1. Almighty Allah requires His servants to worship Him Alone, without associates. He warns them against disobeying Him, since it is He alone who created all of them from a single soul (that is, Adam). Then from this being He created his companion Eve. Then from these two souls He created the whole human race, men and women whom He spread throughout the world through their propagation. Allah then repeats His command to His creatures that they should worship Him and fear Him, and reminds them that it is to Him that they appeal in their dealings with each other (when for example, they say to each other: “I swear to you by the Lord” or ”I beseech you in the name of Allah”). Allah orders them not to sever their ties of consanguinity (this command to respect blood relationships is repeated in several different parts of the Quran). He then tells them that He is Allah, the Creator who oversees and surveys their acts of benevolence, for which He will reward them on the Day of Judgement.

2. Allah orders guardians charged with looking after the interests of orphans to protect them and refrain from harming them. He calls upon them to render to orphans all their goods when they come of age. He forbids guardians to substitute the orphans’ goods for any of their own property and thus make an illicit profit. In this connection He tells them: “Do not mingle the orphans’ property with your own in such a way that you can no longer distinguish between the two and thus take possession of what is theirs. Do not give the orphan a lean goat and keep the fat one for yourselves, for this would be a grave misdeed. Therefore, avoid it.”

3. If you are contemplating marriage to an orphan bride and fear that you are not dealing fairly with her, marry someone else. If one of you have in your guardianship an orphaned woman and you fear that you will not bestow upon her the appropriate dowry given to her equals, marry someone else, for women are numerous. Allah is not severe in His dealings with human beings, since He has permitted them to marry two or three or four wives. If, in a state of polygamy, you fear that you are not treating your wives equally, marry only one, and content yourselves with captives (whom you are not obliged to treat equally, though that would be desirable). To marry only one wife is the surest way to avoid partiality and injustice. (For certain people, it is also the way to avoid the penury which can be caused by the great number of children one may have in a polygamous situation.) (The justice referred to here has to do with the man’s capacity to meet the requirement of treating all his wives equally, in matters concerning food, clothing, housing, etc. In contrast, the Lord does not require the man to be just in matters which are not subject to his own will, such as feeling greater affection for one wife rather than another.)

4. A man should grant his wife her dowry with a generous heart, so that his attitude becomes the symbol of the affection which should exist between them. If, after the amount of the dowry has been agreed, the wife graciously and voluntarily returns part of it to her husband, without having been threatened or deceived, the husband may receive it with a clear conscience, and benefit from it. (It follows from this that the husband must not appropriate his wife’s property, or even a part of her fortune, unless he is sure that he is acting according to her wishes. If ever he asks her for something and she gives it to him through fear or timidity, he has no right to it whatsoever.)

5. These words apply to the entire nation. There is a general prohibition against giving any property to persons incapable of managing it, or to persons of unsound mind. Allah commands that the property of orphans must be returned to them when they come of age, and that every wife must be granted her dowry, unless any such persons be incompetent and unlikely to manage their property well. Whoever administers the property of an incompetent person must not give him control over it, in case he should waste it, but must keep it from him until he regains his reason. Allah has assigned goods to people for their sustenance, and to permit them to trade, to safeguard their own interests, and to enhance their services to the community; and indeed, with regard to incompetent persons, their services to the community and their own interests are firmly guaranteed so long as their property is in the hands of reasonable and thrifty people who make sensible investments. Allah reminds those who are responsible for managing and investing the property of incompetent individuals that they must therefore clothe and provide for their charges out of the profit accruing from their property and not from the original capital, so that the latter is not exhausted in the defrayment of expenses. The guardian must advise the young orphan or the incompetent individual, indicate to him the state of his finances, and demonstrate to him the actions which are in his best interest. He must discourage him from incurring unnecessary expenses, and must treat him with kindness and goodwill, and address him with gentle words.

6. Put orphans to the test by placing at their disposal a portion of their property. If they follow a sensible path, that will show that they have reached the age of discretion. When they approach puberty and you are sure that they are following the precepts of their religion and are managing their property well, give them whatever belongs to them. On the other hand, if you ascertain that they are not yet capable of the proper administration of their goods, keep testing them until you see signs of correct judgment. Allah forbids His servants to make use of an orphan’s property except in cases of dire need. He prohibits guardians from spending excessively with the aim of exhausting the property of their charges before they come of age. If the guardian is rich, he should act with decency and restrain himself from appropriating the slightest part of the property belonging to the person in his charge. If he is poor, he may make modest use of it, that is, to the extent justified by the efforts he makes in the administration of his charge’s property (he may thus appropriate a portion of that property commensurate with the financial outlay entailed by his responsibilities, and insofar as this is necessary.) When you surrender an orphan’s property to him, have the action witnessed, so that you may have a clear conscience and public acknowledgement.

7. The polytheists restricted inheritance rights to adult males. Neither women nor children were accorded rights of inheritance, on the pretext that they are unable to bear the rude tasks of warfare. Allah has abrogated such unjust practices, and in the matter of inheritance has granted equal rights to men, women, and children. He has made inheritance the subject of a precise and inalienable law, which no one can countermand and which cannot be modified in the interests of pleasing certain parties to the detriment of others. (This verse was revealed after a woman said to Mohammad (peace be upon him): “O messenger of Allah, I have two daughters whose father is dead. They own nothing, and their uncle has taken possession of the entire property.” Allah then said: “Men have the right to inherit a quota of the property bequeathed by their fathers and mothers and near kin. Women have the right to inherit a quota of the property bequeathed by their fathers and mothers and near kin. Whether the property bequeathed be ample or not, a portion of it must by law be assigned to them.”)

8. (It is said that this verse is abrogated by the verse concerning obligations: “Allah recommends..” (see verse 11 below). The precept enunciated above was followed until the verse on obligations was revealed. After that, all individuals received what was prescribed for them.) When orphans, poor people, and needy relatives who have no inheritance rights are present at the distribution of a large bequest, they covet part of it. That is why Allah specifies what part of it should be assigned to them. Such an act would be one of generosity towards them, and a benevolent gesture which might ease their anguished hearts and fortify their souls against jealousy. Allah also commands the faithful to speak gently to them in order to comfort them, so that those among them who are proud may not be humiliated by the proffered gift, and that those who covet more than they have received may accept the portion which has been assigned to them.

9. This verse was revealed in connection with a man about to die whom someone heard in the act of making a will to the detriment of his heirs. Allah instructs the person who heard the statement to fear Allah, and to guide the dying man into the right path, and to be just to his heirs, who, he fears, are in danger of losing their inheritance, and to give them the same consideration as he himself would give to his own heirs if he were dying. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says in this regard: “It is better that you leave your heirs rich, rather than to abandon them as parasites living on public charity.” (This verse has been seen as a command delivered to those who exercise paternal rights and to guardians, to accord decent treatment to the orphans in their care. They must treat them in the same manner as they would hope others would treat their children if they themselves died and left behind them young children who would have need of a guardian and who would then run the risk of losing their inheritance.)

10. Allah threatens those who unjustly appropriate the property of orphans for the sole motive of encroaching upon their rights and treating them inequitably. He tells them that they are feeding their bellies with the very cause that will banish them to Hell on Judgement Day; or again, that they have taken fire into their stomachs. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) says: ”Avoid the seven deadly sins: polytheism, magic, the murder of a soul which Allah has protected, except for legitimate reasons, usury, the appropriation of the property of an orphan, desertion on a day of battle, calumny against women who are virtuous, chaste, and pious.”

11. Allah prescribes equitability in the treatment of your children. In the pre-Islamic period, inheritance was a right restricted only to sons, whereas daughters were excluded. Allah commands that they be treated equally in the distribution of the inheritance. He recommends that the male be assigned the equivalent of the portion of two females, since a man has to provide the means of subsistence and assume responsibility for expenses and engage in trade to make a living. If there are only daughters and there are two or more, they shall receive two thirds of the inheritance. In the same way, two sisters shall receive two thirds of the inheritance. But the daughters shall have a prior right over the sisters. Legal experts are unanimous on this point. Fathers and mothers of deceased persons shall each receive a sixth of what they leave. If the deceased has only one daughter, she shall receive half of the inheritance. If the deceased has no children, the mother shall receive one third of the property and the father two thirds. The allocation of the inheritance should take place only after the deduction of the debts of the deceased, which must be paid in full, and of legacies bequeathed by the deceased within the limits prescribed by the laws of inheritance. Monies and properties bequeathed or owed have priority and must be delivered before the distribution of the legacy. If the deceased has no children, the proportion due to the mother of the deceased shall be reduced to a sixth, her children will therefore receive nothing, and the father will receive five sixths of the inheritance. These measures have been attributed to the fact that it is the father who becomes responsible for the needs of his children, whereas the mother has no such obligation. Allah states that He has designated the proportions of the legacy due to parents and children and has accorded rights of inheritance to the former because in this world one can derive more benefit from one’s parents than from one’s children. The reverse could be true. Only Allah knows.

12. In this verse, Allah indicates the rights of succession between two spouses and between brothers: In effect, half of the legacy of a wife who dies childless goes to her husband. The other half goes to her parents or other close relations. If she has children, the husband receives one quarter. In the case of the death of husbands without children, the wives receive a quarter of the inheritance. If the husband leaves children, the wife will have the right to an eighth, after the settlement of debts and legacies, which must first be paid. If the deceased has neither parents, nor children, nor grandchildren, but does have a brother or sister, any debts must first be paid, and then the inheritance shall be divided amongst the heirs. The brother referred to in this verse is the uterine brother, the sister the uterine sister. Uterine brothers and sisters are distinguished from brothers and sisters born of a different mother in the following ways:
1. They inherit with their mother.
2. Male and female inherit an equal share.
3. They do not inherit unless the deceased has neither children nor parents.
4. They do not inherit more than one third, even if they are numerous.
“After settlement of legacies and debts, except in cases of damages” signifies that the legator must act justly, and must not seek, in bequeathing any part of his inheritance, to do injury to his heirs by depriving certain of them of their share, or by reducing or augmenting it in contravention of the divine stipulations. Whoever acts in this fashion sets himself in opposition to divine will and divine law. Quoting the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ibn Abbas relates: “To deprive one’s heirs of their rights in one’s will is to commit a mortal sin.” Allah knows everything that can benefit you. He knows the intentions of legators. He is merciful and does not hasten to punish those who violate his laws. Perhaps you could still offer Him your repentance!

13. These regulations established by Allah for heirs according to their relationship with the deceased are the commandments of Allah and his restrictions. Do not violate them and do not encroach upon the rights of others. He who obeys Allah’s commands and those of His messenger, and accedes to Allah’s laws of inheritance, he who does not by some ruse reduce the share of some parties or augment the share of others, Allah will grant him entry into the gardens of Paradise, out of which spring clear streams, and where he shall dwell eternally. Such is the great victory.

14. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), transgressing against the Divine commandment, and persists in his disobedience without feeling any fear or remorse, will be consigned by Allah to Hell, where he will live eternally and suffer vile and humiliating punishments.

15. In the early days of Islam, a woman who fornicated and whose moral turpitude was irrefutably established, specifically by four trustworthy men, was punished by being confined to her house and not released until death set her free. Such was the rule until Allah revealed the verse of ‘Light’ which abrogated the present verse, stipulating flagellation for the virgin who fornicates, and stoning for the married woman who commits the same crime, and this conforms to the Sunna (the precepts based upon the words and deeds of the Prophet (peace be upon him)). Such was the modification to which Allah refers when He says, at the end of this verse: “or Allah may alter their fate.”

16. This verse was revealed with regard to men who indulge in homosexual practices. The penalty imposed on them is to chastise them by beating them, insulting them, and jeering at them. This is administered to them unless they repent. If they repent, amend their ways, and demonstrate their altered behaviour by showing obedience to the rules and by purifying themselves from the stain of their debauchery, Allah commands that people should cease to chastise them either by word or deed, for Allah forgives those who repent. He is all-merciful. The punishment stipulated here remained in force until it was abrogated by the verse of ‘Light’ and by the precept drawn from the words and deeds of the Prophet (peace be upon him), both of which stipulate stoning for the freeman. (The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whomever you see engaged in homosexual practices, kill the person who initiates the sexual act and the person who submits to it”.) (Certain commentators consider that Allah is referring here to men and to women who commit the crime of fornication. If their moral turpitude is firmly established, Muslims must act severely towards them by reprimanding them. The former of these interpretations is more clearly demonstrable than the latter.)

17. The repentance which Allah graciously promised to accept holds only for a person who commits evil through ignorance, fury, or passion, and who then immediately feels remorse for what he has done, returns to the Lord, and repents. Thus Allah pardons those who commit sinful deeds through ignorance and repent immediately, for the sins are not embedded deep in their souls, and they have not consciously persisted in doing evil. Allah knows that His servants are weak, and they are susceptible to evil. Therefore He ordains that forgiveness is acceptable, thus opening the door to virtue and urging the sinner towards a repentance which will efface his sin.

18. There is no pardon, however, for those who sin and obstinately persist in doing so, and repent only in the final moments of their life, just as death approaches, saying: “Now we repent.” Nor is there any pardon for those who die unbelieving. Allah threatens people in these two categories with dire punishment which He has prepared for them on Judgement Day. (Allah finds the repentance of a dying man unacceptable.)

19. Before Islam, women were treated as objects. Close relatives of a dead man had an acknowledged right to his widow, without dowry and against her wishes, as if she were part of the legacy of the deceased. Some men, if they so desired, married her, others gave her away in marriage, and others prevented her from marrying again. They had a greater right than her own parents to dispose of her as they wished. Allah revealed this verse in order to forbid such unjust practices.

In this verse, Allah enjoins people from harming the woman or hounding her to surrender to a man some part of her dowry or to renounce some of her rights or her quota of an inheritance, by way of oppressing or harming her. If the woman fornicates, her husband has the right to reclaim the dowry he gave her and to importune her to leave him. Except in cases of proven grave moral turpitude committed by her, Allah requires men to treat their wives with decency throughout their connubial life, to address them with gentle words, and to act correctly towards them, even if they feel antipathy towards them, since it is possible to feel antipathy towards something which might bring great good fortune, as for example in the case of a wife who gives birth to a child who excels in some way, or reigns, or becomes a person of importance. The woman who inspires aversion in her husband might well change and become the cause of his happiness.

