Surah Ali 'Imran: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

Alif. Lam. Mim. Allah is the One besides whom there is no true god, the Ever-Living, the Undying, the Ruler and Guardian of all beings in the universe. No one but Him has the right or authority to establish an order over them and lay down rulings. Allah makes this truth known to you plainly, in words made up of the letters with which you read and write, and speak and understand one another.

O Prophet! Allah is revealing this Quran to you part by part, confirming the truths that remain, though few, in the earlier divine Books, in order to invite people to the reason for their creation.

Before the Quran, in the Torah He sent down to Moses, in the Gospel He sent down to Jesus, and in what He sent down to His messengers before them, Allah also invited people to live a life whose limits He has set, and made known that He would test them by it. For those who reject this call of Allah and turn away there is a severe punishment. Allah is mighty, the Lord of retribution.

Without doubt Allah knows the one absolute truth of everything and is the Possessor of supreme power, who gives every person the full recompense for the way of life he has chosen.

Nothing in the heavens or on the earth, nothing that exists or happens, is outside Allah’s knowledge, nor is anything hidden from Him.

It is He who shapes what is in the womb as He wills. Allah is the Possessor of supreme power, who does His every work in absolute perfection, and there is no true god but Him.

O Prophet! Part of this revelation Allah is sending down to you is muhkam: that is, it plainly makes known the fundamental principles of your way of life and your belief. No other meanings can ever be drawn from these verses; they are the mother (foundation) of the divine Word.

Other verses are mutashabih: that is, verses that allude to an underlying reality, expressed through resemblance, and in a sense open to two meanings. They (such as those concerning the angels, the spirit, the state of a person from death until the Day of Resurrection, Paradise and Hell, and the creation of Jesus) are verses about what lies above and beyond human understanding, yet are expressed through likenesses; Allah alone knows their true nature. On these matters Allah has made known to people as much as they need to know.

Those of pure mind and knowledge, who believe in Allah, the Prophet, and what is made known through the divine Book, say: “Our Lord has made known to us what we are responsible for and what and how much we need to know; He alone knows the essence of the mutashabih verses. The Quran has explained everything fully for those who wish to know the truth and live by it.”

But those prone to deviation, in whose hearts there is a sickness (corruption), who do not wish to live within the limits Allah has set, to which they are invited, busy themselves with the mutashabih verses, whose nature only Allah knows, and try to confuse minds and stir up discord and mischief.

Those who believe pray thus: “Our Lord! After You have brought us to the order of life that is Your call and granted us to live it, keep our hearts from becoming corrupted, increase our strength, and treat us with Your mercy, grace, and compassion. Surely You are the Possessor of boundless bounty. Our Lord, we know and believe that on the Day of Reckoning You will raise all people and gather them together, call them to account for whom and by what standard they lived their worldly lives, and give everyone the recompense they deserve.”

Let those who turn away from the Islamic life that is Allah’s call know well that neither their wealth and property, nor their rank and position, nor their children will be of any use to them in the Hereafter; they will be fuel for the Fire. Just like the fate of Pharaoh and his house…

They too lived associating partners with Allah and denying the truth, and died having deserved punishment. No one can stand in the way of Allah’s punishment; His punishment is very severe.

Say to those who are hostile to the order of life that is Allah’s call: “You will surely be defeated before the believers, and in the Hereafter you will be gathered and cast into the fire of Hell; what an evil abode that is!”

There are lessons to be learned for you from the case of the two armies that met to fight. One of those two armies had come face to face with the other to fight for living the order that is Allah’s call, and the other to do away with that order.

During the battle Allah showed the believing army to those who associated partners with Him as twice their own number, and strong. That is how Allah supports with His help those who strive (jihad) in His way; there are lessons to be drawn from this. Only those with insight who have turned wholeheartedly to Allah can understand it.

Women, children, hoarded gold, riches, fine horses, herds of livestock, crops, vineyards, and gardens are made to seem attractive and fair to people. All these are in truth the blessings and pleasures of the fleeting worldly life. What is lasting and beautiful are the blessings Allah offers the believers in Paradise; that is the place to live in true happiness.

Say: “Those worthy of Paradise, through which rivers flow, will live there in mansions with pure spouses, in happiness, and see the reward of having won Allah’s good pleasure.”

Allah knows what His servants do and gives them their recompense in full.

Those who pray, “Our Lord! We have believed in You alone; protect us from the punishment of the Fire,” who brave hardship in the cause of His call and mobilize all their means, and who in the hours before dawn plead with Him wholeheartedly for forgiveness, Allah will reward with the blessings of Paradise, where they will remain forever.

The angels, those who use their reason and see the truth, and Allah Himself bear witness that there is no true god but Him, and that authority to lay down rulings over people belongs to Him alone.

Without any doubt, the one true religion (order) in Allah’s sight is the religion (order) of Islam, whose rulings, laws, and morality Allah has set.

Most of the communities to whom prophets and Books were sent in the past, though they were invited to live Islam, put forward differing views out of their arrogance and the jealousy among them, and went on maintaining their orders of shirk. Whoever ignores Allah’s call, turns away from it, and covers it up, let him know well that Allah will soon call him to account.

O Prophet! If those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth try to dispute with you, say to them: “I have submitted wholeheartedly to Allah’s call, and those who follow me have submitted to Him too. And you, O People of the Book, and you who keep yourselves apart from them! If only you too would submit to the order of Islam.”

