1

Alif Lām Mīm: Allahu ta’ālā knows best what He means by these [letters].

84

Say, to them, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" : 'We believe in Allahu ta’ālā, and that which has been revealed to us, and that which has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob, and the Tribes, the latter's sons; and in that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and the prophets, from their Rabb; we make no division between any of them, by believing [in some] and disbelieving [in others]; and to Him we submit', devoting worship sincerely [to Him].

85

The following was revealed regarding those who apostatized and became disbelievers: Whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers, because he will end up in the Fire, made everlasting for him.

86

How shall Allahu ta’ālā guide, that is to say, [He shall] not [guide], a people who have disbelieved after their belief, and bore witness, that is, [and after] their bearing witness, that the Messenger (rasūl) is true, and after the clear signs, the manifest proofs of the truth of the Prophet, had come to them? Allahu ta’ālā guides not the evildoing, that is, the disbelieving, folk.

87

Those - their requital is that there shall rest on them the curse of Allahu ta’ālā and of the angels and of men altogether.

88

Abiding therein, that is, in the curse, or in the Fire implied by it [the curse]; the chastisement shall not be lightened for them and they shall not be reprieved, they shall [not] be given any respite.

89

But those who repent thereafter, and make amends, in their actions, then truly Allahu ta’ālā is Forgiving, Merciful, to them.

90

The following was revealed regarding the Jews: Surely those who disbelieve, in Jesus, after they have believed, in Moses, and then increase in unbelief, in Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" - their repentance shall not be accepted, when they are drawing their last gasps of life, or when they have died as disbelievers; those are the ones who go astray.

91

Surely those who disbelieve, and die disbelieving, the whole earth full, the amount needed to fill it up, of gold shall not be accepted from any one of them (the fā' [of fa-lan yuqbala, 'it shall not be accepted'] has been included in the predicate of the inna clause, because the statement about alladhīna, 'those [who disbelieve]', resembles a conditional statement; and as a declaration of the reason for it [repentance] not being acceptable in the case of one who dies in unbelief) if he would ransom himself thereby; for them awaits a painful chastisement (alīm is [the same as] mu'lim, 'painful'), and they shall have no helpers, to protect them from it.

92

You will not attain piety, that is, the reward for it, which is Paradise, until you expend, [until] you give voluntary alms, of what you love, of your wealth; and whatever thing you expend, Allahu ta’ālā knows of it, and He will requite it accordingly.

93

When the Jews said to the Prophet, 'You claim that you follow the creed of Abraham, but Abraham did not eat camel's meat nor drink its milk', the following was revealed: All food was lawful to the Children of Israel save what Israel, Jacob, forbade for himself, namely, camels: when he was afflicted with sciatica ('irq al-nasā), he made a vow that if he were cured he would not eat of it again, and so it was forbidden him; before the Torah was revealed, which was after the time of Abraham, as it was not unlawful in his time, as they claimed. Say, to them, 'Bring the Torah now, and recite it, so that the truth of what you say may become clear, if you are truthful', in what you say; they were stupified and did not bring it [the Torah]. Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, then said:

94

Whoever invents falsehood against Allahu ta’ālā after that, that is, after the proof has become manifest that the prohibition was made by Jacob, and not during the time of Abraham, those are the evildoers, that transgress the truth into falsehood.

95

Say: 'Allahu ta’ālā has spoken the truth, in this matter, just as He has in all that He has related; therefore follow the creed of Abraham, the one which I follow, a hanīf, inclining away from all religions towards submission (islām), and he was not an idolater'.

96

When they said, 'Our direction of prayer (qibla) came before yours', the following was revealed: The first house, for worship, established for the people, on earth, was that at Bakka (a variant of Makka [Mecca], so called because it 'crushes' [tabukku] the necks of tyrants); it was built by the angels before the creation of Adam, and after it the Aqsā [in Jerusalem] was built, a period of forty years separating them, as reported in the hadīth of the two Sahīhs [sc. of al-Bukhārī and Muslim], and in the hadīth [that states]: 'The first thing to appear on the surface of the water, at the creation of the heavens and the earth, was a white foam, underneath which the earth was unrolled'; a blessed place (mubārakan, a circumstantial qualifier referring to la'lladhī, 'that') meaning a place of blessings, and a guidance to all worlds, because it is their qibla.

97

Therein are clear signs, among which is, the station of Abraham, that is, the stone upon which he stood to build the House, and on which his footprints remain; and it [the House] has endured all this length of time and the constant passing of hands over it. Among these [signs] are the fact that the reward for good deeds is multiplied in it and that birds never fly over it; and whoever enters it is in security, not liable therein to be killed or oppressed or otherwise. It is the duty of people towards Allahu ta’ālā to make the pilgrimage to the House (read either as hijj al-bayt or hajj al-bayt, as two variants of the verbal noun from hajj, meaning 'the intention [to journey there]'), if he is able to make his way there (man istatā'a ilayhi sabīlan substitutes for al-nās, 'people').

The Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" explained this [ability] as having provisions and a ride, as reported by al-Hākim [al-Naysābūrī] and others. As for the one who disbelieves, in Allahu ta’ālā or in what He has made obligatory with regard to the Pilgrimage, Allahu ta’ālā is Independent of all worlds, the humans, the jinn and the angels, and [is Independent of] their devotions.

98

Say: 'O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in Allah’s verses, that is, the Qur'ān, when Allahu ta’ālā is Witness of what you do?', and will requite you for it?

99

Say: 'O People of the Scripture, why do you bar believers, causing them to turn away, from Allah’s way, His religion, by denying the truth of the Prophet and concealing His graces, desiring to make it crooked ('iwajan is the verbal noun, meaning mu'awwajatan, 'made crooked'), inclining away from the truth, while you yourselves are witnesses, [while] you know that the religion which is upright and pleasing [to Allahu ta’ālā] is that of Islam, as stated in your Book? Allahu ta’ālā is not heedless of what you do', in the way of unbelief and mendacity; instead He gives you respite until your appointed time and then requites you.

100

The following was revealed when the Jews passed by the Aws and the Khazraj and were infuriated by their comradeship, and set about reminding them of their mutual hostility in the days before Islam, such that they caused them to quarrel and the two [tribes] were on the verge of fighting one another: O you who believe, if you obey a party of those who have been given the Scripture, they will turn you, after you have believed, into disbelievers.

101

How can you disbelieve (this is an interrogative of amazement and rebuke) while you have Allah’s verses recited to you, and His Messenger (rasūl) is in your midst? Whoever holds fast to, clings to, Allahu ta’ālā, he is guided to a straight path.

