Section 23 of 27 - Table of Contents
SURA IV.-WOMEN1 [C.] MEDINA.-175 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful O MEN! fear your Lord, who hath created you of one man (nafs, soul), and of him created his wife, and from these twain hath spread abroad so many men and WOMEN. And fear ye God, in whose name ye ask mutual favours,-and reverence the wombs that bare you. Verily is God watching over you! And give to the orphans their property; substitute not worthless things of your own for their valuable ones, and devour not their property after adding it to your own; for this is a great crime. And if ye are apprehensive that ye shall not deal fairly with orphans, then, of other women who seem good in your eyes, marry but two, or three, or four;2 and if ye still fear that ye shall not act equitably, then one only; or the slaves whom ye have acquired: this will make justice on your part easier. Give women their dowry freely; but if of themselves they give up aught thereof to you, then enjoy it as convenient, and profitable: And entrust not to the incapable the substance which God hath placed with you for their support; but maintain them therewith, and clothe them, and speak to them with kindly speech. And make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; and if ye perceive in them a sound judgment, then hand over their substance to them; but consume ye it not wastefully, or by hastily entrusting it to them; Because they are growing up. And let the rich guardian not even touch it; and let him who is poor use it for his support (eat of it) with discretion. And when ye make over their substance to them, then take witnesses in their presence: God also maketh a sufficient account. Men ought to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave; and women3 a part of what their parents and kindred leave: whether it be little or much, let them have a stated portion. And when they who are of kin are present at the division, and the orphans and the poor, let them too have a share; and speak to them with kindly speech. And let those be afraid to wrong the orphans, who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would be solicitous on their account. Let them, therefore, fear God, and let them propose what is right. Verily they who swallow the substance of the orphan wrongfully, shall swallow down only fire into their bellies, and shall burn in the flame! With regard to your children, God commandeth you to give the male the portion of two females; and if they be females more than two, then they shall have two-thirds of that which their father hath left: but if she be an only daughter, she shall have the half; and the father and mother of the deceased shall each of them have a sixth part of what he hath left, if he have a child; but if he have no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third: and if he have brethren, his mother shall have the sixth, after paying the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and his debts. As to your fathers, or your children, ye know not which of them is the most advantageous to you. This is the law of God. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise! Half of what your wives leave shall be your's, if they have no issue; but if they have issue, then a fourth of what they leave shall be your's, after paying the bequests they shall bequeath, and debts. And your wives shall have a fourth part of what ye leave, if ye have no issue; but if ye have issue, then they shall have an eighth part of what ye leave, after paying the bequests ye shall bequeath, and debts. If a man or a woman make a distant relation their heir, and he or she have a brother or a sister, each of these two shall have a sixth; but if there are more than this, then shall they be sharers in a third, after payment of the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and debts, Without loss to any one. This is the ordinance of God, and God is Knowing, Gracious! These are the precepts of God; and whoso obeyeth God and his prophet, him shall God bring into gardens beneath whose shades the rivers flow, therein to abide for ever: and this, the great blessedness! And whoso shall rebel against God and his apostle, and shall break His bounds, him shall God place in the fire to abide therein for ever; and his shall be a shameful torment. If any of your women be guilty of whoredom, then bring four witnesses against them from among yourselves; and if they bear witness to the fact, shut them up within their houses till death release them,4 or God make some way for them. And if two men among you commit the same crime, then punish them both; but if they turn and amend, then let them be: for God is He who turneth, Merciful! With God himself will the repentance of those who have done evil ignorantly, and then turn speedily unto Him, be accepted. These! God will turn unto them:for God is Knowing, Wise! But no place of repentance shall there be for those who do evil, until, when death is close to one of them, he saith, "Now verily am I turned to God;" nor to those who die unbelievers. These! we have made ready for them a grievous torment! O believers! it is not allowed you to be heirs of your wives against their will; nor to hinder them from marrying, in order to take from them part of the dowry you had given them, unless they have been guilty of undoubted lewdness; but associate kindly with them: for if ye are estranged from them, haply ye are estranged from that in which God hath placed abundant good. And if ye be desirous to exchange one wife for another, and have given one of them a talent, make no deduction from it. Would ye take it by slandering her, and with manifest wrong? How, moreover, could ye take it, when one of you hath gone in unto the other, and they have received from you a strict bond of union? And marry not women whom your fathers have married: for this is a shame, and hateful, and an evil way: though what is past5 may be allowed. Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your aunts, both on the father and mother's side, and your nieces on the brother and sister's side, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and the mothers of your wives, and your step-daughters who are your wards, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in: (but if ye have not gone in unto them, it shall be no sin in you to marry them;) and the wives of your sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye may not have two sisters; except where it is already done. Verily, God is Indulgent, Merciful! Forbidden to you also are married women, except those who are in your hands as slaves: This is the law of God for you. And it is allowed you, beside this, to seek out wives by means of your wealth, with modest conduct, and without fornication. And give those with whom ye have cohabited their dowry. This is the law. But it shall be no crime in you to make agreements over and above the law. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise! And whoever of you is not rich enough to marry free believing women, then let him marry such of your believing maidens as have fallen into your hands as slaves; God well knoweth your faith. Ye are sprung the one from the other. Marry them, then, with the leave of their masters, and give them a fair dower: but let them be chaste and free from fornication, and not entertainers of lovers. If after marriage they commit adultery, then inflict upon them half the penalty enacted for free married women. This law is for him among you who is afraid of doing wrong:6 but if ye abstain,7 it will be better for you. And God is Lenient, Merciful. God desireth to make this known to you, and to guide you into the ways of those who have been before you, and to turn Him unto you in mercy. And God is Knowing, Wise! God desireth thus to turn him unto you: but they who follow their own lusts, desire that with great swerving should ye swerve! God desireth to make your burden light: for man hath been created weak. O believers! devour not each other's substance in mutual frivolities;8 unless there be a trafficking among you by your own consent: and commit not suicide:-of a truth God is merciful to you. And whoever shall do this maliciously and wrongfully, we will in the end cast him into the fire; for this is easy with God. If ye avoid the great sins which ye are forbidden, we will blot out your faults, and we will cause you to enter Paradise with honourable entry. Covet not the gifts by which God hath raised some of you above others. The men shall have a portion according to their deserts, and the women a portion according to their deserts. Of God, therefore, ask his gifts. Verily, God hath knowledge of all things. To every one have we appointed kindred, as heirs of what parents and relatives, and those with whom ye have joined right hands in contract, leave. Give therefore, to each their portion. Verily, God witnesseth all things. Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the one above the other, and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them. Virtuous women are obedient, careful, during the husband's absence, because God hath of them been careful.9 But chide those for whose refractoriness ye have cause to fear; remove them into beds apart, and scourage them: but if they are obedient to you, then seek not occasion against them: verily, God is High, Great! And if ye fear a breach between man and wife, then send a judge chosen from his family, and a judge chosen from her family: if they are desirous of agreement, God will effect a reconciliation between them; verily, God is knowing, apprised of all! Worship God, and join not aught with Him in worship. Be good to parents,10 and to kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to a neighbour, whether kinsman or new-comer, and to a fellow traveller, and to the wayfarer, and to the slaves whom your right hands hold; verily, God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster, Who are niggardly themselves, and bid others be niggards, and hide away what God of his bounty hath given them. We have made ready a shameful chastisement for the unbelievers, And for those who bestow their substance in alms to be seen of men, and believe not in God and in the last day. Whoever hath Satan for his companion, an evil companion hath he! But what blessedness would be theirs, if they should believe in God and in the last day, and bestow alms out of what God hath vouchsafed them; for God taketh knowledge of them! God truly will not wrong any one of the weight of a mote; and if there be any good deed, he will repay it doubly; and from his presence shall be given a great recompense. How! when we shall bring up against them witnesses from all peoples, and when we shall bring thee up as witness against these? On that day they who were Infidels and rebelled against the prophet, shall wish that the earth were levelled with them! But nothing shall they hide from God. O ye true believers,11 come not to prayer when ye are drunken, but wait till ye can understand what ye utter; nor when ye are polluted, unless ye be travelling on the road, until ye have washed you. If ye be sick, or on a journey, or have come from the unclean place, or have touched a woman, and ye find not water, then rub pure sand, and bathe your face and your hands with it: verily, God is Lenient, Merciful. Hast thou not remarked those12 to whom a part of the Scriptures hath been given? Vendors are they of error, and are desirous that ye go astray from the way. But God knoweth your enemies; and God is a sufficient patron, and God is a sufficient helper! Among the Jews are those who displace the words of their Scriptures, and say, "We have heard, and we have not obeyed. Hear thou, but as one that heareth not; and LOOK AT US;"13 perplexing with their tongues, and wounding the Faith by their revilings. But if they would say, "We have heard, and we obey; hear thou, and REGARD US;" it were better for them, and more right. But God hath cursed them for their unbelief. Few only of them are believers! O ye to whom the Scriptures have been given! believe in what we have sent down confirmatory of the Scripture which is in your hands, ere we efface your features, and twist your head round backward, or curse you as we cursed the sabbath-breakers:14 and the command of God was carried into effect. Verily, God will not forgive the union of other gods with Himself! But other than this will forgive to whom He pleaseth. And He who uniteth gods with God hath devised a great wickedness. Hast thou not marked those who hold themselves to be righteous? But God holdeth righteous whom He will; and they shall not be wronged the husk of a date stone. Behold how they devise a lie of God! Therein is wickedness manifest enough! Hast thou not observed those to whom a part of the Scriptures hath been given?15 They believe in Djibt and Thagout, and say of the infidels, "These are guided in a batter path than those who hold the faith." These are they whom God hath cursed: and for him whom God hath cursed, thou shalt by on means find a helper. Shall they have a share in the kingdom who would not bestow on their fellow men even the speck in a date stone? Envy they other men what God of his bounty hath given them? We gave of old the Scriptures and wisdom to the line of Abraham, and we gave them a grand kingdom: -Some of them believe on the prophet and some turn aside from him:-the flame of Hell is their sufficing punishment! Those who disbelieve our signs we will in the end cast into the fire: so oft as their skins shall be well burnt,16 we will change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the torment. Verily God is Mighty, Wise! But as for those who have believed, and done the things that are right, we will bring being them into gardens 'neath which the rivers flow therein to abide eternally;-therein shall they have wives of stainless purity: and we will bring them into aye-shadowing shades. Verily, God enjoineth you to give back your trusts to their owners, and when ye judge between men, to judge with fairness. Excellent is the practice to which God exhorteth you. God Heareth, Beholdeth! O ye who believe! obey God and obey the apostle, and those among you invested with authority; and if in aught ye differ, bring it before God and the apostle, if ye believe in God and in the latter day. This is the best and fairest way of settlement. Hast thou not marked those who profess that they believe in what hath been sent down to thee, and what hath been sent down before thee? Fain would they be judged before Thagout, though commanded not to believe in him; and fain would Satan make them wander with wanderings wide of truth. And when it is said to them, "Accede to that which God hath sent down, and to the apostle," thou seest the hypocrites avert them from thee with utter aversion. But how, when some misfortune shall fortune them, for their previous handywork? Then will they come to thee, swearing by God, "We desire nothing but to promote good and concord!" These are they whose hearts God knoweth. Therefore break off from them, and warn them, speak words that may penetrate their souls. We have not sent any apostle but to be obeyed, it God so will: but if they, after they have sinned to their own hurt by unbelief, come to thee and ask pardon of God, and the apostle ask pardon for them, they shall surely find that God is He who turneth unto man, Merciful. And they will not-I swear by thy Lord-they will not believe, until they have set thee up as judge between them on points where they differ. Then shall they not find in their own minds any difficulty in thy decisions, and shall submit with entire submission. Had we laid down such a law for them as "Kill yourselves, or abandon your dwellings," but few of them would have done it. But had they done that to which they were exhorted, better and it been for them, and stronger for the confirmation of their faith. In that case we had surely given them from ourself a great recompense, and on the straight path should we surely have guided them. And whoever shall obey God and the Apostle, these shall be with those of the Prophets, and of the Sincere, and of the Martyrs, and of the Just, to whom God hath been gracious. These are a goodly band! This is the bounty of God; and in knowledge doth God suffice. O ye who believe! make use of precautions; and advance in detachments, or , advance in a body. There is of you who will be a laggard: and if a reverse befall you he saith, "Now hath God dealt graciously with me, since I was not with you in the fight:" But if a success from God betide you, he will say, as if there had never been any friendship between you and him, "Would I had been with them! a rich prize should I have won!" Let those then fight on the path of God, who barter this present life for that which is to come; for whoever fighteth on God's path, whether he be slain or conquer, we will in the end give him a great reward. But what hath come to you that ye fight not on the path of God, and for the weak among men, women and children, who say, "O our Lord! bring us forth from this city17 whose inhabitants are oppressors; give us a champion from thy presence; and give us from thy presence a defender." They who believe, fight on the path of God; and they who believe not, fight on the path of Thagout: Fight therefore against the friends of Satan. Verily craft of Satan shall be powerless! Hast thou not marked those to whom it was said, "Withhold your hands awhile from war; and observe prayer, and pay the stated alms." But when war is commanded them, lo! a portion of them fear