72. There are certainly among you
Men who would tarry behind:
If a misfortune befalls you,
They say: “God did favour us
In that we were not
Present among them.”

73. But if good fortune comes to you
From God, they would be sure
To say — as if there had never been
Ties of affection between you and them —

“Oh! I wish I had been with them; A fine thing should I then
Have made of it!”

74. Let those fight
In the cause of God
Who sell the life of this world
For the Hereafter.
To him who fighteth
In the cause of God, —
Whether he is slain
Or gets victory
Soon shall We give him
A reward of great (value).

75. And why should ye not
Fight in the cause of God
And of those who, being weak,
Are ill-treated (and oppressed)? —
Men, women, and children,
Whose cry is: “Our Lord!
Rescue us from this town,
Whose people are oppressors;
And raise for us from Thee
One who will protect;
And raise for us from Thee
One who will help!”

76. Those who believe
Fight in the cause of God,
And those who reject Faith
Fight in the cause of Evil:
So fight ye against the
Friends of Satan: feeble indeed
Is the cunning of Satan.

SECTION 11.

77. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were told to hold back
Their hands (from fight)
But establish regular prayers
And spend in regular Charity?
When (at length) the order
For fighting was issued to them,
Behold! a section of them
Feared men as
Or even more than
They should have feared God:
They said: “Our Lord!
Why hast Thou ordered us
To fight? Wouldst Thou not
Grant us respite
To our (natural) term,
Near (enough)?” Say: “Short
Is the enjoyment of this world:
The Hereafter is the best
For those who do right:
Never will ye be
Dealt with unjustly
In the very least!

78. “Wherever ye are, Death will find you out,
Even if ye are in towers
Built up strong and high!”

If some good befalls them, They say, “This is from God”;But if evil, they say,“This is from thee” (O Prophet).
Say: “All things are from God.”But what hath comeTo these people,That they failTo understandA single fact?

79. Whatever good, (O man!)
Happens to thee, is from God;
But whatever evil happens
To thee, is from thy (own) soul.
And We have sent thee
As an Apostle
To (instruct) mankind.
And enough is God
For a witness.

80. He who obeys
The Apostle, obeys God:
But if any turn away,
We have not sent thee
To watch over
Their (evil deeds).

81. They have “Obedience”
On their lips; but
When they leave thee,
A section of them
Meditate all night
On things very different
From what thou tellest them.
But God records
Their nightly (plots):
So keep clear of them,
And put thy trust in God,
And enough is God
As a disposer of affairs.

82. Do they not consider
The Qur-ān (with care)?
Had it been from other
Than God, they would surely
Have found therein
Much discrepancy.

83. When there comes to them
Some matter touching
(Public) safety or fear,
They divulge it.
If they had only referred it
To the Apostle, or to those
Charged with authority
Among them, the proper
Investigators would have
Tested it from them (direct).
Were it not for the Grace
And Mercy of God unto you,
All but a few of you
Would have fallen
Into the clutches of Satan.

84. Then fight in God’s cause —
Thou art held responsible
Only for thyself —
And rouse the Believers.
It may be that God
Will restrain the fury
Of the Unbelievers;
For God is the strongest
In might and in punishment.

85. Whoever recommends
And helps a good cause
Becomes a partner therein:
And whoever recommends
And helps an evil cause,
Shares in its burden:
And God hath power
Over all things.

86. When a (courteous) greeting
Is offered you, meet it With a greeting still more Courteous, or (at least) Of equal courtesy. God takes careful account Of all things.

87. God! There is no god
But He: of a surety
He will gather you together
Against the Day of Judgment,
About which there is no doubt.
And whose word can be
Truer than God’s?

SECTION 12.

88. Why should ye be Divided into two parties
About the Hypocrites?
God hath upset them
For their (evil) deeds.
Would ye guide those
Whom God hath thrown
Out of the Way? For those
Whom God hath thrown
Out of the Way, never
Shalt thou find the Way.

89. They but wish that ye
Should reject Faith,
As they do, and thus be
On the same footing (as they):
But take not friends
From their ranks
Until they flee
In the way of God
(From what is forbidden).
But if they turn renegades,
Seize them and slay them
Wherever ye find them;
And (in any case) take
No friends or helpers
From their ranks: —

90. Except those who join
A group between whom
And you there is a treaty
(Of peace), or those who approach
You with hearts restraining
Them from fighting you
As well as fighting their own People.
If God had pleased,
He could have given them
Power over you, and they
Would have fought you:
Therefore if they withdraw
From you but fight you not,
And (instead) send you
(Guarantees of) peace, then
God Hath opened no way
For you (to war against them).

