English Al-Mukhtasar — Al-Kahf 18:1 – Ash-Shu'ara 26:227

Praise of the attributes of perfection and majesty and for the outer and inner favours is for Allah alone, who revealed the Qur’ān to His servant and Messenger, and did not put any crookedness or diversion from the truth in this Qur’ān.

But rather He made it straight without any contradiction or discrepancy in it, to frighten those who deny the truth of a severe punishment which awaits them from Allah, and to tell the believers who do good actions what will please them, namely that there is a good reward for them which no other reward compares with.

Living in this reward forever, without it being cut off from them.

And it frightens the Jews, Christians and some of the idolaters who said: Allah has taken a son.

These fabricators have no knowledge of their claim that Allah has a son and nor did their fathers whom they followed in this regard have any knowledge. This statement which has escaped their mouths without any understanding is heinous. They only speak a lie which has no basis or support.

Then perhaps, O Messenger, you will end up destroying yourself out of grief and remorse if they do not believe this Qur’ān. But do not do this, as giving them guidance is not your responsibility; you are only responsible for conveying.

Surely, I have made the creation on the face of this earth an adornment for it, so I can test them to see which of them does the best actions which please Allah and which of them is worst in actions, so that I may reward everyone with what they deserve.

And I am going to turn the creation on the face of this earth into dust free from vegetation, and this will be after the lifespan of the creation on earth expires, so let them take heed from this.

Do not think, O Messenger, that the story of the people of the cave and the tablet on which their names were written are from our amazing signs. In fact, other signs such as creating the heavens and earth are more amazing.

Remember, O Messenger, when the believing youngsters took refuge in the cave, fleeing with their religion. Then they said in their supplication to their Lord: Our Lord, give us mercy from Yourself, by forgiving our sins and saving us from our enemies, and grant us guidance towards the right path and correctness in the matter of migrating from the disbelievers and in faith.

Then after they went and took refuge in the cave, I put a barrier on their ears from hearing, and I put them to sleep for many years.

Then after their lengthy sleep I woke them up to demonstrate which of the two groups disputing their duration of stay in the cave knows this duration best.

I am informing you, O Messenger, of their affair, truthfully without any doubt. Surely, they were youngsters who believed in their Lord and obeyed Him, and I increased them in guidance and firmness on the truth.

And I strengthened their hearts with faith and firmness on it, and to be patient in leaving one’s homeland for its sake, when they stood to proclaim their faith in Allah alone in front of the disbelieving king, and they said: The Lord I believe in and worship is the Lord of the heavens and earth. I will never worship the gods you have falsely claimed besides Him. I will have said an unjust and far-off statement if I worship others besides Him.

Then they turned to each other saying: These are our people who have taken deities which they worship besides Allah. They do not have any clear proof for worshipping them, so there is no greater oppressor than one who falsely attributes a partner to Allah.

Now that you have moved away from your people, and have left what they worship instead of Allah, and you have worshipped Allah alone, then take refuge in the cave fleeing to protect your religion. Allah, may He be glorified, will shower His mercy on you to protect you from your enemies, and will make for you an easy means of livelihood that you could benefit from in place of the life that you had when living amongst your people.

They thus fulfilled the instruction and Allah put them to sleep and protected them from their enemy. You - O one who looks at them - will see the sun when it rises from the east inclining away from their cave to the right of one entering it; and at the time of sunset it moves away from the cave towards the left but does not strike it directly. They are therefore in perpetual shade unaffected by the heat of the sun. They are in a wide space within the cave where the air they require reaches them. The abovementioned occurrences viz. their taking refuge in the cave, their being put to sleep, the sun’s deviation from them, the spaciousness in the cave and their salvation from their people are all wondrous acts of Allah that indicate His power. Whoever Allah guides to the path of guidance, such a person is rightly guided in reality. Whoever Allah forsakes and lets go astray, then you will never find anyone to help and guide him to the right path. This is because guidance is in Allah’s Hands and not in his.

You - O one who looks at them - will think they are awake, because their eyes are open, though in actual fact they are asleep. I turn them over in their sleep, sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left, so that the earth does not consume their bodies. Their dog that accompanied them stretches out its forelegs at the entrance of the cave. If you had come across them and seen them, you would have turned and run away being afraid of them, and your soul would have been filled with fear of them.

Just as I did to them the wondrous acts that I have mentioned, I awakened them after a long period of time and they began to ask one another about the period that they had spent asleep. One of them responded: I remained asleep for one day or part of one day. One of them, to whom it was not clear how long they had spent asleep, responded: Your Lord knows best about the period you had remained asleep, so entrust the knowledge of that to Him and get busy with what concerns you. Send one of you with these silver coins to the city we know and let him see which of the inhabitants of that city are most pure in their food and earnings. He should proceed with caution when entering and leaving and when dealing. He must also be tactful and not let anyone find out where you are, because that will result in great harm.

If your people discover you and find out where your whereabouts, they will kill you by stoning you, or they will force you to return to their deviated creed that you used to follow before Allah favoured you by guiding you to the true religion. If you return to that you will never succeed - not in this world nor in the Hearafter. Instead, you will suffer a great loss in both places on account of your leaving the true religion to which Allah had guided you and your returning to that deviated creed.

Just as I did those wondrous acts, of putting them to sleep and awakening them after many years, indicating My Power, I caused them to be discovered by the people of their city, so that those people would know that the promise of Allah to help the believers and of resurrection is true, and that the rising is coming without doubt. After the matter of the people of the cave was exposed and they had passed away, those who discovered them differed: What should they do with regard to them? One group said: Build over the entrance of the cave a building that will serve as a barrier and will preserve them. Their Lord knows best about their condition and their condition requires that they have some special status in His sight. The influential people who did not have knowledge or a proper call said: I will set up over them a place of worship in their honour and as a memoir of their location.

Some of those who delve into their incident will say about their number: They were three and their dog was the fourth amongst them. Others will say: They were five and their dog was the sixth amongst them. Both groups only said this as a guess without any proof. Some of them will say: They were seven and their dog was the eighth amongst them. Say, O Messenger: Your Lord knows best about their number. No one knows their number except for a few people whom Allah has informed about their number. So do not dispute with regard to their number or any other matter of theirs with the people of the scripture or with others except with an obvious argument and without delving into the matter, limiting it to the revelation that has come down to you with respect to them. Do not ask any of them about the details of their matter, because they do not know about it.

Do not say - O Prophet - about anything that you want to do tomorrow: “I am going to do this tomorrow,” because you do not know whether you will do it or you will be prevented from doing so? This is a directive for every Muslim.

Unless you suspend doing so on Allah’s will by saying: I will do it - if Allah wills - tomorrow. Remember your Lord by saying: “If Allah wills” - if you forget to say it - and say: I have hope that my Lord will guide me to something closer than this in guidance and success.

The people of the cave remained in their cave for three hundred and nine years.

Say - O Messenger: Allah knows best about how long they remained in the cave and He has told us about the period they remained there. No statement can be considered after Allah’s, may He be glorified. To Him alone, may He be glorified, belongs everything hidden in the heavens and on earth. He created and knows all of it. How well He sees! May He be glorified! He sees everything. How well He hears! He hears everything. They have no one to take charge of their matter besides Him. He does not share His rule with anyone. He alone passes judgement.

Read - O Messenger - and practice the Qur’ān that Allah has revealed to you. Nothing can change His words, because they are completely true and just. You will not find any refuge to resort to or place of protection to take cover in besides Him.

Remain and be close with your poor companions who sincerely call on their Lord in worship and supplication at the beginning and at the end of the day. Do not let your eyes overlook them intending to sit with people of affluence and prestige. Do not follow the one whose heart I have made neglectful of Our remembrance by sealing it and who instructed you to remove the poor from your gathering giving preference to following his desire over following His Lord. His actions and deeds are thus foolish, excessive and in vain.

Say - O Messenger: to those who neglect Allah’s remembrance due to the heedlessness of their hearts: What I have brought to you is the truth. It is from Allah and not from me. I cannot accede to your request to chase away the believers. Whoever amongst you wishes to have faith in this truth then let him do so for he will be pleased by the reward. Whoever amongst you wants to reject it let him do so, for he will be grieved by the punishment that awaits him. I have prepared for those who wrong themselves, by choosing disbelief, a huge fire whose walls will surround them and as a result they will not be able to escape from it. If they had to seek relief of water on account of the severe thirst they experience, they will be given water like murky oil that will be extremely hot and will scald their faces due to its heat. What a terrible drink is this drink that will be provided for their relief! It will not quench their thirst but will make it worse and it will not put out the flames burning their faces. What a miserable destination and place of residence is the fire!

Those who have faith in Allah and do righteous actions have done Ill and they will receive a huge reward. I do not let the reward of those who do Ill go to waste. Instead, I give them their reward in full without any reduction.

Those who are described as having faith and doing righteous actions will receive gardens to reside in, with the sweet rivers of paradise flowing beneath their homes. They will be adorned with bracelets of gold and they will wear green garments of fine and thick silk. They will recline on couches decorated with beautiful coverings. Theirs will be an excellent reward and paradise will be an excellent home and place for them to reside in.

Strike - O Messenger - an example of two men: a disbeliever and a believer. I gave the disbeliever two gardens, which I surrounded with date-palms; and in the vacant land I grew crops.

Each garden produced its fruit of dates, grapes and crops and did not fall short thereof in anything, but bore it in full. I caused a river to flow between the two gardens so that they could be irrigated easily.

The owner of the two gardens had other wealth and fruit and he said to his friend, as he spoke to him in conceit to make an impact on him, “I have more wealth than you, more support and a stronger family.”

The disbeliever entered his garden along with the believer to show it to him, whilst he was wronging himself by his disbelief and conceit. The disbeliever said: I do not think that this garden that you see will ever perish, because I have taken all measures for its survival.

I also do not think that the rising will occur. Life will simply continue. If it does occur and I happened to be resurrected and be returned to my Lord, then I will find that what I will go back to after resurrection will be better than this garden of mine. My being rich in this world means that I will be rich after resurrection as well.

His believing friend said to him whilst having this conversation: Do you reject the One Who created your father, Adam, from dust. Then He created you from sperm. Then He made you into a male human being and proportioned your limbs making you complete? The One who has power to do all of that is able to resurrect you.

But I do not profess this statement of yours. I simply say: He, Allah, may He be glorified, is my Lord, who has showered us with His blessings, and I do not associate anyone with Him in worship.

If only, when you entered your garden, you had said: As Allah wills. No one has any power except through Allah. He is the One Who does as He pleases and He is the One of strength- if you regard me as someone poorer than you and one with less children.

I anticipate that Allah will give me something better than your garden and that He will send on your garden a punishment from the sky, making it a barren piece of land on which feet will slip due to its being so smooth.

Or its water may sink so deep into the ground that you will never be able to reach it again in any way. Once the water sinks deep, the garden will not survive.

What the believer anticipated occurred. Destruction engulfed the fruit of the disbeliever’s garden and the disbeliever began wringing his hands on account of extreme regret and remorse over the money that he had spent on its maintenance and upkeep, whilst the garden had fallen over the supports on which the grapevines are spread out and he was saying: I wish I had believed in my Lord alone, and I had not associated anyone with Him in worship.

This disbeliever had no group to protect him from the punishment that fell on him, whereas he was the one who used to boast about his group. He himself too could not stop Allah from destroying his garden.

In that situation, victory is for Allah alone. He, may He be glorified, is best in rewarding His friends who have faith, as He multiplies the reward for them, and He is best in outcome for them.

Strike - O Messenger - an example for those who are deceived by the world. In its temporality and fleeting existence it is similar to rain water that I sent down from the sky. On account of this water the vegetation of the earth grew and ripened. Then this vegetation is broken down into pieces and the wind carries it away to far-lying places and the earth once again becomes as it was previously. Allah has full power over all of that. Nothing is outside His ability. He gives life to whatever He wishes and causes whatever He wishes to perish.

Wealth and children are things of adornment in this worldly life. Wealth will only be of benefit in the afterlife if it is spent on that which pleases Allah. Actions and statements that are pleasing to Allah are better in reward than all the beauty in the world. That is the best thing a person can have hope in, because the beauty of the world will perish while the reward for actions and statements that are pleasing to Allah will last.

Remember the day when I will remove the mountains from their places, and you will see the earth as an open plain as all the mountains, trees and buildings on it will be gone. I will gather all created things together and resurrect them, leaving no one.

People will be presented to your Lord in rows and He will take them to account. It will be said to them: Now you have come to Us individually, barefoot and naked as I created you the first time. Although you claimed that you will never be resurrected and that I will not set for you a time and place in which I will recompense you for your actions.

The book of deeds will be placed. Some people will take the book in their right hands and some will take it in their left hands. You - O man - will see the disbelievers fearful of its contents, because they are aware of the disbelief and sins that they sent forward. They will say: May we be destroyed! What is with this book that leaves no action of ours, small or big, but it has recorded and enumerated it? They will find all the sins they had done in their worldly life written and recorded. Your Lord - O Messenger - does not wrong anyone. He does not punish anyone for no reason and He does not reduce the reward of those who follows Him.

Remember - O Messenger - when I said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam as a salutation. So all of them prostrated to him in fulfilment of the instruction of their Lord besides Iblis. He was one of the Jinn and was not an angel. He refused and was too proud to prostrate. Thus he went against following His Lord. Will you - O people - then take him and his children as friends with whom you align yourselves instead of Me, whilst they are your enemies! How do you take your enemies to be your friends? How bad and ugly is the act of the wrongdoers who make Satan their friend instead of befriending Allah!

These whom you have taken as friends instead of me are all servants like you. I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth when I created them. In fact, they were not even existent then. I did not make some of them witness the creation of others. I am alone in creation and planning. I would not take those human and jinn satans who lead others astray as my assistants as I am in no need of any assistants.

Mention to them - O Messenger - the Day of Judgement, when Allah will say to those who had associated partners with Him in the world: Call My partners whom you claimed were partners to me so that they can help you. They will call them, but they will not answer their call and they will not come to their assistance. I will place between the worshippers and those whom they worshipped a pit of destruction, which will be for both groups, and this is the fire of Hell.

The idolaters will see the fire and they will be completely certain that they are going to fall into it. They will not find any place to escape to from it.

I have explained in different ways, in this Qur’ān that was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him), many types of examples so that they will take a lesson and pay heed. But the thing that is most apparent in man - especially the disbeliever - is to wrongfully argue.

Nothing prevented the obstinate disbelievers from having faith in what Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought from his Lord. Lack of explanation did not prevent them from seeking Allah’s forgiveness for their sins, for many examples were given to them in the Qur’ān and clear proofs came to them. The only thing that prevented them was their stubborn request for the punishment of the previous communities to be imposed on them and for them to see the punishment that they were promised.

I do not send any of Our Messengers except to give good news to the people of faith and obedience and to warn the people of disbelief and disobedience. They do not have the authority to make hearts accept the guidance. Those who disbelieved in Allah dispute with the Messengers despite their having clear proof, in an attempt to use their falsehood to remove the truth that was sent down to Muhammad (peace be upon him). They made the Qur’ān and what they were warned of a joke and mockery.

There is no one more oppressive that the person who was reminded of the verses of his Lord, but he did not pay any attention to the threat of punishment contained therein and he turned away from taking a lesson, forgetting the disbelief and sins he had done in his worldly life without repenting. I have placed on the hearts of people with this description covers that prevent them from understanding the Qur’ān, and in their ears deafness so that they cannot listen to it acceptingly. If you call them to faith they will never respond to what you call them towards as long as there are covers on their hearts and deafness in their ears.

In order for the Prophet (peace be upon him) not to look forward to a hasty punishment for those who rejected him, Allah said to him: Your Lord - O Messenger - is One Who forgives the sins of those who repent, and One Whose Mercy encompasses everything. It is out of His mercy that he grants respite to sinners in order for them to repent to Him. If He was to punish these people who turn away, He would have hastened the punishment for them in the worldly life. But He is tolerant and merciful. He delayed the punishment so that they repent. They have an appointed time and place in which they will be recompensed for their disbelief and turning away if they do not repent, from which they will find no escape.

Those disbelieving towns close to you such as the towns of the people of Hud, Salih and Shuayb —I destroyed them when they wronged themselves by disbelief and sins, and I set for their destruction an appointed time.

Remember - O Messenger - when Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant, Joshua the son of Nun: I will continue travelling until I reach the place where the two seas meet, or I will travel until such time that I meet the righteous servant and I learn from him.

So they both travelled and when they reached the place where the two seas meet, they forgot the fish that they had carried as provision. Allah gave life to that fish and it made a pathway in the sea like a tunnel, with which the water did not come together.

When they passed that place, Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant: Bring us our lunch, we have experienced extreme tiredness in this journey.

The boy said: Do you remember what happened when we rested by the rock? I forgot to tell you about the fish. It was only Satan who made me forget to mention it to you. The fish came to life and it amazingly found its way into the sea.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant: That is what we were looking for, for that is the sign of the place of the righteous servant. So they turned back retracing their steps, so that they do not lose the way until they reached the rock and from there the entry point of the fish.

When they reached the place at which the fish was lost, they found there one of My righteous servants (who was Khidr peace be upon him), to whom I had given mercy, and to whom I had taught knowledge that people were not aware of, which is what is contained in this story.

Moses humbly and politely said to him: May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the knowledge that Allah has taught you which constitutes guidance to the truth?

Khidr said: You will not be able to bear patience over what you see of my knowledge, because it will not correspond with your knowledge.

How will you bear patience over the actions that you see for which you do not know the proper reason, because you judge them according to the limit of your knowledge?!

Moses said: You will find me, Allah willing, to be patient over those actions of yours that I see and committed to following you. I will not go against any instruction that you give me.

Khidr said to Moses: If you follow me, then do not ask me about anything that you see me doing until I myself tell you the reason.

When they agreed to that, they set out to the seashore where they came across a ship, which they boarded for free as an honour to Khidr. Khidr then made a hole in the ship by removing one of its planks. Moses said to him: Did you make a hole in the ship whose owners let us board for free in the hope that they may drown. You have done something confusing and puzzling.

Khidr said to Moses: Did I not say: You will not be able to bear patience over what you see me doing?!

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: Do not take me to task on account of my breaking the pledge forgetfully and do not make it difficult and hard for me to accompany you.

After they disembarked from the ship they set out walking along the seashore, when they saw a young boy who was still not an adult playing with the other boys. Khidr killed him and Moses said to him: Did you kill a pure soul that is still a minor for no sin? You have really done something evil!!

Khidr said to Moses (peace be upon him): “I had said To You: O Moses, you will never be able to bear the matter I will carry out”.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: “Forgive me a second time. But if I ask you about anything after this time, then leave me, for you would have reached the limit, for which you can be excused for leaving my company, as I would have opposed your command three times”.

They then walked until they came to the people of a village from whom they asked for food, but the people of the village refused to feed them and fulfil the right of hospitality towards them. Then they found a wall in the village which was tilting, and about to fall and break. So Khidr fixed it until it was straight, so Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: “If you wanted to take a wage for fixing it, you could have, as we need it after they have refused to host us”.

Khidr said to Moses: “This objection to my not taking a wage for erecting the wall is the point of separation between me and you. I shall inform you of the explanation of what you saw me doing but which you were unable to bear.

As for the ship which you criticised me for breaking, it belonged to some weak people who worked on the sea and who were unable to protect it. So I wanted to make it defective by what I did to it, so that it would not be taken by a king who was ahead of them and who would forcefully take possession of every good ship from its owners but leave every defective ship.

As for the boy you criticised me for killing, his parents were believers but he was an unbeliever according to Allah’s knowledge. So I feared that if he grew up, he would cause them to disbelieve in Allah out of their intense love for him or their intense need towards him.

So I wanted Allah to replace them with a child better than him in religion, piety and purity from sins, and more merciful to his parents.

As for the wall which I fixed but you criticised me for fixing, it belonged to two young boys in the town we went to and whose father had passed away. Beneath the wall some wealth of theirs was buried. And the father of these two boys was pious. So your Lord intended, O Moses, that they reach the age of discerning and grow up, and take out their wealth which was buried underneath it, because if the wall were to fall now, their wealth would become exposed and go to waste. And this plan was your Lord’s mercy on them. And I did not do this of my own judgment. This is the explanation of what you were unable to bear”.

And the idolaters and Jews ask you to test you, O Messenger, regarding the one who had two horns (Dhu’l-Qarnayn). Say: I shall tell you some of his story which you can take lessons from and be reminded by.

I gave him position on earth and granted him of everything which is of relevance to his goals, a path by which he can reach his objective.

So he took the means and paths leading to his objective that I had granted him, and then headed West.

And he travelled on earth until he reached the end of the land towards the setting place of the sun, seeing it as though it was setting in a hot spring of black clay. And he found an unbelieving people by the setting place of the sun. So I said to him, to test him: “O Dhu’l-Qarnayn, you can either punish these people by killing them or through other means, or you can be good to them”.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “As for the one who associates partners with Allah and persists in this, I shall punish him by killing him in this life, then he will return to his Lord on the Day of Judgment and He shall then punish him with a terrible punishment.

And as for the one who believes in Allah and does good deeds, for him is paradise, as a reward from your Lord for his faith and good deeds. And I shall say to him of my command that which contains ease and lenience”.

Then he took a path different to his first route, heading towards the direction of the sunrise.

And he travelled until when he reached the place where the sun rises, he found it rising on a people I had not given any houses or the shade of trees to protect them from the sun.

This is the matter of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, and My knowledge has encompassed the power and strength he had.

Then he followed a path different to the first two, spreading between the East and West.

And he travelled until he reached a gap between two mountains, and he found before them a people who could barely understand the speech of others.

They said: “O Dhu’l-Qarnayn, Gog and Magog (meaning two great nations from the children of Adam) are causing corruption on earth by killing and so forth, so can we give you some wealth so you can make a barrier between us and them?”

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “The kingdom and strength my Lord has given me is better than any wealth you can give me, so support me with men and tools. I shall make a barrier between you and them.

