003- AL-IMRAN

THE HOUSE OF IMRAN

AL-IMRAN

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL 

# Alif. Lām. Mīm. # God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting. # He sent down the Book upon thee in truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel # aforetime, as a guidance to mankind. And He sent down the Criterion. Truly those who disbelieve in the signs of God shall have a severe punishment. And God is Mighty, Possessor of Vengeance. # Truly naught is hidden from God on earth or in Heaven. # He it is Who forms you in the wombs however He will. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. # He it is Who has sent down the Book upon thee; therein are signs determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect. # “Our Lord, make not our hearts swerve after having guided us, and bestow upon us a mercy from Thy Presence. Truly Thou art the Bestower. # Our Lord, Thou art the Gatherer of mankind unto a Day about which there is no doubt.” Truly God will not fail the tryst. # As for those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them aught against God. And it is they who shall be fuel for the Fire. # [It is] like the affair of the House of Pharaoh and those who were before them; they denied Our signs. So God seized them for their sins, and God is severe in retribution. # Say to the disbelievers, “You shall be vanquished and gathered unto Hell, an evil resting place!” # There was a sign for you in the two hosts that met, one host fighting in the way of God and the other disbelieving, whom they [the former] saw as twice themselves as the eye sees. And God strengthens by His help whomsoever He will. Truly in that is a lesson for those who possess insight. # Made to seem fair unto mankind is the love of passions, among them women, children, hoarded heaps of gold and silver, horses of mark, cattle, and tillage. Those are the enjoyment of the life of this world. And God, with Him is the beautiful return. # Say, “Shall I inform you of what is better than that? For those who are reverent, there shall be with their Lord Gardens with rivers running below—they shall abide therein—and spouses made pure, and Contentment from God.” And God sees His servants, # who say, “Our Lord, truly we believe, so forgive us our sins, and shield us from the punishment of the Fire, ” # the patient, the truthful, the devoutly obedient, those who spend, those who seek forgiveness before dawn. # God bears witness that there is no god but He, as do the angels and the possessors of knowledge, upholding justice. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. # Truly the religion in the sight of God is submission. Those who were given the Book differed not until after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. And whosoever disbelieves in God’s signs, truly God is swift in reckoning. # So if they dispute with thee, say, “I submit my face to God, and so too those who follow me.” And say to those who were given the Book and to the unlettered ones, “Do you submit?” Then if they submit, they will be rightly guided, but if they turn away, then thine is only to convey. And God sees His servants. # Truly those who disbelieve in God’s signs and kill the prophets without right, and kill those who enjoin justice among mankind: give them glad tidings of a painful punishment. # They are those whose deeds have come to naught in this world and in the Hereafter, and they shall have no helpers. # Hast thou not considered those who were given a portion of the Book, [being] called to the Book of God that it may judge between them. Then a group among them turned away. # That is because they say, “The Fire will not touch us save for days numbered.” That which they used to fabricate has deluded them in their religion. # How shall it be when We gather them unto a Day in which there is no doubt, and every soul will be paid in full for what it earned, and they shall not be wronged? # Say, “O God, Master of Sovereignty. Thou givest sovereignty to whomsoever Thou wilt, and wrestest sovereignty from whomsoever Thou wilt. Thou exaltest whomsoever Thou wilt, and abasest whomsoever Thou wilt. In Thy Hand is the good. Truly Thou art Powerful over everything. # Thou makest the night pass into the day, and Thou makest the day pass into the night. Thou bringest forth the living from the dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living. And Thou providest for whomsoever Thou wilt without reckoning.” # Let not the believers take the disbelievers as protectors apart from the believers. Whosoever does that has no bond with God, unless you guard against them out of prudence. And God warns you of Himself, and unto God is the journey’s end. # Say, “If you hide what is in your breasts or disclose it, God knows it, and He knows whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth.” And God is Powerful over all things. # On the Day when every soul will find presented the good it did, and the evil it did, it will wish that there might be a distant term between it and itself. And God warns you of Himself, and God is Kind unto His servants. # Say, “If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.” # Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” If they turn away, then truly God loves not the disbelievers. # Truly God chose Adam, Noah, the House of Abraham, and the House of ʿImrān above the worlds, # as progeny, one from another. And God is Hearing, Knowing. # [Remember] when the wife of ʿImrān said, “My Lord, truly I dedicate to Thee what is in my belly, in consecration. So accept it from me. Truly Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.” # And when she bore her, she said, “My Lord, I have borne a female, ” and God knows best what she bore, and the male is not like the female, “and I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in Thee, and for her progeny, from Satan the outcast.” # So her Lord accepted her with a beautiful acceptance, and made her to grow in a beautiful way, and placed her under the care of Zachariah. Whenever Zachariah entered upon her in the sanctuary he found provision with her. He said, “Mary, whence comes this unto thee?” She said, “It is from God. Truly God provides for whomsoever He will without reckoning.” # Then and there, Zachariah called upon his Lord. He said, “My Lord, grant me from Thy Presence a good progeny. Truly Thou hearest all calls!” # Then the angels called to him while he was praying in the sanctuary, “God gives thee glad tidings of John, confirming a word from God, noble and chaste, a prophet, from among the righteous.” # He said, “My Lord, how shall I have a boy when age has overtaken me and my wife is barren?” He said, “Thus does God do whatsoever He will.” # He said, “My Lord, appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Your sign is that you shall not speak to the people for three days, save through signs.” And remember your Lord much, and glorify [Him] at eventide and at dawn. # And [remember] when the angels said, “O Mary, truly God has chosen thee and purified thee, and has chosen thee above the women of the worlds. # O Mary! Be devoutly obedient to thy Lord, prostrate, and bow with those who bow.” # This is from the tidings of the Unseen, which We reveal unto thee. And thou wast not with them when they cast their lots [to choose] who among them would care for Mary, and thou wast not with them when they were disputing. # When the angels said, “O Mary, truly God gives thee glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, high honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought nigh. # He will speak to people in the cradle and in maturity, and will be among the righteous.” # She said, “My Lord, how shall I have a child while no human being has touched me?” He said, “Thus does God create whatsoever He will.” When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is. # And He will teach him the Book, Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. I And [he will be] a messenger to the Children of Israel, “Truly I have brought you a sign from your Lord. # will create for you out of clay the shape of a bird. Then I will breathe into it, and it will be a bird by God’s Leave. And I will heal the blind and the leper and give life to the dead by God’s Leave. And I will inform you about what you eat and what you store up in your houses. Truly in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. # And [I come] confirming that which was before me, the Torah, and to make lawful unto you part of that which was forbidden unto you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. So reverence God and obey me. # Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.” # And when Jesus sensed disbelief in them, he said, “Who are my helpers unto God?” The apostles said, “We are God’s helpers. We believe in God; bear witness that we are submitters. # Our Lord, we believe in what Thou hast sent down, and we follow the messenger, so inscribe us among the witnesses.” # And they plotted, and God plotted. And God is the best of plotters, # when He said, “O Jesus, I shall take thee and raise thee unto Me, and purify thee of those who disbelieved, and place those who followed thee above those who disbelieved, until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me is your return, and I shall judge between you concerning that wherein you used to differ. # And as for those who disbelieve, I shall punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter; and they shall have no helpers. # And as for those who believe and perform righteous deeds, He shall pay them their rewards in full. And God loves not the wrongdoers.” # This is what We recite unto thee of the signs and the Wise Reminder. # Truly the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be!” and he was. # The truth is from thy Lord; so be not among the doubters. # And to whomsoever disputes with thee over it, after the knowledge that has come unto thee, say, “Come! Let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us pray earnestly, so as to place the curse of God upon those who lie.” # This is indeed the true account; there is no god but God, and truly God is the Mighty, the Wise. # And if they turn away, then God knows well the workers of corruption. # Say, “O People of the Book! Come to a word common between us and you, that we shall worship none but God, shall not associate aught with Him, and shall not take one another as lords apart from God.” And if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are submitters.” # O People of the Book! Why do you dispute concerning Abraham, as neither the Torah nor the Gospel was sent down until after him? Do you not understand? # Behold! You are the very same who dispute concerning that of which you have knowledge; so why do you dispute concerning that of which you have no knowledge? God knows, and you know not. # Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian, but rather was a ḥanīf, a submitter, and he was not one of the idolaters. # Truly the people worthiest of Abraham are those who followed him, and this prophet and those who believe. And God is the Protector of the believers. # A group among the People of the Book wishes to make you go astray; yet they make none go astray but themselves, though they are unaware. # O People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in God’s signs, while you are witness? # O People of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with falsehood, and knowingly conceal the truth? # And a group of the People of the Book say, “Believe in what was sent down unto those who believe at the start of the day, and disbelieve at its end, that haply they may return. # And believe none but him who follows your religion. . .” Say, “Truly guidance is God’s Guidance.” “. . . lest anyone be granted the like of what you were granted or dispute with you before your Lord.” Say, “Truly bounty is in God’s Hand. He grants it to whomsoever He will, and God is All-Encompassing, Knowing.” # He selects for His Mercy whomsoever He will, and God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty. # Among the People of the Book is one who, were you to entrust to him a quintal, would render it back to you. And among them is one who, were you to entrust to him a dinar, would not render it back to you unless you kept standing over him. That is because they say, “There is nothing to stop us when it comes to the non-Jews.” But they knowingly speak a lie against God. # Yea! Whosoever fulfills his pact and is reverent—truly God loves the reverent. # Truly those who sell God’s Pact and their oaths for a paltry price, they shall have no share in the Hereafter and God will not speak to them, nor will He look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And theirs shall be a painful punishment. # And there is indeed a group among them who twist their tongues with the Book, that you may suppose it to be from the Book. But it is not from the Book. And they say, “It is from God,” though it is not from God. And they knowingly speak a lie against God. # It is not for any human being, God having given him the Book, judgment, and prophethood, to then say to the people, “Be servants of me instead of God.” Rather, “Be sages, from having taught the Book and from having studied.” # And he would not command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords. Would he command you to disbelief after your having been submitters? # And [remember] when God made the covenant of the prophets: “By that which I have given you of a Book and Wisdom, should a messenger then come to you confirming that which is with you, you shall surely believe in him and you shall help him.” He said, “Do you agree and take on My burden on these conditions?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “Bear witness, for I am with you among those who bear witness.” # Then whosoever turns away after that, they are the iniquitous. # Do they seek other than God’s religion, while whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth submits to Him, willingly or unwillingly, and unto Him they will be returned? # Say, “We believe in God and what has been sent down upon us, and in what was sent down upon Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in what Moses, Jesus, and the prophets were given from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them, and unto Him we submit.” # Whosoever seeks a religion other than submission, it shall not be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers. # How shall God guide a people who have disbelieved after having believed, having borne witness that the Messenger is true, and the clear proofs having come to them? And God guides not wrongdoing people. # They are those whose recompense is that upon them shall be the curse of God, the angels, and mankind all together, # abiding therein; the punishment shall not be lightened for them, nor shall they be granted respite, # except those who repent after that, and make amends, for truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. # Truly those who disbelieve after having believed, then increase in disbelief, their repentance shall not be accepted, and they are the ones who are astray. # Truly those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, an earth full of gold would not be accepted from any one of them, were he to offer it in ransom. For them there shall be a painful punishment, and they shall have no helpers. # You will never attain piety till you spend from that which you love. And whatever you spend, truly God knows it. ғ All food was lawful unto the Children of Israel, save what Israel had forbidden for himself, before the Torah was sent down. Say, “Bring the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful.” # So whosoever fabricates a lie against God after that, it is they who are the wrongdoers. ҕ Say, “God has spoken true. So follow the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not of the idolaters.” # Truly the first house established for mankind was that at Bakkah, full of blessing and a guidance for the worlds. # Therein are clear signs: the station of Abraham, and whosoever enters it shall be secure. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty upon mankind before God for those who can find a way. For whosoever disbelieves, truly God is beyond need of the worlds. # Say, “O People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in God’s signs, while God is Witness over what you do?” # Say, “O People of the Book! Why do you turn those who believe from the way of God, seeking to make it crooked, while you are witnesses? And God is not heedless of what you do.” # O you who believe! If you obey a group among those who were given the Book, they will render you disbelievers after your having believed. # How can you disbelieve, while God’s signs are recited unto you and His Messenger is among you? And whosoever holds fast to God is indeed guided unto a straight path. # O you who believe! Reverence God as He should be reverenced, and die not except in submission. # And hold fast to the rope of God, all together, and be not divided. Remember the Blessing of God upon you, when you were enemies and He joined your hearts, such that you became brothers by His Blessing. You were on the brink of a pit of fire and He delivered you from it. Thus does God make clear unto you His signs, that haply you may be rightly guided. # Let there be among you a community calling to the good, enjoining right, and forbidding wrong. It is they who shall prosper. # And be not like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And it is they who shall have a great punishment # on the Day when faces whiten and faces blacken. As for those whose faces blacken, “Did you disbelieve after having believed? Then taste the punishment for having disbelieved.” # And as for those whose faces whiten, they will be in the Mercy of God, abiding therein. # These are God’s signs which We recite unto thee in truth, and God desires no wrong for the worlds. # Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, and unto God are all matters returned. # You are the best community brought forth unto mankind, enjoining right, forbidding wrong, and believing in God. And were the People of the Book to believe, that would be better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are iniquitous. # They will not harm you save a [trifling] hurt. And if they fight you, they will turn their backs upon you; then they will not be helped. # They shall be struck with abasement wherever they are come upon, save by means of a rope from God and a rope from mankind. And they shall earn a burden of wrath from God, and they shall be struck with indigence. That is because they used to disbelieve in God’s signs and kill the prophets without right. That is for their having disobeyed and transgressed. # They are not all alike. Among the People of the Book is an upright community who recite God’s signs in the watches of the night, while they prostrate. # They believe in God and the Last Day, enjoin right and forbid wrong, and hasten unto good deeds. And they are among the righteous. # Whatsoever good they do, they will not be denied it. And God knows the reverent. # Truly those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them aught against God. They are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein. # The parable of what they spend in this life of the world is that of a frigid wind that strikes the tillage of a people who have wronged themselves, destroying it. God wrongs them not, but themselves do they wrong. # O you who believe! Take not intimates apart from yourselves; they will not stint you in corruption. They wish you to suffer. Hatred has appeared from their mouths; yet what their breasts conceal is greater. We have indeed made clear the signs for you, were you to understand. # Lo! You are the ones who love them, while they love you not, though you believe in the Book entire. And when they meet you they say, “We believe, # but when they are alone they bite their fingers at you from rage. Say, “Die in your rage!” Truly God knows what lies within breasts. # If good befalls you, it vexes them, and if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it. But if you are patient and reverent, their plot will not harm you in the least. Truly God encompasses what they do. # And remember when thou didst leave thy household at daybreak to assign the believers their positions for the battle. And God is Hearing, Knowing. # Remember when two companies among you were on the verge of losing heart, though God was their Protector. And in God let the believers trust. # God certainly helped you at Badr, when you were lowly. So reverence God, that haply you may give thanks. # Remember when thou saidst unto the believers, “Is it not enough for you that your Lord should support you with three thousand angels sent down?” # Yea, if you are patient and reverent, and they come at you immediately, your Lord will support you with five thousand angels bearing marks. # God made it not save as a glad tiding for you, and that your hearts may repose thereby—and there is no victory save from God, the Mighty, the Wise—# that He may cut off a faction of those who disbelieve or abase them, so that they be turned back disappointed. # Naught is thine in the matter, whether He relent unto them or punish them, for truly they are wrongdoers. # Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. He forgives whomsoever He will and punishes whomsoever He will, and God is Forgiving, Merciful. # O you who believe! Devour not usury, doubling and multiplying. And reverence God, that haply you may prosper. # And be mindful of the Fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers. # And obey God and the Messenger, that haply you may receive mercy. # And hasten unto forgiveness from your Lord, and for a garden whose breadth is the heavens and the earth —prepared for the reverent, # who spend in ease and hardship, and curb their rage, and pardon others—and God loves the virtuous— # and who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God and then seek forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins but God?—and who do not knowingly persist in what they have done. # For these, their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers running below, abiding therein. Blessed indeed is the reward of the workers [of righteousness]! # Wonts have passed before you; so journey upon the earth and behold how the deniers fared in the end! # This is an exposition for mankind, and a guidance and exhortation for the reverent. # Do not falter and do not grieve, for you will be ascendant if you are believers. # If a wound afflicts you, a like wound has already afflicted that people. And such days We hand out in turns to mankind. And [this is] so that God may know those who believe, and take witnesses from among you—and God loves not the wrongdoers — # and so that God may assay those who believe and blight the disbelievers. # Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without God knowing those among you who strived, and without knowing those who were patient? # You did indeed long for death before you met it. Now you have seen it, looking on. ń Muhammad is naught but a messenger; messengers have passed before him. So if he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Whosoever turns back on his heels will not harm God in the least, and God will reward the thankful. # It is not for any soul to die save by God’s Leave—an enjoined term. Yet whosoever desires the reward of this world, We shall give him of it; and whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We shall give him of it. And We shall reward the thankful. # How many a prophet had many devoted men fight alongside him! They did not then falter in the face of what befell them in the way of God, nor did they weaken, nor did they demean themselves. And God loves the patient. # Their words were but to say, “Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our prodigality in our affairs, and make firm our steps, and help us against the disbelieving people.” ň And God gave them the reward of this world and the most beautiful reward of the Hereafter, and God loves the virtuous. # O you who believe! If you obey those who disbelieve, they will turn you back on your heels; then you will be overturned as losers. # Rather, God is your Master, and He is the best of helpers. # We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for having ascribed partners unto God, for which He has not sent down any authority. And their refuge shall be the Fire, and evil is the abode of the wrongdoers. # And God certainly was true to His Promise to you when you were eradicating them by His Leave, until the moment you lost heart, and quarreled with one another about the matter, and disobeyed, after He had showed you that which you loved. Among you are those who desire this world, and among you are those who desire the Hereafter. Then He turned you from them, to test you, and He certainly pardoned you —God is Possessed of Bounty for the believers— œ when you were climbing, casting a glance to no one, while the Messenger was calling you from your rear. So He recompensed you with sorrow upon sorrow, that you may not grieve over what escaped you or what befell you. And God is Aware of whatsoever you do. # Then He sent down upon you—after sorrow—security, a sleepiness enveloping a company among you, while a company were anxious over themselves, thinking about God what is not true—the thinking of the Age of Ignorance—saying, “Do we have any decision [in this]?” Say, “The decision belongs entirely to God.” They hide in their souls what they do not disclose to you, saying, “Had we any decision [in this], we would not have been slain here.” Say, “Had you stayed in your houses, those who were destined to be slain would have gone out to their places of rest.” And [this is] so that God may test what is in your breasts and so that He may assay what is in your hearts. And God knows what lies within breasts. # Those of you who turned away on the day the two hosts met—Satan alone made them slip because of part of what they committed. And God certainly pardoned them; truly God is Forgiving, Clement. # O you who believe! Be not like those who disbelieve and say of their brethren when they travel upon the earth or campaign, “Had they stayed with us, they would not have died and been slain,” that God may make that a source of regret in their hearts. And God gives life and causes death, and God sees whatsoever you do. # And indeed if you are slain or die in the way of God, truly forgiveness and mercy from God are better than what they amass. # And indeed if you are slain or die, truly unto God shall you be gathered. # Then [it was] by a mercy from God that thou wert gentle with them. Hadst thou been severe [and] hardhearted they would have scattered from about thee. So pardon them, ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in affairs. And when thou art resolved, trust in God; truly God loves those who trust. # If God helps you, none shall overcome you. And if He forsakes you, who then can help you thereafter? And in God let the believers trust. # It is not for any prophet to defraud. And whosoever defrauds will bring what he obtained by fraud on the Day of Resurrection. Then every soul shall be paid what it has earned in full, and they shall not be wronged. # Is he who pursues God’s Contentment like one who earns a burden of anger from God, and whose refuge is Hell? An evil journey’s end! # They are ranked in degrees in the sight of God, and God sees whatsoever they do. # God certainly favored the believers when He sent them a Messenger from among themselves, who recites His signs unto them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom, while aforetime they were in manifest error. # And when an affliction befell you, though you wrought an affliction twice its like, did you say, “Whence is this?” Say, “It is from yourselves.” Truly God is Powerful over all things. # And that which befell you on the day the two hosts met was by God’s Leave, and that He may know the believers, # and that He may know the hypocrites. And it was said unto them, “Come, fight in the way of God or defend [yourselves].” They said, “Had we known there would be fighting, we would have followed you.” That day they were closer to disbelief than to belief, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And God knows best what they conceal. # Those who said of their brethren, while they were sitting [at home], “Had they obeyed us, they would not have been slain.” Say, “Then ward off death from yourselves, if you are truthful.” # And deem not those slain in the way of God to be dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, provided for, # exulting in what God has given them from His Bounty, and rejoicing in those who have not yet joined them from among those who remain behind—that no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve— ű rejoicing in Blessing and Bounty from God, and that God neglects not the reward of the believers, # who responded to God and the Messenger after being afflicted by wounds; for those among them who have been virtuous and reverent there shall be a great reward, # to whom the people said, “Truly the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it increased them in faith, and they said, “God suffices us, an excellent Guardian is He!” # So they returned with Blessing and Bounty from God, untouched by evil. And they pursued the Contentment of God, and God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty. # That is only Satan, sowing fear of his friends. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are believers. # And let not those who hasten unto disbelief grieve thee. Truly they will not harm God in the least. God desires to give them no share in the Hereafter, and theirs shall be a great punishment. # Truly those who have purchased disbelief at the price of belief will not hurt God in the least, and theirs shall be a painful punishment. # And let not those who disbelieve suppose that the respite We grant them is good for them. We only grant them respite that they may increase in sin, and theirs shall be a humiliating punishment. # God will not leave the believers as you are till He separates the bad from the good. And God will not apprise you of the Unseen, but God chooses from His messengers whomsoever He will. So believe in God and His messengers. And if you believe and are reverent, you shall have a great reward. # And let not those who are miserly with what God has given them from His Bounty suppose that it is good for them; rather, it is evil for them. On the Day of Resurrection they will be collared by that with which they were miserly. And unto God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, and God is Aware of whatsoever you do. # God has certainly heard the words of those who said, “God is poor, and we are rich.” We shall record what they said, and their slaying of the prophets without right, and We shall say, “Taste the punishment of the burning.” # That is because of what your hands sent forth, and because God wrongs not His servants. # [As for] those who say, “Truly God has committed us to not believe in any messenger until he brings us a sacrifice consumed by fire,” say, “Messengers certainly came before me with clear proofs and with that whereof you speak; so why did you slay them, if you are truthful?” # So if they deny thee, they certainly did deny messengers before thee, who came with clear proofs, scriptures, and the luminous Book. # Every soul shall taste death, and you will indeed be paid your reward in full on the Day of Resurrection. And whosoever is distanced from the Fire and made to enter the Garden has certainly triumphed. And the life of this world is naught but the enjoyment of delusion. # You will surely be tried in your wealth and your souls, and you shall hear much hurt from those who were given the Book before you, and from those who are idolaters. But if you are patient and reverent, then that is indeed a course worthy of resolve. # [Remember] when God made the covenant with those who were given the Book, “You shall make it clear to the people, and not conceal it.” Then they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a paltry price. Evil indeed is their selling! # Do not suppose that those who exult in what they have brought about and love to be praised for what they have not done—do not suppose that they are delivered from the punishment; theirs is a painful punishment. # Unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and God is Powerful over all things. # Truly in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variation of the night and the day are signs for the possessors of intellect, # who remember God standing, sitting, and lying upon their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, “Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Shield us from the punishment of the Fire. # Our Lord! Whomsoever Thou makest to enter into the Fire, Thou hast surely disgraced him. And the wrongdoers shall have no helpers. # Our Lord! Truly we have heard a caller calling to faith, saying ‘Believe in your Lord,’ so we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and absolve us of our evil deeds, and take us unto Thee with the pious. # Our Lord! Give us what Thou hast promised us through Thy messengers, and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection. Truly Thou wilt not fail the tryst.” # So their Lord answered them, “I shall not let the work of any worker among you, male or female, be in vain; each of you is like the other. So those who emigrated, and were expelled from their homes, and were hurt in My way, and fought and were slain—I shall absolve them of their evil deeds and shall make them enter Gardens with rivers running below, a reward from God. And God, with Him is the most beautiful reward. # Let it not delude thee that those who disbelieve are free to come and go in the land. # It is a little enjoyment. Then their refuge is Hell, an evil resting place! # But [as for] those who reverence their Lord, theirs shall be Gardens with rivers running below, abiding therein, as a welcome from God. And that which is with God is better for the pious. # And truly among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and that which has been sent down unto you, and that which has been sent down unto them, humble before God, not selling God’s signs for a paltry price. It is they who shall have their reward with their Lord. Truly God is swift in reckoning. # O you who believe! Be patient, vie in patience, persevere, and reverence God, that haply you may prosper.

Commentary 

# Alif. Lām. Mīm. 

1 Alif, lām, and mīm are the same letters that start the previous sūrah. See 2:1c. They could represent “God knows best” (Allāhu aʿlam); or Allāh, Jibrīl, and Muḥammad; or the alif of oneness (i.e., as the first letter), the lām of kindness (luṭf), and the mīm of sovereignty (mulk; Su). 

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# God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting. 

2 For a fuller discussion of the two Names of God the Living, the SelfSubsisting, see 2:255c. 

***

# He sent down the Book upon thee in truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel 

# aforetime, as a guidance to mankind. And He sent down the Criterion. Truly those who disbelieve in the signs of God shall have a severe punishment. And God is Mighty, Possessor of Vengeance. 

