PART 26
528
46-THE WINDCURVED
SANDHILLS
31. And as for those who disbelieved [it will be said to them]:
Were not Our verses recited to you? But you were arrogant
and became a folk of criminals.
32. And when it was said: Lo! Allah’s promise is the truth,
and there is no doubt of the Hour’s coming, you said:
We know not what the Hour is. We deem it nothing but a
conjecture, and we are by no means convinced.
33. And the evils of what they did will appear to them, and
that which they used to deride will befall them:
34. And it will be said: This day We forget you, even as you
forgot the meeting of this your day; and your habitation
is the Fire, and there is none to help you.
35. This, forasmuch as you took the verses of Allah in ridicule,
and the life of the world beguiled you. Therefor this day
they come not forth from thence, nor can they make
amends.
36. Then praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of
the earth, the Lord of the Worlds.
37. And to Him [alone] belongs Majesty in the heavens and
the earth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.
46- THE WIND-CURVED
SANDHILLS [AL-AHQAF]
Revealed at Mecca, [35 verses]
Al-Ahqâf, “The Wind-curved Sandhills” (a formation
which will be familiar to all desert travellers, and which
especially characterised the region in which the tribe of A’âd
were said originally to have lived), takes its name from a word
in v. 21 and is the last of the Hâ Mîm group.
PART 26
529
46-THE WINDCURVED
SANDHILLS
It belongs to the middle group of Meccan Sûrahs, with the
exception of v. 10, vv. 15-18, and v. 35, which were revealed
at Al-Madînah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
? . 1 Hâ. Mîm.[1]
2. The revelation of the Book is from Allah the Mighty, the Wise.
3. We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is
between them save with truth, and for a term appointed.
But those who disbelieve turn away from that whereof
they are warned.
4. Say [to them, O Muhammad]: Have you thought on all that
you invoke besides Allah? Show me what they have created
of the earth. Or have they any portion in the heavens?
Bring me a scripture before this [Scripture], or some trace
of knowledge [in support of what you say], if you are
truthful.
5. And who is further astray than those who, instead of Allah,
invoke to such as respond not to their invocation until
the Day of Resurrection, and are unconscious of their
invocation,
6. And when mankind are gathered [to the Judgment] will
become enemies for them, and will become deniers of
having been worshipped.
7. And when Our clear verses are recited to them, those who
disbelieve say of the Truth when it reaches them: This is
plain magic.
8. Or they say: He has invented it? Say [O Muhammad]: If
I have invented it, still you have no power to support me
against Allah. He is Best Aware of what you say among
yourselves concerning it. He suffices for a witness between
me and you. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
[1] See Sûr. [2]. V.1, footnote.
PART 26
530
46-THE WINDCURVED
SANDHILLS
9. Say: I am no new thing among the messengers [of Allah],
nor know I what will be done with me or with you. I do but
follow that which is revealed to me, and I am but a plain
warner.
10. Say: If it is from Allah and you disbelieve therein, and a
witness of the Children of Israel[1] has already testified to the
like thereof and has believed, and you are too proud [what
plight is yours]? Lo! Allah, guides not wrong-doing folk.
11. And those who disbelieve say of those who believe: If it
had been [any] good, they would not have been before us
in attaining it. And since they will not be guided by it, they
say: This is an ancient lie;
12. When before it there was the Scripture of Moses, an
example and a mercy; and this is a confirming Book in an
Arabic tongue, that it may warn those who do wrong and
bring good tidings for the righteous.
13. Lo! those who say: our Lord is Allah, and thereafter remain
aright, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall
they grieve.
14. Those are rightful owners of the Paradise, immortal
therein as a reward for what they used to do.
15. And We have enjoined to man kindness toward parents.
His mother bears him with hardship, and brings him forth
with hardship, and the bearing of him and the weaning of
him is thirty months, till, when he attains full strength
and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! Arouse me
that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith You have
favoured me and my parents, and that I may do right
acceptable to You. And be gracious to me in the matter
of my offspring. Lo! I have turned to You repentant, and
lo! I am of the Muslims.