10

O you who believe, fear Allahu ta’ālā as He should be feared, so that He is obeyed and not disobeyed, thanked and not shown ingratitude, remembered and not forgotten. They said, 'Who, O Messenger (rasūl) of Allahu ta’ālā, is strong enough for this [task]?' But it was then abrogated by His statement: So fear Allahu ta’ālā as much as you can [Q. 64:16]; and do not die, except as Muslims, professing the Oneness of Allahu ta’ālā.

103

And hold fast to, clutch, Allah’s bond, namely, His religion, together, and do not scatter, after submitting [to Islam]; remember Allah’s grace, His bestowing of favours, upon you, O companies of the Aws and the Khazraj, when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together, through Islam, so that by His grace you became brothers, in religion and comradeship; and you were upon the brink, the edge, of a pit of fire, such that to fall into it you only had to die disbelieving; but He delivered you from it, through belief. So, just as He has made clear for you what has been mentioned, Allahu ta’ālā makes clear to you His signs that you might be guided.

104

Let there be one community of you calling to good, to Islam, and enjoining decency, and forbidding indecency; those, that call, bid and forbid, are the successful, the victorious (the particle min, 'of', [in minkum, 'of you'] is partitive, since what is mentioned is a collective obligation [fard kifāya], and is not incumbent upon every individual of the community, for not every person, such as the ignorant, is up to it. However, it is also said that this particle is extra, and what is meant is, 'so that you are a community [calling to good and so on]').

105

Be not as those who scattered, in their religion, and disputed, over it, after the clear proofs came to them, and these are the Jews and the Christians, those there awaits a mighty chastisement.

106

The day when some faces are blackened, and some faces whitened, that is, the Day of Resurrection. As for those whose faces are blackened, these being the disbelievers, who are thrown into the Fire and to whom it is said in rebuke: 'Did you disbelieve after you had believed, on the day the covenant was made? Then taste the chastisement for what you disbelieved!'

107

But as for those whose faces are whitened, and these are the believers, they shall be in Allah’s mercy, that is to say, in Paradise, abiding therein.

108

Those, that is to say, these verses, are the verses of Allahu ta’ālā which We recite to you, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , in truth, and Allahu ta’ālā desires not any injustice for the worlds, punishing them for no crime.

109

To Allahu ta’ālā belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants, and to Him all matters are returned.

110

You, O community of Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , are the best community brought forth, manifested, to men, according to Allah’s knowledge, enjoining decency, and forbidding indecency, and believing in Allahu ta’ālā. Had the People of the Scripture believed, it, their belief, would have been better for them; some of them are believers, such as 'Abd Allāh b. Salām, may Allahu ta’ālā be pleased with him and his companions; but most of them, the disbelievers, are wicked.

111

They, the Jews, will not harm you, O company of Muslims, in any way, except a little hurt, with their tongues, such as slander and threats; and if they fight against you, they will turn their backs to you, in retreat, then they will not be helped, against you, but you will be helped against them.

112

Abasement shall be cast upon them, wherever they are found, so that they have no strength and no protection, save, if they be [clinging to], a rope of Allahu ta’ālā, and a rope of the, believing, people, this being the latter's covenant of security for them on the condition that they pay the jizya, in other words, they have no protection other than this; they have incurred, they have ended up, with anger from Allahu ta’ālā, and poverty shall be cast upon them; that, is, because they disbelieved in Allah’s āyāt/verses, and slew the prophets without right; that (dhālika is [repeated] for emphasis), is, because they disobeyed, Allah’s command, and used to transgress, passing from what is lawful into what is unlawful.

113

Yet they, the People of the Scripture, are not all alike, equal; some of the People of the Scripture are a community upright, with integrity, adhering to the truth, such as 'Abd Allāh b. Salām, may Allahu ta’ālā be pleased with him and his companions, who recite Allah’s verses in the watches of the night, that is, during its hours, prostrating themselves, performing prayer (wa-hum yasjudūn, 'prostrating themselves', is a circumstantial qualifier).

114

They believe in Allahu ta’ālā and in al-yawm al-ākher (the Last Day), enjoining decency and forbidding indecency, vying with one another in good works; those, described in the way Allahu ta’ālā has mentioned, are of the righteous, and some of them are not like this and are not righteous.

115

And whatever good you do, O community, (taf'alū, 'you do', or if this is read yaf'alū, 'they do', then [it is referring to them] 'the upright community'), you shall not be denied it ([read] in both ways [fa-lan tukfarūhu, 'you shall not be denied it', or fa-lan yukfarūhu, 'they shall not be denied it']), you shall not be deprived of its reward, but you will be rewarded for it, and Allahu ta’ālā knows the Allahu ta’ālā-fearing.

116

As for the disbelievers, their riches shall not avail, protect, them, neither their children, against Allahu ta’ālā, that is, against His chastisement: these two are singled out for mention because a person usually avails himself either by paying a ransom, or by [resorting to] the help of his children; those are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein.

117

The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Allahu ta’ālā did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.

118

O you who believe, do not take as intimates, as sincere friends, revealing to them your secret thoughts, anyone apart from yourselves, from among the Jews, Christians and the hypocrites; such men spare nothing to ruin you (khabālan is in the accusative because the preposition [that usually precedes it, sc. fī'l-khabāl] has been omitted), that is to say, they would not be remiss about corrupting you; they would love, they wish, for you to suffer ([al-'anat means] extreme hardship). Hatred, enmity towards you, is revealed, it is manifested, by their mouths, by sowing discord among you and informing the idolaters of your secret [plans]; and what their breasts conceal, of enmity, is yet greater. Now We have made clear to you the signs, of their enmity; if you understand, this, then do not befriend them.

119

Lo (hā, 'lo!', is for calling attention [to something]), there you are, O believers, you love them, on account of their kinship and their [pretence of] friendship towards you, but they love you not, since they oppose you in religion; you believe in the Book, all of it, that is to say, in the Books, all of them, but they do not believe in your Book, and when they meet you they say, 'We believe,' but when they are alone, they bite at you their fingertips, in rage, in extreme fury at what they see of your mutual affection: the biting of the fingertips is used to figuratively express the severity of rage, even if there be no biting involved. Say: 'Perish in your rage, that is, be this way until the end of your lives, for you shall not see what will please you; Allahu ta’ālā knows what is in the breasts', what is in the hearts, including that which these conceal.

