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The Arabic word Surah is loosely translated as chapter and Ayah as verse for the English readers who are unfamiliar with Qura'nic concepts. The Ayah (plural Ayat) means a sign. Those who have read the meaning of the Qur'an thoroughly and have had time to reflect upon them appreciate the word ayah as it is truly a sign from Allah (SWT), the lord of the universe, the absolute. In the English translation and the RealAudio narration, the terms 'those who surrendered to Allah' and 'the religion of the surrender to Allah' are used. The revealed Arabic words of the Qur'an for these translated words are 'Muslim' and 'Al-Islam'. Many other words that have been translated for the convenience of English readers are: Maryam (Mary), 'Isa or Easa (Jesus), Zakariya (Zachariah), Yahya (John), Musa (Moses), Haroon (Aaron), Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Soloman), and Ayyub (Job), peace be upon them, and many others. Refer to the index in the first reference cited below for more details. The Qur'an speaks in the first person, i.e., Allah's commandments to its creation. The Qur'an also uses the royal "We" for Allah's commandments. The main theme of the Qur'an and all previous revelations has been the absolute oneness of Allah, the creator and sustainer of the universe, who is without partner(s). Allah (Glory be to Him) did not beget nor was He begotten. The Qur'anic verses address people in a variety of ways depending on the context. It says "O mankind" and "O people" in a general sense addressing to all people, and in other instances "O believers" for those who have already accepted the message of Qur'an.
The Qur'an is the direct Word of Allah and it does not contain a single alphabet from anyone, even Prophet Muhammad. The sayings of Prophet Muhammad are contained in separate compilations known as Hadith, and include his deeds, lifestyle, explanations and decisions on a variety of issues. The Qur'an and Hadith form the foundation of daily life of a practicing Muslim. The Qur'an has not changed by even an alphabet since its revelation fourteen centuries ago. Allah (SWT) has promised in the Qur'an that He will preserve it to the end of time. It is also for this reason there is no need for any new prophet or revelation (guidance) to come to humankind. The Qur'an is read in Arabic with great emphasis on the accuracy of recitation, including the recognition of diacritical marks and places where one pauses momentarily or stops. "The Holy Qur'an," Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1934. (Latest Publisher: Amana Publications, Beltsville, MD, USA; Title: "The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an," 1992). A pocket edition of Yusuf Ali's translation is also available in contemporary English.
"The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," An Explanatory Translation by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, a Mentor Book Publication. (Also available as: "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," by Marmaduke Pickthall, Dorset Press, N.Y. and several Islamic book publishers; Published by several publishers since 1930). Note: The Mentor publication (451 MJ1529 195) contains a few errors/omissions, e.g., in Surah 72: the last part of Verse 2 should read "we ascribe no partner unto our Lord", and Surah 68: Verse 22 should read "straight" road instead of "beaten" road. In case of any doubt, the reader is advised to check with a copy from an Islamic publisher and also check with an Islamic scholar for the meaning directly from the Arabic original.
Pickthall writes in his foreward of 1930: "...The Qur'an cannot be translated....The book is here rendered almost literally and every effort has been made to choose befitting language. But the result is not the Glorious Qur'an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy. It is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Qur'an-and peradventure something of the charm in English. It can never take the place of the Qur'an in Arabic, nor is it meant to do so. ..."
For the serious readers of the meaning of the Qur'an in English, it is recommended that it should be read along with a good commentary to comprehend the essential meaning and scope of verses. Either Yusuf Ali's or Maududi's commentaries are a good starting point. The former presents the meaning Ayah (verse) by Ayah with footnotes and includes a detailed index of the topics mentioned in the Qur'an, while the latter presents commentaries for each Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an. LINKS Articles on The Holy Qur'an
Copyright © 1998 Dr. A. Zahoor
Last Updated: November 29, 2001. (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/9263/acmk3.htm) 
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English Narration by Gai Eaton (Hasan Abdul Hakim)
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SURAH 46 - 51
(contents in brief)
Surah 46, Ayat 1-20
Surah 46, Ayat 21-35Al-Ahqaf (The Wind-Curved Sandhills): We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them save with truth, and for a term appointed... Show me what they have created of the earth. Or have they any Portion the heavens? Bring me a Scripture before this Scripture, or some vestige of knowledge in support of what ye say, if ye are truthful... Or say they: He hath invented it? Say (O Muhammad): If I have invented it, still ye have no power to support me against Allah... Say: I am no new thing among the messengers of Allah...I am but a plain warner... When before it there was the Scripture of Moses, an example and a mercy; and this is a confirming Scripture in the Arabic language, that it may warn those who do wrong and bring good tidings for the righteous... And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years... And make mention (O Muhammad) of the brother of Aad when he warned his folk among the wind curved sand hills... Then when they beheld it a dense cloud coming toward their valleys, they said;... And when We inclined toward thee (Muhammad) certain of the Jinn, who wished to hear the Qur'an... Have they not seen that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, is Able to give life to the dead?...