[1] Abdullah ibn Salam, a learned Jew of Al-Madînah, who became a
devout Muslim. This is the usual explanation, though the verse is still
considered as of Meccan revelation.
PART 26
531
46-THE WINDCURVED
SANDHILLS
16. Those are they from whom We accept the best of what
they do, and overlook their misdeeds. [They are] among
the owners of the Paradise. This is the true promise which
they were promised [in the world].
17. And whoso says to his parents: Fie upon you both! Do
you threaten me that I shall be brought forth [again] when
generations before me have passed away? And they both
cry to Allah for help [and say]: Woe to you! Believe! Lo!
the promise of Allah is true. But he says: This is nothing
save fables of the men of old:
18. Such are those on whom the Word [of doom] concerning
nations of the jinn and mankind which have passed away
before them has effect. Lo! they were the losers.
19. And for all there will be ranks from what they have done,
that He may pay them for their deeds; and they will not
be wronged.
20. And on the day when those who disbelieve are exposed to
the Fire [it will be said]: You exhausted your good things
in the life of the world and sought comfort therein. Now
this day you are rewarded with the doom of humiliation
because you were disdainful in the land without a right
and because you used to transgress.
21. And make mention [O Muhammad] of the brother of
A’âd [The prophet Hûd] when he warned his folk among
the wind-curved sand-hills– and verily warners came and
went before and after him– saying: Worship none but
Allah. Lo! I fear for you the doom of a tremendous Day.
22. They said: Have you come to turn us away from our gods?
Then bring upon us that wherewith you threaten us, if
you are of the truthful.
23. He said: The knowledge is with Allah only. I convey to
you that wherewith I have been sent, but I see you are a
folk that know not.
PART 26
532
46-THE WINDCURVED
SANDHILLS
24. Then when they saw it a dense cloud coming toward their
valleys, they said: Here is a cloud bringing us rain. Nay,
but it is that which you did seek to hasten, a wind wherein
is painful doom,
25. Destroying all things by commandment of its Lord. And
morning found them so that nothing could be seen save
their dwellings. Thus do We reward the criminal folk.
26. And verily We had empowered them with that wherewith
We have not empowered you, and had assigned them ears
and eyes and hearts; but their ears and eyes and hearts
availed them nothing since they denied the signs of Allah;
and what they used to mock befell them.
27. And verily We have destroyed townships round about
you, and displayed [for them] Our signs, that perhaps they
might return.
28. Then why did those [idols] whom they had taken for gods
as a way of approach [to Allah] not help them? Nay, but
they did fail them utterly. And [all] that was their lie, and
what they used to invent.
29. And when We inclined toward you [Muhammad] a few of
the Jinn, listening to the Qur’ân and, when they were in
its presence, said: Give ear! and, when it was concluded,
turned back to their people, warning.
30. They said: O our people! Lo! we have heard a Book which
has been revealed after Moses, confirming that which was
before it, guiding to the truth and a straight path.
31. O our people! respond to Allah’s summoner and believe
in Him. He will forgive you some of your sins and guard
you from a painful doom.
32. And whoso responds not to Allah’s summoner he can
nowise escape in the earth, and you [can find] no protectors
instead of Him. Such are in manifest error.
PART 26
533
47-MUHAMMAD
33. 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? Aye, He verily is Able to do
all things.
34. And on the day when those who disbelieve are exposed
to the Fire [they will be asked]: Is not this real? They will
say: Yea, by our Lord. He will say: Then taste the doom
for that you disbelieved.
35. Then have patience [O Muhammad] even as the stout of
heart among the messengers [of old] had patience, and
seek not to hasten on the doom for them. On the day when
they see that which they are promised [it will seem to them]
as though they had tarried but an hour of daylight. A clear
message. Shall any be destroyed save evil-living folk?