men as with the fear of God, or with a yet greater fear, and say: "O our Lord! why hast thou commanded us war? Couldst thou not have given us respite till our not distant end?" SAY: Small the fruition of this world; but the next life is the true good for him who feareth God! and ye shall not be wronged so much as the skin of a date stone. Wherever ye be, death will overtake you-although ye be in lofty towers! If good fortune betide them, they say, "This is from God;" and if evil betide them, they say, "This is from thee." SAY: All is from God: But what hath come to these people that they are not near to understanding what is told them? Whatever good betideth thee is from God, and whatever betideth thee of evil is from thyself; and we have sent thee to mankind as an apostle: God is thy sufficing witness. Whoso obeyeth the Apostle, in so doing obeyeth God: and as to those who turn back from thee, we have not sent thee to be their keeper. Moreover, they say: "Obedience!" but when they come forth from thy presence, a party of them brood by night over other than thy words; but God writeth down what they brood over: therefore separate thyself from them, and put thou thy trust in God. is a sufficient protector! Can they not consider the Koran? Were it from any other than God, they would surely have found in it many contradictions. And when tidings, either of security or alarm, reach them, they tell them abroad; but if they would report them to the apostle, and to those who are in authority among them, those who desire information would learn it from them. But for the goodness and mercy of God towards you, ye would have followed Satan except a few! Fight, therefore, on God's path: lay not burdens on any but thyself; and stir up the faithful. The might of the infidels haply will god restrain, for God is the stronger in prowess, and the stronger to punish. He who shall mediate between men for a good purpose shall be the gainer by it. But he who shall mediate with an evil mediation shall reap the fruit of it. And God keepeth watch over everything. If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a better greeting, or at least return it: God taketh count of all things. God! there is no god but He! He will certainly assemble you on the day of resurrection. There is no doubt of it. And whose word is more true than God's? Why are ye two parties on the subject of the hypocrites, when God hath cast them off for their doings? Desire ye to guide those whom god hath led astray? But for him whom God leadeth astray, thou shalt by no means find a pathway. They desire that ye should be infidels as they are infidels, and that ye should be alike. Take therefore none of them for friends, till they have fled their homes for the cause of God. If they turn back, then seize them, and slay them wherever ye find them; but take none of them as friends or helpers, Except those who shall seek and asylum among your allies, and those who come over to you-their hearts forbidding them to make war on you, or to make war on their own people. Had God pleased, he would have given them power against you, and they would have made war upon you! But, if they depart from you, and make not war against you and offer you peace, the God alloweth you no occasion against them. Ye will find others who seek to gain your confidence as well as that of their own people: So oft as they return to sedition, they shall be overthrown in it: But if they leave you not, nor propose terms or peace to you nor withhold their hands, then seize them, and slay them, wherever ye find them. Over these have we given you undoubted power. A believer killeth not a believer but by mischance: and whoso killeth a believer by mischance shall be bound to free a believer from slavery; and the blood-money shall be paid to the family of the slain, unless they convert it into alms. But if the slain believer be of a hostile people, then let him confer freedom on a slave who is a believer; and if he be of a people between whom and yourselves there is an alliance, then let the blood-money be paid to his family, and let him set free a slave who is a believer: and let him who hath not the means, fast two consecutive months. This is the penance enjoined by God; and God is Knowing, Wise! But whoever shall kill a believer of set purpose, his recompense shall be hell; for ever shall he abide in it; God shall be wrathful with him, and shall curse him, and shall get ready for him a great torment. O believers! when ye go forth to the fight for the cause of God, be discerning, and say not to every one who meeteth you with a greeting, "Thou art not a believer"18 in your greed after the chance good things of this present life! With God are abundant spoils. Such hath been your wont in times past; but god hath been gracious to you. Be discerning, then, for God well knoweth what ye do. Those believers who sit at home free from trouble, and those who do valiantly in the cause of God with their substance and their persons, shall not be treated alike. God hath assigned to those who contend earnestly with their persons and with their substance, a rank above those who sit at home. Goodly promises hath He made to all. But God hath assigned to the strenuous a rich recompense, above those who sit still at home, Rank of his own bestowal, and forgiveness, and mercy; for God is Indulgent, Merciful. The angels,19 when they took the souls of those who had been unjust to their own weal, demanded, "What hath been your state?"20 They said, "We were the weak ones21 of the earth." They replied, "Was not God's earth broad enough for you to flee away in?" These! their home shall be Hell, and evil the passage to it- Except the men and women and children who were not able, through their weakness, to find the means of escape, and were not guided on their way. These haply God will forgive: for God is Forgiving, Gracious. Whoever flieth his country for the cause of God, will find in the earth many under like compulsion, and abundant resources; and if any one shall quit his home and fly to God and his apostle, and then death overtake him,-his reward from God is sure: for God is Gracious, Merciful! And when ye go forth to war in the land, it shall be no crime in you to cut short your prayers,22 if ye fear lest the infidels come upon you; Verily, the infidels are your undoubted enemies! And when thou, O apostle! shalt be among them, and shalt pray with them, then let a party of them rise up with thee, but let them take their arms; and when they shall have made their prostrations, let them retire to your rear: then let another party that hath not prayed come forward, and let them pray with you; but let them take their precautions and their arms. Pleased would the infidels be for you to neglect your arms and your baggage, that they might turn upon you at once! And it shall be no crime in you to lay down your arms if rain annoy you, or if ye be sick. But take your precautions.23 Verily, God hath made ready a shameful torment for the infidels. And when ye shall have ended the prayer, make mention of God, standing, and sitting, and reclining: and as soon as ye are secure, observe prayer; for to the faithful, prayer is a prescribed duty, and for stated hours. Slacken not in pursuit of the foe. If ye suffer, assuredly they suffer also as ye suffer; but ye hope from God for what they cannot hope! And God is Knowing, Wise! Verily, we have sent down the Book to thee with the truth, thou that mayest judge between men according as God hath given thee insight: But with the deceitful ones dispute not: and implore pardon of God. Verily, God is Forgiving, Merciful.24 And plead not with us for those who are self-deceivers; for God loveth not him who is deceitful, criminal. From men they hide themselves; but they cannot hide themselves from God: and when they hold nightly discourses which please Him not, He is with them. God is round about their doings! Oh! ye are they who plead in their favour in this present life; but who shall plead with God for them on the day of the resurrection? Who will be the guardian over them? Yet he who doth evil, or shall have acted against his own weal, and then shall ask pardon of God, will find God Forgiving, Merciful: And whoever committeth a crime, committeth it to his own hurt. And God is Knowing, Wise! And whoever committeth an involuntary fault or a crime, and then layeth it on the innocent, shall surely bear the guilt of calumny and of a manifest crime. But for the grace and mercy of God upon thee, a party among them had resolved to mislead thee, but they shall only mislead themselves; nor in aught shall they harm thee. God hath caused the Book and the wisdom to descend upon thee: and what thou knowest not He hath caused thee to know: and the grace of God toward thee hath been great. In most of