Bring pieces of iron”. They brought them to him, so he began building with them between the two mountains, until when he had made them level with his building, he said to the workers: “Light these pieces”, until when the iron pieces turned red, he said: “Bring copper to pour on top of it”.

So Gog and Magog were unable to climb over it due to its height nor were they able to make a hole in it from beneath due to its hardness.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “This barrier is a mercy from my Lord. It will come between Gog and Magog and causing corruption on earth, and it will stop them from it. Then when the time which Allah has appointed for their release comes before the Final Hour, He will level it to the ground. And the promise of Allah to level it to the ground and to release Gog and Magog is established and will not be broken”.

And I shall leave Gog and Magog to crowd and mix with one another on the day the barrier breaks, due to their large numbers. And the Trumpet will be blown a second time, then I shall bring them all back to life. I shall gather their bones and meat which had scattered, then I shall bring them to the gathering place.

And I shall present Hellfire to the unbelievers without any confusion, so they can see it clearly.

I shall present it to the disbelievers who were blind to the remembrance of Allah in the world, due to the veil which barred them from it, and they were unable to listen to and accept the verses of Allah.

So did those who disbelieved in Allah think to make My servants among the angels, messengers and satans, gods besides me? I have prepared Hellfire as a residing place for the disbelievers.

Say - O Messenger: Shall we tell you, O people, which people are the biggest losers in their actions?

Those who will see on the Day of Judgment that the effort they used to make in the world has gone to waste, whilst they thought they were doing well in their effort and that they will benefit from their actions. The reality was the exact opposite.

They are those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord that prove His oneness and disbelieved in meeting Him, hence their actions became void due to their denial, and so they will not have any value with Allah on the Day of Judgment.

That recompense which is prepared for them is Hellfire, due to their denying Allah and making His revealed verses and His messengers a mockery.

Those who have faith in Allah and do good actions will have the highest of gardens, as a place to honour them.

Staying therein forever, they will not want to move from there, as no reward can come close to it.

Say - O Messenger: the words of my Lord are many. If the ocean were to be ink to write them with, the ocean water would finish before His words come to an end, and if I were to bring more oceans they would also finish.

Say - O Messenger: I am only a human like you, to whom it is revealed that your true god is One God who has no partner, namely Allah. Whoever fears meeting his Lord should do actions which conform with the sacred law, being sincere to his Lord in them, and should not associate any partner to his Lord in worship.

Kaf Ha Ya ‘Ayn Sad. The discussion on similar letters has already passed in Sūrah Al-Baqarah.

This is mention of your Lord’s mercy on His servant (peace be upon him), which I relate to you to take lessons from.

When he called on his Lord quietly, so that it is more likely to be accepted.

He said: “My Lord, indeed my bones have become weak, the white hairs on my head have increased, and I was not unsuccessful in my supplicating You. In fact, every time I supplicated You, You accepted.

And I feared that my relatives will not be able to fulfil the rights of the religion after my death, due to their engrossment in the worldly life. And my wife is barren, so grant me from Yourself a child to help me.

He will inherit prophethood from me and inherit from the family of Jacob (peace be upon him), and O Lord, make him pleasant in his religion, character and knowledge”.

So Allah accepted his supplication and called out to him: “O Zechariah, I am informing you of what will please you. I have accepted your supplication and granted you a boy whose name will be John. I have not given this name to anyone before him”.

Zechariah said, amazed at the power of Allah: “How will a child be born to me when my wife is barren and I have reached the limit of old age and weakness of bones?”

The angel said: “The matter is as you have said, namely that your wife is barren and that you have reached the limit of old age and weakness of bones. However, your Lord said: For your Lord to create John from a barren mother and a father who has reached the extreme old age is easy. And I created you before this, O Zechariah, whilst you were not something to be mentioned as you were non-existent”.

Zechariah (peace be upon him) said: “My Lord, give me a sign I can feel content with and which will show that the glad tiding given to me by the angels has been attained”. He said: “Your sign of having attained what you were given glad tidings of is that you will not be able to speak to people for three days, not due to any illness, but rather you will be sound and well”.

Then Zechariah came out to his people from his place of prayer, and indicated to them without speaking to glorify Allah at the beginning and end of the day.

Then John was born to him. Once he reached an age in which he could be addressed, I said to him: “O John, take the Torah firmly and with effort”. And I granted him understanding, knowledge, firmness, and resolve, whilst he was still a child.

And I granted him mercy from myself and kept him pure from sins. And he was pious, abiding by the commands of Allah and refraining from His prohibitions.

And he was dutiful to his parents, soft with them and kind towards them. And he was neither arrogant regarding obedience to his Lord or his parents nor was he disobedient towards his Lord or his parents.

And peace and safety be on him from Allah on the day he was born, the day he shall die and leave this life, and on the day he shall be raised alive on the Day of Judgment. These three places are the most frightening a person goes through, so if he is safe in them, he shall not have any fear in any other place.

And mention, O Messenger, in the book revealed to you the story of Mary (peace be upon her), when she moved away from her family and stayed separately in a place to their east.

Thus, she made for herself a veil from the people which would cover her, so that they cannot see her when she is worshipping her Lord. Then I sent Gabriel (peace be upon him) to her, thus he appeared to her in the form of a perfectly-formed human. So she thought he has a malicious intention towards her.

So when she saw him in the form of a perfectly-formed human heading towards her, she said: “I seek protection of the Merciful from you that any harm should come to me from you, if you are pious and fear Allah”.

Gabriel (peace be upon him) said: “I am not a human. I am only a Messenger from your Lord who He has sent to you for me to give you a good pure child”.

Mary said surprisingly: “How can I have a child when neither a husband nor anyone else has come near me nor am I an adulteress that I should have a child?”

Gabriel said to her: “The matter is as you said, namely that no husband or anyone else has touched you nor are you an adulteress. However, your Lord said: ‘To create a child without a father is easy for Me. And it is so that the child granted to you is a sign for people of the power of Allah, and a mercy from Me to them, due to the good they will achieve through him. And the creation of this child of yours is a fixed decree from Allah and written in the Preserved Tablet’.

So she conceived him after the angel blew into her, then she withdrew with him to a place far from the people.

And the pangs of childbirth struck her and made her take refuge by the trunk of a date tree. Mary said: “If only I had died before this day and I was something not even mentioned, so that bad is not thought of me”.

Then Gabriel called to her from the bottom of the valley: “Do not grieve. Your Lord has made for you a spring of water beneath you from which you can drink.

And hold the trunk of the tree and shake it; it will instantly drop fresh ripe dates on you.

So eat of the ripe dates, drink of the water, and be pleased with your child and do not grieve. And if you see any person who asks you regarding the child, say to him: ‘I have bound myself to silence for my Lord’s sake, so I will not speak to any person today’”.

Then Mary came carrying her child to her people. Her people said to her out of shock: “O Mary, you have committed a grave fabricated matter, by bringing a child without a father.

O one who resembles Aaron (a righteous man) in worship, your father was not an adulterer nor was your mother. You are from a pure household known to be righteous, so how can you bring a child without a father?”

She pointed towards her son Jesus (peace be upon him) who was in the cradle. So the people said in surprise: “How can we talk to a child who is in the cradle?”

Jesus (peace be upon him) said: “I am the servant of Allah. He gave me the Gospel and made me one of His prophets.

And He made me a great benefit for the servants wherever I am. And He ordered me to perform prayer and give Zakat for as long as I live.

And He made me righteous to my mother. And He did not make me arrogant towards the obedience of my Lord nor did He make me disobedient to her.

And safety from the satans and his helpers is on me on the day of my birth, the day of my death and the day I shall be raised on the Day of Judgment. The satan has no evil effect on me in these three frightening places”.

He who is described with these qualities is Jesus, son of Mary. And this discussion is the word of truth regarding him, not that which is said by the misguided who doubt and disagree in his affair.

It does not befit Allah to have a son, exalted and free He is from this. When He intends something, it is enough for Him to say regarding this thing: Be, and it most definitely becomes. So He who is like this is free from having a son.

And Allah, may He be glorified, is both my Lord and your Lord, so make worship sincere for Him alone. This which I have mentioned to you is the straight path that leads to the pleasure of Allah.

But the factions of Jews and Christians differed regarding the matter of Jesus (peace be upon him). The Jews said about him that he is a magician. Some Christians said about him that he is the son of Allah. Woe to those who differ regarding him, from witnessing the great Day of Judgment, due to its scenes, reckoning and punishment.

How horrible is what they will hear and see on the Day of Judgment, and how severe it will be for them. And how strange will be their condition which you will see. However, the oppressors in this worldly life are clearly misguided from the straight path. They will not prepare for the afterlife until it will suddenly come to them whilst they are in their wrongdoing.

And warn the people, O Messenger, of the Day of Regret when the evildoer will regret his evil-doings and when the righteous will regret not being more obedient, when the scrolls of the servants will be wrapped, their reckoning is finished and each person goes towards what he had sent forward. But they have been deceived by their worldly life and are unmindful of the Hearafter, and they do not accept the Day of Judgment.

I am the one who will remain after the creation has perished. I shall inherit the earth and those on it, because they will have perished and I will remain after them, and I own them and do with them as I want. To Me alone they shall return on the Day of Judgment to be reckoned and recompensed.

And mention, O Messenger, in the Qur’ān which has been revealed to you the story of Abraham (peace be upon him). He was very truthful and firmly believed the signs of Allah.

When he said to his father Azar: “O father, why do you worship besides Allah an idol which does not hear your supplication if you supplicate it, does not see your worship when you worship it, does not remove harm from you and does not bring any benefit to you?

O father, such knowledge has come to me through revelation which has not come to you, so follow me and I shall guide you to the straight path.

O father, do not worship the satan by obeying him. The satan is disobedient to the Merciful, as He ordered him to prostrate to Adam but he did not prostrate.

O father, I fear a punishment from the Merciful will afflict you if you die in your disbelief, then you will be a companion to him in punishment due to your befriending him”.

Azar said to his son Abraham (peace be upon him): “Are you turning away from the idols I worship, O Abraham? If you do not stop criticising my idols, I shall pelt you with stones. Leave me for a long time. Do not talk to me or be with me”.

Abraham (peace be upon him) said to his father: “Greetings of peace to you from me. You will not face from me what you dislike. I shall seek forgiveness and guidance from my Lord for you. He is very kind to me.

And I shall leave you and leave the idols you worship besides Allah, and I shall call upon my Lord alone, without associating any partner with Him. Perhaps He will not deprive me if I pray to Him, otherwise I will be unsuccessful in praying to Him.

So when he left them and their gods they used to worship besides Allah, I replaced for him his loss of family, and so I gave him his son Isaac and I gave him his grandson Jacob. And each one of them I made a prophet.

And out of My mercy, I gave them much good alongside prophethood. And I established for them good praise which remains on the tongues of people.

And mention, O Messenger, in the Qur’ān revealed to you the story of Moses (peace be upon him). He was chosen and selected, and he was a Messenger and prophet.

I called him from the side of the mountain that was on the right in relation to where Moses (peace be upon him) was, and I brought him near in communion, where Allah let him hear His speech.

I gave him, out of My grace and favour, his brother Aaron (peace be upon him) as a prophet, in answer to his prayer when he asked his Lord for that.

And mention, O Messenger, in the Qur’ān revealed to you, the story of Ishmael (peace be upon him). He was true to his promise - whenever he made a promise he fulfilled it - and he was a messenger and prophet.

He used to instruct his household to keep up the prayer and to give Zakat, and his Lord was well pleased with him.

And mention, O Messenger, in the Qur’ān which has been revealed to you, the story of Idris (peace be upon him). He was very truthful and firmly believed in the signs of his Lord, and he was one of the prophets of Allah.

I raised his mention by the prophethood I gave him and he therefore was of a high rank.

Those who were mentioned in this Sūrah, beginning with Zachariah and ending with Idris (peace be upon them) are the ones whom Allah blessed with prophethood, from the children of Adam (peace be upon him), and from the children of those whom I carried in the Ark with Noah (peace be upon him), and from the children of Abraham and the children of Jacob (peace be upon them), and from those whom I blessed with guidance to Islam and whom I chose and made prophets. When they heard the verses of Allah being recited, they prostrated to Allah, weeping out of His fear.

After these chosen prophets came followers of evil and deviation, who neglected prayer by not offering it in the required manner, and who perpetrated sins driven by their own desires such as fornication. These people will come face to face with evil and disappointment in Hell.

But those who repented from their neglect and excess, who had faith in Allah, and who did righteous deeds; those who possess such attributes will enter Paradise and the reward of their actions will not be reduced in the least.

Gardens of residence and permanence, which the Merciful promised His servants in the Ghaib that He will make them enter them. They did not see them but they believed in them. Allah’s promise of Paradise - even though it is in the Ghaib - will most certainly come to pass.

There they will not hear anything futile nor any obscene talk. Instead they will hear the greeting of peace to one another and the greeting of peace from the angels to them. They will be given whatever type of food they desire in the morning and evening.

This Paradise, described with the above attributes, is the one that I will give to those of My servants who fulfilled the Commandments and avoided the Prohibitions.

And say - O Gabriel - to Muhammad (peace be upon him): The angels do not descent of their own accord. They only descend at Allah’s command. Everything ahead of us in the Hearafter, everything behind us in the world, and everything in between the world and the Hearafter, all belong to Allah. Your Lord, O Messenger, would not forget anything.

He is the Creator of the heavens and the Creator of the earth and their Owner and Controller. He is also the Creator, Owner and Controller of everything in between them so worship Him alone, for He alone is deserving of worship. Remain firm in worshipping Him, for He has no likeness or partner who shares this worship with Him.

The disbeliever, who rejects resurrection, mockingly says: What, when I die, I will come out of my grave alive for a second time? This is far-fetched.

Does this person who rejects resurrection not remember that I created him previously when he was nothing? He can then use the first creation as evidence for the second creation, even though the second creation will be simpler and easier?

By your Lord, O Messenger, I will take them out of their graves to the place of gathering along with the satans who had misled them. Then I will push them towards the doors of Hell, humiliated and on their knees.

I shall violently pull out from each of the groups of deviation those who were most disobedient, and these are their leaders.

Then I know best about those who most deserve to enter the Fire and endure and suffer its heat.

There is not one among you - O people - who will not cross over the bridge placed over Hell. Your Lord has made this crossing an incumbent decree and no one can push back His decree.

Then after this crossing over the bridge, I will deliver those who were mindful of their Lord by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions, and I will leave the wrongdoers kneeling on their knees without being able to escape from it.

When My clear revelations to My Messenger are recited to people, the disbelievers say to the believers: Which of our two parties is better in residence and dwelling and superior in assembly and gathering: Our party or your party?

How many were the nations that I destroyed before these disbelievers who are proud of their material superiority, who had surpassed them in riches and in their outward appearance due to their expensive clothing and their bodily luxuries.

Say - O Messenger: The Merciful will grant respite to those wallowing in their misguidance, so that they fall further into it, until when they see what they have been warned about- either the swift punishment in this world or the punishment postponed to the Day of Judgment - then they will realise who is worse situated and who has the weakest forces. Is it their party or the party of the believers.

In contrast to the respite granted to those people so that they fall further into misguidance, Allah gives more guidance and obedience to those who are guided. Righteous deeds that lead to perpetual happiness are more beneficial - in the sight of your Lord, O messenger, in terms of their recompense and have a better outcome.

Have you, O messenger, seen the man who denies My evidences, rejects My warning and says: If I die and am resurrected, I will certainly be given a lot of wealth and children?

Does he have knowledge of the Ghaib and therefore he said that with some proof? Or does he have a pledge with his Lord to enter him into paradise and to give him wealth and children?

The matter is not as he claimed. I will certainly record what he says and does; and I will give him a punishment over and above his punishment because of the falsehood that he claims.

I shall inherit the wealth and children he leaves behind after I destroy him, and he will come to Us on the Day of Judgement all alone, with the wealth and fame that he enjoyed having been taken away from him.

The idolaters have taken for themselves things of worship other than Allah, so that they may be a support and source of assistance for them.

The matter is not as they claimed. These things that they worshipped besides Allah will reject the idolaters’ worship of them on the Day of Judgment. They will disassociate themselves from them and become their enemies.

Have you, O Messenger, not seen that I sent the satans and gave them authority over the disbelievers inciting them to commit sins and prevent others from Allah’s religion?

Do not be hasty, O Messenger, in asking Allah to punish them quickly. I am keeping a close record of their lives, until when the period of their respite comes to an end, I will punish them with what they deserve.

Remember, O Messenger, the Day of Judgment when I will gather those who were mindful of their Lord - by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions - to their Lord as a delegation that is honoured and respected.

I will drive the disbelievers to Hell thirsty.

These disbelievers will not have the power to intercede for one another, except for those who had taken a pledge with Allah in the world by having faith in Him and in His messengers.

The Jews, the Christians and some of the idolaters said: The Merciful has taken a son.

You - who say this - have indeed brought something monstrous.

The heavens almost rupture because of this detested statement, the earth almost splits, and the mountains almost fall in ruins.

All of this because they have attributed a son to the Merciful. Allah is high above that by far.

It is not befitting of the Merciful to take a son as He is pure of that.

There is no angel, human being or jinn in the heavens and earth but that he will come in submission to his Lord on the Day of Judgment.

He has full knowledge of them and has numbered them exactly. Nothing of theirs is hidden from Him.

Each one of them will come to Him on the Day of Judgment alone, without any helper or any wealth.

Those who have faith in Allah, and do righteous actions that Allah is pleased with, Allah will create for them love by His loving them and by making them beloved to His servants.

We have made this Qur’ān easy by revealing it in your own language, O Messenger, so that you may bring glad news to those who are mindful by fulfilling My instructions and avoiding My prohibitions, and so that you may warn a people who are harsh in disputing and stubborn in accepting the truth.

How many communities I have destroyed before your people! Do you perceive a single one of those communities today, or hear any sound from them? What afflicted them may afflict others when Allah gives permission.

This sūrah begins with the disconnected letters, the explanation for which has already preceeded in Sūrah Baqarah.

I have not revealed the Qur’ān to you, O Messenger, to become distressed by your people’s turning away from having faith in it.

We only revealed it to be a reminder for those whom Allah has blessed so that they fear Him.

It was sent down by Allah, Who created the earth and the high heavens. It is thus a grand Qur’ān, as it was sent down by a Grand Being.

The Merciful who established Himself on the Throne, in a meaning that is befitting for His Majesty, may He be glorified.

Everything in the heavens and on earth, and all that is beneath the soil, belong to Him alone, may He be glorified. He created, owns and controls all of it.

If you, O Messenger, proclaim the word or conceal it, He, may He be glorified, knows all of that. He knows the secrets and what is even more hidden, such as thoughts in the mind. Nothing is hidden from Him.

Allah, there is no being deserving of worship besides Him. To Him alone belong the perfect Names that have reached the most complete level of perfection and excellence.

The story of Moses, son of Imran, (peace be upon him), has come to you - O Messenger.

When he saw a fire whilst travelling and he said to his family: Stay here––I can see a fire. Maybe I can bring you a flaming brand from it or find somebody to guide me to the path.

When he came to the fire, Allah, may He be glorified, called out to him saying: O Moses.

I am your Lord. Take off your shoes in preparation for your conversation with me. You are in the purified valley (of Tuwa.)

I have chosen you - O Moses - to convey My message, so listen to what I reveal to you.

I am Allah; there is no being deserving of worship but Me. So worship Me alone and perform the prayer in the perfect manner so that you may remember Me in it.

The Hour is most definitely coming and it will certainly occur. I almost keep it hidden so that no creation knows its time, but they are aware of its signs by the information given to them by the Prophet sent to them, so that each soul is rewarded for what it did, whether good or evil.

Do not let those disbelievers who do not believe in it and who follow their unlawful desires distract you from believing in it and preparing for it by doing righteous action and so bring you to ruin on account of it.

What is that in your right hand, O Moses?

Moses (peace be upon him) said: It is my stick: I lean on it when walking, I beat down tree leaves with it for my sheep, and it has many other uses besides those I mentioned.

Allah said: Throw it down, O Moses.

Moses threw it down and it turned into a snake moving swiftly.

Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him): Take hold of the stick and do not fear its having turned into a snake. When you take hold of it I will return it to its former state.

Now press your hand to your side and it will come out white, without any leprosy; that is another sign for you.

I have shown you these two signs - O Moses - to show you some of My greatest signs that indicate My Power and that you are a messenger sent by Allah.

Go - O Moses - to Pharaoh, for he has overstepped the bounds in disbelief and rebellion against Allah.

Moses (peace be upon him) said: Lord, expand my breast for me so that I can bear the difficulty.

Make my task easy.

Give me the ability to speak eloquently.

So that they understand my speech when I convey Your message to them.

Give me a helper from my family who will assist me in my affairs.

Aaron, the son of Imran, my brother.

Strengthen my determination through him.

And make him my partner in the mission.

So that we can glorify You much.

And remember You much.

You are always watching over us. Nothing of ours is hidden from You.

Allah said: I have granted your request, O Moses.

I had favoured you another time.

When We inspired your mother by that which was a means by which Allah protected you from Pharaoh’s plot.

I had instructed her when I inspired her: Throw your child after he is born into the chest and then place the chest into the river. The river will cast him on to the bank by My command, and he will be taken in by an enemy of Mine and his, who is Pharaoh. I placed on you love from Me, so that people love you, and so that you are reared under My watchful eye, protection and care.

When your sister went out following the chest wherever it went, and she said to those who took it: Shall I show you someone who will take care of him, nurse him and rear him. I then favoured you by returning you to your mother so that she could rejoice by your return to her and not grieve over you. Then You killed the copt whom you punched, but We favoured you by saving you from difficulty. And we helped you time after time from every test that you faced. You then left and stayed among the people of Madyan for years, then you came at the time that was specified for you to come to be spoken to O Moses.

I have selected you as My messenger to convey to people the revelation I sent to you.

Go, you - O Moses - and your brother Aaron, with My signs indicating Allah’s Power and Oneness, and do not slacken in calling towards Me and in remembering Me.

