disbelievers for His pleasure so that you get what you desire and you are saved from what you fear.

Had those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers owned everything in the earth and the likeness of it and gave all of that to ransom themselves from Allah’s punishment on the Day of Judgement, such ransom will not be accepted from them. And they will receive a painful punishment.

They will want to leave the fire of Hell after they enter it. But how can that happen? They will never come out of it. Instead, they will always remain in it and they will receive a continuous punishment.

As for those who are caught stealing, those in authority are to cut off the right hand of the male and female thief as a punishment from Allah for the crime of wrongfully taking people’s wealth, and to serve as a lesson and deterrent for them, as well as others. Allah is Mighty and nothing can overpower His decree. He is Wise in His decree and legislation.

Whoever repents to Allah from the crime of theft and sets right his action, then Allah, out of His grace, will accept His repentance. That is because Allah forgives the sins of those who repent to Him and is Merciful towards them. However if such a matter were to reach the court of law the legal punishment cannot be dismissed by repentance.

You, O Messenger, certainly know that the dominion of the heavens and the earth is Allah’s. He acts in them as He wishes. He punishes whomever He wishes through His justice; and forgives whomever He wishes through His grace. Allah is able to do all things and nothing is outside His ability.

O Messenger, do not be made sad by those who rush to announce their disbelief of you and the revelation that you brought. These were the hypocrites who professed faith on the outside, but hid disbelief on the inside. They were also some Jews who eagerly listened to the lies of their leaders, who distort the truth having ignored you and have not come to you out of pride. They distort the words of Allah in the Torah and change it to suit their desires. They say to their followers, ‘If the law of Muhammad conforms to your desires, follow it; and if it does not conform, then be careful of it’. If Allah wills to misguide any person, you, O Messenger, will never find anyone who will be able to save them from misguidance and guide them to the path of truth. Such hypocrites and Jews, who have these qualities, are the ones whose hearts Allah has not intended to purify from disbelief. In the world, they will receive humiliation and shame; and in the Afterlife, they will receive a great punishment: the fire of Hell.

These Jews frequently listen to lies and consume unlawful wealth, such as usury. If they bring a case before you for judgement, O Messenger, then pass judgement between them if you wish, or leave off passing judgement if you so wish – you have the option of doing either of these. If you choose not to pass judgement, they will not be able to harm you in any way. If you do pass judgement, then do so with justice, even though they themselves are unfair and are your enemies. Allah loves those who are just in their judgements, even though the case is between those who are the judge’s enemies.

These people are strange. They disbelieve you, but come to you for judgement hoping that you will pass judgement in accordance with their desires, whereas they have the Torah with them, which they claim to have faith in and which contains Allah’s law. They, then, ignore your judgement when it does not suit their desires. So they have denied what is in their scripture as well as ignored your judgement. The action of such people is not that of people of faith and they therefore do not have faith in you and what you brought.

I sent down the Torah to Moses (peace be upon him) containing guidance towards good and a light to make things clear. Judgement was given in accordance with it by the prophets of the Israelites, who had devoted themselves to following Me, as well as by the scholars who used to teach people because I had entrusted them with My book and made them guardians to preserve and protect it from distortion or change. They are witnesses that it is the truth and people refer to them with respect to it. So, Jews, do not fear people, but fear Me alone; and do not take in exchange for judgement in accordance with what I have revealed a small price of leadership, fame or wealth. Whoever does not pass judgement in accordance with what I have revealed and considers this to be lawful, better or equal to My judgement, then such people are truly disbelievers.

I ordered the Jews in the Torah that if any person deliberately and wrongfully kills another he will be killed in retribution. If any person deliberately removes the eye of another person, his eye will be removed. If any person cuts the nose of another person, his nose will be cut. If any person cuts the ear of another person, his ear will be cut. If any person removes the tooth of another person, his tooth will be removed. I also ordered them with respect to wounds that the offender will be penalised with retribution for his offence. Whoever voluntarily pardons the offender, then such pardon shall be a compensation for their sins, as they have pardoned one who has wronged them. Whoever does not judge according to what Allah has revealed with respect to the law of retribution and other laws, then such person has overstepped Allah’s limits.

After the prophets of the Israelites, I sent Jesus, son of Mary, as a believer in the Torah, giving judgement in accordance with it. I also gave him the Gospel that contained guidance to the truth and evidences to remove doubts and solve difficult cases of rulings: it corresponded to the Torah that came before it, except in a few rulings that it replaced. I made the Gospel a guide and a means to restrain people from doing that which was prohibited.

The Christians should believe in what Allah has revealed in the Gospel and they should judge in accordance with the truth it contains prior to the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, then such people are the ones who do not follow Allah and leave the truth for falsehood.

I sent down to you, O Messenger, the Qur’ān with the truth about which there is no doubt that it is from Allah. It is a confirmation and guardian for the revealed books that came before it. Whatever in those books conforms to it is the truth, and whatever does not is false. So judge between people according to what I have revealed to you in it and do not follow their desires which they have adopted in leaving the truth that has been revealed to you about which there is no doubt. I have made a sacred law and clear path for every nation. If I willed to make all the laws one, I would have done so. But I made a separate law for every nation in order to test them all and to see who follows and who does not. So rush towards doing good actions and leave evil ones. Your return on the Day of Judgement is to Me alone. I will inform you about that which you used to differ in and will repay you for the actions you did.

Judge between them, O Messenger, in accordance with what Allah has revealed to you! Do not follow their opinions that arise from following their desires. Be careful that they do not mislead you from some of what Allah has revealed to you. They will leave no stone unturned in an attempt to do just that. If they turn away from accepting judgement in accordance with what Allah has sent down to you, then know that Allah only intends to punish them for some of their sins in this world. In the Afterlife, He will punish them for all of their sins. There are many people who do not follow Allah’s laws.

Do they ignore your judgement seeking the judgement of the idolaters from the period of ignorance who pass judgement according to their desires? In the sight of those who have conviction and who understand that which Allah has sent to His prophet, there can be no one better in judgement than Allah; but not in the sight of those who are ignorant and who only follow their desires, even though they may be false.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies and close friends whom you support. The Jews will only support those of their religion, and the Christians will do the same. Both groups will unite against you. Whoever from you takes them as friends is one of them. Allah does not guide those who do wrong by supporting the disbelievers.

You will see, O Messenger, those weak in faith rushing to become friends with the Jews and the Christians, saying, ‘We fear that these people will gain victory and when they come into power we will be harmed’. Perhaps Allah will give victory to the Messenger and the believers or bring something from Him that will crush the force of the Jews and their allies. Those who rush to befriend them will then regret the hypocrisy they kept hidden within their hearts, because the weak links they held on to will be for nothing.

The believers will say in surprise at the condition of these hypocrites, ‘Are these the people who swore serious oaths that they were with you – O you who have faith – in faith, support and alliance?’ Their actions have gone to waste and they have become losers because they lost their true goal and because of the punishment prepared for them.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, if anyone of you turns back from their religion to disbelief, then Allah will soon replace them with a people whom He will love and who will love Him due to their steadfastness. They will be compassionate towards the believers and harsh towards the disbelievers. They will strive with their wealth and their lives so that Allah’s word is victorious. They will not fear the one who blames them, because their concern will be Allah’s pleasure and blame rather than that of created things. That is Allah’s grace which He gives to whomever of His servants He wishes. Allah’s grace and kindness is wide and He knows who is deserving of the same and who is not.

The Jews, Christians and other disbelievers are not your friends. Your true friends and supporters are Allah, His Messenger and the believers who establish their prayers completely, give Zakat of their wealth and who are humble before Allah.

Whoever becomes the friend of Allah, His Messenger and the believers by supporting them, then they will be from Allah’s party and Allah’s party will be victorious since Allah is their supporter.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not become friends with those Jews and Christians who have received scripture, and those idolaters, all of whom poke fun at and play with your religion. Be mindful of Allah by avoiding becoming friends with those whom He has prohibited you from so doing, if you truly have faith in Him and in His revelation.

They also poke fun and play when you call towards prayer, which is the greatest act of worship. That is because they are a nation who do not understand the meaning of worship of Allah and they do not understand the sacred laws that Allah has made.

Say, O Messenger, to those of the People of the Scripture who mock at you: ‘Do you find any fault with us besides our faith in Allah and in what He revealed to us and what He revealed before us? And our belief that most of you do not follow Allah due to not having faith and not obeying His sacred law? What you consider a fault is actually a virtue’.

Say, O Messenger: Shall I tell you about those who are more at fault and whose punishment is worse than these people? They are their predecessors whom Allah has removed from His mercy, transformed into monkeys and pigs and made some of them worshippers of false gods. The Arabic word ţāghūt refers to any being that is worshipped besides Allah with its consent. Those mentioned will be in a worse position on the Day of Judgement and their efforts are further away from the straight path.

When the hypocrites from amongst them come to you, O believers, on the outside they show that they have faith. The fact is that they were soaked in disbelief when they entered and when they left. Allah knows best about the disbelief they kept hidden, even though they gave the outer appearance of having faith. Allah will repay them for that.

You, O Messenger, see many of the Jews and hypocrites rushing towards committing sins, such as lying, oppression and consuming that which is unlawful. How evil is their behaviour!

Why do their leaders and scholars not prohibit them from the lying, false testimony and wrongful consumption of the wealth of people that they rush towards? This action of their leaders and scholars, who do not prohibit them from evil, is wrong.

When the Jews were faced with difficulty and drought, they said, ‘Allah’s Hand is restrained from giving goodness and gifts. He is holding back from us what He has’. Their hands were restrained from doing goodness and they were removed from Allah’s mercy because of this statement of theirs. But in fact Allah’s Hands are wide open in goodness and generosity. He spends as He wills. He gives and He withholds. No one can stop Him or force Him. That which has been revealed to you, O Messenger, only increases the Jews in disobedience and disbelief because of their envy. He placed enmity and hatred between the various groups of the Jews. Whenever they gather to conspire for war and made preparation for it, Allah broke their unity and took away their strength. They continuously strive to do that which causes corruption in the earth by their attempts to wipe out Islam and by their plots against it.

If the Jews and the Christians accepted what was brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him) and were mindful of Allah by leaving sins, I would have forgiven the sins they committed, even if they were many, and I would have entered them on the Day of Judgement into gardens of delight, in which they would enjoy delights that will never end.

If the Jews had practiced what was in the Torah, and the Christians practiced what was in the Gospel, and if all of them had practiced what was revealed to them in the Qur’ān, then I would have made the means of provision easy for them by sending down rain and growing vegetation. From amongst the People of the Scripture are those who are moderate and firm on the truth; but the actions of many of them are evil, because they do not have faith in what was brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him).

O Messenger, communicate what has been revealed to you from your Lord completely and do not hide anything of it. If you do hide anything, then you are not one who conveys the message of His Lord. The Prophet (peace be upon him) communicated everything he was instructed to. Anyone who claims anything to the contrary has spoken a great lie about Allah. Allah will protect you from people and they will not be able to harm you. Your duty is only to communicate the divine message. Allah will not bless with guidance those who disbelieve and who have no desire to be guided.

Say, O Messenger: You – Jews and Christians – have no religious basis, unless you practice what is in the Torah and the Gospel and practice the Qur’ān that has been revealed to you. Your faith is not valid until you have faith in it and practice it. That which has been revealed to you from your Lord will increase the disobedience and disbelief of many of the People of the Scripture because of their envy. So do not be sad over these disbelievers: In the believers who follow you there is sufficient goodness.

The believers in Muhammad, and the Jews, Sabians and Christians before Muhammad – whichever of them believes Allah and the Last Day and does good actions – they will have no fear for the future and will not be sad over that which they missed in the worldly life.

I took firm promises from the Israelites that they will listen and follow. But they broke their promises and followed their desires by ignoring what their messengers brought and by disbelieving some and murdering others.

They thought that no harm would come to them for their breaking promises and covenants and for disbelieving and killing their prophets. But the result of their actions was that they became blind and deaf to the truth and misled from guidance. Then Allah turned towards them out of His grace. They again then became blind and deaf to the truth. This happened to many of them. Allah sees what they do. Nothing is hidden from Him and He will repay them for their actions.

The Christians who say that ‘Allah is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary’ have committed disbelief, as they have attributed Lordship to someone other than Allah. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, himself said to them, ‘O Israelites, worship Allah alone. He is my Lord and your Lord. We are all His servants’. Whoever ascribes anything as a partner to Allah, then Allah will not allow them to ever enter Paradise and their place will be the fire of Hell. They will have no one to help or assist them before Allah and no one to save them from the punishment that awaits them.

The Christians who say that ‘Allah is part of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ have committed disbelief. Allah is far above such a statement. Allah is not many, but He is only One God Who has no partner. If they do not stop saying such things, a painful punishment will afflict them.

Will these people not retract this statement, repent to Allah and ask His forgiveness for the idolatry they committed? Allah is Forgiving towards the one who repents, whatever may have been the sin, even if it was disbelief. Allah is Compassionate to the believers.

The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger like other messengers. Just as death occurs to other messengers, it will occur to him as well. His mother, Mary, was a truthful and sincere woman. Both of them were in need of and used to consume food. How can they be gods when they were in need of food? Look, O Messenger, and think about how I make clear to them the signs indicating My Oneness and the falsehood of their extremism in attributing Lordship to others besides Me. Despite this, they do not recognise these signs. Then look and think about how they are misled from the truth, despite these clear signs indicating My Oneness.

Say, O Messenger, as an argument against their worship of others besides Allah: Do you worship that which can bring you no benefit and which cannot protect you from any harm? Such a god is in reality very weak! Whilst Allah is High above any state of weakness. Allah alone is the One Who hears your statements and knows your actions. Nothing remains hidden from Him and He will repay you accordingly.

Say, O Messenger, to the Christians: Do not overstep the boundaries of the instruction you were given to follow the truth. Do not be excessive in reverence of those whom you were instructed to revere, such as prophets, regarding them to be divine as you have done with respect to Jesus, son of Mary. You did this because of following your predecessors who were astray, who led many other people astray and who were far from the path of truth.

Allah, may He be glorified, tells us that He distanced the disbelievers of the Israelites from His mercy in the scripture He revealed to David, namely the Psalms, and in the scripture He revealed to Jesus, son of Mary, namely the Gospel. He did this because of the sins they committed and due to their violation of the things Allah made sacred.

They did not forbid the sinner from amongst them from committing sin. Instead, the sinners used to commit sins and evil openly because no one would disapprove of it. How evil was the action of not forbidding the evil that they used to do!

You will see, O Messenger, many of the disbelieving Jews forming alliances with the idolators and opposing you and those who believe in Allah’s oneness. How evil is their action of taking disbelievers as allies! This will cause Allah’s anger and lead them into the Fire, where they will live eternally, never to leave.

If these Jews had true faith in Allah and His Prophet, they would not have taken the idolaters as their allies instead of the believers, because they were prohibited from taking disbelievers as friends. But most of these Jews do not obey Allah nor do they side with Him and the believers.

You will find, O Messenger, that the people with the most hostility towards those who have faith in you and that which you brought are the Jews, due to their malice, jealousy and pride, as well as the idol worshippers and others who associate partners with Allah. You will also find that the people who are closest in affection to those who have faith in you and that which you brought are those who call themselves Christians. The verse explains that the reason for these people being close to the believers is that there are scholars, ascetics and worshippers among them who are humble and not proud. Good does not enter the heart of a proud person.

The hearts of these Christians are soft. When they listen to any part of the Qur’ān that has been revealed, they cry in submission, because they recognise that it is the truth because of their knowing that which Jesus (peace be with him) brought. They say: Our Lord, we accept what You have revealed to Your Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him). So record us, Our Lord, among those of the nation who will be witnesses against people on the Day of Rising.

What prevents us from having faith in Allah and the truth that He has revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him)? We hope that we will enter Paradise together with the prophets and their followers who obeyed Allah and feared His punishment.

Allah rewarded them for their faith and their acceptance of the truth with gardens that have palaces and trees overlooking flowing streams, where they will live eternally. That is the reward of those who do good by following the truth and submitting to it, without any restriction or condition.

Those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger, and reject the verses Allah revealed to His Messenger, they are the companions of the Fire, which they will enter and never leave.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not regard as unlawful the good food, drink and women that Allah has made lawful for you. Do not treat these things as unlawful in an attempt to practise asceticism and devotion. Do not overstep the limits of that which Allah has forbidden to you, because Allah does not love those who overstep His limits; rather, He hates them.

Consume the lawful and pure things that Allah gives to you from His provision. But do not consume the unlawful, such as something that is taken wrongfully or is impure. Be mindful of Allah by obeying His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions, because He is the one you have faith in and it requires you to be mindful of Him.

Allah will not take you to account, O believers, for the oaths that you speak unintentionally. He will take you to account for those oaths that you break after making them with a firm intention in your hearts. The atonement for such oaths is one of three options: feeding ten poor people with the average food of your city, by giving each poor person half a ṣā‘ of food; or clothing them with what society considers to be a suit of clothing; or freeing a believing slave. If the person required to make atonement does not find any of these three things, then the required atonement is fasting for three days. That is the atonement of your oaths, O believers, when you break them. Guard your oaths from being taken falsely in Allah’s name and from breaking them, unless it is better to do so. If it is better to break your oath, then do so and give the atonement. Just as Allah has explained to you the atonement for oaths, He also explains to you His laws, which make clear what is lawful and what is unlawful, so that you might thank Allah for having taught you what you did not know.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, intoxicants that affect the mind, gambling with a consideration from both sides, stone alters on which the idolaters offer sacrifices or which they erect for worship, and arrows by which they used to draw lots – these are all acts of sin that Satan has made attractive. Avoid such acts, so that you successfully achieve the Paradise that you desire and are saved from the Fire that you fear.

By making alcohol and gambling seem attractive, Satan’s only intention is to create hatred between hearts and to turn them away from Allah’s remembrance and from the prayer. Will you, O believers, leave these evil acts? Without doubt, leaving these acts is the right thing to do, so avoid them.

Follow God and follow the Messenger by fulfilling the instructions of the Sacred Law and avoiding its prohibitions. Be careful of breaking the law. If you turn away from this, know that the duty of Messenger is only to convey to you what God has instructed him to, and He has already done so. If you come on to the right path it is for your own good. If you do wrong it will be to your detriment.

There is no sin on those who have faith in Allah, and do good actions to gain closeness to Him, for drinking alcohol before it was made unlawful, as long as they now stay away from it, being mindful of Allah’s anger, having faith in Him and doing good actions, and then increase in their awareness of Allah until they worship Him as if they see Him. Allah loves those who worship Him as if they see Him, because they are aware that Allah is always watching them. This leads believers to improve their actions.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, Allah will certainly test you by giving you land game when you are in the state of Ihram. You will be able to hold the smaller game with your hands and the bigger ones with your spears. Allah will do this to show who fears his Creator, without having seen Him. Reward and punishment in the Afterlife will be based on people’s actions. Nothing is hidden from Allah. Whoever oversteps the limits, and hunts in the state of Ihram for Hajj or Umrah, he shall receive a painful punishment on the Day of Rising because of violating Allah’s prohibition.

O you who accept God and practise on His laws, do not kill land game when you are in the state of pilgrim sanctity for Hajj or Umra. Whoever of you does so deliberately shall be liable for a punishment equivalent to the game they killed from camels, cattle or sheep. This will be judged by two men who are known to be upright amongst the Muslims. The animal that they decide shall be treated as an offering is treated, and shall be sent to Makkah to be slaughtered in the Sanctuary. Another option for the atonement is that the equivalent value should be distributed to the poor within the Sanctuary, every poor person should receive half a sa` of grain, or the fast of one day should be kept for every half sa` of grain. God has overlooked the game of the Sanctuary which were killed in the past, and the person who hunted land game in the state of pilgrim sanctity prior to the prohibition. If anyone repeats this, after the prohibition, then God will take retribution from them by punishing them for the same. God is Mighty and Powerful. He has the ability to take retribution on the one who goes against Him if He wishes. Nothing can stop Him from doing so.

Allah has permitted you to catch aquatic animals and what the sea throws out, dead or alive, as a benefit for a resident or to nourish a traveller. He has prohibited hunting land game as long as you are in the state of Ihram for Hajj or Umrah. Be mindful of Allah by carrying out His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. You will return to Him on the Day of Rising; and He will repay your actions.

Allah has made the Kaaba, the Sanctified House, an establishment for people, which secures their religious interests (such as prayer, Hajj and Umrah) and their worldly interests (such as security in the Sanctuary and the import of different fruits). He has also made the sacred months (Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram and Rajab) an establishment for people in that they are secure in these months from anyone fighting against them. Then He has made the sacrificial animals, and the garlands that indicate that they are being driven to the Sanctuary, an establishment for people in that their owners are secure from anyone harming them. All of this is Allah’s favour to you, so that you are aware that Allah knows everything in the heavens and the earth. His creation of such laws – that secure your interests and protect you from harm – is proof that He knows what is best for His servants.

Know, O people, that Allah’s punishment for those who go against Him is severe; and that He is Forgiving and Compassionate towards those who repent to Him.

The duty of the Messenger is only to convey what Allah has instructed him to. It is not his duty to make people accept the guidance: that is only in Allah’s Hands. Allah knows what you reveal and what you keep hidden, whether guidance or misguidance, and He will repay your actions.

Say, O Messenger: Bad is not the same as good, even if the bad is a large amount that impresses you. A large amount of something does not mean that it is best. Be mindful of Allah, O people of intellect, by leaving the bad and doing the good, so that you successfully achieve Paradise and are saved from the fire of Hell.

O you who have faith in Allah, follow His Messenger and practise His laws, do not ask your Messenger about things which you do not in need, and which will not be of any help to you in your religion. If you were told of such things, they would upset you because of the difficulty in them. If, despite the prohibition, you ask about these things, then know that revelation is coming down to the Prophet and they will be made clear to you. That is easy for Allah. Allah has not said certain things in the Qur’ān, so do not ask about them. If you ask about them, you will have to follow the law that is then revealed.

A nation before you had asked about things not initially revealed to them. When they were then commanded to do them, they did not carry out the order; and became disbelievers as a result.

Allah has made livestock lawful for you to consume. He has not made unlawful what the idolaters declared unlawful for themselves when dedicating them to their idols, such as: baḥīrah, a she-camel whose ear is cut after it gives birth to a certain number; or sā’ibah, a she-camel that is left for the idols after it reaches a certain age; or waṣīlah, a she-camel that gives birth to one female after another; or ḥāmī, a male camel stud that mates with other camels and produces a given number of offspring. Allah did not make any of these; but the disbelievers falsely claimed that Allah had forbidden these things. Most of the disbelievers do not differentiate between truth and falsehood and between the lawful and the unlawful.

When it is said to these people who make up lies about Allah, with respect to forbidding certain livestock: Come towards the Qur’ān that Allah revealed and to the path of the Messenger (peace be upon him), so that you can learn the lawful and the unlawful – they say: The beliefs, statements and actions we have taken and inherited from our predecessors is enough for us. How could this be enough for them when their predecessors did not know anything and were not guided to the truth? Only the person who is more ignorant and misguided than them follows them.

O you who faith in Allah, follow His Messenger and practise His laws, you are only responsible for your own souls, so only do that which benefits them. Those people who are misguided, and who do not respond to you, will not harm you if you are on the right path. Being on the right path includes encouraging good and forbidding evil. On the Day of Rising, all of you will return to Allah only and He will tell you about what you used to do in the world and repay your actions.

O you who faith in Allah, follow His Messenger and practise His laws, when death approaches any of you, with the appearance its signs, then call to witness the bequest two upright Muslim men, or two men from the disbelievers (if the need arises due to there being no Muslims; for example, if you are travelling at that time). If there is any doubt regarding their testimony, keep them back after one of the prayers and let them both take an oath in Allah’s name saying, ‘We will not sell our share from Allah for any amount, such as by preferring a relative. Also, we will not conceal any testimony for Allah that is with us’. Tell them that if they are not truthful, they will be sinners who go against Allah.

If, after the oath is taken, it is established that the witnesses lied in their testimony or in the oath, then let two others who are closest to the deceased take an oath on the truth in their place. These new witnesses should take an oath by Allah saying, ‘Our testimony about their lying and deceit is closer to the truth than their testimony about their honesty and trustworthiness. We have not taken a false oath. If we do so, we will be from the wrongdoers who overstep Allah’s limits’.

These various oaths to be taken by the witnesses after the prayer (when you doubt their testimony) and the rejection of their testimony increases the likelihood that they will testify in the way required by the sacred law, without them distorting the facts deceitfully. Witnesses are more likely to give true testimony for fear that they will be disgraced if the heirs give conflicting testimony. Be mindful of Allah by not lying or being deceitful in your testimony and oath. Listen to what you are instructed to do and obey. Allah does not guide those who go against Him.

Remember, O people, the Day of Rising when Allah will gather all the messengers and ask them how their communities had responded to them? They will assign the answer to that question to Allah and say, ‘I have no knowledge. You have all knowledge, our Lord. You are the only one Who knows all things that are present or absent’.

