Surah Al-Furqan (The Criterion)

1. Thanks and blessings be to Almighty Allah Himself for having sent down the Quran to His servant and Messenger Mohammad (peace be upon him). He sent it down as a means of discernment, to enable mankind to distinguish truth from evil; He sent it down also to the end that, little by little and according to the circumstances and requirements, it could serve as a warning to men and djinns of dire punishment if they persisted in their unbelief and their aberration from the true path.

2. To Almighty Allah, who sent the Book down to His slave Mohammad (peace be upon him), belongs all power over the heavens and the earth, without any associate, and without any adopted son; may He be purified of such idolatrous accounts. For He is the creator, the king, and the lord of all, since everything that exists is under His domination and His governance; He brought everything into existence according to His will and His intentions.

3. Almighty Allah speaks of the ignorance of those idolaters who have adopted, in addition to Him, gods who cannot create even a fly, and who are masters neither of good or of evil, and who control neither death nor life nor resurrection; how then can they have any power over those who worship them? Whereas Allah is the creator of all, and His will governs everything that is. He is the master of all; He gives life and death and He revives His creatures on the Day of Resurrection. He who is the creator of all things is the most worthy of being worshipped.

4. The ignorant unbelievers obstinately and arrogantly say that this Quran which Mohammad has brought to them is nothing but lies which he has invented and attributed to the Lord, a blasphemous calumny, and that He sought aid from the people of the Book (Abu Jahl has stated that). Those who say this, are themselves mendacious blasphemers, for they know that what they assert is false and that they are liars when they make such assertions.

5. They also say: “This Quran that Mohammad has delivered is nothing but old tales which he has copied. They are dictated to him secretly day and night, so that he can learn them by heart, so that people will be unable to discern the true state of affairs.” And this is proof of their absurdity, for they know that Mohammad can neither read nor write, and that he remained among them for his whole life until Allah chose him as a Messenger to them. And they also know him to be an honest and upright man, and that if he has never lied to human beings he would certainly not blasphemously lie about Allah, as Heraclius said to Abu Sufian bnu Harbe.

6. O tell them, Mohammad: “He who sent down the Quran is Allah Himself, who alone knows that which is invisible on earth and in the heavens, who knows all secrets and semblances, and who pardons all those who repent and seek His forgiveness. Likewise, Allah invites them to repent and to return to His true path, and promises to accept their repentance if it is sincere.”

7. And they say, even more obstinately: “This Messenger eats and drinks like us and frequents the marketplace in order to earn his living and conduct his business; how then can he expect us to believe that he is the Messenger of Allah? Would that Allah had sent an angel down to him who would bear witness to him and to his claims of honesty!”

8. “Why was there no knowledge sent down to him of some hidden treasure which he could then distribute, or some garden from which he could eat?” Those who disbelieve and who are abused by their own disbelief also say that Mohammad is a man bewitched, and that magic has induced delirium and confusion in him. Almighty Allah is capable of granting to His messenger all that which such people demand, but Allah in His wisdom withholds powers such as these, for if He grants them and they persist in disbelieving in Him and in denying His existence, then Allah will destroy them as He has already destroyed others who shared their views.

9. O Mohammad, see how they lie and blaspheme against you and ascribe qualities to you that are utterly alien to your being (such as asserting that he is a sorcerer, a madman, a poet, and a liar). This signifies only that they have strayed from the path of truth and righteousness and have become disoriented and faltering, and do not know the true path or what to say against you.

10. Almighty Allah blesses Himself and purifies Himself of their idolatry, and says to His Prophet (peace be upon him): “If Allah so wills, He can grant you in this life favours even greater than those which they propose: gardens with flowing streams and palaces (Quraish called all stone houses palaces), but Almighty Allah does not choose to do so, since He wishes to grant you such favours in the life to come. (It is said that the Prophet was asked: “If you wish to be given the keys to the treasures of the earth, something which has never been granted to a Prophet before you and will never be granted to anyone after you, without in the least diminishing that which Allah has in store for you, they shall be granted to you.” But the Prophet answered: “Let them be saved for the life hereafter.” Therefore Allah sent down this verse.)