47- MUHAMMAD [MUHAMMAD]
Revealed at Al-Madinah, [38 verses]
Muhammad. This Sûrah takes its name from the mention
of the Prophet by name in v. 2. Most commentators agree
that v. 18 was revealed when the Prophet, forced to flee from
Mecca, looked back, weeping, for a last sight of his native
city. Some have considered the whole Sûrah to be a Meccan
revelation, but with no good reason.
It belongs to the first and second years after the Hijrah,
with the exception of v. 18, which was revealed during the
Hijrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Those who disbelieve and turn [men] from the way of
Allah, He renders their deeds vain.
PART 26
534
47-MUHAMMAD
2. And those who believe and do good deeds and believe in
that which has been sent down upon Muhammad–and it is
the truth from their Lord–He rids them of their misdeeds
and improves their state.
3. That is because those who disbelieve follow falsehood
and because those who believe follow the truth from their
Lord. Thus Allah coins their similitudes for mankind.
4. Now when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is
smiting of the necks until, when you have routed them, then
making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom
till the war lay down its burdens. That [is the ordinance].
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 killed in the way of
Allah, He renders not their actions vain.
5. He will guide them and improve their state,
6. And admit them to Paradise which He has made known to
them.
7. O you who believe! If you help [in the cause of] Allah, He
will help you and will make your foothold firm.
8. And those who disbelieve, perdition is for them, and He
will make their actions vain.
9. That is because they are averse to that which Allah has sent
down, therefor He makes their deeds fruitless.
10. Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of
the consequence for those who were before them? Allah
wiped them out. And for the disbelievers there will be the
like thereof.
11. That is because Allah is protector of those who believe,
and because the disbelievers have no protector.
12. Lo! Allah will cause those who believe and do good deeds
to enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow; while
PART 26
535
47-MUHAMMAD
those who disbelieve take their comfort in this life and
eat even as the cattle eat, and the Fire is their habitation.
13. And how many a township stronger than your township [O
Muhammad] which has cast you out, We have destroyed,
and they had no helper!
14. Is he who relies on a clear proof from his Lord like those
for whom the evil that they do is beautified while they
follow their own lusts?
15. A similitude of the Paradise which those who fear Allah
are promised: Therein are rivers of water unpolluted, and
rivers of milk whereof the flavour changes 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. [Are those who enjoy all this] like those
who are immortal in the Fire and are given boiling water
to drink so that it tears their bowels?
16. Among them are some who give ear to you [Muhammad]
till, when they go forth from your presence, they say to
those who have been given knowledge: What was that
he said just now? Those are they whose hearts Allah has
sealed, and they follow their own lusts.
17. While as for those who are guided, He adds to their
guidance, and gives them their piety.
18. Await they nothing save the Hour, that it should come
upon them unexpectedly? And the beginnings thereof
have already come. But how, when it has come upon
them, can they take their warning?
19. So know [O Muhammad] that there is no deity save Allah,
and ask forgiveness for your sin and for believing men
and believing women. Allah knows [both] your place of
movement and your place of rest.
PART 26
536
47-MUHAMMAD
20. And those who believe say: If only a Sûrah were sent
down! But when a decisive Sûrah is sent down and war
is mentioned therein, you see those in whose hearts is a
disease looking at you with the look of men fainting to
death. Therefor woe to them!
21. Obedience and a good word. Then, when the matter is
determined, if they are true to Allah it will be better for them.
22. Would you then, if you were given the authority, work
corruption in the land and sever your ties of kinship?
23. Such are they whom Allah curses so that he deafens them
and makes blind their sight.
24. Will they then not meditate on the Qur’ân, or are there
locks on the hearts?
25. Lo! those who turn back after the guidance has been
manifested to them, Satan has seduced them, and He
gives them the rein.
26. That is because they say to those who hate what Allah has
sent down: We will obey you in some matters; and Allah
knows their secret talk.