20. If a man decides to leave his wife because he detests her and can no longer stand her company, and if he wishes to take another wife instead of her, without her having committed any proven sin, and if he has contracted to give her a large dowry which he has already paid her or which he has treated as a debt which he is committed to settling, he does not have the right to reduce the dowry in any way and must rather pay it to her in full, even if it amounts to a considerable sum of money. Allah then reprimands those husbands who, wanting to divorce their wives, accuse them of committing some vice, so that the wives will be afraid and will buy themselves back by returning their dowry.

21. Allah once again reprimands those men who attempt to reclaim part of their wives’ dowry: “How can you think it acceptable to reclaim a portion or the whole of a dowry you have already given to your wife, after the bonds uniting the two spouses have been sealed by the most sacred union, and after they have yielded themselves to each other through intimate physical contact, until the one completes the other, and after your wives have received from you the promise either to keep them and treat them with consideration or to separate from them with all decency?”

22. To marry a wife who had previously been the father’s spouse was a common occurrence in the pre-Islamic period. Allah severely criticizes this practice and considers it a sin, an utterly detestable form of incest. Allah forbade men to marry women who had been married to their fathers, out of respect for the fathers. The son is forbidden to marry his father’s bride from the moment the marriage is contracted, whether or not the father has had physical relations with the woman, because that would cause the son to hate his father once the marriage actually occurred. That would be a terrible path for whoever trod in it. Allah says that this prohibition does not apply to marriages contracted before the revelation of this verse (“excepting pre-existent situations”).

23. This verse prohibits marriage to certain persons related by blood, milk, or marriage. Among blood relatives, it is forbidden to marry one’s mother, grandmothers, or great-grandmothers, as also one’s daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters, one’s sister, one’s paternal and maternal aunts, one’s nieces and one’s grand-nieces on both sides. Among persons related by milk, Allah forbids marriage to one’s wet nurse or to a woman that wet nurse has also suckled. Among relatives by marriage, it is forbidden to marry one’s mother-in-law, from the moment that one’s marriage with her daughter is contracted, as also the daughter of a woman with whom one has consummated marriage, who is then under the guardianship of the husband. It is similarly forbidden to marry one’s sons’ wives and to be married to two sisters simultaneously. As to pre-existent situations, Allah is merciful and forgiving.

24. It is similarly forbidden to marry certain other women not mentioned in the preceding verse, that is to say, those who are already married (and therefore protected by marriage, since they are under the protection of their husbands), unless they are captives who have fallen into your hands in the course of a holy war which you waged in defence of your religion, and whose husbands are unbelievers residing in the house of disbelief. In these cases, their marriages shall be legally annulled and you will be permitted to marry them subject to certain prescribed conditions.

According to Abu Hanifa, a woman whose husband was captured at the same time as her could not be taken to wife, it being necessary that the two spouses be in separate locations, the one in a Muslim area and the other in a pagan area. This prohibition is imposed on you by Allah. Therefore respect it.

Besides these prohibitions, everything is permitted to you if you wish to use your goods to enter into matrimony, or to buy captives, in the legal manner, but not to commit fornication or to enter into adulterous relationships. (Allah has also said: ”to enter into matrimony but not to live in debauchery.”) Just as it is permitted to you to know the pleasure of consummating marriage with your wives, so must you give them the agreed dowry in exchange. If you specify a dowry and the woman wishes to return part of it to you, that is allowed. It is also permissible for you to increase at some later date the sum of the agreed dowry. Allah is omniscient and knows everything that you do. He is wise in His commands and in what He imposes upon His servants.

25. Whoever lacks the means to marry free women who are virtuous believers, let him marry a slave who is a believer and the property of believers. For all you who believe are brothers in the faith. You all belong to the same lineage, and you must therefore not judge it shameful to marry a slave, if the necessity imposes itself. Allah here indicates that He ranks high those slaves who are believers, and has placed them on the same level with free women. He knows better than anyone the quality of one’s faith, its degree and its perfection. However, He commands that one should not marry a slave without authorization from her master, who has her under his charge, and not to contract a marriage with her without his consent. The husband must with a good will give her the dowry agreed upon, and must reclaim none of it through disrespect for her status as a slave. Once married, the wife must not commit adultery or take lovers. If, after being protected by marriage, slaves commit a sin, such as fornicating or taking a lover, the applicable penalty is to be half that applied to a free woman (since a slave’s resistance is weaker than a free woman’s). The religious leaders are unanimous in agreeing that a slave who commits adultery is not subject to stoning.

Subject to the above conditions, marriage with a slave was permitted to those who feared committing adultery and found it difficult to control their desires. However, it is best to avoid marrying a slave, still abjuring adultery. For if one marries a slave, the children she will bear to her husband will in their turn be the property of her master. Allah is merciful towards those who commit a fault, such as despising slaves who are believers, vilifying them, finding them antipathetic, and not treating them considerately after having married them. Allah is forgiving towards His servants, since He has indicated to them His laws and His precepts.

26. Almighty Allah wishes to indicate to you, O believers, that which has been permitted to you and that which has been forbidden. He wishes to guide you in the praiseworthy traditions and practices of those who have gone before you, and to inculcate in you the laws which He loves and accepts. He wishes to pardon you for the sins you have committed. Allah knows what you do, and there is wisdom in His law and in His destiny.

27. Through His precepts and His laws, Allah wishes to indicate to you what is in your interest. He wishes to guide you into doing good and following His path, in order to lead you to repentance so that He may forgive your sins. Adherents of the devil, on the other hand, those lost souls, want you to wander far from the paths of righteousness, so that you will be traduced by evil.

28. Allah wishes to alleviate for you the burden of His commands, His constraints, and His laws. Allah does not want to impose on you any insoluble problems in questions of religion, since human beings are weak, in terms of their soul, their will, and their determination. That is why He has permitted you to marry slaves, subject to well-defined conditions.

29. Allah forbids the unjust or illicit appropriation of other people’s goods, for example by means of gambling, usury, intrigues, etc., even if such activities should appear in legal guise, for Allah knows that whoever engages in such practices seeks cunningly to gain by means of usury. Allah forbids people to have recourse to illicit means in order to make money. He has however permitted legal trade based upon the consent of seller and buyer. Allah has permitted this kind of negotiation as a way of earning money. Allah forbids believers to destroy each other by engaging in forbidden practices, and unjustly appropriating each other’s goods. Allah is merciful towards them in his commands and his proscriptions, for it is in these that their welfare resides. In this verse, Allah proscribes suicide, either by poison or by other means; also the murder of other people. He considers that whoever commits a crime against another person commits a crime against himself and against the entire human race.

30. Whoever practices what Allah has forbidden, and falls into these backslidings through aggression or iniquity, fully knowing the prohibitions, and daring to violate His interdictions, Allah will inflict upon him the punishment of hellfire, which is very easy for Him to do.

31. If you avoid committing grave sins which Allah has proscribed, He will pardon you your venial sins and will usher you into His paradise and show Himself merciful towards you, as long as you strive to keep to the path of righteousness. Commentators have not agreed upon the number of mortal sins. Some are of the opinion that there are seven (polytheism, illicit murder of a human being, magic, appropriating to oneself the property of an orphan, usury, desertion in the face of battle, and calumny against women who are free, virtuous, and believers). Others judge that they are more numerous. Ibn Abbas says: “On the contrary, the mortal sins number seventy. For no sin persistently committed is venial, and no sin of which one repents is grave.” By that he means that a sin committed as the result of feeling a sudden passion or being overcome by chance anger, but still generally fearing Allah and avoiding misdeeds, is a venial sin which Allah forgives. But any sin one commits through negligence or indifference is considered grave, even if the resultant damage is slight, if it is committed persistently and without contrition.

32. Ummu Salma, the mother of the believers, said: “O messenger of Allah, the men are going to war, but we are not; and yet we will get half of the inheritance.” Allah then sent this verse. Ibn Abbas says: “A man must not make a wish saying, `I wish I possessed the goods of such-and-such a person.’ For Allah has forbidden us to act in this way. We should, rather, ask Allah for His favour.” All people, men and women, shall be rewarded for the good they have done, and punished for the bad. Allah best knows who merits life on this earth, and gives it to him; who merits indigence, He impoverishes; and who merits the next world, He permits him to accomplish good deeds. That is why Allah has given some men advantages over others, according to their aptitude for good deeds, and their diligence.

33. Allah says that for those men who save a portion of the goods they have acquired, and for those women who save a portion of the goods they have acquired, Allah has designated heirs to receive what each of them shall bequeath. And these heirs are the father and mother, close relatives, and those who have entered into an agreement with the deceased to inherit a portion of his property after his death, even though they have no family relationship with him. Allah commands that each of these be given what is due to him, nothing being withheld, for Allah witnesses your every act. Let the person who distributes the legacies not think of withholding any part of the quota due to any heir, either male or female, young or adult. (It is said that the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) declared that those who had emigrated with him and their allies in Medina were all brothers. This implied that each pair of brothers had the right to inherit from each other, to the exclusion of the other heirs. This practice was abrogated by the present verse.) (Islamic society has known various types of agreement, all approved by the Muslim legislature, which stipulated that legacies could occasionally go to persons with no family relationship to the deceased. Of these pacts, three are particularly noteworthy: that of the right of emancipation, whereby a slave could inherit his master’s goods if the latter left no legal heirs; the pact of friendship established between an Arab and a non-Arab, giving the latter the right to inherit in the case of the death of the former; and the pact of fraternity concluded by the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) between the emigrants and their allies in Medina. All these pacts were annulled without retroactive effect.)

34. It is part of the responsibility of a man to protect his wife and provide her needs. That is why Allah has imposed on men but not on women the obligation to fight, but that is one of the most specific forms of protection. Allah has given men physical advantages over women, and has granted to them, rather than to women, power and strength. He has also given them precedence over women by permitting them to take women under their charge. The dowry itself is considered to be a compensation and recompense offered to women for having submitted to the authority of the man and for accepting his precedence over them. “To take precedence” here means directing and supervising the activities assigned to the woman, among which are taking care of the household, not leaving the home without permission, and devoting herself to her natural mission, which consists in bearing, suckling, and educating children. A good wife obeys her husband, and confides to no one the secrets of her intimate life with him and keeps herself chaste. A devoted wife must conserve her husband’s property and not waste it. Husbands do not have the right to preach to wives who act in this way. On the other hand, in the case of wives from whom you fear insubordination and a failure to accomplish their conjugal duties in a satisfactory manner, these you should begin to instruct in the rules of acceptable behaviour, give them advice, and remind them of their duties. This may be sufficient; if it proves to be ineffective, try denying them your presence in bed, and generally avoid them. Perhaps this will suffice, and they will once again follow the voice of reason. If this too is ineffective, try punishing them, without resorting to violence and without treating them unfairly. A husband must never have recourse to this last expedient until he has lost all hope of seeing his wife regain her virtue and submissiveness in other ways.

If a wife obeys her husband and satisfies his needs, within the limits prescribed by the Lord, he will have no pretext for finding fault with her, and will have no right to beat her, desert her, or mistreat her. Allah threatens those men with punishment who are unjust towards their wives with no valid cause, and tells them that He defends women and will revenge Himself on any man who mistreats them.

35. If two spouses are in disaccord, the judge must entrust the wife to a reliable person who can closely investigate the situation and prevent one spouse or the other from being unjust towards his or her partner. If matters become embittered and there is fear of division between the two spouses, the judge must designate a reliable arbitrator from the wife’s family and another from the husband’s family, who should meet in order to examine the problem and decide what is in the common interest, either separation or reconciliation. Allah gives preference to reconciliation; thus he has said: “If they desire to be reconciled, Allah will assist them in their aims.” These regulations come from Allah, who knows everything about His servants, their manners and their characters, and is aware of what happens between them and the causes of their conflicts.

36. Almighty Allah requires His servants to worship Him alone and to associate nothing and nobody with Him. He commands them to obeys His commands. Then He enjoins them to be good towards their fathers and mothers, from whom Allah has produced the child, thus bringing him out of nothingness. He then orders His servants to be good towards their kin, both male and female, and similarly towards orphans who have lost their fathers, and towards those who are set as guardians over them. He enjoins them to act charitably towards the poor (who have nobody to see to their needs) and to aid them so as to provide for their sustenance. Then He orders His servants to be good towards their neighbours, whether they are relations or not, the good travelling companion to whom one is in no way related, the transient traveller towards whom one should show charity, and their own slaves. Allah adds to this that He has no love for the man who is arrogant, vain, and boastful, and who considers himself to be superior to others. In his own eyes he is great, but in the eyes of the Lord he is thoroughly mediocre.

37. In the preceding verse, Allah says that He has no love for the arrogant and the vain. Here, He describes them, saying that they are misers who do not use their wealth to obey the commands of Allah, that is, to be good towards their fathers and mothers, their kin, orphans, the poor, their neighbour, the traveller, and their slaves. He has no love for those who fail to give Allah what is due to Him, and, not content with being arrogant and miserly themselves, incite others to avarice. (The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) says: “Avoid avarice. It has already caused your predecessors to perish. It ordered them to alienate themselves, and they cut every tie; and it advocated debauchery, and they lived a debauched life.”) The miser is someone who shows himself to be ungrateful for the favours of Allah, since they are apparent neither in his food nor his clothing. He conceals the favours with which Allah has blessed him, and denies His grace. For those who deny Him, Allah has prepared an ignominious punishment. (The avarice referred to in this verse has to do with the miserly withholding of gentle words, of educational advice, and of succour for people in danger.)

38. In the preceding verse, Allah spoke of misers. Here He speaks of those who distribute their wealth ostentatiously. With their gifts they want to gain a good reputation and be described as generous. But they believe neither in Allah nor in the Day of Judgement, and do not seek to please Allah with their gifts. Rather, it is Satan who has led them to act in such an ugly manner. That is why Allah says: “Whoever has Satan for a companion has a very miserable companion.” That is to say that Satan is a bad companion for these vain people.

39. May they be cursed! What would they have lost by truly and sincerely believing in Allah? What would it have cost them to follow the path of righteousness and to renounce hypocrisy and turn to sincere faith, that day when they must face their Lord and He will deal with everyone according to his deserts? What would it have cost them to spend all that Allah has given them, and in the way He has instructed them to? Allah knows all their intentions, the good as well as the bad. He knows which of them deserves to succeed, and He makes him succeed. A believer should therefore be content with the fact that Allah knows that he is distributing his wealth, and should not care whether men know.