If they accept this call, they will have found the truth and the right path; but if they do not accept it and turn away, you will have made the call that falls to you.

Allah knows full well what His servants accept and what they do not.

Give news of a painful punishment to those who do not accept the order of life to which Allah invites through His prophets and Books, who basely kill the prophets and those who, with them, enjoin justice, and to the followers of such people. These are the ones who have wasted their worldly lives and deserved punishment in the Hereafter. No one can save them from Allah’s punishment.

Some of the Jews, called to live by the verses of the Quran, turned away from the call, saying, “In any case, the Fire will not touch us for more than a few days.” They are trying to cover up the religion Allah has sent with the lies they have made up.

They have never considered what will become of them on that Day of Resurrection and Reckoning, whose coming is certain, when their invented lies come to light and they face the punishment they deserve.

Say: “O Allah, true and only Owner of all dominion! You know to whom and when You will give the sovereignty of Your dominion as a test. You give it to whom You will and take it back from whom You will. You exalt the one who is worthy and abase the one who is not. You do everything with the perfection it must have; all good is in Your hand. You have power over everything.

O Allah! It is You who shorten the day and add it to the night, and shorten the night and add it to the day! You bring forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living, and give provision beyond reckoning to whom You will.”

Let the believers not take those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth as friends and allies instead of the believers. Whoever takes them as friends has cut his ties with Allah, distanced himself from Him, and is deprived of His help. But if one is in great difficulty and faced with the necessity of escaping their oppression, one may remain silent and neutral until this situation changes. Even under such necessity Allah wants people to be mindful and careful toward Him and not to go to extremes. For it is before Allah that all will come in the end and give account.

Say: “Whether you conceal what you think or reveal it, Allah knows its reality. Everything that happens in the heavens and on the earth is within Allah’s knowledge. Allah is All-Knowing and has power over everything.”

On that Day when every person will find before him the account of whom and by what standard he lived his worldly life, he will not wish to face the evils in his record of deeds; he will wish there were a great distance between him and them. Because Allah does not want you to fall into this state, He warns you in your worldly life, for Allah is merciful and compassionate toward His servants.

O Prophet! Say to those who say they believe in Allah and love Him dearly: “If you truly love Allah, follow me in the call I make in Allah’s name, so that Allah too may love you and forgive your sins. Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward those who follow His messengers. So submit to the morality of Islam, which is Allah’s call, and follow me. If you turn away, know well that Allah does not love those who cover up the truth.”

Among people, Allah made Adam, Noah, Abraham, the family of Imran, and the prophets descended from them leaders and guides for people. All of them invited people to live in keeping with the reason for their creation. So Allah raised their ranks.

Allah knows who is worthy of what, and hears everything.

Long ago, Imran’s wife prayed to Allah thus: “My Lord! I dedicate the child in my womb to Your service, in the hope that it will be a servant who takes You alone as Lord and God and strives to live, and to keep alive, in keeping with the reason for its creation. Accept this from me; surely You hear prayers and know intentions.”

When Imran’s wife saw that the child she had borne was a girl, she said, “My Lord, I have given birth to a girl, though I wanted it to be a boy. A boy is not like a girl. I have named her Mary, and I entrust her and her offspring to You, to be protected from the evil of Satan.”

Of course Allah knew that Imran’s wife had borne a girl while she was expecting a son. Her Lord accepted the prayer of Imran’s wife and directed that the girl be placed in the care of the Prophet Zechariah, to be brought up like a flower.

Whenever Zechariah entered the part of the temple where Mary stayed, he found food beside her. When he asked, “O Mary, where does this food come to you from?” Mary would say, “My Lord graciously provides it for me. He grants provision beyond reckoning to whom He wills.” Hearing this, Zechariah at that moment prayed thus: “My Lord, grant me too, by Your grace, good offspring from Your presence! Surely You hear prayers and answer them.” Then, when he stood in prayer in the prayer chamber, the angels called out to him: “O Zechariah! Allah gives you the good news that He will grant you a son whose name will be John, and that he will be a most chaste and virtuous, righteous prophet.”

At this Zechariah, in great astonishment, said: “My Lord! How can I have a son when I have grown old and my wife, moreover, is barren?” The angels who gave him the good news said to Zechariah, “Indeed it will be! Allah does what He wills.” Then Zechariah prayed, “My Lord, show me a sign of what is to come.” And Allah revealed to him: “Your sign is that for three days you will not be able to speak to people except by signs. For three days, reflect on your Lord’s greatness and give thanks unceasingly for this blessing He has bestowed.”

The angels also conveyed Allah’s commands to Mary, saying: “O Mary! Allah has chosen you, kept you far from sins, made you pure, and raised you to a station above all women. O Mary! Devote yourself wholeheartedly to your Lord, serve Him as He deserves, and prostrate and bow with those who prostrate and bow.”

O Prophet! These are among the tidings you did not know before, which We make known to you by revelation. You were not with them when they argued in the temple over who would take responsibility for Mary and look after her, and decided to cast lots.

The angels said to Mary: “O Mary! Allah commands us to give you the good news of a son, who will be known by the name the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He will be distinguished, noble, honored, and esteemed in this world and the Hereafter, and near to Allah. He will speak to people in the cradle as a grown man does, and later he will invite them to live the life that is the reason for their creation.”

