1. Alif Lam Mim Sad. Allah knows best what these letters mean.

2. It (this) is a Book sent down to you – addressed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so let there be no constriction in your breast because of it (when you convey it) out of the fear that it will be denied – so that you can give warning by it and as a reminder to the believers.

3. Say to them: Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord (the Quran) and do not adopt and follow any protectors apart from Him, o b eying them in disobedience to Allah. How little you remember (read as tadhakkaruna, yatadhakkaruna and tadhd-hakkaruna) and take note.

4. How many cities – meaning their inhabitants – We have destroyed! When We wanted to destroy them, Our violent force (punishment) came down on them during the night, or while they were asleep during the day: having a rest in the middle of the day, even if they were not asleep; in other words, it sometimes comes at night and sometimes in the day.

5. And their only utterance, when Our violent force came down on them, was the cry: “Truly we have been wrongdoers!”

6. We will question those to whom the Messengers were sent –every nation will be asked about how they answered the Messengers and acted on what he conveyed to them – and We will question the Messengers about whether they conveyed the Message.

7. We will tell them about it with knowledge. We are never absent from Our Messengers as they convey the Message or from past nations in respect of their actions.

8. The weighing of actions – or the pages on which they are recorded in the balance which has a pointer and two scales, as is reported in hadith – that day (the Day of Questioning) is the truth and justice. This takes place on the Day of Rising. As for those whose scales are heavy with good actions, they are the successful.

9. As for those whose scales are light through wrong actions, they are the ones who have lost their own selves and will go to the Fire because they wrongfully rejected Our Signs.

10. We have established you, children of ◊dam, firmly on the earth and granted you your livelihood in it. What little thanks you show for that.

11. We created you in the form of your ancestor Adam and then formed you while you were still in his loins, and then We said to the angels, “Prostrate to ◊dam,” with the obeisance of greeting, and they prostrated – except for Iblis, the progenitor of the jinn who was among the angels. He was not among the prostrators.

12. He (Allah) asked, “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you to?” He replied, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and You created him from clay.”

13. He said, “Descend from Heaven – from the Garden or from the heavens. It is not for you to be arrogant in it. So get out of it! You are one of the abased.”

14. He said, “Grant me a reprieve until the day they (mankind) are raised up.”

15. He said, “You are one of the reprieved.” Another ayahs has “reprieved until the Day whose time is known,” (15:38) meaning the first blast of the Trumpet by Israfil.

16. He said, “By Your misguidance of me – because You have misled me – I will lie in ambush for them (the children of Adam) on your Straight Path, the Path which leads to You.

17. Then I will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left – in other words, from every direction – and I will prevent them from going on the path. Ibn ‘Abbas said that Iblis was prevented from coming at them from above so that nothing could come between Allah’s slave and His mercy. You will not find most of them to be thankful believers.”

18. He said, “Get out of it, reviled and driven out far from Allah’s mercy. As for those of them (mankind) who follow you, I will fill up Hell with every one of you – with your descendants and with mankind.” There is a change in the person addressed. This sentence shows that this outcome is conditional, that Allah will punish who-ever follows Shaytan.

19. He said, “Adam, live in the Garden, you and your wife (Hawwa’) – the pronoun “you” is stressed here by being repeated –and eat of it wheresoever’s you like. But do not go near this tree and eat from it – and it was wheat – lest you become wrongdoers.”

20. Then Shaytan (Iblis) whispered to them, disclosing to them their private parts that were concealed from them. He said, “Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest – because He did not want that – you both become angels (an alternative reading for malakayn, “angels” is malikayn, which means “kings”) or among those who live forever – meaning that eating from it would result in immortality for them.” Another ayat states: “Shall I show you the way to the Tree of Everlasting Life and to a kingdom which will never fade away?” (20:120)

21. He swore to them by Allah, “I am one of those who give you good advice.”

22. So he enticed them to do it and brought them down from their high place by means of trickery. Then when they tasted the tree and ate from it, their private parts were disclosed to them so that it was clear to each of them that they had genitals. (The private parts are called saw’ah, from a root meaning “bad”, because uncovering them harms the person who does it) and they started stitching together the leaves of the Garden in order to cover themselves with the leave s. Their Lord called out to them, “Did I not forbid you this tree and tell you, ‘Shaytan is your clear-cut enemy’?” The enmity of Shaytan is clear. The question expects an affirmative answer.

23. They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves by our disobedience. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be among the lost.”

24. He said, “Descend, Adam and Hawwa’, – including them and all their descendants – as enemies – referring to their descendants – to one another! You will have residence on the earth and enjoyment for a time: your life span.”

25. He said, “On it (the earth) you will live and on it die and from it you will be brought forth at the Resurrection.”

26. Children of Adam! We have sent down clothing to you which We created for you to conceal your private parts, and fine apparel, beautiful clothes, and the garment of godfearing, righteous actions and good behaviour that is best! That is one of Allah’s Signs of His power, so that perhaps you will pay heed and remember.

27. Children of Adam! Do not let Shaytan mislead you and tempt you into trouble – in other words, do not follow him so that you are tempted – as He expelled your parents through temptation from the Garden, stripping them of their covering and disclosing to them their private parts. He (Shaytan) and his tribe (his armies) see you from where you do not see them because their bodies are subtle or because they are transparent. We have made the shaytans friends (helpers and comrades) of those who do not believe.

28. Whenever they commit an indecent act, such as worshipping idols and doing Tawaf of the Ka‘ba naked, saying, “We do not do tawaf wearing clothes. We disobey Allah regarding that,” and they were forbidden to do that,” they say, “We found our fathers doing it and we are imitating them and Allah commanded us to do it too.” Say to them: “Allah does not command indecency. Do you say about Allah what you do not know that He said?” The question is an objection.

29. Say: “My Lord has commanded justice. Stand and face Him in every mosque, prostrating sincerely, and call on Him (worship Him) making your din sincerely His and freeing it from any shirk. As He originated you and created you when you were nothing, so you will return and come back to life in the Resurrection.”

30. One group of you He guided; but another group got the misguidance they deserved. They took the shaytans as friends instead of Allah and thought that they were guided.

31. Children of Adam! Wear fine clothing which will cover your private parts in every mosque in the prayer and for tawaf and eat and drink what you like but do not be profligate. He does not love the profligate.

