from the people of the Book,°
“If you are expelled, we will surely
go with you; we will never listen
to anyone who speaks against you;
if you’re attacked, we shall surely
help you.” But God bears witness
that they are lying.
12If they are expelled,
they will never go with them,
and if they are attacked,
they will not help them,
and if they did help them,
they would turn their backs:
so they would not be helped.
13You are more fearsome
in their hearts than God.
That is because they are people
who will not understand.
14They will not fight you, even when
united, except in fortified towns,
or from behind walls; their violence
among themselves is great:
you think them united,
but their hearts are divided.
That is because they are people
who are averse to reason.
15Like those who came
just before them, they have tasted
the grievous fruit of their actions,
and they shall face painful torment.
16Like Satan, when he says
to humankind, “Do not believe!”
But when humankind disbelieves,
he says, “I disown you: I do fear God,
Lord of the universe.”
17Both will end in the fire,°
to remain there forever.
Such is the reward of wrongdoers.
SECTION 3
18You who believe, be mindful
of God; and let every soul
look to [the deeds] it sends forth
for tomorrow; be mindful
of God, for God is Aware
of all that you do.
19And do not be like those
who forget God, whom He causes
to forget themselves—
they are the disobedient.
20Those in the fire
and those in the garden
are not equal—
those in the garden
are the triumphant.
21Had We sent down this Quran
upon a mountain, you would have
seen it humbled, cleave itself
into a chasm, in fear of God.
Such are the parables
We coin for human beings,
that they might reflect.
22God is He, beyond Whom
there is no god. He Knows
the unseen and the seen;
He is the All Merciful, Ever Merciful.
23God is He, beyond Whom
there is no god, the Sovereign,
the Sanctified; the Source of Peace,
the Trustworthy, the Guardian,
the Almighty, the Irresistible,
the Supreme; Glorified is He,
beyond what they affiliate with Him.
24He is God, the Creator,
the Originator, the Shaper of Forms;
His are the Most Beautiful Names.°
All that is the heavens and the earth
glorifies Him, and He is
Almighty, All Wise.
SURA 60
The Woman Tested (Al-Mumtahana)
This late Medinan sura is very brief, with the title and purpose referring to v. 10. Its 13 verses focus on categories of women caught between two groups, Muslims and their opponents, in skirmishes just before the Prophet’s reentry to Mecca in 630 CE. The purpose of testing these women is to determine the sincerity of their belief once they confirm their intent to remain with the ascendant Muslim community.
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1You who believe, do not take
as allies My enemies and yours,
offering them friendship, when they
disbelieve in the truth that came
to you, driving out the messenger
and yourselves, because you believed
in God, your Lord—if indeed
you emigrated to strive in My cause
and to seek My good pleasure.
You show them secret affection, but I know
what you conceal and reveal.
Those of you who do this
stray from the level path.
2If they gain ascendancy over you,
they will become your enemies
and reach out against you
with their hands and tongues,
with wicked resolve,
for they want you to disbelieve.
3Your relatives and children
will be of no use to you
on the day of resurrection.
He will judge between you,
for God Sees all that you do.
4You have an excellent example
in Abraham and those with him,
when they said to their people,
“We dissociate ourselves from you
and what you worship besides
the One God. We reject you,
and the enmity and hatred risen
between us shall endure until you
believe in God—and Him alone.”
Except when Abraham said to his father,
“I will ask forgiveness for you, but
I have no power at all on your behalf
with God.” [He and his people prayed,]
“Our Lord, we trust in You, we turn to You,
and our final return is to You.
5“Our Lord, do not make us
[a means] of trial for the unbelievers,
and forgive us, Our Lord.
You are Almighty, All Wise.”
6They were an excellent example
for you—for those whose hope
lies in God and the last day.
As for those who turn away—
God is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.
SECTION 2
7It may be that God will induce
love between you and those
you held as enemies,
for God is All Powerful,
and God is Forgiving,
Ever Merciful.
8God does not forbid you
from being kind and just to those
who don’t fight you over religion
or try to drive you from your homes,
for God loves those who are just.
9God only forbids you from taking
as allies those who fight you,
drive you from your homes,
and help [others] to drive you out.
Those who take them as allies
are wrongdoers.
10You who believe—
when the believing women come to you
as emigrants, test them.
God best knows their faith.
Once you know them to be believers,
don’t send them back
to the disbelievers—for whom
they are no longer lawful, nor
are the disbelievers lawful for them.
Rather, give [their unbelieving husbands]
whatever they paid [as bridal dues]—
nor do you incur blame if you marry them
once you pay them their bridal dues.
Do not hold to your marriages
with unbelieving women.
Ask for return of the bridal dues
you paid, and let the unbelievers
ask for return of what they paid.