27. Then how [will it be with them] when the angels will take
their souls at death, smiting their faces and their backs!
28. That will be because they followed that which angers
Allah, and hated that which pleases Him. Therefor He
has made their deeds vain.
29. Or do those in whose hearts is a disease deem that Allah
will not bring to light their [secret] hates?
30. And if We would, We could show them to you [Muhammad]
so that you should know them surely by their marks. And
you shall know them by the tone of their talk. And Allah
knows your deeds.
31. And verily We shall try you till We know those of you who
strive hard [for the cause of Allah] and the patient, and till
We test your record.
PART 26
537
48-THE VICTORY
32. Lo! those who disbelieve and turn from the way of Allah
and oppose the messenger after the guidance has been
manifested to them, never will they hurt Allah at all, and
He will make their deeds fruitless.
33. O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger,
and render not vain your deeds.
34. Lo! those who disbelieve and turn from the way of Allah
and then die disbelievers, Allah surely will not forgive them.
35. So do not weaken and cry out for peace when you [will
be] the uppermost, and Allah is with you, and He will not
deprive you [the reward of] your deeds.
36. The life of the world is but a play and a pastime. And if
you believe and fear Allah, He will give you your rewards,
and will not ask of you your worldly wealth.
37. If He should ask it of you and importune you, you would
hoard it, and He would bring to light your [secret] hates.
38. Lo! you are those who are called to spend in the way of
Allah, yet among you there are some who hoard. And as
for him who hoards, he hoards only from his soul. And
Allah is the Rich [free from all needs], and you are the
poor. And if you turn away He will exchange you for
some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you.
48- THE VICTORY [AL-FATH]
Revealed at Al-Madînah, [29 verses]
Al-Fath takes its name from the word Fath meaning
“Victory” which occurs several times, and refers, not to the
conquest of Mecca, but to the truce of Al-Hudeybiyeh,
which, though at the time it seemed a set-back to the Muslims,
proved in fact the greatest victory for Al-Islâm.
PART 26
538
48-THE VICTORY
In the sixth year of the Hijrah, the Prophet set out with
some 1400 Muslims from Al-Madînah and the country round,
in the garb of pilgrims, not for war but to visit the Ka’bah. When
they drew near to Mecca, they were warned that Qureysh had
gathered their allies against them, and that their cavalry under
Khalid ibn Al-Walid was on the road before them. Making a
detour through gullies of the hills, they escaped the cavalry and,
coming into the valley of Mecca, encamped at Al-Hudeybiyeh
below the city. The Prophet resolutely refused to give battle and
persisted in attempts to parley with Qureysh who had sworn
not to let him reach the Ka’bah. The Muslims were all the while
in a position of some danger. Finally Othman ibn ‘Affan was
sent into the city, as the man most likely to be well received
on account of his relationships. Othman was detained by the
Meccans, and news that he had been murdered reached the
Muslims in their camp.[1]
It was then that the Prophet, sitting under a tree, took from
his comrades the oath (referred to in v. 18) that they would
hold together and fight to the death.[2] Then it became known
that the rumour of Othman’s death was false, and Qureysh at
length agreed to a truce of which the terms were favourable
to them. The Prophet and his multitude were to give up the
project of visiting the sanctuary for that year, but were to make
the pilgrimage the following year when the idolaters undertook
to evacuate Mecca for three days to allow them to do so.
Fugitives from Qureysh to the Muslims were to be returned,
but not fugitives from the Muslims to Qureysh; and there was
to be no hostility between the parties for ten years.
“And there was never a victory,” says Ibn Khaldûn, “greater
than this victory; for, as Az-Zuhrî says, when it was war the
[1] Ibn Hishâm, Part II, pp. 176-178.
[2] Ibn Hishâm, Part II, p. 179.
