they don’t realize it.
70People of the Book, why do you
deny the signs of God, when you
yourselves are witness to their truth?°
71People of the Book, why do you
confound truth with falsehood, and
hide the truth, when you know it?
SECTION 8
72A group of the people of the Book
say, “Believe in what was revealed
to the believers at the beginning
of the day, then reject it at the end
of the day; perhaps the believers
too will turn back.”
73[And they say,] “Believe only those
who follow your religion.”
Tell them, Prophet, “All guidance
is guidance from God.” [They say,
“Don’t believe] that
anyone can be given
what you have been given,
or dispute with you
before your Lord.”
Say, “All grace is in God’s hand;
He gives it to whom He will.
For God is Expansive,
All Knowing.”
74He chooses whom He will
for His mercy—
God’s grace is great.
75Among the people of the Book
are some who, if you entrust them
with a great treasure, they’ll return it;
and others, if you entrust them
with one dinar,° won’t return it unless
you stand watching over them,
for they say, “We have no obligation
to the gentiles.”
But they lie about God—
and they know it.
76Yes—God loves those
who fulfill their pledge
and are mindful of Him,
77but those who sell their pledge
to God and their oaths
for a paltry price shall have
no share in the hereafter;
God shall not speak to them,
nor look at them
on the day of resurrection,
nor shall He purify them.
And they shall face
painful torment.
78Among them is a group who
distort the Book with their speech,
so you might think it is from
the Book, but it is not;
they say it is from God, but it is not;
for they speak a lie about God,
and they know it.
79No person to whom God
had given the Book, and wisdom,
and prophethood, would say
to the people,
“Worship me, instead of God.”
Rather, he would say,
“Be one of the learned,°
for you have taught the Book,
as you have studied it.”
80Nor would he command you
to take angels and prophets as lords.
Would he command you to disbelief
after you have submitted
to God’s will?
SECTION 9
81God took a pledge
from the prophets, saying,
“If a prophet comes to you,
confirming what I have given you
of the Book and of wisdom,
you must believe in him
and you must support him.
Do you accept and affirm this,
my covenant?”
They responded, “We affirm it.”
He declared, “Then bear witness,
and I too shall be a witness.”
82If any turn away after this,
they are transgressors.
83Do they seek something other
than the religion of God?
For all in the heavens and on earth
submit to Him, willing or unwilling;
they shall be brought back to Him.
84Say, “We believe in God,
what has been revealed to us,
and what was revealed to Abraham,
Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes;
and what was given to Moses, Jesus,
and the prophets, from their Lord.
We make no distinction
among any of them, and to Him
we submit our will.”
85If anyone seeks a religion other
than submission to God, it shall
never be accepted of them; and
in the hereafter they shall be
among those in loss.
86How will God guide a people
who disbelieve after having faith,
who witnessed
that the messenger is true—
and clear proofs had come to them?
God does not guide
a people who do wrong.
87Their recompense will be
the curse of God, the angels,
and all humankind.
88There they shall stay forever—
their torment shall not be lightened
nor shall they find respite,
89except those who repent,
after this, and amend themselves;
for God is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
90As for those who disbelieve
after having faith, and increase
their disbelief, their repentance
shall never be accepted, for they
have gone far astray.
91As for those who disbelieve
and die as disbelievers, even though
they offered as ransom enough gold
to fill the earth, it would never
be accepted of any of them.
They shall face painful torment,
with none to help them.
SECTION 10
92You shall never attain
righteousness unless you give
freely from what you love; and God
Knows fully what you give.
93All food was lawful
for the Children of Israel except
for what Israel° forbade himself
before the Torah was revealed.
Say, “Bring the Torah and
recite it, if you speak the truth.”
94Those who invent a falsehood
about God, after this, do wrong.
95Say, “God has declared the truth,
so follow the creed of Abraham,
who was pure in faith,
never a polytheist.”
96The first House of worship
founded for people
was the one at Mecca°—blessed,
a guide for humankind.
97In it are clear signs, as in the
place where Abraham stood to pray;
whoever enters it will be safe.
Pilgrimage to the House is a duty
to God—for all those
able to undertake the journey.
Those who disbelieve should know
that God is Self-Sufficient,
beyond need of His creatures.
98Say, “People of the Book,
why do you deny the signs of God
when God Himself is Witness
to whatever you do?”
99Say, “People of the Book,
why do you bar believers
from the path of God, seeking
to make it crooked, when you
yourselves are witness to the truth?
And know that God is not
heedless of what you do.”
100You who believe, if you
heed them, a group of those
who were given the Book
would turn you back
into disbelievers—
after you had believed.
101And how can you disbelieve
when the signs of God have been
recited to you, and His messenger
is among you?
Whoever holds fast to God
shall be guided to a straight path.
SECTION 11
102You who believe,
be mindful of God, as is His due,
and do not die without
submitting to His will.
