Surah Al-Baqarah: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

Alif. Lam. Mim. Have no doubt that the Quran, which Allah has sent in words formed from the letters of the sounds He created, is a divine Book of call. This Quran is a guide to guidance (the right path) for the muttaqin, those mindful of Allah, who wish to know Allah as He deserves, to know the purpose of their creation, to live their lives in keeping with that purpose, and so to reach the truth.

The muttaqin believe in the unseen; they believe that after death they will be raised and gathered in Allah’s presence, and they believe in the life of the Hereafter; they perform their prayers with care and awareness, and spend from the blessings Allah has bestowed on them in the service of His call. O Prophet! They also believe in you and in the Books sent down with the prophets before you. Such people, submitting to their Lord’s guidance, attain happiness.

For those who do not reflect on Allah’s purpose in creating the universe and humankind and pay it no heed, it makes no difference whether you warn them and invite them to the truth or not; for they have closed their eyes, stopped their ears, and locked their hearts against the truth. So Allah will punish them with a severe punishment.

There are also those who say they believe in Allah as Lord and God and believe in the Day of the Hereafter, though they do not truly believe. So they imagine they are deceiving both Allah and the believers. Yet they deceive only themselves, though they are not aware of it.

Because of their two-facedness, the disease of discord and hypocrisy has settled in their hearts. Because they do not believe and submit wholeheartedly, Allah has increased that disease of theirs. The punishment of Hell awaits them. When such people are told, “Do not do things that will cause degeneration, decay, and corruption on the earth,” they say, “We are not corrupters or degraders; we are builders, healers, reformers.”

Yet they are most certainly bent on spreading mischief and turning people away from living the system of life that is Allah’s call; but they believe that what they do is right.

And when they are told, “Come, you too be upright people like the believers who believe wholeheartedly, and give up your two-faced ways,” they say, “What? Are we to believe as these fools believe?” But the truth is that it is they who are the real fools and simpletons, though they are not aware of it.

Where their worldly interests are at stake, when they meet the believers, they do not hold back from saying, “We believe just as you do.” But when their business is done and they come together with Satan’s friends, who are like themselves, they say, “You know that in truth we are with you; we only get together with them to mock them and get our business done.”

For now Allah lets them flounder in their swamp a while longer in their two-faced ways and their wanton rebellion. When the day comes He will punish them with the punishment they deserve.

These are the ones who have bought error in exchange for guidance, which is Allah’s call, and this trade has brought them no profit. For they would not grasp the value of the system of life that alone accords with their innate nature.

The case of these hypocrites is like that of people who light a fire supposedly to light up their surroundings, but whose real aim is to start a blaze and set everything around them on fire. No sooner have they lit that fire than Allah puts out the fire they lit and condemns them to pitch darkness.

They are blind, deaf, and mute to the truth, and so they do not turn to Allah’s call. The case of these hypocrites is also like that of a helpless wretch who, on a pitch-dark night, while thunder rolls, lightning flashes, thunderbolts fall, and rain pours down in torrents, stops his ears for fear of death, takes a few steps in the dazzling light of a lightning flash, and then is stuck fast again in the pitch darkness.

Had Allah willed, He would have made such people’s eyes completely blind and their ears deaf. Surely Allah’s power suffices for everything.

O people! Reflect on why Allah created you and those who lived before you, and serve Him alone by turning to the right path to which you are invited, so that you may attain salvation.

Allah has created the earth for you as a place to stay for a while, provides for you from it, has built the sky above you like a roof, and with the rain He sends down grows all kinds of plants, bestowing His favors on you. So do not be ungrateful to Allah; give thanks to Him, and never take any god but Him.

If you doubt that the Book We have sent down to Our servant and messenger Muhammad is a divine Book, come, then, produce a surah like its surahs. To do this, seek whatever help you can get from anyone besides Allah. It is not possible for you to do it. So give up your shirk and your disbelief, take Allah alone as God, turn to living a life whose limits Allah has set, which will save you from error and decay and bring you to happiness, and so protect yourselves from the fire of Hell, whose fuel is people and stones.

O Prophet! Give good news to those who believe in Allah’s call and strive heart and soul to fulfill their responsibilities! They will be rewarded with the finest blessings in Gardens through which rivers flow. There, whenever they are offered a blessing, they will say, “These blessings resemble what our Lord created in our worldly life, but these are the truly delicious ones.” In Paradise they will also be granted pure spouses, and they will live there in everlasting happiness.

Allah does not shy away from giving people as an example a gnat, or many things smaller or larger than it, so that they may grasp the truth. Those who believe in Allah’s verses know that their Lord wants a truth to be understood far better through the example He gives.

But those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth say, “There is no point in Allah’s giving such examples; why should He give such examples?” Allah does not grant guidance to these people who run after excuses for turning away from His call without using their reason, reflecting, and trying to understand; He brings to guidance only those who strive to fulfill their responsibilities toward Allah. The truth is that Allah leaves the defiantly disobedient (fasiq) in their error.

Such people break the word of tawhid (the unity of Allah as Lord and God) they gave to Allah, separate this whole which He has commanded to be joined, and so cause corruption on the earth. These are the very ones who suffer ruin.

O people! How is it that you are ungrateful to Allah, who created you, endowed you with so many blessings, and will raise you again after death and gather you in His presence, and turn your backs on His call?

Yet it is Allah who created for you all that is on the earth, then turned to the sky and ordered it as seven heavens, and placed it at your disposal. Allah knows best those who are ungrateful despite the many blessings He has bestowed.

Allah, who created what is on the earth and in the heavens, established their orders, and bound everything He created to laws, then said to the angels, “I am going to appoint on the earth human beings who will succeed one another as vicegerents (governors).” At this the angels said to Allah, “While we carry out Your every command wholeheartedly, give thanks for the blessings You bestow, and glorify You with praise before Your greatness and power, will You make vicegerents those who will spread corruption on the earth, cause degeneration, and shed one another’s blood?”

Allah said to them, “You cannot know what I know and what My purpose is.” Then He brought before them Adam, whom He had created as the forerunner of the vicegerents and taught the names and their meanings, and said to the angels, “Come, if you know everything, tell Me the names I have taught Adam.”

At this the angels said, “Our Lord! We know nothing but what You have taught us. You alone know what was created and why, and You are the Possessor of wisdom.”

So Allah reminded the angels that what He does cannot be questioned, and then called to Adam: “O Adam! Tell them the names I have taught you and what they are.” When Adam told them the names and their meanings, Allah said to the angels, “I created all that is in the heavens and on the earth, seen and unseen, and you cannot know why I created it unless I make it known. And I know what you conceal and what you reveal.”

Then He said to the angels: “Now prostrate yourselves before Me and pledge to carry out the tasks I will give you concerning Adam and to show your loyalty.”

At this all of them, except Iblis, prostrated themselves before Allah, declaring that they would obey the command with reverence and loyalty. But Iblis, looking down on Adam and growing arrogant, refused to be charged with serving him, objected to the command of Allah, his Lord, and rebelled; he turned ungrateful and became a denier of the truth.

Allah said to Adam: “O Adam! You and your spouse settle in this garden (Paradise), and eat and drink there as you wish; but never go near this tree, or you will break the prohibition and be among the wrongdoers who harm themselves.”

After a while both of them fell for the whisperings of Satan and broke that prohibition. So Allah sent them out of the Garden. As He sent them out, He said to them, “Go out from here, Satan and you, as enemies to one another, and make the earth your dwelling for a time; then I will send you a guide to the right path that makes known how you should live. Whoever lives by it in keeping with the order and morality to which he is invited will not grieve in this world or the Hereafter. For them there is no fear.”

