THE HEIGHTS, CHAPTER NO. 007
007.001 Alif, Lam, Mim, Sad.
007.002 A Book revealed unto thee,- So let thy heart be oppressed no more by any
difficulty on that account,- that with it thou mightest warn (the erring) and teach the
Believers).
007.003 Follow (O men!) the revelation given unto you from your Lord, and follow
not, as friends or protectors, other than Him. Little it is ye remember of admonition.
007.004 How many towns have We destroyed (for their sins)? Our punishment took
them on a sudden by night or while they slept for their afternoon rest.
007.005 When (thus) Our punishment took them, no cry did they utter but this:
"Indeed we did wrong."
007.006 Then shall we question those to whom Our message was sent and those by
whom We sent it.
007.007 And verily, We shall recount their whole story with knowledge, for We were
never absent (at any time or place).
007.008 The balance that day will be true (to nicety): those whose scale (of good)
will be heavy, will prosper:
007.009 Those whose scale will be light, will be their souls in perdition, for that they
wrongfully treated Our signs.
007.010 It is We Who have placed you with authority on earth, and provided you
therein with means for the fulfilment of your life: small are the thanks that ye give!
007.011 It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow
down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who
bow down.
007.012 (God) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded
thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from
clay."
007.013 (God) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here:
get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)."
007.014 He said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up."
007.015 (God) said: "Be thou among those who have respite."
007.016 He said: "Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait
for them on thy straight way:
007.017 "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their
right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)."
007.018 (God) said: "Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow
thee,- Hell will I fill with you all.
007.019 "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good
things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."
007.020 Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before
their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord
only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for
ever."
007.021 And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser.
007.022 So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their
shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the
garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: "Did I not forbid you that
tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"
007.023 They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us
not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost."
007.024 (God) said: "Get ye down. With enmity between yourselves. On earth will
be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood,- for a time."
007.025 He said: "Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die; but from it shall ye
be taken out (at last)."
007.026 O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your
shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness,- that is
the best. Such are among the Signs of God, that they may receive admonition!
007.027 O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as
He got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their
shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We
made the evil ones friends (only) to those without faith.
007.028 When they do aught that is shameful, they say: "We found our fathers doing
so"; and "God commanded us thus": Say: "Nay, God never commands what is
shameful: do ye say of God what ye know not?"
007.029 Say: "My Lord hath commanded justice; and that ye set your whole selves
(to Him) at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion
sincere as in His sight: such as He created you in the beginning, so shall ye return."
007.030 Some He hath guided: Others have (by their choice) deserved the loss of
their way; in that they took the evil ones, in preference to God, for their friends and
protectors, and think that they receive guidance.
007.031 O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of
prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for God loveth not the wasters.
007.032 Say: Who hath forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of God, which He hath
produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, (which He hath provided)
for sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and)
purely for them on the Day of Judgment. Thus do We explain the signs in detail for
those who understand.
007.033 Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds,
whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of
partners to God, for which He hath given no authority; and saying things about God
of which ye have no knowledge.
007.034 To every people is a term appointed: when their term is reached, not an hour
can they cause delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation).
007.035 O ye Children of Adam! whenever there come to you apostles from amongst
you, rehearsing My signs unto you,- those who are righteous and mend (their lives),-
on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
007.036 But those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance,- they are
companions of the Fire, to dwell therein (for ever).
007.037 Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God or rejects His
Signs? For such, their portion appointed must reach them from the Book (of decrees):
until, when our messengers (of death) arrive and take their souls, they say: "Where
are the things that ye used to invoke besides God?" They will reply, "They have left
us in the lurch," And they will bear witness against themselves, that they had rejected
God.
007.038 He will say: "Enter ye in the company of the peoples who passed away
before you - men and jinns, - into the Fire." Every time a new people enters, it curses
its sister-people (that went before), until they follow each other, all into the Fire. Saith
the last about the first: "Our Lord! it is these that misled us: so give them a double
penalty in the Fire." He will say: "Doubled for all" : but this ye do not understand.
007.039 Then the first will say to the last: "See then! No advantage have ye over us;
so taste ye of the penalty for all that ye did !"
007.040 To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening
will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can
pass through the eye of the needle: Such is Our reward for those in sin.
007.041 For them there is Hell, as a couch (below) and folds and folds of covering
above: such is Our requital of those who do wrong.
007.042 But those who believe and work righteousness,- no burden do We place on
any soul, but that which it can bear,- they will be Companions of the Garden, therein
to dwell (for ever).
007.043 And We shall remove from their hearts any lurking sense of injury;- beneath
them will be rivers flowing;- and they shall say: "Praise be to God, who hath guided
us to this (felicity): never could we have found guidance, had it not been for the
guidance of God: indeed it was the truth, that the apostles of our Lord brought unto
us." And they shall hear the cry: "Behold! the garden before you! Ye have been made
its inheritors, for your deeds (of righteousness)."