3–4 The first part of v. 4 should be read as continuous with v. 3. Although some understand a distinction between the two instances of sent down in v. 3, arguing that the former (nazzala) reflects that the Quran (the Book) was revealed in parts and the latter (anzala) indicates the Torah and Gospel were revealed all at once (R, Z), others hold that these two verbs are used interchangeably in the Quran (Ṭb). For the Criterion (al-Furqān), see also 2:53, 185; 8:29; 21:48; 25:1. Here it is usually considered to refer to the Quran itself, though furqān has a wider meaning, as evidenced by its connection with Moses and Aaron (see 2:53; 21:48). Understanding furqān to mean “discernment,” or that by which things are distinguished, some have also seen it as God’s indication of what is true and false regarding Jesus, since otherwise the Quran would be denoted by both the Book and the Criterion instead of only one of them (Ṭ). Others say that it refers to the Psalms (see 17:55), or that this power of distinguishing truth from falsehood— furqān—is a second description of the three scriptures following their initial mention as a guidance to mankind, which is to say they all contain what separates truth from falsehood, forbidden from licit, and so forth (R). For Muslims, Tawrāt (Torah) usually refers to the five books of Moses (much less commonly, it is thought to denote the entire Tanakh), and Injīl (Gospel) refers to the revelation given to Jesus. But questions remain as to whether the Injīl is the same as the evangelion (Greek, “Gospel”), and whether the Tawrāt is the same as the Pentateuch as we now have it. There was most likely no Arabic translation of the Bible at the time of the Quranic revelation; such a translation only appeared at least a century later. It is unlikely that in the early seventh century the texts in circulation would have been significantly different from the texts approved by Jewish and Christian authorities at the end of the fourth century, when both canons and the central doctrines of Christianity, including the Trinity, were formally established. These verses state that these books were revealed in the past, but the Quran confirms what was before it (ma bayna yadayh i ), which is understood to mean “previous to” by the commentators, but which can also mean “in the presence of,” as does the English word “before.” Sensitive to this question, al-Rāzī asks himself, “How can this phrase refer to what is past?” and answers, “That lore, owing to how familiar it is, is referred to in that way,” namely, as though it is present to the revelation of the Quran and commonly known if only in a general way. Jesus is spoken of in a similar fashion in 5:46, where Jesus and the message given to him confirm the Torah, and 5:47 follows with language very similar to that in 3:6. The Quran confirms (e.g., 2:41; 2:101; 6:92) what was before it, but does not describe the content of that existing teaching. If both the texts and interpretation of the People of the Book are true and correct, it would be through their moral shortcomings that they fail in their religion. This seems unlikely, since the Quran criticizes some of their doctrines (4:171), not only their behavior. If the texts are true, but the interpretation is incorrect, this would support the position of those who accuse the People of the Book of distorting (taḥrīf) the meaning, but not the text of scripture (see 2:75; 4:46; 5:13, 41). For example, in later times some Muslims argued that the Trinity, as described in the Nicene Creed, is nowhere to be found in the Biblical text, but results from a faulty interpretation. Another possibility is that the Injīl given to Jesus is conveyed by the existing Gospel, but is not coterminous with it, yet is still recognized and sanctioned by God. In this connection, it should be noted that, although monks are praised in the Quran (5:82), it is asserted that monasticism was not prescribed for them, but was a practice they initiated themselves (57:28). This would make the existing Gospel a different kind of Divine book than the Quran, constituting a work of Divinely inspired or approved authors rather than a message delivered directly through Gabriel. This would agree with the view of Christians themselves that the text is guided and sanctioned by God, but not directly revealed. In this way, the truths and commands of the Injīl given to Jesus are communicated to Christians through that which they had with them (2:89) and what is before the Quran. One could thus hold that the Quran, when referring to the Injīl that the Christians have with them, includes both the text and the normative tradition around that text insofar as they convey Christ’s original message to his apostles, which was given to him by God. A similar approach could be taken regarding the Tawrāt (the Torah), which would allow Muslims to acknowledge the scriptures of the People of the Book, since God acknowledges them in the Quran, without affirming some of the interpretations and practices that may diverge from the original revelation. Such distinctions between text and interpretation are necessary, since God holds Himself and the People of the Book to their covenant (2:40; 9:111); mentions a partial (hence not total) forgetting of the original message (5:14); describes Islam as a fulfillment of prophecies in the Bible (7:157); enjoins Jews and Christians to govern themselves according to their scriptures (5:43–47, 68); and advises the Prophet to ask the people of the Reminder, interpreted by most as the People of the Book (16:43; 21:7). For those reasons and because there is little to support a belief that the Bible has changed significantly since the seventh century, it becomes necessary to see the Quranic statements about the Jewish and Christian scriptures in light of the existing Jewish and Christian traditions and not as an alleged variation existent at the time. A ḥadīth states, “Do you not see these Jews and Christians? They read the Torah and the Gospel and do not act in accord with them.” See the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions” and the commentary on 3:113–15; 48:28. The description of God as Mighty, Possessor of Vengeance is also found in 5:95; 14:47; 39:37. 

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# Truly naught is hidden from God on earth or in Heaven. 

5 Cf. 14:38; 27:75. 

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# He it is Who forms you in the wombs however He will. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise.

6 Many see this verse as an implicit argument against divinizing Christ, as Jesus himself was once within the womb (IK, R). The development in the womb is described more fully in 22:5. 

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# He it is Who has sent down the Book upon thee; therein are signs determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect. 

7 This verse is perhaps the most direct discussion in the Quran of the science of Quranic interpretation. Each part of the Quran conventionally called a “verse” in English means originally “a sign” (āyah), as Arabic has a separate word for “verse” as it applies to poetry. A sign (āyah) can be either within us or outside of ourselves (see 41:53). Here Quranic signs (or passages) are described as being either determined, muḥkam, or symbolic, mutashābih. The verb ḥakama means lexically to “curb,” “repel,” “command,” or “judge” and hence is rendered by “determine.” A solidly made structure or knot is also called muḥkam. To be mutashābih is for things to be alike or resemble one another, as in 2:25, 70, 118; 6:99; 6:144; 13:16. Mutashābih can also mean “unknown” or “undetermined” in the sense that one cannot tell whether a thing is there or not; that is to say, a thing’s being can “resemble” that thing’s not being so (R). One can understand the Quran as wholly muḥkam, based on 11:1, a Book whose signs have been determined (muḥkam, in the verb form uḥkimat), as well as wholly mutashābih, based on 39:23: God has sent down the most beautiful discourse, a Book consimilar (mutashābih); the present verse says that it is partly muḥkam, partly mutashābih (R, Ṭ). It can be wholly muḥkam in that it is all truly the Book of God, and wholly mutashābih in that its parts are alike in beauty, in affirming each other (IK, Th), and in having an inner and symbolic meaning. Among the many opinions (R, Ṭ, Th), examples of what can be considered muḥkam are (1) the abrogating as opposed to the abrogated (see 2:106; and the essay “The Quran as Source of Islamic Law”); (2) perennial moral commandments such as 6:151–53 and 17:23–39—including prayer to the One God, justice, truthfulness, generosity, and humility, and the condemnation of murder, theft, and adultery—which all religious communities follow, as opposed to the variable specifics of those commandments, such as number of prayers and amount of alms; (3) that which deals with the licit and the forbidden (ḥalāl and ḥarām), as opposed to that which addresses other matters; (4) that which can have only one interpretation, as opposed to that which can allow several interpretations; (5) the stories of the prophets in the Quran, as opposed to the elements within those stories that change upon repetition, as in 7:107 and 20:20, where two synonyms for “serpent” are used to describe Moses’ transformed staff; (6) that whose interpretation is known and understood by the scholars as opposed to that which cannot be known, such as the moment when the world will end; (7) that which is clear, whose truth or falsehood can be known by common people, so that one does not need to search for its meaning in the mutashābih; (8) the openings of the chapters of the Quran (which is the meaning of their being the Mother of the Book; see below), as opposed to the remainder of the text. Some say the mutashābih are the single letters at the start of some sūrahs (see 2:1c). At least some of these possibilities can be further clarified by thinking of the muḥkam as unambiguous or univocal, and the mutashābih as multivalent or equivocal—not in the sense of being unclear or questionable, but of being open to levels of meaning. For example, the Hand of God would be symbolic or equivocal for most theologians in The Hand of God is over their hands (48:10), since the Hand of God could not be purely identical to a human hand or any other material hand. Thus “hand” is not strictly determined by the literal understanding of the word. Muslims have differed about what passages are symbolic or equivocal and who is qualified to identify and interpret them. Indeed, the commentators themselves often point out (R, Th) that a common pitfall among theologians and interpreters is to consider a passage to be determined or unequivocal when its plain sense agrees with one’s theological position, but symbolic or equivocal when it disagrees. Mother of the Book also appears in 13:39: God ef aces what He will and establishes, and with Him is the Mother of the Book; and 43:4: And truly it is with Us in the Mother of the Book. Many identify the Mother of the Book with the Preserved Tablet (see 85:22). Makkah is called Mother of Cities (6:92; 42:7). An umm (“mother”) can also be the leader of a group of travelers, the flag of an army, or the archetype or origin of something, and idiomatically both the singular and plural (ummahāt) can mean the main, principal, or original instances of something (e.g., the principal virtues). That the muḥkam are the Mother of the Book can also mean they comprise or entail the Book or are its focus and point of convergence (Ṭ). Both hearts (9:117; 61:5) and eyes (33:10) can swerve, usually understood to mean from the truth. Thus many gloss zaygh (swerving) as “doubt” or say that those who have swerving in their hearts are the hypocrites (Ṭ). Beyond this general meaning, some give an occasion for the revelation of the phrase mentioning swerving. The Christians said to the Prophet, “Do you not say that he [Jesus] is the Word of God and a Spirit from Him?” (4:171). The Prophet answered, “Indeed.” They said, “That suffices us!” presumably thinking that they had just won the argument. At that moment, this part of the verse was revealed, the connection being that “Spirit” and “Word” are mutashābih rather than muḥkam. Another opinion is that some Jews sought knowledge of how long the Muslim community would last on earth based upon decoding the abbreviated letters (Ṭ, Th). Fitnah, here translated temptation, can also mean strife (2:217; 8:39). The interpreters believe it refers to shirk, or to doubts that would be created in human hearts (Ṭ). One can read the rebuke as being directed against the deviancy in hearts that seek to interpret the Quran for false reasons. Interpretation renders taʾwīl, generally meaning “explanation,” and is used also in connection with dreams (Sūrah 12 passim; 18:78). Etymologically it has the sense of “bringing back to the origin”; hence the same word is translated in 17:35 as in the end in the sense of the ultimate return. The Quranic usage (with regard to the understanding of dreams and the mysterious actions of Moses’ companion) indicates that taʾwīl is the act of taking something whose meaning is either unclear, ambiguous, symbolic, allegorical, or metaphorical and returning it to its true meaning. In classical Islamic learning it became conventional to refer to the transmission of texts and quotations from sources considered to be normative and authoritative as tafsīr, while taʾwīl refers to what a commentator might then proceed to say about a passage, especially in attempting to draw out spiritual, esoteric, or moral dimensions of the passage. However, the two words are near synonyms for many commentators on the Quran (e.g., al-Ṭabarī’s mainly historical and textual commentary is subtitled taʾwīl āy al-Qur’ān), and the sense of taʾwīl as representing a separate class of interpretation is not part of the Quran’s usage but became common later. And none know its interpretation save God and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord”: An alternate pause in the Arabic would yield the translation, “And none know its interpretation save God. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all is from our Lord.’” This reading reserves all interpretation of the mutashābih to God; the firmly rooted (rāsikhūn) are then characterized merely by their faith in it. However, as the commentator al-Thaʿlabī points out, in practice all schools of thought interpret the entire Quran; despite declarations that only God knows the interpretation of mutashābih verses, they pass over no aspect of the Quran in silence, though degrees of uncertainty about their meanings remain. Some say this means, “We believe in the mutashābih, but only act by the muḥkam” (Ṭ). See also the essay “Quranic Commentaries.” The question of unambiguous versus multivalent passages, coupled with the possibility or impossibility of knowing what is multivalent and symbolic and what is not, have given rise to several positions on interpreting the Quran, especially on questions of moral responsibility, eschatology, and God’s Attributes. At one extreme are those who approach the Quran as literalists, seeing only one discrete true meaning identified with the literal and outward sense, even if that meaning is unknown. At the other end are those who dispense with the plain sense and embrace metaphor and allegory, often to avoid attributing created qualities to God such as spatial or temporal extension, which often leads to an impoverished, rationalized meaning. Most interpreters, however, affirm the plain sense, but in such a way as to also plumb the text’s deeper levels of meaning. Taken as a whole, the genre of Quranic exegesis includes the dimensions of interpretation known to the medieval Western world as the literal, moral, allegorical, and anagogical (which are also reflected in this commentary). Sufis such as Ibn ʿArabī and Rūmī (d. 672/1273) as well as philosophers such as Mullā Ṣadrā affirm all these levels of meaning at once. For them literalists err in reading everything as though it were muḥkam, while rationalists, such as the Muʿtazilites, read everything as though it were mutashābih, that is, open to more than one meaning, but as determined by one’s own sense of plausibility rather than a multivalent approach toward the plain sense of the text and its deeper possibilities. They consider other theologians, such as the Ashʿarites, to be inconsistent in their application of the distinction between muḥkam and mutashābih. Moreover, beyond the proper application of muḥkam and mutashābih, Sufis assert that only certain spiritual qualifications of the reader of the Quran open up the Book’s deeper meaning, since a blind or hardened heart cannot understand the fullness of God’s Word. For a lengthier discussion of many of these issues, see the essay “Traditions of Esoteric and Sapiental Quranic Commentary.” Regarding those who possess intellect, see 2:179c. 

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# “Our Lord, make not our hearts swerve after having guided us, and bestow upon us a mercy from Thy Presence. Truly Thou art the Bestower. 

8 Many consider the words in this verse to be spoken by the firmly rooted in knowledge (v. 7). A ḥadīth in which the Prophet paraphrases this verse begins with a prayer, “O God, Changer of hearts, keep my heart upon Thy religion.” When asked if hearts change, he said, “Yes. No man of the Children of Adam was created but that his heart lies between two of the Fingers of God, most High and Glorified. If He wills, He makes it go straight, and if He wills, He makes it swerve.” This verse, like many others (e.g., 2:6–10), raises the question of whether and how God causes or denies faith to a human heart. A mercy could also be simply “mercy.” The preposition ladun, meaning “at” or “in the presence/possession of,” is here rendered Presence. See 18:10 for similar wording, and especially 18:65, which mentions knowledge from Our Presence. This Quranic theme gives rise to the term al-ʿilm al-ladunī in later Islamic spirituality, meaning “God-given knowledge.” 

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# Our Lord, Thou art the Gatherer of mankind unto a Day about which there is no doubt.” Truly God will not fail the tryst.

9 The tryst (mīʿād) is an appointed meeting or something promised and is used often in reference to God’s promises and threats regarding the Hereafter (13:31; 34:30; 39:20). It is similar in meaning to mawʿid, also rendered tryst (20:58; 11:17). These words are also related etymologically to the theologically important concepts of waʿd and waʿīd, “promise” and “threat,” respectively, which also refer to the thing promised or threatened (e.g., 4:122; 9:111; 10:48; 36:52). See also the essay “The Quran and Schools of Islamic Theology and Philosophy.” 

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# As for those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them aught against God. And it is they who shall be fuel for the Fire. 

10 Cf. 3:116; 26:88; 60:3. The Quran frequently refers to the fact that in the logic of this world riches buy preferential treatment and children provide status, protection, and a means of surviving beyond death; these are mentioned alongside other desirable objects of this world in v. 14. Yet on the Day of Judgment they carry no influence with God, who bestowed them in the first place (16:72; 17:6), and can even be a source of trial for human beings (8:28; 64:14–15); on the same theme, they can be a means by which disbelievers come to punishment, and believers should not be impressed by them (9:55, 85; 68:10–14). What is desirable in this world is not always a sign of God’s Favor or a guarantee against the punishment of the Hereafter (9:69; 18:39–40; 23:55; 34:35); righteousness and piety, not wealth and children, endure and bring reward (18:46; 34:37); and wealth and children can be a distraction and diversion from the remembrance of God (57:20; 63:9; 71:21). Human beings as fuel for the Fire of Hell is also mentioned in 2:24; 21:98; 66:6. In a ḥadīth, the Prophet described a future time when those who recite and teach the Quran, considering no one to be superior to them because of their position, would be an example of “fuel for the Fire.”

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# [It is] like the affair of the House of Pharaoh and those who were before them; they denied Our signs. So God seized them for their sins, and God is severe in retribution. 

11 Daʾb, here translated af air in the sense of “matter” or “case,” can also be taken to mean “wont” or “way.” As an illustration of the warning presented in the previous verse, it is mentioned that the worldly wealth of the Egyptians and others did not help them when God destroyed them (7:133–36). They were seized (akhadha, lit. “taken”), which in Quranic usage often means “punished” (e.g., 4:153; 7:73). 

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# Say to the disbelievers, “You shall be vanquished and gathered unto Hell, an evil resting place!” 

12 Some believe this verse is directed at the idolatrous Makkans (Th). Others report that the Prophet admonished some of the Jews of Madinah, upon his victorious return from the Battle of Badr (see 3:13c), that their fate could be like that of the Quraysh (IK, Ṭ). They haughtily dismissed the warning, after which this verse was revealed. For Hell, see the essay “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran.” Resting place translates mihād, which can mean a bed or even cradle, lexically a place smoothed out and prepared for rest. It is, however, usually used in connection with Hell, although in 78:6 and 43:10 the related term mahd is used in reference to the earth. This verse echoes similar verses that warn of both defeat in this world and punishment in the next (e.g., 5:33; 5:41; 22:11; 33:57). Some read this as third person (“that they shall be vanquished”), which does not change the meaning (IK, Ṭ, R). Examples of such shifts in grammatical person are found in the Quran; see the essay “Quranic Arabic: Its Characteristics and Impact on Arabic Language and Literature and the Languages and Literatures of Other Islamic Peoples.” 

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# There was a sign for you in the two hosts that met, one host fighting in the way of God and the other disbelieving, whom they [the former] saw as twice themselves as the eye sees. And God strengthens by His help whomsoever He will. Truly in that is a lesson for those who possess insight. 

13 This verse is taken by most as a reference to the Battle of Badr, in 2/624, which was the Muslim community’s first major military encounter with and victory over the Makkans. They in whom they saw can refer to either the believing army or the enemy, but most scholars seem to prefer the former (IK, R, Ṭ). Cf. 8:44, where each side is said to have seen the other side as fewer in number during the battle (see also 8:44c). The commentators sometimes attempt to reconcile this verse and 8:44, because Islamic tradition consistently numbers the Quraysh army at one thousand (or nearly that number) and the Muslims at just over three hundred. Doubling the latter would give less than a thousand. But an army on the battlefield whose size is triple one’s own might well appear as only double. Moreover the wording in this verse is different from that in 8:44, And [remember] when He showed them to you, when you met them, as being few in your eyes, and made you appear to be few in their eyes, as there is no similar suggestion in the present verse that God caused them to see an army of a different size from the one that was actually there. One explanation is that the twice could mean twice again, implying three times as much in total (Ṭ), which would then approximate the traditionally accepted ratio of three to one. Others connect it to 8:66: And if there be one hundred steadfast among you, they shall overcome two hundred. But the actual numbers are not crucial to the message of the verse, as evidenced by the different ratio mentioned in 8:65: And if there be one hundred of you, they shall overcome one thousand of those who disbelieve. 

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# Made to seem fair unto mankind is the love of passions, among them women, children, hoarded heaps of gold and silver, horses of mark, cattle, and tillage. Those are the enjoyment of the life of this world. And God, with Him is the beautiful return. 

14 Made to seem fair (zuyyina) describes a common theme connecting fallen human beings to their ephemeral desires (cf. 2:212; 9:37) and can mean, in other contexts, “to adorn” (15:16). Although the objects of desire in this verse are spoken of positively elsewhere in the Quran as things for which one should be grateful in this world, here their seductive side is brought out, echoing 18:46: Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world; and many other verses (see 3:10c). Heaps translates qanāṭīr (sing. qinṭār). Some try to give an exact measure for qinṭār, but in this context it should simply be taken as denoting a vast amount, hence hoarded heaps to match the consonance of the Arabic qanāṭīr munqaṭarah. Horses of mark refers to either branded or beautiful horses. For cattle, see 6:138. For beautiful return (maʾāb), referring to the Garden, see also 13:29; Sūrah 38 passim. 

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# Say, “Shall I inform you of what is better than that? For those who are reverent, there shall be with their Lord Gardens with rivers running below—they shall abide therein—and spouses made pure, and Contentment from God.” And God sees His servants, 

15 That refers to the aforementioned passions, which are a pale shadow of the joys of the Hereafter. Regarding reverence, see 2:2c. Regarding the Garden’s rivers and spouses made pure, see 2:25c; 4:57c. God’s Contentment (riḍwān) is at the pinnacle of the paradisal state, since Contentment from God is greater even than the Gardens of Paradise (9:72). God’s Contentment (riḍwān) is also sought in this world (5:16; 48:29; 57:27; 59:8), and God and human beings can be reciprocally content or pleased with each other, as in 89:28: Return unto thy Lord, content, contenting; and also in 5:119; 58:22; 98:8. Contentment and Good Pleasure are opposed to God’s Wrath (3:162; 47:28). The Prophet described an exchange between God and the denizens of the Garden: “Are you content?” “Why should we not be content, as Thou hast given us what no one else among Thy creation has been given?” “Shall I give you what is better than that?” “O Lord, what could be better than that?” “I shall loose My Contentment (riḍwān) upon you, and be not angry with you ever again.” 

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# who say, “Our Lord, truly we believe, so forgive us our sins, and shield us from the punishment of the Fire, ” 

16 Those who refers to the reverent servants from the previous verse. The verb shield us (cf. 2:201; 3:191; 40:7) is etymologically related to reverence (taqwā; see 2:2); for example, one can be shielded from the avarice of his soul (59:9; 64:16), which relates to the sense of taqwā as being mindful and on guard when it comes to sin and obedience to God. 

***

# the patient, the truthful, the devoutly obedient, those who spend, those who seek forgiveness before dawn. 

17 For devoutly obedient (qānit), which carries the sense of conformity, but also of constancy, standing, and silence, see 4:34c. Those who spend (see 2:3c) do so in the way of God; this carries the sense of giving for the good, and not only of monetary expenditure. Ere dawn translates asḥār (see also 51:18), which refers to the last part of the night before the morning twilight. The Prophet would rise for prayers before dawn and strongly encouraged others to do so. On the supererogatory night prayer, also see 17:79; 25:64; 73:20. In Islamic spirituality, the night vigil (tahajjud, qiyām al-layl) is profoundly significant. It is when one is alone for none to see, and the world is quiet, and there is an ease of concentration and inwardness. It is the inverse of one’s usual state during the day, when the egotistical passions are awake, but the spiritual heart is often asleep. 

***

# God bears witness that there is no god but He, as do the angels and the possessors of knowledge, upholding justice. There is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. 

18 Upholding justice is thought by most to refer to God or He, but grammatically it could refer to the angels and possessors of knowledge as well. This latter opinion is made more plausible by the very similar wording of 5:8: O you who believe! Be steadfast for God, bearing witness to justice; as well as that of 4:135. It can also be read in connection with the start of the next verse, meaning that “God, the angels, and the believers bear witness that truly the religion . . .” God is the supreme witness in that He was when there was nothing else with Him (as is said in a well-known ḥadīth, “God was and there was nothing other than Him”), and He thus has most right to be called a witness (R). God is spoken of as Witness throughout the Quran; see, for example, 5:117: And Thou art Witness over all things. God bears witness along with the angels in 4:166: God Himself bears witness to that which He has sent down unto thee . . . and the angels bear witness. See also 7:172, where the primordial covenant between human beings and God is framed as humans bearing witness or attesting to the Lordship of God. 

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# Truly the religion in the sight of God is submission. Those who were given the Book differed not until after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves. And whosoever disbelieves in God’s signs, truly God is swift in reckoning. 

19 Submission (islām) is both the proper name of the religion revealed through the Prophet Muhammad and a state that describes the adherents of any true religion who conform themselves to God’s Will. The Quran describes previous prophets as “those who submit”—Abraham and Jacob (2:132); Abraham and Ishmael (2:128); the apostles of Christ (3:52; 5:111)—and hence as followers of islām. Many Muslims say that this verse shows that the only religion acceptable to God is the one revealed to the Prophet of Islam, but the most universal meaning of it, which been emphasized by many Islamic authorities over the ages, is that islām in this verse refers to submission to God even if it is not in the context of Islam as the specific religion revealed through the Quran. Cognizant of the broader Quranic sense of submission, the commentators do not restrict islām to simply denoting the proper name of the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad; yet a number of them assert that, after the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, no religion other than his will be accepted by God. They apply a similar conclusion to 3:85: Whosoever seeks a religion other than submission (islām), it shall not be accepted of him. For a fuller discussion of this view of Islam’s unique validity, see 2:62c; 3:3–4c; 3:85c; 3:113–15c as well as the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions.” The second part of this verse is similar to 98:4: Those who were given the Book did not become divided until after the clear proof had come unto them. Some mention that the Jews, after having been entrusted with the Torah by Moses, began to dispute about it after several generations, and that the Christians came to differ regarding the Gospel later (Aj, Th). Some say that the worst of the Jews’ differences emerged after they became the learned community among humanity (Ṭ). Still others say it refers to people’s reception of the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran; some accepted it, some said it was meant only for the Arabs, and others rejected it outright (Aj). Envy is usually understood to imply seeking wealth, power, and status. Reckoning (ḥisāb) may refer to God’s “counting up” of human deeds (Ṭ), related to their final judgment by God (see also 24:39; 40:17), but can also refer to God’s reckoning in this world, as in 13:41. It can have a positive (2:202) or negative connotation (3:199). One might say that the application of knowledge is a double-edged sword and that with guidance comes the possibility of misguidance: He misleads many by it, and He guides many by it, and He misleads none but the iniquitous (2:26). One can be taught spiritual, psychological, eschatological realities and benefit from those truths, but human intelligence cannot always escape the distortion of the will. Just as each vice is, in a sense, a warped virtue, so too can truth be misrepresented or misinterpreted so as to be misused; when truth is used as a means to achieve false ends, rather than an end in itself, strife and schism ensue. 

***

# So if they dispute with thee, say, “I submit my face to God, and so too those who follow me.” And say to those who were given the Book and to the unlettered ones, “Do you submit?” Then if they submit, they will be rightly guided, but if they turn away, then thine is only to convey. And God sees His servants. 

20 To submit one’s face (see also 2:21; 31:22) signifies a reorientation of one’s being. In a sense, the face represents what is most intimate, most direct in reflecting the states of the soul, highest in outward appearance, and the most beautiful part of the human body. In the Quran, one seeks the Face of God (e.g., 2:272; 13:22). Cf. Psalm 27:8, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” And All things perish, save His Face (28:88; cf. 55:26–27). See also 6:79: Truly, as a ḥanīf, I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth; and 10:105: And Set thy face toward the religion as a ḥanīf, and be thou not among the idolaters. Unlettered is thought to refer to the idolatrous Arabs, who had no scripture (Ṭ), or to anyone without a Divine book (R). See also 62:2, He it is Who sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves, in which Messenger means Muhammad. Unlettered (al-ummī) is thus also an epithet of the Prophet (7:157– 58). This term also appears in connection with the People of the Book in 2:78. The idea that it is the Prophet’s duty only to convey the message is also found in 88:21–22: Thou art but a reminder; thou art not a warder over them; 2:272; 13:40; 29:18. Sees translates baṣīr, which connotes not only sight or ordinary vision, but also knowledge and penetrating insight.

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# Truly those who disbelieve in God’s signs and kill the prophets without right, and kill those who enjoin justice among mankind: give them glad tidings of a painful punishment. 

21 This verse is understood in reference to disbelievers among the People of the Book, more particularly the Children of Israel (Ṭ). On the killing of prophets, a crime mentioned in connection with the Children of Israel more than once in the Quran, see 2:61. Some think this verse refers to the tyrannical rulers of Israel (Th). Al-Ṭabarī mentions a ḥadīth that states, “The worst punishment on the Day of Resurrection is for those who were killed by a prophet or killed a prophet.” Here, it is not just the killing of the prophets that is addressed, but also the killing of those who enjoin justice, who are not prophets themselves, but who stand up for truth. An example would be the man who came running in support of the message bearers in 36:20–28. In this connection, al-Rāzī mentions the ḥadīth, “The best struggle is to speak a true word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler.” Several commentators mention the ḥadīth, “O Abū ʿUbaydah! The Children of Israel killed forty-three prophets in one hour at the start of the day. One hundred and seventy men of the Children of Israel then stood to command what is right against those who killed them and to forbid them from committing evil. They killed them all at the end of the same day. They are the ones God mentioned, Glorified and Majestic is He.” To give tidings, when stated without an explicit object, has the sense of glad tidings and is often used this way in the Quran. It is related to “glad tidings” (bushrā) and “bringer of glad tidings” (bashīr), a title also given to the Prophet Muhammad, sometimes in combination with his function as a “warner” (nadhīr). 

***

# They are those whose deeds have come to naught in this world and in the Hereafter, and they shall have no helpers. 

22 Come to naught renders ḥabaṭa, which has the sense of failure and futility. On earth, disbelievers’ works ultimately fail, are reviled by posterity, and bear no positive fruit in the life to come, because they were undertaken with the wrong intention (R, Ṭ). They have no helpers, since death robs them of the benefits they enjoyed in life, and in the Hereafter they must stand alone. Having helpers is sometimes interpreted as related to the possibility of intercession and ransom, as in 2:48, where such means of trying to stave off the consequences of one’s conduct in this world are described as futile. 

***

# Hast thou not considered those who were given a portion of the Book, [being] called to the Book of God that it may judge between them. Then a group among them turned away. 

