Sūra XLVII. Muḥammad (the Prophet).

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

p. 1378

Sūra XLVII.

Muḥammad (the Prophet).

In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.

1. Those who reject God
And hinder (men) from
The Path of God,
Their deeds will God
Render astray
(From their mark).

2. But those who believe
And work deeds of
Righteousness, and believe
In the (Revelation) sent down
To Muhammad—for it is
The Truth from their Lord,
He will remove from them
Their ills and improve
Their condition.

3. This because those who
Reject God follow vanities,
While those who believe follow
The Truth from their Lord:
Thus does God set forth
For men their lessons
By similitudes.

4. Therefore, when ye meet
The Unbelievers (in fight),

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Smite at their necks;
At length, when ye have
Thoroughly subdued them,
Bind a bond
Firmly (on them): thereafter
(Is the time for) either
Generosity or ransom:
Until the war lays down
Its burdens. Thus (are ye
Commanded): but if it
Had been God's Will,
He could certainly have exacted
Retribution from them (Himself);
But (He lets you fight)
In order to test you,
Some with others.
But those who are slain
In the way of God,
He will never let
Their deeds be lost.

5. Soon will He guide them
And improve their condition,

6. And admit them to
The Garden which He
Has announced for them.

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7. O ye who believe!
If ye will aid
(The cause of) God,
He will aid you,
And plant your feet firmly.

8. But those who reject (God),
For them is destruction,
And (God) will render
Their deeds astray
(From their mark).

9. That is because they
Hate the Revelation of God;
So He has made
Their deeds fruitless.

10. Do they not travel
Through the earth, and see
What was the End
Of those before them
(Who did evil)?
God brought utter destruction
On them, and similar
(Fates await) those who
Reject God.

11. That is because God
Is the Protector of those
Who believe, but
Those who reject God
Have no protector.

SECTION 2.

12. Verily God will admit
Those who believe and do
Righteous deeds, to Gardens
Beneath which rivers flow;

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While those who reject God
Will enjoy (this world)
And eat as cattle eat;
And the Fire will
Be their abode.

13. And how many cities,
With more power than
Thy city which has
Driven thee out,
Have We destroyed
(For their sins)?
And there was none
To aid them.

14. Is then one who is
On a clear (Path)
From his Lord,
No better than one
To whom the evil
Of his conduct seems pleasing,
And such as follow
Their own lusts?

15. (Here is) a Parable
Of the Garden which
The righteous are promised:
In it are rivers
Of water incorruptible;
Rivers of milk
Of which the taste
Never changes; rivers

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Of wine, a joy
To those who drink;
And rivers of honey
Pure and clear. In it
There are for them
All kinds of fruits;
And Grace from their Lord.
(Can those in such Bliss)
Be compared to such as
Shall dwell for ever
In the Fire, and be given,
To drink, boiling water,
So that it cuts up
Their bowels (to pieces)?

16. And among them are men
Who listen to thee,
But in the end, when they
Go out from thee,
They say to those who
Have received Knowledge,
"What is it he said
Just then?" Such are
Men whose hearts God
Has sealed, and who
Follow their own lusts.

17. But to those who receive
Guidance, He increases
The (light of) Guidance,
And bestows on them
Their Piety and Restraint
(From evil).

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18. Do they then only wait
For the Hour,—that it
Should come on them
Of a sudden? But already
Have come some tokens
Thereof, and when it
(Actually) is on them,
How can they benefit
Then by their admonition?

19. Know, therefore, that
There is no god
But God, and ask
Forgiveness for thy fault,
And for the men
And women who believe:
For God knows how ye
Move about and how
Ye dwell in your homes.

p. 1384

SECTION 3.

20. Those who believe say,
"Why is not a Sūra
Sent down (for us)?"
But when a Sūra
Of basic or categorical
Meaning is revealed,
And fighting is mentioned
Therein, thou wilt see those
In whose hearts is a disease
Looking at thee with a look
Of one in swoon at
The approach of death.
But more fitting for them—

21. Were it to obey
And say what is just,
And when a matter
Is resolved on, it were
Best for them if they
Were true to God.

22. Then, is it
To be expected of you,
If ye were put in authority,
That ye will do mischief
In the land, and break
Your ties of kith and kin?

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23, Such are the men
Whom God has cursed
For He has made them
Deaf and blinded their sight.

24. Do they not then
Earnestly seek to understand
The Qur-ān, or are
Their hearts locked up
By them?

25. Those who turn back
As apostates after Guidance
Was clearly shown to them,—
The Evil One has instigated
Them and buoyed them up
With false hopes.

26. This, because they said
To those who hate what
God has revealed, "We
Will obey you in part
Of (this) matter"; but God
Knows their (inner) secrets.

27. But how (will it be)
When the angels take
Their souls at death,
And smite their faces
And their backs?

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28. This because they followed
That which called forth
The Wrath of God, and
They hated God's good pleasure;
So He made their deeds
Of no effect.

SECTION 4.

29. Or do those in whose
Hearts is a disease, think
That God will not bring
To light all their rancour?

30. Had We so willed,
We could have shown them
Up to thee, and thou
Shouldst have known them
By their marks: but surely
Thou wilt know them
By the tone of their speech!
And God knows
All that ye do.

31. And We shall try you
Until We test those
Among you who strive
Their utmost and persevere
In patience; and We shall
Try your reported (mettle).

32. Those who reject God,
Hinder (men) from
The Path of God, and resist
The Apostle, after Guidance

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Has been clearly shown to them,
Will not injure God
In the least, but He
Will make their deeds
Of no effect.

33. O ye who believe!
Obey God, and obey
The Apostle, and make
Not vain your deeds!

34. Those who reject God,
And hinder (men) from the Path
Of God, then die rejecting God,—
God will not forgive them.

35. Be not weary and
Faint-hearted, crying for peace,
When ye should be
Uppermost: for God is
With you, and will never
Put you in loss
For your (good) deeds.

36. The life of this world
Is but play and amusement:
And if ye believe
And guard against evil,
He will grant you
Your recompense, and will not

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Ask you (to give up)
Your possessions.

37. If He were to ask you
For all of them, and
Press you, ye would
Covetously withhold, and He would
Bring out all your ill-feeling.

38. Behold, ye are those
Invited to spend
(Of your substance)
In the Way of God:
But among you are some
That are niggardly. But any
Who are niggardly are so
At the expense of
Their own souls.
But God is free
Of all wants,
And it is ye that are needy.
If ye turn back
(From the Path), He will
Substitute in your stead
Another people; then they
Would not be like you!

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