While Adam writhed in remorse for having fallen into Satan’s trap and broken the prohibition Allah had set, he was at the same time trying to ask forgiveness, not knowing how he could be forgiven. Allah, seeing his heartfelt remorse, taught him the words with which he should turn to Him in repentance and ask forgiveness. Then Adam turned to Him with the words he had learned from his Lord and asked forgiveness. So Allah accepted his repentance, for He is most compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward those who repent and turn to their Lord wholeheartedly.

Those who disregard My call conveyed through prophets and Books, grow arrogant, and reject it will be condemned to the punishment of Hell and remain there forever.

O Children of Israel! Do not forget that I saved you from bondage and oppression and bestowed blessings on you. Keep the word you gave that you would accept no lord and god but Allah; believe in the Quran, which confirms the truths that remain in the Book in your hands; do not try to sell My verses for your own advantage, and do not be the first to deny it, so that I too may keep the word I gave and help you in this world and the Hereafter.

Believe in the Quran, which confirms the Book in your hands. Be among those who respond to My call and obey Me alone. Do not mix truth with falsehood, and do not cover up and deny the truth knowingly. Perform your prayer scrupulously, pay the zakat as well, and bow in awareness together with those who bow.

O Children of Israel! Though some of the truths in the Book sent to you are still in your hands, and you read it but pay no heed to it and do not follow it, you expect others to follow it and become virtuous, upright, good people. Have you no intention at all of using your reason rightly?

Come, give up this negative attitude of yours; turn to the divine order and morality to which you are invited; hold out with patience against the pressure of Satan and of those who have become Satan’s companions and try to stop you; take refuge in Allah and ask Him for help. Surely these things are hard for all but those who believe wholeheartedly in their Lord. And the believers who believe wholeheartedly in their Lord know that in the end they will surely return to Him and meet the Day of Reckoning.

O Children of Israel! Do not forget how, when your forefathers followed Our call in the past, We raised them above the peoples who associated partners with Allah and denied the truth; and live knowing that the Day of Resurrection and Reckoning will come, when no one will be of any help to another, no one’s intercession (help) for another will be accepted, and no ransom will be taken from anyone.

O Children of Israel! Never forget how We saved you from the oppression of Pharaoh and his men when they were inflicting the cruelest torture on you. On the one hand they were slaughtering your sons, and on the other sparing your daughters and women and using them for their vile ends. Nor forget that your Lord parted the sea for you and drowned Pharaoh and his men before your eyes.

And We called Moses for forty days to teach you the system of life that is the reason for your creation. And right after he left, his people sought help from the statue of a calf that one of them had made and that Pharaoh’s people also held sacred, returned to their old beliefs of shirk, and became wrongdoers who wronged themselves. And after their repentance We pardoned them, so that they might come to their senses and return to the truth that refuge can be sought in none but Allah.

And We gave Moses the Book that distinguishes right from wrong. Moses said to his people: “O my people! Know well that by taking refuge in the calf statue and expecting it to help you, you have done yourselves a very great wrong. So you have become people who associate partners with Allah. Repent at once and turn to Allah, your Lord, who created you, endowed you with so many blessings, and saved you from the cruelest oppression; kill off and destroy within yourselves the belief in hoping for help from the calf. For this is what is good for you.” At this his people followed what he said, repented, and turned to what is right, and Allah forgave them. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward those who repent of their wrong, turn to what is right, and fulfill what it requires.

O Children of Israel! Once you said to Moses: “O Moses! We will not believe that Allah has sent you as a prophet, nor follow the order and morality to which you invite us, until we see Allah Himself and hear it from Him.”

As you were saying this, you heard a great noise, and as you looked around to see what was happening, a thunderbolt struck you and you fell to the ground senseless. Then We revived you and brought you back to life, so that you might reflect on what you had gone through and turn to what is right.

As if all this were not enough, while you were looking for a homeland in the desert, We made the clouds a shade over you to protect you from the heat of the sun, and sent you quails and manna as provision, saying, “Eat of these good things too.” Yet despite so many blessings they were still ungrateful and wronged themselves.

After these ingratitudes of theirs, We said to the Children of Israel: “Enter this city near where you are, showing humility and respect to its people, and you too benefit from the blessings there. And at the same time, seeking forgiveness, turn to what is right, saying, ‘Our Lord, accept our repentance and forgive us.’ Do not forget that Allah loves those who are true to their word, forgives them, and increases the blessings He bestows on them.” But those ungrateful wrongdoers changed the meaning of the word spoken to them and did the very opposite.

O Children of Israel! Long ago, when Moses prayed and pleaded with Us for water for his people, who were about to perish of thirst in the desert, We said to him, “Strike the rock with your staff.” When Moses struck the rock, We made twelve springs gush forth from it, as many as your tribes, and so each tribe quenched its thirst from a spring. Then Moses said to them: “O my people! You are eating and drinking of the blessings Allah has granted; so give thanks to Him and respond to His call, live a life whose limits Allah has set, and do not spread corruption on the earth and cause degeneration.”

O Children of Israel! Though your forefathers had been shown so many of Allah’s blessings, after a while they began to say to Moses: “O Moses! We can no longer put up with one kind of food. Pray to your Lord to give us also things the earth produces, such as onions, garlic, cucumbers, and lentils.” At this Moses grew very angry and said to them: “If it is not enough for you that your Lord saved you from oppression, set you free, and brought you to so many blessings, if you will not value it and give thanks, then go back to Pharaoh’s land, where you lived as slaves and suffered oppression; everything you ask for is there.”

O Children of Israel! It was for this ingratitude, rebellion, and wanton insolence that your forefathers were condemned to humiliation and struck with punishment. They opposed the system of life to which they were invited through Allah’s verses, did not recognize the limits He set, and even killed some of their prophets.

Whoever of the Jews, Christians, and Sabians believes in Allah’s Book, the Quran, in His Prophet, and in the Day of the Hereafter, and does his utmost to live by the system of life to which he is invited, will attain Allah’s reward; he will not fear and grieve over his past, and he will be happy in the future too.

O Children of Israel! Taking Mount Sinai as witness above your forefathers, We took from them a pledge that they would take Allah alone as Lord and God and believe in His call. And We said: “Hold fast to the system of life you have pledged yourselves to, fulfill what it requires consciously, and never let what is in your Book slip from your minds.” But after a while they went back on this word too. Had Allah not treated them with mercy and compassion and given them time to repent, they would certainly have been destroyed and suffered ruin.

Indeed you know what befell those who violated the prohibitions of the Sabbath (Saturday), rebelled, and ran wild. For this We said to them, “Be like despicable apes; there is no longer any difference between you and them,” and made them an exemplary penalty and a warning both for their own time and for generations to come.

One day Moses said to his people, “Allah wants you to sacrifice a cow,” and his people said to him, “Are you mocking us?” And Moses turned to them and said, “No; I seek refuge in Allah from being so ignorant as to ask something of my own accord in Allah’s name.”

Then his people said to Moses, “Then pray to your Lord on our behalf to make clear to us what kind of cow it should be.”

And Moses said to them, “Allah says: ‘Let it be neither old nor young, but of middle age, between the two! Now do what you are commanded.’”

This time his people said, “O Moses! Pray to your Lord to make known to us the color of this cow too and give us more details, so that we may understand fully, for all cows look alike to us. Inshallah we will then find exactly the cow we must sacrifice.”

This time Moses said to them: “Allah says that the cow should be of a bright yellow color, pleasing to those who behold it, one not yoked to plough or water the fields, flawless and without blemish.” The Children of Israel said, ‘Now we have it,’ found a cow with these qualities, and sacrificed it. But they had made up many excuses for not doing so, and very nearly did not obey this command either.

Thus Allah showed the Children of Israel that the calf (the bovine) was created not, as Samiri claimed, to be worshipped, but for its meat to be eaten and to be sacrificed.