120

If good fortune, a favour such as victory or booty, befalls you, it is evil for them, it grieves them; but if evil, such as defeat or drought, befalls you, they rejoice thereat (the conditional statement here is semantically connected to the previous conditional, and what comes in between is a parenthetical [statement], the meaning being that their enmity towards you is endless, so why do you befriend them? Avoid them!) Yet if you endure, their harm, and fear, Allahu ta’ālā by [not] befriending them and so on, their guile will not hurt you (read either lā yadirkum or lā yadurrukum) at all; Allahu ta’ālā encompasses what they do (ya'malūn, or may be read ta'malūn, 'what you do'), He has knowledge of it and will requite them for it.

121

And, mention O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , when you went forth at dawn from your family, at Medina, to assign the believers, to have [them] occupy, their places, stations for them to stand at, for battle, and Allahu ta’ālā hears, what you say, knows, your circumstances: this was the day of [the battle of] Uhud. The Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" set out with 1000 or 950 men, while the idolaters numbered 3000 The Prophet pitched camp at the ravine on Saturday 7th of Shawwāl in year 3 of the Hijra. He had his back and that of his troops to Uhud. He arranged their lines and placed a group of archers under the command of 'Abd Allāh b. Jubayr⁷ at the foot of the mountain and said to them: 'Defend us with your arrows in case they come up from behind us, and remain here whether we are being defeated or on the verge of victory'.

122

When (idh, substitutes for the previous idh) two parties of you, the Banū Salima and the Banū Hāritha, the two flanks of the army, were about to lose heart, [about] to shrink from the battle and retreat, after 'Abd Allāh b. Ubayy, the hypocrite, and his companions began to retreat. He [Ibn Ubayy] said, 'Why should we get ourselves and our children killed?' and he also said to Abū Jābir al-Salamī - who had said to him, 'I implore you by Allahu ta’ālā for your Prophet's sake and yours' - 'If we knew how to fight, we would follow you!' But Allahu ta’ālā then made them [the Banū Salima and the Banū Hāritha] steadfast and they did not abandon [the field]; and Allahu ta’ālā was their Protector, their Helper, and let the believers rely on Allahu ta’ālā, let them place their trust in Him and none other.

123

When they were defeated, the following was revealed as a way of reminding them of Allah’s favour: Allahu ta’ālā already gave you victory at Badr, a location between Mecca and Medina, when you were contemptible, few in number and weapons. So fear Allahu ta’ālā, in order that you might be thankful, for His blessings.

124

When (idh, an adverbial qualifier of nasarakum, 'He gave you victory' [in the previous verse]) you were saying to the believers, promising them as reassurance [for them]: 'Is it not sufficient for you that your Rabb should reinforce you, [that] He should succour you, with three thousand angels sent down? (read munzalīn or munazzalīn, 'sent down').

125

Yea, it is sufficient for you. In [sūrat] al-Anfāl [it is stated] with a thousand [Q. 8:9], because at first He reinforced them with this [thousand], then it became three [thousand] then five [thousand], as Allahu ta’ālā says: if you are patient, in encountering the enemy, and fear, Allahu ta’ālā in not contravening [His command], and they, the idolaters, come against you instantly, your Rabb will reinforce you with five thousand angels accoutred' (read musawimmīn or musawammīn), that is to say, distinctively marked [for the battle]. Indeed, they were patient and Allahu ta’ālā fulfilled His promise to them, so that the angels fought together with them riding upon piebald horses wearing yellow or white turbans, let loose down to their shoulders.

126

What Allahu ta’ālā ordained, that is, of reinforcement, was only as a good tiding to you, of victory, and that your hearts might be at peace, [that] they might be at rest, and not be terrified by the large number of the enemy as compared to your small number. Victory comes only from Allahu ta’ālā, the Mighty, the Wise, He gives it to whomever He will, and [victory comes] not because of a large army.

127

And that He might cut off (li-yaqta', is semantically connected to the clause containing nasarakum, 'He gave you victory'), that is to say, that He might destroy, a party of the disbelievers, by slaying them or making them fall captive, or suppress them, humiliate them through defeat, so that they fall back, return, frustrated, not having secured what they desired.

128

When, on the Day of Uhud, the Prophet received a head wound and his front tooth was broken, and he said, 'How does a people who have drenched the face of their Prophet in blood [expect to] prosper?', the following was revealed: It is no concern at all of yours, nay, it is Allah’s concern, so be patient, whether, meaning, until such time as, He relents to them, through [their acceptance of] Islam, or chastises them; for they are indeed evildoers, by [virtue of their] disbelief.

129

To Allahu ta’ālā belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants; He forgives whom He wills, forgiveness for, and chastises whom He wills, chastisement for. And Allahu ta’ālā is Forgiving, of His friends, Merciful, to those who obey Him.

130

O you who believe, do not exact usury, twofold and severalfold (read mudā'afatan or mud'afatan) by increasing the amount [to be repaid] when the [loan] period comes to an end and delaying the request [of the loan]. And fear Allahu ta’ālā, by abandoning such [usury], so that you may prosper, [that] you may triumph.

131

And fear the Fire that has been prepared for the disbelievers, lest you be chastised with it.

132

And obey Allahu ta’ālā and the Messenger (rasūl), so that you may find mercy.

133

And vie with one another hastening (read wa-sāri'ū or [simply] sāri'ū) to forgiveness from your Rabb, and to a garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, that is, as broad as both of them together if put side by side - breadth denotes ampleness - that has been prepared for those who fear Allahu ta’ālā in being obedient and abandoning acts of disobedience.

134

Who expend, in obedience to Allahu ta’ālā, in prosperity and adversity, in [times of] ease and difficulty, and restrain their rage, [and] desist from following it up even though they are able to, and pardon their fellow-men, those who wrong them, waiving their punishment; and Allahu ta’ālā loves those who are virtuous, through such actions, that is to say, He will reward them.

135

And who when they commit an indecency, a despicable sin such as adultery, or wrong themselves, with less than that, such as a kiss, remember Allahu ta’ālā, that is to say, His threat of punishment, and pray forgiveness for their sins - and who, that is, none, shall forgive sins but Allahu ta’ālā? - and who do not persist, persevere, in what they did, but have desisted from it, knowing, that what they did was sinful.

136

Those - their requital is forgiveness from their Rabb, and Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein (khālidīna fīhā, an implied situation, that is, it is foreordained that they will abide in it once they enter it);⁸ excellent is the wage, this wage, of those workers, of obedience!

