Sūra IV. Nisāa, or The Women

The Holy Quran, tr. by Yusuf Ali, [1934], at sacred-texts.com

p. 177 p. 178

Sūra IV.

Nisāa, or The Women.

In the name of God, Most Gracious
Most Merciful.

1. O mankind! reverence
Your Guardian-Lord,
Who created you
From a single Person,
Created, of like nature,
His mate, and from them twain
Scattered (like seeds)
Countless men and women;—
Reverence God, through Whom
Ye demand your mutual (rights),
And (reverence) the wombs
(That bore you): for God
Ever watches over you.

2. To orphans restore their property
(When they reach their age),
Nor substitute (your) worthless things
For (their) good ones; and devour not
Their substance (by mixing it up)

p. 179

With your own. For this is
I ndeed a great sin.

3. If ye fear that ye shall not
Be able to deal justly
With the orphans,
Marry women of your choice,
Two, or three, or four;
But if ye fear that ye shall not
Be able to deal justly (with them),
Then only one, or (a captive)
That your right hands possess.
That will be more suitable,
To prevent you
From doing injustice.

4. And give the women
(On marriage) their dower
As a free gift; but if they,
Of their own good pleasure,
Remit any part of it to you,
Take it and enjoy it
With right good cheer.

5. To those weak of understanding
Make not over your property,
Which God hath made
A means of support for you,
But feed and clothe them
Therewith, and speak to them
Words of kindness and justice.

p. 180

6. Make trial of orphans
Until they reach the age
Of marriage; if then ye find
Sound judgment in them,
Release their property to them;
But consume it not wastefully,
Nor in haste against their growing up.
If the guardian is well-off,
Let him claim no remuneration,
But if he is poor, let him
Have for himself what is
Just and reasonable.
When ye release their property
To them, take witnesses
In their presence:
But all-sufficient
Is God in taking account.

7. From what is left by parents
And those nearest relateds,
There is a share for men
And a share for women,
Whether the property be small
Or large,—a determinate share.

8. But if at the time of division
Other relatives, or orphans,
Or poor, are present,
Feed them out of the (property),
And speak to them
Words of kindness and justice.

9. Let those (disposing of an estate)
Have the same fear in their minds
As they would have for their own
If they had left a helpless family behind:
Let them fear God, and speak
Words of appropriate (comfort),

p. 181

10. Those who unjustly
Eat up the property
Of orphans, eat up
A Fire into their own
Bodies: they will soon
Be enduring a blazing Fire!

SECTION 2.

11. God (thus) directs you
As regards your children's
(Inheritance): to the male,
A portion equal to that
Of two females: if only
Daughters, two or more,
Their share is two-thirds
Of the inheritance;
If only one, her share
Is a half.

For parents, a sixth share
Of the inheritance to each,
If the deceased left children;
If no children, and the parents
Are the (only) heirs, the mother
Has a third; if the deceased
Left brothers (or sisters)
The mother has a sixth.
(The distribution in all cases
Is) after the payment
Of legacies and debts.
Ye know not whether
Your parents or your children
Are nearest to you
In benefit. These are
Settled portions ordained

p. 182

By God; and God is
All-knowing, All-wise.

12. In what your wives leave,
Your share is a half,
1f they leave no child;
But if they leave a child,
Ye get a fourth; after payment
Of legacies and debts.
In what ye leave,
Their share is a fourth,
If ye leave no child;
But if ye leave a child,
They get an eighth; after payment
Of legacies and debts.

If the man or woman
Whose inheritance is in question,
Has left neither ascendants nor descendants,
But has left a brother
Or a sister, each one of the two
Gets a sixth; but if more
Than two, they share in a third;
After payment of legacies
And debts; so that no loss
Is caused (to any one).
Thus is it ordained by God;
And God is All-knowing,
Most Forbearing.

p. 183

13. Those are limits
Set by God: those who
Obey God and His Apostle
Will be admitted to Gardens
With rivers flowing beneath,
To abide therein (for ever)
And that will be
The Supreme achievement.

14. But those who disobey
God and His Apostle
And transgress His limits
Will be admitted
To a Fire, to abide therein:
And they shall have
A humiliating punishment.

SECTION 3.

15. If any of your women
Are guilty of lewdness,
Take the evidence of four
(Reliable) witnesses from amongst you
Against them; and if they testify,
Confine them to houses until
Death do claim them,

p. 184

Or God ordain for them
Some (other) way.

