46 We have sent verses that clarify the right path: God guides whoever He will to a straight path. 47 They say, ‘We believe in God and the Messenger; we obey,’ but then some of them turn away: these people are not true believers 48 and when they are summoned to God and His Messenger in order for him to judge between them, some of them turn away. 49 If they were claiming their right, they would come willingly [to the Prophet]. 50 Do they have sickness in their hearts? Are they full of doubts? Do they fear that God and His Messenger might deal with them unjustly? No, it is they who are the unjust ones. 51 When the true believers are summoned to God and His Messenger in order for him to judge between them, they say, ‘We hear and we obey.’ These are the ones who will prosper: 52 whoever obeys God and His Messenger, stands in awe of God, and keeps his duty to Him will be triumphant. 53 [The others] solemnly swear by God that if you [Prophet] commanded them, they would march out. Tell them, ‘Do not swear: it is reasonable obedience that is required, and God is aware of everything you do.’ 54 Say, ‘Obey God; obey the Messenger. If you turn away, [know that] he is responsible for the duty placed upon him, and you are responsible for the duty placed upon you. If you obey him, you will be rightly guided, but the Messenger’s duty is only to deliver the message clearly.’
55 God has made a promise to those among you who believe and do good deeds: He will make them successors to the land, as He did those who came before them; He will empower the religion He has chosen for them; He will grant them security to replace their fear. ‘They will worship Me and not join anything with Me.’ Those who are defiant after that will be the rebels.– 56 [People], keep up the prayer, pay the prescribed alms, and obey the Messenger, so that you may be given mercy. 57 Do not think [Prophet] that the disbelievers can escape God on earth; the Fire will be their final home, an evil end.
58 Believers, your slaves and any who have not yet reached puberty should ask your permission to come in at three times of day: before the dawn prayer; when you lay your garments aside in the midday heat; and after the evening prayer. These are your three times for privacy; at other times, there is no blame on you or them if you move around each other freely. In this way God makes messages clear: God is all knowing, all wise. 59 When your children reach puberty, they should [always] ask your permission to enter, like their elders do. This is how God makes His messages clear to you: God is all knowing, all wise. 60 No blame will be attached to elderly women who are not hoping for sex, if they take off their outer garments without flaunting their charms, but it is preferable for them not to do this: God is all hearing, all seeing.
61 No blame will be attached to the blind, the lame, the sick. [a] Whether you eat in your own houses, or those of your fathers, your mothers, your brothers, your sisters, your paternal uncles, your paternal aunts, your maternal uncles, your maternal aunts, houses you have the keys for, or any of your friends’ houses, you will not be blamed: you will not be blamed whether you eat in company or separately. [b] When you enter any house, greet one another with a greeting of blessing and goodness as enjoined by God. This is how God makes His messages clear to you so that you may understand.
62 The true believers are those who believe in God and His Messenger, who, when they are gathered with him on a communal matter, do not depart until they have asked his permission– those who ask your permission [Prophet] are the ones who truly believe in God and His Messenger. When they ask your permission to attend to their private affairs, allow whoever you see fit and ask God to forgive them. God is most forgiving and merciful. 63 [People], do not regard the Messenger’s summons to you like one of you summoning another– God is well aware of those of you who steal away surreptitiously– and those who go against his order should beware lest a trial afflict them or they receive a painful punishment.
64 Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God: He knows what state you are in– on the Day when all are returned to Him, He will tell them everything they have done– God has full knowledge of everything.
Footnotes
a. Commentators state that the blind etc. refrained from eating with the healthy, or that the healthy refused to eat with them, and many link this statement to the following one.
b. Some commentators take this to be a qualification of 4: 29, which was interpreted by some Muslims as a prohibition on eating at each other’s houses without invitation.
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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