Go to Pharaoh, for he has overstepped the bounds in disbelief and rebellion against Allah.

Speak to him gently without harshness, in the hope that he may take heed, fear Allah and repent.

Moses and Aaron peace be upon them) said: We fear that he will quickly punish us before we can deliver Your message to him, or that he will exceed the limit in oppressing us by killing us or otherwise.

Allah said to them: Do not be afraid, I am with you both with My help and support. I hear and see everything that occurs between you and him.

So go to him and tell him: We are the messengers of your Lord - O Pharaoh - so send the Israelites with us and do not punish them by killing their sons and letting their women live. We have brought to you a sign from your Lord proving our truthfulness. Safety from Allah’s punishment is for those who have faith and follow Allah’s guidance.

Allah has revealed to us that punishment in this world and the afterlife falls on whoever rejects the signs of Allah and turns his back on what the messengers brought.

Pharaoh said, in denial of what they brought: Who then is your Lord, whom you claim has sent you to me, O Moses?

Moses said: Our Lord is the One Who gave everything the shape and form suitable for it, and then He guided all created things to what they were created for.

Pharaoh said: What about the previous communities who had disbelieved?

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Pharaoh: The knowledge of what those communities did is with my Lord, recorded in the Preserved Tablet. My Lord does not err in His Knowledge of things nor does He forget anything.

My Lord is the One who made the earth spread out for you to live on and made for you on it pathways to travel on. He sent down rain water from the sky and with that water He brings forth every kind of plant.

Eat - O people - of the pure things that I have brought forth for you, and graze your cattle. In the favours that are mentioned there are signs of Allah’s Power and Oneness for people of understanding.

From the soil of the earth I created your father, Adam (peace be upon him), into it I shall return you by your being buried therein when you pass away, and from it I shall take you out you a second time when you will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment.

I showed Pharaoh all of My nine signs. He saw them all but denied them and refused to respond by having faith in Allah.

Pharaoh said: Have you come to remove us from Egypt with the magic that you brought, O Moses, so that you can gain control over it?

We will certainly bring to, O Moses, magic similar to yours, so make an appointment between you and us at a specified time and place, which neither of us will fail to keep, and let the place be a central and even place to both groups.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Pharaoh: The appointment between you and us will be on the day of the festival when people will gather to celebrate the festival in the morning.

Pharaoh went back and gathered his plots and tricks. Then he came at the specified time and place for the contest.

Moses said advising Pharaoh’s magicians: Beware, do not invent lies against Allah through the magic by means of which you deceive people, or He will eliminate you with a punishment from Him. Whoever invents lies against Allah is a loser.

The magicians argued among themselves when they heard what Moses (peace be upon him) had to say and they conferred secretly.

The magicians said to one another secretly: Moses and Aaron are both magicians. Their intention is to drive you out of Egypt with the magic that they brought and put an end to your superior way of life and sublime religion.

So make a firm decision and do not differ therein. Then go forward in rows and throw down what you have all at once. Whoever defeats his opponent today has attained his objective.

The magicians said to Moses (peace be upon him): O Moses, you have one of two options: Either you will be the first to throw down the magic you have, or we will be the first to do so.

Moses (peace be upon him) said: Rather, you throw what you have first. So they threw what they had and suddenly their ropes and sticks that they had thrown seemed to Moses, because of their magic, to be snakes moving quickly.

Moses was inwardly alarmed thinking that they would come for him.

Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him) reassuring him: Do not be afraid of what they seem to you. You - O Moses - have the upper hand over them and you will be victorious.

Throw down the stick that is in your right hand: it will turn into a snake and swallow up the magic they have produced. They have only produced a magic trick, and a magician will not achieve his objective, wherever he may be.

So Moses threw down his stick and it turned into a snake and swallowed up what the magicians had produced. The magicians then all prostrated to Allah once they came to know that what Moses had was not magic, but it was from Allah and they said: We have faith in the Lord of Moses and Aaron, the Lord of all created things.

Pharaoh said in rejection of the faith of the magicians and as threat to them: Have you believed in Moses before I have given you permission to do so? Moses must be your master - O magicians - who taught you magic. I shall certainly cut off from each one of you one hand and foot from opposite sides, then I will crucify your bodies on the trunks of palm trees until you die. You will become a lesson for others and you will know then which of us has the fiercer and more lasting punishment: I or the Lord of Moses?

The magicians said to Pharaoh: We shall never prefer following you - O Pharaoh - to following the clear signs that have come to us. We will never prefer you to Allah Who created us. So do whatever you want to us: you only have power over us in this present transient life, and your power will soon vanish.

We believe in our Lord, with the hope that He will erase from us our past sins of disbelief and other sins, and that He will erase from us the sin of magic that you forced us to learn, practice and challenge Moses with. Allah has a better reward than what you promise us and His punishment is more lasting than the punishment you threaten us with.

The matter and gist is that those who come to their Lord on the Day of Judgment as disbelievers will enter the fire to remain there forever. Therein they will not die and be relieved of its torment, nor will they live a pleasant life.

Those who come to their Sustainer on the Day of Judgement as believers who had done righteous actions, then such people will be rewarded with lofty abodes and high ranks in Paradise.

Those ranks are Gardens of Eternity with streams flowing under their palaces, and there they will stay there forever. That is the reward of those who purify themselves from disbelief and sins.

And I revealed to Moses to take My servants by night from Egypt so that nobody notices them, and make for them a dry path in the sea after striking the sea with the staff, safely without fearing Pharaoh and his people catching up with you nor being scared of drowning in the sea.

Then Pharoah, accompanied by his armies, followed them. Then he and his armies were engulfed by part of the sea, the reality of which only Allah knows. They all drowned and perished, whilst Moses and those with him were saved.

And Pharaoh misguided his people by making disbelief appear good to them and by deceiving them through falsehood, and he did not direct them towards the path of guidance.

And I said to the Children of Israel after saving them from Pharoah and his armies: “O Children of Israel, I saved you from your enemy, and I promised you that I will speak to Moses to the right of the valley by Mount Tur, and I sent down to you whilst you were wandering food you can eat which is sweet and resembles gum, and birds which resemble quails.”

Eat the wholesome lawful foods I have provided you and do not go beyond what I have made lawful to you, so you consume what I have made forbidden for you, otherwise My anger will fall on you. Whoever My anger falls upon will be destroyed and fall into Hell.

And I am extremely forgiving and pardoning to one who repents to Me, does good deeds and is then firm on the truth.

And what has made you rush from your people, O Moses, leaving them behind?”

Moses (peace be upon him) said: “Here they are behind me. They shall catch up with me. I preceded my people in coming to You, so that you become pleased with me for coming towards You quickly”.

Allah said: “I have tested your people whom you left behind through worship of the calf. Samiri called them to worshipping it and he has misguided them through this”.

Moses returned to his people, angered by their worship of the calf and grieving over them. Moses (peace be upon him) said: “My people, did Allah not make you a good promise that He will send the Torah to you and enter you into paradise? Had a long time passed upon you that you forgot? Or did you intend through this action of yours that your Lord’s anger should descend upon you and His punishment befall you, and this is why you broke your promise to me to stay firm on obedience until I return to you?”

Moses’ people said: “We did not break your promise, O Moses, by our own choice, but rather by compulsion. We carried large weights of the jewellery of Pharaoh’s people and we threw them into a ditch to get rid of them. But as we threw them into the ditch, Samiri threw into it some dust he had from the hoof of the horse of Gabriel (peace be upon him)”.

So Samiri took out from this jewellery of the Israelites a lifeless body of a calf, which made a noise like that of a cow. Those amongst them who had been tempted by Samiri’s action said: “This is your god and the god of Moses which he forgot and left here”.

Do these people who were tempted by the calf and then worshipped it not see that the calf does not speak or respond to them, nor does it have the ability to remove harm from them or others or bring benefit for itself or others?

Aaron had said to them before Moses returned to them: “The making of the calf from gold and its mooing are only to test you, to distinguish the believer from the disbeliever. And your Lord, O people, is Allah, so follow me by worshipping Him alone and obey my command to leave worshipping others besides Him”.

Those who had been tempted through worship of the calf said: “We will continue worshipping it until Moses returns to us”.

Moses said to his brother Aaron: “What was it that stopped you, when you saw them go astray by worshipping the calf besides Allah,

from leaving them and joining me? Did you disobey my order to you when I made you my deputy over them?”

When Moses took his brother by his beard and head, dragging him and scolding him for what he did, Aaron said to him, seeking his compassion: “Do not hold my beard and the hair on my head, for I have a reason for staying with them. I feared if I leave them alone they will disperse, then you will say I split them apart and that I did not maintain your bequest regarding them”.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Samiri: “What is your matter, O Samiri? What made you do what you did?”

Samiri said to Moses (peace be upon him): “I saw what they did not see: I saw Gabriel on a horse, so I took a handful of soil from the footsteps of his horse and threw it on melted jewellery which was moulded into the form of a calf. From this, the body of a calf with a mooing sound was formed. And this is how my soul made what I did appealing to me”.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Samiri: “Go, for it is written for you that you will say as long as you live: ‘I am not to touch or be touched’. You will live as an outcast, and you have a promised time on the Day of Judgment in which you will be reckoned and punished. Allah will never break this promise with you. And look towards your calf which you had made your god and which you continued to worship besides Allah. We shall burn it in a fire until it melts, then we shall scatter it into the sea until no trace of it remains.

Your true god, O people, is Allah only, besides whom there is no true god. He has encompassed everything in His knowledge; only He knows everything and nothing escapes His awareness”.

Just as I related to you, O Messenger, the story of Moses, Pharaoh and their people, I relate to you the incidents of the prophets and nations before you, so that they are a solace for you. And I have given you from Myself a Qur’ān through which those who seek reminders are reminded.

Whoever turns away from this Qur’ān which has been revealed to you and does not believe in it and act accordingly will come on the Day of Judgment carrying great sin and deserving a painful punishment.

Staying in this punishment forever. How awful a burden they will be carrying on the day of judgment.

The day when the angel will blow in the trumpet a second time for the resurrection, and I shall gather the disbelievers on this day, blue-eyed, due to their complexion and eyes changing out of the severe horrors of the afterlife they will face.

They will talk to one another quietly saying: “You did not stay in the Transitory Stage after death except ten nights”.

I know best what they secretly say amongst themselves, with none of it escaping Me, when the most intelligent of them says: “You did not stay in the Transitory Stage except for one day, no more”.

They ask you, O Messenger, regarding the condition of the mountains on the Day of Judgment. Say to them: My Lord will pull out the mountains from their roots and scatter them, then they will become dust.

He will then leave the earth which used to carry them as flat, with no buildings or vegetation on it.

O onlooker, you will not see on the earth, due to it being totally flat, any curve, elevation or dip.

On that day, people will follow the sound of the caller towards the gathering place. There will be nothing to divert them from following it. The voices will silence for the Merciful, out of fear, so you will not hear on this day except whispering.

On this great day, no intercession from any intercessor will benefit, except one whom Allah allows to intercede and Allah is pleased with what he says in intercession.

Allah knows what people will face in the final hour and He knows what they will have left behind in their worldly life. All the servants together cannot encompass the knowledge of Allah’s being and His qualities.

The faces of the servants will humble and surrender before the Eternal One who does not die and who takes care of the affairs of His servants by managing and administering them. And the one Who carried sin has lost, due to his taking himself to places of destruction.

Whoever does good deeds whilst believing in Allah and His messengers will attain his full reward, and will neither fear injustice by being punished for a sin he did not commit nor a decrease in the reward of his good deeds.

I have revealed the Qur’ān in clear Arabic just as I revealed the stories of the previous prophets, and I have explained in it different warnings of threat and fear, in the hope they will fear Allah or that the admonition of the Qur’ān will cause them to reflect.

Allah is High above and Exalted from what the idolaters describe Him with of deficiencies and from what they attribute as partners to Him. He is the Majestic King, to whom belongs the kingdom of everything, and who is the Truth and speaks the truth. Do not hasten, O Messenger, in reciting the Qur’ān with Gabriel before it is completely conveyed to you, and say: O Lord, increase me in knowledge, on top of what You have already taught me.

And I enjoined on Adam beforehand not to eat of the tree, and I forbade him from this and explained to him its consequences. But he forgot the instruction, ate of the tree and was unable to resist it. And I did not see in him resolve to observe what I enjoined.

And remember, O Messenger, when I said to the angels: “Prostrate to Adam as a greeting”. All of them prostrated besides Iblis, who was with them but not from them. He refused to prostrate out of arrogance.

So I said: “O Adam, Iblis is your enemy and your wife’s enemy, so let him not take you and your wife out of paradise, by obeying him in what he whispers, in which case you will bear difficulties and hardship.

It is Allah’s responsibility towards you that He will feed you, so you will not get hungry, and to clothe you, so you will not be naked.

And to give you water so that you do not get thirsty, and to shade you so that the heat of the sun does not affect you”.

But the satan whispered to Adam saying: “Shall I show you a tree that whoever eats from it will never die, but in fact remain forever, and possess an everlasting kingdom that will never break or end?”

Then Adam and Eve ate of the tree they were forbidden to eat from, then their private areas became exposed to them after they were hidden, and they began to pluck the leaves of the trees of paradise and cover their private areas with them. Adam opposed the command of his Lord, as he did not comply with His order of refraining from eating of the tree, and so he trespassed the bounds towards that which was not allowed for him.

Then Allah chose him, accepted his repentance and enabled him to be guided.

Allah said to Adam and Eve: “Both of you and Iblis, descend from paradise, because he is your enemy and you are his enemies. If there comes to you from Me an explanation of My path, then whoever amongst you follows the explanation of my path, acts accordingly and does not divert from it, he will not go astray from the truth nor will he be misfortunate in the afterlife through punishment, but rather Allah will enter him into paradise.

And whoever turns away from My reminder and does not accept it or respond to it shall have a constricted and miserable life in this world and in the Transitory Stage, and I shall lead him towards the gathering place on the Day of Judgment without eyesight and proof.

This person will say: “O Lord, why did you raise me blind today when I could see in the world?”

Allah said in refutation of him: “This is like what you did in the world, because My signs came to you but you turned away from them and left them. Likewise, you will be left today in punishment”.

And this is the kind of reward I give to the one engrossed in unlawful desires and who turns away from believing in the clear proofs from his Lord. And the punishment of Allah in the Hearafter is even more horrible, severe, and lasting, than the life they will have in the world and in the transition.

Is it not clear to the idolaters how many nations I destroyed before them? They walk in the homes of these destroyed nations and see the effects of what befell them. In the destruction and ruination which befell these many nations are lessons for people of intelligence.

O Messenger, had a word not preceded from your Lord that He will not punish anyone before establishing the proof against him, and had there not been a time which is fixed with Him, the punishment would have come to them quickly, due to their deserving it.

So be patient, O Messenger, on the false things those who disbelieve in you say about you. Glorify and praise your Lord in the Fajr prayer before sunrise; in the Asr prayer before sunset; in the hours of night in the Maghrib and Isha prayers; and in the Zuhr prayer just after the zenith, which is the end of the first part of the day and the beginning of the second part; in the hope of attaining reward with Allah which you will be pleased with.

And do not desire the types of enjoyment I have given to different groups of the disbelievers, the glitter of the worldly life which they enjoy so that I may test them. What I have given them of this will disappear, and the reward of your Lord which He has promised you and which will make you pleased is better and more lasting.

And order your family, O Messenger, to perform prayer, and you also remain constant in its performance. I do not ask you for your own sustenance or that of others; I will take care of your sustenance. The praiseworthy outcome in this world and the afterlife is for the pious who fear Allah, carrying out His commands and refraining from His prohibitions.

These disbelievers who reject the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Why does Muhammad not bring us a sign from his Lord which proves his truthfulness and that he is a Messenger?” Has the Qur’ān which confirms the previous divine books not come to these rejecters?

And if I were to destroy these deniers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) by sending punishment on them due to their disbelief and obstinacy, before sending a messenger to them and revealing a book to them, they would say on the Day of Judgment, as an excuse for their disbelief: “O Lord, if only You had sent a messenger to us in the world, so that we could have believed in him and followed the verses that he brought, before disgrace and shame befell us through Your punishment”.

O Messenger, say to these deniers: “Each one of us and you awaits what Allah will carry out, so wait. You will most certainly come to know who are the people of the straight path and who are the guided: us or you?”

People’s being taken to account for their actions on the Day of Judgment has come close, but they are turning away from the afterlife in their unmindfulness, due to their being preoccupied with the world.

And no part of the Qur’ān which is newly revealed comes to them except that they listen to it without benefiting, but rather playful listening, without caring about its contents.

They listened to it whilst their hearts were unmindful of it. And those who are wrongdoers through disbelief hid their private talk when they said: “Is this one who claims to be a messenger but a man like you, without any distinction from you? What he has brought is magic. So will you follow him knowing that he is a man like you and what he has brought is magic?”

The Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “My Lord knows the speech you concealed, for He knows everything said by anyone in the heavens and the earth. He is Hearing of the sayings of His servants and Knowing of their actions, for which He shall reward them”.

But they were unsure of what Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought. At times they said: “Confused dreams which have no meaning”. And at times they said: “No, but in fact he made it up without any basis”. And sometimes they said: “He is a magician. If he is true in his claim, he should bring us a miracle like the former messengers, as they brought miracles like the staff of Moses and the camel of Salih”.

Before these who are making a request, no town which ever made a request for divine signs. to be revealed and was then granted them as per their request ever believed. In fact, they denied them so I destroyed them. So will these people believe?

And I did not send before you, O Messenger, except men amongst humans to whom I would send revelation. I did not send them as angels, so ask the People of the Book before you if you do not know this.

And I did not make the messengers I used to send as bodies which did not eat food. In fact, they used to eat as others eat, and they were not to remain in the world without dying.

Then I fulfilled what I promised My messengers, as I saved them and whomever I wanted amongst the believers from being destroyed. And I destroyed those who overstepped the limit through disbelief in Allah and committing disobedience.

I have revealed to you the Qur’ān in which lies your honour and pride, if you believe it and act according to its contents. Do you not understand this, so that you hasten towards believing it and practicing what it contains?

There are many towns which I destroyed due to their injustice through disbelief, and I created other people after them.

Then when those who were destroyed saw My destructive punishment, they began to run from their towns to flee destruction.

They were being called mockingly: “Do not flee, but return to your enjoyment of luxuries which you were in and to your homes, so that you can be questioned somewhat regarding your worldly possessions”.

These wrongdoers who confessed to their sins said: “Woe and destruction for us. We were wrongdoers due to our disbelief in Allah”.

So they continued confessing to their sins and praying for their own destruction until I made them like harvested crops, dead without any movement.

And I did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is in between as a plaything or in vain, but rather I created them to show My power.

If I wanted to take a wife or child, I would have done so on My own part. But I did not do this as I am pure of this.

But rather, I throw the truth I reveal to My messengers upon the falsehood of the disbelievers, and it destroys it, and then their falsehood goes and finishes. And for you, O you who say Allah has taken a wife or son, is destruction, due to your describing Him with what is inappropriate for Him.

And for Him alone is the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of earth. And the angels with Him neither scorn worshipping Him nor do they tire of it.

They constantly glorify Him without tiring of it.

But the idolaters took gods besides Allah which cannot revive the dead, so how do they worship something unable to do this?

If there were numerous gods in the heavens and the earth, they would have been ruined, due to the gods disputing in the kingdom. But the reality is not like this. So Allah, Lord of the Throne, is pure of the lie the idolaters describe Him with, namely that He has partners.

And Allah is alone in His kingdom and decree. Nobody can ask Him what He has decreed and ordered, whilst He will ask His servants about their actions and will reward them accordingly.

But they took other gods besides Allah. Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: “Bring your proof for their being worthy of worship. This book which has been revealed to me and the books revealed upon the messengers contain no proof for you”. But rather most of the idolaters only take support from ignorance and blind following, so they turn away from accepting the truth.

And I have not sent before you, O Messenger, any messenger except that I revealed to him that there is no true god except Me, so worship Me alone and do not associate any partner with Me.

The idolaters said: “Allah has taken the angels as daughters”. Pure and exalted is Allah from the lie they say. The angels are in fact the servants of Allah, honoured by Him and close to Him.

They do not proceed before their Lord in any saying, so they do not speak until He orders them, and they act according to His command and do not oppose any command of His.

He knows their previous and latter actions. They do not ask to intercede except with His permission and on behalf of whom He approves intercession. And they are wary out of their fear of Him, so they do not oppose Him in any command or prohibition.

And for argument’s sake, whoever amongst the angels were to say: “I am a god besides Allah”, I will punish him for what he says with Hellfire on the Day of Judgment, staying therein forever. And with this kind of punishment I punish those who are unjust by disbelieving and associating partners with Allah.

Do those who disbelieved in Allah not know that the heavens and the earth were joint without any gap in between that rain should come down from it, then I split them apart? And I made every animal and plant from the water that comes down from the sky. Do they not consider this and believe in Allah alone?

And I made firm mountains on earth, so that it does not shake those on its surface. I made in it wide paths and ways, so that they may find their way in their journeys towards their objectives.

And I made the sky a roof protected from falling and without any pillar, and protected from stealing words. But the idolaters turn away and do not consider the signs in the sky, such as the sun and moon.

Allah alone is the One Who created the night for relaxation, created the day for earning one’s livelihood, created the sun as a sign of day, and the moon as a sign of night. The sun and moon both run in their specific orbits, without moving away or side-tracking.

O Messenger, I have not given eternity in this life to any human before you. So if your life comes to an end in this life and you pass away, will they live forever after you? Never.

Every believing and disbelieving soul will taste death in the world. And I test you, O mankind, in the worldly life through duties, blessings and hardships, then after your death you shall be returned to Me alone and nobody else, then I shall reward you for your deeds.

O Messenger! When these idolaters see you they only mock you, trying to make you loathsome in the eyes of their followers by saying, “Is this the one who insults the idols that you worship?” whilst they themselves reject the Qur’ān that Allah revealed to them and the blessings He conferred upon them, together with mocking you. So they themselves are closer to shame, due to their accumulating every evil.