91. Others you will find
That wish to gain
Your confidence as well
As that of their people:
Every time they are sent back
To temptation, they succumb
Thereto: if they withdraw not
From you nor give you (guarantees)
Of peace besides
Restraining their hands,
Seize them and slay them
Wherever ye get them:
In their case
We have provided you
With a clear argument
Against them.

SECTION 13.

92. Never should a Believer
Kill a Believer; but
(If it so happens) by mistake,
(Compensation is due):
If one (so) kills a Believer,
It is ordained that he
Should free a believing slave,
And pay compensation
To the deceased’s family,
Unless they remit it freely.
If the deceased belonged
To a people at war with you,
And he was a Believer,
The freeing of a believing slave
(Is enough). If he belonged
To a people with whom
Ye have a treaty of mutual
Alliance, compensation should
Be paid to his family,
And a believing slave be freed.
For those who find this
Beyond their means, (is prescribed)
A fast for two months
Running: by way of repentance
To God: for God hath
All knowledge and all wisdom.

93. If a man kills a Believer
Intentionally, his recompense
Is Hell, to abide therein
(For ever): and the wrath
And the curse of God
Are upon him, and
A dreadful penalty
Is prepared for him.

94. O ye who believe!
When ye go abroad
In the cause of God,
Investigate carefully,
And say not to any one
Who offers you a salutation:
“Thou art none of a Believer!”
Coveting the perishable goods
Of this life: with God
Are profits and spoils abundant.
Even thus were ye yourselves
Before, till God conferred
On you His favours: therefore
Carefully investigate.
For God is well aware
Of all that ye do.

95. Not equal are those
Believers who sit (at home)
And receive no hurt,
And those who strive
And fight in the cause
Of God with their goods
And their persons.
God hath granted
A grade higher to those
Who strive and fight
With their goods and persons
Than to those who sit (at home).
Unto all (in Faith)
Hath God promised good:
But those who strive and fight
Hath He distinguished
Above those who sit (at home)
By a special reward, —

96. Ranks specially bestowed
By Him. And Forgiveness
And Mercy. For God is
Oft forgiving, Most Merciful.

SECTION 14.

97. When angels take
The souls of those
Who die in sin
Against their souls,
They say: “In what (plight)
Were ye?” They reply:
“Weak and oppressed
Were we in the earth.”
They say: “Was not
The earth of God
Spacious enough for you
To move yourselves away
(From evil)?” Such men
Will find their abode
In Hell, — What an evil
Refuge! —

98. Except those who are
(Really) weak and oppressed —
Men, women, and children —
Who have no means
In their power, nor (a guide-post)
To direct their way.

99. For these, there is hope
That God will forgive:
For God doth blot out (sins)
And forgive again and again.

100. He who forsakes his home
In the cause of God,
Finds in the earth
Many a refuge,
Wide and spacious:
Should he die
As a refugee from home
For God and His Apostle,
His reward becomes due
And sure with God:
And God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

SECTION 15.

101. When ye travel
Through the earth,
There is no blame on you
If ye shorten your prayers,
For fear the Unbelievers
May attack you:
For the Unbelievers are
Unto you open enemies.

102. When thou (O Apostle)
Art with them, and standest
To lead them in prayer,
Let one party of them
Stand up (in prayer) with thee,
Taking their arms with them:
When they finish
Their prostrations, let them
Take their position in the rear.
And let the other party come up
Which hath not yet prayed —
And let them pray with thee,
Taking all precautions,
And bearing arms:
The Unbelievers wish,
If ye were negligent
Of your arms and your baggage,
To assault you in a single rush.
But there is no blame on you
If ye put away your arms
Because of the inconvenience
Of rain or because ye are ill;
But take (every) precaution
For yourselves.
For the Unbelievers
God hath prepared
A humiliating punishment.

103. When ye pass
(Congregational) prayers,
Celebrate God’s praises,
Standing, sitting down,
Or lying down on your sides;
But when ye are free
From danger, set up
Regular Prayers:
For such prayers
Are enjoined on Believers
At stated times.

104. And slacken not
In following up the enemy:
If ye are suffering hardships,
They are suffering similar
Hardships; but ye have
Hope from God, while they
Have none. And God
Is full of knowledge and wisdom.

SECTION 16.

105. We have sent down
To thee the Book in truth,
That thou might test judge
Between men, as guided
By God: so be not (used)
As an advocate by those
Who betray their trust;

106. But seek the forgiveness
Of God; for God is
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

107. Contend not on behalf
Of such as betray
Their own souls;
For God loveth not
One given to perfidy
And crime;

108. They may hide
(Their crimes) from men,
But they cannot hide
(Them) from God, seeing that
He is in their midst
When they plot by night,
In words that He cannot
Approve: and God
Doth compass round
All that they do.