This is God’s judgment—
it is He Who judges between you,
for God is All Knowing, All Wise.
11And if any of your wives deserts you
for the unbelievers, then in your turn,
give to those whose wives have gone
what they spent [as bridal dues]—
and fear God, in whom you believe.
12Prophet, when the believing women
come to you—pledging not to
associate anything with the One God,
not to steal, commit adultery,
nor kill their children, nor forge any lie
about who has fathered their children,
nor disobey you in what is righteous—
then, accept their pledge, and ask
forgiveness for them from God,
for God is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
13You who believe,
do not seek as allies those
who have incurred God’s wrath,
and who despair of the hereafter
just as the disbelievers despair
that those in their graves
[will be brought back to life].
SURA 61
In Ranks (Al-Saff)
An early Medinan sura, it is short (14 verses). Extolling those who “fight in His cause, in battle lines (v. 4),” it invokes the examples of Moses and Jesus as stalwart messengers who helped God’s Light to shine (vv. 4–8), auguring a messenger named Ahmad with the religion of truth (vv. 6, 9), whose followers will be victorious (v. 14).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1All that is in the heavens and earth
hymns the glory of God—
He is Almighty, All Wise.
2You who believe,
why do you profess
what you do not practice?
3It is loathsome in the sight of God
that you profess
what you do not practice.
4God loves those who fight
in His cause, in ranks,
like a firmly wrought structure.
5Moses said to his people,
“My people, why do you vex me
when you know that
I am God’s messenger to you?”
When they deviated, it was God
Who caused their hearts to deviate—
for God does not guide
people who transgress.
6Jesus, son of Mary, said,
“Children of Israel, I am God’s
messenger to you, confirming
the Torah that came before me,
and bringing joyous news
of a messenger to come after me,
whose name will be Ahmad.”
Yet when he came to them
with clear signs, they declared,
“This is clearly sorcery.”
7Who does greater wrong than those
who invent a lie about God,
even when invited to submit to Him—
God does not guide
a people who do wrong.
8With their words,° they wish
to extinguish the Light of God.
But God will perfect His Light
though disbelievers may detest it.
9It is He Who sent His messenger
with guidance and the religion of truth
to exalt it over all religion,
though the polytheists may detest it.
SECTION 2
10You who believe, shall I lead you
to a transaction that will save you
from painful torment?
11Believe in God and His messenger
and strive in the cause of God
with your possessions and your lives—
that is better for you, if only you knew.
12He will forgive you your sins
and usher you into gardens
beneath which rivers flow, into
splendid dwellings in eternal gardens—
that is the supreme triumph.
13And another [favor] you will love—
help from God and imminent victory.
So, give the joyous news
to those who believe.
14You who believe, be helpers
[in the cause] of God. As when Jesus,
son of Mary, said to the disciples,
“Who will help me in God’s cause?”
They responded, “We shall.”
Of the children of Israel,
one group believed
while another disbelieved.
So We supported those
who believed against their enemy—
and they were victorious.°
SURA 62
The Friday Prayer (Al-Jumuʿa)
A short Medinan sura, its 11 verses address God’s power (vv. 1–4), then Jewish opponents (vv. 5–8), with an appeal to believers to pray and remember God (vv. 9–11) “for God is the Best of Providers” (v. 11).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1All that is in the heavens and earth
hymns the glory of God—
the Sovereign, the Holy,
the Almighty, All Wise.
2It is He Who has sent a Prophet
to the unlettered people,° one of their own,
who recites for them His signs,
who sanctifies them, teaching them
the Book and wisdom—
though before this
they were clearly astray—
3[the Prophet was sent to them and
to] others who have yet to join them.
For God is Almighty, All Wise.
4This is the grace of God
which He grants to whom He will—
for God is Full of Grace.
5Those entrusted with
bearing the Torah
and who failed in this
are like a donkey bearing books.
Wicked are the likes
of people who deny
the signs of God—
and God does not guide
a people who do wrong.
6Say, “Those of you who are Jews,
if you claim you have a bond with God°
—excluding all [other] people—
then hope for death
if you are speaking the truth.”°
7But they will never hope for death
given the deeds they have accrued°—
God Knows those who do wrong.
8Say, “The death you flee from
will overtake you. Then you will
be sent back to the Knower
of the unseen and the seen
and He will inform you
of all that you have done.
SECTION 2
9You who believe, when the call
to Friday prayer is made,
hasten to remember God
and leave your trading.
That is better for you,
if only you knew.
10And when the prayer is concluded,
disperse through the land, seeking
the bounty of God—
and remember God often,
that you might prosper.
11Yet when they see some trading
or play, they disperse, running
toward it, and leave you standing