40. Allah Almighty tells His servants that He will reward them for all their good deeds, and He will wrong nobody on the Day of Resurrection, not even with the weight of a grain of mustard or an atom. Each will be rewarded for his actions. He also tells them that He will double the good deeds of anyone who has performed them, He will increase His favours, and will grant them entry into paradise, the magnificent reward that He has promised them.

41. Allah Almighty tells His servants of the horrors on the terrifying Day of Resurrection. For though He will harm nobody, not even with the weight of an atom, what will happen on the Day of Resurrection, when the Creator assembles His entire creation and will select from each nation a witness (who shall be his Prophet (peace be upon him)), and will call upon Mohammad to bear witness against those people? His evidence will weigh up the actions of the people towards their Prophets, and compare their deeds with the doctrines, the actions, and the behaviour of the Prophets. All those in whose favour the Prophet bears witness, attesting that they have followed his precepts, will be saved. All those against whom the Prophets speak will be among the lost.

42. On that day, the unbelievers, those who have disobeyed the messenger of Allah, will wish that the earth would split and swallow them up, so terrifying will their state be, and so horrifyingly will they be covered with ignominy, unmasked and punished. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will assemble everybody in one place. The polytheists will say: “Allah will accept only those who have worshipped Him alone. Let us then renounce our polytheism.” Allah will clamp their mouths shut and will interrogate their organs, which will bear witness against them and confirm that they were polytheists. They will wish then that the earth might cover them up, but they will be able to hide nothing from Allah.

43. Allah forbids His servants to pray while in a state of intoxication, knowing neither what they say nor what they do, nor what they recite. (This was before alcoholic drinks were totally prohibited.

Allah also forbids believers to enter a mosque while in a state of impurity, except to cross from one door to another without stopping. (Access to the houses of the allies in Medina was through the mosques. When they were in a state of impurity and wanted access to water, they had to go through the mosque.) Impure people and menstruating women are forbidden to stay in the mosque unless they first wash away their impurity with water or, if there is none, with clean earth. If you are afflicted with an illness which you fear might be worsened by the use of water, or if you are travelling and have just relieved yourself or touched a woman, and you cannot find water to wash yourself or make a general ablution, make use of uncontaminated earth to rub your face and hands. This is an acceptable substitute for ablution. Allah shows Himself to be merciful towards you in allowing you to purify yourself with clean earth, and to perform your prayers even though you lack water, for He does not want you to be troubled. Purification with clean earth is accomplished by slapping the ground twice with both hands. The first time one has touched the earth, one rubs one’s face, the second time, one’s hands.

44. Are you not astonished, O Mohammad, to see those who have received a portion of the previous revelations failing to follow the right path they have been shown, and to see them rejecting it for the opposite path? They have opted to go astray, they want you to plunge after them and go astray, like them, from the true path. They persevere in manoeuvering, in the hope of turning you away from your religion, if they can. When Allah says, “those who have received a portion of the previous revelations,” He means that they have not grasped the whole Book, because when each revelation was made to them, they did not learn it by heart, in contrast to the Muslims who have learned their Quran by heart. Neither have they from the very beginning made several manuscripts, so that some might be preserved if others were lost.

45. Allah Almighty knows that those Jews are your enemies. He knows them better than you do. He puts you on your guard against them. Whoever trusts in Allah, Allah will suffice him as a master. Whoever seeks His help will find in Him a sufficient ally.

46. Allah tells the believers that He knows their enemies, the Jews, better than they do, and that some of them falsify His words and misinterpret them in order to give them a different meaning from that intended by the Lord. They do this deliberately, to lie about Allah and to damage His Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). They say: “We have heard what you have said, Mohammad, and we will not obey you.” They push their disbelief and their obstinacy thus far, because they turn their backs on Allah’s Book after having thoroughly understood it, and knowing full well what sin they are committing and what divine punishment they risk. They say: “Listen to what we are telling you, and may Allah not make you hear a prayer.” (By this, he Jews intended to call down evil upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), all the while giving others the false impression that by so doing they meant to pray for the Prophet (peace be upon him). By this expression, however, the Muslims begged Allah not to allow the Prophet (peace be upon him) to hear bad things.)

The Jews said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), “ra’ina,” wanting others to believe that they meant, “Listen to us,” or “attend to what we say.” But they twisted their words and seemed rather to insult the Prophet (peace be upon him) and characterize him as villainous. “Ra’eino” in Hebrew signifies “villain.” They acted in this way in order to cast derision on the divine religion which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was charged with transmitting to the servants of Allah.

Allah subsequently says: “If instead of this they had said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘We have heard and we have obeyed, listen to us and look at us,’ that would have been better for them and more accurate.” For their impiety, however, Allah has cursed them and withdrawn His grace from them. He has led them astray from the true path, that of righteousness, and they have little hope of believing in something which might be of great use to them. (This last point could mean that very few of the Jews will come to accept Islam.)

47. Allah Almighty requires the peoples of the Book, Jews and Christians, to believe in the Quran, majestic Book, revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) by the Lord, which confirms what had already been revealed to them in their scriptures, that is to say: the proof of the uniqueness of Allah, the command to shun polytheism, and the prediction of the coming of Mohammad and his legislation. He threatens them that if they do not comply He may punish them by flattening their faces and then beating them back until they are deprived of hearing, sight, and smell. He could turn their faces back-to-front so that they would walk backwards. He also threatens them that He might curse them, as He cursed those who profaned the Sabbath, who were cunning in their sins, and whom He transformed into monkeys and pigs. The decisions of Allah Almighty are absolute and cannot be transgressed or countermanded. They are ineluctable. Beware of them.

48. Allah tells His servants that on the Day of Resurrection He will not forgive those who associate any other being with Him, and that, apart from polytheism, He pardons His servants any sins He wishes to. Whoever ascribes an associate to Allah commits thereby an enormous sin, and therefore does not merit forgiveness. Polytheism has two aspects: disbelieving in the uniqueness of the Creator, and holding that there exists some authority other than the Lord and some other power which is the cause of all and the origin of universal laws. Another aspect of polytheism consists in modifying certain religious precepts in such a way as to permit certain things and forbid others, thus following the example of certain human beings, to the detriment of divine revelation.

49. This verse was revealed in connection with some Jews and Christians who said: “We are the children of the Lord and his well-beloved,” and “Only we, the Jews and Christians, shall enter into paradise.” (Some believe that in this verse Allah is reprimanding in a general way the act of boasting and the attribution of virtues to oneself.)

Allah says: “Are you not astonished, O Mohammad, at these unbelievers to whom We show the evil that they do and yet who consider it to be good, and take pride in attributing virtues to themselves? It is Allah who is the ultimate judge, and who evaluates the actions of His servants, for He is omniscient, knowing things to their depths and in their hidden places, knowing what people try to conceal and what they profess, and He harms nobody, not even with a strand of fibre from the pit of a date.

50. See, Mohammad, how they seek to deceive Allah, claiming to be virtuous and to be the children of Allah, and His well-beloved, and claiming that they will be exposed to the Fire for only a few days. What they say and do is in itself a manifest lie.

51. Certain Jews came before the people of Quraish, who questioned them: “We denigrators and unbelievers, are we to be preferred, or is Mohammad, who believes in Allah?” The Jews replied: “We give preference to the people of Quraish, who follow the true path.” Allah then sent this verse, in which He reprimands the Jews for having made this statement, and for having preferred disbelief and idolatry over the way of the Lord and His good religion, which is that of truth.

52. Those who prefer disbelief to faith in one unique Allah in order to ingratiate themselves with the denigrators and to win their support, are cursed by Allah. But whoever is cursed by Allah and deprived of His grace will find no ally to save him from ignominy and anguish.

53. Almighty Allah deplores the fact that these Jews should have any part of the kingdom or any power. They have lost these rights through their impiety, their iniquity, their tyranny, and their belief in sorcerers and in evil. Allah then treats them as misers and egotists, saying: “If they possessed the kingdom and power, they would have given nothing to anybody, for fear that what they owned would be depleted; they alone would have profited from their wealth.”

54. These Jews want Allah to deprive human beings of His grace, and do not wish another people to be as favoured or more favoured than they are, so obsessed are they by pride in their genealogy and their customs, although these are in a poor state. The fact that they envy Mohammad (peace be upon him) the magnificent prophecy that Allah has granted him, prevents them from believing in his message, because he is an Arab and not descended from the line of Israel.

If they envy Mohammad (peace be upon him) the favours that have been bestowed upon him, they err. For Mohammad (peace be upon him) is not the first to obtain the graces of Allah. Allah has already honoured the descendants of Abraham, and among Arabs the descendants of Ishmael. Why should they then be astonished at what Allah has accorded to Mohammd, but not at what He has accorded to the descendants of Abraham?

55. There have been, however, among the peoples of these Prophets, many who believed in their messages. Others have denied them, and sought to sow corruption on earth, to turn the people from the way of Allah, and incite them not to follow the path of righteousness. For them, Hell will be the punishment they will undergo, for their disbelief, their arrogance, and their apostasy from the Books of Allah and from His Prophets (peace be upon them).

56. Allah Almighty says that He will punish the denigrators who have denied Allah’s signs and spurned His messengers, by burning them in Hellfire. And as soon as their skin has been consumed, He will give them another, so that they will continue to taste the torture and the horror. Allah is Mighty and no one can defy Him. He is wise, for He knows who deserves punishment and He will deliver him to it; He knows who deserves a reward and He will give him satisfaction.

57. Those who believe in what Allah has sent them and who perform benevolent acts will be rewarded by Allah Almighty for their faith and their good deeds; He will lead them into gardens out of which spring clear streams, and in which they will live forever. They will not change their dwelling-place and they will not perish, and in this place they will have pure women as companions, free of material or moral stain, exempt from ignoble behaviour and faulty character. He will protect them in the cool shade.

58. Allah Almighty commands His servants to restore to their rightful owners all things appertaining to them. That includes all things that have been entrusted to a person and which he must return: this means those things which we owe to Allah (prayer, fasting, legal alms…), and those things which we owe to our fellow-men (all property entrusted to us, which we must return to its rightful owner even if he has no legal documents to prove his claim). This verse was revealed in connection with Othman ibn abi Talha. He held the key to the Kaaba. When Allah allowed the Prophet (peace be upon him) to conquer Makkah, he circumambulated the Kaaba, and then he summoned Othman ibn abi Talha, from whom he took the key of the Kaaba and entered it. His uncle al-Abbas (or, according to others, his cousin Ali) said to him: “O Messenger of Allah! grant that we may keep the key of the Kaaba and grant us the right to give drink to pilgrims.” The Messenger of Allah then called Othman ibn abi Talha to him and returned the key to him, reciting this verse.

Allah requires believers to be just in arbitrating between parties and in judging men. He enjoins them in general to be equitable, towards the virtuous as towards the debauched, and not to allow rancour, hate, or hostility to prevent them from adhering to justice. Allah then says that His orders and His advice constitute perfect law, in which their happiness resides, and that He hears everything that men say, and sees everything that they do, and that He will reward everyone according to his deserts.

59. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) sent out a delegation and placed in command of them a man from among the allies in Medina. On the journey, he became annoyed with certain members of the delegation because of their conduct. He said to them: “Did the Messenger of Allah not order you to obey me?” They replied: “Yes.” So he ordered them to collect wood and then set it alight. Then he said to them: “I order you to burn yourselves in the fire.” They refused to obey until they had consulted the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). His reply was: “Obedience is required only in connection with good actions.” And the messenger of Allah said: “A believer must hear and obey, whether that pleases him or not, unless someone orders him to do wrong. In that case, he should neither listen nor obey.”

In this verse, Allah requires believers to obey Him, and to act according to the Quran and the instructions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), because he is communicating to them the message of Allah, and transmitting to them His law and His orders. Allah also commands believers to obey those in authority over them, such as governors, princes, and commanders, to whom the people have recourse when they are in need of something or to regulate some affair or other. Those in authority, if they are in agreement on the matter, must be obeyed, on condition that they are loyal and trustworthy, and that they do not transgress the commands of the Lord nor the precepts drawn from the practices of His Messenger, successively transmitted. They must adopt their decision totally freely, and be in agreement on the matter, without being constrained thereto by some powerful or influential person.

In the case of disaccord on any matter, Muslims should refer to the Quran and to the precepts drawn from the practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Whoever fails to do so, and does not refer to the Quran or to the practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him), is someone who does not believe in Allah or in the Last Judgement. On the other hand, whoever relies on the divine law and on the precepts of the Messenger of Allah is acting righteously, for that is better for him, and he will earn his reward. For Allah has prescribed for men only what is in their interest, and recourse to the Divine law prevents disaccord, which could lead to conflict and to error.

60. Allah reprimands those who claim to believe in Allah, His Book, and His messenger, while at the same time seeking to resolve their differences by referring to something other than the Book of Allah or the precepts of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

This verse is assumed to have been revealed in connection with one of the allies from Medina and a Jew who were in conflict over some matter or other. The Jew said: “Mohammad will be our arbitrator.” The ally replied: “Ka’bu bnul Achraf will be our arbitrator” (he was one of the Jewish dignitaries). Allah reprimands those who turn away from His law and the precepts of His Prophet (peace be upon him) and have recourse to that which is mendacious and inefficacious (that is what is to be understood here by “taghout,” in other words an idol) They have been instructed not to believe in it. The devil, however, incites them to pay heed to it in order to lead them astray and to turn them away from their religion, their law, and from the true path of Allah.

61. If those who claim to have faith while at the same time having recourse to the idol (the taghout, which is inefficacious and mendacious) are instructed to heed the revelation of Allah to His Messenger and to rely on his arbitration to resolve their conflicts, in accordance with the divine law, they become indignant and deliberately spurn the arbitration of the messenger.

62. What would become of them if destiny brought them running to you, struck with misfortune because of their sins, and in need of you, and they came to excuse themselves by swearing that they had sought arbitration from someone else only in the interests of good and concord, and not because they believed in the justice of such arbitration?