PART 26
539
48-THE VICTORY
peoples did not meet, but when the truce came and war laid
down its burdens and people felt safe one with another, then
they met and indulged in conversation and discussion. And no
man spoke of Al-Islâm to another but the latter espoused it,
so that there entered Al-Islâm in those two years (i.e., between
Al-Hudeybiyeh and the breaking of the truce by Qureysh) as
many as all those who had entered it before, or more.[1] The
date of revelation is the sixth year of the Hijrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Lo! We have given you [O Muhammad] a manifest conquest,
2. That Allah may forgive you of your sin that which is past
and that which is to come, and may perfect His favour to
you, and may guide you to a straight path,
3. And that Allah may help you with strong victory–
4. He it is Who sent down peace of reassurance into the
hearts of the believers that they might add faith to their
faith. Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth,
and Allah is ever Knower, Wise–
5. That He may admit the believing men and the believing
women to Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein
they will abide, and may remit from them their misdeeds–
That, in the sight of Allah, is the supreme success–
6. And He may punish the hypocrite men and the hypocrite
women, and the polytheist men and the polytheist women,
who think an evil thought concerning Allah. For them is
the evil turn of fortune, and Allah is wroth against them
and has cursed them, and has made ready for them Hell,
and evil it is as a destination.
[1] Ibn Khaldûn, Tarîkh. Supplement to Part II, Bûlâq 1284, A.H. He
follows Ibn Hishâm.
PART 26
540
48-THE VICTORY
7. Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and
Allah is ever Mighty, Wise.
8. Lo! We have sent you [O Muhammad] as a witness and a
bearer of good tidings and a warner,
9. That you [mankind] may believe in Allah and His messenger,
and may honour him, and may revere him, and may glorify
Him at early dawn and at the close of day.
10. Lo! those who swear allegiance to you [Muhammad], swear
allegiance only to Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their
hands. So whosoever breaks his oath, breaks it only to
his soul’s hurt; while whosoever keeps his covenant with
Allah, on him will He bestow immense reward.
11. Those of the wandering Arabs who were left behind will
tell you: Our possessions and our households occupied us,
so ask forgiveness for us! They speak with their tongues
that which is not in their hearts. Say: Who can avail you
anything against Allah, if He intends you hurt or intends
you profit? Nay, but Allah is ever Aware of what you do.
12. Nay, but you thought that the messenger and the believers
would never return to their own folk, and that was made
fair-seeming in your hearts, and you did think an evil
thought, and you were worthless folk.
13. And as for him who believes not in Allah and His
messenger– Lo! We have prepared a flame for disbelievers.
14. And Allah’s is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the
earth. He forgives whom He wills, and punishes whom
He wills. And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
15. Those who were left behind will say, when you set forth to
capture spoils: Let us follow you. They want to change the
words of Allah. Say [to them, O Muhammad]: You shall
not follow us. Thus has Allah said beforehand. Then they
PART 26
541
48-THE VICTORY
will say: You are envious of us. Nay, but they understand
not, save a little.
16. Say to those of the wandering Arabs who were left behind:
You will be called against a folk of mighty prowess,[1] to
fight them until they surrender; and if you obey, Allah will
give you a fair reward; but if you turn away as you did turn
away before, He will punish you with a painful doom.
17. There is no blame for the blind, nor is there blame for
the lame, nor is there blame for the sick [that they go not
forth to war]. And whoso obeys Allah and His messenger,
He will make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers
flow; and whoso turns back, He will punish him with a
painful doom.
18. Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore
allegiance to you beneath the tree, and He knew what was
in their hearts, and He sent down peace of reassurance on
them, and has rewarded them with a near conquest;
19. And much spoils that they will capture. Allah is ever
Mighty, Wise.
20. Allah promises you much spoils that you will capture, and
has hastened for you this [conquest], and has withheld
men’s hands from you, that it may be a sign for the
believers, and that He may guide you on a straight path.
21. And other [gain], which you have not been able to achieve,
Allah has already compassed it. Allah is Able to do all things.