007.044 The Companions of the Garden will call out to the Companions of the Fire:
"We have indeed found the promises of our Lord to us true: Have you also found
Your Lord's promises true?" They shall say, "Yes"; but a crier shall proclaim between
them: "The curse of God is on the wrong-doers;-
007.045 "Those who would hinder (men) from the path of God and would seek in it
something crooked: they were those who denied the Hereafter."
007.046 Between them shall be a veil, and on the heights will be men who would
know every one by his marks: they will call out to the Companions of the Garden,
"peace on you": they will not have entered, but they will have an assurance (thereof).
007.047 When their eyes shall be turned towards the Companions of the Fire, they
will say: "Our Lord! send us not to the company of the wrong-doers."
007.048 The men on the heights will call to certain men whom they will know from
their marks, saying: "Of what profit to you were your hoards and your arrogant ways?
007.049 "Behold! are these not the men whom you swore that God with His Mercy
would never bless? Enter ye the Garden: no fear shall be on you, nor shall ye grieve."
007.050 The Companions of the Fire will call to the Companions of the Garden:
"Pour down to us water or anything that God doth provide for your sustenance." They
will say: "Both these things hath God forbidden to those who rejected Him."
007.051 "Such as took their religion to be mere amusement and play, and were
deceived by the life of the world." That day shall We forget them as they forgot the
meeting of this day of theirs, and as they were wont to reject Our signs.
007.052 For We had certainly sent unto them a Book, based on knowledge, which
We explained in detail,- a guide and a mercy to all who believe.
007.053 Do they just wait for the final fulfilment of the event? On the day the event
is finally fulfilled, those who disregarded it before will say: "The apostles of our Lord
did indeed bring true (tidings). Have we no intercessors now to intercede on our
behalf? Or could we be sent back? then should we behave differently from our
behaviour in the past." In fact they will have lost their souls, and the things they
invented will leave them in the lurch.
007.054 Your Guardian-Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the earth in six
days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a
veil o'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the
moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create
and to govern? Blessed be God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!
007.055 Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for God loveth not those
who trespass beyond bounds.
007.056 Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him
with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of God is (always) near to those
who do good.
007.057 It is He Who sendeth the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His
mercy: when they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that
is dead, make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of harvest therewith:
thus shall We raise up the dead: perchance ye may remember.
007.058 From the land that is clean and good, by the will of its Cherisher, springs up
produce, (rich) after its kind: but from the land that is bad, springs up nothing but that
which is niggardly: thus do we explain the signs by various (symbols) to those who
are grateful.
007.059 We sent Noah to his people. He said: "O my people! worship God! ye have
no other god but Him. I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful day!
007.060 The leaders of his people said: "Ah! we see thee evidently wandering (in
mind)."
007.061 He said: "O my people! No wandering is there in my (mind): on the contrary
I am an apostle from the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds!
007.062 "I but fulfil towards you the duties of my Lord's mission: Sincere is my
advice to you, and I know from God something that ye know not.
007.063 "Do ye wonder that there hath come to you a message from your Lord,
through a man of your own people, to warn you,- so that ye may fear God and haply
receive His Mercy?"
007.064 But they rejected him, and We delivered him, and those with him, in the
Ark: but We overwhelmed in the flood those who rejected Our signs. They were
indeed a blind people!
007.065 To the 'Ad people, (We sent) Hud, one of their (own) brethren: He said: O
my people! worship God! ye have no other god but Him will ye not fear (God)?"
007.066 The leaders of the Unbelievers among his people said: "Ah! we see thou art
an imbecile!" and "We think thou art a liar!"
007.067 He said: "O my people! I am no imbecile, but (I am) an apostle from the
Lord and Cherisher of the worlds!
007.068 "I but fulfil towards you the duties of my Lord's mission: I am to you a
sincere and trustworthy adviser.
007.069 "Do ye wonder that there hath come to you a message from your Lord
through a man of your own people, to warn you? call in remembrance that He made
you inheritors after the people of Noah, and gave you a stature tall among the nations.
Call in remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from God: that so ye may
prosper."
007.070 They said: "Comest thou to us, that we may worship God alone, and give up
the cult of our fathers? bring us what thou threatenest us with, if so be that thou
tellest the truth!"
007.071 He said: "Punishment and wrath have already come upon you from your
Lord: dispute ye with me over names which ye have devised - ye and your fathers,-
without authority from God? then wait: I am amongst you, also waiting."
007.072 We saved him and those who adhered to him. By Our mercy, and We cut off
the roots of those who rejected Our signs and did not believe.
007.073 To the Thamud people (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren: He said:
"O my people! worship God: ye have no other god but Him. Now hath come unto
you a clear (Sign) from your Lord! This she-camel of God is a Sign unto you: So
leave her to graze in God's earth, and let her come to no harm, or ye shall be seized
with a grievous punishment.
007.074 "And remember how He made you inheritors after the 'Ad people and gave
you habitations in the land: ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in (open)
plains, and care out homes in the mountains; so bring to remembrance the benefits (ye
have received) from God, and refrain from evil and mischief on the earth."
