regard it not as an evil to you. No, it is an advantage to you.5 To every man
among them shall it be done according to the offence he hath committed; and
as to that person6 among them who took on himself to aggravate it, a sore
punishment doth await him.
Did not the faithful of both sexes, when ye heard of this, form a favourable
judgment in their own minds, and say,
"This is a manifest lie?"
Have they brought four witnesses of the fact? If they cannot produce the
witnesses, they are the liars in the sight of God.
And but for the goodness of God towards you, and His mercy in this world and
in the next, a severe punishment had come upon you for that which ye spread
abroad, when ye uttered with your tongues, and spake with your mouths that of
which ye had no knowledge. Ye deemed it to be a light matter, but with God it
was a grave one.
And did ye say when ye heard it, "It is not for us to talk of this affair! O
God! By thy Glory, this is a gross calumny?"
God hath warned you that ye go not back to the like of this for ever, if ye
be believers:
And God maketh His signs clear to you: for God is Knowing, Wise.
But as for those who love that foul calumnies should go forth against those
who believe, a grievous chastisement awaits them
In this world and in the next. And God hath knowledge, but ye have not.
And but for the goodness of God towards you and His Mercy, and that God is
Kind, Merciful . . . !
O ye who believe! follow not the steps of Satan, for whosoever shall follow
the steps of Satan, he will enjoin on him what is base and blameworthy; and
but for the goodness of God towards you,7 and His mercy, no one of you had
been cleansed for ever: but God maketh whom He will to be clean, and God
Heareth, Knoweth.
And let not persons of wealth and means among you swear that they will not
give to their kindred, to the poor, and to those who have fled their homes in
the cause of God; let them rather pardon and pass over the offence.8 Desire
ye not that God should forgive you? And God is Gracious, Merciful!
Verily, they who throw out charges against virtuous but careless women, who
yet are believers, shall be cursed in this world and in the world to come;
and a terrible punishment doth await them.
Their own tongues, and hands, and feet, shall one day bear witness against
them of their own doings.9
On that day will God pay them their just due, and they shall know that God is
the clear Truth itself.
Bad women for bad men, and bad men for bad women; but virtuous women for
virtuous men, and virtuous men for virtuous women! These shall be cleared
from calumnies; theirs shall be forgiveness and an honourable provision.
O ye who believe! enter not into other houses10 than your own, until ye have
asked leave, and have saluted its inmates. This will be best for you: haply
ye will bear this in mind.
And if ye find no one therein, then enter it not till leave be given you; and
if it be said to you, "Go ye back," then go ye back. This will be more
blameless in you, and God knoweth what ye do.
There shall be no harm in your entering houses in which no one dwelleth, for
the supply of your needs: and God knoweth what ye do openly and what ye hide.
Speak unto the believers that they restrain their eyes and observe
continence. Thus will they be more pure. God is well aware of what they do.
And speak to the believing women that they refrain their eyes, and observe
continence; and that they display not their ornaments, except those which are
external; and that they throw their veils over their bosoms, and display not
their ornaments, except to their husbands or their fathers, or their
husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers,
or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or their
slaves, or male domestics who have no natural force, or to children who note
not women's nakedness. And let them not strike their feet together, so as to
discover their hidden ornaments.11 And be ye all turned to God, O ye
Believers! that it may be well with you.
And marry those among you who are single, and your good servants, and the
handmaidens. If they are poor, God of His bounty will enrich them. God is
all-bounteous, Knowing.
And let those who cannot find a match12 live in continence till God of His
bounty shall enrich them. And to those of your slaves who desire a deed of
manumission, execute it for them, if ye know good in them, and give them a
portion of the wealth of God which He hath given you.13 Force not your female
slaves into sin, in order that ye may gain the casual fruitions of this
world, if they wish to preserve their modesty. Yet if any one compel them,
then Verily to them, after their compulsion, will God be Forgiving, Merciful.
And now have we sent down to you clear signs, and an instance from among
those who flourished before you, and a caution for the God-fearing.14
God is the LIGHT of the Heavens and of the Earth. His Light is like a niche
in which is a lamp-the lamp encased in glass-the glass, as it were, a
glistening star. From a blessed tree is it lighted, the olive neither of the
East nor of the West, whose oil would well nigh shine out, even though fire
touched it not! It is light upon light. God guideth whom He will to His
light, and God setteth forth parables to men, for God knoweth all things.