their secret talk is nothing good; but only in his who enjoineth almsgiving, or that which is right, or concord among men. Whoso doth this, out of desire to please God, we will give him at the last a great reward: But whoso shall sever himself from the prophet after that "the guidance" hath been manifested to him, and shall follow any other path than that of the faithful, we will turn our back on him as he hath turned his back on us, and we will cast him into Hell;-an evil journey thither! God truly will not forgive the joining other gods with Himself. Other sins He will forgive to whom He will: but he who joineth gods with God, hath erred with far-gone error. They call, beside Him, upon mere goddesses! they invoke a rebel Satan! On them is the malison of God. For he said, "A portion of thy servants will I surely take, and will lead them astray, and will stir desires within them, and will command them and they shall cut the ears of animals;25 and I will command them, and they shall alter the creation of God."26 He who taketh Satan rather than God for his patron, is ruined with palpable ruin: He hath made them promises, and he hath stirred desires within them; but Satan promiseth, only to beguile! These! their dwelling Hell! no escape shall they find from it! But they who believe and do the things that are right, we will bring them into gardens beneath which the rivers flow; For ever shall they abide therein. Truly it is the promise of God: And whose word is more sure than God's? Not according to your wishes, or the wishes of the people of the Book, shall these things be. He who doth evil shall be recompensed for it. Patron or helper, beside God, shall he find none. But whoso doth the things that are right, whether male or female, and he or she a believer,-these shall enter Paradise, nor shall they be wronged the skin of a date stone. And who hath a better religion than he who resigneth himself to God, who doth what is good, and followeth the faith of Abraham in all sincerity? And God took Abraham for his friend. All that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth is God's: and God encompasseth all things! Moreover, they will consult thee in regard to women: SAY: God hath instructed you about them; and His will is rehearsed to you, in the Book, concerning female orphans to whom ye give not their legal due, and whom ye refuse to marry; also with regard to weak children; and that ye deal with fairness towards orphans. Ye cannot do a good action, but verily God knoweth it. And if a wife fear ill usage or aversion on the part of her husband, then shall it be no fault in them if they can agree with mutual agreement, for agreement is best. Men's souls are prone to avarice; but if ye act kindly and fear God, then, verily, your actions are not unnoticed by God! And ye will not have it at all in your power to treat your wives alike, even though you fain would do so; but yield not wholly to disinclination, so that ye leave one of them as it were in suspense; if ye come to an understanding, and fear God, then, verily, God is Forgiving, Merciful; But if they separate, God can compensate both out of His abundance; for God is Vast, Wise; And whatever is in the Heavens and in the Earth is God's! We have already enjoined those to whom the Scriptures were given before you, and yourselves, to fear God. But if ye become unbelievers, yet know that whatever is in the Heavens and in the Earth is God's: and God is Rich, Praiseworthy. All that is in Heaven and all that is in Earth is God's! God is a sufficient protector! If he pleased, he could cause you to pass away, O mankind! and create others in your stead: for this hath God power. If any one desire the reward of this world, yet with God is the reward of this world and of the next! And God Heareth, Beholdeth. O ye who believe! stand fast to justice, when ye bear witness before God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kindred, whether the party be rich or poor. God is nearer than you to both. Therefore follow not passion, lest ye swerve from truth. And if ye wrest your testimony or stand aloof, God verily is well aware of what ye do. O ye who believe! believe in God and his Apostle, and the Book which he hath sent down to his Apostle, and the Book which he hath sent down aforetime. Whoever believeth not on God and his Angels and his Books and his Apostles, and in the last day, he verily hath erred with far-gone error. Verily, they who believed, then became unbelievers, then believed, and again became unbelievers, and then increased their unbelief-it is not God who will forgive them or guide them into the way. Announce27 to the hypocrites that a dolorous torment doth await them. Those who take the unbelievers for friends besides the faithful-do they seek honour at their hands? Verily, all honour belongeth unto God! And already hath He sent this down to you in the Book28 "WHEN YE SHALL HEAR THE SIGNS OF GOD THEY SHALL NOT BE BELIEVED BUT SHALL BE MOCKED AT." Sit ye not therefore with such, until they engage in other discourse; otherwise, ye will become like them. Verily God will gather the hypocrites and the infidels all together in Hell. They watch you narrowly. Then if God grant you a victory, they say, "Are we not with you?" and if the infidels meet with a success, they say to them, "Were we not superior to you: and did we not defend you from those believers?" God shall judge betwixt ye on the day of the resurrection, and God will by no means make a way for the infidels over the believers. The hypocrites would deceive God, but He will deceive them! When they stand up for prayer, they stand carelessly, to be seen of men, and they remember God but little: Wavering between the one and the other-belonging neither to these nor those! and by no means shalt thou find a path for him whom God misleadeth. O believers! take not infidels for friends rather than believers. Would ye furnish God with clear right to punish you? Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire: and, by no means shalt thou find a helper for them; Save for those who turn and amend, and lay fast hold on God, and approve the sincerity of their religion to God; these shall be numbered with the faithful, and God will at last bestow on the faithful a great reward. Why should God inflict a chastisement upon you, if ye are grateful, and believe? God is Grateful, Wise! God loveth not that evil be matter of public talk, unless any one hath been wronged: God it is who Heareth, Knoweth! Whether ye publish what is good, or conceal it, or pardon evil, verily God is Pardoning, Powerful! Of a truth they who believe not on God and his Apostles, and seek to separate God from his Apostles, and say, "Some we believe, and some we believe not," and desire to take a middle way; These! they are veritable infidels! and for the infidels have we prepared a shameful punishment. And they who believe on God and his Apostles, and make no difference between them these! we will bestow on them their reward at last. God is Gracious, Merciful! The people of the Book will ask of thee to cause a Book to come down unto them out of Heaven. But a greater thing than this did they ask of Moses! for they said, "Shew us God plainly!" and for this their wickedness did the fire- storm lay hold on them. Then took they the calf as the object of their worship, after that our clear tokens had come to them; but we forgave them this, and conferred on Moses undoubted power. And we uplifted the mountain 29 over them when we made a covenant with them, and we said to them, "Enter the gate adoring:"and we said to them, "Transgress not on the Sabbath," and we received from them a strict covenant. So, for that they have broken their covenant, and have rejected the signs of God, and have put the prophets to death unjustly, saying the while, "Our hearts are uncircumcised,"-Nay, but God hath sealed them up for their unbelief, so that but few believe. And for their unbelief,-and for their having spoken against Mary a grievous calumny,- And for their saying, "Verily we have slain the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, an Apostle of God." Yet they slew him not, and they crucified him not, but they had only his likeness.30 And they who differed about him were in doubt concerning him: No sure knowledge had they about him, but followed only an opinion, and they did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself. And God is Mighty, Wise! There shall not be one of the people of the Book but shall believe in Him before his death, and in the day of resurrection, He will be a witness against them. For the wickedness of certain Jews, and because they turn many from the way of God, we have forbidden them goodly viands which had been before allowed them. And because they have taken usury, though they were