discord, seeking
its deeper meanings.° But none knows
its deeper meaning except God.
Those firmly grounded in knowledge
say, “We believe in it. All of it
is from our Lord.” But only those
who understand will take heed.
8“Our Lord,” they say,
“Let our hearts not deviate
after You have guided us,
but bestow upon us Your mercy;
You are the Ever Giving.
9“Our Lord, You shall gather
humankind together on a day
of which there is no doubt.
God never breaks His promise.”
SECTION 2
10As for those who deny the truth—
their wealth and their children
cannot help them at all against God;
and they shall be fuel for the fire.
11Like the people of Pharaoh
and those before them, they denied
Our signs, so God seized them
for their sins; and God
is Severe in Retribution.
12Tell those who disbelieve,
“Soon you will be overcome, and
gathered into hell—an evil end.°
13“You had a sign already
in the two armies that met,° the one
fighting in God’s cause, the other
disbelieving. The first saw
with their own eyes that the other
was twice its size; but God
reinforces with His help whom
He will. Here is a lesson
for those who perceive.”
14Men’s° eyes are allured by love
of what they desire—women,
children, treasures of gold and silver,
branded horses, cattle, arable land—
these are provisions of this
worldly life; but the finest home
for our return is with God.
15Say, “Shall I tell you of things
finer than these, for those mindful
of God? Gardens in God’s presence,
with flowing rivers beneath,
abiding there forever, with
pure spouses, and God’s good pleasure.
For God Sees His servants—
16“those who say,
‘Our Lord, we do believe, so
forgive us our sins, and save us
from the torment of hellfire,’
17“those who are patient, truthful,
and devout, who spend in charity,
and pray for forgiveness
during the early morning hours.”
18God bears witness that
there is no god but He—
as do the angels and those
with knowledge, who uphold
justice. There is no god but He,
the Almighty, the Wise.
19True religion in the sight of God
is submission° [to His will].
Those who were given the Book
dissented from it through
mutual envy, only after knowledge
had been given to them.
Whoever denies the signs of God
[should know that] God
is Swift in Reckoning.
20So if they dispute with you,
say, “I have submitted
my whole self to God,°
along with those who follow me.”
And ask those given the Book,
as well as those with no scripture,°
“Do you submit yourselves
to God?” If they do submit,
they are rightly guided,
but if they turn away, your task
is only to convey the message.
For God Sees all things
concerning His servants.
SECTION 3
21As for those who deny the signs
of God, killing the prophets unjustly,
and killing those who exhort people
to be just—announce for them
a painful punishment.
22They are the ones whose works
are vain—in this world and
the hereafter; and they shall have
none to help them.
23Have you not seen those
who were given part of the Book?
When asked to use God’s Book
to judge between them, a group
of them turned away, averse.
24For they say, “The fire shall
touch us but for a few days.”
What they have forged
deludes them in their faith.
25So how will it be for them
when We gather them together
on a day [whose coming]
is beyond doubt
—when each soul
shall be paid in full
for what it earned—
without being wronged.
26Say, “O God, Dominion
is Yours. You give dominion
to whom You will, and wrest it
from whom You will.
You exalt whom You will,
and debase whom You will;
all good is in Your Hand; You
have Power over all things.
27“You fade night into day,
and day into night;
You bring the living from the dead,
and the dead from the living;
and You give provision
to whom You will, without measure.”
28Believers should not take
unbelievers as allies, rather than
believers; those who do this
will have no kind of bond
with God—unless you do this
out of fear, to protect yourselves.
And it is God Himself
Who warns you°—to God
you will finally return.
29Say, “Whether you conceal
what is in your hearts or reveal it,
God knows it; and He knows
what is in the heavens and the earth,
for God has Power over all things.”
30“On the day when each soul is
confronted with the good and evil
it has done, it will wish [that evil]
were far, far away. It is God Himself
Who warns you, though He is
Most Kind toward His servants.”
SECTION 4
31Say, “If you love God,
follow me. God will love you
and forgive you your sins, for God
is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.”
32Say, “Obey God
and the messenger.”
But if they should turn away,
God does not love the unbelievers.
33God chose Adam and Noah
and the family of Abraham
and the family of ʿImran
over all peoples,°
34making them offspring
of one another; and God
is All Hearing, All Knowing.
35When the wife of ʿImran said,
“My Lord, I vow to you
what is growing in my womb—
to be dedicated to your service,
for You are the All Hearing,
the All Knowing”—
36then she gave birth, and said,
“My Lord, I have given birth
to a girl.” And God knows best
to what she gave birth, for the male
is not like the female.°
“I have named her Mary,
and I seek refuge in You
from the accursed Satan—
for her and her offspring.”
37Her Lord graciously accepted her,
nurtured her immaculately,
entrusting her to the care
of Zachariah. Whenever
he entered her sanctuary, he found her
supplied with provisions. He asked,
“Mary, where did you get these?”
