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The Holy Qur-án
The Holy Qur-án
The Holy Qur-án
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The Holy Qur-án

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The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle; a proof of his prophethood; and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam, including the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherDigiCat
Release dateAug 10, 2022
ISBN8596547164517
The Holy Qur-án

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    The Holy Qur-án - Maulana Muhammad Ali

    Maulana Muhammad Ali

    The Holy Qur-án

    EAN 8596547164517

    DigiCat, 2022

    Contact: DigiCat@okpublishing.info

    Table of Contents

    1. The Opening (Al-Fatihah)

    2. The Cow (Al-Baqarah)

    3. The Family of Amran (Al-Imran)

    4. The Women (Al-Nisa)

    5. The Food (Al-Ma'idah)

    6. The Cattle (Al-An'am)

    7. The Elevated Places (Al-A'raf)

    8. Voluntary Gifts (Al-Anfal)

    9. The Immunity (Al-Bara'at)

    10. Jonah (Yunus)

    11. Hud

    12. Joseph (Yusuf)

    13. The Thunder (Al-Rad)

    14. Abraham (Ibrahim)

    15. The Rock (Al-Hihr)

    16. The Bee (Al-Nahl)

    17. The Israelites (Bani Isra'il)

    18. The Cave (Al-Kahf)

    19. Mary (Maryam)

    20. Ta Ha

    21. The Prophets (Al-Anbiya)

    22. The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj)

    23. The Believers (Al-Mu'minun)

    24. The Light (Al-Nur)

    25. The Discrimination (Al-Furqan)

    26. The Poets (Al-Shu'ara)

    27. The Naml (Al-Naml)

    28. The Narrative (Al-Qasas)

    29. The Spider (Al-'Ankabut)

    30. The Romans (Al-Rum)

    31. Luqman

    32. The Adoration (Al-Sajdah)

    33. The Allies (Al-Ahzab)

    34. The Saba (Al-Saba)

    35. The Originator (Al-Fatir)

    36. Ya Sin

    37. Those Ranging in Ranks (Al-Saffat)

    38. Sad

    39. The Companies (Al-Zumar)

    40. The Believer (Al-Mu'min)

    41. Ha Min

    42. The Counsel (Al-Shura)

    43. Gold (Zukhruf)

    44. The Drought (Al-Dukhan)

    45. The Kneeling (Al-Jathiyah)

    46. The Sandhills (Al-Ahqaf)

    47. Muhammad

    48. The Victory (Al-Fath)

    49. The Apartments (Al-Hujurat)

    50. Qaf

    51. The Scatterers (Al-Dhariyat)

    52. The Mountain (Al-Tur)

    53. The Star (Al-Najm)

    54. The Moon (Al-Qamar)

    55. The Beneficent (Al-Rahman)

    56. The Event (Al-Waqi'ah)

    57. Iron (Al-Hadid)

    58. The Pleading Woman (Al-Mujadilah)

    59. The Banishment (Al-Hashr)

    60. The Woman Who is Examined (Al-Mumtahanah)

    61. The Ranks (Al-Saff)

    62. The Congregation (Al-Jumu'ah)

    63. The Hypocrites (Al-Munafiqun)

    64. The Manifestation of Losses (Al-Taghabun)

    65. Divorce (Al-Talaq)

    66. The Prohibition (Al-Tahrim)

    67. The Kingdom (Al-Mulk)

    68. The Pen (Al-Qalam)

    69. The Sure Truth (Al-Huqqah)

    70. The Ways of Ascent (Al-Ma'arij)

    71. Noah (Nuh)

    72. The Jinn (Al-Jinn)

    73. The One Covering Himself Up (Al-Muzzammil)

    74. The One Wrapping Himself Up (Al-Muddaththir)

    75. The Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah)

    76. Man (Al-Insan)

    77. Those Sent Forth (Al-Mursalat)

    78. The Announcement (Al-Naba)

    79. Those Who Yearn (Al-Nazi'at)

    80. Frowned (Abasa)

    81. The Folding Up (Al-Takwir)

    82. The Cleaving (Al-Infitar)

    83. Default in Duty (Al-Tatfif)

    84. The Bursting Asunder (Al-Inshiqaq)

    85. The Stars (Al-Buruj)

    86. The Comer by Night (Al-Tariq)

    87. The Most High (Al-A'la)

    88. The Overwhelming Event (Al-Ghashiyah)

    89. The Daybreak (Al-Fajr)

    90. The City (Al-Balad)

    91. The Sun (Al-Shams)

    92. The Night (Al-Lail)

    93. The Brightness of the Day (Al-Duha)

    94. The Expansion (Al-Inshirah)

    95. The Fig (Al-Tin)

    96. The Clot (Al-Alaq)

    97. The Majesty (Al-Qadr)

    98. The Clear Evidence (Al-Bayyinah)

    99. The Shaking (Al-Zilzal)

    100. The Assaulters (Al-Adiyat)

    101. The Calamity (Al-Qari'ah)

    102. The Abundance of Wealth (Al-Takathur)

    103. The Time (Al-'Asr)

    104. The Slanderer (Al-Humazah)

    105. The Elephant (Al-Fil)

    106. The Quraish

    107. Acts of Kindness (Al-Ma'un)

    108. The Abundance of Good (Al-Kauthar)

    109. The Disbelievers (Al-Kafirun)

    110. The Help (Al-Nasr)

    111. The Flame (Al-Lahab)

    112. The Unity (Al-Ikhlas)

    113. The Dawn (Al-Falaq)

    114. The Men (Al-Nas)

    1. The Opening (Al-Fatihah)

    Table of Contents

    Abstract:

    1.