109. Ah! these are the sort
Of men on whose behalf
Ye may contend in this world;
But who will contend with God
On their behalf on the Day
Of Judgment, or who
Will carry their affairs through?

110. If any one does evil
Or wrongs his own soul
But afterwards seeks
God’s forgiveness, he will find
God Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

111. And if any one earns
Sin, he earns it against
His own soul: for God
Is full of knowledge and wisdom.

112. But if any one earns
A fault or a sin
And throws it on to one
That is innocent,
He carries (on himself)
(Both) a falsehood
And a flagrant sin.

SECTION 17.

113. But for the Grace of God
To thee and His Mercy,
A party of them would
Certainly have plotted
To lead thee astray.
But (in fact) they will only
Lead their own souls astray,
And to thee they can do
No harm in the least.
For God hath sent down
To thee the Book and Wisdom
And taught thee what thou
Knewest not (before):
And great is the Grace
Of God unto thee.

114. In most of their secret talks
There is no good: but if
One exhorts to a deed
Of charity or justice
Or conciliation between men,
(Secrecy is permissible):
To him who does this,
Seeking the good pleasure
Of God, We shall soon give
A reward of the highest (value).

115. If anyone contends with
The Apostle even after
Guidance has been plainly
Conveyed to him, and follows
A path other than that
Becoming to men of Faith,
We shall leave him
In the path he has chosen,
And land him in Hell, —
What an evil refuge!

SECTION 18.

116. God forgiveth not
(The sin of) joining other gods
With Him; but He forgiveth
Whom He pleaseth other sins
Than this: one who joins
Other gods with God,
Hath strayed far, far away
(From the Right).

117. (The Pagans), leaving Him,
Call but upon female deities:
They call but upon Satan
The persistent rebel!

118. God did curse him,
But he said: “I will take
Of Thy servants a portion
Marked off;

119. “I will mislead them,
And I will create
In them false desires; I will
Order them to slit the ears
Of cattle, and to deface
The (fair) nature created
By God.” Whoever,
Forsaking God, takes Satan
For a friend, hath
Of a surety suffered
A loss that is manifest.

120. Satan makes them promises,
And creates in them false desires;
But Satan’s promises
Are nothing but deception.

121. They (his dupes)
Will have their dwelling
In Hell, and from it
They will find no way
Of escape.

122. But those who believe
And do deeds of righteousness, —
We shall soon admit them
To Gardens, with rivers
Flowing beneath, — to dwell
Therein for ever.
God’s promise is the truth,
And whose word can be
Truer than God’s?

123. Not your desires, nor those
Of the People of the Book
(Can prevail): whoever
Works evil, will be
Requited accordingly.
Nor will he find, besides God,
Any protector or helper.

124. If any do deeds
Of righteousness,
Be they male or female —
And have faith,
They will enter Heaven,
And not the least injustice
Will be done to them.

125. Who can be better
In religion than one
Who submits his whole self
To God, does good,
And follows the way
Of Abraham the true in faith?
For God did take
Abraham for a friend.

126. But to God belong all things
In the heavens and on earth:
And He it is that
Encompasseth all things.

SECTION 19.

127. They ask thy instruction
Concerning the Women
Say: God doth
Instruct you about them:
And (remember) what hath
Been rehearsed unto you
In the Book, concerning
The orphans of women to whom
Ye give not the portions
Prescribed, and yet whom ye
Desire to marry, as also
Concerning the children
Who are weak and oppressed:
That ye stand firm
For justice to orphans.
There is not a good deed
Which ye do, but God
Is well-acquainted therewith.

128. If a wife fears
Cruelty or desertion
On her husband’s part,
There is no blame on them
If they arrange
An amicable settlement
Between themselves;
And such settlement is best;
Even though men’s souls
Are swayed by greed.
But if ye do good
And practise self-restraint,
God is well-acquainted
With all that ye do.

129. Ye are never able
To be fair and just
As between women,
Even if it is
Your ardent desire:
But turn not away
(From a woman) altogether,
So as to leave her (as it were)
Hanging (in the air).
If ye come to a friendly
Understanding, and practise
Self-restraint, God is
Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

130. But if they disagree
(And must part), God
Will provide abundance
For all from His
All-reaching bounty:
For God is He
That careth for all
And is Wise.

131. To God belong all things
In the heavens and on earth.
Verily We have directed
The People of the Book
Before you, and you (O Muslims).
To fear God. But if ye
Deny Him, to! unto God
Belong all things
In the heavens and on earth,
And God is free
Of all wants, worthy
Of all praise.