Remember when Allah addressed Jesus (peace be upon him) and told him to remember Allah’s favour to him when He created him without a father; to his mother, Mary (peace be upon her), when He chose her over all the women of her time; and upon him when He strengthened him with Gabriel (peace be upon him.). Allah told him that he used to speak to people as a baby, calling them to Allah; and that he used to speak to them in his adulthood, telling them what Allah had sent him with. Allah reminded him of the favour of being taught how to write; and that He taught him the Torah that He had revealed to Moses (peace be upon him) and the Gospel that He revealed to him. He was reminded of the favour of being taught the secrets of the sacred law and its benefits and wisdom. Allah reminded him of how he would make the shape of a bird from clay, blow into it and it used to become a living bird. He used to cure the person who was born blind, and he would treat the leper and heal his skin. He also used to bring the dead to life by praying to Allah to give them life. All of this happened with Allah’s permission. Another favour that Allah reminded him about was that Allah protected him from the Israelites when they intended to kill him after he brought to them clear miracles. The only thing they could do was to deny them; and they said, ‘Jesus has brought nothing but plain sorcery’.

Another favour that Allah reminded him about was that Allah created assistants for him when He inspired the disciples to have faith in Him and in Jesus. They submitted to that and responded saying, ‘I believe. Be a witness, O our Lord, that we submit to You in devotion’.

Remember when the disciples said, ‘Can you call on your Lord to send down a table from the sky?’ Jesus (peace be upon him) responded to them by telling them to be mindful of Allah and not to ask for such a thing, as it may prove to be a trial for them. He said to them, ‘Place your trust in your Lord in seeking provision, if you are truly believers’.

The disciples said to Jesus, ‘We want to eat from this table, so that our hearts are satisfied about Allah’s perfect power and that you are His Messenger: to know for certain that you have told us the truth about what you have brought from Allah and to be witnesses to it for those people who are not present’.

Jesus gave in to their request and prayed to Allah saying, ‘Our Lord, send down to us a table of food, so that we can hold a festival on the day it comes down in order to honour You out of gratitude. It will also be a sign and proof of Your Oneness and of the truth of what I have been sent with. Give us such provision that will help us worship You. You, O our Lord, are the best provider’.

Allah answered the prayer of Jesus (peace be upon him) and said that He would send down the table that they had requested. He also told him that if anyone disbelieves after the table is sent down then they should blame only themselves, and that Allah will punish them with a severe punishment, unlike any other: due to them seeing an overwhelming proof and any denial being the result of stubbornness. Allah fulfilled His promise and sent down the table to them.

Remember that Allah will address Jesus son of Mary (peace be with him) on the Day of Rising and ask him whether he told people to worship him and his mother besides Allah. Jesus will reply, declaring Allah’s purity, ‘It was not right for me to tell them anything but the truth. If I had said that You would know it, because nothing is hidden from You. You know what I keep hidden within myself, but I do not know what is with You. You are the only one who knows everything that is hidden and everything that is apparent’.

Jesus will say to His Lord, ‘I only told people what you instructed me to tell them: to worship You alone. For as long as I remained amongst them I watched over what they were saying. When my term ended and I was raised to the sky alive, You, O Lord, were watching their actions. You are a witness to everything and nothing is hidden from You; so You know what I said to them and what they said after me’.

If you punish them, O Lord, they are your servants and You can do with them as You wish. If You graciously forgive those of them who had faith, nothing can stop You from doing so because You are the Mighty, Who cannot be overpowered, and the Wise in Your handling of matters.

Allah will say to Jesus (peace be with him) that the Day of Rising is a day on which the truthfulness of those who were true in their intentions, statements and actions will be of benefit to them. They will receive gardens with palaces and trees overlooking flowing streams, in which they will live eternally, with death never coming to them. Allah will be pleased with them and will never become angry with them. They will pleased with Allah because of the everlasting delight they have received. Such reward and pleasure is the supreme success, which cannot be equalled by any other.

Allah alone controls the heavens and the earth, and everything within them. He is their Creator and the One Who handles their affairs. He has power over everything and nothing can overpower Him.

Only Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth from nothing, is described with perfection and praised with the noblest of qualities, and love is only due to Him. He created the night and the day, which follow one another. He created the night for darkness and the day for light. Despite all this, some of His servants disbelieve Him and associate partners with Him. Allah is far above what they say.

He, may He be glorified, is the One Who created you, O people, from clay when He created your father, Adam (peace be upon him) from it. Then He, may He be glorified, fixed a period for your stay in the life of the world. He also fixed another term, which only He knows, when He will raise you back to life on the Day of Rising. Despite this, you still doubt about His ability to raise you back to life.

He, may He be glorified, is the One worthy of worship in the heavens and the earth. He knows the intentions, statements and actions you keep hidden and those you make public; and He will judge you about them.

No proof or miracle from their Lord comes to the idolaters except that they ignore it without paying any attention. Clear evidences and proof of the Oneness of Allah, as well as miracles proving the truthfulness of the messengers, have now come to them; yet despite this, they turned away and paid no attention to these signs and miracles.

While they have turned away from these clear evidences and proofs, they had previously turned away from something even clearer: they denied the Qur’ān that Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought. They will soon realise, when they see the punishment on the Day of Rising, that what they used to mock and what he brought to them was in fact the truth.

Do these disbelievers not know Allah’s custom of destroying communities who do wrong? Allah had destroyed, prior to them, many communities whom He had established in the earth with more stability than them. Allah sent down successive rains upon them and made rivers flow beneath their homes; yet they then went against Him, so He destroyed them because of the sins they committed. Then, after them, He established other communities.

If we had sent down to you, O Messenger, a book written on paper and they had seen it with their eyes, they would not have accepted it out of stubbornness and denial; and they would have said, ‘What you have brought is nothing more than clear magic; and we will never believe in it’.

These disbelievers said, ‘We will believe if Allah sends down an angel with Muhammad (peace be upon him) who speaks to us and bears witness that he is a messenger’. If we send down an angel of the kind they wish, we will destroy them if they do not believe; and they will not be given time to repent.

If I had sent an angel to them, I would have made him in the form of a man, so that they could listen and learn from him, as they would not be able to learn from an angel in the original form that I created him. If I had made him in the form of a man, they would have been confused about him.

If these people poke fun at you by asking for an angel to be sent down with you, then communities in the past also poked fun at their messengers. Then the punishment, which they used to deny and mock when they were warned about it, surrounded them.

Say, O Messenger, to these people who deny and mock you: Travel on earth and then think about what happened to those who disbelieved in Allah’s messengers. Allah’s punishment fell upon them after they were in a position of strength and power.

Say to them, O Messenger, ‘To whom does dominion of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, belong?’ Say: Their total control belongs to Allah. He has established mercy upon Himself out of grace for His servants, and will therefore not rush to punish them. If they do not repent, He will gather them together on the Day of Rising, a day about which there is no doubt. Those who have lost their souls by bringing them to the point of destruction, due to their disbelief in Allah, will not believe and rescue their souls from loss.

To Allah alone belongs dominion of everything. Whatever rests hidden in the night and whatever moves about openly in the day are all His servants and His creation: they are all under His domination and control. He hears their statements and knows their actions, and will judge by them.

Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters who worship idols and other things together with Allah: Does it make sense that I take any one other than Allah as a guardian and a protector from whom I seek help? Allah is the One Who created the heavens and the earth without any precedent. There was no Creator before Him. He is the One Who gives provision to whichever of His servants He wishes, and none of His servants provide for Him. He is not in any need of His servants, but His servants are in need of Him. Say, O Messenger: My Lord has instructed me to be the first one from this nation to submit and be humble. He has prohibited me from being of those who associate others as partners with Him.

Say, O Messenger: If I go against Allah by committing that which He has prohibited (such as associating partners with Him) or by leaving out what He has instructed me to do (such as having faith and doing good actions), then I fear that He will punish me with a severe punishment on the Day of Rising.

The person from whom Allah keeps away and removes the punishment on the Day of Rising has attained success through the mercy of Allah. Such salvation and safety from the punishment is a clear victory which no other victory can equal.

If any calamity from Allah afflicts you, O son of Adam, there is no one who can remove it from you besides Allah. If any good from Him comes to you, there is no one who can stop Him from that. There is no one who can hold back Allah’s grace. He has power over everything and nothing can overpower Him.

He is the One Who is powerful and dominant and nothing can overpower or defeat Him: everything is subservient to Him. He is above His servants as His appropriate for Him, may He be glorified. His is the Wise in His creating, handling of matters and institution of laws. He is the Aware and nothing is hidden from Him.

Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters who deny you: Which thing is greatest and most honoured as a witness to my truthfulness? Say: Allah is the greatest and most honoured witness to my truthfulness. He is a witness between you and me. He knows what I have brought to you and how you respond. Allah has revealed this Qur’ān to me to warn you by it and to warn any human or jinn it reaches. You, O idolaters, believe that there are others worthy of worship together with Allah. Say, O Messenger: I do not bear witness to what you have acknowledged as it is false. Allah is only one God: He has no partner. I am free from all that you associate as partners with Him.

The Jews who were given the Torah and the Christians who were given the Gospel recognise the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) completely, just as they recognise their own children from other children. They are the ones who have lost their own souls by making them enter the fire of Hell, and they will not believe.

The greatest wrongdoer is the person who attributes a partner to Allah and worships him together with Allah, or the person who denies Allah’s words that He revealed to His Messenger. Those who do wrong by ascribing partners to Allah and denying His verses will never succeed if they do not repent.

Remember the Day of Rising when I will gather them all together, not leaving any one of them out, and criticise those who worshipped others besides Allah: ‘Where are your partners that you used to claim were partners to Allah?’

After this test, they will have no excuse and they will declare themselves free of what they worshipped, by dishonestly saying: By Allah, our Lord, we did not associate partners with You in the world; but we had faith in You and we accepted Your Oneness.

Look, O Muhammad, how these people lied about themselves by denying that they associated partners with Allah. The partners that they set-up with Allah in this worldly life have disappeared and deserted them.

Some of the idolaters listen to you, O Messenger, when you recite the Qur’ān, but they do not benefit from what they hear because I have placed covers on their hearts so that they cannot understand the Qur’ān. I did this due to their stubbornness and their turning away. I have made their ears deaf to beneficial listening. Despite the clear indications and glaring evidences that they see, they still do not believe, such that when they come to you they present false arguments against the truth and say: What you have brought has simply been taken from the books of the earlier people.

These idolaters forbid people from accepting the Messenger as they themselves stay away from doing so: they do not let others benefit in the same way that they themselves do not benefit. By acting like this, they only destroy themselves; but they fail to realise that they are bringing about destruction.

If you, O Messenger, could only see them when they will be exposed to the fire of Hell on the Day of Rising, and they will regretfully say, ‘If only we could be sent back to the world, not deny Allah’s words and be from those who had faith in Allah’, then you would see a remarkable sight of their trouble.

Their saying that they would believe if sent back is a lie. Instead the statement that they used to keep hidden, which was ‘By Allah, we were not idolaters,’ has appeared to them when their limbs gave testimony against them. If they were supposedly sent back to the world, they would return to the disbelief and associating partners with Allah that they had been prohibited from. So they are lying in their promise that they will believe if they are sent back.

These idolaters say, ‘There is no life but the life we presently have and we will not be raised to give account’.

If you, O Messenger, could only see when those who denied the resurrection will be made to stand before their Lord, you would see a remarkable sight of their trouble when Allah will say to them: Is this resurrection that you used to deny not the truth about which there is no doubt? They will say: I swear by our Lord Who created us, it is certainly true and there is no doubt about it. Allah will then say to them: Taste the punishment that is a result of your denial of this day, which you used to reject in the life of the world.

Those who deny the resurrection on the Day of Rising, and regard standing before Allah to be farfetched, are in utter loss. Until, when the Hour comes upon them suddenly without any prior knowledge, they will say, because of extreme regret: Alas for us and what disappointment, due to our having been neglectful of Allah by disbelieving Him and not preparing for the Day of Rising. They will carry their evil actions on their backs. How terrible are those evil actions that they carry!

The life of the world that you incline towards is nothing but a play and deception for a person who does not perform actions to please Allah. The home of the Afterlife is better for those who are mindful of Allah: doing what He has instructed them to do (such as having faith and following Him) and avoiding what He has prohibited (such as associating partners with Him and committing sin). Do you, idolaters, not understand this, so that you can believe and do good actions?

I know that their outer denial of you, O Messenger, upsets you. Know that inside they do not deny you, because they know your truthfulness and honesty. Instead, they are people who do wrong because of their rejection of Allah’s words and they therefore dislike what you have brought and deny it on the outside.

Do not think that such a denial is only in relation to what you have brought. Messengers before you were also denied and harmed by their communities, but they faced this with patience in their calling towards Allah and striving in His path until help came to them from Allah. No one can hold back the help that Allah has written and promised to His messengers. Information about the messengers before you and the difficulties they faced in their communities, and information about the help that Allah gave them by destroying their enemies, has come to you, O Messenger.

If their denial and turning away from the truth you have brought is difficult for you, O Messenger, then see if you can find a tunnel into the ground or a ladder into the sky so that you may bring them more proof in addition to what I have already given you. If Allah willed to guide them to the guidance that you brought, He would have done so. However, He has not willed this because of His wisdom. So do not be among those who are ignorant of this and lose yourself in regret over their denial.

Only those who listen to the speech and understand it will respond to what you have brought. The disbelievers are dead and worthless because their hearts have died. Allah will raise the dead on the Day of Rising and then they will be returned to Him for Him to repay their actions.

The idolaters make stubborn demands and delay acceptance of faith, and say: Why has no extraordinary sign been sent down to Muhammad as a proof from His Lord about the truth of what he has brought? Say, O Messenger: Allah is able to send down a sign as you wish, but most of these idolaters, who demand that a sign be sent down, do not know that signs are only sent down in accordance with Allah’s wisdom and not according to their demands. If He was to send it down and they still did not believe, then He would destroy them.

There is no animal on earth or any bird flying in the sky except that they are species like you, O children of Adam, with respect to their creation and provision. I have not left out anything in the Preserved Tablet. The knowledge of all of them is with Allah. Then they will all be gathered to their Lord on the Day of Rising for the final decision and each will be recompensed according to what they deserve.

Those who deny our verses are like those who are deaf and cannot hear, and like those who are dumb and cannot speak. Together with this they are in total darkness, in which they cannot see. So how can such a person be guided? Allah misguides whomever He wills from among people and guides whomever He wills by placing such a person on a straight path that has no crookedness.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Tell me, if a punishment from Allah comes to you or if the Hour that you have been promised comes to you, will you call on anyone besides Allah at that time to remove the calamity and difficulty that has come upon you? This is if you are truthful that those whom you worship can bring benefit and remove harm.

The truth is that when the Hour comes you not call anyone besides Allah Who created you, and He removes the calamity and takes away harm as He is worthy of that and able to do so, if He so wills. As for what you worshipped as gods, you will leave them because you know that they cannot bring benefit nor cause harm.

I sent messengers to many communities before you, O Messenger, but those communities denied their messengers and turned away from what they brought. I then tried them with poverty and sickness in order for them to submit and humble themselves before their Lord.

If only they had humbled themselves before Allah, when His calamity came to them, and begged Allah to remove the calamity, then He would have shown them mercy. But they did not do that. Instead, their hearts became hard and they did not take notice and learn a lesson. Satan made the disbelief and sins that they were committing seem good to them, so they continued with those actions.

When they ignored the warning of extreme poverty and sickness, and did not follow Allah’s instructions, He enticed them further away from the truth by opening the doors of provision to them, and giving them wealth after they were poor. He also blessed them with good health after they had suffered sickness. This continued until they were steeped in their pride and enjoyment of life; then His punishment came upon them suddenly, and they were overtaken by despair and lost all hope.

The last of the disbelievers was cut off by being wiped out altogether when the help came to Allah’s messengers. Thanks and praise is only for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, for destroying His enemies and helping His friends.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Tell me, if Allah has to make you deaf by taking away your hearing, make you blind by taking away your sight, and seal your hearts so that you do not understand anything, what other being deserving worship is there that will bring all of these back to you? Think, O Messenger, about how we explain the evidence to them in various ways, yet they still turn away from it.

Tell me, if Allah’s punishment comes to you suddenly without your realizing it, or if it comes to you openly before your eyes, then is it not so that only those who do wrong by disbelieving Allah and His messengers will be destroyed, and only those who have faith in Allah and follow His messengers will be saved.

I send our messengers only to inform the people of faith and obedience of the glad tidings of everlasting delight that will never end, and to warn the people of disbelief and sin of My severe punishment. Whoever accepts the messengers and sets right his actions, they will have no fear for what awaits them in the Afterlife, nor will they grieve over the pleasures of the world that they missed.

Those who deny our signs will be afflicted by the punishment because they opposed Allah. If they had not gone against Him, but fulfilled His instructions and stayed away from His prohibitions, then the punishment would not have afflicted them.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: I do not say to you that I have with me Allah’s treasures of provision and that I can do with them as I please. I also do not say to you that I know the Ghaib, besides the revelation that Allah has shown me. I also do not say to you that I am an angel. I am the Messenger of Allah and I only follow what is revealed to me. I do not claim that which is not right for me. Is the disbeliever whose sight is blind to the truth equal to the believer who sees the truth and has faith in it? Do you, idolaters, then not think about the signs around you?

Warn, O Messenger, with this Qur’ān those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord on the Day of Rising, when they will have no friend besides Allah to bring them any benefit, nor any intercessor to remove harm from them, so that they may be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. These are the people who will benefit from the Qur’ān.

O Messenger, do not remove from your gathering those poor Muslims who sincerely worship Allah in the beginning and at the end of the day. Do not chase them away in order to win favour with the leaders of the idolaters. You are in no way accountable for these poor people. It is only Allah Who will take them to account. They, too, are in no way accountable for you. If you drive them away from your gathering, you will be of those who overstep Allah’s limits.

So I tested them by means of one another. I made some of them rich and others poor. I made them different with respect to their worldly fortunes. I tested them in this way so that the rich disbelievers say about the poor believers: Are these poor people the ones whom Allah has favoured with guidance from amongst us? If this faith was any good, then they would not have beaten us to it, because we are the people who come first. Does Allah not know those who are thankful for His favours, so He guides them to faith, from those who deny these favours, so He abandons them to disbelief? Certainly, Allah knows about them.

When those who accept My signs that indicate the truth of what you have brought come to you, O Messenger, then reply to their greeting of peace in honour of them and tell them the good news of My mercy. I have gracefully made mercy obligatory on Myself. If anyone among you commits sin, out of ignorance and foolishness, and then repents from that sin and sets their actions right, then I will forgive them, for I am Forgiving and Compassionate to the servant who repents to Me.

So just as I have explained what was previously mentioned, I explain to you the Qur’ān to make the truth clear for the sake of practicing it; and to make clear the path of the guilty ones, so that it can be avoided.

Say, O Messenger, ‘Allah has prohibited me from worshipping those whom you worship besides Him’. Say, O Messenger: I do not follow your desires in worshipping other than Allah. If I had followed your desires, I would go astray from the path of truth and I would not be guided to it. This is the condition of any person who follows his desires without any proof from Allah.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: I stand on clear evidence from my Lord, not on vain desires, yet you have denied this evidence. I do not have the punishment and the extraordinary signs that you demand and that you are in such haste to bring about. That is only in Allah’s control. The decision for anything, including what you demand, is only Allah’s. He speaks the truth and decides accordingly. Allah, may He be glorified, is the best of those who decide between truth and falsehood.

O Messenger, say to them: If I had in my possession the punishment that you are in such haste to bring about, I would have brought it down on you. If that happens, the matter between us will be settled. Allah knows best about the duration of respite for those who do wrong and He knows best when to punish them.

The treasures of the Ghaib are with Allah alone: no one besides Him knows them. He knows all the created things in the land, such as animals, plants and inanimate objects. He knows whatever animals or plants there are in the sea. No leaf falls in any place, nor is there any seed of grain hidden in the earth, nor any thing moist or dry, except that it is recorded in a clear book which is the Preserved Tablet.

Allah is the One Who temporarily takes away your souls at night as you sleep, and He is the One Who knows the actions you do during the day when you are awake. He then raises you in the day, after taking away your souls through sleep, so that you may carry out your tasks. This will continue until the fixed period of your lives, as known to Allah, is over. Then you will return to Him alone when He will raise you on the Day of Rising. He will then tell you about what you used to do in the life of the world and will repay your actions.

And Allah is the Dominant and Irresistible to Whom everything is subjugated. He is above His servants in a manner that befits His majesty, may He be glorified. He sends over you, O people, honourable angels who record your actions. This will continue until a person’s life is brought to an end by the angel of death and his aides take away their souls. The angel of death and his aides never fail to carry out what they are instructed to do.

Then all those whose souls were taken away will be returned to Allah, their real master, for Him to repay their actions. To Him belongs the effectual decision and fair judgement between them. He is the swiftest of those who take account as He will take all of them to account in one day.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Who rescues you and saves you from the calamity? You call on Him alone, humbling yourselves in secret and in public saying: If our Lord delivers us from this destruction we will certainly be of those who show thanks for His favours on us and we will not worship anyone besides Him.

Say to them, O Messenger, ‘Allah is the One Who rescues you from it and delivers you from every distress. Then you still associate others as partners with Him when you are in good times. What can be more wrong than this?

Say to them, O Messenger: Allah is the One able to send upon you a punishment that will come to you from above, such as stones, thunder-bolts and floods, or that will come to you from below, such as earthquakes and sinking into the ground. He can also cause disunity between your hearts, making each person follow their desire and making you fight one another. Think, O Messenger, about how I explain to them the evidence in various ways, so that they realise that what you have brought to them is the truth and what they have is false.

Your people have denied this Qur’ān, yet it is the truth about which there is no doubt that it is from Allah. Say to them, O Messenger: I am not responsible for your actions. I am only to warn you before a severe punishment.

Everything has a time in which it occurs and an end point which it reaches. This includes your end results. You will soon come to know them when you are raised on the Day of Rising.

When you, O Messenger, see the idolaters speaking about My verses mockingly, then do not sit with them until they enter into a discussion free of such mockery. If Satan makes you forget, and you do sit with them and afterwards remember, then leave that gathering and do not sit with those who overstep the limits.

Those who are mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding things He has not prohibited are in no way responsible for anything in the account of these wrongdoers. Their duty is only to prohibit them from the evil they are doing, so that they also may become mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding things He has not allowed.

Leave, O Messenger, these idolaters who have made their religion a thing of play and distraction and who mock and poke fun at it. The life of the world with its temporary pleasures has deceived them. Advise people, O Prophet, using this Qur’ān, so that no soul is delivered to destruction because of the evil actions it has done. If it so acts, it will have no one to help it nor any intercessor to protect it against Allah’s punishment on the Day of Rising. If it has to offer any ransom to be saved from Allah’s punishment, such will not be accepted from it. Those are the ones who have been delivered to their destruction because of the sins they committed. On the Day of Rising, they will have a drink that will be extremely hot and a painful punishment because of their disbelief.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Shall we worship, besides Allah, idols that have no ability to benefit us, nor can they harm us with? Shall we turn back from faith after Allah has guided us to it? If we do so, we will be like the one whom satans have misled: leaving him confused, not knowing the right path; and where he has companions on the straight path who call him to the truth, but he refuses to respond to their call. Say to them, O Messenger: Allah’s guidance is the true guidance, and He has instructed us to submit to Him, may He be glorified, by being firm in our belief in His Oneness and by worshipping Him alone, because He is the Lord of the Worlds.

I have been instructed to establish the prayer in a complete way. I have also been instructed to be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and staying away from things He has prohibited. He, alone, is the One Who will gather the servants before Him on the Day of Rising, in order to judge them for their actions.

He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. On the day when Allah will say to something ‘Be’ and it will become, refers to the Day of Rising when Allah will say ‘Rise’ and they will all rise. His word is the truth that will most certainly occur. On the Day of Rising, when the angel Isrāfīl will blow the trumpet for a second time, all control will be Allah’s alone. He knows what is hidden and what can be seen. He is Wise in His creating and handling of matters. He is Aware about the hidden just as He knows the apparent, and nothing is hidden from Him.

Remember, O Messenger, when Abraham (peace be upon him) said to his father, Āzar, who was a idolater: O father, do you make the idols into gods that you worship besides Allah? I think that you and your people who worship idols are clearly misguided from and confused about the path of truth because of your worship of others besides Allah. Allah is the only Being that deserves to be worshipped, and nothing else has a right to be worshipped.

In the same way I showed Abraham the misguidance of his father and his people, I also showed him the vast kingdom of the heavens and the earth, so that he could use that as an indication of Allah’s Oneness and of His being the only One deserving of worship. This also made him certain that Allah is One without any partner and that He has power over everything.

When the darkness of the night came over Abraham, he began to debate with his people in order to bring them from idolatry to monotheism. His people used to worship the stars, so when he saw a star he said, ‘This is my Lord’, with the aim of convincing his people. When the star disappeared, he said, ‘I do not like that which disappears, because the true God is always present and never disappears’. The belief of his people was that gods do not go away and disappear, so he used this same belief of theirs as an argument against them.

When Abraham saw the moon rising, he said to his people, ‘This is my Lord’, continuing his argument against them. When it disappeared, he said, ‘If Allah does not guide me to His Oneness and worship I will certainly become one of the people who are astray from His religion and who worship others besides Him’.

When he saw the sun rising, he said to his people, ‘This thing that is rising is my Lord. It is bigger than the star and the moon’, further continuing his plan of argument and proof against them. When it disappeared, he said, ‘O my people, I am free of what you associate as partners with Allah’.