In the temples which God hath allowed to be reared, that His name may therein
be remembered, do men praise Him morn and even.
Men whom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of God,
and from the observance of prayer, and the payment of the stated alms,
through fear of the day when hearts shall throb and eyes shall roll:
That for their most excellent works may God recompense them, and of His
bounty increase it to them more and more: for God maketh provision for whom
He pleaseth without measure.
But as to the infidels, their works are like the vapour in a plain which the
thirsty dreameth to be water, until when he cometh unto it, he findeth it not
aught, but findeth that God is with him; and He fully payeth him his account:
for swift to take account is God:
Or like the darkness on the deep sea when covered by billows riding upon
billows, above which are clouds: darkness upon darkness. When a man reacheth
forth his hand, he cannot nearly see it! He to whom God shall not give light,
no light at all hath he!
Hast thou not seen how all in the Heavens and in the Earth uttereth the
praise of God?-the very birds as they spread their wings? Every creature
knoweth its prayer and its praise! and God knoweth what they do.
God's, the Kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth: and unto God the final
return!
Hast thou not seen that God driveth clouds lightly forward, then gathereth
them together, then pileth them in masses? And then thou seest the rain
forthcoming from their midst; and He causeth clouds like mountains charged
with hail, to descend from the heaven, and He maketh it to fall on whom He
will, and from whom He will He turneth it aside.-The brightness of His
lightning all but taketh away the sight!
God causeth the day and the night to take their turn. Verily in this is
teaching for men of insight. And God hath created every animal of water.15
Some go upon the belly; some go upon two feet; some go upon four feet. God
hath created what He pleased. Aye, God hath power over all things.
Now have we sent down distinct signs.-And God guideth whom He will into the
right path:
For there are who say "We believe on God and on the Apostle, and we obey;"
yet, after this, a part of them turn back.16 But these are not of the
faithful.
And when they are summoned before God and His Apostle that He may judge
between them, lo! a part of them withdraw:
But had the truth been on their side, they would have come to Him, obedient.
What! are they diseased of heart? Do they doubt? Are they afraid that God and
His Apostles will deal unfairly with them? Nay, themselves are the unjust
doers.
The words of the believers, when called to God and His Apostle that He may
judge between them, are only to say, "We have heard, and we obey:" these are
they with whom it shall be well.
And whoso shall obey God, and His Apostle, and shall dread God and fear Him,
these are they that shall be the blissful.
And they have sworn by God, with a most solemn oath, that if thou give them
the word, they will certainly march forth. Say: swear ye not: of more worth
is obedience. Verily, God is well aware of what ye do.
SAY: Obey God and obey the Apostle. Suppose that ye turn back, still the
burden of his duty is on him only, and the burden of your duty rests on you.
If ye obey Him, ye shall have guidance: but plain preaching is all that
devolves upon the Apostle.
God hath promised to those of you who believe and do the things that are
right, that He will cause them to succeed others in the land, as He gave
succession to those who were before them, and that He will establish for them
that religion which they delight in, and that after their fears He will give
them security in exchange. They shall worship Me: nought shall they join with
Me: And whoso, after this, believe not, they will be the impious.
But observe prayer, and pay the stated alms, and obey the Apostle, that haply
ye may find mercy.
Let not the Infidels think that they can weaken God on His own Earth: their
dwelling place shall be the Fire! and right wretched the journey!
O ye who believe! let your slaves, and those of you who have not come of age,
ask leave of you, three times a day, ere they come into your presence;-before
the morning prayer, and when ye lay aside your garments at mid-day, and after
the evening prayer. These are your three times of privacy. No blame shall
attach to you or to them, if after these times, when ye go your rounds of
attendance on one another, they come in without permission. Thus doth God
make clear to you His signs: and God is Knowing, Wise!
And when your children come of age, let them ask leave to come into your
presence, as they who were before them asked it. Thus doth God make clear to
you his signs: and God is Knowing, Wise.
As to women who are past childbearing, and have no hope of marriage, no blame
shall attach to them if they lay aside their outer garments, but so as not to
shew their ornaments. Yet if they abstain from this, it will be better for
them: and God Heareth, Knoweth.