132. Yea, unto God belong
All things in the heavens
And on earth, and enough
Is God to carry through
All affairs.

133. If it were His Will,
He could destroy you,
O mankind, and create
Another race; for
He Hath power this to do.

134. If any one desires
A reward in this life,
In God’s (gift) is the reward
(Both) of this life
And of the Hereafter:
For God is He that heareth
And seeth (all things).

SECTION 20.

135. O ye who believe!
Stand out firmly
For justice, as witnesses
To God, even as against
Yourselves, or your parents,
Or your kin, and whether
It be (against) rich or poor:
For God can best protect both.
Follow not the lusts
(Of your hearts), lest ye
Swerve, and if ye
Distort (justice) or decline
To do justice, verily
God is well-acquainted
With all that ye do.

136. O ye who believe!
Believe in God
And His Apostle,
And the scripture which He
Hath sent to His Apostle
And the scripture which He sent
To those before (him)
Any who denieth God,
His angels, His Books,
His Apostles, and the Day
Of Judgment, hath gone
Far, far astray.

137. Those who believe,
Then reject Faith,
Then believe (again)
And (again) reject Faith,
And go on increasing
In Unbelief, — God
Will not forgive them
Nor guide them on the Way.

138. To the Hypocrites give
The glad tidings that
There is for them
(But) a grievous Penalty; —

139. Yea, to those who take
For friends Unbelievers
Rather than Believers:
Is it honour they seek
Among them? Nay, —
All honour is with God.

140. Already has He sent you
Word in the Book, that when
Ye hear the Signs of God
Held in defiance and ridicule,
Ye are not to sit with them
Unless they turn to a different
Theme: if ye did, ye would be
Like them. For God will
Collect the Hypocrites and those
Who defy Faith — all in Hell;—

141. (These are) the ones who
Wait and watch about you:
If ye do gain
A victory from God,
They say: “Were we not
With you?” — but if
The Unbelievers gain
A success, they say
(To them): “Did we not
Gain an advantage over you,
And did we not guard
You from the Believers?”
But God will judge
Betwixt you on the Day
Of Judgment. And never
Will God grant
To the Unbelievers
A way (to Triumph)
Over the Believers.

SECTION 21.

142. The Hypocrites — they think
They are over-reaching God,
But He will over-reach them:
When they stand up to prayer,
They stand without earnestness,
To be seen of men,
But little do they hold
God in remembrance;

143. (They are) distracted in mind
Even in the midst of it, —
Being (sincerely) for neither
One group nor for another.
Whom God leaves straying, —
Never wilt thou find
For him the Way.

144. O ye who believe!
Take not for friends
Unbelievers rather than
Believers: do ye wish
To offer God an open
Proof against yourselves?

145. The Hypocrites will be
In the lowest depths
Of the Fire: no helper
Wilt thou find for them; —

146. Except for those who repent,
Mend (their life), hold fast
To God, and purify their religion
As in God’s sight: if so
They will be (numbered)
With the Believers.
And soon will God
Grant to the Believers
A reward of immense value.

147. What can God gain
By your punishment,
If ye are grateful
And ye believe?
Nay, it is God
That recogniseth
(All good), and knoweth
All things.

148. God loveth not that evil
Should be noised abroad
In public speech, except
Where injustice hath been
Done; for God
Is He who heareth
And knoweth all things.

149. Whether ye publish A good deed or conceal it
Or cover evil with pardon,
Verily God doth blot out
(Sins) and hath power
(In the judgment of values),

150. Those who deny God
And His apostles, and (those
Who) wish to separate
God from His apostles,
Saying: “We believe in some
But reject others”:
And (those who) wish
To take a course midway, —

151. They are in truth
(Equally) Unbelievers;
And We have prepared
For Unbelievers a humiliating
Punishment.

152. To those who believe
In God and His apostles
And make no distinction
Between any of the apostles,
We shall soon give
Their (due) rewards:
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

SECTION 22.

153. The People of the Book
Ask thee to cause
A book to descend to them
From heaven: indeed
They asked Moses
For an even greater
(Miracle), for they said:
“Show us God in public,”
But they were dazed
For their presumption,
With thunder and lightning.
Yet they worshipped the calf
Even after Clear Signs
Had come to them;
Even so We forgave them;
And gave Moses manifest
Proofs of authority.

154. And for their Covenant
We raised over them
(The towering height)
Of Mount (Sinai);
And (on another occasion)
We said: “Enter the gate
With humility”; and (once again)
We commanded them:
“Transgress not in the matter
Of the Sabbath.”
And We took from them
A solemn Covenant.