I have devoted my religion to Allah Who created the heavens and the earth without any precedent, throwing off idolatry and embracing pure monotheism. I am not one of the idolaters who worship others besides Allah.

Abraham’s people, who were idolaters, disputed with him with respect to Allah’s Oneness and they threatened him with their idols. He said to them: Do you argue with me about Allah’s Oneness and worshipping Him alone when my Lord has guided me to it? I do not have any fear of your idols, because they have no ability to harm or benefit, unless Allah wills. Whatever Allah wills happens. Allah’s knowledge covers everything and nothing in the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Him. Will you, then, not be mindful, O people, and stop your disbelief and associating of partners with Allah and believe in Him alone?

How can I be fearful of the idols you worship besides Allah when you have no fear of your associating as partners with Allah things that He created, without having any proof for doing so? Which of the two groups, the monotheists or the idolaters, is more deserving of safety and security? If you know which group is more deserving, then follow that group. The more deserving group is undoubtedly the group of the believers who are monotheists.

Those who believe in Allah follow His laws and did not pollute their faith with polytheism, they will be the ones who will be safe and secure. They are the ones to whom their Lord has shown the path of guidance.

The argument of the setting of the star, moon and sun, which Abraham used to defeat his people in the debate, is My argument, which I showed and gave him to use against his people. I raise in rank whichever of My servants I wish in this world and the Afterlife. Your Lord, O Messenger, is Wise in His creation and handling of matters, and He knows about His servants.

I blessed Abraham with his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, and I guided each of them to the straight path. Before them, I guided to the path of truth Noah; and from the descendants of Noah, I guided David, his son Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses and his brother Aaron (peace be upon them). Just as I gave the prophets a reward for doing good, I will give a similar reward to all those who do good, even if they are not prophets.

In a similar way, I guided Zachariah, John, Jesus son of Mary and Elijah (peace be upon them). All these prophets were of the righteous, who were chosen by Allah to be messengers.

In a similar way, I guided Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah, and Lot (peace be upon them). I favoured all of them with prophethood, with Muhammad (peace be upon him) being the best of them, superior to all other people.

I also guided some of their forefathers, descendants and brothers, whom I had willed to guide. I selected them and made them take the straight path: the path of Allah’s Oneness and His obedience.

The guidance they received was Allah’s guidance, which He grants to whomever of His servants He wills. If they had associated others as partners to Allah, then their actions would be void, because associating partners with Allah nullifies good actions.

The prophets mentioned are the ones to whom I had given divine scriptures, wisdom and prophethood. If your people deny any of these things which I have given to them, then I have prepared other people who do not disbelieve, but who accept and hold firm onto it. They are the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) and the Helpers (Anṣār), and all those who follow them in good until the Day of Reward.

Those prophets and their forefathers, descendants and brothers mentioned are truly the people of guidance, so follow and imitate them. Say, O Messenger, to your people: I do not want any reward from you for conveying this Qur’ān. The Qur’ān is simply an advice for the human beings and jinn of the worlds, so that they can be guided to the straight path by it.

The idolaters did not venerate Allah as He should be venerated when they said to their prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him), ‘Allah has not sent down any revelation to any human being’. Say to them, O Messenger: Who is the One who sent down the Torah to Moses, as a light and guidance for his people? The Jews put it into sheets; and they show what agrees with their desires and conceal what does not, such as the description of Muhammad (peace be upon him). You, O Arabs, were taught the Qur’ān, which neither you nor your predecessors knew. Say to them, O Messenger, ‘Allah sent it down’, then leave them to their ignorance and misguidance, until the most certain thing – death – comes to them.

And this Qur’ān is a book that I revealed to you, O Prophet. It is a blessed book that confirms the heavenly scriptures that came before it, and was revealed to you so that you could warn the people of Mecca and all the people in the East and West to come to the right path. Those who believe in the life of the Hereafter accept this Qur’ān, practice it and guard their prayer by maintaining its requirements, essentials and recommended acts at the times set in the sacred law.

The greatest wrongdoer is the person who makes up lies about Allah by saying, ‘Allah has not revealed anything to any human being’; or by falsely saying, ‘Allah has sent revelation to me’, when Allah did not send any revelation to him; or by saying, ‘I will reveal the like of the Qur’ān that Allah has revealed’. O Messenger, you would see a terrible sight if you could see these wrongdoers at the time of death; and when the angels will stretch out their hands to punish and beat them, and reprimand them by saying: Remove your souls because we are here to take them. Today you will be repaid with a punishment that will disgrace and humiliate you because of the lies that you used to say about Allah by claiming prophethood, revelation or the ability to reveal what Allah has revealed, and because of your being too proud to accept His signs.

They will be told on the Day of Resurrection: You have come to us today individually. Now you do not have any wealth or leadership, and you have come to Me just as I had created you the first time: barefoot, naked and uncircumcised. You have reluctantly left behind what I had given you in the world. I do not see with you today your idols, which you claimed will intercede for you and that they are Allah’s partners with respect to their being deserving of worship. All links between you have been cut. Your claim of their intercession and that they are Allah’s partners has vanished from you.

Allah alone is the One who splits open the seed, from which crops emerge, and the date-stone, from which the date palm sprouts. He creates the living from the dead, just as man and all other animals are formed from sperm; and He creates the dead from the living, just as sperm comes out of a human being and an egg is laid by a chicken. The Being who does this is Allah, the One Who created you. How are you, idolaters, then misled from the truth, despite your witnessing His marvellous creation?

He, may He be glorified, splits the light of dawn from the darkness of the night. He is the One Who has made the night still, in which people can take rest from the tiring and hard work of the day. He is the One Who has made the sun and the moon move according to a precise measure. That marvellous creation is the determination of the Mighty, Whom none can overpower, the One Who knows what is best for His creation.

He, may He be glorified, is the One who created for you, O children of Adam, the stars in the sky, so that you may be guided by them during your travels when the routes on the land and sea are unclear. I have explained the proofs and evidences that indicate My power for a people who reflect and take benefit from them.

He, may He be glorified, is the One Who created you from one soul, which was the soul of your father, Adam. He began your creation by forming your father, Adam, from clay and then He created you from him. He also created for you a place for you to settle in, which is the wombs of your mothers, and a depository in which you are stored, which is the loins of your fathers. I have explained the signs to a people who can understand the words of Allah.

He, may He be glorified, is the One Who sent down rain water from the sky and then with it He caused all types of vegetation to grow. From the vegetation He brought out crops and green trees, from which He produces grain that is packed one of top of the other, as it is found in spikes. From the spathe of the date-palm come clusters that are close to any person standing or sitting. He also brought out grape orchards; and produces olives and pomegranates, the leaves of which are similar but the fruit are different. Look, O people, at the fruit when it first appears and when it ripens. O people, in that there are clear proofs of Allah’s power for a people who believe in Allah. Such people are the ones who will benefit from these proofs.

Yet the idolaters made the jinn partners with Allah in worship believing that the jinn can independently bring benefit and cause harm, whilst Allah alone had created them, so He is most worthy of being worshipped. And out of their ignorance they attributed sons to Allah – as the Jews did with respect to ‘Uzayr’, and the Christians with respect to Jesus – and also daughters. Allah is free and above what the people of falsehood claim about Him.

He, may He be glorified, is the Creator of the heavens and the earth without any precedent. How can he have a child when he has no wife? He created everything and knows everything. Nothing is hidden from Him.

O people, the Being that has those divine attributes is your Lord. You have no lord besides Him, and there is no one worthy of worship besides Him. He is the Creator of everything, so worship Him alone as He is the only one deserving of worship. He takes care of everything.

Vision cannot encompass Him, but His Vision covers and encompasses all things. He is the One Who is Subtle with His righteous servants and is Aware of them.

Clear proofs from your Lord have come to you, O people. Whoever understands them and is mindful, the benefit of that will return to him. Whoever is blind to them and unmindful, it will only be to his loss. It is not my duty to watch over you and record your actions: I am only a messenger from my Lord. He is the One Who watches over you.

Just as I explained the various types of proofs of My Power, I also explain the various types of ayahs containing promises, threats and advice. And so the idolaters will say: This is not revelation: it is merely something you learnt from the People of the Scripture before you. And I did this in order to explain the truth to the believers of the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon them ), as they are the ones who accept the truth and follow it.

Follow, O Messenger, the truth that your Lord reveals to you. There is no one worthy of worship besides Him, may He be glorified. Let your heart not be concerned with the disbelievers and their stubbornness, as their matter is left to Allah.

If Allah willed for them not to associate any one as partner with Him, they would not have done so. I have not made you, O Messenger, a guardian to record their actions, nor are you in charge of them. You are only a messenger and your duty is only to convey the message.

O believers, do not insult the idols that they worship alongside Allah, even though they be deserving of that, for then the idolaters due to ignorance would insult Allah unknowingly, may He be glorified. Just as He made their misguidance fair seeming to them, He makes the behaviour of every nation, be it good or bad, seem good to them and so they act accordingly. Then their return on the Day of Rising is to their Lord, Who will inform them about what they used to do in the world and repay their actions.

The idolaters swear by Allah, with their strongest oaths, that if Muhammad (peace be upon him) brings them one of the signs they asked for, then they will believe. Say to them, O Messenger: I do not have signs so that I may bring them: they are only with Allah, Who sends them down as He wills. And what will inform you, O believers, that if these signs come, as they request, they still will not believe? Instead, they will persist in their denial and stubbornness, because they in fact do not want to be guided.

And I will turn their hearts and vision, by intervening between them and preventing their guidance to the truth, just as I intervened between them and faith in the Qur’ān the first time because of their stubbornness. I will leave them in their misguidance and rebellion against their Lord, confused and wandering.

If I had responded to them by bringing what they requested – by sending down the angels for them to see, and made the dead speak to them about the truth of what you brought, and gathered everything they asked for before their eyes – they still would not have believed in what you brought, unless Allah willed for them to be guided. However, most of them are ignorant of this and do not turn to Allah to grant them guidance.

Just as I tested you with the hostility of these idolaters towards you, I tested every prophet before you. I made for each of them enemies of rebellious men and jinn, who used to whisper evil in the hearts of one another, beautifying falsehood in order to deceive them. If I willed them not to do so, they would not have done that; but I willed it as a test for them. So leave them to their fabrications of disbelief and falsehood, and pay no attention to them.

This is so that the hearts of those who do not accept the Afterlife may incline towards what they whisper to one another, happily accepting such things for themselves, and that they persist in committing the sins and wrongs they were doing.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters who worship others together with Allah: Does it make sense for me to accept anyone other than Allah as a judge between us whilst Allah is the One Who has revealed the Qur’ān which sufficiently explains everything. The Jews, to whom I gave the Torah, and the Christians, to whom I gave the Gospel, know that the Qur’ān has been revealed to you, because the proof of that is found in their scriptures. So do not be of those who doubt about what I revealed to you.

The word of your Lord – namely the Qur’ān – is complete in the truthfulness of its statements and the justice of its instructions and prohibitions. There is no one who can alter His words. He is the One Who hears and knows the statements of His servants. Nothing is hidden from him and He will repay their actions.

If you, O Messenger, supposedly followed most of the people on earth, they would mislead you from Allah’s religion. Allah’s custom has always been that the truth is with the minority. Most people follow nothing but speculation that has no basis and they think that those whom they worship will bring them close to Allah, whereas they are completely wrong in believing this.

Your Lord, O Messenger, knows best those people who are misled from His path; and He knows best those who are rightly guided to it. Nothing of that is hidden from Him.

Eat, O people, from that which was slaughtered while using Allah’s name, if you truly accept His clear proofs.

What is it that prevents you, O believers, from eating that which was slaughtered in Allah’s name, when Allah has made clear what is unlawful for you. It is therefore necessary for you to leave that which is forbidden, unless you are forced by necessity to eat it, in which case it will be lawful. Many of the misguided idolaters mislead their followers with their incorrect views. They consider lawful that which Allah has made unlawful (such as carrion), and they consider unlawful that which Allah has made lawful (such as the baḥīrah, waṣīlah, ḥāmī, etc.). Your Lord, O Messenger, knows best those who overstep His limits and He will repay them for their transgression.

O people, avoid committing sins openly or in secret. Those who commit sins, secret or open, will be repaid by Allah for what they did.

O Muslims, do not eat that which was not slaughtered in the name of Allah, whether the name of someone other than Allah was mentioned over it or not. Eating such forbidden food is to abandon obedience to Allah in favour of disobedience. The satans whisper to their friends, inspiring them with doubts, so that they argue with you about eating carrion. If you, O Muslims, were to follow them in the doubts they present for the lawfulness of carrion, then you would be equal to them in associating partners with Allah.

Is the one who was dead prior to receiving Allah’s guidance – due to his disbelief, ignorance and sins, and then He gave him life by guiding him to faith, knowledge and obedience – equal to the one who cannot leave the darkness of disbelief, ignorance and sins, and to whom the paths have become unclear and dark? Just as polytheism, the consumption of carrion, and false arguments were made fair seeming to these idolaters, the sins of the disbelievers were made to seem good to them, so that they are repaid for them on the Day of Rising with a painful punishment.

Just as what transpired with those leaders of Mecca who committed polytheism and barred others from the Way of Allah, He has placed leaders and influential people in every town who use various means and schemes to call towards the path of Satan and oppose the messengers and their followers. In reality, their scheming and planning will eventually only harm them, but they do realise this due to their ignorance and their following of desires.

And when there comes to any of these leaders a verse or a sign which Allah reveals to His Prophet proving his truthfulness, they say: We will never accept this until Allah bestows upon us the Prophethood as He did to those Prophets aforetime. Allah refutes them by saying that He knows best who is most suitable to be appointed to carry out the duties of the mission and He only selects the finest people for prophethood and messengership. These transgressors will be afflicted with disgrace and humiliation because of their arrogance against the truth, and with a severe punishment because of their scheming.

Whomever Allah wishes to guide to the right path, He opens their heart to Islam so they accept it willingly. Whomever He wishes to abandon and not guide, He makes their chest extremely narrow and unable to accept the truth, such that they become like a person climbing into the higher layers of the atmosphere while finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. Just as Allah made this extreme narrowness the condition of the person who goes astray, He will place the punishment on those who do not have faith in Him.

This religion that I have given you, O Messenger, is My straight path, in which there is no crookedness. I have made the ayahs clear for the one who has understanding.

Such people will be awarded Paradise on the Day of Judgement, in which they will be safe from every type of harm and discomfort. Allah will be their Friend, Protector, Supporter and Guardian. This will be their reward for the good actions they used to do.

Remember, O Messenger, the day when Allah will gather both the jinn and humankind. He will address the jinn and tell them that they had misled many people and prevented them from Allah’s path. Their followers among humankind will say in response to their Lord: O our Lord, we benefited from one another: the jinn benefited by having human beings follow them; and the human beings benefited by using the jinn to obtain their desires. And now we have reached the term that You have appointed for us and this is now the Day of Rising. Allah will tell them that the fire of Hell will be their home, where they will live eternally, with the exception of those sinful monotheists whom Allah wills to remove from it. Your Lord, O Messenger, is Wise in His planning and handling of matters; He knows which of His servants deserves the punishment.

Just as I gave some of the rebellious jinn the ability to mislead some people, I will give an authority and power to every evil sinner so that they may influence other sinners-prompting them to do evil and create a dislike in their hearts and turn them away from good. This is a just recompense for the sins they used to commit.

On the Day of Rising, I will address jinn and humankind, and ask them if messengers from their own species had not come to them reciting to them what Allah had revealed to them and warning them that they will meet this day, which is the Day of Rising. They will say: Of course they did. Today we confess against ourselves that Your messengers did communicate Your message to us and we admit the meeting of this day; but we had rejected Your messengers and denied the meeting of this day. The life of the world with its temporary beauty, decorations and luxuries had deceived them, and they will admit against themselves that they disbelieved in Allah and His messengers in the world. Yet this confession and acceptance will not be of any use to them, as the time for its usefulness would have already passed.

The reason for sending messengers to mankind and jinn is so that no one is punished for the crimes they committed without a messenger having been sent to warn them and the invitation reaching them. I only punished a nation after sending messengers to them.

Each one of them will have ranks in accordance to their actions. The person who did a great deal of evil will not be equal to the one who did less. The followers will not be equal to those who were followed. Similarly, the reward for those who do good will not be the same. Your Lord is not unaware of what they used to do. Instead, He is well aware of that. Nothing of it is hidden from Him and He will repay them for their actions.

Your Lord, O Messenger, is Self-sufficient of His servants. He is not in need of them or their worship of Him. Their disbelief in Him does not harm Him. Despite His not being in need of them, He is Merciful towards them.If He wished to destroy you, O disobedient servants, He would destroy you with His punishment, and then after this He would bring others who would have faith in Him and obey Him, just as He created you from the progeny of other people who had come before you.

The resurrection, rising, reckoning and punishment that you are promised, O disbelievers, will most certainly happen. You will not be able to escape from your Lord by running away: He will seize and punish you.

Say, O Messenger: O my people, remain on your path of disbelief and misguidance if you choose, as I have fulfilled my obligation having established the evidence against you by communicating the message to you. I am therefore not concerned about your disbelief and misguidance. Instead, I will remain firm on the path of truth that I follow. Soon you will come to know who will be victorious in the world and inherit the earth, and who will receive the home of the Afterlife. The idolaters will not succeed, neither in this world nor the Afterlife. Their end result will be loss even though they may have some enjoyment in the world.

The idolaters made innovations and false claims in their religion concerning Allah by assigning to Him a share of the crops and livestock that He created, and giving a share of what He created to their idols. Yet the share they gave to their partners does not reach the avenues that Allah requires them to be spent in, such as on the poor and destitute. But what they gave to Allah reaches the idols and is spent on them. How evil is their judgement and distribution!

Just as Satan made this unfair judgement fair seeming to the idolaters, the devils –who were their partners and associates – made it seem good to them that they should kill their children out of the fear of poverty. The devils inspired them with this in order to destroy them by their committing the act of murder, which Allah had made unlawful, and to make their religion confusing for them such that they did not know anymore what Allah had commanded or prohibited for them. If Allah had willed for them not to do this, they would not have done so. However, He willed it out of His wisdom. So leave, O Messenger, these idolaters and their fabrications about Allah, because that will not harm you, and entrust their matter to Allah.

The idolaters said that certain animals and crops were banned, and only those whom they wish may eat of them, such as those who worship the idols and others, according to their claim and fabrication. They also said that the backs of certain animals were forbidden and that no one could ride or carry a load on those animals. Then they claimed that the name of Allah must not be mentioned over certain animals at the time of slaughter and the names of idols must be taken instead. They falsely attributed all of this to Allah. Allah will repay them with His punishment because of what they made up about Him.

They said: The foetus in the wombs of these reserved animals, if born alive, is permitted for our males and forbidden to our women. If it is stillborn, then the males and females will share in it. Allah will justly repay them for this statement. He is Wise in His sacred laws and in handling the affairs of His creation, and He knows full well about them.

Those who killed their children due to their foolishness and ignorance, and made unlawful the animals that Allah provided for them, falsely attributing this to Allah, are ruined. They have strayed from the straight path and are not guided to it.

Allah, may He be glorified, is the One Who created gardens raised above the ground by means of stems and trellises, and spread out gardens on the surface of the earth without any stems, He is the One Who created the date palm. He produced crops which differ in their shape and taste. He is the One Who created the olive and the pomegranate, the leaves of which are similar but their fruit is different. Eat, O people, from its fruit when it bears fruit and pay its Zakat on the day of its harvest. Do not overstep the limits of the sacred law with respect to eating and spending, because Allah does not love those who overstep His limits in this and other respects. Rather, He hates such people. The One Who created all of this is the One Who has made it lawful for His servants. Therefore, the idolaters have no right to declare it unlawful.

He is the One Who produced for you some animals suitable for carrying loads (such as big camels) and other animals not suitable for that purpose (such as small camels, goats and sheep). Eat, O people, of the permissible things that Allah has provided for you and do not follow the footsteps of Satan by considering as lawful what Allah has forbidden and making unlawful what Allah has permitted, as the idolaters do. O people, O people, Satan is your clear enemy as He wants you to oppose Allah by doing so.

He created for you eight types: two types of sheep, male and female, and two types of goats. Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: Did Allah make the two males unlawful because of their being male? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you regard the females as unlawful? Or did He make the two females unlawful because of their being female? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you regard the males as unlawful? Or did He make what the wombs of the two females contain unlawful because of being contained in the womb? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you differentiate between what the wombs contain by making the male unlawful sometimes and making the female unlawful at other times? Tell me, O idolaters, what proper knowledge do you base this on, if you are truthful in your claim that the prohibition for this is from Allah?

The remainder of the eight types are a pair of camels and a pair of cattle. Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: Did Allah make any of them unlawful due to their being male or female or due to being contained in the womb? Were you, O idolaters, present when Allah gave the instruction for the prohibition of the animals that you regard as unlawful, according to your claim? There is no greater wrong and offence than a person who makes up lies about Allah, by attributing to Him the prohibition of that which He has not prohibited, in order to mislead people from the straight path without any basis. Allah does not guide to the right path those who do wrong by making up lies about Allah.

Say, O Messenger: I do not find in what Allah has revealed to me anything forbidden except that which dies without being properly slaughtered, blood that is flowing, the meat of a pig – for that is impure and unlawful – or that which is slaughtered in the name of other than Allah (such as animals slaughtered in the name of idols). Whoever is forced by necessity to eat of these forbidden things due to extreme hunger, without looking for enjoyment by eating them and without exceeding the limit of necessity, there will be no sin on him in that. Your Lord, O Messenger, is Forgiving towards the person who is compelled to eat from that and is Compassionate towards such a person.

I made unlawful for the Jews animals whose toes were not separated (such as camels and ostriches). I also made unlawful for them the fat of cattle and sheep, except for what was attached to their backs or on their intestines or what was mixed with bone (such as the rump or flank). I repaid them for their disobedience by making these things unlawful for them. I am truthful in all that I relate.

If they deny you, O Messenger, and do not accept what you brought from your Lord, then say to them in encouragement: Your Lord is One, possessor of vast mercy. It is because of His mercy that He has given you relief and has not yet taken you to task by punishing you. Also say to them as a warning: His punishment is not averted from those who commit sins.

The idolaters will say, using Allah’s will and decree as proof for their associating partners with Him: If Allah had willed that neither we nor our ancestors associate any partners with Him we would not have done so; and if He had willed that we do not make anything unlawful for ourselves we would not have done so. Those before them also denied their messengers with similar worthless proofs saying: If Allah had willed that we do not prohibit them, we would not have done so. So they persisted in their denial until they tasted My punishment that I sent down on them. Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Do you have any evidence that indicates that Allah is pleased that you associate others with Him, and that you make lawful what He has prohibited, and make unlawful what He has allowed? Just because you did these actions does not mean that He is pleased with them. You are following nothing but speculation with respect to this and speculation holds no weight against the truth. You are only lying.

Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: If you only have these weak arguments, then Allah has a decisive argument against which the excuses you present hold no weight and before which the doubts that you cling to will disappear. If Allah had willed to guide all of you to the truth, O idolaters, He would have done so.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters who make unlawful what Allah has allowed and who claim that it is Allah who has made it unlawful: Bring your witnesses to testify that Allah has made these things unlawful. If they testify without any knowledge that Allah has made these things unlawful, then do not believe their testimony, O Messenger, because it is false testimony. Do not follow the desires of those who let their desires rule over them. They denied His verses when they made unlawful what Allah had allowed. Do not follow those who do not have faith in the Afterlife and who associate others with their Lord. How can a person who deals with his Lord in this way be followed?

Say, O Messenger, to the people: Come! I will read to you what Allah has made unlawful. He has made it unlawful that you associate any creation as partner to Him; that you disobey your parents – for it is your duty to be good to them; that you kill your children due to poverty – as the people during the period of ignorance used to do – I provide for you and for them. He has also made it unlawful that you go near immoral acts, whether they are done openly or in secret; and that you kill the soul that Allah has prohibited you from killing, unless it is done rightfully (such as in the case of adultery and apostasy). He has instructed you with what was mentioned so that you understand Allah’s instructions and prohibitions.

He has prohibited you from becoming involved with the wealth of orphans – those who lose their father before maturity – until they became mature and are considered to be sensible, unless you do so in a manner that brings benefit and an increase in that wealth. He has also prohibited you from giving short measure or weight; rather, it is necessary that you are fair and just when taking or giving anything in a purchase and sale transaction. He does not burden a soul more than it can bear, and you will not be taken to task for any increase or decrease in measure that is unintentional. He has, likewise, prohibited you from saying that which is false when relating an incident or giving testimony, displaying unfair preference to a relative or friend. He has, too, prohibited you from breaking Allah’s pledge. If you make a pledge with Allah or in Allah’s name, then such pacts must be fulfilled. Allah has instructed you with the above in the hope that you would ponder over the outcomes of your actions.

He has prohibited you from following the paths of misguidance. You are required to follow Allah’s straight path, in which there is no crookedness. The paths of misguidance will lead you far away from the path of truth. Allah instructs you to follow the straight path in the hope that you will become mindful of Him by fulfilling His instructions and staying away from His prohibitions.

After all this, I relate to you that I gave the Torah to Moses as a completion of My favour and a reward for his good actions, to make everything required in religion clear, and as a mercy in the hope that they would have faith in the meeting with their Lord on the Day of Judgement and prepare for it with good actions.