The human was created intrinsically to be hasty, and so he/she wants things to happen before their due time. The idolaters asking for the punishment is a result of that nature. O the ones seeking My punishment in haste! I shall show you exactly what you hastily seek, so there is no need to ask for it.

And the disbelievers who reject resurrection say in their haste, “O Muslims! If indeed you are truthful in what you claim, when will this resurrection that you promise us with, happen?”

If these disbelieving rejecters of the resurrection were to know of the time when they will not be able to turn the hellfire away from their faces and backs, they would not be so hasty in seeking it. If only they were to know that there shall be no one to help relieve them of the punishment, and if only they were convinced of its reality, they would not be so hasty either.

This fire that they shall be punished with will come upon them suddenly, without them anticipating it. They shall not be able to repel it, nor shall they be given respite to repent and consequently be shown mercy.

O Messenger! Even if your people mock you, you are not unique in that, because many messengers before you were also mocked at. After their messengers warned them of it, the very punishment the disbelievers made a mockery of engulfed them in this very world.

O Messenger! Say to these people who are hastily seeking the punishment: “Who will save you throughout the night and day from the punishment and destruction The Merciful intends to send upon you?” Rather, they are desisting from the admonition and proofs of their Lord; they foolishly and ignorantly do not ponder over any of it.

Do they have gods that will protect them from My punishment? They are not capable of helping even themselves by removing any harm or acquiring any benefit! Whoever cannot help himself, how can he help others? Nor will they be protected from My punishment.

Rather, I have supplied these disbelievers and their forefathers with all My blessings I conferred upon them, so that as time passes, they become blinded by them and stand firm upon their disbelief, gradually leading themselves into destruction. Do these people, deluded by My blessings and hastily seeking My punishment, not realise that I am narrowing the earth down from all sides, by My influence over the people and power over them? Do they not take lesson from that, lest the same does not happen to them? These people will not be victorious; they shall be beaten.

Say, O Messenger: “O people! I only warn you of the punishment of Allah through divine revelation that my Lord reveals to me.” When those deaf to the truth are warned of the punishment of Allah, they do not listen to it with a heeding ear.

O Messenger! If some of punishment of your Lord was to afflict these people who are seeking it hastily, they would then say, “Woe to our destruction and loss! We were wrong in our ascribing partners to Allah and rejecting what Muhammad peace be upon him brought to us!”

I shall establish fair scales for the rising people to weigh their deeds with. On that day, no soul shall be wronged by having its good deeds decreased, or bad deeds increased. Even if the weighed deed is minute, like the weight equal to a mustard seed, I shall include it. I Myself am sufficient to take the deeds of My servants into account.

I have given Moses and Aaron peace be upon them both the Torah, which distinguished between the permissible and the impermissible; was a means of guidance for those who believed in it, and a reminder for those who were mindful of their Lord.

Those who fear the punishment of their Lord Who they believe in, despite having not seen Him, and are fearful of the Hour.

This Qur’ān which was revealed onto Muhammad peace be upon him is a reminder and an admonition for those who want to take heed from it. It contains an abundance of benefit and goodness. Despite all that, do you still reject it? Do you not acknowledge its contents, and will you not practice upon it?

And I granted Abraham proof against his people in his childhood, and I knew him well. I gave him the proof he deserved according to My knowledge.

When he said to his father Azar and his people, “What are these idols that you have made with your own hands, and which you constantly worship?”

His people said to him: “We found our forefathers worshipping them, so we also worshipped them following their example.”

Abraham said to them, “You and your forefathers are in clear deviance from the path of truth!”

His people said to him, “Are you serious about what you said, or are you joking?”

Abraham said, “No, I am serious! Your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; He created them without there having been anything like them previously. I am from those who testify that He is your Lord and the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and that your idols have no share in that!”

And in a manner inaudible to his people, Abraham said, “By Allah! Once you have left your idols to go to your festival, I shall hatch a plot concerning them that you shall hate.”

So Abraham broke the idols into small pieces, and left the biggest of them hoping that the people return to it to ask it who smashed the others.

So when they returned and found their idols having been smashed into pieces, they asked one another, “Who smashed our idols? Indeed, the one who has smashed them is from the oppressors, due to him having degraded that which deserves reverence and sanctification.”

Those who had heard Abraham take an oath on Allah that he would plot against the idols, said, “We heard a young man talk evil regarding them and finding fault with them. He is known by the name ‘Abraham’; perhaps it is he who smashed them.”

Their chiefs said, “Bring Abraham in front of the people so that they may testify to his confession to what he did, and their confession will be your evidence against him.”

So they brought Abraham (peace be upon him) and questioned him, blaming him: “Was it you who did this horrible act to our idols, O Abraham?!”

Sarcastically, exposing the helplessness of the idols to the people, Abraham said, “I did not do it; rather, the biggest idol did it. Ask your idols, if indeed they are capable of speaking!”

So they turned to one another contemplating and considering. It had become clear to them that their idols do not benefit nor harm in any way, and so they were wrong in worshipping them instead of Allah.

They then returned to their stubbornness and denial, saying, “O Abraham! You know, surely, that these idols cannot speak, so how can you then tell us to ask them?” They intended it to be an evidence in their favour, but it became an evidence against them.

ٌRebuking them, Abraham said, “Do you then worship, instead of Allah, idols that do not benefit nor harm you; that are helpless in removing harm or bringing benefit to even themselves?”

Shame on you, and shame upon that which you worship other than Allah, which neither benefit nor harm! Do you not understand that? Will you not leave their worship?

When they found themselves incapable of countering Abraham with proof, they resorted to force and said, “If you are going to give Abraham a deterring punishment and seek revenge for your idols that he broke and destroyed, then burn him in a fire.”

They lit a fire and threw Abraham into it, so I said, “O fire! Become cool and safe for Abraham!” And so it became such, and no harm came to him.

Abraham’s (peace be upon him) people planned to burn him and I foiled their plan. Rather, I made them the ones who were overpowered and destroyed.

I saved Abraham and I also saved Lot. I expatriated them to the land of Syria that I had blessed, by having sent many prophets to it and by scattering many forms of goodness for the creation.

And I blessed Abraham with Isaac when he invoked his Lord to grant him a child. In addition, I also blessed him with Jacob. I made each one of the three: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, pious and obedient to Myself.

I made them into leaders whom the people followed in goodness.With His permission, they would call to the worship of Allah alone. I also revealed to them that they should do good deeds, perform prayer with perfection and give Zakat. They were obedient to Me.

ِAnd to Lot I granted the ability to judge fairly between disputing parties, together with sound knowledge of his religion. I also saved him from the punishment I sent upon the people of his village (Sodom) who were involved in immorality. Indeed, they were corrupt people who deviated from the worship of their Lord.

And I entered him into My Mercy when I saved him from the punishment that befell his people. Indeed, he was of those who obeyed My commands and stayed away from My prohibitions.

O Messenger! Mention the story of Noah when he called to Allah before Abraham and Lot, and so He accepted his call by granting him what he asked for: Allah saved him and his believing family members from the great sorrow.

I saved him from the evil plot of those of his people who rejected the signs that I supported him with; those signs that pointed to his truthfulness. Indeed, they were evil, corrupt people, and so I destroyed them all by drowning them.

O Messenger! And mention the story of David and his son Solomon (peace be upon them), when they were passing judgement in the case brought to them regarding the two disputers: One of them had a herd that went into the fields of the other at night. I was witness to the judgement of David and Solomon; no part of their judgement evaded My knowledge.

I gave full understanding of the case to Solomon instead of his father David; yet I blessed each one with messengership and knowledge of religious law, not exclusively Solomon only. I subjugated the mountains for David, which would glorify Me with his glorifying Me. I also subjugated the birds for him. I was the One Who gave the understanding, the fair judgement, knowledge and it was I who subjugated the mountains and birds.

I exclusively taught David, and not Solomon, the skill of crafting armour, so that you could protect yourselves from anyone who tried to attack you with weapons. O people! Will you then show gratitude for this blessing that I bestowed upon you?

And I subjugated the strong-blowing wind for Solomon. At his command, whenever he would command it to, it would blow to the land of Syria which I had blessed by sending prophets to, and the goodness I spread within it. I am the One Who did everything; nothing evades My knowledge.

I subjugated those Shayāṭīn who would dive into the oceans for him and find pearls etc. among doing other things like construction. I supervised their numbers and work well; nothing escaped My observation.

O Messenger! Mention the story of Job, when he prayed to his Lord at the time of affliction, saying, “O my Lord! I have been afflicted with an illness and loss of family, yet you are the most merciful from all those who show mercy, so remove the afflictions that have befallen me.”

And so I accepted his prayer and removed the harm that had befallen him; I granted him not just the family he had lost, but also more along with them. I did all that out of My Mercy, and so that it serves as a reminder for each subservient worshipper of Allah, in order that he may bear patience just as Job bore patience.

O Messenger! Also mention Ishmael, Enoch and Ezekiel, (peace be upon them). Each one of them were from the patient ones at times of suffering and on whatever responsibility Allah placed on them.

I enveloped them into My Mercy: I made them prophets and granted them entry into paradise. Indeed, they were from those pious servants of Mine who acted within My obedience, and whose private and public lives were ones of piety.

O Messenger! Also mention the story of the Companion of the Whale: Jonah (peace be upon him), when he went away without the permission of his Lord, angry with his people for their insistence on sin. He thought I would not constrain him by punishing him for his hurrying away; and so he was afflicted with a severe form of constraint and imprisonment when the Whale swallowed him. He then called out in the darknesses of the belly of the Whale, the ocean and the night, acknowledging his error and repenting to Allah for it, saying, “There is no true deity except You, You are glorified of all faults and sanctified. Indeed, I was one of the wrongdoers.”

So I accepted his call and saved him from that severe distress by taking him out from all the darknesses including from the belly of the Whale. Just like I saved Jonah from this distress of his, I also save the believers when they fall into distress and call out to Me for help.

O Messenger! Also mention the story of Zechariah (peace be upon him), when he prayed to his Lord saying, “O my Lord! Do not leave me alone without any children. You are the best of the living, so grant me a child that lives after me.”

I accepted his prayer for him, and granted him a child in John. In the process, I also cured his wife, who had been barren up until that point. Indeed, Zechariah, his wife and son were quick in doing good deeds, and would call out to Me eager in My reward and fearful of My punishment. They would frequently supplicate to Me.

O Messenger! Also mention the story of Mary peace be upon her, who protected herself from fornication. Allah then sent Gabriel (peace be upon him) to her, and he blew into her. Consequently, she became pregnant with Jesus (peace be upon him); they were both signs for the people of the Power of Allah, and proofs that nothing is beyond Allah’s capability such that He created Jesus without a father.

O people! This is your creed; one and only creed. It is monotheism which is the religion of Islam. I am your Lord, so make worship exclusive to Me alone.

The people differed: some were monotheists, idolaters, disbelievers and believers. All these different types of people will return to Me alone on the Day of Judgment, when I shall requit them according to their deeds.

So whosoever from among them did good deeds, whilst he believed in Allah, His messengers and in the last day, will not be denied the due of his good deeds. Rather, Allah will multiply his reward for him and he will find it recorded in his book of deeds on the day he is resurrected for which he will be pleased.

It is impossible for the people of a village I destroyed due to their disbelief that they return to the world to repent, and that I accept their repentance.

They will never return, even until the barrier of Gog and Magog is opened and they begin emerging, hurriedly descending from every high piece of land.

Their emergence, terror and violence will be a sign of the rising drawing nearer. The disbelievers will be left wide-eyed in horror, saying: Oh my, what a destruction faces us! We were indulged in futility in the world, preoccupied from preparing for this severe day. Rather, we were wrongdoers by disbelieving and committing sins.

O idolaters! You and whatever you worship instead of Allah, together with whoever is content with you worshipping them, shall be the fuel of hellfire. You and everything you worship will surely enter it.

If these worshipped things were in reality gods that were worthy of being worshipped, they would not be entering the hellfire with their worshippers. Yet they shall all be entering it, having to remain in it forever, never to come out of it.

Due to the severity of torture they shall face, they shall wail and breathe sharply. They will not be able to hear sounds due to the immense horrific torment that will afflict them.

When the idolaters said, “Indeed, Jesus and the angels whom were worshipped, will therefore enter the hellfire!” Allah said, “Verily, those regarding whom it was decreed in the Knowledge of Allah that they would be from the people of good fortune, like Jesus (peace be upon him), will be kept away from the hellfire.”

The sound of Hell shall not reach their ears, while they shall reside among whatever bounties their hearts desire. These bounties shall never finish.

The great horror of the hellfire when it surrounds its inhabitants shall not scare them, and the angels will welcome them with glad tidings, saying: “This is your day that you were promised in the world; the one you were given glad tidings of receiving bounties in!”

On the day in which I shall roll up the heavens like the rolling up of a scroll, and congregate the creation in the state they were created in the first instance. I have promised that it will happen; a promise that there is no going back on. I shall indeed fulfil My promise.

I had indeed written in the books I revealed unto the messengers, after I had written it in the Preserved Tablet, that the earth would be ruled by the pious, obedient servants of Allah: they are the nation of Muhammad peace be upon him.

Verily, in the admonition I revealed, there is a message for those who worship their Lord according to what He has legislated for them. It is they who truly benefit from it.

O Muhammad! I have not sent you as a messenger, except as a merciful one to the whole of creation. This is because you are distinguished with aspiring for the guidance of all people and their safety from the punishment of Allah.

Say, O Messenger: It is only revealed to me from my Lord that your true deity is only One; He has no partner, and He is Allah. So submit to believing in Him, and acting in His obedience.

O Messenger! If these people turn away from that which you have brought to them, then say to them, “I am informing you that we are both in agreement that we are different, and I do not know when the punishment Allah promised you with, will descend upon you.”

Indeed, Allah knows of the speech you disclose, and He knows of that which you keep secret. Nothing from either evades Him, and He will requit you for it.

I do not know whether your respite from being punished is a test for you, or whether it is to lure you further into destruction, and to give you freedom until a time decreed in the Knowledge of Allah, so that you persist in your disbelief and error.

Supplicating to his Lord, the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said, “O my Lord! Judge well between us and those of our people who have persisted on disbelief. We seek help from our Lord alone, against your statements of disbelief and rejection.”

O people, be mindful of your Lord by carrying out what He has ordered you and desisting from what He has forbidden you. The earthquake and other horrors that will accompany the Day of Judgment are a grave matter, for which it is necessary to prepare through actions which please Allah.

On the day you see it, every nursing mother shall be absentminded of her nursing child and every pregnant being will abort her pregnancy, due to intense fear. You shall see people, because of losing their senses, like drunkards, due to the severe horror of the standing. They will not be drunk out of drinking alcohol, but rather the punishment of Allah is severe, thus it has made them loses their senses.

Amongst people there is he who argues regarding Allah’s power to resurrect the dead, without any knowledge to take support from, and who in his belief and saying follows every satan and misguided leader who is rebellious against his Lord.

It is decreed regarding such rebellious humans and jinns that whoever follows him and accepts him, he will lead them astray from the path of truth, and he will drag him towards the fire of Hell through the disbelief and sins which lead towards it.

O people, if you have any doubt regarding My power to resurrect you after your death, think about your creation: I created your father Adam from soil; then I created his children from sperm which the man casts into the woman’s womb; then the sperm turns into solid blood; then the solid blood turns into a piece of meat; then the piece of meat turns into either a sound creation which remains in the womb until it comes out alive as a child or into an unsound form which the womb aborts, to show My power by creating you in stages. And I settle in the wombs whatever fetus I wish until it is born in a fixed time period of nine months. Then I take you out of your mothers’ wombs as children, so that you reach the pinnacle of strength and intelligence. Amongst you are some who die before this and amongst you are those who reach old age where strength and intelligence weaken, to the extent that he becomes worse than a child, no longer knowing anything he used to know. And you will see the earth dry without any plants on it. Then when I send down rainwater on it, it opens up with plants, rises due to the plants growing, and brings forth every type of beautiful plant.

That which I have mentioned to you, namely the beginning of your creation, its stages and the conditions of those born amongst you, is so that you believe that Allah Who created you is the Truth in which there is no doubt, as opposed to the idols you worship, and so that you believe He will restore the dead, and that He has power over everything.

And so that you believe the Hour is to come, without any doubt in its coming, and that Allah will resurrect the dead from their graves to reward them for their actions.

Among the disbelievers is he who argues regarding the oneness of Allah and regarding His sending His Messenger with guidance, without any proof from sound reasoning or clear sound texts, but solely due to his desires.

Turning his neck in arrogance, to turn people away from faith and entering the religion of Allah. He who fits this description shall have disgrace in this world due to the punishment which will befall him, and I shall make him taste the punishment of the burning fire in the Hearafter.

It will be said to him: “That punishment which you tasted is due to the disbelief and sins you committed. Allah does not punish any of His creation except due to a sin”.

Amongst people is a confused person who worships Allah in doubt. If good such as health and wealth come to him, he remains on his faith and worship of Allah, but if he is afflicted by an affliction through illness or poverty, he takes bad omen from his religion and then renounces it. He has lost his world, because his disbelief will never increase him in a share of the world which was not written for him, and he has lost his afterlife due to the punishment of Allah which will meet him. That is the clear loss.

He worships besides Allah idols which cannot harm him if he disobeys them, nor can they benefit him if he obeys them. That calling upon idols which can neither harm nor benefit is the misguidance far from the truth.

This disbeliever who worships idols calls upon the one whose confirmed harm is closer than his absent benefit. Bad is the deity whose harm is closer than his benefit. Bad is it as a helper to one who seeks its help, and as a companion to who accompanies it.

Allah will enter those who have faith in Him and do good actions into gardens beneath whose palaces rivers flow. Allah does what He pleases, by having mercy on whom He wants to show mercy and punishing whom He wants to punish. Nothing can compel Him.

Whoever thinks Allah will not help His Prophet (peace be upon him) in this world and the afterlife should extend a rope to the ceiling of his house and then hang himself by cutting himself off the ground. Then he should see if that removes the anger he feels in his heart. Allah is the Helper of His Prophet, whether his opponents like it or not.

Just as I explained the clear proofs for resurrection, I revealed the Qur’ān to Muhammad (peace be upon him) as clear verses, and Allah enables whomever He wishes through His grace to the path of guidance and righteousness.

Those who have faith in Allah, and they are: the believers from this nation, the Jews, the Sabians (a group of followers of one of the prophets), the Christians, the Magians (fire-worshippers), the idolaters; Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, then He will enter the believers amongst them into paradise and enter others into hellfire. Allah is a Witness to all the sayings and actions of His servants, with nothing being hidden from Him, and He shall reward them for these actions.

O Messenger, do you not know that to Allah prostrate, out of obedience, the angels in the heavens and the believing humans and jinns on earth, and the sun, moon, stars in the sky, the mountains, trees, and creatures on earth, compliantly? And many humans prostrate to Him out of obedience. But many refuse to prostrate to Him out of obedience, thus the punishment of Allah became established for them due to their disbelief. Whoever Allah decrees disgrace and shame for, due to his disbelief, has nobody to honour him. Allah does what He wishes. There is nobody to compel Him.

These are two parties arguing regarding their Lord, as to which of them is right: the party of faith and party of disbelief. The party of disbelief will be encompassed by the fire, just as clothes cover the person wearing them, and extremely hot water will be poured on top of their heads.

The intestines in their stomachs will melt with it, due to its intense heat, and it will reach their skins and melt them.

They will have iron hammers in the fire, with which the angels will hit their heads.

Whenever they will try to leave the fire, due to the severe anxiety they will face in it, they will be returned to it and they will be told: “Taste the punishment of the burning fire”.

The party of faith, and they are those who have faith in Allah and do good actions, will be entered by Allah in gardens under whose palaces and trees rivers will flow. Allah will adorn them by giving them gold bracelets and He will adorn them by giving them pearls, and their clothes therein will be silk.

Allah guided them in the worldly life towards pleasant sayings, such as testifying there is no god besides Allah, proclaiming the greatness of Allah and praising Him, and He guided them towards the praiseworthy path of Islam.

Those who disbelieved in Allah, turn others away from entering Islam and stop people from the Sacred Mosque, like what the idolaters did in the year of Hudaiybiyah, that mosque which I made a direction for people in their prayers and one of the rites of Hajj and Umrah, and in which the person from Makkah who lives there and one who comes there besides the people of Makkah are the same; whoever intends to purposefully commit a shameful sin therein, I will make him taste a painful punishment.

Remember, O Messenger, when I clarified for Abraham (peace be upon him) the place of the house and its limits, after it was unknown, and I revealed to him not to associate anything in worshipping Me, but rather worship Me alone. And purify My House from physical and immaterial impurities for those who circumambulate it and perform prayer therein.

Proclaim amongst the people, calling them towards pilgrimage of this House I ordered you to build. They will come to you walking and riding on every camel which is frail due to the difficulty it endured from travelling. The camels will bring them, carrying them from every distant path.

So that they come to what will bring them benefit such as forgiveness of sins, attaining reward, unity of word, and so forth; and so that they remember Allah on the animals they slaughter in the known days, which are: the tenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah and three days after it, in gratitude to Allah for the camels, cows and sheep He granted them. So eat of these animals and feed from them those who are extremely poor.

Then they should complete what remains of their Hajj rites, coming out of ihraam by shaving their heads, clipping their nails, and removing the dirt which has accumulated on them due to ihraam, and fulfil the Hajj, Umrah or sacrificial animal they made binding on themselves. They should perform the Tawaaf Ifadah of the House which Allah freed from the control of tyrants.

That which you have been ordered, i.e., coming out of ihraam by shaving the head, clipping the nails, removing dirt, fulfilling the vow and circumambulating the House, is what Allah has made obligatory on you. So respect what Allah has made obligatory on you. Whoever refrains from what Allah has ordered him to refrain from during his ihraam, out of respect for not trespassing the limits of Allah and making lawful its prohibitions, it is better for him in this world and the afterlife in the sight of his Lord. O people, camels, cows and sheep amongst livestock have been made lawful for you. He did not make unlawful for you hami, bahirah or wasilah. He only made unlawful for you what you find in the Qur’ān, such as carrion, blood and so forth. Stay far from the impurity of idols and stay far from lying and false evidence.