At this Mary said in alarm, “My Lord, how can I have a child when no man has ever so much as touched me?” and the angels said, “When Allah wills, it can very well be; Allah certainly does what He wills. When He wills a thing to be and decrees it, He only says to it ‘Be,’ and at once it begins the process of coming into being.” Then they went on: “Allah will appoint Jesus as a prophet to the Children of Israel, and he will call people, in Allah’s name, to live the truth through the truths remaining from the Torah and through the Gospel.”

Jesus will call out to people: “I have come to you with miracles showing that I am a prophet sent to you from my Lord. Before your eyes I make a little statue of a bird out of clay, and when I breathe into it, it comes to life by Allah’s leave and becomes a bird; I also heal the blind and the lepers by Allah’s leave. Again, by Allah’s leave and will, I bring the dead to life; I know what you eat and drink in your houses, and, as He makes it known to me, I tell you where you have hidden things.

All these are clear proofs for those who wish to believe in my prophethood and in Allah’s verses.

I have also come to confirm what remains true of the Torah sent before me, and to make known that, if you turn to Allah’s call, some of the things formerly forbidden to you will be made lawful.

So follow me, live by the order of life that is your Lord’s call, and fulfill your responsibilities toward Him. Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So take Him alone as God; this is the right path.”

When Jesus saw that they stubbornly persisted in not accepting Allah’s call, he said, “Who among you will be my helpers in making this call a lived reality?” At this the disciples, pure of mind and pure within and without, said, “We are your helpers, and Muslims who submit to Allah. Be you too a witness to this.” Then they said, “Our Lord! We have believed in Your Prophet and in what is in the Book You sent with him, and we have followed them.”

Those who opposed Jesus’ prophethood and the call he made in Allah’s name laid traps to do away with him and his call. And Allah brought their traps to nothing and turned them back on their own heads. Allah brings traps to nothing and turns them to good.

Allah revealed to Jesus: “O Jesus! It is not those who are trying to kill you who will take your life; I will cause you to die and raise you to a high station, and so take you out from among them. I will make those who follow you superior to those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth until the Day of Resurrection. In the end you will all be returned to Me and receive the recompense you deserve.” Allah alone is the One who will judge between you.

Surely Allah will strike those who stubbornly reject and resist the truth with a severe punishment both in this world and in the Hereafter. Nor is there anyone to save them from Allah’s punishment.

Allah will grant rewards to those who believe in His call and consciously fulfill their responsibilities. O Prophet! We make known to you too what must be known, so that you may invite people to live by these truths.

In Allah’s sight the creation of Jesus is like the creation of Adam. When Allah willed and decided to create Adam from earth, He made the laws of his formation and said “Be,” and at once he entered the process of coming into being and came to be. This is the truth about Jesus.

Never be among those who doubt the truths your Lord is making known! To those who enter into dispute despite this knowledge that has come to you about Jesus, say: “Come, let us call our children and your children, our women and your women, believers like us and believers like you; then let us all together pray wholeheartedly that Allah’s curse fall upon the liars.”

This is what is to be said to those who do not accept the truth about Jesus. There is no god but Allah. Allah, whose every ruling is absolutely perfect, is the Possessor of supreme power and wisdom. If those who associate partners with Allah shrink from this mutual oath and persist in not accepting the truth, let them know well that Allah knows full well those who persist in falsehood and spread corruption.

O Prophet! Say: “O Jews and Christians, People of the Book! Come, let us meet on the common principle to which all the prophets invited: let us take Allah alone, not one another, as Lord and God, and serve none but Him.”

If they do not accept this and turn away, then say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims who have submitted to Allah wholeheartedly.”

O People of the Book! Why do you keep arguing among yourselves over whether Abraham was a Jew or a Christian? Yet both the Torah and the Gospel were sent down long after Abraham. The Judaism and Christianity you have invented were not even known to exist in Abraham’s time. How can you slander Abraham without reflecting on this?

Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian. He was a Muslim who took none but Allah as Lord and God and submitted wholeheartedly to the order of Islam that is His call, and he was never one of those who associate partners with Allah.

Allah makes this truth known to you, but you do not wish to understand it. Those closest to Abraham are those who take Allah alone as Lord and God, believe in the call of the Quran, and follow the Prophet. Allah is the wali (protecting friend) of those who believe.

Some of the People of the Book want to lead the Muslims astray from their faith and from the order and morality of Islam. In truth, by doing this they are deceiving and harming only themselves, but they are not aware of it.

O People of the Book! Why do you deny Allah’s messages when you know they are true? And why do you mix truth with falsehood and knowingly cover up and conceal the truth?

Some of the People of the Book, talking among themselves, were saying: “When you meet the Muslims in the morning, say that you too believe in what has been sent down with the Quran; and when you meet them in the evening, say that you have found what you claimed to believe untrue and reject it. In this way confuse them and make them doubt the truth of the verses; who knows, perhaps they will give up believing in the Quran and the Prophet. And never take as friends or trust those who are not of your faith.”

O Prophet! Say to them: “The only right path is the path to which Allah invites and along which He guides through the Quran. Why are you troubled that the like of the prophethood and the Book given in the past to some of you has been given to someone not of you? Or do you fear it will count against you before your Lord?” Say: “Allah knows best to whom prophethood and the Book should be given, and who is worthy of His mercy.”

Among the People of the Book there are some who, if you entrust them with a treasure, will return it to you in full; but among them there are also some who, if you entrust them with a single gold coin, will not give it back to you unless you keep coming back and standing over them. The reason is that they believe they bear no responsibility before Allah toward those who do not believe as they do, and slander Allah by saying, “Allah too wants it to be so.”