And this Qur’ān is a book that I have revealed and is full of blessings because of the religious and worldly benefits it contains. So follow what is revealed in it, and be mindful of going against it, in the hope that you will be shown mercy.

This Book was revealed so that you, idolaters, do not say: Allah only revealed the Torah and the Gospel to the Jews and the Christians before us and He did not reveal any scripture to us. I do not know how to read their scriptures as they are in their language and not in ours.

Likewise, I sent this Book so that you do not say: If Allah had revealed a scripture to us, just as He did to the Jews and Christians, we would have been more upright than them. So now has Allah revealed the Book to your prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him), in your language: a clear proof, guidance, and a mercy for the entire nation. Then do not offer false excuses and give invalid reasons for rejecting it. Surely the greatest wrongdoer is the person who denies Allah’s ayahs and turns away from them. Allah will punish those who turn away from His words with a severe punishment, by causing them to enter the fire of Hell as a repayment for their turning away from and ignoring them.

Those who deny the truth are not waiting for anything but for the angel of death and his assistants to come to them in order to take away their souls in the world; or for their Lord to come on the Day of Decision in the Afterlife, O Messenger, in order to make the final decision about them; or for some of the Lord’s signs that indicate the approach of the Final Hour. to come. On the day when some of your Lord’s signs come – such as the rising of the sun in the West – the faith of a disbeliever will not be of any benefit to him, nor will the good action of a believer who did not do good previously be of benefit to him. Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters who deny this, ‘Wait for one of these things; I am also waiting’.

O Messenger, have nothing to do with those Jews and Christians who divided their religion, by taking part of it and leaving out another part, and turned into various sects. You are innocent of the misguidance that they adopt. Your duty is only to warn them. Their matter is entrusted to Allah and then, on the Day of Judgement, He will tell them about what they used to do in the world and repay them for that.

Whoever of the believers brings a good action on the Day of Judgement, Allah will multiply it for them ten times. Whoever brings an evil action will only be punished with its equivalent amount, and not more than that. On the Day of Judgement, they will not be wronged by a reduction in the reward of good actions, nor by an increase in the punishment for evil actions.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters who are in denial: My Lord has guided me to a straight path, which is the path of the religion that maintains the interests of this world and the Afterlife. It is the faith of Abraham who inclined to the truth and who was never one of those who associated others with Allah.

Say, O Messenger: My prayer and sacrifice is for Allah and in His name, not for anyone else. My life and death is only for Allah, the Lord of all creation, and no one else has any share in that from me.

He, may He be glorified, has no partner. There is no one else worthy of worship besides Him. Allah has instructed me to accept this pure monotheism and I am the first of those who acknowledge Him in this nation.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Shall I search for someone other than Allah as a Lord when He, may He be glorified, is the Lord of everything? He is the Lord of those things that you worship besides Him. No innocent person will bear the sin of another. Then your return will be to your Lord alone on the Day of Judgement, and He will inform you about religious matters that you used to differ about when you were in the world.

Allah is the One Who made you successors of those whom came before you on earth, so that you inhabit it after them. He has raised some of you in rank over others – in terms of physical form, livelihood and other aspects – in order to test you through what He has given you. Your Lord, O Messenger, is quick in delivering justice, since anything that is approaching is close. And He is also Forgiving and Compassionate towards those of His servants who repent to Him.

This surah begins with the disconnected letters, the explanation for which has already preceded in Surah Baqarah.

The noble Qur’ān is a scripture revealed by Allah to you, O Prophet, so do not let there be any distress or doubt in your heart about it. He revealed it to you to warn people by it and to be a proof, and to remind those who have faith through it, because it is they who benefit from being reminded.

Follow, O people, the Scripture which your Lord revealed to you, and the traditions of your Prophet. Do not follow the desires of those you imagine to be friends and protectors amongst the devils or evil scholars, turning to them and leaving what was revealed to you because of your desires. How little you remember! If you had remembered, you would not have preferred falsehood over the truth, and you would have followed what your Messenger came with, acting in obedience to it and leaving anything besides it.

How many cities Allah has destroyed through His punishment because they persisted in their disbelief and error! Allah sent His punishment down on them in their obliviousness at night or during the day: they could not do anything to avoid the punishment, and their false gods could do nothing to protect them from it.

All they could do when the punishment came down on them was to admit that they had done wrong through their disbelief in Allah.

Allah will certainly question the communities He sent messengers to on the Day of Judgement: about how they received the messengers. Also, He will certainly question the messengers about whether they delivered what they were instructed to deliver, and how their communities responded to it.

Allah will inform everyone about what they did in the world, through His knowledge, because He was always aware of whatever they did. Nothing is hidden from Him, and He was never, at any point, absent from them.

The weighing of what they did on the Day of Judgement will be with justice, with no one being wronged in the least. Those whose good actions weigh more than their bad actions have succeeded in reaching the goal and being saved from what they feared.

Those whose bad actions weigh more than their good actions are the people who have lost themselves, gaining their destruction on the Day of Judgement and being excluded from eternal bliss because of their rejection of Allah’s signs and verses.

Allah certainly established you, O children of Adam, on the earth, and gave you the means of making a living. You should be thankful to Allah for that, but you give little thanks.

O people, Allah created your father Adam, making him in the best of forms and the best of designs. Then He commanded the angels to bow down to him, honouring him, so they did so, all bowing down, except for Iblīs, the Satan, who refused to bow down out of pride and stubbornness.

Allah asked Satan rebuking him: 'What stopped you from following My command to bow down to Adam?' Satan said: 'What prevented me is that I am better than Adam: You created me from fire and Adam from mud, and fire is greater then mud.'

Allah told Satan: 'Go down from Paradise, because it is not appropriate for you to be proud in it; as it is a place for those who are good and pure-hearted. You are O Satan disgraced and humiliated, even though you consider yourself to be superior to Adam.

Satan asked Allah: 'O my Lord, give me relief until the Day of Rising, so that I could tempt and misguide whomever of the children of Adam I am able to tempt.'

Allah told Satan: 'You are O Satan given respite till the first blast of the trumpet when all created beings die, and the Creator alone remains.'.

Satan said: 'Because You have made me fall into error through not following Your command to bow down to Adam, I will surely sit in wait for the children of Adam upon Your straight path, to turn them away and mislead them from it, just as I was misled through not bowing down to Adam.'

'I will surely come to them from every direction, causing them to neglect the Afterlife, and desire the life of this world, giving them doubts, and making their low desires seem beautiful to them. And You will not find O my Lord most of them thankful to You, because of the denial and ingratitude I will lead them to.

Allah said: 'Go down from Paradise O Satan, humiliated and removed from My mercy. I will certainly fill Hell with you and all those who follow and obey you and go against My command.

Then Allah told Adam: 'O Adam go and dwell you and your wife Eve in the Paradise, and eat from the good things in it, but do not approach and eat from that tree, for if you both eat from that tree after My prohibiting it you would be of those who transgress My limits.'

Satan told them: 'Allah has only forbidden you from eating from that tree because He does not want you to become angels or to live eternally in Paradise.'

Satan swore to the two of them saying: 'By Allah I am to you both, O Adam and Eve, a sincere advisor in what I direct you to.'

So Satan brought them down from their high position through trickery and deception. When they ate from the tree which they had been forbidden to eat from, their private parts became exposed and visible to them. So they started to fix leaves from Paradise onto themselves in order to cover up. Their Lord called to them: 'Did I not forbid you both from eating from this tree, and did I not warn you that Satan is your clear enemy?'

Adam and Eve said: 'O our Lord! We have wronged ourselves by doing what You forbade us from, and surely If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us we will be amongst the losers, losing our share of the worldly life and Hereafter.'

Allah told Adam, Eve and Satan: 'Go down from Paradise to the earth, where some of you will be enemies of others, and where you would have a place to settle with enjoyment of what is in the earth until an appointed time.'

Allah addressed Adam and Eve and their descendants: 'On this Earth you will live for the length of time I decree for you, and on this Earth you will die. After being buried, you will be taken out from your graves and brought back to life.'

O children of Adam, Allah made for you clothing, necessary for covering your nakedness, and clothing for you to adorn yourselves with, and the clothing of Mindfulness, which is through following what Allah instructs and staying away from what He has not allowed, which is better than the physical types of clothing. What is mentioned here about clothing is from among the signs of Allah, showing His power over everything, so that perhaps people will remember His blessings to them and be thankful for them.

O children of Adam, do not let Satan deceive you by making disobedience look beautiful to you, making you leave covering your nakedness with clothing, or leave the clothing of Mindfulness. Do not be deceived as he tricked your parents, making eating from the tree seem good to them, and the result of that was that he got them expelled from Paradise, and their nakedness became clear to them. Satan and his tribe watch and see you, and you cannot see or watch them, so always be on your guard against him and his tribe. Allah made the satans friends and helpers of those who do not have faith in Allah. As for those who have faith and do good, the satans have no way against them.

If the idolaters commit an indecent act, they defend it, saying they found their fathers doing it and that Allah had commanded them to do it. Tell them O Muhammad: 'Indeed Allah does not command the wrong, rather, He forbids it, so how can you claim such a thing about Him? Or are you O Idolators inventing things about Allah, saying what you do not know about Him?'

Say O Muhammad: 'Indeed Allah commands justice, not indecency or sin. And He commands loyalty to Him in worship generally, and particularly in places of worship, that you call on Him alone, sincere in your dedication to Him.' As He created you from nothing the first time, He will bring you back to life a second time. He Who is able to create you in the first place is able to return you and bring you back to life.

Allah made people into two groups: one group of them He guided, making it easy for them to find guidance and removing the barriers to it; and another He made go astray from the path of truth, because they made the satans their friends and helpers instead of Allah, ignorantly becoming bound to them, considering themselves to be correctly guided to a straight path.

O children of Adam, dress beautifully in every place of worship, and eat and drink, but do not be extravagant. Truly, He does not love those who are extravagant. O children of Adam, wear clean, pure, beautiful, clothes that cover your nakedness when you pray and when you make circumambulation of the Kaaba. Eat and drink whatever you like from the good things that Allah has allowed. But do not be extravagant in this, nor go beyond what is allowed. Allah does not love those who go beyond the limits..

Say O Messenger to the idolaters who forbid what Allah has allowed of clothing and food; 'Who has forbidden you from wearing clothes as adornment, and who has forbidden you from eating the good things I have provided you to eat and drink?' Say to them O Messenger: 'These good things to eat and drink and wear are in this world, for the believers; while others may share in them in this world, they are exclusively for the believers on the Day of Judgement when the disbelievers will not have a share in them, because the disbelievers have been forbidden Paradise.' Likewise Allah makes clear His signs and ayahs in this way for people who reflect, because it is they who benefit from them.

Say O Messenger (peace be upon him) to inform the idolaters who have forbidden what Allah has allowed: 'Indeed Allah has only forbidden lewd indecent acts done openly or secretly, all forms of disobedience, and transgressing unjustly against people in terms of their selves, wealth, or honour. And He has forbidden worshipping others next to Him – for which there is no proof to do so. And He has forbidden that you say things about Him wihout knowledge, in terms of His Names, Attributes, Actions and sacred law.

Every generation and people are given a fixed time. If their decreed time arrives, they cannot delay it, even by a small amount, and they cannot advance it.

O children of Adam, if messengers of your own come to you from Allah, reciting what Allah has revealed to them from His scripture, then follow them and what they bring. Those who are Mindful, following His instructions and staying away from what He has not allowed, making right what they do, there will be no fear upon them on the Day of Judgement, and they will not grieve about the pleasures that passed them by in this world.

As for the disbelievers, who reject Allah’s signs, and do not have faith in them, too proud to act in accordance with what their messengers bring to them, they are the companions of Hell, where they will live eternally.

The greatest wrongdoer is the person who: invents a lie about Allah, considering Him to have a partner; or says He is deficient in some way; or says something about Him that He has not said; or rejects His clear signs and verses which guide to the correct way of life. Those who do such things will receive the portion of worldly pleasure that is destined for them in the Preserved Tablet, until the angel of death and his helpers come to them to take their souls, and they are asked: 'Where are the gods you used to worship besides Allah, claiming they would help you? Call on those idols if they can benefit you! The idolaters will say to the angels: 'The gods we used to worship have gone, and that we do not know where they are!' Then they will admit that they were disbelievers, but their admission at that time will be a proof against them and will not benefit them.

The angels will say: 'Enter you O idolaters the fire of Hell with the crowds of nations of jinn and people who passed away before you in disbelief and error!'. Whenever a nation enters Hell it condemns its sister nation which entered the fire of Hell before it, until they all reach one another and are gathered together. The last of them to enter, who are the lowly people and followers will ask concerning the previous nations who were their leaders and masters: 'O our Lord! These are the ones who led us astray from right guidance, so give them a double punishment, for that they beautified for us the path of misguidance.' Allah will reply to them: 'Each group of you will receive a doubled share of the punishment; but you will not perceive this.'

The leaders and chiefs will exclaim: 'You do not have, O followers, over us any preference, therefore deserving any lightening of the punishment, as it is the result of your own actions. You do not have any excuse for having followed what was false. So taste then, O followers, the punishment just as we taste it, because of what you earned through your own disbelief and disobedience.

Those who reject Allah’s clear signs and verses, and are too proud to follow them, have lost everything, because the gates of heaven will not open to their actions because of their disbelief; nor will they open for their souls when they die. Such people will never enter Paradise until the camel – one of the largest animals – goes into the eye of a needle – one of the smallest things. The aforementioned is impossible, and so is the idea that they will ever enter Paradise. In such a way does Allah reward those who stubbornly do wrong.

For these people who rejected the truth, because they were too proud, is a bed of Hell to lie on, and above them is a covering of torment. This is the way in which Allah rewards those who overstep His limits through their disbelief in Him, and through their turning away from Him.

Yet those who have faith in their Lord and who do good actions to the best of their ability – and Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear – they are the companions of Paradise, entering into it and living there eternally.

Their bliss in Paradise is made complete by Allah removing whatever hatred and resentment is in their hearts, with rivers running beneath them. When they come to live there and settle in their homes, they will exclaim whilst recognizing Allah’s blessings on them, praising Him: 'All praise and thanks belongs to Allah Who allowed us to do the good actions which brought us to this place, and we would not have been able to do that if Allah had not enabled us to do so. The messengers of our Lord came with the truth about which there was no doubt, true in its promises of good for the righteous and true in its threats for the wrongdoers. It will then be announced to them: 'This, truly this, is the Paradise which Allah has made you inherit out of His Mercy, for the good actions you used to do seeking the countenance of Allah.'

The companions of Paradise will call the companions of Hell when they have all entered their places, saying: 'Indeed we have found what our Lord promised us about Paradise to be true, as we have entered into it. Have you found what Allah had promised you about Hell to be true?' The disbelievers will reply: 'We have found what was promised about Hell to be true.' Then a caller will proclaim that the wrongdoers be removed from Allah’s mercy, because the doors of His mercy were open to them and they turned away from them in their worldly life.

These wrongdoers used to themselves turn away from Allah’s religion, and used to turn others away from it, wanting to make the path of truth seem crooked so that people would not follow it. They also rejected the Afterlife, not believing in it, nor preparing for it.

Between these two groups – the companions of Paradise and the companions of Hell – is a partition called ‘al-A‘rāf’, meaning ‘the Heights’. On this partition are people whose good and bad actions are equal. They know the companions of Paradise by their signs, such as the light on their faces, and the companions of Hell by their signs, such as the darkness on their faces. These people of the partition call the companions of Paradise, honouring them, saying, ‘Peace be upon you’. They do not enter Paradise yet, but they hope to enter it through Allah’s mercy.

When their eyes turn to the people who are the companions of Hell, and they see the severe punishment they are afflicted with, they pray: 'O our Lord! Do not put us with the wrongdoers, who disbelieved and worshipped others besides you!

The companions of the Heights will call to people in Hell who had disbelieved, whom they recognize by their marks: ;It did not benefit you in the slightest when they used to gather together to prevent people from Allah’s path and arrogantly turn away from the truth.'

Those who disbelieve will say concerning the believers: 'Are these faithful people those you swore Allah would not show mercy to?' Then these people who have faith will be told to enter Paradise, not fearing what awaits them, and not grieving over the pleasures of the world which passed them by, because of the eternal bliss they find themselves in.

The companions of Hell will call the companions of Paradise, begging them to pour some water or provide some of the food they have been given onto them. The companions of Paradise will tell them that Allah has forbidden both of these to the disbelievers, because of their disbelief, and that they will not help them in what Allah has forbidden for them.

These disbelievers are the ones who used to mock and make fun of faith and were deluded by the life of the world, being engrossed in its pleasures and luxuries. On the Day of Judgement, Allah will forget them, and they will be left to suffer the punishment because they forgot the meeting of the Day of Judgement which they neglected despite them having full knowledge of it. They rejected Allah’s signs and proofs in condemnation, despite knowing and recognizing the truth of His message.

And Allah has indeed sent them this Qur’ān, the Scripture revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him), explaining it and clarifying all things with His Knowledge. It guides the believers to the right path and to the truth, and is a mercy for them because of what it guides them to, of goodness in this world and in the Afterlife.

Those who disbelieve in reality only wait for what they have been warned: a painful punishment in the Afterlife as a result of their actions. The believers were also foretold about the reward of that day. Those who ignored the Qur’ān in the life of this world, not acting according to what is in it, will then say: 'Indeed the messengers of our Lord came with the truth, in which there was no doubt. If only there was a mediator who could now plead on our behalf so we could be excused from the punishment. Or if only we could return to the life of the world to do good actions that would save us instead of the bad we committed!' The disbelievers have lost themselves, gaining their own ruin because of their disbelief. Those who they used to worship beside Allah have abandoned them, and can be of no help to them.

O people, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, with no precedent. He established Himself on the Throne in a way befitting His Majesty. He made the darkness of the night disappear into the light of the day and the light of the day into the darkness of night, both chasing each other quickly so that neither is delayed. He also created the sun, the moon and the stars all subservient under His dominion. Is the whole of creation not His? Who besides Him is creator? His alone is the command. He is High above any flaw. He is described with the attributes of splendour and perfection- the Lord of the Worlds.

O believers, call on your Lord with complete humility, silently and in private, sincere in your prayer, not showing off, and not worshipping others along with Allah in your prayers. He does not love those who overstep the limits in their prayers; and one of the worst ways someone can do this is by invoking others besides Him, as the idolaters do.

Do not ruin things on earth by committing sins after Allah has put it right by sending the messengers (peace be upon them) and establishing things in accordance with His laws. Call on Allah alone, fearing His punishment and hoping for His reward. The mercy of Allah is truly close to those who do good, so be from among them.

It is Allah who sends the winds as good news of coming rain, until when they carry a cloud heavy with water He drives the cloud to a barren land and sends down rain on it, bringing out all kinds of fruits and crops. The way that this vegetation is brought out is similar to the way the dead will be brought out of the graves and back to life. This is, O people, so that perhaps you will then reflect on the power of Allah and the wonder of His creation, and that He is able to bring the dead to life.

Good land produces vegetation in abundance, by Allah’s permission. Likewise, the believer understands the teachings they are given and they benefit from them, acting accordingly with righteousness. On the other hand, the rotten, salty land only produces vegetation in small amounts, and there is little goodness in what it produces. Likewise, the disbeliever will not benefit from the true teachings they receive, and will not perform good actions that benefit him. Through such variation Allah reveals His signs and proofs in different ways, to confirm the truth to a people who are thankful for Allah’s blessings, who do not disbelieve them, and who follow their Lord.

Indeed I sent Noah as a messenger to his people calling them to the Oneness of Allah and to leave off worshipping anything besides Him. Noah said to them: 'O people! Worship Allah alone, you have no true God except Him. I fear for you O people, the punishment of a great day if you persist in your disbelief.'

The leaders and notables among his people said: 'O Noah! Indeed we think you are in clear error.

Noah told the leaders of his people: 'I am not in error, as you claim, but rather I am on guidance from my Lord, and I am a messenger from Him who is my Lord, your Lord, and the Lord of all creations.'

'I only convey to you the revelation Allah has sent me with. I only want what is good for you when I encourage you to follow what Allah instructed and to receive the reward for doing so, and warn you from what Allah has prohibited and the punishment you would receive for disobeying Him. And I know from Allah may He be Exalted what you do not know, because of the knowledge Allah has given to me through revelation. '

' Do you find it strange O people, that revelation and good teaching has come to you from your Lord on the tongue of a man from amongt yourselves whom you know well?! I have grown up amongst you and I have never been a liar or misguided, nor have I come to you from another people. I have come to warn you about the punishment of Allah so that you might follow His instructions and stay away from what He has prohibited hoping that then you would receive Mercy through having faith in Him.'

However, Noah’s people rejected him, and did not have faith in Allah, but continued in their disbelief. Noah at last asked Allah to destroy the disbelievers. Allah saved Noah and those who were with him and who had faith from drowning, by enabling them to retreat in the Ark. He destroyed those who rejected His signs, and who continued rejecting them, drowning them in a great flood as their punishment. Indeed they were a people whose hearts were blind to the truth.

And I sent to the people of ‘Ād a messenger whose name was Hūd (peace be upon him). Hūd said to them: 'O people! Worship Allah alone, for you have no true God except Him, will you not then be mindful of Him by following His instructions and staying away from what He has prohibited, so that you would be saved from His punishment?'

The leaders and notables among his people who disbelieved in Allah and rejected His messenger said: Indeed we only think you O Hūd as someone foolish and backward, calling us to worship Allah alone, and to leave the worship of our idols. In fact we are certain that you are a liar in claiming that you have been sent by Allah!'

Hūd replied: “O my people I am not foolish or backward, but I am a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.”

' I am only conveying what Allah had instructed me to deliver to you, that you belief in Allah’s Oneness and His sacred law. I am to you all a trustworthy adviser, delivering what I am instructed, no less or more.'

'Is it strange and amazing that a reminder should come to you from your Lord from a man amongst you and from your likeness, not through an angel or a jinn. Thank Allah and praise Him for having established you on the earth making you successors to the people of Noah who were destroyed because of their disbelief. Thank Allah for having favoured you by making you strong in stature, and remember Allah’s great blessings on you so that you may be succesful, attaining what you desire and avoiding what is feared.'

Hūd’s people said: 'Have you come to tell us to worship Allah alone and to leave what our parents and ancestors worshipped! Bring us the punishment you promise if you are telling the truth in what you claim.'

Hūd said: 'Already the punishment of Allah and His Anger is on its way! Do you argue with me about idols you and your fathers have called gods, when they have no basis, since Allah has sent down no proof of their divinity. Wait then for the punishment you ask for, for I am also waiting, for indeed it is on its way.'

So Allah saved Hūd (peace be upon him), and those of the believers who were with him, through a mercy from Him, and He removed and destroyed those who rejected His signs, who did not have faith and deserved their punishment because of their denial.

Then Allah sent to the tribe of Thamūd their brother Ṣāliḥ, to call them to belief in the Oneness of Allah and to worship Him alone. Ṣāliḥ said: 'O People! Believe in Allah alone, you have no other God worthy of being worshipped. I have come to you with a sign proving the truth of what I have brought you: namely a camel which will come out of a rock. It has an allocated time to drink from the water, and for you a seperate time to drink. Allow her to eat within Allah’s land and do not harm her in any way, or a painful punishment would befall you.'

'Praise Allah for making you representatives on the earth after the destruction of the people of ‘Ād who had persevered in disbelief, and thank Him for establishing you in the land so that you could enjoy it and satisfy your desires. You build palaces in the plains and carve houses for yourselves out of the mountains. Remember Allah’s blessings upon you and thank Him for them, and do not to put your efforts into causing corruption on earth and leave off your disbelief in Allah and your disobedience to Him.

The leaders and important people, who looked down in pride at the people who had faith, those they considered to be weak, asked them: 'Do you really know that Ṣāliḥ is a messenger from Allah?' The believers replied: 'We have sure faith in him, and we act in agreement with what he has brought us.'

The arrogant among his people said: 'Indeed we dibelieve in what you have faith in, O believers, and we will not have faith in it nor act in agreement with its sacred laws.'

So they killed the camel which they had been forbidden to harmfully touch, too proud to follow Allah’s command. Doubting what Ṣāliḥ had promised would happen, they mocked him saying: 'O Salih! Bring the painful punishment you have told us would afflict us, If you really are a messenger from Allah!'

When the punishment the disbelievers had asked for arrived, and they were taken by a great earthquake, so that in the morning they lay fallen, their faces and knees on the earth, none of them escaping from the destruction.

Ṣāliḥ (peace be upon him) turned away from his people, having given up all hope for them. He said: 'O people, I had delivered what Allah had instructed me to deliver to you, and had advised you well, encouraging and warning you, but you were a people who did not have any love for sincere advisers who wanted to lead you to goodness and distance you from evil.

Allah sent Lot to his people to call them to belief in the Oneness of Allah and to stop them from rebelling against Him. He said: 'Do you commit such a forbidden and shameful act as sodomy, when no one before you has committed such a crime!'

'Do you go to men to satisfy your lust instead of women, who you were supposed to go to?! Then in that case you have not followed sense or any sound report or even what is natural! Rather you have gone beyond the limits of Allah, overstepping the bounds of moderation, good sense and the natural nobility of humankind.

His people, who committed this shameless wrong which they had been forbidden from doing, only responded by turning away from the truth, saying: 'Drive Lot and his followers out of your city. They are a people who have kept away from this action of ours, so it is not befitting that they stay living here among us.'