No crime17 shall it be in the blind, or in the lame, or in the sick, to eat
at your tables: or in yourselves, if ye eat in your own houses, or in the
houses of your fathers, or of your mothers, or of your brothers, or of your
sisters, or of your uncles on the father's side, or of your aunts on the
father's side, or of your uncles on the mother's side, or of your aunts on
the mother's side, or in those of which ye possess the keys, or in the house
of your friend. No blame shall attach to you whether ye eat together or
apart.
And when ye enter houses, salute one another with a good and blessed greeting
as from God. Thus doth God make clear to you His signs, that haply ye may
comprehend them.
Verily, they only are believers who believe in God and His Apostle, and who,
when they are with him upon any affair of common interest, depart not until
they have sought his leave. Yes, they who ask leave of thee, are those who
believe in God and His Apostle. And when they ask leave of Thee on account of
any affairs of their own, then grant it to those of them whom thou wilt, and
ask indulgence for them of God: for God is Indulgent, Merciful.
Address not the Apostle as ye address one another.18 God knoweth those of you
who withdraw quietly from the assemblies, screening themselves behind others.
And let those who transgress his command beware, lest some present trouble
befall them, or a grievous chastisement befall them, hereafter.
Is not whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth God's? He knoweth your state;
and one day shall men be assembled before Him, and He will tell them of what
they have done: for God knoweth all things.
_______________________
1 With this verse commences the reference to the scandal against Ayesha, to
which verses 6-9 read like a later addition. See His. 731 ff. Albuhari,
passim. Muslim ii. 628 ff. Tirm. 524. Tabari and Weil, p. 151.
2 Said to refer to Hilal ben Umaiya (Muslim i. 886. Tirm. 523. Annasai, 409
f. Assamarq.) who had accused his wife of adultery. Two of these
commentators, however, give the name of another Muslim as the person
intended.
3 Comp. Numb. v. ii, 31, with which Muhammad must have been acquainted.
4 The rumour of improper intimacy between Ayesha and Safwan Ibn El Moattal,
during Muhammad's return from the expedition against the tribe of Mostaliq
(an. Hej. 9), in which he was separated from her for an entire day, which she
passed in the company of Safwan, who had found her when accidentally left
behind. Verses 4-26 were revealed shortly after the return.
5 Whose characters are cleared.
6 Abdallah Ibn Obba. (Abulf. p. 83.)
7 Comp. verse 10, 11 (n.).
8 Abubekr had been desirous to punish one of his relatives, Mestah, who had
propagated the scandal against Ayesha, by refusing him gifts or alms.
9 "The very members of a man shall testify against him, for thus we read
(Jer. xliii. 12), Ye are yourselves my witnesses saith the Lord." Chagiga,
16. Thaanith, 11a.
10 It was the custom in Arabia, before Islam, to enter houses without
permission. Freyt. Einl. p. 216.
11 That is, the anklets. Comp. Isai. iii. 16, 18
12 On account of poverty.
13 Comp. Deut. xv. 12 15.
14 The meaning probably is, that the scandal raised against Ayesha resembled
the scandal in the case of Joseph in Egypt, and of the Virgin Mary, detailed
in previous suras.
15 An idea perhaps derived from Gen. i. 20, 21. Comp. Tr. Cholin, fol. 27a.
16 Verses 46-56 obviously refer to a period, perhaps that between the battle
of Ohod and the end of the war of the Ditch, when Muhammad's prospects were
overclouded and the confidence of his followers shaken.
17 This verse was intended to relieve the scruples of the Muslims, who.
following the superstitious customs of the Arabs, thought that they ought not
to admit the blind, etc. to their tables, to eat alone, or in a house of
which they were entrusted with the key, etc.
18 Lit. make not the calling of the Apostle among you, like the calling of
some of you to others, i.e., address him by some respectful and honourable
title. Thus in the Talmud, "It is forbidden to a disciple to call his Rabbi
by name even when he is not in his presence;" and again: "Neither is he to
salute his Rabbi, nor to return his salutation, in the same way that
salutations are given and returned among friends." "Whoever despises the wise
men hath no portion in the world to come." See Hilchoth Torah, c.5.
SURA LVIII.-SHE WHO PLEADED [CVI.]