The truth is that whoever does not betray a trust, keeps his word, and lives conscious of his responsibilities toward Allah, Allah loves those who act thus.

Those who trade their pledge to Allah and their oaths for fleeting worldly gain have no share in the blessings of the life of the Hereafter. On the Day of Resurrection Allah will not speak to them, nor look at them, nor purify them. For them there is a painful punishment.

Among the People of the Book there are also those who twist their tongues according to the Book, so that you may think what they say comes from it, though it does not belong to the Book Allah sent; and so they distort the truth. They ascribe to Allah what is not from Allah and knowingly alter the truth with lies and slander.

It is unthinkable that a person to whom Allah has given prophethood should say to people, “Abandon the Islamic way of life that is Allah’s call, and take me as Lord and God alongside Allah; follow me and serve me.”

The prophets convey the message to people, saying, “Take Allah alone as Lord; read and teach the Book He has sent, and follow the order of life to which you are invited. So become true believers and people of knowledge.”

The prophets do not command you to take them and the angels as gods; they invite no one to deny the truth.

Allah had taken a pledge from the prophets: “When, after the Book and Wisdom have come to you from Me, a prophet comes confirming and verifying the truths in the Book in your hands, you will most certainly believe in him, follow him, and help him.” Then Allah declared, “So bear witness to this. I too will be a witness to this pledge of yours.” Those who go back on the word they gave to Allah are those who associate partners with Him, deny the truth, and defiantly disobey (fasiq).

Allah is the one true God, who created all that is in the heavens and on the earth to submit to Him, and established their orders. In the end every person will be brought into His presence and called to account for whether or not he followed the religion that is Allah’s call. Once this truth has been made known to him, would a person then go seeking another order (religion)?

O believers, say: “We believe in Allah, in what has been sent down to us, in Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets descended from them, and in the Books bestowed by their Lord on Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets, and we make no distinction between them. For we are Muslims who submit to Allah.”

Whoever adopts a religion other than Islam, which is Allah’s call, let him know well that it will have no value in Allah’s sight and will not be accepted. Such people will also come to ruin in the Hereafter and be among the losers.

Allah does not grant guidance to communities that turn away from the order of life to which He invites through His prophets and Books, though they know that it is truth itself. Their penalty is to incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the believers. In the Hereafter, too, they will be cast into Hell, where they will remain forever, and they will never be helped. But toward those who repent in this world of their shirk and disbelief, believe, and fulfill their responsibilities, Allah is most merciful and forgiving.

Allah does not accept the repentance of those who, after believing, return to shirk and disbelief and carry on, increasing in their denial. These are the very ones who have gone astray.

As for those who live having conditioned themselves to deny Allah’s call, and die so, even if all the treasures of the earth were theirs and they tried to give what they own as ransom to escape the punishment of Hell, it will not be accepted; they will not escape the penalty they deserve, and there will be no one to help them.

O believers! Unless you too make, from the things you love, the spending and sacrifices in Allah’s way that will please Him, you will not have done true good, nor rise to the rank of the virtuous and excellent. Whatever you spend in Allah’s way, Allah knows it and repays it many times over.

Before the Torah was sent down to the Children of Israel, all foods were lawful except those Jacob had declared unlawful. The increase in the number of prohibitions through the Torah was because the Children of Israel kept going back on the word they had given to Allah. That this is so is plainly stated in the Torah.

Say: “O People of the Book, if you are sincere in the baseless claims you have invented concerning the foods Allah has made unlawful, bring the Torah and read it out, and let us see.” Those who, after the truths have come to light, still do not accept them and make up lies about Allah are wrongdoers, those who associate partners with Allah, and deniers of the truth.

Say: “Allah is making the truth known. So now you too move away from shirk and disbelief and turn to Islam, the pure religion to which Abraham called.”

The first house of worship founded to teach people that the reason for their creation is to live by an order and morality whose limits Allah has set is the Kaaba in Mecca. It is the station from which Abraham called people to rise up against shirk, disbelief, and oppression. Whoever believes in this and lives fulfilling what it requires will attain Allah’s good pleasure and also be safe from the punishment of Hell.

Let those who are able visit it and perform the Hajj, reviewing whether or not they are living in keeping with the reason for their creation. This duty is Allah’s right over people; let those who turn their backs on it know that Allah has no need of anyone.

Say: “O People of the Book! While Allah is witness to what you do, and though you know that the call the Prophet makes through the Quran is true, do you reject it and, by trying to make it look crooked and distorted, strive to turn the believers from this path? Allah is not unaware of what you do.”

O believers! If you follow any faction of the People of the Book, they will turn you back from your faith and lead you into shirk and disbelief.

While Allah’s verses are being recited to you, and His messenger, moreover, is among you, how could you long to be like those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth?

Allah directs to His right path those who turn to Him wholeheartedly.

O you who believe! Live holding fast to the rope of the Quran that Allah has held out to you, so as to fulfill your responsibilities toward Him, and guard against disobeying Allah. Do not separate from one another; know the value of the order of life bestowed on you; and never let death overtake you before you have submitted wholeheartedly to Allah and become Muslims. When you were enemies to one another, Allah united your hearts and warmed them toward one another, and you became brothers; once you were on the brink of a pit of fire, and Allah saved you from falling into it. Your Lord makes these things clear to you so that you may know the worth of the blessing of Islam you have attained.