In those days, too, a man had been killed among them; they kept blaming one another but would not reveal the killer. Yet Allah was going to bring to light what they had concealed, and also show them that after death they would be raised and called to account. So He commanded them, “Strike the slain man with a piece of the cow you sacrificed.” When this was done, He brought the dead man to life for a moment and made him tell who his killer was.

Without doubt Allah will raise the dead when the day comes and bring to light what you conceal. Allah explains these things to you through His verses so that you may use your reason, know that nothing can be hidden from Allah, that after death everything will be brought to light, and that you will see the recompense for what you have done, and live accordingly.

O Children of Israel! Your forefathers, who witnessed all this, and those who read, heard, and learned of it, after a while dulled their hearts against these truths, turned them to stone, and made them unfeeling. Yet there are stones and rocks that follow the laws and commands of Allah’s order and become the sources of rivers within them. There are stones from whose clefts springs gush forth, and there are others that, by their Lord’s law, break apart and roll down to where they must go.

But the human being who has turned his heart to stone opposes the laws of the order and morality that is his Lord’s call. So he is of no use either to himself or to others.

O Prophet! Do you expect those who say they are People of the Book to believe in the belief of tawhid to which they are invited?

Many of them, though they listen to and grasp the verses that are Allah’s Word and know they are true, distort them by changing their meaning.

Moreover, the two-faced hypocrites among them, when they meet the believers and their interests are at stake, say, “We too believe, as you do; we have faith”; but when they come together with those like themselves they say to one another: “Never tell the Muslims what Allah has made known to us in our Book about the last Prophet, or they will use against us the question of why we do not follow this truth made known by our Lord, and set it before us as proof. So keep away from them; do you never consider what this will lead to?”

Yet Allah knows both what they conceal and what they reveal!

Among them there are also unlettered people (ummis) who do not know the truths remaining in the Book in their hands and have nothing to do with the Book, but follow only hearsay and conjecture.

Among them, too, are those who alter Allah’s Book for their worldly interests and try to pass off what they have written themselves as though it were from Allah’s Book. Woe to those who use it for their own ends and make it a source of gain!

And on top of that they say, “The Fire will not touch us except for a few numbered days.” O Prophet! Say to them: “Have you received such a promise from Allah? No; Allah has promised that those who make up lies in His name, and who end their worldly lives so, will be cast into Hell to remain in it; and He never goes back on His word.”

Your baseless words, which you make up and ascribe to Allah, have no value at all with Him.

The truth is not at all as they make out: those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, whose sins surround them on every side, are the people of Hell, and they will remain there forever.

But those who believe in Allah’s call and do righteous deeds are the people of Paradise, the home of blessings, and they will remain there forever.

O Children of Israel! In the past We commanded your forefathers too: “Take Allah alone as God and live on the right path that is His call. Help and treat well your mother and father, your kinsfolk, the orphan, and the poor; perform the prayer and pay the zakat, and convey Allah’s call to people with good words,” and We took from them a pledge that they would follow this. But apart from a very few, they went back on their word; at least do not you follow in their footsteps and turn away from Allah’s commands.

We also took a pledge from your forefathers that they would not shed one another’s blood or drive one another out of their homes. To this your Book, too, bears witness, which is now in your hands with very few of the truths left in it.

Despite the pledges they gave, your forefathers in those days, and you today, kill one another; some of you drive others out of their homes, and you help one another in oppression and enmity; and when they fall into your hands as captives, you set them free only for ransom. Yet driving one another out of your homes was itself forbidden to you.

You follow some of the rulings of the Book and change some of them to suit yourselves. The penalty of those who do this will be disgrace and humiliation in their worldly lives, and in the Hereafter they will be subjected to the most severe of punishments. Allah is not unaware of what you do.

These are the ones who prefer the fleeting worldly life, and Hell, where they will remain forever, to the life of Paradise in the Hereafter. There their punishment will never be lightened, nor will they be helped.

O Children of Israel! We gave Moses too the Book, and after him We sent prophets one after another. And We sent Jesus, son of Mary, supporting him with the Holy Spirit (clear verses) and with miracles as proof of the truth. But whenever prophets came with rulings that did not please you, you insolently rejected them and accused them of lying, and some of them you basely killed.

Now you too, against what the prophet who confirms the divine messages remaining in the Book in your hands invites to through the Quran, say, “Our hearts and heads are full of all the knowledge we need; our hearts are closed to what you say, and we have no need of it.”

Allah has cursed such people for this attitude. Yet they used to plead, so as to gain the upper hand over those who were not of them, who associated partners with Allah and denied the truth, “Our Lord! Send us a prophet to guide us and show us the way.” But when the prophet Allah sent was not from their own people, though they knew full well that he was a prophet, they rejected the call he conveyed. May Allah’s curse be on such deniers.

Besides envying Allah’s bestowing prophethood on whom He wills, they called the Quran sent with him a lie and deserved Allah’s punishment. Thus they did themselves great harm and deserved the fire of Hell.

When they are told, “Come, turn to the call of the Quran Allah has sent down,” they say, “We believe only in what was sent down to our forefathers, and we follow it,” and so they follow their corrupted books, written according to the desires of their forefathers and themselves, and reject the truth made known through the Quran. Say: “Had your forefathers been believers who believed in what was sent with Moses, they would not have killed some of the prophets who brought Allah’s call.”

Moses too invited your forefathers, with Allah’s clear verses and with miracles proving his prophethood, to live on the right path. But right after he left them for a short while, they turned to the (golden) calf statue one of them had made, bowed before it in reverence, took refuge in it, and asked for its help.

Then, when they repented and turned back from this wrong, We took Mount Sinai as witness above them and took from them a pledge that they would hold fast to the Book We had sent. But sadly, after a while they said, “We have heard and understood what the Book invites us to, but we will not accept it.” For since they had conditioned themselves to deny the truth, love of the calf had set up its throne in their hearts.

O Prophet! Say to them: “Had you truly believed in Moses’ call sincerely and consciously, you would not have become followers of those who believe in superstitions such as worshipping a calf statue. Your belief, which is nothing but falsehood and superstition, makes you do very evil things.”

Say to the Jews, who, despite so much shirk, disbelief, rebellion, and wanton insolence, say that they alone will enter Paradise: “If you truly believe this wholeheartedly, then why do you not wish for death at once and long to attain Paradise?” With their shirk, their disbelief, and so many sins in plain view, they will surely not wish for death. Allah knows best what these wrongdoers do and what they think.

You will find them the most attached of all people to worldly life; the attachment of the Jews to worldly life is many times greater even than that of other people who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth. Each of them would wish to be given a thousand years of life; yet even if they were let live a thousand years, they would not escape Allah’s punishment.

Allah knows full well for what purpose, for whom, and by what standard they live their worldly lives.

O Prophet! Say this to them too: “Gabriel is the one who, by Allah’s leave, has sent down to your heart, as a bearer of good news, the Quran, which confirms what remains of the truths in the earlier Books. Whoever is hostile to Allah, to Gabriel, to Michael, to the other angels, and to the prophets, Allah too is the enemy of such deniers.”

O Prophet! We have sent down to you verses that invite people to live by the system of life that is the reason for their creation; none deny them but those who have conditioned themselves to live associating partners with Allah and denying the truth.

As in the past, many of the Jews go back on their word, though they have pledged to follow Allah’s call. In truth they are people who do not wish to believe.

When the Prophet and the Quran, which confirm Allah’s verses remaining in the Book in their hands, came to these Jews, and they were told to follow this instead of what they had corrupted with their own hands, most of them turned away from the call as though they were unaware that the Quran is Allah’s Word; and just as, in the days of Solomon’s reign, people of a satanic nature who followed Satan’s whisperings and provocations slandered Solomon and called him a sorcerer, so now they say the same lie and slander about you. Yet Solomon was never ungrateful to his Lord, nor did he stray into falsehood and practice sorcery. But some Jews who became Satan’s companions were ungrateful to their Lord and turned to sorcery. They set about practicing sorcery, turning the truth upside down by tearing it from its true context.

