This book made available by the Internet Archive.

Introduction

The Qur'an is universally known as the sacred book of Islam, the religion of
submission to the will of God. The chapters and verses in this volume of extracts
from the Qur'an (the more phonetically accurate designation of the book
traditionally known in English as the Koran) have been selected to form a rosary
of readings and recitations intended to introduce the non-Muslim reader to the
essential wisdom, beauty, and majesty of this sacred book.

The Qur'an is undeniably a book of great importance even to the non-Muslim,

perhaps more today than ever, if that is possible. One aspect of Islam that is
unexpected and yet appealing to the post-Christian secular mind is the
harmonious interplay of faith and reason. Islam does not demand unreasoned
belief. Rather, it invites intelligent faith, growing from observation, reflection,
and contemplation, beginning with nature and what is all around us.
Accordingly, antagonism between religion and science such as that familiar to
Westerners is foreign to Islam.

This connection between faith and reason enabled Islamic civilization to absorb
and vivify useful knowledge, including that of ancient peoples, whereby it
eventually nursed Europe out of the Dark Ages, laying the foundation for the
Renaissance. When Europe got on its cultural feet and expelled Islam, however,
the European mind was rent by the inability of the Christian church to tolerate
the indivisibility of the sacred and the secular that characterized Islam and had
enabled Islamic civilization to develop natural science and abstract art as well as
philosophy and social science. The result was a painful, ill-fated divorce
between science and religion in Europe, one whose consequences have adversely
affected the entire world.

In the post-Christian West, where thinking people, including scientists

themselves once more, are seeking solutions to the difficulties created by the
Christian divorce between religion and science, the Qur'an offers a way to
explore an attitude that

fully embraces the quest for knowledge and understanding that is the essence of
science, while at the same time, and indeed for the same reasons, fully embraces
the awe, humility, reverence, and conscience without which "humankind does
indeed go too far in considering itself to be self-sufficient" (Qur'an 96:6-7).
Even for the secular Westerner, apart from any question of religious belief or
faith, there are immediate benefits to be found in reading the Qur'an. First, in
view of the sacredness and vital importance of the Qur'an to approximately one-
fifth of all humanity, a thinking citizen of the world can hardly develop a rational
and mature social consciousness without considering the message of the Qur'an
and its meaning for the Muslim community.

With the fall of communism, it has become particularly clear that global peace,
order, and self-determination of peoples cannot be achieved without intelligent
respect for Islam and the inalienable right of Muslims to live their religion. The
second immediate benefit in reading the Qur'an, therefore, is that it is a
necessary step toward the understanding and tolerance without which world
peace is in fact inconceivable.

For non-Muslims, one special advantage in reading the Qur'an is that it provides
an authentic point of reference from which to examine the biased stereotypes of
Islam to which Westerners are habitually exposed. Primary information is
essential to distinguish between opinion and fact in a reasonable manner. This
exercise may also enable the thinking individual to understand the inherently
defective nature of prejudice itself, and thus be the more generally receptive to
all information and knowledge of possible use to humankind.

The Qur'an

The name Qur'an means the Recital or the Reading. According to its own word,
the Qur'an is a revealed Book in the spiritual tradition of the Torah and Gospel
transmitted by Moses and Jesus. Connecting itself and these distinguished
predecessors to even earlier dispensations of original religion, the Qur'an
represents its teaching as confirming and clarifying the truth of what was in
those messages.

The Qur'an is undeniably unique in this tradition, and indeed unique in the entire
context of classical sacred tradition throughout the world, in having been
revealed in the full light of history, through the offices of a Prophet who was
well known.

As the last link in a chain of revelation going back to time immemorial, even to
the very origin of humankind, the Qur'an has the special function of recollecting
the essential message of all revealed Books and distinguishing this from the
opinions and reactions later interpolated into ancient texts whose original
dispensation had taken place in remote and even unknown times.

Therefore the Qur'an is not only called the Reading or the Recital but also the
Criterion: it is called a Reminder and also a Clarification. A modern descendant
of the Prophet Muhammad wrote of this comprehensive scope and function of
the Book in these terms:

The Qur'an is nothing but the old books refined of human alloy, and contains
transcendent truths embodied in all sacred scriptures with complete additions,
necessary for the development of all human faculties. It repeats truths given in
the Holy Vedas, in the Bible, in the words of the Gita, in the sayings of Buddha
and all other prophets, and adds what was not in them, and gives new laws to
meet the contingencies of the present time when the different members of God's
family who lived apart from each other in the days of old revelations had come
close one to the other. 1

Because the Qur'an synthesizes and perfects earlier revelations, its function as a
Criterion to distinguish between truth and falsehood is not carried out in the
form of dogmatic assertion or condemnation of one religion or another, but in the
form of distinction between human artifice and the essential meaning of religion,
between hypocrisy and true faith. Thus the same writer explains, "The Qur'an
calls itself Hakatn —'judge,' to decide between Christian and Christian, between
Hindu and Hindu, between Buddhist and Buddhist, and so it did." 2 The
observation that the Qur'an distinguishes the differences within the adherents of
each religious dispensation, rather than among

the dispensations themselves per se, seems to be a key to approaching the Qur'an
without religious bias.

The Qur'an could not function in this manner in the context of world religions if
it were no more than a collection of dogma or the handbook of a particular new
sect or cult. The Qur'an speaks to humanity as a whole, to nations, communities,
families, and individuals; complete with both an outer teaching and an inner
teaching, it speaks both to persons and to souls, individually and collectively. A
contemporary descendant of the Prophet writes of the often unsuspected depth,
richness, and intrinsic breadth of the Qur'an in these terms:

For the Sufis of the classical period, the Koran is the encoded document which
contains Sufi teachings. Theologians tend to assume that it is capable of
interpretation only in a conventionally religious way; historians are inclined to
look for earlier literary or religious sources; others for evidence of contemporary
events reflected in its pages. For the Sufi, the Koran is a document with
numerous levels of transmission, each one of which has a meaning in accordance
with the capacity for understanding of the reader. It is this attitude toward the
book which made possible the understanding between people who were of
nominally Christian, pagan, or Jewish backgrounds—a feeling which the
orthodox could not understand. The Koran in one sense is therefore a document
of psychological importance. 3

Here again it can be seen that the very least advantage we can derive from
reading the Qur'an is the opportunity to examine our own subjectivity in
understanding a text of this nature. This can have important educational
consequences, both immediate and long-term, that can hardly be derived simply
by imbibing received opinions and attitudes without individual thought and
reflection.

The Advent of the Qur'an

As is well known, the Qur'an was revealed through the Prophet Muhammad,
who was born around the year 570 C.E. Muhammad

was of the noble Quraish clan, the custodians of the sacred shrine of Mecca,
believed to have been built by Abraham in the remote past.

Orphaned at an early age, Muhammad developed into a sober and responsible

young man, known for his trustworthiness. When he was twenty-five years old,
he married his employer, a successful businesswoman most impressed by
Muhammad's goodness.

The first revelation came when Muhammad was forty years old, a mature man of
impeccable character. It took place during one of his periodic meditation retreats
in a mountain cave outside Mecca. Far from inflated by the experience,
Muhammad was fearful and demurred; he rushed home to his wife and anxiously
revealed what had happened to him. Reminding him of his well-known virtues,
she assured him that he was not mad. Then she took him to a cousin, a Christian,
who listened to the beginnings of the Recital and declared it to be of the same
Truth as that brought by Moses and Jesus.
The first Muslims were members of Muhammad's house. Beside his wife
Khaadija, there were the freed slave Zaid and Muhammad's young cousin and
future son-in-law Ali. Shortly thereafter Abu Bakr, a longtime friend of
Muhammad, also joined the fledgling community of Islam.

After a brief pause, revelations continued, and word of the new Muslim
movement soon began to get around. This annoyed the leaders of the Quraish
because they felt Islam undermined their authority. Teaching that there can by
nature only be one real God, Islam undermined the religious authority of the
Quraish as leaders of the old tribal polytheism. Attracting many converts from
among slaves and other disenfranchised people, Islam was also seen to
undermine the political authority of the dominant clan fathers. Preaching a level
of humaneness and social responsibility well above that realized by existing
practices, Islam was also seen to diminish the moral stature of the tribal
patriarchs.

For ten years Muhammad and the Muslims of Mecca were subjected to abuse
and torture. A group of Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia, assured by the Prophet
that the king of that land

was Christian and would protect them. Eventually the leaders of the Quraish
tried to assassinate Muhammad, and so the Prophet was finally forced to flee
from Mecca in 622 c.E. This became known as the Year of the Emigration, the
year from which all dates in Islamic history are counted.

The persecuted Muslims migrated en masse to Yathrib, later known as Medina al

Nabiy, "The City of the Prophet/' or simply al Medina, "The City." Hostilities
and intrigues against them expanded, however, as the evident moral force of the
movement aroused the hopes and fears of increasing numbers of individuals and
groups. As a result, during nearly a decade of residence in Medina, Muhammad
was repeatedly obliged to lead the Muslims in war. In one battle the Prophet was
severely wounded in the head and face, and presumed dead.

At length Muhammad and the Muslims emerged triumphant, not by virtue of a

crushing military victory but by constant devotion to Islam and indefatigable
resistance to oppression. Poorly armed Muslims would face, and sometimes even
defeat, battalions of trained warriors outnumbering them ten to one. And the
movement continued to grow, in spite of opposition and hardships.
In the seventh year of the Emigration, Muhammad made the pilgrimage to
Mecca, and in the next year the Prophet entered Mecca with a large party of
Muslims, unopposed. He cleared the sacred shrine of idols and established
worship of the one real God, including the practices of prayer, charity, and
fasting. Through the promulgation of the Qur'an and his own example as an
inspired Prophet, Muhammad also reformed many aspects of family, social, and
economic life.

The Language of the Qur'an

It is generally accepted that the Qur'an cannot be translated in a complete and

literal manner because of the intimate relationship between its linguistic form
and its semantic content, and because of the incommensurability of Arabic and
non-Arabic languages. A modern descendant of the Prophet explains the nature
of the sacred language of the Qur'an in these terms:

Classical Arabic is that version of Arabic which was used by the Koreshite tribe,
hereditary guardians of the Temple of Mecca, and to which Mohammed
belonged. Long before Arabic became considered a holy tongue because it is the
vehicle of the Koran, it was the speech of the sacerdotal class of Mecca, a
sanctuary whose religious history legend starts with Adam and Eve. Arabic,
most precise and primitive of the Semitic languages, shows signs of being
originally a constructed language. It is built up upon mathematical principles—a
phenomenon not paralleled by any other language. Sufic analysis of its basic
concept groupings shows that especially initiatory or religious, as well as
psychological, ideas are collectively associated around a stem in seemingly
logical and deliberate fashion which could hardly be fortuitous. 4

Because this type of concentration, made possible by the nature of the classical
Arabic language, cannot be reproduced in English, I have attempted to
compensate somewhat by the addition of linguistic notes amplifying the
meanings of certain words by reference to their roots and related derivatives.
These notes should therefore be viewed as an intrinsic part of the translation
itself. The pregnancy of Arabic also makes it possible, and even useful, to render
the same word in different ways when translating from Arabic into another
language. According to the eminent theologian Al-Ghazali, there is no repetition
in the Qur'an, because "repetition" means that no further benefit is conferred; this
aspect of language and meaning in the Qur'an also dovetails with the intensive
concentration of Arabic that enables a single word to yield a whole group of
concepts.

Another distinguished contemporary Muslim scholar and thinker descended

from the Prophet describes the language of the Qur'an in terms that seem most
directly expressive and ex-perientially oriented, yet also enhance the new
reader's sense and appreciation of the unique and inimitable literary qualities of
the Qur'an:

The text of the Qur'an reveals human language crushed by the power of the
Divine Word. It is as if human language

were scattered into a thousand fragments like a wave scattered into drops against
the rocks at sea. One feels through the shattering effect left upon the language of
the Qur'an, the power of the Divine whence it originated. The Qur'an displays
human language with all the weakness inherent in it becoming suddenly the
recipient of the Divine Word and displaying its frailty before a power which is
infinitely greater than man can imagine. 5

This "shattered" and "scattered" facade of language is one factor that makes the
Qur'an difficult for many Westerners to approach, until the reason for this effect
is adequately understood. Then the dramatic shifts in person, mood, tense, and
mode become exhilarating exercises in perspective and translation of
consciousness into a new manner of perception.

Readings from the Qur'an

For the reasons summarized above, the Qur'an is extremely dense and
extraordinarily intense. The present collection of readings from the Qur'an is
simply designed to help non-Muslim Westerners approach this sacred book and
savor something of its literally amazing power and grace through a selection of
chapters and verses encapsulating some of the central ideas and essential
beauties of the Book. (Verse numbers appear in parentheses throughout.)

Such is the nature of the Qur'an that many of the variations in literal translations
that are as linguistically accurate as can be under the circumstances are present
in subtleties, particularly nuances of particles and modal relations. For this
reason, most renditions of the Qur'an look much alike to non-Muslim Westerners
at first glance. These subtle nuances, however, can be combined in many ways to
develop into considerable differences. These differences are intensified,
furthermore, in proportion to the measure and degree of concentration and
contemplation brought to bear by the individual reader.

Certain characteristics of English also come into play when translating a sacred
text into this language. Most significantly,

there is the fact that there is no such thing as a sacred English. There is,
furthermore, no such thing as a standard English. There is not even a classical
English, in the same sense that there is a classical Arabic or a classical Sanskrit.
Finally, for the very reason that there is no sacred, standard, or classical English,
there is also no universal or even common literary aesthetic in English.

One particular problem in rendering the Qur'an into English is presented by the
numerous intensive forms used to refer to attributes of God. There are different
forms of intensification in Arabic, with different ways of interpreting or
describing even one form. In this English version, general, encompassing terms
of intensity are used, with the provision that these expressions are intended to
function as points from which the consciousness of the reader is to launch
upwards toward contemplation of supernal ideals. The purpose, in other words,
is not to represent God in human terms but to use human language as a means of
directing the eye of contemplation toward the inexpressible infinity of the
spiritual and metaphysical realities symbolized by language.

Another special problem in translating from the Qur'an into modern English is in
the treatment of pronominal reference to God. In contemporary English, there is
no third person pronoun perfectly well suited to making reference to the
transcendent God beyond all human conceptions. The ultimate shortcoming of
human language is natural, of course, and not peculiar to English; but there are
particular reasons for attending to the problem of the third person pronoun.
Many people of Jewish and Christian background feel alienated from their native
faiths by what they call the Angry Old Man image of God, with which they have
been taught to associate religion. Furthermore, what has been perceived as the
masculine bias of this image is particularly well known to have alienated many
Western women from monotheism. This would seem to be an unnecessary waste.

To avoid short-circuiting the attention of significant segments of the modern

audience at such a rudimentary stage, I have translated the third person Arabic
pronoun huwa/hu as referring to God as God, or God as Truth, rather than as
referring to the English pronouns "He" or "Him." In technical terms, this
means that since the fundamental linguistic resource is the power of reference,
one technique for handling difficulties in translation begins with considering
language from this point of view.

Inasmuch as languages do differ, it is axiomatic that manners of reference can

never be completely or perfectly aligned from language to language; and
therefore the attempt to do so does not in itself reproduce equivalent powers of
reference. Thus the first priority of translation, in terms of meaning, is to seek to
engage the power of reference as efficiently as possible, in whatever manner the
target language may afford. In this case, the principle means that a pronoun in
one language is not taken to refer to a pronoun in another language, but to the
original nominal referent for which the pronoun stands, and by which name/
noun it can thus be meaningfully translated. In this case, following the injunction
of the Qur'an to call God by "the most beautiful names," I have generally
rendered pronominal reference to the divine by "God," a name which is in this
context uniquely unambiguous.

It should be observed, furthermore, that reference to God in the Qur'an is

commonly made in the first person plural, occasionally singular: God often
speaks as "We/Us/Our," sometimes as "I/Me/My." God is also addressed as
"You," and reference to God may shift through first, second, and third person
within a short span of discourse. Humanity also may be addressed as "you" at
one moment and then referred to as "they" the next. In this English version,
pronominal references to God are thus necessarily capitalized, to make them
completely unambiguous. Once it becomes familiar, this shifting of perspective
is one of the most interesting aspects of the consciousness engendered by Qur'an
reading.

The selections from the Qur'an contained in this book represent what the eminent
theologian Al-Ghazali calls the six aims of the Book. 6 The first aim is
knowledge of God, including the essence, attributes, and works of God. The
second aim is definition of the Path to God, by which the "rust" is removed from
the "mirror" of the soul, so that the light of God may be reflected clearly in the
purified soul.

The verses of the Qur'an dealing with the first aim, knowledge of God, are called
by Al-Ghazali the jewels of the Qur'an. The verses dealing with the second aim,
defining the Path to God, are called the pearls of the Qur'an. In giving these
epithets to designated verses, Al-Ghazali emphasizes that these two aims,
knowledge of God and the way to God, are most important. My rosary of
readings from the Qur'an is centered on the jewels and the pearls, containing
approximately one-fifth of all the jewels and one-fifth of all the pearls of the
Qur'an.

The luster of the jewels and pearls is further highlighted and reflected by the
verses representing the other four aims of the Qur'an as defined by Al-Ghazali.
The third aim is definition of human conditions at the time of attaining to God.
The condition of spiritual fulfillment, of which the epitome is vision of God, is
symbolized by the Garden. The condition of spiritual bankruptcy, of which the
epitome is alienation from God, is symbolized by Hell, or the Fire.

The fourth aim is definition of the conditions of people who traveled the path to
God, such as the prophets of the past, and the conditions of those who deviated
from the path to God, such as the tyrants and oppressors of the past. These
verses describe the attitudes and behaviors that have, do, and will lead people to
felicity and misery.

The fifth aim is definition of the arguments of those who reject truth, proofs
against these arguments, and exposure of the inherent falsehood and self-deceit
underlying these arguments. The special beauty of these verses is in their
demonstration of the self-veiling operation of hypocrisy and specious logic
based on unproven assumptions.

The sixth aim is definition of the fulfillment of what is required at each stage of
the Path to God, including the manner of preparation for the journey. These
verses demonstrate the connection between life in human society and the life of
the spirit, how the self and the world may be made into vehicles for the journey
to enlightenment and completion.

In stringing these verses together in a rosary for recitation, for the most part I
have followed the Arabic original in division of verses. The division of verses
into lines, in contrast, has nothing

to do with the Arabic original but with the cadence of the English and the
psychological weighting of words, which have tremendous individual force in
the Qur'an.

In this connection, it is essential to observe that this English version is

intentionally designed for reading aloud, for absorption and reflection, because
this is characteristic of the Qur'an itself, from the very beginning of its
revelation. Reading or recitation of the Qur'an is not supposed to be fast or glib,
but measured and attentive, being in and of itself a spiritual exercise. Where
possible, I have tried to borrow from the unusual diction of the original Arabic
Qur'an (which, it will be remembered, is unique and inimitable even in Arabic
itself) for the effect this has on pace, attention, and psychological impact on the
intelligent reader.

Notes

i. Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, Islamic Sufism (New York: Samuel Weiser, i97i)» P- 4i-

2. Ibid., p. 43.

3. Idries Shah, The Sufis (New York and London: Doubleday, 1964), p. 412.

4. Ibid., p. 441.

5. Seyyid Hussein Nasr, Ideals and Realities of Islam (London: Allen & Unwin,
1988), pp. 47-48.

6. Muhammad Abul Quasem, The Jewels of the Qur'an: Al-Ghazali's Theory

(London: Kegan Paul International, 1984), p. 23 etpassim.

jpj^kiM

THE ESSENTIAL

KORAN

The Opening

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

All praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds,

the Compassionate, the Merciful,

Ruler of Judgment Day.

It is You that we worship, and to You we appeal for help.

Show us the straight way,

the way of those You have graced, not of those on whom is Your wrath, nor of
those who wander astray.

The Cow

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(2-7)

This book, without doubt,

has guidance in it for the conscientious;

those who believe in the unseen,

and steadily practice prayer,

and give of what We have provided them,

and those who believe what has been sent down to you and what was sent down
before you, and are certain of the Hereafter.

They follow guidance from their Lord, and they are the happy ones.

As for the ungrateful who refuse, it is the same to them whether you warn them
or not; they do not believe.

God has sealed their hearts

and their hearing,

and covered their eyes;

for them there is a great torment.

(8-20)

And among humankind

are those who say

they believe in God and the Last Day

but they do not believe.

They try to deceive God

and those who believe,

but they do not deceive anyone

except themselves,

although they do not know it.

There is a sickness in their hearts, and God has made them sicker; and theirs is a
painful torment, because they were in fact lying.

And when they are told not to make trouble on earth, they say they are only
doing good.

Is it not that they are in fact the troublemakers, without even knowing it?

And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people believe," they say, "Shall we
believe as imbeciles believe?" No, it is they,

they who are the imbeciles, though they do not know.

And when they encounter those who believe, they say, "We believe." But when
they are alone with their obsessions, they say,

"We are in fact with you; we were only joking."

God will make a joke of them, amplifying their outrages as they wander astray.

They are the ones

who have bartered

guidance for error:

thus their trade does not profit

and they are not guided.

What they are like is one who lit a fire, and when it illumined everything around,
God took their light and left them in darkness, unseeing.

Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not get back.

Or like a raincloud

from the sky,

in it darkness,

thunder,

and lightning.

They put their fingers

in their ears

against the peal

in fear of death:

yet God surrounds the ungrateful.

