THE MEANINGS OF THE GLORIOUS QUR’AN THE TABLE SPREAD [AL-MA’IDAH]
THE MEANINGS OF THE GLORIOUS QUR’AN THE TABLE SPREAD [AL-MA’IDAH]
THE MEANINGS OF THE GLORIOUS QUR’AN THE TABLE SPREAD [AL-MA’IDAH]
5- THE TABLE
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5- THE TABLE SPREAD [AL-MA’IDAH]
Revealed at Al-Madînah, [120 verses]
Al-Ma’idah, “The Table Spread” derives its name from vv.
112 ff., where it is told how the disciples of Jesus asked that a
table spread with food might be sent down from Heaven, and
their prayer was granted, a passage in which some have seen an
allusion to the Eucharist. Many authorities regard it as the last
Sûrah in order of revelation and Rodwell has so placed it in his
chronological arrangement; but the claim can only be established
in the case of verse 3, which announces the completion of their
religion for the Muslims, and the choice for them of Al-Islâm (the
Surrender to Allah) as their religion. That verse is undoubtedly
the latest of the whole Qur’ân.
It was revealed during the Prophet’s last pilgrimage (“The
Farewell Pilgrimage” as it is called) to Mecca, and spoken by
him in the course of his address to the assembled thousands
at ‘Arafat, when all Arabia had embraced Al-Islâm, only a little
while before his death.
It is possible that, as Nöldeke supposes, two other
verses near to it are of the same date, but the remainder of
the revelations contained in this Sûrah belong rather to the
period between the fourth and seventh years of the Hijrah.
Its subject is observance of religious duties. The followers of
former prophets had failed through breaking their covenant,
and so the Muslims are adjured to keep their covenant with
God and all their obligations watchfully, because God’s
covenant is only with those who do right. There is more
mention of the Christians here than in the former Sûrahs,
from which some writers infer that this Sûrah must have
been revealed at the time when the Prophet was at war with
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certain Christian tribes belonging to the Eastern Roman
Empire. But there is no evidence for that either in Tradition
or in the text itself. The period of revelation is between the
fifth and tenth years of the Hijrah.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. O you who believe! Fulfil your contracts. The beast
of cattle is made lawful to you [for food] except
that which is announced to you [herein], game being
unlawful when you are in the state of ihram. Lo! Allah
ordains what He wills.
2. O you who believe! Profane not Allah’s rites, nor [the
sanctity of] the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the
garlands, nor those coming to the Sacred House [Ka’bah
at Mecca], seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord.
But when you out of ihram, then go hunting [if you will].
And let not your hatred of a folk who [once] stopped your
going to the Al-Masjid-al-Haram [at Mecca] lead you to
transgress; but you help one another to righteousness and
pious duty. Help not one another to sin and transgression,
and fear Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.
3. Forbidden to you [for food] are carrion and blood and
swine flesh, and that which has been dedicated to any
other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through
beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and
that which has been killed by [the goring of] horns, and
the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which you make
lawful by slaughter [before its death], and that which has
been immolated to idols. And [forbidden is it] that you
swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This
day are those who disbelieve in despair of [ever harming]
your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I
perfected your religion for you and completed My favour
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to you, and have approved for you Al-Islâm[1] as religion.
Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: [for him] lo!
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
4. They ask you [O Muhammad] what is made lawful for
them. Say: [all] good things are made lawful for you. And
those beasts and birds of prey which you have trained as
hounds are trained, you teach them that which Allah taught
you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention
Allah’s name upon it, and fear Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to
take account.
5. This day are [all] good things made lawful for you. The
food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful
for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so [lawful
in marriage] are the virtuous women of the believers and
the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture
before you when you give them their marriage portions
and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor
taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denies the faith,
his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the
Hereafter.
6. O you who believe! When you rise up for [performing]
prayer, wash your faces, and your hands up to the elbows,
and lightly rub your heads and [wash] your feet up to the
ankles. And if you are unclean [in a state of janabah],
purify yourselves. And if you are sick or on a journey, or
one of you comes from the place of relieving himself, or
you have had contact with women, and you find not water,
then go to clean earth and rub your faces and your hands
with some of it. Allah would not place a burden on you,
but He would purify you and would complete His grace
upon you, that you may give thanks.