63. Such people are hypocrites. Only Allah knows what there is in their hearts of disbelief, rancour, and cunning. Allah will punish them on account of these acts, for nothing that they do or feel escapes Him. Allah then invites His Prophet (peace be upon him) to deal with them as follows:
– To distance oneself from them and not to receive them amiably or generously. To treat them thus induces in them anxiety, suspicion, and doubt.
– One should then advise them and remind them of the good, in such a way as to affect them deeply, and to incite them to meditate on this advice.
– One should then address them with remonstrances which pierce them to the heart, such as threatening them with death and extirpation should their hypocrisy be proved. One should also tell them that Allah knows what they are concealing in their hearts.

64. If Allah sends His Prophets, it is His intention that we should obey them. Whoever spurns them and violates their precepts is transgressing the commands and precepts of Allah Himself, thus committing a grave sin. If these people, who have been deliberately sinful and have spurned the arbitration of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and turned to that of the idol, had come directly to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and had begged Allah’s forgiveness, if they had repented in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him) of what they had done and of violating his law, if they had implored his intercession and the Messenger had implored Allah to forgive them, Allah would have accepted their repentance, He would have showered them with favours and would have granted them His grace, for the mercy of Allah is so vast that it encompasses everything. Allah calls that “sinful” which goes contrary to the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s teachings, for whoever is corrupt harms himself.

65. Almighty Allah swears in His own magnanimous and Holy Person that those who have refused to take the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) as the judge of their conflicts, as well as those hypocrites who resemble them, are not true believers (that is to say, they do not have the sincere faith which would lead them to total submission), unless they have this attitude:
– To appeal to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to arbitrate in the matter which is causing conflict between them, when they themselves do not know what path to follow.
– Not to feel troubled or embarrassed by his judgement, and to submit their souls to his verdict with total acquiescence and without the slightest resentment or the slightest secret objection, for it is good judgement which leads to good.
– To submit and accede to this judgement, in the conviction that the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s decision is always the best and that he is infallible.

66. After having shown that faith is not complete until one has accepted Mohammad as one’s judge and has submitted oneself entirely to his judgement, Allah here says that many fail at this stage because their faith is weak. In this regard, He says: “If one had ordered them to die, as was the case with the sons of Israel so that they could purify themselves after the adoration of the calf, or again if one had required them to emigrate from their native land, they would not have accepted the order, because that would not correspond with their wishes. The hypocrites adore Allah while standing off to one side; if they live in prosperity, they are content to remain there; but if they are afflicted with misfortune, they change their attitude and thus lose their happiness both in this world and in the next. As for those who are sincere in their faith, they obey all Allah’s commands, whether they are easy or difficult, agreeable or disagreeable. If those others had complied with Allah’s orders and abandoned that which was forbidden, it would have been better for them than disobeying orders and committing sins, and it would have confirmed and strengthened their faith.

67. If they had obeyed orders and abandoned those things which are prohibited, and if they had acted thus in all sincerity, Allah would have rewarded them magnificently by granting them entrance into paradise, where one sees what nobody has ever seen, and hears what has never been heard or imagined.

68. Allah would have indicated to them the true path that leads to His approval and His paradise, here on earth as well as in the hereafter.

69. To anyone who obeys Allah and His messenger, who acts in accordance with their commands and abstains from what they have forbidden, Allah will grant paradise as a dwelling-place and will allow him to join the Prophets there, and those who occupy the rank immediately beneath them, that is to say upright men, then martyrs, and finally the rest of the believers who are implicitly and explicitly virtuous. How beautiful that society will be, made up of such people, in whose company one would never be unhappy! (As for the reasons for the revelation of this verse, the story is told of a certain man from among the allies of Medina who came sadly to the Prophet (peace be upon him), who questioned him about the cause of his unhappiness. The man replied: “O messenger of Allah! It is some thing I have been thinking about.” “What is it then?” asked the Prophet (peace be upon him). The man replied: “We come and then we depart. We look upon your face and keep company with you. But you will ascend to the Prophets, where we can never join you.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said nothing in reply, after which the angel Gabriel came to reveal this verse.) (The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “Whoever loves certain persons will be rejoined with them on the Day of Judgement.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) also says: “A man will be with the person he has loved.”)

70. To achieve the great honour of being in the company of the Prophets, the martyrs, and the upright men is a privilege bestowed by Allah, who is preparing His servants to win such a grace, which they cannot obtain through their own acts. Only Allah knows the sincere man from the hypocrite, and distinguishes those who deserve His guidance and brings them success.

71. Allah orders the faithful to be on their guard against their enemies. That means knowing well who one’s enemies are, their alliances, and their fortunes. It also demands that one prepares oneself to fight against them and that one prepares men for combat, training and arming them, and assembling arms, munitions, and means of transport. One must be ready to mobilize as soon as struggle becomes necessary and one is summoned to combat, and to throw oneself at the enemy in small groups or large, according to the nature of the enemy, his power, and the danger he represents, and according to the peril which threatens the nation.

72. Certain people (including hypocrites, cowards, and men of little faith) are slow to throw themselves into combat and keep hesitating. Others abstain from taking part and try to discourage others from doing so. If a misfortune falls upon the faithful, such as being killed and dying as martyrs, or if they are beaten by the enemy, such men rejoice and consider their weakness as an advantage and a grace granted by Allah, for their weakness has saved them from the adversity which has come upon the faithful. They are ignorant of the reward that they are losing if they endure the adversity and of the martyrdom, if they are killed.

73. If, on the other hand, the Muslims are victorious and win the spoils of war (a grace given by Allah), those who abstained from taking part in the battle deeply regret not having been with the faithful, in order to gain some of the booty. They say, as if they did not belong with the Muslims: “Would to Allah we had been with them, we would have gained rich spoils, as they did.” They have forgotten the duty incumbent upon them to reach out their hand to the believers, and to do everything in their power by giving all they can, such as their own lives and property, to ensure victory.

74. Let those men fight on Allah’s side who wish to sell their life on this earth, and give it generously, in exchange for the life to come. For in this way they will glorify the Divine religion and will make the word of Allah prevail. For to the man who fights in Allah’s cause, whether he is vanquished and killed by the enemy or he himself is the victor, Allah will grant a splendid reward. (This verse alludes to the fact that the Muslim fighter’s only concern must be to achieve victory or to die as a martyr in the cause of Allah. He must therefore not think of deserting the field of battle and saving himself, for such behaviour does not change his fate, and it draws down upon him the wrath of Allah.

75. Allah incites His servants to fight in order to make His word prevail and to save the weaker believers who are in Makkah, men, women, and children, who are suffering. He says to them: “Why do you abstain from fighting in the cause of Allah, to make His oneness triumph, as well as righteousness and justice, and to save your weaker brethren, humiliated by the denigrating tyrants of Makkah? They plead to Allah to be released from this city and its iniquitous inhabitants, and to send from His abode someone who will bring them triumph and who will save them from what they are currently obliged to endure.

76. Believers fight to bring triumph to the cause of Allah and to spread His religion, to seek by that means to enter into paradise. The unbelievers fight to further the cause of the devil (the taghout), who makes impiety look beautiful to them, and promises them victory. Satan is powerless and his cause is futile. He cannot provide his partisans with triumphs. It is those on Allah’s side who are strong, for Allah protects them, grants them victory, and makes them powerful. Therefore believers must not fear their enemies, the unbelievers, for the sincere believers will triumph.

77. At the beginning of Islam, in Makkah, Allah had instructed believers to perform their prayers, to pay legally specified alms, to comfort the poor, to forgive polytheists, and for the moment to bide their time. The believers were at that time eagerly impatient to fight, and longed for Allah to order them to go to war, so that they could take revenge on their enemies and sate their hatred towards them. Conditions were however not yet ripe for combat, for many reasons, among which were their small number and the fact that they lived in a holy city. That is why Allah did not call upon them to fight until they had migrated to Medina, where they were protected and had allies. When the war which they had so desired was at last enjoined upon them, a certain number of them were terrified at the idea of confronting their adversaries on the battlefield. They said: “Lord, why are you instructing us to fight now? Why have you not postponed this requirement until later (or why not postpone it until we die a natural death), for war brings with it the shedding of blood, makes our children orphans and our wives slaves….” Tell them, Mohammad: “The pleasures of this world, great as they are, are as nothing compared to the life hereafter. Life on this earth is ephemeral, and the life to come is far better for those who fear Allah, for they will dwell for ever in the gardens of paradise where they will rejoice in the bounty of Allah.” Tell them also that they will be rewarded for their worthy actions, that their minor injustices will be forgiven, and they will not be harmed by as much as a straw. (It is thought that this verse refers to the allies of the Aous and the Khazraj, who were constantly killing each other before the advent of Islam. Once they had embraced Islam, Allah reconciled them and ordered them to cease their conflicts and aggressive activities. He instructed them to perform their prayers and to pay alms, in order to purify themselves. When the need became pressing to fight in order to repel evil and defend the Muslims, Allah enjoined them to fight, something which the hypocrites and the feeble detested.)

78. Allah tells men that death will inevitably seize them and that nobody will escape it, even if he were to lock himself up in a mighty and invulnerable fortress. Human beings live for a certain fixed period of time, and the hour which Allah has chosen for their death can neither be advanced or postponed, whether they fight and expose themselves to the perils of war or abstain and remain at home. To fight in Allah’s cause does not speed the hour of one’s death. Neither does abstention postpone it. Why then do they detest combat, why do they show themselves to be cowards, preferring to remain at home? Does this not prove that their spirit and their faith are weak?

Then Allah describes another attribute which proves their stupidity and their lack of intelligence, which is that when they meet with good fortune, when their year is fruitful, and they make good profits and are blessed with many children, they say: “All this comes to us from Allah. This reward comes to us from Him, because we have deserved it.” If, on the other hand, they suffer a period of drought, and their lands are parched, and they lack fruits and crops, or have been bereft of some of their children, they say: “All this comes from you, because we followed you, and believed in what you told us, abandoning the religion of our ancestors.” Tell them: “All the fortune and all the misfortunes that touch human beings come from Allah. It is He who decides everything, and puts people to the test. What is the matter with these people? They seem to understand neither what they themselves say nor what others tell them.”

79. Allah addresses the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), and intends those to whom He sent His messenger to pay heed. He says: “Every good fortune that happens to you, every favour that touches you, descendant of Adam, comes by the grace of Allah, for it is He who provides the favours you enjoy. Every unhappiness, however, comes from yourself; for despite your aptitude in acting and choosing, in rejecting vice and acting with productive virtue, in giving priority to certain objectives above others, you can still be mistaken, and fail to distinguish between what is harmful to you and what can benefit you, for you are not master of your own will and you do not govern your own passion, and you do not know to their depths and in their totality all laws and causes. You tend towards some things rather than others, either through passion, or through ignorance of what is helpful and what is harmful. Thus you do yourself an injustice. Mohammad, Allah has sent you to mankind to transmit to them the divine laws and to tell them what Allah commands them to do and what He forbids them to do. It is sufficient that Allah witnesses what transpires between you and them. He knows that you teach them and that they respond to you.”

80. Allah says that whoever obeys the Prophet (peace be upon him) obeys the Lord. For it is in effect He who orders and prohibits, and the envoy transmits the divine message. Whoever disobeys him disobeys Allah. As for those who stray from Allah’s path and reject His truth, they fall by the wayside and are lost. You are not responsible for them, for you have been sent only to bring the good news and to warn mankind, not to dominate them, nor to supervise them and act as their guardian, for actions and obedience stem only from free choice based upon conviction.

81. These hypocrites claim to obey your precepts and assure you that they are ready to follow you, and they do so merely to protect their lives and their goods. Hardly have they left you and gone their way than they confide to each other quite different secrets from the claims they made in your presence. Allah is aware of the plots they are hatching against you in order to countermand you. The angels write their acts in the records. Forgive them, be patient with them, do not resent them, do not reveal their secrets, do not fear them, but trust in Allah, for the support and the protection of Allah are sufficient.

82. Allah calls upon these hypocrites to meditate on the Quran, and to understand how precise and eloquent it is. Then they will know that it is the word of Allah, and that what Allah has promised to true believers who have faith, and the things about which He has warned the hypocrites and the unfaithful, will inevitably take place. Allah then tells the hypocrites that the Quran contains no discordances or contradictions, for it has been sent by Allah, Who is wise and Who deserves all praise. If it had been revealed by someone other than Allah, then it would not have been exempt from discordances and contradictions, for it would be the work of His creatures. And the work of His creatures contains many discordances and contradictions.

83. Allah reprimands the man who accepts, spreads, and propagates a piece of news before he has verified it; this news may be without foundation and can cause confusion in the bosom of the community. It may, on the other hand, be accurate, but to announce and broadcast it could be harmful to the nation and profitable to her enemies. It is said that this verse was revealed when the news was spread that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had divorced his wives. Omar bnul-Khattab, who heard people at the mosque saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had divorced his wives, sought him out and asked whether the report was true. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied that it was not. Omar went out and told the people that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not divorced his wives.

It is also said that this verse was revealed on the day of the alliances, when the Muslims were suffering under adversity. That day, certain people came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to inform him that the Jews of the Bani Qurayda tribe had violated their pact with the Muslims. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent some of them on a reconnaissance mission, saying to them: “If you discover that the news is accurate, bring us the information in such a way as to avoid weakening the Muslims and increasing their anxiety.” The delegation returned and informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) that the Bani Qurayda Jews had indeed violated their agreement and had rejoined the disbelievers. The news spread, and the Muslims passed it from mouth to mouth, which increased their dismay. Allah said: “If the delegation had reported the news to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to their superiors, men capable of evaluating things and assessing their significance and whether they should be broadcast or not, they would have been able to realize the implications of the report and decide whether it would be useful to spread the news or not.”

Without Allah’s grace, which has guided you and which has helped you to obey Him and to obey His messenger implicitly and explicitly, and which has entrusted questions of public importance to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the authorities, you would have followed the temptations of the devil, as was the case with that group of hypocrites who said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “We obey!” and who then engaged in plots contrary to their word, spread rumours which sowed fear, threatened security, and harmed the national policy. You would have been of the same opinion as these hypocrites, and would have followed them in your actions and your thoughts. Few among you would have trodden the right path.

84. Allah commands His Prophet (peace be upon him) Mohammad to undertake the fight himself, and tells him that he will be in no way responsible for those who abstain. He enjoins him to urge the believers into combat, to make them want to go to war, and to encourage their fighting spirit, to awaken their zeal to struggle against their enemies, to resist them, to be patient, and to defend Islam and its adherents. It is thus that Allah destroys the power of the unfaithful and prevents them from harming the Muslims. Allah is omnipotent and is capable of inflicting a punishment upon them, in this world or the next.