11. Almighty Allah says to His Messenger (peace be upon him): “If the unbelievers among them have denied the truth of what you have delivered to them and if they have blasphemed against you, that is because they do not believe in the Resurrection and the Last Judgement, and because they do not believe in the rewards and punishments, and therefore they engage in questions of this kind in order to lead people astray from the path of righteousness. But for those who treat as lies the Last Hour, the Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, and the Rewards and Punishments, Allah has prepared a fire of everlasting flame.

12. When Hell itself gapes before them, even as they stand in the Place of Assembly, they will hear the sound of fury that it makes, and the death-rattle which is like the dying groan of a miserable and despairing wretch.

13. And when they have been cast into hell, cramped and yoked together, they will cry out, begging for a speedy death. (The Messenger of Allah explains this verse in the following words: “The damned will be jammed in hell as tightly as a nail is jammed in a wall.”)

14. And they will be condemned and reproached with these words: “Today, do not call for destruction just once, but call for it again and again, for there is no escape.” (The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: “The first being who will be clothed in the garments of hell is the devil, who will put them on and drag them behind him; meanwhile his followers will go after him, and as he calls for destruction they will repeat his words after him. Then they will be told: ‘Do not call for a single destruction, but call for repeated destruction.’” Reported by Ahmad on behalf of Anas bnu Malek.)

15. Tell those who accuse you of lying, O Mohammad, of the state of those wretches who will be dragged on their faces towards that scowling, furious, and coruscating hell, where they will be cast, yoked and cramped in a narrow place, and where they can neither move nor find any being to help them…. Say to them: “Is that better? Or would you not prefer Paradise which has been promised to the devout, as payment and reward for having obeyed their Lord here on earth?”

16. In Paradise they will have all that they desire in the way of food and drink, clothing and lodging, and beautiful landscapes, and beyond that, things which they have never before seen or heard, and they will dwell there forever, wishing neither for change nor end. All that is a favour granted by Allah to the people in Paradise, and a firm promise from the Lord, which He will inevitably keep.

17. Almighty Allah speaks of the imprecations that will be hurled, on the Day of Resurrection, against the unbelievers who have worshipped idols, angels, Jesus, Ezra (Ozair), and others. Allah will gather together the worshippers and those whom they have worshipped, and will ask the beings who have been worshipped: “Did you invite these people to worship you in addition to Me? Or did they leave the true path and choose to worship you of their own accord, without you having invited them?”

18. Then those who have been worshipped will reply: “Most pure Lord! No creature, either we or they, should adopt any master other than You. We did not invite them to worship us; they did so of their own accord, with neither our commandment nor our consent; we disavow them, both the worshippers and those beings they worship. But the reason for their disbelief is that you granted earthly pleasures to them and their ancestors so that they would be grateful to You, but the effect has been the opposite, and they have been so preoccupied with their pleasures that they have forgotten your request. And they are lost souls.

19. Then the idolaters who have worshipped beings other than Allah are told: “You have seen that those you have worshipped in addition to Allah, and have taken as additional masters, treat you as liars, since they reproach you in His sight! And here you stand, feeble and alone, before the omnipotent Creator. And you can find no means of escape or succour, and you must inevitably suffer. Let all men know that whoever abuses himself by disbelieving and prevaricating will be subjected by Allah to terrible punishments.”

20. Almighty Allah responds to such people by addressing His messenger with these words: “Before you, O Mohammad, we have sent messengers from the people, who ate meals, got married, and earned their living by work; and there is no inconsistency between any of that and the gift of prophecy.” And Allah granted the prophets upright words and signs which proved the truth of their calling and of the message they brought to their peoples. And Allah created certain people to be a temptation to others. The perpetrators of disorder use all the means in their power to place obstacles in the path of righteousness; will you therefore resist such temptations with constancy, O believers, and hold fast to your religion until Allah comes to your aid? For Almighty Allah constantly observes and knows the state of His servants, so that each shall be rewarded for his actions.

