Mary)! SAY: And who could aught obtain from God, if he chose to destroy the
Messiah Ibn Maryam, and his mother, and all who are on the earth together?
For with God is the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all
that is between them! He createth what He will; and over all things is God
potent.
Say the Jews and Christians, "Sons are we of God and his beloved." SAY: Why
then doth he chastise you for your sins? Nay! ye are but a part of the men
whom he hath created! He will pardon whom he pleaseth, and chastise whom he
pleaseth, and with God is the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth,
and of all that is between them, and unto Him shall all things return.
O people of the Book! now hath our Apostle come to you to clear up to you the
cessation13 of Apostles, lest you should say, "There hath come to us no
bearer of good tidings, nor any warner." But now hath a bearer of good
tidings and a warner reached you. And God is Almighty.
And remember when Moses said to his people, "O my people! call to mind the
goodness of God towards you when he appointed Prophets among you, and
appointed you kings, and gave you what never had been given before to any
human beings:
Enter, O my people! the holy land which God hath destined for you. Turn not
back, lest ye be overthrown to your ruin."
They said, "O Moses! Therein are men of might. And verily, we can by no means
enter it till they be gone forth. But if they go forth from it, then verily
will we enter in."
Then said two men of those who feared their Lord and to whom God had been
gracious, "Enter in upon them by the gate: and when ye enter it, ye overcome!
If ye be believers, put ye your trust in God."
They said, "O Moses! never can we enter while they remain therein. Go thou
and thy Lord and fight; for here will we sit us down."
He said, "O my Lord, Verily of none am I master but of myself and my brother:
put thou therefore a difference between us and this ungodly people."
He said, "Verily the land shall be forbidden them forty years: they shall
wander in the earth perplexed. Fret not thyself therefore for the ungodly
people."
Relate to them exactly the story of the sons of Adam14 when they each offered
an offering; accepted from the one of them, and not accepted from the other.
The one said, "I will surely slay thee." Said the other, "God only accepted
from those that fear Him.
"Even if thou stretch forth thine hand against me to slay me, I will not
stretch forth my hand against thee to slay thee. Truly I fear God the Lord of
the Worlds.
"Yea, rather would I that thou shouldest bear my sin15 and thine own sin, and
that thou become an inmate of the Fire: for that is the recompense of the
unjust doers."
And his passion led him to slay his brother: and he slew him; and he became
one of those who perish.
And God sent a raven which scratched upon the ground, to shew him16 how he
might hide his brother's wrong.17 He said: "O woe is me! am I too weak to
become like this raven, and to hide away my brother's wrong?" And he became
one of the repentant.
For this cause have we ordained to the children of Israel that he who slayeth
any one, unless it be a person guilty of manslaughter, or of spreading
disorders in the land, shall be as though he had slain all mankind; but that
he who saveth a life, shall be as though he had saved all mankind alive.18
Of old our Apostles came to them with the proofs of their mission; then
verily after this most of them committed excesses in the land.
Only, the recompense of those who war against God and his Apostle, and go
about to commit disorders on the earth, shall be that they shall be slain or
crucified, or have their alternate hands and feet cut off, or be banished the
land: This their disgrace in this world, and in the next a great torment
shall be theirs-
Except those who, ere you have them in your power, shall repent; for know
that God is Forgiving, Merciful.
O ye who believe! fear God. Desire union with Him. Contend earnestly on his
path, that you may attain to happiness.
As to the infidels-if that they had twice the riches of the earth to be their
ransom from torment on the day of resurrection, it should not be accepted
from them! And a dolorous torment shall be their's.
Fain would they come forth from the Fire; but forth from it they shall not
come: and a lasting torment shall be their's.
As to the thief, whether man or woman, cut ye off their hands in recompense
for their doings.19 This is a penalty by way of warning from God himself. And
God is Mighty, Wise.
But whoever shall turn him to God after this his wickedness, and amend, God
truly will be turned to him: for God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Knowest thou not that the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth is
God's? He chastiseth whom He will, and whom He will He forgiveth. And God
hath power over all things.