Refrain from this, turning away from every religion besides the religion He is pleased with, without associating any partner with Him in worship. Whoever associates a partner with Allah, it is as though He has fallen from the sky, then either the birds snatch his meat and bones or the wind flings him to a distant place.

That is what Allah ordered, namely His oneness, being sincere to Him, and refraining from idols and false speech. Whoever respects the signs of the religion, amongst them sacrificial animals and the rites of Hajj, respecting them is part of the hearts being mindful of their Lord.

For you in the sacrificial animals that you slaughter at the House are benefits, such as riding, wool, procreation, milk, until a limited time to the time of their slaughter near the House of Allah which He freed from the control of tyrants.

For every previous nation I made rites to shed blood, as a means of closeness to Allah, in the hope they will remember Allah at the time of slaughtering these sacrificial animals, and in gratitude to Allah for the camels, cows and sheep He granted them. Your true god, O people, is One God who has no partner, so submit to Him alone through submission and obedience. And O Messenger, tell those who are humbly submissive and sincere what will please them.

Those who when they remember Allah, fear His punishment and thus move far away from opposing His command, perform their prayer completely, be patient if any affliction befalls them, and spend in the different avenues of righteousness from what Allah has granted them.

And I have made the camels which are taken to the House amongst the sacred signs and symbols of the religion. In them are worldly and religious benefits for you, so say “in the name of Allah” when slaughtering them, after their feet have been lined up whilst standing and one of their feet has been tied so that they do not flee. Then when they fall on their sides after being slaughtered, eat of them, O those who are sacrificing, and give of them to the pauper who desists from begging and the pauper who comes forward to be granted a share of them. Just as I made them submissive to you so that you carry loads on them and ride them, I have also made them submissive to you so they are led to the place you slaughter them in, as a means of closeness to Allah, so that you are grateful to Allah for the blessing of making them submissive to you.

Neither does the meat of the sacrificial animals you present nor their blood ever reach Allah, nor is it raised towards Him, but rather your mindfulness of Allah therein is raised towards Him, through your being sincere to Him in your obedience to seek closeness to Him through it. In that way, Allah made them submissive to you, so that you proclaim Allah’s greatness, thanking Him for the truth He has guided you to. O Messenger, inform those who are excellent in worshipping their Lord and in dealing with His creation what will make them happy.

Allah defends those who have faith from the evil of their enemies. Allah does not love anyone who is treacherous in his trust and who rejects the blessings of Allah; in fact, Allah despises him.

Allah has given permission to fight to the believers who are fought by the idolaters, due to their being oppressed by their enemies. Allah has the power to help the believers against their enemies without fighting. However, the wisdom of Allah required that the believers be tested through fighting the disbelievers.

Those whom the disbelievers unjustly exiled from their homes, not due to any crime they committed but because they said: “Our Lord is Allah; we have no Lord besides Him”. Had Allah not legislated for the prophets and believers fighting against their enemies, they would have invaded the places of worship, destroying the monasteries of the monks, Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, and the mosques of the Muslims which have been made for prayer and in which the Muslims remember Allah abundantly. Allah will help those who help His religion and Prophet. Allah has power to help whoever helps His religion and is Mighty, with nobody able to overcome Him.

These people who have been promised help are those who, if I were to establish on earth by helping them against their enemies, would perform prayer in the most perfect manner, give Zakat of their wealth, command what the sacred law has commanded and forbid what it has forbidden. To Allah alone is where matters return, with respect to reward and punishment.

O Messenger, if your people reject you, be patient. You are not the first messenger to be rejected by his people. Before your people, the people of Noah rejected Noah, Aad rejected Hud and Thamud rejected Salih.

The people of Abraham rejected Abraham and the people of Lot rejected Lot.

The people of Madyan rejected Shuayb, and Pharaoh and his people rejected Moses. I deferred the punishment from their people, to gradually lead them away, then I seized them with the punishment. So contemplate how I reproached them; I destroyed them due to their disbelief.

How many cities, which were unjust because of their disbelief, I destroyed with obliterating punishment. Their homes are ruined and empty of inhabitants. How many wells are there which have nobody to drink from them, due to their being destroyed. How many lofty decorated palaces are there which could not save their residents from the punishment.

Did these people who reject what the Messenger (peace be upon him) brought not travel in the land, to see the remains of these destroyed cities, so that they would reflect with their minds to take heed and so that they would to accept their stories to learn from them? It is established that blindness is not blindness of eyesight, but rather the blindness which is destructive is blindness of insight, where such a person does not reflect or take lessons.

O Messenger, the disbelievers amongst your people seek quick punishment in this world and deferred punishment in the Hearafter, when they were warned of them. Allah will never break the promise of it He has made to them. Amongst the quick punishment is what befell them on the day of Badr. And one day of punishment in the afterlife is like a thousand years of what you count in worldly years, due to the punishment it contains.

How many towns are there which I gave respite to in punishment and which were oppressive due to their disbelief. I did not punish them instantly, to gradually lead them on, then I seized them by an obliterating punishment. To Me alone is their return on the Day of Judgment, then I will reward them for their disbelief with the everlasting punishment.

O people, I am only a warner to you, conveying to you what I have been sent with and clear in my warning.

So those who have faith and did good actions will have forgiveness from their Lord for their sins, and for them is noble sustenance in paradise which will never end.

Those who strive to deny our verses, believing they will be able to render Allah powerless and escape Him so that He cannot punish them, those are the people of the fire of hell, staying constantly in it just as companions stay with one another.

O Messenger, I did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he read the Book of Allah, the satan put doubts in his recitation. Then Allah would nullify the whisperings the satan would put, and establish His verses. Allah knows everything, nothing being hidden from Him, and is Wise in His creating, decreeing and planning.

The satan puts doubts in the recitation of the Prophet so that Allah makes what he puts as a test for the hypocrites and those idolaters whose hearts have become hard. The oppressors amongst the hypocrites and idolaters are in enmity of Allah and His Messenger, and distance from the truth and guidance.

And so that those whom Allah gave knowledge are convinced that the Qur’ān revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the truth Allah revealed to you, O Messenger, thus increasing their faith in it and so that their hearts submit and humble themselves before it. Allah is the Guide of those who have faith toward the straight path of truth which contains no crookedness, as a reward for their submitting to it.

Those who disbelieved in Allah and denied His Messenger will remain in doubt about the Qur’ān Allah revealed to you, continuing until the Hour comes to them suddenly whilst they are in that condition or the punishment of a day in which there is no mercy or good comes to them, and it is the Day of Judgment with respect to them.

Supreme authority on the Day of Judgment - the day when the punishment these people have been promised shall come to them, will only be for Allah alone. He will have no competitor for it, and He will judge between the believers and the disbelievers. He will judge for each of them as they deserve: those who had faith and performed good deeds will be granted a great reward in eternal gardens of everlasting bounties.

And those who disbelieved in Allah and rejected the signs He revealed unto His Messenger will face a humiliating punishment in hell.

As for those who left their houses and homelands in honour of Allah’s religion and seeking His pleasure, and were killed whilst striving in His path or died, Allah shall grant them an everlasting sustenance in paradise. Indeed, Allah is the best of sustainers.

Allah will definitely enter them into a place they shall be pleased with. And Allah is well aware of their intentions and their deeds; forbearing in that He did not punish them hastily on their shortcomings.

The aforementioned, i.e. those who migrated in the path of Allah being entered into paradise, and permission for the wronged to avenge justly without incurring sin. If the oppressor returns to his oppression, Allah will help the oppressed. Indeed, Allah overlooks the sins of the believers and forgives them.

The helping of the oppressed is because Allah is capable of doing as He wills. From His capabilities is entering the night into the day and the day into the night, by increasing one and decreasing the other. Allah also hears the statements of His servants and knows of their actions; nothing is hidden from Him and He shall requit them accordingly.

The aforementioned, i.e. entering the night into the day and the day into the night, is because Allah is truly existent, and so His religion is the truth, His promise is also true and His helping the believers is also true. The idols that the idolaters worship instead of Allah are false and have no basis. And Allah is supreme over His creation in being, in power and in subjugation; the Grand to Whom belongs all majesty, grandeur and exaltedness.

O Messenger! Do you not see that Allah causes rain to fall from the sky, and consequently the earth becomes green owing to the vegetation that grows upon it after the rain has fallen? Allah is kind to His servants in that He makes the rain fall for them, and makes the earth grow crops. He is also well aware of their requirements; nothing is hidden from Him.

To Him alone belongs supreme authority of the heavens and the earth. He is The Self-sufficient who is never needy of any of His creation; the eternally existent.

O Messenger! Do you not see that Allah has made the animals and other objects manageable for your needs and benefit, and the benefit of the masses? He also made manageable for you the ships that sail the oceans with His command; sailing from city to city. He also holds back the sky so it does not fall onto Earth except with His command; if He allowed it to fall it would. Indeed, Allah is benevolent and merciful towards the people such that He made these things manageable for them, despite their potential harm.

Allah is the only One Who gave you life, in that He gave you existence when you were non-existent. He will then cause death upon you when your lives expire, and then will revive you after your death to hold you to account for your deeds and requit you for them. Verily, the human is ever in denial of the bounties of Allah, despite their being so clear.

I have made a set of laws for the people of every creed. O Messenger! Let the idolaters and people of other creeds not contest with you in your set of laws, because you are more deserving of it than them as they are the people of falsehood. Invite the people towards sincerely proclaiming the oneness of Allah; indeed, you are on the straight path, in which there is no deviation.

If they insist on quarrelling with you after the evidence has become clear, leave their matter to Allah, warning them and saying: “Allah is most aware of the actions you do, none of your actions are hidden from Him, and He will requit you for them”.

Allah will judge between His servants: the believers and the disbelievers from among them, on the Day of Judgment, in the matters of religion they would dispute over in the world.

O Messenger! Do you not know that Allah knows all that is in the heavens and on Earth; nothing is hidden from Him, and His knowledge of it is recorded in the Preserved Tablet. Encompassing the knowledge of it all is very easy for Allah.

The idolaters worship idols instead of Allah; idols which Allah did not reveal any proof of their worship being acceptable in His books. Neither do they have any proof of their own knowledge; their only object of reliance for that is blind following of their forefathers. The wrongdoers will have no helper that will protect them from the punishment of Allah that will fall upon them.

When you recite My clear verses of the Qur’ān unto them, you will recognise the objecting frowns of the disbelievers when they hear them. It is as if they would violently assault those who recite My verses unto them in extreme anger. O Messenger! Say to them: “Shall I inform you of something which is worse than this anger and frowning of yours? It is the hellfire which Allah has promised to enter the disbelievers into. How terrible their abode is!”

O people! A parable is about to be narrated, so listen carefully and take lesson from it! Indeed, those idols and other things you worship instead of Allah cannot even create a fly despite its small size, because of their incompetence. Even if they were to convene in trying to do so they would not be able to achieve it. And if a fly was to take anything away from them, i.e. perfume etc. they would not have the power to reclaim it. By their incapability of creating a fly and reclaiming anything from it, their incapability of doing anything greater than that becomes evident. How can they then worship it instead of Allah? This seeker - which is the worshipped idol that is totally incapable of reclaiming whatever the fly has taken from it, together with the sought-after fly, are both weak.

They did not revere Allah as He deserves to be revered when they worshipped some of His creation along with worshipping Him. Indeed, Allah is the Strong, and He created the heavens, the earth and everything within them due to this strength and power. He is the Almighty who cannot be overpowered, unlike the idols of the idolaters which are weak and powerless to create anything.

Allah, may He be glorified, selects messengers from the Angels and the people also. He sends some of the Angels to the prophets, like Gabriel, who He sent to the human messengers; and He also sends human messengers to common people. Indeed, Allah hears what the idolaters say regarding His messengers and is insightful of who He selects to convey His message.

Allah, may He be glorified, is well aware of the affairs of His messengers, from both the angels and the people, even before their creation and well after their death. To Him alone shall all matters return on the Day of Judgment, when He will resurrect His servants and requit them for the actions they sent forth.

O you who have believed in Allah and have acted in accordance to the laws He laid down for you! Bow and prostrate to Him alone in your prayer; do good by way of charity and enjoining family ties, in hope that you succeed in your objective and achieve salvation from the feared.

And strive in the path of Allah sincerely for His pleasure. He has selected you and made your religion a religion of kindness, in which there is no oppression and extremism. This tolerant creed is the creed of your forefather Abraham (peace be upon him). Allah has named you ‘Muslims’ in the previous books and in the Qur’ān, so that the Messenger can be a witness against you in that he conveyed the message he was commanded to convey, and so that you yourselves can be witnesses against the previous nations in that their messengers also conveyed their messages respectively. So show gratitude to Allah upon that by performing prayer as perfectly as possible, giving Zakat from your wealth, seeking refuge in Allah and relying upon Him in all your matters, for He is the best protector for those believers who seek His protection, and the best of helpers for those of them who seek His help. So seek His protection, He will protect you, and seek His help, He will help you.

Those who believed in Allah and acted according to His laws have indeed succeeded by achieving whatever they sought, and gaining salvation from whatever they feared.

Those who were humble in their prayer: their limbs remained calm during it and their hearts were free of distractions.

Those who turned away from falsehood and futility, especially those futile actions and speech which was sinful.

Those who purified themselves of evil characteristics, and their wealth by taking out Zakat from it.

Those who safeguarded their private parts by keeping them far from fornication, homosexuality and shameful actions; so they remained pure and chaste.

Except using them with their wives or the female servants they possessed, for they are blameless in taking pleasure from them through sexual intercourse and the like.

So whosoever seeks pleasure from other than his wives and female servants that he possesses, he is transgressing the limits of Allah by delving into that which Allah has forbidden, without keeping to that which He has kept lawful.

Those who fulfil and do not neglect or usurp the trusts Allah has entrusted them with, or any of His servants have entrusted them with. Rather, they keep to their pacts.

Those who observe their prayers by being punctual in them, by performing them at their correct times together, obligations and preferred actions.

Those possessing these characteristics are the true inheritors.

They will inherit the loftiest level of paradise wherein they will live forever. Their bounties will not finish in it.

Verily, I created the father of mankind, Adam, from clay. I took the soil he was created from, from a mixture of water and the soil of the earth.

Then I created his progeny who procreate, by way of a drop of sperm that lodges in the womb until birth.

I then created the lodged drop of sperm into a red clot of blood, which I then created into a piece of flesh, which I then created into hard bones. I then covered those bones with flesh and then developed it into a completely different creation, by blowing a soul into it and bringing it out into life. Praised is Allah, the best of creators!

O people! After having passed through all these phases, you shall die when your lives expire.

Then, after your death, you shall be resurrected from your graves on the Day of Judgment so that you may be held to account for whatever deeds you sent forth.

O people! Verily, I created seven heavens over you, one above the other. I am never neglectful of My creation, nor am I One to forget it.

I sent down rain from the heavens according to the need toward it; not in excessive amounts that cause ruin, nor too little that is insufficient. I allow it to settle on earth so that the people and animals can take benefit from it. Otherwise, I am capable of causing it to wash away, in which case they would not be able to benefit from it.

Through that water I then created gardens for you, the like of palms and grapevines. You have fruits of varying colours and appearance that grow within them, like figs, pomegranates and apples, of which you eat.

Through that water, I also created the olive tree for you, the origins of which come from the land of Mount Sinai. From its fruits, the oil is extracted which you use and consume.

O people! Indeed, you have a lesson to take from grazing livestock (camels, cows and sheep), in that you can draw conclusions from them in the power of Allah and His kindness to you. He quenches your thirst with pure, tasty milk from the bellies of these animals. You can also derive other benefits from them, like conveyance, wool, fur, bristles, together with being able to consume their meat.

You are carried on the camels on land and on the ships at sea.

Indeed, I sent Noah (peace be upon him) to his people to call them towards Allah, so he said to them, “O my people! Worship Allah only; you do not have any true deity except Him, may He be glorified. Will you not be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commands and refraining from His prohibitions?”

So the noblemen and leaders from his people who disbelieved in Allah said to their followers and the masses, “This man that claims to be a messenger is only a human like yourselves; he only desires leadership and rule over you. If Allah wished to send a messenger to you He would have done so by sending one from the angels, not from the humans. We have not heard anything like what he is claiming from our predecessors!”

He is only a man who is mad. He does not understand what he himself is saying. Wait and see when soon his true reality becomes apparent to the people.

Noah (peace be upon him) said, “O my Lord! Help me against them and pay them back for their rejection and defiance!”

So I revealed to him: Make a ship under My supervision and tutorage. Then, when My command to destroy them is issued and water gushes forth from the place where bread is baked, start taking a male and female from every living species onto the ship, so that they can procreate and not become extinct. Also take your family on board, except for those upon whom Allah’s decree of destruction has been passed i.e. your wife and son. Do not request Me to save and not destroy those who have wronged through disbelief; there is no doubt they shall be destroyed by drowning in the water of the flood.

When you board the ship together with the believers achieving salvation, say: “All praise is for Allah Who saved us from the disbelieving people and destroyed them.”

And say: “O my Lord! Cause me to disembark at a blessed place, for You are the best of those who cause to disembark.”

Indeed, in the aforementioned, i.e. saving Noah and the believers with him, and destroying the disbelievers, are great signs of My ability to help My messengers and destroy their rejecters. I had tested the people of Noah by sending him to them, so that the believers and disbelievers, the obedient and sinners become distinct.

Thereafter, I created a different generation of people after destroying the people of Noah. They were the Ād, the people of Hud (peace be upon him).

I sent to them a messenger from amongst them: Hud, who would call them towards Allah. He said to them, “O my people! Worship Allah only; you do not have any true deity except Him, may He be glorified. Will you not be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commands and refraining from His prohibitions?”

The noblemen and leaders from his people who disbelieved in Allah, rejected the Hereafter and the punishment and reward to be meted out in it, and were misled by the blessings I had granted them in the world, said to their followers and masses, “This is a human just like you are: he eats of the food you eat and drinks of the drinks you drink. He does not have any superiority over you such that he would be sent as a messenger to you!”

“And if you were to follow a human just like you, you would indeed have been deceived into leaving aside your deities and following one who has no virtue over you.”

“Does this man who claims to be a messenger promise you that when you die and become dust and decomposed bones, that you shall leave your graves alive? Is this even conceivable?!”

The promise you are being given in being taken out of your graves alive after you have died and turned into dust and decomposed bones, is very far from reality.

The only life is the life of this world, not the afterlife. The living from among us die and are not revived, whilst others are born and live. We are not going to be taken out after we have died, to be taken to account on the Day of Judgment.

Hud, who claims he is a messenger, has only fabricated a lie unto Allah by this claim of his; we are not going to believe him.

Hud said, “O my Lord! Help me against them and pay them back for their rejection and defiance!”

Allah responded to him, saying, “Very soon, these people who have rejected the message you have brought to them will regret their rejection.”

So a severe scream, accompanied by a severe wind, took them by surprise, due to their deserving the punishment owing to their stubbornness. I destroyed them, leaving them like the froth of the flood. Woe be to the transgressing nation!

Then, after destroying them, I created other peoples and nations, like the nation of Lot, Shu‘ayb and Jonah.

None of these rejecting nations will precede the time fixed for their destruction, nor will they be delayed from it, regardless of whatever means they have at their disposal.

I then sent My messengers in succession, one after the other. Each time the Messenger came to his nation he was sent to they rejected him, so I successively destroyed them, leaving nothing except for the tales of people regarding them. So destruction be to the nation that does not believe in the message brought to it by a messenger sent to it!

I then sent Moses and his brother Aaron with nine of My signs: the Staff, the Hand, locusts, lice, frogs, blood, floods, drought and shortage of produce, and with clear proof.

I sent them both to Pharaoh and the noblemen of his people, but they displayed arrogance and did not submit to believing in them. They were a people who imposed themselves upon people by subduing and oppressing them.

So they said, “Should we believe two humans like us, who have no superiority over us and their tribe (the Israelites) are submissive and obedient to us?”

So they rejected whatever message they brought to them from Allah. And because of their rejection, they were destroyed by drowning.

Verily, I gave Moses the Torah in the hope that his people would be guided to the truth through it and implement its teachings.

I also made Jesus and his mother Mary signs indicating My capability; she conceived him without a father. I granted them shelter in an elevated place on earth, an even, habitable place which had fresh flowing water.

O Messengers! Eat from the appealing food that I have made lawful for you, and perform good deeds in accordance to the laws of Allah. Indeed, I am ever aware of every action of yours; none of your actions are hidden from Me.

O Messengers! Indeed, your creed is one creed: it is Islam. And I am your Lord, you do not have a Lord other than Me, so be mindful of Me by fulfilling My commands and refraining from My prohibitions.

After they passed away, their followers were divided in religion and became sects and groups, with each group conceited in believing that whatever it believed in was the true acceptable religion according to Allah, disregarding the views of anyone else.

O Messenger! Leave them in the ignorance and confusion they are in, until the punishment descends upon them.

Do these self-conceited groups think that whatever wealth and offspring we bestow them with in the world, is a prelude of good they deserve? It is not as they think; I am only giving it to them as respite, gradually leading them into destruction, but they do not realise it.

Do these self-conceited groups think that whatever wealth and offspring we bestow them with in the world, is a prelude of good they deserve? It is not as they think; I am only giving it to them as respite, gradually leading them into destruction, but they do not realise it.

Indeed, those who, despite their belief and good, are fearful of their Lord.

And those who believe in the universal and religious signs of their Lord.

And those who proclaim the oneness of their Lord, without ascribing anything to Him as partner.

Those who strive in doing righteous deeds and draw closer to Allah through them, whilst fearing that He may not accept their spending in His path, or good deeds when they return to Him on the Day of Judgment.

Those possessing these lofty characteristics hasten towards good deeds, and beat others in performing them. That is why they surpass everyone else.