103Hold fast to the rope of God,
all together, and don’t be divided.
Remember God’s favor to you,
when you were enemies:
He brought your hearts together,
and you became brothers,
by His favor. Even when you were
on the brink of a pit of fire,
He delivered you from it.
In this way, God makes clear to you
His signs, that you might be guided.
104You should be a community
who invite others to what is good,
enjoining what is right,
and forbidding what is wrong—
these are the people who flourish.
105And don’t be like those
who are divided, and dispute
after clear signs have come to them,
for they shall face great torment.
106On the day when some faces
brighten and others darken, those
with darkened faces shall be asked,
“How could you deny the truth,
after having believed? Taste, then,
the torment for disbelieving.”
107But those with brightened faces
shall live in God’s mercy—forever.
108These are the signs of God;
We recite them to you, Prophet—
the truth—for God desires
no injustice for His creatures.
109To God belongs
all that is in the heavens
and all that is on the earth—
to God all things shall return.
SECTION 12
110You are the finest community
raised for humankind; you enjoin
what is right, forbid what is wrong,
and you believe in God.
Had the people of the Book believed,
it would have been better for them.
Among them are true believers
but most of them are transgressors.
111They can never harm you,
beyond a minor slight. Even if they
fight you, they will soon turn
their backs to you, fleeing;
then they shall find no help.
112Shame shall fall upon them
wherever they are found—unless
they hold fast to a rope from God
and a rope from humankind.°
They bring down on themselves
the wrath of God, and indigence
shall fall upon them—because
they disbelieved in the signs of God,
killing prophets unjustly—because
they disobeyed, always transgressing.°
113Not all of them are alike:
among the people of the Book
are some who are upright,
who recite the verses°
of God during the hours of night
and prostrate themselves.
114They believe in God
and the last day;
they enjoin what is right,
and forbid what is wrong;
and they hasten to do good works;
they are among the righteous.
115None of the good they do
will be rejected, for God well Knows
those who are mindful of Him.
116As for those who disbelieve,
neither their wealth nor children
will help them in any way
against God; they shall be
inmates of the fire—forever.
117The parable of what they spend
in this worldly life is that of a wind
which brings a biting frost;
it strikes the harvest of a people
who have wronged themselves
then destroys it. It is not God
who wrongs them, but they
who wrong themselves.
118You who believe,
don’t be close to outsiders
who will spare you no ruin,
and wish only to see you suffer.
Hatred seethes from their mouths,
but what lies hidden in their hearts
is worse. We have made the signs
clear to you, if you use reason.
119See, you love them—
but they don’t love you.
You believe in the Book, all of it.
When they meet you, they say,
“We believe,” but when alone,
they gnaw at their fingertips,
raging at you. Say, “Perish
in your fury—God Knows
what is in your hearts.”
120If something good comes
your way, it grieves them, and
if any misfortune strikes you,
they rejoice in it. But if you are
patient and mindful of God,
their scheming can’t harm you at all.
God Encompasses all that they do.
SECTION 13
121Prophet, remember when
you left your household early
to assign the believers their
battle positions?° God
is All Hearing, All Knowing.
122Remember when two groups
of you began to lose heart? But God
was their ally. So let the believers
put their trust in God.
123God helped you at the Battle of Badr
when you were but a weak force;
be mindful, then, of God,
that you might be thankful.
124Remember when you said
to the believers, “Is it not enough
that your Lord reinforced you with
three thousand descending angels?
125“Yes—if you remain patient
and mindful of God, even if
the enemy falls upon you suddenly,
your Lord will reinforce you with
five thousand assigned angels.”°
126God made it only a message
of hope for you, to reassure
your hearts—there is no help
except from God,
the Almighty, the Wise—
127that He might cut off the flanks
of the unbelievers’ forces, and
frustrate them, so that they would
turn back, hopeless.
128It is not for you [Prophet,
but for God] to decide
whether He turns to them,
relenting, or punishes them—
they are wrongdoers.
129To God belongs
all that is in the heavens
and all that is on the earth.
He forgives whom He will
and punishes whom He will;
God is Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
SECTION 14
130You who believe, do not devour
interest from usury, doubled and
multiplied; but be mindful of God
that you might flourish.
131Be fearful of the fire, prepared
for those who disbelieve;
132obey God and His messenger
that you may obtain mercy.
133And hasten to forgiveness
from your Lord and a garden
whose expanse spans the heavens
and the earth, prepared
for those mindful of God,
134those who give freely
in both prosperity and adversity,
who restrain their anger, and
pardon others. For God loves
those who do good,
135and those who, after committing
indecency or wronging themselves,
remember God and seek forgiveness
for their sins—who forgives sins
except God?—and don’t persist
knowingly in doing wrong.
136Theirs shall be a reward
of forgiveness from their Lord,
and gardens with rivers flowing
beneath, abiding there forever.
How excellent is