23 Those who were given a portion again refers to the People of the Book; the Book here is not the Quran, but the Torah. The commentators mention an account where two prominent Jews committed adultery and brought their case to the Prophet, hoping to avoid the penalty of stoning. The Prophet called for their most learned man in Torah to come and recite the passage on stoning; when the man attempted to cover the passage with his hand, a Companion pointed it out. The Prophet commanded that the punishment be carried out according to the Torah, which surprised and angered the Jews (Q), even though the Prophet had called their Book to judge between them. This incident is also sometimes referenced in connection with 5:43: And how is it that they come to thee for judgment, when they have the Torah, wherein is God’s Judgment? In another account the Prophet invited a group of Jews to Islam, upon which they asked the Prophet, “What is your religion?” to which he answered, “The creed of Abraham.” They said, “Abraham was a Jew,” to which he responded, “Then let us go to the Torah.” The Jews refused, and this verse was then revealed (R). Another version describes how, after the Jews refused Islam, the Prophet invited them to consult the Torah, where they would find him described. They refused. Although the exact context is somewhat uncertain, the common thread in these accounts is the Prophet’s recourse to the Torah, which its custodians hesitated about or refused. Al-Qurṭubī notes that Muslims can read and act according to the Torah, except for whatever is known to be abrogated by the Quran or ḥadīth, and that they are obligated to act in accord with the religious laws of previous prophets (an observation he repeats in his treatment of 5:43) unless these laws are abrogated by Islam. However, for al-Qurṭubī this would have been conditional upon the text being authentic, and although the Prophet would have known what was authentic, we cannot do likewise. Although tempered by questions of abrogation (naskh; see 2:106) and distortion (taḥrīf; see 2:75), this verse and 5:43 can be seen to suggest, together with the Prophet’s actions, the continuing religious validity and spiritual efficacy of previous scriptures for the followers of those religions. See also the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions.” 

***

# That is because they say, “The Fire will not touch us save for days numbered.” That which they used to fabricate has deluded them in their religion. 

24 Days numbered (cf. 2:80), according to some, refers to the Jews’ belief that they would be punished for only forty nights, corresponding to the time spent worshipping the calf, after which they would be replaced by another people (Ṭ). Others mention seven days, one day for each thousand years of the earth’s existence as they calculated it (IK, R). Whatever duration they claimed, to believe that their days of punishment in the Hereafter would be “numbered” suggests their unwarranted confidence in avoiding eternal punishment. 

***

# How shall it be when We gather them unto a Day in which there is no doubt, and every soul will be paid in full for what it earned, and they shall not be wronged? 

25 Some commentators understand unto a day to signify all that they will undergo on that day (R, Ṭ), while for others it simply means the Day of Judgment itself (Th). Paid in full is a common way of expressing the soul’s experience on the Day of Judgment and is related to the word for fulfilling one’s oaths, as in 2:40: Fulfill My covenant, and I shall fulfill your covenant. 

***

# Say, “O God, Master of Sovereignty. Thou givest sovereignty to whomsoever Thou wilt, and wrestest sovereignty from whomsoever Thou wilt. Thou exaltest whomsoever Thou wilt, and abasest whomsoever Thou wilt. In Thy Hand is the good. Truly Thou art Powerful over everything. 

26 This verse is often used in Islamic piety as a prayer. O God translates Allāhumma, since this construction designates an address to God in the second person, but opinions differ over its etymology. Some consider it a shortening of yā Allāhu ummanā bi-khayr (“O God, bring us good”), but others suggest somewhat less plausibly that the mīm of the suffix takes the place of the traditional vocative particle yā (usually rendered “O”); some scholars speculate that it comes from Aramaic or Akkadian. It is not related to the plural form, as is the case with the Hebrew Elohim. Master of Sovereignty renders mālik al-mulk, two words closely related etymologically to each other and also to “king” (malik) and “dominion” (malakūt). Mulk can also mean “rule” or “possession”; see 67:1c. Some recount that the Prophet asked for the sovereignty over Byzantium and Persia for his religion, after which this verse was revealed (Aj, R). Some say mulk here refers to prophethood (Ṭ) and could thus be meant to counter objections from various quarters to the selection of Muhammad as a prophet, objections that stemmed from that fact that he was not of the Children of Israel, that he was not considered, before being chosen as a prophet, the most prominent or notable of the Arabs, or that he was a human being and not an angel. All commentators understand the good to mean all possible good. 

***

# Thou makest the night pass into the day, and Thou makest the day pass into the night. Thou bringest forth the living from the dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living. And Thou providest for whomsoever Thou wilt without reckoning.” 

27 The theme of the night and day passing into one another appears also in 22:61; 31:29; 35:13; 57:6. On the cycle of life and death, also see 2:28. In the Quran this cycle refers both to creation as such, which is brought out from the “death” that is nonexistence, and to the cycles of life on earth, both human and of other living things, such as the revival of dry earth by rain (2:164). In one ḥadīth the Prophet advised a Companion who was in debt, “Shall I inform you of a prayer that, if you used it, and if you had a debt equal to Mt. Uḥud in gold, God would free you of it? Recite Say, ‘O God, Master of Sovereignty . . .’ until ‘. . . without reckoning’ [i.e., vv. 26–27] [and then say], ‘O Compassionate One of this world and the Hereafter, and Merciful One of them both, Thou givest from these [two worlds] as Thou wilt, and withholdest from these [two worlds] as Thou wilt! Bestow Mercy upon me that will make me beyond need of the mercy of those other than Thee!” For Ibn ʿAjībah, those who are sovereign over their ego are exalted by God in both worlds, and those who take their ego as sovereign are abased in both worlds. Ibn ʿAjībah speaks to the esoteric tradition that interprets the night as the night of the soul—that is, the soul in a state of spiritual contraction—and the day as the soul’s relief and spiritual expansion, which in the spiritual life are said to inevitably follow upon one another. Some interpret the notion that God provides without reckoning—that is, for whomsoever He wills—and the assertion that God does as He wills (2:253; 14:27) to imply that God is “free” to be what appears to human beings to be unjust, while others claim that God can reward and exalt only those who are deserving. But the supremacy of God’s Will does not detract from or contradict His Goodness and Compassion; at the same time God could never be bound by a human conception of merit, as the span of any life includes both this world and the next and human beings do not possess God’s measures. For the commentators, without reckoning can mean that none can hold God to account, that His giving is limitless, or that He can give without regard to the merit of human beings (R, Ṭs). It also can allude to God’s infinite Mercy beyond any human measure. 

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# Let not the believers take the disbelievers as protectors apart from the believers. Whosoever does that has no bond with God, unless you guard against them out of prudence. And God warns you of Himself, and unto God is the journey’s end. 

28 In this context, protectors renders awliyāʾ (sing. walī), a multifaceted word that can mean “protector,” “ruler,” “ally,” “client,” or “friend” depending on the context. The subject matter here is not friendship in the ordinary sense, but allegiance and group alignment in which the political stakes go beyond mere confessional identity. According to one view, this verse was revealed in connection with hypocrites in Madinah who were collaborating with the Makkans against the Prophet; others believe it referred to a friendship between some Helpers and certain Jewish men who wanted to lead them away from their religion; still others mention the case of a prominent Companion at the Battle of the Trench who wanted to marshal several hundred Jews to fight on the side of the Prophet, though generally without explaining why this suggestion was rejected (R, Ṭ, W). In these possible accounts it is primarily the political dimension that is in view. See 4:88–90c, which gives the political context of a verse employing similar language, as well as 4:144; 5:51; 5:57. Also see 3:118: O you who believe! Take not intimates apart from yourselves; they will not stint you in corruption. They wish you to suf er. Similar prohibitions apply to those who reject God, but take another agent as their walī (7:30; 11:20; 13:16; 18:102; 29:41; 39:3; 42:6, 9, 46). Has no bond with God could be translated literally, “is not of God in aught,” the phrase “of [someone]” meaning to be allied or associated with them, to be part of their community—to be “one of them.” Prudence translates tuqāh, which some read as taqiyyah; the latter is more widely known and often translated “dissimulation,” though the word itself is etymologically related to “taking care” and “being wary” and is lexically related to taqwā, or reverence (see 2:2c). Those who guard against them out of prudence are exempted if they fear death or great harm through persecution at the hands of the community in which they live, in which case they can hide their faith through words but not through actions, which is to say they can deny to others that they are Muslim, but they cannot then violate the major rules of Islam by, for example, murdering, stealing, or committing adultery under the cover of this denial (Q, R, Ṭ). Elsewhere the Quran excuses the one who is coerced, while his heart is at peace in faith (16:106), revealed in connection with the earliest martyrs in Makkah (Q), whose identity as Muslims put them in mortal danger. Others mention an exception that is made for blood relatives, in which case a disassociation in religion is still necessary even if the familial connection is maintained (Ṭ). The commentators mention an incident in which two Companions were captured by Musaylimah, a man who claimed to be a prophet, and were asked to affirm his prophetic status alongside that of Muhammad. One of them did, but the other did not, but neither lost faith in his heart. The Prophet said, “As for the first victim, he stayed with his certainty and truth, and happy is he. As for the second, he received the leniency of God, and there is no blame on him.” The concept of taqiyyah is often associated more strongly with the Shiites, since during the period of the Imams (until about the mid-third/ninth century) taqiyyah was considered an important virtue in Shiite piety, though it was later deemphasized when the Shiites constituted a large number and as the political position of Shiism became less insecure; taqiyyah, however, continued throughout the history of Shiism and is still considered legitimate when circumstances necessitate it. The Sunni view toward taqiyyah is substantially the same at a legal and political level, though the terminology might differ. At a spiritual level, taqiyyah has also been used, in both Shiite Islam and the Sufi tradition in Sunni Islam, in the context of hiding or concealing spiritual teachings that are not appropriate for everyone. God warns you of Himself is taken to mean that He warns about His Wrath and Punishment. Some suggest that there is an elision of a word, meaning something like “God warns you of [His own punishment],” while others read it as “God warns you of that very thing,” referring back to the act of taking others as allies and protectors (R). 

***

# Say, “If you hide what is in your breasts or disclose it, God knows it, and He knows whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth.” And God is Powerful over all things. 

29 Cf. 28:69; also see 31:16: If it be but the weight of a mustard seed, be it in a rock, in the heavens, or on the earth, God will bring it forth. The Quran frequently describes how God knows what lies within breasts (e.g., 3:119; 5:7; 8:43; 11:5; 29:10; 31:23; 39:7; 40:19; 42:24; 57:6; 64:4; 67:13; 100:10), and mention of His Omniscience is often combined with that of His Omnipotence. 

***

# On the Day when every soul will find presented the good it did, and the evil it did, it will wish that there might be a distant term between it and itself. And God warns you of Himself, and God is Kind unto His servants. 

30 Some understand On the day when as a continuation of the warning in v. 28, so that together they would mean, “God warns you about Himself concerning a day when . . .” Others connect it to the journey’s end in v. 28, “And unto God is the journey’s end . . . on the day when . . .” (R). Still others read it as having an elided verb, meaning something like, “And remember a day when . . .” (Ṭ). This evokes 99:6–8, when human beings will see every mote’s weight of evil or good they committed, and 18:49, when the book will be handed to them in the Hereafter in which they will find present . . . whatsoever they did. Term (amad) in this context refers not to a span of time, but to an appointed moment, and so the wish here is for a postponement (JJ, R). Of related meaning is 43:38: Till, when he comes unto Us, he will say, “Would that there were between me and Thee the distance of the two easts!” See also the essay “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran.”

***

# Say, “If you love God, follow me, and God will love you and forgive you your sins. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.” 

31 For some, the command in this verse is a response to the position of the Christians of the Najrān delegation, who said they worshipped the Messiah out of love for God and that they loved their Lord (Th). In this connection some also mention the claims of the idolatrous Arabs that they worshipped the idols out of love for God, We do not worship them, save to bring us nigh in nearness unto God (39:3). Al-Thaʿlabī mentions the ḥadīth, “Idolatry (shirk) is more hidden than the creeping of an ant upon a stone on a dark night. The least of it is to love something tyrannical or to hate something just. Is religion other than loving in God and hating in God? God said, Say, ‘If you love God, follow me, and God will love you.’” It is noteworthy that this verse says follow me and the next says obey God and obey the Messenger, since not every act of following is an act of obedience. One cannot, in an ordinary sense, be a follower of God, but one can obey Him as well as His Prophet. This verse puts to the test the claims of those who say that they love God, since in the presence of one of His prophets this should translate into action. Love demands, or inevitably leads to, a sacrifice of the soul. Even true earthly love cannot be a mere feeling or sensation. Love renders the verb ḥabba (whose corresponding noun is ḥubb or maḥabbah), one of several Arabic words denoting love (others include raḥmah, ḥilm, mawaddah, luṭf, and ʿishq, the last of which does not appear in the Quran), and here denotes the responsive dimension of God’s Love, unlike raḥmah (usually “compassion” or “mercy”; see 1:3c), which in Islamic theology and spirituality has both an unconditional and a responsive dimension. The Quran mentions God’s Love for human beings much more often than their love for God. In Islamic spirituality it is more important to be considered beloved than a lover of God, as reflected in one of the names of the Prophet, Ḥabīb Allāh, whose primary meaning is “the Beloved of God,” though it can also mean “the Lover of God.” The Sufis say that we cannot be the beloved of God without loving Him and we cannot love Him unless He loves us. For more on love, see 2:165c. 

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# Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” If they turn away, then truly God loves not the disbelievers. 

32 See also 4:80: Whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God; and 4:59: Obey God and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Such passages describe obedience to the Prophet as second only to obedience to God and set in place the normative character of the Prophet’s teachings and actions (as do other passages such as 3:132; 5:92; 8:2, 20, 46; 24:54; 33:33; 47:33; 49:14; 64:12). Conformity with the sayings and doings of the Prophet is an essential aspect of Islamic Law and gave rise to the genre of aḥādīth that records the Sunnah, or Wont of the Prophet (see the essay “The Quran as Source of Islamic Law”). For the Sufis the Prophet is a living presence through whom God acts to provide the spiritual traveler the strength to move along the path toward God. In the eyes of all Muslims, those who claim to love God and His Prophet but fail to follow them fall short in their faith. Indeed, you have in the Messenger of God a beautiful example (33:21). 

***

# Truly God chose Adam, Noah, the House of Abraham, and the House of ʿImrān above the worlds, 

# as progeny, one from another. And God is Hearing, Knowing. 

33–34 The language of “being chosen by God” (muṣṭafā) is used in connection with several figures in the Quran (see 3:42; 6:84–87; 7:144; 38:47). In fact, one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad is al-Muṣṭafā, “the Chosen One.” House is used here in the sense of familial line. As in other places, such as 21:71, above the worlds could also be read as “above all peoples” and is used in connection with other figures as well (e.g., 2:47; 6:86; 7:140). ʿImrān is the name of Mary’s father (also in v. 35; 66:12), who is not named in the Bible, but is known in extra-Biblical literature as Joachim, which means “He whom Yahweh set up.” The commentators who equate the name ʿImrān with the Hebrew Amram (the name of Moses’ father), and thus believe that both the father of Moses and the father of Mary were separately named ʿImrān, do not seem to be aware of the name Joachim. The Quran and Ḥadīth do not name Moses’ father; so it is unclear how the equation between ʿImrān and Amram came to be, even though commentators as early as Muqātil (d. 150/767) seem to accept it, and they make an explicit distinction between the two (including the centuries between them). It is noteworthy that ʿImrān comes from the root ʿ-m-r, among whose meanings is to “erect,” “build,” or “set up.” The name is close to the word ʿumrān, which means a building, edifice, or structure, and the -ān ending is common in Arabic, as in the name ʿUthmān and many other words, such as ghaḍbān, subḥān, sakrān, ḥirmān, ḥasrān, furqān. One could speculate that ʿImrān Allāh is equivalent to Yehoyaqim. As progeny, one from another is understood in terms of bloodlines, in that the House of ʿImrān is descended from the House of Abraham, which is descended from Noah, who descended from Adam (M). It is also understood as a spiritual filiation, in that these houses and figures are connected through their worship of and obedience to the One God (Ṭ). The verse can also be read as a way of not elevating one family line over another, as the phrase rendered here as one from another appears as the one of you is as the other in 4:25 (M). 

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# [Remember] when the wife of ʿImrān said, “My Lord, truly I dedicate to Thee what is in my belly, in consecration. So accept it from me. Truly Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.” 

35 [Remember] when renders the Arabic particle idh, which indicates attachment to something that has preceded. In this instance it is said to be related, as is often the case, to the implied injunction udhkur, meaning “remember” or “mention.” It is reported that Mary’s father, ʿImrān, died before she was born, and her mother, Ḥannah (Anne), promised to dedicate her child to the service of the Temple, to study and learn from the Book and to be free of other responsibilities outside of service and worship (R, Ṭ). 

***

# And when she bore her, she said, “My Lord, I have borne a female, ” and God knows best what she bore, and the male is not like the female, “and I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in Thee, and for her progeny, from Satan the outcast.” 

36 Some commentators consider Anne to be the one who remarks upon the gender of the child, and the male is not like the female, meaning that it would not have been possible for a girl to have carried out the same responsibilities as a boy in the Temple; commentators mention here differences in physical strength and endurance, but issues of ritual purity related to menstruation may also have been a barrier to service in the Temple (IK, Ṭ). By progeny commentators understand an allusion to Jesus. Some mention that this could be interpreted as connoting the superiority of the female, in that, though she was expecting a male, God chose to give her a female child (Q) who would bear and manifest knowledge of God (R). One way of understanding the male is not like the female is that it establishes that there are real, meaningful differences between the sexes; at the same time, however, God accepted her with a beautiful acceptance (v. 37), suggesting that those differences are irrelevant from the spiritual point of view. Seeking refuge in God from Satan is frequently mentioned in the Quran: So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in God from the outcast Satan (16:98); And should a temptation from Satan provoke thee, seek refuge in God (7:200; 41:36). The outcast literally means “the stoned one,” evoking the casting of stones; throwing stones against columns representing Satan is a part of the rites of the ḥajj. 

***

# So her Lord accepted her with a beautiful acceptance, and made her to grow in a beautiful way, and placed her under the care of Zachariah. Whenever Zachariah entered upon her in the sanctuary he found provision with her. He said, “Mary, whence comes this unto thee?” She said, “It is from God. Truly God provides for whomsoever He will without reckoning.” 

37 Depending on how the verb in placed her under the care of Zachariah is read, this could also be translated, “Zachariah took her under his care” (IK, Ṭ). This verse is usually understood in light of v. 44: And thou wast not with them when they cast their lots [to choose] who among them would care for Mary. In the Islamic tradition, Zachariah’s wife is Mary’s maternal “aunt,” not necessarily her mother’s sister, but her mother’s relative (IK; cf. Luke 1:36). God accepted her prayer with a beautiful acceptance by protecting Mary, and then Jesus. A possible Christian counterpart to the Quran’s narration about Mary’s life at the Temple, but one that does not appear in the Bible, is found in noncanonical literature such as the Protoevangelium of James, which describes the presentation, or entrance, of Mary into the Temple, an event recognized by Catholic and Orthodox traditions. According to this account, Mary was presented at the Temple at age three by her parents, who had previously been childless, in fulfillment of their vow. They promised that, if a child were born to them, that child would be dedicated to the service of God. Almost nothing of Mary’s youth is to be found in the Bible itself. The latter part of this verse, Whenever Zachariah entered . . . without reckoning, is found inscribed, in many mosques throughout the Islamic world, over the semicircular hollow or niche (miḥrāb) in the front inner wall, sometimes topped by an arch, that marks the direction of prayer toward Makkah and before which the imam stands to lead the canonical prayer. In this verse, miḥrāb is translated sanctuary, as Mary’s sanctuary would have been a separate room or area, not a niche hollowed out in a wall. It is mentioned in v. 39 as the place where Zachariah is given news of his son John’s impending birth and again in 19:11 as the place from which he emerges to signal his people to glorify God. The provision can be either material or spiritual, or both (IK). Some commentators say that Mary would have had the fruits of summer in winter and of winter in summer, but others have said, rather, that what she was given seemed to multiply beyond the original amount (Ṭ). That God provides for whomsoever He will without reckoning (cf. 2:212; 3:27; 24:38) means that God’s Provision is limitless, uncountable, and that God answers to no one for the way in which He provides for His creation; see 2:212c. That the fruits were out of season would have implied that no human being could have brought them to her. This Divine provision is also a symbol of the fact that both Mary and her mother conceived “out of season,” Mary, because no man had touched her, and her mother, because of her advanced age. 

***

# Then and there, Zachariah called upon his Lord. He said, “My Lord, grant me from Thy Presence a good progeny. Truly Thou hearest all calls!” 

# Then the angels called to him while he was praying in the sanctuary, “God gives thee glad tidings of John, confirming a word from God, noble and chaste, a prophet, from among the righteous.” 

38–39 Then and there means upon seeing the blessing bestowed upon Mary (Ṭ). The story of Zachariah and John is given in fuller detail in 19:2–15, which describes Zachariah’s fear of what his existing heirs might do after his death and his mention of his own and his wife’s advanced age. Confirming a word from God is understood to mean that John will confirm Jesus son of Mary, who is described as a Word from Him in v. 45 (R, M, Ṭ). To “confirm” means to affirm the truth of something or someone; it is used in many verses to describe the Quran itself as a confirmation of previous revelations (e.g., 2:41; 3:4; 5:48). Noble (sayyid) is understood to mean learned, devout, wise, generous, reverent of God, clement, and temperate (IK, Ṭ). Chaste, according to some, refers to someone who abstains from sexual relations with women or vice versa, though many commentators believe this means abstention only from illicit sexual relations, not total celibacy (IK). 

***

# He said, “My Lord, how shall I have a boy when age has overtaken me and my wife is barren?” He said, “Thus does God do whatsoever He will.” 

# He said, “My Lord, appoint for me a sign.” He said, “Your sign is that you shall not speak to the people for three days, save through signs.” And remember your Lord much, and glorify [Him] at eventide and at dawn. 

40–41 For a fuller discussion of John’s birth and Zachariah’s sign from God, which consists in his not being able to speak but communicating through gestures or signs, see 19:2–15. At eventide is the time from the declining of the sun until its setting, and at dawn the time from daybreak until sunrise. 

***

# And [remember] when the angels said, “O Mary, truly God has chosen thee and purified thee, and has chosen thee above the women of the worlds. 

42 The and [remember] when at the start of this verse is continued with the when at the start of v. 45, both of which set up She said in v. 47, so that it would mean, “When the angels said what they said, she said . . .” A ḥadīth states, “Mary the daughter of ʿImrān, Khadījah bint Khuwaylid [the Prophet’s first wife], Fāṭimah bint Muhammad [the Prophet’s daughter], and Āsiyah the wife of Pharaoh suffice you among the women of the worlds.” This and similar aḥādīth speak of these four women as being the best or most perfect of all women (IK), and most Muslims believe that these women lead the soul of blessed women to Paradise. In this verse Mary is chosen, purified, and then chosen a second time. Some understand the first election to refer to the first part of her life, when she was given to devotion and service in the Temple and was granted miraculous sustenance (see v. 37), and the second, to her being given the miracle of Jesus’ birth (R). Purified is understood to mean her purity of intention and worship (R), but, as in other contexts, to be purified can also mean to be kept pure from the defilement of the evil of others. The verse has language similar to that of Luke 1:42, where it is said to Mary, “Blessed art thou among women.” 

***

# O Mary! Be devoutly obedient to thy Lord, prostrate, and bow with those who bow.” 

43 Regarding devoutly obedient (qānit), which carries the sense of conformity, but also of constancy, being in a standing position, and silence, see 4:34c. Prostration and bowing are mentioned together in 2:125 in a command to Abraham and Ishmael, and bow with those who bow also appears in 2:43. 

***

# This is from the tidings of the Unseen, which We reveal unto thee. And thou wast not with them when they cast their lots [to choose] who among them would care for Mary, and thou wast not with them when they were disputing. 

44 Unseen (ghayb) can mean what is absent from us through being invisible or hidden, but also what is absent by being in the past, in the future, or in another state of being; the Quran also points out that the prophet was not witness to the events at Sinai in 28:44, 46. The most widely accepted account is that the priests of the Temple desired to be the custodians of Mary after she entered the Temple (see v. 37) and cast lots to decide who would have the privilege (IK, M). In many places the Bible mentions that lots were cast on a regular basis for matters of varying levels of importance (choosing persons—who would be king, who would offer incense in the Temple, who would sacrifice an animal—and also for divination), not only for occasional intractable decisions. Some commentators believe, however, that Zachariah was not disputed as the custodian or caretaker of Mary (Ṭ), since he was the husband of her maternal relative. In the latter interpretation, the disputation regarding Mary could have been a question of her ongoing care or of who would serve her in the Temple. But it is more widely accepted that indeed they cast lots and it was God’s Will that she be given into the care of Zachariah. 

***

# When the angels said, “O Mary, truly God gives thee glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, high honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought nigh. 

45 When renders the particle idh, which is thought by some to be a continuation of the when at the beginning of v. 42 (Z), although it is read by others to be connected to v. 44, so that it could be read, “Thou wast not with them when . . . and when . . .” When may also serve as a kind of connecting particle that does not necessarily give the sense of “when” or any other concrete meaning. Some interpret Jesus’ description as a Word from Him to mean that Jesus was a means by which God’s Word became manifest in the world, in a manner analogous to the way one refers to the sultan as the “shadow of God on earth” to indicate that he is a means by which God’s Justice is manifest on earth. Since Jesus was created “directly” by the word “Be!” (see v. 47), one might also say that his association with the Word is stronger and more unmediated, in the way one says that a generous person is generosity itself, or pure nobility, and the like (R). On the concept of Jesus as Word, see 4:171c. Messiah renders al-Masīḥ, which corresponds closely in meaning to the Hebrew mashiach (Z), “anointed one.” The commentators do not mention the later eschatological associations of this word in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Even in Judaism the word was first used to designate anointed kings or priests and is used in the Bible as a title for the Persian king Cyrus who freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon, the high priest, David, the patriarchs, and Israel as a whole. Those brought nigh refers, in the Hereafter, to the foremost believers, mentioned in 56:11, 88; 83:21, 28; it also refers to the angels (4:172). The idea of being brought nigh is also used by Pharaoh in the worldly sense of being part of the ruler’s inner circle (see 7:114; 26:42). 

***

# He will speak to people in the cradle and in maturity, and will be among the righteous.” 

46 On Jesus’speaking in the cradle, see commentary on 19:29–31. 

***

# She said, “My Lord, how shall I have a child while no human being has touched me?” He said, “Thus does God create whatsoever He will.” When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is. 

47 For Gabriel’s announcement of Jesus to Mary, see 19:16–21. He only says to it, “Be!” is discussed in 2:117c and is also found in 6:73; 16:40; 19:35; 36:82; 40:68. In v. 59 of this sūrah, it is connected explicitly with Adam and Jesus. 

***

# And He will teach him the Book, Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. 

48 Regarding the Quranic understanding of the Torah (Tawrāt) and the Gospel (Injīl), see 3:3–4c. The Book and Wisdom appear together in many verses of the Quran describing what was given to various prophets (e.g., 2:151; 3:164; 4:54). They are used in connection with Jesus also in 5:110, and with the Children of Israel in 45:16. That Jesus was taught the Book and the Torah and the Gospel raises the question about what “the Book” refers to here. Some solve this by saying that the Book (kitāb) must mean the ability to write (kitābah; IK, R). However, in Arabic the conjunction wa (“and,” but simply designated by a comma here after Book) can in certain cases denote two nouns in apposition, as in 2:98, Whosoever is an enemy of God, His angels and His messengers, and Gabriel and Michael, where Gabriel and Michael, who are archangels, are mentioned alongside the other angels; that is, in this verse the Book and the Torah would not necessarily refer to different things. 