21. And those who disbelieve and deny the Day of Resurrection and Judgement, and who have treated Allah ’s Messenger as a liar and his message as a lie, say: “Why have no angels been sent down to us so that we could see them with our own eyes and who could confirm that Mohammad is truly the messenger of Allah ? For we doubt that he is. Or else let us see our Lord Himself, so that he can confirm that Mohammad is His messenger, and command us to obey and follow him.” Allah Almighty therefore responds to their demands, saying: “Most certainly, these idolaters are swollen up with insolence and pride.”

22. Almighty Allah says that those who accuse Mohammad (peace be upon him) of lying will see the angels at the hour of their death and, their hour being come, the angels will announce Allah’s terrible punishment, beat the sinners’ faces and backs, seeking to set their souls free; for that day will be a fearful one for unbelievers, with no joy in it, since they will find neither honour nor Paradise nor forgiveness. (Certain writers maintain that this verse refers to the Day of Resurrection rather than to the hour of death, but there is no contradiction between these two interpretations, since both at the hour of death and on the Day of Resurrection angels will appear to announce mercy and reward to believers and hell and punishment to unbelievers.)

23. These unbelievers have performed deeds during their life here on earth that they consider to be worthy and useful, such as maintaining bonds with their blood relations, helping the afflicted, showing magnanimity to prisoners of war, and other deeds for which, if they were performed in a spirit of belief, they would be rewarded; but Allah will come and turn their good deeds into scattered dust, which is useless and impossible to reassemble. (Allah compares their condition to the state of a people which has disobeyed its sultan, so that he is driven to appropriate their goods, destroy them and scatter them until not a trace of them is left.)

24. On the Day of Resurrection, devout believers will find themselves in lofty gardens and fine shelters and secure dwelling-places which look out over the most beautiful landscapes, whereas unbelievers will find themselves in the deepest of fiery pits. The people in Paradise will be in finer shelters and lovelier resting places than the dwellings of those in hell who beforehand, during their life here on earth, boasted of their wealth and their fine homes.

25. O messenger, tell your peoples about the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and of what will happen on that terrible day: the stars and the planets will disintegrate and will be strewn through space like dissipating clouds, and angels will descend carrying tablets on which are recorded the deeds of all Allah ‘s creatures, so that they can be presented at the Hour of Judgement and serve as evidence, and they will surround all creatures in the Place of Assembly.

26. On that day true royalty will belong only to Allah, without any associate or other master. It will be a difficult and terrible day for unbelievers, for it is a day of judgement, of separation, and of justice, on which unbelievers will know what evil deeds they have committed and what they have brought upon themselves by disbelieving in Allah and treating His messengers as liars.

27. On that day, prevaricators and unbelievers will regret not having followed the path of the Messenger and having refused to believe in his message as Allah ’s plain truth; they will gnaw their hands, thinking of the ways in which they have failed to serve Allah , and they will say: “Alas! if only we had followed the messenger!” But on that day their regrets will be utterly useless. (It is said that this verse was revealed in connection with Oqba bnu Abi Mo’yait, who had reproached Obay bnu Khalaf for attending the meetings of Allah ‘s messenger.)

28. On that say, the prevaricator, filled with contrition, will say: “O misery! if only I had not taken so-and-so as a friend and companion” (referring to someone who had led him astray from the true path), and he will regret listening to him and following his example.

29. “That companion led me astray from Allah ’s behests and from the Quran and he persuaded me to expect support and success, but the devil makes great promises to men but then utterly deserts them; and on the Day of Resurrection he abandons the man to whom he had promised his support, and he will say to those who have followed him: ‘Yes, Allah ‘s promises to you are full of truth, whereas I made you promises and then failed you.’” (see chapter 14- Ibrahim (Abraham), 22.) (It is said that this verse signifies that the devil leads man to stray away from the truth and thus makes him a servant of falsity and invites him to it.)

30. The Prophet (peace be upon him) complains to Allah Almighty, saying: “O Lord, my people have treated the Quran as a thing of no worth! This means that my people, to whom You sent me so that they should worship You alone, no deity but You, and to whom You commanded me to communicate the Quran, have forsaken Your Book and refused to believe in You and have ignored your warning; on the contrary, they have refused to listen to it or to follow it.”