I do not burden any soul except with whatever actions are within its capability. I have a book in which I have recorded all the deeds of every doer; it shows the undisputable truth. The people will not be wronged by having their good deeds decreased or evil deeds increased.

Rather, the hearts of the disbelievers are neglectful of this book that contains the truth, and of the book that was revealed to them. They also commit evil actions other than the disbelief that they are insistent on.

Until when I punish those among them who lived in luxury in the world with the punishment on the Day of Judgment, they shall raise their voices calling out for help.

It will be said to them, depriving them of all hope in the mercy of Allah, “Do not scream and do not call for help today! There is no helper for you today who can help you against the punishment of Allah.

Verily, the verses of Allah would be recited to you in the world, but you would turn away from them when you heard them, in hatred for them.

You did that displaying arrogance over the people, because you thought you were the people of the sanctuary while you were not; the true people of the sanctuary are the Mindful. You also talked ill of it by night and would not deem it sacred.

Will these idolaters not ponder over the Qur’ān Allah has revealed, bring faith in it and implement its teachings? Or is it that something has come to them which did not come to their predecessors, so they turned away from it and rejected it?

Or is it that they do not recognise Muhammad peace be upon him whom Allah has sent to them, and so they reject him? Verily, they recognise him, his truthfulness and his honesty.

Rather, do they say, “He is insane!”? Surely, they have lied. Rather, the truth has come to them, undisputably from Allah. The majority of them dislike the truth, hating it due to the jealousy within themselves and fanaticism over their falsehood.

If Allah was to have let matters run and arrange them in accordance to their desires, the heavens, earth and all their inhabitants would fall into ruin due to their ignorance of the outcome of matters, and their inability to differentiate between good and bad plans.

O Messenger! Have you asked for a fee from these people for what you brought to them, which has made them reject your call? You have not done as such; the reward of your Lord is far better than the reward any of these people can give. He, may He be glorified, is the best of providers.

O Messenger! Indeed, you call these people and others towards a straight path which has no deviation: it is the path of Islam.

And indeed those who do not believe in the Hearafter; accountability, punishment and reward, incline towards other paths which lead to the hellfire.

If I were to have mercy on them and lift their famine and hunger, they would continue being misguided from the truth, being confused and stumbling.

I tested them through different afflictions, but neither did they humble before their Lord or submit to Him nor did they pray to Him submissively so that He lifts the afflictions from them when they befall.

Until when I opened a door of severe punishment on them, they became hopeless of every ease and good.

O deniers of the resurrection, Allah is the One Who created for you hearing to listen with, vision to see with, and hearts to ponder with, but despite that, you do not thank Him for these favours except a little.

O people, it is He Who created you on earth, and to Him alone you will be raised for reckoning and reward on the Day of Judgment.

And it is He alone Who gives life; there is nobody who gives life besides Him. And it is He alone Who gives death; there is nobody who gives death besides Him. To Him alone belongs fixing the difference of night and day, in terms of darkness and light, and length and shortness. Do you not understand His power and His being alone in creating and managing?

But they said what their forefathers and predecessors in disbelief said.

They said, unbelievingly and denyingly: “When we die and turn into dust and decomposed bones, will we be raised alive to be reckoned?

We were promised this, i.e. resurrection after death, and so were our predecessors promised this before, but we did not see this promise fulfilled. These are only the false tales and lies of the previous people”.

O Messenger, say to these disbelievers who deny the resurrection: “Who does this earth and those on it belong to, if you have any knowledge?”

They will say: “The earth and all upon it belong to Allah”, so say to them: “Do you not then remember that the One to Whom belong the earth and all upon it has the power to restore you to life after you die?”

Say to them: “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and who is the Lord of the Great Throne, besides which there is no bigger creation?”

They will say: “The seven heavens and the Great Throne are the property of Allah”, so say to them: “Will you not then by mindful of Allah by carrying out His orders and refraining from His prohibitions, so that you are saved from His punishment?”

Say to them: “Who is the One in whose hand is the realm of everything, with nothing escaping His realm, Who helps whom He wants from His servants, with nobody being able to protect whom He intends bad for so as to remove punishment from Him, if you have any knowledge?”

They will say: “In Allah's hands belong all things”, so say to them: “So how do you lose your senses and worship others besides Him, whilst you profess to that?”

The matter is not as they claim. But rather, I have brought them the truth in which there is no doubt. They are lying in their claiming a partner and child for Allah. Allah is far above what they say.

Allah has not taken a child as the disbelievers claim, nor is there any true deity alongside Him. If there were to be any true deity alongside Him, every deity would take his share of the creation he made and they would dominate one another, causing the order of the Universe to become corrupt. The reality is that none of this has occurred, proving that the true deity is Allah alone. He is pure and holy of what the idolaters describe Him with, namely partners and children which are unbefitting for Him.

He is Knowing of everything hidden from His creation and Knowing of everything which can be seen and perceived through the senses. None of this is hidden from Him. Allah is above having a partner.

O Messenger, say: “O Lord, if you show me regarding these idolaters the punishment You have promised them.

O Lord, if You punish them and I am witnessing that, do not make me amongst them so that I would be afflicted with the punishment that afflicts them”.

I have power to make you witness and see the punishment I am promising them. I am not powerless to do this or anything else.

O Messenger, repel the one who is bad to you by the characteristic which is better, namely turning away from him and being patient with his harm. I know best the associating partners and denial they describe, and the unbefitting things they describe you with such as magic and insanity.

And say: “O Lord, I seek protection in You against the evil suggestions of the satans and their whisperings.

And I seek refuge in You that they should be present with me in any of my affairs”.

Until when death comes to one of these idolaters and he sees what is going to befall him, he says regretfully over his life that has escaped him and his deficiency regarding Allah: “O Lord, return me to the worldly life.

Perhaps I will do good actions when I return to it. Never. The matter is not as you requested. It is only a statement he is uttering. If he were to return to the worldly life, he would not fulfil what he promised. These people who have died will remain in a barrier between the world and the afterlife until the Day of Resurrection and rising. Thus, they will not return from it to the world, to make up for what they lost and to correct what they spoiled.

Then when the angel appointed to blow the Trumpet will blow the second time which will announce the Day of Judgment, there will be no relations between them to boast through, due to their being engrossed in the horrors of the Hearafter, and they will not question one another due to their being engrossed in what concerns them.

So whoever’s scales are heavy because of his good actions outweighing his bad actions, those are the successful ones, by attaining their objective and being saved from their fears.

And whoever’s scales are light because of his bad deeds outweighing his good deeds, those are the ones who have wasted themselves by doing that which is harmful to them, i.e., disbelief and sins, and leaving faith and good actions that were beneficial for them. They will be in the fire of hell forever and will not come out of it.

The fire will burn their faces. Therein, their top and bottom lips will shrink away from their teeth, due to severe frowning.

It will be said to rebuke them: “Were the verses of the Qur’ān not recited to you in the world but you used to deny them?”

They will say: “Our Lord, our wretchedness which had already passed in Your knowledge overcame us, and we were a people astray from the truth.

Our Lord, take us out of the fire. If we return to the disbelief and misguidance we were upon, we will surely have wronged ourselves and our excuse will be broken”.

Allah will say: “Sit in the fire and stay in there disgraced; never speak to me.

There was a group of My servants who believed in Me, saying: ‘Our Lord, we have believed in You, so forgive our sins and grant us Your mercy, and You are the best of those who show mercy’

You took these believers who called upon their Lord as a joke, mocking them and making fun of them, until being engrossed in mocking them made you forget Allah’s remembrance and you used to laugh at them, jokingly and mockingly.

I rewarded these believers with success through paradise on the Day of Judgment, due to their patience on Allah’s obedience and the harm they used to receive from you”.

He will say: “How many years did you spend on earth? And how much time did you waste therein?”

They will reply by saying: “We stayed for one day or part of a day, so ask those who pay attention to counting days and months”.

He will say: “You only stayed in the world for a short period, in which it was easy to persevere upon obedience, if only you knew the length of your stay”.

So do you think, O people, that I created you as a plaything without any wisdom, so that there will be no reward or punishment as with animals, and that you will not return to Me on the Day of Judgment for the reckoning and recompense?”

So pure is Allah, the King, who does as He wishes with His creation, and Who Himself is True, His promise is true and His saying is true. There is no true deity besides Him, Lord of the Noble Throne which is the biggest creation. He Who is Lord of the biggest creation is Lord of all the creation.

Whoever calls upon another god besides Allah for which he has no proof (and this is the case with every god besides Allah), the reward of his bad action is with his Lord, as He is the One Who will reward him for it by punishing him. The disbelievers will not be successful in attaining what they desire and being saved from their fears.

Say - O Messenger: “O Lord, forgive my sins, grant me Your mercy, and You are the best of those who show mercy”.

This is a sūrah I revealed, made acting upon its rulings necessary and in which I revealed clear verses, in the hope that you will be reminded of the rulings it contains and then practice them.

The unmarried fornicating man and woman - flog each one of them with a hundred lashes, and no softness or mercy should affect you, whereby you do not establish the fixed punishment upon them or you make it lighter for them, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And a group of believers should be present when the fixed punishment is being executed on them, to go to the limit of publicising their crime, and to deter them and others.

A fornicating man does not incline to marry except a fornicating woman like himself or an idolater who does not stay away from fornication. A fornicating woman does not incline to marry except a fornicating man like herself or an idolater who does not stay away from it. And marrying a fornicating male and female has been forbidden for believers.

Those who accuse chaste women of adultery (and chaste men likewise) and do not then bring four witnesses to testify to the adultery they have accused them of, flog them, O leaders, with eighty lashes, and never accept their testimony. Those who accuse chaste women are out of the obedience of Allah.

Except those who repent to Allah after what they have done and correct their actions, for Allah will accept their repentance and their testimony. Allah is Forgiving to those of His servants who repent and is Merciful to them.

And those men who accuse their wives but do not have witnesses to testify to the authenticity of what they have accused them of besides themselves, one amongst them will testify by Allah four times: that he is truthful in the accusation of adultery he has made against his wife.

Then on his fifth testimony, he will add that he is deserving of curse if he is lying in what he has accused her of.

Through this she will be deserving of the fixed punishment for adultery. She will repel this fixed punishment by testifying by Allah four times: that he is lying in what he has accused her of.

Then on her fifth testimony, she will add that the anger of Allah be on her if he is truthful in what he has accused her of.

Had it not been for Allah’s grace on you, O people, and His mercy on you, and that He accepts those who repent amongst His servants and is Wise in His managing and legislating, He would have quickly punished you for your sins and disgraced you through them.

Those that brought the slander (which was accusing the Mother of the Believers Aishah - may Allah be pleased with her - of adultery) are a group which affiliate themselves to you, O believers. Do not consider the slander they made as bad for you, but rather it is good, due to the reward and testing of the believers it contains, and due to the clearing the name of the Mother of the Believers it brings with it. For each person who shared in accusing her of adultery is the reward of the sin he earned, due to uttering the slander. And for the one who bore the majority of that by starting it is a great punishment. The one meant by that is the leader of the hypocrites, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool.

When the believers heard this great slander, why did they not believe the faultlessness of their believing brothers who were accused of that and say: “This is a clear lie”?

Why did those who accuse the Mother of the Believers Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) not bring four witnesses upon their grave accusation, to testify to the authenticity of what they attributed to her? But if they do not bring four witnesses on that, and they will never be able to bring them, they are liars in the order of Allah.

Had it not been for Allah’s grace on you, O believers, and His mercy on you, as He did not quickly punish you and He accepted the repentance of those amongst you who repented, a great punishment would have afflicted you, due to the lie and accusation against the Mother of the Believers you delved into.

When you were relating it from one another and passing it to one another through your mouths, despite its falsehood, you had no knowledge. You were thinking that is easy and light, whereas it is grave in the sight of Allah, due to it containing lying and accusing an innocent person.

Why did you not say when you heard this slander: “It is not right for us to talk about this gross matter. Purity belongs to You, our Lord. This slander which they accused the Mother of the Believers of is a great lie”?

Allah reminds you and advises you so that you do not repeat such a slander and accuse an innocent person of adultery, if you believe in Allah.

Allah makes clear for you the verses which comprise His rulings and advices. Allah is Knowing of your actions, nothing of them being hidden from Him and He shall reward you for them, Wise in His managing and His legislating.

Those who love for immoral acts to spread amongst the believers, one of them being to accuse of adultery, for them is a painful punishment in the world, by the fixed punishment of slander being executed upon them, and for them is the fire of Hell in the Hearafter. Allah knows their lies and the outcome of His servants’ matter, and He knows what is best for them and you do not know that.

Had it not been for Allah’s grace upon you, O you who fell into the slander, and His mercy on You, and had it not been that Allah is compassionate and merciful to you, He would have punished you quickly.

O those who have faith in Allah and who act on His sacred law, do not follow the ways of the satan in his adornment of falsehood. Whoever follows his ways - he commands despicable actions and sayings, and what the sacred law disapproves of. Had it not been for Allah’s grace upon you, O believers, not a single one of you would have become pure through repentance if he did repent, but in fact, Allah purifies whom He wants by accepting his repentance. Allah is Hearing of your statements, Knowing of your actions; nothing of them is hidden from Him and He shall reward you for them.

The people of virtue in religion and expanse in wealth should not swear an oath to stop giving their needy relatives, due to their poverty, amongst the migrants in Allah’s way, due to a sin they committed. They should pardon them and overlook them. Do you not love that Allah should forgive your sins when you pardon them and overlook them? Allah is Forgiving to those who repent amongst His servants and Merciful to them, so His servants should follow Him. This verse was revealed regarding Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) when he swore an oath to stop spending on Mistah, due to his joining in the slander.

Those who accuse chaste innocent women of adultery the believing women are unaware of are removed from the mercy of Allah in this world and the Hearafter, and for them is a great punishment in the Hearafter.

They will get that punishment on the Day of Judgment, the day when their tongues will testify against them as to the falsehood they spoke, and their hands and feet will testify against them as to what they used to do.

On that day, Allah will give them their full reward with justice and they will know Allah is the Truth. Every piece of information, promise or warning that comes from Him is clearly true without any doubt in it.

Every evil man, woman, saying and action is suited to what is evil and conforms to it, and every good thing of that is suited to what is good and conforms to it. Those good men and women are innocent of what the evil men and women say about them. For them is forgiveness from Allah through which He will forgive their sins, and for them is noble sustenance which is paradise.

O those who have faith in Allah and act on His sacred law, do not enter houses besides your own houses until you seek permission from their inhabitants to enter them and you greet them, by saying in greeting and seeking permission: “Peace be on you, can I come in?” That seeking permission you have been ordered is better for you than entering suddenly, so that you remember what you have been ordered and then carry it out.

But if you do not find anyone in those houses, do not enter them until you are permitted to enter by those who have the authority to give permission. And if their owners tell you to return, return and do not enter them, as this is purer for you in the sight of Allah. Allah is Knowing of what you do; none of your actions are hidden from Him and He shall reward you for them.

There is no blame on you, for entering without permission, public houses which are not specifically for any person and which have been prepared for general benefit, such as libraries and shops in markets. Allah knows the actions and conditions which you display and which you hide; none of that is hidden from Him and He shall reward you for them.

O Messenger, tell the believing men to stop their eyes from looking at women and private parts that are unlawful for them, and to protect their private parts from indulging in the unlawful and from exposing them. That refraining from looking at what Allah has made unlawful is purer for them in the sight of Allah. Allah is Aware of what you do.

And tell the believing women to stop their eyes from looking at the private parts Allah has made unlawful for them to look at and to protect their private parts by staying far from indecency and by covering themselves. And they should not display their beauty to strangers except that which is apparent thereof and which cannot be hidden, such as clothing. They should draw their coverings over the openings at the top of their clothes, to cover their hair, faces and necks, and they should not expose their hidden beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers, or their sons, or their husbands’ sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women who are believers, be they Muslim or disbelievers, or the servants they own, be they male or female, or male attendants who have no desire for women, or children who have not become aware of the private aspects of women due to their being small. And women should not strike their feet with the intention of making known the adornment they are hiding, such as anklets and so forth. And all of you repent to Allah, O believers, for the gaze and so forth which affects you, in the hope that you are successful in attaining the goal and are saved from what is feared.

O believers, marry off the unmarried free men and women amongst you, and marry off the believers amongst your male and female servants. If they are poor, Allah will make them wealthy through His vast grace. Allah is Vast in sustaining, without His making anyone wealthy decrease His sustenance, and Knowing of the conditions of His servants.

Those who are unable to marry due to their poverty should seek chastity from fornication until Allah makes them wealthy through His vast grace. Those servants who wish to make a contract with their masters, to give money so that they can be free, their masters should accept that of them if they know they have the ability to fulfil and are upright in religion. It is necessary upon them to give them from the wealth Allah has granted them, by discounting them a portion of what they agreed to pay. And do not force your slave girls to fornicate, in pursuit of wealth, as Abdullah ibn Ubayy did with his two slave girls when they requested chastity and staying far from fornication, to seek what she earns through her private parts. Whoever forces them to do that, Allah is Forgiving of their sins after their being forced and Merciful to them, because they are being forced, and the sin is upon the one who forces them.

I revealed to you, O people, clear verses in which there is no confusion. And I revealed to you examples of the believers and disbelievers who passed before you, and I revealed to you an admonition through which those who fear their Lord by carrying out His commands and refraining from His prohibitions are admonished.

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth, and the Guide of all those in them. The example of His light in the heart of a believer is like a closed niche which contains a lantern. The lantern is in a bright glass, as though it is a shining star like a pearl. The lantern is lit by the oil of a blessed tree, which is the olive tree. Nothing conceals the tree from the sun, neither in the morning nor in the evening. The oil is about to glow, due to its purity, even though a fire has not touched it; imagine how it will be when it touches it? The light of the lantern is on the light of the glass. Likewise is the heart of the believer when the light of guidance shines in it. Allah enables whomever He wishes amongst His servants to follow the Qur’ān. And Allah makes things clear through their likenesses, by giving examples. And Allah is Knowing of everything, nothing being hidden from Him.

This lantern is lit in the mosques which Allah has ordered be kept clean from impurities and dirt, to be elevated, and to have His name remembered therein through the call to prayer, remembrance and prayer. There pray in them, seeking the pleasure of Allah, at the beginning and end of the day

Men whom buying and selling does not distract from the remembrance of Allah, performing prayer with perfection and giving Zakat, where required. They fear the Day of Judgment: that day on which the hearts will fluctuate between hope in salvation from and fear of the punishment, and the eyes will wander in every direction in anxiety.

They do that so that Allah may reward them upon the best of their actions and increase their reward through His grace. And Allah provides without account for whomsoever He wishes, according to their deeds; rather, He grants them in multitudes over the value of their deeds.

There is no reward for the deeds of those who disbelieve in Allah; it is like a mirage that a thirsty person sees on a low-lying piece of land and assumes it to be water. He walks towards it, until when he reaches it, does not find any water. Likewise is a disbeliever: he thinks his deeds shall benefit him, until he dies and is resurrected, but does not find their reward. Rather, he finds his Lord in front of him who takes him to account fully for his deeds; and Allah is swift in taking account.

Or their deeds are like the many darkness in the depth of the ocean, over which is a wave, over which is another wave, over which is a cloud covering the navigating stars. Compounded layers of darkness, one above the other; if the one that finds himself among such darkness were to remove his hand in front of him, he would barely see it. Likewise is a disbeliever: the darkness of ignorance, doubt, confusion and his heart being sealed up, gather up on him. Whoever Allah does not grant guidance from error to and knowledge of the Book, will never find any other guidance or any other book from which he can seek enlightenment.

O Messenger! Do you not know that all the inhabitants of the heavens and earth from the creation of Allah, glorify Him? The birds that fly in formation also glorify Him. Of all those creations, Allah knows of the prayer of every one who prays, i.e. the human; and the glorification of every one that glorifies Him, i.e. the birds. Allah is all-aware of what they do, no action of theirs is hidden from Him.

To Allah alone belongs supreme authority over the heavens and earth, and to Him alone will everyone return for accountability and requital.

O Messenger! Do you not know that Allah drives the clouds, then joins parts of them together, then makes them into layers, one above the other. You then see the rain coming out from the cloud, and falling from the sky from parts of cloud like mountains, falling as hail. That hail reaches whoever Allah wills from His servants, and He turns it away from whomsoever He wills. It is extremely possible that the light from bolts of lightning blinds the eyesight.

Allah alternates between the length of the day and night. Indeed, in that alternation is a lesson in the power of Allah and His oneness, for those who have foresight.

And Allah has created everything that walks on the face of the earth from a drop of sperm. Some walk crawling on their bellies, i.e. snakes, while some walk on two feet, i.e. humans and birds, while others walk on four legs, i.e. livestock. Allah creates whatever He wishes, including things mentioned and unmentioned. Indeed, He is capable of everything; Nothing is outside His ability.

Verily, I revealed clear verses unto Muhammad peace be upon him, wherein there is no ambiguity. Allah guides whoever He wishes to the straight path in which there is no deviance, which in turn leads him to paradise.

And the hypocrites say, “We have believed in Allah and the Messenger, and obeyed Allah and His Messenger”, then a group from among them turns away. So after claiming to have faith in Allah and His Messenger and obeying them, in reality they do not obey Allah and His Messenger in fulfilling the command to jihad in Allah’s way, and the like. In truth, those who turn away from the obedience of Allah and His Messenger are not believers, despite claiming to be.

And if these hypocrites are called to Allah and the Messenger so that the Messenger can pass Judgement between them in matters they dispute among themselves, they will reject his Judgement due to their hypocrisy.

Yet if they know the truth to be in their favour, and that he will judge in their favour, they will come to him submissive and humble.

Is there a chronic illness in the hearts of these people, or is it that they are in doubt as to whether he is the Messenger of Allah? Or is it that they fear Allah or His Messenger will wrong them in Judgement? No, it is none of the aforementioned, rather, it is because of a defect within their souls due to their turning away from his Judgement, and their opposition to him.