32. Say to refute them: “Who has forbidden the fine clothing provided by Allah and the good enjoyable kinds of provision He has produced for His slaves?” Say: “On the Day of Rising such things will be exclusively an entitlement for those who believed during the life of this world.” Thus do We mark out the Signs and make them clear for people who know and reflect and thereby benefit from them.

33. Say: “My Lord has forbidden indecency – major wrong actions like fornication – both open and secret, and wrong action (disobedience) and wrongful tyranny towards people, which is injustice, and associating anything with Allah for which He has sent down no authority or evidence, and saying about Allah what you do not know by making unlawful what is not unlawful and other such things.”

34. Every nation has an appointed period of time. When their time comes, they cannot delay it a single hour or bring it forward.

35. Children of Adam! If Messengers come to you from among you, recounting My Signs to you, those who are godfearing and fear shirk and put things right by righteous action will feel no fear and know no sorrow in the Next World.

36. But as for those who reject Our Signs and are arrogant regarding them and do not believe in them, they are the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, forever.

37. Who (no one) could do greater wrong than someone who invents lies against Allah by ascribing a partner and child to Him, or denies His Signs (the Qur’an)? Such people’s portion of the Book – that which is written on the Preserved Tablet concerning their provision, their lifespan and other such things – will catch up with them so that when Our messengers (the angels) come to them to take them in death, saying in rebuke, “Where are those you called upon and worshipped besides Allah?” they will say, “They have forsaken us and vanished,” testifying against themselves when they die that they were unbelievers.

38. On the Day of Rising He (Allah) will say, “Enter into the Fire together with the nations of jinn and men who have passed away before you.” Each time a nation enters the Fire, it will curse its sister nation before it which had misled it until, when they are all gathered together in it and meet one another, the last of them who followed the earlier peoples will say to the first of them who were followed “Our Lord, those are the ones who misguided us, so give them a double punishment in the Fire.” He (Allah) will say, “Each will have double punishment; but you do not know (read as ta‘lamuna and ya‘lamuna, “they will not know”).” Neither group knows.

39. The first of them will say to the last of them, “You are in no way superior to us because you disbelieved on account of us, so you and us are the same.” Allah will say to them: “So tastes the punishment for what you earned.”

40. As for those who deny Our Signs and are arrogant regarding them and do not believe in them, the Gates of Heaven will not be opened for them when they ascend with their spirits after death and they will fall into Sijjin, whereas they will be opened for the believers and they will ascend with their spirits to the seventh heaven, as reported in hadith; and they will not enter the Garden until a camel goes through a needle’s eye. Since that is not possible, it means that their entering the Garden is equally impossible. That is how We repay the evil-doers for their unbelief.

41. They will have Hell as a resting-place and covering layers of fire on top of them. That is how We repay the wrongdoers.

42. As for those who believe and do right actions – We charge no self beyond what it can bear: its capacity in respect of action. This is an interpolation – they are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, forever.

43. We will strip away all rancour in their breasts – all the malice between them in this world. Rivers will flow under them – under their palaces – and they will say when they are settled in their dwellings there, “Praise be to Allah who has guided us to this action which had this reward! We would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us. The Messengers of our Lord came with the Truth.” It will be proclaimed to them: “This is your Garden which you have inherited for what you did.”

44. The Companions of the Garden will call out to the Companions of the Fire in confirmation or rebuke, “We have found what (the reward) our Lord promised us to be true. Have you found what (the punishment) your Lord promised you to be true?” They will say, “Yes!” Between them (the two groups) a herald will proclaim: “May the curse of Allah be on the wrongdoers…

45. …those who bar people access to the Way of Allah (the din) desiring to make it (the Path) crooked, and reject the Next World.”

46. There will be a dividing wall – a barrier, said to be the wall of the Ramparts (al-A‘raf), after which the sura is named – between them (the people of the Garden and the Fire), and on the ramparts (the wall of the Garden) there will be men whose good actions and evil actions are equally balanced, as mentioned in hadith, and who recognise everyone (the people of the Garden and the Fire) by their mark, which will be the brightness of the faces of the believers and the darkness of those of the unbelievers when they see them from a high place. They will call out to the people of the Garden: “Peace be upon you!” Allah says: They (the People on the Ramparts) will not enter it (the Garden) despite their ardent desire to do so. Al -hakim related that Hudhayfa said, “That is how it will be when your Lord looks on them. He will say, “Get up and enter the Garden. I have forgiven you.”

47. When they (the People on the Ramparts) turn their eyes towards the Companions of the Fire, they will say, “Our Lord, do not place us in the Fire with the people of the wrongdoers!”

48. The Companions of the Ramparts will call out to men they recognise by their mark – men who are among the people of the Fire – saying, “What you amassed of wealth or its abundance was of no use to you against the Fire, nor was your arrogance about faith. They will then say to them, pointing at the weak Muslims:

49. Are these the people you swore that Allah’s mercy would never reach?” It will be said to those Muslims, “Enter the Garden. You will feel no fear and know no sorrow.”

50. The Companions of the Fire will call out to the Companions of the Garden, “Pour down some water to us, or some of what Allah has given you as provision to eat.” They will say, “Allah has forbidden both of them to the unbelievers:

51. those who took their din as a diversion and a game, and were deluded by the life of this world.” Today We will forget them and leave them in the Fire just as they forgot the encounter of this Day by failing to act for it, and refuted Our Signs and denied them.

52. We have brought them (the people of Makka) a Book (the Quran), elucidating everything with knowledge – making things clear in terms of information, warning and promises – as a guidance and a mercy for people who believe in it.

53. What are they waiting for but its fulfilment – the actualisation of what it contains? The Day (the Day of Rising) its fulfilment occurs, those who forgot it before and neglected belief will say, “The Messengers of our Lord came with the Truth. Are there any intercessors to intercede for us, or can we be sent back to the world, so that we may do something other than what we did, by affirming Allah’s unity and abandoning idolatry?” They will be told, “No, you cannot.” Allah Almighty says: They have lost their own selves since they have gone to destruction and what they fabricated – the partners with Allah they claimed to exist – has forsaken them.