31. Just as We have assigned to you enemies among the idolaters who lie and blaspheme against you, We assigned to every prophet before you enemies amongst the demon-men and the djinn-men who set themselves up against him, sought to harm him, and treated him as a liar. Therefore, O Mohammad, do not let yourself be abashed by your enemies, for all the prophets before you have also been subjected to the same abuse; persevere, and let your Lord be your only guide, for the good of religion and of life on earth; He will support you against your enemies and lead you to achieve your goals; let not the great number of your enemies confound you, for Allah will cast down the words of the unbelievers, whereas the word of Allah shall prevail.

32. The Jews say: “Why was the Quran not sent down to Mohammad as one whole, as the other ancient Books were to the other prophets?” And Allah Almighty replies that He revealed the Quran to Mohammad (peace be upon him) over twenty-three years according to the prevailing conditions and requirements, to strengthen the hearts of Muslims and of Mohammad (peace be upon him), and thus it is that Allah sent the Quran down to His messenger, and He assigned the archangel Gabriel to recite it to him, piece by piece, delivering it gracefully, in such a way that Mohammad (peace be upon him) could learn it and understand it.

33. Almighty Allah says to His prophet: “These unbelievers can adduce no argument or even a single word to disprove the truth of what you say, but Allah immediately brings you the truth to refute their argument, tearing it to pieces.” (Ibn Abbas says: “Each time they concoct arguments to reveal some fault in the Quran, Allah sends Gabriel with a refutation.)

34. “I do not speak to you as you speak, nor do I describe you as you describe me. Those who will be dragged on their faces, in chains, towards hell, are in the most miserable of conditions and are the furthest from the path of truth and righteousness. Consider well, therefore, and speak these just words: ‘Which among us deserves to be described as you describe me?’”

35. And We sent the Torah down to Moses, just as We have sent the Quran down to you, Mohammad, and We assigned his brother Aaron to him as a helpmate.

36. Almighty Allah sent them to Pharaoh and his people, but they treated their signs as lies, so Allah afterwards destroyed them, drowning them all at once.

37. And remember the story of the people of Noah, when they treated their messenger Noah as a liar; he for a long time persisted in inviting them to worship Allah, protecting them from His anger, but very few of them believed his message, so Allah Almighty drowned them in the Flood, and only those who entered the ark with Noah (peace be upon him) remained alive, and such was the sign that Allah sent to mankind. And for the prevaricators He has also prepared a terrible punishment, on this earth and in the life to come.

38. Also, the people of Aad treated Hud (peace be upon him) as a liar; and the people of Thamoud treated Saleh (peace be upon him) in the same fashion, just as the people of Rass did their messenger; all these peoples treated their messengers as liars, and Allah destroyed them, just as he destroyed those in intervening generations who treated their messengers as liars.

39. Allah Almighty revealed to all these people signs and arguments and proofs which testified to the truth of the message that His prophets had brought to them, but they did not accept their lessons nor did they believe, so Allah Almighty destroyed them all in devastating ways.

40. Almighty Allah says to His honoured Messenger: “O Mohammad, your people have passed by the cities of Lot, and have seen how Allah destroyed them and sent down a rain of pestilence upon them because they were prevaricators and unbelievers, and because they were corrupt. Do they learn nothing from the terrors and punishments they underwent? People who have visited those cities have seen with their own eyes what happened to them, but they have not understood because they do not believe in the Last Day, in the Last Hour, and in the Day of Resurrection, and they do not believe either that they will be resurrected and that Allah will re-create them in order to judge them for their lives here on earth, and that is why their disbelief and their sins fail to prevent them from persisting in their evil ways, since they do not believe that there will be a Final Judgement, and rewards and punishments.

41. And when these idolaters, to whom you relate this history, see you, they mock you, saying: “Is this he whom Allah has chosen to be His messenger so that we will follow him and believe in him?”

