Surah Al-Baqarah

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

✦

The Surah · Verses 1 to 48

﴾١﴿ الٓمٓ

Alif Lam Mim

Alif Lam Mim.

﴾٢﴿ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًۭى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

Dhalikal kitabu la rayba fih, hudal lilmuttaqin

That is the Book, no doubt in it, guidance for those conscious of Allah.

﴾٣﴿ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Alladhina yu'minuna bilghaybi wa yuqimunas salata wa mimma razaqnahum yunfiqun

Those who believe in the unseen and establish the prayer and spend from what We have provided them.

﴾٤﴿ وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

Walladhina yu'minuna bima unzila ilayka wa ma unzila min qablika wa bil akhirati hum yuqinun

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

﴾٥﴿ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًۭى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

Ula'ika 'ala hudam mir rabbihim wa ula'ika humul muflihun

Those are on guidance from their Lord, and those are the ones who succeed.

﴾٦﴿ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

Innal ladhina kafaru sawa'un 'alayhim a andhartahum am lam tunzirhum la yu'minun

As for those who disbelieved, it is the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.

﴾٧﴿ خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبْصَٰرِهِمْ غِشَٰوَةٌۭ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ

Khatamal lahu 'ala qulubihim wa 'ala sam'ihim wa 'ala absarihim ghishawatun, wa lahum 'adhabun 'azim

Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a covering. And they will have a great punishment.

﴾٨﴿ وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

Wa minan nasi may yaqulu amanna billahi wa bil yawmil akhiri wa ma hum bimu'minin

And among the people are those who say, we believe in Allah and in the Last Day, and they are not believers.

﴾٩﴿ يُخَٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Yukhadi'unal laha walladhina amanu wa ma yakhda'una illa anfusahum wa ma yash'urun

They try to deceive Allah and those who believed, and they deceive no one but themselves, and they do not realize it.

﴾١٠﴿ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْذِبُونَ

Fi qulubihim maradun fazadahumul lahu marada, wa lahum 'adhabun alimum bima kanu yakdhibun

In their hearts is a disease, so Allah increased them in disease. And they will have a painful punishment for the lying they were doing.

﴾١١﴿ وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ

Wa idha qila lahum la tufsidu fil ardi qalu innama nahnu muslihun

And when it is said to them, do not cause corruption on the earth, they say, we are only setting things right.

﴾١٢﴿ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ

Ala innahum humul mufsiduna wa lakil la yash'urun

Take note. They are the ones causing corruption, but they do not realize it.

﴾١٣﴿ وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ ءَامِنُوا۟ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

Wa idha qila lahum aminu kama amanan nasu qalu anu'minu kama amanas sufaha', ala innahum humus sufaha'u wa lakil la ya'lamun

And when it is said to them, believe as the people have believed, they say, shall we believe as the foolish have believed. Take note. They are the foolish ones, but they do not know.

﴾١٤﴿ وَإِذَا لَقُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ شَيَٰطِينِهِمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِءُونَ

Wa idha laqul ladhina amanu qalu amanna, wa idha khalaw ila shayatinihim qalu inna ma'akum innama nahnu mustahzi'un

And when they meet those who believed they say, we believe. And when they are alone with their devils they say, we are with you. We were only mocking.

﴾١٥﴿ ٱللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِى طُغْيَٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

Allahu yastahzi'u bihim wa yamudduhum fi tughyanihim ya'mahun

Allah mocks them and extends them in their overreaching, wandering blindly.

﴾١٦﴿ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَٰرَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُهْتَدِينَ

Ula'ikal ladhinash tarawud dalalata bilhuda, fama rabihat tijaratuhum wa ma kanu muhtadin

Those are the ones who bought error with guidance, so their trade did not profit and they were not guided.