***

# And [he will be] a messenger to the Children of Israel, “Truly I have brought you a sign from your Lord. I will create for you out of clay the shape of a bird. Then I will breathe into it, and it will be a bird by God’s Leave. And I will heal the blind and the leper and give life to the dead by God’s Leave. And I will inform you about what you eat and what you store up in your houses. Truly in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. 

49 For a discussion of the miracles mentioned in this verse, see 5:110c, where similar points are discussed. Although some opinions record that the blind are those who can see during the day, but not at night, or they are the bleary-eyed (aʿmash), most commentators understand it to refer to those who are born blind. The leper: leprosy was widely known in the ancient world, causing severe disfigurement and nerve damage, and was highly contagious. Until recently it was incurable by medical means. And I will inform you . . . your houses: some relate that as a child Jesus would tell his playmates or his classmates about what their parents were doing or what they kept in their houses (R), while others say that this was in relation to a time when the people were forbidden to store up food in their houses (R, Ṭ). Others say that this refers to the table onto which food descended in 5:112–15, adding to the story the detail that they were supposed to partake of the feast of the table, but were not to store up any of it; they did so and were chastised for it (Ṭ). Jesus’ giving life to the dead is accepted in both the Quran and the Bible, but the Quran emphasizes the fact that both Jesus’ giving life to the clay bird (not found in the New Testament) and his raising of the dead were miracles that happened by God’s Leave. 

***

# And [I come] confirming that which was before me, the Torah, and to make lawful unto you part of that which was forbidden unto you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. So reverence God and obey me. 

# Truly God is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a straight path.” 

50–51 Jesus is also said to confirm the Torah in 5:46 and 61:6. The language of confirmation echoes the manner in which the Quran is said to confirm earlier revelations (2:41, 91, 97; 3:3; 4:47; 5:46; 35:31; 46:30; 61:6). To make lawful unto you part of that which was forbidden is understood to pertain to certain dietary restrictions, but not to fundamental moral injunctions such as those against murder and adultery (Q, Ṭ). What was previously forbidden and is now made lawful was either some of the rules in the Torah (see 4:160; 6:146) or restrictions the Israelites imposed upon themselves in succeeding generations (see v. 93; IK, Q). This latter interpretation, that Jesus did not change any aspect of Moses’ original revelation, is supported by Jesus’ words in 43:63: I have come unto you with wisdom and to make clear to you some of that wherein you dif er. Some commentators maintain that what Jesus brought was “gentler” than what Moses brought and constituted an “alleviation” (Ṭ). Reverence God and obey me is spoken also by the prophets Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lot, and Shuʿayb (see 26:108, 126, 144, 163, 179, respectively). The statement that God is my Lord and your Lord is also spoken by Jesus in 5:72, 117; 19:36; 43:64; by Hūd in 11:56; and by Moses in 40:27; 44:20. 

***

# And when Jesus sensed disbelief in them, he said, “Who are my helpers unto God?” The apostles said, “We are God’s helpers. We believe in God; bear witness that we are submitters. 

52 The disbelief is understood to mean actual hostility beyond simple rejection, and commentators contextualize this verse in relation to Jesus’ being in exile or fleeing from those wishing to kill him (R, Ṭ). Helpers unto God is understood to mean, “Helpers [along] with God” (Ṭ), so that the question means more specifically, “Who will add their help to that of God?” (R) or “Who will be my helpers [in my fleeing] unto God?” (R). Apostles translates ḥawāriyyūn, a word that may be derived from the Ethiopic ḥawārya. Submitters renders muslimūn (cf. 5:111) and is one of several places in the Quran in which islām and muslim convey a universal meaning beyond indicating followers of Muhammad specifically (2:128, 132; 5:111; see 3:19c). 

***

# Our Lord, we believe in what Thou hast sent down, and we follow the messenger, so inscribe us among the witnesses.” 

53 The idea of witnesses reflects an important theme in the Quran regarding testifying and bearing witness, which is carried out by human beings, angels, and God, as in 3:18: God bears witness that there is no god but He, as do the angels and the possessors of knowledge, upholding justice. In 3:64 the Muslim community is commanded to say, Bear witness that we are submitters, if others turn away from them. Witness (shāhid) can have the dual sense of someone who knows as well as someone who upholds and confirms. See also 2:143c. 

***

# And they plotted, and God plotted. And God is the best of plotters, 

54 They plotted refers to Jesus’ enemies. Other verses mention God’s “scheming” against the schemes of disbelieving people (8:30; 13:42; 27:50). Some understand God’s “scheming” to refer to His taking and raising Jesus unto Himself (see v. 55, and commentary on 4:157–58). 

***

# when He said, “O Jesus, I shall take thee and raise thee unto Me, and purify thee of those who disbelieved, and place those who followed thee above those who disbelieved, until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me is your return, and I shall judge between you concerning that wherein you used to differ. 

55 Cf. 4:158. Take in I shall take thee translates mutawaf ī, which is usually understood to mean that God takes one unto Himself, that is, in death. In the context of this verse, most assert, however, that it does not refer to being taken in death, but rather to being taken from the world (Ṭ), although others believe this does refer to God causing Jesus to die. Others say it refers to sleep, as in 6:60: He it is Who takes your souls by night; and 39:42: God takes souls at the moment of their death, and those who die not during their sleep (IK). See 4:157c for a discussion of the crucifixion and end of Jesus’ earthly life. Purify thee can mean to free him from his enemies or to absolve him of their doings (R). Some understand place those who followed thee above those who disbelieved to refer to the historical relationship of Christians to Jews (IK), though for others it means that the Muslims who believe in him in the proper way, not the Christians, will be “placed above” the disbelievers (Ṭ). For others, it is a question of the superiority of proof and demonstration, meaning that the believers’ arguments will always be “placed above” those of the disbelievers (R). Many commentators also mention the belief that Jesus will return before the end of time, fight the Dajjāl (“Antichrist”), and rule according to the Law of Muhammad until the world comes to an end. In a ḥadīth, the Prophet is reported to have said, “No man has greater claim to Jesus than I do, because there was no prophet between us, and he will be my vicegerent over my community. He will descend, and when you see him you will know him.” For God’s Judgment or disclosure of the truth in matters of religious disagreement (that wherein you used to dif er) on the Day of Judgment, see 2:113c. 

***

# And as for those who disbelieve, I shall punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter; and they shall have no helpers. 

# And as for those who believe and perform righteous deeds, He shall pay them their rewards in full. And God loves not the wro ngdoers.” 

56–57 Punishment and reward are meted out in both this life and the Hereafter, as in 2:114; 3:22; 16:30 (cf. 16:122; 39:10). 

***

# This is what We recite unto thee of the signs and the Wise Reminder. 

58 The Wise Reminder (al-dhikr al-ḥakīm) is another name for the Quran, though some understand this to refer to the Preserved Tablet (85:22) from which all revelation comes down to earth. This verse ends the passage in which God is addressing Jesus and begins to directly address the Prophet Muhammad regarding belief in Jesus. 

***

# Truly the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be!” and he was. 

59 It is reported that these verses were revealed while the Christian delegation from Najrān was in Madinah (see the introduction to this sūrah). These Christians reportedly argued that since Jesus had no human father, he was truly God’s son. This verse constitutes one of the central arguments in the Quran against the divinity of Christ. It acknowledges the miraculous nature of his birth, but rejects the implication that this makes him Divine. If God could create Adam, who had neither earthly father nor mother, from dust, he could also create Jesus from the “blood” of Mary (R). The word likeness means that certain attributes of Adam and Jesus are alike (R). Regarding the Divine fiat Be! which appears also in 6:73; 16:40; 36:82; 40:68, see 2:117c. 

***

# The truth is from thy Lord; so be not among the doubters. 

60 This verse says not to doubt the description of Jesus in the previous verse (Ṭ). 

***

# And to whomsoever disputes with thee over it, after the knowledge that has come unto thee, say, “Come! Let us call upon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us pray earnestly, so as to place the curse of God upon those who lie.” 

61 There are varying accounts of the details of the encounter, but the elements common to the story are that when the Christians refused to embrace Islam and continued to hold to their beliefs about Jesus, they were challenged to place the curse of God upon those who lie, and the two sides agreed to meet the next day. Upon retiring, the Christians consulted among themselves and concluded that, since they wished to remain Christian, no further good could come from entering into this challenge; either they feared the curse of God upon themselves if Muhammad was in fact a true prophet or that they feared Muhammad politically and did not desire to become his political enemy. According to some reports, the Prophet came out the next day with his daughter Fāṭimah and her two sons, Ḥasan and Ḥusayn; other accounts also include ʿAlī, Fāṭimah’s husband and the Prophet’s cousin, as the verse says the disputants’ sons and women were part of the challenge (IK, R, Ṭ). Rather than enter into this challenge, the Christians declined and, according to some versions, said, “We seek refuge in God!” (IK). Then the Prophet and the Najrān delegation came to an agreement that the Najrānīs would become a treaty-holding people (dhimmī), remaining Christian and running their own affairs, but paying a yearly indemnity (jizyah; see 9:29) to the Muslim community. They requested that the Prophet send back with them a trustworthy Companion, which the Prophet did, according to one account in order that he might act as a kind of arbiter among them regarding some preexisting financial issues. For Ibn Kathīr this incident took place in 9/631, since the Najrānīs were the first to pay jizyah, and the jizyah was imposed after the conquest of Makkah; but this chronology depends on the various and sometimes conflicting reports regarding the circumstances under which the Najrānīs came to Madinah, what transpired while they were there, and the agreement that was reached before they left. 

***

# This is indeed the true account; there is no god but God, and truly God is the Mighty, the Wise. 

# And if they turn away, then God knows well the workers of corruption. 

62–63 The true account is understood to refer to the preceding verses, meaning that they are a true account of Jesus’ reality and of what led to the prayer challenge (R), or it refers to the Quran as a whole and the accounts it relates (Q). It is noteworthy that here there is no god but God translates mā min ilāhin illā’Llāh, not the usual formula lā ilāha illa’Llāh. The latter is the standard Islamic testimony of faith in Arabic; the former is understood by some as a kind of intensification of the negation of other gods (R, Z). 

***

# Say, “O People of the Book! Come to a word common between us and you, that we shall worship none but God, shall not associate aught with Him, and shall not take one another as lords apart from God.” And if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we are submitters.” 

64 Interpreting this verse hinges on the understanding of common (sawāʾ), a word sometimes understood as meaning “just” or “fair.” Sawāʾ comes from a root meaning “level [with],” “same,” “equal,” “straight,” “sound,” “wellproportioned,” or “middle [of],” as in sawāʾ al-sabīl, which literally means “the middle of the road,” but idiomatically means “the right way” (e.g., 28:22). Thus this phrase is interpreted by some to mean not that the Quran is calling the People of the Book to observe what Christianity or Judaism have in common with Islam, but that this word (or these words) to which the Prophet is calling the People of the Book are just and fair (R). Al-Rāzī glosses it thus: “Come to a word in which there is fair treatment from each of us to the other.” Others, while accepting the gloss of “just,” go on to explain that it refers to what these religions have in common, since they all claim to worship God (M), and others similarly say that sawāʾ refers to that regarding which the Quran, the Torah, and the Gospel do not differ (Z). Al-Thaʿlabī quotes an opinion of Ibn Masʿūd that to call some to the sawāʾ of something is to call them to the middle of it. For some, the command in this verse was meant to address the Jews in and around Madinah, while for others it was directed at both Jews and Christians (Ṭ), but some restricted it to the Christians of Najrān in particular (Q). Some understand take one another as lords to mean that one prostrates before them (Ṭ); for others it means that one is obedient to them to the detriment of the truth (R). This part of the verse is similar to 9:31: They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords apart from God, as well as the Messiah, son of Mary, though they were only commanded to worship one God. 

***

# O People of the Book! Why do you dispute concerning Abraham, as neither the Torah nor the Gospel was sent down until after him? Do you not understand? 

# Behold! You are the very same who dispute concerning that of which you have knowledge; so why do you dispute concerning that of which you have no knowledge? God knows, and you know not. 

65–66 That of which you have knowledge refers to the People of the Book’s knowledge of Muhammad and his religion, including the foretellings of the coming of the Prophet that Muslims maintain Jews and Christians find in their own scriptures (see 7:157; Q); others say their dispute was over what was forbidden or lawful in their own religion (R, Z); still others say they disputed whether the law of the Quran differs from the law of the Torah and the Gospel (R). That of which you have no knowledge refers to their claims regarding Abraham, about whom they have no direct knowledge, unlike those matters about which they had direct knowledge, but still could not agree upon (Q, R, Ṭ). 

***

# Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian, but rather was a ḥanīf, a submitter, and he was not one of the idolaters. 

67 Related to this verse is 2:135: And they say, “Be Jews or Christians and you shall be rightly guided.” Say, “Rather, [ours is] the creed of Abraham, the ḥanīf, and he was not of the idolaters.” Alongside Abraham, 2:140 adds Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes among those who were neither Jews nor Christians. The related question of the claims of Jews and Christians to having a special status before God is mentioned in 2:111–13 and 5:18. For a discussion of the concept of ḥanīf, see 2:135c. Regarding submitter, 3:19c. 

***

# Truly the people worthiest of Abraham are those who followed him, and this prophet and those who believe. And God is the Protector of the believers. 

68 Worthiest of Abraham means having the most claim on him, the most right to be associated with him (IK, R). Worthiest translates awlā, a term that is related to walī, “protector” or “friend,” which appears later in this verse in the description of God as the Protector of the believers. In this sense, to say that they are awlā means they have the strongest bond of walāyah (inheritance, protection, friendship, alliance) with Abraham. A ḥadīth of the Prophet states, “Every prophet has protection (walāyah) from among the prophets, and my protector among them is my father, the Friend of God (Khalīl Allāh), Abraham.” The walāyah mentioned in this ḥadīth can also evoke the sense of succession and inheritance in the spiritual sense. 

***

# A group among the People of the Book wishes to make you go astray; yet they make none go astray but themselves, though they are unaware. 

69 Some People of the Book go astray themselves insofar as they reject the truth that exists before them in the person of the Prophet Muhammad and the revelation of the Quran; or they go astray because they wish to turn you back into disbelievers after your having believed, out of envy in their souls (2:109). This verse resembles other verses that describe how the effects of evil actions rebound upon those who commit them, as in 2:9: They would deceive God and the believers; yet they deceive none but themselves, though they are unaware; and 2:57: They wronged Us not, but themselves did they wrong. Some commentators as well as ordinary Muslims take this as a warning not to be taken in by false friends among the People of the Book (R). The desire of others for the suffering and disbelief of the Muslim community are also mentioned in 3:118: They wish you to suf er; 4:89: They wish that you should disbelieve, even as they disbelieve, that you may be on a level with them; 60:2: And they wish you to disbelieve; and 68:9: They wish that thou might compromise. 

***

# O People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in God’s signs, while you are witness? 

# O People of the Book! Why do you confound the truth with falsehood, and knowingly conceal the truth? 

70–71 The warning of v. 70 resembles that of v. 99: O People of the Book! Why do you turn those who believe from the way of God, seeking to make it crooked, while you are witnesses? The wording of v. 71 is similar to that of 2:42: And confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth. These verses are usually understood to refer to the rejection of the mission of the Prophet by Jews and Christians, even though he is foretold, according to Islamic belief, in their sacred books (see 7:157; Ṭ). Some say that their being witnesses means that they bear witness to the truth of the prophets in their own tradition, who themselves manifest the same truths (Q). 

***

# And a group of the People of the Book say, “Believe in what was sent down unto those who believe at the start of the day, and disbelieve at its end, that haply they may return. 

72 It is thought that this verse refers to a stratagem on the part of some Jews to pray with the Muslims at the start of the day, affirming their belief in Islam, but then at the end of the day to revert back to their own religion with the intention of creating doubt and uncertainty in the minds of the Muslims about Islam (IK, Ṭ); that is, their about-face would be a more powerful cause of doubt in the minds of the Prophet’s followers, that haply they may return to their pre-Muslim ways (Ṭ). 

***

# And believe none but him who follows your religion. . .” Say, “Truly guidance is God’s Guidance.” “. . . lest anyone be granted the like of what you were granted or dispute with you before your Lord.” Say, “Truly bounty is in God’s Hand. He grants it to whomsoever He will, and God is All-Encompassing, Knowing.” 

73 The subtle grammatical structure of this verse lends itself to several interpretations. As translated, the first clause is a continuation of what was said by a group of the People of the Book in the previous verse. Their words are then interrupted by a command that the Prophet say to them, Truly guidance is God’s Guidance, after which the words of the People of the Book resume. Then the Prophet is commanded to say, Truly bounty is in God’s Hand. Alternately, the Prophet may have been given two successive Commands to speak to the People of the Book, in which case it would be translated, “Say, ‘Truly guidance is God’s Guidance, [this guidance being] that someone be granted the like of what you were granted or dispute with you before your Lord.’ Say, ‘Truly bounty is in God’s Hand. He grants it to whomsoever He will, and God is All-Encompassing, Knowing.’” Another reading would make the intervening clause a partial question, interpreted to mean, “Say, ‘Truly guidance is God’s Guidance. Is it that someone be granted the like of what you were granted or dispute with you before your Lord [that leads you to object]?’” (Q, R, Ṭ). Similar words spoken by the People of the Book appear in 2:14; also 2:76: And when they meet those who believe they say, “We believe,” and when they are alone with one another they say, “Do you speak to them of what God has unveiled to you, that they may thereby dispute with you before your Lord? Do you not understand?” As in other instances, AllEncompassing (al-Wāsiʿ) means also “Generous” and “Munificent.” 

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# He selects for His Mercy whomsoever He will, and God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty. 

74 Selects for His Mercy could also mean “singles out for His Mercy.” The language used to describe God’s Mercy reflects that describing His Bounty in the previous verse, both of which He bestows upon whomsoever He will, underscoring the vastness and generosity of God and the limitless ways in which He provides and shows kindness (R). More specifically, the one He selects for His Mercy here refers to the Prophet (al-Muṣṭafā, “the Chosen One”), who has been selected for prophethood, even if others object (see 3:26c); it may also refer to the Quran or to Islam itself (Ṭ). 

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# Among the People of the Book is one who, were you to entrust to him a quintal, would render it back to you. And among them is one who, were you to entrust to him a dinar, would not render it back to you unless you kept standing over him. That is because they say, “There is nothing to stop us when it comes to the non-Jews.” But they knowingly speak a lie against God. 

# Yea! Whosoever fulfills his pact and is reverent—truly God loves the reverent. 

75–76 Distinguishing between the good and bad among the People of the Book is revisited in 3:113: They are not all alike. Among the People of the Book is an upright community who recite God’s signs in the watches of the night, while they prostrate. A quintal (qinṭār) is an amount many times larger than a dīnār, though not necessarily a precise measure (R); see also 3:14, where the plural of qinṭār is translated heaps, and 4:20, where it means a great sum. What is entrusted can refer to a loan, a purchase, or simply something given for safekeeping (Q). According to one explanation, some Jews considered previous agreements between them and former Jews who became Muslims (but who were still Jews when those agreements were made) to be null and void, claiming that this was the teaching from the Torah (Q) or that it was attributed to an excess of tribalism (R). Non-Jews renders ummiyyūn (sing. ummī), elsewhere rendered illiterate (2:78) or unlettered (3:20; 7:157–58; 62:2); see 3:20c. Here it is understood to mean that, from the point of view of the Jews speaking, the contractual obligations with non-Jews were different, and they did not have to be observed with the same care, if at all, with those Jews who had become Muslims (Q, R, Ṭ). It is said that some Muslims came to Ibn ʿAbbās and made a similar claim against some members of a non-Muslim treaty-holding community (ahl al- dhimmah), saying, “There is nothing to stop us when it comes to them.” They were corrected by Ibn ʿAbbās, who told them that it was not permissible to take any wealth from the treaty peoples beyond what they paid in indemnity, or jizyah (Q; for the jizyah, see 9:29). Many commentators use this verse as an occasion to speak of the importance of protecting trusts and repaying what one owes. AlQurṭubī quotes a long ḥadīth stating that, regarding the weighty matter of returning trusts to their owners, resentment leads to perfidy, and perfidy leads to a lack of compassion, which in turn leads to being cursed and outcast, which ultimately leads to Islam leaving one’s heart. 

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# Truly those who sell God’s Pact and their oaths for a paltry price, they shall have no share in the Hereafter and God will not speak to them, nor will He look at them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And theirs shall be a painful punishment. 

77 Cf. 2:174. Selling one’s ultimate destiny for a paltry price is an act frequently decried in the Quran, whether it is selling God’s signs (2:41; 3:199; 5:44; 9:9), God’s Book (2:79, 174; 3:187), or an oath with God (16:95). No share in the Hereafter means no share of its goodness and blessings, not that one will have no experience of the events after death (R, Ṭ). The phrase translated by no share (lā khalāq) is also used to describe someone who lacks virtues. Although some commentators understand from this verse that God will not speak to or look at such people at all, others understand this to be an expression of displeasure and punishment, since other verses describe God speaking even to disbelievers on the Day of Judgment (e.g., 7:6; 15:92–93; 23:108). To not wish to speak with or look upon a person is an expression of anger or wrath and, when coming from God, is a severe form of punishment, just as God’s looking upon or speaking with a person is a great form of blessing (R). For more discussion, see 2:174c. As in 2:174, nor will He purify them means He will not praise them for their goodness or deem them purified (Ṭ), or He will not set right their evil deeds (Q), or He will not accept their deeds as He accepts those of the purified. The verb zakkā can mean both to purify and to deem purified, as in 53:32: So do not deem yourselves purified. 

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# And there is indeed a group among them who twist their tongues with the Book, that you may suppose it to be from the Book. But it is not from the Book. And they say, “It is from God, ” though it is not from God. And they knowingly speak a lie against God. 

78 Much like 2:79 (So woe unto those who write the book with their hands, then say, “This is from God”), this verse has been interpreted to mean outright forgery, obfuscation—by means of misinterpretations—of the prophecies fortelling the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, or the deception for worldly purposes of ignorant people who were told that the Torah says so-and-so when they did not have the ability to read the Torah for themselves (R, Ṭ); see 2:79c, which suggests that these distortions were isolated incidents meant to deceive people who did not know the scriptures. Twist their tongues with the Book means their tongues are twisted for the purposes of distorting or misrepresenting the Book of God (Z); that is, they bend or contort their words while reciting the Book, so as to change or misrepresent it (R). Regarding the “distortion” of scriptures, see 2:75c; 4:46c; 5:13c; 5:41c. 

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# It is not for any human being, God having given him the Book, judgment, and prophethood, to then say to the people, “Be servants of me instead of God.” Rather, “Be sages, from having taught the Book and from having studied.” 

79 It is reported that the Prophet was asked by the Jews whether he wanted to be an object of worship, as Jesus was among the Christians (Ṭ), or that he was asked whether he thought people should prostrate themselves before him (an act associated with worship) rather than greet him normally (Z). Judgment (ḥukm) can also mean “rule.” To be servants (ʿibād, sing. ʿabd) means to be worshippers of something. Although most commentators draw a connection between this verse and the Islamic rejection of the worship of Jesus, other types of worship directed at human beings are similarly deplored, as in 9:31: They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords apart from God. It is related thematically to 5:116: And when God said, “O Jesus son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind, “Take me and my mother as gods apart from God?” He said, “Glory be to Thee! It is not for me to utter that to which I have no right.” Sages renders rabbāniyyūn (cf. 5:44, 63), a word interpreted variously as meaning those who are wise, knowledgeable, or pious (Ṭ) or the most eminent of religious scholars who understand the lawful and the forbidden (Q); on this term, see especially 5:43–44c. A variant of rabbānī, ribbiyyūn, appears in 3:146 as devoted men. An alternate reading of the verse’s final phrase would give the translation, “from having known the Book and from having taught it” (Ṭ). 

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# And he would not command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords. Would he command you to disbelief after your having been submitters? 

80 This verse can also be read as resuming from the middle of the previous verse, meaning, “It is not for any human being . . . to command you to take the angels and prophets as lords.” And he would not means the Prophet would not do so, although others read this as “And He would not,” meaning that God does not command the worship of angels and prophets (JJ, R). The taking of other figures as lords is also mentioned in 3:64 and 9:31. 

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# And [remember] when God made the covenant of the prophets: “By that which I have given you of a Book and Wisdom, should a messenger then come to you confirming that which is with you, you shall surely believe in him and you shall help him.” He said, “Do you agree and take on My burden on these conditions?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “Bear witness, for I am with you among those who bear witness.” 

# Then whosoever turns away after that, they are the iniquitous. 

81–82 The particle lamā, rendered here as by that which and as should (in should a messenger), gives rise to different possible translations that are nonetheless substantively similar. It can be interpreted to mean that the Book and Wisdom are invoked in a covenant that binds a prophet, and by extension his followers, to follow a later, true messenger, should he come confirming that which is with you. Here by that which I have given is understood to be an oath (Ṭ). Some commentators see this as a direct command to the various prophets to affirm Muhammad, should he appear during their own lifetime. The verse may actually be referring to the followers of the prophets, since prophets would never turn away or become iniquitous, though their followers might (Q, R); that is, since belief in the Prophet Muhammad or any true prophet is incumbent upon prophets themselves, it is also incumbent upon their followers (R). Do you agree and take on My burden can be understood to be spoken by God to the prophets or to be spoken by the prophets to their followers (R), though the commentators seem to agree that Bear witness, for I am with you is spoken by God (Q, R, Ṭ). Commentators typically emphasize that it is the Prophet Muhammad to whom reference is made here, and they mention the foretelling of the coming of Muhammad, whom they find inscribed in the Torah and the Gospel that is with them (7:157), though al-Rāzī, for example, acknowledges that the covenant pertains to any prophet who fulfills the criteria in the verse. *** Ã Do they seek other than God’s religion, while whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth submits to Him, willingly or unwillingly, and unto Him they will be returned? 83 For some, whosoever is in the heavens refers to the angels, while those on the earth refer to human beings (IK, R). Submits (aslama) is the verbal form of islām, or “submission.” Willingly (ṭawʿan) can also be rendered “obediently,” while unwillingly (karh an ) can mean “grudgingly.” In an apparent paradox, this verse asserts that all beings submit to God, and some do so unwillingly. Some explain this by saying that all beings must in some sense succumb to God’s Will (IK), implying a passive rather than active submission. Others mention that believers submit in life willingly, while disbelievers submit in death unwillingly (R), but their submission at the moment of death does them no good (Q), as mentioned in 40:85: But their believing benefited them not when they saw Our Might. The willingness and unwillingness of those in the heavens and on the earth are also mentioned in 41:11; 13:15: And unto God prostrates whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening. This verse is related to many other verses that speak of all creatures prostrating before God (e.g., 22:18) or glorifying God, as in 17:44: The seven heavens, and the earth, and whatsoever is in them glorify Him. And there is no thing, save that it hymns His praise, though you do not understand their praise. 

***

# Say, “We believe in God and what has been sent down upon us, and in what was sent down upon Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in what Moses, Jesus, and the prophets were given from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them, and unto Him we submit.” 

84 See 2:136, which is nearly identical with this verse, and commentary. 

***

# Whosoever seeks a religion other than submission, it shall not be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers. 