137

The following was revealed regarding the defeat at Uhud: Ways of life have passed away before you, all manner of unbelief has preceded, where they have been given respite but are then seized [with punishment]; so travel in the land, O believers, and behold how was the end of those who denied, the messengers (rusul), that is, how their affair ended in destruction. So do not grieve on account of their victory, I am only giving them respite until their appointed time.

138

This, Qur'ān, is an exposition for, all, mankind, and a guidance, from error, and an admonition for such as are Allahu ta’ālā-fearing, among them.

139

Faint not, shrink [not] from fighting the disbelievers, neither grieve, for what befell you at Uhud, for you shall prevail, through victory over them, if you are, truly, believers. (the response to this [last conditional clause] is the sum [meaning] of what has preceded it).

140

If a wound touches you, befalls you at Uhud, a like wound (qarh or qurh, which is the exhaustion that results from a wound and the like), already, at Badr, has touched the other people, the disbelievers. Such days We deal out in turn, We dispense them, among mankind, one day for one group, the next day for another, that they might be admonished, and that Allahu ta’ālā may know, through knowledge manifested outwardly, those who believe, who are sincere in their faith from others; and that He may take witnesses from among you,⁹ honouring them with martyrdom, and Allahu ta’ālā loves not the evildoers, the disbelievers, that is, He will chastise them, and the blessings He bestows upon them are only a [means of] drawing out [their punishment].

141

And that Allahu ta’ālā may prove the believers, purifying them of sins through what befalls them, and efface, that is, destroy, the disbelievers.

142

Or, nay, did you suppose you should enter Paradise without Allahu ta’ālā knowing, through knowledge manifested outwardly, who among you have struggled and who are patient, in [times of] hardship?

143

You were longing for (tamannawna: one of the two letters tā' has been omitted from the original [tatamannawna]) death before you met it, when you said, 'Would that we had a day like the Day of Badr in order to attain what its martyrs attained. Now you have seen it, that is, the cause of it, war, looking on, that is, with your eyes [open] and contemplating the conditions, so why did you retreat?

144

With regard to their being routed, when it was rumoured that the Prophet had been killed and the hypocrites had said to the believers, 'If he has been killed, go back to your [previous] religion', the following was revealed: Muhammad is only a Messenger (rasūl); messengers (rusul) have passed away before him. Why, if he should die or is slain, like others, will you turn back on your heels, will you return to unbelief (the last statement is the locus of the interrogative of denial, in other words, 'he was not a worshipped being, so that [if he were to die] you should turn back [to your previous religion]). If any man should turn back on his heels, he will not harm Allahu ta’ālā in any way, but will be harming himself, and Allahu ta’ālā will requite those that are thankful, for His graces by staying firm.

145

It is not for any soul to die, save by the leave of Allahu ta’ālā, by His decree, a prescribed (kitāban, here a verbal noun, that is, Allahu ta’ālā has prescribed this) term, that is to say, [a term fixed] in time, neither brought forward nor deferred, so why did you retreat [in defeat]? Defeat does not ward off death, nor does standing one's ground sever life. And whoever desires, by his deeds, the reward of this world, that is, his requital in it, We will give him of it, what has been alloted to him, but he shall have no share in the Hereafter; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him of it, that is, of its reward; and We will requite the thankful.

146

How many a prophet has been killed (qutila, a variant reading has qātala, 'has fought', the subject of the verb being the person governing it)¹⁰ and with him (ma'ahu, the predicate, the subject of which [follows]) thousands manifold [fought], but they fainted not,¹¹ they did [not] shrink, in the face of what afflicted them in Allah’s way, of wounds and the slaying of their prophets and companions; they neither weakened, in the face of struggle, nor did they humble themselves, [nor did they] succumb to their enemy, as you did when it was said that the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" had been killed. And Allahu ta’ālā loves the patient, during trials, meaning that He will reward them.

147

All that they said, when their prophet had been killed while they stood their ground and were steadfast, was, 'Our Rabb, forgive us our sins and our excesses, our overstepping the bounds, in our affairs, a declaration of the fact that what had befallen them was the result of their evil actions and a humbling of their selves) and make firm our feet, with strength for the struggle, and help us against the unbelieving folk'.

148

And Allahu ta’ālā gave them the reward of this world, victory and booty, and the fairest reward of the Hereafter, that is, Paradise (husnuhu, 'the fairest of it', denotes [extra] favour in addition to what is deserved); and Allahu ta’ālā loves the virtuous.

149

O you who believe, if you obey the disbelievers, in what they command you, they will make you turn back on your heels, [back] to unbelief, and you will revert as losers.

150

Nay, but Allahu ta’ālā is your Protector, your Helper, and He is the best of helpers, so obey only Him and not them.

151

We will cast terror (read ru'b or ru'ub) into the hearts of the disbelievers: after departing from Uhud they resolved to return in order to exterminate the Muslims, but they were terrified and did not return; for what they have associated, because of their associating, with Allahu ta’ālā that for which He has revealed no warrant, that is, [no] argument in support of its worship, namely, idols; their abode shall be the Fire; evil is the abode, the resting place, of the evildoers, the disbelievers.

152

Allahu ta’ālā has been true to His promise, towards you, of giving you victory, when you were slew them by His leave, by His will, until you lost heart, [until] you shrank from battle, and quarrelled, disagreed, over the command, that is, the command of the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" that you remain at the foot of the mountain for the arrow attack, some of you saying, 'Let us depart, for our comrades have been given victory', others saying, 'We should not disobey the command of the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" '; and you disobeyed, his command, and abandoned your station in search of the booty, after He, Allahu ta’ālā, had shown you what you longed for, of assistance (the response to the [clause containing] idhā is indicated by what precedes it, that is to say, '[when you lost heart] He denied you His assistance'). Some of you desired this world, abandoning his station for the sake of the booty; and some of you desired the Hereafter, holding to it until he was slain, such as 'Abd Allāh b. Jubayr and his companions. Then He turned you away (thumma sarafakum is a supplement to the response of the [clause containing] idhā, implied to be raddakum bi'l-hazīma ['He turned you back in defeat']) from them, the disbelievers, so that He might try you, that He might test you and so make manifest the sincere ones from those otherwise; yet now He has pardoned you, what you have done, and Allahu ta’ālā is Bounteous to the believers, with pardon.