22. And if those who disbelieve were to fight you they will
take to flight, and afterward they will find no protector
nor helper.
23. It is the Way of Allah which has taken course previously.
You will not find for the Way of Allah any power to change.
[1] This prophecy is taken to refer to the war with the Persian or the
Byzantine Empire.
PART 26
542
48-THE VICTORY
24. And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you,
and has withheld your hands from them, in the valley of
Mecca, after He had made you victors over them. Allah is
Seer of what you do.
25. They are the ones who disbelieved and debarred you from
the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at Mecca], and debarred the
offering from reaching its place of sacrifice. And if it had
not been for believing men and believing women, whom
you know not– lest you should tread them under foot and
thus incur guilt for them unknowingly; that Allah might
bring into His mercy whom He wills– If [the believers
and the disbelievers] had been clearly separated We verily
had punished those of them who disbelieved with painful
punishment.
26. When those who disbelieve had set up in their hearts
zealotry, the zealotry of the Age of Ignorance, then Allah
sent down His peace of reassurance upon His messenger
and upon the believers and imposed on them the word of
self-restraint, for they were worthy of it and meet for it.
And Allah is Aware of all things.
27. Allah has fulfilled the vision[1] for His messenger in very
truth. You shall indeed enter the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at
Mecca], if Allah wills, secure, [having your hair] shaven
and cut, not fearing. But He knows that which you know
not, and has given you a near conquest beforehand.
28. He it is Who has sent His messenger with the guidance
and the religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail
over all religion. And Allah suffices as a Witness.
29. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with
him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among
[1] The Prophet had had a vision that he was entering the Sanctuary at
Mecca in peace and safety.
PART 26
543
49- THE PRIVATE
APARTMENTS
themselves. You [O Muhammad] see 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– like
as sown plant that sends forth its shoot and strengthens it
and rises firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers– that
He may enrage the disbelievers with [the sight of] them.
Allah has promised, to such of them as believe and do
good deeds, forgiveness and immense reward.
49- THE PRIVATE APARTMENTS [AL-HUJURAT]
Revealed at Al-Madînah, [18 verses]
Al-Hujurât takes its name from v. 4, which, with the
following verse, is said to refer to the behaviour of a
deputation at a time when deputations from all parts of
Arabia were coming to Al-Madînah to profess allegiance to the
Prophet. The whole Sûrah, dealing as it does with manners,
and particularly with behaviour toward the Prophet, evidently
belongs to a period when there were many seeking audience,
among them many who were quite uncivilised.
The date of revelation is the ninth year of the Hijrah,
“the year of deputations” as it is called.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. O you who believe! Be not forward before Allah and His
messenger, and fear Allah. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.
2. O you who believe! Lift not up your voices above the voice
of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to him as you
PART 26
544
49- THE PRIVATE
APARTMENTS
shout one to another, lest your deeds be rendered vain
while you perceive not.
3. Lo! they who subdue their voices in the presence of the
messenger of Allah, those are they whose hearts Allah has
tested for piety. Theirs will be forgiveness and immense
reward.
4. Lo! those who call you from behind the private apartments,
most of them have no sense.
5. And if they had patience till you came forth to them, it had
been better for them. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
6. O you who believe! If a disobedient one brings you tidings,
verify it, lest you smite some folk in ignorance and afterward
regret of what you did.
7. And know that the messenger of Allah is among you. If he
were to obey you in much of the matter, you would surely
be in trouble; but Allah has endeared the faith to you and
has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief and
lewdness and rebellion hateful to you. Such are they who
are rightly guided.
8. [It is] a bounty and a grace from Allah; and Allah is
Knower, Wise.
9. And if two parties of believers fall to fighting, then make peace
between them. And if one party of them oppresses the other,
then fight that which oppresses till it returns to the ordinance
of Allah; then, if it returns, make peace between them justly,
and act equitably. Lo! Allah loves the equitable.