85 It is reported that this verse was revealed in connection with one of the Companions who left Islam along with twelve other people and went to Makkah (Q, M, Th). Although some commentators record the opinion that considers 2:62 (Whosoever believes in God and the Last Day and works righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord) to have been abrogated by this verse, this type of abrogation is not recognized by mainstream Islamic Law and Quran interpretation, since only a ruling or legal command can be abrogated, not a truth or a report, such as one has here (see 2:62c). However, the idea that 3:85 abrogates 2:62 is connected to the interpretation expressed by some commentators (R, Ṭ) that this verse denies the “acceptability” of any form of religion other than that brought by the Prophet Muhammad. This opinion is not without its inconsistencies, however, since it does not take into account the more general and universal use of islām and muslim in the Quran to refer to all true, monotheistic religion; see 2:128c; 2:131–32c; 3:19c; 3:52c; 5:111c; and the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions.” In 2:62 the issue is whether the notion of belief or faith (īmān) can be applied to Jews, Christians, and Sabeans, while in this verse the question is whether islām, or submission to God, can include others beyond the followers of the Prophet Muhammad. Opinions seem to leave the interpretation open. Ibn Kathīr, for example, understands a religion other than submission here to mean, “A path other than what God has laid down,” which can include the People of the Book, while al-Zamakhsharī says that in this verse islām (submission) means recognizing Divine Unity (tawḥīd) and submitting one’s face to God, attributes not limited to the followers of Muhammad. Moreover, reading this verse in the context of those that precede and follow it and taking into consideration the occasion of revelation mentioned above, one could reasonably conclude that the scope of this verse is limited to those people who, after having accepted Islam, then make a conscious decision to leave it. This would echo the themes brought up in vv. 79–80 as well as v. 86, which mention those who disbelieve in Islam after having believed in it. 

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# How shall God guide a people who have disbelieved after having believed, having borne witness that the Messenger is true, and the clear proofs having come to them? And God guides not wrongdoing people. 

86 People refers to either apostates or the People of the Book (Ṭ). Those who uphold the former interpretation point to the case of a Companion who left Islam and went to Makkah (see v. 85), but later repented, returned to Islam, and was accepted; his repentance is mentioned in v. 89: except those who repent after that. The clause beginning having borne witness could also be translated, “and who bore witness that the Messenger is true; and that clear proofs came to them” (R, Z). 

***

# They are those whose recompense is that upon them shall be the curse of God, the angels, and mankind all together, 

# abiding therein; the punishment shall not be lightened for them, nor shall they be granted respite, 

87–88 On being cursed, widely interpreted to mean being distanced from God and driven away from mercy, see 2:161c, where the joint curse of God, the angels, and human beings is also discussed. See also 7:38: Every time a community enters [the Fire], it curses its sister; and 29:25: Then on the Day of Resurrection you will disown one another, and you will curse one another. 

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# except those who repent after that, and make amends, for truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. 

89 The Companion who left Islam (see v. 85) reportedly wrote a letter to his family asking if repentance was possible, and this verse was revealed (Ṭ). 

***

# Truly those who disbelieve after having believed, then increase in disbelief, their repentance shall not be accepted, and they are the ones who are astray. 

90 Their repentance shall not be accepted can refer to those who repent only at the moment of death (e.g., 4:18: And repentance is not accepted from those who do evil deeds till, when death confronts one of them, he says, “Truly, now I repent”; Q, R). Or it can mean that any repentance from such a person would not be sincere (R). Or it can be saying that an initial repentance is nullified by the increase in disbelief; if a person disbelieves, repents, and disbelieves again, the first repentance is no longer valid (R). Then increase in disbelief can also refer to the sins that ensue after one leaves belief or faith (īmān; Q, Ṭ). Although the context would seem to indicate that Muslim apostates are spoken of in this verse, commentators also mention that it could refer to People of the Book who believed in the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, but then rejected him, and went on to show enmity toward him and the believers; it could also refer to the Jews who believed in Moses, but rejected Jesus (R). 

***

# Truly those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, an earth full of gold would not be accepted from any one of them, were he to offer it in ransom. For them there shall be a painful punishment, and they shall have no helpers. 

91 Dying as disbelievers is also mentioned in 2:161, 217; 4:18; 9:125; 47:34. The idea of trying to give ransom in the Hereafter is also discussed in 2:48c. Offering expiation or ransom in this life, where such deeds are accepted by God if sincerely offered, is contrasted with trying to strike a bargain after one’s life has ended and the opportunity to choose between good and evil is gone. The idea that even an earth full of goods is inadequate ransom in the Hereafter is also mentioned in 5:36; 10:54; 13:18; 39:47. The opposite of dying in disbelief, dying as a believer, is mentioned in v. 102, where believers are commanded: Die not except in submission. This same command is enjoined by Abraham and Jacob upon their children in 2:132. 

***

# You will never attain piety till you spend from that which you love. And whatever you spend, truly God knows it. 

92 Piety (birr) can also mean the rewards of piety (Q). Depending on the context, birr carries with it a sense of goodness, kindness, loyalty, sincerity, or obedience. For piety, see also 2:44, 177, 189. The “pious” (abrār) are often mentioned in connection with heavenly rewards (3:193; 76:5; 82:13); see 2:44c; 76:5–6c. Many commentators connect this verse with the story of a Companion who had a tract of land in Madinah that was his most prized possession and that he desired to give in the way of God (Q, R, Ṭ). But the Ḥadīth is so replete with examples of the Prophet and Companions giving charity that this verse could not be limited in its import to a single incident. This verse echoes the injunction to give wealth, despite loving it (2:177; cf. 76:8), and is similar in theme to 2:267, which enjoins Muslims to spend of the good things they have earned, and warns against giving what is the least desirable of their property. It is also echoed by a famous ḥadīth, “None of you believes until he desires for his neighbor what he desires for himself” (or in another version, “for his brother”). Spiritually speaking, one cannot advance until one gives away one’s ego, which one loves above all things (Aj). 

***

# All food was lawful unto the Children of Israel, save what Israel had forbidden for himself, before the Torah was sent down. Say, “Bring the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful.” 

93 According to this verse, before the revelation of the Torah, there were no prohibitions to abide by for the descendants of Jacob except those that Jacob, also known as Israel, had imposed on himself and that his children followed him in observing (Q, Ṭ). This verse is interpreted as a response to those Jews who claimed that the current prohibitions in the Torah were always in effect, as part of their argument against the possibility of one religion (Islam) abrogating another (Judaism; R). According to one account, Jacob was afflicted with some sickness and swore that if God cured him, he would give up certain kinds of food (IK, Q, Th); in another account his doctors told him to avoid certain foods, which he then forswore (Th); still others say he avoided certain foods out of simple asceticism (Th). Some commentators believe that the Torah then enshrined the prohibitions that were already being observed (Ṭ, Th). It is possible that message of this verse is found in some form in Genesis 32:32, where it is said that, due to Jacob’s injury after wrestling with the angel, Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle on the socket of the hip, where Jacob was injured; that is, such a prohibition would have predated the Torah. According to one interpretation, vv. 93–95 should be read as a single passage, as it is all understood as a response to those Jews who said that Abraham was subject to the same prohibitions that the Jews still practiced (Th). Jacob/Israel, a descendant of Abraham, then forbade some things for himself, though all things were previously lawful to consume. Even so, some commentators are reticent to attribute to the pre-Torah Jews the eating of carrion or pork and understand this verse to refer to the misattribution to Abraham of the detailed prohibitions (e.g., those dealing with dietary restrictions) found in Jewish Law (R). The verse then commands the Prophet to challenge them to bring a proof from the Torah that Abraham ever observed such prohibitions. See also 4:160c; 6:146c. 

***

# So whosoever fabricates a lie against God after that, it is they who are the wrongdoers. 

94 That refers to the challenge to recite from the Torah in v. 93 (Ṭ), in which case after that would mean after it is shown that the body of prohibitions by which the Israelites lived did not exist before the revelation of the Torah (R); presumably the Torah would show that Abraham’s life was lived before these prohibitions went into effect.

***

# Say, “God has spoken true. So follow the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not of the idolaters.” 

95 God has spoken true, here, specifically regarding Jacob and what was made lawful and forbidden in the Torah (Ṭ). God has spoken true (ṣadaqa Allāh) is often uttered by Muslims after completing a passage of recitation from the Quran outside of the canonical prayers. On Abraham and the concept of ḥanīf, see 2:135c. 

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# Truly the first house established for mankind was that at Bakkah, full of blessing and a guidance for the worlds. 

96 Bakkah is another name for Makkah, a different pronunciation of the same name resulting from an exchange of the m and b sounds, a common pronunciation alteration in Arabic (Z). Some opine that Bakkah meant the actual ground of the Kaʿbah itself and Makkah referred to the land around it (Ṭ, Z). Others derive the name from the verb bakka, meaning “to crowd,” in reference to the crowding that takes place as a result of pilgrimage or to the fact that only in Makkah do men and women “crowd together” in the same place for prayer (Ṭ, Z). Later scholars have speculated as to whether the valley of Baca mentioned in Psalm 84:6 refers to Makkah, a question that is highly dependent upon various elements in that psalm, including the meaning of Baca, which could be “weeping” or “balsam trees.” One interpretation of this verse is that the Kaʿbah was not the first house ever built, but it was the first one established for all human beings—not only some—to come for worship (R). Others say it is first in being full of blessing and a guidance for the worlds (Ṭ), in which case first (awwal) could connote the sense of “foremost,” as in I am the first of those who submit (6:163), referring to priority or status rather than temporal sequence. Commentators also mention interpretations based on traditional myths that describe the Kaʿbah’s foundations as dating back to the time of Adam (see 2:127c), thus interpreting the Kaʿbah as being literally the first house ever built, referring not to the stones from which it was built, but to the ground plan and the place where it stands (R, Ṭ). If one understands mankind (nās) as “the people”—namely, the people of the region—it could mean that the Kaʿbah was the first temple established for the Arabs, which would reflect the story of Abraham and Ishmael described in 2:125–27 as well as the idea that God assigned for Abraham the place of the House in 22:26, rather than helping him to discover it. To be full of blessing (mubārak an ) derives from blessing or grace (barakah), which has the root meanings of growth and permanence (R). Regarding the Kaʿbah a ḥadīth states, “One prayer at this Mosque is like a thousand prayers in all other mosques.” In commenting on full of blessing, al-Rāzī pauses to reflect upon the great numbers of people of “exalted spirits, sacred hearts, luminous inner mysteries, and divine minds” who pray following the direction of prayer (qiblah) established by God to be the Kaʿbah, further remarking that at every moment part of humanity is offering prayers in the direction of Makkah and has been doing so for thousands of years (i.e., both before and after the advent of Islam). 

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# Therein are clear signs: the station of Abraham, and whosoever enters it shall be secure. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty upon mankind before God for those who can find a way. For whosoever disbelieves, truly God is beyond need of the worlds. 

97 The clear signs refer to the station of Abraham; some say they refer to the footprints of Abraham that are believed to be preserved on the ground there (Ṭ). It may also mean there are clear signs that this is indeed the structure built by Abraham and that God has exalted and blessed it (IK). The station of Abraham, a place in the close vicinity of the Kaʿbah, is discussed in 2:125c. There is a minority opinion that reads this in the singular, “clear sign” (Ṭ), in which case it would refer to the station of Abraham. Whosoever enters it shall be secure is read by some as referring to the past, in which case it would be rendered, “Whosoever entered it was secure,” since in pre-Islamic Arabia the ḥaram, or precinct around the Kaʿbah, was a place where one could seek sanctuary and not be captured or arrested (Ṭ; see also 2:125–26; 14:35; 28:57). Many believe that under Islam the Kaʿbah and the ḥaram no longer serve this function, that one can no longer hide there from prosecution, and that any crimes committed there are equally liable to penalty (Ṭ), although the penalty is not carried out there. Another opinion holds that it is indeed a sanctuary, but that the person using it as sanctuary must not engage in trade, speak with anyone, take up lodging, or be fed by anyone. This would essentially starve out the sanctuary seeker, who would then be prosecuted after leaving it (Ṭ). In any case, if a crime takes place in the ḥaram itself, then it cannot serve as a sanctuary from prosecution for that crime (Ṭ). Others point out that the majority allow punishment there, as the Prophet ordered the execution of Ibn Khaṭal even though he was clinging to the curtains of the Kaʿbah when the Muslims conquered Makkah. Some note that, since as a matter of historical fact some people were indeed not “secure” after the revelation of this verse, it must refer to the past (Q). Some say that “secure” could mean “it shall be made secure,” so that it is a command that people are meant to follow, but might violate (R). Another interpretation is that whoever enters the House in order to perform its rites will be safe from the Fire of Hell (Q, R), although other instances of the word secure suggest a more conventional usage referring to physical safety in this world. Indeed, in treating 2:126, many commentators point to the ḥadīth regarding the limited but real violence during the conquest of Makkah (i.e., the killing of Ibn Khaṭal and a handful of others), when the Prophet said, “This land was made inviolable by God on the day the heavens and the earth were created. It is inviolable by God’s Inviolability until the Day of Resurrection. Killing was not permitted to anyone therein before, and to none after me. It was only permitted to me for an hour of a day.” Pilgrimage to the House is a duty is thought to be the passage that institutes the ḥajj as a requirement; others believe it is 2:196 that does so (IK). Who can find a way refers to those who are physically and financially able to undertake the ḥajj. Whosoever disbelieves can refer to denial of the obligatory nature of the ḥajj (Q) or to a general rejection of God and the Day of Judgment (Ṭ). 

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# Say, “O People of the Book! Why do you disbelieve in God’s signs, while God is Witness over what you do?” 

# Say, “O People of the Book! Why do you turn those who believe from the way of God, seeking to make it crooked, while you are witnesses? And God is not heedless of what you do.” 

98–99 The Prophet is commanded to challenge the People of the Book regarding their rejection of him (Ṭ). Some interpret their attempts to make the way of God crooked (cf. 7:45; 11:19; 14:3) as an act of misdirection, since, when they were asked about it, the People of the Book denied that Muhammad was foretold in their books (Ṭ); see 7:157. It is understood not as a physical hindering, but as a desire on their part to misguide Muslims and turn them away from their own religion by making it crooked, that is, making it appear false (Q, Ṭ), in order to create doubt in the minds of as many Muslims as possible (R). That they are witnesses refers to the fact that they should be conscious of the Messenger’s presence among them (v. 101) and that the truths the Prophet teaches are not unfamiliar to them, but are in fact found in their own sacred books (Q). 

***

# O you who believe! If you obey a group among those who were given the Book, they will render you disbelievers after your having believed. 

100 An incident is often reported in connection with this part of the sūrah dealing with division among the believers (vv. 100–106). One of the Jews of Madinah happened upon a gathering of Muslims belonging to the previously warring tribes of Aws and Khazraj. He began to instigate trouble between them by reminding them of their wars and the insults they used to hurl at one another and succeeded in heating up the gathering to the point that the Muslims almost came to blows. When the Prophet heard this, he came out and said, “Would you return to the practices of the times of ignorance [before Islam], though I am among you, and God has honored you with Islam and reconciled your hearts?” They then laid down their weapons, embraced one another, and left with the Prophet (Q, R). *** ā How can you disbelieve, while God’s signs are recited unto you and His Messenger is among you? And whosoever holds fast to God is indeed guided unto a straight path. 101 The point of this verse is that, in the face of both the revelation of the Quran and the presence of the Prophet, people have all the proof they need to keep them from disbelief (R). The challenge presented by the Quran, in its eloquence and inimitability (see 2:23; 10:38; 11:13; 17:88), is here coupled with mention of the Prophet himself. The description of the Prophet’s physical and spiritual presence is a major aspect of the Islamic tradition, regarding which there is an entire genre of literature. Muslims consider his physical presence and demeanor to have been signs of the truth of his message and vocation, and the Companions believed that his actual physical body carried blessings and a kind of palpable grace. This belief has continued among later generations of Muslims. To “hold fast” (see also v. 103) evokes in Arabic the image of a person holding on to something to avoid falling into harm, in this case disbelief (kufr; R). Here it can mean to hold fast to God’s religion and to obedience (Ṭ) or to the Quran itself (Q). Is indeed guided unto a straight path is understood either to be identical with “holding fast,” meaning that the very act of holding fast is God’s Guidance for His creatures, or that in holding fast one will then become guided (R). 

***

# O you who believe! Reverence God as He should be reverenced, and die not except in submission. 

102 For God to be given all due reverence is for Him to be “obeyed not defied, remembered not forgotten, thanked not denied” (Ṭ). Reverence God as He should be reverenced is similar in wording to They did not measure God with His true measure (6:91; 22:74; 39:67), in that both phrases use the word ḥaqq, which denotes a right or what something is due; in other contexts ḥaqq means “truth” or “reality” and can also be an adjective meaning “true,” as in “true religion.” It is reported that the command in the present verse was considered too heavy a burden, one that could never be fulfilled, and caused great anxiety among the Companions; some speculated that it was therefore abrogated by 64:16: So reverence God as much as you are able (M, R, Ṭ). This is similar to the speculation made regarding 2:284: And whether you disclose what is in your souls or hide it, God will bring you to account for it; and 2:286: God tasks no soul beyond its capacity. It was said that 2:284 alarmed the Muslim community as being too rigorous a standard for sinful human beings, so it was then abrogated by 2:286. But as pointed out in 2:284c, such matters as God’s Qualities or actions in the Hereafter are not subject to abrogation. Indeed, some argue that to reverence God as He should be reverenced is precisely to reverence Him as much as you are able, given that God tasks no soul beyond its capacity (R). It is also interpreted to mean that one should fear God’s Punishment and Wrath as they should be feared (M). The command to die not except in submission is enjoined by Abraham and Jacob upon their children in 2:132. 

***

# And hold fast to the rope of God, all together, and be not divided. Remember the Blessing of God upon you, when you were enemies and He joined your hearts, such that you became brothers by His Blessing. You were on the brink of a pit of fire and He delivered you from it. Thus does God make clear unto you His signs, that haply you may be rightly guided. 

103 The rope of God is usually understood to be the community of Muslims (al-jamāʿah; ṭ), which would logically flow into and be not divided; or it refers to the Quran itself, and at the deepest level to faith in God. In a ḥadīth the Quran is described as “a rope extended from Heaven to earth.” Others say the rope refers to a covenant or pact (IK), reflecting the usage of rope in v. 112: They shall be struck with abasement wherever they are come upon, save by means of a rope from God and a rope from mankind. According to some Shiites, the Imams are the rope of God (Ṭs). The rope is also understood to mean devotion (ikhlāṣ) toward God (Ṭ). In 42:13 the same command to not become divided is given to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The People of the Book are described as having become divided in 42:14 and 98:4, after the revelation had come to them. Similarly, in this verse Muslims are warned against becoming divided after Islam has come to them. When you were enemies is understood to be the time before the coming of Islam, when the strong would prey upon the weak (Ṭ); more specifically, it refers to the tribal wars among the Arabs such as those among the Aws and Khazraj in Madinah before the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad (IK); see 2:84c; 3:100c. The joining of hearts is also mentioned in 8:62–63: He it is Who supports thee with His help, and with the believers, and joined their hearts. The believers are described as brothers elsewhere, including 15:47; 49:10. They were on the brink of a pit of fire because of their disbelief before they were guided by Islam (R, Ṭ) and were separated from that fire only by not having died yet (Ṭs). A parable about a similar kind of brink is also mentioned in 9:109. 

***

# Let there be among you a community calling to the good, enjoining right, and forbidding wrong. It is they who shall prosper. 

104 The concepts of enjoining right and forbidding wrong appear again in vv. 110, 114; 7:157; 9:71, 112; 22:41; 31:17. In Islamic history, these ideas have been invoked in discussions regarding the legitimacy of political rebellion, the right to privacy, the speaking of difficult truths to those in power, and the balance between personal and communal responsibility. There is a wide range of opinion among jurists and theologians regarding how obligatory enjoining right and forbidding wrong are and in what situations such obligation would apply. A ḥadīth often quoted in reference to this subject states, “Whosoever among you sees a wrong being done, let him change it with his hand, and if he is unable then with his tongue, and if he is unable then with his heart and that is the feeblest of belief.” Although the heart usually refers to what is most essential, in this case “a wrong being done” calls for outward action, not only an inner attitude. Right renders maʿrūf, which can also be translated “honorable,” “decent,” “good,” or “fair,” and when rendered as a noun can refer to a courtesy or a kindness. It also means, literally, “what is known/recognized” and in this sense denotes what is conventional, generally acceptable, customary, or familiar. In encompassing the sense of both custom and goodness, it resembles the root meaning of the English word “moral,” which derives from the Latin root that means “customs,” as does the word “mores.” Wrong renders munkar, which can also be translated “dishonorable,” “indecent,” “bad,” or “foul,” and when rendered as a noun can mean atrocity or abomination or, literally, “that which is denied or disavowed.” Some interpret the community here to refer to the elect of the Companions (IK, Ṭ), though others believe that among you does not refer to a distinct group, since the entire Muslim community is praised in v. 110 for enjoining right and forbidding wrong (R); as such it can be read as descriptive, giving the translation, “And may you be a community calling to the good . . .” But for others it is meant to describe a segment of the community, since many Muslims—such as many women and children and the elderly in general—would not be able to fulfill the requirements of enjoining right and forbidding wrong insofar as this requires influencing the actions of others. Many believe these commands are specific to the ʿulamāʾ, or scholars, since an ignorant person might inadvertently call one to evil or enjoin what is wrong; many also see it as a communal responsibility that is fulfilled so long as some segment of the community is carrying it out (Q, R). The moral concept of communal responsibility is also demonstrated in 9:122, where only a segment of the community is considered to have the need to seek out expertise in religious matters. Some interpret enjoining right and forbidding wrong to be the two kinds of good, mentioned in the first part of the verse, to which one calls others (R). Others say that one can interpret the right as what is considered good and beautiful in one’s consciousness, and the wrong as what is considered bad and ugly (M), meaning that right and wrong are determined not only through religious teaching, but also by one’s innate moral consciousness. The Prophet said, in answering a question about piety (birr), “Consult your heart. Piety is that by which the soul and heart find peace.” 

***

# And be not like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And it is they who shall have a great punishment 

105 This verse refers to the People of the Book; see 2:213c; 3:19c. 

***

# on the Day when faces whiten and faces blacken. As for those whose faces blacken, “Did you disbelieve after having believed? Then taste the punishment for having disbelieved.” 

# And as for those whose faces whiten, they will be in the Mercy of God, abiding therein. 

106–7 On the Day either is directly connected with the previous verse or stands alone with an implied word so that it would mean, “Remember the Day when . . .” (R). The implied phrase “[it will be said to them]” is understood to come after As for those whose faces blacken (R, Ṭ). Faces blackening is an Arabic idiom describing a state of distress, shame, or grief, as in 43:17, when a man’s face blackens upon hearing news of an infant girl. A similar meaning is invoked in 10:26, where it is said that neither darkness nor abasement will come over the faces of the virtuous. Blackened faces are also mentioned in 39:60. Conversely, when faces whiten denotes joy and relief and spiritually refers to the light of faith. V. 106 is interpreted by some to refer to Muslims who renounce their faith before they die (Ṭ). Others interpret it as the renunciation or disavowal of the primordial pretemporal covenant when human beings bore witness that God was their Lord (see 7:172) or as a reference to hypocrites generally, insofar as they attest to faith and then knowingly commit actions that contradict it (Ṭ). Those who disbelieve after having believed are variously identified as all disbelievers in general or as the various sects that appeared in later Islamic history after the death of the Prophet, including the Khawārij, a puritanical movement that emerged within a generation of the Prophet’s death (Q, R). Some commentators adduce various aḥādīth of the Prophet that describe visions he had of the Hereafter, where, to his dismay, some Companions were driven away from his presence. In the vision the Prophet was told that he did not know what they would do after him (IK, Q). The context of the verse would suggest that the phrase refers to the disbelievers mentioned in vv. 90, 100–101. Other verses use the faces of human beings to describe their state in the Hereafter, such as 10:26–27; 14:50; 17:97; 18:29; 23:104; 75:22–24; 80:38–41. 

***

# These are God’s signs which We recite unto thee in truth, and God desires no wrong for the worlds. 

# Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth, and unto God are all matters returned. 

108–9 One reading of v. 108 says that God does not desire that human beings do wrong (R). Another reading connects this verse with v. 109 and says that God has no need to wrong or to be unjust to anything or anyone, since He has power over all things and all things belong to Him (IK, Q), or it simply means that God does not in fact wrong anyone (M). These verses raise the question of God’s relationship to good or evil; namely, what does it mean to say that God desires no wrong for the worlds? One perspective, typified in Ashʿarite theology, states that God does no wrong because wrong (ẓulm) is definable as trespassing upon what belongs to another, and since everything belongs to God, nothing He does could amount to a wrong. Another prominent perspective, typified by the Muʿtazilite school of theology, states that God is always just, and what is just or unjust are objective features of the world recognizable by human beings. Some philosophers and Sufis make a distinction between God’s “prescriptive command” (al-amr altaklīfī) and the “engendering command” (al-amr al-takwīnī); the former refers to what God asks of human free will and the latter to God’s Power to create. Being free, human beings can choose what God does not want, but cannot oppose what God wills to be. See the essay “The Quran and Schools of Islamic Theology and Philosophy.” 

***

# You are the best community brought forth unto mankind, enjoining right, forbidding wrong, and believing in God. And were the People of the Book to believe, that would be better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are iniquitous. 

110 Some understand this verse to mean that Muslims are destined to be the best religious community as already “written” in the Preserved Tablet (85:22) and that it is implied that Muslims should live up to this destiny (R), a reading that is possible because the verb can be read as either present or past tense (i.e., “You were the best community [in the Preserved Tablet].”). Another understanding, also based on a past-tense reading, understands these words as being spoken to the Muslims in Paradise to describe their life in the world (R). The verb can also signify that they “become” the best community by virtue of enjoining right and forbidding wrong (R). This community is interpreted variously to mean the Emigrants who left Makkah for Madinah with the Prophet (Ṭ), the elect of the Companions of the Prophet, or the Prophet’s Companions as a whole. It can also refer to the Islamic community as a whole when compared with other religious communities. Best community may also refer to those who are the best people toward other people, which is the domain of enjoining right and forbidding wrong and explains why action is placed before faith in this verse (IK). The verse can be seen as describing the Muslim community’s role in relation to other peoples in a way similar to the Quran’s being described as a protector (muhaymin) in relation to other scriptures (5:48). The passage And were the People of the Book to believe, that would be better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are iniquitous is the subject of varying interpretations. In its plain sense, it could be interpreted to be saying that if they all believed it would be better for them, and indeed some of them are believers, a view seemingly adopted by al-Zamakhsharī, for example, who makes a distinction between belief in God in general and belief in Muhammad as His Prophet. Moreover, since belief (īmān) is contrasted with being iniquitous (fāsiq) rather than with being a disbeliever (kāfir), the sense of being false to their own religions seems to be highlighted here. Indeed, al-Rāzī and al-Ṭabarī both interpret iniquitous as referring to Jews’ and Christians’ failure to observe their own faiths; al-Rāzī interprets this iniquity as an act of being false to what is already false, and al-Ṭabarī interprets it as an act of being false to the true teachings of the Torah and the Gospel, which, most Muslims maintain, demand the acceptance of the Prophet Muhammad. Many understand among them are believers as a reference to prominent Jews and Christians who embraced Islam, such as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām, the Abyssinian Negus, who provided sanctuary for many Muslims during the early persecutions by the Makkans (M, R, Ṭ). According to this later interpretation, the Negus became a Muslim himself, but this is problematic and contradicts other accounts; see 5:82–83c. Such interpretations depend on allowing the categories of “Muslims” (i.e., followers of the religion brought by Muhammad) and “People of the Book” to overlap. If ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām was Muslim, then he was not in any sense one of the People of the Book unless these are political designations like “Arab” or “Byzantine.” By the same token, if one is among the People of the Book (i.e., one of them), then one is by definition not a Muslim. Although the terms “Muslims” and “People of the Book” can designate political entities, the Quran and Ḥadīth do not refer directly to a Muslim (i.e., a follower of Muhammad) as one of the People of the Book or vice versa. This fact does not prevent the scope of muslim —namely, one who submits to God—from embracing others beyond the followers of Muhammad (see 3:85c). A similar overlap between “Muslims” and “People of the Book” is proposed by some commentators for v. 113, where Muslims are grouped by some commentators as “People of the Book” in order to make sense of Among the People of the Book is an upright community. Among them are believers is often skipped in some commentaries, such as those of al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, and al-Māturīdī. 