    Allah

    , the Lord of the whole creation, brings the creation to its goal of completion. 2. His loving beneficence and mercy are exercised both before and after man makes himself deserving of them. 3. His dealing with man is as that of a master with his servants, and therefore His law of requital is characterized by forgiveness. 4. Men's dependence on Him and His assistance of man. 5—7. Prayer for being kept always on the right or the middle path and not to be diverted to either side.

    General Remarks.

    The Fátiḥah or the Opening is known under various other names. It is spoken of as Sab’an minal Mas̲áni or the Seven Oft-repeated Verses in the Qur-án itself (15:87) because its seven verses are constantly repeated by every Muslim in his prayers at least thirty-two times a day. It is spoken of as the Fátiḥat-ul-Kitáb or the Opening of the Book in a saying of the Holy Prophet in which it is said that No prayer is complete without the recitation of Fátiḥat-ul-Kitáb (AD, Tr.). Hence it is also called Súrat uṣ Ṣalát, i.e. the chapter of Prayer, being essential to every prayer whether performed in congregation or in private. It is also called Súrat-ud-Du’á, i.e. the chapter of Supplication, because the entire chapter is a supplication or a prayer to the Great Master, and because as a prayer it not only occupies the highest place among the prayers of other sacred books, but also among those taught by the Holy Qur-án itself. It is also called Ummul-Kitáb, i.e. the Basis of the Book, because it contains the whole of the Qur-án as it were in a nutshell. Some of the other names given to this chapter are the Praise, the Thanksgiving, the Foundation, the Treasure, the Whole, the Sufficient, the Healer, and the Healing.

    Al-Fátiḥah or Fátiḥat-ul-Kitáb contains seven verses in a single section, and was revealed at Mecca, being without doubt one of the earliest revelations. Muir, who divides the whole of the Meccan revelation into five periods, places the Fátiḥah in the first period—though he is mistaken in placing it before even the 96th chapter, for which there is overwhelming evidence as being the first revelation. It is, of course, impossible to give the exact date or even the exact order in which the various chapters were revealed, but there is not the least doubt that the Fátiḥah must be placed among the earliest revelations. It is referred to in 15:87 as the Seven Oft-repeated Verses, a name by which this chapter is generally known, and the 15th chapter, which is undoubtedly Meccan, can by no means he placed among the latest Meccan revelations. Again, it is a fact that the Fátiḥah formed an essential part of the Muslim prayers from the earliest days when prayer was ​made obligatory for the Muslims, and there is a vast mass of evidence showing that this happened very early after the Prophet's call. For not only is the fact referred to in the earliest revelations, such as the 73rd chapter, but there are also other historical incidents showing that prayer was observed by the earliest Muslim converts. The Holy Prophet’s removal to the house of Arqam is a historical fact of undoubted truth, and it occurred at the latest in the fourth year of his preaching, and this removal was necessitated by the troubles caused to the Muslims on account of their saying prayers in places which were not safe from the interference of the unbelievers. Thus the story of Sa'd, who retired for prayer with a group of believers to a valley near Mecca, and the occurrence of an affray with some of his neighbours, as narrated by Muir, may be taken as a preliminary to the choice of Arqam’s house so as to avoid interruption.

    The chapter is headed by the words Bismilláh-ir-Raḥmán-ir-Ráḥim, which also head every one of the other 114 chapters of the Holy Qur-án with the exception of one only, the ninth, while the same sentence occurs once in the middle of a chapter, viz. in 27:30, thus occurring 114 times in the Holy Qur-án. The phrase has besides acquired such a wide usage among the Muslims that it is the first thing which a Muslim child learns, and in his everyday affairs the Bismilláh is the first word which a Muslim utters.

    The Bismilláh is the quintessence of the chapter Fatiḥáh, in the same manner as the latter is the quintessence of the Qur-án itself. By commencing every important affair with the Bismilláh the Muslim in fact shows in the midst of his everyday life affairs that the right attitude of the human mind towards the Great Mind of the universe is that it should always seek a support in the Mighty One who is the source of all strength, and thus Divine Unity finds expression in the practical life of man in a manner unapproached anywhere else in the history of religion.