She replied, “They are from God.
God provides without measure
for those whom He will.”
38Then Zachariah
called upon his Lord, “My Lord,
grant me from Your grace°
a pure child. You are the One
Who Hears prayer.”
39The angels called out to him
while he stood praying
in the sanctuary, “God gives you
joyous news of a son, John,
confirming God’s Word°—
one noble and chaste, a prophet,
one of the righteous.”
40He asked, “My Lord,
how can I have a son
when old age has withered me
and my wife is barren?”
The angel responded,
“This is how it is:
God does what He will.”
41He said, “My Lord, give me
a sign.” The angel said, “Your sign
is that you will not speak to people
for three straight days,
except by gestures.
And remember your Lord often,
glorifying Him evening and morning.”
SECTION 5
42The angels proclaimed,
“Mary, God has chosen you
and purified you;
He has chosen you
above all women.”
43“Mary, devote yourself
to your Lord; prostrate yourself
in worship, and bow in prayer
with all those who bow.”
44This is a disclosure from
the unseen, which We reveal to you,
Prophet, for you were not
among them when [the priests]
cast lots to see which of them
should have charge of Mary;
you were not among them
when they argued about this.
45The angels said, “Mary,
God gives you joyous news
of His Word—He shall be called
the messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
and he shall be honored in this world
and the hereafter, and he shall be
among those closest to God.
46“He shall speak to the people
from the cradle and in adulthood,
and he shall be among those
who do good.”
47She said, “My Lord, how
shall I have a son, when no man
has touched me?” He replied,
“So it is—God creates what He will.
When He decrees a thing,
He merely says to it, ‘Be’ and it is.”
48“And God will teach him
the Book, and wisdom,
the Torah, and the Gospel,
49“and appoint him as a messenger
for the Children of Israel,
‘I have come to you with a sign
from your Lord: I will create for you
the form of a bird from clay, and
breathe into it so that it becomes
a living bird, by God’s leave.
“ ‘I heal the blind and the leper,
and I bring the dead to life,
by God’s leave. And I inform you
of what you can eat, and what
you should store in your homes.
In this is a sign for you,
if you are believers.
50“ ‘And I have come to confirm
the Torah that came before me,
and to make lawful part of what
was forbidden to you.
And I have come to you with a sign
from your Lord, so be mindful
of God, and obey me.
51“ ‘God is my Lord
and your Lord,
so worship Him:
this is a straight path.’ ”
52When Jesus sensed some
disbelief among them, he said,
“Who will help me
[in calling people] to God?”
The disciples said,
“We will help in God’s cause.
We believe in God: so bear witness
that we submit to God’s will.”°
53“Our Lord, we believe
in what You have revealed,
and we follow the messenger.
List us, then, among the witnesses.”
54And the unbelievers schemed;
but God also schemed. And God
is the best of schemers.
SECTION 6
55God said, “Jesus, I will take you
back and raise you to My presence.
I will purge you of the company
of disbelievers. On the day
of resurrection, I will place those
who follow you above those
who disbelieve. Then you shall all
return to me and I shall judge
between you on the things
you dispute.
56“As for those who disbelieve,
I shall afflict them with
severe torment in this world
and the hereafter, and they
shall have none to help them.
57“As for those who believe and
do good deeds, God will give them
their full reward; for God
does not love the wrongdoers.
58“In this way, We recite to you,
Prophet, some of the signs—
and the wise reminder.”
59In the sight of God,
Jesus is like Adam;
He created him from dust,
saying to him, “Be”—and he was.
60The truth is from your Lord;
so don’t be one of those who doubt.
61If someone argues with you
after the knowledge given to you,
say to them, “Come, let us call
our sons and your sons,
our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves,
then let us pray earnestly
and invoke the curse of God
upon those who lie.”°
62—This is the true narrative.
There is no god but the One God,
and God is Almighty, All Wise.
63If they then turn away,
God Knows all about
those who wreak mischief.
SECTION 7
64Say, “People of the Book, come,
let there be a common word
between us and you—that we
worship none but the One God,
and associate none with Him,
and not take one another
as lords—only God.”
And if they turn away, say,
“Bear witness that we
submit to God’s will.”
65People of the Book,
why do you dispute about Abraham,
when the Torah and the Gospel
were not revealed until after him?
Will you not use reason?
66You are the ones who argued
over things you knew,
so why do you argue now
over things you don’t know?
God knows—and you do not.
67Abraham was not a Jew
nor a Christian; rather,
he believed only in the One God,
submitting to God’s will,°
not one of those who
join other gods with God.
68The nearest among people to
Abraham are those who follow him,
this messenger, and believers.
And God is the Protector
of those who believe.
69A group of the people of the Book
wish to misguide you, but they
misguide only themselves,
though