The lightning nearly

takes away their vision.

Every time it sheds light for them,

they walk in it;

and when it grows dark upon them,

they stand still.

And if God willed,

God could remove

their hearing and their seeing:

for God has power over all things.

(21-22)

O People!

Serve your Lord,

who created you

and those before you,

so that you may be conscientious;

who has made the earth a couch for you,

and the heavens a roof,

and who sends water down from the skies,

and who brings forth from it

fruits for your sustenance.

So do not suppose anything to be like God,

when you know.

(28-29)

How can you deny God,

since you were dead

and God gave you life;

and will then kill you,

and then bring you to life;

then you will be returned to God.

God it is who created for you

all that is on the earth,

then turned to the heights

and fashioned them into seven heavens;

and God is completely aware

of all things.

(30-39)

And when your Lord

said to the angels, "I am placing a deputy on earth,"

they said, "Will you put someone

who will cause trouble there

and shed blood?

And while we sing Your praise

and glorify You?"

God said, "I know what you do not know. 5

And God taught Adam the names, all of them; then set them before the angels
and said, "Tell me these names, if you speak the truth."

They said, "Glory to You! No knowledge is ours but what you have taught us.
For You are most knowing, most wise."
God said, "Adam, tell them their names."

And when he had told them their names,

God said, "Did I not tell you

I know the mysteries

of the heavens and the earth?

And I know what you disclose,

and what you have been concealing."

And when We said to the angels, "Bow to Adam," they bowed, except one,
Ibliis: he refused, and showed arrogance; and he was of the ungrateful.

And We said, "Adam, live in the garden, you and your wife;

and eat of it comfortably, as you wish. But do not go near to this tree, for you
would become abusive tyrants."

But then the Obsessor made them both slip and fall from there, and dislodged
them from the state they had been in. And We said, "Let you all descend, with
enmity among you. And there will be housing and food for you on earth for a
while."

Then Adam received instruction from his Lord,

and God relented toward him; for God is most relenting, most merciful.

We said,

"Let all of you descend from there; but if guidance does indeed come to you
from Me, then whoever follows My guidance will have nothing to fear and will
not sorrow.

"And as for those

who ungratefully repudiate Our signs and accuse them of falsity, they are the
company of the fire; they are the ones who stay in it."
(42-46)

And do not obscure truth by falsehood, or knowingly conceal the truth;

and be constant in prayer,

and give charity,

and worship with the worshipful.

Do you command people to be just when you forget yourselves even though you
read the Book? Now won't you understand?

And seek help with patience and prayer; though it is indeed hard except for the
humble,

those who consider

that they will meet their Lord,

and that they will return to God.

(48)

And be wary of a day

when no soul can compensate

for another soul at all,

and no intercession is accepted from it,

and no ransom is taken from it,

and they will not be helped.

(62)

Be they Muslims, Jews,

Christians, or Sabians,
those who believe in God and the Last Day

and who do good

have their reward with their Lord.

They have nothing to fear,

and they will not sorrow.

(83)

Worship nothing but God;

be good to your parents and relatives,

and to the orphan and the poor.

Speak nicely to people,

be constant in prayer,

and give charity.

(84-85)

And when We took your promise

that you would not shed the blood of your own,

and would not drive your own from their homes,

you then confirmed it,

as you yourselves bear witness.

But then you yourselves

killed your own people,

and drove a group from among you

out of their homes,

assisting efforts against them

with iniquity and enmity.

(87)

We gave Moses the Book,

and caused messengers to follow after him.

And We gave clear proofs

to Jesus son of Mary,

and We strengthened him

with the holy spirit.

Are you not haughty and arrogant

whenever a messenger comes to you

with what your selves do not desire?

Some you have branded liars,

others you have killed.

(90)

Wretched is that for which

they have sold themselves,

that they should reject what God has sent down

in arrogant jealousy that God

should send it down from divine grace

upon whomever of Its servants

God wills.

So they have brought on themselves

wrath upon wrath;

and for the ungrateful

is a humiliating torment.

(102-103)

Solomon was not an ungrateful misbeliever,

but the obsessive were ungrateful and misbelieved;

they taught humanity magic

and what came down

to the angels at Babylon,

Haaruut and Maaruut.

But these two never taught anyone

without saying,

'We are only a test,

so do not be unfaithful."

But then, however, they learned from the two

what would separate man and wife;

yet they hurt no one thereby

except by leave of God.

And they learned what would harm them,

not what would benefit them.

And they already knew

that those who bought it

had no share in the hereafter.

And wretched was that for which

they sold themselves,

if only they knew.

And if only they

had been faithful and conscientious, the reward from the presence of God would
have surely been better; if only they had known!

(115-117)

To God belong the East and the West;

and wherever you turn,

there is the Face of God.

For God is omnipresent, all-knowing.

Yet they say God has begotten a son.

Glory to God!

No, to God belongs all

in the heavens and the earth;

everything is obedient to God.

God is the originator

of the heavens and the earth;

and whenever God decrees anything,

God says to it, "Be!"

and it is.

(136)

Say,

"We believe in God, and what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to
Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Joseph and the Tribes, and what was given
to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord.

And we do not make any distinction between individuals among them, for we
submit to God."

(163-164)

And your God is one God: there is no God but The One, the Compassionate, the
Merciful.

Behold, in the creation

of the heavens and the earth,

and the alternation of night and day,

and the ships that sail on the sea

to profit the people,

and the water God rains from the skies,

thereby enlivening the earth

after it has died,

and spreading animals of all kinds

thereupon,

and in the shifting of the winds

and the clouds

enslaved between the heavens and the earth:

therein are signs

for a discerning people.

(177)

It is not righteous

that you turn your faces

east and west:

but they are righteous

who believe in God

and the last day,

and the angels and the Book,

and the prophets;

and who donate goods and money

for love of God

to relatives and orphans,

and to the poor and the wayfarer,

and to the needy,

and for freeing slaves;

and who are constant in prayer

and give alms for welfare,

and those who fulfill their promises

when they make them,

and who are patient

in suffering, adversity, and hard times.

They are the truthful ones,

and they are the conscientious.

(254)

Faithful believers,

spend of what We have provided for you,

before there comes a day

on which there is no barter

and no friendship

and no mediation.

And it is the ungrateful

who abuse and oppress.

(255)

God!

There is no God but The One,

the Living, the Self-subsistent:

drowsiness does not overtake God,

nor sleep.

To God belongs

what is in the heavens and the earth:

who could there be

who can intercede with God

except by leave of God?

God knows what is in front of them,

and what is behind them;

but they do not comprehend

anything of God's knowledge

except as God wills.

The throne of God

extends over the heavens and the earth,

and the preservation of them both

is not oppressive to God,

for God is most exalted, most sublime.

(256)

There is to be no compulsion in religion.

True direction is in fact distinct from error:

so whoever disbelieves in idols

and believes in God

has taken hold

of the most reliable handle,

which does not break.

For God is all-hearing and all-knowing.

(262-265)

Those who spend their wealth

in the way of God

and then do not follow what they spend

with reminders of their generosity

or with abusive treatment,

they have their reward

with their Lord.

And there is nothing for them to fear,

and they will not sorrow.

Kind and forgiving words

are better than charity

followed by abuse.

And God,

having no needs,
is most supremely clement.

Believers,

do not nullify your charities

by reminders of your generosity,

or by abusive behavior,

as do those who spend their wealth

to be seen by the people,

without believing in God

and the last day.

And what that is like

is a hard stone with dust on it

on which a heavy rain falls

and leaves it barren:

they cannot do a thing

with what they have earned.

And God does not guide

the people who refuse.

And the example of those

who spend their wealth

seeking to please God

and strengthen their souls

is as that

of a garden on a knoll

on which there falls a heavy rain

and it brings forth double its fruits;

or if no heavy rain falls,

then dew.

And God sees whatever you do.

(285-286)

The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so
do all the faithful. Each believes in God and God's angels, and God's Books and
God's Envoys. We do not make a distinction among individual prophets of God.
And they say, "We hear and obey. We ask your forgiveness, our Lord; for the
journey is to You."

God does not compel a soul

to do what is beyond its capacity:

it gets what it has earned,

and is responsible for what it deserves.

Our Lord,

please do not punish us

if we forget or we err.

And please, our Lord,

do not place on us a burden

like that You put

on those before us.

And please, our Lord,

do not make us carry

that for which

we lack the strength.

And please grant us pardon,

and forgive us.

And have mercy on us.

You are our protector;

so help us against

ungrateful people.

The Family oflmraan

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(2-7)

God:

there is nothing worth worship but God

the Living, the Self-subsistent.

God sent to you the Book with the truth confirming the truth of what preceded it.
And God sent the Torah and the Gospel before, as guidance to humankind; and
God sent the Criterion.

Surely for those who reject the signs of God there is a torment most severe; and
God is a mighty avenger.
Nothing is concealed from God, on earth or in heaven.

God it is who forms you

in the wombs,

as God wills:

there is nothing worth worship but God,

the Almighty, the All-wise.

God it is who sent

the Book to you:

in it are verses definitive,

these the matrix of the Book;

while others are metaphorical.

And those in whose hearts is distortion

follow the metaphorical in it seeking discord,

seeking esoteric interpretation.

But no one knows

its original meaning

but God.

And those deeply rooted in knowledge say,

'We believe in it;

all is from God."

But none will be admonished

except for those of heart.

(18-22)

God attests

that there is in fact

nothing worth worship but God,

and so do the angels

and those with knowledge,

standing on justice.

There is nothing worth worship but God,

epitome of power and wisdom.

Indeed, religion with God

is surrender:

and those to whom the Book was given

did not differ

until after knowledge came to them,

out of conceit and envy among them.

And as for those who reject

the signs of God,

God indeed is quick to take account.

And if they dispute with you,

then say, "I have surrendered my being to God,

and so have those who follow me."

And say to those

to whom the Book has been given,

and to the unlettered folk, "Do you surrender to God?"

And if they have surrendered,

they are rightly guided.

But if they turn away,

your only responsibility

is to deliver a message;

and God sees the servants of God.

As for those who reject the signs of God

and kill the prophets,

alienated from truth,

and kill those who call for justice from the people,

inform them of an excruciating pain.

They are those whose works are futile

in this world and the hereafter;

and they have no helpers or protectors.

(29-30)

Say,

"Whether you conceal what is in your hearts or reveal it, God knows. And God
knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; and God has power over
all things.

21

Archbishop Mitty High School Library San Jose, California

"On the day when every soul will be brought face to face with the good that it
has done and with the evil it has done, it will wish there were a great distance
between itself and its evil. And God makes you cautious of God: and God is
gracious to servants."

(42-43)

And the angels said, "O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you, chosen you
over the women of all nations.

"O Mary! Obey your Lord, humble yourself, and bow down in prayer along with
the prayerful."

(45)

Behold, the angels said, "O Mary, God announces good news to you by a Word
from God named the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and the
hereafter, and among the Intimates."

(48)

"And God will teach him the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel."

(55)

God said,

'Jesus!

I will take you unto Myself,

and I will elevate you to Me

and purify you

from ingrates who disbelieve.

And I will place those who follow you

above those who disbelieve

to the day of resurrection:

then you will all return to Me,

and I will judge among you

regarding that wherein you differed."

(60)

The truth is from your Lord, so do not be a doubter.

(62)

Indeed, this is the true story; for there is no god but God, and God is surely
supreme in power and wisdom.

(79-8o)

It is not for a human being

that God should give one the Book

and wisdom and prophethood,

and then one should say to people,

'Be servants to me

instead of God."

Rather be learned in divine law,

for you have taught the Book,

and you have studied.

And one would not instruct you to take the angels or prophets as lords; would
one instruct you in misbelief after you have surrendered to God?

(84)

Say, "We believe in God

and what God revealed to us,

and what God revealed to Abraham and Ishmael

and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes,

and what was given

to Moses and Jesus and the Prophets

from their Lord.

We do not discriminate between

individuals among them;

we surrender to God."

(102-105)

Faithful believers!

Revere God with due reverence,

and do not die

without conscious submission to God.

And hold fast to the rope of God,

all of you,
and do not split up.

And remember God's kindness to you:

for you were enemies,

and God joined your hearts;

and you became brethren

by the grace of God.

And you were on the brink

of a pit of fire,

and God rescued you from it.

Thus does God make evident

the signs of God for you,

so that you may be guided.

And let there be among you a people who call to good and enjoin what is worthy
and forbid what is repugnant; they are the happy ones.

And do not be like those

who divide and differ

after clarifications have come to them;

for theirs is a terrible torment.

(130)

Faithful believers,

do not take usurious interest,

multiplied and compounded;

and be wary of God,

that you may prosper.

(133-137)

And hasten toward forgiveness

from your Lord,

and toward a garden

broad as the heavens and the earth,

prepared for the conscientious,

those who are generous

in good times and in bad,

and who withhold anger,

and who pardon people.

For God loves those who do good.

And those who remember God

and seek forgiveness for iheir sins

when they have done a dishonorable deed

or wronged their own souls

—and who forgives sins but God?—

and who do not knowingly persist in what they have done.

Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers
flow, being there forever: how gracious the reward for workers!

Ways of life have passed away before you, so travel over the earth and see how
scorners have ended up.

(160)

If God helps you,

then no one can overcome you;

and if God forsakes you,

who could help you then?

So let believers put their trust in God.

(186)

You will surely be tested

in your possessions and your selves.

And you will surely hear many insults

from those to whom the Book was given before you,

and from those who idolize things.

But if you are patient

and conscientious,

then that is the resolve

which will determine affairs.

(188-189)

Do not suppose of those

who rejoice at what they have brought about

and love to be praised for what they have not done,

do not suppose

that they have escaped torment;

for theirs is a painful chastisement.

For to God belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and God has
power over everything.

(190-191)

Truly in the creation

of the heavens and the earth,

and the alternation of the night and day

are signs for those of heart:

Those who remember God while they are standing, sitting, and in repose, and
meditate on the creation of the heavens and the earth: "Our Lord,

You have not created this in vain. Glory to You! Keep us safe from the torment
of fire."

(195)

And their Lord responded to them, "I certainly do not overlook the work of any
worker among you, male or female: you come from one another. And as for
those who have fled or been driven from their homes or been hurt in My cause,
or fought or been killed, I will erase their sins from them and introduce them to
gardens beneath which rivers flow as a reward

from the presence of God. And in the presence of God is the finest of rewards."

(199-200)
And there are in fact

among people of the Book

those who believe in God

and what was revealed to you

and what was revealed to them,

those who are humble toward God:

they do not sell the signs of God

for a petty price.

They have their reward with their Lord;

and God is quick to account.

Believers,

be patient and persevere,

and be firm and constant:

and be mindful of God,

so that you may prosper happily.

Women

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-10)

O humanity,

be reverent toward your Lord

who created you from one soul

and created its mate from it,

and from these two

disseminated many men and women.

Be reverent toward God

by whom you ask of each other,

and be reverent toward relationships;

for God is watching over you.

And give orphans their property without exchanging bad for good or consuming
their wealth commingled with your own, for that is a grave misdeed.

And if you fear

you may not be able

to do justice by the orphans,

then marry women who please you,

two, three, or four;

but if you fear

you may not be able

to treat them equitably,

then marry one,

or a ward in your custody:

that would be more fitting,

so you do not go awry.

And give the women their dowries as gifts; but if they favor you with anything
from it of their own accord, then enjoy it as wholesome and salutary.

And do not give to incompetents

your property that God has granted you for subsistence,

but provide for them from it, and clothe them,

and speak fair words to them.

And test orphans

until they reach the age of marriage;

and if you perceive in them

integrity and reason,

then turn their property over to them.

And do not consume it in extravagance,

or in a hurry before their majority.

And let one who is rich

take nothing from it,

and let one who is poor

partake of it fairly.

And then when you turn over

their property to them,

have evidence or witness made of it,

though God is sufficient

in taking account.

There is a portion for men

from what is left by their parents and closest kin,

and there is a portion for women

from what is left by their parents and closest kin:

whether there is little or much,

there is a determined portion.

And when relatives, orphans, or paupers are present at the division, then give
them something of it, and speak fair words to them.

And be as apprehensive as those

who leave behind them helpless children fear for them;

and be wary of God,

and speak to them fittingly.

For surely those who consume

the property of orphans unjustly

only ingest a fire;

and they will be burning

in a furious blaze.

(26-32)

God wants to clarify for you

and guide you in the ways

of those who were before you,

and to turn toward you;

for God is most knowing, most wise.

God wants to turn toward you,

but the wish of those who follow their lusts

is that you turn away,

turn utterly from God.

God wants to lighten your burden, for humanity was created weak.

O believers!

Do not consume your wealth

among yourselves in vain.

But may there be trade

out of mutual consent among you.

And do not kill yourselves;

for truly God has been merciful to you.

Anyone who does kill through enmity and oppression We will expose to fire; and
that is easy for God.

If you avoid the gravest of what you are forbidden, We will blot out your sins
and lead you into a noble entry.

And do not desire that with which

God has graced some of you more than others:

there is a portion for men

from what they have earned,

and there is a portion for women

from what they have earned.

But ask God

from divine bounty,

for God knows everything.

(36-40)

Serve God,

and do not associate

anything with God.

And be good to your parents

and relatives,

and to orphans and paupers,

and to neighbors close by

and neighbors remote,

and to the companion at your side,

and to the traveler,

and to your wards.

For God does not love

the arrogant, the boastful,

those who are avaricious,

or make others avaricious,

and conceal what God has given them

of divine grace.

And

We have prepared

a humiliating torment

for the ungrateful,

and those who spend their money

to be seen by people

without believing in God

or the last day;

and for those to whom

the Perverter is an intimate,

what a wretched companion!

And what burden would it be on them

if they believed in God and the last day

and spent charitably of what God provided them?

And God has complete knowledge of them.

Verily God does not oppress unjustly,

in the slightest measure:

for if there is any good,

God redoubles it,

giving a great reward

from the divine presence.

(48-50)

God does not pardon setting up partners to God but pardons anything else for
anyone, by divine will. And whoever attributes partners to God has invented a
serious wrong.

Have you not observed

those who commend themselves?

God, on the contrary,

commends whom God will:

and they will not be treated unjustly

in the slightest degree.

Look how they invent falsehood about God; and that is sufficient in itself to be
an obvious wrong.

(51-53)

Have you not observed

those to whom was given

a portion of the Book?

They believe in idols and false deities,

and say to skeptics

they are better guided in a way

than are those who believe.

They are those whom God has cursed. And for those whom God has cursed you
will not find help.

Have they a part in the Dominion?

Well then, look—

They give people nothing.

(58)

God instructs you

to redeem your pledges

to the people due them;

and when you judge between people,

that you judge with justice.

Excellent indeed is that

which God advises you:

for God hears and sees all.

(85-87)

Whoever intercedes

with intervention for good

partakes thereby of it;

and whoever intercedes

with intervention for ill

shares thereby in it:

and it is God

who makes everything happen.

And when you are greeted

with a salutation,

offer a greeting nicer still,

or at least return it;

for God takes account of everything.

There is nothing worth worship but God:

God will gather you together

for the day of resurrection,

in which there can be no doubt.

And who is truer than God in speech!

(97-100)

To those whose lives the angels take

while they are unjust to their own souls,

the angels say, "What was your situation?"

They say, "We were oppressed on earth."

The angels say, "Was not God's earth broad enough

for you to flee?"

And their shelter is hell,

a miserable refuge.

Excepted are the oppressed men, women, and children who can do nothing about
it and are not guided in any way:

for them it may be that God will forgive them, for God does pardon, is very
forgiving.

And whoever flees

in the cause of God

will find on the earth

many a spacious refuge;

and whoever leaves his home

as a refugee unto God

and the Messenger

and then is overtaken by death

is due his reward from God;

and God is most forgiving,

most merciful.

(105-108)

We have sent the Book

to you with truth,

that you may judge among people

by what God has shown you;

so do not contend
on behalf of the traitorous.

And seek forgiveness of God, for God is most forgiving, most merciful.

And do not argue the case of those who deceive themselves; for God does not
love the treacherous and evil.

They may hide from the people,

but they do not hide from God;

for God is with them when they scheme

in words God does not sanction.

And God comprehends

whatever they do.

(114)

There is no good

in most of their private conferences,

except those who enjoin

charity or justice

or reconciliation among people:

and whoever does that,

seeking the pleasure of God,

will be given a great reward.

(124-126)

Anyone, male or female,

who does what is good

and is faithful

will enter the Garden

and will not be oppressed at all.

And who is better in religion

than those who surrender

their being to God

and do good

and follow the way of Abraham,

seeking truth?

For God took Abraham

as a friend.

And to God belongs

what is in the heavens

and what is in the earth;

and God encompasses everything.

(152)

For those who believe

in God and the Envoys of God,

and do not discriminate

among the Envoys,

their reward is imminent;

for God is most forgiving,

most merciful.

(163-166)

We have inspired you, as We inspired Noah and the prophets after him; for We
inspired Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes and Jesus and
Job and Jonas and Aaron and Solomon; and We gave David the Book of Psalms.

And there were messengers

of whom We told you before,

and messengers of whom

we have not told you.

And God spoke directly to Moses.

There were messengers

who brought glad tidings

and who warned,

so humanity might have no dispute

against God

after the messengers.

And God is most mighty, most wise.

But God witnesses

to having revealed to you

God's revelation
by divine knowledge.

And the angels bear witness,

though God

is enough of a witness.

(171-175)

People of the Book,

do not go to excess

in your religion,

and do not say of God

anything but truth.