﴾١٧﴿ مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ ٱلَّذِى ٱسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًۭا فَلَمَّآ أَضَآءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُۥ ذَهَبَ ٱللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِى ظُلُمَٰتٍۢ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ

Mathaluhum kamathalilladhis tawqada nara, falamma ada'at ma hawlahu dhahabal lahu binurihim wa tarakahum fi zulumatil la yubsirun

Their likeness is the likeness of one who kindled a fire, and when it lit up what was around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to see.

﴾١٨﴿ صُمٌّۢ بُكْمٌ عُمْىٌۭ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ

Summum bukmun 'umyun fahum la yarji'un

Deaf, dumb, blind, so they do not return.

﴾١٩﴿ أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَٰتٌۭ وَرَعْدٌۭ وَبَرْقٌۭ يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِم مِّنَ ٱلصَّوَٰعِقِ حَذَرَ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ مُحِيطٌۢ بِٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ

Aw kasayyibim minas sama'i fihi zulumatun wa ra'dun wa barq, yaj'aluna asabi'ahum fi adhanihim minas sawa'iqi hadharal mawt, wallahu muhitum bilkafirin

Or like a rainstorm from the sky in which are darknesses and thunder and lightning. They put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps, fearing death. And Allah encompasses the disbelievers.

﴾٢٠﴿ يَكَادُ ٱلْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَٰرَهُمْ ۖ كُلَّمَآ أَضَآءَ لَهُم مَّشَوْا۟ فِيهِ وَإِذَآ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا۟ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

Yakadul barqu yakhtafu absarahum, kullama ada'a lahum mashaw fihi wa idha azlama 'alayhim qamu, wa law sha'al lahu ladhahaba bisam'ihim wa absarihim, innal laha 'ala kulli shay'in qadir

The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Every time it lights up for them they walk in it, and when it darkens over them they stand still. And if Allah had willed He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Allah is able to do all things.

﴾٢١﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Ya ayyuhan nasu'budu Rabbakumul ladhi khalaqakum walladhina min qablikum la'allakum tattaqun

People, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become conscious.

﴾٢٢﴿ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فِرَٰشًۭا وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بِنَآءًۭ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ رِزْقًۭا لَّكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ أَندَادًۭا وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Alladhi ja'ala lakumul arda firashan was sama'a bina'an, wa anzala minas sama'i ma'an fa akhraja bihi minath thamarati rizqal lakum, fala taj'alu lillahi andadan wa antum ta'lamun

The One who made the earth a bed for you and the sky a structure, and sent down water from the sky and brought out with it fruits as provision for you. So do not set up rivals to Allah while you know.

﴾٢٣﴿ وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِى رَيْبٍۢ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا۟ بِسُورَةٍۢ مِّن مِّثْلِهِۦ وَٱدْعُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

Wa in kuntum fi raybim mimma nazzalna 'ala 'abdina fatu bisuratim mim mithlih, wad'u shuhada'akum min dunil lahi in kuntum sadiqin

And if you are in doubt about what We sent down on Our servant, then bring a chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful.

﴾٢٤﴿ فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا۟ وَلَن تَفْعَلُوا۟ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱلنَّارَ ٱلَّتِى وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ ۖ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَٰفِرِينَ

Fa il lam taf'alu wa lan taf'alu fattaqun naral lati waquduhan nasu wal hijaratu, u'iddat lilkafirin

And if you do not do it, and you will not do it, then guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.

﴾٢٥﴿ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا۟ مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍۢ رِّزْقًۭا ۙ قَالُوا۟ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِى رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا۟ بِهِۦ مُتَشَٰبِهًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَآ أَزْوَٰجٌۭ مُّطَهَّرَةٌۭ ۖ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ

Wa bashshiril ladhina amanu wa 'amilus salihati anna lahum jannatin tajri min tahtihal anhar, kullama ruziqu minha min thamaratir rizqan qalu hadhal ladhi ruziqna min qablu wa utu bihi mutashabiha, wa lahum fiha azwajum mutahharatun wa hum fiha khalidun

And give good news to those who believed and did righteous deeds, that for them are gardens with rivers flowing beneath them. Every time they are provided with a fruit from it they say, this is what we were provided before. And they are given it in resemblance. And for them in it are purified spouses, and they remain in it.