85. Whoever involves himself in a good action will reap the benefit from it. Whoever helps and supports you in combat and intervenes on your behalf will receive some of the fruits of victory, and will be rewarded on the last day. However, he who intervenes in an action which leads to evil, sin, or harm, will also partake of the consequences. Whoever joins your enemies and fights at their side, or who lets the Muslims down in battle, will be affected by the evil consequences, for he will be covered with shame in this life, and will be punished in the next. This is the nature of evil intervention, since it assists the powers of evil. Allah is the overseer and witness of every act, and is capable of doing whatsoever He wishes.

86. If someone greets you, greet him even more graciously, or at least reply with a greeting identical to his. (If, for instance, he says to you, “Peace be with you,” reply to him, “May Allah’s peace, mercy, and blessing be always with you.”) An identical response, at least, is obligatory; a somewhat more gracious response is to be preferred. (Al-Hassan al-Bassri says: “The greeting is optional and the response is obligatory.”) The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) says, “By Allah who possesses my soul, you will never enter into paradise unless you believe, and you will never believe unless you love. Would you like me to give you an example of an act which, when performed, results in your loving one another? Think of the way in which you greet each other.” Allah will take every action into account. He observes whether you maintain good relations with one another by greeting each other. He will call you to account.

87. Allah speaks of His uniqueness, saying that He is the sole Allah for all creatures. He swears that on Judgement Day He will assemble all mankind and will judge each person according to his actions. Nobody is more truthful than He. Nobody holds to his promises and his threats more than He does. There is no other Allah but Him. He alone is Allah.

88. Why do you separate into two groups on the subject of the hypocrites, and why do you disagree about their lack of faith, despite all the proofs to the contrary? There should be no disagreement about them whatsoever. How can you possibly have different views concerning them, when Allah Himself has turned them from the path you tread, in order to punish them for the evil they have committed and the sins in which they have wallowed? How can you possibly have different views concerning them, when Allah Himself has cast them forth into impiety, and has made them walk with heads bowed down for having plunged into wrongful paths and having strayed far from the true way? You believers, it is not for you to alter the divine laws, for you will never be able, by any means, to lead back to the true path those whom Allah has decided to cast asunder.

Intuitively speaking, man must submit all his actions to the law of reason, and must follow what seems to him good and profitable in this world and the next. What most deflects us from intuition is precisely the imitation of other people, pride, and the fact of believing that nothing is more perfect than oneself. Imitation thus stifles the voice of reason and inhibits meditation on what is useful and what is harmful, on the good and the bad.

89. Such people are not content with themselves going astray and turning to sin, but they aspire to lead you to follow their example. They want to lead you into error so that you will be their equal, so much do they detest you. Do not forge links of confidence with them, and do not make of them your allies or your friends, until they have proclaimed their faith and emigrated to serve Allah’s cause, to prove the sincerity of their faith. If they refuse to emigrate (and to convert), and they retain their homes and give obvious proof of their disbelief, seize them, kill them wherever you find them. So long as they remain outside the faith, do not choose among them men to confide in or allies from whom you seek assistance against an enemy.

90. From those unbelievers and hypocrites whom He commands Muslims to kill wherever they find them, Allah excludes those who seek refuge with a group with whom the Muslims have come to an agreement or concluded a pact of alliance which forbids either party to kill a member of the other party. He says that they ought in such cases to treat them just as if they were allies. Allah also excludes those who come into combat with hearts which revolt at the idea of killing Muslims but who cannot bring themselves to fight against their own side. They are thus neither for nor against the Muslims. Allah showed Himself full of grace towards you when He spared you their hostility. If they keep away from you and do not fight you, if they wish to make peace, you should not fight them, as long as they remain neutral.

According to al-Razi, Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), just before he left Makkah, obtained from Hilal bni Ouwaymer al-Aslamy a commitment to remain neutral, that is, to help neither him nor his enemies. He promised, for his part, to guarantee him safety, as well as anybody who sought refuge with him. Such was the case with a group of Bani Hashem who were mobilized on the day of the battle of Badr, who went to the fight against their desires. The Prophet (peace be upon him) therefore forbade the killing of al-Abbas and ordered his capture.

91. There exists another group of hypocrites who proclaim Islam to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions in order to protect their lives, their property, and their descendants. In fact, they deal with the unbelievers and worship their idols in order to ensure their protection. They are implicitly on the side of the idolaters. Each time they are called upon to worship idols, they precipitate themselves, devote themselves to such practices, and fall into the greatest evil. Allah commands that such people should be fought against until they utterly renounce the use of arms, accept peace and a treaty, and guarantee peace to the Muslims. Allah gives the believers total latitude in their dealings with hypocrites such as these.

92. Allah says: “It is unfitting and it is forbidden for a believer to deliberately kill a fellow-believer, since the faith keeps him from committing such a sin. It may be, however, that he kills mistakenly or involuntarily. It may also be that he commits murder by negligence or oversight. If a believer kills another by mistake, when shooting at game, for instance, he will be subject to the following punishment:
– If a believer kills another involuntarily, he must pay blood money to the parents of the victim, unless they forgive him and release him from this obligation. He must also free one slave who has embraced Islam.
– If the victim was a believer but from an enemy clan, the murderer must free one slave who has embraced Islam. The parents of the victim shall not have the right to claim blood money, to prevent them from using it to fight against the Muslims.
– If the victim was a believer belonging to a clan which has entered into a pact with that of the murderer, and has committed itself not to fight against that clan, the murderer shall be obliged to pay the blood money to the parents of the victim and to free a slave who has embraced Islam.
– If the murderer does not have the means to pay the blood money, and is unable to free a slave, either because he lacks the means to buy one or because he cannot arrange to buy a slave who has embraced Islam, he must fast for two consecutive months, which must not be interrupted without a legitimate reason. If he breaks his fast without legitimate reason, his previous days of fasting shall be discounted, and he will have to start his fast again from the beginning until he has completed a fast of two consecutive months, as an act of repentance. Allah knows what men do, and He is wise in establishing laws which are in their interest.

93. Whoever knows Islam and its laws and deliberately kills a believer, judging this murderous act to be justified, will be condemned to hell, where he will remain for ever. Allah will curse him, and will withdraw His grace from him, and will subject him to the terrible punishments of hell. Legal commentators divide into three groups on the question of the repentance of the person who deliberately kills a believer:
1- Ibnu Abbas and a group of ancient writers are of the opinion that the murderer of a believer is never pardoned, even if he repents, and that he will remain eternally in hell. To corroborate their opinion, they adduce the following words of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Every sin can be forgiven by the Lord, except those of dying as an unbeliever or deliberately killing a believer.” They also quote these orders of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Whoever assists, by the slightest word, in the killing of a Muslim shall have these words inscribed on his brow on the Day of Resurrection: “Abandon all hope of Allah’s mercy!” They also base their argument on the following statement made by the Prophet (peace be upon him): “If humans and demons work together to kill a believer, Allah will cast them headlong into hell. Allah has forbidden paradise to those who murder and those who incite to murder.
2- Others believe that to dwell eternally in hell means to remain there for a long period but not for ever, basing this view on the texts which clearly state that the penitence of believers who transgress the divine laws does not last for ever. They also rely on the fact that in this verse there is no indication as to what His punishment will be for such a sin, nor does it say that He will irrevocably impose it. Allah says: “The punishment of a grave sin shall be equally grave.” (See chapter 42- Ash-Shura (Consultation), 40). If by that Allah meant that for every grave misdeed He would impose an equally grave punishment, that would be in contradiction with His divine word: “How many sins He forgives.” (See Al-Shura, 34). He means rather that such would be His punishment, if He chose to impose it.
3- For a third group of legal commentators, the punishment prescribed in this verse would apply to the murderer who sought to justify his murder. The punishment is indisputable.
Akramatu and Bnu Jurayj interpret “deliberately commit” in this verse to mean “justify the murder.”

94. Allah draws attention to another type of murder committed in error during a journey or a campaign in Allah’s cause, towards the lands of the idolaters, this being after Islam had spread widely throughout the Arabian peninsula. Certain Muslims tried to make contact with their Muslim brothers, since Allah had ordered them not to ascribe idolatry to everyone who lived in idolatrous regions. He enjoined them to be circumspect and not to judge others until they had examined each case and were fully informed about it. (This verse was revealed following an incident involving certain Muslim warriors. A man from the Soulaym tribe, who was herding sheep, passed close to them and greeted them in the Islamic manner. They agreed among themselves that he had done this merely to save himself from them, so they followed him and killed him, and brought his sheep to the Prophet (peace be upon him).) Allah says: “If you are fighting in enemy territory, act with circumspection, and when someone greets you and shows you that he is a Muslim, do not say `You are not a Muslim.’ Do not kill him through greed for booty, for Allah has at His disposal far better spoils than any you might desire here on earth, and which have led you to kill a man like the one who greeted you and revealed his faith. You despised him and accused him of lying and pretending in order to protect himself from you. You coveted an earthly prize. The legitimate riches at Allah’s disposal are far superior to the possessions of that man. Not long ago, you were just like him. You concealed your beliefs and hid the fact that you were Muslims. Allah then granted you glory and victory and guided you to Islam. He knows your every act. None of the motives for your actions escape Him.

95. Allah describes how great the rewards will be for those who fight in His cause and put themselves and their belongings at His disposal, and how they will be pardoned and placed in the highest rank, near their Lord. He says in this regard: “Those who abstain from fighting for the cause of Allah, if they have no excuse and are not ill, do not come up to the level of those who bring their bodies and their possessions to the effort. Allah favours those who struggle over those who refuse, and grants them a higher rank and a magnificent reward. However, to those who abstain from fighting for His cause because of some incapacity, but who wish they were able to fight, Allah promises what he promises his warriors – goodwill, reward, forgiveness, and mercy, – for they are perfectly faithful and devoted to Allah in their actions.

96. This magnificent reward that Allah promises to His warriors, favouring them even over those who have an excuse for abstention, consists in the honour which He accords them, His forgiveness and His mercy. Allah is merciful towards those believers who deserve forgiveness.

97. There were in Makkah some people who embraced Islam and concealed their adherence to this religion. On the day of the battle of Badr, the polytheists conscripted these people to fight on their side against the Muslims. Some were killed. The Muslims said: “They were Muslims and were forced to fight against us. Solicit pardon for them.” This verse was then revealed. After that, the Muslims wrote to the Muslims who had stayed in Makkah, saying they had no more excuse, and should emigrate. The verse has a general application, and concerns any person who lives among the polytheists, who is capable of emigrating, and who is unable to practice his religion in the place where he lives. Whoever does that harms himself and, it is unanimously agreed, commits a sin. Such people harm themselves since they abandon virtuous practices because they are afraid that they will be criticized and humiliated by their neighbours, who are sinners. This excuse used by those who wish to be seen as complaisant in the eyes of the heretics, under the pretext of wanting to defend themselves by coming to terms with evil-doers, has no validity; for it is incumbent upon them to hold to the good while tolerating the evil which is done to them, or to emigrate to a land where they can practice their religion. The verse signifies that those who die in polytheistic surroundings, where they could not during their lifetime practice the religious rites or manifest their faith, will be described by Allah as people who are sinful towards themselves, since they have not emigrated to areas where there is security and Islam. The noble angels will ask them: “Why did you stay in a place of infidelity, and not emigrate?” They will answer: “We were oppressed on earth. We were incapable of leaving our native land and going elsewhere.” The angels will say to them: ”Is Allah’s earth not wide enough for you to have found some place you could move to where you would have found security, liberty, and the opportunity to manifest your faith?” Allah says that these people who have proved to be sinners against themselves will have hell as a refuge. What a horrifying destination!

98. From this melancholy end reserved for those who decline to emigrate from a place dominated by polytheism, where they cannot practice their religion, Allah exempts the oppressed, who cannot liberate themselves from the polytheists and who, even if they could, are incapable of taking to the road or even of finding it, such as the debilitated, the sick, women, and children approaching puberty.

99. It may be that Allah will pardon such people for not having emigrated from the land of the disbelievers. Allah is all-merciful and all-forgiving.

100. Allah urges believers to emigrate. He inspires in them the desire to leave the unbelievers, and tells them that in the place they are going to they will find safe places where they can take refuge, fortify themselves against the polytheists, liberate themselves from their enemies and express their hostility towards them, and find ample means to provide for their sustenance. Whoever leaves his house with the intention of emigrating and who then dies, has already earned Allah’s reward, just as surely as he who completes his expatriation in the cause of Allah. the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “Actions are judged by intentions. Everyone will be rewarded according to his intentions. Whoever decides to make the exodus towards Allah and His envoy, expatriates himself for them. Everyone who sets out in search of the goods of this world, or of a woman he wishes to marry, expatriates himself for them.”

101. When you are journeying from one place to another, you are permitted to shorten the prayer, by reducing the number of prostrations to two in a prayer which has four. The Prophet (peace be upon him), in his magnanimity, considers the shortening of the prayer as “alms granted to you by Allah. So accept his almsgiving.” For the leaders of the believers, this is to be seen as an absolute authorization which is applicable even if the Muslims have achieved security and no longer have anything to fear from polytheists and idolaters. The distance to be covered which legitimizes the shortening of a prayer is reckoned as 81 kilometres by the Hanafis and 89 kilometres by the partisans of other doctrines. According to Aicha, “the prescribed prayer originally consisted in kneeling twice. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) made his exodus to Medina, the prayer was lengthened for the believers who settled there, but retained the original number for those on a journey, who can kneel just twice.” This verse postulates the shortening of the prayer if one is fearful of unbelievers. In such cases, a group of believers should perform their prayer by kneeling once behind the imam, and then kneeling alone a second time. The group that has been keeping watch must then come and kneel just once behind the imam, and kneel a second time later on. (As for the shortening of a prayer in which believers normally kneel four times, that is a precept drawn from the words and practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which have been successively transmitted.)