O believers! Be a community that enjoins good on people and forbids shirk and disbelief. Such people will attain lasting happiness.

Never be like those who, after Allah’s call had reached them through His Book, split into factions and fell out with one another; for those who do so there is a great punishment.

On that Day of Resurrection and Reckoning, when some faces will shine white with joy and some faces will darken, it will be said to those whose faces have darkened: “Now taste the punishment of Hell in return for your abandoning your faith in Allah’s call, becoming deniers of the truth, and taking other gods alongside Allah.”

As for those who strove to live and keep alive the order and morality of Islam, their faces will shine white with joy; they will enter Paradise to remain forever and be rewarded with its blessings.

Allah makes the truths known through His verses. He gives His creatures the full recompense of what they deserve and never does wrong.

Allah is the true Owner of all that is in the heavens and on the earth. In the end every person will be returned to Him, give account of whom and by what standard he lived his worldly life, and receive its recompense.

O you who believe! You are a good community brought forth for the good of humanity. You enjoin good on people and forbid evil, believe in Allah wholeheartedly, and trust in Him. Had the People of the Book too believed as you do and chosen to live so, it would surely have been more right and better for them. There are among them some, though very few, who choose what is right and turn to it, but most of them have chosen shirk and disbelief as their order of life.

They can do you no harm beyond provoking you and causing passing hurt. If they set about fighting you, after a while they will turn their backs and flee; wherever they are, whatever their situation, position, and rank, they are condemned to live in humiliation.

Those who have earned Allah’s wrath have been branded with baseness, because they also killed some of the prophets who called them to what is right, overstepped the limits, and rebelled against Allah.

But not all of the People of the Book are like this. Among them there are also some, though few, whose hearts match their words; who, when Allah’s verses are recited to them, fall down in prostration and pray night and day, repenting of their past; who believe in the Hereafter, vie in good deeds, and work to enjoin good and forbid evil. These are virtuous, excellent, and righteous believers. Allah will not leave unrewarded what they do in this cause, but will reward them. Allah knows best those who sincerely fulfill their responsibilities toward Him.

As for those who stubbornly persist in denying the truth, neither their wealth, nor their rank, nor their children will be of any use to them in Allah’s presence on the Day of Reckoning. What they did in the name of goodness and charity in their worldly lives will also go to waste and vanish, just as a scorching wind that strikes the crops of a people who have wronged themselves destroys those fine crops. Allah did not wrong them; they wronged themselves by being ungrateful to Allah.

O you who believe! Those who do not accept Islam as their order of life are not of you. Do not take those who are not of you as friends and confidants. They want to draw you away from your religion and harm you at every opportunity. Their hostility pours from their tongues, and the hatred they hide in their hearts is greater still. We make these things plain to you so that you may use your reason and be on your guard against them.

You believe in all the Books and prophets Allah has sent and make no distinction between them. When some of those who are not of you meet you, they say, “We too have believed,” but when they gather among themselves they bite their fingers out of their hatred for you. Even if you wish to draw close to them, they do not wish it. O Prophet! Say to them: “Die of your rage.” Surely Allah knows best what is hidden in hearts.

If some good touches you and you are favored with a blessing, those who are hostile to you are troubled and aggrieved by it. If a calamity or hardship befalls you, they rejoice at it.

O believers! If you hold out against the hardships and difficulties you face without making concessions on your faith, and trust in your Lord and take refuge in Him, your enemies’ traps can do you no harm at all.

Allah is the Possessor of supreme knowledge and power, and by His power He has encompassed them on every side.

O Prophet! Remember when you left your house early in the morning to post the believers in their positions for battle; at that time two groups among you panicked, began to waver, and very nearly turned back. Yet Allah was their helper, and He was hearing, seeing, and knowing everything. The believers must always, in every situation, trust and rely on Allah alone. Indeed, when you were far fewer in number than your enemies and weaker in arms, Allah helped you at the Battle of Badr with three thousand angels, a thousand at a time, and gave you victory. On that day you yourself said to the believers, “Is it not enough for you that your Lord helps you with three thousand angels?”

If you hold out against the enemy with patience and steadfastness, obey without compromise the commands given you concerning the battle, fulfill your responsibilities, and act with courage, then even if the enemy attacks you at a moment you least expect, this time Allah will send you help with five thousand angels. This promise of Allah’s help is good news and is for the reassurance of your hearts. Help and victory come only from Allah, the Possessor of supreme power and judgment. He does everything in its proper place, with wisdom.

This help of Allah is to cut off at the root some of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, to abase and humiliate others, and to destroy their hopes of victory over the believers so that they go away in disappointment.

O Prophet! After what has befallen those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, the authority to accept or not accept the repentance of those who repent, and to rule on their end, belongs to Allah alone.

You have no authority to pronounce a ruling on this matter; they are the very wrongdoers.

Allah is the one true Owner of all that is in the heavens and on the earth. He forgives the one He finds worthy of forgiveness, and gives the one He does not deem worthy of forgiveness the penalty he deserves.

Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward His believing servants.

O you who believe! Do not turn to riba, multiplied many times over, and practice usury with the aim of earning more and growing stronger without labor. Guard against violating Allah’s commands and prohibitions, and obey Allah and His Messenger, so that you may attain salvation and happiness, and so be protected from the Hell prepared for those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth.