Now these Jews too claim that they follow what was sent down to two men, their kinsmen in Babylon of old, known as the kings (malik) of the sorcerers (Harut and Marut). Yet no knowledge at all had been sent down to them. Indeed, Harut and Marut taught no one anything without telling people that sorcery is an art of conjuring illusions and a means of testing, and that if misused it would lead a person to shirk and disbelief. But people who had conditioned themselves to associating partners with Allah and denying the truth, and made a satanic nature their character, sought to learn from Harut and Marut snares and schemes aimed at setting wife and husband at odds, profiting from it, and corrupting the fabric of society.

The truth is that no one can harm another without Allah’s permission. Those who make such ways their business, and those who follow them, have no share in the good things of the Hereafter. They are buying Hell with their own hands; if only they could understand this.

Had they tried instead to live by the morality of the divine order that is Allah’s call through His prophets and Books, the reward they would earn with Allah would surely have been better for them.

O you who believe in Allah’s call! “Do not say ra’ina, but say unzurna.” (That is, do not say to the Prophet, “Herd us like flocks a shepherd herds, who neither think nor question!” but say, “Check whether what we have done and are doing accords with Allah’s call, and show us our shortcomings and our mistakes!”) O believers! Listen to what your Prophet says with all your attention; only those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth oppose what he says without listening and understanding. For them there is a painful punishment.

Those who claim to be People of the Book, and those who associate partners with Allah, dislike that prophethood has been given to you by your Lord and a Book sent to you. Yet Allah, in His mercy, chooses as prophet whom He wills and deems worthy, and sends him a Book, conveying the divine revelation to people.

In place of Our verses that have been emptied of their content and had their meanings changed, that have been made to be forgotten and their rulings done away with, We send down anew what is perfect and true to the original. Surely Allah has power over everything.

Allah is the Creator and Owner of the heavens and the earth. Authority to lay down rulings over His dominion belongs to Him alone too. You have no wali (friend and helper) besides Allah.

O believers! Or are you too making impossible demands of your Prophet, as the Children of Israel asked Moses for every outlandish thing and miracle that came into their heads? Whoever, when he should be fulfilling what his faith requires, goes after such things has turned toward disbelief.

Many of the People of the Book, too, though they know and understand that the call made through the Prophet and the Quran is true, try out of the jealousy within them to turn the believers away from their faith.

Until Allah’s command concerning them reaches you, do not meddle with them; leave them to themselves. Do not forget that Allah alone knows the one truth of everything, and He has power over everything.

O believers! In the face of the attacks and slanders of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, do not slacken; hold out without losing heart or compromising, and take refuge in Allah. Perform your prayers consciously and constantly, and pay the zakat. Know well that you will find the reward for this conduct of yours with Allah. Allah sees and knows all that you do.

The Jews and Christians say that no one but themselves can enter Paradise. These claims of theirs are empty and meaningless. Say to them: “If you have any proof of the truth of these claims of yours, and if you are honest people, bring out your proofs.” No, it is not at all as they say. The truth is that those who take Allah alone as Lord and God and strive heart and soul to live and keep alive a life whose limits Allah has set will be able to enter Paradise. Let such people not fear for their end; they will not grieve either.

The Jews say of the Christians, “Their beliefs rest on no firm foundation and are inconsistent.” And the Christians say of the Jews, “The foundation of these Jews’ beliefs is rotten; it has no reality at all.” Both sides base these claims of theirs on the Book in their hands, which they have torn from its origin and corrupted. And those among you who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, though they have no knowledge of the truth, keep saying of the believers who have believed in Allah’s call what the Jews and Christians say of one another.

Who could be more unjust than those who, in the mosques built to teach Allah’s call, cover up the truths, tear them from their origin, and try to corrupt this worship? Such people ought to have been unable to enter them for fear of the believers’ strength and reaction.

For these wrongdoers there is humiliation and disgrace in this world, and a terrible punishment in the Hereafter.

Allah is the Creator and Lord (Owner) of the east, the west, every direction, and what is there. Whichever way your face is turned, Allah knows toward what and toward whom you live. Those who believe in and respond to Allah’s call have turned their faces toward Allah, their Lord. Allah’s knowledge encompasses everything, and He knows best those who turn to Him.

Some of the People of the Book who associate partners with Allah even go so far as to slander Allah, saying, “Allah has taken a son for Himself.” Far from it! Allah is far above (removed from) what they ascribe to Him; it is He who created all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and all of it bows to His will.

Allah is the One who created the heavens and the earth in matchless beauty and governs them by the order and laws He has established.

When Allah wills a thing to be, He begins the process of its coming into being, and at once it is.

Those who have no divine knowledge and do not wish to see, understand, and know the truths say, “If only Allah would speak to us, or show us a miracle!” Those who associated partners with Allah before them said similar things. Their hearts are all alike.

We set forth Our verses clearly and comprehensibly for those who wish to reach true knowledge. Only such people grasp what is right.

O Prophet! We have charged you with inviting people to live the system of life that is the reason for their creation. You are not responsible for those who, despite counsel and warnings, do not accept this call and turn away.

The Jews and the Christians will never be pleased with you unless you follow their religions, made up of systems founded on shirk and disbelief. Say to them: “The right religion is the religion (system) to which Allah guides through the Prophet and the Quran.”

If, after the Quran has come to you, you follow the systems of the Jews and Christians, which rest on no real knowledge or proof, no one can save you from Allah’s punishment. You will find no friend or helper for yourself against Him.

Those who read as it should be read the divine Book We have sent them and follow its call, they are the ones who truly believe. And whoever does not believe will be among the losers.

O Children of Israel! Remember the blessings I bestowed and lavished on you in the past, that I saved you from your days of hardship, and that when you lived following My call I raised you above other nations. Never let it slip from your minds that the Day of Resurrection and Reckoning will come, when no one can be of any help to anyone, no ransom will be accepted from anyone, and no one’s intercession will avail.

In the past, too, Abraham’s Lord put him through trials with certain words, to test his faith. And Abraham showed all his sincerity and effort, displaying his loyalty to his faith. At this Allah said to Abraham, “I will make you a leader for people,” and Abraham prayed, “My Lord! Raise up leaders from my descendants too.” And Allah said to Abraham, “My promise does not include the wrongdoers among your descendants who choose to live associating partners with Allah and denying the truth.”

We made the Kaaba a safe center, a school and a sanctuary, where people are taught that there is no true Lord and God but Allah and are invited to live a life whose rules Allah has set. O people! You too make the Kaaba, which We had Abraham build as a station of service to this purpose, a mosque true to its purpose.

And We commanded Abraham and Ishmael, “Purify those who come to the Kaaba for worship from shirk, disbelief, and moral corruption, and keep My sanctuary spotless for those who bow and prostrate themselves to Allah there.”

And Abraham prayed to his Lord: “My Lord! Make these lands, which You have made the center of the divine call, a safe town! Grant abundant provision to those who live to win Your good pleasure and believe in the Hereafter.”

And his Lord said to him: “To those who stubbornly persist in carrying on their worldly lives associating partners with Me and denying the truth, I too give provision and time. But those who, despite this, do not respond to My call I drive in the end into Hell to suffer the punishment they deserve; what an evil destination that is!”

Abraham, together with his son Ishmael, was raising the walls of the Kaaba, and at the same time they were praying thus:

“Our Lord! Accept this which we are doing, and grant us to live in keeping with Your good pleasure; surely You hear everything and know everything.

Our Lord! Help us to live in submission to the divine system of life that is the reason for our creation! And raise up from our descendants a generation who will learn and teach the Book and wisdom, and submit to You. Show us the ways of living in keeping with Your call! Accept our repentance, our prayers, and our worship. You are most merciful and forgiving.