102. In this verse, Allah explains the validity of the shortening of prayers, as discussed in the previous verse. He explains in detail how to perform prayers in dangerous situations. (Legal commentators are unanimous in considering that the precepts governing the form of prayer in dangerous situations were later abrogated for the reasons given for the postponement of prayers in general.) In the prayers in time of danger, if the Prophet (peace be upon him) is in the midst of his fighters and directing the prayer for them, a group of them should stand at his side, without laying down their weapons, and keeping all their equipment with them. This group must pray with him and kneel once with him, and then kneel on their own while he continues his prayer. Once his recitation is completed, this first group of believers should withdraw and keep guard. The other group, which had been keeping guard and has not yet prayed, must then come and join the Prophet (peace be upon him) and perform the second kneeling, and then finish the prayer on their own and complete it with the final greeting. Allah puts believers on their guard against the treachery of the unfaithful, and warns them to stay on guard and keep their weapons near them, in order to be ready to resist any enemies who try to trick the Muslims by seizing the occasion to fall on them while they are performing their prayers. Allah then says that if rain is troubling them, or if they are ill, believers are permitted to put down their weapons. They should, however, still remain alert and keep their weapons at their side so that they can quickly seize them in case of need. Allah reminds the believers that He is their commander and that He will grant them victory and will disgrace the unbelievers, for whom He is reserving an ignominious punishment on the day of resurrection.

103. Allah Almighty commands the believers to recall His name frequently in their hearts, once the prayer in time of danger is completed, because of the extent to which He has decreed the prayer be shortened and lightened, and during which He has allowed so much coming and going, which is otherwise forbidden. When the danger is passed and the Muslims feel secure, they must perform the prayer in its entirety, kneel and prostrate themselves in the proper way, since prayer is an obligation for believers at certain prescribed hours at which it must absolutely be performed, whenever that is feasible. The performance of prayer at specified moments was prescribed so that men would remember their Lord at various times, and so would not be led by negligence to commit evil or to omit doing good.

104. Allah Almighty instructs believers to apply themselves unceasingly to combatting their enemies and harassing them. He draws their attention to the fact that if they have been wounded and are therefore in pain, so also their enemies will suffer likewise from their own wounds. The only difference between a believer and an unbeliever is that the believer can anticipate Allah’s reward, and expects to receive from Him both victory and support, and that He will honour His word and keep the promises made through the mediation of the Prophet (peace be upon him), in His sacred Book. As for the unbeliever, however, he can expect nothing of the kind. Only Allah knows what He prescribes and decrees. He is Omniscient and Wise.

105. This verse was revealed in connection with an ally from Medina, of the Bani Oubayreq tribe. He was in the company of Mohammad (peace be upon him) during an invasion. He stole the shield of another ally who went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to make his accusation. The thief then hid the shield in the house of a Jew, and told his companions what he had done. His friends then went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask him to pardon their companion and to defend him against his accusers. The Messenger of Allah then solemnly excused and absolved him. He told the owners of the shield that they had accused a pious and benevolent Muslim of theft. Allah then sent this and the following verses, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded that the shield be brought to him and restored to its owner. The thief took flight and rejoined the polytheists in Makkah.

Allah Almighty tells His Messenger that He revealed the Quran to him, the expression of truth, so that he could adjudicate between men according to the precepts contained therein, and that he must not therefore defend the unjust against those who claim their legitimate rights.

106. Allah commands the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask the Lord’s pardon for having told the owners of the shield that they had accused of theft a pious and benevolent Muslim. Allah is full of forgiveness towards those who ask His pardon; He is merciful towards His servants who repent.

107. Allah Almighty addresses Himself here to the Prophet (peace be upon him), the most just and the most perfect of men, in order to put us even more on our guard against being influenced by those who wield powerful arguments, a circumstance which often faces those in authority. Allah considers that whoever acts treacherously towards other people dupes and betrays himself, since he is also harming himself. (The subjects of this verse are the thief and those relatives of his who helped him, because they are partners in his sin and treachery.)

Allah says to his Prophet (peace be upon him): “Do not defend these traitors and do not assist them in any dispute, for Allah hates the deceiver who takes pleasure in his sins and feels no fear of the Divine punishment which fills his fellow-men with concern.

108. Allah Almighty then describes the state in which such traitors find themselves. He reprimands them for their nefarious acts and says that when they commit such sins they hide themselves from men, either through shame or through fear of punishment. They do not however elude the eyes of Allah, and they cannot hide themselves from Him by renouncing the commission of such sins, for their faith is weak, since faith prevents one from persisting in evil deeds and repeating one’s sins. Whoever knows that Allah can see him in the shadows must necessarily cease to commit sin, through the shame at being observed by Allah. Allah says that He sees them when they agree in secret nocturnal meetings on what is not pleasing to Him, intending to exculpate themselves and accuse others of their crime. Allah knows everything they do, nothing escapes him, not the slightest atom, in the heavens or on earth. There is therefore no way in which they will escape His punishment.

109. You have pleaded in favour of thieves and tried to exculpate them in this world. Who then will defend them before Allah on the Day of Resurrection? On that day Allah will be both prosecutor and judge. He perceives everything that they do and knows everything about them and about the whole of creation. Believers must therefore heed Allah, and not believe that if they unjustly obtain a favourable verdict on earth they will also be able to obtain a similar verdict on the Day of Judgement.

110. Allah Almighty speaks to His servants of His grace and tells them that He is indulgent, generous, merciful, and mild. Whoever commits a misdeed or a sin, and then repents before Allah, will obtain from Him clemency and mercy, however great his sins may be. (Mohammad the Prophet (peace be upon him) is quoted as saying: “Any Muslim who commits an evil deed, and then performs his ablution and prays by kneeling twice, and begs Allah to pardon his misdeed, will find himself forgiven by Allah.”)

111. Almighty Allah then issues a warning against committing evil deeds and sins, and describes the serious harm they can cause. He says in this regard: “Nobody can be of any help to anyone else. Allah has had the grace, the wisdom, the impartiality, and the mercy to decree the laws, and to show men the limits which they must not transgress and the punishment to be imposed on those who do transgress, or the pardon which He will accord through His grace and generosity.”

112. Those who commit a crime and accuse an innocent man of it, as was the case with the members of the Bani Oubayreq tribe who stole a shield and accused an innocent Jew of the crime, are clearly committing a terrible sin. For in addition to the crime of theft they have committed the sin of lying by calumniating an innocent man.

113. The friends of Bani Oubayreq tried to exculpate their companion of the crime of stealing the shield, attributing goodness and piety to him, and blaming the owner of the shield for having accused virtuous people. They wanted in this way to force Mohammad (peace be upon him) to commit an error. Allah Almighty protected him and revealed the truth to him. Those who tried to mislead the Prophet (peace be upon him) were themselves drawn into error, since Allah protected the Prophet (peace be upon him) against error, supported him by granting him His grace, and revealed the Quran (the Book) to him, and inspired him with wisdom. (“Wisdom” is here taken to mean the precepts included in the sayings and deeds of the Prophet (peace be upon him).) Allah informed him of things he did not know before the divine revelation. The grace Allah granted to His Prophet (peace be upon him) was immense.

114. Nothing good can come of actions like those of Ibni Oubayreq’s companions, who held secret meetings, and tried to help him to accuse the Jew unjustly and calumniate him. Nothing good can come of any such actions. Nothing good can come of people’s secret conversations, unless they remember Allah in their exchanges, or are planning a charitable act or encouraging men to goodness or preventing evil, as says Mohammad: “All the words of the son of Adam are against him rather than otherwise, unless he refers to Almighty Allah, recommends the good, or condemns evil;” or unless he is working to reconcile people who are in disaccord or conflict with each other. Whoever accomplishes his actions in Allah’s cause, and in order to please Him, without seeking any other recompense, will receive from Allah a magnificent reward.

115. He who denies the Prophet (peace be upon him) by rejecting Islam and evincing hostility towards it, he who follows a path other than the one prescribed by Allah’s envoy, and deliberately takes a direction other than that of Islamic law, after the path of righteousness has been made apparent to him and he has distinguished good from evil, he who adopts a way other than that of the believers, which is unanimously adopted by the Muslim nation (the unanimity of the nation being a proof of infallibility), will be punished by Allah, who will cause his actions to seem good in his eyes, and will embellish them, in order to lead him deeper and deeper into them. He will deliver him into hell, where he will burn. Horrible destination and dwelling-place!

116. Allah Almighty does not forgive those who associate another with Him. Other than this offence, Allah will forgive whomsoever He wishes. He who associates anything or anyone with Allah has adopted another path than the right one, strayed from the light, moved away from the truth, entailed his own loss, and lost his soul in both this world and the next.

117. Instead of worshipping Allah, the unbelievers worship models which they have fashioned, and say that they resemble angels whom they claim to be the daughters of Allah. That is why they worship them and have given them the names of females (such as al-Lat, al-Ouzza, and Manat). It is the devil who orders them to act in this way. It is the devil who has caused such activities to seem good in their eyes. By obeying him, they are but worshipping him.

118. Allah has banished from His mercy the devil who has led these unbelievers astray, and has expelled him from His presence. Satan told Allah that he would lead His servants astray and that he would carry off a certain number to be his followers. (Some commentators are of the opinion that the “particular portion” alluded to in this verse signifies that part which Satan has in every human being, which makes them apt to do evil, for every person feels deep inside himself the traps that Satan lays to tempt him.)

119. And Satan continues to address himself to Allah, telling Him that he will strive to mislead His servants and cause them to stray from the true path, that he will augment the attractions of their headlong rush towards worldly pleasures and of the postponement of repentance and the accomplishment of good deeds; he will give them false hopes and will command them to cut a notch in the ears of domestic animals left in liberty because they have demonstrated their great vital potency, to designate thus the “bahira” (the female camel whose ear was cut with a notch when she had produced five offspring, if the fifth was a female), the “sa’iba” (the female camel left in liberty because she was dedicated to the service of a divinity; she could batten where she wished, and was never given a burden to carry and never milked except to serve a guest), the “wasila” (a young female camel noted for the number of twins she had borne), and the “hami” (a male camel who had sired three broods; he was said to have a protected back and therefore he carried no burdens, and no pasture or water was denied to him). Satan tells the Lord that he will order Allah’s servants to pervert His divine creation, physically through castration and the tattooing of animals, and morally by altering the innate urge of mankind to observe, to investigate, and to seek goodness and truth, and by tempting human nature and habituating it to evil practices and to committing misdeeds and vices. Allah Almighty has indeed created all things, and such actions pervert Allah’s creation and blind the spirit of mankind. He who takes Satan as master rather than Allah will lose both in this world and the next. It is an irreparable loss.

120. Satan frightens people into thinking that they will sink into poverty if they spend their wealth. He whispers slyly to them that their goods will be exhausted or diminished and that they will then becomes poverty-stricken and humiliated. He promises them riches and fortune by tempting them and inciting them to gamble. He gives them false hopes that they will be successful in this life and in the next. He is merely lying, for his promises are deceptive.

121. Those who trust in Satan’s promises and the false hopes he gives them will have hell for a refuge on Judgement Day, and will never be able to escape from it.

122. After having described the state of Satan’s followers, Allah Almighty praises the blessed believers, who do not respond favourably to the devil’s appeals, and do not comply with his commands. He tells them how honoured they will be on Judgement Day: “Those who believe, whose faith is sincere, who willingly perform the benevolent deeds enjoined upon them, and who avoid evil actions which have been forbidden to them, they will be led by Allah into the gardens under which flow streams, where they will dwell eternally. That is Allah’s promise and it will be kept. It is He who is capable of granting what He has promised through His grace and His favour. Nobody is more truthful than Allah.

123. Ibnu Abbas says: “There were differences between men of different religions. Those of the Torah said: ‘Our Book is the best and our Prophet (peace be upon him) is the best.’ The people of the gospel held the same views. Those of the Quran said: ‘The only religion is Islam, and our Book has abrogated all the others. It has been prescribed to you, as to us, to believe in your Book and to follow ours.’” Allah Almighty deals with their differences in this verse, and tells them: “The merit and the validity of a religion, as well as the welfare of its adherents, does not reside in the fact of saying, ‘my religion is better and more perfect.’ Rather, it is necessary to act according to the precepts of one’s religion, for character resides in one’s actions, not in one’s hopes or one’s pride. Neither your salvation nor that of the writers of scripture depends on the hopes one places in this or that religion, for religions have not been established for the purpose of boasting or pride, and one can derive no merit from merely belonging to a particular religion, without at the same time acting in accordance with its precepts. The essential is to obey Allah and to follow His law as revealed through His intermediaries, the Prophets (peace be upon them). He who does evil, whatever his religion, will answer for it. He will find no one to save him from the wrath of Allah and no one to protect him from the woes of torture. The true believer should judge his deeds according to the guidance of his Book and his Prophets (peace be upon them).

124. Thus, whoever performs a benevolent act, be it man or woman, with reassured heart and a belief in Allah, His Books and Prophets (peace be upon them), shall be rewarded by Allah for his good deeds by being received into paradise. Allah will not overlook any of their good works, not even the most insignificant.

125. Who has a more beautiful religion than the man whose heart is devoted to Allah alone, who strives sincerely to please his Lord, because he believes in Him and seeks to win His reward, who accomplishes acts of benevolence and follows Divine law and the precepts and the truth revealed by Allah to His messenger? Here are two conditions indispensable to the validity of a good deed:
– Acting to please Allah Alone.
– Acting correctly and in accordance with Divine law.

He who practises the good with the sincere aim of pleasing Allah must, with Mohammad (peace be upon him) and the Muslims, follow the cult of Abraham (peace be upon him), spurn polytheism and renounce it after meditating upon it, and devote himself entirely to the good and the righteous. Allah Almighty consequently wishes to render adherence to the cult of Abraham attractive in the eyes of the believers, since Abraham (peace be upon him) achieved the height of piety. Allah says in this regard: “Abraham attained the status of a friend of his creator, the most noble proof of affection. He who occupies such a rank deserves that we follow his cult.”

126. Everything that is in heaven or on earth belongs to Allah Almighty , and is part of His creation. He is the absolute Master of it all. His decisions are irreversible and incontestable. He is Omniscient, and nothing escapes Him.