42. And they say to each other: “We might easily have been led astray from our gods by his solid arguments and his cogent interpretations, if we had not remained so loyal to our faith!” Almighty Allah responds by threatening them, saying: “Now they treat as lies everything that the messenger brings to them, his invitation to believe in Allah, his Books, and his messengers, but when they see the terrible punishments of hellfire they will realize that the Messenger was telling them the truth, and that his promises and warnings were true and that he was guided by Allah, while they were wrong in refusing to respond to him and to follow his message.”

43. Do you see the state of the man who has taken his own passion as a god, so that he obeys it and makes it his religion and consequently refuses to listen to the truth, to the clear arguments and proofs which testify to the Oneness of Allah and His omnipotence? Pay no attention to him, for you have not been sent to be his guardian, and it is not up to you to guide him but to transmit Allah’s message to him, and then, if Allah wills, He will guide him, and if not, He will lead him astray. (Ibn Abbas says: “In the era of ignorance (the pre-Islamic period), man worshipped a white stone, and if he saw another more beautiful stone he would worship that instead; so Allah revealed this verse.)

44. Do you expect, O Mohammad, that the majority of your people will hear you and understand? In fact, they do not truly hear and they do not fully understand the verses and precepts which invite them to believe in the faith, or in the well-being towards which you strive to guide them, and the conversion which you seek to lead them to; for they are worse than straying beasts, they are even further from the true path, because straying beasts submit to their masters who are in charge of them, and recognize the person who treats them well or badly, and avoid what might harm them, and succeed in finding their pasture. But as for these idolaters, they do not submit to their Creator, and do not recognize His benevolence or the enmity of the devil who drives them to disbelieve and to follow their passions.

45. Almighty Allah provides clear proofs of His existence and His absolute power to create contrasting things, by saying: “O Mohammad, have you not seen how your Lord has provided a shadow for every object from dawn to sunset, which man has used to protect himself from the heat of the sun? If Allah had wished, He could have made the shadows immobile, but He wanted the shadow to change throughout the day, and it is for this reason that one can judge the time of day according to the length of the shadow. Since he has assigned dawn as the moment when the shadow appears, without the sun there would be no shadow.” (Ibn Abbas and Mujahid say: “The shadow is what occurs between dawn and sunrise, that is: twilight.)

46. Then Allah easily withdraws the shadows to Himself again, and shortens them according to the passage of the sun, until there is no shadow left, except under a roof or a tree.

47. It is one of the signs of the power of Allah and of His great mercy which envelops all His creatures that He sends the night to cloak existence and cover it with darkness, just like the clothes which cover a man’s body, and He sends sleep so that the body may cease to move and benefit from rest, for too much movement is tiring, so that when night comes movements cease and the body relaxes and sleeps, and it is He who causes people to rise in the morning and go forth in order to earn their living and thus procure food and clothing.

48. Another sign of His power is that He sends the winds like messengers to announce the coming of clouds, for there are winds which lead to the formation of clouds and others which cause the clouds to drift and others which inject the clouds so that they produce rain, and Allah Almighty sends down pure water from the sky with which man purifies himself.

49. By providing water, Allah brings life to a country that has long waited for rain, and which is barren of vegetation, and when rain comes, the land revives and is clothed in greenery and flowers. The water, that descended from the skies, can be drunk by beasts and men, who also use it to irrigate their plants and lands.

50. And We released rain among the people in different forms, assigning it to one land to the exclusion of another, and we caused the clouds to move above one country and then depart so that Allah Almighty can bring rain elsewhere. Allah has intended this to be a reminder to men who, when they see the re-vivification of the dead earth, will remember that Allah Almighty is capable of resurrecting the bones of the dead. Let the man whom Allah has deprived of rain recall that what has happened to him is the result of his own faults, and therefore he should cease to commit sins. And when rain falls from the sky, the believers say: “It is thanks to Allah and His great mercy that it is raining,” whereas the unbelievers say: “It is raining because of such-and-such a one.” (Some writers say that Allah ‘s words “We released it” refer not to rain but to the Quran, which signifies that Allah has revealed His signs and has clearly explained them to mankind, but the first interpretation is to be preferred, as more consistent with the theme running through these verses.)