16. If two men among you
Are guilty of lewdness,
Punish them both.
If they repent and amend,
Leave them alone; for God
Is Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

17. God accepts the repentance
Of those who do evil
In ignorance and repent
Soon afterwards; to them
Will God turn in mercy:
For God is full of knowledge
And wisdom.

18. Of no effect is the repentance
Of those who continue
To do evil, until Death
Faces one of them, and he says,
"Now have I repented indeed;"
Nor of those who die
Rejecting Faith: for them
Have we prepared
A punishment most grievous.

19. O ye who believe!
Ye are forbidden to inherit
Women against their will.
Nor should ye treat them

p. 185

With harshness, that ye may
Take away part of the dower
Ye have given them,—except
Where they have been guilty
Of open lewdness;
On the contrary live with them
On a footing of kindness and equity.
If ye take a dislike to them
It may be that ye dislike
A thing, and God brings about
Through it a great deal of good.

20. But if ye decide to take
One wife in place of another,
Even if ye had given the latter
A whole treasure for dower,
Take not the least bit of it back:
Would ye take it by slander
And a manifest wrong?

21. And how could ye take it
When ye have gone in
Unto each other, and they have
Taken from you a solemn covenant?

22. And marry not women
Whom your fathers married,—
Except what is past:
It was shameful and odious,—
An abominable custom indeed.

p. 186

SECTION 4.

23. Prohibited to you
(For marriage) are:—
Your mothers, daughters,
Sisters; father's sisters,
Mother's sisters; brother's daughters,
Sister's daugters; foster-mothers
(Who gave you suck), foster-sisters;
Your wives’ mothers;
Your step-daughters under your
Guardianship, born of your wives
To whom ye have gone in,
No prohibition if ye have not gone in;—
(Those who have been)
Wives of your sons proceeding
From your loins;
And two sisters in wedlock
At one and the same time,
Except for what is past;
For God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful;—

p. 187

24. Also (prohibited are)
Women already married,
Except those
Whom your right hands possess:
Thus hath God ordained
(Prohibitions) against you:
Except for these, all others
Are lawful, provided
Ye seek (them in marriage)
With gifts from your property,—
Desiring chastity, not lust.
Seeing that ye derive
Benefit from them, give them
Their dowers (at least)
As prescribed; but if,
After a dower is prescribed, ye agree
Mutually (to vary it),
There is no blame on you,
And God is All-knowing
All-wise.

25. If any of you have not
The means wherewith
To wed free believing women,
They may wed believing
Girls from among those
Whom your right hands possess:
God hath full knowledge
About your Faith.
Ye are one from another:
Wed them with the leave
Of their owners, and give them
Their dowers, according to what

p. 188

Is reasonable: they should be
Chaste, not lustful, nor taking
Paramours: when they
Are taken in wedlock,
If they fall into shame,
Their punishment is half
That for free women.
This (permission) is for those
Among you who fear sin;
But it is better for you
That ye practise self-restraint.
And God is Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

SECTION 5.

26. God doth wish
To make clear to you
And to show you
The ordinances of those
Before you; and (He
Doth wish to) turn to you
(In Mercy): and God
Is All-knowing, All-wise.

27. God doth wish
To turn to you,
But the wish of those
Who follow their lusts
Is that ye should turn
Away (from Him),
Far, far away.

28. God doth wish
To lighten your (difficulties);
For man was created
Weak (in flesh).

29. O ye who believe! sot
Eat not up your property

p. 189

Among yourselves in vanities:
But let there be amongst you
Traffic and trade
By mutual good-will:
Nor kill (or destroy)
Yourselves: for verily
God hath been to you
Most Merciful!

30. If any do that
In rancour and injustice,—
Soon shall We cast them
Into the Fire: and easy
It is for God.

31. If ye (but) eschew
The most heinous
Of the things
Which ye are forbidden to do,
We shall expel
Out of you
All the evil in you,
And admit you to a Gate
Of great honour.

32. And in no wise covet
Those things in which God
Hath bestowed His gifts
More freely on some of you
Than on others: to men
Is allotted what they earn,
And to women what they earn:
But ask God of His bounty.
For God hath full knowledge
Of all things.