When the believers are called towards Allah and His Messenger for him to judge between them, their only reaction is that they say, “We have heard his statement and obeyed his order”. Those who possess this characteristic are the ones who are successful in the world and the Hearafter.

And whoever obeys Allah and obeys His Messenger, fears the outcome of sins, and prevents the punishment of Allah upon themselves by fulfilling His commands and refraining from His prohibitions, only they are the ones who achieve the success of both the world and the Hearafter.

The hypocrites take the strongest and far-fetched of oaths possible upon Allah, saying that if you were to command them to march out to jihad, they would indeed do so. O Messenger! Say to them: “Do not take oaths, for your lying is well known, as is your claimed submission. Allah is well-aware of your actions; no action of yours is hidden from Him, regardless of how you try to hide them.

O Messenger! Say to these hypocrites: “Obey Allah and His Messenger both physically and spiritually. If you turn away from their obedience as you have been commanded, then his responsibility is only to convey the message as he has been tasked, whereas the responsibility you have been tasked with is to obey and implement whatever he has brought. If you obey him in whatever he commands you to do and refrain from whatever he prevents you from, you shall be guided to the truth. The Messenger’s responsibility is only to convey the message clearly, not to carry you onto guidance or force you upon it.”

Allah has promised those of you who believe in Him and perform good deeds, that He will help them against their enemies and make them rulers on earth. Just like He made the believers before them rulers on earth and promised them that He would make the religion of Islam He preferred for them established and dominant; He also promised that He will change their circumstances of fear into peace, as long as they worshipped Him alone and did not ascribe partners to Him. Whoever shows ingratitude after all those blessings are the very ones who leave the obedience of Allah.

And perform prayer to perfection, give Zakat on your wealth and obey the Messenger in whatever he commands you with, together with leaving whatever he prevents you from, in the hope that you shall be safe from your fears and be successful in your objectives.

O Messenger! Do not ever think that those who disbelieve in Allah will slip away from Him when He intends to punish them. Their abode on the Day of Judgment is hell; what an evil abode hell is!

O those who have faith in Allah and act upon the laws set for them! Your free immature children, male servants and female servants should seek permission from you thrice, at three times: before the morning prayer at the time of changing from nightwear into daily clothes, in the afternoon when changing clothes for the siesta and after the night prayer because it is the time when you remove your daywear and change into your nightwear. These are three times of privacy for you; they should not enter your rooms except after taking permission from you. Apart from these times, there is no harm in them entering your rooms nor you entering theirs, because you frequently have to move around one another and so it would be an inconvenience to prevent them from entering except with permission. Just as Allah has made the rulings of seeking permission clear to you, He also makes clear the verses that show the rulings He has laid down for you. Allah is ever-aware of the requirements of His servants; wise in whatever laws He passes for them.

When your children reach the age of puberty they should seek permission at all times before entering into your homes, as has been mentioned regarding the adults previously. Just as Allah makes clear the rulings of seeking permission for you, He also makes His verses clear. And Allah is ever-aware of the requirements of His servants; wise in whatever laws He passes for them.

And the elderly women that no longer experience menstruation, or can no longer give birth, nor have any desire to marry again, there is no sin upon them if they do not wear some of their outer garments i.e. overcloak and veil, as long as they do not expose the beauty they have been commanded to conceal. However, for them to wear those garments is better for them than to discard them, enhancing veiling and chastity. Allah is all-hearing of your statements; none of them are hidden from Him and He shall requit you for them.

There is no sin upon the blind who has lost his eyesight, nor upon the lame nor the sick if they leave those responsibilities they can no longer fulfil, i.e. jihad in the way of Allah. O believers! There is no sin upon you in eating from your own homes or the homes of sons, nor in eating from the homes of your fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, paternal uncles and aunts nor maternal uncles and aunts, nor those houses which you have been entrusted with safeguarding, i.e. garden-keeper. There is also no sin in eating at the house of your friend as is customary to please him. It is not a problem whether you eat alone or together in groups. So when you do enter any houses like the ones mentioned above or any others, greet those within them with peace by saying: “Peace be upon you”, and if there is no one inside them, then greet yourselves by saying: “Peace be upon us and the pious servants of Allah”. This is a blessed greeting from Allah; He has legislated it for you because of the love and affection it spreads among you. It is also a pleasant greeting in that it pleases the soul of the one who hears is Just like the aforementioned clarity in this Sūrah, Allah clearly explains His verses in the hope that you will implement whatever they contain.

The believers who are true in their faith are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, and when they are summoned to convene by the Prophet peace be upon him for a matter in relation to the affairs of the Muslims, they do not leave until they seek his permission to do so. O Messenger! Indeed, those who seek your permission before leaving, they are the ones who truly believe in Allah and His Messenger; so if they seek your permission to leave due to some important matter that concerns them, grant permission to whomsoever you wish from them and ask Allah to forgive their sins. Indeed, Allah Forgiving of the sins of whoever repents from His servants, and is merciful to them.

O believers! Honour the Messenger of Allah; when you call out to him, do not call him by name, e.g. “O Muhammad!”, or the name of his father, e.g. “O the son of Abdullah!”, like you call one another. Rather, say: “O Messenger of Allah, O Prophet of Allah!” And when he summons you for a general matter, do not treat his summoning like that of each other in petty issues; rather, hasten to answering his summon. Verily, Allah knows of those of you who leave covertly without seeking permission, so those who go against the command of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him should fear that Allah can afflict them with trials and afflictions, or with a painful punishment they cannot bear.

Know well that to Allah belongs everything in the heavens and on earth: in terms of being His creation, under His supreme authority and His control. O people! He knows whatever conditions you are in; nothing is hidden from Him, and on the Day of Judgment when you return to Him after resurrection, He will inform you of all the deeds you did in the world. Allah knows everything, nothing in the heavens or the earth is hidden from Him.

Blessed is Allah who revealed the Qur’ān as a standard distinguishing between truth and falsehood, onto His servant and Messenger Muhammad peace be upon him, so that he could be a Messenger towards the humans and the jinn, and a warner to them of the punishment of Allah.

The One to Whom alone belongs authority over the heavens and earth, Who did not beget a child, nor has any partner in His authority, Who created everything appropriately and foresaw its creation according to His knowledge and wisdom to perfection.

Instead of Allah, the idolaters adopted deities who cannot create anything small or large, but are themselves created. Verily, Allah created them from non-existence; they are unable to fend off any harm from themselves nor bring themselves any benefit, nor are they able to cause death to any living or give life to any dead, or raise the dead from their graves.

And those who disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger said: “This Qur’ān is nothing but a lie which Muhammad has fabricated and blasphemously attributed to Allah. Other people have also helped him in its fabrication”. These disbelievers themselves have made a false statement, because the Qur’ān is the speech of Allah; it is impossible for humans and jinn to come up anything like it.

And these rejecters of the Qur’ān said, “The Qur’ān is vain tales of the previous people which they used to record; Muhammad has copied them. They are recited to him throughout the day”.

O Messenger! Say to these rejecters: The Qur’ān was revealed by Allah, Who knows of everything in the heavens and earth. It is not made up as you think it to be. Indeed, Allah Forgiving of those of His servants who repent, and is merciful to them.

The idolaters who rejected the Prophet peace be upon him said, “What is wrong with this man that claims he is a messenger from Allah when he eats food just as other people do, and walks around the markets in search of livelihood? Why did Allah not send an angel with him who would accompany him, proclaim his truthfulness and help him?”

“Or send down a treasure for him from the heavens, or that he has a garden from which he eats fruits, so that he does not need to walk around the markets in search of livelihood?” The oppressors also said, “O believers! You are not following any messenger; you are only following a man whose intellect has been overwhelmed by magic.”

O Messenger! You should see and be amazed at how they can describe you with such false attributes, i.e. they said, “He is a magician”, “He has been spellbound”, and “He is insane”, so they deviated from the truth because of that. They are incapable of treading the path towards guidance and of questioning your truthfulness and honesty.

Blessed is Allah Who can, if He wishes, give you the good they think up for you like the gardens under the trees of which streams flow and the fruits of which you can eat; and can also grant you palaces in which you can live in luxury.

The statements that came from them were not said in search of the truth or evidence, rather, in conclusion, they have rejected the Day of Judgment. And for whoever rejects the Day of Judgment, I have prepared a blazing fire.

When the disbelievers will look at the hellfire from a distance, they will hear an unsettling, severe boiling sound emitting from it due to its anger upon them.

And when these disbelievers will be thrown into hell from a tight place, with their hands chained to their necks, they will call destruction upon themselves hoping to escape from hell.

O disbelievers! Do not call upon one type of destruction for yourselves today; call upon many types! It will make no difference; you will not be granted what you seek. Instead, you will remain in painful punishment forever.

O Messenger! Say to them: “Is the aforementioned punishment described for you better, or the everlasting paradise with its eternal blessings that never finish? It is the very same one that Allah has promised His Allah-conscious servants as a reward and abode they will return to on the Day of Judgment.”

In this paradise, they will have whatever blessings they desire; that is a promise on Allah which His Allah-conscious servants will ask Him for. And the promise of Allah will be fulfilled, because He never breaks promises.

On the day when the rejecting idolaters will be gathered, together with whatever they worshipped instead of Allah, He will say to those worshipped, scolding those who worshipped them, “Did you lead My servants astray by commanding them to worship you, or did they go astray of their own accord?”

The worshipped ones will say, “Our Lord! You are exalted from having any partner. It was not for us to take any guardians instead of You, so how could we call Your servants to worship us instead of You? Our Lord! Rather, You granted these idolaters and their forefathers enjoyment through the pleasures of the world, gradually leading them into their destruction, until they forgot Your remembrance and worshipped others with You. They were people doomed due to their wretchedness.”

O idolaters! Verily, those you worshipped other than Allah have belied you in your claims against them, so you cannot fend off the punishment from yourselves nor help them due to your incapability. O believers! Whoever oppresses from amongst you by ascribing partners to Allah, I shall make him suffer a great punishment, just like I will make the ones mentioned suffer.

O Messenger! All the messengers I sent before you were humans who would eat food and walk in the markets; you are not a unique messenger in that sense. O people! I have made you tests for each other by granting you varying degrees of affluence, poverty, health and sickness; throughout these different circumstances, will you bear whatever I afflict you with so that I may reward you upon your patience? Your Lord is ever-aware of those who bear patience and those who do not, and those who obey Him and those who disobey Him.

The disbelievers who do not expect to meet Me and who do not fear My punishment said, “Why does not Allah send down the angels to us, so they can tell us about the truth of Muhammad?’ or ‘Why can we not see our Lord with our own eyes, so He can tell us about that?’ They are too proud within themselves and this prevented them from having faith, and they have gone beyond the limit of disbelief and transgression by this statement of theirs.

On the Day when these people will see the angels at the time of their death, in the Transitory Stage, when they are resurrected, when they are driven to give account and when they are entered into the Fire, there will be no good news for them on those occasions, unlike the believers, and the angels will say to them, “Unlawful and forbidden for you is the good news from Allah.”

I shall turn to the good deeds the disbelievers did in the world and due to their invalidity and lack of benefit because of their disbelief, I will scatter them like the particles of dust a person sees in the window.

The believers, the people of Paradise, on that day will have a better position and place of rest and sleep than these disbelievers. That is because of their faith in Allah and their righteous deeds.

Mention - O Messenger - the day when the sky will split apart to reveal thin white clouds, and the angels will be sent down to the plains of the gathering in abundance due to their large number.

Kingdom, which is the true and established kingdom, on the Day of Judgment will be for the Merciful, may He be glorified. That day will be difficult for the disbelievers as opposed to the believers for whom it will be easy.

Mention - O Messenger - the day the evildoer on account of leaving out following the Messenger (peace be upon him) will bite his own hand out of regret and say, ‘If only I had followed the Messenger and what he brought from his Lord, and I had taken a path with him to salvation.’

He will also say due to extreme grief cursing himself: Alas for me! If only I had not taken so-and-so disbeliever as a friend!

This disbelieving friend led me away from the Qur’ān after it reached me through the Messenger. Satan has always been one who betrays man often. When some difficulty comes on him, he renounces him.

The Messenger will say on that day complaining about the condition of his people: O my Lord! My people, to whom You sent me, left this Qur’ān and ignored it.

Similar to the harm and preventing others from your path that you - O Messenger - encountered from your people, I had assigned to every Prophet before you an enemy from among the evildoers of his people. Your Lord is a sufficient guide, who guides to the truth, and He is a sufficient helper, who will help you against your enemy.

Those who disbelieved in Allah said, ‘Why was the Qur’ān not sent down to him all at once instead of in bits and pieces?’ I sent the Qur’ān bit by bit to strengthen your heart - O Messenger - by its revelation time after time. I revealed it bit by bit to you to make it easy for you to understand and memorise it.

The idolaters do not bring to you - O Messenger - any point that they propose except that I bring to you the true and firm response to it and I bring to you something that is better explained.

Those who will be driven on the Day of Judgment being dragged on their faces to Hell. Such people are in the worst place because their place will be Hell and they are on the worst path because their path is the path of disbelief and deviation.

I gave Moses the Torah and appointed his brother, Aaron, as a Messenger to help him.

So I said to them: Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and his people who denied My signs. So they fulfilled our instruction and went to them and invited them to Allah’s Oneness, but they denied them and I then destroyed them completely on account of their denial.

The people of Noah, too: when they rejected the Messengers by rejecting Noah (peace be upon him), I destroyed them by drowning them in the ocean, and I made their destruction a sign of My Power to eliminate the wrongdoers. I have prepared a painful punishment on the Day of Judgment for the wrongdoers.

I also destroyed the Ad, the people of Hud, and the Thamud, the people of Salih. I destroyed the people of the Well and I destroyed many communities between these three.

To each of these who were destroyed I had described the destruction of the previous communities and the reasons for it so that they take heed, and each of them I completely destroyed because of their disbelief and stubbornness.

These rejecters from your people in their travel to the Levant have come by the town of people of Lot on which stones had rained down as a punishment for their immoral behaviour so that they make take heed. Were they blind to this town and did they not see it? No! Instead they do not expect to be raised from the dead and taken to account thereafter.

Whenever these rejecters meet you - O Messenger - they ridicule you by saying mockingly and in denial: Is this the one Allah has sent as a Messenger to us?

He almost led us astray from the worship of our gods. If we had not stood so firmly by their worship, he would have turned us away from it by his arguments and proofs. They will soon come to know, when they see the punishment in their graves and on the Day of Judgement, who is furthest from the path - is it them or he - and they will come to know which of them is astray.

Have you seen - O Messenger - the person who made his desire a god and followed it! Will you be a guardian over him to bring him back to faith and prevent him from disbelief?

Rather, do you - O Messenger - think that most of those whom you call towards Allah’s Oneness and obedience, hear with acceptance or understand the arguments and proofs? They are just like cattle in terms of their hearing, comprehension and understanding. Rather, they are further from the path than cattle are.

Have you - O Messenger - not seen how your Lord extends the shade on the surface of the earth. If He had willed to make it stand still without moving He could have done so. Then I made the sun an indicator for it, becoming long and short in accordance to it.

Then I retracted the shade by reducing it gradually little by little in accordance to the height of the sun.

It is Allah who has made the night like a garment to cover you and cover all things. It is He who made sleep a rest that you could enjoy from your occupation. It is He who made the day a time when you go out to your work.

It is He who sent the winds as heralds of good news of the fall of rain which is His Mercy to His servants. I sent down from the sky rain water that is pure which they use to purify themselves.

So that I can revive by means of the water that comes down a barren land that has no vegetation by causing various types of plants to grow and spreading greenery on it, and to give that water as a drink to the many animals and people I have created.

I have explained in various ways in the Qur’ān, the arguments and proofs so that they might take heed, but most people persist in their rejection and denial of the truth.

If it had been My will, I would have sent a Messenger to every town, to warn them of Allah’s punishment. But I did not will that. I only sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a Messenger to all people.

So do not follow the disbelievers in their demands for you to be soft with them and in the proposals that they put forward. Strive against them with this Qur’ān that is revealed to you a mighty struggle by being patient over their harm and tolerating difficulties in calling them to Allah.

It is Allah, may He be glorified, who merged the water of the two bodies of flowing water. He mixed the sweet and the salty, and put a barrier and dividing line between them that prevents them from intermingling.

It is He who created human beings from the semen of men and women. By creating human beings He established the relationship of kinship by blood and relationship by marriage. Your Lord is all powerful and Nothing is outside His ability. It is through His Power that He created man from the semen of a man and woman.

Yet instead of Allah, the disbelievers worship idols that can neither benefit them, if they follow them, nor harm them, if they go against them. The disbeliever has always followed Satan in that which angers Allah, may He be glorified.

I sent you - O Messenger - only to give good news to those who follow Allah, by having faith and doing righteous actions, and to warn those who go against Him, by committing disbelief and sin.

Say, O Messenger: I am not asking for any reward for conveying the message. But anyone of you who wishes to take a path towards Allah’s pleasure by spending, then let him do so.

Put your trust - O Messenger - in all of your affairs in Allah, the Living and Everlasting who never dies, declare His purity and celebrate His praise, may He be glorified. He knows the sins of His servants well enough. Nothing of that is hidden from Him and He will recompense them for the same.

The One who created the heavens and earth and what is between them in six days, and then established Himself on the throne, in a meaning that is befitting for His Majesty. He is the Merciful, so ask then - O Messenger - about Him, One who is aware, and that is Allah - the One who knows everything and from Whom nothing is hidden.

When it is said to the disbelievers: Prostrate to the Merciful, they say: We will not prostrate to the Merciful. What is the Merciful? We do not know or acknowledge Him. Should we prostrate to what you tell us when we do not know Him?! His instruction to them to prostrate to Him only puts them further away from having faith in Allah.

Blessed is He Who made stations in the heavens for the planets and the moving stars, Who made in the sky a sun that radiates light, and Who made a moon that illuminates the earth with the light of the sun that it reflects.

It is Allah who made the night and day follow and replace each other, for anyone who wishes to take a lesson from Allah’s signs and come onto the right path, or wishes to be grateful to Allah for His favours.

The servants of the Merciful are the believers who walk humbly on the earth with dignity, and when the foolish address them they do not retaliate in the same manner but they tell them something that saves them from their evil.

Those who spend the night prostrating on their foreheads and standing on their feet, praying to Allah.

Those who say in their prayer to their Lord: Our Lord, remove from us the punishment of Hell, for the punishment of Hell is perpetual and everlasting for those who die as disbelievers.

It is a terrible place of settlement for anyone, and a terrible place of residence for anyone.

They are those whom when they spend their wealth do not go to the limit of extravagance in their spending, nor do they restrict their spending to only those whom they have to spend on such as themselves and others, but their spending is balanced between wastefulness and niggardliness.

Those who do not call on any other deity besides Allah, may He be glorified, nor kill any person, whose killing Allah has prohibited except for that which Allah has allowed such as the killing of a murderer, renegade or a married adulterer, nor commit adultery. Whoever does these major sins will face the punishment for the sin he has committed on the Day of Judgement.

The punishment will be doubled for him on the Day of Judgement, and he will remain in the punishment, disgraced and humiliated.

But those who repent to Allah and do good deeds that indicate the sincerity of their repentance, then Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. Allah is Forgiving of the sins of those of His servants who repent and He is Merciful towards them.

Those who repent to Allah and prove the sincerity of their repentance by doing good deeds and giving up sins, their repentance is one that is accepted.

Those who do not attend falsehood, such as places of sins and prohibited amusement, and when they pass by futile statements and actions they pass by quickly, keeping the dignity of their souls by staying away from becoming involved in these things.

Those who, when reminded of Allah’s signs that are heard and seen, do not turn a deaf ear to the signs that are heard and do not turn a blind eye to the signs that are seen.

Those who say in their prayer to their Lord: Our Lord, give us from our spouses and offspring those who will be the coolness of our eyes due to their piety and steadfastness on the truth. Make us leaders in truth who are emulated by those who are mindful of You.

Those who possess those attributes will be rewarded with lofty chambers in the highest stage of Paradise for their steadfastness in following Allah. There they will be met by the angels with greetings and peace and they will be safe there from all difficulties.

There they will stay forever - a beautiful place of settlement for them to settle in and a place of residence for them to reside in.

Say - O Messenger, to the disbelievers who persist in their disbelief: My Lord will never care about you because of some benefit that He gets from your obedience. If it were not because He calls you for your benefit He would not have cared about you. Now since you rejected that which the Messengers brought from your Lord, the recompense for such rejection will be inseparable from you.

Ṭā Sīn Mīm The discussion on similar letters has already passed in Sūrah Al-Baqarah.

Those are the verses of the Qur’ān that makes the truth clear from falsehood.

Perhaps you O Messenger because of your eagerness for their guidance are killing yourself out of fear for them that they do not believe in Allah.

If I had wished to send down to them a miracle from the sky I would have sent it down and their necks would remain bowed in utter humility before it. But I did not wish that, in order to test them: Do they believe in the Ghaib?

Whenever any new reminder that is revealed by the Merciful to these idolaters, which contain His arguments that indicate His Oneness and the truth of His prophet, they turn away from listening to it and accepting it.

They have denied what their Messenger brought to them, but the confirmation of the information that they used to mock at will soon come to them and the punishment will fall upon them.

Do these people remain persistent in their disbelief and not look at the earth, how many different types of vegetation that is beautiful to look at and that has plenty of benefits did I grow therein!

In the earth’s growing various types of vegetation there truly is a clear sign of the Power of the One Who has made it grow to bring back the dead to life, though most of them do not have faith.

Your Lord - O Messenger - is the One Who is the Dominant who can never be overpower, and the Merciful to those of His servants who have faith.

Remember - O Messenger - when your Lord called out to Moses instructing him to go to the people who were doing wrong by their rejection of Allah and enslavement of the people of Moses.

These were the people of Pharaoh. He should instruct them gently and softly to be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions.

Moses (peace be upon him) said, I fear that they will deny me and what I convey to them from you, and that my breast will be constricted because of their denial of me, and that my tongue will not be free in calling to Allah, so send Gabriel (peace be upon him) to my brother, Aaron, so that he could assist me.