007.075 The leaders of the arrogant party among his people said to those who were
reckoned powerless - those among them who believed: "know ye indeed that Salih is
an apostle from his Lord?" They said: "We do indeed believe in the revelation which
hath been sent through him."
007.076 The Arrogant party said: "For our part, we reject what ye believe in."
007.077 Then they ham-strung the she-camel, and insolently defied the order of their
Lord, saying: "O Salih! bring about thy threats, if thou art an apostle (of God)!"
007.078 So the earthquake took them unawares, and they lay prostrate in their homes
in the morning!
007.079 So Salih left them, saying: "O my people! I did indeed convey to you the
message for which I was sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but ye love not
good counsellors!"
007.080 We also (sent) Lut: He said to his people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as
no people in creation (ever) committed before you?
007.081 "For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a
people transgressing beyond bounds."
007.082 And his people gave no answer but this: they said, "Drive them out of your
city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!"
007.083 But we saved him and his family, except his wife: she was of those who
legged behind.
007.084 And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was
the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!
007.085 To the Madyan people We sent Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: he said:
"O my people! worship God; Ye have no other god but Him. Now hath come unto
you a clear (Sign) from your Lord! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from
the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the earth after it has
been set in order: that will be best for you, if ye have Faith.
007.086 "And squat not on every road, breathing threats, hindering from the path of
God those who believe in Him, and seeking in it something crooked; But remember
how ye were little, and He gave you increase. And hold in your mind's eye what was
the end of those who did mischief.
007.087 "And if there is a party among you who believes in the message with which
I have been sent, and a party which does not believe, hold yourselves in patience until
God doth decide between us: for He is the best to decide.
007.088 The leaders, the arrogant party among his people, said: "O Shu'aib! we shall
certainly drive thee out of our city - (thee) and those who believe with thee; or else ye
(thou and they) shall have to return to our ways and religion." He said: "What! even
though we do detest (them)?
007.089 "We should indeed invent a lie against God, if we returned to your ways
after God hath rescued us therefrom; nor could we by any manner of means return
thereto unless it be as in the will and plan of God, Our Lord. Our Lord can reach out
to the utmost recesses of things by His knowledge. In the God is our trust. our Lord!
decide Thou between us and our people in truth, for Thou art the best to decide."
007.090 The leaders, the unbelievers among his people, said: "If ye follow Shu'aib,
be sure then ye are ruined!"
007.091 But the earthquake took them unawares, and they lay prostrate in their
homes before the morning!
007.092 The men who reject Shu'aib became as if they had never been in the homes
where they had flourished: the men who rejected Shu'aib - it was they who were
ruined!
007.093 So Shu'aib left them, saying: "O my people! I did indeed convey to you the
messages for which I was sent by my Lord: I gave you good counsel, but how shall I
lament over a people who refuse to believe!"
007.094 Whenever We sent a prophet to a town, We took up its people in suffering
and adversity, in order that they might learn humility.
007.095 Then We changed their suffering into prosperity, until they grew and
multiplied, and began to say: "Our fathers (too) were touched by suffering and
affluence" ... Behold! We called them to account of a sudden, while they realised not
(their peril).
007.096 If the people of the towns had but believed and feared God, We should
indeed have opened out to them (All kinds of) blessings from heaven and earth; but
they rejected (the truth), and We brought them to book for their misdeeds.
007.097 Did the people of the towns feel secure against the coming of Our wrath by
night while they were asleep?
007.098 Or else did they feel secure against its coming in broad daylight while they
played about (care-free)?
007.099 Did they then feel secure against the plan of God?- but no one can feel
secure from the Plan of God, except those (doomed) to ruin!
007.100 To those who inherit the earth in succession to its (previous) possessors, is it
not a guiding, (lesson) that, if We so willed, We could punish them (too) for their
sins, and seal up their hearts so that they could not hear?
007.101 Such were the towns whose story We (thus) relate unto thee: There came
indeed to them their apostles with clear (signs): But they would not believe what they
had rejected before. Thus doth God seal up the hearts of those who reject faith.
007.102 Most of them We found not men (true) to their covenant: but most of them
We found rebellious and disobedient.
007.103 Then after them We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs,
but they wrongfully rejected them: So see what was the end of those who made
mischief.
007.104 Moses said: "O Pharaoh! I am an apostle from the Lord of the worlds,-
007.105 One for whom it is right to say nothing but truth about God. Now have I
come unto you (people), from your Lord, with a clear (Sign): So let the Children of
Israel depart along with me."
007.106 (Pharaoh) said: "If indeed thou hast come with a Sign, show it forth,- if thou
tellest the truth."
007.107 Then (Moses) threw his rod, and behold! it was a serpent, plain (for all to
see)!
007.108 And he drew out his hand, and behold! it was white to all beholders!
007.109 Said the Chiefs of the people of Pharaoh: "This is indeed a sorcerer well-
versed.
