1. Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah. He is exalted beyond association with anything. He is the Almighty in His kingdom, the All-Wise in everything He does.

2. The kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. He gives life by originating it and causes to die after that. He has power over all things.

3. He is the First – before everything without beginning – and the Last – after everything without end, the Outward – manifest through evidence which indicates Him – and the Inward – hidden from the perception of the senses. He has knowledge of all things.

4. It is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six days – the days of this world, the first of which is Sunday and the last Friday – then established Himself firmly on the Throne – in a manner appropriate to Him. He knows what goes into the earth – such as rain and the dead – and what comes out of it – such as plants and minerals, what comes down from heaven – such as mercy and punishment – and what goes up into it – such as righteous actions and evil actions. He is with you wherever you are by His knowledge. Allah sees what you do.

5. The kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. All existent things return to Allah.

6. He makes night merge into day – and it becomes longer and shorter – and day merge into night – and it also becomes longer and shorter. He knows what the heart contains by way of secrets and creeds.

7. Believe in Allah and His Messenger – meaning “persist in your belief” – and give – spend in the Way of Allah – of that wealth to which He has made you successors after those before you. This was revealed about the Expedition of Hardship, which was the Tabuk expedition. Those of you who believe and give will have an immense reward. The one who spent most was ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him.

8. And what is the matter with you with you – addressed to the unbelievers – that you do not believe in Allah – what prevents you from believing, when the Messenger calls you to believe in your Lord and He has made (read as akhadha and ukhidha) a covenant with you – in the world of atoms when He made them (i.e. all of humanity) witness against themselves “Am I not your Lord?” – if you are believers? If you desire to believe in Him, then make haste to do so.

9. It is He who sends down Clear Signs of the Qur’an to His slave to bring you out of the darkness of unbelief to the light of faith. Allah is All-Gentle with you, Most Merciful in doing that for you.

10. And how is it with you that after believing you do not give in the Way of Allah, when the inheritance of the heavens and the earth – everything in them – belongs to Allah? Everything in the heavens and the earth will go back to Him, and so your property will reach Him without you having any reward for spending it. There is a reward for what you do spend. Those of you who gave and fought before the Victory – the Conquest of Makka – are not the same as those who gave and fought afterwards: they are higher in rank. But to each of them (the two groups) Allah has promised the Best (the Garden). Allah is aware of what you do and will repay you for your actions.

11. Who will make a good loan to Allah by spending their property in the Way of Allah so that He may multiply (read as yuda‘ifahu and yuda‘ifahu) it for him from ten times to more than seven hundred times, as is mentioned in Sürat al-Baqara? He will also have a generous reward which is coupled with Allah’s pleasure and acceptance by Him,

12. …on the Day you see the men and women of the believers, with their light streaming out in front of them, and to their right. They will be told: ‘Good news for you today of Gardens – meaning admission into them – with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever. That is the Great Victory.’

13. That Day the men and women of the hypocrites will say to those who believe, ‘Wait (read as anzurun and anzirun) for us so that we may borrow some of your light.’ “Let us have a brand from your light.” They will be told in mockery: ‘Go back and look for light!’ Then they will go back and a wall – said to be the wall of the Ramparts – will be erected between them and the believers with a gate in it, on the inside of which – facing the believers – there will be mercy, but before whose exterior – facing the hypocrites – lies the punishment.

14. They will call out to them, ‘Were we not with you in obedience?’ They will reply, ‘Indeed you were. But you made trouble for yourselves by your hypocrisy, and hung back to wait for disasters to befall the believers and doubted the dın of Islam; and false hopes deluded you until Allah’s command (death) arrived. The Deluder (Shaytan) deluded you about Allah.

15. So today no ransom will be accepted (read as yu’khadhu and ta’khadhu) from you or from those who disbelieved. Your refuge is the Fire: it is your master. What an evil destination!’

16. This was revealed about the Companions when they joked a lot. Has the time not arrived for the hearts of those who believe to yield to the remembrance of Allah and to the truth (the Qur’an) He has sent down (read as nazzala and nazala), so that they will not be like those who were given the Book before – the Jews and Christians – for whom the time seemed over long between them and their Prophets so that their hearts became hard and did not yield to the remembrance of Allah? Many of them are deviators.