33. To (benefit) every one,
We have appointed
Sharers and heirs
To property left

p. 190

By parents and relatives.
To those, also, to whom
Your right hand was pledged,
Give their due portion.
For truly God is witness
To all things.

SECTION 6.

34. Men are the protectors
And maintainers of women,
Because God has given
The one more (strength)
Than the other, and because
They support them
From their means.
Therefore the righteous women
Are devoutly obedient, and guard
In (the husband's) absence
What God would have them guard.
As to those women
On whose part ye fear
Disloyalty and ill-conduct,
Admonish them (first),
(Next), refuse to share their beds,
(And last) beat them (lightly);
But if they return to obedience,
Seek not against them
Means (of annoyance):

p. 191

For God is Most High,
Great (above you all).

35. If ye fear a breach
Between them twain,
Appoint (two) arbiters,
One from his family,
And the other from hers;
If they wish for peace,
God will cause
Their reconciliation:
For God hath full knowledge,
And is acquainted
With all things.

36. serve God, and join not
Any partners with Him;
And do good
To parents, kinsfolk,
Orphans, those in need,
Neighbours who are near,
Neighbours who are strangers,
The Companion by your side,
The way-farer (ye meet),
And what your right hands possess:
For God loveth not
The arrogant, the vainglorious;—

p. 192

37. (Nor) those who are niggardly
Or enjoin niggardliness on others,
Or hide the bounties
Which God hath bestowed
On them; for We have prepared,
For those who resist Faith,
A Punishment that steeps
Them in contempt;—

38. Not those who spend
Of their substance, to be seen
Of men, but have no faith
In God and the Last Day:
If any take the Evil One
For their intimate,
What a dreadful intimate he is!

39. And what burden
Were it on them if they
Had faith in God
And in the Last Day,
And they spent
Out of what God hath
Given them for sustenance?
For God hath full
Knowledge of them.

40. God is never unjust
In the least degree:
If there is any good (done),
He doubleth it,
And giveth from His own
Presence a great reward.

41. How then if We brought
From each People a witness,

p. 193

And We brought thee
As a witness against
These People!

42. On that day
Those who reject Faith
And disobey the Apostle
Will wish that the earth
Were made one with them:
But never will they hide
A single fact from God!

SECTION 7.

43. O ye who believe!
Approach not prayers
With a mind befogged,
Until ye can understand
All that ye say,
Nor in a state
Of ceremonial impurity
(Except when travelling on the road),
Until after washing
Your whole body.
If ye are ill,
Or on a journey,
Or one of you cometh
From offices of nature,

p. 194

Or ye have been
In contact with women,
And ye find no water,
Then take for yourselves
Clean sand or earth,
And rub therewith
Your faces and hands.
For God doth blot out sins
And forgive again and again.

44. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were given a portion
Of the Book? They traffic
In error, and wish that ye
Should lose the right path.

45. But God hath full knowledge
Of your enemies:
God is enough for a Protector,
And God is enough for a Helper.

46. Of the Jews there are those
Who displace words
From their (right) places,
And say: "We hear
And we disobey";
And "Hear what is not
Heard"; and "Rā’inā";—
With a twist of their tongues
And a slander to Faith.
If only they had said:
"We hear and we obey;
And "Do hear";

p. 195

And "Do look at us":
It would have been better
For them, and more proper;
But God hath cursed them
For their Unbelief; and but few
Of them will believe.

47. O ye People of the Book!
Believe in what We
Have (now) revealed, confirming
What was (already) with you,
Before We change the face and fame
Of some (of you) beyond all recognition,
And turn them hindwards,
Or curse them as We cursed
The Sabbath-breakers,
For the decision of God
Must be carried out.

48. God forgiveth not
That partners should be set up
With Him; but He forgiveth
Anything else, to whom
He pleaseth; to set up
Partners with God
Is to devise a sin
Most heinous indeed.

49. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who claim sanctity
For themselves?

p. 196

Nay—but God
Doth sanctify
Whom He pleaseth.
But never will they
Fail to receive justice
In the least little thing.

50. Behold! how they invent
A lie against God!
But that by itself
Is a manifest sin!

SECTION 8.

51. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who were given a portion
Of the Book? They believe
In Sorcery and Evil,
And say to the Unbelievers
That they are better guided
In the (right) way
Than the Believers!