You have power over everything; You alone are the One whose every ruling is perfect.”

Who but one who does not use his reason rightly and does not know himself would turn away from the call Abraham made in Allah’s name? Truly, We chose Abraham in this world. Surely in the Hereafter too he will be among the upright and virtuous.

When his Lord said to Abraham, “Submit (be a Muslim) wholeheartedly to My call,” Abraham said, “I have submitted wholeheartedly to the Lord of all the worlds.”

Then Abraham enjoined this command of Allah on his children; and after him Jacob, confirming and repeating Abraham’s injunction, said to his children: “My children! Allah has chosen for you as your religion the order and morality of Islam; do not let death take you before you have submitted to it and become Muslims.”

O Children of Israel! Word has reached you too that when Jacob, on his deathbed, called his children and asked them, “Whom will you obey after me?” they said, “We will obey Allah, the one God of your forefathers Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac. We will live in submission to the system of life that is His call.” They were a community, your forefathers, and they have passed away; what they earned by their choices belongs to them. And what you earn belongs to you. You bear no responsibility for what they did, nor they for what you do.

While the Jews say to people, “Be Jews, and you will be on the right path,” the Christians for their part say to people, “Be Christians, and you will be on the right path.” Say to them: “No! We follow only the religion of Abraham, the hanif, the straight path, free of shirk and disbelief.”

O believers! Say: “We believe in what has been sent down to us from Allah; in those sent as prophets from Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, and in the Books sent down to them; in Moses, in Jesus, and in all the prophets. We make no distinction between the prophets. So we are Muslims, who submit to Allah. Those who turn away from this belief and the responsibilities it requires are driven into a deep dead end, lose the meaning of life, and turn aggressive toward the believers. Allah will protect the believers from their hostility. He knows everything and has power over everything. Allah is enough for His servant!”

O believers! Say: we have been dyed with Allah’s dye and equipped with the belief of tawhid. Is there any dye finer than Allah’s dye?

Say to the Jews and Christians who say they are People of the Book: “Why do you dispute with us about Allah, when Allah is our Lord and your Lord? We will receive the recompense for what we do, and you for what you do. We are those who have submitted wholeheartedly to living the way of life that is our Lord’s call.”

O People of the Book! You claim that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants were Jews and Christians. Do you know better than Allah whether they were Jews or Christians? When Allah gave them no such names, who could be more unjust than those who cover up the truth and lie? Allah is not unaware of what you do.

Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their grandchildren were a community, and they have passed away. The good deeds and the sins they earned are theirs, and what you earn is yours. Neither will you be held responsible for what they did, nor they for what you do.

Some of the People of the Book say, “What has come over these Muslims, that they have turned to the Kaaba instead of toward the Masjid al-Aqsa and made it their qibla in prayer?” Say to them: “East and west belong to Allah, and Allah directs those who believe in His call to what is right.”

O believers! We have made the Prophet an example for you, and you an example for other people, so that you may be a balanced, measured, just, middle community. And We made the Kaaba, toward which the Prophet wished to turn, your qibla, to bring to light those who would and would not follow the change of qibla.

Accepting this change is not hard for those who believe wholeheartedly and submit to Allah’s call. Without doubt Allah does not let the worship of those who believe go to waste. For Allah is most compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward the believers.

O Prophet! We know that you turn your face to the sky, waiting for help from Us on the matter of the qibla. So We are turning you toward a qibla that will please you; now, when you pray, turn your face toward the Kaaba. From now on, wherever you are, turn your faces toward the Kaaba. Those of the People of the Book know that this is a command from their Lord, but out of jealousy and envy they do not speak what is right, as with other truths.

Whatever proofs you use to tell most of the People of the Book of the truth of the call of Islam, they will still not enter the right path, nor turn to the qibla you turn to. Nor are you going to follow their way and turn to their qibla.

Nor do the Jews and Christians turn to each other’s qibla.

If, after this divine knowledge has reached you, you follow their desires and whims, you too will be among the wrongdoers who wrong themselves.

O Prophet! Those of the People of the Book who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth know that the Kaaba was in fact Abraham’s qibla, that you are a prophet, and that the Quran is Allah’s revelation, as they know their own children. But most of them cover up this truth and call it a lie. What has come to you from your Lord is truth itself. Never be among those who doubt.

Every community has a qibla toward which it turns its face, and a system of life. O believers! As people who have taken Allah alone as Lord and God, strive to live a life whose limits Allah has set. Allah will bring together those who vie in good deeds, wherever they are. His power suffices for everything; and wherever you are, never letting slip from your minds the purpose for which the Kaaba was built, turn toward it and perform your prayers consciously. Do not forget that the Kaaba was built to be the center for teaching the order that is Allah’s purpose in creating people and its morality, and that it is the symbol of this belief.

Fulfill what your faith requires consciously, so that those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth have nothing to say against you; and never fear them; it is Allah alone who is to be feared. Turn to Allah in this way, so that He may bring you to the blessing of Islam, which is His right path.

We have sent you a prophet from among yourselves, and a divine Book that makes known the reason for your creation and the order of life by which you must live in keeping with it. The Prophet recites Allah’s verses to you and shows you the way to purify yourselves and to reach His call. So hold fast to this kindness and blessing of your Lord, give thanks, and never let Him slip from your minds.

O you who believe in Allah’s call! Make no concession on your faith to those who show you hostility and attack you; hold out with patience and an unshakeable stance, and ask Allah for help by performing your prayers consciously. Allah is with those who strive (jihad) in this cause and stand firm against hardship.

Never call those who are killed while striving in Allah’s way dead. They are martyrs (shahids) who have offered up their lives as witness to their faith. Allah keeps them alive, but you cannot perceive it.

We will test your sincerity and submission to Allah’s call with a measure of fear and hunger, and by diminishing your wealth, your lives, and your crops. Give the good news of Allah’s rewards to the believers who do not slacken in the face of these hardships or step back from their faith.

When a calamity befalls them, they say: “Allah created us and endowed us with so many blessings so that we would establish the Islamic order of life on the earth and live by it. In the end we will be returned to Him and receive the recompense we deserve. We belong to Allah in any case, and in the end we will meet Him.” These believers, who have grasped the purpose of life and act in keeping with it, Allah will give the support they need, and, treating them with compassion and mercy, He will place them in His Paradise in the Hereafter.

There is good in those who come to the Kaaba for Hajj and Umrah going to and fro between Safa and Marwa, which are among the symbols of submission to Allah, and remembering and reflecting on what was lived through there (by Hagar and Ishmael). Allah is the helper of those who turn to Him wholeheartedly. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He knows everything and has power over everything.

Allah curses those who try to tear from their true purpose the truths He has made plainly known through the Quran by covering them up, and so does everyone able to curse.

Allah accepts the repentance of those who use their reason, reflect, repent of their wrong, and turn to what is right. For Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward such servants of His.

Those who end their worldly lives having stubbornly turned away from Allah’s call despite so much counsel and warning will enter Hell having drawn upon themselves the curse of Allah, of the angels, and of all the believers, and they will remain there forever, their punishment never lightened.

O people! You have one God, and He is Allah. He is gracious to all His servants, and most compassionate and merciful to the believers.

In the creation of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them; in the succession of night and day; in the laws He has set to keep ships upon the sea; in His reviving the soil with the rain He sends down from the sky, growing every kind of blessing and spreading living creatures over the earth; and in His directing the winds and clouds and keeping them at His command, there are clear proofs of the perfection of Allah’s knowledge, of His power, and of the order He has established and the laws He has laid down. But only those who wish to know Allah as He deserves can see and understand this truth.

Despite this, most people associate partners with Allah and love the persons/systems they take as gods as they would love Allah. But the believers’ love of Allah is stronger and firmer.