Vie with one another to enter your Lord’s Paradise, as wide as the heavens and the earth, which He has prepared for the believers. Those believers spend from what they have in Allah’s way in plenty and in hardship, master their anger, and forgive and pardon people’s faults. Allah loves those who act so. When they do something evil and sin, harming themselves and others, they at once repent and turn to doing deeds that will please Allah. Such people do not knowingly and willingly persist in sinning. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward those who repent of their sins and turn to what is right.

Allah will reward those who believe in His call and fulfill their responsibilities with Gardens through which rivers flow, to remain there forever.

Many communities have come and gone from the world before you. Travel through the land, and see and reflect on what the end was of those who lived cut off from the reason for their creation and rebelled against Allah.

This Quran is a divine guide that shows people the truths and invites them to live a life in keeping with Allah’s purpose in creating. Only those who grasp Allah as He deserves understand its importance and value.

O believers! Never grieve or despair in the face of setbacks, nor slacken or lose your courage. If you believe in Allah wholeheartedly and trust in Him, it is you who are the highest and who will always win.

O believers! If, while striving (jihad) to live and keep alive the order of life that is the reason for your creation, you have suffered a wound and loss, do not forget that your enemies have suffered a similar wound. At Badr they too suffered losses and were defeated. We keep turning victory and defeat about among people, so that We may bring to light the believers who are sincere and steadfast in their faith and those who are not, and make those of you who are martyred in Allah’s way and those who come back as veterans (ghazis) examples for the generations that come after.

Allah cleanses of their sins those who fight for the order and morality of Islam, and wishes to cut off at the root, by the hands of the believers, those who associate partners with Him. Allah does not love those who flee from fighting when fighting in this cause is necessary.

Or do you think you will enter Paradise without Allah bringing to light those among you who strive and make jihad in His way and hold out against hardship on this path? Did you not use to wish to die as martyrs while fighting in Allah’s way? Here is your chance; come, show your sincerity, and let it be seen.

Muhammad too is a mortal messenger; many of Allah’s messengers have come and gone before him. If he now dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels to your former religion, the order of shirk and disbelief?

Whoever turns back so, let him know well that he cannot harm Allah. And those who strive to live by what is right, Allah will reward with His Paradise.

No one dies unless the causes appointed for his term arise and Allah permits it. Whoever desires the blessings of this world, We give him the recompense of his effort. And whoever desires the blessings of the Hereafter, We give him of them too, and We reward those who give thanks.

Many prophets, standing back to back with the believers, fought those who attacked them; they held out against the hardships they met in this cause, showing no slackness and never giving in. Allah loves those who brave difficulties while striving in this cause.

These believers always used to pray on the battlefields thus: “Our Lord, forgive our sins, our faults, and our excesses in our affairs; make our feet firm before the enemy, and help us.”

In the end Allah granted them His finest blessings both in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah loves those who show such sincerity and steadfastness in their faith.

O you who believe! If you give in to those who associate partners with Allah, they will turn you back on your heels to shirk and disbelief. Then you too will come to ruin and be among the losers. The truth is that your friend and helper is Allah alone. He is the best of those who come to help.

We will cast fear into the hearts of those who, with no proof whatever, turn away from living by the order of life that is the reason for their creation. Their abode in the Hereafter, too, will be Hell. What an evil place is the Hell they deserve!

Allah kept the promise He gave the believers. Indeed, while you were fighting those who associated partners with Allah and denied the truth with His help, you were cutting them down; but at a time when victory was nearest to you, you left your positions without heeding the Prophet’s command and went after the spoils. Some of you, too, were fighting for the Paradise promised in the Hereafter. Thereupon Allah taught you a lesson by making you taste defeat before those who associated partners with Him, as the price of disobeying the Prophet’s command; yet He still forgave you this sin. For Allah is most merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward the believers.

After this defeat, as you fled in disarray toward the hills, you were in no state to grieve either over the spoils you could not take or over the cause of what had befallen you. The Prophet, meanwhile, was calling you from behind to return to the battlefield, but you did not look back at him. Allah made you live through this defeat as the price of disobeying the Prophet’s command and overwhelmed you with sorrow.

Allah is aware of all that you do and think. After this grief and sorrow, Allah graciously granted your hearts a feeling of calm and security. Despite this, some of you, preoccupied with fear for their lives and property and gripped by the notions of the Age of Ignorance, began to mutter: “We were not asked our opinion before this decision to fight was taken; had we been asked and consulted, these lives would not have been lost.” Thus they were in fact voicing the weakness of faith they hid within them.

Say to them: “Even if you had not joined the battle and had stayed in your homes, those for whom death was ordained would have been brought out from there and taken to the place where they were to die.”

No one can stand in the way of Allah’s decree. Allah ordained what you went through so that He might separate those among you who are sincere in their faith from the hypocrites, and cleanse and purify the hearts of those who believe wholeheartedly of vain and useless thoughts. Allah knows best the intentions hidden in hearts.

Those who, during the battle, disobeyed the command, left their positions, and went after the spoils became, by what they did, tools of Satan’s purpose and so made their own feet slip. Allah forgave the sins of those among them who regretted it, repented, and turned to what is right. Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward the believers.

O you who believe! Never be like those who say of their brothers who joined the battle, “Had they listened to us and not joined the battle, they would not have died.” Allah will turn these words of theirs into remorse and grief in their hearts.

It is Allah who decrees life and death. Allah knows the one absolute truth of everything and has power over everything.