The Messiah,

Jesus son of Mary,

was only an Envoy of God

and a Word of God

bestowed on Mary,

and a Spirit from God.

So believe in God

and the envoys of God,

and do not speak of a trinity,

for it would be better for you to stop.

God alone is the One worthy of worship:

glory to God,

exalted beyond having a son.

To God belongs all

in the heavens and the earth;

and God is sufficient

to manage it all.

The Messiah

does not disdain

to be a servant of God,

and neither do the intimate angels.

As for those who disdain

the worship of God

and who aggrandize themselves,

God will gather

all of them up.

But to those who believe and do good works God will give their rewards and
even more from divine grace. And those who are disdainful and arrogant God
will chastise with severe torment; and they will not find apart from God a friend
or helper for them.

Humanity,

there has come an evident proof

from your Lord:

for We have sent you

a clear light.

So those who believe in God

and cleave to God

will God admit

into mercy from God,

and grace.

And God will guide them

to the divine

in a straight and upright way.

The Table

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(44)

It is We

who sent the Torah,

in it guidance and light.

The prophets who surrendered to God

judged by it for the Jews,

and so did the rabbis and priests,

since they were entrusted with

the Book of God

and were witnesses to it.

So do not fear people,

but rather fear Me;

and do not sell My signs

for a petty price.

And those who do not judge

by what God has revealed

are ungrateful scorners.

(46-50)

And We caused to follow after them

Jesus son of Mary,

confirming the truth

of the Torah before him;

and we gave him the Gospel,

in it guidance and light,

also confirming the truth

of the Torah before it,

as guidance and admonition

for the conscientious.

And let the people of the Gospel judge by what God revealed therein; and those
who do not judge by that which God has revealed, they are the rebellious.
And We sent the Book to you

with truth, confirming

the scripture before it

and safeguarding it.

So judge between them

by what God has revealed;

and do not follow their desires

away from the truth

that has come to you.

For every one of you

We have established a norm

and an open way.

And if God willed,

you would have been made

a single people;

but God is testing you

in what you have been given.

So race to virtues;

God is your destination, all:

and God will inform you

about that wherein you differed;

and that you should judge between them

by what God has revealed,

and not follow their desires;

and beware of them

lest they seduce you away

from part of what God revealed to you.

And if they turn away,

know that it is just God's wish

to punish them for some of their crimes.

And in fact much of humanity is rebellious.

So do they seek the judgment of ignorance? And who is better than God at
judgment for a people who are sure?

(54-6o)

Believers,

if any of you

turn back from God's religion,

God will bring forth a people

divinely beloved

who love the Divine:

humble to the believers,

strong against the scorners,

they will strive in the way of God

without fear of the censure of critics.

That is the grace of God,

who bestows it on anyone at will;

and God is all-encompassing,

all-knowing.

Your friends in fact

are only God and God's Envoy,

and those who believe,

those who are constant in prayer

and give charity,

bowing to God.

And if any take for friends God and the Envoy of God as well as the believers,
truly it is the followers of God who are the victorious.

Faithful believers,

do not take for friends

those who make of your religion

mockery and sport,

whether they be of those

to whom the Book

was given before you,

or they be disbelievers.

And be wary of God,

if you are believers.

For when you call to prayer, they take it for mockery and sport; that is because
they are a people who do not understand.

Say,

'People of the Book!

Do you disavow us for anything

but that we believe in God

and what was sent down to us

and what was sent down before,

and most of you are vicious?"

Say,

"Shall I inform you of something worse than that as a reward with God? Those
whom God has cursed, and with whom God is angry, of whom God has made
apes and swine and slaves of seducers. Theirs is an evil state, and it leads away
from the right path."

(65)

But if only people of the Book would believe and be conscientious, We would
certainly erase their evils and admit them to the Garden of felicity.

(67-69)

Messenger,

convey what is revealed to you

from your Lord;

for if you do not,

you have not conveyed

the divine message.

And God will protect you

from human beings;

for God does not guide

a people who refuse.

Say,

'People of the Book,

you have nothing to stand on

until you practice

the Torah and the Gospel

and what has been sent to you all

from your Lord."

But in most of them

what has been sent

to you from your Lord

increases excess and ingratitude.

So do not grieve

for an ungrateful people.

Indeed, be they Muslims, Jews, Sabians, or Christians, those who believe in God
and the final day and who do good have nothing to fear, and they will not grieve.

(87)

And what hinders us

from believing in God

and what has come to us from the Truth?

For we hope that God

will allow us to be

with a people who are good.

Cattle

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-3)

All praise belongs to God, who created the heavens and earth, and made the
darkness and light; yet those who are ungrateful equate others with their Lord.

God it is who created you from clay,

then decided a term.

And there is an appointed term

in the presence of God.

And yet you doubt.

And God is what is worthy of worship

in the heavens and the earth:

God knows your secret

and your manifestation,

and God knows what you deserve.

(11-14)

Say,

'Travel over the earth and see what became of those who rejected truth as false."

Say, "To whom belongs

what is in the heavens and earth?"

Say, "To God,

self-committed to mercy.

God will surely gather you all

for the day of judgment

in which there is no doubt;

those who have lost their own souls

are those who do not believe.

"And to God belongs all that dwells in the night and in the day, and God is all-
hearing, all-knowing."

Say, "Shall I take for friend and protector

any other than God,

creator of the heavens and the earth?

For God feeds but is not fed."

Say, "I am commanded to be the first

of those who submit to God;

and you should not be idolatrous."

(32)

And the life of this world is nothing but play and sport: and indeed the abode
hereafter is best for the conscientious; so won't you understand?

(38)

And there is no beast upon the earth

nor bird that flies on wings

but forms communities like you:

We have not omitted

anything from the Book;

and after a time

they will be gathered,

called unto their Lord.

(42-48)

And We did send envoys

to communities before you,

and seized them

with misfortune and affliction,

that they might humble themselves.

But why did they not humble themselves when Our misfortune reached them?
Instead their hearts hardened, and Obsession made charming to them what they
used to do.

Then when they forgot

what they had been reminded of,

We opened for them

the doors of all things,

till they smiled

at what they had been given.

Unexpectedly We seized them,

and then they despaired.

And so was cut off

the last remnant

of the people who did wrong;

and the praise belongs to God,

Lord of the universe.

Say, "Do you imagine,

should God take your hearing

and your seeing

and seal your hearts,

some god other than God

that will restore them?"

Observe how We explain the Signs,

and yet they turn away.

Say, "Do you think that if there came to you the punishment of God,
unexpectedly or obviously, any will be destroyed except the people who are
unjust?"

We only send the envoys as bearers of good tidings and as warners; so whoever
believe and amend themselves have nothing to fear and will not sorrow.

(50-54)

Say, "I do not tell you I have the treasures of God; and I do not know the unseen.
And I do not tell you that I am an angel. I only follow

what was revealed to me." Say,

"Are the blind and the seeing equal? So will you not consider?"

So warn by this those who fear they'll be gathered to their Lord: other than God
there is for them no protector and no intercessor; thus may they be wary.

And do not drive away

those who call upon their Lord

in the morning and the evening

seeking the essence of God:

you are not accountable for them,

and they are not accountable for you.

So if you drive them away,

you will be an oppressor.

And thus have We tried some of them by others, that they might say, "Are these
the ones whom God has graced from our midst?" Does not God know best who
are the grateful ones?
And when there come to you

those who believe in Our signs,

say, "Peace upon you."

Your Lord is self-committed to mercy,

so that if any among you

do something bad in ignorance

but then repent and make amends,

assuredly God

is forgiving and merciful.

(56-57)

Say,

'I am forbidden to worship

those upon whom you call

other than God."

Say,

'I do not follow your desires;

I would have strayed in that case,

and would not be among the guided."

Say,

'I act on evidence

from my Lord,
though you consider it false.

I do not have

what you seek to hasten;

God alone has the wisdom.

God tells the truth

and is the best of judges."

(59-6o)

For with God

are the keys of the unseen;

no one knows them

but God.

And God knows

what is on the land

and in the sea;

and not a single leaf falls

but God knows it.

And there is not a single grain

in the darknesses of earth,

nor anything green, or withered,

but is in an open Book.

And it is God
who takes your souls by night,

and knows what you have acquired by day;

then resurrects you in it,

that an appointed term

may be fulfilled.

Thence your destination

is to God,

who will then acquaint you

with what you have done.

(95-98)

Surely it is God

who splits the seed and the stone,

bringing the living

from the dead;

and it is God who brings the dead.

from the living.

That is God;

so how can you be deceived?

God causes the dawn to break, and has made the night for rest, and the sun and
moon for reckoning; that is the ordering of the Mighty, the Knowing.

It is God who has made the stars for you that you may be guided by them in the
darknesses of land and of sea. We have defined the signs for a people who
discern.

It is God who has produced you all

from a single self;

so here is an abode, and a lodging.

We have defined the signs

for a people who understand.

(114-117)

So shall I seek a judge

other than God,

the very one

who sent the Book to you

clearly explained?

And those to whom

We gave the Book

know it is a revelation

from your Lord

in truth:

so do not be any part

of those who doubt.

And the word of your Lord is fulfilled in truthfulness and justice: there is no
changing the divine word, for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
But if you were to obey most of those on earth, they would divert you from the
way of God: for they follow but conjecture, and they only tell untruth.

Surely your Lord knows best

who has strayed from the way of God;

and God knows best

who are guided.

(120)

So forsake all sin,

both open and secret;

for those who are guilty of sin

will be recompensed

for what they have gained.

(122)

And can those who were dead

but We brought to life

and gave a light wherewith

to walk among humanity

be as those

who are in the dark

and cannot emerge from it?

Thus for the ungrateful

what they have done

is made to seem pleasing to them.

(130)

Assembly of spirits and humanity!

Did there not come to you

messengers from among you

relating My signs

and warning you

of the meeting

of this day of yours?

They will say,

'We bear witness against ourselves."

For the life of the world

deceived them with vain hopes;

so they testified against themselves

that they had been ungrateful.

(159-160)

As for those who split their religion

and divide up into sects,

you have no part in them at all:

their affair is up to God alone,

who will acquaint them

with what they have been doing.

For those who do good

is ten times that much;

and those who do evil

will not be rewarded

but by its like:

and they will not be wronged.

(162-164)

Say,

"Truly my prayer and total devotion and my life and my death are for God, Lord
of the worlds.

"No partner has God: this am I instructed; and I am the first of those who
submit.'

Say,

"Shall I seek a lord other than God, who is Lord of all things? And no soul earns
but what is due it,

and none bears the burden of another. Ultimately your destination is to your
Lord, who will acquaint you with that on which you differed."

The Heights

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL (2-10)

A Book has been sent down to you, so let there be no constriction in your chest
from it, that you may warn by it, a reminder to believers.
Follow what has been sent down to you all from your Lord, and follow no
protector but God. Little do you heed.

How many communities have We destroyed and visited with Our vengeance in
their homes by night or as they slept by day?

And never was their cry,

when Our vengeance came to them,

anything but "We were wrong!"

And We will question those

to whom the message was sent,

and We will question the messengers.

And we will tell them all with knowledge, for We are never absent.

And the balance on that day will be the Truth: and those whose scales are heavy
are the happy ones.

And those whose scales are light

are those who have lost their own souls

because they mistreated Our signs.

We have established you on earth,

and We have provided you livelihood there:

little is your gratitude.

(11-25)

And We created you and formed you: and then We said to the angels, "Bow to
Adam." And they bowed, save Ibliis, who was not of those who bowed.

God said, "What prevented you from bowing

when I commanded you?"

Ibliis said, "I am better than he:

You created me of fire,

but You created him of clay."

God said,

"Then descend from here: it is not for you to exalt yourself here. Get out then;
for you are among the vile."

Ibliis said, "Grant me respite until the day they are resurrected."

God said, "You shall be of those granted respite."

Ibliis said,

"Then in view of the fact that You have made me stray, I will lie in wait for them
on Your righteous path.

"And I intend to come upon them, to their faces and behind their backs and from
their right and their left: and You will not find most of them grateful to You."

God said, "Get out of here, despised and rejected: indeed, if any of them follow
you, I will fill hell with you all.

"But you, Adam, dwell in the garden, you and your wife, and eat of whatever
you want; but do not come near this tree, lest you become abusive oppressors."

Then the Obsessor whispered to them suggestions to expose to them their shame,
which had been hidden from them, and said,

"Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become angels or
immortals."

And he swore to them, "I am a sincere adviser to you."

So he made the two fall by means of vain hope: and when they tasted of the tree,
their shame was exposed to them; and they began to sew together leaves from
the garden to cover themselves. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid
you that tree, and tell you the Obsessor is clearly inimical to you?"

They said, "Our Lord!

We have oppressed ourselves! And if You do not forgive us and have mercy on
us, We will surely be lost."

God said, "Descend,

enemies of one another: there is for you a dwelling on earth and provisions for a
while."

God said,

"There you will live, and there you will die; but you will be taken out of there."

(26-31)

Descendants of Adam!

We have sent you clothing

to hide your shame and adorn you;

though the garment of conscience is best.

That is among the signs of God,

so they may take heed.

Descendants of Adam!

Let the Obsessor not tempt you

as when he had your ancestors

expelled from the garden,

stripping from them their clothing

to show them their shame.

Indeed, he sees you,

he and his cohorts,

from where you do not see them:

for We have made obsessions

friends of those without faith.

And when they do what is shameful, they say, "We found our fathers at it, and
God has directed us to it." Say, "God does not command anything that is
shameful: will you say of God what you do not know?"

Say,

"My Lord has commanded justice, and to direct your being right to God in every
place of worship; and call upon God, true to God in faith: you shall revert to how
God first made you."

Some God has guided,

while some have deservingly strayed,

for they took to obsessions,

these instead of God,

and think they are the guided ones.

Descendants of Adam, wear your adornments at every place of worship, and eat
and drink: but do not be extravagant, for God does not love those who waste.

(33)

Say,

"My Lord has only forbidden what is shameful, open or secret; and iniquity, and
unjust oppression; and that you associate anything with God for which no
authority has been revealed; and that you say of God what you do not know."

(35-36)

Descendants of Adam!

Whenever a messenger from among you

comes to you relating My signs,

those who are conscientious

and amend their lives

have nothing to fear

and they will not grieve.

But those who repudiate Our signs and treat them with contempt are the
inhabitants of the fire, those who remain therein.

(87)

And if there is among you

a group who believes

in what I have been sent with,

and a group who does not believe,

then be patient until God judges between us,

for God is the best of judges.

(94-96)

We never sent a prophet to a city without afflicting its people with misery and
distress so that they might become humble.

Then We exchanged advantage for adversity until they grew, and said,
"Our fathers too were touched by distress and prosperity." Then We suddenly
seized them, while they were unawares.

But if only the people of the cities were faithful and conscientious, We would
surely have opened for them blessings from heaven and earth: but they
repudiated truth as lies, so We took them to task for what they did deserve.

(152-153)

As for those who have made idols for themselves, wrath from their Lord will
overtake them, and degradation in the life of this world: thus do We pay
inventors of lies.

But to those who have done wrong yet repent thereafter and believe, your Lord
is most forgiving after that, most merciful.

(155-157)

Moses chose seventy of his people

for an appointment with God:

and when violent shaking seized them,

he said, "My Lord!

If You wished, You could have already

destroyed them, and me as well:

will You destroy us for the deeds

of the ignorant fools among us?

Surely this is but a trial from You,

by which You mislead whomever You will;

and You guide whomever you will.

You are our protector:

so forgive us and have mercy on us;

for You are the best of forgivers.

"And ordain good for us

in this world and the hereafter:

for we have turned to You."

God said, "I strike with My punishment

whomever I will.

But My mercy extends to all things;

so I will make it the destiny of those

who are conscientious and charitable,

and those who believe in Our signs:

"those who follow the Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, of whom they find
notice in their own writings, in the Torah and the Gospel: he directs them to what
is fair, and restrains them from iniquity; and he makes good things lawful to
them, and prohibits what is bad. And he relieves them of their burden, and the
yokes that were upon them. So those who have faith in him, and who honor and
assist him, and who follow the light sent down with him— those are the happy,
successful ones."

(172)

When your Lord brought forth from the offspring of Adam descendants from
their loins and had them testify regarding themselves

—"AM I NOT YOUR LORD?"—

They said, "Oh yes! We so testify!" Lest you say on Judgment Day, 'We were
heedless of this!"

(177-181)
A bad example are the people who have repudiated Our signs, thus oppressing
their own souls.

Those whom God does guide are thus those rightly guided; and those God leads
astray are the ones who lose.

And We have made for hell

many sprites and humans:

they have hearts,

but do not understand with them;

and they have eyes,

but do not see with them;

and they have ears,

but do not hear with them.

They are like cattle,

but even more astray;

they are the heedless ones.

The most beautiful names are God's,

so call on God by them,

avoiding those who profane the names:

they will be given their due

for what they have been doing.

And of those We have created is a people who guide by truth and with it render
justice.
(204-206)

And when the Recital is read,

listen to it silently

that you may be blessed with mercy.

And remember your Lord within your soul in humility and awe, morning and
evening, without ostentation in words; and do not be of the heedless.

Those with your Lord

are not too arrogant to worship;

they honor and bow to God.

Taa Haa

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(2-8)

We have not sent

the Recital down to you

that you should be miserable,

but only as a reminder to those who fear God,

a revelation from the Creator

of the earth and the heavens on high,

the Compassionate One established on the Throne,

to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and on earth, and what is between
them, and what is under the soil.

So if you speak the word aloud,

surely God knows the secret,

and what is most deeply concealed.

God is the only God,

to whom belong the most beautiful names.

(25-36)

[Moses] said, "My Lord, expand my chest for me,

and ease my task for me,

and loosen the knot from my tongue,

that they may understand my speech.

And provide me a minister from my family,

Aaron, my brother;

increase my strength by him,

and have him share my task,

that we may glorify You much

and remember You often.

For You are watching over us."

God said, "Moses, your request is granted."

The Prophets

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-10)

Their reckoning has drawn near for humankind, while they turn away in
heedlessness.

Whenever there comes to them a new reminder from their Lord, they ridicule it
as they hear it,

their hearts inattentive. And they keep their conferences secret, do those who act
oppressively: "Is this but a man like yourselves? Will you then take to sorcery,
with open eyes?"

[The Prophet] said, "My Lord knows what is said in heaven and on earth; God is
all-hearing and all-knowing."

"No," they say, "it is a jumble of dreams." "No, he made it up." "No, he is a
poet." "Let him produce a sign

like what was revealed

by the ancients."

No community before them that We destroyed believed: will they then believe?

And We never sent before you

any but men whom We inspired:

so ask the people who have been reminded

if you do not know.

And We did not give them bodies

that did not eat food;

and they were not immortal.

Then We fulfilled the promise and We saved them, and those We willed to save.
And We destroyed the wasteful, who went beyond all bounds.

We have sent to you a Book

in which is a reminder for you all:

will you not then comprehend?

(11-29)

How many communities

have We annihilated

as wrongdoers and oppressors,

and produced other peoples after them?

And when they feel Our vengeance, they flee from it.

Do not flee, but return

to what has been given you

of the good things in this life,

and to your homes,

so that you may be questioned.

They said, "To our dismay, we were indeed wrongdoers!"

And that did not cease to be their cry

until We mowed them down, reduced to dead ashes.

And not in play did We create

heaven and earth

and all that is between them.

Had We wished to take to sport, We would have made one from Our Own
domain if We were to do so.

No, but We do hurl Truth against falsehood, and It breaks its head, and falsehood
perishes. And woe to you all for what you assert.
To God belongs all those in the heavens and on the earth: and those in the
presence Divine are not too proud to worship God, and neither do they weary:

they glorify God unceasingly, by night and by day.

Have they taken to gods from the earth who resurrect the dead?

Had there been gods in heaven and earth other than The God, both would surely
have gone to ruin. So glory to God, Lord of the Throne, beyond what they
describe.

God is not questioned for what God does; they are the ones to be questioned.

Have they taken to gods

other than The One?

Say, "Bring your proof.

This is the reminder

of those who are with me,

and the reminder

of those before me."

But most of them

do not know the truth,

and so they turn away.

Whenever We sent an envoy, We revealed to him that there is nothing to worship

but Me, so worship Me.

Yet they say,

'The Compassionate One has gotten a son;

glory to Him!"
No, they are but honored servants:

they do not speak before God does, and they act by God's decree.

God knows what lays before them

and what is behind them:

and they do not intercede

but for those with whom God is pleased,

and they are wary for fear of God.

And if any of them say, 'I am to be worshiped instead of God," for that We
reward them with hell: thus do we recompense wrongdoers.

(30-41)

Do not the ungrateful perceive

that the heavens and the earth

were united together,

then We split them apart?

And We made from water

all living things.

Will they not have faith?

And We set upon the earth

immovable mountains,

lest it quake with them;

and We set on it pathways as roads,

so that they might be guided.

And We made the sky

a roof, protected;

yet they turn away from its signs.

And God it is who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each
swimming in an orbit.

And We have not granted permanence

to anyone before you.

If then you will die,

are they to be here forever?

Every soul experiences death.

And We try you all

by ill and by good

as experiential proof.

And to Us you will all be returned.

And when ingrates without faith see you, they only take you for a joke: "Is this
the one who mentions your gods?" While they themselves reject reminder of The
Compassionate One.

Humankind is made of haste. I will show you all My signs, so do not try to hurry
Me.