Moses (peace be upon him) said, I fear that they will deny me and what I convey to them from you, and that my breast will be constricted because of their denial of me, and that my tongue will not be free in calling to Allah, so send Gabriel (peace be upon him) to my brother, Aaron, so that he could assist me.

They also have a charge against me because I had killed the Copt, and I fear they may kill me.

Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him): By no means! They will never kill you. Go, you and your brother Aaron, with My signs that indicate your truthfulness. I shall be with you with My assistance and support, listening to what you say and what is said to you. Nothing of that misses us.

Go to Pharaoh and tell him: We are two Messengers sent to you by the Lord of all created things.

That you send the Israelites with us.

Pharaoh said to Moses (peace be upon him): Did we not bring you up as a child among us? Did you not stay with us for many years of your life? So what has now made you claim prophethood?

You committed a serious deed when you killed the Copt in defence of a man of your people, and you are one of those who deny my favours to you.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Pharaoh: I did what you mentioned before I received revelation and was sent as a messenger.

So I fled from you to Madyan after killing him when I feared that you will kill me. Then my Lord gave me knowledge and made me one of His Messengers that He sends to people.

Your bringing me up without enslaving me after you enslaved the Israelites is a favour that you are reminding me of?!

Pharaoh said to Moses (peace be upon him): What is the Lord of all created things Whose Messenger you claim to be?

Moses said in response to Pharaoh: The Lord of all created things is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of whatever is between them. If you are certain that He is your Lord then worship Him alone.

Pharaoh said to the leaders of his people around him: Do you not hear the response of Moses and the false claim it contains.

Moses said to them: Allah is your Lord and the Lord of your earlier forefathers.

Pharaoh said: This man who claims to be a Messenger to you is insane. He is not aware of how to respond and he says that which does not make sense.

Moses said, Allah, the One to Whom I call you, is the Lord of the East and the West and the Lord of what is in between them. If only you had sense that you could reason with.

Pharaoh said to Moses after becoming unable to argue with him: If you worship any god other than Me, I will throw you into prison.

Moses (peace be upon him) said to Pharaoh: Will you throw me into prison even if I bring to you something that makes clear my truthfulness in what I have brought to you from Allah?

He said: Bring what you say will indicate your truthfulness if you are true in your claim!

So Moses threw his stick down on the ground and it suddenly became a snake for everyone to see.

He put his hand into the opening of his garment without its being white and then he drew it out radiant white - not the white of leprosy - for the onlookers to see.

Pharaoh said to the leaders of his people around him: This man is a magician, well versed in magic.

He means to use his magic to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest we do to him?

They said to him: Delay him and his brother and do not rush to punish them. Send out to the cities of Egypt those who will gather the magicians, to bring every magician, well versed in magic.

They said to him: Delay him and his brother and do not rush to punish them. Send out to the cities of Egypt those who will gather the magicians, to bring every magician, well versed in magic.

Pharaoh assembled his magicians to challenge Moses at an appointed place and time.

The people were told: Are you going to gather to see who wins? Will it be Moses or the magicians?

If the magicians succeed over Moses, perhaps we should follow them in their religion.

So when the magicians came before Pharaoh to challenge Moses, they said to him, “Will we have a tangible reward or an intangible one, if we have the upper hand over Moses?”

Pharaoh said to them, “Yes, you shall get a reward. If you are to succeed over Moses, you shall be taken as my close ones by being appointed in lofty posts.”

Confident in Allah’s help and in order to show clearly that whatever he possessed was not magic, Moses said to them, “Throw whatever ropes and sticks you want to!”

And so they threw down their ropes and sticks, and upon throwing them, said, “By the grandeur of Pharaoh we are going to succeed, and Moses is the one who shall be defeated!”

So Moses threw his staff and it turned into a snake, nullifying whatever magic they were casting over the people.

When the magicians saw Moses’s staff swallowing up whatever they had cast, they fell into prostration.

They said, “I have brought faith in the Lord of all creation.”

“The Lord of Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them).”

Pharaoh, disapproving of the magicians’ belief, said to them, “Have you accepted Moses as being true, before I gave you permission to do so? Indeed, Moses is your mentor who has taught you magic; you have all collaborated to exile the people of Egypt from its lands, and you will soon see what punishment I inflict upon you. I shall cut off a hand and leg of each of you from opposite sides, and crucify you all on palm trunks, sparing no one.”

The magicians said to Pharaoh, “There is no big deal in the crucifixion and maiming you threaten us with in this world, because your punishment will end, while we shall return to our Lord who shall enter us into His everlasting mercy.”

“Due to us being the first ones to bring faith in Moses, we hope greatly that Allah erases the sins we have committed in the past.”

And I revealed to Moses commanding him to march the Israelites out at night, because Pharaoh and his people would pursue them, forcing them back.

So when Pharaoh came to know of the Israelites escaping, he sent some of his army into the cities, rallying the rest of the armies.

Pharaoh said, undermining the Israelites, “Indeed, these people are very few in number.”

And they will do things which will incite us against them.

Indeed, we are alert and prepared for them.

So I took Pharaoh and his people out of the land of Egypt, which had abundant gardens, flowing streams and wealth.

It also had treasures of wealth and beautiful dwellings.

As I took Pharaoh and his people out of it, I made the Israelites inherit it.

Pharaoh and his people caught the trail of the Israelites at sunrise.

So when the two groups came into view of each other, Moses’s people said, “we are definitely going to be captured!” When Pharaoh and his people drew closer to Moses and his people, such that each person was in view of the other on the opposite side, Moses’s people said, “Indeed, Pharaoh and his people will catch up with us and we are powerless against them.”

Moses said to his people: “It is not as you have imagined it to be, for My Lord is with me supporting and helping me. He shall guide and show me the path to salvation.”

And so I revealed to Moses commanding him to strike the sea with his staff, which he did. The sea parted, turning into twelve paths: the same number as the tribes of the Israelites, and each parted segment was like a great mountain in its grandeur and stability, such that no water flowed from it.

I made Pharaoh and his people draw closer until they entered the sea, thinking that the path was traversable.

And I saved Moses and whoever was with him from the Israelites; none from among them perished.

I then destroyed Pharaoh and his people by drowning them in the sea.

Indeed, in the parting of the sea for Moses, his salvation from Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s destruction, is a miracle proving the truthfulness of Moses. The majority of those with Pharaoh were not believers, they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

O Messenger! Recite unto them the story of Abraham.

When he said to his father Azar and his people, “What do you worship instead of Allah?”

His people said to him, “I worship idols, whose worship I remain firm upon and hold fast to.”

Abraham said to them, “Do the idols hear your prayers when you supplicate to them?”

“Or do they benefit you if you feed them, or harm you if you disobey them?”

They said, They do not hear us when we supplicate to them, nor do they benefit us when we feed them, nor harm us if we disobey them. However, the reality is that we found our forefathers doing that, so we follow them.

Abraham said, “Have you contemplated over and realised what idols you actually worship instead of Allah?”

“And what your forefathers before used to worship?”

“Because they are all my enemies; they are all false except for the Lord of all creation.”

“The one who created me and it is He who will guide me to the best of this world and the Hearafter.”

“The being who alone feeds me when I am hungry and gives me drink when I am thirsty.”

“And when I am ill, He alone cures me from illness; there is no healer for me except Him.”

“The being who alone will cause me to die when my lifespan expires and will resurrect me after I die.”

“The being in who alone I hope will forgive my sins on the day of requital.”

Abraham, supplicating to his Lord, said, “O my Lord! Grant me a deep understanding of religion and join me up with the pious prophets who came before me, by entering me into paradise with them.”

And grant me a true reputation of honour with the generations after me.

And make me from among those who inherit the dwellings of paradise wherein your believing servants shall reside in luxury; grant me residence in them.

And forgive my father. Indeed, he was one of those who deviated from the truth due to idolatry. Abraham supplicated on behalf of his father before it became clear to him that he was from among the people of hell. When that became clear to him, he proclaimed his disassociation with him and no longer supplicated for him.

Do not humiliate me with punishment on the day people are resurrected to be taken to account.

On the day when the wealth he accumulated in this world shall not benefit nor his children that used to support him.

Except for the one who brings a perfect heart: one free of idolatry, hypocrisy, ostentation and arrogance. That is because he would have benefitted from his wealth which was spent in the path of Allah and his children, who would pray for him.

Paradise will be brought nearer to those who were mindful of their Lord, by fulfilling His commands and refraining from His prohibitions.

Hellfire will be exposed on the plains of resurrection for the deviants who deviated from the truth.

It will be said in rebuke to them, “Where are the idols you used to worship?”

“You used to worship them instead of Allah? Will they help you by preventing the punishment of Allah from you, or will they be able to help themselves?”

Then, they will be thrown into hell one on top of the other, together with whoever they led astray.

The helpers of Iblīs are all satans, without exception.

The idolaters who worshipped other than Allah and took them as partners to Him, will say whilst arguing with those they used to worship,

“By Allah we were deviant from the clear truth.”

“When we regarded you as equals to the Lord of all creation and worshipped you like we worshipped Him.”

“None led us astray from the path of truth except those criminals who called us towards worshipping them instead of Allah.”

“So we have no intercessors today who shall intercede for us in front of Allah, to save us from His punishment.”

“Neither do we have a true devoted friend who will defend and intercede for u.”

“If only we could return once more to the worldly life, so that we could be from those who believed in Allah.”

Indeed, in the aforementioned, i.e. the story of Abraham (peace be upon him) and the ultimate abode of the rejecters, is a lesson for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters of what Abraham brought from his Lord.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

The people of Noah disbelieved in all the messengers when they rejected Noah (peace be upon him).

When Noah said to them, “Will you not be mindful of Allah and leave the worship of other than Him, out of fear for Him?”

“Indeed, I am a Messenger for you; Allah has sent me to you and I am trustworthy, I will not increase or decrease in that which has be revealed to me.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I command you with and forbid you from.”

“I do not seek any reward from you for what I convey to you from my Lord. My reward is only from Allah: the Lord of all creation, not from anyone else.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I command you with and forbid you from.”

His people said to him, “O Noah! Should we believe you and follow what you have brought and act upon it, whilst your followers are the lowliest of people; there are no leaders and noblemen among them?”

Noah (peace be upon him) said to them, “What do I know of what these believers used to do? I am not an overseer over them that I account for their deeds.”

“Their accountability is only to Allah who knows their secret and public affairs, not to me. If you realised, you would not have said what you just did.”

“I am not going to push away these believers from my gathering in acceptance of your wished, just so that you believe.”

“I am only a clear warner; I warn you of the punishment of Allah.”

His people said to him, “If you do not stop calling towards what you’re calling us towards, you will definitely be harrassed and stoned to death.”

Supplicating to his Lord, Noah said, “O my Lord! Indeed, my nation has rejected me and not believed in what I have brought from you to be true.”

“So judge between me and them such that they are destroyed due to their insistence on falsehood and save me and those believers who are with me, from the punishment you destroy the disbelievers with.”

So I answered his supplication and saved him and the believers with him in the ark, which was full of people and animals.

Then I drowned the remaining rest, who were the people of Noah.

Indeed, in the aforementioned, i.e. the story of Noah and his people, the saving of Noah and the believers with him and the destruction of the disbelievers from his nation, is a lesson for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

The people of ‘Ād disbelived in all the messengers by their rejection of Hud (peace be upon him).

Remember when their brother, the prophet Hud said to them, “Will you not be mindful of Allah and leave the worship of other than Him, out of fear for Him?”

“Indeed, I am a Messenger for you; Allah has sent me to you and I am trustworthy, I will not increase or decrease in that which has be revealed to me.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I have commanded you with and forbidden you from.”

“I do not seek any reward from you for what I convey to you from my Lord. My reward is only from Allah: the Lord of all creation, not from anyone else.”

“Why are you building upon every elevated, overlooking place a building as a marker, unnecessarily, without any benefit in it for you in the world or the afterlife?”

“And why do you build forts and palaces as if you were to live forever in this world, never to depart from it?”

“And when you attack a place, you attack like tyrants, killing and with violence, showing no kindness or mercy.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I command you with and forbid you from.”

“And fear the wrath of Allah who has granted you everything which you know well.”

“He granted you many bounties, and granted you offspring.”

“And He granted you gardens and flowing streams.”

O my people! I fear the punishment of the great day over you: the Day of Judgement.

His people said to him, “Your warning us and not warning us is the same to us, for we shall never believe in you and will never turn away from whatever we are doing.”

This is nothing but the religion of the people of the past, their habits and their character.

And we are not going to be punished.

They continued rejecting their prophet Hud (peace be upon him), so I destroyed them due to their rejection by a barren wind. Indeed, there is a lesson in their destruction for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

The Thamūd disbelieved in all the messenger by their rejection of Saleh (peace be upon him).

Remember when their brother in lineage Saleh said to them, “Will you not be mindful of Allah and leave the worship of other than Him, out of fear for Him?”

“Indeed, I am a Messenger for you; Allah has sent me to you and I am trustworthy, I will not increase or decrease in that which has be revealed to me.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I have commanded you with and forbidden you from.”

“I do not seek any reward from you for what I convey to you from my Lord. My reward is only from Allah: the Lord of all creation, not from anyone else.”

“Do you expect to be left alone in whatever goodness and bounties you are in, in safety and without fear?”

In gardens and flowing springs.

“Among crops and palms, the fruits of which are tender and delicate.”

“And you skilfully carve out houses from the mountains, in which you then live.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I have commanded you with and forbidden you from.”

“And do not submit to the commands of those who are immoderate on themselves by committing sins.”

“Those who cause corruption on Earth by spreading sins and do not rectify themselves by holding on to the obedience of Allah.”

His people said to him, “You are surely one of those who have been bewitched repeatedly until the magic has overpowered your intellect and driven you crazy.”

“You are nothing but a human like us; you do not have any privilege over us which makes you worthy of being a Messenger, so bring a sign that proves you are a Messenger if indeed you are truthful in your claim to be one.”

After Allah had given Saleh a sign that was in the form of the she-camel which Allah extracted from the rock, he said to them, “This is a she-camel which can be seen and felt, it will have a share of the water as you also have a known share. It will not drink on the day scheduled for you, neither shall you make your livestock drink on the day scheduled for it.”

“Do not harm it by way of hitting it or cutting its legs, otherwise the punishment of Allah will come upon you and destroy you on a distressing day, due to the affliction that comes down on it.”

So they agreed upon cutting its legs, and the most wretched from them all did the act. Then they regretted the deed they had committed because of realising that the punishment was about to befall them inevitably. However, regret after seeing the punishment is of no benefit.

So the punishment that they were promised seized them: it was an earthquake accompanied by a scream. Indeed, in the aforementioned, i.e. the story of Saleh and his people, is a lesson for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

The people of Lut disbelieved in all the messengers by their rejection of Lut (peace be upon him).

Remember when their brother in lineage Lot said to them, Will you not be mindful of Allah by leaving idolatry, fearing Him?

“Indeed, I am a Messenger for you; Allah has sent me to you and I am trustworthy, I will not increase or decrease in that which has be revealed to me.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I command you with and forbid you from.”

“I do not seek any reward from you for what I convey to you from my Lord. My reward is only from Allah: the Lord of all creation, not from anyone else.”

“Do you seek sexual gratification from males?”

“Whilst neglecting sexual gratification from the front passages of your wives Allah has created for you? You have indeed transgressed the limits of Allah by this detestable absurdity.”

His people said to him, “O Lot! If you do not stop forbidding us from this act and rebuking us over it, you and those with you shall be exiled from our city.”

Lot said to them, “Indeed, I am one of those who dislike and hate this act of yours.”

Supplicating to his Lord, he said, “O my Lord! Save me and my family from whatever punishment is going to afflict these people because of the evil they commit.”

So I accepted his supplication and saved him and his whole family.

Except for his wife because she was a disbeliever, so she ended up being one of those who perished and were destroyed.

Then, after Lot and his family left the city of Sodom, I severely destroyed his people who remained behind.

I rained down on them stones from the sky, just like we send down the rain. Disgraceful was the rain that befell these people, whom Lot used to warn of the punishment of Allah if they continued committing their evil acts.

Indeed, in the aforementioned, i.e. the punishment that descended on the people of Lot because of their sexual indecency, is a lesson for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

The people of the Thicket close to Madyan rejected the Messengers when they rejected their prophet Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him).

When their prophet Shu‘ayb said to them, “Will you not be mindful of Allah by leaving idolatry, fearing Him?”

“Indeed, I am a Messenger for you; Allah has sent me to you and I am trustworthy, I will not increase or decrease in that which has be revealed to me.”

“So be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commandments and refrain from that which He has prohibited. And obey me in whatever I have commanded you with and forbidden you from.”

“I do not seek any reward from you for what I convey to you from my Lord. My reward is only from Allah: the Lord of all creation, not from anyone else.”

“When you sell to the people, measure for them properly. Do not be people who reduce measure when selling to people.”

“And when you weigh for others, weigh with properly functioning scales.”

“And do not violate the rights of people and cause excessive corruption on Earth by committing sins.”

“And be mindful of the one who created you and created the previous nations, by fearing that He sends down His punishment upon you.”

Shu‘ayb’s people said to him, “You are definitely one of those who have been victim of sorcery repeatedly, until it has overpowered your intelligence and driven you crazy.”

“You are only a human like us and have no privilege over us, so how could you be a Messenger? I think of you only to be a liar in your claim to be a Messenger.”

“So if you are truthful in your claim, cause a piece of sky to fall upon us.”

Shu‘ayb said to them, “My Lord is better aware of the idolatry and sins you commit; none of your actions are hidden from Him.”

They continued rejecting him and so a grave punishment afflicted them by way of a cloud appearing after a severely hot day. It rained a fire upon them that burned them. The day they were destroyed was an extremely horrific day.

Indeed, in the aforementioned i.e. the destruction of the people of Shu‘ayb, is a lesson for those who take heed. Although most of them do not believe; they were rejecters.

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord is the almighty who takes retribution from His enemies, yet merciful to those of them who repent.

Indeed, this Qur’ān that was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him), was revealed by the Lord of all creation.

It was revealed through the trustworthy Gabriel (peace be upon him).

O Messenger! He revealed it upon your heart so that you become one of the Messengers who warn the people and make them fearful of the punishment of Allah.

He revealed it in clear Arabic language.

And indeed this Qur’ān has been referenced in the previous Books; the previous divine books have given glad tidings of it.

Was it not a sign of your truthfulness for these people who reject you, that the scholars of the Israelites like Abdullah bin Salām, knew the reality of what has been revealed to you?

Had we revealed this Qur’ān upon one of the non-Arabs who do not speak Arabic.

And then they were to read it to them, they would not become believers, because they would say, “I do not understand it!” So they should praise Allah that it was revealed in their language.

Likewise, we placed rejection and disbelief in the hearts of the criminals because of their wrongdoing.

They do not change from the state of disbelief they are in, and will not believe until they see the painful punishment.

This punishment will come to them suddenly and unexpectedly.

So when the punishment will come upon them suddenly, they will say out of immense grief, “Will we be given respite to repent to Allah?”

Do these disbelievers seek our punishment hastily, saying, “We will never believe in you until you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, just as you claim it will.”

O Messenger! So tell me, How will it if I was to let these disbelievers enjoy the bounties for a lengthy period of time and then the punishment they were promised came to them after that period of enjoyment.

O Messenger! So tell me, How will it if I was to let these disbelievers enjoy the bounties for a lengthy period of time and then the punishment they were promised came to them after that period of enjoyment.

What worldly bounties which they were enjoying, would benefit them? Verily, those bounties would have finished, and they will not be of any use.

I did not destroy any nation except they were warned by sending messengers to them and revealing books.

Which served as admonitions and warnings for them. I was not oppressive by punishing them after establishing an excuse, by sending them Messengers and books.

The satans did not come down with this Qur’ān upon the heart of Muhammad (peace be upon him);

it is permissible that they come down with it onto his heart. They are not even capable of doing that.

They are incapable of doing so because they have been cut off from its place in the heavens, so how could they reach it and then bring it down?

So do not worship any deity with Allah and ascribe it to Him. Otherwise, you will be one of those who shall be punished.

O Messenger! Warn your closest relatives from your people, in order of strength in relationship, lest the punishment of Allah does not afflict them if they remain upon idolatry.

And be kind in action and speech, out of mercy and gentleness, to those believers who follow you.

If they disobey you and do not accept proclaiming the oneness of Allah and His obedience you command them with, then say to them, “I proclaim innocence from the idolatry and sins you commit.”

And place your reliance in all your affairs upon the Almighty who takes retribution from His enemies and is merciful to whoever repents to Him from them.

The being, may He be glorified, who sees you when you stand towards prayer.

And He sees you changing from posture to posture among those who pray. Nothing is hidden from Him, neither any action you undertake, nor anyone else undertakes.

Indeed, He is the hearer of the Qur’ān you recite and remembrance you do in your prayer, knower of your intention.

“Shall I inform you who the satans actually come down to, as you have claimed that they come down with the Qur’ān?”

“They come down to every fortune-teller, who is a perpetual liar, sinner and disobeyer.”

“The satans eavesdrop on the exalted assembly of angels and then convey that information to their fortune-teller friends. The majority of fortune tellers are liars; if they are truthful in one statement, they tell a hundred lies with it.

And as for the poets that you claim Muhammad (peace be upon him) is from, those deviant from the path of guidance and steadfastness follow them and relate whatever poetry they say.

O Messenger! Do you not see that one of the manifestations of their errors is that they wander around in all the valleys, sometimes immersed in praise, sometimes in criticism, and many times in other issues!

And indeed they lie, saying, “I did such and such”, while they did not actually do it.

Except for those poets who have faith, perform good deeds, remember Allah abundantly and take retribution from the enemies of Allah after they have oppressed, like Hassān bin Thābit may Allah be pleased with him. Those who committed wrong by ascribing partners to Allah and showing hostility to His servants, will soon know what their place of return will be: they will return to a great place and a meticulous accounting.