***

# They will not harm you save a [trifling] hurt. And if they fight you, they will turn their backs upon you; then they will not be helped. 

111 The hurt (adhā) refers to an insult or a taunt or to blasphemous claims about God (R, Ṭ, Th). That the People of the Book would, when challenged with physical danger, turn their backs is also mentioned in 59:12, where it also says that they will not be helped. Not being helped or not having helpers is a fate often associated with perdition in the Hereafter and in this world (e.g., 2:270, 3:22, 56; 4:52; 9:74; 16:37). 

***

# They shall be struck with abasement wherever they are come upon, save by means of a rope from God and a rope from mankind. And they shall earn a burden of wrath from God, and they shall be struck with indigence. That is because they used to disbelieve in God’s signs and kill the prophets without right. That is for their having disobeyed and transgressed. 

112 Similar themes, including abasement, wrath, and indigence, are addressed in 2:61. They are understood by some to refer to the status of the People of the Book during times of war when they are belligerents, whose property could be legitimately seized as spoils and children taken as prisoners, among other things (R). Others say the abasement refers to the jizyah, the indemnity levied on non-Muslims, and dhimmah, the state of living as a nonMuslim treaty people under Muslim rule (Q; see 9:29). Some, however, dispute that this abasement refers to the jizyah, because the jizyah does not disappear with the rope from God and rope from mankind, interpreted to mean a covenant with God and a covenant with the believers (Ṭ). Others point to the historical situation of Jews as exiles who are historically poor and powerless, since the verb could be understood as referring to the past or the future (R). 

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# They are not all alike. Among the People of the Book is an upright community who recite God’s signs in the watches of the night, while they prostrate. 

113 Although this verse is usually interpreted as setting up a distinction among different kinds of People of the Book, some understand they are not all alike to refer to Muslims and the People of the Book together, meaning that Muslims are not like the Jews and Christians (Q, Ṭ). The word upright renders qāʾimah, which connotes justice (Ṭ) as well as evokes the literal “standing up” of worshippers in prayer. Some think the upright community refers to a group of Jews who became good Muslims (Ṭ); see 3:110c. Several somewhat enigmatic occasions of revelation are provided for this verse. Some mention an incident in which the Muslims were waiting for the Prophet to lead the night prayer in the mosque and the Prophet said to them, “No people from among any of the religions are remembering God at this hour other than you.” Vv. 113–15 were then revealed. Another version states that this upright community refers specifically to forty people of Najrān, thirty-two people from Abyssinia, and three from Byzantium who followed the religion of Jesus and affirmed the truth of Muhammad. Another account says that it refers to a people who prayed between sunset and the end of twilight (R). One interpretation of this verse identifies Muslims as People of the Book, since they do indeed follow a Book from God, and thus sees this as a comparison between Muslims (the upright community), on the one hand, and Jews and Christians, on the other (R), while others say “People of the Book” can mean a people following a “good way.” Some state, without exposition, that there are believers among the People of the Book (M). To be upright is interpreted as meaning being just (Ṭ) and maintaining the limits set by God, obeying Him and not distorting the Books (M, Th). 

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# They believe in God and the Last Day, enjoin right and forbid wrong, and hasten unto good deeds. And they are among the righteous. 

# Whatsoever good they do, they will not be denied it. And God knows the reverent. 

114–15 Whether these verses refer to the Muslims or to the People of the Book depends on how the upright community is identified in v. 113 and how among them are believers is interpreted in v. 110. These verses are similar in content to 2:62 and 5:69 (see commentary on those verses) and address similar issues of identifying what it means to believe in God and the Last Day and to be righteous. Some understand they will not be denied it as a way of reassuring the former Jews who were grieved by the assertions of their former coreligionists, who said that their actions were futile now that they had abandoned Judaism and embraced Islam (IK, R). Some read the verb here in the second person, giving the translation, “you will not be denied it” (Q, Ṭ). As with vv. 110 and 113 as well as 2:62 and 5:69, among others, the identification of current Muslims as being among the People of the Book often raises new questions as it seeks to answer others. As noted in 3:113c, “People of the Book” and “Muslims” appear to be treated as overlapping categories only in commentaries attempting to make sense of verses such as vv. 110–15; 2:62; and 5:69. Moreover, it is unclear why Muslims such as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām needed special reassurance in the face of their former coreligionists’ taunting. The plain sense of the verse suggests more strongly that it is addressed to Muslims unsure of how to judge the belief and actions of the People of the Book, informing Muslims that God does not reject the good deeds of the People of the Book when they are truly good and that they (the People of the Book) are not all alike (3:113). 

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# Truly those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them aught against God. They are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein. 

116 Some note that wealth and children are thought to be the most dependable and beneficial goods in life, but they will nevertheless be of no use to anyone in the Hereafter (R). Elsewhere the Quran states that wealth and children will not avail save for him who comes to God with a sound heart (26:89). Possessing wealth and children deludes the disbeliever into a sense of security and superiority simply because he possesses wealth and children (68:14), a theme also developed in 34:35–37, where the positive dimension of wealth and children is mentioned. See also 9:85; 17:64; 18:46; 19:77; 23:55; 71:21. 

***

# The parable of what they spend in this life of the world is that of a frigid wind that strikes the tillage of a people who have wronged themselves, destroying it. God wrongs them not, but themselves do they wrong. 

117 Other verses invoke the wind’s destructive power in order to describe how unrooted and sterile the actions of disbelievers are in this life. In this verse the wind is cold, while in 2:266 it burns, and in 14:18 the deeds of disbelievers are already ashes waiting to be blown away. Verses involving the nourishing dimension of wind include 7:57; 25:48; 30:46; 35:9. The wronging of oneself is mentioned numerous times in the Quran (3:135; 4:97; 9:70; 16:33; 29:40; 30:9; 34:19; 35:32; 37:113). 

***

# O you who believe! Take not intimates apart from yourselves; they will not stint you in corruption. They wish you to suffer. Hatred has appeared from their mouths; yet what their breasts conceal is greater. We have indeed made clear the signs for you, were you to understand. 

118 Intimates renders biṭānah, meaning confidants or trusted friends (denoting both the singular and plural); it also literally means the inner lining of a garment, evoking a sense of direct closeness and intimacy. They are those to whom one tells one’s secrets (Ṭ). They will not stint you in corruption means that when it comes to the act of corruption, they will not be miserly in providing that corruption. This is interpreted by some commentators to mean that in certain important matters pertaining to the affairs of Muslims, such as writing contracts or sending significant messages, one should not rely on non-Muslims (IK, Q); in this vein al-Qurṭubī bemoans the fact that in his day Muslims were relying on Jews and Christians as scribes and secretaries, although this is a reflection of the society of his day. Others seem to interpret this as a statement on human nature in general, mentioning a ḥadīth that states, “God has sent no prophet, nor appointed any vicegerent, save that he had two groups of intimates. One group enjoins and encourages what is right while the other enjoins and encourages what is evil. He is protected who is protected by God,” which is interpreted to mean that God will protect whom He will from the evil promptings of those who are close to them. 

***

# Lo! You are the ones who love them, while they love you not, though you believe in the Book entire. And when they meet you they say, “We believe, ” but when they are alone they bite their fingers at you from rage. Say, “Die in your rage!” Truly God knows what lies within breasts. 

119 Depending on whether these enemies are hypocrites or People of the Book, this love can refer to various matters. You are the ones who love them, while they love you not can mean that, although you love them in Islam (as religious brothers and sisters), they in truth do not love you; or it can mean that you wish for them to become Muslim (an act of love), while they wish for you to remain or become disbelievers; or it can mean that you do not wish for them to fall into distress, while they wish that you be afflicted by trouble (R). Though you believe in the Book entire refers to Muslims’ affirmation not only of the Quran, but also what was revealed before it (IK, Ṭ). Making the claim that we believe, but saying something different when one is alone with one’s true allies, is also described in 2:14, 76; 5:41. Die in your rage! is interpreted to be a call to increase the cause of their rage, namely, the success and flourishing of Islam, rather than a direct call for death (R, Z). 

***

# If good befalls you, it vexes them, and if evil befalls you, they rejoice in it. But if you are patient and reverent, their plot will not harm you in the least. Truly God encompasses what they do. 

120 This verse reflects the statement in v. 118 that they wish for you to suf er. The same sentiment appears in a supplication of Moses in 7:150: Let not the enemies rejoice in my misfortune. To be patient carries the sense of being steadfast and constant. That their plot will not harm you at all echoes the message of v. 111, where it is said that they cannot harm except through insults and taunts. Moreover, beyond simple self-interest, their joy at another’s suffering shows just how severe their enmity is (IK). 

***

# And remember when thou didst leave thy household at daybreak to assign the believers their positions for the battle. And God is Hearing, Knowing. 

121 Although most see this as a reference to the Battle of Uḥud, some say it refers to the Battle of Aḥzāb (often called the Battle of the Trench; IK, R, Ṭ). Uḥud took place in 3/625, approximately one year after the defeat of the Makkans at the Battle of Badr (see 8:5). The Quraysh set out for Madinah, seeking revenge against the Prophet and his followers for the unexpected and humiliating defeat at Badr, in which the Muslims were greatly outnumbered. The Makkans camped at the foot of Mt. Uḥud, between the mountain and the city of Madinah. The Prophet consulted with the community, many of whom suggested waiting within the city and using its fortifications to their advantage; another group preferred going out to face the enemy. The Prophet ultimately decided to go out from the city to confront the Makkans directly. Some sources have said that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy, generally known as the leader of the hypocrites, withdrew from the battle with approximately one-third of the Madinan forces (about three hundred of nearly one thousand), ostensibly out of anger that his suggestion to remain in the city was ultimately not heeded (IK). Before the battle was joined, the Prophet ordered a group of archers to remain in position atop a hill no matter what transpired during the battle; this is what the commentators understand by assign the believers their positions for the battle. When many of them disobeyed at a crucial point in the battle in order to capture a share of the spoils, the remaining archers were overtaken and the rear and flank of the Madinan forces were exposed. The Madinans lost their advantage and suffered losses, and some believers fled (see v. 144), but the Makkans did not achieve a full victory. They returned to Makkah without pushing farther into the city of Madinah itself. 

***

# Remember when two companies among you were on the verge of losing heart, though God was their Protector. And in God let the believers trust. 

122 The two companies refer to Banū Salimah (of Khazraj) and Banū Ḥārithah (of Aws; IK, Ṭ). Though they contemplated abandoning the battle, as had ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy (see v. 121), ultimately they did not. Though God was their Protector can also be rendered “and/but God is their Protector.” According to this latter interpretation, the phrase is a sign that God was Merciful to them despite their inner equivocation (R). 

***

# God certainly helped you at Badr, when you were lowly. So reverence God, that haply you may give thanks. 

123 The Battle of Uḥud was launched by the Makkans as revenge for the Battle of Badr a year earlier. For a longer discussion of Badr, see 8:5c. 

***

# Remember when thou saidst unto the believers, “Is it not enough for you that your Lord should support you with three thousand angels sent down?” 

# Yea, if you are patient and reverent, and they come at you immediately, your Lord will support you with five thousand angels bearing marks. 

# God made it not save as a glad tiding for you, and that your hearts may repose thereby—and there is no victory save from God, the Mighty, the Wise— 

124–26 There is a debate over whether these words were spoken by the Prophet to the believers regarding the Battle of Badr or the Battle of Uḥud (R). If it refers to Badr, v. 124 continues from the phrase in the previous verse, “. . . when you [the believers] were lowly . . . [and] when thou [the Prophet] saidst unto the believers,” in which case, the particle idh is rendered “when” rather then remember when. If read as being spoken at Uḥud, it continues from v. 121, “and remember when thou didst leave thy household . . . when thou saidst.” There is disagreement among the traditional sources over whether angels fought at Uḥud or not. Most commentators hold that the angels fought only at Badr (IK, R); see also 8:9–12. They are thought to have participated in the battle in various ways. Some say the angels assumed visible or invisible form and actually killed disbelievers, and accounts exist in the Ḥadīth and sīrah (biographical literature about the Prophet) that describe certain mysterious deaths (e.g., heads flying off enemies’ bodies as if severed) and mysterious fighters (presumed to be angels) witnessed during the battle of Badr (IK, Q). Another interpretation sees the help of the angels as being spiritual, strengthening the believers’ hearts, heightening their senses, increasing their power, and giving them courage by their presence (R). The most common opinion is that no angels fought at Uḥud (only at Badr) and that the ones at Uḥud were sent as a kind of moral support (IK, Q, R), although some have pointed out that God does not need angels to support the believers (Ṭ). Thus, a glad tiding for you in v. 126 is interpreted to be a reference to the support mentioned in v. 125 (R), where believers would find happiness in the fact that the angels would come (IK) or at least in the promise that they would come (Q). In v. 125 immediately carries the sense of “without hesitation” or “at once.” There is disagreement over whether the promise of v. 125 to support them with five thousand angels was fulfilled or whether the believers failed to be patient and reverent so that the five thousand angels were never sent (Q, Ṭ). Some say that bearing marks (musawwimīn) can refer to the angels being sent or to their sending something, since the word can also refer to one who sends an animal out to pasture or uses such an animal as a mount in battle (Q, R). 

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# that He may cut off a faction of those who disbelieve or abase them, so that they be turned back disappointed. 

127 Cut of a faction is understood to mean that God eliminated a part of them during Badr, although others say this refers to Uḥud (Ṭ). Turned back disappointed means they could not achieve victory against the believers (Ṭ). 

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# Naught is thine in the matter, whether He relent unto them or punish them, for truly they are wrongdoers. 

# Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth. He forgives whomsoever He will and punishes whomsoever He will, and God is Forgiving, Merciful. 

128–29 Verses with a similar message include 2:272: Thou art not tasked with their guidance, but God guides whomsoever He will; 3:20: but if they turn away, then thine is only to convey; and 28:56: Surely thou dost not guide whomsoever thou lovest, but God guides whomsoever He will. According to one account, v. 128 was revealed in connection with the Prophet’s reaction to his enemies’ attacks. He fought at Uḥud and was physically wounded during the battle, reportedly chipping or breaking one of his lateral incisors and suffering a wound that caused him to bleed from his face (Ṭ). The Prophet stated, “How can a people prosper who bloody their prophet while he is calling them to their Lord?” Then this verse was revealed. In another account, during the canonical prayer the Prophet (after rising from bowing) said, “O God, curse so-and-so,” at which time this verse was revealed, and in some versions the Prophet specifically named some people who would later become Muslims (IK). But according to other accounts, it was said that he would imprecate against the believers’ enemies, until this verse was revealed, after which he ceased to do so. These two versions of the account differ insofar as one directly links the Prophet’s actions to the revelation, while the other shows only how the verse relates to the Prophet’s actions more generally. *** İ O you who believe! Devour not usury, doubling and multiplying. And reverence God, that haply you may prosper. 130 For an extended discussion of usury (ribā), see 2:275–81c. 

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# And be mindful of the Fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers. 

131 Be mindful renders a word usually translated “reverence,” but which also connotes fear, taking care, and being on guard; see 2:2c. 

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# And obey God and the Messenger, that haply you may receive mercy. 

132 Obedience to the Prophet is discussed in many verses in the Quran (e.g., 4:80; 8:1; 24:54; 48:17) and obedience is also mentioned with regard to other prophets throughout Sūrah 26. Cf. v. 31, which links following the Prophet with receiving God’s Love (see also 3:31c), just as this verse links obeying the Prophet with receiving God’s Compassion and Mercy. 

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# And hasten unto forgiveness from your Lord, and for a garden whose breadth is the heavens and the earth—prepared for the reverent, 

133 Cf. 57:21. It is said that the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sent an emissary to the Prophet saying, “You call to a garden whose breadth is the heavens and the earth. So where is the fire?” The Prophet replied, “Glory be to God! Where is the night when the day comes?” 

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# who spend in ease and hardship, and curb their rage, and pardon others—and God loves the virtuous— 

134 A ḥadīth states, “Whosoever curbs his anger even though he is able to release [act on] it will be filled with security and faith by God.” Another ḥadīth states, “He is not forceful who throws down his opponent, but he who controls his soul when he is angry.” See also 42:37: who . . . when they are angry, forgive. Ease refers to a time when one’s wealth is plentiful (Ṭ), though some interpret it to mean that, whether the reverent are happy or sad or whether giving makes them feel happy or irritates them, they still spend for good causes (R). The word rendered rage is ghayẓ, which some differentiate from ghaḍab (also often rendered “anger”), in that ghayẓ is the internal aspect of ghaḍab, while ghaḍab is anger manifested in words or physical actions (Q). And pardon others refers to those over whom one has power (Q). Spiritually speaking, this verse is understood to mean that believers do not hoard away things from God, giving both their bodies and their souls (Qu); some Sufis say that if one wants to know the station of a spiritual traveler (faqīr), one should do something to anger the person and see what comes out (Aj). 

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# and who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God and then seek forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins but God?—and who do not knowingly persist in what they have done. 

# For these, their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers running below, abiding therein. Blessed indeed is the reward of the workers [of righteousness]! 

135–36 One can remember God by recalling His Anger and Punishment, being aware that God is always watching over, or by pronouncing God’s Name (Aj). There is no great sin once forgiveness is sought, and no small sin that is done perpetually (Aj). An indecency (fāḥishah) is something that is ugly or trespasses the limits of a norm. Knowingly persist means they do so intentionally or with an awareness that their action is a sin or is forbidden (Ṭ). Some report that v. 135 was revealed in connection with a man who bought dates from a beautiful woman, impetuously embraced her and kissed her, and then regretted it (Q). Workers [of righteousness] (ʿāmilīn) refers to those who perform right actions, and for some this constitutes evidence that entering Paradise is not only a matter of God’s Grace, but that it also involves at least some element of human action (R). 

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# Wonts have passed before you; so journey upon the earth and behold how the deniers fared in the end! 

137 Wonts renders sunan, the plural of sunnah. The Quran refers to the wont of previous peoples (4:26; 8:38; 15:13; 17:77; 18:55; 35:43) and to the wont of God (33:38, 62; 35:43; 40:85; 48:23). The most common usage in the Islamic tradition for sunnah is the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, which comprises his sayings and doings, which are recorded and transmitted through the Ḥadīth. Because the Prophet’s life is both morally and legally normative for Muslims, Sunnah came to signify also that class of actions and behaviors that, though not strictly enjoined as an obligation, are nevertheless recommended in order to follow the Prophet’s example. When referring to “the Sunnah” Muslims are referring to the Prophet’s sunnah, though the word has the general meaning of established practices, a way of living that has been in some way instituted as a norm, whether good or bad from the Islamic point of view. Thus a ḥadīth states, “Whosoever establishes a good wont (sunnah) shall have its reward and the reward of those who act according to it until the Day of Resurrection, and whosoever established an evil wont shall bear its burden and the burden of those who act according to it until the Day of Resurrection.” In the present verse sunan (wonts) could also be rendered “cultures,” if culture is understood in the general sense of received norms of practice and knowledge. For some, there is an implied sense here of “the [peoples who practiced] wonts” (Q). Some connect this verse with the battle of Uḥud, the implication being that the enemies of the believers will meet with a fate similar to that of the enemies of prophets before them (Q). The end (ʿāqibah) refers not only what comes last, but also denotes the result, upshot, or consequence of an act and its effect upon the being of the actor. This verse, like dozens of others, invites people to contemplate the end, or result, of such wonts, or “cultures,” by actually witnessing what they left behind after their end, sometimes referring to them as wrongdoers (10:39), those who were warned (10:73), the deniers (16:36), and the workers of corruption (27:14). Some commentators specifically mention those peoples with whom the Arabs had some familiarity, such as the ʿĀd (see 46:21–26) and the Thamūd (see 27:45–52), but the primary lesson drawn from considering the ends of earlier peoples is that their worldly power and wealth did not save them from a terrible fate (Ṭ). Some say that one can acquire this knowledge without actually traveling, but simply by hearing stories of such peoples, though hearing is less powerful than seeing (R). 

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# This is an exposition for mankind, and a guidance and exhortation for the reverent. 

138 Exposition translates al-bayān, which is also known as one of the names of the Quran (see 55:4). In this context, some commentators say that an exposition refers to the whole Quran (Q), while others say that it refers only to what was just said in the previous verses (Ṭ). In 5:46, the Torah is also described as a guidance and an exhortation to the reverent. 

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# Do not falter and do not grieve, for you will be ascendant if you are believers. 

139 Do not falter connotes also “do not deem yourselves weak” (Q); see also 47:35. The believers should not grieve over the losses that they have suffered in battle (Ṭ). To be ascendant (aʿlawn, sing. aʿlā) means they will triumph over their enemies (Q) or that their end will be better than that of their enemies (IK, R). Some read the particle idh as “since” rather than “if” and understand if you are believers to mean “since you are believers” (Q). 

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# If a wound afflicts you, a like wound has already afflicted that people. And such days We hand out in turns to mankind. And [this is] so that God may know those who believe, and take witnesses from among you—and God loves not the wrongdoers— 

# and so that God may assay those who believe and blight the disbelievers. 

140–41 That people refers to the believers’ enemies who, at the battle of Badr the year before, had suffered injuries and losses at the hands of the believers (IK, R), even as the believers now suffered wounds at their enemies’ hands at the Battle of Uḥud. We hand out in turns is interpreted by some using the Arabic proverb, “One day for you, one day against you” (Ṭ), an expression of the ephemerality of the world (R). According to some, it is assumed that God will grant victory to the believers, but when the believers disobey or lose faith, their enemies get the better of them (Q); that is, God does not support the disbelievers as such, but does so to test the believers with loss (R). To take witnesses from among you can mean that some of them are given the noble station of being witnesses to human sin and disobedience (R), but it is widely understood to mean that they will die in the way of God and be martyrs (IK, R, Ṭ), even though the sense of martyrdom is not necessarily evoked in other uses of shahīd (“witness”) in the Quran. Grammatically, And [this is] so that God may know functions with an implicit phrase so that it says something like either “[God did thus] so that He may know” or “So that God may know [He will do thus]” (Z). For a discussion of the theological issues concerning God’s Knowledge raised by so that God may know, see 2:143c. Assay refers to refining or removal of impurities. It is understood to be a process of trials to test patience (Ṭ). Blight also appears in 2:276. Here it is understood to mean reduction and shortage, the decrease of a thing until one can no longer see any of it (R). 

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# Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without God knowing those among you who strived, and without knowing those who were patient? 

142 Cf. 29:2. This verse is understood to mean not that God’s Knowledge is incomplete (see v. 139), but that one must strive and be patient in order to enter the Garden (R). Put another way, it is like saying, “I know no good in him,” meaning, “He is no good” (Z). The verb in the clause and without knowing those who were patient is read by some to mean, “without God knowing those among you who strived such that He would know those who were patient” (Q, R). In commenting on this verse, al-Rāzī says, “Know that love of this world cannot coexist with happiness in the Hereafter, and to the degree that one of them increases the other diminishes. That is because happiness in the world only is achieved by the heart’s occupation with worldliness, and happiness in the Hereafter can only be achieved by emptying the heart of all that is other than God and filling it with the love of God. Not all those who affirm the religion of God are truthful. Rather, in the difference there is a question of the sway of things that we hate and things that we love. Love is that which does not diminish with difficulty and does not increase through fulfillment. If love survives the onset of suffering, it is shown to be true love.” 

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# You did indeed long for death before you met it. Now you have seen it, looking on. 

143 This verse is thought to address certain believers who did not participate in the Battle of Badr and yet who hoped to have the chance to fight against the idolaters in the way of God (Ṭ); they longed for death in the sense of longing for the fighting that could lead to death (Ṭ). Some interpret you have seen it, looking on to be a kind of emphatic statement akin to, “You heard it with your own ears” (Ṭ); others think that it means they saw it with untrammeled vision (Q), or that it implies a question, “You have seen it, looking on, so why then did you flee?” (Q), referring to the events at Uḥud when, during the heat of battle, some believers retreated or fled (see v. 144). 

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# Muhammad is naught but a messenger; messengers have passed before him. So if he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Whosoever turns back on his heels will not harm God in the least, and God will reward the thankful. 

144 Similar verses include 39:30: Surely thou wilt die, and surely they will die; and 3:185: Every soul shall taste death. As mentioned in 3:128–29c, the Prophet was seriously injured during the Battle of Uḥud, and in the fog of the battle rumors began to circulate that he was not only injured, but killed, causing alarm and hesitation among some of the believers and temporarily raising the morale of the idolaters. One Companion was reported to have said, “O people, if Muhammad has died, then the Lord of Muhammad will not die. How shall you live your lives after the Messenger of God? Fight as he fought, and die as he died!” Moreover, some hypocrites taunted the believers, saying that if Muhammad were truly a prophet, he would not have been killed, and prodded the believers to return to their old religion. Years later, immediately after the Prophet had died, some Companions, such as ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, refused to believe he was dead. In his famous words to the Muslim community after the Prophet’s death, Abū Bakr reminded the people of this verse, and ʿUmar is reported to have responded, “It is as though I had never recited those words before that day.” 

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# It is not for any soul to die save by God’s Leave—an enjoined term. Yet whosoever desires the reward of this world, We shall give him of it; and whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We shall give him of it. And We shall reward the thankful. 

145 An enjoined term is thought to include an implicit verb and to mean “He enjoined an enjoined term” (Ṭ). It is said that whosoever desires the reward of this world refers to those seeking after the spoils of war, glory, and renown (R), though it has a more universal import (Q). This verse reinforces the message of the previous verse that all human beings, including prophets, will die, and this death does not diminish the mission of prophethood (R). Moreover, it is interpreted as a means of imparting wisdom regarding fear and courage, a reminder that fear and cowardice do no one any good, and that one should courageously fight for the good (R). It also denies the hypocrites the right to say such things as, “Had he been with us, he would not have died” (R). A long ḥadīth describes a warrior, a philanthropist, and a scholar who expect Paradise for their actions while having only worldly intentions: the warrior for his fighting and dying, the philanthropist for giving charity, and the scholar for teaching others. Their true intentions of gaining only worldly renown and glory are exposed by God on the Day of Judgment, and they are rewarded with the Fire instead of Paradise. Regarding desiring the rewards of both this world and the Hereafter, see also 2:201. 

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# How many a prophet had many devoted men fight alongside him! They did not then falter in the face of what befell them in the way of God, nor did they weaken, nor did they demean themselves. And God loves the patient. 

146 Some read fight (qātala) as “were killed” (qutila), in which case it would mean, “And how many a prophet was killed, while there were alongside him many devoted men!” (R, Ṭ). Al-Ṭabarī prefers this interpretation, as it accords with the plain sense of the previous verses. Devoted men translates ribbiyyūn, which is interpreted by some as a form of rabbāniyyūn, rendered in this translation as sages (Z; see v. 79). Others suggest that it refers generally to large groups (Ṭ); some give ten thousand as the specific number for ribbī and interpret ribbiyyūn to mean large numbers of learned people (ʿulamāʾ; Ṭ) or patient people (Q). 

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# Their words were but to say, “Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our prodigality in our affairs, and make firm our steps, and help us against the disbelieving people.” 

147 Some interpret our sins to mean small sins and our prodigality to mean great sins (Q). Prodigality renders isrāf, which means both waste and excess, the going beyond bounds. 

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# And God gave them the reward of this world and the most beautiful reward of the Hereafter, and God loves the virtuous. 

148 Some interpret the reward of this world to refer to victory and spoils, and stability in the world (Ṭ); see 4:134c. Although in other verses it is stated that God is said to love the reverent (see 3:76; 9:4, 7), the patient (3:146), the just (5:42; 60:8), and the equitable (49:9), among others, the virtuous in general are cited most often as those whom God loves (see 2:195; 3:134; 5:13, 93). 