And they say,

"When is this promise fulfilled, if you are being truthful?"

If only disbelievers knew of the time when they cannot ward off the fire from
their faces or from their backs and they will not be helped!

No, it will come upon them unawares,

and confound them,

so they cannot avert it,

and no respite will they have.

And Messengers before you have indeed been mocked; but the scoffers were
surrounded by what they had been mocking.

(42-50)

Say, "Who can protect you from the Compassionate One by night and by day?"
But they turn away from mention of their Lord.

Have they gods to defend them instead of Us?

They are unable to help themselves, and they are not protected from Us.

But We let these people enjoy things, they and their forefathers, until life grew
long to them. Do they not then see that We affect the earth, reducing it from its
borders? Will they then be the winners?

Say, "I only warn you all by revelation. 5 But the deaf do not hear the call when
they happen to be warned.

But if there touched them

a breath of the punishment of their Lord,

they would surely say,

To our dismay, we were doing wrong!"

And We will set up the scales of justice

for the day of reckoning:

and no soul shall be wronged in anything.

And be it the weight of a mustard seed,

We will bring it forth:

and We are well able to take account.

And We gave Moses and Aaron

the Criterion, and Light,

and a reminder for the conscientious,

those who fear their Lord in secret, and who are dreading the Hour.

And this is a blessed message

We have sent:

will you all then reject it?

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(35-42)

God is the light

of the heavens and the earth.

The simile of God's light

is like a niche in which is a lamp,

the lamp in a globe of glass,

the globe of glass as if it were a shining star,

lit from a blessed olive tree

neither of the East nor of the West,

its light nearly luminous

even if fire did not touch it.

Light upon light!

God guides to this light

whomever God will:

and God gives people examples;

and God knows all things.

The light is in houses

which God has allowed to be raised

that the name of God be remembered there,

where God is glorified

in the mornings and the evenings,

by people who are not diverted

by business or commerce

from remembrance of God

and persistence in prayer

and giving of alms,

as they fear a day on which

hearts and eyes will be transformed,

82

that God may reward them

for the best of what they did,

and grant them even more

from the grace divine.

And God provides without measure

to whomever God will.

As for the ungrateful who do not have faith, their works are like a mirage on a
plain, which the thirsty man thinks to be water until he comes to it and finds
nothing there-but he finds God in his presence, and God pays him his earnings;
and God is swift in accounting—

or like the darknesses

in an ocean deep and vast

covered over with waves,

upon them waves,

over them clouds.

Darknesses one on top of another;

if one stretched forth a hand,

one would hardly see it.

And whoever God gives no light

has no light at all.

Do you not see that God is glorified

by all beings in the heavens and the earth,

even the birds on the wing?

Each one knows its own mode

of prayer and of praise:

and God is aware

of all that they do.

For to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and the journey is
to God.

Rome

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(2-10)

The Roman Empire has been defeated

in the nearest part of earth;

but they will be victors after their defeat,

in three to ten years.

All matters are up to God,

in the past and in the future.

And on that day

the faithful will exult,

with the help of God.

God helps whom God will,

and God is almighty, most merciful.

It is the promise of God:

and God does not break a divine promise,

though most of humanity does not know.

They know the externals of the life of the world, but they are heedless of the
ultimate end.

Do they not reflect within their souls?

God did not create the heavens and the earth

and all that is between them

but in the right way and for an appointed term:

but most of humanity does not believe

in the meeting with their Lord.

And do they not travel the earth

and see how those before them ended up?

They were more powerful than these,

and tilled the earth, and populated it,

more densely than have these.

And there came to them

Messengers to them with clarifications.

And God would not wrong them,

but they have wronged themselves.

Then the end of those who did evil was evil, in that they rejected the signs of
God and took them for a joke.

(11-19)
God initiates creation,

then repeats it;

then to God you are returned.

And on the day the hour arrives, sinners will be despondent.

And they will have no intercessors

from among their idols,

and they will curse these idols of theirs.

And on the day the hour arrives, on that day they will be divided:

those who had faith and did good works will be gladdened in a garden;

while those who disbelieved

and repudiated Our signs and the final meeting

will be brought to punishment.

So glorify God

as you enter into the evenings

and as you enter into the mornings—

for to God belongs all praise in the heavens and the earth— and at dusk and
noontide.

God brings forth the living from the dead, and brings forth the dead from the
living; and God enlivens the earth after its death: and so will you all be brought
forth.

(20-27)

And among the signs of God is creating you all from dust; and there you are,
humankind, propagating widely.
And among the signs of God

is having created for you

mates from yourselves

that you may feel at home with them,

and God put love and kindness among you.

Surely in that is a sign

for a reflective people.

And among the signs of God

is the creation of the heavens and the earth

and the diversity of your languages and your complexions.

Surely in that is a sign for the knowing.

And among the signs of God

is your sleep by night and by day,

and your seeking from the bounty of God.

Surely in that is a sign for a people who hear.

And among the signs of God is showing you lightning, occasion for fear and for
hope; and God sends water down from the sky, enlivening the earth after it has
died. Surely in that is a sign for an intelligent people.

And among the signs of God

is that sky and earth stand by divine decree.

Then when God calls you

with a call from earth,

you will all come forth.

To God belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth: all are obedient to God.

And God it is who begins creation, then repeats it:

and that is supremely easy for God. And to God refers the highest ideal in the
heavens and the earth: and God is almighty, most wise.

(28-40)

God gives you an example

from your own realm:

have you slaves who are partners

in what We have provided for you,

and you are equals in it,

you fearing them as you fear yourselves?

Thus do we explain the signs

to an understanding people.

No, those who do wrong follow their own desires without knowledge. Then who
guides those whom God has led astray? There are no helpers for them.

So turn your being to religion

in sincere devotion

by God-given nature,

according to which God created humanity.

There is no changing the nature

created by God.
That is the right religion,

but most of humanity does not know.

Turning to God repentant, be conscientious and prayerful, and do not be

idolators,

those who splinter their religion

and have become sectarian,

each party delighting in what they have.

And when affliction touches people,

they cry to their Lord, turning repentant to God.

Then when God has made them taste

of mercy from the Divine,

some of them attribute

partners to their Lord,

so that they are ungrateful for what We have given them. Enjoy, then, for you
will soon know.

Have We sent down to them an authority who speaks of what they have
idolized?

And when We have people taste mercy,

they rejoice in it;

but if ill befalls them

for what their own hands have brought on,

then they despair.

Do they not see that God expands and restricts the provision of whomever God
will? Surely in that is a sign for a people who believe.

So give their right to kin and the poor and the wayfarer: that is best for those
who seek the presence and favor of God; and they are the ones who thrive.

Whatever you give from excess profit

that it may grow even more

invested in people's wealth

does not increase with God;

but what you give in charity

seeking the presence and favor of God

is what will be compounded.

God is the one who created you all, then provided you sustenance, then will
cause you to die, then will bring you to life. Are there among your idols any who
can do aught of that? Glory to God, exalted beyond any association.

(4i-6o)

Corruption has appeared on land and on sea because of what human hands have
earned to make them taste some of what they did, that they may turn back.

Say, "Travel the earth and see how those before you ended up: most of them
were idolatrous."

So direct your being

to the right religion

before there comes a day from God

that cannot be averted:

on that day they'll be divided.

Those who were ungrateful bear responsibility for their ingratitude; while those
who do good works prepare for the repose of their own souls,

that God may requite from the bounty divine those who have faith and do good
works. Surely God does not love the ungrateful who disbelieve.

And among the signs of God

is that the winds are sent

as bearers of glad tidings

and to have you taste

of the mercy divine;

and that the ships may sail

by divine decree,

and that you may all seek

from the bounty of God,

and that you may be thankful.

And We have indeed sent before you

Envoys to their people,

who brought them clarifications;

then We took revenge

on those who committed crimes.

And it was incumbent upon us

to help the faithful believers.

God is the one who sends the winds

that stir up a cloud,

and God spreads it in the sky,

according to divine will,

and makes it into pieces,

and you see the rain

issuing from within it.

And it is showered

on whomever God will

from among the servants of God:

then they welcome it,

though earlier on,

before it was sent down upon them,

they were indeed in despair.

So look at the traces of the mercy of God, how it enlivens the earth after her
death. Indeed, God is the lifegiver to the dead; and God has power over all
things.

And if We sent a wind and they saw it yellowing, they would thereafter surely
become ungrateful.

So in fact you cannot cause the dead to hear, nor can you cause the deaf to hear
the call when they have turned their backs.

And you are not the guide of the blind

out of their error;

you cannot make anyone hear

but those who believe in Our signs

and have submitted.

God is the one who created you all weak,

then gave strength after weakness,

then gave weakness and old age after strength.

God creates whatever God will;

and God is all-knowing, all-powerful.

And on the day the hour arrives the guilty will swear they only lingered a while;
that is how deluded they were.

And those to whom was given knowledge and faith will say, "In fact you
lingered, according to the Book of God, until the day of resurrection. And this is
the day of resurrection, although you have not perceived."

So on that day the excuse of wrongdoers

will not be of use to them,

and no reconciliation is possible for them.

And We have set forth every ideal for humankind in this Recital: but if you
brought a verse to ingrates who disbelieve, they would surely say, "You are
nothing but liars!"

Thus does God stamp the hearts of those who do not know.

So be patient,

for the promise of God is true. And let those who are uncertain not divert you at
all.

Luqmaan

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(2-11)

These are the verses of the book of Wisdom,

as guidance and mercy for those who do good:

those who persist in prayer

and give regular charity,

and who are certain of the hereafter.

They are on guidance from their Lord; and they are the successful ones.

But among humankind are those

who invent amusing tales

to lead astray from the way of God

in the absence of knowledge

and to make light of it.

For them there is a degrading chastisement.

And when Our signs are related to them,

they turn away proudly,

as if they had not heard,

as if there were a burden in their ears:

inform them of an excruciating pain.

Surely for those who have faith

and do good works

there is a garden of felicity,

where they will be forever. The promise of God is true; and God is almighty, all-
wise.

God created the skies

without supports you can see,

and set upon the earth

immovable mountains

lest it quake with you all;

and dispersed thereupon

every kind of animal.

And We sent water from the sky,

and thus made propagate on earth

every noble pair.

This is the creation of God:

now show me what anyone else has created.

No, those who abuse are in obvious error.

(12-19)

And We gave Luqmaan wisdom that he would be thankful to God. And whoever
is thankful is only thankful for his own soul. And if anyone is ungrateful, well,
God is free from all needs, worthy of all praise.

And Luqmaan said to his son by way of admonition to him, "O my son!

Do not equate anything with God! For idolatry is a tremendous error!"

And We have made humankind responsible for their parents— their mothers
carry them, sapped and weakened, and their weaning takes two years— that you
should be thankful to Me and to your parents. The journey is to Me.

And if the two of them

struggle to have you associate with Me

what you have no knowledge of,

then do not obey them;

but keep company with them in this world,

in a courteous manner.

And follow the path

of those who turn to Me:

then your return is to Me,

and I will inform you

of what you used to do.

'My son! In fact

be there the weight

of a mustard seed,

even in a rock,

or in the skies,

or in the earth,

God will bring it forth:

for God is most subtly aware.

'My son! Practice prayer, prescribe what is good, and forbid what is bad. And
patiently tolerate whatever befalls you: for that is of the resolve that determines
affairs.

"And do not avert your face from people in arrogance or contempt, nor walk
haughtily on the earth: for God loves no conceited braggart.

"Adopt a middle course in your walk, and lower your voice; for the worst of
sounds is the braying of an ass."

(20-30)

Have you all not seen that God made everything in the heavens and the earth
subservient to you, and has showered you all with favor divine outwardly and
inwardly. But there are people who dispute about God while having no
knowledge and no guidance and no enlightening Book.

And when it is said to them, "Follow what God has sent down," they say, "No!

We will follow what we found our fathers devoted to." And even though it is
obsession itself calling them into the torment of the Blaze?

And those who submit their being to God

and are doers of good

have thus taken hold

of the most trustworthy support.

And the outcome of all things

is ultimately up to God.

And as for those who disbelieve, do not let their disbelief grieve you. They will
be returned to Us, and We will inform them of what they did. For God is well
aware of the nature of hearts.

We let them enjoy things a little,

then We drive them to a torment severe.

And if you asked them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they would
surely say, "God." Say, "All praise belongs to God." But most of them do not
know.

To God belongs what is in the heavens and the earth; surely God is self-
sufficient, supremely praiseworthy.

And even if all the trees on earth were pens,

and the ocean ink, backed up by seven more oceans,

the words of God would not be exhausted:

for God is infinite in power and wisdom.

Your creation and resurrection are but as those of a single soul. Surely God hears
and sees all.

Do you not see that God causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to
enter the night, and subordinated the sun and moon, each coursing till an
appointed term, and God is truly aware of what you do?

That is because God is the Truth,

and whatever else they call on is falsehood;

and God is infinite in loftiness and magnitude.

(3i-34)

Do you not see

that the ships sail the ocean

by the grace of God

to show you the signs of God?

Surely in that are signs

for all who are patient and thankful.

And when waves close in over them,

they call on God,

sincere in submitting to God.

And when We deliver them

onto dry land,

then some of them go straight.

And no one denies Our signs

but every traitorous ingrate.

99 \

Archbishop Mitty High School Library San Jose, California

Humanity!

Be wary of your Lord!

And fear a day

when no father can compensate

for his son,

nor a son compensate

for his father,

in anything at all.

Surely the promise of God is true:

so do not let the life of the world delude you,

and do not let delusion

delude you about God.

For indeed it is God

with whom is knowledge of the hour:

and God sends the rain,

and knows what is in all wombs.

And no soul knows

what it will earn tomorrow,

and no soul knows

in what land it will die:

God is all-knowing, completely aware.

Sheba

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-9)

All praise is due to God,

to whom belongs

what is in the heavens

and what is in the earth,

and to whom is due all praise

in the ultimate end.

And God is supremely wise and aware.

God knows what goes into the earth,

and what comes out of it,

and what descends from the sky,

and what ascends to it.

And God is most merciful, most forgiving.

But the ungrateful who disbelieve will say, "The hour will never come to us."
Say, "Oh, no! It will surely come to you, by my Lord, knower of the unseen,
from whom not an atom is hidden in all the universe.

And there is nothing smaller than that, and nothing greater, but is in a clear
Book,

that God may reward

those who have faith and do good:

for them is forgiveness

and a generous provision."

But for those who strive to frustrate Our signs is chastisement with a painful
punishment.

And those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent to you
from your Lord is the Truth, and it guides to the path of God, supremely
powerful, completely praiseworthy.

And the ungrateful who disbelieve have said,

'Shall we point out to you a man

who will tell you when you are torn apart

and scattered everywhere

that you will be in a new creation?

'Has he invented a lie against God,

or has a spirit possessed him?"

Oh, no!

Those who do not believe

in the hereafter

are in torment

and far astray.

Do they not see

what is before them

and what is after them

of heaven and earth?

If We willed,

We could cause the earth

to swallow them up,

or make a piece of the sky

fall upon them.

Surely in that is a sign

for every servant who turns to God.

(22-30)

Say,

"Call upon those whom you imagine other than God:

they have not an atom of power in the heavens or the earth; and they have no
share in either, and none is a helper of God."

And no intercession can avail with God

except for those permitted:

such that when their hearts

are freed from fear,

they will say, "What said your Lord?"

They will say, "The Truth.

And God

is supremely exalted,

supremely great."

Say,

"Who provides you sustenance from the heavens and the earth?" Say, "God.

And either you or we are on guidance or in evident error."

Say,

"You will not be questioned about the sins we committed, and we will not be
questioned about what you do."

Say,

"Our Lord will assemble us, then judge between us by truth: and God is the most
knowing judge."

Say,

'Show me those you have joined

in partnership with God.

By no means!

No, God is The God,

supreme in power and wisdom."

And We have not sent you but universally to humankind bearing glad tidings and
warning: but most of humanity does not perceive.

And they say,

'When is this promise to be,

if you are truthful?"

Say,

'You have an appointment

on a day you cannot put off

by even an hour

and cannot move forward."

(31-36)

The ungrateful who refuse have said, "We will not believe

in this Recital, or what preceded it."

If you could only see

when abusers are stood

before their Lord,

throwing back allegations at one another.

Those who had been despised will say to the arrogant, "If not for you, we would
have been believers!"
The arrogant will say to the despised, "Did we hold you back from the guidance
after it came to you? No, you were the guilty ones."

And the despised will say to the arrogant, "No, it was a plot of the night and the
day: you commanded us to deny God, and set up idols as equals to God." And
they will show regret when they see the chastisement: and We will put yokes on
the necks of the ungrateful; will they be requited for anything but what they have
done?

And We never sent a warner to a community but its affluent members say, "We
reject what you were sent with."

And they said,

"We have more wealth and sons, and we are not to be chastised."

Say,

"My Lord expands or restricts the sustenance of anyone, at will: but most of
humanity does not know."

(37-45)

It is not your wealth or your sons

by which you are brought nearer

in proximity to Our Presence:

only people who have faith and do good

are those for whom is compounded reward

for what they have done,

and they'll be secure

in the chambers on high.

And those who strive to thwart Our signs are brought into the torment.
Say,

'My Lord expands the livelihood

of any servant, at will,

or restricts it:

and whatever you spend,

God replaces it;

and God is the best of providers."

And one day God will gather them together and then will say to the angels, 'Did
these people worship you?"

They will say, "Glory to You! You are our Friend, not they.

But they did worship the spirits, in whom most of them believed."

Thus on that day none of you will have any power over anyone else, whether
helpful or harmful. And We will say to those who did wrong, "Taste the torment
of the fire, in which you did not believe."

And when Our clear signs

are recited to them, they say, "What is this but a man

who wishes to deter you

from what your fathers worshiped?"

And they say, "What is this but a fabricated lie?"

And those who deny the truth

when it comes to them say, "This is obvious enchantment."

But We have not given them Books for them to study, and We have not sent
them a warner before you.
And their predecessors denied the truth—

and these have not gotten a tenth

of what We gave to those—

and thus they rejected My envoys;

and how was My denial!

(46-54)

Say,

'I only admonish you all on one matter:

that you stand before God,

in pairs or alone,

then reflect:

your companion is not mad,

he is but a warner to you,

in face of severe torment."

Say,

'I do not ask you for recompense:

this is for you all.

My reward is up to God alone;

and God is witness to all things."

Say,

'My Lord hurls the truth,

fully perceiving all secrets."

Say,

'Truth has come.

And falsehood neither creates nor restores."

Say,

c If I have erred,

I just err on my own account;

but if I am guided,

it is by the inspiration

of my Lord to me;

for God is always listening, always near."

If you could only see

when they are smitten with fear

and there is no escape,

and they are seized

from a place nearby!

They will say,

'We certainly believe in God!" But how could they be receptive from a state so
remote,

having repudiated God before, hurling insults on the unseen from a state far
away?

There is an obstacle interposed between them and what they desire, as was done
with their kind before: indeed, they were in disquieting doubt.

Yaa Siin

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-12)

Yaa Siin

By the Recital, rich in wisdom,

you are surely one of the Messengers,

on a straight path.

It is a revelation sent down by the Mighty, the Merciful,

so you may warn a people

whose ancestors had not been warned

and so they were heedless.

The word has in fact

proved true against most of them,

but they do not believe.

For We have placed yokes on their necks,

reaching to their chins,

so their heads are forced up:

and We have placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and
covered them over, so they do not see.

And it is the same to them whether you warn them or not: they do not believe.
You can only warn those

who follow the Reminder

and fear the Compassionate One in secret:

give them news of forgiveness

and a generous, noble reward.

For We give life to the dead,

and We record what they sent before

and what they left after them:

and We have taken account of all things

in a clear book of examples.

(13-32)

Set forth to them a parable, of the companions of the city when there came to it
Envoys sent as messengers.

When We first sent them two,

they called them both liars;

so We strengthened the two

with a third.

And they said,

'We are messengers sent to you."

The people said,

'You are nothing but human beings like us.

And the Compassionate One does not send

anything down at all.

You are simply lying."

The messengers said,

'Our Lord knows we are indeed

messengers sent to you.

"And our only obligation is clear communication."

The people said, "We see an evil omen in you: if you do not desist, we will stone
you, and a painful punishment will hit you from us."

The messengers said, "Your evil omen is on your own account; does it depend on
your being admonished? No, you are a people exceeding all bounds."

And there came,

from the remotest part of the city, a man running: he said, "O my people! Follow
the Messengers:

"Follow those who ask you no reward, but are themselves guided ones.

"And how could I not serve the One who created me, and to whom you will all
be returned?

"Shall I take to other gods? If the Compassionate One wished me ill, their
intercession would avail me nothing, and they would not deliver me.

"Indeed, I would be in evident error.

"I do believe in your Lord: so listen to me."

It was said, "Enter the garden."

He said, "Ah, would that my people knew

"my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored ones!"

And We did not send

to his people after him

any hosts from heaven;

and We were not bound to send them.

It was but one single blast: and they were extinct!

Alas for the servants:

whenever a Messenger comes to them,

they mock him.

Do they not see how many communities We destroyed before them? To them
they'll not return.

And each and every one,

all together,

will be brought before Us.

(33-50)

And a sign for them

is the earth when it is dead:

We enliven it

and bring forth grain from it,

of which they partake.

And We have placed on it gardens of dates and grapes, and caused springs to
flow in it,
that they may eat of its fruits,

though their own hands did not make this:

will they not then be thankful?

