1. Everything in the heavens and everything in the earth glorifies Allah – proclaims Him free of and above all other things. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.

2. It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book – meaning here the Jewish clan of the Banu’n-Nadir – from their homes in Madina to the first gathering-place on the way to Syria; the final step was when ‘Umar exiled them from Khaybar when he was khalifa. You believers did not think that they would leave; and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from the punishment of Allah. Then the command and punishment of Allah came upon them from where they least expected it – from the believers, which possibility had not occurred to them – and cast terror (read as ru‘b and ru‘ub) into their hearts by the killing of their leader, Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf. Their houses were pulled down (read as yukhribuna and yukharribuna) by their own hands and by the hands of the believers. People of insight, take note!

3. If Allah had not prescribed and decreed banishment for them, He would have punished them in this world by killing and capture, as was done to the Jewish clan of Qurayza. But in the Next World they will have the punishment of the Fire.

4. That is because they were entrenched in hostility towards Allah and His Messenger. If anyone is hostile towards Allah, Allah is Severe in Retribution.

5. Whatever palm-trees you Muslims cut down, or left standing upright on their roots, it was done by Allah’s permission – and Allah gave you a choice about it – in order to disgrace the deviators (the Jews) – in the face of their objection that cutting down the fruit trees was a corrupt deed.

6. Whatever booty from them Allah has given to His Messenger – and you Muslims spurred on neither horse nor camel in its acquisition, a reference to spoils taken without fighting. But Allah gives power to His Messengers over anyone He wills; Allah has power over all things. You (believers) have no right to such spoils, which are exclusively for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the four categories (of recipients) mentioned in the following ayat. He used to divide them by giving each category one fifth, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had the remaining fifth to do what he wished with. He gave it to the Muhajirun and three of the Ansar because they were poor.

7. Whatever booty Allah gives to His Messenger from city dwellers – such as Sufra’ (the land of Qurayza and an-Nadir), Wadi’l-Qura and Yanbu‘ – belongs to Allah and to the Messenger – and Allah gives whatever instructions He wishes about it, and to near relatives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from the Banu Hashim and Banu’l-Muttalib, orphans – children of the Muslims whose fathers have died, the very poor, and travellers – Muslims who are unable to continue their journey for financial reasons – so that it does not become something which merely circulates between the rich among you. This means that those entitled to it are the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the four categories, so that each of the four receive one-fifth and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, received the rest. This is done so that the spoils may not be enjoyed by the rich rather than the poor. Whatever the Messenger gives you by way of booty or anything else you should accept; and whatever he forbids you, you should forgo. Be fearful of Allah: Allah is severe in retribution.

8. It is for the poor of the Muhajirun who were driven from their homes and wealth desiring the favour and the pleasure of Allah and supporting Allah and His Messenger. Such people are the truly sincere in their faith.

9. Those who were already settled in the abode (Madina) and in belief – meaning the Ansar – before they came, love those who have emigrated to them and do not find in their hearts any need or envy for what they have been given – a reference to the property of the Banu’n-Nadir which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the Muhajirun; and they prefer them to themselves even if they themselves are needy. It is those who are safeguarded from the avarice of their own selves for wealth who are successful.

10. Those who have come after them – after the Muhajirun and Ansar until the Day of Resurrection – say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in belief, and do not put rancour in our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord, You are All-Gentle, Most Merciful.’

11. Did you not see the hypocrites saying to their brothers, those among the People of the Book who disbelieve – meaning the Banu’n-Nadir and their brothers in unbelief – ‘If you are driven out of Madina, we will leave with you; we will never obey anyone to your detriment and forsake you. And if you are fought against we will help you’? Allah bears witness that they are truly liars.

12. If they are driven out they will not leave with them. If they are fought against and their help is sought they will not help them. Even if they did help them they would turn their backs, and then they (the Jews) would not be helped.

13. You are a greater cause of terror in their (the hypocrites’) breasts than Allah, because Allah’s punishment is deferred! That is because they are people who do not understand.

14. They (the Jews) will not fight against you all together as a group except in fortified towns or behind fortified high walls (read as judur and jidar). Their hostility and belligerence towards each other is intense. They are full of bravado in each other’s company. You consider them united but their hearts are scattered wide owing to their dissension. That is because they are people who do not use their intellects.

15. They are the same – in respect of abandoning their faith – as those a short time before them – namely the idolaters at the Battle of Badr – who tasted the evil consequences of what they did by being killed and in other ways. They will also have a painful punishment in the Next World.

16. In their listening to the hypocrites and staying behind them, they are like Shaytan when he says to a human being, ‘Disbelieve,’ and then when he disbelieves, says, ‘I wash my hands of you. Truly I fear Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’

17. The final fate of both of them – the one who errs and the one who makes others err – is that they will be timelessly, for ever, in the Fire. That is the repayment of the wrongdoers (the unbelievers).

18. You who believe, be fearful of Allah and let each self look to what it has sent fo r ward for Tomorrow (the Day of Rising). Be fearful of Allah: Allah is aware of what you do.

19. Do not be like those who forgot Allah and abandoned obedience to Allah, so He made them forget to advance good for themselves. Such people are the deviators.

20. The Companions of the Fire and the Companions of the Garden are not the same. It is the Companions of the Garden who are the victors.

21. If We had sent down this Qur’an onto a mountain – and given the mountain consciousness like a human being’s – you would have seen it humbled, crushed to pieces from awe of Allah. We make such examples for people so that hopefully they will reflect and then believe.

22. He is Allah – there is no god but Him, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful.

23. He is Allah – there is no god but Him, the King, the Most Pure of anything not befitting Him, the Perfect Peace preserved from any imperfection, the Trustworthy who confirms His Messengers by creating miracles for them, the Safeguarder Who is watcher over and witness of His slaves and their actions, the Almighty, the Compeller who compels His creation to do whatever He wills, the Supremely Great – greater than anything else in existence. Glory be to Allah – to proclaim Him transcendent above all they associate with Him!

24. He is Allah – the Creator, the Maker Who brings everything into existence from non-existence, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the ninety-nine Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.