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# O you who believe! If you obey those who disbelieve, they will turn you back on your heels; then you will be overturned as losers. 

149 Those who disbelieve is interpreted to mean variously the Muslims’ enemies among the Jews, Christians, hypocrites, and idolaters (Ṭ). Back on your heels means back to disbelief after faith (Ṭ). As losers can mean, as in other instances, both those who are lost and those who have lost everything. 

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# Rather, God is your Master, and He is the best of helpers. 

150 This verse counsels seeking refuge with God, seeking help from no other (Ṭ). 

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# We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for having ascribed partners unto God, for which He has not sent down any authority. And their refuge shall be the Fire, and evil is the abode of the wrongdoers. 

151 Although this verse can be understood more generally, it is reported that, on the way back to Makkah after the Battle of Uḥud, the idolaters lamented that they did not eradicate the Muslim community, though they had inflicted severe casualties upon them. When the Makkans had mustered the intention to return to Madinah, God cast terror into them until they lost heart and continued on toward Makkah (Q, Ṭ). 

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# And God certainly was true to His Promise to you when you were eradicating them by His Leave, until the moment you lost heart, and quarreled with one another about the matter, and disobeyed, after He had showed you that which you loved. Among you are those who desire this world, and among you are those who desire the Hereafter. Then He turned you from them, to test you, and He certainly pardoned you—God is Possessed of Bounty for the believers— 

152 The first part of this verse refers to the failure of the archers to stand their ground, abandoning their positions on the high ground to ensure their share of the spoils once they saw the battle’s tide turn in the believers’ favor (Q; see v. 121). Showed you that which you loved thus refers to coming victory portended by early events in the battle, such as the killing of the idolaters’ standard bearers (Q). The you in and He certainly pardoned you refers to either the archers specifically or the believers as a whole (Q). The Companion Ibn Masʿūd reportedly said that, prior to the revelation of this verse, he had not known or believed that any among the Prophet’s Companions could be characterized as those who desire this world (Ṭ). Quarreled with one another means that some of the archers did not want to leave their posts to seek after the spoils and insisted on staying and following the Prophet’s orders (Q, Ṭ). Turned you from them means that you (the believers) were turned away from them (the disbelievers), because of your disobedience, failing to achieve the rout that would have been yours if you had been obedient; to test you, that is, to try you (Ṭ). He certainly pardoned you means that God did not utterly eradicate them, according to some interpretations, even though what they did was an enormity, disobeying the Prophet in the midst of battle (Ṭ). 

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# when you were climbing, casting a glance to no one, while the Messenger was calling you from your rear. So He recompensed you with sorrow upon sorrow, that you may not grieve over what escaped you or what befell you. And God is Aware of whatsoever you do. 

153 When you were climbing continues the discussion of the events of the previous verse, but if the when is translated “Remember when . . . ,” it can also indicate the beginning of a new sentence (R). Although the verb rendered climbing (aṣʿada) has the root meaning of “to go up,” some say that in the form the root takes here it means to traverse level ground (Ṭ), not to climb. According to this reading, one performs the action aṣʿada through a valley, while another verb, ṣaʿida, is used to indicate going up a mountain. Reading the verb to mean traversing level ground would, moreover, be in accord with the narration of events, which indicates that, far from climbing, some of the believers are being blamed for descending from their posts on high ground to chase after the spoils. However, others interpret this to mean that, when the battle turned against the believers, some fled up Mt. Uḥud (Ṭ). Casting a glance to no one means not caring about anyone else. As they were running away, the Prophet was reportedly calling from behind them, “To me! Servants of God! To me! Servants of God!” (Q, R, Ṭ). Sorrow upon sorrow is understood by some to mean “sorrow because of sorrow”; that is, they were made to feel sorrow for having made the Prophet sorrowful (R). Or it can mean “sorrow after sorrow,” in which case the first sorrow was the news that the Prophet had died, and the second was the casualties they suffered later, or the reverse (Ṭ); or it was losing both the battle and the spoils, then hearing the gloating of the enemy (Ṭ); or the first was the loss of the battle, which was then followed by fear that the idolaters would return to finish them off and complete their victory over them (R). Still others interpret it to mean a kind of compounded, relentless grief (R). That you may not grieve is connected to either So He recompensed you or He certainly pardoned you from v. 152. According to the former, God caused sorrow in them for their causing sorrow in the Prophet, but saved them from the grief over losing the spoils of battle (R). It is also interpreted to mean that God caused them sorrow, so that they would not become attached to the world and be neither saddened at losing it nor pleased at gaining it (R). Al-Rāzī mentions that the very act of retreating or running away is a kind of sorrow, because one feels weak and cowardly. 

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# Then He sent down upon you—after sorrow—security, a sleepiness enveloping a company among you, while a company were anxious over themselves, thinking about God what is not true—the thinking of the Age of Ignorance—saying, “Do we have any decision [in this]?” Say, “The decision belongs entirely to God.” They hide in their souls what they do not disclose to you, saying, “Had we any decision [in this], we would not have been slain here.” Say, “Had you stayed in your houses, those who were destined to be slain would have gone out to their places of rest.” And [this is] so that God may test what is in your breasts and so that He may assay what is in your hearts. And God knows what lies within breasts. 

154 Sleepiness (nuʿās) here is either a description of security or an independent object of the verb sent down. In the latter case it means, “sent down sleepiness as safety,” where the two words are reversed, or “we made you sleep safely” (R). According to Ibn Masʿūd, to sleep during a battle shows one’s trust and faith in God and one’s detachment from the world, but sleep during prayer shows one’s distance from God (R). This sleepiness was thus a kind of miracle and moreover caused them to rest physically, so that they might carry on the battle; it was a sign that God was on their side (R). Some of the believers were able, while on the field, to achieve a restful sleep. One ḥadīth tells of a Companion who said he would fall asleep and his sword would fall out of his hand, and this happened repeatedly. Anxious over themselves means they were afraid (R). Thinking about God what is not true refers to the belief of some of them that, if Muhammad really were a prophet, they would not have encountered the setbacks at Uḥud (R). AlRāzī also offers a discussion about providence in commenting upon this verse, asserting that we should not claim to derive what God wills or does from our egocentric evaluation of pleasure and suffering, because we do not possess all the measures by which we might judge whether such and such a thing is bad or good, including success or failure on the battlefield. Do we have any decision? referring to the decision to go out and meet the idolaters in battle (see v. 121), is a question spoken by the hypocrites (Q), although al-Rāzī thinks that this question could have been spoken by the believers in a sincere way in their anticipation of victory. The hypocrites were arguing that it was foolish for them to go out and meet the Makkans in battle, and that had they stayed in Madinah, they would not have suffered such casualties. Places of rest refers to their final resting places, where they will lie when they are dead (Q, R). So that God may test means He does so in order to separate out the hypocrites from the sincere (R). 

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# Those of you who turned away on the day the two hosts met —Satan alone made them slip because of part of what they committed. And God certainly pardoned them; truly God is Forgiving, Clement. 

155 The day the two hosts met refers to the battle between the idolaters and the believers at Uḥud (Ṭ). What this verse describes would have happened after the archers left the high ground and the Makkans began to make gains against the believers (see v. 121). Many details exist in the ḥadīth and Sīrah (biographical literature about the Prophet) regarding the Battle of Uḥud, but there is no unanimity as to which group of people this verse describes. According to some commentators, those of you who turned away could refer to a group of the believers who ran away from the fighting or to a group who remained back in Madinah, or it means that some ran away to the city while others clambered up Uḥud (Ṭ). Others believe that it refers to a specific group of known individuals: ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, Saʿd ibn ʿUthmān, and ʿUqbah ibn ʿUthmān (Ṭ), who ran either out of simple fear or because they believed the rumor that the Prophet had been killed (see v. 144). That some eminent Companions are included among those who turned away and then were pardoned by God is explained as a lesson in God’s Forgiveness by commentators, who also cite, for example, God’s accepting Adam’s repentance and pardoning him (see 2:37; Q). Because of part of what they committed can also be read as “in part of what they committed,” meaning Satan caused them to slip only in certain matters, not more generally (R). But according to the former reading, it could mean that they were made to slip precisely because they turned away, since one error or sin can lead to another (R). Some interpret this verse to mean that they ran away because they did not wish to die except in a state of perfection and were afraid to meet God before they had achieved true repentance (R). 

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# O you who believe! Be not like those who disbelieve and say of their brethren when they travel upon the earth or campaign, “Had they stayed with us, they would not have died and been slain, ” that God may make that a source of regret in their hearts. And God gives life and causes death, and God sees whatsoever you do. 

156 Say of their brethren has the sense of “on account of their brethren,” meaning they say this because of what happened to them (Z). The words Had they stayed with us are spoken by either disbelievers in general, the hypocrites in general, or specifically ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy (see v. 121; Q, R). Some understand it to mean that those who could have prevented their friends and relatives from going out to campaign or travel for some other reason would be made to feel regret and anguish upon hearing these words, because they failed to stop their relatives and friends from going out to their doom; or the words were spoken simply to create doubt (and hence regret) in the hearts of weaker believers (R). The verse could be telling the believers, “Be not like them, so that God may make that a source of regret in their hearts,” a regret that might also be experienced by them on the Day of Judgment for their having spoken those words (R). That God gives life and causes death restates a point made in v. 154, namely, that human beings should never forget that God, not human agency, determines life and death. It is also interpreted spiritually to mean that God quickens the hearts of His friends and brings death to the hearts of His enemies (R). 

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# And indeed if you are slain or die in the way of God, truly forgiveness and mercy from God are better than what they amass. 

# And indeed if you are slain or die, truly unto God shall you be gathered. 

157–58 What they amass refers to their wealth or more broadly to their collecting the vanities of the world (IK). The state of those who are slain or die is discussed in 3:169–71c. 

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# Then [it was] by a mercy from God that thou wert gentle with them. Hadst thou been severe [and] hard-hearted they would have scattered from about thee. So pardon them, ask forgiveness for them, and consult them in affairs. And when thou art resolved, trust in God; truly God loves those who trust. 

159 Other verses describing the Prophet’s treatment of the believers include 7:199; 9:128; 26:215. This gentleness was directed toward the Prophet’s Companions and followers who had fallen short in their conduct during the battle (Ṭ). Scattered from about thee means they would have left the Prophet (Ṭ). Consult them in af airs refers to matters of war, since the Prophet by definition would not consult them in matters of revelation (Q, R). Before the battle the Prophet did precisely that, consulting with the Muslims of Madinah about whether they should remain in the city or ride out to meet the idolaters in battle (see v. 121). Many view any consultation carried out by the Prophet to be superfluous and good only as a kind of flattery, since he had revelation and needed no one’s advice (Q), but this is rejected by many, and the Prophet did consult his contemporaries, men and women, in many matters. Some see the Prophet’s act of consulting others as a means of establishing consultation as a wont of his community (R). Others note that there are all sorts of things to be known in the world and quote the Prophet’s qualification of his own knowledge of the world in the famous ḥadīth, “You all know more about the affairs of this world of yours,” thus giving a more substantive interpretation to the Prophet’s consultation. According to one view, this verse reassures the Companions not only that they were forgiven, but that God still looks upon them with favor by telling the Prophet to consider their judgment (R). Consult them in af airs also contains guidance for politics in general and the affairs between human beings and throughout the centuries has been important for Islamic political thought and the ideal of political action and especially in the modern period when Muslims have sometimes used the Quranic concept of consultation to interpret the Western notion of democracy. When thou art resolved means when the Prophet has come to a decision on his own, not based on consultation (Q), or that after the Prophet has gone through consultation, he should then make his attitude one of trust in God, not in human deliberations (R). On the subject of gentleness, al-Rāzī quotes a saying attributed to ʿAlī: “God has been so good to us! We were idolaters, and if the Messenger of God had come with this entire religion all at once, and with the Quran all at once, the responsibilities would have weighed heavily upon us, and we would not have entered Islam. Rather, he called us to a single word, and when we accepted it and tasted the sweetness of faith, we accepted what came after it, word upon word, in a gentle way, until the religion was completed and the law was perfected.” The Prophet is to pardon them when it is a matter of their having violated his rights and ask forgiveness for them insofar as they have violated God’s rights (R, Z). Al-Rāzī argues that this is an obligation only for the Prophet and that the believers are merely encouraged to do so, since “the sins of those brought nigh (muqarrabūn) are the virtues of the pious (abrār).” He also notes that this verse indicates that even great sins can be forgiven, since 8:16 states that turning one’s back on the enemy during battle shall certainly earn wrath from God, and fleeing from the battlefield is often listed as one of the great sins, though this is not universally held. The concept of trust (tawakkul) is a cornerstone of Islamic spirituality, and believers are told to trust in God in dozens of verses (e.g., 4:81; 5:23; 8:61; 25:28). 

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# If God helps you, none shall overcome you. And if He forsakes you, who then can help you thereafter? And in God let the believers trust. 

160 This verse is often interpreted to mean that God helped the believers at Badr, but forsook them at Uḥud (R). Thereafter means after being forsaken, but it can also be read as referring back to God, in which case it would be rendered “who can help you other than He?” (R). This verse is one of the most famous Quranic verses, cited often by Muslims throughout life. In reaffirming the supremacy of God’s Power, this verse is similar in rhetorical form to 10:107; 28:71; 39:38: If God desires some harm for me, could they remove His Harm, or if He desires some mercy, could they withhold His Mercy? 

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# It is not for any prophet to defraud. And whosoever defrauds will bring what he obtained by fraud on the Day of Resurrection. Then every soul shall be paid what it has earned in full, and they shall not be wronged. 

161 Defraud renders a verb often associated with the unfair distribution of the spoils of war or purloining of some part of it. For some this refers to the battle of Badr when a valuable textile went missing, and it was said the Prophet might have taken it, on which occasion this verse was revealed (R, Ṭ). For others it is simply a command to distribute the spoils equitably and not favor one person or group over another (Ṭ). Another view sees the purpose of this revelation was simply to inform people that the Prophet does not do such a thing, which is alṬabarī’s preferred interpretation (Ṭ). Some say that this verse refers to the matter of the archers, who were initially given none of the spoils they precipitously sought to secure during the battle, or that it refers to certain expeditionary groups the Prophet sent out, distributing the spoils before their return (Q, Ṭ). Others say it was revealed after the archers tried to explain themselves and the motivation for their hasty decision, meaning that they did not need to act as they did to guarantee their shares (R). Still others say that this verse has nothing to do with spoils, but commands the Prophet never to withhold from people any of the revelation he has been given (Ṭ). In another view it has the general sense of “no prophet should betray anyone” or “no prophet should be betrayed” (Q, Ṭ). In connection with whosoever defrauds will bring what he obtained by fraud some mention various aḥādīth describing how people will come to the Prophet on the Day of Judgment literally with the objects they wrongfully took hanging around their necks, even with stolen animals upon their backs. They will ask for the Prophet’s help, but he will not be able to give it (Q, Ṭ). This is a message similar to that of v. 180: On the Day of Resurrection they will be collared by that with which they were miserly. Though many commentators treat this verse in the context of purloining the spoils of war, they also generalize it to refer to any kind of embezzlement or misuse of a trust (Q, R). To consume or keep the spoils of war before they are fairly divided is considered by many to be a major sin, subject to varying levels of punishment, including physical punishment (Q). More broadly, any kind of mishandling or corruption in the matter of public goods is severely condemned in Islam. In connection with this verse some commentators mention a ḥadīth describing a man who was sent by the Prophet to collect the alms (zakāh); when he returned he said, “This is for you, and this was given as a gift to me.” The Prophet severely reprimanded him for this, asking if he waited for his gift at his mother’s and father’s house, meaning that the accepting of the “gift” was an unjust practice that could not have been applied to all people equally. 

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# Is he who pursues God’s Contentment like one who earns a burden of anger from God, and whose refuge is Hell? An evil journey’s end! 

162 Similar verses comparing believers and unbelievers, the righteous and the unrighteous, include 32:18; 38:28; 45:21. The notion of a burden of anger or wrath from God also appears in 2:61, 90; 3:112. 

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# They are ranked in degrees in the sight of God, and God sees whatsoever they do. 

163 Ranked in degrees can mean at the most basic level that the two aforementioned groups in v. 162 are at different levels in this world (Ṭ), but it is also interpreted to mean that those who are punished are ranked at different levels of suffering in the Hereafter, just as those who achieve Paradise experience varying levels of bliss (R). That God will reward or punish in degrees in accord with people’s actions is explicitly stated in 6:132 and 46:19. On this topic see also the essay “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran.” This verse can also be seen as a general affirmation of the general principle that reality consists of a hierarchy of levels. 

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# God certainly favored the believers when He sent them a Messenger from among themselves, who recites His signs unto them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom, while aforetime they were in manifest error. 

164 The wording of this verse closely matches that of 2:129 and links the coming of the Prophet Muhammad with the prayer of Abraham in that verse; see also 2:151; 62:2. That a human being like them, from among themselves, should be God’s Messenger was a cause of the idolaters’ incredulity and denial of Muhammad’s prophethood, as in 54:24: Shall we follow a single human being from among us? and 11:12: Why has no treasure been sent down upon him, or an angel not come with him? Part of the answer to this latter question is given in 15:8: We do not send down the angels, save in truth, and were We to do so, they would be granted no respite. In 7:69 they are questioned as to why they marvel at this appointment of a human being like them, an incredulousness also described in 10:2; 38:4; 50:2. Manifest error refers to their state in the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance. 

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# And when an affliction befell you, though you wrought an affliction twice its like, did you say, “Whence is this?” Say, “It is from yourselves.” Truly God is Powerful over all things. 

165 According to this verse, the believers caused twice the affliction to the idolaters at Badr that the idolaters caused at Uḥud. The number of believers killed at Uḥud is considered to have been 70; at Badr the believers killed approximately 70 idolaters, but also took 70 prisoners (Ṭ), which is in a sense equivalent to twice as many, because prisoners can be executed; if they had executed the prisoners, that would mean 140 people killed (Q). For some this verse means that the believers were afflicted at Uḥud because they ransomed the prisoners of Badr, while others say this happened because they disobeyed the Prophet through their aforementioned faltering or pursuing the spoils or by running away (R, Ṭ). Some suggest that twice its like refers to this retreat; that is, the believers put the idolaters to flight at the battle of Badr and had done so also at the start of the battle of Uḥud, though the battle later turned against them and they were put to flight, resulting in the believers routing the idolaters twice overall, but suffering that fate themselves only once (R). Whence is this? refers to the flight during the battle, meaning, “If this is a true prophet, why did this rout take place?” (R) 

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# And that which befell you on the day the two hosts met was by God’s Leave, and that He may know the believers, 

166 Regarding that He may know the believers, see 3:140–41c. The day the two hosts met refers to the Battle of Uḥud. 

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# and that He may know the hypocrites. And it was said unto them, “Come, fight in the way of God or defend [yourselves].” They said, “Had we known there would be fighting, we would have followed you.” That day they were closer to disbelief than to belief, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And God knows best what they conceal. 

167 Regarding that He may know the hypocrites, see 3:140–41c. This verse refers to the withdrawal of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy with approximately three hundred others before the battle began (see v. 121). When called upon to stay and fight with the Prophet, he said, “We do not believe there will be fighting. If we knew that there would be fighting, we would be with you” (Q). This can mean either that they did not believe there would be fighting, only a kind of tense standoff, or that if fighting ensued, it would not be a battle, but an all-out massacre (R); in either case, their attitude would have been hypocritical, not sincere. Or defend [yourselves] means that, if they would not fight in the way of God, they should at least fight in their own self-defense (Q); that is, they should not be cowards. Or it can mean that they should “repel” the enemy, even if there is no fighting, by at least remaining on the battlefield, forming ranks, and giving the appearance of greater numbers (Ṭ). Some say they were closer to disbelief than to belief shows that one should not call anyone who declares the testimony of faith (shahādah) a disbeliever, since even God said only that they were closer to disbelief (kufr) than to belief (īmān), rather than calling them disbelievers outright (R). For others this means that outwardly they were closer to disbelief, but inwardly actually fully disbelievers (Q). 

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# Those who said of their brethren, while they were sitting [at home], “Had they obeyed us, they would not have been slain.” Say, “Then ward off death from yourselves, if you are truthful.” 

168 It is said that this verse was revealed in connection with ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy and other hypocrites. What they said to the survivors regarding those who had been killed (Ṭ) is similar to the statement in v. 156: Had they stayed with us, they would not have died and been slain. The theological issues related to death are similar to those of v. 156: all matters of life and death are determined and ordained by God (R). In a sense this verse, like v. 156, exposes the illogicality of applying a counterfactual argument when it concerns God’s Will. Since it was the Will of God for them to die that day, the hypocrites are in essence claiming to know what God would have done under other circumstances, though they do not realize that this is the logical conclusion of their assertion. It is as if they were saying, “You could have warded off death by staying home,” to which the reply is that no one can ward off death at a place and time ordained by God. These words would have been spoken not only regarding brethren in the spiritual sense, but also concerning blood relatives (Q). 

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# And deem not those slain in the way of God to be dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, provided for, 

# exulting in what God has given them from His Bounty, and rejoicing in those who have not yet joined them from among those who remain behind—that no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve— 

# rejoicing in Blessing and Bounty from God, and that God neglects not the reward of the believers, 

169–71 See 2:154c, which also negates the notion that those who are slain in the way of God are dead. Unlike 2:154, these verses expand upon the description of those who were killed in the way of God, but are truly alive. Commentators mention accounts similar to that of the green birds around the Divine Throne described in 2:154c. Other accounts describe how, in the midst of receiving all that they ask for, the believers ask to return to the world so that they can die again in the way of God (R, Ṭ). They are alive with their Lord can also be understood as “God knows them to be alive,” or it means that they are in proximity to God, as reflected in the translation. Al-Rāzī considers and rejects the idea that this means that they will be alive in the future in the Hereafter, preferring the understanding that they are alive at that instant. Since all human beings will be alive in the Hereafter, he argues, there would be no purpose to saying, And deem not those slain in the way of God to be dead. Moreover, that they are rejoicing in those who have not yet joined them shows that they are alive at that moment. These and similar verses were used extensively in Islamic theology to support the idea that souls are alive between physical death and the Resurrection, against the views of some theologians such as some Ash carites. Vv. 169–71, even more so than 2:154, raise questions regarding the state of those who have died while others remain alive in this world, since they describe the dead as exulting and rejoicing. In traditional Islamic eschatology, there is a stage after death called the “trial of the grave,” which is sometimes referred to as the barzakh, or “barrier,” and lasts until the Day of Resurrection (yawm alqiyāmah), when all human beings rise from their graves, as described in many verses (e.g., 22:7; 54:7). Many aḥādīth allude to the experience of souls in this intervening period; in them the Prophet speaks to or prays at the graves of people, virtuous souls experience the grave as spacious and light-filled, and vicious souls are beset with torments and a state of narrow confinement. It is said that souls will be questioned in the grave by the angels Nakīr and Munkar regarding their conduct in life. Then, after this questioning in the barzakh, at the end of the world, all human beings will be resurrected and face final judgment. In a particularly vivid account, it is reported that after the Battle of Badr the Prophet called out to the slain of the enemy, “Have you found what your Lord promised to be true?” When asked why he was addressing the dead, he told the questioners, “You cannot hear better than they can.” Other aḥādīth say that the recently deceased can hear the footsteps of the funeral procession, are tormented by the wailing of their relatives, or are comforted by the prayers of the Prophet at their graves. Among the funeral rites commonly practiced by Muslims is the “instruction of the dead” (talqīn al-mayyit), in which people “instruct” the dead and remind them of their faith in the Oneness of God and in the Prophet Muhammad, although some claim this practice is valid only as one approaches death, not after death. Moreover the recital of verses of the Quran at the burial, especially Sūrah 36, Yā Sīn, and 55, al-Raḥmān, is a practice that most Muslims consider to be a sunnah of the Prophet, done for the benefit of the dead, not the living. Moreover, almost all Muslims believe that, wherever they are, if they send prayers and salutations to the Prophet, these will be conveyed to him, and indeed an address to the Prophet, “Peace be upon thee, O Prophet” (al-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuha ’l-nabī), is a part of the canonical prayer (ṣalāh); see 33:56c. It is not easy to classify neatly the stages of the soul’s journey beyond this world, since the Quran and Ḥadīth describe torments and pleasures experienced after death, then during the Day of Judgment itself after the resurrection of the dead, and finally at the various levels of the Garden and the Fire. Verses such as 2:154 and 3:169 do not give details regarding “where” the dead are, and the picture is further enriched (and perhaps made more imponderable) by aḥādīth such as “The grave is a Garden from among the Gardens of Paradise, or a pit from among the pits of the Fire”; “The grave is the first station of the Hereafter. If a person is delivered from it, what comes after is easier, but if he is not delivered, what comes after is harsher”; and, “Whosoever among you has died, his resurrection has taken place.” One can imagine that, after death, time is not the linear time experienced in this life. A person’s temporal journey after death transcends time as experienced by the living, partially or totally, so that the departed can be in Paradise “now” from a certain point of view, even though the Day of Resurrection is still in the future according to the view from this world. These verses and aḥādīth speak to those who are still in this world and its spatial and temporal confines and suggest that the soul retains a kind of attachment to the physical body and to the world, even as it exists in another dimension or level of reality. Other traditions, such as those describing souls who are spared the questioning of the Day of Judgment, and indeed 2:154 and 3:169 suggest that exalted souls detach themselves from the world easily and quickly and ascend to God’s proximity, while worldly souls, to varying degrees, cling to the world in accordance with their attachment to it. V. 170 suggests that those who have died have a certain benevolent solicitude and relationship to those still living in this world, rejoicing in those who have not yet joined them. It should be noted that a central doctrine of Islamic eschatology is the affirmation of bodily resurrection, that in the Hereafter human beings will be embodied, not disembodied spirits, although these will be bodies of another kind, sometimes called “subtle” (laṭīf) or “luminous” (nūrānī) bodies in various schools of Islamic philosophy and Sufism. Even the trials in the grave are described in bodily as well as spiritual terms, as are the tribulations of the Day of Judgment, the rewards of Paradise, and the punishments of the Fire (all of which must be understood symbolically). 

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# who responded to God and the Messenger after being afflicted by wounds; for those among them who have been virtuous and reverent there shall be a great reward, 

172 The day after the Battle of Uḥud, the Prophet called those who had participated in the battle the previous day to set out with him to pursue the Makkans, who were still on the road between Makkah and Madinah and might have returned for another attack. Most of the Muslims, including the Prophet, were already wounded. They stopped several miles outside Madinah, at a place called Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad. Although the Muslims were badly wounded and even fewer in number than they had been the previous day, the Prophet was able to arrange for a man from the tribe of Khuzāʿah (a non-Muslim tribe with whom the Prophet had a treaty) to tell the idolaters that the Madinans were in hot pursuit of them and in far greater numbers than what the Makkans had encountered the previous day, because they now included all those who had remained in the city away from the fighting. Additionally, the Prophet ordered hundreds of individual campfires to be lit at night, in sight of the Makkan camp, to give the illusion of greater numbers. A minority of commentators hold that these verses deal with the incident of the “Lesser Badr,” referring to an agreement reportedly made between the two sides immediately after Uḥud to meet on the anniversary of the Battle of Badr at the site of the original battle. According to this account, the Prophet and his followers set out to meet the opponents at the appointed time and place, but the idolaters did not follow through on the promise to have another battle. Ultimately, the believers found only a market there, where they bought goods and returned to Madinah (Q); see 3:174c. 

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# to whom the people said, “Truly the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it increased them in faith, and they said, “God suffices us, an excellent Guardian is He!” 