So Allah saved Lot and his family by instructing them to leave the city by night. His family were saved except for his wife, who remained behind in the city and suffered the same punishment as the rest.

Allah brought down upon them a great rain of rocks of baked clay, overturning the city and turning it upside down. So consider what the end of the sinful people of Lot was. Their end was ruin and eternal disgrace.

To the tribe of Midian Allah sent their brother Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him). He said: 'O people! Worship Allah alone for you have no God worthy of worship other than Him. A clear proof from Allah has come to you confirming what I bring to you from your Lord is the truth. Give people their rights, by measuring and weighing things correctly, not short-changing people by saying bad things about their goods, or by cheating them, and do not to cause corruption on earth through disbelief and disobedience after things have been set right through the sending of prophets. All of this is better for you and more beneficial if you are believers, because then you would leave disobedience, and draw close to Allah by doing what He has commanded.'

'Do not sit in wait on every road, threatening the people travelling there in order to steal their possessions, and preventing those who want to be guided from the path of Allah, wanting the path of Allah to be crooked so that people would not follow it. Remember the blessings of Allah upon you so that you might be thankful, for you had been few in the land and He increased your numbers. Reflect on what had been the end of those who caused corruption in the earth before you, since their end had been destruction and ruin!'

'And if there is a group among you who believe in what I have brought from my Lord, and another group who did not believe in it, then you, O deniers, should wait to see how Allah judges between the two groups. It would then become clear who stood for the truth and who were liars; and that those who stand for the truth will be saved, while those who are liars will be destroyed.'

The leaders and important people who were proud among the people of Shu’ayb (peace be upon him) said: 'We will drive you out of our city O Shu'ayb, you and those with you who believe you, unless you and they return back to your old way of life and worship. Shu‘ayb said in astonishment: 'Should we return to a way of life and religion that we hate because we know what falsehood it is based on?!'

'If we follow what you believe of disbelief and polytheism after we have been saved from it by Allah’s grace, we would have invented a lie against Him. It would not be appropriate or right for us to return to your false religion unless Allah wills us to do so – as we will do whatever He wills. Allah surrounds everything in knowledge, and so He knows what is right for His slaves. Nothing is hidden from Him. We put our trust in Allah alone, so He will make us firm on the right path and protect us from the ways leading to Hell. O our Lord! Judge between us and these disbelieving people with the truth, and help those who hold to the truth and those who are wronged against those who are wrongdoers. You O Lord are the best of Judges.'.

The important people and leaders of his people who refused the call to believe in the Oneness of Allah, warned people against Shu’ayb and his faith, saying: 'O people, if you follow Shu’ayb’s path, leaving the way of life of our ancestors, you would certainly find ruin through doing so.'

So a great earthquake took them; and in the morning they were dead in their homes, fallen on their knees and faces.

Those who rejected Shu’ayb were all destroyed, and it was as if they had never lived in their homes or found enjoyment there.Those who rejected Shu’ayb were the losers, losing themselves and their possessions, whereas those who had faith did not fail in the least, contrary to what those who disbelieved claimed.

Then their prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) turned from them when they were destroyed saying: 'O people! Indeed I had delivered what my Lord had instructed me to deliver to you, and I had given you good advice; but you had not taken my advice, nor followed my guidance, so how then can I grieve for a people who disbelieved in Allah and insisted on disbelief?'

God did not send a prophet to any city, the people of which denied and rejected the truth, except that He tried them with suffering and poverty and illness so that they might humble themselves before God, and leave their pride and disbelief. This was a warning for Quraysh and for all peoples who disbelieve and reject the way of God.

After trying them with suffering and illness Allah improved their situation and turned their suffering into well-being and safety, until they became many and their wealth increased, and they said that the bad and good that they had experienced was a normal part of life and that the same thing had happened to their ancestors before them. They did not recognise that there was a lesson to be learned in the difficulties that occurred to them and that there was a test for them in the good that they were given. Then Allah overtook them suddenly with the punishment, while they were unaware of it and did not expect it.

If the people of the towns and cities which Allah sent His messengers to had believed in what their messengers brought them, and had been mindful of their Lord, leaving their disbelief and disobedience and following His commands, then Allah would have opened the doors of goodness upon them in every way; but they did not believe and were not mindful of Him. Instead they rejected what their prophets came with. So Allah overtook them with the punishment suddenly because of what they had earned through their sins and disobedience.

So do the people who reject the truth in these cities feel safe from the punishment of Allah overcoming them in the night while they are sleeping?

Or do they feel safe from the punishment of Allah overcoming them during the day, mid- morning, while they are amusing themselves forgetfully, busy with the life of this world?

Look at the blessings Allah has given them of strength and abundance, how He gave them as a means of testing them. Do these people who reject the truth among the people of these cities feel safe from Allah’s plan and His faultless arrangement of things? No one feels safe from Allah’s plan except a people who are lost. Yet those who are successful fear His Planning. They do not become amazed and proud because of what Allah has given to them, but rather see His Generosity to them and are thankful to Him.

Is it not clear to those who inherit the earth after the peoples before them were destroyed because of their sins – a people that they do not learn from, but actually copy in behaviour – that if Allah wanted to overcome them for their disobedience He would do so, as He often does, sealing their hearts so that they do not listen to the lesson and are not benefitted by being reminding of such a warning?

These previous nations, of the peoples of Noah, Hūd, Sāliḥ, Lot and Shu’ayb- I relate their narrative to you O Messenger, concerning their rejection of the truth and their stubbornness, and the destruction that befell them, to serve as an example for those who reflect, and a warning for those who take advice. Messengers came to the people of these cities with clear signs of the truth of what they brought, but Allah did not guide them to the truth because of their rejection of it the first time, a just recompense for their rejection despite seeing the clear signs and proofs. In the same way that Allah closed the hearts of the peoples of these cities who rejected their prophets, Allah closes the hearts of those who reject Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), so that they are not guided to faith. In the same way that God sealed the hearts of the peoples of these towns which rejected their prophets, God seals the hearts of those who reject Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, so that they are not guided to faith.

Allah did not find most of the peoples who were sent messengers to be firm and constant in what He commanded – most of them rebelling against Him.

Then Allah sent the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), after these messengers, to Pharaoh and his people with clear miracles showing the truth of what he came with. Yet they only rejected these miracles and disbelieved them. So reflect on what the end of Pharaoh and his people was as a result of their rejection: Allah destroyed them by drowning them, condemning them in this world and in the Afterlife.

And Moses said when Allah sent him to Pharaoh: 'O Pharaoh! I have been sent from the Creator of all creation, the Owner and Sustainer of everything.'

Moses said: 'Since I have been sent from Allah it is only appropriate for me to say the truth about Him. I have brought you a clear proof showing the truth of what I say, proving that I am sent from Allah to you. Release the Children of Israel from the slavery and miserable treatment they have suffered and let them leave with me.'

Pharaoh said: 'If you have brought a sign, as you claim, then show it to me, if you are telling the truth.

So Moses threw his stick and it changed into a great snake, clear for all to see.

Then he drew out his hand from his shirt, near to his chest or under his arm, and it appeared completely white, not because of illness, but radiating brilliantly to all who saw it because of its extreme whiteness.

The notables and leaders said once they witnessed the transformation of the stick and the whiteness of his hand: 'Moses is nothing but a skilled and masterful magician.'

'He intends by this to drive you all out from Egypt through his magic.' So Pharaoh asked his chiefs what they advise him to do.

They said: 'Delay their case, Moses and his brother Aaron, and send people to the cities of Egypt to call all the magicians.'

'They will bring to you every skillful and powerful magician.'

So Pharaoh sent people to call the magicians, and when they came to Pharaoh they asked him if they would have a reward if they were the winners and overcame Moses with their magic.

Pharaoh replied: 'Yes Indeed! You will be given a reward and you would be brought near to me and of those given important positions.'

Due to their pride, they were certain that they would win against Moses. They asked him: 'Choose O Moses if you want to be the first to throw, or if you want us to throw first.'

Trusting in Allah that he would overcome them, Moses was not worried about them. He told them to throw their ropes and sticks. When they threw them they cast a mighty spell over the eyes of the people watching the spectacle, so that things looked different to reality, and the people became awed and frightened.

Allah then inspired Prophet Moses (peace be upon him): 'Throw your stick O Moses!' So he threw it and the stick changed into a snake and swallowed the ropes and sticks the magicians were using instead of real snakes; destroying for the people the illusion that these were crawling snakes.

In this way the truth became clear: proving the truth of what Moses was saying, and showing the falsehood of what the magicians had done.

The magicians were defeated and humiliated by Moses in the assembly.

When the magicians saw the greatness of the power of Allah, and his clear signs, they could only fall down, prostrating to Him.

The magicians exclaimed: 'We believe in the Lord of all of creation.'

He is the Lord of Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them), alone worthy of worship for all people, and the false gods are not worthy of worship.

Pharaoh said threatening them because of their faith in Allah: 'Do you believe in Allah before I have given you permission to do so. This is only a trick you were deceiving people with, and a plot that you and Moses have planned to drive out the people of the city. But soon you will know what the consequences are and what an example I will make of you!'

'I will cut off the right hand and left foot or the left hand and right foot of each of you, and would then crucify you on palm trunks, making an example of you to frighten whoever sees you.'

The magicians replied: 'Indeed we will return to our Lord alone, so we are not scared of what you threaten us with.'

'You are only finding fault in us because we had faith in the signs of our Lord when they came to us through Moses. If this is our crime, then we stand firmly by it.' Then they turned to Allah in prayer: 'O our Lord! Pour upon us patience so that we will be able to stand firmly for the truth and let us die in a state of surrendering in devotion to You, doing as You command, and following Your Messenger.'

The leaders and notables people among Pharaoh’s people urged Pharaoh, provoking him to act against Moses and the believers who were with him. They said: 'Will you leave Moses and his people to spread corruption in the land, abandoning you and your gods, and calling to the worship of Allah alone?' Pharaoh said: 'We will kill the sons of the Children of Israel, and let their women live to serve us, and we have complete power over them.'

Moses advised his people: 'O people, ask for the help of Allah alone to remove hardship from you and to bring good, and be patient with the trial we have being given. For indeed the earth belongs to Allah alone, and it does not belong to Pharaoh or anyone else to do as they please in it. Rather, Allah, according to His will, gives turns to different people to have authority in the land, but the good end on earth is for those who have faith, follow the commands of their Lord and stay away from what He has prohibited – they will achieve the good end despite the tests and trials they are given.'

The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'We suffered at the hands of Pharaoh before you came to us and after you have come, with Pharaoh killing our sons and letting our women live.' Moses (peace be upon him) advised them giving them hope of release from their trial: 'It may be that Allah might destroy your enemy, Pharaoh and his people, and establish you on the earth after them, seeing whether you behave with thankfulness or ingratitude.'

And indeed I gave the people of Pharaoh a number of years of drought and famine, testing them with a shortage of fruits and crops, so that they might reflect and realise that this was a punishment from Allah because of their disbelief, and so they might repent to Him.

Whenever the people of Pharaoh experienced wealth, healthy yields, and a thriving economy, they said: 'We have been given this because we deserve it.' But if a misfortune came upon them, such as a drought or famine, diseases, and other hardships, they would blame their bad fortune on Moses and the Children of Israel who were with him. However, the misfortunes happened to them by the decree and permission of Allah, and neither they nor Moses (peace be upon him) had any part in the affair, apart from Moses's supplications against them. But most of them do not know, saying what happens is due to other things, rather than Allah’s decree.

The people of Pharaoh said to Moses (peace be upon them), out of their stubbornness against the truth: 'Whatever sign or evidence you bring to us and whatever proof of the falsehood of own beliefs you show us, we will not believe you. '

As a punishment for their rejection and stubbornness, I sent floods of water that destroyed their crops and fruits; locusts and weevils that ate their crops and harvests;frogs which filled their dishes and containers, ruining their food, and disturbing their sleep; and turning the water in their wells and rivers into blood. All these were sent as clear and distinct signs, one after another. Despite all of these torments, they were too proud to have faith in Allah or to believe in what Moses (peace be upon him) brought. They were a people who committed wrongs, who would not give up falsehood, and would not be guided to the truth.

When these torments came upon them, they asked Moses (peace be upon him): 'O Moses, call upon your Lord, because of what He has given you of prophethood and Allah’s promise to you that He will remove the torment for our turning to Him, to remove from us the torment, for then we will certainly believe in you, and will send the Children of Israel with you, releasing them from captivity.'

But when Allah removed the torment from them for a set time – before they were destroyed through drowning – they went back on their word and did not believe him or send the Israelites with him, remaining firm on their disbelief, and not allowing the Israelites to go with Moses (peace be upon him).

So when the appointed time came for their destruction, I unleashed My punishment on them and drowned them in the sea because of their rejection of the signs of Allah and because they turned away from the truth about which there was no doubt.

I made the Children of Israel, who had been humiliated by Pharaoh and his people, inherit the eastern areas of the land and the western areas of it (the lands of the Levant). Allah blessed this land, making it produce the best crops and fruits. So the good word of your Lord was fulfilled O Messenger where Allah says, ‘I wished to favour those who were weak in the earth, and to make them leaders and inheritors’ (Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ: 5). So God established them in the land because of their patience in the face of the harm they had suffered from Pharaoh and his people, and God destroyed the agriculture and buildings of Pharaoh, and the palaces they had constructed.

And I made the Children of Israel cross the sea when Moses hit it with his stick and it parted. They passed a people who were worshipping idols, which they worshipped instead of Allah. The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'O Moses, make us an idol to worship as these people have idols to worship.' Moses said: 'You are a people who are ignorant of the rights that are due to Allah alone concerning the belief in His Oneness and what is due to Him of reverence, and what is inappropriate to ascribe to Him of polytheism and the like.'

'These people who are worshipping idols are ruined, and all of their works and devotion is false and worthless because they are worshipping other than Allah.'

Moses said: 'How can I seek for you a god other than the one true God for you to worship, when you have already seen His great signs, and when He has preferred you over all the nations of your time, granting you the destruction of your enemy, and making you leaders in the land and establishing you in it?'

And remember O Children of Israel, when I saved you from the humiliation of Pharaoh and his people, who were making you suffer greatly, killing your sons and letting your women live to serve them. Being saved from Pharaoh and his people was a great test from your Lord, to see if you would be thankful.

And Allah appointed for Moses a place of meeting of thirty nights in order to speak with him, and then He perfected it by adding ten more, so that there were forty nights all together. Moses told his brother Aaron, when he was leaving for this retreat alone with His Lord: 'O Aaron, take my place as leader among my people, and do what is right, governing them wisely and treating them kindly, and not following the path of those who cause corruption, nor committing disobedience, nor helping the wrongdoers.'

When Moses came to meet his Lord for the appointment he had been assigned, which was a full forty nights, and his Lord spoke to him giving him instructions and prohibitions and so on, Moses desired to see his Lord, so he asked to see Him. Allah the Exalted replied: 'You will not see Me in the life of this world, because you will not be able to endure that, but look instead at the mountain when I reveal Myself to it, if it remains in its place and is not affected then You will be able to see Me; but if it becomes flattened, then you will not be able to see Me in the life of this world.' Then when Allah revealed Himself to the mountain it crumbled to dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. When he recovered from his unconsciousness, he said: 'I declare Your Perfection O Lord, and that You are far above any deficiency being ascribed to You, and I turn to You asking for forgiveness for having asked to see You in this world, and I am the first of my people to believe.'

Allah told Moses: 'O Moses, I have chosen you and preferred you over other people through the message which I have sent you with, and by My speaking to you directly. Take then the great honour which I have given you, and be among those who are thankful to Allah for such a great gift.'

Allah wrote for Moses in the Tablets everything that the Israelites would need for their spiritual and worldly affairs – instruction for those who would be instructed and an explanation of laws that needed explanation. He told Moses to take hold of them firmly and with determination, and to instruct his people, the Israelites, to take hold of the most excellent instructions that they contained, with the promise of the greatest reward for doing what they were instructed in the most perfect way, and to do so with patience and forgiveness. Allah told Moses that He would show them the destiny of those who went against His commands and who disobeyed Him, and the ruin and loss that they would receive as a result.

Those who are unjustly proud towards the servants of Allah and the truth will be turned away by Allah from thinking about His signs on the horizons and within themselves and from understanding His verses even if they see every sign, they will not believe in them, because of their rejection of these signs and their turning away from them, and for opposing Allah and His Messenger. If they see the path of truth which leads to the pleasure of Allah, they do not follow it, and do not like it; and if they see the way of misguidance and error leading to Allah’s displeasure, they follow it. This only happens to them because they rejected the great signs and verses of Allah proving the truth of what the messengers came with, and did not pay any attention to them.

Those who rejected the signs of Allah proving the truth of the messengers, and denied that they would meet with Allah on the Day of Judgement, their good actions will come to nothing, because they were not based on faith; and they will be repaid for their disbelief in Allah and for associating partners with Allah – the repayment for which is living eternally in the fire of Hell.

After Moses had gone to meet with his Lord, his people took to worshipping a statue of a calf made from their ornaments, not possessing any soul, but which made a sound. Did they not know that this calf could not speak to them or guide them to any good way, material or spiritual, and that it could not bring anything of benefit to them or remove anything harmful from them? But they took to worshipping it and wronged themselves by doing so.

When they regretted their actions and did not know how to make-up for their wrongdoing, realising that they had gone astray from the straight path by worshipping the calf besides to Allah, they said: 'If our Lord does not have mercy on us, by enabling us to do as He instructed, and if He does not forgive us for having worshipped the calf, then we would certainly be among the losers in the life of this world and in the Afterlife.'

Moses returned to his people from his meeting with His Lord full of anger and sadness upon finding them worshipping the calf. He said: 'What an evil condition you have fallen into after me O people, which leads only to ruin and misery! Were you tired of waiting for the appointed time of your Lord assigned for me – the forty nights – so you started to worship the calf!' Moses threw the Tablets down because of his extreme anger and sadness, and took his brother Aaron by the head and beard and dragged him, because he had been with them and had not been able to stop them from worshipping the calf. Aaron said to his brother Moses: 'O son of my mother, indeed the people considered me to be weak, not respecting me, and they had almost killed me; so do not punish me in a way that would make my enemies rejoice, and do not to include me out of your anger among the people who had done wrong by worshipping other than Allah.'

Moses said supplicating to his Lord: 'O Lord, forgive me and me brother Aaron, and enter us into Your Mercy, surrounding us with it, for You are to us the most Merciful of those who have mercy.'

Without doubt, those who worshipped the calf will receive their Lord’s anger, and will have humiliation in this life, for displeasing their Lord and not acting according to His Command. That is how Allah rewards those who invent lies about Allah.

Those who do wrong by associating others with Allah and committing sins, and then repent out of sincere faith, repenting from polytheism to having faith in Him alone, and repenting from disobedience to doing good actions, giving up all kinds of sins whilst seeking His forgiveness-Allah will be forgiving and merciful to them, erasing and overlooking what they have done.

When the anger of Moses (peace be upon him) had subsided and he calmed down, he picked up the Tablets, which he had thrown down in anger. These Tablets contained guidance and an explanation of the truth; a mercy for those who stand in fear of their Lord, and are mindful of His consequences.

Moses chose seventy of the best men among his people to ask for forgiveness for what the foolish among them had done in worshipping the calf. Allah appointed a time and place for them, though when they reached there they became bold and asked Moses to let them see Allah with their eyes. So an earthquake seized them, and they were struck down and killed by the strength of it. So Moses begged his Lord, saying: 'O Lord, if You had willed to destroy them and myself before they had come to You, You could have done so. Would You destroy us because of what the foolish amongst us have done. What my people have done in worshipping the calf, was only a trial and test by which You led astray whom You willed, and guided whom you willed. You are our Protector, so forgive us our sins, and have mercy on us, for You are the best of those who forgive and overlook.'

' And make us among those You have favoured with Your blessings and well-being, enabling us to do good works. And make us from among Your righteous servants for whom You have prepared Paradise. Indeed we turn to You in repentance, admitting our mistakes.' Allah said: 'I give My punishment to whom I will; those who do the actions leading to misery, and My Mercy surrounds all things in this world. There is no created being or object that My Mercy has not reached, immersed in My Grace and Kindness. I will decree My Mercy in the Afterlife for those who are mindful of Me, following what I instruct and staying away from what I have prohibited, giving charity from their wealth as they have been ordered, and who have faith in My signs.'

The ones just described are those who follow Muhammad (peace be upon him), the illiterate prophet who cannot read or write, and who is only inspired by His Lord. The name and description of the Prophet and what is revealed to him is to be found in the Torah, revealed to Moses (peace be upon him), and the Gospel, revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him). Muhammad instructed people to that which is good and right, and forbade those things that sound minds, those with a sound nature, know to be bad: allowing them the good food and drink and relationships which are not harmful, and making unlawful those things which are bad. He also removed the difficult commandments revealed as obligations to previous communities, such as having to kill the one who killed someone else accidentaly. Those who believed in him from among the Israelites and others, respecting and honouring him and helping him against the disbelievers who were his enemies, following the Qur’ān which was revealed to him, they are the successful ones who will attain what they desire and attain safety from what they fear.

Allah tells the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inform people that he is the messenger of Allah to them all, both Arabs and non-Arabs. Allah alone controls the heavens and the earth. There is nothing worthy of worship other than Him, glory be to Him. He brings the dead to life, and causes what is alive to die. People should have faith in Allah and in Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Prophet, His Messenger, who cannot read or write, and who came only with what His Lord revealed to him, in order to guide them to what is good for them in this world and in the Afterlife.

There is a group from the people of Moses amongst the Israelites who stand for the truth, and guide people to it, and who are just in their rulings between people through it.

Allah divided the Israelites into twelve tribes. Then, when his people were asking him to call upon Allah to give them water, He inspired Moses to hit the stone with his stick. Moses hit it and twelve springs gushed out of it, which was the same number as the number of tribes. Each of the tribes knew which one was their own drinking place, which none of the other tribes shared with them. Allah shaded them with clouds which followed them where they moved and stopped with them. He also sent them manna, which was similar like gum with a sweet taste, and quails, or a bird similar to quails, and told them to eat of the good things He had provided for them. They did not wrong Allah through their disobedience and ingratitude for the blessings they were given, not appreciating them as they should have been, but they wronged themselves, bringing themselves to ruin through going against the commands of Allah and not acknowledging His blessings to them.

Remember, O Messenger, when Allah told the Israelites to enter Jerusalem, and to eat from any of the fruits of the town, whenever they wished, and to ask Allah to remove their disobedience from them. He told them to enter the gate in humility, and that He would forgive them for their mistakes and would increase those who do good in the good things of this world and of the Afterlife.

But the wrongdoers among them changed the words they were told to say, and said ‘A grain in a rite’, instead of asking for forgiveness, as they had been instructed to; and they changed what they had been told to do by entering whilst dragging themselves on their rears, rather than entering in humility to Allah, lowering their heads. So Allah sent them a punishment from the heaven because of their disobedience.

Ask the Jews about how Allah punished some of the Israelites. Remind them of the story of the town which was near to the sea where they used to overstep the limits of Allah: fishing on the Sabbath after they had been forbidden from doing so. Allah tested them by making the fish come to them so that they could see them clearly on the surface of the sea on Saturday, and then making them disappear from view during the rest of the week. Allah gave them this trial because of their disobedience and wrongdoing. So eventually they decided to fish by setting up their nets thereby using a trick, so that the fish would fall into them on Saturday and they could take them and eat them on Sunday.

Mention, O Messenger, when a group among them forbade them from doing what was wrong, cautioning them against it. Another group remarked: 'Why are you advising those whom Allah is going to destroy in this world because of their disobedience, or punish with a firm punishment on the Day of Judgement?' Those advising replied: 'This advising of ours is to be free from blame before Allah, through doing what He commanded us to do of instructing what is right and forbidding what is wrong, so that He would not take us to account for not doing so; and, perhaps, those we advise might benefit from the advice, and give up their disobedience.'

When the wrongdoers turned away from what those who advised them had reminded them of, and they would not give up their disobedience, Allah saved the group which had forbidden disobedience from the punishment, and afflicted those who transgressed the limits by fishing on the Saturday with a firm punishment, because they were not obedient to Allah and persisted in their rebellion.

When they overstepped the limits, rebelling against Allah out of pride and stubbornness, and they would not be advised, Allah told them: 'O you disobedient ones! Be you monkeys, humiliated!' So they became what He willed, because when He wills something He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is.

Mention, O Messenger, when Allah declared in clear terms that He would put over the Jews those who would humiliate and humble them in this life until the Day of Judgement. Your Lord is quick with the punishment for those who go against Him, sometimes punishing them in the worldly life. Yet He is Forgiving to whoever repents to Him from among His servants, and is Merciful to them.

And I broke and separated them up in the earth, dividing them into communities, after they had been united. Among them were those who were righteous and who upheld the rights of Allah and the rights of His creatures; among them were those who were moderate; and among them were those who were excessive in their disobedience. Allah tested them with ease and difficulty, so that they might return from what they were doing.