If you die or are killed in Allah’s way, Allah’s pardon, His mercy, and the blessings of Paradise He will graciously grant are better than the spoils you would win in war and all the riches of worldly life. Do not forget that whether you die or are killed, in the end you will be gathered in your Lord’s presence to receive the recompense for what you have done.

O Prophet! Toward those who caused the battle to be lost, you acted gently, bringing to the fore the feelings of mercy and forgiveness Allah has placed in your nature, and you did not throw their faults in their faces. Had you set about treating them harshly and roughly, some others would have abandoned you along with them and left you alone. Pardon them for having gone against your commands, pray for Allah to forgive them, and continue to consult them in matters of government. And once you have decided, trust in Allah and set to work at once. Allah loves those who trust in Him.

If Allah helps you, no one can defeat you; but if Allah forsakes you, then no one can help you. So, O believers! Trust in Allah alone and rely on Him.

O believers! Had you, instead of leaving your positions before the battle was over to get a share of the spoils, waited until victory was fully won, and then been patient until the Prophet shared out the spoils among you in keeping with Allah’s command, you would have gained both victory in battle and the spoils. That would have been better for you.

Without any doubt, just as the prophets never go beyond Allah’s command in any matter, so too in the sharing of the spoils they carry out Allah’s command. And they also know that whoever goes beyond Allah’s command will be brought into His presence on the Day of Reckoning with what he has done, and will be given the full recompense for it.

Can one who scrupulously upholds right and justice in all his affairs to win Allah’s good pleasure ever be the same as one who turns away from Allah’s command and, through ingratitude, will incur Allah’s wrath? The destination of the one who incurs His wrath will be the fire of Hell; what an evil place to arrive at!

Without doubt, in Allah’s sight the standing of those who seek His good pleasure alone will differ from that of those who prefer the fleeting gains of worldly life.

Allah sees and knows what every person does and why.

O you who believe! When you were living as people steeped in shirk and disbelief, Allah showed you kindness by raising up a prophet from among you. And that Prophet recited the verses to those who wished to purify themselves, taught them wisdom, and guided them to the right path in keeping with the reason for their creation.

At the Battle of Badr the believers had killed twice as many of those who associated partners with Allah and denied the truth as their own martyrs at the Battle of Uhud. When the believers now lived through the defeat the others had suffered on that day, they began to mutter, “Why have we been defeated by those who associate partners with Allah and come to this state?” O Prophet! Say to them: “This defeat has befallen you because some of you did not obey the commands given concerning the battle, but left their positions and went after the spoils.”

Allah helps those who strive (jihad) to live and keep alive the order and morality of Islam. He knows the one absolute truth of everything and has power over everything.

What befell you on the day the two armies met and fought came about as a requirement of Allah’s laws, and by it Allah brought to light the true believers.

When the hypocrites are told, “Come, join the battle for the sake of living the Islamic life. Or else stay in the city and hold the defense, setting up battle positions to protect the elderly, the women, and the children,” they say, “We know nothing of fighting; had we known, we would have joined you anyway.” In fact they are saying with their mouths what is not in their hearts. For they are more inclined and closer to shirk and disbelief than to being believers. Yet Allah knows best what is in their hearts. These are also the ones who say of those who joined the battle and were martyred, “Had they listened to us and stayed at home as we did, they would not have died today.”

Never say of those who are martyred while striving (jihad) to live and keep alive the order of life that is the reason for their creation, whose rules Allah has set, that they were killed or that they died, as you say of ordinary people; they believed wholeheartedly that the brief worldly life was granted for living in keeping with Allah’s call, and they were martyred in this cause. They are forever alive in Allah’s presence; rewarded with their Lord’s blessings and living the happiness of martyrdom, they also long eagerly to give the believers left behind the good news of the blessings Allah has graciously granted the martyrs.

Allah rewards with the finest blessings those who strive (jihad) for the reason of their creation.

The believers who believed wholeheartedly in Allah and His Messenger made no concession on their faith despite being defeated in battle. Allah will bring to the blessings of Paradise those who hold fast to their faith like this and sincerely continue on their way.

Before the battle the hypocrites had said to these believers, “Your enemies have prepared a great army against you; fear them.” Instead of frightening the believers, what was said increased their faith all the more. And they answered those who said it: “Allah is enough for us; could there be a better One to rely on?”

The believers who returned from the battle as veterans (ghazis) who had won Allah’s good pleasure had no aim other than to fulfill their responsibilities toward Allah by fighting for the order and morality of Islam. Allah is boundlessly bountiful toward such believers.

O believers! Do not fear what is said by those who have become satanic in nature, who try to frighten you by saying that those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth have prepared a great army against you. Those who believe in Allah wholeheartedly never fear anyone but Him.

Let not those who vie with one another in denial grieve you. By doing so they cannot harm Allah. Because of their vying in denial and their ingratitude, Allah will deprive them of the blessings of Paradise in the Hereafter. For them there is a very great punishment.

Those who have bought disbelief in exchange for faith cannot harm Allah in any way. For them there is a painful punishment. Those who deny have used the time We gave them to increase their sins still more and have harmed themselves; a dreadful punishment awaits them in Hell.

O believers! Allah will not leave you mixed together with the hypocrites who are concealing themselves. He will separate the filthy deniers from the pure believers devoted wholeheartedly to their Lord.