54. Your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days – referring to the length of time involved, because days as we know them did not yet exist. Then Allah created the sun. If Allah had so willed, He could have created everything in a moment; but He did not do that, in order to instruct His creation to do things step by step – and then settled Himself firmly on the Throne. (Throne (‘arsh) linguistically means the seat on which a King sits. To “settle on” (istawa’) means “to come into contact with :) He covers (read as yughshi and yughashsha) the day with the night – each covering the other – each pursuing the other urgently – each seeking the other, and the sun and moon and stars are subservient to His command and power. Truly both all creation and the entire command belong to Him. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

55. Call on your Lord humbly and secretly. He does not love those who overstep the limits by making supplication with affectation and raising their voices.

56. Do not corrupt the earth by acts of disobedience and idolatry after it has been put right after the Messengers have been sent. Call on Him fearfully, fearing His punishment, and eagerly, desiring His mercy. Allah’s mercy is close to the good-doers those who obey Him.

57. It He is who sends out the winds, bringing advance news (read here as bushran. Other readings have nushran, nashran, and nushu -ran, all of which have a meaning of spreading) of His mercy, separately, ahead of the rain, so that when they (the winds) have lifted up the heavy clouds – heavy with rain – We dispatch them (the clouds) to a dead land with no plants growing in it, in order to bring it to life, and send down water to it (the land), by means of which (water) We bring forth all kinds of fruit. In the same way We will bring forth the dead from their graves at the Resurrection, so that perhaps you may pay heed and believe.

58. Good land (fertile soil) gives forth its good plants by the permission of its Lord – a metaphor for a believer who hears the warning and benefits by it – but that (land) which is bad only gives forth plants meagrely, with great difficulty: a metaphor for an unbeliever. Thus – in the same way that We have made this clear – do We vary and make clear the Signs for a people who are thankful to Allah and believe.

59. We sent Nuh to his people and he said, ‘My people, worship Allah! You have no other god than Him. If you worship other than Him, I fear for you the punishment of a dreadful Day (the Day of Rising).’

60. The ruling circle of his people (the nobles) said, ‘We see you in flagrant clear error.’

61. He said, ‘My people, I am not in error at all (the word ∂al la is more general than the usual word dalal, and so it is an even more emphatic denial) but rather am a Messenger from the Lord of all the worlds…

6 2. …transmitting (read as uballighukum and ublighukum) my Lord’s Message to you and giving you good counsel – desiring good for you – and I know from Allah what you do not know.

63. Or do you deny and are you astonished that a reminder a n d admonition should come to you from your Lord by way of the tongue of a man among you, to warn you about the punishment if you do not believe and make you have taqwa of Allah, so that perhaps you may gain mercy by that?’

64. But they denied him so We rescued him and those with him from drowning in the Ark. And We drowned the people who denied Our Signs by means of the Flood. They were a blind people – blind to the truth.

65. And to ‘Ad We sent their brother Hud, who said, ‘My people, worship Allah and affirm His unity! You have no other god than Him. So will you not be godfearing and believe?’

66. The ruling circle of those of his people who were unbelievers said, ‘We consider you a fool and to be ignorant and think you are a liar in respect of your message.’

67. He said, ‘My people, I am by no means a fool, but rather am a Messenger from the Lord of all the worlds…

68. …transmitting my Lord’s Message to you, and I am a faithful counsellor to you, entrusted with this Message to you.

69. Or are you astonished that a reminder should come to you from your Lord by way of the tongue of a man among you in order to warn you? Remember when He appointed you successors in the earth to the people of Nuh, and increased you greatly in stature – in respect of both strength and height. The tallest of them was a hundred cubits and the shortest was sixty cubits. Remember Allah’s blessings, so that perhaps you will be successful.’

7 0. They said, ‘Have you come to us to make us worship Allah alone and abandon what our fathers used to worship? Then bring us what (the punishment) you have promised us if you are telling the truth.’

71. He said, ‘Punishment and anger are inevitable and have come d own on you from your Lord. Do you argue with me regarding names which you and your forefathers invented – a reference to the idols which they worship – and for which Allah has sent down no authority or evidence? Wait, then, for the punishment; I am waiting with you for it because of your denial of me.’ So the barren wind was released against them.

72. Then We rescued him (Hud) and those believers with him by mercy from Us, and We cut off the last remnant of the people of those who denied Our Signs and were not believers and We eradicated them.

73. And to the tribe of Thamud We sent their brother Salih who said, ‘My people, worship Allah! You have no other god than Him. A Clear Sign (miracle) has come to you from your Lord which indicates my truthfulness. This is the She-Camel of Allah as a Sign for you, they asked him to produce a camel out of a rock: which they saw with their own eyes. Leave her alone to eat on Allah’s earth and do not harm her in any way by hamstringing or striking her or a painful punishment will afflict you.

74. Remember when He appointed you successors in the earth t o ‘Ad and settled you in the land. You built palaces on its plains in which you lived in the summer and carved out houses from the mountains in which you lived in the winter. Remember Allah’s blessings and do not go about the earth, corrupting it.’

75. The ruling circle of those of his people who were too arrogant to believe said to those of his people who were oppressed – those among them who had believed – ‘Do you know that Salih has been sent to you from his Lord?’ They said, ‘We believe in what he has been sent with.’

76. Those who were arrogant said, ‘We reject Him in whom you believe.’

77. The She-Camel and they had alternate days at the water. They became fed up with that and they hamstrung the She-camel –Quddur killed it at their command by slaughtering it with a sword spurning their Lord’s command, and said, Salih! Bring us what (the punishment for killing it) you have promised us if you are one of the Messengers.’

78. So the earthquake – the word used, rajfa, means a strong earth-quake accompanied by a Shout from heaven – seized them and morning found them dead, lying flattened in their homes.

79. He Salih turned away from them and said, ‘My people, I transmitted my Lord’s message to you and gave you good counsel. Yet you do not like good counsellors!’

80. And remember Lut, when he said to his people, ‘Do you commit an obscenity (sodomy with men) not perpetrated before you by anyone in all the worlds – either among jinn or men?

81. You (prefaced by innakum in one reading and a-innakum in another, the latter turning the statement into a question) come with lust to men instead of women. You are indeed a depraved people, going beyond the lawful into the unlawful.’

82. The only answer of his people was to say, ‘Expel them (Lut and his followers) from your city! They are people who keep themselves pure from the practice of sodomy!’