Then an evil people followed after these people, receiving the Torah from those who came before them. They read it but did not act according to what was in it, taking the miserable goods of this life as a bribe to distort the scripture of Allah; and they gave judgements which were not according to what was revealed in the scripture, convincing themselves that Allah would forgive them their sins. If some petty worldly gain should come their way, they would take it every time. Did Allah not make promises and contracts with these people that they would not say anything about Allah except the truth, without distorting or changing anything? Their failure to act according to what was in the scripture was not due to ignorance, but was in full knowledge, because they had studied what was in the scripture and knew it, which meant that their disobedience was greater. Yet the home of the Afterlife and its eternal bliss is far better than any passing gain that they may have been given as a bribe. It is for those who are Mindful, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited. Do those who take these insignificant goods not understand that what Allah has prepared for those who are mindful in the Afterlife is far better and more lasting?

Those who hold tightly to the scripture and act according to it, establishing the prayer as it should be established and in its set times, Allah will reward their actions – Allah does not allow the reward of those who act well to be lost.

Mention, O Muhammad, when Allah raised the mountain above the Israelites when they refused to accept what was in the Torah. Then the mountain became like a cloud, casting a shadow over them, and they were sure it would fall upon them. They were told to firmly and seriously hold onto what Allah had revealed to them, and to remember the rulings that He had made law for them, and not to forget this, so that they might be Mindful.

Mention, O Muhammad, when your Lord took from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them acknowledge, bearing witness to His lordship, making it part of their innate nature to acknowledge that He created them and that He is their Lord. He said to them, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness’. Allah said: 'I asked you this question so that you would not deny the proofs of Allah on the Day of Judgement, saying that you did not have any knowledge of it.

'Lest you might say that your ancestors were the ones who broke the promise, taking others as partners with Allah, and that you were just following them. In this way, you would say: 'O our Lord! Will You destroy us for what our ancestors did, making our actions worthless because of taking others as partners with You?! Indeed we carry no sin because we were just following our ancestors and had no knowledge.'

So just as I made clear the signs and evidences for the previous nations, I make clear the lessons for these people (Quraish) so that they might repent from worshiping others as partners with Allah to believing in Him alone and worshipping Him alone, as they had agreed aforetime before they broke their promise.

Recite to the Israelites the news of the man from among them who Allah gave His signs to, so that he knew and understood the truth which they directed him to. But he did not act according to them, leaving them and removing himself away from them, so that Satan became his close companion, and he became one of those who go astray and are ruined, after he had been one of those who were rightly-guided and on the path to being saved.

If Allah had desired, He would have made this person benefit through these signs, enabling him to act according to them, so that he would be raised up in this world and in the next. But he chose what led to his failure, being attracted to the desires of the worldly life, and preferring them to the Afterlife. His example in his extreme greed for this world is like the example of a dog, which pants with its tongue constantly, whether it is resting or whether it is chased away. This example is the example of the people who are astray because of rejecting Allah’s signs. So relate the stories to them O Messenger so that they may think and reject their denial of the truth and their misguidance.

Is there anything worse than a people who reject Allah’s signs and proofs, not believing them, wronging themselves through doing so and only gaining their own ruin.

Whoever Allah allows to be guided to the right path is truly guided, because they chose the path of their Lord; and whoever Allah does not lead to His path, sending them away from it because of their deviation and bad actions, those are the true losers, who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Judgment – is that not complete loss?

And I made for the Hellfire, many people from Humankind and the Jinn, because of My Knowledge that they would do the actions of the people of Hell. They have hearts by which they do not understand what will benefit them and what will harm them; eyes which they do not use to see the signs of Allah within themselves and upon the horizons, so that they can learn from them; and they have ears which they do not use to listen to the verses of Allah, so that they might reflect over them. Such people resemble cattle in their lack of sense – rather, they are even more astray. They are oblivious to faith in Allah and the Last day.

To Allah, glory be to Him, belongs the most beautiful names which show His majesty and perfection. So use them to call on Allah when you ask for whatever you wish for. Also leave those who turn away from the truth of these names by assigning them to false dieties, or denying them, or distorting their meanings. Allah will repay those who do this with a painful punishment.

Among those Allah created are a nation which is guided by the truth, calling others to it so that they are also guided, and through the truth they are just in their judgement. They are the leaders of guidance whom Allah blessed with faith and good works.

Those who deny My signs, not having faith in them and rejecting them, I will continue to provide for them in the worldly life, not to honour them, but to lead them on gradually until they go further astray. Then they will be overtaken by the punishment when they do not expect it.

I delay the punishment of such people until they think they will not receive a punishment, so they keep increasing in their rejection and disbelief, thus their punishment also increases. My Planning is Strong-I outwardly display to them Kindness, but I intend for them to be forsaken.

Do those who reject the signs of Allah and His Messenger not think about things? If they used their minds it would be clear to them that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is not crazy. He is a messenger from Allah, Who sent him to give a clear warning about the punishment of Allah.

Do these people learn nothing from seeing Allah’s control of the heavens and the earth, and all the animals and plants and other things that Allah created in them, and their own life spans, the end of which may be near, so that they might repent to Allah before the time has gone? If they do not have faith in the Qur’ān and the promises it contains, what other book will they believe in?

Whoever Allah does not guide to the truth, sending them away from the right path, then there is no guide to direct them back to guidance. Allah leaves them in their misguidance and disbelief, wandering blindly, not being guided to anything that will ultimately benefit.

Those who reject the truth and proud ask you about the Hour, asking when its appointed time is. Say to them O Muhammad: 'I do not have knowledge of it, nor anyone else; but Allah alone has knowledge of it. Only Allah will reveal its decreed time. Its appearance is hidden from all of those in the heavens and earth, and it will only come upon them unexpectedly.' They ask you O Muhammad about the Hour as if you are eager to know it, not realising that you did not ask about it because of your knowledge of your Lord. Say to them O Muhammad: 'The knowledge of the Hour is with Allah alone, but most people do not know this.'

Say to them O Muhammad: 'I do not have the ability to bring good to myself, or to remove any harm from myself, except by Allah’s will. The dominion of these things belongs to Allah alone, and I only know what Allah taught me. I do not know the unseen, because if I did, I would have used what I know to serve my own interests, and to protect myself from misfortune, due to knowing about things before they happened. I am only a messenger from Allah, warning of a painful punishment, and bringing good news of Allah’s generous reward for a people who have faith, believing that I am a messenger from Him, and in what was revealed to me.'

It is He who created you from one soul, Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), and created from Adam (peace be upon him) his wife, Eve, creating her from his rib, so he would be close friends with her, and find peace with her. When he had relations with her she became pregnant with a light load, not noticed because it is at the beginning of the pregnancy. A woman continues with the pregnancy going about things without finding it heavy, until she becomes heavy with it when it has grown in her belly, the two of them call upon their Lord, saying: 'O our Lord, if You grant us a healthy child, we will be thankful for Your blessings.'

But when Allah responds to their prayer, and gives them a healthy child as they asked, they ascribe partners to Allah in what He gave to them when Allah is far above having any partner, and is alone in His divinity.

Do they consider these idols and other things to be partners with Allah being worthy of worship, when they know that these idols create nothing. Rather, they were created themselves, so how can they consider them to be partners with Allah in divinity?

These things that are worshipped instead of Allah cannot help those who worship them, and cannot even help themselves, so worshipping them is clearly foolish and ignorant.

And If you call these idols which you take as gods to guidance, they will not respond to what you call them to, nor can they follow you. It is the same whether you call them, or keep silent, because they are just objects, and are not conscious: they do not hear, and they cannot speak.

Those you call upon instead of Allah were created by Allah, and belong to Him, so they are the same as you in that way, although you are better in that you are living, and are able to speak and walk, and hear and see, while your idols are not so. Call on them and let them respond to you if you are telling the truth in what you say about them.

Do these idols which they take as gods have feet to walk with, or hands to act with and strike? Or do they have eyes to see with, or ears to hear with? If they are incapable of doing these things, how can you worship them, hoping for benefit from them, or to protect yourself from harm? Say O Messenger: 'Call upon your partners all together, and plot whatever you will against me, and give me no respite.'

Truly, my protector is Allah, Who keeps me safe, so that I need no one besides Him. I fear nothing from your idols, because Allah sent down the Book as a guidance to people; and it is He Who protects those who do good among His creation, keeping them safe and helping them.

Those you call upon O idolators from amongst these idols, are not able to help you, and are not able to help themselves. For they are utterly incapable, unable to do anything. So how can you call upon them instead of calling upon Allah?

If you call your idols which you worship instead of Allah to the right path and steadfastness, they will not hear you calling them. You see them facing you with painted eyes, objects that cannot see! For they used to make statues in the form of people and animals, with hands, feet and eyes, but they were just objects, inanimate and unable to move.

Accept from people O Messenger what they are able to do, the actions and conduct that is easy for them, and do not require them to do things that are too difficult for them, because that will drive them away. Instruct them to speak in a beautiful way and to do good actions, and turn away from those who are foolish and do not face them in their ignorance, returning like for like. Whoever harms you, do not harm them; and whoever denies you something, do not deny them.

And If you feel that Satan is bringing you an evil suggestion or stopping you from doing good, then ask Allah for protection and seek refuge with Him. He hears whatever you say, and is aware of you when you seek protection, and He will protect you from him.

Those who are mindful of Allah, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited, when an evil suggestion comes to them from Satan to do something wrong, they remember the might of Allah and His punishment for the wrongdoers and His reward for those who do good. They turn away from their disobedience, turning to Allah asking for forgiveness, so that they do the right thing, seeing clearly what they were doing wrong, and hold back from doing it.

The brothers of the satans, who commit immorality and disbelieve, are drawn by the satans into greater error, committing sin after sin. They do not stop in their efforts: neither the satans with their misguidance nor those who are immoral and who follow them, committing evil.

And If you O Messenger come with a sign, they reject it and turn away from it; and if you do not come to them with a sign, they ask why he did not produce one. Say to them O Messenger: 'It is not up to me to just come with a sign. Rather, I only follow what was revealed to me from Allah: the Qur’ān which I recite to you, an evidence and proof from Allah your Creator, the arranger of your lives, a guidance and mercy for the believers among His creation. As for those who do not have faith, then they are lost and wretched.'

When the Qur’ān is recited, listen to it being recited: do not talk, and do not busy yourself with something else, so that Allah may have mercy on you.

And remember Allah your Lord, humbly, with lowliness before Him, and with fear and awe. Call upon him in a moderate manner, not too loudly, at the beginning and end of the day, because of the special qualities of these times, and do not be among those who neglect the remembrance of Allah the Exalted.

The angels who are with your Lord are never too proud to worship Him, Glory be to Him. Rather, they devote themselves to worship with dedication, never tiring, glorifying Him day and night, and prostrating to Him.

Your Companions ask you O Messenger about the gains of war and how to distribute it, and who it should be for. Say to them: 'The gains of war are for Allah and His Messenger to distribute, and it is only incumbent on you to accept and comply in the matter, so be mindful of Allah, following what He instructed and staying away from what He had prohibited, correct disagreements between yourselves and mend bad relations, and develop good terms with each other through treating each other in a good way and forgiving each other. Follow Allah and His Messenger if you are true believers, for surely faith leads to doing good and staying away from disobedience.' This matter came up after the Battle of Badr.

The true believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel awe of Him in their hearts, which make them do good actions. When the verses of Allah are read to them they reflect on them and it increases their faith, and they rely on Allah alone to bring them what is in their interests and to protect them from what is bad for them.

Those who regularly establish the prayer, as it should be established, and in its set times, and who spend from what Allah has provided-on what is obligatory as well as what is recommended.

Such people are true believers, combining the qualities of inner faith and outer surrender. Their reward is in having a high rank with their Lord, forgiveness for their disobedience, and a generous provision, which is the bliss that Allah has prepared for them.

Just as Allah took away the decision about the division of the gains of war from the Companions after their disagreement about how to distribute it, and made the decision for Himself and His Messenger (peace be upon him), He also instructed the Messenger (peace be upon him), through inspiration, to go out from Medina to meet the idol worshippers, although a group of the believers disliked this.

This group of the believers argued with the Messenger about fighting the idolaters, after it had been made clear to them that it had to happen, as if they were being driven to death, looking at it with open eyes. Their reaction was due to their strong dislike of going out to fight, because they were not prepared or ready for it.

Allah reminds the believers who were arguing about when Allah promised them success over one of the groups of the idolaters: either the caravan with its sizeable wealth, so that they could take its bounty, or a group of fighters whom they would encounter and achieve victory over them; but they had wanted it to be the caravan, as this would be easy to take without having to fight. Yet Allah willed for the truth to be established through commanding them to fight, to kill the leaders of the idolaters, and to capture many of them so that the strength of Islam would become clear.

This occurred so that Allah may establish the truth by making Islam and its people victorious, and for Him to make clear the error of falsehood, even if the idolaters disliked this.

Remember the day of Badr, when the Muslims asked for help from Allah for victory over their enemies, and Allah responded to them, reinforcing and helping them with a thousand angels, following one after another.

Allah made the reinforcement of the Muslims with angels a form of good news for them: that He was helping them against their enemies, reassuring their hearts that they would have victory over them. Victory does not come because of having great numbers of fighters, or having large amounts of weapons and preparations; rather, it comes only from Allah, Glory be to Him. Allah is Mighty in His power, no one has power over Him, and He is Wise in His law and His decree.

And remember O believers when Allah made you fall asleep on that occasion, giving you a feeling of safety and peace from the fear you had of your enemy. He sent down rain from the sky on you, to purify you, and to remove the evil suggestions of Satan from you and to make your hearts strong, so you would be patient when you met the enemy in battle. It also made your feet firm, by making the sandy ground hard so that your feet would not sink and slip on it.

Remember O Prophet when Allah inspired the angels, who He reinforced the believers with in the Battle of Badr, telling the angels: I am with you. aiding you with help and support, so strengthen the determination of the believers in fighting their enemy. I will cast great fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Strike then the necks of the disbelievers to kill them and hit their joints and limbs to hinder them from fighting.

What happened to the disbelievers, when they were killed and their limbs were struck, was because they went against Allah and His Messenger. They did not follow what they were instructed to do, and did not stop doing what they were told not to do. Those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, Allah is firm with the punishment for them in this world, with death and capture, and in the Afterlife, with the fire of Hell.

That is the punishment for you, O you who oppose Allah and His Messenger, so taste it, for it has been hastened to you in the life of this world. In the Afterlife, you will have the punishment of the fire of Hell if you die stubbornly denying the truth.

O you who believe in Allah and who follow His Messenger, if you meet the idolaters approaching them in battle, then do not turn your backs to them and run away; but be patient when facing them, and firm when you meet, because Allah is with you with His help and support.

And whoever turns their back running away- unless they are withdrawing as a strategy with the intention of turning back to fight, or doing it to join a group of Muslims in order to help them-then certainly, he will earn the anger of Allah, and his place in the Hereafter will be Hell; what a miserable destination and final destiny!

For you did not O believers, kill the idolaters on the day of Badr because of your power and might, but rather Allah supported you in that. And you O Prophet did not throw sand at the idolaters, rather it was Allah, Who made what you throw reach them. Allah tested the believers by blessing them with victory over their enemies, despite their small numbers of fighters and weapons, so that they might be thankful to Him. Indeed Allah listens to your prayers and what you say, and He knows what you do, and what is best for you.

The killing of the idolaters, your throwing, so that they were defeated, as well as Allah’s kindness to the believers giving them victory over their enemy, was all from Allah. Allah makes weak the plans of those who disbelieve and who plot against Islam.

If you ask O idolaters, for the punishment and might of Allah to fall upon the wrongdoers who overstep the limits, then Allah has already made what you asked afflict you, sending down on you what was a lesson for you and for the mindful. If you stop asking for this it would be better for you, so that He might give you time, not giving you what you deserve immediately. But if you return to asking for a judgement and fighting the believers, Allah would also return by afflicting you with punishment and helping the believers. Your people and helpers would not be of any good to you, even if they are many and well prepared and the believers were few in number. Allah is with the believers, helping and supporting them, and whomever Allah assists, then no one will be able to defeat them.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, obey Allah and His Messenger, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited, not turning away from Him or going against His laws, and doing what He has forbidden especially whilst you are listening to the verses of Allah being recited to you.

And do not be O you believers, like the hypocrites and idolators who when the verses of Allah are recited to them, say that they have heard the Qur’ān that has been recited to them, when they have not listened in a reflective way, learning from it so that they would benefit from what they heard.

The worst of creatures on the face of the earth in the sight of Allah are those who are deaf to the truth, not listening to it and accepting it; and dumb, not acknowledging the truth or calling to it, because they do not understand what Allah instructs or forbids.

If Allah knew that there was good in these idolaters who reject the truth, He would have made them listen in a way that was beneficial to them, so that they would understand the proof and evidence; but He knows that there is no good in them, and that if He made them hear, they would still turn away stubbornly, rejecting what they heard.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, respond to Allah and His Messenger, being dedicated to the instructions and staying away from what is prohibited, since their is life for you in that. And be aware that Allah has power over everything, and He has power over you; so He is able to hinder you from following the truth after you had rejected it. So you should hurry to comply without delay, and be mindful that you will be gathered to Allah alone on the Day of Judgement, and will be rewarded for the actions that you did in this world.

Beware of suffering that does not only reach those who do wrong among you, but reaches you and others as well. This is when disobedience becomes widespread and is not prevented. Be sure that Allah is strong with the punishment for those who go against Him, so beware of opposing Him.

Remember when the believers were in Makkah, and they were few, and the people of Makkah considered them to be weak and overpowered them. They were scared that their enemies would capture them; but Allah brought them together to a safe place, which was Medina, and made them strong, helping them against their enemies on the battlefields, for example at Badr, and giving them good things, among them the war gains they got from their enemies. This was all so that they might be thankful to Allah for His blessings, that He might increase them, and for them not to be ungrateful so that He removes the blessings from them and punishes them.

O you who believe in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not betray Allah and His Messenger by disobeying the commands and failing to stay away from the prohibitions. You must not knowingly betray your trusts, such as debts and so on.

Be aware O believers that your wealth and children are a test for you, and your conduct with them may prevent you from performing good actions for your Afterlife, or lead to betraying your trusts. Know that with Allah is a great reward, so be careful not to lose this reward because of becoming engrossed with them, and you cheating the people because of them.

O you who believe in Allah and His messengers, know that if you are Mindful, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited, He will give you the ability to discriminate between truth and falsehood, so you will not be confused as regards to them, and He will erase from you the evil you have committed, and forgive your sins. To Allah belongs immense bounty, and from His great bounty is His Paradise which He has prepared for those who are Mindful among His creation.

Remember, O Messenger, when the idolaters joined forces against you, plotting to kill or imprison you, or to drive you out of your homeland to another place. They plotted, and Allah turned their plot upon themselves, and Allah plans, and He is the best of planners.

If Allah’s words are recited to them, they say – stubborn against the truth, considering themselves above it, and disbelieving – that they have heard something similar before, and that if they wanted to say something similar to the Qur’ān they could, saying that the Qur’ān is just the fables of earlier peoples.

Remember when the idolaters said to Allah that if what Muhammad brought was true, then He should rain rocks down from the sky to destroy them, or bring them a painful punishment. They said this going to extremes in their denial and rejection.

But Allah would not punish your nation O Muhammad, with a punishment that destroyed them while you are living among them, for you living among them keeps them safe from this punishment. And Allah would not punish them as long as they asked Him for forgiveness for their sins.

What prevents them being punished when they have unjustly stopped people from performing both the circling (ţawāf) and the prayer in the Sacred Mosque – actions deserving of punishment? The idolaters are not Allah’s allies. The allies of Allah are only those who are mindful of Him by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. Most of the idolaters do not know this, as they claim they are Allah’s allies when they are not.

The prayer of the idolaters at the Sacred Mosque was nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste, O idolaters, the punishment of being killed or taken prisoner on the day of Badr because of your disbelief in Allah and rejection of His Messenger.

Disbelievers in Allah spend their wealth to prevent people from Allah’s religion, but they will not achieve their goal. The end result of their spending of wealth in this way will be sadness, because they will lose their wealth and fail in their goal; and then they will be defeated by the believers. Disbelievers in Allah will be driven to Hell on the Day of Judgement and will enter it to live there eternally.

Disbelievers who spend their wealth to prevent people from the path of Allah will be driven to the fire of Hell, so that Allah may isolate the wicked group of disbelievers from the pure group of believers, and so that He may place bad people, actions and wealth on top of one another in a pile and place them in the fire of Hell. They are the losers, because they will lose their souls and their families on the Day of Judgement.

Say, O Messenger, to those of your people who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger that if they stop disbelieving in Allah and His Messenger and preventing the believers from Allah’s path, then Allah will forgive their past sins, because Islam wipes out what is before it; but if they return to their disbelief, then Allah’s way of dealing with earlier people has already come as a warning: when they rejected and continued in their disbelief, He swiftly punished them.

O believers, fight your disbelieving enemies until there is no more idolatry or Muslims being stopped from Allah’s religion, when religion and obedience is for Allah alone without any partner being put alongside Him. If the disbelievers stop their idolatry and preventing Muslims from Allah’s religion, then leave them, because Allah sees what they do and nothing is hidden from Him.

If they turn away from the order to leave disbelief and preventing others from Allah’s religion, then be certain, O believers, that Allah will help you against them. What an excellent protector He is for the one He protects, and what an excellent helper He is for the one He helps! Whoever He protects will be successful and whoever He helps will be victorious.

Know, O believers, that whatever you take by force from the disbelievers when striving in Allah’s path shall be divided into five. Four-fifths shall be distributed to those who strove in Allah’s path and the remaining fifth shall be further divided into five portions and distributed equally between the following: Allah and His Messenger, to be spent on the general expenses of the Muslims; the relatives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from the Children of Hāshim and the Children of Al-Muţţalib; orphans; the poor and destitute; and travellers who are stranded. Obey this if you have faith in Allah and what He revealed to His servant, Muhammad (peace be upon him), on the day of the Battle of Badr, when Allah made a clear distinction between truth and falsehood by giving you victory over your enemies.

Remember, O believers, when you were on the near side of the valley that was facing Medina, the idolaters were on the far side that was facing Makkah and the caravan was at a spot lower than you facing the Red Sea. If you and the idolaters made an appointment with each other to meet at Badr, neither of you would have kept to it: your lack of numbers as compared to your enemy would have kept you back, and the fear of facing Allah’s Messenger would have kept them back. But Allah, may He be glorified, gathered you at Badr without an appointment, so that He may carry out a matter that was already determined: the victory of the believers and the defeat of the disbelievers – bringing honour to His religion and humiliation to idolatry. This was so that those who died from amongst them would die after evidence was established by the believers’ victory against them, despite their lack of numbers and preparation, and so that those who lived would live with clear evidences that Allah made obvious to them, and no one would have any evidence against Allah that they could use as an argument. Allah hears the statements of everyone and knows their actions. Nothing is hidden from Him and He will repay them for that.

Remember, O Messenger, Allah’s favour upon you, and upon the believers, when He showed you a dream in which the idolaters were few in number. You informed the believers about this and they took it as a good sign, and their determination to face the enemy in battle was strengthened. If Allah had shown the idolaters to you to be many, the determination of your Companions would have become weak and they would have become afraid of fighting. But Allah saved you all from that and protected them from losing courage. He therefore made them seem few in number in the eye of His Messenger (peace be upon him). He knows what the hearts contain and what the souls hide.

Remember, O believers, when Allah showed the idolaters to you, when you met them, as few and made you bravely go forward towards fighting them; and He made you seem few in their eyes, so that they came forward to fight you, without thinking of leaving. This was so that Allah could bring about a matter that was predetermined by taking retribution from the idolaters by them being killed or taken prisoners, and by favouring the believers with victory and defeat of their enemies. All matters are returned to Allah alone and He will repay the one who does evil for his wrongdoing and the one who does good for his good deeds.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, when you fight against a group of disbelievers be patient when you meet them and do not become cowardly. Remember Allah much and call on Him, because He is the One Who can help you against them; and pray to Him to grant you what you desire and protect you from what you fear.

Observe Allah’s obedience and the obedience of His Prophet in all of your statements, actions and circumstances. Do not argue with one another because dispute leads to weakness, cowardliness and the diminishing of your strength. Be patient when facing the enemy because Allah supports and assists the patient. Whoever Allah is with will definitely be victorious.

Do not be like those idolaters who left Makkah full of pride, showing off to people, and who prevent people from Allah’s religion and stop them from entering into it. Allah is All-Aware of what they do. No action of theirs is hidden from Him and He will repay them for that.

Remember, O believers, Allah’s favour on you when Satan made the actions of the idolaters seem good to them and encouraged them to face the Muslims in battle by saying to them, ‘No one can defeat you today because I am your supporter and I will protect you from your enemy’. When the two parties – the believers who had the angels as their support and the idolaters who had Satan who was going to desert them – met, Satan turned back fleeing and said to the idolaters: I have nothing to do with you. I can see the angels who have come to support the believers and I am afraid that Allah will destroy me. Allah’s punishment is harsh and no one is able to bear it.

Remember when the hypocrites and those of weak faith were saying: The religion of these people – which promised them victory over their enemies despite their lack of numbers and preparation as compared to the huge number and the strength of their enemies – has deceived them. They have not understood that the person who places reliance upon Allah alone and who has faith in the victory that Allah has promised, Allah will assist such a person and will never desert them no matter how weak they may be. Allah is Mighty and no one can overcome Him. He is Wise in His decree and sacred laws.

