1. Alif Lam Mim. Allah knows best what is meant by that.

2. Do people imagine that they will be left to say ‘We believe,’ and will not be tested to make the reality of their faith clear? This was revealed about a group of people who believed and then were persecuted by the idolators.

3. We tested those before them so that Allah would know the truthful – in respect of their belief, by means of direct evidence – and would know the liars – concerning it.

4. Or do those who do bad actions – shirk and other acts of disobedience – imagine they can outstrip Us – escape Us, so that We will not take revenge on them? How bad their judgement is!

5. As for those who look forward fearfully to meeting Allah, Allah’s appointed time is certainly coming, and so they should prepare for it. He is the All-Hearing of what they say, the All-Knowing of what they do.

6. Whoever does jihad – actual fighting or jihad against the self – does it entirely for himself. The benefit of the jihad goes to himself, not to Allah. Allah is Rich Beyond Need of any being – referring to men, jinn and angels, and their worship.

7. As for those who believe and do right actions, We will erase their bad actions from them because of their righteous actions and recompense them for the best of what they did – their righteous actions.

8. We have instructed man to honour his parents by being dutiful to them but if they endeavour to make you associate with Me something about which you have no knowledge, do not obey them in their shirk. It is to Me that you will return, and I will inform you about the things you did – and repay you for them.

9. As for those who believe and do right actions, We will admit them among the righteous – a reference to the Prophets and saints. They will be gathered in their company.

10. There are some people who say, ‘We believe in Allah,’ and then, when they suffer harm in Allah’s cause – when people persecute them on account of their belief – they take people’s persecution for Allah’s punishment – fearing their persecution as they would fear Allah’s punishment, so that they then obey them and become hypocrites; but if help comes from your Lord to the believers, so that they obtain booty, they say, ‘We were with you in belief, through the ups and downs of fortune, and therefore we should share with you in the booty.’ Allah says: Does Allah not know best what is in every person’s heart – in terms of belief or hypocrisy?

11. Allah knows those who have belief in their hearts, and He knows the hypocrites – and will repay both parties.

12. Those who disbelieve say to those who believe, ‘Follow our way (din) and we will bear the weight of your mistakes for following us, if there is any.’ Allah says: They will not bear the weight of a single one of their mistakes. The imperative tense used here has the sense of being a report. Truly they are liars about that.

13. They will bear their own burdens (sins) and other burdens together with their own for saying to the believers, “Follow our way”, and for misguiding their followers. On the Day of Rising they will be questioned about what they invented – the lies they made up about Allah. This is to rebuke them.

14. We sent Nuh to his people – when he was 40 years old or older – and he remained among them for fifty short of a thousand years – calling them to recognise Allah’s unity, but they denied him; yet the Flood engulfed them while they were wrongdoers (idolators), and they were drowned.

15. We rescued him (Nuh) and the occupants of the Ark – who were with him – and made that into a Sign and a lesson for all the worlds – for those people who have come after him, if they disobey their Messengers. Nuh lived after the Flood for sixty years or longer until mankind had increased in number once again.

16. And remember Ibrahim, when he said to his people, ‘Worship Allah and be fearful of Him and His punishment. That is better for you than worshipping idols if you only knew.

17. Instead of Allah you worship only idols. You are inventing a lie by saying that the idols are partners with Allah. Those you worship besides Allah have no power to provide for you. They cannot provide for you. So seek your provision from Allah and worship Him and give thanks to Him. It is to Him you will be returned.’

18. And if you deny it and me, people of Makka, nations before you and before me also denied the truth. The Messenger is only responsible for clear transmission. Both these examples are to provide solace for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah then says about his people:

19. Have they not seen (read as yaraw and also taraw, “Have you not seen”) how Allah brings creation out of nothing (read as yubdi’u and yabdi’yu), then reproduces it? He can bring it back as He originated it. That – both the first and second creation – is easy for Allah. How, then, can you deny the possibility of the second?