    The revelation of the Bismilláh seems to have soon followed the first revelation of the opening verses of Chapter 96, for it forms a part of even the shortest chapter revealed to the Holy Prophet. Moreover, the words of the Bismilláh show a deep connection with the account of the first revelation as given by the Holy Prophet himself. He was in the well-known cave of Hira when the first message came to him. This message was brought by an angel, who asked the Holy Prophet to read. I am not one who can read, was the reply. The request and the answer were repeated thrice, when the angel said: Read in the name of your Lord Who created, He created man from a clot; read and your Lord is most Honourable (Bkh). And as the Prophet, who on the most trustworthy testimony did not know either reading or writing, was able to read with the help of the Lord, even so is every Muslim taught to seek the help of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, in everything that he seeks to do. The Bismilláh must thus have immediately followed the very first revelation.

    Besides the word Alláh, which in the Arabic language is the proper name of the Divine Being, there occur in the Bismilláh the two chief attributive names Ar-Raḥmán and Ar-Raḥím, which signify respectively the Beneficent One Who exercises His love towards all His creatures in providing for them before they come into existence, and the Merciful One Who deals mercifully with His servants in making their humble deeds bear fruit. Thus, in addition to the dependence of man on his Divine Maker, the Bismilláh teaches the absolute and transcendental Unity of the Divine Being in the use of the word Allah, which was never applied to any other object of worship by the Arabs, and His great and unbounded love and mercy for His creatures in the use of the two words Ar-Raḥmán and Ar-Raḥím. So great is His love that He requires no compensation for its exercise, as the Christian doctrine of atonement teaches, and so great is His mercy that He can make the deeds of man bear an unbounded fruit, and the gift of His salvation is therefore permanent and not temporary, as taught by the Vedic religion.

    Rodwell’s suggestion that the Bismilláh in the form in which it appears in the Holy Qur-án was first taught to the Quraish by the poet Umayya of Táif seems to have been due to some misconception, for there is unimpeachable testimony to show that the Quraish not only did not know the name Ar-Raḥmán of the Divine Being, to which they asserted themselves to be utter strangers (25:60), but that they were averse to the use of ​the Bismilláh itself in the form in which it was taught by the Holy Prophet. For so late as the sixth year of Hejira, when a truce was drawn up between the Muslims and the Quraish, Suhail ibn-i-’Amru, on behalf of the Quraish, refused to prefix Bismilláh-ir-Raḥmán-ir-Raḥím to the agreement, saying I do not know this, and the agreement was therefore headed by Bismika Alláhumma, the form in common use among the Quraish (Tb). That some nations had some such form which they prefixed to their writings cannot be denied, but the mere existence among any other people, as the Jews or the Sabeans or the Zoroastrians, of any expression which they prefixed to their writings does not show that the Holy Prophet had borrowed the idea from here or there. It is in the choice of the words that the real beauty lies, for the real message of Islam was the perfection of religion, and this perfection is made clear in its Bismilláh, in the very first words with which it opens. Islam has never claimed that what it preached was never preached to the world before; on the other hand, it lays claim to purifying and making perfect the old doctrines (5:3). Even the words Bakhsháishgar and Dádár, meaning respectively the Pardoner and the Just, make no approach to the beauty of the two fundamental attributes of love and mercy made manifest in the words Ar—Raḥmán and Ar-Raḥím. The choice of these two attributes of love and mercy as the prime attributes of the Divine Being is sufficient comment on the misstatements of the carpers at Islam, who misrepresent the God of Islam as a Cruel and Wrathful Being.

    The Fátiḥah has a special importance as a prayer, being an essential part of every prayer, whether offered in congregation or in private. Its Oft-repeated Seven Verses constitute the prayer for guidance of every Muslim at least thirty-two times a day, and therefore it has a much greater importance for him than the Lord's prayer for a Christian. And there is another difference too. The latter is instructed to pray for the coming of the kingdom of God, whereas the Muslim is instructed to seek for his right place in that kingdom, which had already come, the hint no doubt being that the coming of the Holy Prophet was really the advent of the kingdom of God about whose approach Jesus preached to his followers (Mark 1:15). Thus the prayer is a model prayer taught to the Muslims, and the objection as to the inconsistency of the form of address adopted here with the Divine authorship of the Book vanishes in the light of these facts. The numerous prayers contained in the Holy Qur-án follow the same rule and are never preceded by the word say or any other word to that effect. For instance, compare the prayer contained in the concluding verse of the 2nd chapter, and also the prayer contained in 8:7, 8 and 3:190-193 and elsewhere. That a form of prayer or supplication is meant for the supplicant is so clear that any introductory word commanding men to pray in that form would have been superfluous.