153

Remember, when you were ascending, fleeing in the distance, not turning around, [not] stopping, for anyone and the Messenger (rasūl) was calling you from your rear, saying, 'Come to me servants of Allahu ta’ālā, this way, servants of Allahu ta’ālā!', so He rewarded you, He requited you, with grief, through defeat, for grief (ghamman bi-ghamm; the bā' [bi-], 'with', is said to mean 'alā, 'for') because of the grief that you caused the Prophet when you disobeyed [his command], that is, [with grief] doubled, [being] in addition to the grief of the booty forfeited, so that (li-kaylā is semantically connected either to 'afā, 'He has pardoned', or athābakum, 'He rewarded you'; the lā [of kay-lā] is thus extra) you might not grieve for what escaped you, of booty, neither for what befell you, of being slain and [of] defeat; and Allahu ta’ālā is aware of what you do.

154

Then He sent down upon you, after grief, security - a slumber (nu'āsan, 'slumber' substitutes for amanatan, 'security') overcoming (yaghshā or taghshā) a party of you, namely, the believers. They would become dizzy under their shields and their swords would fall from their hands; and a party whose own souls distressed them, that is, they caused them grief, so that their only wish was their deliverance, regardless of the Prophet and his companions, and they were unable to fall asleep: these were the hypocrites; thinking wrongly of Allahu ta’ālā, thoughts of, those thoughts during the, age of ignorance, the moment they thought that the Prophet had been killed or that he would not be given victory, saying, 'Have we any part whatever in the affair?' (read [interrogative] hal as [negative] mā) that is, [we have no part in] the assistance which we were promised. Say, to them: 'The affair belongs entirely (read accusative kullahu to denote an emphasis, or nominative kulluhu as a subject [of a new sentence], the predicate of which is [what follows]) to Allahu ta’ālā', that is to say, the decree is His, He does what He wills. They conceal within their hearts what they do not disclose, what they [do not] manifest, to you, saying, (yaqūlūna, 'saying', is an explication of the preceding [statement]) 'Had we had any part in the affair, we would not have been slain here', that is to say, 'Had the choice been ours, we would not have set out and thus been slain; but we were forced to set out'. Say, to them: 'Even if you had been in your houses, with some among you whom Allahu ta’ālā had appointed that they be slain, those, of you, for whom it had been appointed, decreed, that they be slain would have sallied forth, would have gone forth, to the places where they were to lie', the battleground where they were to fall, and they would have been slain; and their staying put [at home] would not have saved them, for Allah’s decree will be, inevitably. And, He did what He did at Uhud, that Allahu ta’ālā might try, [that He might] test, what was in your breasts, your hearts, of sincerity or hypocrisy, and that He might prove, [that He might] distinguish, what was in your hearts; and Allahu ta’ālā knows what is in the breasts, what is in the hearts. Nothing can be hidden from Him, and He tries people only to make [matters] manifest for them.

155

Truly, those of you who turned away, from the battle, the day the two hosts, the Muslim host and that of the disbelievers, encountered each other, at Uhud, the Muslims, with the exception of twelve men - truly, Satan made them slip, with his [evil] insinuations, through some of what they had earned, of sins, namely, when they disobeyed the Prophet's command; but Allahu ta’ālā pardoned them; Allahu ta’ālā is Forgiving, to believers, Forbearing, hastening not against the disobedient [with punishment].

156

O you who believe, be not as the disbelievers, that is, [as] the hypocrites, who say of their brothers, that is, regarding their affair, when they travel in the land, and then die, or are on raiding campaigns (ghuzzan, 'a raiding party', is the plural of ghāzin), and are then slain, 'Had they been with us, they would not have died and would not have been slain', in other words, do not say as they say - so that Allahu ta’ālā may make that, saying [of theirs], as a conclusion of their affair, anguish in their hearts. For Allahu ta’ālā gives life, and He gives death, and so no staying put can prevent death, and Allahu ta’ālā sees what you do (ta'malūna, or ya'malūna, 'they do'), and He will requite you for it.

157

And if (wa-la-in, the lām is for oaths) you are slain in Allah’s way, in [holy] struggle, or die (read muttum or mittum, from [singular form] māta, yamūtu), that is, if death comes to you thereat, forgiveness, that is, from Allahu ta’ālā, for your sins, and mercy, therefor from Him for you (the clause introduced by the lām [of la-maghfiratun, 'forgiveness'] is the response to the oath [clause of la'in], and occupies the place of the verbal action as a subject, the predicate of which [is what follows]) are better than what they amass, in this world (read tajma'ūn, 'you amass', or yajma'ūn, 'they amass').

158

And if (wa-la-in, the lām is for oaths) you die ([read] in both ways [muttum or mittum], or are slain, in the [holy] struggle or otherwise, it is to Allahu ta’ālā, and to none other than Him that, you shall be mustered, in the Hereafter, and He will requite you.

159

It was by the mercy of Allahu ta’ālā that you, O Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , were lenient with them, that is, [that] you showed indulgence [toward them] when they disobeyed you; had you been harsh, ill-natured, and fierce of heart, brutish and coarse towards them, they would have dispersed, split away, from about you. So pardon them, pass over what they have done, and ask forgiveness for them, for their sins, until I forgive them, and consult them, find out their opinions, in the matter, that is, your affair in the battle and otherwise, in order to win their hearts over and so that you may be emulated [in this respect]; and indeed, the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" would frequently consult them. And when you are resolved, to carry out what you wish after counsel, rely on Allahu ta’ālā, put your trust in Him and not in [any] counsel; for Allahu ta’ālā loves those who rely, on Him.

160

If Allahu ta’ālā helps you, [if] He gives you assistance against your enemy, as on the Day of Badr, then none can overcome you; but if He forsakes you, [if] He refrains from assisting you, as on the Day of Uhud, then who is there who can help you after Him?, that is, after His forsaking [you]? In other words, there is no one to help you. Therefore on Allahu ta’ālā, and on no one else, let the believers rely.

161

When some red velvet cloth went missing on the Day of Badr and some people began to say, 'Perhaps the Prophet took it', the following was revealed: It is not for a prophet to be fraudulent (an yaghulla, a variant reading has the passive an yughalla, meaning to attribute ghulūl, 'fraud', to him), to be treacherous with regard to the spoils, so do not presume this of him; whoever defrauds shall bring what he has defrauded on the Day of Resurrection, carrying it around his neck; then every soul, the fraudulent and the otherwise, shall be paid in full, the requital of, what it has earned, [what] it has done, and they shall not be wronged, a single thing.

162

Is he who follows Allah’s beatitude, being obedient and not defrauding, like him who is laden, [one who] returns, with Allah’s anger, because of his disobedience and fraud, whose abode is Hell? An evil journey's end, a resort, it is!