20. Say: ‘Travel about the earth and see those before you and their nations and how He brought creation out of nothing. Then later Allah will bring about the next existence. Allah has power over all things – including origination and bringing back again.

21. He punishes anyone He wills and has mercy on anyone He wills. You will be returned to Him.

22. There is no way out for you in earth or heaven. You cannot prevent your Lord from reaching you, no matter where you are, and cannot escape from Him. You have no protector from Allah or helper against His punishment besides Allah.’

23. Those who reject Allah’s Signs (the Qur’an) and the meeting with Him (the Resurrection) – such people can despair of My mercy (the Garden); such people will have a painful punishment.

24. Continuing with the story of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, Allah says: The only answer of his people – when they flung him into the fire – was to say: ‘Kill him or burn him!’ But Allah rescued him from the fire and made it coolness and peace for him. There are certainly Signs in that – referring to his rescue from the fire and the fact that it had no effect on him in spite of its size and intensity and that it died down, and that there was a garden in its place in a short time – for people who are believers in the unity and power of Allah, because they benefit from that.

25. He (Ibrahim) said, ‘You have adopted idols which you worship apart from Allah as tokens of mutual affection (read as mawaddata baynikum, muwaddatan baynakum, and muwaddatu baynikum) – loving one another in their worship – in this world. But then on the Day of Rising you will reject one another, leaders declaring themselves free of their followers, and curse one another, followers cursing their leaders. The Fire will be your shelter, all of you. You will have no helpers to defend you against that.’

26. And Lut believed in him (Ibrahim). Lut was the son of his brother, Harun. He (Ibrahim) said, ‘I am leaving this place and my people to follow the pleasure of my Lord wherever my Lord has commanded me. He left his people and emigrated from the fertile land of Iraq to Syria. He is the Almighty in His kingdom, the All-Wise in what He does.’

27. We gave him – after Isma‘il – Ishaq and – after Ishq – Ya‘qub, and placed Prophethood and the Book – generic, in this instance, meaning all Revealed Books: the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Furqan – among his progeny. So all the Prophets after Ibrahim are from among his descendants. We gave him his reward in this world – meaning that he will be praised by the people of all religions – and in the Next World he will be among the righteous – who have high degrees in the Next World.

28. Remember when Lut said to his people, ‘You are committing an obscenity (sodomy) not perpetrated before you by anyone in all the world, mankind or jinn.

29. Do you lie with men and waylay them on the road – as well as comitting sodomy, they also waylaid those who passed through with their vile actions, and so people stopped travelling through their land – and commit new depravities within your gatherings?’ The only answer of his people was to say, ‘Bring us Allah’s punishment if you are telling the truth.’ In other words, if he thought that what they were doing was disgusting and that they would suffer punishment for it, then he should make it happen straight away.

30. He said, ‘My Lord, help me against the people of corruption who disobey Allah by having sexual intercourse with men, regarding what they say about the punishment!’ Allah answered his supplication.

31. When Our messengers came with the good news of Ishaq and Ya‘qub after him to Ibrahim, they said, ‘We are going to destroy the people of this city – the city of Lut. Truly its inhabitants are wrongdoers (unbelievers).’

32. He (Ibrahim) said, ‘Lut is in it.’ They (the messengers) said, ‘We know very well who is in it. We are going to rescue (read as nunajjiyannahu and nunjiyannahu) him and his family – except for his wife. She will be one of those who stay behind – and suffer punishment.’

33. When Our Messengers came to Lut, he was distressed on their account, feeling incapable of protecting them, because they took the form of guests and had beautiful faces, and he feared what his people would do them. They then informed him that they were messengers from his Lord. They said, ‘Do not fear and do not grieve. We are going to rescue you (read as munajjüka and munjüka) and your family – except for your wife; she will be one of those who stay behind.

34. We will bring down (read as munzilüna and munazzilüna) on the inhabitants of this city a devastating punishment from heaven because of their deviance (wrongdoing).’