forbidden it, and have devoured men's substance in frivolity, we have got ready for the infidels among them a grievous torment. But their men of solid knowledge, and the believers who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee, and in what hath been sent down before thee, and who observe prayer, and pay the alms of obligation, and believe in God and the latter day,-these! we will give them a great reward. Verily we have revealed to thee as we revealed to Noah and the Prophets after him, and as we revealed to Abraham, and Ismaël, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah, and Aaron, and Solomon; and to David gave we Psalms. Of some apostles we have told thee before: of other apostles we have not told thee-And discoursing did God discourse with Moses- Apostles charged to announce and to warn, that men, after those apostles, might have no plea against God. And God is Mighty, Wise! But God is himself witness of what He hath sent down to thee: In His knowledge hath He sent it down to thee. The angels are also its witnesses: but God is a sufficient witness! Verily, they who believe not and pervert from the way of God, have indeed erred with error wide of truth. Verily, those who believe not, and act wrongfully, God will never pardon, and never will he guide them on path, Than the path to Hell, in which they shall abide for ever! And this is easy for God. O men! now hath an apostle come to you with truth from your Lord. Believe then, it will be better for you. But if ye believe not, then, all that is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's; and God is Knowing, Wise! O ye people of the Book! overstep not bounds in your religion;31 and of God, speak only truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed into Mary, and a Spirit32 proceeding from himself. Believe therefore in God and his apostles, and say not, "Three:" (there is a Trinity)-Forbear-it will be better for you. God is only one God! Far be it from His glory that He should have a son! His, whatever is in the Heavens, and whatever is in the Earth! And God is a sufficient Guardian. The Messiah disdaineth not to be a servant of God, nor do the angels who are nigh unto Him. And whoso disdaineth His service, and is filled with pride, God will gather them all to Himself. And to those who believe and do the things that are right, will He pay them their due recompense, and out of His bounty will He increase them: but as for those who are disdainful and proud, with a grievous chastisement will He chastise them; And none beside God shall they find to protect or to help them. O men! now hath a proof come to you from your Lord, and we have sent down to you a clear light. As to those who believe in God and lay fast hold on Him, these will He cause to enter into his mercy and grace, and along the straight way unto Himself will He guide them. They will consult thee. SAY: God instructeth you as to distant kindred. If a man die childless, but have a sister, half what he shall have shall be her's; and if she die childless he shall be her heir. But if there be two sisters, two-third parts of what he shall have shall be theirs; and if there be both brothers and sisters, the male shall have the portion of two females. God teacheth you plainly, that ye err not! God knoweth all things. _______________________ 1 Most of the events alluded to in this Sura fall between the end of the third and the close of the fifth year after the Flight to Medina. 2 Muhammad assumed to himself the privilege of having a yet greater number of wives. But in doing so, he was probably actuated by a desire for male offspring. Chadijah was his only wife until quite a late period of his career. Comp. Arbah Turim. Ev. Hazaer 1, "A man may marry many wives, for Rabba saith it is lawful to do so, if he can provide for them. Nevertheless, the wise men have given good advice, that a man should not marry more than four wives." See also Yad Hachazakah Hilchoth Ishuth. 14, 3. 3 Verses 8 and 12 are said by the commentators to have been revealed in consequence of the complaints of Omm Kuhha that, in accordance with the ante- Islamitic custom, she had been excluded from any portion of her deceased husband's property. The unsatisfactory nature of the Muhammadan traditions may be inferred from the fact, that no less than six different names are assigned to him. It is, however, probable that these and similar laws relative to inheritances were given at a time when many heads of families had fallen, as at Ohod, in battle. This remark applies to verses 33-45. 4 Women found guilty of adultery and fornication were punished at the first rise of Islam, by being literally immured. But this was exchanged, in the case of a maiden, for one year's banishment and 100 stripes; and in the case of a married woman, for stoning. 5 What took place in the times of ignorance, previous to the revelation of the Koran. See Freytag's Einl. p. 201, as to the incestuous nature of the ante-Islamitic Arabian marriages. 6 By marrying without means adequate to the support of a free wife, or by remaining single. 7 From marrying slaves. 8 Games of chance, usury, etc. 9 By providing for them a home and the protection of a husband. Or, of that which God would have them care for. 10 An undutiful child is very seldom heard of among the Egyptians, or the Arabs in general. Sons scarcely ever sit, or sit, or eat, or smoke, in the presence of the father unless bidden to do so; and they often wait upon him and upon his guests at meals and on other occasions: they do not cease to act thus when they have become men. Lane's Mod. Egypt. vol. i. p. 69. 11 The Koranic precepts as to prayer savour of Jewish origin. Thus, "Prayer should be said standing" is a Rabbinic precept.-Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 240.- Misch.Berachoth 10-may be shortened in dangerous places, ib. iv. 10-is forbidden to the drunken, ib. 31, 2. Erubin, 64-and to the polluted; Berachoth iii. 4-and is to be preceded, in this case, by washings with water or sand. See Sura xvii. 110, note 2, p. 173. 1 Cor. xi. 21. 12 The Jews and their Rabbis. 13 See Sura [xci.] ii. 98. 14 Lit. the companions of the sabbath. See [xci.] ii. 61. 15 This refers to certain renegade Jews, who out of hatred against Muhammad, went over to the Koreisch. See Nöldeke. p. 149. 16 Lit. ripened. 17 Mecca. 18 And therefore a fit subject for plunder. 19 Some of the Meccans after embracing Islam did not thoroughly break with the infidels and fly their country. These persons were miraculously slain by angels at Bedr. Others suppose the angels to be Nakir and Monkir, who examine the dead in the grave. 20 That is, to what religion did ye belong? 21 And therefore could not resist the unbelievers. 22 Thus the Rabbins Tr. Berachoth, iv. 4, "He that goeth in a dangerous place may pray a short prayer." 23 See Mischna Tr. Berachoth, 10. 24 This verse is said to have been revealed when Muhammad was about to acquit a Muslim who had committed theft, and laid the guilt at the door of a Jew. But the particulars are given in a very contradictory manner. See Nöldeke, p. 151. 25 In allusion to an idolatrous and superstitious custom of the old Arabians. 26 By the mutilation of slaves, branding their bodies, filing the teeth, etc. 27 See Sura lxxxiv. 24, p. 47, note. 28 Sura vi. 29 See Sura [xci.] ii.7. 30 Lit. one was made to appear to them like (Jesus). Comp. [xcvii.] iii.48. Photius, Bibl. Cod. cxiv.says that the Apocr. Book, [Greek text]-This individual according to the Basilidans was-Simon of Cyrene; according to the Evang. Barnab‘, Judas.-Mani, Ep. Fund. ap. Evodium: "Princeps itaque tenebrarum cruci est affixus, idemque coronam spineam portavit." 31 By believing too much, like the Christians who regarded Jesus as God; or too little, like the Jews who would not believe on Muhammad. 32 That is, a Being possessing a Spirit. SURA LXV.-DIVORCE1 [CI.] MECCA.