163

No! They are of degrees, that is, individuals of [different] degrees, before Allahu ta’ālā, that is, belonging to varying stations: for those that follow His beatitude, a reward, and for those that are laden with Allah’s anger, punishment; and Allahu ta’ālā sees what they do, and will requite them for it.

164

Truly Allahu ta’ālā was gracious to the believers when He sent to them a Messenger (rasūl) from among their own, that is to say, an Arab like them, not an angel or a non-Arab, so that they can understand what he says and feel honoured thereby, to recite to them His verses, the Qur'ān, and to purify them, to cleanse them of sins, and to teach them the Book, the Qur'ān, wisdom, the Sunna, though (in, is softened [in place of inna], that is, innahum, 'though they…') before, that is, before he was sent, they were in clear error.

165

And why, when distress befell you, at Uhud, when seventy of you were slain, and you had afflicted twice the like of it, at Badr, slaying seventy of them and taking another seventy captive, did you say, in amazement, 'How is this?', that is, how did this defeat happen to us when we are Muslims and Allah’s Messenger (rasūl) is among us (the last statement [annā hādhā, 'how is this?'] constitutes [the locus of] the interrogative of denial). Say, to them: 'It is from yourselves, because you abandoned your [battle] stations and were thus defeated. Surely Allahu ta’ālā has power over everything', including [the giving of] assistance and the withholding of it, and He requited you for your disputing [the Prophet's command].

166

And what afflicted you, the day the two hosts encountered, at Uhud, was by Allah’s leave, by His will, and that He might know, through knowledge manifested outwardly, the, true, believers.

167

And that He might also know the hypocrites, and those who, when it was said to them, after they had fled the fighting, namely, 'Abd Allāh b. Ubayy and his companions: 'Come now, fight in the way of Allahu ta’ālā, His enemies, or defend', us against the enemy by increasing the multitude [of our fighters], if you are not going to fight; they said, 'If we knew how, [if] we were skilled enough, to fight we would follow you.' Allahu ta’ālā then said, showing them to be liars: They that day were nearer to unbelief than to belief, for what they manifested of their forsaking the believers, whereas before they had been outwardly nearer to belief; saying with their mouths that which was not in their hearts, for even if they had known how to fight they would not have followed you. And Allahu ta’ālā knows best what they hide, of hypocrisy.

168

Those who (alladhīna substitutes for the previous alladhīna, or constitutes an adjectival qualification [of it]) said to their brothers, in religion, whilst they themselves, had, stayed put, [refraining] from [joining] the struggle, 'Had they, the martyrs at Uhud or those who stayed put with us, obeyed us, they would not have been slain.' Say, to them, 'Then avert, ward off, death from yourselves, if you speak the truth', in that staying put delivers one from it [sc. from death].

169

The following was revealed regarding martyrs: Count not those who were slain (read qutilū or quttilū) in Allah’s way, that is, for the sake of His religion, as dead, but rather, that they are, living with their Rabb, their spirits inside green birds that take wing freely wherever they wish in Paradise, as reported in a hadīth); provided for [by Him], with the fruits of Paradise.

170

Rejoicing (farihīna, a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person governing yurzaqūn, 'sustained') in what Allahu ta’ālā has given them of His bounty, and, they are, rejoicing, joyful, for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind, from among their believing brothers (allādhīna, 'those who', may be substituted by [what follows, sc. 'rejoicing…that no fear']): that no fear shall befall them, those that have not yet joined them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter, meaning, they rejoice for their [brothers' future] security and felicity (allā [of allā khawfun] is an-lā, meaning, bi-an lā).

171

Joyful in grace, in the reward, and bounty, in addition to it, from Allahu ta’ālā, and that (read wa-anna as a supplement to ni'matin, or wa-inna to denote a new clause) Allahu ta’ālā does not let the wage of believers go to waste, but rewards them.

172

Those who (alladhīna, is the subject) responded to Allahu ta’ālā and the Messenger (rasūl), [to] his call to set out for battle: when Abū Sufyān and his companions wanted to resume [hostilities] they agreed with the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" that the encounter would be at the [annual] market-fair of Badr a year from the date of Uhud; after the wounds had afflicted them, at Uhud - (the predicate of the subject [alladhīna] is [what follows]) for all those who were virtuous, by obeying him, and feared, to disobey him, shall be a great wage, namely, Paradise.

173

Those to whom (alladhīna, substitutes for the previous alladhīna, 'those who', or an adjectival qualification [of it]) people, that is, Nu'aym b. Mas'ūd al-Ashja'ī,¹³ said, 'The people, Abū Sufyān and his companions, have gathered, their multitudes, against you, in order to exterminate you, therefore fear them', and do not go out to [encounter] them; but that, saying, increased them in faith, in their belief in Allahu ta’ālā and in certainty, and they said, 'Allahu ta’ālā is sufficient for us, He will deal fully for us with their affair; an excellent Guardian (wakīl) is He' , the One to whom the matter is entrusted. They thus set out with the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" and arrived at the market-fair of Badr, but Allahu ta’ālā had cast terror into the hearts of Abū Sufyān and his followers and so they did not turn up. They [the believers] had merchandise with them, and so they traded and made profits. Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says:

174

So they returned, from Badr, with grace and bounty from Allahu ta’ālā, safely and with profit, and no evil touched them, from any slaying or wounds; and they followed the beatitude of Allahu ta’ālā, by obeying Him and obeying His Messenger (rasūl), when they [agreed to] set out [for the battle]; and Allahu ta’ālā is of bounty abounding, for those that obey Him.

175

That, namely, the one saying to you, 'The people [have gathered against you]' to the end [of the verse], is only Satan making, you, fear his friends, the disbelievers, therefore do not fear them; but fear Me, lest you abandon My command, if you are, truly, believers.

176

Let them not grieve you (read yuhzinka, or yahzunka from [1st form] hazanahu, 'he made him grieve', an alternative expression to [4th form] ahzanahu, 'he made him grieve') those that vie with one another in unbelief, succumbing to it promptly by supporting it, namely, the Meccans or the hypocrites: in other words, do not be concerned for their unbelief; they will not hurt Allahu ta’ālā at all, by their actions, only hurting themselves. Allahu ta’ālā desires not to assign them any portion, any lot, in the Hereafter, that is, in Paradise, and that is why Allahu ta’ālā forsook them; and theirs is a mighty chastisement, in the Fire.

177

Those who purchase unbelief at the price of faith, that is, taking it in place of it, they will not hurt Allahu ta’ālā at all, with their unbelief, and there awaits them a painful chastisement (alīm means mu'lim, 'painful').