If only you, O Messenger, could see those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers at the time when the angels remove their souls, striking their faces when they face towards them and striking their backs when they try to run away, and saying to them: Taste, O disbelievers, the burning punishment! If you had to see that, you would see a serious heart-wrenching sight.

The cause of that painful punishment at the time when your souls are taken out and the burning punishment in your graves and in the Afterlife is because of the evil actions you performed in the world. Allah does not wrong people, but passes judgement on them with fairness. He is not unjust to His slaves.

These disbelievers were not the only ones to be punished this way; rather, it is Allah’s way of dealing with disbelievers in every time and place. The people of Pharaoh and the communities before them were also punished like this when they disbelieved in Allah’s words. Allah punished them for their sins with His might and power. Allah is Strong and cannot be overpowered or defeated. His punishment for those who go against Him is severe.

That severe punishment is because when Allah favours a people, He does not take it away from them until they change themselves from their pure state of faith, righteousness and gratitude to a bad state of disbelief in Allah, sin and ingratitude – Allah hears the statements of His servants and knows about their actions; nothing is hidden from Him.

The case of these disbelievers is like that of others who disbelieved in Allah, such as the people of Pharaoh and the communities who rejected Allah before them. They rejected the verses of their Lord so Allah destroyed them because of the sins they committed. Allah destroyed the people of Pharaoh by causing them to drown in the sea. The people of Pharaoh, as well as the communities before them, were all disobedient because of their disbelief in Allah and their association of partners with Him. They therefore deserved the punishment Allah imposed on them.

The worst of those who walk on the earth are those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers, and who would not believe even if every sign was to come to them – they would still persist in disbelief. The means of guidance – such as intellect, hearing and sight – are of no use to these people.

Some of these Jewish disbelievers agreed a treaty to not fight against you, O Messenger, nor support any one else in fighting against you. They, then, break this treaty every time you make it with them. They have no fear of Allah so they do not fulfil their oaths and do not honour the promises taken from them.

If you, O Messenger, face in battle these people who break their pledges, then make a harsh example of them so that others hear about it, take a lesson from that and become afraid of fighting you and supporting your enemies against you.

If you, O Messenger, become afraid, due to a sign that becomes obvious to you, that a people with whom you entered into a treaty will betray you and break the treaty, then inform them that the treaty is cancelled, so that they are not unjustly disadvantaged. Do not attack them suddenly without informing them, because doing so will be treachery on your part and Allah does not love those who are treacherous. Instead, He detests such people, so be careful of treachery.

The disbelievers should not think that they have escaped from Allah’s punishment, because they cannot do so. Instead, it will surely fall upon them.

Prepare, O believers, whatever numbers and war equipment you are able to, including keeping trained horses to be used in Allah’s path, so you can frighten Allah’s enemies and your enemies from among the disbelievers who are eagerly waiting for you to be afflicted with a disaster. You can also frighten others whom you do not know of and whose hidden hatred you are not aware of. Allah alone knows them and He knows what they keep hidden inside themselves. Any wealth you spend, whether a little or much, Allah will replace it for you in this world and will give you the reward for it in full in the Afterlife without any reduction. So hurry towards spending in His path.

If they incline to a truce to give up fighting, then, O Messenger, do the same: enter into a truce with them and place your reliance and faith in Allah, because He will never desert you. He is the One Who hears your statements and knows your intentions and actions.

If, by inclining to a truce, their goal is to deceive you, O Messenger, so that they can prepare to fight you, then Allah is sufficient for you against their plot and deception. It is He Who strengthened you with His help and with those Emigrants and Helpers who have faith in you.

He brought the hearts of the believers, with whom He assisted you, together after they were disunited. If you had spent all the wealth on earth to bring their disunited hearts together, you would not have been able to do so. But Allah alone brought them together. He is Mighty in His dominion and nothing can overpower Him. He is Wise in His decree, handling of affairs and sacred laws.

O Prophet, Allah is sufficient for you against the evil of your enemies and He is sufficient for the believers who are with you. So trust in Allah and rely on Him.

O Prophet, urge the believers on to fight and encourage them to do so with words that will strengthen their determination and lift their spirits. If there are among you, O believers, twenty who are patient in fighting against the disbelievers, they will overcome two hundred of the disbelievers. And if there are among you one hundred who are patient, they will overcome one thousand of the disbelievers. That is because the disbelievers are a people who do not understand Allah’s custom of aiding His friends and defeating His enemies. They do not realise the goal of fighting and they therefore only fight in order to gain supremacy in the world.

Now Allah has lightened the burden from you, O believers, since He knows your weakness. He has lightened your burden out of His grace and has made it a duty that one of you remains patient against two disbelievers instead of ten. So if there are one hundred among you who remain patient in fighting against the disbelievers, they will defeat two hundred. And if there are one thousand among you who remain patient, they will defeat two thousand of the disbelievers with Allah’s permission. Allah, with His support and assistance, is with those believers who remain patient.

It is not right for a prophet to take captives from the disbelievers who fight against him until he kills many of them, so that this makes other disbelievers fear fighting him. By taking captives from Badr, O believers, you want to receive ransom, but Allah wants the Afterlife for you, which is gained by making religion victorious and powerful. Allah is Mighty in His essence, His attributes and in His domination. Nothing can overcome Him. He is Wise in His decree and sacred laws.

Were it not for a decree from Allah – in which it had already been decided that He would make the gains of war lawful for you and permit you to ransom captives – a severe punishment from Allah would have afflicted you because of the gains of war and ransom you took from the captives at Badr before the coming of revelation from Allah that permitted it.

So consume, O believers, of the gains of war that you take from the disbelievers because it is lawful for you. Be mindful of Allah by following His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate towards His believing servants.

O Prophet, say to those idolater captives who have come into your hands after the Battle of Badr: If Allah knows of any good intentions in your hearts, He will give you something better than the ransom that was taken from you; so do not grieve over what was taken from you. Allah will also forgive your sins because He is Forgiving and Compassionate to those of His servants who repent to Him. This promise of Allah was fullfilled for ‘Abbās, the uncle of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and for others like him who accepted Islam after being captured.

If their goal, O Muhammad, is to betray you by the words they utter, then they have betrayed Allah previously and Allah gave you victory over them when some of them were killed and others were taken captive. They should therefore wait for something similar to happen if they return to their evil. Allah knows about His creation and what is best for them, and He is Wise in His handling of affairs.

Those who believed in Allah, accepted His Messenger, practised His sacred law, emigrated from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam, or to a place in which they can worship Allah safely, and strived in Allah’s path by spending their wealth and giving their lives to raise Allah’s Word, and those who hosted them in their homes and supported them – those emigrants and those locals who supported them are friends of one another in terms of providing support and assistance. As for those who believed in Allah but did not emigrate from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam, you have no obligation, O believers, to support and protect them until they emigrate in Allah’s path. If the disbelievers oppress them and they seek your help, then help them against their enemies, unless there is a pact between you and their enemy that is still in place. Allah sees what you do. No action of yours is hidden from Him and He will repay you for them.

The disbelievers are united in their disbelief and they therefore become friends of one another. A believer should not become friends with them. If you do not become friends with the believers and oppose the disbelievers, the believers will suffer weakness as a result of a lack of support and there will be great corruption on earth as people will be prevented from Allah’s path.

Those who believed in Allah and emigrated in His path, and those who provided shelter and assistance to the emigrants in Allah’s path, they are the ones who can be truly described as having faith. They will receive Allah’s forgiveness for their sins and a generous reward: Paradise.

Those who believed and accepted the faith amongst the earlier Emigrants and Helpers, who emigrated from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam, and strived in Allah’s path so that Allah’s Word may be the highest and the word of the disbelievers may be the lowest – they are part of you, O believers. They will have the same rights and obligations as you have. Under Allah’s final sacred laws of inheritance, family members are closer to one another than the previous Islamic system of inheritance based on faith and emigration. Allah knows everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows what is best for His servants and legislates what is in their well being.

This is a declaration of dissociation from Allah and His Messenger and an announcement of the termination of the treaties that you, O Muslims, had made with the idolaters.

So travel freely - O idolaters - on earth for a period of four months after which there will be no treaty nor any indemnity. Be certain that you will never escape Allah’s punishment and retribution if you continue to disbelieve in Him. Also be certain that Allah will humiliate the disbelievers, by their being killed or taken captive in the world, and by their entering the fire on the Day of Rising. This includes those who broke their treaties as well as those who had open treaties without any fixed period. As for those with whom you made a treaty for a fixed period their treaty will be honoured until the end of the specified period, even if this is longer than four months.

A notification from Allah and His Messenger to all people on the Day of Sacrifice that Allah, may He be glorified, and His Messenger are free of the idolaters. If you, O idolaters, repent from your idolatry, then such repentance will be better for you. If you turn away from repentance, then be certain that you will never get away from Allah and you will never escape His punishment. O Messenger, give the disbelievers news that will upset them: the painful punishment that awaits them.

The idolaters who are excluded from the previous ruling are those with whom you entered into a treaty and they honoured the treaty in full. So there will be a complete fulfilment of the treaty with them until the end of the period. Allah loves those who are mindful of Him by obeying His sacred law, which includes fulfilment of treaties, and by avoiding His prohibitions, which include the prohibition of treachery.

With the ending of the sacred months (Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram and Rajab), during which you assured your enemies of safety, kill the idolaters wherever you meet them. Besiege them in their fortresses and lie in wait for them on their paths. If they repent to Allah from their idolatry, establish the prayer and give the Zakat from their wealth, they become your brothers in Islam and you must not fight them any longer. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate towards those of His servants who repent to Him.

If any of the idolaters, whose blood and wealth is permissible, comes to you, O Messenger, and requests your protection, then accept their request so that they can listen to the Qur’ān. Then take them to a place where they will be safe. That is because the disbelievers are a people who do not know the realities of this religion. When they come to know of it by listening to the recitation of the Qur’ān, they may come on to the right path.

It is not correct for those who associate partners with Allah to have a treaty and an assurance of protection from Allah and His Messenger, except for the treaty you made with those idolaters at the Sacred Mosque in the Treaty of Al-Ḥudaybiyyah. As long as they uphold the treaty with you and do not break it, then you should also not break it. Allah loves those of His servants who are mindful of Him by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions.

How can they have a treaty with you and an assurance of protection when they are your enemies? If they gain the upper hand over you they will not be mindful of Allah in relation to you, nor will they respect any relationship or any treaty. Instead, they will impose the worst punishment on you. They please you with fancy speech uttered by their tongues, but their hearts do not agree with their tongues. They will not fulfil what they promise and most of them deviate from following Allah by breaking the treaty.

In order to satisfy their passions and desires, they took a trivial price of the things of this world in exchange for following Allah’s words, which includes fulfilment of treaties. They prevented themselves from following the truth and they turned away from it. They also prevented others from the truth. Such actions are most certainly evil.

Due to their hatred, they do not have any consideration for Allah in how they deal with the believers, nor do they respect any relationship or treaty. They overstep Allah’s limits because they are oppressive and hostile.

If they repent to Allah from their disbelief, pronounce the two declarations of faith, establish the prayer, give the Zakat of their wealth, then they will become Muslims and they will be your brothers in religion. They will then have the same rights and duties as you and it will not be lawful for you to fight them. Their acceptance of Islam will protect their lives, wealth and honour. Allah explains the verses clearly to a people who know, as they are the ones who will benefit from them and will cause others to benefit as well.

If these idolaters, with whom you entered into a treaty not to fight for a set period, break their oaths and promises and insult your religion and attack it, then fight them, because they are the leaders of disbelief and there are no treaties or promises that can protect their lives. Fight them in the hope that they will stop their disbelief, violation of their treaties and speaking badly of the religion.

Why do you, O believers, not fight a people who have broken their treaties and promises and who have attempted, in their meeting at Dār Al-Nadwah, to expel the Messenger (peace be upon him) from Makkah? They started the fight against you in the first place when they assisted the Children of Bakr, who were the allies of the Quraysh, against the Children of Khuzā‘ah, who were the allies of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Is it because you are afraid of them that you do not go forward to fight them? It is Allah, may He be glorified, that you should fear, if you are truly believers.

Fight then O believers, the idolaters, so that Allah may punish them by your hands by you killing, humiliating, defeating and capturing them. He also wants to help you making you overcome the idolaters and to heal the hearts of a believing people who had not seen fighting, through the believers killing, capturing, defeating and overcoming their enemies.

In this way, He will also remove the anger in the hearts of His believing servants by giving them victory. Allah turns in mercy to whomever He wills among those who were stubborn, if they repent to Him, asking for forgiveness. The last part of this verse describes the case of some of the people of Makkah on the day it was conquered by the Muslims. Allah knows the truth about those who repent to Him, and is Wise in His creation and His administration and law-giving.

Do the believers think that Allah would leave them without testing them? Testing is one of Allah’s customs, and they will be tested until Allah clearly proves those who strive with sincerity for Him, who do not take protectors apart from Allah, His Messenger and the believers, and do not make intimate friends with the disbelievers. Allah is aware of everything you do – nothing is hidden from Him – and you will be repaid for your actions.

It is not right for the idolaters to attend or care for Allah’s places of worship, worshipping in them, or doing good actions in them, while confirming their disbelief through their displaying of polytheism and the like. Their actions are wasted because they do not have faith, and faith is the condition for actions being accepted. On the Day of Judgement, they will enter the fire of Hell, living in it eternally, unless they repent from idolatry before their death.

It is only right that places of worship should be supported and cared for by those who have faith in Allah alone, who do not associate partners with Him, who have faith in the Day of Judgement, who establish the prayer, and give the Zakat from their wealth, and who do not fear anyone except for Allah, glory be to Him. Such people will be guided to the right path, while the idolaters are the farthest away from it.

Do the idolaters think that giving water to the pilgrims and caring for the Sacred Mosque is like someone who has faith in Allah, not associating any partners with Him, having faith in the Day of Judgement, striving with their self and their wealth to make the Word of Allah supreme, and the word of the disbelievers lowest? Do they consider them to be equal in virtue before Allah? They will never be equal before Allah, and Allah will not give success to those who do wrong by being idolaters, even if they do good actions, such as giving water to the pilgrims.

Those who have faith in Allah and emigrate from the lands of disbelief to the lands of Islam, striving for Allah’s sake with their wealth and their selves, have the greatest rank with Allah. Such people will succeed in achieving what they desire, and avoiding what they fear.

Their Lord gives them good news to gladden their hearts, of His mercy and His contentment with them, so that He is never angry with them, and of entering them into gardens in which there is eternal bliss.

They will live in these gardens eternally as a reward for the good actions that they would do in the world. Allah has a great reward for those who follow what He instructs and who stay away from what He has prohibited, who lived in devotion to Him.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not take your fathers and brothers, relatives and other relations, as intimates and protectors, telling them the secrets of the believers and consulting them, if they prefer disbelief to faith in Allah alone. Whoever makes them protectors despite their disbelief, drawing close to them, disobeys Allah, wrongs themselves and brings destruction upon themselves because of their disobedience.

Say O Messenger to the believers, if their fathers, sons, brothers, wives and relatives, the wealth which they have gained, the trade which they want to grow and fear its reduction, and the houses which they like to live in are more beloved to them than Allah and His Messenger and striving for His sake, then they should wait for the punishment that Allah will send down upon them. Allah does not make it easy for those who disobey Him to do actions which please Him.

Allah helped the believers against their enemies, the idolaters, in many battles, despite their small numbers and shortage of weapons, when they trusted in Allah and took appropriate measures. The believers should not be simply pleased by being a great number, because this is not the reason for them beating their enemy. On the day of Ḥunayn, when they were pleased by their great numbers, they said that they would not be defeated on that day because of small numbers; but their great numbers which pleased them did them no good, with their enemies overcoming them, and the earth becoming narrow for them despite its vastness. Then they turned from their enemies, fleeing in defeat.

Then, after they ran away from their enemy, Allah sent down calm upon His Messenger and the believers, so that they became patient in fighting; and He sent angels they could not see, and punished the disbelievers with death, capture and seizure of their wealth, women and children. These disbelievers were repaid in this way for their rejection of the Messenger.

Then whoever rejects disbelief and misguidance after that affliction, Allah will accept their repentance. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful to those of His servants who repent to Him, accepting their repentance after their denial of the truth and their disobedience.

Those who have faith in Allah and His Messenger, and follow the sacred law that He established for them, are told that the idolaters are unclean because of their disbelief, disobedience and blameworthy character traits, and evil customs. So they were not to enter the sacred area of Makkah, containing the Sacred Mosque, as pilgrims for the Hajj or Umrah after that year, which was the ninth year of the Hijrah. If the believers fear poverty, because of the idolaters no longer bringing different foods and merchandise, Allah will be sufficient for them from His bounty, if He wills. Allah knows the situation, and is Wise in His plan.

Fight then O believers, against the disbelievers who do not have faith in Allah as their Lord without any partner, do not believe in the Day of Judgement, do not avoid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden (such as carrion, the meat of pigs, alcohol and usury), and who do not submit themselves to what Allah has made sacred law, among the Jews and Christians – until they pay the jizyah tax with their own hands and are humble and subdued.

The Jews and the Christians associate partners with Allah: the Jews do so by claiming that ‘Uzayr is the son of Allah; and the Christians do so by claiming that the Messiah, Jesus, is the son of Allah. What they say with their own mouths is simply made up without any proof from Allah. By saying such things, they are similar to the idolaters before them, who said that the angels were the daughters of Allah. Allah is far above such things – may Allah destroy them! How can they turn away from the clear truth to falsehood?

The Jews made their rabbis lords instead of Allah, as did the Christians with their monks, by allowing them to permit what Allah had forbidden them and forbidding what Allah had allowed for them; and the Christians made the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, a god next to Allah. as well as ‘Uzayr and Jesus the son of Mary, to worship Him alone, and not to associate anything with Him. He, glory be to Him, is the only God, and there is nothing worthy of worship except Him. He is, glory be to Him, sacred, far above having any partner that these idolaters and others claim.

The disbelievers from all the various religious groups who disbelieve by making up wrong beliefs and rejecting Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), wish to eradicate Islam. So they undermine the clear proofs establishing that there is only one God and that His Messenger has brought the truth. However, Allah will not allow anything to stop His sacred path being perfected and being made clear. He will raise His Religion above everything else, even if the disbelievers hate that, and if Allah wills something, others are powerless to prevent it.

It is Allah, glory be to Him, Who sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)with the Qur’ān as the guidance for all people and the path of truth – establishing the religion of Islam – so as to raise it above all other religions through its proof, evidence and laws, even if the idolaters hate this.

Those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, acting in obedience to the sacred law, are told that many of the Jewish rabbis and the Christian monks unjustly take the wealth of people, through things such as taking bribes, and prevent people from entering the path of Allah; they also collect gold and silver without purifying it by giving charity. The Messenger is told to inform them of the painful punishment that they will be given on the Day of Judgement.

On the Day of Judgement, what they hoarded and did not give its right will be heated in the fire of Hell; and when it is greatly heated, it will be placed on their foreheads, sides and backs, then reheated when it cools, on a day lasting fifty thousand years. It will be said to them, by way of blame, that this is the wealth they hoarded for themselves, not paying the Zakat from it, or spending it in the way they were ordered; and they will be told to taste the evil consequences of what they hoarded and did not use correctly.

There are twelve months of the year decreed by Allah, no more or less, which Allah established in the Preserved Tablet when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these twelve months, four are sacred, during which Allah has forbidden fighting. Three of them consecutive (Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram), and one is on its own (Rajab). The twelve months of the year, and respecting the sacredness of four of them, is the correct way of life. Allah tells the believers not to wrong themselves during these sacred months by fighting, violating their sacredness. Also, the believers are instructed to fight the idolaters all together as they fight them all together, and to know that Allah is with those who are Mindful, who follow what He instructs and stay away from what He has prohibited, and He helps and supports them. If Allah supports anyone, no one will be able to defeat them.

Postponing the sacredness of the month of Muḥarram to another month, as the Arabs of the time of ignorance before Islam used to do, was another example of their disbelief and rejection of His laws. Satan led the disbelievers further astray through this, when he made them adopt this evil practice. They would declare a sacred month not to be sacred one year, exchanging it for one of the other months, and honoured its sacredness another year, making up the same number of months that Allah made sacred, but changing which months, in opposition to Allah’s law. Satan made their evil actions seems attractive to them so that they did them, and one such action was postponing sacred months through their invention. Allah does not give success to the disbelievers and those who persist in disbelief.

O you who have faith in Allah and His Messenger, and follow His sacred law, what is wrong with you that when you are called to strive for Allah’s sake, fighting against your enemy, tyou become reluctant, desiring to remain in your houses. Do you prefer the passing life of this world and its pleasures, which are short-lived, to the eternal bliss of the Afterlife, which Allah has prepared for those who strive for His sake? The enjoyment of the life of this world is insignificant in comparison to that of the Afterlife. How can anyone with sense choose something passing over something eternal, or something miserable over something amazing?

If you do not go forward, striving for the sake of Allah to fight against the enemy, Allah will repay you with defeat and humiliation, and He will replace you with another people who are devoted to Allah, who rush to fight when they are called to do so. You do not harm Him in any way by going against His command, because He has no need of you, while you are in need of Him. Allah has power over all things, nothing weakens Him, and it is easy for Him to make His path and His Prophet triumph without you.

If you O believers, do not help the Messenger (peace be upon him) and respond to his call to strive for the sake of Allah, then Allah has already helped him when you were not with him; when the idolaters drove him away from Mecca with Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), and the two of them hid in the cave of Thawr from the disbelievers who were chasing them. On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told his companion Abū Bakr, who was scared that the idolaters would discover him, not to worry, because Allah was with them, supporting and helping them. Allah sent down His reassurance and tranquility upon the heart of His Messenger, and sent angels which they could not see to support them, making the word of the idolaters the lowest, and the word of Allah the highest by aiding His Religion. Allah is Mighty in His essence, power and force – nothing can overcome Him – and He Wise in His planning, decree and laws.

March forth O believers, striving for the cause of Allah in hardship and in ease, whether you are young or old, striving with your wealth and selves, because going out and striving with your wealth and your selves is of more benefit in the life of this world and in the Afterlife than sitting at home and becoming attached to your wealth and persons. If you truly know this, then be eager to obey.

If the Prophet had called the hypocrites who asked for permission to stay behind to an easy reward and a journey that was not difficult, they would have followed him; but the distance he called them to cover to get to the enemy was too great for them, so they stayed behind. These hypocrites who asked for permission to stay behind would swear by Allah when the Prophet returned to them, saying that if they could have gone out to fight with them they would have done so. They destroy themselves by exposing themselves to Allah’s punishment, because they stayed behind and then swore a lie. Of course, Allah knew they were lying in what they claimed and in what they swore.

May Allah forgive the Messenger for his decision to permit them to stay behind! Why did he do so before it became apparent to him who had real excuses and who was lying? Then he could have excused those who were telling the truth, not those who were lying.

It is not the characteristic of those who truly have faith in Allah and the Day of Judgement to ask the Messenger (peace be upon him)for permission to stay behind from striving for Allah’s sake with their wealth and their selves. Rather, it is their characteristic to rally when they are called to fight, and to strive with their wealth and their persons. Allah knows those among His servants who are Mindful, who do not ask to be excused except for genuine reasons that really prevent them from going with the Messenger.

Those who ask the Messenger (peace be upon him)for permission to stay behind from striving for the sake of Allah are the hypocrites who do not believe in Allah and the Day of Judgement, and whose hearts are full of doubt about the sacred path of Allah. In their doubt they waver, confused, and they are not guided to the truth.

If they had been telling the truth in their claim that they wanted to go out with the Messenger (peace be upon him), striving for the sake of Allah, they would have made preparations for it; but Allah did not want them to go with the Prophet, and stopped them from doing so. They were disgraced because they were told to stay behind with those who were ordered to stay behind, such as the women, children and the sick.

It was a blessing that these hypocrites did not go with them, because if they had gone they would only have increased them in problems: demoralising people and making them doubt, hurrying between their lines, spreading rumours to divide them. Some of the believers would listen to such lies, believing and repeating them, causing arguments amongst them. Allah knows the wrongdoers among the hypocrites, who try to spread conspiracies and doubts among the believers.

These hypocrites had already tried to cause trouble by creating division amongst the believers before the Battle of Tabūk, by making things difficult for the Messenger (peace be upon him) through their schemes and plots, so that they might affect the Prophet’s determination to fight. This was until the help and support of Allah arrived, and He strengthened His path and overcame His enemies, although they hated this, because they wanted what was false to overcome the truth.

Among the hypocrites were those who used various excuses, asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to permit them to stay behind from fighting, for fear of being tested by the women of the Roman enemy and hence falling into sin. But they fell into a greater sin than the one they claimed they feared: the sin of hypocrisy, and staying behind. On the Day of Judgement, Hell will surround the disbelievers, none of them escaping it or getting away from it.

If the Messenger of Allah receives a blessing from Allah that pleases him, such as victory or some gains, they dislike this, and it grieves them. If a misfortune befalls him in the form of some hardship or loss in battle, these hypocrites say that they had taken precautions for themselves, making the right decision when they did not go out to fight as the believers did, which led to them being killed or captured. They, then, turn away to their people, rejoicing in their own safety.

O Messenger, tell these hypocrites: 'Nothing will afflict us except what Allah has written for us, He is our Protector, the one whom we take refuge in, and we put our trust in Him in all our affairs. Let the believers place their trust in Him for He is sufficient for them and the best of guardians.