173 These words of warning were reported to have been spoken either by travelers on the way to Madinah who passed by the Makkan contingent on the road or by the hypocrites, who had been warning against fighting all along (Q), reminding the Madinans of the possibility of the Makkans’ regrouping and attacking Madinah again. Indeed, many of the Makkans were eager to return to Madinah to win a more decisive victory. The word of the Madinans’ greater numbers and eagerness for battle along with the appearance of campfires indicating substantially greater numbers led the Makkans to decide against returning to Madinah. The declaration God suf ices us or God suf ices me also appears in 9:59, 129; 39:38; God suf ices us, an excellent Guardian is He! (ḥasbunā’Llāh wa niʿma’l-wakīl) is a famous prayer invoked often by Muslims especially at times of danger. This verse is interpreted allegorically to mean that those of a spiritual nature should not be discouraged when worldly people unite to repudiate them, and that in fact the repudiation of worldly people will be only further proof of the truth of their spiritual attainment (Aj). 

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# So they returned with Blessing and Bounty from God, untouched by evil. And they pursued the Contentment of God, and God is Possessed of Tremendous Bounty. 

174 They were untouched by evil in the sense of having avoided harm or injury from the enemy, since they returned to Madinah having staved off a second battle (Ṭ). Alternately, it may refer to their returning from the “Lesser Badr” without having to engage in fighting (see v. 172). Some say the blessing refers to worldly goods, while bounty is a good of the Hereafter (R). 

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# That is only Satan, sowing fear of his friends. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are believers. 

175 According to this verse, Satan inspires the disbelievers to frighten the believers (Q, Ṭ). Here Satan may also refer to the disbelievers and hypocrites themselves, since human beings can also be referred to as “satans” in the Quran (R; see 2:14c; 6:112c). The believers’ assertion that God suffices them (v. 173) in the face of the attempts of others to frighten them (this verse) also appears in 39:35. The command to fear them not, but fear Me is also found in 2:150 and 5:3. 

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# And let not those who hasten unto disbelief grieve thee. Truly they will not harm God in the least. God desires to give them no share in the Hereafter, and theirs shall be a great punishment. 

176 The Prophet is spoken of as being grieved or saddened by others’ disbelief and denial in 5:41: Let them not grieve thee; 10:65 and 36:76: Let not their speech grieve thee; 31:23: Let not his disbelief grieve thee; 35:8: So let not thy soul be expended in regrets over them. The notion of having a share in the Hereafter refers to having a share in its goodness and blessing (see 3:77 and commentary), not that such people will have no experience in the Hereafter whatsoever. Those who hasten unto disbelief may include the idolatrous Makkans, who were the Prophet’s own kinsmen trying to harm him (R); the People of the Book, who according to the Quran should have recognized and followed him; or the hypocrites, who claimed belief, but strove to undercut the believers at many turns (Q). 

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# Truly those who have purchased disbelief at the price of belief will not hurt God in the least, and theirs shall be a painful punishment. 

177 Using the mercantile image of buying and selling as a metaphorical description of fruits of human moral choices and actions is a common rhetorical construction in the Quran. For other examples, see 2:16 and 2:175, which speak of those who have purchased error at the price of guidance; and 2:86: It is they who have purchased the world at the price of the Hereafter. 

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# And let not those who disbelieve suppose that the respite We grant them is good for them. We only grant them respite that they may increase in sin, and theirs shall be a humiliating punishment. 

178 The respite We grant them refers to the disbelievers being given more life to live, instead of dying or being killed. That they should not suppose that the respite We grant them is good for them can be interpreted to mean that, since they are disbelievers, giving them long life can only be worse for them, or it can mean that God punishes their disbelief by increasing them in it, in which case the dark state of disbelief (kufr) is a punishment in itself and not only a cause of later punishment. That God should respond to disbelief by giving people the opportunity to increase in their disbelief raises theological questions about whether human beings are always free to believe, but God’s response can be better understood if one interprets the state of kufr (which is a state of being without guidance, meaning, or hope) as suffering itself, which also entails further suffering by leading one to commit further evil actions (see also 2:7c). Some read the verb suppose in the imperative (Q), giving the translation, “And do not suppose that the respite We grant to those who disbelieve is good for them.” Al-Rāzī describes a debate between Ashʿarites and Muʿtazilites over the question of whether God “wants” some people to increase in sin (We only grant them respite that they may increase in sin; see also v. 176: God desires to give them no share in the Hereafter). The Ashʿarites argue that this means God is the agent of both good and evil from the point of view of human beings (R). The Muʿtazilites, however, argue that since God did not create jinn and mankind save to worship Him (51:56), He does not desire for them to disbelieve and rebel. The Ashʿarites respond that 51:56 is a general verse, but 3:178 is specific and still holds true in the face of it. The Muʿtazilites go on to argue that what would be good for them relates specifically to the outcome of battle, meaning that they should not think that their survival during the battle is better than the death of those who fought in the way of God, since all it achieved was allowing them to go on living in a wicked state; God granted them life, but not because He favored them. Another interpretation reads the particle in this sentence as representing causation, not intent, so that it would be translated, “We grant them a respite which only results in their increasing in sin.” Al-Rāzī rejects this interpretation as a contradiction of the verse’s plain sense. 

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# God will not leave the believers as you are till He separates the bad from the good. And God will not apprise you of the Unseen, but God chooses from His messengers whomsoever He will. So believe in God and His messengers. And if you believe and are reverent, you shall have a great reward. 

179 That God will separate the bad (khabīth) from the good (ṭayyib) means He will separate the hypocrites from the sincere believers (Ṭ). Some interpret these words as being addressed to the disbelievers and hypocrites, meaning that God would not leave the believers in the same state as those who disbelieve. However, for most commentators it is an address to the believers themselves, promising them that they will not be left mixed together with the hypocrites and disbelievers (Q). God will not apprise you of the Unseen means that He will not reveal what is in the hearts and minds of human beings (i.e., whether they are truly believers or not), but rather will use trials and tribulations as a means of exposing the sincerity or hypocrisy of people, as happened at the Battle of Uḥud, when the sincerity of the believers was tested (R, Ṭ). Some say that this verse was revealed after the believers asked for a way to distinguish between the true believers and the hypocrites (Q). Others say that it was, rather, a challenge issued by an opponent of the Prophet, bidding him to tell the difference between the two groups (Ṭ). But God chooses from His messengers whomsoever He will means that He singles them out from among other human beings, to be given knowledge regarding the state of people’s hearts (R, Ṭ). Spiritually, this verse can be understood as a description of the purification of the soul, a removal of the bad from the good, encouraging spiritual travelers to continue on the path but without expecting, as their final goal, to gain any kind of secret knowledge by it; rather, they should be seeking after God alone (Aj). 

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# And let not those who are miserly with what God has given them from His Bounty suppose that it is good for them; rather, it is evil for them. On the Day of Resurrection they will be collared by that with which they were miserly. And unto God belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, and God is Aware of whatsoever you do. 

180 This verse is interpreted to refer to the hoarding of both material wealth and spiritual knowledge; those who did not share spiritual knowledge are the People of the Book, because they refused to teach the Book they had (Ṭ). The imagery of being collared by what one withheld is similar to the imagery in v. 161. Among the interpretations attributed to the Prophet for this verse is that a person’s hoard of wealth will appear on the Day of Judgment as a serpent following him, slowly consuming him or wrapping itself around him, and the serpent will say to him, “I am your wealth; I am your treasure.” The deleterious effects of miserliness are also discussed in 4:37; 47:37–38; 57:24. The end of this verse is similar to 19:40: We shall inherit the earth and whatsoever is upon it. Commentators distinguish between human inheritance and the kind spoken of here, in that God is always in possession of the heavens and the earth and inherits them only in the sense that all other owners cease to be and He alone remains (Q, R, Ṭ). 

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# God has certainly heard the words of those who said, “God is poor, and we are rich.” We shall record what they said, and their slaying of the prophets without right, and We shall say, “Taste the punishment of the burning.” 

# That is because of what your hands sent forth, and because God wrongs not His servants. 

181–82 It is said that some Jews, upon hearing the verse Who shall lend God a goodly loan? (2:245; 57:11), taunted the Muslims by saying that this means that they are rich and God is poor, not because they actually believed it, but in order to stir up disquiet in the hearts of the weak among the believers (Q); see also 47:38: God is the Rich, and you are the poor. Their words and deeds will be recorded in the book they will read from on the Day of Judgment (Q), referred to in 17:13–14; 18:49; 69:19–25; 78:29; 84:7–10. Slaying of the prophets without right (see also 2:61c) refers to events in the Israelite past, but is also interpreted here (and in other places) as a reference to their approval or acceptance of it (Q). In this vein, some quote a ḥadīth of the Prophet: “When a sin is committed on earth, whosoever is present but deplores it is like one who was absent from it. Whosoever is absent from it but approves it is like one who was present.” 

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# [As for] those who say, “Truly God has committed us to not believe in any messenger until he brings us a sacrifice consumed by fire, ” say, “Messengers certainly came before me with clear proofs and with that whereof you speak; so why did you slay them, if you are truthful?” 

183 The commentators describe a challenge posed to the Prophet by some prominent Jews, who asked him to prepare a sacrificial offering that would be consumed by a fire from Heaven (Q, Ṭ). Fire coming down from Heaven or from an angel is mentioned in the Bible in connection with Elijah (1 Kings 18:22–38), David (1 Chronicles 21:26), Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:1), Gideon (Judges 6:21), and Manoah (Judges 13:20). Many commentators note that since a miraculously burned offering was not exhibited even by all the prophets of Israel, and since the practice of Jewish animal sacrifice had stopped after the destruction of the Second Temple, the challenge thus amounted to an empty and cynical ploy (R). On the slaying of the prophets more generally, see 2:61c. As a spiritual allegory, this verse is seen as describing the soul’s stubbornness in refusing to follow the spiritual way and coming up with excuses to fool itself (Aj). 

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# So if they deny thee, they certainly did deny messengers before thee, who came with clear proofs, scriptures, and the luminous Book. 

184 The clear proofs are various demonstrations of truth (IK, Q). Scriptures renders zubur, which etymologically means something that is written; according to some it can refer to any book containing wisdom (R). It is different from zabūr, which refers specifically to the Psalms of David (al-Zabūr). Luminous Book refers to the Torah and the Gospel, but is not necessarily something different from the scriptures (zubur); the and in and the luminous Book signifies that scriptures and luminous Book are the same object (R), although scriptures can refer to Divine revelations sent to messengers in a more general sense (e.g., to Abraham, as mentioned in 87:18–19; IK). 

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# Every soul shall taste death, and you will indeed be paid your reward in full on the Day of Resurrection. And whosoever is distanced from the Fire and made to enter the Garden has certainly triumphed. And the life of this world is naught but the enjoyment of delusion. 

185 The Arabic allows this first phrase (also in 21:35; 29:57) to be also translated, “Every soul tastes death” and “Every soul is a taster of death,” signifying that death is not only a future event, but can also be a state of being or a recurring experience of the soul. Some mention that, in connection with whosoever is distanced from the Fire and made to enter the Garden, the Prophet said, “The area covered by a whip [i.e., how far you can reach with a whip] in the Garden is better than this world and everything in it.” Verses similar in theme include All things perish, save His Face (28:88); and All upon it passes away. And there remains the Face of thy Lord, Possessed of Majesty and Bounty (55:26–27). AlQushayrī says of this verse that the cup of death has been placed in the hand of every living being, and one can either drink it well and find bliss or drink it with a grimace and a wail. It is a very often quoted verse among Muslims and even appears on many tombstones. See also the essay “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran.” Delusion (ghurūr) connotes vanities, deception, pride, and even peril; enjoyment of delusion also appears in 57:20. The notion of this world as being a place of ephemeral enjoyment (matāʿ) is mentioned throughout the Quran (e.g., 2:36; 3:14, 197; 4:77; 7:24; 9:38; 10:23, 70; 16:80, 117; 21:111; 28:60–61; 36:44; 40:39; 42:36; 43:35). 

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# You will surely be tried in your wealth and your souls, and you shall hear much hurt from those who were given the Book before you, and from those who are idolaters. But if you are patient and reverent, then that is indeed a course worthy of resolve. 

186 Your souls can be rendered “yourselves,” but also as “your own,” meaning your near kinsmen and members of your clan or tribe (Ṭ). The trial of wealth and souls is also mentioned in 2:155: And We will indeed test you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth, souls, and fruits. Much hurt refers to taunts and insults; it renders an Arabic word that can mean both physical harm and verbal deprecation as well as falsehoods and blasphemies about God and His prophets (Ṭ). A course worthy of resolve also appears in 31:17; 42:43. This verse reflects other verses that counsel patience and forbearance in the face of those who reject the prophetic messages, such as 20:44, where Moses and Aaron are commanded with regard to Pharaoh, Yet speak unto him gently, that haply he may remember or have fear; 41:34: Repel [evil] with that which is better; then behold, the one between whom and thee there is enmity shall be as if he were a loyal protecting friend; and 45:14: Tell those who believe to forgive those who hope not for the days of God. Al-Rāzī and al-Qurṭubī reject the argument that this verse is abrogated by the verses allowing fighting, since patience and leniency in the face of ridicule and insults was a wont of the Prophet and his Companions throughout their lives, even during the days of war (Q, R). 

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# [Remember] when God made the covenant with those who were given the Book, “You shall make it clear to the people, and not conceal it.” Then they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a paltry price. Evil indeed is their selling! 

187 God made the covenant is interpreted to mean that the prophets made a covenant with their peoples by God’s Leave (Ṭ). This verse can be understood as a general condemnation of anyone who is given knowledge, but then does not teach it, even though it is speaking specifically of the Jews (Q). The it in make it clear . . . and not conceal it refers back to the Book, though some offer the interpretation that this refers more specifically to the foretellings of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad believed by Muslims to be found in earlier scriptures (Q, R; see 7:157). The Prophet said, “Whosoever conceals knowledge from his people will wear one of the bridles of the Fire,” and ʿAlī said, “God tasks no ignorant person with learning until he tasks a learned person with teaching.” On this theme of the People of the Book concealing what God has revealed to them, see also 2:42, 76, 140, 146, 159, 174; 3:71; 5:15; 6:91. The casting aside of the covenant and the Book is also mentioned in 2:100–101 and refers to the lack of commitment to it and failure to live according to its teachings (R). 

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# Do not suppose that those who exult in what they have brought about and love to be praised for what they have not done—do not suppose that they are delivered from the punishment; theirs is a painful punishment. 

188 Those who exult in what they have brought about while wanting to be praised for what they have not done find happiness in worldly things and passions, yet want to be known as sincere, pious people (R). The commentators mention different kinds of hypocrisy and deceit to which this verse seems to be referring. It is reported by some that this verse was revealed in connection with certain hypocrites who would find an excuse not to go out with the Prophet when he left for a battle, but would seek pardon from him upon his return and, moreover, seek to be praised for their actions (IK). Or it refers simply to the hypocrites in general, those who wanted to be praised for a faith they did not possess. Others say it refers to the practices of People of the Book, such as distorting their scriptures and then wanting to be praised as devoted people of religion. Or it refers to the concealing of truth mentioned in v. 187, exulting in this concealment while still desiring to be praised as learned (R). 

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# Unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and God is Powerful over all things. 

189 On God’s having sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, see also 5:17, 40; 24:42; 42:49; 45:27; 48:14; 67:1c. 

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# Truly in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variation of the night and the day are signs for the possessors of intellect, 

190 It is said that the Prophet would recite vv. 190–200 of this sūrah every night. When it was first revealed, the Prophet stood to pray, and while he was praying Bilāl came to call him to the congregational prayer, found him weeping, and said, “O Messenger of God, why dost thou weep, though God has forgiven thee whatever sins you have or may commit?” He said, “O Bilāl, shall I not be a grateful servant, since God has revealed the verse Truly in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variation of the night and the day are signs for the possessors of intellect?” He then said, “Woe unto him who recites it and does not reflect upon it” (Q). Muslims are therefore advised not only to read, but also to meditate deeply upon the meanings—in fact, levels of meaning—of this verse. Creation renders khalq, which can refer not only to God’s creative Act, but also to the nature or qualities of the heavens and the earth as being created, or makhlūq. On the variation of the night and the day, see also 2:164 (where the creation of the heavens and the earth is also mentioned); 10:6; 23:80; 45:5. For a discussion of possessors of intellect (ūlu’l-albāb), see 2:179c; 39:9c; see also 13:19; 14:52; 38:29; 39:18. 

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# who remember God standing, sitting, and lying upon their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, “Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Shield us from the punishment of the Fire. 

191 Standing, sitting, and lying as three modes of remembering God are also mentioned in 4:103. On one level, one should always be remembering God, since a human being is always in one of these three states (R). It can refer also to remembrance in the heart, by the tongue (R), or in the various positions of the prayer (e.g., for people who must perform the canonical prayer sitting or lying down due to physical disability or illness; IK). It can, moreover, refer to all modes of remembrance, including the recitation of the Quran, and it is one of the scriptural bases of the Sufi practice of remembrance of God (dhikr Allāh) at all times. That creation is not in vain is echoed in 21:16: We did not create Heaven and earth and whatsoever is between them in play; and 38:27: And We did not create Heaven and earth and whatsoever is between them in vain; that is the conjecture of those who disbelieve. Nevertheless, the positive symbolic nature of the world as an object of contemplation, emphasized in the Quran, and its reflecting the Wisdom of its Creator should not be confused with the seductive, dispersive dimension of life in this world, spoken of in 6:32 as but play and diversion (also in 29:64; 47:36; 57:20). The “life” of this world suggests the frailties and passions of the subjective ego, which can turn God’s creation into a diversion and end in itself, but God’s creative Act and the objective nature of the heavens and the earth as reflections of His Qualities and Wisdom are signs pointing to truths beyond themselves. Other verses that mention the nature of God’s creation as an object of reflection or meditation include 10:24; 13:3; 16:11, 69; 30:8; 45:13. This verse also indicates that one can meditate upon God through His creation and His Attributes and Qualities reflected in it, but not upon God’s Essence directly, since the Divine Essence can never be the direct object of meditation by limited human consciousness (R). In this sense this verse echoes the message of 41:53: We shall show them Our signs upon the horizons and within themselves till it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. A ḥadīth states, “One hour of reflection [or meditation, tafakkur] is better than a night’s vigil.” Meditation and reflection are mentioned many times in the Quran (13:3; 16:11, 44, 69; 30:21; 39:42; 45:13; 59:21), and the notion of reflection (tafakkur or fikr) forms an important foundation of Islamic spirituality. Some say, “Reflection (fikr) is the lamp of the heart. If it vanishes the heart has no illumination” (Aj). It is reported that the wife of Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī said he would spend his days in reflection in a corner of his house, and the wife of Abū Bakr said that is how he would spend his nights (Aj). In this vein, Ḥasan al-Baṣrī is reported to have said, “If one’s words are not wisdom, they are vain. If one’s silence is not reflection, it is absentmindedness. If one’s thought is not contemplation, it is play” (Aj). Shield us from . . . the Fire is a theme that appears also in 2:201; 3:16; 40:7. 

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# Our Lord! Whomsoever Thou makest to enter into the Fire, Thou hast surely disgraced him. And the wrongdoers shall have no helpers. 

192 This “disgrace” is said to be specific to those who enter the Fire but never leave it, not those who are only there for a time (Q, Ṭ). On this topic alṬabarī quotes a saying of Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that those who committed some sin will enter the Fire, but will at some point leave it because of the faith that exists in their hearts. For more on this issue, see the essay “Death, Dying, and the Afterlife in the Quran.” This verse also shows the spiritual or psychic torment of the Hereafter, since disgrace is not a material punishment (R), just as They shall hear no idle talk therein, but only “Peace!” (19:62) does not describe material rewards in the Garden. This verse has been sometimes employed by theologians in the debate over whether the perpetrator of a great sin can still be considered a believer or if such a person will enter the Fire. Since in 66:8 it is said that the Day of Judgment is the Day when God will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believe with him, some assert that no believers can enter the Fire, since, in doing so, they would be disgraced (R). 

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# Our Lord! Truly we have heard a caller calling to faith, saying ‘Believe in your Lord, ’so we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and absolve us of our evil deeds, and take us unto Thee with the pious. 

193 The caller is most often interpreted to be the Prophet Muhammad, though some see it as a reference to the Quran itself, since the Quran reaches everyone and only a limited number of people actually heard the Prophet (R). Found in many manuals of prayer, this verse is one of the most famous Islamic prayers and is repeated often by pious Muslims. 

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# Our Lord! Give us what Thou hast promised us through Thy messengers, and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection. Truly Thou wilt not fail the tryst.” 

194 What Thou hast promised us through Thy messengers can mean either that God made the promise to the messengers, or that the messengers conveyed this promise to others (R), or both. Here al-Rāzī comments on the apparent pointlessness of praying to God to do something He would do in any case, such as fulfilling His Promise, noting that such prayers are not calls to action, but rather expressions of humility, deference, and meekness by the believer, such as 21:112: My Lord, judge with truth! and 40:7: Our Lord, Thou dost encompass all things in Mercy and Knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Thy way. That is, these are supplications, but God does not do these things as a response to them; rather, these supplications are a kind of response to those actions by God. V. 191 mentions the bodily punishment of the Fire, but here the believers seek deliverance from the spiritual punishment of disgrace (R). 

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# So their Lord answered them, “I shall not let the work of any worker among you, male or female, be in vain; each of you is like the other. So those who emigrated, and were expelled from their homes, and were hurt in My way, and fought and were slain—I shall absolve them of their evil deeds and shall make them enter Gardens with rivers running below, a reward from God. And God, with Him is the most beautiful reward. 

195 Each of you is like the other means that reward for obedience and righteous deeds is not differentiated between men and women or different tribes and groups (R). The phrase can also mean “Each of you is ‘of’ the other,” in the manner of “Whosoever does that is one ‘of’ us” (R). Moral equality between men and women is also mentioned in other verses, such as 9:71: But the believing men and believing women are protectors of one another, enjoining right and forbidding wrong. The emigration and expulsion refer to the fate suffered by the believers in Makkah when they migrated to Madinah. Those hurt in My way can refer to those being insulted and ridiculed as well as those who have received physical injury. 

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# Let it not delude thee that those who disbelieve are free to come and go in the land. 

# It is a little enjoyment. Then their refuge is Hell, an evil resting place! 

196–97 It is reported that this verse came in response to a remark made by some believers that, while they were suffering from hunger, the idolaters traveled freely throughout the land and made profit from their commerce (cf. 40:4; Q); others say that this was spoken by the hypocrites (R). Though this verse is addressed to the Prophet, it is considered to have a broader audience, as if to say, “O listener” (R). These two verses also echo the idea found in v. 178. 

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# But [as for] those who reverence their Lord, theirs shall be Gardens with rivers running below, abiding therein, as a welcome from God. And that which is with God is better for the pious. 

198 A welcome renders nuzul, a word referring to what a host prepares for a guest (R); see also 18:102, 107; 32:19; 37:62; 41:32c; 56:56, 93. 

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# And truly among the People of the Book are those who believe in God and that which has been sent down unto you, and that which has been sent down unto them, humble before God, not selling God’s signs for a paltry price. It is they who shall have their reward with their Lord. Truly God is swift in reckoning. 

199 According to some, this verse was revealed in connection with the death of the Negus, the Christian king of Abyssinia who provided asylum for believers from Makkah before the migration from Makkah to Madinah (Q, R); this event is also given by some as the occasion for revelation for 2:115. Other opinions about who this verse refers to include forty people from Najrān (from the tribe of Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb), or thirty-two people from Abyssinia, or eight people from Byzantium who followed the religion of Jesus and then became Muslims (R, Th), though further details are not provided. Mujāhid states that it refers to all the believers among the People of the Book (R, Th), but without specifying what this “belief” means. Part of the objection to the Prophet’s praying for the Negus was that the latter was a Christian, an objection voiced by sincere followers, but also by the hypocrites, who feigned outrage that the Prophet would perform funerary rites for a Christian he had never even met (R, Ṭ). Though this verse presents the People of the Book as a separate group (unto you versus unto them), it affirms that some members of this group believe in what was sent down unto the community of the Prophet. In keeping with interpretations applied to similar verses dealing with Christians and Jews, some commentators understand this as a reference to former Christians or Jews, such as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām, who had converted to Islam (Ṭ; see also commentary on 3:113–15). Commentators often leave the status of the Negus open-ended, referring to the hesitation regarding prayer for a Christian on the part of the community, but recording neither a positive statement on the part of the Prophet beyond his calling the Negus “your brother,” nor that the Prophet corrected them by informing them that he was in fact a Muslim and not a Christian (see 5:82–83c). In mainstream Islamic thought, for a person to believe in what was sent down to the Prophet is precisely to become a Muslim, and this may be why the commentaries are generally mute about the nature of “belief” in this verse. This issue is related to, but separate from, the status of belief of Jews and Christians as such, which is discussed at length in 2:62c; 5:69c; 5:82–83c; and elsewhere. The question raised by this verse consists in what it means to remain one of the People of the Book while believing in that which has been sent down to the Prophet Muhammad. It is possible to interpret this verse to refer to the affirmation of the truths that, according to Islam, are expressed by all true religions: belief in the One God, the judgment of the Hereafter, and the moral obligations of justice and mercy in this life and similar issues. Insofar as the Negus believed in these things, he would have believed in that which has been sent down unto you. But since this kind of phrasing, as found in verses that mention belief in what was revealed to the Prophet and what was revealed to other prophets, often denotes a more specific affirmation of the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Quran, the question remains as to the status of a Jew or Christian (“them”) who believes in what was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad. There may be a third possibility often left unexplored by Muslims until recently: that one can remain a Christian while affirming the veracity of the Prophet Muhammad and of what was revealed to him. This possibility may be understood to have been mentioned in 5:82, which speaks in positive and praiseworthy terms of those who say, “We are Christians.” In 5:83 they are described in this way: When they hear that which was sent down unto the Messenger, thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth they recognize. Some commentators note that this may refer to Christians in general, not only those who would later become Muslims, and would include those who accepted the prophethood of Muhammad, but continued to live according to the “sharīʿah of Jesus,” as discussed in 5:82–83c. 

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# O you who believe! Be patient, vie in patience, persevere, and reverence God, that haply you may prosper. 

200 Be patient and vie in patience are two forms of the same root (ṣ-b-r), the first referring to patience itself, the second to a contest of patience in which one should outdo the enemy in patience and endurance (R, Z). Persevere renders rābiṭū (noun form ribāṭ), which comes from a root with a range of meanings including to “tie,” “fortify,” and “join.” Though ribāṭ has the general meaning of being steadfast and firm, more specifically the word refers to taking up a border or frontier post (or to the post itself) in defense of the community or in anticipation of an attack; it is called ribāṭ because one “ties” or bridles one’s horse, as referred to in 8:60, horses tethered [for battle] (ribāṭ al-khayl; R). In this vein, there are aḥādīth such as “One day of ribāṭ in the way of God is better in God’s Eyes than this world and all that is in it.” Other aḥādīth speak of ribāṭ as a deed whose merit accrues even after death, since the defense of the community allows others to accomplish their acts of piety and righteousness (IK, Q). Referring to the spiritual understanding of ribāṭ, in a ḥadīth the Prophet said, “Performing ablutions under unpleasant conditions, multiplying one’s steps to the mosque, and waiting for the prayer after the prayer, that is ribāṭ.” Here “waiting for the prayer after the prayer” refers to waiting in remembrance, devotion, and reflection between two of the canonical prayers (such as the late afternoon and sunset prayers). This is a spiritual ribāṭ, which is compared with the martial ribāṭ by the famous jurist al-Nawawī (d. 676/1278) in his commentary on the aforementioned ḥadīth. In the same way, two types of jihād (striving) are described in a wellknown ḥadīth in which the Prophet said to those returning from a battle, “You have returned from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād.” When asked what the greater jihād was, he said, “A servant’s jihād against his passions.”

Source: The Study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 Others

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John Doe

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John Doe

23/3/2019

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John Doe

23/3/2019

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