O Apostle! let not those who vie with one another in speeding to infidelity
vex thee;-of those who say with their mouths, "We believe," but whose hearts
believe not;-or of the Jews listeners to a lie-listeners to others-but who
come not to thee. They shift the words of the law from their places, and say,
"If this be brought to you, receive it; but if this be not brought to you,
then beware of it." For him whom God would mislead, thou canst in no wise
prevail with God! They whose hearts God shall not please to cleanse, shall
suffer disgrace in this world, and in the next a grievous punishment;
Listeners to a falsehood and greedy devourers of the forbidden!20 If,
therefore, they have recourse to thee, then judge between them, or withdraw
from them. If thou withdraw from them, then can they have no power to injure
thee. But if thou judge, then judge between them with equity. Verily, God
loveth those who deal equitably.
But how shall they make thee their judge, since they possess already the Law,
in which are the behests of God, and have not obeyed it? After this, they
will turn their backs; but such are not believers.
Verily, we have sent down the law (Towrat) wherein are guidance and light. By
it did the prophets who professed Islam judge the Jews; and the doctors and
the teachers judged by that portion of the Book of God, of which they were
the keepers and the witnesses. Therefore, O Jews! fear not men but fear Me;
and barter not away my signs for a mean price! And whoso will not judge by
what God hath sent down-such are the Infidels.
And therein21 have we enacted for them, "Life for life, and eye for eye, and
nose for nose, and ear for ear, and tooth for tooth, and for wounds
retaliation:"-Whoso shall compromise it as alms shall have therein the
expiation of his sin; and whoso will not judge by what God hath sent down-
such are the transgressors.
And in the footsteps of the prophets caused we Jesus, the son of Mary, to
follow, confirming the law which was before him: and we gave him the Evangel
with its guidance and light, confirmatory of the preceding Law; a guidance
and warning to those who fear God;-
And that the people of the Evangel may judge according to what God hath sent
down therein. And whoso will not judge by what God hath sent down-such are
the perverse.
And to thee we have sent down the Book of the Koran with truth, confirmatory
of previous Scriptures, and their safeguard. Judge therefore between them by
what God hath sent down, and follow not their desires by deserting the truth
which hath come unto thee. To every one of you have we given a rule and a
beaten track.
And if God had pleased He had surely made you all one people; but He would
test you by what He hath given to each. Be emulous, then, in good deeds. To
God shall ye all return, and He will tell you concerning the subjects of your
disputes.
Wherefore do thou judge between them, by what God hath sent down, and follow
not their wishes! but be on thy guard against them lest they beguile thee
from any of those precepts which God hath sent down to thee; and if they turn
back, then know thou that for some of their crimes doth God choose to punish
them: for truly most men are perverse.
Desire they, therefore, the judgments of the times of(pagan) ignorance? But
what better judge can there be than God for those who believe firmly?
O Believers! take not the Jews or Christians22 as friends. They are but one
another's friends. If any one of you taketh them for his friends, he surely
is one of them! God will not guide the evil doers.
So shalt thou see the diseased at heart speed away to them, and say, "We fear
lest a change of fortune befall us." But haply God will of himself bring
about some victory or event of His own ordering: then soon will they repent
them of their secret imaginings.
Then will the faithful say, "What! are these they who swore, by their most
solemn oath, that they were surely with you?" Vain their works; and
themselves shall come to ruin.
O ye who believe! should any of you desert His religion, God will then raise
up a people loved by Him, and loving Him, lowly towards the faithful, haughty
towards the Infidels. For the cause of God will they contend, and not fear
the blame of the blamer. This is the Grace of God! On whom He will He
bestoweth it! God is Vast, Omniscient!
Verily, your protector is God and His Apostle, and those who believe, who
observe prayer, and pay the alms of obligation, and who bow in worship.
And whoso take God and His Apostle, and those who believe for friends, they
truly are the people of God; they shall have the upper hand.
O ye who believe! take not such of those who have received the Scriptures
before you, as scoff and jest at your religion, or the Infidels, for your
friends, but fear God if ye are believers:
Nor those who when ye call to prayer, make it an object of raillery and
derision. This they do because they are a people who understand not.
SAY:23 O people of the Book! do ye not disavow us only because we believe in
God, and in what He hath sent down to us, and in what He hath sent down
aforetime, and because most of you are doers of ill?