    Some hostile critics have suggested that such a prayer is suited only for blind and sinful men groping in the dark to find out the way. Surely it is a very distorted view of the sublime words, which express the natural yearning of the sincere soul to be kept on the right way and to be saved from stumbling. The prayer contained in this chapter is the sublimest of all the prayers that exist in any religion, and occupies the first place among all the prayers contained in the Qur-án itself. A chorus of praise has gone forth for it from the greatest detractors of the Holy Qur-án, and they have been compelled to admire its spirit. The entire chapter is composed of seven verses, the first three of which speak of the four chief Divine attributes, viz. providence, beneficence, mercy, and requital, thus giving expression to the grandeur and praise of the Divine Being, and the last three lay open before the Great Maker the earnest desire of man’s soul to walk in righteousness without stumbling on either side, while the middle one is expressive of man’s entire dependence on Allah. The attributes referred to are those which disclose Allah's all-encompassing beneficence and care, and His unbounded love for all of His creatures, and the ideal to which the soul is made to aspire is the highest to which man can rise, the path of righteousness, the path of grace, and the path in which there is no stumbling. If, on the one hand, the narrow views which addressed the Divine Being as the Lord of a particular nation are swept off before the mention of His equal providence and equal love for all mankind, nay for all the creatures that exist in all the worlds, and the idea of ​paternal care and affection contained in the word Father dwindles into insignificance before the all-embracing beneficence and love of the Rabb of all existence Who provides and regulates the means of existence, nourishment, and perfection of the creatures long before they come into existence, there is, on the other, the high aspiration of the soul for an unbounded spiritual rise unhampered by all considerations of cares of the body which craves for the daily bread, and even of solicitude for forgiveness of wrongs done and injuries inflicted, for the soul seeks to rise to a place where wrongs and injuries are not known. It makes the soul aspire to the great spiritual eminence to which arose those to whom Allah was gracious, the prophets, the truthful, the faithful, and the righteous (4:71). It sets before the eye that high goal, the goal of Divine grace wherein is no displeasure and which is beyond the reach of error. With all its beauty, even the Lord's prayer sinks into insignificance before the all-comprehensiveness and majestic glory of the Fátiḥah, and one would in vain turn over the pages of sacred books to find anything approaching the grand and sublime ideas contained in this chapter of the Holy Qur—án.

    The four attributes of the Divine Being mentioned here are, moreover, a refutation of the wrong conceptions of the fundamental principles of faith met with in some of the prominent religions of the world. The name Rabb, for instance, which signifies Divine providence, indicates that all things in creation are so made as to attain gradually to a state of perfection within their spheres of capacity, and thus points out the erroneousness of the doctrine of the Fall of man, which upholds that an original state of perfection has given place to degeneration. The designation of the Divine Being as Lord of the worlds gives a death-blow to all narrow views of the spiritual blessings and their limitation to certain territorial bounds, racial distinctions, or particular times, and thus makes clear that the highest of these blessings, the gift of Divine revelation, could neither be limited to a particular country nor to a particular nation, nor yet to a particular age. The attribute of loving beneficence in Ar-Raḥmán is a refutation of the doctrines of atonement and sonship, as it directs attention to the fact that benefits are conferred on man by the Divine Being without exacting any compensation from him, Ar-Raḥmán being the Beneficent Lord whose manifold blessings are conferred on man without his ever having done anything to deserve them. The attribute of mercy in Ar-Raḥím points out the error of the Vedic doctrine which teaches that the Divine Being is unable to give manifold and unlimited reward for limited acts of man and that therefore his salvation, even when it has been earned after going through innumerable states of life, must be shortlived, for Ar-Raḥím signifies the Merciful Being Who multiplies rewards to an unlimited extent. And the last attribute, mastership of the day of requital, is directed against those doctrines which deny the quality of forgiveness in the Divine Being, the most prominent of these being the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, for Málik is not the king or the judge whose duty is to hold the balance equally between two parties, but He is the Master, and those that are guilty are only His creatures, Whom He can wholly forgive without any idea of injustice or favouritism being attributed to Him.

    I have also said that the seven verses of the Fátiḥah contain the whole of the Qur-án in them. It is for this reason that in 15:87, already quoted, it is spoken of as the Great Qur-án (Bkh). And so in fact it is, as the name Umm-ul-Qur-án, a name given to it by the Holy Prophet himself, shows (Bkh). For the Qur-án is a Book which declares the glory of Allah and teaches the right way to man, and both these themes find expression in the Fátihah. The fundamental principles of faith, the prime attributes of the Divine Being, which are the basis of all other attributes, the relations which ought to hold between man and his Creator, are all contained in their essence in the seven short sentences of which this wonderful chapter is made up. And to crown all, this chapter opens with the broadest possible conception of the Lordship (this word is intentionally adopted in the place of Fatherhood) of the Divine Being and the brotherhood of man, nay of the oneness of all creation, for the unity of the creation necessarily follows the unity of the Creator.

    ↑I retain the ordinary translation of the particle bá, but I must warn the reader that the sense of this particle is not the same in Arabic as the sense of the word in in the equivalent phrase in the name of God, in in the latter case signifying on account of, whereas the bá in Arabic signifies by, or through, or, to be more exact, with the assistance of. The phrase is in fact equivalent to: I seek the assistance of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (AH).