10. The believers are nothing else than brothers. Therefore
make peace between your brothers and fear Allah that
perhaps you may obtain mercy.
11. O you who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may
be better than they [are], nor let women [deride] women
PART 26
545
49- THE PRIVATE
APARTMENTS
who may be better than they are; neither defame one
another, nor insult one another by [offensive] nicknames.
Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turns
not in repentance, such are wrong-doers.
12. O you who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some
suspicion is a sin. And spy not, neither backbite one another.
Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his brother when
dead? You abhor that [so abhor the other]! And fear Allah.
Lo! Allah is Accepting repentance, Merciful.
13. O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female,
and have made you nations and tribes that you may know
one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah,
is the most righteous. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.
14. The wandering Arabs say: We have believed. Say [to them,
O Muhammad]: You have believed not, but rather say “We
have submitted,” for the faith has not yet entered into
your hearts. Yet, if you obey Allah and His messenger, He
will not withhold from you anything of [the reward of]
your deeds. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
15. 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 truthful.
16. Say [to them, O Muhammad]: Would you inform Allah about
your religion, when Allah knows all that is in the heavens and
all that is in the earth, and Allah is Aware of all things?
17. They make it a favour to you [Muhammad] that they have
embraced Islâm. Say: Deem not your Islâm a favour to
me; nay, but Allah does confer a favour on you, inasmuch
as He has guided you to the Faith, if you are earnest.
18. Lo! Allah knows the Unseen of the heavens and the earth.
And Allah is Seer of what you do.
PART 26
546
50-QAF
50- QAF [QAF]
Revealed at Mecca, [45 verses]
Takes its name from the letter of the Arabic alphabet
which stands alone at the beginning of the first verse. It
belongs to the middle group of Meccan Sûrahs.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Qaf. By the Glorious Qur’ân,
2. Nay, but they wonder that a warner of their own has come
to them; and the disbelievers say: This is a strange thing:
3. When we are dead and have become dust [shall we be
brought back again]? That would be a far return!
4. We know that which the earth takes of them, and with Us
is a recording Book.
5. Nay, but they have denied the truth when it came to them,
therefor they are now in troubled case.
6. Have they not then observed the sky above them, how We
have constructed it and beautified it, and how there are no
rifts therein?
7. And the earth We have spread out, and have flung firm
mountains therein, and have caused of every lovely kind
to grow thereon,
8. An insight and a reminder for every penitent slave.
9. And We send down from the sky blessed water whereby
We give growth to gardens and the grain of crops,
10. And lofty date-palms with ranged clusters,
11. Provision [made] for men; and therewith We quicken a
dead land. Even so will be the resurrection of the dead.
PART 26
547
50-QAF
12. The folk of Noah denied [the truth] before them, and [so
did] the dwellers at Ar-Rass and [the tribe of] Thamûd,
13. And [the tribe of] A’âd, and Pharaoh, and the brothers of
Lot,
14. And the dwellers in the wood, and the folk of Tubb’a:
every one denied their messengers, therefor My threat
took effect.
15. Were We then worn out by the first creation? Yet they are
in doubt about a new creation.
16. We verily created man and We know what his soul whispers
to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.
17. When the two Receivers [recording angles] receive [him],
seated on the right hand and on the left,
18. He utters no word but there is with him an observer ready
[to record].
19. And the agony of death comes in truth. [And it is said to
him]: This is that which you were used to avoid.
20. And the Horn is blown. That is the Day of the Threat.
21. And every soul comes, along with it a driver and a witness.
22. [And it will be said]: You were in heedlessness of this.
Now We have removed from you your covering, and
piercing is your sight this day.
23. And [to the wrong-doer] his companion [the angel] says:
This [record] is that which I have ready [as testimony].
24. [Allah will say]: Throw to Hell each rebel disbeliever,
25. Hinderer of good, transgressor, doubter,
26. Who sets up another god along with Allah. Then throw
him to the dreadful doom.