﴾٢٦﴿ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْىِۦٓ أَن يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًۭا مَّا بَعُوضَةًۭ فَمَا فَوْقَهَا ۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًۭا ۘ يُضِلُّ بِهِۦ كَثِيرًۭا وَيَهْدِى بِهِۦ كَثِيرًۭا ۚ وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِۦٓ إِلَّا ٱلْفَٰسِقِينَ

Innal laha la yastahyi ay yadriba mathalam ma ba'udatan fama fawqaha, fa ammal ladhina amanu faya'lamuna annahul haqqu mir rabbihim, wa ammal ladhina kafaru fayaquluna madha aradal lahu bihadha mathala, yudillu bihi kathiran wa yahdi bihi kathira, wa ma yudillu bihi illal fasiqin

Allah is not shy to give a likeness of a mosquito or of what is above it. As for those who believed, they know it is the truth from their Lord. And as for those who disbelieved, they say, what did Allah want with this as a likeness. He lets many go astray by it and guides many by it. And He lets none go astray by it except the defiantly disobedient.

﴾٢٧﴿ ٱلَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ ٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مِيثَٰقِهِۦ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦٓ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَٰسِرُونَ

Alladhina yanquduna 'ahdal lahi mim ba'di mithaqihi wa yaqta'una ma amaral lahu bihi ay yusala wa yufsiduna fil ard, ula'ika humul khasirun

Those who break the covenant of Allah after its binding, and cut what Allah has ordered to be joined, and cause corruption on the earth. Those are the losers.

﴾٢٨﴿ كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَٰتًۭا فَأَحْيَٰكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

Kayfa takfuruna billahi wa kuntum amwatan fa ahyakum thumma yumitukum thumma yuhyikum thumma ilayhi turja'un

How can you reject Allah, when you were dead and He gave you life, then He causes you to die, then He gives you life, then to Him you are returned.

﴾٢٩﴿ هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَسَوَّىٰهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍۢ ۚ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ

Huwal ladhi khalaqa lakum ma fil ardi jami'an, thummas tawa ilas sama'i fasawwahunna sab'a samawat, wa Huwa bikulli shay'in 'alim

He is the One who created for you everything on the earth, then He turned to the sky and shaped them into seven heavens. And He knows everything.

﴾٣٠﴿ وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Wa idh qala Rabbuka lil mala'ikati inni ja'ilun fil ardi khalifa, qalu ataj'alu fiha may yufsidu fiha wa yasfikud dima'a wa nahnu nusabbihu bihamdika wa nuqaddisu lak, qala inni a'lamu ma la ta'lamun

And when your Lord said to the angels, I am placing on the earth a successor. They said, will You place in it one who causes corruption in it and sheds blood, while we glorify You with praise and declare Your holiness. He said, I know what you do not know.

﴾٣١﴿ وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلْأَسْمَآءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنۢبِـُٔونِى بِأَسْمَآءِ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

Wa 'allama Adamal asma'a kullaha thumma 'aradahum 'alal mala'ikati faqala ambi'uni bi asma'i ha'ula'i in kuntum sadiqin

And He taught Adam the names, all of them. Then He presented them to the angels and said, tell Me the names of these, if you are truthful.

﴾٣٢﴿ قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Qalu subhanaka la 'ilma lana illa ma 'allamtana, innaka antal 'alimul hakim

They said, glory be to You. We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are the Knowing, the Wise.

﴾٣٣﴿ قَالَ يَٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَنۢبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ

Qala ya Adamu ambi'hum bi asma'ihim, falamma amba'ahum bi asma'ihim qala alam aqul lakum inni a'lamu ghaybas samawati wal ardi wa a'lamu ma tubduna wa ma kuntum taktumun

He said, Adam, tell them their names. So when he had told them their names, He said, did I not tell you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you were concealing.