SAY: Can I announce to you any retribution worse than that which awaiteth
them with God? They whom God hath cursed and with whom He hath been angry-
some of them hath He changed into apes and swine; and they who worship
Thagout are in evil plight, and have gone far astray from the right path!
When they presented themselves to you they said, "We believe;" but Infidels
they came in unto you, and Infidels they went forth! God well knew what they
concealed.
Many of them shalt thou see hastening together to wickedness and malice, and
to eat unlawful things. Shame on them for what they have done!
Had not their doctors and teachers forbidden their uttering wickedness, and
their eating unlawful food, bad indeed would have been their doings!
"The hand of God," say the Jews, "is chained up."24 Their own hands shall be
chained up-and for that which they have said shall they be cursed. Nay!
outstretched are both His hands! At His own pleasure does He bestow gifts.
That which hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord will surely increase the
rebellion and unbelief of many of them; and we have put enmity and hatred
between them that shall last till the day of the Resurrection. Oft as they
kindle a beacon fire for war shall God quench it! and their aim will be to
abet disorder on the earth: but God loveth not the abettors of disorder.
But if the people of the Book believe and have the fear of God, we will
surely put away their sins from them, and will bring them into gardens of
delight: and if that they observe the law and the Evangel, and what hath been
sent down to them from their Lord, they shall surely have their fill of good
things from above them and from beneath their feet. Some there are among them
who act aright; but many of them-how evil are their doings!
O Apostle! proclaim all that hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord: for
if thou do it not, thou hast not proclaimed His message at all. And God will
protect thee from evil men: verily, God guideth not the unbelievers.
SAY: O people of the Book! ye have no ground to stand on, until ye observe
the Law and the Evangel, and that which hath been sent down to you from your
Lord.25 The Book which hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord will
certainly increase the rebellion and unbelief of many of them; but, be not
thou troubled for the unbelievers.
Verily, they who believe, and the Jews, and the Sabeites,26 and the
Christians-whoever of them believeth in God and in the last day, and doth
what is right, on them shall come no fear, neither shall they be put to
grief.
Of old we accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, and sent Apostles
to them. Oft as an Apostle came to them with that for which they had no
desire, some they treated as liars, and some they slew;27
And they reckoned that no harm would come of it:-but they became blind and
deaf! Then was God turned unto them: then many of them again became blind and
deaf! but God beheld what they did.
Infidels now are they who say, "God is the Messiah, Son of Mary;" for the
Messiah said, "O children of Israel! worship God, my Lord and your Lord."
Whoever shall join other gods with God, God shall forbid him the Garden, and
his abode shall be the Fire; and the wicked shall have no helpers.
They surely are Infidels who say, "God is the third of three:" for there is
no God but one God: and if they refrain not from what they say, a grievous
chastisement shall light on such of them as are Infidels.
Will they not, therefore, be turned unto God, and ask pardon of Him? since
God is Forgiving, Merciful!
The Messiah, Son of Mary, is but an Apostle; other Apostles have flourished
before him; and his mother was a just28 person: they both ate food.29 Behold!
how we make clear to them the signs! then behold how they turn aside!
SAY: Will ye worship, beside God, that which can neither hurt nor help? But
God! He only Heareth, Knoweth.
SAY: O people of the Book! outstep not bounds of truth in your religion;
neither follow the desires of those who have already gone astray, and who
have caused many to go astray, and have themselves gone astray from the
evenness of the way.
Those among the children of Israel who believed not were cursed by the tongue
of David,30 and of Jesus, Son of Mary. This, because they were rebellious,
and became transgressors: they forbade not one another the iniquity which
they wrought! detestable are their actions!
Thou shalt see many of them make friends of the infidels. Evil the actions
which their own passions have sent on beforehand; for God is angry with them,
and in torment shall they abide for ever:
But, if they had believed in God, and the Prophet, and the Koran which hath
been sent down to him, they had not taken them for their friends; but
perverse are most of them.
Of all men thou wilt certainly find the Jews, and those who join other gods
with God, to be the most intense in hatred of those who believe; and thou
shalt certainly find those to be nearest in affection to them who say, "We
are Christians." This, because some of them are priests and monks,31 and
because they are free from pride.