    Alláh, according to the most correct of the opinions respecting it, is a proper name applied to the Being Who exists necessarily by Himself, comprising all the attributes of perfection (TA-LL), the al being inseparable from it, not derived (Msb-LL). Aḷ-iláh is a different word, and there is nothing to show that Allah is a contraction of Aḷ-iláh. The word Alláh is not applied to any being except the only true God, and comprises all the excellent names (TA-LL), and the Arabs never gave the name Allah to any of their numerous idols. Hence, as being the proper name of the Divine Being, and not having any equivalent in any other language, I have adopted the original word in this translation.

    Ar-Raḥmán and Ar-Raḥím are both derived from raḥmat, signifying tenderness requiring the exercise of beneficence (Rgh), and thus comprising the idea of love and mercy. Ar-Raḥmán and Ar-Raḥím are both active participle nouns of different measures denoting intensiveness of significance, the former being of the measure of fa’lán and indicating the greatest preponderance of the quality of mercy, and the latter being of the measure of fa’íl and being expressive of a constant repetition and manifestation of the attribute (AH). The two words have been explained by the Holy Prophet himself, and though the words are different, the ultimate significance is the same as that which is the result of the grammatical consideration. He is reported to have said: "Ar-Raḥmán is the Beneficent God Whose love and mercy are manifested in the creation of this world, and Ar-Raḥím is the Merciful God Whose love and mercy are manifested in the state that comes after" (AH), i.e. in the consequences of the deeds of men. Thus the attribute of mercy in Ar-Raḥmán is manifested before man comes into existence in the creation of things that are necessary for his life here, and therefore without his having deserved them, while the same attribute in Ar-Raḥím is manifested when man has done something to deserve it. Thus the former is expressive of the utmost degree of love and generosity, the latter of unbounded and constant favour and mercy. Lexicologists agree in holding that the former includes both the believer and the unbeliever for its objects, while the latter particularizes more the believer (LL, Rgh, LA, TA). Hence I render Ar-Raḥmán as meaning the Beneficent God, because the idea of doing good is predominant in it, though I must admit that the English language lacks an equivalent of Ar-Raḥmán even making an approach to giving expression to the all-comprehensive love and goodness manifested in that word. It may also be noted that Ar-Raḥmán, though manifesting an attribute, is like a proper name and applicable only to the Divine Being. The word is, in tact, used as an alternative with Allah, very clearly so in 17:110. Hence it is not applied to denote the quality of mercy in man, though Ar-Raḥím is so applied. The only exception mentioned by the lexicologists is that Musailma the Liar was called the Raḥmán of Yamámah by his followers, but such a use of a proper name has always been considered allowable. As the word Raḥmán as a name of the Divine Being was quite new to the Arabs (25:60), the followers of the Liar may have applied it to him as a retort to the Muslims.

    ↑The al in al-ḥamd-u is for istighráq-ul-jins, i.e. the universal inclusion of the genus (AH), showing that all kinds of praise are included.

    ↑The Arabic word Rabb conveys not only the idea of fostering, bringing-up, or nourishing, but also that of regulating, completing, and accomplishing (TA-LL), i.e. of the evolution of things from the crudest state to that of the highest perfection. According to Rgh, Rabb signifies the fostering of a thing in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of completion. Hence Rabb is the Author of all existence, Who has not only given to the whole creation its means of nourishment but has also beforehand ordained for each a sphere of capacity and within that sphere provided the means by which it continues to attain gradually to its goal of perfection. It will thus be seen that the word Rabb, which, for want of a better word, I render as Lord, conveys a far nobler and grander idea than the word ab or father, which has comparatively a very limited significance. The Muslim prayer therefore prefers the use of the word Rabb or Lord to that of ab or father in addressing the Divine Being.

    ↑  The word translated as worlds is ’álamín, which is pl. of ’álam (from the root ’ilm, meaning to know), indicating literally that by means of which one knows a thing, and hence it signifies world or creation, because by it the Creator is known. In a restricted sense it is applied to any class or division of created beings or of mankind (LL). Hence ’álamín has been translated as nations in 2:47 and elsewhere. The all-comprehensiveness of the Lordship of Allah in the very first words of the Qur-án is quite in consonance with the cosmopolitan nature of the religion of Islam, which requires an admission of the truth of the prophets of all nations and thus subverts all narrow views of religion and of Godhead.

    ↑English translations have usually adopted King as the translation of the word Málik, which is not strictly correct. Málik and malik are two different words from the same root, the former signifying master and the latter king. According to the rule of forming derivations in Arabic, an additional letter (as the alif in Málik) gives the meaning a greater intensity (AH), and hence a master is more than a king. The adoption of the word málik or master is to show that Allah is not guilty of injustice if He forgives His servants, because He is not a mere king or a mere judge, but more properly a Master.