Glory to the One

who created mates, all of them,

from what the earth produces,

from their own selves,

and from what they do not know.

And a sign for them is the night, from which We strip the day, whereupon they
are steeped in darkness.

And the sun courses

in the place established for it:

that is the order decreed

by the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

And for the moon

We have measured phases,

until it returns

to a tiny crescent.

The sun is not to overtake the moon, nor the night to outstrip the day; and each
swims in an orbit.

And a sign for them

is that We carried their race

in the loaded Ark:

and We made for them

the like of it,

in which they ride.

And if We wished,

We could drown them

so they would have no helper,

and they would not be delivered,

except as a mercy from Us, and as a temporary provision.

And when it is said to them,

'Be wary of what is before you

and what is behind you,

that you may be favored with mercy,"

not a single one of the signs of their Lord comes to them without them turning
away.

And when it is said to them,

'Spend of what God has provided you,"

those who disbelieve say to those who believe,

'Shall we feed those

whom God could have fed if willing?

You are simply in obvious error."

And they say,

'When is this promise to be fulfilled,

if you are telling the truth?"

They have nothing to look forward to

but a single blast:

it will seize them

even as they are disputing,

so they won't be able

to make their last will,

and they won't return to their families.

(51-67)

And the trumpet will be sounded, and from the graves to their Lord they will
hasten.

They will say,

'Woe to us!

Who has roused us

from our beds?"

This is what God

The Compassionate has promised,

for the Prophets spoke the truth.

It will be just one single blast,

whereupon all of them

will be brought together before Us.

And on that day

no soul will be wronged in anything, and you will not be rewarded except for
what you did.

The people of the Garden will be happy at work that day;

they and their mates will be in the shade reclining on couches,

every amenity there for them,

and they have whatever they call for.

Peace:

a word from a merciful Lord.

And stand aside this day, you who are sinners;

did I not command you, children of Adam, not to serve Obsession, an obvious
enemy to you,

and to serve Me,

this being a straight Path?

It has in fact led

a great many of you astray;

did you not understand?

This is hell,

which you were promised:

burn in it today,
for having been ungrateful.

On that day We will seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their
feet will bear witness to what they have earned.

And if We wished,

We could have put out their eyes;

and they would have rushed for the path,

but how could they see?

And if We wished,

We could have transformed them

in their places,

so they could neither

progress nor go back.

(68-83)

And whomever We grant long life,

We reverse in nature:

so will they not understand?

And We did not teach him poetry, as it is not proper for him. This is but a
Reminder and a clear Recital,

to warn those who are alive, and prove the Word against the ungrateful who
disbelieve.

Have they not seen that We have created for them, of what Our hands have
made, cattle, over which they have control?

And We have made them submissive, so some of them are mounts, and some of
them they eat.

And they have other uses for them, including milk to drink: are they not then
thankful?

Yet they take to gods other than The God, that they might perchance be helped.

They are unable to help them; but they will be brought forth as an army against
them.

So do not let their speech grieve you, for We know what they hide and what they
reveal.

Has Man not seen that We have created him from a drop? Yet there he is, an
open disputer!

And he makes similes for Us,

forgetting his own origin:

he says, "Who can enliven rotten bones?'

Say, "The One who created them the first time will bring them to life, knowing
full well every created nature.

"The One who produced fire for you from the green tree, so you yourselves
kindle fire from it.

"Is not the One who created the heavens and the earth not able to create their
like?" Oh, yes! For this is the Supreme Creator, the Omniscient One.

God's only command, when willing any thing is saying to it, "Be!" —and it is.

So glory to the One

in Whose hand

is the dominion of all things,

and to whom you will all be returned.

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-10)

Everything in the universe

glorifies God,

for God is almighty, all-wise.

God's is the dominion of the heavens and the earth: God gives life, and God
kills; and God has power over all things.

God is the first and the last, the manifest and the hidden: and God has full
knowledge of all things.

God it is who created

the heavens and the earth

in six days,

then sat firm upon the Throne.

God knows what goes into the earth,

and what comes out of it;

what descends from the sky,

and what ascends to it.

And God is with you all

wherever you may be:

and God sees what you do.

To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: and all affairs are
returned to God.
121

God makes night enter day, and day enter night; and God knows what is in all
hearts.

Believe in God

and the Envoy of God,

and spend of that

to which We made you heirs:

for those among you

who believe and who spend

there is a great reward.

What is the matter with you

that you do not believe in God

and the Messenger who calls you

to believe in your Lord?

For God has already taken your agreement

if you are faithful believers.

It is God who sends down to the servant of the divine evident signs to bring you
forth from darkness into light. And certainly God is in fact kind and merciful to
you.

And what is the matter with you

that you do not spend in the way of God,

though God's is the inheritance

of the heavens and the earth?

Not equal among you

are those who spent and fought

before the victory:

they are greater in rank

than those who spent and fought later on.

But to each God has promised good;

and God is fully aware

of everything you do.

(11-19)

Who is it that will lend

a fair loan to God:

for whom God will redouble it,

and for whom there is a noble reward.

One day you will see the faithful men and faithful women, their light streaming
before them and by their right hands: "Good news for you today: a Garden

beneath which rivers flow, abiding forever therein." That is the Greater Success.

One day the hypocrites, men and women,

will say to the faithful believers, "Wait for us,

that we may borrow

from your light/*

It will be said, "Turn back behind you

to seek light,"

while a wall will be set up

between them and it,

with a door therein,

within it mercy;

while outside, in front of it,

torment.

They will call to them, "Were we not with you?"

They will say, "Yes, indeed, but

you seduced your own selves,

you lay in wait, and you doubted,

and desires deceived you,

until there came the decree of God,

and the Deceiver deceived you

about God.

"So today no ransom will be accepted from you, nor from the ungrateful who
disbelieve. Your place is the fire; that is your master, and what a miserable
destination!"

Has the time not come

for those who believe

that their hearts should be humbled

to remembrance of God

and what God has revealed of Truth;

and that they should not be like those

to whom the Book was given before

but the ages grew so long to them

that their hearts were hardened

and many of them were dissolute.

Know that God enlivens the earth

after it has died:

We have already made clear to you the signs,

that you may understand.

For men who give charity and women who give charity and loan a fair loan to
God, it shall be multiplied for them, and theirs is a noble reward.

And those who believe in God

and the Messengers of God,

they are the truthful

and the witnesses

in the presence of their Lord

They have their reward

and their illumination.

And those who disbelieve

and repudiate Our signs,

they are the inmates of hell fire.

(20-25)

Know that the life of the world

is but diversion and distraction,

ostentation and vying for glory among yourselves,

and striving for more and more wealth and children.

It is like the example of rain,

the growth from which pleases the tillers,

then withers, and you see it yellow:

then it crumbles.

And at the end

is severe torment,

and forgiveness from God,

and acceptance.

And what is the life of the world

but the stuff of deception?

Race to forgiveness from your Lord, and to a Garden wide as sky and earth,
prepared for those who believe in God and the Envoys of God; that is the grace
of God, granted to whom God wills. And God has the Greatest Grace.

No affliction will strike on earth or in your souls but is in a Book before We

create it. Truly that is easy for God,
so that you do not sorrow over what has passed you by, and neither exult over
what has come to you. For God does not love any arrogant boaster,

those who are avaricious and urge others to avarice. And if any turn away, well,
God is the self-sufficient, the One who deserves all praise.

We have sent Our envoys

with clarifications:

and We sent with them

the Book and the Balance,

that humankind may stand by justice.

And We sent iron,

in which is violent force,

and advantages for humankind,

that God may know

who will be of help

to God and the Envoys of God,

though they are unseen.

Truly God is all-powerful, almighty.

(26-29)

And We sent down Noah and Abraham,

and placed among their descendants

prophecy and the Book,

so some of them were guided;

but many of them were dissolute.

Then We sent Envoys of Ours

to take up after them:

We sent Jesus son of Mary,

giving him the Gospel;

and We put compassion and mercy

in the hearts of those who followed him.

But the monasticism

they invented for themselves

was not prescribed by Us for them:

only seeking the pleasure of God.

And they did not observe it

as it really should be observed.

Yet We gave to those

among them who believed

their recompense;

while many of them are deviants.

Faithful believers,

be wary of God

and believe God's Messenger:

God will give you a double portion

of mercy divine,

and provide you a light

by which to walk;

and God will forgive you.

And God is the epitome

of forgiveness and mercy:

that the people of the Book

may know they have no power

over anything of God's grace;

and that the grace

is in the hand of God,

who gives it to anyone at will.

And God has the Great Grace.

The Spirits

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-19)

Say, "It has been revealed to me

that a group of spirits listened

and said, 'We have heard a wondrous Recital!

'It guides to true direction, so we surely believe in it; and we do not equate
anyone with our Lord.
'And exalted is the majesty of our Lord, who takes neither wife nor son.

'And the fools among us used to declaim extravagant lies against God;

'but we think no human or spirit should speak falsely of God.

'Yet there were individual humans who resorted to individual spirits; but that
increased their folly.

'And they came to suppose,

as did you,

that God would resurrect no one.

'And we pried into the secrets of heaven, but found it filled with steadfast guards
and blazing fires.

'And we used to sit

in some of its seats to listen:

but whoever listens now

will find a blaze

lying in wait for him.

'And we do not know if ill is intended

for the inhabitants of earth;

or if their Lord intends right direction for them.

'And some of us are good, and some of us are otherwise: we are on divergent
paths.

'And we consider ourselves unable

to thwart God on earth;

nor can we thwart God by fleeing.

'And when we heard the Guidance, we believed in it:

and whoever believes in their Lord will never be shortchanged and will not be
oppressed.

'And among us are some who surrender to God, and some who act unjustly. And
those who have surrendered to God, they seek right direction;

'while those who act unjustly, they are the firewood of hell.'"

And [say] that if they had gone straight on the Path, We would have given them
plenty of water,

that We might try them thereby. And whoever turn away from mention of their
Lord, God sends to a torment severe.

And [say] that the houses of worship are for the only God, so do not invoke
anyone together with God;

and that when the servant of God

stands to call upon God,

they have nearly become suffocating to him.

(20-28)

Say, "I call only on my Lord, with whom I associate no one."

Say, "I have no power in me to do you ill or guide you right."

Say, "No one can deliver me from God, and I will find no refuge apart from God,

'except reporting from God and God's messages. And for whoever disobeys God
and God's envoy, there is the fire of hell, wherein they remain forever,"

until, that is, they see

what they were promised:

and they will know

who is weaker in helpers

and who is smaller in numbers.

Say, "I do not know

if what you are promised is near,

or if my Lord has set it a distant time,

"knowing the unseen: God does not reveal the unseen mystery divine to anyone
at all,

"except a Messenger with whom God is pleased; and God sends forth observers
before and behind him,

"in order to know if he has delivered the messages of their Lord. And God
encompasses all that is with them, and takes account of every single thing."

Those Sent Forth

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(l-40)

By those that are sent forth gently,

then storm tempestuously;

by those who spread an announcement,

then distinguish differentiation

and set forth reminder,

as justification or warning:

what you are promised will surely take place.

That is when the stars are extinguished

and when the sky is split open,

and when the mountains are pulverized,

and when the Envoys are appointed their time.

To what day are these deferred?

To the day of judgment.

And what will convey to you what the day of judgment is?

Woe on that day to those who rejected truth as false!

Did We not annihilate peoples of earlier times?

We then cause others to follow them:

thus do We deal with sinners.

Woe on that day to those who rejected truth as false!

Did We not create you all from an ignominious fluid,

which We placed in a secure abode

for a determined measure?

For We have determined measures, being the best giver of order.

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false.

Have We not made the earth a gathering place

for the living and the dead?

And placed thereupon lofty mountains, and given you sweet water to drink?

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false:

'Go on your way to what you used to deny as false:

go to a three-forked shadow

that gives no shade

and is no use against the fire

that throws sparks big as buildings,

like a herd of yellow camels."

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false:

this is the day

they will be tongue-tied

and not allowed to excuse themselves.

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false!

That is the day of judgment, when We will gather you all and all of those before
you.

So if you have a scheme, then scheme against Me!

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false!

(41-50)

As for the conscientious, they will be in the midst of shades and springs,

and fruits such as they want:

"Eat and drink, as wholesome and beneficial, for what you have done."

Truly We thus reward those who are doers of good.

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false!

"Eat and enjoy a little: you are truly sinners."

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false!

When it is said to them, "Bow down," they do not prostrate themselves.

Woe on that day to those who reject truth as false!

In what tale after this will they then believe?

The Highest

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-19)

Extol the name of your Lord, the Highest,

who has created and given proportion,

who has directed and guided,

who has brought forth pasture

and turned it into brown straw.

We will make you recite so you will not forget

except what God wills.

For God knows the apparent

and the concealed.

And We ease you into what is most easy:

so remind,

if reminder avails.

The God-fearing will be reminded,

but the most wretched will turn aside,

those who enter the greatest fire,

where they neither die nor live.

Happy are those

who have purified themselves

and remember the name of their Lord and pray.

But you prefer the life of the world,

though the Hereafter is better and more lasting.

This is, in fact,

in the books of the ancients,

the books of Abraham and Moses.

Daybreak

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-5) By the daybreak,

and Ten Nights,

and the Even and the Odd,

and the night when it passes:

is there in these an oath to those of understanding?

(14-30) Your Lord is truly on the watch:

and as for humanity, when their Lord tests them by honoring and pampering
them, they say, "My Lord has honored me!"
And when their Lord tests them by restricting their livelihood, then they say,
"My Lord has abased me!"

Oh, no!

But you do not honor orphans

or encourage each other to feed the poor;

and you eat up inheritance with consuming gluttony,

and you love wealth with exceeding love.

Oh, no!

When the earth is pulverized,

pounded to dust,

and your Lord comes, and the angels, row after row, rank upon rank,

and on that day

will hell be set forth:

on that day

humankind will remember,

but how will that reminder avail them?

They will say, "Oh, would that I had prepared for my life!"

For on that day

no one can inflict

the punishment of God,

and no one can tie the bonds of God.

O soul,

in satisfied peace,

return to your Lord, pleased and accepted.

Join the company of My servants,

and enter into My Garden.

The City

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(l-20)

I swear by this city

—and you are a free dweller in this city—

and by the begetter and the begotten:

surely We have created humanity in difficulty.

Do they think no one has power over them?

They say they have spent much wealth;

do they think no one sees them?

Have we not given them two eyes,

and a tongue, and two lips?

And We showed them the two highways.

But they have not embarked upon the steep road.

And what will convey to you what the steep road is?

Emancipating a slave,
or feeding on a day of hunger

an orphaned relative

or a pauper in misery.

Then one will be of those who believe, and enjoin patience on one another, and
exhort each other to kindness:

they are the company on the Right Hand.

But those who repudiate our signs, they are the company on the Left Hand:

over them will be a vault of fire.

Night

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-21)

By the night when it is dark,

and the day when it is light,

and the creation of male and female,

your endeavors are surely diverse.

As for those who give and are conscientious

and believe in good and right,

We will facilitate ease for them.

As for those who are stingy and complacently satiated

and repudiate good and right,

We will facilitate hardship for them.

And their wealth does not profit them when they fall.

For guidance is up to Us,

and the hereafter and this world are Ours.

So I warn you all of a fiercely blazing fire:

none shall enter it but the most villainous,

who repudiate the truth and turn away.

And the most conscientious keep out of it,

they who give of their wealth to become pure,

without having any favor to be repaid to anyone,

but only desiring the acceptance of their Lord, the Most High,

who will surely be pleased.

The Forenoon

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-11)

By the forenoon, bright,

and the night

when dark and quiet,

your Lord has not abandoned you and does not despise you.

Surely hereafter is better for you than what was before.

And your Lord will surely give to you, and you will be pleased.

Did God not find you orphaned, and provide you refuge?
And find you wandering, and guide you?

And find you needy, and enrich you?

So do not oppress the orphan,

or refuse the one who seeks.

And tell of the bounty of your Lord.

The Expansion

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-8)

Have We not expanded your chest for you?

And removed your back-breaking burden from you?

And raised your repute for you?

For truly relief comes with distress;

indeed, with distress comes relief.

So when you are finished, be diligent still,

and be attentive to your Lord.

Recite!

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-1 9 )

Recite,

in the name of your Lord,

who created:
who created humankind from a clot of blood.

Recite,

for your Lord is most generous,

who taught by the pen,

taught humankind what it did not know.

Oh, no!

Humankind does indeed go too far

in regarding itself as self-sufficient:

in fact the return is to your Lord.

Do you see the one who forbids

the servant from prayer?

Do you see if he is on guidance,

or directs others to be conscientious?

Do you see if he repudiates truth and turns away?

Does he not know God sees?

Oh, no!

If he does not desist,

We will drag him by the forelock,

a lying, sinning forelock.

Let him call upon his associates then:

We will call the keepers of hell.

Oh, no!

Do not obey him:

bow down and draw closer to God.

The Night of Power

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-5)

Verily We have sent this in the Night of Power.

And what will convey to you what the Night of Power is?

The Night of Power is better than a thousand months:

the angels and the Spirit descend in it, by permission of their Lord, for
everything that matters.

It is Peace:

this until the rise of daybreak.

The Shock

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-8)

When the earth convulses in her shock,

and the earth disgorges her burdens,

and the people say, 'What is wrong with her?"

that day she will tell her news,

that your Lord has inspired her.

On that day humankind will go forth divided to be shown their works.

Thus whoever has done an atom of good will see it.

And whoever has done an atom of evil will see it.

The Charging Mares

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(l-ll)

By the charging mares as they pant,

striking sparks of fire,

mares on a morning charge,

leaving dust behind them,

plunged into the midst of a multitude.

Humanity is indeed ungrateful to its Lord,

and indeed bears witness to that fact,

and indeed is vehement in love of goods.

Do they not know

when what is in the tombs is scattered

and what is in the hearts called forth,

their Lord surely knows all about them on that day.

The Calamity

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-11)
The Calamity!

What is the Calamity,

and what will convey to you what the Calamity is?

A day when humankind will be like scattered moths,

and the mountains like carded wood.

And as for those whose balance is heavy,

they will be in a contented life;

and as for those whose balance is light,

their place will be an abyss.

And what will convey to you what this is?

A raging fire.

Vying for More and More

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-8)

Vying for more and more diverts you

until you go to the tombs.

But you will know;

indeed, on the contrary, you will know.

But if you knew

with certain knowledge,

you would surely see hellfire;

and you would see it with the eye of certainty.

Then you will be questioned about comfort on that day.

The Epoch

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-3) By the epoch,

humanity is indeed at a loss,

except those who have faith and do good works, and enjoin truth and justice
upon one other and enjoin patience upon one another.

The Slanderer

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-9) Woe to every slandering caviler

who gathers wealth and stores it up,

figuring his wealth will make him last.

No indeed!

He will be hurled

into the Shattering.

And what will convey to you what the Shattering is?

It is the fire of God alight,

that rises to the hearts.

Verily it forms a cover over them

in towering columns.
The Elephants

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(i-5)

Have you not seen what your Lord did to those with the elephants?

Did God not foil their scheme,

sending flocks of birds against them,

bombarding them

with stones of baked clay?

That made them like stripped cornstalks whose fruits have been consumed.

The Quraish

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-4) As for the Quraish compact,

their cooperation on journeys winter and summer,

let them serve the Lord of this house,

who feeds them lest they hunger and gives them security from fear.

Needs

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-7) Do you see the one who repudiates religion?

He is the one who rebuffs the orphan

and does not encourage feeding the poor.

So woe to those who pray

without paying attention to their prayers;

those who appear to pray

but are depriving the needy.

Help

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-3)

When the help of God comes, and victory,

and you have seen the people enter the religion of God in droves,

praise your Lord

and seek forgiveness of God:

for God is most forgiving.

Flame

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-5)

Moribund are the hands of the inflamed, and moribund is he.

His wealth does not enrich him and does not profit him.

He will burn in a flaming fire,

with his wife bringing the firewood,

a rope around her neck.

Pure Truth

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-4)

Say,

'It is God, Unique,

God the Ultimate.

God does not reproduce and is not reproduced.

And there is nothing at all equivalent to God."

The Dawti

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-5)

Say,

'I take refuge

in the Lord of the dawn

from the evil

of what it created,

and from the evil

of darkness when it is encompassing,

and from the evil of cursers,

and from the evil of the envious when they envy."

Humankind

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

(1-6)
Say,

'I take refuge

in the Lord of humankind,

the Ruler of humankind,

the God of humankind,

from the evil of insidious suggestion

that whispers in human hearts

from demonic and human sources."

Notes

The Opening (al Faatiha) (Chapter 1)

"The Opening" is sometimes compared to the Lord's Prayer of Jesus, in terms of

its popularity. The Prophet himself is said to have declared The Opening to be
the best of chapters in the Qur'an. Its seven verses are the most often repeated
lines of the Qur'an, and it introduces some of the most frequently used epithets
of God.

2 "All praise belongs to God" {al hamdu li I Laah): The definite ar-

ticle here is understood to make a categorical statement; as the source of all there
is, God alone is ultimately worthy of praise. Praise is an aspect of gratitude,
which according to Al-Ghazali constitutes half of the "straight way" to God.