83. So We rescued him and his family – except for his wife. She was one of those who stayed behind for the punishment.

84. We rained down a rain of baked stones upon them w h i c h destroyed them. See the final fate of the evildoers!

85. And to Madyan We sent their brother Shu‘ayb, who said, ‘My people, worship Allah! You have no other god than Him. A Clear Sign – a miracle showing his truthfulness – has come to you from your Lord. Give full measure and full weight. Do not diminish people’s goods. Do not cause corruption in the land by disbelief and acts of disobedience after it has been put right by the sending of the previous Messengers. That is better for you, if you are believers, so become believers immediately.

86. Do not lie in wait on every pathway, threatening people – terrorising people by stealing their clothing and taxing them – barring those who believe from the Way of Allah, turning people away from the din by threatening to kill them, desiring to make it (the Path) crooked. Remember when you were few and He increased your number: see the final fate of the corrupters! See how the corrupters denied their Messengers, and their final fate was that they were utterly destroyed.

87. There is a group of you who believe in what I have been sent with and a group who do not, so be steadfast until Allah judges between us by upholding the truth and destroying falsehood. He is the best and most just of judges.’

88. The ruling circle of those of his people who were too arrogant to believe said, ‘We will drive you out of our city, Shu‘ayb, you and those who believe along with you, unless you return to our religion.’ He said, ‘What, even though we detest it? His question implies denial.

89. We would be inventing lies against Allah if we returned to your religion after Allah has saved us from it. We could never return to it unless Allah our Lord so willed to make us fa i l. Our Lord encompasses everything in His knowledge – including His state and their state. We have put our trust in Allah. Our Lord, judge between us and our people with truth. You are the best of judges.’

90. The ruling circle of those of his people who disbelieved said to one another, ‘If you follow Shu‘ayb, you will definitely be lost.’

91. So the strong earthquake seized them and morning found them dead, lying flattened in their homes.

92. As for those who denied Shu‘ayb, it was as if they had never lived there. It was the people who denied Shu‘ayb who were the lost. The repetition is intended to add emphasis to the statement.

93. So he turned away from them and said, ‘My people, I transmitted My Lord’s message to you and gave you good counsel but you did not believe. Why should I grieve for a people of unbelievers?’” The question implies a negative answer.

94. We have never sent a Prophet to any city without seizing and punishing its people – when they then denied him – with hardship (extreme poverty) and distress, (illness) so that perhaps they would be humble and believe.

95. Then We gave them good in exchange for evil (punishment) until they increased in number, wealth and health, and said, i n ingratitude for blessings they had receive d, ‘Our forefathers too underwent both hardship and ease in the same way as we have done. This is the mere vicissitudes of time and not punishment from Allah, so continue as you are.’ Allah said: Then We seized them suddenly with the punishment when they were not expecting it.

96. If only the people of the cities who denied had believed in Allah and His Messenger and been godfearing and feared unbelief and rebellion against Allah, We would have opened up (read as fatahan and fattahan) to them blessings from heave n, in the form of rain, and earth, in the form of plants. But they denied the truth (the Messengers), so We seized them and punished them for what they earned.

97. Do the people of the cities who deny feel secure against Our violent force (punishment) coming down on them in the night while they are asleep and heedless?

98. Or do the people of the cities feel secure against Our violent force coming down on them in the day while they are playing games?

99. Do they feel secure against Allah’s devising: His drawing them on by granting them blessings and then seizing them suddenly? No one feels secure against Allah’s devising except for those who are lost.

100. Is it not clear to those who have inherited the earth to dwell on it after these people that, if We wanted to, We could strike them with the punishment for their wrong actions, as We punished those before them, sealing up their hearts so that they cannot hear t h e warning and reflect?

101. These cities which We mentioned – We have given you, Muhammad, news of them (their inhabitants). Their Messengers came to them with Clear Signs (evident miracles) but when they came to them, they were never going to believe in what they had previously disbelieved. They would remain with their unbelief. That is how Allah seals up the hearts of the disbelievers.

102. We did not find many of them (mankind) worthy of fulfilling their contract which they agreed to on the day the contract with them was made (see below 7:172). We found most of them deviators.

103. And then, after them (the Messengers mentioned) We sent Musa with Our nine Signs to Pharaoh and his ruling circle (his nobles) but they wrongfully rejected them. See the final fate of the corrupters, which was utter destruction on account of their unbelief!

104. Musa said, ‘Pharaoh! I am truly a Messenger to you from the Lord of all the worlds – but he rejected him, saying, “I am your Lord” –

105. …duty bound (read as ‘al and ‘alayya) to say nothing about Allah except the truth. I have come to you with a Clear Sign from your Lord. So send the tribe of Israel away with me to Syria.’ Pharaoh had enslaved them.

106. He (Pharaoh) said, ‘If you have come with a Clear Sign to sup-port your claim, produce it if you are telling the truth about it.’

107. So he threw down his staff and there it was, unmistakably a large snake.

108. And he drew out his hand from his pocket and there it was, radiant pure white – differing from his normal dark skin colour – to those who looked.

109. The ruling circle of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘This is certainly a skilled magician, an expert in magic. In Sura ash-Shu‘ar ’, we find Pharaoh saying this himself (26:34). So it is as if he were saying it to those around them for the sake of consultation.

110. …who desires to expel you from your land, so what do you recommend?’

111. They said, ‘Detain him and his brother – give the command for that to be done – and send out marshals to the cities…

112. …to bring you all the skilled magicians (read as sahir and sahhar).’ He wanted to summon those magicians with superior skill to that of Musa.

113. The magicians came to Pharaoh and they asked, ‘Will we receive a reward if we are the winners?’

114. He said, ‘Yes, and you will be among those brought near.’

115. They said, ‘Musa, will you throw your staff first or shall we be the ones to throw what we have?’

116. He said, ‘You throw.’ Musa’s command is permission for them to throw first. And when they threw their ropes and staffs, they cast a spell on the people’s eyes to divert them from the truth of what they saw and caused them to feel great fear of them which made them imagine that they were crawling snake s. They produced an extremely powerful magic.

117. We revealed to Musa, ‘Throw down your staff.’ And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged.

118. So the Truth took place and was confirmed and made manifest and what (the magic) they did was shown to be false.

119. They (Pharaoh and his people) were defeated then and there, transformed into humbled men.

120. The magicians threw themselves down in prostration.

121. They said, ‘We believe in the Lord of all the worlds…

122. …the Lord of Musa and Harun.’ They said this because they knew that what they had witnessed the staff doing was not brought about by magic.