17. This is addressed to the believers already mentioned. Know that Allah brings the earth to life after it has been dead – through the growth of plant-life, and so He can also do that with your hearts and make them return to humility. We have made the Signs clear to you – indicating Our power to do this and other things – so that hopefully you will use your intellect.

18. The men and women who give sadaqa (read as mussaddiqina and musaddiqina, with the same differences in the feminine form) and make a good loan to Allah shall have it increased (read as yuda‘afu and yuda‘afu) for them and they shall have a generous reward.

19. Those who believe in Allah and His Messengers – such people are the truly sincere – and the martyrs – the word for martyrs, shuhad’, can also mean witnesses, meaning that they will bear witness against those nations who disbelieved – who are with their Lord will receive their wages and their light. But those who disbelieve and deny Our Signs indicating Our unity will be Companions of the Blazing Fire.

20. Know that the life of this world is merely a game and a diversion and ostentation and a cause of boasting among yourselves and being preoccupied with trying to outdo one another in wealth and children, while acts of obedience and whatever helps them are matters of the Next World; an example of the extraordinary nature of this world is like the plant-growth after rain which delights the cultivators, but then it withers and you see it turning yellow, and then it becomes broken stubble – chaff which is blown on the wind. In the Next World there is terrible punishment for the person who prefers this world to it, but also forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure for those who did not prefer this world to the Next. The enjoyment of the l i fe of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of passing delusion.

21. Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and to a Garden whose breadth is like that of heaven – meaning all seven heavens – and earth combined, made ready for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. That is Allah’s favour which He gives to those He wills. Allah’s favour is indeed immense.

22. Nothing occurs, either in the earth – such as drought – or in yourselves – such as illness and loss of children, without its being in a Book – the Preserved Tablet – before We create it and make it happen. The same is true of blessings. That is something easy for Allah.

23. That is so that you may not be grieved and troubled about the things that pass you by or exult arrogantly about the things (blessings) that come to you. Rather you should be joyful and thankful for any blessing you have received. Allah does not love any vain or boastful man who exults in what he has been given and boasts to people about it –

24. …those who are tight-fisted – reluctant to give what it is mandatory for them to give – and tell others to be tight-fisted. This is a strong threat. If anyone turns away from what is obligatory for him, Allah is the Rich Beyond Need of others, the Praiseworthy.

25. We sent Our Messengers (the angels to the Prophets) with the Clear Signs (definitive proofs) and sent down the Book – meaning Divinely Revealed Books in general – and the Balance (justice) with them so that mankind might establish justice. And We sent down iron from mines in which there lies great force with which you fight and which has many uses for mankind, so that Allah might know by direct witnessing those who help Him – His din with iron weapons of war and other things – and His Messengers in the Unseen. He sees them although they do not see Him in this world. Ibn ‘Abbas said, “They help Him but do not see Him.” Allah is All- Strong, Almighty. He has no need of help, but it benefits the one who gives it.

26. We sent Nuh and Ibrahim and placed Prophethood and the Book – in the form of the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and the Furqan – among their descendants. Some of them are guided but many of them are deviators.

27. Then We sent Our Messengers following in their footsteps and sent Isa son of Maryam after them, giving him the Gospel. We put compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. They invented monasticism themselves, rejecting women and moving into hermitages – We did not prescribe it for them – they did it purely out of desire to gain the pleasure of Allah, but even so they did not observe it as it should have been observed. Many of them left it, rejected the din of Isa, and joined the dın of their king, while many did remain in the dın of Isa and believed in our Prophet. To those of them who believed We gave their reward; but many of them are deviators.

28. You who believe in Isa be fearful of Allah and believe in His Messenger – Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Isa. He will give you a double portion of His mercy – because you believed in both Prophets – and grant you a Light by which to walk on the Path, and forgive you. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful;

29. I inform you of that so that the People of the Book (the Torah) – who do not believe in Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace – may know that they have no power at all over any of Allah’s favour – and it is not true, as they had claimed, that they were the ones whom Allah loved and those with whom He was pleased – and that all favour is in the Hand of Allah. He gives it to anyone He wills. So the believers among them are given their reward twice over. Allah’s favour is indeed immense.