"Lord of all worlds" (Rabbi I laalamiina): The word for "Lord" is from the root
R-B-B, whose primitive verb means to be master, to be lord, to have possession
of, to control, to have command or authority over. The word for "world," which
in the definite plural means universe or cosmos, comes from the same root as
"knowledge" and "distinguishing mark" (!-L-M), a fact of great interest from the
point of view of the Buddhist philosophy of vijnaptimaatrataa, or "representation
only," which states that the world as we cognize it consists of representations, or
mental constructs. The Sufi giant Muhiyuddin Ibn al Arabi also writes in his
Fuhuui al Hikaam that the created universe is essentially imagination.
3 "The Compassionate, The Merciful" {ar Rahmaan ar Rahiim):

These names of God are intensive derivatives of the root R-H-M, which suggests
compassion and mercy. I have translated the definite article as indicating God to
be characterized by the epitome of these qualities, whose intensive forms refer to
the exaltation of God infinitely beyond corresponding human qualities or,
subjectively, elevation of contemplation to the ideal perfection of God.
Compassion and Mercy refer to universal and particularized aspects of divine
bounty. Al-Ghazali makes much of the fact that

the Qur'an begins with mention of the compassionate and merciful attribute of
God, which qualities he says inherently necessitate all the other attributes of God
and are thus mentioned first in the Qur'an. The universal "compassion" of God is
the reason everything exists; the particularized "mercy" of God is the
providential manifestation of the bounty of the source of being.

6 "Show us the straight way" (ihdinaa as_ siraat al mustaqiim): The word for
"straight," mustaqiim, comes from the root Q-W-M, which in its primitive form
has meanings such as stand erect, perform, accomplish. Mustaqiim, present
active participle of the eighth measure of this root, has such nuances as upright,
straight, correct, sound, in order, even, regular, symmetrical, proportionate,
harmonious, honest, straightforward, righteous, honorable: all of these senses
should be read into the expression "straight way" as used in the Qur'an.

The Cow (al Baqara) (Chapter 2)

The revelation of "The Cow" began in the first year of the Prophet's emigration
to Medina and was completed near the end of his mission.

2 "This book, without doubt, has guidance in it. ..": This may also be read, "This
is The Book, without a doubt, in it guidance...." "conscientious" (muttaqiina):
This is from the root W-Q-Y, which has primitive meanings of guarding,
preserving, safeguarding, protecting. Muttaqiina comes from the fifth or eighth
measure of the root and means to beware, be wary, be on guard, protect oneself,
and fear the wrath of God. I have used the word "conscientious" to render this on
many occasions, because its original meaning does combine these ideas fairly
well and because the word "conscientious" has weakened to such a degree in
contemporary usage that the connection between duty to God and duty to
humanity is no longer clear and needs to be revitalized by using the word in such
a way as to retrieve its original meaning and force. Elsewhere, according to
specific circumstances, I have also used the expressions "reverent toward God"
and "wary of God" to render the same measures of the same root, but I do not
think these expressions are complete or compelling

enough in current idiom to warrant missing the opportunity to restore fuller

sense to "conscientious" by appropriate usage in rendering passages from the
Qur'an into modern English.

'those who believe in the unseen": One of the manifestations of human arrogance
is to believe our knowledge coterminous with reality, to assume that there is
nothing of meaning or worth beyond our conception or ken. In Muslim tradition
it is said that the confession "God knows better" (or "God is more knowing") is
itself part of knowledge; realization of the nothingness of human knowledge in
respect to divine knowledge is a kind of deep humility that helps the wayfarer
overcome the limitations of human self-reflection and rise to reflection on God,
and ultimately reflection of God.

"steadfastly practice prayer": The word for "steadfastly practice," yuqiimu, also
comes from the Q-W-M root noted earlier. Here the verb is derived from the
fourth measure of the root, which includes such meanings as straighten, put in
order, resurrect, call into being, start, animate, celebrate, persist, occupy oneself
constantly with something. Prayer is one of the pillars of Islam, an essential part
of inner and outer life, a way of regularly cleaning the mind of worldly
preoccupations and revivifying remembrance of greater reality.

"and give of what We have provided them": Islamic thinking gratefully

recognizes the privilege of enjoying the good things of this world; the
responsibility of sharing blessings is part of the natural pattern of this
phenomenon. This is why even good things are spoken of as a trial or a test for
humanity. The ancient Chinese classic J Ching says, "Those above secure their
homes by kindness to those below."

'what has been sent down to you": Here "you" refers to Muhammad the Prophet
and also in general to those who encounter the Qur'an. Accordingly, "what has
been sent down before you" refers to earlier revelations, such as the Torah and
the Gospel. It should be noted, however, that the Gospel, meaning the revelation
entrusted to Jesus, which the Qur'an refers to as the Injiil, is not considered
exactly identical to the Christian New Testament as a whole, nor to the Four
Gospels as they are now found in the Christian Bible.

"the Hereafter" (alAakhira): or "The End." This refers to final accounting and
recompense. These experiences, including the concomitant experiences of time
itself and its cessation, are naturally felt and interpreted in different ways
according to different levels of consciousness and understanding.

5 "the happy ones" (al muflihuuna): This word is derived from the

root F-L-H, which in its primitive form means to plow, till, cultivate; "happy"
comes from the fourth measure, which means to prosper, thrive, be successful,
become happy. The idea is that real prosperity is not just material but has a
spiritual dimension, which is in fact what gives overall meaning and coherence
to the strivings and achievements of life in the world.

6 "the ungrateful who refuse" {alladhiina kafaruu): The root K-F-R,

here in its first measure, means to deny (God), be ungrateful, be impious,

disbelieve. Gratitude, belief, and faith are so important to the Islamic
relationship to God and the gifts of God that I have often included both ideas of
ingratitude and repudiation in rendering derivatives of K-F-R throughout these
readings from the Qur'an. "it is the same to them whether you warn them or not":
Muhammad's mission was "only to deliver a clear message," not to coerce
people into professing belief; whether or not someone believes is a matter that is
up to God and the God-given reason and free will of the individual.

7 "God has sealed their hearts": The created world acts as a veil to

those whose attention is fixated thereupon, blocking them from perception of

reality beyond the immediate concerns of this life, "for them there is a great
torment": This is the torment of being blocked from real truth, in which alone are
found certainty and peace.

10 "There is a sickness in their hearts, and God has made them sicker": Those
who pretend to piety and godliness but are really unregenerate worldlings are not
improved by their association with religion. On the contrary, the complacency
and pride they derive from their association with religion actually magnifies
their flaws. The deceit of false religion carries a "painful torment" because it
separates people from truth to begin with, and then its false conceits fail people
and let them down in the end.
n-12 "make trouble": This expression is derived from the root F-S-D, which in
the first measure means to be or become bad, rotten, spoiled, corrupt, unsound,
false, wrong. Here it is derived from the fourth measure, which means to spoil,
deprave, corrupt, demoralize, pervert, distort, ruin, foil, undermine, weaken,
thwart. Pious fools and hypocrites pretending to be faithful believers may cause
all sorts of degradation and corruption by their falsehoods, even without
realizing it, being mesmerized by their own facades.

13 "imbeciles" (sufahaa*; singular saftih): This means fools, foolish, silly,

ignorant, stupid, incompetent. Those whose professed belief is a food for their
own arrogance think of surrender to the will of God as the religion of
simpletons, but their overestimation of themselves makes them the real fools.

14 "obsessions" (shayaatiin, plural of shaytaan): From this is derived English

Satan, one of the names of the devil. This Arabic name comes from a root
meaning to be perverse or obstinate (the essential characteristics of obsession),
referring to the satanic rebellion against God, manifest as arrogance, ingratitude,
and possessive obsession with things of the world. Another name of the devil
comes from the root W-S-W-S, which has the meanings of whispering or
suggestion, referring to obsession as the epitome of the satanic characteristic and
the activity. This particular verse depicts fools who publicly declare their faith in
God, yet privately declare their devotion to their personal idols and obsessions,
be it status, wealth, or anything else that may preoccupy the mind.

15 The very levity with which hypocrites and fools treat their religion, as a
profession without a reality, lets them go all the further both in the outrages
committed openly under the guise of piety and those committed covertly on the
prompting of private obsessions. "Outrages" renders tughyaan, from the verbal
root T-GH-Y, meaning transgress, exceed proper bounds, wander from the
proper orbit, be excessive, be tyrannical or cruel, oppress, terrorize.

17 This describes the unreliable light of artificial knowledge, of which false

religion is one variety. "God took their light" in the sense that falsehood does not
stand in the presence of reality; subjective

projections do not remain intact in the face of objective truth; finite man-made
thought fails to apprehend the infinite in itself.

18 "They will not get back" to reality, or their source, as long as they are totally
preoccupied with their own fabrications.

19 The manifestation of religion includes mystery, warning, enlightenment, and

nourishment; these are symbolized by darkness, thunder, lightning, and rain. The
ungrateful are mostly concerned with ignoring the warning, for fear that it will
prove true against them. What they do not realize is that reality encompasses
them and judges them whether or not they are consciously attentive of this fact.

20 The clarity of divine revelation is blinding to the eye accustomed to the

darkness of human confusion. With each renewal of revelation, or revival of true
knowledge, humanity makes some progress; when the infusion of inspiration
subsides, however, humankind again stagnates. Although this process seems
uncertain and erratic, at least humanity has a chance to use its God-given
faculties to recognize revelation and live in its light; it is not the same as if we
had no sense at all.

22 "So do not suppose anything to be like God, when you know": Knowing that
God is the unique source of all creation, do not equate the Creator with any
created thing.

30 "a deputy on earth": i.e. Adam/humankind. Note the angels' opinion of the
human race.

31-33 According to the great sheikh Ibn al Arabi, the nature of the human
constitution, represented by Adam, the first man, is distinguished by the
integration of all existence, which is represented by God teaching Adam all the
names or qualities comprising the universe. The angels, while having highly
refined perception, do not have this integrated nature and thus lack complete
knowledge.

34 The arrogance and ingratitude of Ibliis, the insolent angel, in refusing to

follow the celestial design, is the model of the human fall into error through
conceit. Ibliis thus became the personification of the Devil.

35 u y° u would become abusive tyrants": They would do so by misusing

knowledge and arrogating to themselves the will of God. "Abusive tyrants"
renders the active participle of the first measure of the root DH-L-M, which
means to wrong, to injure, to be unjust, oppressive, or tyrannical toward anyone,
to misuse. From the same root is also derived dhulma, "darkness," often used in
a sinister sense.
36 Note that in the Quranic recollection Adam is not seduced into the fall by his
wife, as in the familiar Judeo-Christian version of this story, in the Qur'an, Adam
and his wife are both duped by the insidious suggestion of the devil ("the
Obsessor"), the whispering of perversity and obsession.

"Let you all descend...": Humankind would no longer live in the lofty innocence
of the Garden.

"with enmity among you": Being in a condition of alienation from each other as
from our common source.

37 Here again the revelation in the Qur'an differs from Judeo-Christian tradition
in its image of Adam. Earlier revelation focuses on the weakness of human
nature and the need for atonement; the Quranic revelation focuses on the ever-
present reality of atonement, the power and mercy of God, in restoring Adam to
sanity and making him the first Messenger.

38 Like Adam and his wife, all humankind leaves the state of pristine innocence
but is presented with the possibility of returning to the source by following
intimations of truth emanating from it.

43 "Worship" here is a free rendering from R-K-!, which literally means bow
down, a physical representation of surrender to the will of God.

44 The great Buddhist text known as The Flower Ornament Scripture expresses
a similar idea: "Like someone on a corner saying all sorts of fine things while
having no real inner virtue—such are those who do not practice" (Book X).

48 One of the most powerful images of judgment day is that of being utterly
alone in the presence of Truth without any of the familiar supports of ordinary
life.

62 See verse 256 of this same chapter: "There is to be no compulsion in

religion." It is not certain exactly who these Sabians were; Penrice says they
considered themselves followers of the prophet Noah. As Islam spread over the
globe after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, the term "Sabian" seems to
have been understood, depending on the time and situation, to include other
great Eastern religions like Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. The primary verb
from the root S-B-' means to rise, as of a star. This may be the source of
Penrice's idea that the Sabians worshiped the heavenly bodies. Using the sense
of the root as referring to rising stars, the name and the image of revering
celestial bodies might also figuratively represent followers of remote "lights" or
revelations that were more distant from the early community of Islam than were
Judaism and Christianity.

83 This verse, of which I have only translated a part, contains a beautiful

summary of a believer's relationship to God and to humankind.

84-85 These verses have specific historical events as points of immediate

reference, but they are addressed to all humanity and give a general description
of a specific pattern in human history. This is a common device in the Qur'an.
Only the first part of verse 85 is rendered here.

87 The invocation of the divine origins of the teachings and the perverse human
psychology of recalcitrant peoples is repeated many times in the Qur'an. A key
phrase here is "what your selves do not desire" (maa laa tahwaa anfusukum).
People tend to reject what does not reinforce the sense of self or fulfill
immediate desires. The expression "haughty and arrogant" renders the verb from
the tenth measure of K-B-R, having the senses of being haughty or proud,
considering oneself (too) great (for something), and also of considering
something important. The reference is to people making too much of their own
selves and their own desires to be able to accept objective truth. The degree to
which people have invested in their subjectivity shows in the vehemence of their
reaction to Messengers and their messages: "Some you have branded liars, others
you have killed."

90 "wrath upon wrath": This verse describes the ill fate of proprietary interest in
religious dispensation: those who have received a revelation incur "wrath upon
wrath" when they become possessive and jealous, because their attitude not only
prevents them from receiving the benefit of the clarifications of new revelation,
it also prevents them from fully appreciating the inner content of the earlier
revelation, because of focus on human proprietors or proprietorship, and
consequent forgetfulness of God, the source.

102-103 This passage gives one of the most sobering pictures of abuse of
knowledge. I have omitted the opening of verse 102, which is a continuation of
101, speaking of misguided people following the gossip of obsessives about
King Solomon's power. This gossip was evidently about magic, or the operation
of knowledge beyond the boundaries of that necessary for mere survival in
everyday life. The Qur'an defends Solomon and distinguishes him from
obsessives and perverts, manipulators who "taught humanity magic," which
operates through suggestion and obsession, and "what came down to the angels
at Babylon," or extraordinary knowledge in the custody of powerful people of
ancient times.

There is some question about the meaning of "angels" here; it comes from the
root M-L-K, as does the word "king." Root meanings include having power or
being able, and there are many derivatives concerned with mastery and
dominion. Haaruut and ' Maaruut, and Babylon, seem to stand for extra-ordinary
knowledge that "leaked" to the general run of humanity: at first it was made
clear that this was a test, by which people could either prove the omnipotence of
God beyond doubt or ruin themselves by abuse; then the "leak" got out of hand,
and with the original caveat forgotten, people chose certain things for
themselves, with disastrous consequences because of the incompleteness of their
knowledge and the obsessive nature of their interests. They "had no share in the
hereafter" because of this very tendency to indulge obsessively in manipulation
of the things of this world. Thus humanity made magic a ruinous toy, forgetting
the origin and total context of all knowledge.

"But then, however, they learned from the two what would separate man and
wife": While there are forms of magic dealing

specifically with creating and/or destroying human relationships, I am inclined

to think that this passage may refer more generally to obsessive pursuit of
knowledge and power, through which the man gets involved in trying to control
and manipulate the world, becoming alienated from the nurturing matrix of earth
and family represented in the woman.

"they hurt no one thereby except by leave of God": Free will is part of God-
given human nature: without free will there would be no "trial" or "test," no
means for humanity to awaken and become conscious of its God-given potential.

"those who bought it had no share in the hereafter": Those who acquired harmful
knowledge, or became devotees of harmful magic, cut themselves off from
reality by obsession with their fascinations and ambitions.

103 The powers that extraordinary knowledge offer humanity can diminish or
enhance respect for the power of God, and can deflect or boost the ascent of the
soul toward God. Because God is the source of all power, the rewards of
exclusive worship of God outweigh those of devotion to any specific form of
knowledge or power.

136 "for we submit to God": Islamic acceptance of the whole Abra-hamic

tradition is not based on mere historical heritage but on the recognition of the
divine origin of the inspiration and prophecy from which it derives.

164 Many of the oaths in the Qur'an are sworn by natural phenomena. The laws
of nature are viewed as signs of God, evidence of a living cosmic intelligent
power.

177 Here is one of the most beautiful summaries of essential Islamic beliefs and
practices.

"It is not righteous that you turn your faces east and west": This seems to mean
that the heart of religion is not defined by superficial profession or allegiance as
defined in terrestrial terms. Some translators render the wa here as "or," but the
more usual "and" seems to me to be more inclusive and thus more suggestive of
the transcendental aspect of devotion even as it is practiced within everyday life.
The treasured Light Verse (included in this selection of readings from the
Qur'an) says that the light of God

is like a lamp alight with oil from a "blessed olive tree" that is "neither of the
east nor of the west."

"for love of God" {lalaa hubbihi): This can also be read "in spite of love for it
(goods/money)." The original uses a pronoun that can be construed either to
refer to God or to wealth. Thus the passage can be read to speak of giving goods
and money for love of God (as opposed to giving for personal motives), or of
giving goods and money in spite of holding them dear (rather than just giving
away what you don't care about). Together these meanings also express the
Buddhist doctrine of the "emptiness of the three spheres" in perfect giving,
which is said to transcend attachment to three spheres of feeling or conception:
oneself as a benefactor, another as a beneficiary, and a gift as a benefaction.

255 This is the treasured Throne Verse ( 'Aayat al Kursiy), depicting God as the
unique living reality minding the cosmos.

256 There is no compulsion in (real) religion because truth is objectively distinct

from error by its own nature. The essence of error is idolatry, which means
treating something relative as if it were absolute.

262-265 Here again are some exceptionally clear and concrete representations of
what Buddhists call the "emptiness of the three spheres" in perfect charity. Real
generosity is not calculating. Once a dervish, a Muslim religious mendicant,
went to a barber in Mecca and asked for a shave. The barber, who was at that
time working on a paying customer, immediately agreed and gave the dervish a
shave. Impressed by this pious generosity, the dervish returned later with a purse
of gold someone had given him as alms. The barber refused payment, saying,
"Are you not ashamed to offer money for something done for the sake of God?"

285-286 According to tradition on the sayings and usages of the Prophet

Muhammad, he said that if one recites these last two verses of "The Cow" in a
night, they will suffice. ( "Al aayataani aakhiri suurati I baqarati man qara'a
bihimaafii laylatin kafa-taahu. ") (Bukhari, Sahhiih.) These beautiful prayers
bear the fragrance of genuine humility before Truth.

285 This verse reaffirms the supreme focus on God, the Truth to which all
genuine Messengers refer.

286 This verse reaffirms the precise justice and fairness of the Real, which tries
and proves the individual soul through the interaction of its innate potential and
the influences of the opportunities it has and the choices it makes.

The Family of Imraan ('Aal-i Utnraan) (Chapters)

This chapter was revealed at Medina. Imraan was the father of the prophet
Moses; this chapter pursues the thread of the prophetic tradition and its essential
teachings.

2 "the Self-subsistent" (al Qayyuum): or "The Eternal." This is one

of the epithets of God and is an intensive derived from the root Q-W-M, with the
essential meanings of to remain standing, to be, to exist. This epithet pairs
perfectly with al Hayy, The Living.

3 "the Criterion" (Al Furqaan): This is a name of the Qur'an, espe-

cially in its function of distinguishing the original truth from false accretions in
earlier revelations as they had come down through history. The name is derived
from the root F-R-Q, which begins with basic meanings of to separate or divide,
hence make a distinction, differentiate, discriminate.

7 Pursuing subjective interpretation of ambiguities is not rejected, it would seem,

as pursuit of knowledge in itself, but insofar as interpretation involves projection
of biases and attempts to undermine accord and cause division.

18 Absolute Truth Itself, the Real, bears witness to, or proves of itself, Its
uniqueness.

19 This verse depicts those whose learning makes them conceited before people
rather than humble before God, and those who come to value their own ideas
and opinions more than truth itself.

"God indeed is quick to take account": The veiling of the rejecting mind is
immediate in the act and posture of rejection itself; the consequences go on from
there.

30 When the veil of falsehood is dropped, Truth is self-evident.

42 This selection introduces an elegant summary of the mission of Jesus.

According to the Gospel of Mary, the mother of Jesus was a descendant of a
priestly family whose lineage traced back to

Imraan, the father of Moses and Aaron. The only daughter of a priest with no
sons, Mary was a temple virgin; she and especially Jesus are important figures in
the Qur'an.

45 The Qur'an refers to Jesus as the Logos and the Messiah, and also a Spirit (or
Breath) from God. The "Intimates" are those closest to God.

60 That is, divine revelation is not a human fabrication and cannot be treated
adequately in the same manner as humanly fabricated ideas.

79-80 Elsewhere in the Qur'an, Jesus is asked by God whether he told people to
worship him instead of God. The angels are similarly questioned, and so are all
the prophets, as well as anyone to whom knowledge has come.

"It is not for a human being...": It is not the proper prerogative of a prophet (who
remains a human being in spite of the high station of prophethood) to expect or
demand to be worshiped.

"Rather be learned in divine law" (kuunuu rabbaaniyiina): Messengers or

teachers of divine law, or knowledge of the divine, should themselves be
followers of the divine, not claimants to divinity.

"one would not instruct you to take the angels or prophets as lords": A prophet
faithful to the trust of God would not interpose other objects of worship, be it the
person of a prophet or subtle beings. Buddhist teaching similarly says, "Rely on
the truth, not on personality" (Mahaparinirvana-sutra). The Muslim theologian
Al-Ghazali also wrote, "Judge people by truth, not truth by people" (Kitaab al
Mm, "The Book of Knowledge").