[1] i.e. “The Surrender” to Allah. Thus solemnly the religion which the
Prophet had established received its name.
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7. And remember Allah’s grace upon you and His covenant
by which He bound you when you said: We hear and
we obey; and do fear Allah. Allah knows what is in the
breasts [of men].
8. O you who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in
equity, and let not hatred of any people prevent you from
being just. Deal justly, that is near to piety. Fear Allah. Lo!
Allah is Acquainted of what you do.
9. Allah has promised those who believe and do good deeds:
Theirs will be forgiveness and immense reward.
10. And they who disbelieve and deny Our signs, such are
rightful owners of Hell.
11. O you who believe! Remember Allah’s favour to you, how
a people were minded to stretch out their hands against
you but He withheld their hands from you; and fear Allah.
And upon Allah let the believers rely.
12. Allah took a covenant of old from the Children of Israel
and We raised among them twelve chieftains: and Allah
said: Lo! I am with you. If you establish prayer and pay the
poor-due, and believe in My messengers and support them,
and lend to Allah a kindly loan,[1] surely I shall remit your
sins, and surely I shall bring you into Gardens underneath
which rivers flow. Whoso among you disbelieves after this
will go astray from the straight path.
13. And because of their breaking their covenant, We have
cursed them and made hard their hearts. They change
words from their context and forget a part of that
whereof they were reminded. You will not cease to
discover treachery from all save a few of them. But bear
with them and pardon them. Lo! Allah loves the kindly.
[1] i.e. a loan without interest or thought of gain.
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14. And with those who say: “Lo! we are Christians,” We made
a covenant, but they forgot a part of that whereof they
were reminded. Therefor We have stirred up enmity and
hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection, when
Allah will inform them of their handiwork.
15. O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger come
to you, expounding to you much of that which you used
to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Now has
come to you light from Allah and a plain Book,
16. Whereby Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure
to paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness to light
by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.
17. They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the
Messiah, son of Mary. Say: Who then can do anything
against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the Messiah son
of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? Allah’s is
the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that
is between them. He creates what He wills. And Allah is
Able to do all things.
18. The Jews and Christians say: We are sons of Allah and
His loved ones. Say; Why then does He punish you for
your sins? Nay, you are but mortals of His creating. He
forgives whom He wills, and punishes whom He wills.
Allah’s is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth
and all that is between them, and to Him is the return.
19. O people of the Scripture! Now has Our messenger come
to you to make things plain after an interval [of cessation]
of the messengers, lest you should say: There came not
to us a messenger of cheer nor any warner. Now has a
messenger of cheer and a warner come to you. Allah is
Able to do all things.
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20. And [remember] when Moses said to his people: O my
people! Remember Allah’s favour to you, how He placed
among you Prophets, and He made you kings, and gave
you that [which] He gave not to any [other] of [His]
peoples.
21. O my people! Go into the holy land which Allah has
ordained for you. Turn not in flight, for surely you turn
back as losers:
22. They said: O Moses! Lo! a tyrannical people of great
strength [dwell] therein, and lo! we go not in till they go
forth from thence. When they go forth, then we will enter
[not till then].
23. Then out spoke two men of those who feared [their Lord,]
to whom Allah had been gracious: Enter in upon them by
the gate, for if you enter by it, lo! you will be victorious.
And upon Allah rely, if you are indeed believers.
24. They said: O Moses! We will never enter [the land] while
they are in it. So go you and your Lord and fight! We are
sitting right here.
25. He said: My Lord! I have control of none but myself and
my brother, so distinguish between us and the wrongdoing
folk.
26. [Their Lord] said: For this the land will surely be forbidden
to them for forty years that they will wander in the earth,
bewildered. So grieve not over the defiantly disobedient
folk.
27. And recite to them with truth the tale of the two sons
of Adam, how they offered each a sacrifice, and it was
accepted from the one of them and it was not accepted
from the other. [The one] said: I will surely kill you. [The
other] answered: Allah accepts from the righteous [who
fear Him].
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28. Even if you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I
shall not stretch out my hand against you to kill you, lo! I
fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
29. Lo! I would rather you should bear the punishment of the
sin against me and your own sin and become one of the
owners of the Fire. That is the reward of wrong-doers.
30. And his soul permitted to him the killing of his brother,
so he killed him and became one of the losers.
31. Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show
him how to hide his brother’s naked corpse. He said: Woe
to me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my
brother’s naked corpse? And he became of the regretful.
32. For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel
that whosoever kills a human being for other than
manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if
he had killed all mankind, and whoso saves the life of
one, it shall be as if he had: saved the life of all mankind.
Our messengers came to them of old with clear proofs
[of Allah’s Sovereignty], but afterwards lo! many of them
became transgressors in the earth.
33. Indeed, the penalty of those who make war upon Allah
and His messenger and strive after corruption in the
earth will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have
their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be
expelled out of the land. Such will be their disgrace in this
world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be a great doom;
34. Save those who repent before you overpower them. And
know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
35. O you who believe! Fear Allah, and seek the way of
approach to Him, and strive in His way in order that you
may succeed.
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36. As for those who disbelieve, lo! if all that is in the earth
were theirs, and as much again therewith, to ransom them
from the doom on the Day of Resurrection, it would not
be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful doom.
37. They will wish to come forth from the Fire, but they will
not come forth from it. Theirs will be a lasting doom.
38. As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands
in recompense for what they committed as an exemplary
punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise.
39. But whoso repents after his wrong-doing and amends,
lo! Allah will turn to him in forgiveness. Lo! Allah is
Forgiving, Merciful.
40. Know you not that to Allah belongs the Sovereignty of
the heavens and the earth? He punishes whom He wills,
and forgives whom He wills. Allah is Able to do all things.
41. O Messenger! let them not grieve you who hasten into
disbelief, of such as say with their mouths: “We believe,”
but their hearts believe not, and of the Jews: listeners for
the sake of falsehood, listeners on behalf of other folk
who come not to you, changing words from their context
and saying: If this be given to you, receive it but if this
be not given to you, then beware! He whom Allah dooms
to sin, you [by your efforts] will avail him nothing against
Allah. Those are they for whom the will of Allah is that
He cleanse not their hearts. Theirs in the world will be
disgrace, and in the Hereafter a great doom;
42. [They are] avid listeners to falsehood! Devourers of illicit
gain! If then they have recourse to you [Muhammad]
judge between them or disclaim jurisdiction. If you
disclaim jurisdiction, then they cannot harm you at all.
But if you judge, judge between them with justice. Lo!
Allah loves those who act justly.
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43. How they come to you for judgment when they have the
Torah, wherein Allah has delivered judgment [for them]?
Yet even after that they turn away. Such [folk] are not
believers.
44. Lo! We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and a
light, by which the prophets who surrendered [to Allah]
judged the Jews, and the rabbis and the priests [judged]
by they were entrusted of Allah’s Scripture as they were
bidden to observe, and thereto were they witnesses. So
fear not mankind, but fear Me. And exchange not My
verses for a little gain. Whoso judges not by that which
Allah has revealed: such are disbelievers.
45. And We prescribed for them therein: The life for the life,
and the eye for the eye, and the nose for the nose, and
the ear for the ear, and the tooth for the tooth, and for
wounds retaliation. But whoso forgoes it [in the way of
charity] it shall be expiation for him. Whoso judges not
by that which Allah has revealed: such are wrong-doers.
46. And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their
footsteps, confirming that which was [revealed] before
him in the Torah, and We gave him the Gospel wherein is
guidance and a light, confirming that which was [revealed]
before it in the Torah– a guidance and an admonition for
the righteous.
47. Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which Allah
has revealed therein. Whoso judges not by that which
Allah has revealed; such are defiantly disobedient.
48. And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad] the Book
[this Qur’ân] with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture
was before it, and a criterion over it. So judge between
them by that which Allah has revealed, and follow not
their desires away from the truth which has come to you.
For each We have appointed a divine law and a tracedPART
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out way. Had Allah willed He could have made you one
nation. But that He may try you by that which He has
given you. So vie one with another in good deeds. Unto
Allah you will all return, and He will then inform you of
that wherein you differ.
49. So judge between them by that which Allah has revealed,
and follow not their inclinations, but beware of them lest
they tempt you from some part of that which Allah has
revealed to you. And if they turn away, then know that
Allah’s will is to smite them for some sin of theirs. Lo!
many of mankind are defiantly disobedient.
50. Is it a judgment of the time of [pagan] ignorance that they
are seeking? Who is better than Allah for judgment to a
people who have certainty [in their belief]?