35. We have left a Clear Sign of them behind – the ruins of their city – for people who use their intellect and reflect.

36. And to Madyan – “We sent” is implied – their brother Shu‘ayb. He said, ‘My people, worship Allah and look to the Last Day – fear the Day of Rising – and do not act unjustly on earth, corrupting it.’

37. But they denied him; so the strong earthquake seized them and morning found them lying flattened – dead on their backs – in their homes.

38. And We destroyed ‘Ad and Thamud – meaning both the area and the tribe. It (their destruction) must be clear to you from their dwelling places – in hijr and Yemen! Shaytan made their actions of unbelief and of disobedience seem good to them and so debarred them from the Way of the Truth, even though they were intelligent people who possessed insight.

39. And We destroyed Qarun and Pharaoh and Haman. Musa came before their destruction with the Clear Signs to them, but they were arrogant on the earth. They could not outstrip Us and thus escape Our punishment.

40. We seized each one of them (those mentioned) for their wrong actions. Against some We sent a sudden squall of stones – a fierce wind full of pebbles like that sent against the people of Lü†; some of them were seized by the Great Blast – such as Thamud; some We caused the earth to swallow up – such as Qarun; and some We drowned – such as the people of Nü˛ and Pharaoh and his people. Allah did not wrong them and punish them without their doing any wrong actions; rather they wronged themselves by committing wrong actions.

41. The metaphor of those who take protectors – idols which they hope will bring them benefit – besides Allah is that of a spider which builds itself a house where it takes refuge; but no house is flimsier than a spider’s house which cannot defend it against heat or cold: a metaphor meaning that idols do not help those who worship them – if they only knew the truth about what they worshipped.

42. Allah knows what they call upon (read as yad‘una, also tad‘una, meaning “you call upon”) and worship besides Himself. He is the Almighty in His kingdom, the All-Wise in what He does.

43. Such metaphors in the Qur’an We devise for mankind; but only those with knowledge – who reflect – understand them.

44. Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth. There is certainly a Sign in that – indicating His power – for the believers – who are singled out for mention because they benefit from faith, as opposed to the unbelievers who do not.

45. Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Qur’an) and establish the prayer. Prayer precludes indecency and wrong – doing while one is performing it, and remembrance of Allah is greater still – greater than other acts of obedience. Allah knows what you do and will repay you for it.

46. Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way – such as by calling people to Allah by His Signs and calling attention to His proofs – except in the case of those of them who do wrong by fighting you and refusing to pay the jizya, in which case argue with them by means of the sword until they become Muslim or pay the jizya, saying to those who agree to pay the jizya when they tell you about what is in their Books: ‘We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. In other words do not say that they are telling the truth or accuse them of lying. Our God and your God are One, and we submit to Him.’

47. Accordingly We have sent down the Book (the Qur’an) – just as the Torah and other Books were sent down to them – to you, and those to whom We gave the Book (the Torah) – a reference to people like ‘Abdullah ibn Salam and others – believe in it (the Qur’an); and some of these people (the people of Makka) believe in it as well. Only the unbelievers deny Our Signs after they have become clear. This refers to the Jews who denied when it was clear to them that the Qur’an was the truth and the one who brought it was speaking the truth. They still denied it.

48. You never recited any Book before it (the Qur’an), nor did you write one down with your right hand – even if you had been able to read and write. If you had, the purveyors of falsehood (the Jews) would have voiced their doubts – about you by saying, “It is in the Torah that he will be illiterate, neither able to read or write.”

49. No, it – the Qur’an which you have brought – is Clear Signs reposited in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge – those who believe in it and memorise it. Only wrongdoers deny Our Signs. The Jews deny them after they have become clear to them.

50. They (the unbelievers of Makka) say, ‘Why have no Signs (read as ayat, and ayat, sing.) – such as the She-camel of Salih, the staff of Musa and the table of Isa – been sent down to him (Muhammad) from his Lord?’ Say to them: ‘The Signs are with Allah, Who sends them down however He wishes. I am only a clear warner – someone who makes the warning about the Fire clear to the people who are disobedient.’