123. Pharaoh said, ‘Have you believed in him (Musa) before I authorised you to do so? This which you have done is just some plot you have concocted in the city to drive its people from it.

124. I will cut off your opposite hands and feet – right hand and left foot – and then I will crucify every one of you.’

125. They said, ‘We are returning to our Lord after our death, no matter how it occurs, in the Next World.

126. You are only avenging yourself on us and hostile towards us because we believed in our Lord’s Signs when they came to us. Our Lord, pour down steadfastness upon us when Pharaoh does what he has threatened to do to us, so that we do not revert to unbelief; and take us back to You as Muslims.’

127. The ruling circle of Pharaoh’s people said to him, ‘Are you going to leave Musa and his people to cause corruption in the earth by calling on people to oppose you and abandon you and your gods?’ They had small idols which they worshipped. Pharaoh said, “I am your god and their (the idols’) god,” when he said, “I am your Lord most high.” (79:24) He said, ‘We shall kill (read as sanuqattilu and sa-naqtulu) their sons and let their women live as we did to them before. We have absolute power over them!’ They did that to them and the tribe of Israel complained.

128. Musa told his people, ‘Seek help in Allah and be steadfast in the face of their oppression. The earth belongs to Allah. He bequeaths it and gives it to any of His slaves He wills. The successful outcome is for those who are godfearing – who fear Allah.’

129. They said, ‘We suffered harm before you came to us and after you came to us.’ He said, ‘It may well be that your Lord is going to destroy your enemy and make you the successors in the land so that He can see how you behave in it.’

130. We seized Pharaoh’s people with years of drought and scarcity of fruits so that hopefully they would pay heeds – be warned and believe.

131. Whenever a good thing (fertility or wealth) came to them, they said, ‘This is our due and we are entitled to it,’ and they were not thankful for it. But if anything bad happened to them (drought or affliction) they would blame their ill fortune on Musa and those with him (the believers). No indeed! Their ill fortune will be with Allah and He will bring it to them. But most of them did not know that what befalls them comes from Allah alone.

132. They said to Musa, ‘No matter what kind of Sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe in you.’ So he made supplication against them.

133. So We sent down on them floods, which entered their houses and submerged those sitting down up to the neck for seven days, locusts, which ate up all of their crops and fruits, lice or wood-worms, which followed up on what the locusts had left, frogs, which filled their houses and got into their food, and blood in the water: Signs, clear and distinct. But they proved too arrogant t o believe and were an evildoing people.

134. Whenever the plague (punishment) came down on them they said, ‘Musa, pray to your Lord for us by the contract He has with you to remove the punishment from us if we believe. If you remove the plague from us, we will definitely believe in you and send the tribe of Israel away with you.’

135. But when We removed the plague from them by the supplication of Musa – for a fixed term which they fulfilled – they broke their word: they reneged on their covenant and reverted to their previous unbelief.

136. Then We took revenge on them and drowned them in the salt sea because they denied Our Signs and paid no attention to them and did not reflect on them.

137. And We bequeathed to the people (the tribe of Israel) who had been oppressed by being enslaved the easternmost part of the land We had blessed with water and tree – which describes the land of greater Syria – and its westernmost part as well. The most excellent Word of your Lord – said to refer to His words, “We desired to show kindness to those who were oppressed in the land…” (28:5) – was fulfilled for the tribe of Israel on account of their steadfastness by the destruction of their enemies. And We utterly destroyed what Pharaoh and his people made flourish and the buildings they constructed (read as ya‘rishuna and ya‘rushuna).

138. We conveyed the tribe of Israel across the sea and they came upon some people who were devoting themselves (read as ya‘kufu -na and ya‘kifuna) to some idols which they had which they had set up to worship. They said, ‘Musa, give us a god (an idol to worship) just as these people have gods.’ He said, ‘You are indeed an ignorant people for countering Allah’s blessing to you with these words.

139. What these people are doing is destined for destruction. What they are doing is purposeless.’

140. He said, ‘Should I seek something other than Allah as a god for you to worship when He has favoured you over all other beings?’ – at that time.

141. Remember when We rescued you (read as anjayn kum and anj kum“He rescued you”) from Pharaoh’s people who we r e inflicting an evil punishment on you – imposing hardship on you and inflicting the worst of punishments on you – killing your sons and letting your women live. In that rescue and that punishment there was a huge trial both in terms of blessing and affliction from your Lord. So you should be admonished and refrain from what you have been saying.

142. We set aside (read as w ‘adn and wa‘adn ) thirty nights for Musa – during which he would fast and after which Allah would speak with him. They constituted the month of Dhu’l-Qa‘da and he fasted them. When he had completed them, he disliked the smell of his mouth and used the siwak to eliminate it, so Allah commanded him to fast another ten so that he could speak to him with the smell of fasting in his mouth as He says here – and then completed them with ten of the month of Dhu’l-Hijja so the appointed time of his Lord when He promised to speak with him was forty nights in all. Musa said to his brother Harun when he left for the mountain to speak with Allah, ‘Be my khalif among my people. Keep their affairs in order and do not follow the way of the corrupters by agreeing with them to commit acts of disobedience.’

143. When Musa came to Our appointed time – the time when it was appointed for Allah to speak to him – and his Lord spoke to him without any intermediary with words that he heard from every direction, he said, ‘My Lord, show me Yourself so that I may look at You!’ He said, ‘You will not be able to see Me – the expression conveys the lack of human ability to see Allah Almighty – but look at the mountain which is physically stronger than you. If it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me: you will be strong enough to see Me. If it does not, it will be clear that you do not have the capacity to do so.’ But when His Lord manifested Himself to the mountain – when the amount of half of a little finger of light appeared to the mountain, as we are told in a hadith which al-Hakim says is sahih – He crushed it flat (read as dakkan and dakk ’a), meaning pulverised and flattened on the earth, and Musa fell unconscious to the ground out of awe at what he had seen. When he regained consciousness he said, ‘Glory be to You! – declaring Allah disconnected from anything else – I turn in repentance to You for asking for what I was not commanded to do and I am the first of the believers in my time!’

144. He (Allah) said to him, ‘Musa, I have chosen you over all mankind – referring to the people of his time – for My Message (read as risalati in the plural and risalatı in the singular) and My Word – My speaking directly to you. Take from My favour what I have given you and be among the thankful for My blessings.’