155. (They have incurred divine
Displeasure): in that they
Broke their Covenant;
That they rejected the Signs
Of God; that they slew
The Messengers in defiance
Of right; that they said,
“Our hearts are the wrappings
(Which preserve God’s Word;
We need no more)”; — nay,
God hath set the seal on their hearts
For their blasphemy,
And little is it they believe; —

156. That they rejected Faith;
That they uttered against Mary
A grave false charge;

157. That they said (in boast),
“We killed Christ Jesus
The son of Mary,
The Apostle of God”; —
But they killed him not,
Nor crucified him,
But so it was made
To appear to them,
And those who differ
Therein are full of doubts,
With no (certain) knowledge,
But only conjecture to follow,
For of a surety
They killed him not:—

158. Nay, God raised him up
Unto Himself; and God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise; —

159. And there is none
Of the People of the Book
But must believe in him
Before his death;
And on the Day of Judgment
He will be a witness
Against them; —

160. For the iniquity of the Jews
We made unlawful for them
Certain (foods) good and wholesome
Which had been lawful for them; —
In that they hindered many
From God’s Way; —

161. That they took usury,
Though they were forbidden;
And that they devoured
Men’s substance wrongfully; —
We have prepared for those
Among them who reject Faith
A grievous punishment.

162. But those among them
Who are well-grounded in knowledge,
And the Believers,
Believe in what hath been
Revealed to thee and what was
Revealed before thee:
And (especially) those
Who establish regular prayer
And practise regular charity
And believe in God
And in the Last Day:
To them shall We soon
Give a great reward.

SECTION 23.

163. We have sent thee
Inspiration, as We sent it
To Noah and the Messengers
After him: We sent
Inspiration to Abraham,
Ismail, Isaac, Jacob
And the Tribes, to Jesus,
Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon,
And to David We gave
The Psalms.

164. Of some apostles We have
Already told thee the story;
Of others we have not; —
And to Moses God spoke direct; —

165. Apostles who gave good news
As well as warning,
That mankind, after (the coming)
Of the apostles, should have
No plea against God:
For God is Exalted in Power,
Wise.

166. But God beareth witness
That what He hath sent
Unto thee He hath sent
From His (own) knowledge,
And the angels bear witness:
But enough is God for a witness.

167. Those who reject Faith
And keep off (men)
From the Way of God,
Have verily strayed far,
Far away from the Path.

168. Those who reject Faith
And do wrong, — God
Will not forgive them
Nor guide them
To any way —

169. Except the way of Hell,
To dwell therein for ever.
And this to God is easy.

170. O mankind! the Apostle
Hath come to you in truth
From God: believe in him:
It is best for you. But if
Ye reject Faith, to God
Belong all things in the heavens
And on earth: and
God Is All-knowing, All-wise.

171. O People of the Book!
Commit no excesses
In your religion: nor say
Of God aught but the truth.
Christ Jesus the son of Mary
Was (no more than)
An apostle of God,
And His Word,
Which He bestowed on Mary,
And a Spirit proceeding
From Him: so believe
In God and His apostles.
Say not “Trinity”: desist:
It will be better for you:
For God is One God:
Glory be to Him:
(Far Exalted is He) above
Having a son, To Him
Belong all things in the heavens
And on earth. And enough
Is God as a Disposer of affairs.

SECTION 24.

172. Christ disdaineth not
To serve and worship God,
Nor do the angels, those
Nearest (to God):
Those who disdain
His worship and are arrogant, —
He will gather them all
Together unto Himself
To (answer).

173. But to those who believe
And do deeds of righteousness,
He will give their (due)
Rewards, — and more,
Out of His bounty:
But those who are
Disdainful and arrogant,
He will punish
With a grievous penalty;
Nor will they find,
Besides God, any
To protect or help them.

174. O mankind! Verily
There hath come to you
A convincing proof
From your Lord:
For We have sent unto you
A light (that is) manifest.

175. Then those who believe
In God, and hold fast
To Him, — soon will He
Admit them to Mercy
And Grace from Himself,
And guide them to Himself
By a straight Way.

176. They ask thee
For a legal decision.
Say: God directs (thus)
About those who leave
No descendants or ascendants
As heirs. If it is a man
That dies, leaving a sister
But no child, she shall
Have half the inheritance:
If (such a deceased was)
A woman, who left no child,
Her brother takes her inheritance:
If there are two sisters,
They shall have two-thirds
Of the inheritance
(Between them): if there are
Brothers and sisters, (they share),
The male having twice
The share of the female.
Thus doth God make clear
To you (His law), lest
Ye err. And God
Hath knowledge of all things.

Sūra V.