007.110 "His plan is to get you out of your land: then what is it ye counsel?"
007.111 They said: "Keep him and his brother in suspense (for a while); and send to
the cities men to collect-
007.112 And bring up to thee all (our) sorcerers well-versed."
007.113 So there came the sorcerers to Pharaoh: They said, "of course we shall have
a (suitable) reward if we win!"
007.114 He said: "Yea, (and more),- for ye shall in that case be (raised to posts)
nearest (to my person)."
007.115 They said: "O Moses! wilt thou throw (first), or shall we have the (first)
throw?"
007.116 Said Moses: "Throw ye (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the
eyes of the people, and struck terror into them: for they showed a great (feat of)
magic.
007.117 We put it into Moses's mind by inspiration: "Throw (now) thy rod":and
behold! it swallows up straight away all the falsehoods which they fake!
007.118 Thus truth was confirmed, and all that they did was made of no effect.
007.119 So the (great ones) were vanquished there and then, and were made to look
small.
007.120 But the sorcerers fell down prostrate in adoration.
007.121 Saying: "We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,-
007.122 "The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
007.123 Said Pharaoh: "Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this
is a trick which ye have planned in the city to drive out its people: but soon shall ye
know (the consequences).
007.124 "Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on apposite sides, and I will
cause you all to die on the cross."
007.125 They said: "For us, We are but sent back unto our Lord:
007.126 "But thou dost wreak thy vengeance on us simply because we believed in
the Signs of our Lord when they reached us! Our Lord! pour out on us patience and
constancy, and take our souls unto thee as Muslims (who bow to thy will)!
007.127 Said the chiefs of Pharaoh's people: "Wilt thou leave Moses and his people,
to spread mischief in the land, and to abandon thee and thy gods?" He said: "Their
male children will we slay; (only) their females will we save alive; and we have over
them (power) irresistible."
007.128 Said Moses to his people: "Pray for help from God, and (wait) in patience
and constancy: for the earth is God's, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as
He pleaseth; and the end is (best) for the righteous.
007.129 They said: "We have had (nothing but) trouble, both before and after thou
camest to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make
you inheritors in the earth; that so He may try you by your deeds."
007.130 We punished the people of Pharaoh with years (of droughts) and shortness
of crops; that they might receive admonition.
007.131 But when good (times) came, they said, "This is due to us;" When gripped
by calamity, they ascribed it to evil omens connected with Moses and those with him!
Behold! in truth the omens of evil are theirs in God's sight, but most of them do not
understand!
007.132 They said (to Moses): "Whatever be the Signs thou bringest, to work
therewith thy sorcery on us, we shall never believe in thee.
007.133 So We sent (plagues) on them: Wholesale death, Locusts, Lice, Frogs, And
Blood: Signs openly self-explained: but they were steeped in arrogance,- a people
given to sin.
007.134 Every time the penalty fell on them, they said: "O Moses! on your behalf
call on thy Lord in virtue of his promise to thee: If thou wilt remove the penalty from
us, we shall truly believe in thee, and we shall send away the Children of Israel with
thee."
007.135 But every time We removed the penalty from them according to a fixed term
which they had to fulfil,- Behold! they broke their word!
007.136 So We exacted retribution from them: We drowned them in the sea, because
they rejected Our Signs and failed to take warning from them.
007.137 And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of
lands in both east and west, - lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair
promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience
and constancy, and We levelled to the ground the great works and fine buildings
which Pharaoh and his people erected (with such pride).
007.138 We took the Children of Israel (with safety) across the sea. They came upon
a people devoted entirely to some idols they had. They said: "O Moses! fashion for us
a god like unto the gods they have." He said: "Surely ye are a people without
knowledge.
007.139 "As to these folk,- the cult they are in is (but) a fragment of a ruin, and vain
is the (worship) which they practise."
007.140 He said: "Shall I seek for you a god other than the (true) God, when it is God
Who hath endowed you with gifts above the nations?"
007.141 And remember We rescued you from Pharaoh's people, who afflicted you
with the worst of penalties, who slew your male children and saved alive your
females: in that was a momentous trial from your Lord.
007.142 We appointed for Moses thirty nights, and completed (the period) with ten
(more): thus was completed the term (of communion) with his Lord, forty nights. And
Moses had charged his brother Aaron (before he went up): "Act for me amongst my
people: Do right, and follow not the way of those who do mischief."
007.143 When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed
him, He said: "O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." God
said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if it abide in
its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount,
He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses
he said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."
007.144 (God) said: "O Moses! I have chosen thee above (other) men, by the mission
I (have given thee) and the words I (have spoken to thee): take then the (revelation)
which I give thee, and be of those who give thanks."
007.145 And We ordained laws for him in the tablets in all matters, both
commanding and explaining all things, (and said): "Take and hold these with
firmness, and enjoin thy people to hold fast by the best in the precepts: soon shall I
show you the homes of the wicked,- (How they lie desolate)."