145. We wrote about everything for him on the Tablets of the Torah, which were made from the lote trees of the Garden or emerald, and there were seven or ten of them, as an admonition and clarifying all things which are needed for the din. ‘Seize hold of it vigorously with strength and striving and command your people to adopt the best in it. I will show you the home of the deviators (Pharaoh and his followers)!’ Their home was Egypt.

146. I will divert from My Signs – the evidence of Allah’s power seen in created things and other manifestations – all those who are arrogant in the earth without any right, and will disappoint them. Even if they see every Sign, they will not believe in it. If they see the way of right guidance – guidance which comes from Allah –they will not take it as a way and follow it. But if they see the way of error and misguidance, they will take that as a wa y. That is because they denied Our Signs and paid no attention to them.

147. As for those who denied Our Signs and the encounter of the Next World (the Resurrection and other things) their actions will come to nothing: the good actions they did in this world, like maintaining ties of kinship and almsgiving, will be void and so they will have no reward for them because they lack the necessary precondition of true belief in Allah. Will they be repaid except for what they did (their denial and acts of disobedience)?

148. After he left – after Musa went to talk with his Lord – Musa’s people adopted a calf made from their ornaments – the jewellery which they had borrowed from the people of Pharaoh for a wedding and kept – a form of flesh and blood made by the Samiri for them which made a lowing sound. The Samiri had taken some dust from the hoof-prints of the horse of Jibril and placed it in the mouth of the calf. It brought it to life when it was placed there. Did they not see that it could not speak to them or guide them to anyway? They adopted it as a god and so they were wrongdoers by doing so.

149. When they took full stock of what they had done, they regret-ted worshipping it and saw and knew that they had been misled by it; and when Musa returned they said, ‘If our Lord does not have mercy on us and forgive us (read as yaghfir and taghfir), we will certainly be among the lost.’

150. When Musa returned to his people in anger towards them and great sorrow, he said to them, ‘What an evil thing you did in my absence after I left by engaging in idolatry! Did you want to hasten your Lord’s command?’ He threw down the Tablets of the Torah in anger for the sake of his Lord, and they broke, and seized hold of his brother’s head – grabbing the hair of his brother’s head with his right hand and his beard with his left – dragging him towards him in anger. Harun said, ‘Son of my mother – Harun mentioned his mother to soften Musa‘s anger, the people oppressed me and almost killed me. Do not give my enemies cause to gloat over me by your humiliating me. Do not include me with the wrongdoing people in punishment for worshipping the Calf.’

151. He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me for what I have done to my brother and my brother – including his brother in the supplication to please him and avert the gloating of enemies from him – and admit us into Your mercy. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.’ Allah continues:

152. As for those who adopted the Calf as a god, anger and punishment from their Lord will overtake them together with abasement in the life of this world. They were punished by the command to kill themselves and were abased in the life of this world until the Day of Rising. That is how We repay the purveyors of falsehood, those who associated others with Allah and did other evil things.

153. But as for those who do evil actions and then subsequently repent and believe in Allah, in that case after that your Lord is Ever-Forgiving to them, Most Merciful to them.

154. When Musa’s anger abated he picked up the Tablets which he had thrown down, and in their inscription – what was written on them – was guidance from misguidance and mercy for all of them who feared their Lord.

155. Musa chose seventy men from his people who had not worshipped the Calf, by Allah’s command for Our appointed time – the time when He had told him to bring them so that they could apologise for what their companions had done in worshipping the Calf and he went out with them – and when the strong earthquake seized them – according to Ibn ‘Abbas, Allah seized them with the earth-quake since they had remained with their people when they worshipped the Calf, and that they were not the ones who had asked to see Him – he (Musa) said, ‘My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them previously – before he left Egypt with them, so that the tribe of Israel would have seen that there was a reason for their destruction and not suspect him – and me as well. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us did? His question implies, “Do not punish us for the sins of others.” It was only a trial – into which the foolish fell – from You by which You misguided those You willed and guided those You willed. You are our Protector in all our affairs so forgive us and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers.

156. Prescribe good for us and make it mandatory for us in this world and good in the Next World. We have truly turned to You in repentance.’ He (Allah) said, ‘As for My punishment, I strike with it anyone I will. My mercy extends to all things in this world, but I will prescribe it in the Next World for those who are godfearing and pay zakat, and those who believe in Our Signs:

157. …those who follow the Messenger Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Unlettered Prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel referring to the name and description of the Prophet – commanding them to do right and forbidding them to do wrong, making good things lawful for them – which were unlawful in their Shari’ah – and bad things, such as carrion and other things, unlawful for them, relieving them of their heavy loads and the chains which were around them: a reference to the difficult penalties imposed upon them, such as having to kill themselves in repentance and cut out any trace of impurity. Those of them who believe in him and honour him and help him, and follow the Light (the Qur’an) that has been sent down with him, they are the ones who are successful.’

158. Say (addressed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace): ‘Mankind! I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, of Him to whom the kingdom of the heavens and earth belongs. There is no god but Him. He gives life and causes to die. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believes in Allah and His words (the Qur’an), and follow him so that per -haps you will be guided.’

159. Among the people of Musa there is a group who guide people by the truth and act justly in judgement in accordance with it.

160. We divided them (the tribe of Israel) up into twelve tribes –communities. We revealed to Musa, when his people asked him for water in the desert: ‘Strike the rock with your staff.’ And he struck it. Twelve fountains flowed out from it – a spring for each of the tribes – and all the people (each tribe) knew their drinking place. And We shaded them in the desert with clouds from the heat of the sun and sent down manna and quails to them and We said to them: ‘Eat of the good things We have provided you with.’ They did not wrong Us; rather it was themselves they wronged.

161. Remember when they were told: ‘Live in this town (Jerusalem) and eat of it wherever you like and say, “Relieve us of our burdens!” and enter the gate of the city prostrating (bowing down). We will forgive (read as naghfir and also tughfar, in which case the meaning becomes, “Your mistakes will be forgiven you”) your mistakes. We will grant increase (a reward) to good-doers (those who obey).’

162. But those of them who did wrong substituted words other than those they had been given: they said, “A grain in a hair” and entered on their backsides. So We sent a plague (punishment) o n them from heaven for their wrongdoing.