And when they hear that which hath been sent down to the Apostle, thou seest
their eyes overflow with tears at the truth they recognise therein, saying,
"O our Lord! we believe; write us down therefore with those who bear witness
to it.
And why should we not believe in God, and in the truth which hath come down
to us, and crave that our Lord would bring us into Paradise with the Just?"
Therefore hath God rewarded them for these their words, with gardens 'neath
which the rivers flow; they shall abide therein for ever: this the reward of
the righteous! But they who believe not and treat our signs as lies shall be
the inmates of Hell-fire.
O ye who believe! interdict not the healthful viands which God hath allowed
you; go not beyond this limit. God loveth not those who outstep it.32
And eat of what God hath given you for food, that which is lawful and
wholesome: and fear God, in whom ye believe.
God will not punish you for a mistaken word in your oaths: but he will punish
you in regard to an oath taken seriously.33 Its expiation shall be to feed
ten poor persons with such middling food as ye feed your own families with,
or to clothe them; or to set free a captive. But he who cannot find means,
shall fast three days. This is the expiation of your oaths when ye shall have
sworn. Keep then your oaths. Thus God maketh his signs clear to you, that ye
may give thanks.
O believers! surely wine and games of chance,34 and statues, and the divining
arrows, are an abomination of Satan's work! Avoid them, that ye may prosper.
Only would Satan sow hatred and strife among you, by wine and games of
chance, and turn you aside from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will
ye not, therefore, abstain from them? Obey God and obey the Apostle, and be
on your guard: but if ye turn back, know that our Apostle is only bound to
deliver a plain announcement.
No blame shall attach to those who believe and do good works, in regard to
any food they have taken, in case they fear God and believe, and do the
things that are right, and shall still fear God and believe, and shall still
fear him, and do good; for God loveth those who do good.
O ye who believe! God will surely make trial of you with such game as ye may
take with your hands, or your lances, that God may know who feareth him in
secret: and whoever after this transgresseth, shall suffer a grievous
chastisement.
O believers!35 kill no game while ye are on pilgrimage. Whosoever among you
shall purposely kill it, shall comsent pensate for it in domestic animals of
equal value (according to the judgment of two just persons among you), to be
brought as an offering to the Caaba; or in expiation thereof shall feed the
poor; or as the equivalent of this shall fast, that he may taste the ill
consequence of his deed. God forgiveth what is past; but whoever doth it
again, God will take vengeance on him; for God is mighty and vengeance is
His.
It is lawful for you to fish in the sea, and to eat fish, as provision for
you and for those who travel; but it is unlawful for you to hunt by land
while ye are still on pilgrimage: fear ye God, therefore, before whom ye
shall be assembled.
God hath appointed the Caaba,36 the sacred house, to be a station for
mankind, and the sacred month, and the offering, and its ornaments. This,
that ye may know that God knoweth all that is in the heavens and on the
earth, and that God hath knowledge of everything. Know that God is severe in
punishing, and that God is Forgiving, Merciful.
The Apostle is only bound to preach: and God knoweth what ye bring to light,
and what ye conceal.
SAY: The evil and the good shall not be valued alike, even though the
abundance of evil please thee; therefore fear God, O ye of understanding!
that it may be well with you.
O believers! ask us not of things which if they were told might only pain
you; but if ye ask of such things when the entire Koran shall have been sent
down, they will be declared to you: God will pardon you for this, for God is
Forgiving, Gracious. They who were before you, asked concerning such things,
and afterwards quickly disbelieved therein
God hath not ordained anything on the subject. of Bahira, or Saïba, or
Wasila, or Hami;37 but the unbelievers have invented this lie against God:
and most of them had no understanding.
And when it was said to them, "Accede to that which God hath sent down, and
to the Apostle:" they said, "Sufficient for us is the faith in which we found
our fathers." What! though their fathers knew nothing, and had no guidance?
O believers! take heed to yourselves.38 He who erreth shall not hurt you when
ye have the "guidance:" to God shall ye all return, and He will tell you that
which ye have done.