51. Is it not enough for them – regarding what they ask for – that We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur’an) which is recited to them? It is a continuing Sign that will never end, which is not the case with the other Signs which have been mentioned. There is certainly a mercy and reminder in that Book for people who believe.

52. Say: ‘Allah is a sufficient witness between me and you – regarding my truthfulness.’ He knows everything in the heavens and the earth, including my state and yours. Those who believe in falsehood – that which is worshipped instead of Allah – and reject Allah, they are the losers in their transaction, since they exchange belief for unbelief.

53. They ask you to hasten the punishment. If it were not for a stipulated term, the punishment would have come to them already. It (the punishment) will come upon them suddenly when they are not expecting it.

54. They ask you to hasten the punishment in this world but Hell already encircles the unbelievers.

55. On the Day the punishment envelops them from above them and from underneath their feet, He will say (read as yaqulu, and naqulu, “We will say…”), ‘Taste the punishment as a repayment for what you were doing! You will not escape it.’

56. My slaves, you who believe, My earth is wide, so worship Me alone. Worship Me in a place where it is easy to worship Me to which you should emigrate if you are living in a land in which it is not easy to worship Allah. This was revealed about the weak Muslims of Makka who were too constrained to be able to practise their Islam there.

57. Every self will taste death. Then you will be returned (read as tarja‘una, and yarja‘una, “they will be returned”) to Us.

58. As for those who believe and do right actions, We will lodge them (read as nubawwi’annahum, and also “nathawwiyannahum” from thaw?’ which means to reside in a dwelling) in lofty chambers in Paradise, with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever. How excellent is the reward of those who act:

59. …those who are steadfast – in the face of persecution by the idolators and in making hijra to give victory to the din – and put their trust in their Lord – that He will provide for them from where they do not expect.

60. How many creatures do not carry their provision with them because they are weak! Allah provides for them and He will for you, Muhajirun, even if you have no provision or maintenance with you. He is the All-Hearing of what you say, the All-Knowing of your inner thoughts.

61. If you ask them (the unbelievers), ‘Who created the heavens and the earth and made the sun and moon subservient?’ they will say, ‘Allah.’ So how have they been perverted? How then have they been turned from believing in Allah’s oneness after having affirmed it?

62. Allah expands the provision of any of His slaves He wills as a test, and restricts it to whomever He wishes, to test them. Allah has knowledge of all things – including where to expand provision and where to restrict it.

63. If you ask them, ‘Who sends down water from the sky, bringing the earth back to life again after it was dead?’ they will say,‘ Allah.’ So how can they associate other things with Him? Say to them, ‘Praise be to Allah for establishing the proof against them.’ But most of them do not use their intellect and do not understand the contradiction in that.

64. The life of this world is nothing but a game and a diversion. Actions which bring about nearness to Allah are a matter of the Next World because they cause its fruits appear in this world. The abode of the Next World – that is truly Life if they only knew that, in which case they would not prefer this world to the Next World.

65. When they embark in ships, they call on Allah, making their din sincerely His – by sincere supplication, not calling on other than Him, out of the realization that He alone can rescue them from their predicament; but then when He delivers them safely to land, they associate others with Him.

66. Let them be ungrateful for what (the blessings) We have given them! Let them enjoy (read as wa li-yatamatta‘u and wal-yatamatta‘u ) themselves in their worship of idols, They will soon know the result! This is a threat.

67. Do they not see (know) that We have established a safe haven – making their land of Makka a sanctuary – while people all round them are violently dispossessed by killing and capture outside of it? So why do they believe in falsehood (idols) and reject the blessing of Allah by associating others with Him?

68. Who could do greater wrong than someone who invents lies against Allah by associating others with Him, or denies the truth – the Prophet or the Book – when it comes to him? No one does greater wrong than such a person. Is there not shelter in Hell for the unbelievers? That is where they will end up.

69. As for those who do jihad in Our Way – for Our sake, We will guide them to Our Paths – which lead to Us. Truly Allah is with the good-doers (the believers) – by giving help and support.