163. Ask them, Muhammad, in rebuke, about the town which was by the sea – Ayla on the Red Sea – and about what happened to its inhabitants when they broke the Sabbath by fishing during it when they were commanded not to, when their fish came to them clearly near the surface on their Sabbath day, but did not come on the days which were not their Sabbath as a test from Allah. In this way We put them to the test because they were deviators. They showed that they had deviated by fishing on the Sabbath. At that point the people formed three groups: those who fished with them, those who forbade them to fish, and those who did not fish but did not forbid them.

164. This continues on from the previous ayat. When a group of them – those who did not fish and did not forbid others – said, ‘Why do you rebuke a people whom Allah is going to destroy or severely punish?’ they – those who had forbidden the others to fish – said, ‘So that we have an excuse through our admonishment to present to your Lord, so that we will not be accused of failing to forbid them and so that perhaps they will become godfearing and fear fishing.’

165. Then when they forgot and abandoned what they had been reminded of and warned about and did not return, We rescued those who had forbidden the evil and seized those who did wrong b y transgressing with a harsh punishment because they were deviators.

166. When they were insolent and arrogant about what they had been forbidden to do, We said to them, ‘Be apes, despised, cast out!’ Their punishment is described. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “I do not know what was done to the silent group.” Ikrima said, “They were not utterly destroyed because their words (above), ‘Why do you rebuke…?’ showed that they disliked what the others were doing.”

167. Then your Lord announced and informed them that He would send against them (the Jews) until the Day of Rising people who would inflict an evil punishment on them. People would abase them and take jizya from them. At first they paid it to the Magians and when our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wa s sent, he imposed it on them. Your Lord is Swift in Retribution for disobeying Him, and He is Ever-Forgiving to those who obey Him, Most Merciful to them.

168. And We divided them into nations in the earth. Some of them are righteous and some are other than that (unbelievers and deviators). We tried them with good (blessings) and evil (requital) so that perhaps they would return from their deviance.

169. An evil generation has succeeded them, inheriting the Book (the Torah) from their forebears, taking the goods of this lower world – rubbish which is the basest stuff whether lawful or unlawful – and saying, ‘We will be forgiven for what we did.’ But if similar goods come to them again they still take them. They hope vainly for forgiveness when they revert to what they were doing and persist in it; but there is no promise in the Torah of forgiveness when people persist in wrongdoing. Has not a covenant been made with them in the Book, that they should only say the truth about Allah; and have they not studied and seen what is in it? Why do they deny it by ascribing to it the granting of forgiveness in spite of persistence in wrongdoing? The Final Abode is better for those who are godfearing in that they fear the haram. Will you not use your intellect (read as ta‘qiluna and also ya‘qiluna, “Will they not use their intellect?”) and realise that it is better, and therefore prefer the Next World to this world?

170. As for those of them who hold fast (read as yumassikuna and yumsikuna) to the Book and establish the prayer, such as ‘Abdullah ibn Sal m and his companions, We will not let the wage of the righteous be wasted. The second phrase contains a noun instead of a pro noun, saying “the wage of the righteous” rather than “their wage”, in order to stress the righteousness of those concerned.

171. Remember when We uprooted the mountain and raised it up, lifting it above them like a canopy, and they thought and were certain that it was about to fall on them, because Allah had promised that it would happen if they did not accept the rulings of the Torah. They had refused to do so because it was difficult for them, but then they had to accept it. Then We said to them: ‘Seize hold vigorously –with gravity and striving – of what We have given you and remember what is in it by acting on it, so that perhaps you will be god -fearing.’

172. Remember when your Lord took out all their descendants from the loins of the children of Adam by removing all of the descendants of ◊dam from his loins, generation by generation, like atoms, at Nu‘m n near ‘Arafa, and set up for them evidence of His lordship and made them understand it, and made them testify against themselves. He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ they said, ‘Indeed, You are our Lord. We testify that indeed You are!’ Lest you say (read as taqulu and yaqulu, “lest they say”, meaning the unbelievers) on the Day of Rising, ‘We knew nothing of this tawhid.’

173. Or lest you say (again read as taqulu and yaqulu, “lest they say”, meaning the unbelievers), ‘Our forefathers associated others with Allah before our time, and we are merely descendants coming after them and imitating them. So are You going to destroy us and punish us for what those purveyors of falsehood among our forefathers did by establishing idolatry?’ The meaning is that they shall have no defence when they say that, because they testified to Allah’s Oneness before and were reminded of it by the Messenger who brought them the miracle which is a reminder to people.

174. That is how We make the Signs clear – in the same way that We made the covenant clear so that they would reflect – so that per -haps they will return from their unbelief.

175. Recite to them (the Jews), Muhammad , the tale of him to whom We gave Our Signs, but who then cast them to one side because of his unbelief, as a snake casts off its skin. This wa s Balaam ibn B ‘ur ’, one of the scholars of the tribe of Israel. He was asked to curse Musa and was given a inducement. He made the supplication but then it turned back against him and his tongue lolled out onto his chest – and Shay† n caught up with him and became his comrade. He was one of those lured into error.

176. If We had wanted to, We would have raised him up to the high degrees of men of knowledge by them – by giving him success through his actions. But he gravitated towards the earth – to this world and inclining to it – and pursued his whims and base desires which called him to it, and so We left him there. His likeness is that of a dog: if you chase it away by driving it off and reprimanding it, it lolls out its tongue and pants, and if you leave it alone, it lolls out its tongue and pants. No other animal is like a dog. The metaphor indicates someone who is abased in every state. The intention is to make a metaphor of his lowliness and baseness as a consequence of his inclining to this world and following his desires. That is the likeness of those who deny Our Signs. So tell the story to the Jews so that perhaps they will reflect and believe.

177. How evil is the metaphor of those who deny Our Signs. It is themselves that they have badly wronged by their denial.

178. Whoever Allah guides is truly guided; but those He misguides are the lost.

179. We created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts they do not understand the truth with. They have eyes they do not see the evidence of the power of Allah with and reflect. They have ears they do not hear the signs and warning with and take note. Such people are like cattle in their lack of understanding, seeing and hearing. No, they are even further astray than cattle because cattle seek benefit for themselves and flee from harm whereas these people deliberately advance towards the Fire! They are the unaware.