27. His [devil] comrade says: Our Lord! I did not cause him to
rebel, but he was [himself] far gone in error.
PART 26
548
50-QAF
28. He says: Dispute not in My presence, when I had already
presented to you the warning.
29. The sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed,
and I am in no wise unjust to the slaves.
30. On the day when We say to Hell: Are you filled? and it
says: Can there be more to come?
31. And the Paradise is brought near to the pious, no longer
distant.
32. [And it is said]: This is that which you were promised. [It
is] for every penitent and keeper [of His covenant],
33. Who feared the Beneficent unseen and came with a
penitent heart.
34. Enter it in peace. This is the day of immortality.
35. There they have all that they desire, and there is more
with Us.
36. And how many a generation We destroyed before them,
who were mightier than these in prowess so that they
overran the lands! Had they any place of refuge [when
the judgment came]?
37. Lo! therein verily is a reminder for him who has a heart, or
gives ear while he is present [in mind].
38. And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and
all that is between them, in six Days, and nothing of
weariness touched Us.
39. Therefor [O Muhammad] bear with patience what they
say, and glorify the praise of your Lord before the rising
and before the setting of the sun;
40. And in the night time glorify His praise: And after the
[prescribed] prostrations.
41. And listen on the day when the crier cries from a near
place,
PART 26
549
51-THE WINNOWING
WIND
42. The day when they will hear the [Awful] Cry in truth. That
is the day of coming forth [from the graves].
43. Lo! We it is Who quicken and cause death, and to Us is
the final return.
44. On the day when the earth splits asunder from them,
hastening forth [they come]. That is a gathering easy for
Us [to make].
45. We are Best Aware of what they say, and you [O
Muhammad] are in no wise a compeller over them. But
warn by the Qur’ân him who fears My threat.
51- THE WINNOWING WIND [ADH-ZARIYAT]
Revealed at Mecca, [60 verses]
Adh-Dhâriyât, “The Winnowing Winds” takes its name from
a word in v. 1. I have followed the usual interpretation of the first
four verses, but they may also be taken as all referring to winds or
to angels. An early Meccan Sûrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. By those that winnow with a winnowing
2. And those [the clouds] that bear the burden [of the rain]
3. And those that glide with ease [upon the sea]
4. And those [angels] who distribute [blessings] by command,
5. Lo! that wherewith you are threatened is indeed true,
6. And lo! the recompense will indeed befall.
7. By the heaven full of paths,
8. Lo! you, indeed, are of various opinion [concerning the
truth].
PART 26
550
51-THE WINNOWING
WIND
9. He is made to turn away from it who is [himself] averse.
10. Accursed be the conjecturers
11. Who are heedless in an abyss!
12. They ask: When is the Day of Recompense?
13. [It is] the day when they will be tried over the Fire,
14. [And it will be said to them]: Taste your trial [which you
inflicted]. This is what you sought to hasten.
15. Lo! the pious will dwell amid gardens and watersprings.
16. Taking that which their Lord gives them; for lo! they were
before that doers of good;
17. They used to sleep but little of the night,
18. And before the dawning of each day would ask forgiveness,
19. And in their wealth the one who would ask and the
deprived had due share.
20. And in the earth are signs for those whose faith is certain,
21. And [also] in yourselves. Can you then not see?
22. And in the heaven is your provision and that which you
are promised;
23. And by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is the
truth, even as [it is true] that you speak.
24. Has the story of Abraham’s honoured guests reached you
[O Muhammad]?
25. When they came in unto him and said: Peace! he answered,
Peace! [and thought]: Folk unknown [to me].
26. Then he went apart to his housefolk that they brought a
fat [roasted] calf;
27. And he set it before them, saying: Will you not eat?
28. Then he conceived a fear of them. They said: Fear not!
and gave him tidings of [the birth of] a knowledgeable
son.