When those who associate partners with Allah face the punishment of Hell, they will understand that the right to govern what He has created belongs to Allah alone, but by then it will be far too late. Yet in their worldly lives they had been invited to this truth and warned with clear proofs.

On the Day of Reckoning, those who were taken as gods besides Allah will disown those who followed them and distance themselves from them; all the relationships and bonds of love between them will be severed, and each will be taken up with his own plight. And on that Day their followers will say: “Ah, if only we were given another chance to return to the world, so that we could flee from them just as today they turn their backs on us, disown us, and flee from us.”

Thus Allah will make them feel the deepest remorse for what they did, and condemn them to the punishment of Hell, from which they will never come out.

O people! Eat and drink of what is lawful and wholesome among what We have created for you on the earth, and never fall into the trap of Satan and his human partisans and turn to what is forbidden. Do not forget that Satan and those who follow in his footsteps are an open enemy to you.

They call you to associate partners with Allah, to turn away from His call, to degenerate, to cover up the truths, and to ingratitude and rebellion.

When those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth are told, “Come, follow the order of life that is the reason for your creation, to which Allah invites you through His Book; you were created to follow it and endowed with so many blessings,” they at once say, “No, we follow the way of life handed down to us by our forefathers.” Now, when you have been told that what your forefathers followed was an order of shirk, disbelief, and oppression, will you still insist on following it?

The case of those who stubbornly persist in their shirk and disbelief is like that of a flock a shepherd calls to. The flock hears the shepherd’s call but does not understand what he says. So these people too are like a flock of sheep, or worse still: deaf, mute, and blind, for they do not use their reason.

O believers! Eat and drink of the provision your Lord has created, give thanks to Him, and obey and serve Him.

Allah has forbidden you to eat the flesh of an animal that has died unslaughtered (carrion), the flesh of swine, the meat of an animal slaughtered with a name other than Allah’s invoked over it, and flowing blood. But whoever faces death from starvation and can find nothing else may, without transgressing and provided he does not eat with relish or out of desire, eat as much of these as he needs to stay alive; there is no blame on him. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward His servants who are left helpless.

Those who cover up and conceal part of the Book Allah has sent down, and gain a little profit for it in the fleeting worldly life, are filling their bellies with fire. On the Day of Resurrection and Reckoning Allah will not look at them, will show them no mercy or compassion, and will put them into the painful punishment they deserve. These are the ones who have bought error (what is wrong) in exchange for guidance (what is right). Do they think they can endure the punishment of the Fire?

These are the wrongdoers who deny what is right and true: they conceal from people the truths in the Book He has sent, which explains Allah’s purpose in creating people, and pass off what they themselves have made up as though it were from the Book.

Your worshipping with your faces turned to the east or the west does not mean that you have grasped the true purpose of your creation and live in keeping with it.

Truly believing in Allah requires taking Him alone as Lord and God and striving heart and soul to live in keeping with His call; believing wholeheartedly in the Day of the Hereafter, the angels, and the Book; and being a follower of the prophets and following in their footsteps. Such people give of their wealth, which they love and value dearly, to needy kinsfolk, to the poor, and to stranded travelers; they strive with their wealth and their lives to set free those deprived of their liberty; they keep their word when they give it; they perform their prayers consciously and constantly, pay their zakat, and do not slacken in the face of hardship or make concessions on their faith. These are the ones who believe wholeheartedly in Allah’s call and live in true worship.

O you who believe! Retaliation (qisas: a life for a life) has been made obligatory for you, as just recompense concerning those who are killed. A free man who kills is subject to retaliation for a free man, a slave who kills for a slave, and a woman who kills for a woman. If the brother of the slain person, or, if he has no brother, his next of kin, pardons the killer, then blood money (diya) must be paid to the slain person’s kin, fairly and as is customary, graciously and without wounding anyone’s pride. This is an easing and a mercy from your Lord. Whoever goes beyond these limits and transgresses, for him there is a painful punishment.

O people of understanding! In Allah’s law of retaliation there is life for you; through its deterrence your lives are placed under protection, and so you will have fulfilled one of your responsibilities toward Allah.

O believers! When one of you lies on his deathbed and leaves property behind, it is made obligatory for him to make a bequest to his mother and father and his kinsfolk in keeping with what is fair and customary. This is a duty for those who avoid disobedience to Allah and uphold people’s rights.

Whoever alters the bequest after learning of it, the sin is on the one who alters it. Without doubt Allah hears every word spoken and knows the one truth of everything.

If it is feared that the testator has, knowingly or unknowingly, done injustice among the heirs, there is no harm in bringing about a fair correction and settlement among the heirs, and whoever does so incurs no sin.

O you who believe in the order of life that is Allah’s call! Fasting has been made obligatory for you, as a requirement of your responsibility toward your Lord, just as it was made obligatory for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves against shirk, disbelief, and similar wrongdoing.

Whoever cannot keep the fast prescribed for a set number of days because he is ill or on a journey, let him fast later as many days as he missed; and as for those who are unable to fast, let them pay as ransom (fidya), for each day they cannot fast, enough to feed one poor person. Whoever gives more than he must, giving generously and gladly, it is better for him; but if you are able to fast, keeping your obligatory fast is better for you.

The numbered days of fasting are the days of the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the month in which the Quran began to be sent down: a guide to the right path for people, which distinguishes truth from falsehood and makes known the reason for people’s creation. Let those of you who live to see this month keep their fast throughout Ramadan; and let those who are ill or on a journey not neglect to make up as many days as they missed. Allah wants ease for you; He does not want hardship. Making use of these concessions, fulfill your responsibilities consciously, and give thanks to your Lord, who shows you the way to live in keeping with the purpose of your creation.

O My Messenger! “Let those of My servants who ask you about Me know that I am very near to them; when they call on Me in prayer, I answer their prayers. So let them too fulfill their responsibilities toward Me, so that they may be on the right path.”

O believers! It has been made lawful for you to be intimate with your wives on the nights of the days you fast. Your wives are like a garment for you, and you are like a garment for them. Allah, knowing that you would be in difficulty over this, has lifted this hardship from you by His forgiveness. You may make use of this permission from Allah and continue eating and drinking until the light of dawn becomes clearly distinct from the darkness of night. Then keep your fast until the evening of that day; but do not be intimate with your wives while you are in retreat (i‘tikaf) in the mosques. These are the limits Allah has set; do not violate them. Thus Allah makes His verses clear to those who feel responsible toward Him, so that they may guard themselves.

Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly. Do not try to seize property that belongs to others, to which you have no right, by making use of judges and those in authority.

O Prophet! They ask you what the phases of the moon signify. Say to them: “The moon’s changing phases are measures of time for people. The time of the Hajj is known by them too.” Yet it would be better for them to ask about the reason for their creation, how they should live in keeping with it, and what their responsibilities are. Their questions about the phases of the moon are just like going round to the back of houses and trying to get in through the windows while the doors stand open in front of them. Turn to living the life to which you are invited in Allah’s name and fulfill your responsibilities, so that you may attain happiness. This is what is right.

O believers! Fight those who wage war against the order of life that is Allah’s call, but do not go to extremes and turn aggressor: do not harm children, women, or the elderly, and do no damage to crops and plants. Kill those who fight you wherever you catch them in the course of battle, and drive them out of their homeland as they drove you out of yours; the persecution (fitna: oppression and tyranny) they inflict on you because of your faith is worse than killing a person.

Do not fight them near the Masjid al-Haram (the Kaaba) unless they fight you there; but if they do fight, do not hold back: fight, and kill those you meet; this is the recompense for what they did. If any of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth give up fighting you and turn to living the order of life to which they are invited, then you too give up fighting them. Surely Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward those who repent.

Fight those who attack you until persecution and oppression (fitna) come to an end and religion (the order of life) is lived by the rules Allah alone has set. If they desist, you too desist from fighting, for hostility and war are only against those who practice persecution and oppression.