180. To Allah belong the ninety-nine Most Beautiful Names, as reported in the hadith, so call on Him and name Him by them and abandon those who desecrate His Names. “Desecrate” comes from the root lahada, meaning “to incline away from the truth”. They desecrate His Names by deriving the names of their idols from them, like al-L t from Allah, al-‘Uzz from al-‘Azız, and Man from al- Mannan. They will be repaid for what they did in the Next World. This Revelation came before the command to fight.

181. Among those We have created there is a community who guide by the Truth and act justly according to it. This is the com-munity of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as stated in the hadith.

182. But as for those among the people of Makka who deny Our Signs (the Qur’an), We will lead them, step by step, into destruction from where they do not know.

183. I will give them more time. My strategy is sure – meaning strong and incapable of being bested.

184. Have they not reflected and therefore come to know? Their companion Muhammad, may Allah blesses him and grant him peace, is not mad. He is only a clear warner.

185. Have they not looked into the dominions of the heavens and the earth and what Allah has created and used this as evidence of the power of the Creator and His Oneness, and seen that it may well be that their appointed time is near and that they will die as unbelievers and go to the Fire? Therefore they should hasten to believe. In what discourse after this (the Qur’an) will they believe?

186. If Allah misguides people, no one can guide them. He will abandon them (read as yadharu and nadharu, “We will abandon”) to wander blindly in their excessive insolence. They waver in confusion.

187. They (the people of Makka) will ask you about the Hour (the Day of Resurrection): when is it due? Say to them: ‘Knowledge of it and when it will occur rests with my Lord alone. He alone will reveal it at its proper time. It hangs heavy for many people in the heavens and the earth because of the terror it inspires. It will not come upon you except suddenly.’ They will ask you insistently as if you had full knowledge of it. Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with Allah alone, but most people do not know that.’

188. Say: ‘I possess no power to bring help or avert harm from myself, except as Allah wills. If I had had knowledge of the Unseen, which is invisible to me, I would have sought to gain much good, and no evil such as poverty and other things would have touched me and I would have been careful to avoid harmful things. I am only a warner about the Fire for the unbelievers and a bringer of good news of the Garden to people who believe.’

189. It is He (Allah) who created you from a single self (Adam) and made from him his spouse (Hawwa’) so that he might find repose in her and friendship with her. Then when he covered her and had sexual intercourse with her, she bore a light load (the foetus) and carried it around – moving around normally since it was light. Then when it became heavy – when the child grew in her womb and they feared that it might be an animal – they called on Allah, their Lord, ‘If You grant us a healthy child, we will be among the thankful to You for it!’

190. Then when He granted them a healthy, upright child, they associated others (read as shuraka’ and also shirkan, in which case the meaning becomes, “they associated what He had given them”) with Him by naming him ‘Abdu’l-Harith. No one should be a slave to anyone other than Allah. This was not idolatry in respect of worship because Adam was protected from that. Samura related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Every time Hawwa’ gave birth, Iblis visited her and no child of hers lived. Iblis told her, ‘Name him ‘Abdu’l- Harith and he will live.’ She named him that and he lived. That was from the inspiration and command of Shaytan.” Al-Hakim related this and described it as sound. At-Tirmidhi related it and said it is hasan gharib. But Allah is far above what (the idols) they (the people of Makka) associate with Him.

191. Do they make things into partner-gods in their worship which cannot create anything and are themselves created…

192. …which are not capable of helping them (their worshippers) and cannot even help themselves – defend themselves if someone wishes to harm them by breaking them or in some other way? The question is meant as a rebuke.

193. If you call them (the idols) to guidance they will not follow you (read as yattabi‘ukum and yatba‘ukum). It makes no difference if you call them to guidance or stay silent and do not call them, because they cannot hear you.

194. Those you call on and worship besides Allah are slaves just like yourselves. Call on them and let them respond to you – to your call – if you are telling the truth about them being gods. Then Allah explains the extent of their powerlessness and the fact that their worshippers are in fact superior to them, by saying:

195. Do they have legs they can walk with? Do they have hands they can grasp with? Do they have eyes they can see with? Do they have ears they can hear with? The answer to all of these questions will be negative. They have none of these things which you have. So how can you worship them when you are more complete than they are? Say to them, Muhammad: ‘Call on your partner gods to destroy me and try all your wiles against me and grant me no reprieve. I do not care what you do.

196. My Protector who is in charge of my affairs is Allah who sent down the Book (the Qur’an). He takes care of the righteous and protects them.’

197. Those you call on besides Him are not capable of helping you. They cannot even help themselves s. So why should anyone care about them?

198. If you call them (the idols) to guidance, they do not hear. You see them (the idols) looking at you, Muhammad, yet they do not see.

199. Make allowances for people – be tolerant about people’s behaviour and do not delve into it – command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant. Do not confront them on account of their foolishness.

200. If an evil impulse from Shay† n provokes you – if he tries to divert you from what you are commanded to do – seek refuge in Allah. Allah will repel him from you. He is All-Hearing of words, All-Seeing of actions.

201. As for those who are godfearing, when they are bothered by visitors (read as ta’if and tayf, in which case the meaning becomes “something which pains them”) from shaytan, they remember the punishment and the reward of Allah and immediately see the Truth clearly for what it really is, and so they return to right action.

202. But as for their brothers (the shaytans among the unbelievers) the visitors (shaytans) lead them further into error. And they do not stop at that! They continue in their error because they do not see what they are doing in the way that the godfearing do.

203. If you do not bring them (the people of Makka) a Sign which they demand, they say, ‘Why have you not come up with one b y yourself?’ Say, ‘I follow only what has been revealed to me from my Lord. I cannot bring anything from myself.’ This (Qur’an) i s clear insight from your Lord, and guidance and mercy, for people who believe.

204. When the Qur’an is recited listen to it and be quiet and do not speak, so that perhaps you will gain mercy. This was revealed about not speaking during the khutba. It is referred to as the Qur’an since the khutba contains passages from the Qur’an. It is also said that it refers to recitation of the Qur’an in general.

205. Remember your Lord in yourself (silently) humbly and fearfully (at a whisper) without loudness of voice (at a medium volume) morning and evening – at the beginning and end of the day. Do not be one of the unaware who are neglectful of remembrance.

206. Those who are in the presence of your Lord (the angels) do not consider themselves too great or proud to worship Him. They glorify His praise – declaring Him above anything that is not appropriate for Him – and they prostrate to Him. They single Him out with their humility and worship, so be like them.