    ↑The word yaum is applied in the Holy Qur-án to any period of time, from a moment (55:29) to fifty thousand years (70:4), and may therefore indicate an indefinitely small or indefinitely large space of time. According to LL yaum is a time, whether day or night (Msb); time absolutely, whether night or not, little or not; also a day, meaning the period from the rising of the sun to its setting. According to Rgh the word yaum indicates a period of time, whatever period it may be, and this is the proper signification. As there are ample indications in the Qur-án that the Divine law of requital is working every moment, and there is nothing to support the idea that it will not come into force before a particular day, the law of requital referred to in this verse is therefore a law which is constantly at work.

    ↑Those upon whom favours are bestowed are according to I’Ab the four classes mentioned in 4:69, viz. the prophets, the truthful, the faithful, and the righteous (AH). This shows that according to the Holy Qur-án, the favours that were bestowed upon the prophets, the gift of Divine revelation being one of the chief of them, can still be bestowed upon the righteous who follow the right way.

    ↑The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: Those upon whom wrath is brought down are the Jews and those who go astray are the Christians (AH). Of course the words are only explanatory and do not limit the significance of the original words used. The Holy Prophet made the Arabs realize by the case of the two peoples whom they knew well how men sometimes desert the right or the middle path, leaning to either extreme, the Jews rejecting Jesus Christ, a righteous servant of God, as a liar, while the Christians went to the other extreme and raised that same mortal to the dignity of Godhead. Islam inculcated that the middle path was to be followed, neither leaning to the side of hatred nor being excessive in love, because the former brings down Divine wrath as it did in the case of the Jews and the latter leads a man astray as it led the Christians.

    2. The Cow (Al-Baqarah)

    Table of Contents

    In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

    ¹ I, God, am the best knower.

    ² This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who keep their duty,

    ³ Who believe in the Unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them,

    ⁴ And who believe in that which has been revealed to thee and that which was revealed before thee, and of the Hereafter they are sure.

    ⁵ These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that are successful.

    ⁶ Those who disbelieve -- it being alike to them whether thou warn them or warn them not -- they will not believe.

    ⁷ God has sealed their hearts and their hearing; and there is a covering on their eyes, and for them is a grievous chastisement.

    * * *

    ⁸ And there are some people who say: We believe in God and the Last Day and they are not believers.

    ⁹ They seek to deceive God and those who believe, and they deceive only themselves and they perceive not.

    ¹⁰ In their hearts is a disease, so God increased their disease, and for them is a painful chastisement because they lie.

    ¹¹ And when it is said to them, Make not mischief in the land, they say: We are but peacemakers.

    ¹² Now surely they are the mischief-makers, but they perceive not.

    ¹³ And when it is said to them, Believe as the people believe, they say: Shall we believe as the fools believe? Now surely they are the fools, but they know not.

    ¹⁴ And when they meet those who believe, they say, We believe; and when they are alone with their devils, they say: Surely we are with you, we were only mocking.

    ¹⁵ God will pay them back their mockery, and He leaves them alone in their inordinacy, blindly wandering on.

    ¹⁶ These are they who buy error for guidance, so their bargain brings no gain, nor are they guided.

    ¹⁷ Their parable is as the parable of one who kindles a fire but when it illumines all around him, God takes away their light, and leaves them in darkness -- they cannot see.

    ¹⁸ Deaf dumb, (and) blind, so they return not:

    ¹⁹ Or like abundant rain from the clouds in which is darkness, and thunder and lightning; they put their fingers into their ears because of the thunder-peal, for fear of death. And God encompasses the disbelievers.

    ²⁰ The lightning almost takes away their sight. Whenever it shines on them they walk in it, and when it becomes dark to them they stand still. And if God had pleased, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Surely God is Possessor of power over all things.

    * * *

    ²¹ O men, serve your Lord Who created you and those before you, so that you may guard against evil,

    ²² Who made the earth a resting-place for you and the heaven a structure, and sends down rain from the clouds then brings forth with it fruits for your sustenance; so do not set up rivals to God while you know.

    ²³ And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your helpers besides God if you are truthful.

    ²⁴ But if you do (it) not -- and you can never do (it) -- then be on your guard against the fire whose fuel is men and stones; it is prepared for the disbelievers.

    ²⁵ And give good news to those who believe and do good deeds, that for them are Gardens in which rivers flow. Whenever they are given a portion of the fruit thereof, they will say: This is what was given to us before and they are given the like of it. And for them therein are pure companions and therein they will abide.

    ²⁶ Surely God disdains not to set forth any parable -- a gnat or anything above that. Then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord; and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that God means by this parable? Many He leaves in error by it and many He leads aright by it. And He leaves in error by it only the transgressors.

    ²⁷ Who break the covenant of God after its confirmation and cut asunder what God has ordered to be joined, and make mischief in the land. These it is that are the losers.

    ²⁸ How can you deny God and you were without life and He gave you life? Again, He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, then you shall be brought back to Him.

    ²⁹ He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. And He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens; and He is Knower of all things.