105 "those who divide and differ after clarifications have come to them": This
refers to the Qur'an in its function of clarifying earlier revelations.

137 The Qur'an repeatedly urges people to study the history of the world to
observe the consequences of various attitudes toward life.

186 "You will surely be tested in your possessions and your selves": Our
possessions and our selves are tests, or trials, to determine what use we will
make of our endowments, which are ours on loan. The word for "test" is balaa,
which means to try, prove,

experience. Our possessions and our selves are tests of how we manage them;
we inevitably go through ups and downs in our material and psychological
fortunes, and we never have everything entirely our own way. In all of these
respects we are sure to be tested. There is also the specific message to the early
Muslims that the new community was certain to be attacked, both physically and
psychologically, by jealous conservatives of older dispensations, as well as by
materialists who were threatened by the message of God regarding the nature
and status of worldly things. This level of interpretation of the passage might
also be taken as a general description of typical events accompanying any social
reform.

"you will surely hear many insults": Addressed to the early Muslims, this also
refers again generally to possessiveness and jealousy in religion, or automatic
conservatism in matters of knowledge and culture.
"that is the resolve which will determine affairs" ( inna dhaa-lika min lazmi
Vumuur): Patience and conscientious reverence toward God constitute the
resolve (!azm) that determines (lazama) affairs (al'umuur) because these spiritual
strengths outlast and thus overcome material and physical trials.

190 "those of heart" ('uuluu Valbaab): The word 'albaab is the plural of lubby
which means the heart, understanding, intellect, mind, reason. It is also
interesting to note that lubb with the plural lubuub means core, pith, gist,
essence, innermost.

195 "you come from one another": According to Jalaalayn, this means that men
come from women, and vice versa; and that men and women are equal in respect
to the right to compensation for work as well as the obligation to avoid
squandering their earnings vainly.

Women (alNisaa) (Chapter^

This chapter was revealed at Medina.

1 "by whom you ask of one another": Husbands and wives are to ask one another
for sexual intercourse, in the name of God.

"be reverent toward relationships": The word for "relationships," al arhaam,

specifically means blood relations; it also means

wombs. Words for kindness, compassion, and mercy also come from the same
R-H-M root. The general idea of the verse is respect for the sacred nature of
human relations, including sexual relations and procreation.

3 According to Lady Aisha, wife of the Prophet and Mother of the Faithful, this
passage forbids men to marry orphan girls with property just for their wealth,
without providing a fair dowry. A "ward in your custody" originally meant a
slave, a prisoner of war.

4 The dowry is for the woman's economic independence; a man is obliged to

provide this even if his bride is already wealthy. If she is well-off and has no
need of the dowry, she may voluntarily give some or all of it to her husband, but
this decision is hers alone.

5 This provides for the care of those without substance or means, unable to care
for themselves.

6 These are instructions for guardianship and disposition of the hereditary

property of orphans: those not themselves in need should take no remuneration
for guardianship, while poor people responsible for orphans are entitled to
receive a fair recompense for looking after their affairs. In no case should
guardians hastily consume the property of orphans in an attempt to enjoy it as
much as possible before the orphans come of age and are eligible to receive their
inheritance.

7 The portions for men and women differ because a family man is obliged to
support others, while a woman is not.

8 There is also a provision for making acts of charity from a bequest according
to the circumstances and needs of the situation.

9 Care for the affairs of orphans just as you would want your own children
looked after should you yourself meet an untimely end and leave them orphaned.

28 As a mortal, transient being, the human is constitutionally weak. As a

subjective consciousness susceptible to emotional upset, conditioning, and
dependency, the human is psychologically weak. The ways of life described in
sacred law are means of managing these weaknesses more easily.

29 "And do not kill yourselves": Here, "yourselves" means each other,

emphasizing the unity of the believers, and also the unity of humanity as a
whole, which God "made from one soul."

48 God does not pardon idolatry, or association of anything with God, because
that association is itself diversion of attention that inherently alienates the
individual from God. Hence verse 50 says, "That is sufficient in itself to be an
obvious wrong."

53 Do idols and false deities have any role in the operation of the real universe?
Idols and idolators give people nothing; they only take from people.

97 When people compromise themselves, they may seek excuses from their
situation, without having explored their real alternatives.

125 The way of Abraham means acceptance of the absolute reality alone as God.
The expression "seeking truth" is a paraphrase of haniifan, "inclining," a name
given to seekers of absolute truth in Muhammad's time.

164 Islamic tradition has it that there have been 128,000 prophets on earth, and
104 revealed Books. The Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Qur'an are
considered the four most important of these Books from the point of view of
Islamic tradition. Not all of the prophets were major public figures like Moses,
Jesus, and Muhammad. The Qur'an says, "And We certainly sent Envoys before
you (Muhammad); some of them We have told you about, and some of them We
have not told you about" (50:78).

171 "do not go to excess in your religion": One of the Prophet's companions
narrated that he never saw the Prophet so angry as on an occasion when he heard
that a certain Imam was prolonging the morning prayer so much as to make it
tiresome to others.

"a Spirit from God": In reference to Jesus as "a Spirit from God," the word spirit
renders ruuh, which means breath of life or soul. Elsewhere the word "spirit" (or
"sprite") renders jinn, "genii," and must be distinguished from this Spirit from
God, which was Jesus. The Qur'an affirms the uncompromised unity of God
without diminishing the dignity of Jesus the Messiah as a Word, Spirit, or Breath
of Life from God.

The Table (al Maa'ida) (Chapter 5)

This chapter was revealed at Medina.

46 According to the Gospel, Jesus said the revelation he brought was not
antagonistic to earlier revelation but in fact verified its truth. The Qur'an
acknowledges this mission of Jesus and similarly presents itself as verifying and
clarifying the essential message of the earlier revelations transmitted by Jews
and Christians.

48 "and do not follow their desires": That is, do not follow the desires of the
rebellious, who do not judge by what God has revealed.

Cattle (al 'Anlaam) (Chapter 6)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca.

2 "then decided a term": The word "term" renders 'ajal, which means a fixed
term or predetermined period. Here it refers to a term for the evolution of the
individual and a term for the evolution of the human race.

42-48 These passages provide a model of fitna, "trial," by both adversity and
felicity, including the reflections by which humanity can make the best use of
trial. Those who were "seized" with "misfortune and affliction" were "the
communities before you."

50 These are instructions to Muhammad, and by extension to any prophet or

religious teacher, to avoid interposing himself between God and humanity as an
object of worship, and to refer all truth to its real source.

52 "seeking the essence of God": The word for "essence" here, wajh, also
conveys meanings of being, countenance, aim, goal, objective, sense, meaning,
favor, honor, sake.

53 The distinction between the spiritual elite and the social elite is also

a test for the self-esteem of the social elite.

116 This verse highlights the distinction between subjective imagining and
objective reality.

117 The great Sufi Najmuddin Kubraa used to say, "Truth alone knows what is
true."

122 "for the ungrateful what they have done is made to seem pleasing to them":
This describes the nature of habit, obsession, and self-delusion.

130 "spirits and humanity" (al jinn w al 'ins): The jinn, like humanity, differ
among themselves in their quality of character and heedfulness of God.

"the meeting of this day of yours": This expression refers to the day of
resurrection and judgment.

"Vain hopes": This refers to ingratitude to God because they confuse the
imaginary with the real.

159 Those who fragment religion substitute the human for the divine; their
opinions and allegiances assume greater importance to them than the unique
reality of God.

160 "For those who do good is ten times that much": The reward of good is ten
times what it merits; this is attributed to the pleasure and grace of God, the
epitome of gererosity and beneficence.

The Heights (al *A!raaf) (Chapter 7)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca.

6 "We will question the messengers": They will be questioned as to whether they
delivered their messages, and whether they claimed anything for themselves,
such as divinity.

11-25 The story of the fall of humanity is retold here from a different angle,
based on the fall of Ibliis, whose marks of prejudice, arrogance, and
vindictiveness are illustrated. The devilish use of vain hope and self-
consciousness to cause the downfall of the first humans is also made explicit
here.

23 "We have oppressed ourselves": Humanity alienates itself from its source
through the delusive action of its own obsessive self-absorption.

24 "Descend" from the state of innocence.

"enemies of one another," being self-conscious and therefore competitive and

contentious.

25 "but you will be taken out of there": Life and death in the world are a
temporary trial; the final return to ultimate truth takes the soul beyond the realm
of worldly life and death.

36 "the inhabitants of the fire": The hell-bound, or the inhabitants of hell; that
they "remain therein" is their own responsibility, as indicated by the present
active participle in the original, because they create the conditions for hellish
torment of their own free will.

87 "what I have been sent with": Here "I" refers to the Prophet; "what (he) has
been sent with" refers to the message, the Qur'an.
157 "the Unlettered Prophet" (an Nabiy al y Ummiy): Muhammad is known as
the Unlettered Prophet. He neither read nor wrote. This literally and figuratively
represents his innocence and purity of mind. It was by virtue of this innocence
and purity that he was receptive to the message of God and was enabled to bear
it to his people. The reference to Muhammad in the Torah is said to be in
Deuteronomy 18; the Paraclete of Christian tradition (John 14) is also believed
to be Muhammad the Prophet.

172 "am I not your lord?": Remembrance of its origin and ultimate end lifts
humankind from the idolatry of attachment to temporal things and human
inventions.

177-181 God's creation provides faculties and facilities for both understanding
and confusion, including the perception, reason, and free will by which
humankind is enabled to choose between the "two highways" or the two possible
uses of these facilities— the way of enlightenment and the way of delusion.
Those who are like beasts are "even more astray" because the beasts do not have
the choice afforded humans.

204 "the Recital" means the Qur'an.

206 "bow to God": This is a "verse of prostration," on the recitation of which the
earnest reciter or reader bows to God.

Taa Haa (Chapter 20)

Revealed at Mecca. This is one of the earliest chapters of the Qur'an.

The Prophets (al 'Anbiyaa) (Chapter 21) This chapter was revealed at Mecca.

2 Buddhist psychology speaks of a "barrier of knowledge" (jnaanaavarana)

consisting of the impression that one's existing knowledge is complete and
definitive.

3 "And they keep their conferences secret": Those who abused and

oppressed the prophets and their followers were acting on private prejudice, not
openness and impartiality. They try to make it appear as if the Message is
coming from a human being, and one who is deranged or possessed at that. The
fifth verse continues the litany of subjective ideas used as excuses invoked for
ignoring divine communications.

7 The Qur'an repeatedly affirms that the prophets were human, to counter the
belief or accusation that they claimed higher status than that. It also affirms that
prophets are inspired by God, to counter the idolators' belief that the humanity of
a Messenger disproves the divine source of the Message.

12 The trial of the world is not surmounted by trying to avoid it, but by living
life as best we can, so that we may find out who we are in the process of taking
responsibility for our lives and destinies.

16 "And not in play did We create": The processes of life and death and nature
are not random or meaningless events: even if we regard them as meaningless,
that act of choice does effectively have meaning, with implications for our
future.

17 "Had we wished to take to sport...": Had God desired amusement, it would

have been of a celestial rather than an earthly nature. The use of the relative
lowliness and crudity of mundane existence as a proof of higher and more subtle
meaning is one that is particularly arresting because of the apparent paradox.

18-19 "those in the presence divine are not too proud to worship God": Again
the highest spiritual states accessible to humans, spirits, and angels are
subordinated to the infinite reality of God, the Absolute; and their illumination
shines with this very realization.

21 "Have they taken to gods . . .": The subject shifts; here "they" refers to
humankind.

22 "beyond what they describe": Or, "beyond what they assert." The verb is the
first measure of W-S-F, "to describe, assert." The point is the realization that
God, or Reality, is beyond all human assertions and descriptions.

26 "Yet they say, 'The Compassionate One has gotten a son'": This refers to the
apotheosis of the prophet Jesus in sectarian Christianity.

26-29 "No, they are but honored servants": Jesus and the other prophets are not
considered divinities, but "honored servants" of God.

34 "If then you will die, are they to be here forever?": The Prophet will die, like
all prophets before him, but so will the persecutors of the prophets.

37 "Humankind is made of haste": Human beings are impatient by nature; this is

part of the "trial," by which they may feel compelled to take on more
responsibility than is possible for them.

44-45 "Do they not then see that We affect the earth?": Human kingdoms and
empires wax and wane, none of them gaining permanent dominion. Peoples with
the collective witness of long histories and traditions should be that much the
more aware of the changeability and impermanence of earthly domains.

Light (al Nuur) (Chapter 24)

This chapter was revealed at Medina. I begin my selection from the famous
Light Verse, one of the most prized of all passages from the Qur'an. The earlier
verses of this chapter deal with social mores, including themes of chastity,
privacy, modesty, and keeping innocent of vicious gossip.

36 "in houses which God has allowed to be raised": The word "raised" may be
understood in the concrete sense of "set up," meaning houses of devotion built
especially for constant remembrance of God; and the abstract sense of "elevate,"
meaning houses ennobled by constant remembrance of God.

37 "people who are not diverted": Some take this to refer to people who leave off
worldly occupations to devote themselves completely to remembrance of God;
others take it to refer to people whose worldly occupations do not distract them
from constant and complete devotion to God.

39 "their works are like a mirage on a plain": Works emanating from human
folly are based on subjective considerations and thus ultimately prove
objectively insubstantial.

40 "or like the darknesses": This again refers to the works of ingrates who refuse
to acknowledge the source of all being. The ocean is their consciousness, the
darknesses are layers of ignorance, the waves are impulsive imaginings, the
waves upon waves are rationalizations of their imaginings, the clouds are biases
and blind spots.

"if one stretched forth a hand, one would hardly see it": The ignorance and
blindness of the ungrateful not only hinders them from acknowledging the
ultimate end, it veils them from the truth of what is near at hand.

"whoever God gives no light has no light at all": All true knowledge is from
Truth: subjective human imagination has no connection with ultimate reality.

Rome (alRuum) (Chapter 30)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca. Rome (Ruum) here means the Byzantine
Roman Empire, which was at war with the Persian Empire in the time of
Muhammad's mission. The chief cities of Syria were taken from Byzantine rule
by the Persians in 611, and Jerusalem was conquered and pillaged in 614-615.
This would seem to be the defeat of Rome to which this chapter refers. In the
620s, however, the tide shifted, as predicted in the Qur'an, until the Byzantines
emerged victorious in 628.

9 "see how those before them ended up": Societies more powerful, more
populous, more prosperous, and more educated have already passed away, so no
one can be secure because of power, personnel, wealth, or education.

"They were more powerful than these": Here "these" refers to contemporary
people.

21 "that you may feel at home": The verb is of the first measure of the root S-K-
N, meaning to be still, be tranquil, be peaceful, remain calm, be reassured, trust,
have faith, feel at home, live, dwell.

22 Cultural and racial differences have occasioned contention among those who
honor themselves more than God; for those who honor the signs of God, in
contrast, diversity is richness and a source of richness, a means whereby
communities may learn to become more than the sum of their parts.

26 "all are obedient to God": Everyone, even the recalcitrant and rebellious, is
subject to the laws of nature.

28 "have you slaves": God is beyond the power of all subordinate agencies.

37 "God expands and restricts": People need not become complacent or

despondent when the tide of their fortune goes up or down; by referring all
affairs to God, they can attain equanimity.
39 "Whatever you give from excess profit that it may grow even more": The
inglorious rise and collapse of financial "empires" based on manipulation of
money rather than production and distribution of necessary and useful goods
would seem to confirm the truth of the Quranic disapproval of economic
practices functioning as breeder reactors for excess profit.

41 "to make them taste some of what they did": The ill consequences of
misdeeds are to be viewed as lessons and warnings, that people "may turn back"
from error.

51 "and they saw it yellowing": Yellowing means withering, wilting, destroying

green crops: when an ill wind withers their mundane fortunes, people uncertain
of God are inclined to despair and deny the bounty of God.

59 "Thus does God stamp the hearts": The word for "stamp" is from the first
measure of the root T-B-!, which means to stamp, imprint, leave an impression;
in the passive voice it means to have a natural aptitude or disposition. Vehement
reaction to truth is characteristic of those who do not exercise the faculty of
perception and discernment (suggested by the Arabic verb "know" !-L-M used
here).

60 The mission of the Prophet is to deliver a revealed message, not to

accommodate doubters and critics; therefore Muhammad is instructed to focus
on truth and not be diverted by those who waver. A false prophet is one who
seeks a personal following, not truth, and is therefore taken up by the demands
of the "consumers" to whom he is trying to cater.

Luqmaan (Chapter 31)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca. It is named after an ancient sage whose
words of advice to his son constitute a major part of the chapter.

10 "every noble pair": This way of referring to sexually propagated creatures

includes a beautiful reminder of the nobility of mating and reproduction as part
of the celestial design for earth.

12 "And if anyone is ungrateful, well, God is free from all needs": God is not in
need of praise and service from humanity; humanity is in need of praising and
serving God.
13 "For idolatry is a tremendous error": Throughout the Qur'an, idolatry (shirk or
association or equation of anything or anyone with God) is the cardinal sin,
because it is the essential expression of heedlessness of the absolute nature of
God.

14 "their mothers carry them, sapped and weakened": According to tradition,

someone asked Muhammad the Prophet who is most deserving of one's
kindness. The Prophet replied, "Your mother." The questioner asked, "Then
who?" The Prophet replied, "Your mother." The questioner asked, "Then who?"
The Prophet replied, "Your mother." The questioner asked, "Then who?" The
Prophet replied, "Your father."

15 "in a courteous manner" (ma!ruuf): This is the past passive par-

ticiple of larafa, "know," and so literally means "known," but this also brings
with it the meanings of universally accepted, generally recognized, conventional,
fitting, that which is good or beneficial, equitableness, kindness, friendliness,
beneficence, courtesy. Here is it used adverbially. People are not enjoined to
obey their parents unconditionally, because Truth is the ultimate point of
reference ("Your return is to Me"); but we are required

to be kind and fair to our parents even if there is disagreement in principle.

19 "Adopt a middle course in your walk": The verb Q-S-D means to be

moderate, to steer a middle course; it also has the meanings of intend, proceed
straightaway, aspire, aim, contemplate, consider, purpose: so the expression used
by Luqmaan suggests not only moderation and balance but also purposeful
direction; act deliberately and purposefully, without going to extremes.

21 The Obsessor, or the Perverse One, or the Obstinate One, is the Whisperer of
suggestion who endears people to their habits ("what we found our fathers at") to
such a degree that they ignore all else.

23 "the nature of hearts" (dhaat as-suduur): Or, "what is in all hearts."

25 People may superficially acknowledge that the universe came from

somewhere and reflects a noble design, without really registering the grace of
God in the heart.

27 The Buddhist classic Flower Ornament Scripture says, "The Buddha revealed
to me a teaching called universal eye, which is the sphere of all the enlightened,
revealing the practice of enlightening beings, showing the differentiation of the
planes of all universes, showing the spheres of all truths together, the light
purifying all lands, dispersing all challengers, crushing all demons and devils,
making all beings happy, ilumining the hidden recesses of all beings' minds,
communicating to all beings in accord with their mentalities, illuminating the
turning of the wheels of the senses of all beings. And I have taken up that
teaching of the universal eye, keep it in mind, apply it, and contemplate it, taking
it in this way: even if it were being written by a collection of pens the size of the
polar mountains with as much ink as water in the oceans, it could never be
finished; it would be impossible to finish even a part of a single line of a single
formula of a single principle of a single doctrine of a single chapter of the
teaching. It cannot be even partially exhausted, let alone fully exhausted or
comprehended" (Book xxxix).

28 "Your creation and resurrection": "Your" is plural, referring to all humanity,

which is "created from a single soul."

33 "and do not let delusion delude you": The Deluder, Al Gharuur, is another
personified description of the devil. It is derived from the root GH-R-R, from
which come gharra, delude, mislead, deceive, beguile, blind, dazzle; ghuruur,
deception, delusion, conceit, snobbery, vanity, trifles, banality, peril; and ghirra,
heedlessness, inattentiveness.

Sheba (Chapter 34)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca. Sheba was an ancient city or people of The
Yemen in South Arabia, a prosperous population that was destroyed or reduced
by a great flood, supposedly occasioned by the breaking of the great dam of
ancient Yemen.

3 "And there is nothing smaller than that, and nothing greater, but is in a clear
Book": Everything, on macrocosmic and microcos-mic scales of existence, is
encompassed in revelation. The Buddhist Flower Ornament Scripture says,
"There is nowhere the knowledge of the enlightened does not reach. Why? There
is not a single sentient being who is not fully endowed with the knowledge of the
enlightened; it is just that because of deluded notions, erroneous thinking, and
attachments, they are unable to realize it. If they would get rid of deluded
notions, then universal knowledge, spontaneous knowledge, and unobstructed
knowledge would become manifest. It is as if there were a great scripture, equal
in extent to a billion-world universe, in which are written

all the things of the universe Though this scripture is equal

in measure to a billion-world universe, yet it rests entirely in a single atom; and

as this is so of one atom, it is also true of all atoms. Then suppose someone with
clear and comprehensive knowledge, who has fully developed the celestial eye,
sees these scriptures inside atoms, not benefiting sentient beings at all, and with
this thought—'I should, by energetic power, break open those atoms and release
those scriptures so that they can benefit all sentient beings'—then employs
appropriate means to break open the atoms and release the great scriptures, to
enable all sentient beings to benefit greatly. Similarly, the knowledge of the
enlightened, infinite and unobstructed, universally able to benefit all, is fully
inherent in the bodies of sentient beings; but the ignorant, because of clinging to
deluded notions, do not know of

it, are not aware of it, and so do not benefit from it. Then the Buddha, with the
unimpeded pure clear eye of knowledge, observes all sentient beings in the
cosmos and says, 'How strange! How is it that these sentient beings have the
knowledge of the enlightened, but in their folly and confusion do not know it or
perceive it? I should teach them the way of sages and cause them to shed
deluded notions and attachments, so that they can see in their own bodies the
vast knowledge of the enlightened'" (Book xxxvn).

