82 But if they turn away [Prophet], your only duty is to deliver the message clearly. 83 They know God’s blessings, but refuse to recognize them: most of them are ungrateful.
84 The day will come when We raise up a witness from every community, when the disbelievers will not be allowed to make excuses or amends. 85 When the evildoers face punishment it will not be lightened for them nor will they be given any respite. 86 When the idolaters see the partners they joined with God they will say, ‘Our Lord, these are the partners we used to invoke beside You,’ but the partners will retort, ‘You are liars,’ 87 and on that Day they will offer total submission to God: their false deities will desert them. 88 Because of the corruption they spread, We shall add torment upon torment for those who disbelieved and barred others from the path of God.
89 The day will come when We raise up in each community a witness against them, and We shall bring you [Prophet] as a witness against these people, for We have sent the Scripture down to you explaining everything, and as guidance and mercy and good news to those who devote themselves to God.
God Commands Righteousness
90 God commands justice, doing good, and generosity towards relatives and He forbids what is shameful, blameworthy, and oppressive. He teaches you, so that you may take heed. 91 Fulfil any pledge you make in God’s name and do not break oaths after you have sworn them, for you have made God your surety: God knows everything you do. 92 Do not use your oaths to deceive each other– like a woman who unravels the thread she has firmly spun– just because one party may be more numerous than another. God tests you with this, and on the Day of the Resurrection He will make clear to you those things you differed about.
93 If God so willed, He would have made you all one people, but He leaves to stray whoever He will and guides whoever He will. You will be questioned about your deeds. 94 Do not use your oaths to deceive each other lest any foot should slip after being firmly placed and lest you should taste the penalty for having hindered others from the path of God, and suffer terrible torment. 95 Do not sell for a small price any pledge made in God’s name: what God has [to give] is better for you, if you only knew. 96 What you have runs out but what God has endures, and We shall certainly reward those who remain steadfast according to the best of their actions. 97 To whoever, male or female, does good deeds and has faith, We shall give a good life and reward them according to the best of their actions.
98 [Prophet], when you recite the Quran, seek God’s protection from the outcast, Satan. 99 He has no power over those who believe and trust in their Lord; 100 his power is only over those who ally themselves with him and those who, because of him, join partners with God.
God Does Not Guide the Disbelievers
101 When We substitute one revelation for another– and God knows best what He reveals– they say, ‘You are just making it up,’ but most of them have no knowledge. 102 Say that the Holy Spirit [a] has brought the Revelation with the Truth step by step from your Lord, to strengthen the believers and as guidance and good news to the devout. 103 We know very well that they say, ‘It is a man who teaches him,’ but the language of the person they allude to is foreign, while this revelation is in clear Arabic. 104 If people do not believe in God’s revelation, God does not guide them, and a painful punishment awaits them. 105 Falsehood is fabricated only by those who do not believe in God’s revelation: they are the liars. 106 With the exception of those who are forced to say they do not believe, although their hearts remain firm in faith, those who reject God after believing in Him and open their hearts to disbelief will have the wrath of God upon them and a grievous punishment awaiting them. 107 This is because they love the life of this world more than the one to come, and God does not guide those who reject Him. 108 These are people whose hearts, hearing, and sight have been closed off by God: they are heedless, 109 and there is no doubt that they will be the losers in the Hereafter. 110 But your Lord will be most forgiving and most merciful to those who leave their homes after persecution, then strive and remain steadfast. 111 On the Day when every soul will come pleading for itself, every soul will be paid in full for all its actions– they will not be wronged.
Eat From the Good Things Provided
112 God presents the example of a town that was secure and at ease, with provisions coming to it abundantly from all places. Then it became ungrateful for God’s blessings, so God afflicted it with the garment of famine and fear, for what its people had done. 113 A messenger who was one of them came to them, but they called him a liar. So punishment overwhelmed them in the midst of their evildoing.
114 So eat of the good and lawful things God has provided for you and be thankful for His blessings, [b] if it is Him that you worship. 115 He has forbidden you only these things: carrion, blood, pig’s meat, and animals over which any name other than God’s has been invoked. But if anyone is forced by hunger, not desiring it nor exceeding their immediate need, God is forgiving and merciful. 116 Do not say falsely, ‘This is lawful and that is forbidden,’ inventing a lie about God: those who invent lies about God will not prosper– 117 they may have a little enjoyment, but painful punishment awaits them.
Use Wisdom When You Talk About God
118 [Prophet], We forbade the Jews what We told you about. [c] We did not wrong them; they wronged themselves. 119 But towards those who do wrong out of ignorance, and afterwards repent and make amends, your Lord is most forgiving and merciful.
120 Abraham was truly an example: devoutly obedient to God and true in faith. He was not an idolater; 121 he was thankful for the blessings of God who chose him and guided him to a straight path. 122 We gave him blessings in this world, and he is among the righteous in the Hereafter. 123 Then We revealed to you [Muhammad], ‘Follow the creed of Abraham, a man of pure faith who was not an idolater.’ 124 The Sabbath was made obligatory only for those who differed about it. On the Day of Resurrection your Lord will judge between them as to their differences.
125 [Prophet], call [people] to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good teaching. Argue with them in the most courteous way, for your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way and who is rightly guided. 126 If you [believers] have to respond to an attack, make your response proportionate, but it is best to stand fast. 127 So [Prophet] be steadfast: your steadfastness comes only from God. Do not grieve over them; do not be distressed by their scheming, 128 for God is with those who are mindful of Him and who do good.
Footnotes
a. This refers to the Angel Gabriel.
b. Unlike the ungrateful people just mentioned.
c. In an earlier revelation (see 6: 146).
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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