    * * *

    ³⁰ And when thy Lord said to the angels, I am going to place a ruler in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place in it such as make mischief in it and shed blood? And we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness. He said: Surely I know what you know not.

    ³¹ And He taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the angels; He said: Tell Me the names of those if you are right.

    ³² They said: Glory be to Thee We have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us. Surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.

    ³³ He said: O Adam, inform them of their names. So when he informed them of their names, He said: Did I not say to you that I know what is unseen in the heavens and the earth? And I know what you manifest and what you hide.

    ³⁴ And when We said to the angels, Be submissive to Adam, they submitted, but Iblis (did not). He refused and was proud, and he was one of the disbelievers.

    ³⁵ And We said: O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden, and eat from it a plenteous (food) wherever you wish, and approach not this tree, lest you be of the unjust.

    ³⁶ But the devil made them slip from it, and caused them to depart from the state in which they were. And We said: Go forth, some of you are the enemies of others. And there is for you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time.

    ³⁷ Then Adam received (revealed) words from his Lord, and He turned to him (mercifully). Surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.

    ³⁸ We said: Go forth from this state all. Surely there will come to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.

    ³⁹ And (as to) those who disbelieve in and reject Our messages, they are the companions of the Fire in it they will abide.

    * * *

    ⁴⁰ O Children of Israel, call to mind My favour which I bestowed on you and be faithful to (your) covenant with Me, I shall fulfil (My) covenant with you; and Me, Me alone, should you fear.

    ⁴¹ And believe in that which I have revealed, verifying that which is with you, and be not the first to deny it; neither take a mean price for My messages; and keep your duty to Me, Me alone.

    ⁴² And mix not up truth with falsehood, nor hide the truth while you know.

    ⁴³ And keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and bow down with those who bow down.

    ⁴⁴ Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls while you read the Book? Have you then no sense?

    ⁴⁵ And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and this is hard except for the humble ones,

    ⁴⁶ Who know that they will meet their Lord and that to Him they will return.

    * * *

    ⁴⁷ O Children of Israel, call to mind My favour which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations.

    ⁴⁸ And guard yourselves against a day when no soul will avail another in the least, neither will intercession be accepted on its behalf, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be helped.

    ⁴⁹ And when We delivered you from Pharaoh's people, who subjected you to severe torment, killing your sons and sparing your women, and in this there was a great trial from your Lord.

    ⁵⁰ And when We parted the sea for you, so We saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you saw.

    ⁵¹ And when We appointed a time of forty nights with Moses, then you took the calf (for a god) after him, and you were unjust.

    ⁵² Then We pardoned you after that so that you might give thanks.

    ⁵³ And when We gave Moses the Book and the Discrimination that you might walk aright.

    ⁵⁴ And when Moses said to his people: O my people, you have surely wronged yourselves by taking the calf (for a god), so turn to your Creator (penitently), and kill your passions. That is best for you with your Creator. So He turned to you (mercifully). Surely He is the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.

    ⁵⁵ And when you said: O Moses, we will not believe in thee till we see God manifestly, so the punishment overtook you while you looked on.

    ⁵⁶ Then We raised you up after your stupor that you might give thanks.

    ⁵⁷ And We made the clouds to give shade over you and We sent to you manna and quails. Eat of the good things that We have given you. And they did not do Us any harm, but they wronged their own souls.

    ⁵⁸ And when We said: Enter this city, then eat from it a plenteous (food) whence you wish, and enter the gate submissively, and make petition for forgiveness. We will forgive you your wrongs and increase the reward of those who do good (to others).

    ⁵⁹ But those who were unjust changed the word which had been spoken to them, for another saying, so We sent upon the wrongdoers a pestilence from heaven, because they transgressed.

    * * *

    ⁶⁰ And when Moses prayed for water for his people, We said: March on to the rock with thy staff. So there flowed from it twelve springs. Each tribe knew their drinking-place. Eat and drink of the provisions of God, and act not corruptly, making mischief in the land.

    ⁶¹ And when you said: O Moses, we cannot endure one food, so pray thy Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions. He said: Would you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Enter a city, so you will have what you ask for. And abasement and humiliation were stamped upon them, and they incurred God's wrath. That was so because they disbelieved in the messages of God and would kill the prophets unjustly. That was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits.

    * * *

    ⁶² Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they have their reward with their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.

    ⁶³ And when We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain above you: Hold fast that which We have given you, and bear in mind what is in it, so that you may guard against evil.

    ⁶⁴ Then after that you turned back; and had it not been for the grace of God and His mercy on you, you had certainly been among the losers.

    ⁶⁵ And indeed you know those among you who violated the Sabbath, so We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated.

    ⁶⁶ So We made them an example to those who witnessed it and those who came after it and an admonition to those who guard against evil.

    ⁶⁷ And when Moses said to his people: Surely God commands you to sacrifice a cow. They said: Dost thou ridicule us? He said: I seek refuge with God from being one of the ignorant.