51. O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians
for allies. They are allies one to another. He among you
who takes them for allies is [one] of them. Lo! Allah
guides not wrong-doing folk.
52. And you see those in whose heart is a disease race
toward them, saying: We fear lest a change of fortune
befall us. And it may happen that Allah will bring [to
you] conquest, or a commandment from Him. Then
they will become, over what they have been concealing
within themselves regretful.
53. Then the believers will say [to the people of the Scripture]:
Are these they who swore by Allah their most binding
oaths that they were surely with you? Their deeds have
failed, and they have become the losers.
54. O you who believe! Whoso of you becomes an apostate
from his religion, [know that in his stead] Allah will bring
a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble
toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the
way of Allah and fearing not the blame of any blamer.
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Such is the grace of Allah which He gives to whom He
wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.
55. Your ally can be only Allah; and His messenger and those
who believe, who establish prayer and pay the poor-due,
and bow down [in prayer].
56. And whoso takes Allah and His messenger and those who
believe for ally [will know that], lo! the party of Allah,
they are the victorious.
57. O you who believe! Take not for allies such of those who
received the Scripture before you, and of the disbelievers,
as make a jest and play of your religion. But fear Allah if
you are true believers.
58. And when you call to prayer they take it for a jest and play.
That is because they are a folk who understand not.
59. Say: O, People of the Scripture! Do you resent us for
anything else than that we believe in Allah and that which
is revealed to us and that which was revealed before, and
most of you are defiantly disobedient?
60. Shall I tell you of a worse [case] than theirs for retribution
with Allah? Worse [is the case of him] whom Allah has
cursed, him on whom His wrath has fallen and of whose
sort Allah has turned some to apes and pigs, and who
worshipped idols. Such are in worse plight and further
astray from the plain way.
61. And when they come to you [Muslims], they say: We
believe; but they came in unbelief and they went out in
the same; and Allah knows best what they were hiding.
62. And you see many of them hastening in sin and
transgression and their devouring of illicit gain. Verily evil
is what they have been doing.
63. Why do not the rabbis and the priests forbid their evilspeaking
and their devouring of illicit gain? Verily evil is
their handiwork.
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64. The Jews say: Allah’s hand is chained. Chained are their
hands and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both
His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He spends as
He wills. That which has been revealed to you from your
Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief
of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity
and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they
light a fire for war, Allah extinguishes it. Their effort is
for corruption in the land, and Allah loves not corrupters.
65. And if only the People of the Scripture would believe
and fear Allah, surely We should remit their sins from
them and surely We should bring them into Gardens of
Delight.
66. If they had upheld [the laws of] the Torah and the Gospel
and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they
would surely have been nourished from above them and
from beneath their feet. Among them there are people
who are a moderate nation, but many of them– evil is
that which they do.
67. O Messenger! Make known that which has been revealed
to you from your Lord, for if you do it not, you will not
have conveyed His message. Allah will protect you from
mankind. Lo! Allah guides not the disbelieving folk.
68. Say: O People of the Scripture! You have nothing [of
guidance] till you observe the Torah and the Gospel and
that which was revealed to you from your Lord. That
which is revealed to you [Muhammad] from your Lord is
certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many
of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk.
69. Lo! those who believe, and those who are Jews, and
Sabaeans, and Christians whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day and does right– there shall no fear come
upon them neither shall they grieve.
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70. We made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel
and We sent to them messengers. As often as a messenger
came to them with that which their souls desired not [they
became rebellious]. A party [of messengers] they denied
and another party they killed.
71. They thought no harm would come of it, so they were
wilfully blind and deaf. And afterward Allah turned [in
mercy] toward them. Now [even after that] are many
of them wilfully blind and deaf. Allah is Seer of what
they do.
72. They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah,
son of Mary. The Messiah [himself] said: O Children of
Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso
ascribes partners to Allah, for him Allah has forbidden
Paradise. His abode is the Fire. For wrong-doers there
will be no helpers.
73. They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the third of
three; when there is no god save the One God. If they
desist not from so saying a painful doom will fall on those
of them who disbelieve.
74. Will they not rather turn to Allah and seek forgiveness of
Him? For Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
75. The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger,
messengers [the like of whom] had passed away before
him. And his mother was a truthful woman. And they
both used to eat [earthly] food. See how we make the
signs clear for them, and see how they are turned away!