178

And let not the disbelievers suppose (read lā yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or lā tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') that what We indulge them in, that is, [that] Our indulging [them], in extending their [terms of] life and deferring them [their death], is better for their souls (in the case of the reading yahsabanna, 'let them [not] suppose', anna [of anna-mā] and its two operators stand in place of the two objects, but only in place of the second in the case of the other reading [tahsabanna], 'do [not] suppose'). We grant them indulgence, We give [them] respite, only that they may increase in sinfulness, through frequent disobedience, and theirs is a humbling chastisement, one of humiliation, in the Hereafter.

179

It is not Allah’s purpose to leave, to abandon, the believers in the state in which you, O people, are, where the sincere are intermingle with those otherwise, till He shall distinguish (read yamīza or yumayyiza), [till] He separates, the evil one, the hypocrite, from the good, the believer, through the burdensome obligations that will reveal this [distinction] - He did this on the Day of Uhud. And it is not Allah’s purpose to apprise you of the Unseen, so that you could recognise the hypocrites from the others, before the distinguishing; but Allahu ta’ālā chooses, He selects, of His messengers (rusul) whom He will, apprising him of [some of] His Unseen, as when He apprised the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" of the position of the hypocrites. So believe in Allahu ta’ālā and His messengers (rusul); and if you believe and guard against, hypocrisy, then yours shall be a great wage.

180

Let them not suppose (read lā yahsabanna, 'let them not suppose', or lā tahsabanna, 'do not suppose') those who are niggardly with what Allahu ta’ālā has given them of His bounty, that is, with His obligatory almsgiving, that it, their niggardliness, is better for them (khayrun lahum, is the second direct object; the pronoun [huwa, '[that] it is'] is used to separate [the two statements]; the first [direct object] is bukhlahum 'their niggardliness' implicit before the relative clause [alladhīna] in the case of the reading tahsabanna [sc. wa-lā tahsabanna bukhlahum, 'do not suppose their niggardliness…'], or before the pronoun [huwa, 'it is'] in the case of the reading yahsabanna [sc. wa-lā yahsabanna lladhīna…bukhlahum huwa khayran lahum, 'let them not suppose, those who…that their niggardliness is better for them']); nay, it is worse for them; what they were niggardly with, namely, the obligatory almsgiving of their wealth, they shall have hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection, when he will have a snake around his neck biting viciously at him, as reported in a hadīth; and to Allahu ta’ālā belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, inheriting them after the annihilation of their inhabitants. And Allahu ta’ālā is aware of what you do (ta'malūna, also read ya'malūna, 'they do'), and will requite you for it.

181

Verily Allahu ta’ālā has heard the saying of those, namely the Jews, who said, 'Indeed Allahu ta’ālā is poor, and we are rich': they said this when the verse, who is he that will lend Allahu ta’ālā a good loan [Q. 2:245] was revealed, adding that, 'If Allahu ta’ālā were [truly] rich, He would not be asking us for loans'. We shall write down, We shall order that it be written, what they have said, in the scrolls containing their deeds so that they will be requited for it (a variant reading [for active naktubu, 'We shall write'] has the passive yuktabu, 'it shall be written') and, We shall write down, their slaying (read accusative qatlahum or nominative qatluhum) the prophets without right, and We shall say (naqūlu, also read yaqūlu, meaning Allahu ta’ālā [shall say]) to them by the tongue of the angels in the Hereafter, 'Taste the chastisement of the Burning, the Fire.

182

When they are thrown into [the Fire], it will be said to them: That, punishment, is for what your hands have sent before: 'hands' are used to designate a human being because most actions are performed with them; for Allahu ta’ālā is never unjust towards His servants', punishing them without them having sinned.

183

Those (alladhīna, an adjectival qualification of the previous alladhīna, 'those who' [Q. 3:181]) same who said, to Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , 'Allahu ta’ālā has already made covenant with us, in the Torah, that we should not believe in any Messenger (rasūl), accepting his truthfulness, until he bring us an offering to be devoured by fire', and so we will not believe in you until you bring us this [offering], namely, of grazing livestock or other [kind of animal] one offers [in sacrifice] to Allahu ta’ālā. If it is accepted, a white fire will come down from the heaven and consume it, otherwise it will remain as it is. Such a covenant was made with the Children of Israel, but not in the case of Jesus and Muhammad. Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, says, Say, to them in rebuke: 'messengers (rusul) have come to you before me with clear proofs, with miracles, and with that which you said, [messengers (rusul)] such as Zachariah and John, but you slew them: the address here is for those living at the time of our Prophet Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , even though the deed was their forefathers', for they [their descendants] are content with it. Why did you slay them, then, if you are truthful?', about [the fact] that you would believe if it [the offering] were brought [to you].

184

But if they deny you, so were denied messengers (rusul) before you who came bearing clear proofs, miracles, and the Scriptures, such as the scrolls of Abraham, and the Illuminating, the lucid, Book, that is, the Torah and the Gospel (a variant reading establishes the [prefixed preposition] bā' in both [words, sc. bi'l-zubur wa-bi'l-kitāb l-munīr, 'with the Scriptures and with the Illuminating Book']), so be patient as they were.

185

Every soul shall taste of death; you shall surely be paid in full your wages, the requital of your deeds, on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is moved away, distanced, from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, will have triumphed, he will have attained his ultimate wish. Living in, the life of this world is but the comfort of delusion; of inanity, enjoyed for a little while, then perishing.

186

You shall surely be tried (la-tublawunna, the [final] nūn nominative indicator has been omitted because two nūn letters [would otherwise] succeed one another, as has been the plural person indicator wāw where two unvocalised consonants have come together), in other words, you shall surely be tested, in your property, through the duties [imposed] thereupon and through the damages that affect them; and in your selves, through [the obligations of] worship and through calamities, and you shall hear from those who were given the Scripture before you, the Jews and the Christians, and from those who are idolaters, from among the Arabs, much hurt, in the way of insult, slander and [their] flirting with your women; but if you are patient, through this, and fear, Allahu ta’ālā - surely that is true resolve, that is, it is one of those things regarding which one must necessarily have firm resolve.

187

And, mention, when Allahu ta’ālā made covenant with those who had been given the Scripture, that is, the pledge [taken] from them in the Torah, 'You shall expound it (read tubayyinunnahu, or yubayyinunnahu, 'they shall expound it') the Book, to people, and not conceal it' (read taktumūnahu, 'you shall not conceal it', or yaktumūnahu, 'they shall not conceal it'). But they rejected it, they discarded the covenant, behind their backs, and so they did not act in accordance with it, and bought with it, they took in its place, a small price, of this world from the debased among them, enjoying supremacy over them in knowledge, and they concealed it, lest it [the supremacy] escape them; how evil is what they have bought, [how evil is] this purchase of theirs!