127. You have been consulted on the subject of women and asked to clarify certain ambiguous and knotty points related to their financial and matrimonial rights. Tell them: “Allah will instruct you concerning women by suggesting certain precepts in His Book. Relevant also to this subject are certain passages in the Quran recited and revealed before your present consultation, which deal with the manner of treating female orphans, from whom you were in the habit of withholding their portion of an inheritance as it was prescribed by the Lord, and which you held onto because they were under your tutelage. You will also be instructed on the manner of treating those female orphans whom you desire to marry for their beauty and to profit from their goods, or whom you do not desire to marry because they are ugly, and whom therefore you do not marry or give in marriage to anyone else, so that their property may remain in your hands. Allah forbids such practices and orders the man who wishes to marry an orphan bride to give her a dowry equal to that prescribed for those of similar status. If he does not do that, he must seek another woman in marriage, for Allah has shown Himself generous towards men. In the pre-Islamic period (known as “the period of ignorance” or ”Jahiliyya”), children and young women were denied their portion of inheritances. Allah forbade this practice, and specified a certain proportion for every individual. He urges believers to act well and to comply with his commands, saying: “Allah is aware of every good deed you perform, and will generously reward you for it.”

128. If a wife fears disaffection or distance on the part of her husband, it is appropriate for her to come to an agreement with him whereby she renounces some or all of her rights, such as the allowance which covers food, clothing, or lodging, in exchange for being allowed to remain with him, cherished and respected. She may also return a portion of her dowry to him in order to obtain a divorce from him, as described in an earlier verse. He commits no sin in accepting such an arrangement. However, reconciliation is preferable to separation or repudiation. Allah has placed men and woman on an equal footing, and has distinguished men by putting them in charge of the family, since men are physically and mentally stronger than women, and more capable of earning a living and providing for the family’s needs. The man should act decently towards his wife and seek to act as justly as possible towards her. Almighty Allah says: “Avarice sometimes waylays the soul. If a generous impulse presents itself, avarice tries to deflect it and to prevent the generosity from being acted upon in the interest of a reconciliation. Women insist on their rights to equality with their husbands, and to adequate provision for their needs, and to proper treatment from their spouse. Men, too, insist on their rights. That is why mutual indulgence must reign between them in all things. Consequently, Allah urges his servants to do their utmost maintain a conjugal life. On this subject, he says: “If you treat each other with mutual affection, if you avoid the causes of disaffection, and the distancing and discord which spring from them, Allah will be aware of the fact, and nothing that you do will escape him.”

129. Men will never succeed in being just to all their wives in all matters. If a man is called upon to share his nights, apparently, between his wives, he can never love them all or desire them equally. (Speaking of sharing his nights between his wives, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “O Allah, here is what I share out and what I possess. Do not blame me for what I do not possess,” meaning his heart. Allah Almighty only asks human beings to be as equitable as they possibly can. Allah later says: “If you prefer one of your wives over the other and you love her more than another, do not let your leanings carry you to the point of neglecting the other completely and thus leaving her neither truly married nor totally repudiated. If you treat your wives properly, if you avoid being unjust towards them and you do not show too much preference to some over the others, if you are equitable in sharing your time among them and looking after them, and if you fear Allah at all times, Allah will forgive you for preferring certain wives over others.”

130. If the two spouses prefer to separate, for fear of not being able to live according to the limits set by Allah, Allah will recompense each of them and will find for each a better partner. The spouses will merit Allah’s grace only if each of them keeps within proper bounds and strives sincerely to achieve understanding and reconciliation, and if, after reflection and meditation upon the causes of their discord, they come to the conclusion that conjugal life is no longer possible, and so separate. The grace of Allah is generous. He knows souls to their very depths; He knows who merits His gifts and bestows them accordingly.

131. Allah created the heavens and earth. He is Lord of all. It is not difficult for Him to impoverish the rich, nor to grant good company to a lonely person. He has commanded you, just as He commanded the people of the Book who preceded you, to worship Him alone, without any associate, and to heed Him by observing His precepts and His laws, so that your understanding will be refined, your souls will be purified, and your religious and worldly interests will be well administered. However, if people choose to be impious, Allah above can do without them, and their unfaithfulness will in no way trouble Him, nor will their insubordination be at all harmful to Him. He derives no profit from their gratitude or their piety. He has enjoined on you what He enjoined on those who received His writing before you, in order to cloak you with His blessings. He can do without your cult, and He is worthy of praise for all that he decides and decrees. He is the absolute lord of everything contained in the heavens or on the earth. He is without associate. Glory be to Him in the highest.

132. To Allah belongs everything which is in the heavens above or on the earth. He is the Creator and the Lord. He judges each person according to his deeds. You servants, you submit yourselves to the divine will, and you can ask nothing of Him which He is incapable of providing.

133. Allah Almighty is capable of annihilating you and finding other men to replace you on this earth, if you disobey Him. How Allah despises His servants if they disobey Him and break His commandments!

134. He among you who through effort and struggle seeks to achieve the good things of this world, such as riches, power, and so on, he deceives himself and is lacking in devotion, for it is in the hand of Allah that lie the rewards both of this world and of the world to come. It is very easy for you to strive both for the benefits of this world and for those of the hereafter. It is stupid not to strive for the benefits of the future life which will last for ever, and only to work for this life which is ephemeral and perishable. A wise believer should say: ”Lord, grant us a happy lot in this world and in the next, and save us from fiery torture.” Allah hears everything that people say to each other or whisper in secret meetings. He is clearsighted and sees what they do, whatever situation they may be in.

135. Justice rules the universe. That is why Allah has commanded believers to strive to ensure that justice reigns over all, and to make it one of their fundamental traits, permanent and deeply rooted in their hearts (“and to assume equality among all people”). Just as one must be fair in judging people, so also should one be equitable in all one’s dealings: towards one’s wives and children, taking care of their needs and treating them as equals. Allah commands believers to be His witnesses, aiming at the truth and justice which he prescribes and approves, without favouritism or particular regard for anyone, even if this should entail disadvantages for him (whoever recognizes a truth which is not in his own interest must give evidence that goes against his interest), or for his father or mother or those who are close to him. For respect and gratitude towards parents or the need to maintain ties of blood do not in any way mean that one should help one’s parents or other relatives to seize what does not belong to them, but rather that one should help them to follow the path of righteousness and to effect good deeds. Allah enjoins believers to be just in delivering their testimony, even if it works against the interest of a relative, rich or poor, for the relative depends on Allah and not on you, and in your dealings with Him you will do best to respect Allah’s laws. Beware of favouring a rich person because you hope for some reward from him or because you fear his authority. Beware also of favouring a poor man because you pity him. Satisfying those against whom you give evidence is not better for you or for them than the fact of being acceptable to Allah. Do not therefore follow your passions, for fear you will stray from the true path.

136. Allah commands His faithful servants to believe in one sole Allah, without associates, and his magnanimous messenger, Mohammad (peace be upon him) , and in the Book which has been revealed to him (the Quran), in the writings He has sent down before him to His messengers and Prophets. He warns them about the pernicious consequences of disbelief, and says to them: “He who denies Allah, His angels, His books, His Prophets, and the Last Judgement, strays from the path of truth and distances himself totally from the ultimate goal. (It is thought that Allah is here addressing Jewish believers. It is recounted, indeed, quoting Abdallah bna Abbas, that this verse was revealed in connection with Abdullah bni Sallam and a group of Jews who came to Mohammad and said: “We believe in you, in your Book, in Moses and the Torah and in Isaiah, and we deny any other book or Prophet.” the Prophet (peace be upon him) answered them: “Believe rather in Allah and His Prophet, believe in His Book which is the Quran and in all the other holy books which have preceded it.” They refused. Allah sent them this verse, and they all believed.)

137. Faith is absolute submission. It is to act constantly according to the right and constantly to do good. Also, Allah says that those who have had faith but have since become infidels again, since they have become hardened in their denial, have lost all aptitude to grasp the profound meaning of faith, and its qualities and virtues. One cannot hope, according to divine law, that such people will ever regain righteousness, or realize what is in their interest, or follow in the path of the Lord. They deserve rather that Allah should withhold His grace from them and deny them His paradise, His grace, and His mercy, since their souls have become soiled and their hearts blind. This being so, they are no longer worthy of forgiveness, and must give up hope of any divine reward.

138. Allah considers hypocrites to be among these vacillators who believe and then deny, whose hearts Allah has sealed. Allah announces a painful punishment for them on Judgement Day. (The verb “announces” used in this verse usually appears in the phrase “to announce good news.” The usage here is therefore ironic, and has the effect of a reprimand.

139. Allah then describes these hypocrites, saying that they ally themselves with unbelievers hostile to the faith and the faithful, and that they enter into bonds of friendship with them. Allah condemns their attitude in being allies of the denigrators, and asks indignantly: “Are these hypocrites seeking power, victory, and invincibility at the hands of the infidels?” Allah then warns them that power belongs entirely to Allah, and that no one shares it with Him, since it belongs only to those to whom Allah has granted it. Allah then urges them to proclaim their total submission to Allah alone, to join the ranks of the believers who will gain victory here on earth and Allah’s paradise on the Day of Resurrection.

140. Certain Muslims sat with the unbelievers while they discussed disbelief, criticized Islam, and mocked the Quran. They could not refuse them because they were weak and the infidels were strong. Allah above orders them to avoid such company. He says that He has revealed in the Quran the command, to all those of proven faith, not to keep company with those who deny or mock Allah’s signs, until such people have ceased to commit these sins and have expressed themselves differently. By keeping company with those who mock Allah’s signs and deny them, the believers resemble them. Just as they have participated with them in denigration, so Allah will make them share the eternal punishment of hell. He will gather them together in hell, where He will inflict terrible punishments on them.

141. Allah says: “These hypocrites keep watch on the believers, seek to do them harm, and look forward to the disappearance of the Islamic nation, so that the believers turn once more to the path of unfaithfulness, and their religion ceases to exist. If Allah grants the believers victory and causes them to achieve success, and they carry off booty, these same hypocrites will say: “Were we not your companions? We therefore deserve a portion of the booty that you have won.” If, however, the infidels beat the believers, as was the case at the battle of Ohod, they will say to the victorious unbelievers: “Have we not implicitly supported and protected you, and have we not urged the believers to abstain from battle, so that you have been victorious over them (“Did we not work to protect you?”). Grant us then some recognition for this favour, and give us some of the spoils you carried off.” Allah threatens the hypocrites, saying that He will judge them severely to the depths of their hearts on the day of resurrection, and that nothing will protect them in any way, neither the pretence of adopting Islam nor their hypocrisy. He tells them that on the Day of Judgment he will separate the faithful believers from the hypocrites who conceal their infidelity and pretend belief, and that He will give to each what he has merited. Allah also says that He will not give infidels precedence over believers and will not allow them to be victorious over them on this earth, as long as they remain true to their religion, respect its precepts, and avoid what it prohibits. If the infidels occasionally meet with success, the advantage will always remain with the good, and the bad will disappear. Nor will Allah allow the denigrators any advantage over believers on the Day of Judgement.

142. In proclaiming belief and concealing their disbelief, the hypocrites, either through ignorance or insolence, think that they have deceived people. They think that in the same way they can deceive Allah on Judgement Day. Themselves deceived, such people fail to realize Allah is aware of everything they do and feel implicitly, that he is duping them by leading them to plunge deeper and deeper into tyranny and error, and that He is deceiving them, in this world and the next, as to the truth and the right path to take. (Ibnu Abbas says: “Allah deceives them on the Day of Resurrection by giving them a light to follow with the believers. Once they have reached the true path, their light will be extinguished, and they will remain in darkness.”) These hypocrites are characterized by the fact that they even perform their prayers, the greatest obligation imposed by Allah and the surest way to enter into His good graces, with nonchalance and without the slightest ardour, for they have no real motive in performing them and they totally lack faith. They do not even grasp the meaning of the prayers, and they pretend to pray in other people’s presence because they are afraid and want to ingratiate themselves. When they pray, they are distracted, do not give evidence of submission, and mention Allah only very rarely.

143. The hypocrites vacillate between faith and disbelief; they do not belong, implicitly and explicitly, either to the believers or to the denigrators. They appear to belong with the believers, but implicitly they belong with the unbelievers. Some of them doubt and hesitate: sometimes they lean this way, sometimes that. You will never find any saviour or guide for a man whom Allah has cast asunder, for Allah’s judgement is irrevocable. He does not have to give account of Himself to anybody, and it is they who must give an account of themselves to Allah.

144. Allah Almighty forbids his servants to take unbelievers rather than believers as allies. He forbids them to frequent unbelievers, to forge links of friendship with them or to ask them for advice, to show them any affection or to confide believers’ secrets to them. If they do any of these things, Allah tells them that they will give the unbelievers an explicit argument and thus furnish them with a pretext for punishing believers. (This verse means that believers must not make statements or perform acts which are favourable to infidels and might damage Muslims.)

145. Allah says that hypocrites will be in the lowest depth of hell, and that no one will be able to save them from the anguish of the fire.

146. As for hypocrites who repent, renounce hypocrisy and infidelity, and offer to Allah their exclusive faith and good deeds, they will count as believers, and will obtain the magnificent reward which Allah has reserved for His servants who fear Him.

147. Allah says that He does not punish anyone so as to be revenged upon him, or out of personal gain, or to protect Himself from harm, since Allah can do without the entire world. He punished people for having denied the favours of Allah towards them. He granted them His favours, that is, reason, the senses, and intuition. However, they have made bad use of these gifts, and have not made use of them as a means of discovering the existence and the majesty of Allah. If they devoted to Allah belief and gratitude, their souls would be purified and the effects of their attitude would appear in their spirits and in their every action. They would thus merit Allah’s paradise, and he would award them a rank several degrees above their deserts, as a reward for their gratitude and their belief.

148. Allah Almighty says that He does not like, nor does he want, His servants to speak openly among themselves of faults and evil deeds which have been committed, for that encourages corruption (at the very least, this attenuates the repugnance one feels with respect to disgusting actions and statements, especially if one is obliged to witness them several times). Nor does Allah like it when people talk secretly of evil doings. He has forbidden His servants to hold secret meetings to discuss sin, aggression, or disobedience of the Prophet (peace be upon him). On the other hand, Allah allows anyone who has been subjected to an iniquity to raise his voice to bring a complaint against the wrongdoer, and to plead his case before the governor or any other person from whom he wishes to obtain assistance and whose aid he is soliciting in order to obtain justice. In this case he is committing no sin, for Allah does not wish his servants to tolerate injustice or submit to oppression. To accept injustice and oppression is even more grave than the act of raising one’s voice about an evil deed. It is therefore totally legitimate to protest against injustice.

Allah hears those who appeal to Him. He hears every statement made by those who practise evil, and He has perfect knowledge of the causes of evil.