76. Say: Do you worship in place of Allah that which possesses
for you neither harm nor benefit? Allah it is Who is the
Hearer, the Knower.
77. Say: O People of the Scripture! Exceed not in your religion
other than the truth, and follow not the vain inclinations
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of folk who had gone astray before and led many astray,
and strayed [themselves] from a plain path.
78. Those of the children of Israel who went astray were
cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary.
That was because they rebelled and used to transgress.
79. They restrained not one another from the wickedness
they did. Verily evil was that they used to do!
80. You see many of them making allies with those who
disbelieve. Surely ill for them is that which they themselves
send on before them that Allah will be angry with them
and in the doom they will abide eternally.
81. If they had believed in Allah and the Prophet and that which
was revealed to him, they would not have taken them for
their allies. But many of them are of evil conduct.
۞. 82 You will find the most intense of mankind in animosity
to those who, believe [to be] the Jews and the polytheists.
And you will find the nearest of them in affection to those
who believe [to be] those who say: Lo! We are Christians.
That is because there are among them priests and monks,
and because they are not proud.
83. When they listen to that which has been revealed to the
messenger, you see their eyes overflow with tears because
of their recognition of the Truth. They say: Our Lord, we
believe. Inscribe us as among the witnesses.
84. How should we not believe in Allah and that which has
come to us of the Truth. And [how should we not] hope
that our Lord will bring us in along with righteous folk?
85. Allah has rewarded them for that their saying– Gardens
underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for
ever. That is the reward of the good-doers.
86. But those who disbelieve and deny Our signs, they are the
owners of Hell-fire.
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87. O you who believe! Forbid not the good things which
Allah has made lawful for you, and transgress not. Lo!
Allah loves not transgressors.
88. Eat of that which Allah has provided for you as food lawful
and good, and fear Allah in Whom you are believers.
89. Allah will not take you to task for that which is unintentional
in your oaths, but He will take you to task for the oaths
which you swear in earnest. The expiation thereof is the
feeding of ten of the needy with the average of that
wherewith you feed your own folk, or the clothing of
them, or the liberation of a slave, and for him who finds
not [the ability to do so] then a three day fast. This is the
expiation of your oaths when you have sworn; and keep
your oaths. Thus Allah expounds to you His revelations
in order that you may give thanks.
90. O you who believe! Intoxicating liquor and gambling
and [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah] and
divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork.
Avoid it in order that you may succeed.
91. Satan seeks only to cast among you enmity and hatred by
means of intoxicating liquor and gambling, and to turn
you from remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will
you then have done?
92. And obey Allah and obey the messenger, and beware!
But if you turn away, then know that the duty of Our
messenger is only plain conveyance [of the message].
93. There shall be no sin [imputed] to those who believe and
do good deeds for what they may have eaten [in the past].
If they [now] fear Allah, and do good deeds; and again:
fear Allah and believe; and once again: fear Allah and do
right. Allah loves the doers of good.
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94. O you who believe! Allah will surely test you somewhat [in
the matter] of the game which you take with your hands
and your spears, that Allah may know him who fears Him
in secret. Whoso transgresses after this, for him there is a
painful doom.
95. O you who believe! Kill no wild game while you are in
the state of Ihram. Whoso of you kills it intentionally
he shall pay its penalty in the equivalent of that which he
has killed, of domestic animals, the judge to be two men
among you known for justice; [the penalty] to be brought
as an offering to the Ka’bah; or, for expiation, he shall
feed poor persons, or the equivalent thereof in fasting,
that he may taste the evil consequences of his deed. Allah
forgives whatever [of this kind] may have happened in
the past, but whoso returns, Allah will take retribution
from him. Allah is Mighty, Able to Requite [the wrong].
96. To hunt and to eat the fish of the sea is made lawful for
you, a provision for you and for seafarers; but to hunt on
land is forbidden you so long as you are in the state of
Ihram. And fear Allah, to Whom you will be gathered.
97. Allah has made the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a standard
for mankind, and [has sanctified] the Sacred Month and
the offerings and the garlands. That is so that you may
know that Allah knows whatsoever is in the heavens and
whatsoever is in the earth, and that Allah is Knower of
all things.