007.146 Those who behave arrogantly on the earth in defiance of right - them will I
turn away from My signs: Even if they see all the signs, they will not believe in them;
and if they see the way of right conduct, they will not adopt it as the way; but if they
see the way of error, that is the way they will adopt. For they have rejected our signs,
and failed to take warning from them.
007.147 Those who reject Our signs and the meeting in the Hereafter,- vain are their
deeds: Can they expect to be rewarded except as they have wrought?
007.148 The people of Moses made, in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image
of calf, (for worship): it seemed to low: did they not see that it could neither speak to
them, nor show them the way? They took it for worship and they did wrong.
007.149 When they repented, and saw that they had erred, they said: "If our Lord
have not mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall indeed be of those who perish."
007.150 When Moses came back to his people, angry and grieved, he said: "Evil it is
that ye have done in my place in my absence: did ye make haste to bring on the
judgment of your Lord?" He put down the tablets, seized his brother by (the hair of)
his head, and dragged him to him. Aaron said: "Son of my mother! the people did
indeed reckon me as naught, and went near to slaying me! Make not the enemies
rejoice over my misfortune, nor count thou me amongst the people of sin."
007.151 Moses prayed: "O my Lord! forgive me and my brother! admit us to Thy
mercy! for Thou art the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!"
007.152 Those who took the calf (for worship) will indeed be overwhelmed with
wrath from their Lord, and with shame in this life: thus do We recompense those who
invent (falsehoods).
007.153 But those who do wrong but repent thereafter and (truly) believe,- verily thy
Lord is thereafter Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
007.154 When the anger of Moses was appeased, he took up the tablets: in the
writing thereon was guidance and Mercy for such as fear their Lord.
007.155 And Moses chose seventy of his people for Our place of meeting: when they
were seized with violent quaking, he prayed: "O my Lord! if it had been Thy will
Thou couldst have destroyed, long before, both them and me: wouldst Thou destroy
us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us? this is no more than Thy trial: by it
Thou causest whom Thou wilt to stray, and Thou leadest whom Thou wilt into the
right path. Thou art our Protector: so forgive us and give us Thy mercy; for Thou art
the best of those who forgive.
007.156 "And ordain for us that which is good, in this life and in the Hereafter: for
we have turned unto Thee." He said: "With My punishment I visit whom I will; but
My mercy extendeth to all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who do right,
and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs;-
007.157 "Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find
mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands
them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good
(and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from
their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe
in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is
they who will prosper."
007.158 day: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Apostle of God, to Whom
belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He
That giveth both life and death. So believe in God and His Apostle, the Unlettered
Prophet, who believeth in God and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be
guided."
007.159 Of the people of Moses there is a section who guide and do justice in the
light of truth.
007.160 We divided them into twelve tribes or nations. We directed Moses by
inspiration, when his (thirsty) people asked him for water: "Strike the rock with thy
staff": out of it there gushed forth twelve springs: Each group knew its own place for
water. We gave them the shade of clouds, and sent down to them manna and quails,
(saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided for you": (but they rebelled); to
Us they did no harm, but they harmed their own souls.
007.161 And remember it was said to them: "Dwell in this town and eat therein as ye
wish, but say the word of humility and enter the gate in a posture of humility: We
shall forgive you your faults; We shall increase (the portion of) those who do good."
007.162 But the transgressors among them changed the word from that which had
been given them so we sent on them a plague from heaven. For that they repeatedly
transgressed.
007.163 Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! they
transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish
did come to them, openly holding up their heads, but on the day they had no Sabbath,
they came not: thus did We make a trial of them, for they were given to transgression.
007.164 When some of them said: "Why do ye preach to a people whom God will
destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?"- said the preachers:" To discharge our
duty to your Lord, and perchance they may fear Him."
007.165 When they disregarded the warnings that had been given them, We rescued
those who forbade Evil; but We visited the wrong-doers with a grievous punishment
because they were given to transgression.
007.166 When in their insolence they transgressed (all) prohibitions, We said to
them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."
007.167 Behold! thy Lord did declare that He would send against them, to the Day of
Judgment, those who would afflict them with grievous penalty. Thy Lord is quick in
retribution, but He is also Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
007.168 We broke them up into sections on this earth. There are among them some
that are the righteous, and some that are the opposite. We have tried them with both
prosperity and adversity: In order that they might turn (to us).
007.169 After them succeeded an (evil) generation: They inherited the Book, but
they chose (for themselves) the vanities of this world, saying (for excuse):
"(Everything) will be forgiven us." (Even so), if similar vanities came their way, they
would (again) seize them. Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them, that
they would not ascribe to God anything but the truth? and they study what is in the
Book. But best for the righteous is the home in the Hereafter. Will ye not understand?
007.170 As to those who hold fast by the Book and establish regular prayer,- never
shall We suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.
007.171 When We shook the Mount over them, as if it had been a canopy, and they
thought it was going to fall on them (We said): "Hold firmly to what We have given
you, and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein; perchance ye may fear God."