51. But if Allah had wished, He could have sent a prophet to every city to urge the people to worship Allah , but He wanted Mohammad (peace be upon him) to be His messenger to everyone on earth and has commanded him to communicate the Quran to them.

52. Then Almighty Allah invites His messenger to fight mercilessly against those who disbelieve in the Quran, and not to obey them when they urge him to approve of their conduct and their ideas.

53. And it is Allah Almighty who created the water in the rivers, springs, and wells, so that men, beasts, and vegetation can drink from them and use them in other ways; and it is He who created the salt water in the sea, and who prevents the two kinds of water from mixing together, and who formed earthen barriers between them so that they cannot mingle.

54. And from a little drop of sperm (mere water) Allah created a human being which He formed and then balanced, and out of which He made a perfect creation, male or female according to His will, then he makes parents and in-laws, and all that from mere water. Allah is capable of doing anything. (Commentators say that the meaning of this verse is that Allah has made water one of the elements of which man is composed.)

55. Almighty Allah has provided proofs of His existence, of His Oneness, and of His sole right to be worshipped. Idolaters, however, worship in addition to Him idols which can neither benefit nor harm them, even though they have no argument or proof to justify their worship, but they worship because of passion, and they continue to worship these idols and to fight for them against Allah, His messenger, and the believers. The unbeliever helps the devil and supports him through his disobedience to the Creator.

56. How then can they ask for help against Allah and His messenger? And yet Allah has sent His messenger for their benefit, for He has chosen him to announce the good news to them, to urge them to obey Allah, and to warn them not to commit sins which lead to damnation.

57. And, O Mohammad, tell those to whom you have been sent: “I ask you for no salary in payment for what I bring you on Allah’s behalf, so you say: ‘He is urging us in order to take our money; we will refuse to follow him until he ceases to covet our money.’ But he who desires to come closer to Allah has only to spend his wealth in the interests of goodness and charity, on the pathway towards his Lord.”

58. And put your trust in your eternal and everlasting Lord, the king and master of all, put yourself in His hands, confide your problems to Him, submit yourself to Him and accept whatever misfortune befalls you, for He will protect and support you, and will make your wishes come true. So let Him be deemed far above the descriptions of Him given by idolaters who say that He has a companion and a son; and may Allah be your sufficient comforter and support, the eternal Allah who never dies and who is fully aware of all the sins of His creatures; for He reckons them up and nothing that they do escapes Him, and He will judge them on the Day of Resurrection and will repay them according to their deserts.

59. And Allah Almighty is the Creator, king, and master of all things; for He, through His power and His might created the heavens in all their great height and width, and He created the earth in six days, and then set Himself upon His throne, administering matters and judging according to the right, for He is the best of judges. And He is all-merciful towards you; therefore, worship Him alone, seek advice from someone who is well informed about Him, obey him and follow his example. (And Mohammad, because Allah has chosen him, is the most knowledgeable of all men about Allah.)

60. Almighty Allah condemns the idolaters who prostrate themselves before idols in addition to Him, and says: “If one tells these idolaters, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Allah, the All-Merciful, and submit to Him,’ they say, ‘What so you mean by the All- Merciful? We do not know Him, that we should prostrate ourselves before Him.’” (And they refuse to call Allah ‘the All-Merciful,’ just as they refused to call Him merciful on the day of Alhudaybiya.) Then they say: “Do you expect us to prostrate ourselves before whomever you command?” And this increases Allah’s repulsion and rejection of them. (Allah answers them in another verse: “Say: ‘Call upon Allah, or call upon the All-Merciful, or any other of His names, for He has the most beautiful names.’” (See chapter 18- Al-Isra (The Nocturnal Journey), 110.)

61. Allah Almighty blesses and glorifies Himself for the perfection of the constellations He has created in the heavens, where He has assigned a radiant sun like a lamp to illuminate existence, and a bright and luminous moon.