Do not fight in the sacred months unless they attack you; but if they do not keep this prohibition and fight, fight them, and keep the commands Allah has laid down to be observed in war; do not go to extremes. Allah is with those who are mindful of His commands and prohibitions and fulfill their responsibilities.

O believers! Spend your wealth in the cause of living and keeping alive the order of life that is the reason for your creation; do not shrink from sacrifice for fear that your wealth will diminish, and so throw yourselves into danger with your own hands. Carry out Allah’s commands lovingly and sincerely; do not forget that Allah loves those who fulfill their responsibilities toward Him.

Perform your Hajj and Umrah consciously, reflecting on the reason Allah created you.

If, having set out to perform this worship, you are prevented from going on your way, then sacrifice an animal in Allah’s name, because He has bestowed on you a blessing such as Islam; and, seeing to it carefully until the sacrifice reaches those in need, do not shave your heads. Whoever must shave during this time because of an ailment of the head, let him, after shaving, fast three days, give alms, or sacrifice another animal as ransom. Thus one who has set out with this intention is like one who has fulfilled the pillars of Hajj and Umrah and attained their reward.

Whoever has the opportunity to perform Umrah while waiting to find a safe and suitable setting and time for Hajj, let him sacrifice an animal during Umrah if he can afford it. If he cannot afford it at that time, let him fast three days during the Hajj and seven days after returning home, ten days in all. This rule is for those whose families do not live at the Masjid al-Haram.

O you who believe! Be mindful of what Allah has made known to you, carry out His commands, and guard yourselves against disobeying Allah; do not forget that the penalty for disobeying Him is very great.

The Hajj is performed in its months, whose time is fixed each year (Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa‘dah, and Dhu al-Hijjah). Whoever is performing the Hajj in these months must avoid and keep away from sexual relations, foul speech, shameful conduct, and quarreling. Allah knows every good deed that has been done or is being done, and rewards it.

When going on Hajj, make provision to cover your needs for as long as you will stay there. Do not forget either that the reason you are invited there is to strengthen your awareness, to hold fast to Allah’s call, and to turn your faith into conduct; and know well that the best provision is awareness of one’s responsibility toward Allah.

During the Hajj you may benefit from your Lord’s blessings by exchanging knowledge and trading with one another. When you come down in waves from Arafat to the area of al-Mash‘ar al-Haram, give thanks to Allah as He has taught you and ask for His help, for He has bestowed on you the order and morality of Islam and granted you to perform the worship of Hajj. Never take another lord and god alongside Him. Before He showed you the way, you were among those who had gone astray. Take refuge in Allah’s mercy, compassion, and pardon, and do not be arrogant or lord it over one another. Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward His believing servants.

Once you have completed your Hajj, then wherever you are, as believers grown more aware and stronger, speak of Allah more than you used to speak of your forefathers with zeal, relish, and praise: tell people that it is He who created you and endowed you with so many blessings, and invite them to live by the way of life that is the reason for their creation. Never be among those who say, “Our Lord! Give to us only in this world”; those who say this have no share in the blessings of Paradise in the Hereafter.

Others pray, “Our Lord! Grant us what is good and beautiful both in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of Hell.” These are the ones who are also aware of the meaning of the Hajj they have performed. For what they have earned, these people have a share of the blessings of Paradise in the Hereafter. Allah knows what everyone does. He is just, and swift in reckoning.

O you who believe! During the Hajj, when you reach Mina on the Feast of Sacrifice, which Allah has limited to numbered days, review your lives, reflecting on your Lord’s purpose in creating people, on the blessings He has bestowed, on the truth that there is no true god but Him, and on your being returned to Him and called to account for the way you lived your worldly lives. There is no blame on you for leaving there (Mina) at the end of the second day, and none on whoever stays longer than two days.

Keep within the limits Allah has set; aware of your responsibility, establish on the earth an order centered on Allah and live your worldly lives accordingly; and know well that, when the day comes, you will all be gathered in the presence of your Lord.

Among people there are some whose words about worldly life may please you; they even keep swearing oaths in Allah’s name to convince you of the truth and sincerity of what they say, though what they carry in their hearts is not so. These are fierce enemies, skilled at lying. If they get the chance and come into power, they set about spreading corruption on the earth and ruining the generations and the crops. Allah does not love such people. Whenever they are told, “Do not be ungrateful to Allah; fear Him; come to your senses,” they grow arrogant and conceited and run still wilder. Hell will deal with them; what an evil lodging it is!

And there are others who do not shrink at all from giving their wealth and their lives in seeking to win Allah’s good pleasure. Allah is most compassionate and merciful toward these servants of His.

O you who believe in Allah’s call! Enter Islam all of you together and live as Muslims. Never follow the systems of oppression that Satan and his partisans set up together, for they are an open enemy to you.

If you go astray after you have been honored with Islam, which will make your worldly life and your life in the Hereafter flourish, know well that no one can stand in the way of Allah’s punishment of such people. Allah alone is the One who knows and does what is right.

Do not, as the peoples of the past demanded, expect miraculous things such as “Allah coming forth from the clouds together with the angels.” Those who did not believe despite meeting with miracles were destroyed in the world by Allah’s decree of punishment. Without doubt you will all be brought before Allah in the end.

Just ask the Children of Israel. In the past We showed their forefathers many miracles and set clear proofs before them, and what came of it? Despite seeing, witnessing, and living through them, many of them still did not respond to Allah’s call. On the contrary, they tried to make the verses of Allah’s Book fit their own way of life by changing them.

Whoever, after the knowledge of the Book Allah sent with His Prophet has reached him, changes it or accepts an order of life other than the one to which it invites him, let him know well that Allah’s wrath is upon him.

Worldly life appears attractive and fair to those who have conditioned themselves to deny Allah’s call. They mock the believers who put Allah at the center of their lives and keep His commands and prohibitions. Yet those who live with a sense of responsibility toward Allah are superior, honored, strong, and happy both in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah will reward the believers with the finest blessings in His Paradise. Allah bestows favors beyond reckoning on whom He wills.

People were a single community. Allah sent prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and with them sent down Books to judge between people in the matters in which they differed. After clear verses had come to them, none fell into dispute out of the jealousy among them but the People of the Book. Allah guided those who believed to the truth in the matters in dispute. Allah brings whoever wishes it to what is right and true.

O believers! Do not think that you will enter Paradise without meeting what befell those before you who held out and strove (jihad) against the hardships they faced because of their faith. They met with such hardship and adversity, and were so shaken, that those who were with the Prophet began to say, “When will Allah come to our rescue?” It was then that Allah revealed: “O you who believe! You have done your part, and now you have earned Allah’s help; the help you have earned is now near you.”

They ask you how they should use what they own in Allah’s way. Say to them: “Of what you own, spend first on parents in need, on your kinsfolk, on orphans, on the poor, and on stranded travelers; and do not forget that Allah knows everything you do for good in His way, and rewards it.”

O believers! Though you may dislike it, fighting against those who associate partners with Allah, deny the truth, and attack you has been made obligatory for you. But know well that something you dislike may be good for you, and something you love and enjoy greatly may be bad for you. You cannot know. It is Allah who knows best what is right in everything.

O Prophet! They ask you the ruling on fighting in the sacred months, during which the custom of non-aggression holds. Say to them: “Fighting in the sacred months is a grave offense; but trying to keep people from living in Allah’s way, preventing the believers from visiting the Masjid al-Haram, and driving them out of their homeland are graver offenses in Allah’s sight.”

Fitna (inflicting oppression, persecution, and turmoil) is a graver offense than killing a person.

If your enemies could, they would fight you until they turned you back from your religion (your order and morality); and whoever of you, out of fear of the enemy and losing heart, turns back from his faith, and so completes his worldly life and dies, all that such people have done in the name of good and kindness comes to nothing in this world and the Hereafter, and they join those who will remain in Hell forever.