149. Whether you do good publicly or secretly, or you pardon those who have done you wrong, such acts will bring you closer to Allah and will augment the reward Allah has in store for you. He will pass over the faults you have committed, for He rewards everyone according to his good works. One of his fundamental traits consists in pardoning His servants, while being fully capable of punishing them. the Prophet (peace be upon him) says in this connection: “One’s property is not diminished by the giving of alms, and Allah gives more honour to those who can forgive more. Whoever humbles himself before Allah, Allah will elevate him to a rank of eminence.”

150. Allah Almighty menaces with a terrible punishment those who deny Him and deny all His messengers. These are the people who reject the divine revelations and claim that the messages and precepts communicated by the Prophets are their own and not a divine revelation. Allah also threatens with punishment and torture those who deny some of His messengers, or even one of them, such as the Jews who deny Mohammad and Jesus, and the Christians who deny Mohammad. They act in this way through passion and habit, and because they have seen their fathers act in the same way. They possess no proof whatsoever to support what they believe. They seek in this way to steer a middle course.

151. Some people dissociate Allah from His messengers, and say: “We believe in some of them and not in others;” Allah says that such people are the real unbelievers, and Allah has reserved for infidels an ignominious punishment, for having paid insufficient heed to the commands of their Lord.

152. To those who believe in Allah and in all His messengers (meaning the followers of Mohammad who believe in all Allah’s revelations and in all of His envoys), without making any distinction between them, Allah will grant a reward commensurate with their acts, and will grant them satisfaction for having so believed. Allah Almighty is forgiving, and will pardon the errors of those whose faith is sincere, who ascribe to Allah no associate and do not distinguish between His envoys. He is merciful, and has pity on those who behave well. He multiplies His favours towards them and covers them with increasing grace.

153. Through obstinacy, and in order to reduce him to powerlessness, the Jews asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to make a book descend from Heaven written in celestial letters which would prove him to be the envoy of Allah, just as the Torah was revealed to Moses in written form. The unbelievers of Quraish asked the messenger of Allah to make a spring of water flow forth from the earth. Allah Almighty tells his Prophet (peace be upon him) not to be surprised at such requests, for their ancestors, the Jews, had asked even more of Moses: “Let us see Allah in visible form,” they said. Allah punished them by casting down lightning upon them, to punish their high-handedness, their iniquity, and their insolence, and because, driven by their arrogance, they pressed Moses in this way after they had seen him produce miraculous divine signs in Egypt, when he caused Pharaoh and his soldiers to perish in the sea. Then they worshipped the calf while Moses was supplicating Allah. Allah then furnished Moses with undeniable powers over the children of Israel, and subjected them to his authority, despite their rebelliousness and their obstinacy. When he ordered the innocents among them to kill the guilty, they obeyed.

154. Then Almighty Allah forbade them to follow the precepts of the Torah and all that they contained. They proved themselves too proud and rebellious against Moses and his message. Allah raised on high Mount Thor and threatened to bring it crashing down on their heads, if they did not obey His precepts. Allah then commanded them to enter the first town that they had occupied on earth and prostrate themselves, as a sign of thanks to Allah for his favours, and to say “hitta,” which means “Lord, cleanse us of our vices and our sins.” They entered, sliding on their behinds, saying “hinta” (wheat). Allah ordered them to respect the laws of the sabbath, to glorify Him, and not to transgress. They then had recourse to fraud to fish for whales, setting out their nets before Saturday, and collecting them the next day. Allah received from them a definite and solemn promise that they would rigorously follow the precepts of the Torah, respect the limits imposed by Allah, and never transgress. They transgressed and disobeyed, and committed acts that Allah had forbidden, using fraud and cunning.

155. For their violation of the pact that they had made with Him (treating as legitimate what Allah had prohibited and forbidding what Allah had designated as legitimate), for having denied Allah’s signs and the miracles which confirm the veracity of His messengers, for having unjustly put Prophets to death, thus profaning what was sacred and inviolable, and for having said, “Our spirits are wrapped in a covering through which knowledge and belief cannot penetrate,” for everything which preceded that and which transgressed the limitations imposed by Allah, for disobeying His orders and violating His laws, Allah imposed a punishment. Allah said: “The hearts of these people are not wrapped in a covering, but Allah has set on them the seal of disbelief, so that they only have little faith (or else: only few of them will have faith).

156. Allah sent down His wrath upon them to punish them for having denied Jesus and his message, and for calumniating his mother the blessed virgin Mary, improperly accusing her of lies and calumny.

157. They provoked the wrath of Allah by saying in a bantering and mocking tone that they had killed Jesus. In fact, they did not kill Jesus, they did not crucify him, but someone who resembled him took his place. They had doubts on the matter, things were ambiguous in their eyes, and they were not sure that he was the Messiah in person, because they did not know him well. The evangelists recount that it was Judas Iscariot who delivered the Messiah to the soldiers; he indicated to them that whoever he kissed would be the Messiah; when he kissed him, they arrested him. The gospel of St. Bernard recounts that the soldiers led off Judas Iscariot himself, believing him to be the Messiah, because Allah made him resemble Jesus. Students of the holy writings who are involved in the controversy surrounding Jesus are themselves in doubt and are not absolutely sure whether he was killed and crucified. They propose hypotheses on the matter and make use of suppositions and presumptions which favour certain opinions over others.

158. What happened in fact was that Allah saved him from the stratagem of the Jews and raised him up to be with Him. Allah is omnipotent and invincible. Whoever seeks refuge with Him is never harmed. He is wise in all He decrees. (“Allah raised him up to be with Him” has been interpreted to mean that He caused Jesus to die, and thus purified him and saved him from the unbelievers. This part of the verse has also been interpreted to mean that Allah elevated the spirit and the body of Jesus. Others interpret it to mean that Allah raised Jesus to a high degree of dignity and honour.)

159. This verse has been interpreted in several different ways. Ibnu Kathir chooses the following interpretation: that since Jesus’s re-appearance on earth after his elevation to Heaven by Allah, none of the people of the Book will fail to believe in the Messiah before his death. And Jesus will rise up as a witness, on the Day of Resurrection, and he will confirm that he communicated Allah’s message to them, and declared himself to be Allah’s servant. (Certain writers have preferred to interpret this verse in the following way: Every person of the Book will discover before his death the truth about Jesus and all the other questions concerning religion, and will truly and correctly believe in him.)

160. Allah Almighty says that He forbade the Jews the use of certain foods which had previously been permitted, in order to punish them for having sought to lead people astray from Allah’s path, either by ordering them to do evil and forbidding them to do good, or by setting them a bad example. Each time that they committed a sin and infringed Allah’s commands, Allah punished them by prohibiting something good, hoping that they would thus renounce their iniquity and repent in the sight of Allah.

161. Allah also prohibited the use of certain good foods to punish them for having practised usury, although Allah had forbidden it. They then continued to practice usury by engaging in all kinds of subterfuges and ruses. He punished them for having appropriated other people’s property by demanding bribes, by robbery and treachery, or by appropriating money without a legal guarantee. Allah Almighty threatens those who commit such crimes with the painful punishment He has prepared for them: to be condemned for ever to hell and to undergo horrible torture there.

162. But those Jews and believers of your people, O Mohammad, who possess solid wisdom, believe in your revelations and those of the Prophets who preceded you. They perform their prayers regularly, pay the prescribed alms, and believe in Allah and the Day of Resurrection and the Day of Judgement, and Allah will grant them entry into paradise, to reward them for their faith and their good deeds. (Allah pays particular homage to those who regularly observe the laws regarding prayers. He stresses “those who perform their prayers regularly” in order to pay homage to them, for he who perfectly performs his prayers does not neglect to pay the prescribed alms.)

163. A man said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Mohammad, we do not know whether Allah has made any revelation since that of Moses.” Allah then sent this and the following verses. Then He refers to the scandals and wrongdoings of those who deny Him. He also mentions the extent to which they lied and speaks of their calumny and their obstinacy. Allah says that he has made revelations to His servant Mohammad just as he did to the other Prophets who preceded him, such as Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the apostles of the twelve tribes, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon. Allah says that He revealed a sacred book to David, which is the Book of Psalms.

164. Allah says that he made revelations to the messengers whose names he listed and whose history He narrated to His Prophet (peace be upon him) in the preceding verses. He says that He also made revelations to others whose history He has not narrated and whose names have not been mentioned in the Quran. (The Prophet Mohammed, as quoted by Abi Dharr, said: “The Prophets number 124 thousand, of whom 313 or 315 are messengers.”) Allah says that He honoured Moses by speaking to him through a veil, without intermediary. (To make a revelation to messengers signifies speaking to them.)

165. Allah says that he sent messengers to announce the good news to those who obeyed Him and sued for His grace through their good deeds, and to warn those who transgressed his orders and prescriptions of the punishment and torture that awaited them. Only those who have properly received the divine message will be rewarded or punished. Allah is omnipotent, just, and wise in the laws he promulgates and in his manner of governing the universe.

166. After having reprimanded the unbelievers and the people of the Book for having denied Mohammad and rejected the revelation made to him by his Lord, and for having obstinately demanded miracles of him, Allah Almighty says that He himself is witness that he sent His revelations down to His messenger. He did it knowing what neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor his people knew. The angels are witnesses to this, but Allah’s witness alone is sufficient to confirm any man’s veracity.

167. Those who deny, who refuse to follow the path of truth, and who strive to lead people astray from the way of Allah and faith, are deviating from the path of righteousness and putting themselves at an immense distance from it.

168. Allah describes His verdict with regard to the unbelievers who deny His Book, its precepts, and His messenger, the Prophet (peace be upon him), and thus commit an injustice against themselves by turning away from the path of Allah, by committing sins and by profaning what is sacred. He says that He will not forgive them and will not guide them back to the path of righteousness and truth.

169. Allah says that He will not guide them to any path other than that which leads to hell, where they will dwell for ever. It is a very easy thing for Allah to accomplish.

170. After having advanced arguments refuting those of the people of the Book and having invalidated their suspicions and counteracted the suggestions they had put forward through arrogance and obstinacy, Allah addresses all mankind and enjoins faith upon them, promising them a reward for the good that they do, and threatening them with punishment for their disbelief and their evil acts. He tells them that Mohammad indicates the true path to them and brings them truth and trenchant proof on behalf of their Lord. They must therefore believe in his message and follow it, because they will benefit from it. Then Allah Almighty says: “If you persist in your disbelief, you and everyone who lives on earth, what does it matter? Allah does not need you or your faith, and your disbelief does him no injury, for to Allah belongs every thing that is the heaves and on the earth. He created all things, and all things are His servants. He knows better than you who deserves to be guided, and He will guide him; He knows who deserves to be tempted and He will lead him astray and plunge him deeper into temptation. He is wise in His pronouncements, His acts, His laws, and His destiny.

171. Allah forbids the people of the Book to let themselves be carried to extremes in their religion, to exaggerate and to go beyond the boundaries set by the Lord. He instructs them to believe only in the truth confirmed by a religious text successively transmitted, and by irrefutable argument. He addresses Himself more particularly to those Christians who have carried their faith in Jesus to an extreme and made a Allah of him whom they worship at the same time as Allah. Allah orders them not to lie about Allah, and not to ascribe to Him a companion and a son. There is no other Allah but Him. He is the only Lord. The Messiah is one of His servants, and one of His messengers. Allah created him by inspiring Mary with His word and imbuing her with His spirit. Allah commands them in future to believe in Him and in His Prophet (peace be upon him), and to believe that there is no Allah but Allah, that He is unique and has no companion or son, and that Jesus is the servant and the envoy of Allah to the Jews. He orders them not to consider Jesus and his mother as associates of Allah in the creation and in majesty. Allah is too glorious to have a son and a companion. Allah then requires them to cease making such assertions, which are purely and simply disbelief and polytheism: it will be better for them!

Allah then says that He is unique; glory be to Him. It is not fitting that His transcendence should be imagined to have an equal or an associate. To Him belongs everything that is in the heavens or on the earth. They are all under His control and are subject to His power. He is the protector of all things. How then could He have an associate, a companion, or a son?

172. The Messiah does not disdain to be the servant of Allah, any more than His closest angels disdain to be among His creatures, for they know He is glorious and majestic. Those who are swollen with pride and scorn to obey and worship Him, they will be inflicted with terrible punishments by Allah when He assembles them all in hell.

173. To those, however, who believe and do good, Allah will grant the reward which is due to them for their benevolent acts, and He will augment their reward through His grace and His great mercy. But on those who, through arrogance and pride, fail to obey the Lord and refuse to worship Him, Allah will inflict a terrible punishment, for He equitably and graciously rewards the virtuous for their good actions, and justly punishes those who do evil. They will find neither any helper to support them and alleviate their problems nor any protector against the punishment of Allah.

174. Allah here addresses the entire human race and says that He has sent irrefutable proofs of the veracity of the message of His Prophet (peace be upon him) Mohammad, and He has sent down to them a Quran which is the expression of the evidence, and which, like a dazzling light, illuminates the way and directs them to the true path.

175. As for those who believe in Allah, in His Books and His messengers, who trust in Allah and hold fast to the Quran which preserves them from committing sin, Allah will receive them into His mercy and His paradise, and will assist them in following the true path which leads to paradise and divine grace.

176. The Arabic word “kilala” comes from “iklil,” which signifies the crown one wears on one’s head and which encircles one’s brow. This is what has led most legal commentators to say that this term refers to the man who dies without children and without a father, but who leaves collateral heirs. (Others believe that the reference is rather to a person who dies without children, which accords with the text.)
In this verse, Allah indicates the regulations which govern the succession of the man who dies with neither children nor father to inherit his property. He says in this regard:
– If a man dies with neither children nor father, but leaves one sister, she shall receive half of the legacy; the rest of the heirs shall have the right to the other half.
– If the deceased is a woman who is childless, her brother shall inherit.
– If the man dies with neither children nor father, but leaves two sisters, they shall only have right to two thirds of the legacy.
– If he leaves brothers and sisters, the male shall receive a portion equivalent to that of two women. Allah specifically answers for you all questions relating to your religion, the first of which has to do with matters of succession. He establishes His laws and clarifies His precepts for your benefit, so that you will not stray from the true path once he has indicated it to you. He knows the consequences of everything and the benefit they can bring to His servants. He knows what each of the relatives of the deceased deserve, according to his family relationship.