007.172 When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam - from their loins -
their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): "Am I not
your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?"- They said: "Yea! We do testify!"
(This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: "Of this we were never mindful":
007.173 Or lest ye should say: "Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but
we are (their) descendants after them: wilt Thou then destroy us because of the deeds
of men who were futile?"
007.174 Thus do We explain the signs in detail; and perchance they may turn (unto
Us).
007.175 Relate to them the story of the man to whom We sent Our signs, but he
passed them by: so Satan followed him up, and he went astray.
007.176 If it had been Our will, We should have elevated him with Our signs; but he
inclined to the earth, and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a
dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls
out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who reject Our signs; So relate the
story; perchance they may reflect.
007.177 Evil as an example are people who reject Our signs and wrong their own
souls.
007.178 Whom God doth guide,- he is on the right path: whom He rejects from His
guidance,- such are the persons who perish.
007.179 Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts
wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they
hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of
warning).
007.180 The most beautiful names belong to God: so call on him by them; but shun
such men as use profanity in his names: for what they do, they will soon be requited.
007.181 Of those We have created are people who direct (others) with truth. And
dispense justice therewith.
007.182 Those who reject Our signs, We shall gradually visit with punishment, in
ways they perceive not;
007.183 Respite will I grant unto them: for My scheme is strong (and unfailing).
007.184 Do they not reflect? Their companion is not seized with madness: he is but a
perspicuous warner.
007.185 Do they see nothing in the government of the heavens and the earth and all
that God hath created? (Do they not see) that it may well be that their terms is nigh
drawing to an end? In what message after this will they then believe?
007.186 To such as God rejects from His guidance, there can be no guide: He will
leave them in their trespasses, wandering in distraction.
007.187 They ask thee about the (final) Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say:
"The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): None but He can reveal as to when
it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a
sudden will it come to you." They ask thee as if thou Wert eager in search thereof:
Say: "The knowledge thereof is with God (alone), but most men know not."
007.188 Say: "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as God
willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no
evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those
who have faith."
007.189 It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like
nature, in order that he might dwell with her (in love). When they are united, she
bears a light burden and carries it about (unnoticed). When she grows heavy, they
both pray to God their Lord, (saying): "If Thou givest us a goodly child, we vow we
shall (ever) be grateful."
007.190 But when He giveth them a goodly child, they ascribe to others a share in
the gift they have received: but God is exalted high above the partners they ascribe to
Him.
007.191 Do they indeed ascribe to Him as partners things that can create nothing, but
are themselves created?
007.192 No aid can they give them, nor can they aid themselves!
007.193 If ye call them to guidance, they will not obey: For you it is the same
whether ye call them or ye hold your peace!
007.194 Verily those whom ye call upon besides God are servants like unto you: Call
upon them, and let them listen to your prayer, if ye are (indeed) truthful!
007.195 Have they feet to walk with? Or hands to lay hold with? Or eyes to see with?
Or ears to hear with? Say: "Call your 'god-partners', scheme (your worst) against me,
and give me no respite!
007.196 "For my Protector is God, Who revealed the Book (from time to time), and
He will choose and befriend the righteous.
007.197 "But those ye call upon besides Him, are unable to help you, and indeed to
help themselves."
007.198 If thou callest them to guidance, they hear not. Thou wilt see them looking
at thee, but they see not.
007.199 Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; But turn away from the
ignorant.
007.200 If a suggestion from Satan assail thy (mind), seek refuge with God; for He
heareth and knoweth (all things).
007.201 Those who fear God, when a thought of evil from Satan assaults them, bring
God to remembrance, when lo! they see (aright)!
007.202 But their brethren (the evil ones) plunge them deeper into error, and never
relax (their efforts).
007.203 If thou bring them not a revelation, they say: "Why hast thou not got it
together?" Say: "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord: this is (nothing
but) lights from your Lord, and Guidance, and mercy, for any who have faith."
007.204 When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace:
that ye may receive Mercy.
007.205 And do thou (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul,
with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and
evenings; and be not thou of those who are unheedful.
007.206 Those who are near to thy Lord, disdain not to do Him worship: They
celebrate His praises, and bow down before Him.
SPOILS OF WAR, BOOTY, CHAPTER NO. 008
008.001 They ask thee concerning (things taken as) spoils of war. Say: "(such) spoils
are at the disposal of God and the Apostle: So fear God, and keep straight the
relations between yourselves: Obey God and His Apostle, if ye do believe."
008.002 For, Believers are those who, when God is mentioned, feel a tremor in their
hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put
(all) their trust in their Lord;
008.003 Who establish regular prayers and spend (freely) out of the gifts We have
given them for sustenance:
008.004 Such in truth are the believers: they have grades of dignity with their Lord,
and forgiveness, and generous sustenance:
008.005 Just as thy Lord ordered thee out of thy house in truth, even though a party
among the Believers disliked it,
008.006 Disputing with thee concerning the truth after it was made manifest, as if
they were being driven to death and they (actually) saw it.