188

Do not reckon that (lā tahsabanna, or read lā yahsabanna, 'let them not reckon') those who rejoice in what they have brought, that is, [in what] they have done by leading people astray, and who love to be praised for what they have not done, in the way of adherence to the truth, being [themselves] misguided - do not reckon them (fa-lā tahsabannahum, is for emphasis [in the case of both readings above]) secure, in a place where they can escape, from the chastisement, in the Hereafter; but instead they shall be in a place of wherein they shall be tortured, and that is Hell; there shall be a painful chastisement for them, in it (alīm means mu'lim, 'painful'). If one reads yahsabanna, 'let them [not] reckon', the two direct objects of the first h-s-b verb would be indicated by the two direct objects of the second h-s-b verb; but if one reads tahsabanna, 'do [not] reckon', then only second direct object would be omitted.

189

To Allahu ta’ālā belongs the reign of the heavens and of the earth, the storehouses of rain, sustenance, vegetation and so forth, and Allahu ta’ālā has power over all things, including the punishing of disbelievers and the saving of believers.

190

Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the marvels contained in them, and in the alternation of night and day, coming and going, increasing and diminishing, there are signs, indications of Allah’s power, for people of pith, for people possessing intellects.

191

Those who (alladhīna, an adjectival qualification of the preceding [li-ūlī l-albāb, 'for people of pith'], or a substitution for it) remember Allahu ta’ālā, standing and sitting and on their sides, reclining, that is to say, in all states: [it is reported] from Ibn ‘Abbās that they perform prayer in these ways, [each] according to [his own] capacity; and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth, to deduce therefrom the power of their Creator, saying: 'Our Rabb, You have not created this, creation that we see, in vain (bātilan, a circumstantial qualifier), frivolously, but as a proof of the totality of Your power. Glory be to You!, exalted above any frivolity. So guard us against the chastisement of the Fire.

192

Our Rabb, whomever You admit into the Fire, to abide therein, You will have abased, You will have humiliated, and the evildoers, the disbelievers therein, shall have no helpers, to protect them from Allah’s chastisement, exalted be He (the overt noun ['the evildoers'] has replaced the pronominalisation ['whomever'] in order to inform that the [punishment of] abasement is specifically theirs; the min of [min ansār, 'helpers'] is extra).

193

Our Rabb, we have heard a caller calling, summoning people, to belief (li'l-īmān means ilā l-īmān) and this is Muhammad "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , or [summoning them] to the Qur'ān, saying, that, “Believe in your Rabb!” And we believed, in Him. So, our Rabb, forgive us our sins and absolve us of, conceal, our evil deeds, and so do not make them manifest by punishing us for them, and take us [in death], receive our spirits together, with the pious, the prophets and the righteous.

194

Our Rabb, grant us what You have promised us through, the tongues of, Your messengers (rusul), in the way of mercy and favour: they are asking her they be made among those that deserve such a promise, for, Allah’s promise is fufilled regardless, but they are not certain that they are among those who deserve it. The repetition of the phrase our Rabb is out of extreme humility; and abase us not on the Day of Resurrection. You will not fail the tryst', the promise of Resurrection and Requital.

195

And their Rabb answers them, their supplication, by saying that 'I do not let the labour of any labourer among you go to waste, be you male or female - the one of you is as the other (this statement is a reaffirmation of the previous one): that is, they are both equal when it comes to recompensing them for their deeds and for not neglecting them. When Umm Salama asked, 'O Messenger (rasūl) of Allahu ta’ālā, why is there no mention of women when it comes to the Emigration (hijra)?', the following was revealed: and those who emigrated, from Mecca to Medina, and were expelled from their habitations, those who suffered hurt in My way, for My religion, and fought, the disbelievers, and were slain (read qutilū or quttilū) - them I shall surely absolve of their evil deeds, concealing these with forgiveness, and I shall admit them to Gardens underneath which river flow'. A reward (thawāban is a verbal noun reaffirming the import of la-ukaffiranna) from Allahu ta’ālā! (there is a shift of person here). And Allahu ta’ālā - with Him is the fairest reward, [the fairest] requital.

196

When the Muslims began to say, 'Look at the enemies of Allahu ta’ālā, how comfortable they are, while we are struggling!', the following was revealed: Let it not delude you, that the disbelievers go to and fro in the land, engaging in commerce and acquiring profit:

197

That is [but], a little enjoyment, which they enjoy for a short while in this world and then perishes; then their abode is Hell - an evil cradling [an evil] resting place it is!

198

But those who fear their Rabb - for them shall be Gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding, that is, it is decreed for them to abide, therein; a hospitality (nuzul is what is prepared for a guest; it is in the accusative [nuzulan] because it is a circumstantial qualifier referring to jannāt, 'gardens', and its operator is the import of the adverbial phrase) from Allahu ta’ālā Himself. That which is with Allahu ta’ālā, in the way of reward, is better for the pious, than the enjoyment of this world.

199

Verily, there are some among the People of the Scripture who believe in Allahu ta’ālā, like 'Abd Allāh b. Salām and his companions and the Negus, and what has been revealed to you, that is, the Qur'ān, and what has been revealed to them, that is, the Torah and the Gospel, humble before Allahu ta’ālā (khāshi'īn is a circumstantial qualification of the person of [the verb] yu'min, 'who believe', and takes into account the [potentially plural] sense of man, 'who'), not purchasing with the verses of Allahu ta’ālā, which they have before them in the Torah and the Gospel pertaining to the descriptions of the Prophet "sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam" , a small price, of this world, by concealing them for fear of losing their supremacy, as others, like the Jews, have done. Those - their wage, the reward for their deeds, is with their Rabb, [a reward] which they will be given twice over, as [stated] in the sūrat al-Qasas [Q. 28:54]. Allahu ta’ālā is swift at reckoning, reckoning with the whole of creation in about half a day of the days of this world.

200

O you who believe, be patient, in [performing] acts of obedience, in the face of afflictions and in refraining from acts of disobedience, and vie in patience, with the disbelievers, lest they be more patient than you; be steadfast, persist in the struggle; fear Allahu ta’ālā, in all of your circumstances, so that you will prosper, [so that] you will win [admittance to] Paradise and be delivered from the Fire.