98. Know that Allah is severe in punishment, but that Allah
[also] is Forgiving, Merciful.
99. The duty of the messenger is only to convey [the message].
Allah knows what you proclaim and what you hide.
100. Say: The evil and the good are not equal even although
the plenty of the evil might impress you. So fear Allah,
O men of understanding, that you may succeed.
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101. O you who believe! Ask not of things which, if they
were made known to you, would trouble you; but if you
ask of them when the Qur’ân is being revealed, they will
be made known to you. Allah pardons this, for Allah is
Forgiving, Forbearing.
102. A folk before you asked [such questions] and then they
disbelieved therein.
103. Allah has not appointed anything in the nature of a
Bahîrah or a Sâ’ibah or a Wasîlah or a Hâmi,[1] but those
who disbelieve invent a lie against Allah. And most of
them do not reason.
104. And when it is said to them: Come to that which Allah
has revealed and to the messenger, they say: Enough
for us is that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even
though their fathers had no knowledge whatsoever, and
no guidance?
105. O you who believe! You have charge of your own souls.
He who goes astray cannot injure you if you are rightly
guided. To Allah you will all return; and then He will
inform you of what you used to do.
106. O you who believe! let there be witnesses between you
when death draws near to one of you, at the time of
bequest– two witnesses, just men from among you, or
two others from outside, in case you are travelling in
the land and the calamity of death befall you. You shall
detain both after the prayer, and, if you doubt, they shall
be made to swear by Allah [saying]: We will not take a
worldly gain in this, even though it were [on behalf of]
a near kinsman nor will we hide the testimony of Allah,
for then indeed we should be of the sinful.
107. But then, if it is afterwards ascertained that both of them
merit [the suspicion of] sin, let two others take their
[1] Different classes of cattle liberated in honour of idols and reverenced
by the pagan Arabs.
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place of those nearly concerned, and let them swear by
Allah, [saying]: Verily our testimony is truer than their
testimony and we have not transgressed [the bounds of
duty], for then indeed we should be of the wrong-doers.
108. Thus it is more likely that they will give testimony
according to its [true] objective or [at least] fear that
after their oath the oath [of others] will be taken. So
fear Allah and listen. Allah guides not the defiantly
disobedient folk.
109. In the day when Allah gathers together the messengers,
and says: What was your response you received [from
mankind]? They say: We have no knowledge. Lo! You,
only You are the Knower of the unseen.
110. When Allah says: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My
favour to you and to your mother; how I strengthened
you with the Pure Spirit, so that you spoke to mankind
in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught you writing
and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how
you did shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird
by My permission, and did blow upon it and it was a
bird by My permission, and you did heal him who was
born blind and the leper by My permission; and how
you did raise the dead, by My permission and how I
restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when
you came to them with clear proofs, and those of them
who disbelieved exclaimed: This is nothing else than
mere magic;
111. And when I inspired the disciples, [saying]: Believe in Me
and in My messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness
that we have surrendered [to You] We are Muslims.
112. When the disciples said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Is your
Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food
from heaven? He said: Fear Allah, if you are true believers.
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113. [They said:] We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy
our hearts and know that you have spoken truth to us,
and that thereof we may be witnesses.
114. Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! Send
down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that
it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the
last of us, and a sign from You. Give us sustenance, for
You are the Best of Sustainers.
115. Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso
disbelieves of you afterward, him surely will I punish
with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any
among the worlds.
116. And when Allah says: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you
say to mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods
beside Allah? he says: Be glorified! It was not mine to
utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it,
then You knew it. You know what is in myself, and I
know not what is in Yourself. Lo! You, only You are the
Knower of the unseen.
117. I spoke to them only that which You command me,
[saying]: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was
a witness of them while I was among them, and when
You took me You were the Watcher over them. You are
Witness over all things.
118. If You punish them, lo! they are Your slaves, and if You
forgive them [Lo! they are Your slaves]. Lo! You, only
You are the Mighty, the Wise.
119. Allah says: This is a day when the truthful will profit from
their truthfulness, for theirs are Gardens underneath
which rivers flow, wherein they are secure for ever, Allah
taking pleasure in them and they in Him. That is the
great triumph.
120. To Allah belongs the Sovereignty of the heavens and
the earth and whatsoever is therein, and He is Able to
do all things.