O Messenger, say to them: 'Are you waiting for anything other than victory or martyrdom to befall us – which are both good outcomes – while we expect Allah to send down a misfortune upon you: a punishment from Allah which would destroy you, or that you are punished at our hands with either death or being captured, if Allah permits us to fight against you? Wait to see then what our outcome will be, for we are also waiting to see your outcome.'

Tell them O Messenger, : 'Spend of your wealth willingly or unwillingly, for it will not be accepted from you because of your disbelief and disloyalty to Allah.'

What the hypocrites spend in charity will not be accepted from them due to three matters: their disbelief in Allah and His Messenger; their reluctance and lack of interest in praying; and not spending their wealth willingly, but only unwillingly – because they do not expect to get any benefit from their prayer, or from what they spend.

So do not be impressed by the wealth and children of these hypocrites, or think it to be something good. The end result of their wealth and children will be grievous: Allah will make them a form of punishment for the hypocrites, causing them difficulty and hardship, and send misfortune through them until Allah takes their souls while they still disbelieve; and are given an eternal punishment in the lowest depths of the fire of Hell.

The hypocrites swear to the believers, lying to them, that they are with them, when they are secretly not, although they make it look as if they were. But they are a scared people, cowards in fighting, and fear that what happened to the idolaters who were killed and captured will happen to them, so they pretend to be Muslim.

If these hypocrites find a shelter, such as a fort, to protect themselves in, or caves in the mountains to hide in, or an underground tunnel they could go into to shelter in, they would rush away immediately.

Among the hypocrites are those who criticise the Messenger for how he distributes charity. If they are given what they want from it, they are happy with the Messenger; but if he does not give them what they want from it, they start to complain.

If only these hypocrites who criticize you in the distribution of charity had been pleased with their portion that Allah had assigned for them and with what the Messenger gave them, saying: 'Allah is sufficient for us and He will grant us more from His Grace, and the Messenger will also give us from what Allah has given him, and we ask Allah alone to enrich us!'-had they said this it would have been better for them then criticising the Messenger.

Obligatory charity should be distributed to: 1) the poor, those who hardly own anything and this is not hidden from people, either because of the obvious distress of their situation or because of what they tell people about their problems 2) the needy who have some money from working, but not enough for them to live well, whose situation is not drawn attention to; 3) those employed and sent by the Imam to collect it 4) disbelievers, as a sign of friendship, in order to bring them closer to Islam, and those of weak faith, so as to strengthen their faith and prevent evil 5) freeing captives 6) people in debt – who find themselves in debt due to reasonable conditions and not because of extravagance – if they cannot find a way of repaying their debts 7) those striving for the sake of Allah and 8) the traveller who has run out of money. Limiting the distribution of zakat to these people is a duty established by Allah. Allah knows what is in the best interests of His servants, Wise in His planning and law-making.

Among the hypocrites are those who hurt the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) through their words, saying, because of his great kindness, that he listens to everyone and believes whatever they say, and does not distinguish between what is true and what is not. The Messenger (peace be upon him) is told to say to them that he only listens to what is best for them. He has faith in Allah and believes what the believers tell him. Those who harm the Messenger (peace be upon him), in any way, will receive a painful punishment.

The hypocrites swear by Allah to you, O believers, that they did not say anything to hurt the Prophet (peace be upon him). They do this so that you may become pleased with them; but Allah and His Messenger are more deserving of being pleased by their accepting faith and performing good actions, if they are truly believers.

Do these hypocrites not know that by their doing such actions they are opposing Allah and His Messenger; and that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger will enter the fire of Hell on the Day of Judgement, to live there eternally? That is the worst disgrace and humiliation.

The hypocrites are afraid that Allah will reveal a sūrah to His Messenger that will inform the believers about the disbelief that they conceal. Say, O Messenger: Continue, O hypocrites, mocking and poking fun. Allah will unveil what you are afraid of by revealing a sūrah or by informing His Messenger about the truth of your case.

If you, O Messenger, ask the hypocrites about the insults they used against the believers after Allah informs you of it, they will say, ‘We were just joking when we said that and we were not serious’. Say, O Messenger, ‘Is it Allah, His verses and His Messenger that you were making fun of?’

Do not present these false excuses, O hypocrites. You have exposed your disbelief, which was hidden, by making fun. If I were to pardon a group from among you, when they leave their hypocrisy and repent from it by sincerely repenting to Allah, I will punish another group from among you due to their remaining in hypocrisy and their failure to repent from it.

The hypocrites, men and women, are all the same with respect to their states of hypocrisy. They are not like the believers, because they call to evil and prohibit good. They are also miserly with their wealth and do not spend it in Allah’s path. They turned away from Allah and were unmindful of Him, and they only remember Allah a little. Allah therefore left them out of His mercy. The hypocrites are the ones who deviate from following Allah and the path of truth by going towards sin and the path of misguidance.

Allah has promised the hypocrites and the disbelievers who do not repent that He will make them enter the fire of Hell to live there eternally – it is a sufficient punishment for them. Allah has distanced them from His mercy and for them is an everlasting punishment.

O hypocrites, in your disbelief and mockery you are like the communities of disbelievers before you. They were greater than you in strength, and had more wealth and children, and they enjoyed their allotted share of the luxuries and pleasures of this world. You, O hypocrites, also enjoyed your allotted share of the world, just as the communities of the past did. You indulged in denying the truth and insulting the messenger just as they did. Those who have these shameful qualities will have their actions reduced to nothing by Allah due to their disbelief. They are the losers, whose own souls have brought them to the point of destruction.

Have the hypocrites not heard of what previous disbelieving communities did and what their end was? The news of the people of Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Abraham, the inhabitants of Madyan and the towns of the nation of Lot? Their messengers came to them with clear proof and evidence. Allah was not unjust in punishing them, as their messengers had warned them, but they were unjust to themselves because of their disbelief in Allah and rejection of His messengers.

The believers, men and women, are helpers to one another, because of the faith that unites them. They command good – which is everything loved by Allah, represented by the various forms of obedience, such as accepting His Oneness and the ritual prayer – and they prohibit evil – which is everything hated by Allah, and includes sins such as disbelief and dealing in usury in financial transactions. They perform the ritual prayer in a complete manner, and they obey Allah and His Messenger. People with these praiseworthy qualities will receive Allah’s mercy. Allah is Mighty and nothing can overcome Him. He is Wise in His creating, handling of matters and establishment of laws.

Allah has promised those men and women who have faith in Him that He will enter them, on the Day of Judgement, into gardens with rivers flowing beneath their palaces, where they will live eternally. In these gardens, they will not die and their delight will never end. Yet the pleasure that Allah will give to them will be greater than all of that. This reward is the great success which no other success can equal.

O Messenger, strive against the disbelievers by fighting against them with the sword, and strive against the hypocrites with well-expressed arguments. Be hard with both groups because that is what they deserve. Their resting place on the Day of Judgement will be Hell. What an evil place they will end up in!

The hypocrites swear a false oath by Allah that they did not say the words of insults about you and your religion that have reached you. But they did say those things which showed them to be disbelievers after they had announced that they have faith. They had intended to assassinate the Prophet (peace be upon him), but were unsuccessful. They only disliked something that should not have been disliked!: that Allah had graciously favoured the Prophet and the believers by blessing them with the gains of war. If they turn to Allah and repent from their hypocrisy, their repentance will be better for them than remaining in their hypocrisy. Yet if they do not repent to Allah, He will punish them with a painful punishment in this world, by having them killed or taken prisoner, and He will also punish them in the Afterlife in the fire of Hell, and they will not have anyone to save them from the punishment.

Some of the hypocrites have made a promise with Allah, saying: If Allah gives us from His bounty, we will certainly give charity to the poor and we will be of the righteous ones whose actions are good.

When Allah, may He be glorified, gave them from His bounty, they did not fulfil the promise they made with Him. Instead, they became miserly and did not give any charity, and they turned away from accepting the faith with hatred.

Allah therefore firmly established hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day of Judgement, as a punishment for their breaking their promise with Allah and for their lying.

Do the hypocrites not know that Allah knows the plots they keep secret in their meetings and that Allah, may He be glorified, is the Knower of all Ghaib things? No action of theirs is hidden from Him and He will repay them for that.

Those who find fault with the believers who voluntarily give a little charity, who only find a little that they are able to give, and they poke fun at them – saying: Of what use is their charity? – Allah mocks them in return for their mocking the believers; and they will receive a painful punishment.

Allah will never forgive the hypocrites, even if the Messenger was to ask for their forgiveness, because they do not deserve to be forgiven, nno matter how much forgiveness is sought for them. They disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and they deliberately oppose Allah’s sacred law.

Those hypocrites who failed to join the battle of Tabūk were happy not to strive in Allah’s path, in opposition to the Messenger of Allah. They were reluctant to strive with their wealth and live in Allah’s path as the believers did. They said to their fellow hypocrites, in order to keep them behind, ‘Do not march in the heat!’ The battle of Tabūk was during the hot season. Say to them, O Messenger: The fire of Hell that awaits the hypocrites is much hotter than this heat that they are running away from, if they only knew.

Let these hypocrites, who failed to strive in Allah’s path, laugh a little in their temporary life of the world and let them cry much in their everlasting life of the Afterlife in return for the disbelief and sins they committed in the world.

If Allah returns you, O Prophet, to a group of these hypocrites who are firm in their hypocrisy and they ask you for permission to go out with you in another battle, then say to them: You, hypocrites, will never go out with me in Allah’s path, as a punishment for you and a means of avoiding the harms that may arise due to your presence with me. You were quite pleased to remain behind in the battle of Tabūk, so stay with those sick persons, women and children who remain behind.

Do not offer the prayer, O Messenger, over any one of the hypocrites who dies; and do not stand to pray for forgiveness at their gravesides. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and they died whilst they had left Allah’s obedience. No prayer should be offered for such a person.

Do not, O Messenger, let the wealth and children of these hypocrites impress you. Allah only intends to punish them with that in the life of the world, through the difficulties they face and the disasters they are afflicted with respect to them, and that their souls leave their bodies while they are in disbelief.

When Allah reveals a sūrah to His Prophet (peace be upon him) that contains the instruction to have faith in Allah and to strive in His path, the rich people from among them ask you for permission to stay behind and they say: Let us stay behind with those who are excused, such as the weak and those who are chronically ill.

These hypocrites are pleased with disgrace and humiliation, since they are pleased to stay behind with those who are excused. Allah has sealed their hearts because of their disbelief and hypocrisy, so they do not know where their best interests are. They are therefore similar to animals.

The Messenger and the believers with him did not remain behind from striving in Allah’s path, as these people did. Instead, they strived in Allah’s path with their wealth and their lives. Their reward from Allah is that they will receive worldly benefits, such as victory and gains of war, as well as benefits in the Afterlife, which includes entry into Paradise and successful attainment of their desires and salvation from what they fear.

Allah has prepared for these believers gardens with rivers flowing beneath their palaces, where they shall live eternally. That reward is the great success that cannot be equalled by any other.

A group of people from the desert Arabs of Medina and the surrounding areas came with excuses to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), so that he would give them permission to remain behind from going out and striving in Allah’s path. Another group of people who did not even make any excuse also stayed behind from going out because they did not accept the Prophet and they did not have faith in Allah’s promise. A painful punishment will afflict these people because of their disbelief.

There is no sin on women, children, the sick, the disabled who are chronically ill or blind, and the poor who do have any wealth to spend in order to equip themselves for remaining behind from going out, since they have valid excuses, as long as they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger and they practise His sacred law. Punishment will not fall on those who do good from among these people who are excused. Allah forgives the sins of those who do good and shows them mercy.

There is likewise no sin on those who stay behind from you after coming to you, O Messenger, asking you to give them an animal to ride and you said to them, ‘I do not have any animal to give you to ride’. They then turned away from you with their tears flowing out of sorrow that they could not find anything to spend of their own or from your side.

There will only be punishment and blame on those who ask you, O Messenger, for permission to remain behind from striving while they are able to do so, due to their having the means to equip themselves. They are pleased with disgrace and humiliation for themselves by staying behind with those who remain behind at home. Allah has sealed their hearts so they are not affected by any warning. Because of this, they do not know where their best interests lie, so they can choose that; or where there is harm, so they can avoid it.

The hypocrites who stayed behind from striving in Allah’s path will present weak excuses to the Muslims when they return from their battle. Allah directs His Prophet and the believers to respond to them by saying: Do not make false excuses. We will never accept what you tell us because Allah has informed us about the excuses you make up. Allah and His Messenger will soon see whether you repent, in which case Allah will accept your repentance, or if you will persist in your hypocrisy. Then you will be returned to Allah, the One Who knows everything, and He will inform you about what you used to do and repay you for that. So rush towards repentance and good actions.

Those who stay behind will swear by Allah when you, O believers, return to them, in order to strengthen their false oaths, so that you do not blame them. Therefore leave them alone and ignore them. They are filthy and impure from the inside. They will end up in Hell, as a repayment to them for their hypocrisy and the sins they committed.

Those who stay behind will swear to you, O believers, so that you become pleased with them and accept their excuses. Do not become pleased with them. If you become pleased with them you would go against your Lord, because He will not be pleased with people who have left His obedience by disbelief and hypocrisy. So be careful, O Muslims, of becoming pleased with those whom Allah is not pleased with.

If the people of the desert are of those who adopt disbelief or hypocrisy, then their disbelief and hypocrisy is stronger than that of others who live in city areas. They are also more likely to be ignorant of religion and the obligatory and recommended acts of the sacred law that Allah has revealed to His Messenger. This is because of their lack of culture, their harshness, and their lack of interacting with others. Allah knows about their condition. Nothing is hidden from Him. He is Wise is in His handling of matters and establishment of laws.

Some of the desert hypocrites consider whatever wealth they spend in Allah’s path to be a loss and a punishment, because they think that there will be no reward for spending and that Allah will not punish them if they do not spend. Despite this, they sometimes spend to show off and to hide their real beliefs. They wait for evil to come to you, O believers, so that they can be rid of you. Instead, But Allah has made the evil and the turn of fortune that they wished to afflict the believers to occur on them instead. Allah hears what they say and knows what they keep hidden in their hearts.

Yet some of those who live in the desert have faith in Allah and the Day of Judgement and they consider any wealth they spend in Allah’s path as a means of gaining closeness to Allah, and of receiving the prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his asking forgiveness for them. Without doubt, their spending in Allah’s path and the prayer of the Messenger are means of gaining closeness to Allah; and they will find their reward with Allah when He enters them into His mercy, with His forgiveness and His Paradise. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate towards those of His servants who repent to Him.

The leaders in faith – in terms of having good belief, words and actions – from among the Emigrants who left their homes migrating to Allah, and from among the Helpers who assisted His Messenger (peace be upon him), and those who followed the Emigrants and Helpers, Allah is pleased with them and He has accepted their actions. They are also pleased with Him because of the great reward that He is to give them: He has prepared for them gardens with rivers flowing beneath their palaces, where they shall live eternally. That reward is the great success.

Some of those who live in the desert surrounding Medina are hypocrites, as are some of the people of Medina. They are firm and staunch in their hypocrisy. You, O Messenger, do not know them, but it is Allah Who knows them. Allah will punish them twice: once in this world by exposing their hypocrisy and by their being killed and taken captive, and again in the Afterlife when they will be punished in the grave. Then they will receive, on the Day of Judgement, a great punishment in the lowest level of the fire of Hell.

There are others from among the people of Medina who stayed behind from the battle without any valid excuse. They then confessed that they had no excuse and they did not present false excuses. They have mixed their prior good actions of following Allah, obeying His sacred laws and striving in His path with an evil action; yet they hope that Allah will accept their repentance and pardon them. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate towards those of His servants who repent to Him.

Take, O Messenger, zakat from their wealth, so that you can purify them from the uncleanliness of sins and evil actions, and by which you can increase their good actions. Pray for them after taking it from them, because your prayer is a means of comfort and mercy for them. Allah hears your prayer and knows about their actions and intentions.

Those who had stayed behind from striving in Allah’s path and who have repented to Allah should know that Allah accepts the repentance of His servants; and that He accepts charity, even though He is in no need of it, and rewards those who give charity. They should know that Allah, may He be glorified, is the One Who accepts repentance and is Compassionate towards those servants of His who repent to Him.

Say, O Messenger, to those who had stayed behind from striving in Allah’s path and who have repented from their sin: : Make up for the harm caused by what you missed and be sincere in your actions to Allah. Do what pleases Him, because Allah, His Messenger and the believers will soon see your actions. Then you will be returned, on the Day of Judgement, to your Lord, the One Who knows everything. He knows what you hide and what you make public and He will inform you about what you used to do in the world and repay you for that.

There are others from among those who stayed behind from the battle of Tabūk who did not have any valid excuse. The matter of these people has been deferred to Allah’s decree and His decision in their regard. Allah will decide about them as He wishes: He will either punish them if they do not repent to Him, or He will accept their repentance if they do. Allah knows who is deserving of His punishment and who deserves His pardon. Allah is Wise in His establishment of laws and handling of affairs. These people were Murārah ibn Al-Rabī‘, Ka‘b ibn Mālik and Hilāl ibn Umayyah.

There were also some hypocrites who built a mosque, not for Allah’s obedience, but to harm the Muslims, to support disbelief by strengthening the people of hypocrisy, to cause disunity amongst the believers and in preparation and anticipation for those who had waged war against Allah and His Messenger prior to the construction of the mosque. These hypocrites swear to you that they only wanted goodness for the Muslims. Allah is witness that they are lying in this claim of theirs.

Do not accept, O Prophet, the invitation of the hypocrites to you to pray in this mosque which was built for immoral purposes. Rather, the Qubā’ mosque which was founded from its beginning on Mindfulness is more worthy of your praying in it than this mosque that was founded on disbelief. In the Qubā’ mosque, there are men who love to purify themselves from ritual and physical impurities with water, as well as from sins with repentance and seeking forgiveness. Allah loves those who purify themselves from ritual and physical impurities and from sins.

Can those who founded their building on recognition of Allah (by following His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions) and Allah’s pleasure (by doing all forms of good) be equal to those who built a mosque to cause harm to the Muslims, to strengthen disbelief and to cause disunity amongst the believers? They can never be equal! The first have a strong structure with good foundation so it will not collapse; yet the second group are similar to a person who built a structure on the edge of a pit that is about to collapse and which collapses with him into the depths of Hell. Allah does not guide those who do wrong by committing disbelief, hypocrisy and other wrongs.

The mosque that they built in order to cause harm will continue to be a source of doubt and hypocrisy in their hearts until their hearts are cut into pieces by their death or by their being killed by the sword. Allah knows the actions of His servants and He is Wise in the decision He passes with respect to repaying them for their good or evil.

Allah, may He be glorified, has purchased from the believers their lives – despite them belonging to Him – out of His grace for a high price: Paradise. They will fight the disbelievers so that Allah’s Word is highest and they will kill the disbelievers or be killed by them. Allah has made this true promise in the Torah (the scripture of Moses), the Gospel (the scripture of Jesus), and the Qur’ān (the scripture of Muhammad (peace be upon him)). There is no one who is more faithful to his promise than Allah. so rejoice O believers, with the trade that you made with Allah, because of your gaining such a huge profit in it. That deal is the great success.

The people who will receive this great reward are those who turn to Allah in repentance from idolatry, hypocrisy and sins; are sincere in their worship of Allah; praise their Lord in every condition; go out and strive in Allah’s path; fast; pray; instruct that which Allah and His Messenger have instructed and prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited; and guard Allah’s instructions by following them and His prohibitions by avoiding them. O Messenger, tell the believers who have these qualities the good news of what will make them happy in this world and the Afterlife.

It is not right for the Prophet and the believers to seek forgiveness from Allah for the idolaters, even if they are their relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the people of the fire of Hell – because they died as idolaters.

Abraham’s seeking forgiveness for his polytheist father was only because of a promise he had made to him to do so, in the hope that he would submit. When it became clear to Abraham that his father was an enemy of Allah, due to the advice not being of benefit to him or due to his coming to know through revelation that he will die as a disbeliever, he renounced him. He had asked forgiveness for him on the basis of his own reasoning and not in contradiction of any law that Allah had revealed to him. Abraham (peace be with him) used to frequently turn to Allah in humility and he used to overlook and pardon his people who were wrongdoers.

Allah would never pass the judgement of misguidance against a people, after He had given them guidance, until He makes clear to them those forbidden things that they must avoid. If they do that which Allah had forbidden after it has been declared forbidden and made clear to them, then He will judge them as misguided. Allah knows everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. He has taught you what you did not know.

The control of the heavens and the control of the earth belongs to Allah. He has no partner in this, and nothing in them is hidden from Him. He gives life to whomever He wills and causes whomever He wills to die. You, O people, do not have, besides Allah, any friend to take care of your affairs nor any protector to guard you against evil and assist you against your enemy.

Allah has forgiven the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) since he gave permission to the hypocrites to stay behind from the battle of Tabūk. He has also forgiven the Emigrants and the Helpers who did not stay behind, but followed him in the battle of Tabūk despite the intense heat, the lack of means and the powerful strength of the enemy. This was after a group of them who intended to abandon the expedition, almost deviated from the truth and the path of correct guidance, because of the great difficulty they faced. Then Allah enabled them to be patient and to go out for that battle. He forgave them, for He, may He be glorified, is Kind and Merciful towards them. It was because of His mercy that He enabled them to repent to Him and that He accepted their repentance.

Allah turned in forgiveness to the three – Murārah ibn Al-Rabī‘, Ka‘b ibn Mālik and Hilāl ibn Umayyah – who stayed behind from going with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)to Tabūk. The Prophet (peace be upon him)instructed people to stay away from them, which made them feel sadness and grief. The earth seemed narrow to them despite its vastness, and their hearts felt constricted because of their loneliness, and they were certain there was no place of refuge or help they could go to except to Allah alone. Allah was Merciful to them, enabling them to turn to Him, asking for forgiveness, and accepting their repentance. Allah is the One who accepts the repentance from His slaves, and is full of mercy and compassion to them.

O you who believe and follow the Messenger, act according to His sacred law, and be mindful of Him, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited; and be with those who are true in their faith and in what they say and do, as there is no salvation except in truth.

It is not for the people of Medina, or those around them of the people who live in the desert, to stay behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)if he himself goes out to fight, or to be stingy with themselves and give preference to their own safety over the safety of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, they should sacrifice themselves for him. This is because they suffer no thirst, tiredness or hunger for the sake of Allah, and do not step anywhere in the land of those who deny the truth with their own feet or the hooves of their horses or camels, angering thereby those who oppose the truth, and do not make a gain over their enemy, killing or capturing them, making war gains or defeating them, except that Allah records for them the reward of a good action for them, which He accepts from them. Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost. Rather, He gives it to them in full, and increases the reward for them.

These successful ones do not sacrifice any wealth, whether it is small or great, and do not cross any valley except that their sacrifice or journey is recorded so that Allah may repay them, giving them in the Afterlife the reward for the best of what they used to do.

The believers should not go out all together to fight, so that they are not wiped out if their enemy overcomes them, and they should not all stay behind. A group should go out to strive for Allah’s sake, and a group should remain behind to accompany the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and to gain understanding of the religion through the Qur’ān and sacred laws they hear from him, peace and blessings be upon him, to advise their people when they return to them of what they have learned, so that they are aware of Allah’s punishment and His consequences and they follow what He instructs and stay away from what He has not allowed. This was concerning the companies that the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would send to different areas, choosing a group from among his companions.

O you who believe, fight against those who oppose the truth who are near to you, because of the danger they pose to you because of their proximity; and show strength in order to inspire fear in them and drive away their evil. Allah is with the Allah-conscious believers with His help and support.

When Allah revealed a sūrah to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), some of the hypocrites would ask by way of mocking and ridicule; 'Which one of you believers has had his faith increase?' As for those who had faith in Allah, and followed His Messenger, the revelation of the sūrah had indeed increased them in faith, and they were happy because of the benefit it contained for them in this world and for the Afterlife.

As for the hypocrites, the revelation of the Qur’ān with its laws and stories increases them in sickness and wickedness because of their rejection of what is revealed, so that these deplorable characteristics become fixed in them; and the disease of their hearts increase with the revelation of the Qur’ān, because whenever something is revealed they are sceptical about it.

Are the hypocrites not taught a lesson by being tried by Allah, when He exposes their hypocrisy, once or twice a year? Then, despite knowing that Allah did this to them, they do not turn to Him from their disbelief, asking for forgiveness, and do not root out their hypocrisy, or think about what happens to them and that it is from Allah.

Whenever Allah reveals a sūrah to the Messenger (peace be upon him), mentioning the states of the hypocrites, the hypocrites would look at one another, saying ‘Does anyone see you?’ If no one is looking at them, they leave the gathering. Allah turned their hearts away from guidance and goodness, and leaves them, because they are a people who do not understand.

There has come to you O Arabs, a messenger from among your own selves and from your lineage, who is an Arab like you. What is difficult for you is difficult for him. He is concerned about you, calling you to have faith in your Lord, and he is kind and compassionate with the believers.

If they reject you O Messenger, not believing in what you come with, then say: 'Allah is sufficient for me, there is nothing worthy of worship except Him. I rely on Him alone, and He, Glory be to Him, is the Lord of the Great Throne.'