-12 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful O PROPHET! when ye divorce women, divorce them at their special times. And reckon those times exactly, and fear God your Lord. Put them not forth from their houses, nor allow them to depart, unless they have committed a proven adultery. This is the precept of God; and whoso transgresseth the precept of God, assuredly imperilleth his own self. Thou knowest not whether, after this, God may not cause something new to occur which may bring you together again. And when they have reached their set time, then either keep them with kindness, or in kindness part from them. And take upright witnesses from among you, and bear witness as unto God. This is a caution for him who believeth in God and in the latter day. And whoso feareth God, to him will He grant a prosperous issue, and will provide for him whence he reckoned not upon it. And for him who putteth his trust in Him will God be all-sufficient. God truly will attain his purpose. For everything hath God assigned a period. As to such of your wives as have no hope of the recurrence of their times, if ye have doubts in regard to them, then reckon three months, and let the same be the term of those who have not yet had them. And as to those who are with child, their period shall be until they are delivered of their burden. God will make His command easy to him who feareth Him. This is God's command which He hath sent down to you: Whoso feareth God, his evil deeds will He cancel and will increase his reward. Lodge the divorced wherever ye lodge, according to your means; and distress them not by putting them to straits. And if they are pregnant, then be at charges for the them till they are delivered of their burden; and if they suckle your children, then pay them their hire and consult among yourselves, and act generously: And if herin ye meet with obstacles, then let another female suckle for him. Let him who hath abundance of his abundance; let him, too, whose store is scanty, give of what God hath vouchsafed to him. God imposeth burdens only according to the means which He hath given. God will cause ease to succeed difficulties. How many cities have turned aside from the command of their Lord and of his apostles! Therefore did we reckon with them in a severe reckoning, and chastised them with a stern chastisement; And they tasted the harmfulness of their own conduct: and the end of their conduct was ruin. A vehement chastisement hath God prepared for them! Fear God, then, O ye men of understanding!2 Believers! Now hath God sent down to you a warning! a prophet, who reciteth to you the clear signs of God, that he may bring those who believe, and do the things that are right, out of the darkness into the light. And-whoso believeth in God, and doeth the things that are right, God will cause them to enter the gardens beneath which the rivers flow, to remain therein for aye! A goodly provision now hath God made for him. It is God who hath created seven heavens and as many earths.3 The Divine command cometh down through them all, that ye may know that God hath power over all things, and that God in his knowledge embraceth all things! _______________________ 1 Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 228, which this Sura is perhaps intended to supplement. Wahidi and Beidhawi state that it was revealed on account of Ibn Omar who had divorced his wife at improper time, and was obliged to take her again. 2 In order to make good the rhyme, verse 10 ought to be continued to the end of the first clause of verse II. 3 Lit. and of the earth, their likes. The style of this verse resembles that of the Meccan Suras. Hence, probably; a tradition in Omar ben Muhammad makes the whole Sura Meccan. SURA LIX.-THE EMIGRATION [CII.] MEDINA.-24 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ALL that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth praiseth God! He, the Mighty, the Wise! He it is who caused the unbelievers among the people of the Book to quit their homes and join those who had EMIGRATED previously.1 Ye did not think that they would quit them; and they on their part thought that their fortresses would protect them against God: But God came upon them whence they looked not for Him, and cast such fear into their hearts that by their own hands as well as by the hands of the victorious believers they demolished their houses! Profit by this example ye who are men of insight! And were it not that God had decreed their exile, surely in this world would he have chastised them: but in the world to come the chastisement of the fire awaiteth them. This because they set them against God and his apostle; and whoso setteth him against God. . . . ! God truly is vehement in punishing. Your cutting down some of their palm trees and sparing others was by God's permission, and to put the wicked to shame. After the spoils of these Jews which God hath assigned to his apostle, ye pressed not with horse or camel.2 But God giveth his apostles power over what he will. God is Almighty. The spoil taken from the people of the towns and assigned by God to his apostle, belongeth to God, and to the apostle, and to his kindred, and to the orphan, and to the poor, and to the wayfarer, that none of it may circulate among such of you only as are rich: What the apostle hath given you, take: What he hath refused you, refuse: And fear ye God, for God is severe in punishing. To the poor refugees (Mohadjerin) also doth a part belong, who have been driven from their homes and their substance, and who seek favour from God and his goodwill, and aid God and his apostle. These are the men of genuine virtue. They of Medina who had been in possession of their abodes and embraced the faith before them, cherish those who take refuge with them; and they find not in their breasts any desire for what hath fallen to their share: they prefer them before themselves, though poverty be their own lot. And with such as are preserved from their own covetousness shall it be well. And they who have come after them into the faith say, "O our Lord! forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in the faith, and put not into our hearts ill-will against those who believe. O our Lord! thou verily art Kind, Merciful." Hast thou not observed the disaffected saying to their unbelieving brethren3 among the people of the Book, "If ye be driven forth, we will go forth with you; and in what concerneth you, never will we obey any one; and if ye be attacked we will certainly come to your help." But God is witness that they are liars. No! if they were driven forth, they would not share their banishment; if they were attacked they would not help them, or if they help them they will surely turn their backs: then would they remain unhelped. Assuredly the fear of you is more intense in their hearts than the fear of God! This because they are a people devoid of discernment. They (the Jews) will not fight against you in a body except in fenced towns or from behind walls. Mighty is their valour among themselves! thou thinkest them united-but their hearts are divided. This for that they are a people who understand not. They act like those who lately preceded them,4 who also tasted the result of their doings; and a grievous chastisement awaiteth them- Like Satan when he saith to a man, "Be an infidel:" and when he hath become an infidel, he saith, "I share not thy guilt:5 verily, I fear God the Lord of the Worlds." Of both, therefore, shall the end be that they dwell for ever in the fire: This is the recompense of the evil doers. O ye who believe! fear God. And let every soul look well to what it sendeth on before for the morrow. And fear ye God: Verily, God is cognisant of what ye do. And be ye not like those who forget God, and whom He hath therefore caused to forget their proper selves. Such men are the evil doers. The inmates of the Fire and the inmates of Paradise are not to be held equal. The inmates of Paradise only shall be the blissful. Had we sent down this Koran on some mountain, thou wouldst certainly have seen it humbling itself6 and cleaving asunder for the fear of God. Such are the parables we propose to men in order that they may reflect. He is God beside whom there is no god. He knoweth things visible and invisible: He is the Compassionate, the Merciful. He is God beside whom there is no god: He is the King, the Holy, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Strong, the Most High! Far be the Glory of God from that which they unite with Him! He is God, the Producer, the Maker, the Fashioner! To Him are ascribed excellent titles. Whatever is in the Heavens and in the Earth praiseth Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise! _______________________ 1 The Jews of Nadhir, three miles from Medina, had broken a treaty made with Muhammad, and in the month RabŚ of the fourth year of the Hejira were besieged by him and driven first to the Jews of Kainoka, who had emigrated previously, under compulsion, after the battle of Bedr, and subsequently out of Arabia. Weil, Life of M. p.137.n. 2 On which account these spoils were entirely assigned to Muhammad, and not divided in the usual manner. See Sura [xcv.] viii. 42. Weil, p. 138, 184. 3 To the Jews of the tribe of Nadhir. 4 The idolaters slain at Bedr (Djal.) or the Jews of Kainoka, who had been plundered previously to those of Nadhir. 5 Lit. I am clear of thee. 6 This may be derived from the Rabbinical idea that Mount Sinai was chosen, on account of its lowness, to be the scene of the revelation to Moses, in order to shew that God loves the humble. SURA XXXIII.-THE CONFEDERATES1 [CIII.] MEDINA.