Since you do not (and cannot) know the unseen, you cannot identify the hypocrites on your own; but Allah conveys to you what you need to know of the unseen by making it known to His prophets. So believe in Allah and His messengers alone and fulfill your responsibilities, so that you may be worthy of Allah’s magnificent rewards.

Let those who are stingy and do not spend in the way of His call from the worldly blessings Allah has lavished on them not think that this attitude is right and good for them. On the contrary, their doing so is against them. What they withheld out of stinginess and did not spend for living the order of life that is Allah’s call will be wound round their necks as punishment on the Day of Reckoning.

The truth is that Allah is the real Owner of all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the end it will all return to its true Owner. On the Day of Reckoning Allah will call everyone to account for the blessings He entrusted to them: for whom, for what, and where they were used. Allah is aware of all that you do.

Allah has certainly heard the words of those of the People of the Book who, mocking the verse “Who will lend Allah a goodly loan?”, said, “Allah is poor, and we are rich.” A record is being kept in their books of deeds both of what they said and of their killing the prophets. When the Day of Reckoning comes, We will say to them, “In return for what you said and did, enter now the scorching fire of Hell. This is because of what your hands have sent ahead.” Allah does no wrong to His servants.

O Prophet! Some of the People of the Book say, “Allah has commanded that no one is to be believed to be a prophet unless He shows us that He has cooked with fire an offering sent down from the sky.” Say to those Jews who say this: “Prophets before me came with miracles far greater than what you speak of. Just consider why their call was not accepted and why some of them were killed.”

O Prophet! If they stubbornly go on denying the truth to which they are invited, know that their forefathers too rejected the call of the prophets who came to them with clear proofs, and accused them of lying.

Do not forget that every living soul will taste death, and on the Day of Reckoning every person will receive in full the recompense for what he did in his worldly life. On that Day, whoever is kept away from Hell and placed in Paradise has truly won the victory and attained happiness.

Know well that the life of this world is nothing but fleeting and deceptive goods and pleasure.

O believers! The truth is that you will be tested in your wealth and your lives in Allah’s way, and tried in your faith. You will also hear very harsh and hurtful words from the People of the Book and from those who associate partners with Allah, and be exposed to their attacks. If, without losing heart or slackening, you make no concession in your struggle, hold out and stand against them, hold fast to the order of life that is the reason for your creation, and consciously make it your own, in the end it is you who will win. Without doubt this is a matter most worthy of resolve and determination.

In the past Allah took a pledge from those to whom He sent prophets and Books: that they would not conceal what had been made known to them through the Book, even after the prophets had gone, but would make it clear to people and carry on the call. But they turned a deaf ear to the word they had given to Allah and chose cheap, fleeting worldly gains. So they made a very bad bargain that would be to their own harm.

Let those who, on the one hand, rejoice in these wrongs they have done and, on the other, boast of what they have not done, not think they can escape Allah’s punishment. For such people a very bitter punishment has been prepared.

Sovereignty over the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah alone, and He has power to do everything He wills.

In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day and their lengthening and shortening, there are proofs and messages that show Allah’s knowledge, power, majesty, and greatness. Only those of pure mind who grasp Allah as He deserves, or strive to grasp Him, understand this.

Standing, sitting, or lying down, in every state, these people reflect on Allah and say: “Our Lord! You did not create this universe and human beings without a reason. Increase our effort to live in keeping with the reason for our creation. Our Lord, You alone are exalted; protect us from the punishment of Hell! O our Lord! Whoever has deserved to enter the fire of Hell has indeed been disgraced and humiliated. There is no one to help such people either. O our Lord! We have heard the Prophet who says, ‘Believe in the call of our Lord,’ and we have believed in his call. Our Lord! Forgive our sins, pardon us, cover our evil deeds, and take our souls to Yourself together with Your servants who have submitted to Islam. Grant us too the Paradise and the blessings of Paradise You promised Your prophets; do not put us to shame or disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection and Reckoning; surely You never go back on Your promise.”

Allah answered those who prayed to Him thus: “Whoever among you, male or female, puts in effort and strives for the call that has been made, I will not leave their labor unrewarded. Those who were driven from their homes and forced to emigrate because of the oppression of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, those who suffered torture, those who fought in Allah’s way, and those who were martyred in battle, I will forgive their sins and settle them in My Gardens through which rivers flow. Thus they will attain the finest of rewards with Allah.”

Let not the sight of those who call Allah’s call a lie roaming from land to land in prosperity, in pursuit of their pleasures, deceive you or make you envious. After enjoying a little of the very brief worldly life, they will make Hell their home.

Those who strive to live and keep alive the Islamic life to which they are invited will be rewarded by their Lord with Gardens through which rivers flow, furnished with matchless blessings, where they will remain forever. Certainly Paradise and what is in it are more beautiful and better than the blessings and pleasures of the fleeting worldly life.

Among the People of the Book there are some who believe in the Quran sent down to you and in the truths that remain in the Books sent down to their forefathers before it, and who turn to the Prophet’s call. They do not trade Allah’s verses for fleeting worldly gain; such people certainly have their reward with their Lord.

Do not forget that Allah keeps account of what everyone does and gives each the recompense he deserves.

O you who believe! Struggle, without losing heart, without making concessions on your faith, and without fear, against the hardships that those who try to prevent you from living the order of life that is the reason for your creation will put in your way. Vie with one another in this, guard your positions, always be prepared against your enemies, and fulfill your responsibilities toward Allah, so that you may attain happiness.