008.007 Behold! God promised you one of the two (enemy) parties, that it should be
yours: Ye wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but God willed to justify the
Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers;-
008.008 That He might justify Truth and prove Falsehood false, distasteful though it
be to those in guilt.
008.009 Remember ye implored the assistance of your Lord, and He answered you:
"I will assist you with a thousand of the angels, ranks on ranks."
008.010 God made it but a message of hope, and an assurance to your hearts: (in any
case) there is no help except from God: and God is Exalted in Power, Wise.
008.011 Remember He covered you with a sort of drowsiness, to give you calm as
from Himself, and he caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you
therewith, to remove from you the stain of Satan, to strengthen your hearts, and to
plant your feet firmly therewith.
008.012 Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you:
give firmness to the Believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers:
smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them."
008.013 This because they contended against God and His Apostle: If any contend
against God and His Apostle, God is strict in punishment.
008.014 Thus (will it be said): "Taste ye then of the (punishment): for those who
resist God, is the penalty of the Fire."
008.015 O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn
your backs to them.
008.016 If any do turn his back to them on such a day - unless it be in a stratagem of
war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of God, and
his abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)!
008.017 It is not ye who slew them; it was God: when thou threwest (a handful of
dust), it was not thy act, but God's: in order that He might test the Believers by a
gracious trial from Himself: for God is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).
008.018 That, and also because God is He Who makes feeble the plans and stratagem
of the Unbelievers.
008.019 (O Unbelievers!) if ye prayed for victory and judgment, now hath the
judgment come to you: if ye desist (from wrong), it will be best for you: if ye return
(to the attack), so shall We. Not the least good will your forces be to you even if they
were multiplied: for verily God is with those who believe!
008.020 O ye who believe! Obey God and His Apostle, and turn not away from him
when ye hear (him speak).
008.021 Nor be like those who say, "We hear," but listen not:
008.022 For the worst of beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb,- those
who understand not.
008.023 If God had found in them any good. He would indeed have made them
listen: (As it is), if He had made them listen, they would but have turned back and
declined (Faith).
008.024 O ye who believe! give your response to God and His Apostle, when He
calleth you to that which will give you life; and know that God cometh in between a
man and his heart, and that it is He to Whom ye shall (all) be gathered.
008.025 And fear tumult or oppression, which affecteth not in particular (only) those
of you who do wrong: and know that God is strict in punishment.
008.026 Call to mind when ye were a small (band), despised through the land, and
afraid that men might despoil and kidnap you; But He provided a safe asylum for you,
strengthened you with His aid, and gave you Good things for sustenance: that ye
might be grateful.
008.027 O ye that believe! betray not the trust of God and the Apostle, nor
misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you.
008.028 And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial; and that
it is God with Whom lies your highest reward.
008.029 O ye who believe! if ye fear God, He will grant you a criterion (to judge
between right and wrong), remove from you (all) evil (that may afflict) you, and
forgive you: for God is the Lord of grace unbounded.
008.030 Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds,
or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and God too plans; but
the best of planners is God.
008.031 When Our Signs are rehearsed to them, they say: "We have heard this
(before): if we wished, we could say (words) like these: these are nothing but tales of
the ancients."
008.032 Remember how they said: "O God if this is indeed the Truth from Thee, rain
down on us a shower of stones form the sky, or send us a grievous penalty."
008.033 But God was not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst
them; nor was He going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon.
008.034 But what plea have they that God should not punish them, when they keep
out (men) from the sacred Mosque - and they are not its guardians? No men can be its
guardians except the righteous; but most of them do not understand.
008.035 Their prayer at the House (of God) is nothing but whistling and clapping of
hands: (Its only answer can be), "Taste ye the penalty because ye blasphemed."
008.036 The Unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder (man) from the path of God,
and so will they continue to spend; but in the end they will have (only) regrets and
sighs; at length they will be overcome: and the Unbelievers will be gathered together
to Hell;-
008.037 In order that God may separate the impure from the pure, put the impure,
one on another, heap them together, and cast them into Hell. They will be the ones to
have lost.
008.038 Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past
would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is
already (a matter of warning for them).
008.039 And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there
prevail justice and faith in God altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily
God doth see all that they do.
008.040 If they refuse, be sure that God is your Protector - the best to protect and the
best to help.
008.041 And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share
is assigned to God,- and to the Apostle, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and
the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in God and in the revelation We sent down to Our
servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For God
hath power over all things.
008.042 Remember ye were on the hither side of the valley, and they on the farther
side, and the caravan on lower ground than ye. Even if ye had made a mutual
appointment to meet, ye would certainly have failed in the appointment: But (thus ye
met), that God might accomplish a matter already enacted; that those who died might
die after a clear Sign (had been given), and those who lived might live after a Clear
Sign (had been given). And verily God is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things).