Surah 47
Muhammad: ...And if Allah willed He could have punished them without you but thus it is ordained that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He rendereth not their actions vain... And how many a township stronger than thy township (O Muhammad) which hath cast thee out, have We destroyed, and they had no helper!... A similitude of the Garden which those who keep their duty (to Allah) are promised: Therein are rivers of water unpolluted, and rivers of milk whereof the flavor changeth not, and rivers of wine delicious to the drinkers, and rivers of clear run honey; therein for them is every kind of fruit, with pardon from their Lord... Then how will it be with them when the angels gather them, smiting their faces and their backs! That will be because they followed that which angereth Allah, and hated that which pleaseth Him... O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger, and render not your actions vain... The life of the world is but a sport and a pastime... And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you.
Surah 48
Al-Fath (Victory): That Allah may forgive thee of thy sin that which is past and that which is to come, and may perfect His favor unto thee, and may guide thee on a right path, And that Allah may help thee with strong help-- He it is Who sent down peace of reassurance into the hearts of the believers that they might add faith unto their faith. Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth... And may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the idolatrous men and the idolatrous women, who think an evil thought concerning Allah... Lo! those who swear allegiance unto thee (Muhammad), swear allegiance only unto Allah... Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance unto thee beneath the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down peace of reassurance on them, and hath rewarded them with a near victory... And He it is Who hath withheld men's hands from you, and hath withheld your hands from them, in the valley of Mecca, after He had made you victors over them... Allah hath fulfilled the vision for His messenger in very truth. Ye shall indeed enter the Holy Mosque, if Allah will, secure, having your hair shaven and cut, not fearing....and hath given you a near victory beforehand. He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion. And Allah sufficeth as a witness. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves. Thou (O Muhammad) seest them bowing and falling prostrate in worship, seeking bounty from Allah and His acceptance. The mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel...
Surah 49
Al-Hujurat (The Private Apartments): O ye who believe! Lift not up your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to him as ye shout one to another... O ye who believe! If an evil liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did... And if two parties of believers fall to fighting, then make peace between them....Lo! Allah loveth the equitable. The believers are naught else than brothers... O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they are, nor let women deride women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith... O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Ye abhor that so abhor the other!... O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct... The true believers are those only who believe in Allah and His messenger and afterward doubt not, but strive with their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah. Such are the sincere...
Surah 50
Qaf: Qaf. By the glorious Qur'an... and with Us is a recording Book... And the earth have We spread out, and have flung firm hills therein... Were We then worn out by the first creation? Yet they are in doubt about a new creation... We verily created a man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. When the two Receivers receive him, seated on the right hand and on the left... And every soul cometh, along with it a driver and a witness... On the day when We say unto hell: Art thou filled? and it saith: Can there be more to come? And the Garden is brought nigh for those who kept from evil, no longer distant....Enter it in peace. This is the day of immortality. There they have all that they desire, and there is more with Us... And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us... We are best aware of what they say, and thou (O Muhammad) art in no wise a compeller over them. But warn by the Qur'an him who feareth My threat.
Surah 51
Adh-Dhariyat (The Winnowing Winds): ...And lo! the judgment will indeed befall. By the heaven full of paths, Lo! ye, forsooth, are of various opinion concerning the truth. He is made to turn away from it who is himself averse. Accursed be the conjecturers Who are careless in an abyss!... Hath the story of Abraham's honored guests reached thee (O Muhammad)? When they came in unto him and said: Peace! he answered, Peace! (and thought): Folk unknown to me....Then he conceived a fear of them. They said: Fear not! and gave him tidings of the birth of a wise son. Then his wife came forward, making moan, and smote her face, and cried: A barren old woman!... They said: Lo! we are sent unto a guilty folk [of Lot], That we may send upon them stones of clay... We have built the heaven with might, and We it is who make the vast extent thereof... And all things We have created by pairs, that haply ye may reflect... And set not any other god along with Allah; lo! I am a plain warner unto you from Him... I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.
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More Audio Clips: Allah (SWT), Belief, Supplication, Commandments, Legislation, Mary, Jesus, Zachariah, Yahya and Prophets (pbut), Hajj, Jum'ah, Ar-Rahman, Jinn, Early Surahs...
Surah 73 - Surah 114
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Allah: Allah is the proper name in Arabic for The One and Only God, The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It is used by the Arab Christians and Jews for the God (Eloh-im in Hebrew; 'Allaha' in Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus, pbuh). The word Allah does not have a plural or gender. Allah does not have any associate or partner, and He does not beget nor was He begotten. The abbreviation 'SWT' usually follows when Allah is mentioned, and it means 'Glory Be To Him.'
The Qur'an was revealed in pure Arabic to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) over a period of twenty-three years ending in 632 A.D., the year he passed away. The first revelation was only five verses, the first five verses of Chapter 96. Among the very early revelations are Surah 73, 74, 80, 81, 93 and 97. The revelations were sent by Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala (SWT), the creator and sustainer of the universe, and transmitted to him by the Archangel Jibril (as) (Gabriel). The revelations he received were sometimes a few verses, a part of a chapter or the whole chapter. Some revelations came down in response to an inquiry by the nonbelievers. The ordering of the Qur'an is not the same as the revelations. Archangel Jibril (as) taught the ordering of Ayat and Surahs (refer to Surah 75) as he transmitted the revelations to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The first ten surahs revealed in chronological order are 96, 68, 73, 74, 1, 111, 81, 87, 92 and 89.
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