62. And the all-Merciful has caused day and night to alternate; one follows upon the other, and He does that as a reminder to men, that they may contemplate this miraculous arrangement and draw lessons from it, and recognize the wisdom and the power of Allah, and thank Him for all His great gifts.

63. Allah Almighty describes His believers and devout servants by saying that they are modest and that they walk on earth humbly and respectably, without pride or pretension, and if the ignorant address them rudely, they reply only wisely and calmly, such as saying: “Peace be upon you; we have no wish to argue with you.”

64. And they spend their nights in obedience to Allah, worshipping Him and repeating His name while they prostrate themselves and kneel before Him. (In another verse, Allah describes the servants of the all-Merciful by saying: “They sleep little at night, and at dawn they always beg for Allah’s mercy.”)

65. And it is they who fear Allah, when they call to Him and beg Him to spare them from the torments of Hell, for His punishment is terrible and painful and, like an unpaid debt, never leaves a man in peace.

66. And hell is truly horrific, both as site and dwelling-place.

67. Also, the servants of the all-Merciful do not spend lavish sums on themselves or their families, for they are not wasters who spend more than they need, and neither are they misers who fail to respect the rightful demands of their families, so that nothing necessary is lacking; in short, they use moderation in all their affairs.

68. And they are faithful to the one true Allah; and they do not associate any being with Him, so they do not worship any being other than Him, and they do not kill any human creature except rightfully and according to the divine law, and they do not commit fornication, for whoever commits such crimes will receive a terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection, as payment for the deeds he has performed.

69. And a man’s punishments are added together on the Day of Resurrection when he is severely dealt with, and when he will be eternally in hell, covered with shame, dishonoured and humiliated, as payment for all the blameworthy acts he has committed.

70. Unless he sincerely repents during his life on earth, and believes, and performs good deeds, and returns towards His Lord and begs to be pardoned and received into His service; then Allah will accept his repentance and accords him a good end (the good end being the proof that the killer has truly repented), and these are truly believers, since before their conversion they committed sinful acts, but Allah Almighty has changed their evil ways into good, for Allah remains the forgiver of His servants’ sins, and all-merciful towards them. (This is taken to mean that bad actions are transformed, through repentance, into good actions.)

71. Allah makes a beautiful promise to those who repent: “Whoever repents of having committed any sins and regrets his failures in this regard, and performs good deeds, then in Allah’s eyes, his repentance is sincere and will efface his punishment and procure him his reward.”

72. Among the attributes of the servants of the all-Merciful are that they do not bear false witness, and do not participate in sinful gatherings ruled by vice and vanity, and if they find themselves near people who are committing such sins, they pass by quickly without stopping.

73. Among the attributes of believers is that when they remember Allah they humble themselves; and that once they recite the verses of Allah their faith is increased, as is their certitude of the truth of the revelations of the prophets; and they are not like those unbelievers who remain insensible to the signs and miracles of Allah, and so proceed as if they were deaf men who hear nothing and blind men who see nothing.

74. Among the attributes of believers is that they pray Allah to grant them descendants who obey Allah and worship Him alone, without any associate, so that they can be comforted here on earth and in the afterlife, and spouses who obey Allah and follow His precepts, who can be assigned to lead the righteous.

75. Those believers who possess all the good qualities here described will receive as recompense, on the Day of Resurrection, the highest ranks and the loftiest dwelling-places in Paradise, thanks to their persistence in obeying Allah’s commands, and angels will receive them into Paradise in well-being and in peace.

76. And they will live in their dwelling-places in Paradise forever, and will never leave them; what a beautiful site and a beautiful time that will be!

77. O Mohammad, say to those to whom you have been sent: “Those who win these honorable privileges from Allah, for which many aspirants compete, will have won them because of their good qualities, without which Allah would not have cared for them. Thus Allah will not care for you unless you worship Him, for Allah has created His creatures so that they might worship Him without any associate, and because your have disobeyed the commandments of your Lord and treated His messenger as a liar, the effect of your libel will stick to you, that is to say: eternal punishment; prepare yourselves, therefore, for the terrible day which will shortly come.