MEDINA.-22 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
God hath heard the words of HER1 WHO PLEADED with thee against her husband,
and made her plaint to God; and God hath heard your mutual intercourse: for
God Heareth, Beholdeth.
As to those of you who put away their wives by saying, "Be thou to me as my
mother's back" their mothers2 they are not; they only are their mothers who
gave them birth! they certainly say a blameworthy thing and an untruth:
But truly, God is Forgiving, Indulgent.
And those who thus put away their wives, and afterwards would recall their
words, must free a captive before they can come together again. To this are
ye warned to conform: and God is aware of what ye do.
And he who findeth not a captive to set free, shall fast two months in
succession before they two come together. And he who shall not be able to do
so, shall feed sixty poor men. This, that he may believe in God and His
Apostle. These are the statutes of God: and for the unbelievers is an
afflictive chastisement!
Truly they who oppose God and His Apostle shall be brought low, as those who
were before them were brought low. And now have we sent down demonstrative
signs: and, for the Infidels is a shameful chastisement.
On the day when God shall raise them all to life, and shall tell them of
their doings. God hath taken count of them, though they have forgotten them!
and God is witness over all things.
Dost thou not see that God knoweth all that is in the Heavens and all that is
in the Earth? Three persons speak not privately together, but He is their
fourth; nor five, but He is their sixth; nor fewer nor more, but wherever
they be He is with them. Then on the day of resurrection He will tell them of
their deeds: for God knoweth all things.
Hast thou not marked those who have been forbidden secret talk, and return to
what they have been forbidden, and talk privately together with wickedness,
and hate, and disobedience towards the Apostle? And when they come to thee,
they greet thee not as God greeteth thee:3 and they say among themselves,
"Why doth not God punish us for what we say?" Hell shall be their meed:4 they
shall be burned at its fire: and a wretched passage thither!
O Believers! when ye hold private converse together, let it not be with
wickedness, and hate, and disobedience towards the Apostle; but let your
private talk be with justice and the fear of God: aye, fear ye God unto whom
ye shall be gathered!
Only of Satan is this clandestine talk, that he may bring the faithful to
grief: but, unless by God's permission, not aught shall he harm them! in God
then let the faithful trust.
O ye who believe! when it is said to you, "Make room in your assemblies,"
then make ye room. God will make room for you in Paradise! And when it is
said to you, "Rise up," then rise ye up. God will uplift those of you who
believe, and those to whom "the Knowledge" is given, to lofty grades! and God
is cognisant of your actions.
O ye who believe! when ye go to confer in private with the Apostle, give alms
before such conference. Better will this be for you, and more pure. But if ye
have not the means, then truly God is Lenient, Merciful.
Do ye hesitate to give alms previously to your private conference? Then if ye
do it not (and God will excuse it in you), at least observe prayer, and pay
the stated impost, and obey God and His Apostle: for God is cognisant of your
actions.
Hast thou not remarked those who make friends of that people with whom God is
angered? They are neither of your party nor of theirs; and they swear to a
lie,5 knowing it to be such.
God hath got ready for them a severe torment: for, evil is that they do.
They make a cloak of their faith, and turn others aside from the way of God:
wherefore a shameful torment awaiteth them.
Not at all shall their wealth or their children avail them aught against God.
Companions shall they be of the fire: they shall abide therein for ever.
On the day when God shall raise them all, they will swear to Him as they now
swear to you, deeming that it will avail them. Are they not-yes they-the
liars?
Satan hath gotten mastery over them, and made them forget the remembrance of
God. These are Satan's party. What! shall not verily the party of Satan be
for ever lost.
Verily, they who oppose God and His Apostle shall be among the most vile. God
hath written this decree: "I will surely prevail, and my Apostles also."
Truly God is Strong, Mighty.
Thou shalt not find that any of those who believe in God, and in the last
day, love him who opposeth God and His Apostle, even though they be their
fathers, or their sons, or their brethren, or their nearest kin. On the
hearts of these hath God graven the Faith, and with His own Spirit hath He
strengthened them; and He will bring them into gardens, beneath whose shades
the rivers flow, to remain therein eternally. God is well pleased in them,
and they in Him. These are God's party! Shall not, of a truth, a party of God
be for ever blessed?