O believers! let there be witnesses between you, when death draweth nigh to
any of you, at the time of making the testament; two witnesses-just men from
among yourselves, or two others of a different tribe from yourselves-if ye be
journeying in the earth, and the calamity of death surprise you. Ye shall
shut them both up, after the prayer; and if ye doubt them, they shall swear
by God, "We will not take a bribe though the party be of kin to us, neither
will we conceal the testimony of God, for then we should be among the
wicked."
But if it shall be made clear that both have been guilty of a falsehood, two
others of those who have convicted them thereof, the two nearest in blood
shall stand up in their place, and they shall swear by God, "Verily our
witness is more true than the witness of these two; neither have we advanced
anything untrue, for then should we be of the unjust."
Thus will it be easier for men to bear a true39 witness, or fear lest after
their oath another oath be given. Therefore fear God and hearken; for God
guideth not the perverse.
One day will God assemble the Apostles, and say, "What reply was made to
you?" They shall say, "We have no knowledge, but Thou art the Knower of
Secrets."
When He shall say: O Jesus! Son of Mary! call to mind my favour upon thee and
upon thy mother, when I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit, that thou
shouldest speak40 to men alike in the cradle, and when grown up;-
And when I taught thee the Scripture, and Wisdom, and the Law, and the
Evangel: and thou didst create of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by
my leave, and didst breathe into it, and by my leave it became a bird; and
thou didst heal the blind and the leper, by my leave; and when, by my leave,
thou didst bring forth the dead; and when I withheld the children of Israel
from thee, when thou hadst come to them with clear tokens: and such of them
as believed not said, "This is nought but plain sorcery;"41
And when I revealed unto the Apostles, "Believe on me and on my Sent One,"
they said, "We believe; and bear thou witness that we are Muslims."
Remember when the Apostles42 said-"O Jesus, Son of Mary! is thy Lord able to
send down a furnished TABLE to us out of Heaven?" He said-"Fear God if ye be
believers."
They said-"We desire to eat therefrom, and to have our hearts assured; and to
know that thou hast indeed spoken truth to us, and to be witnesses thereof."
Jesus, Son of Mary, said-"O God, our Lord! send down a table to us out of
Heaven, that it may become a recurring festival to us, to the first of us and
to the last of us, and a sign from thee; and do thou nourish us, for thou art
the best of nourishers."
And God said-Verily, I will cause it to descend unto you; but whoever among
you after that shall disbelieve, I will surely chastise him with a
chastisement, wherewith I will not chastise any other creature.43
And when God shall say-"O Jesus, Son of Mary: hast thou said unto mankind-
'Take me and my mother as two Gods, beside God?"' He shall say-"Glory be unto
Thee! it is not for me to say that which I know to be not the truth; had I
said that, verily thou wouldest have known it: Thou knowest what is in me,
but I know not what is in Thee; for Thou well knowest things unseen!
"I spake not to them aught but that which thou didst bid me-'Worship God, my
Lord and your Lord;' and I was a witness of their actions while I stayed
among them; but since thou hast taken me to Thyself, Thou hast Thyself
watched them, and Thou art witness of all things:
"If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants, and if Thou forgive them. . .
.44 Thou, verily, art the Mighty, the Wise!"
God will say-This day shall their truth advantage the truthful. Gardens shall
they have 'neath which the rivers flow, and remain therein for ever: God is
well pleased with them and they with Him. This shall be the great bliss.
Unto God belongeth the sovereignty of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of
all that they contain; and He hath power over all things.
_______________________
1 The garlands, etc., attached to the victims offered at Mecca.
2 When you have again returned to your common and everyday life by laying
aside the ihram, or pilgrim's robe. This generally consists of two pieces of
cotton, or linen, or woollen cloth, without seam or ornament, one of which is
wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the shoulders. The instep,
heel, and head must be bare.
3 The Koreisch sent to meet Muhammad, who was on his way to visit the Caaba
with 1400 men, at Hudaibiya (An. Hej. 6) to prohibit his nearer approach. A
truce for ten years was ultimately concluded.
4 By making war in the holy month.
5 Comp. Tract Cholin, c. 3.
6 Lit. on blocks or shafts of stone. These were set up by the pagan Arabs in
front of their houses for the purpose of sacrificing thereon. See Freytag's
Einl. p. 462, and Tr. Cholin, p. 39, 40, 41.