34 "And We never sent a warner to a community but its affluent members

say,'We reject what you were sent with'": According to the Qur'an, God has sent
warners (nadhiir) to every people. The affluent members of a community are
those with the greatest stake in the status quo, and they therefore typically reject
any new message with which warners are sent.

37 "and they'll be secure in the chambers on high": They will be stabilized in

lofty states of proximity to Truth. The "compounded reward" for faithful good
works includes the naturally good outcome of that goodness, plus the
enhancement of the spiritual state made possible by faith in action.

39 According to the teaching of Buddhism, even the smallest gift, when given
freely, without attachment, results in incalculable reward.

40 "But they did worship the spirits": Some people worship genii, or occult
powers, or unusual mental states.

43 "What is this but a man who wishes to deter you from what your fathers
worshiped?": Buddha told people not to hold to practices or beliefs just because
they were traditional. Abraham and Muhammad also represent such breaks from
tradition into truth, from inherited habit to direct perception.

45 "and how was My denial!": Those who rejected the envoys of Truth were, as
a natural result, denied Truth. One sense of the "how" seems to be that the
shattering reality of denial by God is inconceivable to those whose thought is
directed to vanities in denial of God's warnings.

46 "your companion" refers to Muhammad the Prophet.

52 "how could they be receptive from a state so remote": As explained in the

following verses, the "state so remote" is estrangement from truth, resulting from
habitual heedlessness and denial.

YaaSiin (Chapter 36)

Revealed at Mecca, Yaa Siin is called the Heart of the Qur'an. It is named after
the mystic letters of the first line, which some say represent the words Yaa
Insaan! meaning "O human being!" addressed to Muhammad in his capacity as a
Messenger of God.

2 "By the Recital": The Qur'an itself is considered the miracle evidencing
Muhammad's mission as an Envoy of God.

8 "yokes on their necks": These might symbolize worldly desires,

which cause vision to be diverted from the real destination.

9 "a barrier before them and a barrier behind them": These seem

to refer to the future and the past, anxiety and regret.

"covered them over": God lets humankind imagine whatever it will of the
universe.

"so they do not see" because their views inhibit vision.

19 "does it depend on your being admonished?": The meaning seems to be "your
real problem is not merely the annoyance you feel at being admonished: it is a
problem that is in your own character, whether it is pointed out to you or not."

20 "from the remotest part of the city": Only someone detached from the
arrogant pretensions of the "company of the city" could perceive the truth of the
Messengers, who were operating outside the "company's" own system of
punishments and rewards.

36 "who created mates, all of them ...": Complementarity is seen in the vegetable
world, the animal and human worlds, and in worlds invisible to the naked eye.

68 "whomever We grant long life, We reverse in nature": Whomever is granted

long life is at the same time deprived of strength; the incapacity of old age is
likened to a reversion to childhood and infancy.

69 "We did not teach him poetry": When Muhammad first was visited by
revelation, he feared that he was either going mad or

becoming a poet. In particular, "We did not teach him poetry" means that the
Qur'an is not a result of Muhammad's having been steeped in ancient literature,
as many detractors past and present have claimed.

75 That is to say, false gods will be brought forth to Judgment as "witnesses"

against "believers" in them, and also (in the case of humans, spirits, or angels
who caused or allowed themselves to be worshiped) as coconspirators.

78 "and he makes similes for Us": Arrogant humanity conceives of God in

human terms and continues to project human foibles and limitations on God. In
recent times it has even become fashionable to assert that God is a human
creation; this is the "God" who was declared "dead" some time ago by popular
modern theologians.

Iron (Chapter 57)

This chapter was revealed at Medina.

3 "the manifest and the hidden" (adh Dhaahir w al Baatin): This can also be
rendered "The Outermost and The Innermost."
7 "for those among you who believe and who spend": To "spend" in

this context means to spend of what one has in charity or other good works;
sometimes it is referred to as "spending in the way of God." This usage is quite
common in the Qur'an, illustrating the importance of contributing to the balance
and welfare of society.

8 "if you are faithful believers": To believe and have faith in God is,

ipso facto, already to participate in a preordained state of grace.

8/10 "What is the matter with you...": Or, "Why do you not... ?" or "What
hinders you from ... ?"

111 stress the meaning of "noble" for kariim here because generosity is already
expressed in the foregoing, and the idea of nobility suggests that neither the
material nor the spiritual gain is the result of greedy, self-seeking actions.

12 "and by their right hands": Light will stream from their righteousness and
good deeds.

13 "Turn back behind you to seek light" ('rjiluu waraa'akutn fal tamisuu nuuran):
Or, "Turn back yourselves to seek light." Seek the light of God not in the
projections of your subjective consciousness but in the awareness of God, which
is the unique power subtending the universe and every living thing. In Buddhist
terms, this line strongly suggests the practice known as "turning the attention
around to look back" (Chinese huiguangfanzhao), in which one switches the
focus of attention from present objects to the very source of awareness. Using
this exercise as an interpretative framework, the "wall" set up between these
people and the light is the ego and the subjectivity of consciousness: the "door
therein, within it mercy" is the surrender of the ego and the relinquishment of
subjective views and attachments to objects; the "torment" that is "outside, in
front of it" is entanglement in thoughts and things that occur to the mundane
consciousness.

17 "the ages grew so long to them": Over a long period of time, people lost
interest in ancient revelations, which they no longer considered relevant.

21 The original literally says "The Great Grace," which means the epitome of
grace, deriving from a higher order of reality.
27 "But the monasticism they invented for themselves was not prescribed by Us
for them": The Qur'an does not enjoin monasticism, and Muhammad the Prophet
also said there should be no monkery in Islam.

The Spirits (al Jinn) (Chapter 72)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca. Jinn is apparently the source of the English
word "genius." The Arabic word majnuun, technically a past passive participle
of a first measure verb derived from the J-N-N root, means possessed by spirits
in the sense of insane.

6 "Folly" (rahaq): This is from the root R-H-Q and it also means oppression. In
the first measure the verb means to cause to suffer; in the fourth measure it
means to impose difficulties or afflict with troubles.

23 "except reporting from God and God's messages": A Messenger is

"estranged" from God in the sense of being in the midst of

mundane life on earth; but that "exile" is for a purpose, that of remembrance and
prophecy.

"wherein they remain forever": Eternal damnation is eternal from the human
perspective, not the divine perspective.

Those Sent Forth (al Mursalaat) (Chapter 77)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca. "Those Sent Forth" is interpreted to refer
overtly to winds, symbolizing the Messengers of God.

1 "sent forth gently": The word for "gently," !urfan, has many other meanings
and nuances: justly, beneficially, kindly, in a continual series. As a noun, /wr/also
means tradition. The basic root is !-R-F, with the primitive meaning of
knowledge. The messengers come with justice, benefit, kindness, and
knowledge. I choose the sense "gently" to contrast with the "tempestuous
storming" of the next line, referring to the Message that is initially presented
gently as glad tidings, then storms against ingrates and hypocrites.

The Highest (al 'Alloa) (Chapter 87)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca.

13 "where they neither die nor live": This is one of the most telling descriptions
of the nature of the experience of the "fire" of "hell."

19 "the books of Abraham and Moses": Again the truly quintessential and thus
perennial nature of the fundamental Message is recollected by citing the ancient
Hanifite and Jewish traditions as reflective of the same Truth.

Daybreak (al Fajr) (Chapter 89)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca.

1 "By the daybreak": The dawning of realization.

2 "Ten Nights": There are various interpretations: one is that it refers

to ten nights of the season of pilgrimage to the sacred shrine at Mecca; another
that it refers to the first ten years of Muhammad's mission as a Prophet, during
which he was subjected to enormous oppression and most of his people
remained in ignorance.

3 "the Even and the Odd": When Muhammad the Prophet fled Mec-can assassins
with his trusted companion Abu Bakr, at one point the two of them sought refuge
in a cave. Their pursuers, close upon them, came to the mouth of the cave and
were about to enter, where they would find the refugee Prophet and his
companion. When Abu Bakr expressed his fear to Muhammad, the Prophet said,
"Do you think we are alone? There is a third with us," referring to God. They
were saved when the would-be assassins noticed a spider's web over the mouth
of the cave and concluded that the refugees could not have taken cover in there.
The Even ("Two") refers to the Prophet and his companion; the Odd refers to
God.

Also, the Even and the Odd can be interpreted to refer to humanity (or all
creatures) and God, as humanity comes in pairs ("even"), and God is unique
("odd").

25 "no one can inflict the punishment of God": God's is the ultimate power, and
the final chastisement of God is an experience of an order beyond anything that
any human mind can conceive.

26 "and no one can tie the bonds of God": Similarly, the closeness of God and
the intimacy between God and accepted souls are experiences beyond anything
in the world of ordinary sense or feeling.

27 "O soul, in satisfied peace (yaa ayyuhaa n nafsu I mutmainnatu): The soul in
satisfied peace, al nafs al mutma'inna, is the fourth of seven stages of
development of consciousness according to a Sufi system. The adjectives in
verse 28, "pleased and accepted" (or "pleased and pleasing"), raadiya wa
mardiyya, represent the fifth and sixth stages. The seventh stage in the Sufi
system is that of purification and completion, here evidently represented by
admission to the company of God's devoted and entrance into the Garden.

The City (al Balad) (Chapter 90)

This chapter was revealed at Mecca, which is the very city to which it refers, the
home town of the Prophet Muhammad, who is addressed as a free inhabitant of
the city. Symbolically, this may refer to Security {Salaama) as the birthright of
every soul,

attained by surrender to the will of God (Islaam), which is realization of the true
nature of the soul.

4 "We have created humanity in difficulty": The word for "difficulty," kabad
("trouble, misery"), comes from the root K-B-D. The first measure of the root
means afflict severely, wear down; the second measure means to inflict; the third
measure means to bear, suffer, endure; the fifth measure means to undergo, be
exposed, endure, have to take something on oneself, bear a cost, take up the
center or step into the middle of a situation, or be in the zenith. All together these
derivative associations paint a vivid picture of the plight of humanity.

18-19 The company on the Right Hand (of God) are the people of salvation; the
company on the Left Hand are the people of damnation.

Night (al Layl) (Chapter 92)

Revealed at Mecca.

21 "who will surely be pleased": This may be construed, as here, to refer to

God's pleasure in the acts just described. It may also be read as "and (they) will
surely be satisfied," referring to the reward of those who act in such a manner.
The Forenoon (al Duhaa) (Chapter 93) Revealed at Mecca.

The Expansion (al Tnshiraah) (Chapter 94) Revealed at Mecca.

7 "So when you are finished, be diligent still": Never allow yourself

to become complacent and self-satisfied, even when you have accomplished a

task successfully.

8 "and be attentive to your Lord": Always remember the source of

all success. The latter phrase, wa 'ilaa rabbikafa rghab, maybe read "and direct
supplications to your Lord," or "and ask (only) of your Lord," suggesting that
one should not rely on worldly success or worldly support, even be it for further
success and support.

Recite! ('Iqra') (Chapter 96)

Revealed at Mecca. The first five verses of this chapter were the initial
revelation to Muhammad. "Recite" also means Read or Proclaim. This chapter is
also called al !Alaq, "The Clot."

4 "who taught by the pen": This evidently refers to the Word, the Book,
preeminently the Qur'an, as the instrument of revelation. It also refers to that
which "wrote" all the "signs" of God in the universe.

6-7 "Humankind does indeed go too far in regarding itself as self-sufficient":

Comparatively recent ideas of the world and universe as mechanical systems that
humanity can alter with impunity and ultimately master reflect the truth of this
Quranic description of human egotism.

19 "bow down and draw closer to God": This is another verse of prostration, at
which the reader bows to God.

The Night of Power (al Qadr) (Chapter 97)

Revealed at Mecca. It seems to me that in the Night of Power, as the time of

celestial communications, the darkness and silence of the "night" symbolize the
cessation of human conceptualization; the "power" is the divine knowledge
revealed to the mind thus rendered receptive to subtler experience.
The root for the word "power" is Q-D-R, which has many significant derivatives.
The verb in the first measure of this root means to possess strength, power, or
ability, to be master. The verb in the second measure means to appoint,
determine, decree, ordain, value, cherish, enable. The verb in the fourth measure
means to enable. The verb in the fifth measure means to be appointed, ordained,
destined, decreed. The verb in the tenth measure means to ask God for strength
or power. There are also naturally many nominal derivatives.

The Shock (al Zilzaal) (Chapter 99)

Revealed at Medina. This brief chapter is a vision of the Last Day.

6 "On that day humankind will go forth divided to be shown their works": The
word "divided" renders 'ashtaatan, from shatta,

"scattered, separated, manifold, diverse." The sense is that people will be divided
into the specific spiritual states that they cultivated by their works in the life of
the world. The separation of humanity into the Company of the Right Hand and
the Company of the Left Hand, or the Companions of the Garden and the
Companions of the Fire, the virtuous and the evildoers, is an example of this
"going forth divided."

The Charging Mares (al lAadiiyaat) (Chapter 100)

Revealed at Mecca. The charging mares seem to symbolize courage and

dedication to the cause of truth even in the face of massive opposition.

The Calamity (al Qaarila) (Chapter 101)

Revealed at Mecca. This chapter presents another vision of the Last Day and
Final Judgment.

Vying for More and More (al Takdathur) (Chapter 102)

Revealed at Mecca.

4 "indeed, on the contrary, you will know": Those who are engrossed in the
things of the world do not prepare for the transition of death; they do not register
the ultimate unreality of these things. When they are actually dying, however,
unlike now they will really know that their worldly strivings diverted their
attention from a matter even more pressing.

5-7 "if you knew with certain knowledge, you would surely see hell-fire":
Certain knowledge is not theory but experience. Those who know with certainty
the real price of a life of "vying for more and more" see hellfire burning in it
even now.

The Epoch (al lAsr) (Chapter 103)

Revealed at Mecca. The title al lAsr means Time, The Epoch, and also The
Pressing Out, The Wringing Out, and also The Afternoon. All of these
associations together create an apt title for this short chapter, which projects a
powerful vision of the human situation.

The Slanderer (al Humaza) (Chapter 104)

Revealed at Mecca. Materialism is generally considered a form of shirk or

idolatry in Islam. Materialists who accumulate their wealth by routinely
attacking others are among the most base. This can be done in many professions.

The Elephants (al Fiil) (Chapter 105)

Revealed at Mecca. As in Confucian, Taoist, and Chan Buddhist traditions, the

Qur'an uses many historical and mythological events for metaphors. In historical
terms, "Those with the elephants)" refers to an expedition against Mecca led by
the colonial Abyssinian governor of The Yemen in the late sixth century, around
the time of Muhammad's birth. Abyssinia in East Africa and The Yemen in
South Arabia were rich in those days, and this expedition was reportedly a
massive force. The custodians of the shrine at Mecca did not put up a defense,
judging the invaders too powerful; but something natural or supernatural
evidently occurred to drive the aggressors back. This story was undoubtedly very
fresh in Muhammad's time, and it must have been to the Meccan Arabians
something like what the story of the Divine Wind that drove away invading
Mongol hordes was to the Japanese in the thirteenth century.

Metaphorically, this story represents the fate of annihilation that awaits those
whose idolatry is greed for material wealth and temporal power, which must in
any case be impermanent.

The Quraish (Chapter 106)

Revealed at Mecca. The Quraish, to which Muhammad himself belonged, were
the most powerful tribe among the Arabs of Northern Arabia. As is well known,
the Quraish were the traditional custodians of the Kaaba, the sacred shrine at
Mecca, which is referred to here as "this house." This verse is a simple yet
eloquent admonition against idolatry and materialism in the sense that it reminds
the people to be grateful to the source of blessings rather than presume upon the
blessings themselves as an inherited right.

Needs (al MaaJuun) (Chapter 107)

Revealed at Mecca.

5 "those who pray without paying attention to their prayers": Those who
outwardly pray (or practice other formal religious observances) but do not act in
the spirit of religion. Caring for the disenfranchised and the destitute is enjoined
upon the faithful time and again in the Qur'an.

Help (al Nasr) (Chapter no)

Revealed at Medina. When this passage is read in the historical context of the
struggle of early Islam for its very existence and its ultimate triumph, it is
particularly remarkable as a model of the spirit of amnesty and freedom from
rancor and vengeful-ness. The word for "help," nasr, also means victory, which
in this context is naturally attributed to help from God.

Flame (al Lahab) (Chapter 111)

Revealed at Mecca. Historically this chapter refers to an uncle of Muhammad

nicknamed Abu Lahab "The Inflamed," on account of his hot temper. He and his
wife were among the most vehement opponents of early Islam. Metaphorically
this refers to the ultimate end of the qualities of anger and aggression
represented by Abu Lahab and his wife.

2 "His wealth does not enrich him and does not profit him": The anti-idolatrous-
antimaterialistic principle of Islam expressed in the Qur'an is not rejection or
denial of the things of the world but rather proper subordination of things of the
world to God as the ultimate Reality {al Haqq). That means that the wealth of
the world is not good or bad in itself, but its yields depend upon its use.

Pure Truth (al 'Ikhlaas) (Chapter 112)

Revealed at Mecca. This is one of the most famous revelations in the Qur'an,
regarded as a classic statement of the absolute unity of God.

2 "the Ultimate" (as Samad): This epithet of God also might be rendered as The
Eternal or The Everlasting. From the root S-M-D come words with the meanings
to betake oneself and to stand up or hold out against: God is the ultimate goal to
which we betake ourselves, and God as absolute truth stands up against and
holds out, infinitely, against any falsehood the human or demonic mind can
conceive. The word samadaaniy from this root also means everlasting or eternal.

The Dawn (al Falaq) (Chapter 113)

Revealed at Mecca.

2 "from the evil of what it created": That is, from what the "dawn" (the act of
creation) created. Take refuge in God from the ill of created things.

Humankind (al Naas) (Chapter 114)

Revealed at Mecca.

4 "insidious suggestion" (al waswaas al khannaas): "The Whisperer Who Hides

Away" is a personification of the devil; the last line shows that this is not
understood as an individual being per se but as a kind of influence that can work
through human beings or through genii or sprites (translated here as "demons" in
view of their delusive capacity).

Select Bibliography

Abdullah YusufAli. The Holy Qur 'an: Text, Translation, Commentary.

Washington, D.C.: The Islamic Center, 1978. Burckhardt, T., and Culme-
Seymour, A., tr. The Wisdom of the

Prophets (from Ibn al-Arabi's Fusuus al Hikaam). Gloucestershire: Beshara

Publications, 1975. Geary, T., tr. The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation
of the

Avatamsaka-sutra. Boston: Shambhala, 1984-1987. Dawood, N.J. The Koran,

with Parallel Arabic Text. London: Penguin
Books, 1990. Jalaluddin al-Mahalli and Jalaluddin al-Suyuti. Tafsiir al Jalaalayn.

Beirut: Dar al Marefah, 1971. Muhammad Abul Quaseem. The Recitation and
Interpretation of the

Qur'an: Al-Ghazali's Theory. London: Kegan Paul International, 1984. . The

Jewels of the Qur'an: Al-Ghazali's Theory. London: Kegan

Paul International, 1983. Muhammad Ali. The Holy Qur'an. Lahore:

Ahmadiyyah Anjuman,

1951. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, tr. The Translation of the Meanings of

Sahih Al-Bukhari. Arabic-English. Beirut: Dar al Arabia, 1970. Penrice, J. A

Dictionary and Glossary of the Kor-an. London: Curzon

Press, 1979. Pickthall, M.M. The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. New York:
New

American Library, 1963. Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Ideals and Realities of Islam.
London: Allen &

Unwin, 1988. , ed. Islamic Spirituality: Foundations. New York: Crossroad,

1991. Stade, R., tr. Ninety-Nine Names of God (from Al-Ghazali's Al

Maasaad Al'Asmaa'). Ibadan: Daystar Press, 1970.

Archbishop Mttty High School

Library

5000 Witty Way

(continued from front flap)

early community of Koran reciters surrounding Muhammad, Islam was soon to

spread over vast distances, becoming one of the world's major religions.

For too long the realities of Islam and the Koran have been a mystery to the
Christian West. In this brilliant rendition, Thomas Cleary distills the essence of
the Koran, presenting primary teachings from the sacred Book in an accessible
and illuminating manner. Cleary's notes on the spiritual language and
psychology of the Koran reveal an astounding richness, subtlety, and depth in
this extraordinary Book.

"The notes alone make this a valuable text to have. Cleary brings in Sufi
commentary and Buddhist parallels, and he is especially brilliant explaining the
Arabic roots of key words and their collateral meanings." —COLEMAN
BARKS, translator, with Robert Bly, of The Poems of Rumi

THOMAS CLEARY is the preeminent translator of Buddhist and Taoist texts,

including The Essential Tao, The Essential Confucius, The Secret of the Golden
Flower, and the bestselling The Art of War.

Jacket design: Michele Wetherbee

Phcr ilya-Kari, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

O 92-. Art Resource

aphy: Sylvia Godlas