_______________________
1 Khaula, daughter of Thalaba, who had been divorced by the formula in verse
2, which was understood among the Arabs to imply perpetual separation. This
Muhammad had asserted in her case; but in consequence of the woman's prayers,
etc., a relaxation of the law, on fulfilment of the conditions mentioned in
verses 4, 5, was hereby allowed. None of the earlier traditions fix any date
for this Sura, though later authorities (Weil, 184) fix the end of Hej. 6, or
the beginning of Hej. 7.-The subject matter is in part similar to that of
Sura xxiv.
2 See Sura [ciii.] xxxiii. 4.
3 Instead of saying, Es-salam aleika, "Peace be on thee," the Infidels and
Jews said, Es-sam aleika, "a plague, or poison on thee." See Geiger, p. 18.
4 Lit. sufficiency.
5 The Jews swear that they are Muslims.
SURA XXII.-THE PILGRIMAGE [CVII.]
MEDINA.1-78 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O MEN of Mecca, fear your Lord. Verily, the earthquake of the last Hour will
be a tremendous thing!
On the day when ye shall behold it, every suckling woman shall forsake her
sucking babe; and every woman that hath a burden in her womb shall cast her
burden; and thou shalt see men drunken, yet are they not drunken: but it is
the mighty chastisement of God!
There is a man2 who, without knowledge, wrangleth about God, and followeth
every rebellious Satan;
Concerning whom it is decreed, that he shall surely beguile and guide into
the torment of the Flame, whoever shall take him for his Lord.
O men! if ye doubt as to the resurrection, yet, of a truth, have We created
you of dust, then of the moist germs of life, then of clots of blood, then of
pieces of flesh shapen and unshapen, that We might give you proofs of our
power! And We cause one sex or the other, at our pleasure, to abide in the
womb until the appointed time; then We bring you forth infants; then permit
you to reach your age of strength; and one of you dieth, and another of you
liveth on to an age so abject that all his former knowledge is clean
forgotten!3 And thou hast seen the earth dried up and barren: but when We
send down the rain upon it, it stirreth and swelleth, and groweth every kind
of luxuriant herb.
This, for that God is the Truth, and that it is He who quickeneth the dead,-
and that He hath power over everything:
And that "the Hour" will indeed come-there is no doubt of it-and that God
will wake up to life those who are in the tombs.
A man there is who disputeth about God without knowledge or guidance or
enlightening Book,
Turning aside in scorn to mislead others from the way of God! Disgrace shall
be his in this world; and on the day of the resurrection, We will make him
taste the torment of the burning:-
"This, for thy handywork of old! for God is not unjust to His servants."
There are some who serve God in a single point. If good come upon one of
them, he resteth in it; but if trial come upon him, he turneth him round (to
infidelity) with the loss both of this world and of the next! This same is
the clear ruin!
He calleth upon that beside God which can neither hurt him nor profit him.
This same is the far-gone error!
He calleth on him who would sooner hurt than profit him. Surely, bad the
lord, and, surely, bad the vassal!
But God will bring in those who shall believe and do the things that are
right, into gardens 'neath which the rivers flow: for God doth that which He
pleaseth.
Let him who thinketh that God will not help His Apostle in this world and in
the next, stretch a cord aloft as if to destroy himself; then let him cut it,
and see whether his devices can bring that4 to nought at which he was angry!
Thus send we down the Koran with its clear signs (verses): and because God
guideth whom He pleaseth.
As to those who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeites,5 and the Christians,
and the Magians, and those who join other gods with God, of a truth, God
shall decide between them on the day of resurrection: for God is witness of
all things.
Seest thou not that all in the Heavens and all on the Earth adoreth God? the
sun and the moon and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the
beasts, and many men? But of many is chastisement the due:
And whom God shall disgrace there shall be none to honour: God doth that
which pleaseth Him.
These, the Faithful and the Infidels, are the two disputants who dispute
concerning their Lord: but for those who have disbelieved, garments of fire
shall be cut out; the boiling water shall be poured down upon their heads:
All that is in their bowels, and their skins, shall be dissolved: and there
are maces of iron for them!
So oft as they, for very anguish, would fain come forth thence, back shall
they be turned into it: and-"Taste ye the torment of the burning."
But God will bring in those who shall have believed, and done the things that
are right, into gardens 'neath which the rivers flow. Adorned shall they be
therein with golden bracelets and with pearls, and their raiment therein
shall be of silk;