Those who have emigrated after suffering oppression and persecution because of their faith in Allah’s call, and those who strive (jihad) with their wealth and their lives in the cause of living and keeping alive the life that is the reason for their creation, may hope for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness.

They ask you about intoxicants, gambling, and games of chance. Say to them: “There is great harm in them for people. There are also some deceptive benefits in them, but their harm is greater than their benefit.”

They also ask you what should be spent in Allah’s way, and how much. Say to them: “Everything you have beyond your essential needs!” Thus Allah makes His verses clear, so that you may reflect deeply and take heed, and live knowing what is to your benefit and what is to your harm in your worldly life and your life in the Hereafter.

They also ask you how orphan children should be treated. Say: “Take care of them, meet their needs, give them counsel, and invite them to what is right. If you live together with them, know that they are your brothers; Allah knows those who treat them well and those who treat them badly. Had Allah willed, He would have laid heavier responsibilities on you in this matter.” It is Allah alone who lays down the most perfect rulings. He is the Possessor of supreme power, mercy, and compassion.

O believers! Even if women who associate partners with Allah, taking other gods alongside Him, attract you, do not marry them until they believe by taking Allah alone as God. Marrying a believing slave woman is better than marrying a free woman who associates partners with Allah, however much she attracts you.

Do not give believing women in marriage to men who associate partners with Allah, so long as they do not believe. For to a believing woman a believing slave man is better than a free man who associates partners with Allah. Know well that those who associate partners with Allah call you to the Fire, whereas Allah, with His mercy and compassion, calls those who follow His call to Paradise. Thus Allah makes His verses clear, so that you may reflect and take heed.

They ask you about women’s menstruation. Say: “It is a troublesome, painful, and difficult state; so during their periods leave them in peace and keep away from intercourse. When their periods have ended and they have become clean, approach them in the lawful way Allah has commanded. In this matter Allah forgives those who repent of their earlier wrongs and abide by His rulings, and He loves those who keep themselves clean.”

Your wives are like a field that yields crops for you. Approach your field at lawful times and in lawful ways, and pray to be granted good children. Be aware of your responsibilities regarding Allah’s commands and prohibitions, and so prepare for your Hereafter; in the end you will be returned to Him.

O believers! Do not let the oaths you swear in Allah’s name stand in the way of your making peace between people, doing good, and fulfilling your responsibilities toward Allah. Allah hears everything and knows best what you do and why.

Allah does not hold you responsible for oaths you have sworn thoughtlessly and at random out of a habit of speech, but He does hold you responsible for oaths you have sworn knowing in your hearts that they are false. Allah gives you time and opportunity to repent of your sins and hold fast to what is right, for Allah pardons those who turn to what is right.

Those who swear not to be intimate with their wives must wait four months; if they change their minds before this period is over and return to their wives, there is no harm in their breaking their oath. Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward the believers.

And for those who decide to divorce their wives, there is no harm in their divorcing them at the end of the four-month waiting period. Allah knows best the attitude you take toward His rulings.

Divorced women should wait three menstrual cycles before remarrying, so that it may be known whether they are pregnant and, if so, that the child’s father is the husband from whom they parted. If these women believe in Allah and the Day of the Hereafter, they will not conceal what Allah has created in their wombs. It is not lawful for them to do so. If within the waiting period the husband wishes to be reconciled and the woman too consents, the right to marry this woman belongs first to the husband who divorced her. If there are children, they too are a reason for this priority. Just as husbands have rights over their wives, so wives have rights over their husbands. While they are equal in rights, men take precedence over women by virtue of the responsibilities they bear and the traits that come from their nature. Allah’s every ruling is absolutely perfect. He is the Possessor of supreme power and wisdom.

A husband has the right to a revocable divorce twice. After a first or second divorce, he may continue the marriage by reconciliation; but in marriages that do not work despite this, the husband should divorce his wife graciously and let her go free, and it is not lawful for him to take back the dower (mahr) he gave her. If both, fearing that they can no longer keep within the limits Allah has set concerning marriage, decide to separate, the woman may, if she wishes, give back to her husband part of the dower he gave her; there is no sin in this. These are the limits of the rulings Allah has laid down. Those who violate the laws Allah has set and overstep the limits are wrongdoers who wrong themselves.

If a husband divorces his wife a third time, it is no longer lawful for him to marry this woman. But if the divorced woman marries another man and that man also divorces her or dies, then, once the waiting period (iddah) relating to the marriage is over, there is no harm in the woman’s marrying the husband she earlier parted from, if they trust themselves, believing that they will keep within Allah’s limits. These are the limits Allah has made clear so that you may understand that marriage is no game or pastime, grasp its importance and seriousness, and act accordingly.

When the waiting period of the women you have divorced is over, then, if they wish and if they also have need, either keep them with you graciously for as long as they wish, or release them with kindness; do not violate their rights. Never keep them with you by force in order to harm them. Whoever does so wrongs himself as much as the woman.

Do not make light of Allah’s verses; remember the blessings He has bestowed on you; do not be ungrateful by turning your back on Him; and be mindful and responsible toward the rulings in the Book He has sent down as counsel and warning.

And when the waiting period of divorced women is over and they have left you and your household entirely, do not prevent them from marrying a man with whom they have come to a lawful agreement.

Allah counsels with His verses those who believe in Him and in the Day of the Hereafter. For the believers, what is pure and right is to submit to Allah’s call. Allah alone knows the absolute truth of everything.

If a divorced woman has a nursing child, and the father and mother agree on two years as the child’s nursing period, the mother nurses her child for two years. During this period the mother’s food and drink, clothing, and expenses are the father’s responsibility, according to what is fair and customary. Allah lays on no one a burden or responsibility beyond his strength.

The father should not distress the mother by withholding maintenance on account of the child they have brought into the world, nor should the mother distress the father by refusing to nurse her child. If the father dies during the child’s nursing period, providing maintenance for the mother and child falls to the father’s heirs.

If the mother and father can agree to shorten the child’s nursing period, there is no harm in weaning it before two years.

Those who wish to give their children to wet nurses may do so, paying their wages according to custom; there is no sin in this.

O believers! Fulfill your responsibilities toward Allah consciously and scrupulously, and do not forget that Allah sees and knows what you do, and what you fail to do when you should.

O believers! If men among you die leaving wives behind, let the wives wait four months and ten days as their waiting period (iddah); once this time is over, others bear no responsibility for the decisions the women make and carry out about their own lives within the limits Allah has set. Without doubt Allah is aware of everything.

If you wish to marry women in this situation, there is no sin in your hinting at it to them during or after the waiting period, or in keeping your wish to marry them to yourselves. Allah knows best what passes through your hearts. So do not attempt to meet them in secret; when the waiting period is over, make your wish to marry known openly and in a lawful manner, and if it is accepted, marry.

Allah treats with mercy, compassion, and forgiveness those who are mindful of the limits He has set.

O believing men! If you decide to marry women whom you have not touched and whose dower you have not fixed and recorded, and then for a lawful reason change your minds, you bear no responsibility. Even so, let them benefit from your means: the rich according to his circumstances and the poor according to his. This is a debt upon those who turn to Allah sincerely.

If you have not touched them after fixing their dower, then give half of the dower you agreed upon. In this case the woman, if she wishes, has the right to forgo her dower; or the man, if he wishes, may give the woman the whole of the agreed dower, and this is closer to taqwa (God-consciousness). Allah sees and knows everything you do, with what intention and how you do it.

O believers! Fulfill your responsibilities toward Allah sincerely and consciously, together with your prayers, which you are to perform on time. Do not neglect the middle prayer. When you face serious danger, you may perform the prayer while walking or riding. When Allah has brought you to safety, perform the prayer in the way He has taught you, pray to Him, and give thanks to Him.