52. They are (men) whom
God hath cursed:
And those whom God
Hath cursed, thou wilt find,
Have no one to help.

53. Have they a share
In dominion or power?
Behold, they give not a farthing
To their fellow-men?

p. 197

54. Or do they envy mankind
For what God hath given them
Of his bounty? But We
Had already given the people
Of Abraham the Book
And Wisdom, and conferred
Upon them a great kingdom.

55. Some of them believed,
And some of them averted
Their faces from him: and enough
Is Hell for a burning fire.

56. Those who reject
Our Signs, We shall soon
Cast into the Fire:
As often as their skins
Are roasted through,
We shall change them
For fresh skins,
That they may taste
The Penalty: for God
Is Exalted in Power, Wise.

57. But those who believe
And do deeds of righteousness,
We shall soon admit to Gardens,
With rivers flowing beneath,—
Their eternal home:
Therein shall they have
Companions pure and holy: ye
We shall admit them
To shades, cool and ever deepening.

58. God doth command you
To render back your Trusts
To those to whom they are due;
And when ye judge

p. 198

Between man and man,
That ye judge with justice:
Verily how excellent
Is the teaching which He giveth you!
For God is He Who heareth
And seeth all things.

59. O ye who believe!
Obey God, and obey the Apostle,
And those charged
With authority among you.
If ye differ in anything
Among yourselves, refer it
To God and His Apostle,
If ye do believe in God
And the Last Day:
That is best, and most suitable
For final determination.

SECTION 9.

60. Hast thou not turned
Thy vision to those
Who declare that they believe
In the revelations
That have come to thee
And to those before thee?
Their (real) wish is
To resort together for judgment
(In their disputes)
To the Evil One,
Though they were ordered
To reject him.
But Satan's wish
Is to lead them astray
Far away (from the Right).

61. When it is said to them:
"Come to what God hath revealed,

p. 199

And to the Apostle":
Thou seest the Hypocrites avert
Their faces from thee in disgust.

62. How then, when they are
Seized by misfortune,
Because of the deeds
Which their hands have sent forth?
Then they come to thee,
Swearing by God:
"We meant no more
Than good-will and conciliation!"

63. Those men,—God knows
What is in their hearts;
So keep clear of them,ss:
But admonish them,
And speak to them a word
To reach their very souls.

64. We sent not an Apostle,
But to be obeyed, in accordance
With the Will of God.
If they had only,
When they were unjust
To themselves,
Come unto thee
And asked God's forgiveness,
And the Apostle had asked
Forgiveness for them,
They would have found
God indeed Oft-returning,
Most Merciful.

65. But no, by thy Lord,
They can have
No (real) Faith,
Until they make thee judge
In all disputes between them,
And find in their souls
No resistance against
Thy decisions, but accept
Them with the fullest conviction.

p. 200

66. If We had ordered them
To sacrifice their lives
Or to leave their homes,
Very few of them
Would have done it:
But if they had done
What they were (actually) told,
It would have been best
For them, and would have gone
Farthest to strengthen their (faith);

67. And We should then have
Given them from Our Presence
A great reward;

68. And We should have
Shown them the Straight Way.

69. All who obey God
And the Apostle
Are in the company
Of those on whom
Is the Grace of God,—
Of the Prophets (who teach),
The Sincere (lovers of Truth),
The Witnesses (who testify),
And the Righteous (who do good):
Ah! what a beautiful Fellowship!

p. 201

70. Such is the Bounty
From God: and sufficient
Is it that God knoweth all.

SECTION 10.

71. O ye who believe!
Take your precautions,
And either go forth in parties
Or go forth all together.

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!"

p. 202

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

p. 203

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).

p. 204

Say: "All things are from God."
But what hath come
To these people,
That they fail
To understand
A 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

p. 205

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

p. 206

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

p. 207

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

p. 208

(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.

p. 209

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.

p. 210

93.1f 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

p. 211

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!—

p. 212

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.

p. 213

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.

p. 214

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.

p. 215

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

p. 216

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).

p. 217

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

p. 218

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

p. 219

(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.

p. 220

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;

p. 221

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.

p. 222

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).

p. 223

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.

p. 224

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;—

p. 225

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

p. 226

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.

p. 227

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;

p. 228

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.

p. 229

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

p. 230

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

p. 231

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.

p. 232

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,

p. 233

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.

p. 234

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

p. 235

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

p. 236

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.