008.043 Remember in thy dream God showed them to thee as few: if He had shown
them to thee as many, ye would surely have been discouraged, and ye would surely
have disputed in (your) decision; but God saved (you): for He knoweth well the
(secrets) of (all) hearts.
008.044 And remember when ye met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes,
and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: that God might accomplish a
matter already enacted. For to God do all questions go back (for decision).
008.045 O ye who believe! When ye meet a force, be firm, and call God in
remembrance much (and often); that ye may prosper:
008.046 And obey God and His Apostle; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart
and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For God is with those who
patiently persevere:
008.047 And be not like those who started from their homes insolently and to be seen
of men, and to hinder (men) from the path of God: For God compasseth round about
all that they do.
008.048 Remember Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them, and said:
"No one among men can overcome you this day, while I am near to you": But when
the two forces came in sight of each other, he turned on his heels, and said: "Lo! I am
clear of you; lo! I see what ye see not; Lo! I fear God: for God is strict in
punishment."
008.049 Lo! the hypocrites say, and those in whose hearts is a disease: "These
people,- their religion has misled them." But if any trust in God, behold! God is
Exalted in might, Wise.
008.050 If thou couldst see, when the angels take the souls of the Unbelievers (at
death), (How) they smite their faces and their backs, (saying): "Taste the penalty of
the blazing Fire-
008.051 "Because of (the deeds) which your (own) hands sent forth; for God is never
unjust to His servants:
008.052 "(Deeds) after the manner of the people of Pharaoh and of those before
them: They rejected the Signs of God, and God punished them for their crimes: for
God is Strong, and Strict in punishment:
008.053 "Because God will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a
people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily God is He Who
heareth and knoweth (all things)."
008.054 (Deeds) after the manner of the people of Pharaoh and those before them":
They treated as false the Signs of their Lord: so We destroyed them for their crimes,
and We drowned the people of Pharaoh: for they were all oppressors and wrong-
doers.
008.055 For the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who reject Him: They
will not believe.
008.056 They are those with whom thou didst make a covenant, but they break their
covenant every time, and they have not the fear (of God).
008.057 If ye gain the mastery over them in war, disperse, with them, those who
follow them, that they may remember.
008.058 If thou fearest treachery from any group, throw back (their covenant) to
them, (so as to be) on equal terms: for God loveth not the treacherous.
008.059 Let not the unbelievers think that they can get the better (of the godly): they
will never frustrate (them).
008.060 Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power,
including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of God and
your enemies, and others besides, whom ye may not know, but whom God doth
know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of God, shall be repaid unto you, and ye
shall not be treated unjustly.
008.061 But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards
peace, and trust in God: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).
008.062 Should they intend to deceive thee,- verily God sufficeth thee: He it is That
hath strengthened thee with His aid and with (the company of) the Believers;
008.063 And (moreover) He hath put affection between their hearts: not if thou hadst
spent all that is in the earth, couldst thou have produced that affection, but God hath
done it: for He is Exalted in might, Wise.
008.064 O Apostle! sufficient unto thee is God,- (unto thee) and unto those who
follow thee among the Believers.
008.065 O Apostle! rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you,
patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will
vanquish a thousand of the Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding.
008.066 For the present, God hath lightened your (task), for He knoweth that there is
a weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are a hundred of you, patient and
persevering, they will vanquish two hundred, and if a thousand, they will vanquish
two thousand, with the leave of God: for God is with those who patiently persevere.
008.067 It is not fitting for an apostle that he should have prisoners of war until he
hath thoroughly subdued the land. Ye look for the temporal goods of this world; but
God looketh to the Hereafter: And God is Exalted in might, Wise.
008.068 Had it not been for a previous ordainment from God, a severe penalty would
have reached you for the (ransom) that ye took.
008.069 But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good: but fear God: for
God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
008.070 O Apostle! say to those who are captives in your hands: "If God findeth any
good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from
you, and He will forgive you: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
008.071 But if they have treacherous designs against thee, (O Apostle!), they have
already been in treason against God, and so hath He given (thee) power over them.
And God so He Who hath (full) knowledge and wisdom.
008.072 Those who believed, and adopted exile, and fought for the Faith, with their
property and their persons, in the cause of God, as well as those who gave (them)
asylum and aid,- these are (all) friends and protectors, one of another. As to those who
believed but came not into exile, ye owe no duty of protection to them until they
come into exile; but if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them,
except against a people with whom ye have a treaty of mutual alliance. And
(remember) God seeth all that ye do.
008.073 The Unbelievers are protectors, one of another: Unless ye do this, (protect
each other), there would be tumult and oppression on earth, and great mischief.
008.074 Those who believe, and adopt exile, and fight for the Faith, in the cause of
God as well as those who give (them) asylum and aid,- these are (all) in very truth the
Believers: for them is the forgiveness of sins and a provision most generous.
008.075 And those who accept Faith subsequently, and adopt exile, and fight for the
Faith in your company,- they are of you. But kindred by blood have prior rights
against each other in the Book of God. Verily God is well-acquainted with all things.