    ⁶⁸ They said: Call on thy Lord for our sake to make it plain to us what she is. (Moses) said: He says, Surely she is a cow neither advanced in age nor too young, of middle age between these (two); so do what you are commanded.

    ⁶⁹ They said: Call on thy Lord for our sake to make it clear to us what her colour is. (Moses) said: He says, She is a yellow cow; her colour is intensely yellow delighting the beholders.

    ⁷⁰ They said: Call on thy Lord for our sake to make it dear to us what she is, for surely to us the cows are all alike, and if God please we shall surely he guided aright.

    ⁷¹ (Moses) said: He says: She is a cow not made submissive to plough the land, nor does she water the tilth, sound, without a blemish in her. They said: Now thou hast brought the truth. So they slaughtered her, though they had not the mind to do (it).

    * * *

    ⁷² And when you (almost) killed a man, then you disagreed about it. And God was to bring forth that which you were going to hide.

    ⁷³ So We said: Smite him with it partially. Thus God brings the dead to life, and He shows you His signs that you may understand.

    ⁷⁴ Then your hearts hardened after that, so that they were like rocks, rather worse in hardness. And surely there are some rocks from which streams burst forth; and there are some of them which split asunder so water flows from them; and there are some of them which fall down for the fear of God. And God is not heedless of what you do.

    ⁷⁵ Do you then hope that they would believe in you, and a party from among them indeed used to hear the word of God, then altered it after they had understood it, and they know (this).

    ⁷⁶ And when they meet those who believe they say, We believe, and when they are apart one with another they say: Do you talk to them of what God has disclosed to you that they may contend with you by this before your Lord? Do you not understand?

    ⁷⁷ Do they not know that God knows what they keep secret and what they make known?

    ⁷⁸ And some of them are illiterate; they know not the Book but only (from) hearsay, and they do but conjecture.

    ⁷⁹ Woe! then to those who write the Book with their hands then say, This is from God; so that they may take for it a small price. So woe! to them for what their hands write and woe! to them for what they earn.

    ⁸⁰ And they say: Fire will not touch us but for a few days. Say Have you received a promise from God? Then God will not fail to perform His promise. Or do you speak against God. what you know not?

    ⁸¹ Yea, whoever earns evil and his sins beset him on every side, those are the companions of the Fire therein they abide."

    ⁸² And those who believe and do good deeds, these are the owners of the Garden; therein they abide.

    * * *

    ⁸³ And when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel. You shall serve none but God. And do good to (your) parents, and to the near of kin and to orphans and the needy, and speak good (words) to (all) men, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate. Then you turned back except a few of you, and you are averse.

    ⁸⁴ And when We made a covenant with you: You shall not shed your blood, nor turn your people out of your cities; then you promised and you bear witness.

    ⁸⁵ Yet you it is who would slay your people and turn a party from among you out of their homes, backing each other up against them unlawfully and exceeding the limits. And if they should come to you as captives you would ransom them, whereas their turning out itself was unlawful for you. Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other? What then is the reward of such among you as do this but disgrace in the life of this world, and on the day of Resurrection they shall be sent back to the most grievous chastisement. And God is not heedless of what you do.

    ⁸⁶ These are they who buy the life of this world for the Hereafter, so their chastisement shall not be lightened, nor shall they be helped.

    * * *

    ⁸⁷ And We indeed gave Moses the Book and We sent messengers after him one after another and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear arguments and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Is it then that whenever there came to you a messenger with what your souls desired not, you were arrogant? And some you gave the lie to and others you would slay.

    ⁸⁸ And they say: Our hearts are repositories. Nay, God has cursed them on account of their unbelief so little it is that they believe.

    ⁸⁹ And when there came to them a Book from God verifying that which they have, and aforetime they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieved -- but when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it; so God's curse is on the disbelievers.

    ⁹⁰ Evil is that for which they sell their souls -- that they should deny that which God has revealed, out of envy that God should send down of His grace on whomsoever of His servants He pleases; so they incur wrath upon wrath. And there is an abasing chastisement for the disbelievers.

    ⁹¹ And when it is said to them, Believe in that which God has revealed, they say: We believe in that which was revealed to us. And they deny what is besides that, while it is the Truth verifying that which they have. Say: Why then did you kill God's prophets before (this) if you were believers?

    ⁹² And Moses indeed came to you with clear arguments, then you took the calf (for a god) in his absence and you were wrongdoers.

    ⁹³ And when We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain above you: Take hold of that which We have given you with firmness and obey. They said: We hear and disobey. And they were made to imbibe (the love of) the calf into their hearts on account of their disbelief. Say: Evil is that which your faith bids you if you are believers.

    ⁹⁴ Say: If the abode of the Here-after with God is specially for you to the exclusion of the people, then invoke death if you are truthful.

    ⁹⁵ And they will never invoke it on account of what their hands have sent on before, and God knows the wrongdoers.

    ⁹⁶ And thou wilt certainly find them the greediest of men for life (greedier) even than those who set gods (with

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