-73 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful O PROPHET, fear thou God, and obey not the unbelievers and the hypocrites;- Truly God is Knowing, Wise: But follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord: Cognisant truly is He of all your actions- And put thou thy trust in God, for a sufficient guardian is God. God hath not given a man two hearts within him; neither hath he made your wives whom ye divorce2 to be as your mothers; nor hath he made your adopted sons to be as your own sons. Such words are indeed in your mouths; but God speaketh the truth, and in the right way He guideth. Name them after their fathers: this will be more right before God. But if ye know not who their fathers are, then let them be your brethren in the faith, and your comrades. And unless made with intent of heart, mistakes in this matter shall be no crime in you: for God is Lenient, Merciful. Nearer of kin to the faithful is the Prophet, than they are to their own selves. His wives are their mothers. According to the Book of God, they who are related by blood, are nearer the one to the other than other believers, and than those who have fled their country3 for the cause of God: but whatever kindness ye shew to your kindred, shall be noted down in the Book. And remember that we have entered into covenant with the Prophets, and with thee, and with Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, Son of Mary: and we formed with them a strict covenant, That God may question the men of truth as to their truth.4 But a sore torment hath He prepared for the unbelievers. O believers!5 remember the goodness of God towards you, when the armies came against you, and we sent against them a blast, and hosts that ye saw not; for the eye of God was upon your doings: When they assailed you from above you, and from below you,6 and when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts came up into your throat, and ye thought divers thoughts of God: Then were the faithful tried, and with strong quaking did they quake: And when the disaffected and the diseased7 of heart said, "God and his Apostle have made us but a cheating promise:" And when a party of them said, "O people of Yathrib!8 there is no place of safety for you here;9 therefore return into the city." And another party of you asked the prophet's leave to return, saying, "Our houses are left defenceless." No! they were not left defenceless: but their sole thought was to flee away. If the enemy had effected an entry at all points, and they (the disaffected) had been asked to promote confusion, they would have done so; but only a short time would they have remained in it.-(Medina).10 They had before pledged themselves to God that they would not turn their backs; and a pledge given to God must be enquired of. SAY: Flight shall not profit you; if ye have fled the death or the slaughter, yet even then, but a little while shall ye enjoy your good things! SAY: Who is he that will screen you from God, whether He choose to bring evil on you, or to shew you mercy? None beside God shall they find to be their patron or helper. God well knoweth those among you who cause hindrances, and those who say to their brethren, "Come hither to us;" and who come not to the fight except a little. It is out of covetousness in your regard: for when an alarm cometh, thou mayest see them look to thee, and roll their eyes like him on whom the shadows of death have fallen! Yet, when the alarm is passed, with sharp tongues will they assail you, covetous of the best of the spoil. No faith have these! God will make their doings of no avail! And easy is this with God. They thought that the CONFEDERATES would never retire:11 and were the confederates to come again, they would fain be dwelling among the Arabs of the desert, and there ask news about you! for though they were with you, they fought not except a little. A noble pattern had ye in God's Apostle, for all who hope in God, and in the latter day, and oft remember God! And when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, "This is what God and His Apostle promised us,12 and God and His Apostle spoke truly:" and it only increased their faith and self-devotion. Some were there among the faithful who made good what they had promised to God. Some have fulfilled their course, and others await its fulfilment, and have not been changelings who change- That God may reward the faithful for their faithfulness, and may punish the hypocrites, if He so please, or be turned unto them: for God is Forgiving, Merciful. And God drove back the infidels in their wrath; they won no advantage; God sufficed the faithful in the fight: for God is Strong, Mighty! And He caused those of the people of the Book (the Jews), who had aided the confederates, to come down out of their fortresses, and cast dismay into their hearts: some ye slew, others ye took prisoners.13 And He gave you their land, and their dwellings, and their wealth, for an heritage-even a land on which ye had never set foot: for the might of God is equal to all things. O Prophet! say to thy wives,14 If ye desire this present life and its braveries, come then, I will provide for you, and dismiss you with an honourable dismissal. But if ye desire God and His Apostle, and a home in the next life, then, truly, hath God prepared for those of you who are virtuous, a great reward. O wives of the Prophet! should any of you be guilty of a proven lewdness, doubly shall her chastisement be doubled: and with God this is easy. But whoever of you shall obey God and His Apostle, and shall do that which is right, twice over will we give her her reward, and we have prepared for her a noble provision. O wives of the Prophet! ye are not as other women. If ye fear God, be not too complaisant of speech, lest the man of unhealthy heart should lust after you, but speak with discreet speech. And abide still in your houses, and go not in public decked as in the days of your former ignorance,15 but observe prayer, and pay the impost, and obey God and the Apostle: for God only desireth to put away filthiness from you16 as his household, and with cleansing to cleanse you. And recollect what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the Book of God, and of wisdom: for God is keen-sighted, cognisant of all. Truly the men who resign themselves to God (Muslims), and the women who resign themselves, and the believing men and the believing women, and the devout men and the devout women, and the men of truth, and the women of truth, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the men who give alms and the women who give alms, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the chaste men and the chaste women, and the men and the women who oft remember God: for them hath God prepared forgiveness and a rich recompense. And it is not for a believer, man or woman, to have any choice in their affairs, when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter: and whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle, erreth with palpable error. And, remember, when thou saidst to him unto whom God had shewn favour,17 and to whom thou also hadst shewn favour, "Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear God;" and thou didst hide in thy mind what God would bring to light.18 and thou didst fear man; but more right had it been to fear God. And when Zaid had settled concerning her to divorce her, we married her to thee, that it might not be a crime in the faithful to marry the wives of their adopted sons, when they have settled the affair concerning them. And the behest of God is to be performed. No blame attacheth to the prophet where God hath given him a permission. Such was the way of God with those prophets who flourished before thee; for God's behest is a fixed decree- Who fulfilled the mission with which God had charged them,19 and feared Him, and feared none but God. And God taketh a sufficient account. Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle of God, and the seal of the prophets: and God knoweth all things. O Believers! remember God with frequent remembrance, and praise Him morning and evening. He blesseth you, and His angels intercede for you, that He may bring you forth out of darkness into light: and Merciful is He to the Believers. Their greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be "Peace!" And He hath got ready for them a noble recompense. O Prophet ! we have sent thee to be a witness, and a herald of glad tidings, and a warner; And one who, through His own permission, summoneth to God, and a light-giving torch. Announce, therefore, to believers, that great boons do await them from God; And obey not the Infidels and Hypocrites-yet abstain from injuring them: and put thou thy trust in God, for God is a sufficient guardian. O Believers! when ye marry believing women, and then divorce them before ye have consummated the marriage, ye have no term prescribed you, which ye must fulfil towards them: provide for them, and dismiss them with a reputable dismissal. O Prophet! we allow thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered, and the slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy uncle, and of thy paternal and maternal aunts who fled with thee to Medina, and any believing woman who hath given herself up to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to wed her-a Privilege for thee above the rest of the Faithful. We well know what we have settled for them, in regard to their wives and to the slaves whom their right hands hold, that there may be no fault on thy part:20 and God is Indulgent, Merciful! Thou mayst decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and thou mayest take to thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for of those thou shalt have before neglected; and this shall not be a crime in thee. Thus will it be easier to give them the desire of their eyes, and not to put them to grief, and to satisfy them with what thou shalt accord to each of them. God knoweth what is in your hearts, and God is Knowing, Gracious. It is not permitted thee to take other wives hereafter,21 nor to change thy present wives for other women, though their beauty charm thee, except slaves whom thy right hand shall possess.22 And God watcheth all things. O Believers! enter not into the houses of the Prophet,23 save by his leave, for a meal, without waiting his time. When ye are invited then enter, and when ye have eaten then disperse at once.24 And engage not in familiar talk, for this would cause the Prophet trouble, and he would be ashamed to bid you go; but God is not ashamed to say the truth. And when ye would ask any gift of his wives, ask it from behind a veil. Purer will this be for your hearts and for their hearts. And ye must not trouble the Apostle of God, nor marry his wives, after him, for ever. This would be a grave offence with God. Whether ye bring a matter to the light or hide it, God truly hath knowledge of all things. No blame shall attach to them (your wives) for speaking to their fathers unveiled, or to their sons, or to their brothers, or to their brothers' sons, or to their sisters' sons, or to their women, or to the slaves whom their right hands hold. And fear ye God: for God witnesseth all things. Verily, God and His Angels bless the Prophet! Bless ye Him, O Believers, and salute Him with salutations of Peace. Verily, they who affront God and His Apostle, the curse of God is on them in this world, and in the world to come: and He hath prepared for them a shameful chastisement. And they who shall affront believing men and believing women, for no fault of theirs, they shall surely bear the guilt of slander, and of a clear wrong. O Prophet! speak to thy wives and to thy daughters,25 and to the wives of the Faithful, that they let their veils fall low. Thus will they more easily be known, and they will not be affronted. God is Indulgent, Merciful! If the Hypocrites, and the men of tainted heart, and the stirrers of sedition in Medina desist not, we will surely stir thee up against them. Then shall they not be suffered to dwell near thee therein, but a little while: Cursed wherever they are found; they shall be seized and slain with slaughter! Such hath been the way of God with those who lived before them; and no change canst thou find in the way of God. Men will ask thee of "the Hour." SAY: The knowledge of it is with God alone: and who can tell thee whether haply the Hour be not nigh at hand? Verily, God hath cursed the Infidels, and hath got ready for them the flame: For aye shall they abide therein; none to befriend them, no helper shall they find! On the day when their faces shall be rolled in the fire, they shall cry: "Oh! would that we had obeyed God, and obeyed the Apostle!" And they shall say: "Oh our Lord! indeed we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way of God- O our Lord! give them a double chastisement, and curse them with a heavy curse." O Believers! be not like those who affronted Moses.26 But God cleared him from what they said of him, and of God was he highly esteemed. O Believers! fear God, and speak with well-guided speech. That God may bless your doings for you, and forgive you your sins. And whoso obeyeth God and His Apostle with great bliss shall be blessed. Verily, we proposed to the Heavens, and to the Earth, and to the Mountains to receive the Faith, but they refused the burden, and they feared to receive it. Man undertook to bear it, but hath proved unjust, senseless! Therefore will God punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the men and the women who join gods with God; but to the believing men and women will God turn him: for God is Indulgent, Merciful! _______________________ 1 Medina was besieged, when this Sura was revealed, by certain confederate tribes at the instigation of the Jews, an. Hej. 5. The first nine verses, however, have no immediate reference to this event, but to Muhammad's cotemporary marriage with Zeinab. See below, verse 37. 2 The Arabians had been accustomed, before the time of Muhammad, to divorce their wives with the words,-thy back be to me as the back of my mother. The drift and motive of this passage is explained by verse 37 below. It had also been the custom to hold adopted sons to be as nearly related to them as their natural ones. See Sura lviii. 2, p. 451. 3 The Mohadjers-those who had emigrated with Muhammad from Mecca. This verse abrogates Sura [xcv.] viii. 73. 4 How they have discharged their prophetic functions. 5 Verses 9-33 have reference to the events of the year Hej. 5, towards the close. See next note. His. 688; Waq. 4 f. 6 In the engagement which took place under the walls of Medina, some of the enemy were posted on a height to the east of the city, others in a valley on the west. The besiegers were 12,000, the Muslims 3,000 strong, when a violent storm, which upset the tents, put out the camp fires, and blinded the eyes of the confederates with sand, turned the scale of victory against them. Muhammad ascribes the storm to angelic agency. 7 That is, with infidelity. 8 The ancient name of El-Medina. 9 In the trenches which had been dug around the city by the advice of Salmân, the Persian. 10 They would speedily have quitted the city to attack the faithful in the trenches. 11 That is, raise the siege. 12 That is, that through trials we should attain to Paradise, v. 29. 13 After the siege of Medina had been raised, Muhammad made a successful expedition against the Jews of Koreidha, for their treason and violation of treaties. 14 Muhammad's wives having caused him much annoyance by demands of rich dresses, etc., he gave them the choice of continuing with him as before, or of divorce. They chose the former. See Abulfeda's Hist. Moh. p. 77, and Gagnier's Vie de Moh. i. 4, chap. ii. 15 That is, Idolatry. Acts xvii. 30. Freytag (Einl. p. 453) thinks that previous to Islam, the Arabian women went in public unveiled. 16 The pronoun is in the pl. masc., whereas the pl. fem. is used in the previous part of the verse. The partisans of Ali quote this passage to prove the intimate union of Ali and his posterity with the Prophet. 17 That is, to Zaid. The favour of God to Zaid consisted in having caused him to become a Muslim: the favour of Muhammad in adopting him as his son. Zaid and Abu Lahab (Sura cxi. p. 29) are the only contemporaries of Muhammad mentioned by name in the Koran. 18 Thy plan to obtain Zeinab, or Zenobia, Zaid's wife, as thy wife. 19 Lit, who brought the messages of God. 20 If thou makest use of the special prerogative (conferred in verse 49). 21 He had nine wives at this period, beside slaves. The number of wives allowed to the faithful is four. See note, p. 411. 22 The first slave whom Muhammad took to wife was Raihana, at the conquest of the Banu Koreidha. His. 693. Weil, 170. 23 Verses 53-55 refer to the conduct of the guests at Muhammad's house after his marriage with Zeinab. Albuhari passim. Muslim i. 824 ff. Wah. Comp. Caussir, iii. 151. 24 Ullmann, p. 263, quotes a similar precept from the Talmud, "Do all that the master of the house biddeth, but wait not to be asked to depart." 25 This verse cannot be of later date than Hej. 8, when Muhammad's daughter Omm Kulthum died. leaving only Fatima. 26 This may refer to the charge of adultery said by the Rabbins to have been brought by Korah against Moses. Comp. Tr. Sanhedrin, fol. 110a. and Numbers xii. 1. The verse is said to have been revealed on account of aspersions thrown on Muhammad for unfairly dividing spoils, whereupon he said, "God be merciful to my brother Moses. He was wronged more than this, and bore it with patience."Prev Next All
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