﴾٣٤﴿ وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِءَادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ

Wa idh qulna lilmala'ikatis judu li Adama fasajadu illa Iblis, aba wastakbara wa kana minal kafirin

And when We said to the angels, prostrate to Adam, they prostrated, except Iblis. He refused and was arrogant, and he was of the disbelievers.

﴾٣٥﴿ وَقُلْنَا يَٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

Wa qulna ya Adamus kun anta wa zawjukal jannata wa kula minha raghadan haythu shi'tuma wa la taqraba hadhihish shajarata fatakuna minaz zalimin

And We said, Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in the garden, and eat from it freely wherever you wish, and do not approach this tree, or you will be of the wrongdoers.

﴾٣٦﴿ فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ ۖ وَقُلْنَا ٱهْبِطُوا۟ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّۭ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّۭ وَمَتَٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍۢ

Fa azallahumash Shaytanu 'anha fa akhrajahuma mimma kana fih, wa qulnah bitu ba'dukum liba'din 'aduww, wa lakum fil ardi mustaqarrun wa mata'un ila hin

Then Satan made them slip from it and removed them from what they were in. And We said, descend, some of you enemies to others. And for you on the earth is a place to settle and provision for a time.

﴾٣٧﴿ فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَٰتٍۢ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Fatalaqqa Adamu mir Rabbihi kalimatin fataba 'alayh, innahu Huwat Tawwabur Rahim

Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned to him in mercy. He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.

﴾٣٨﴿ قُلْنَا ٱهْبِطُوا۟ مِنْهَا جَمِيعًۭا ۖ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدًۭى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

Qulnah bitu minha jami'a, fa imma ya'tiyannakum minni hudan faman tabi'a hudaya fala khawfun 'alayhim wa la hum yahzanun

We said, descend from it, all of you. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance, there will be no fear upon them and they will not grieve.

﴾٣٩﴿ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَكَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ

Walladhina kafaru wa kadhdhabu bi ayatina ula'ika ashabun nar, hum fiha khalidun

And those who disbelieved and called Our signs a lie, those are the companions of the Fire, remaining in it.

﴾٤٠﴿ يَٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتِىَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِىٓ أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ

Ya bani Isra'ila udhkuru ni'matiyal lati an'amtu 'alaykum wa awfu bi 'ahdi ufi bi 'ahdikum wa iyyaya farhabun

Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed on you, and fulfil My covenant and I will fulfil your covenant, and fear Me alone.

﴾٤١﴿ وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِمَآ أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًۭا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍۭ بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِى ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًۭا وَإِيَّٰىَ فَٱتَّقُونِ

Wa aminu bima anzaltu musaddiqal lima ma'akum wa la takunu awwala kafirim bih, wa la tashtaru bi ayati thamanan qalila, wa iyyaya fattaqun

And believe in what I have sent down, confirming what is with you, and do not be the first to reject it. And do not sell My signs for a small price, and be conscious of Me alone.

﴾٤٢﴿ وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Wa la talbisul haqqa bilbatili wa taktumul haqqa wa antum ta'lamun

And do not dress the truth in falsehood and conceal the truth while you know.

﴾٤٣﴿ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱرْكَعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ

Wa aqimus salata wa atuz zakata warka'u ma'ar raki'in

And establish the prayer and give the zakah and bow with those who bow.

﴾٤٤﴿ أَتَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

A ta'murunan nasa bilbirri wa tansawna anfusakum wa antum tatlunal kitab, afala ta'qilun

Do you order people to righteousness and forget yourselves, while you recite the Book. Will you not use your reason.

﴾٤٥﴿ وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَٰشِعِينَ

Wasta'inu bissabri was salah, wa innaha lakabiratun illa 'alal khashi'in

And seek help through patience and the prayer. And it is heavy, except for the humble.

﴾٤٦﴿ ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَٰقُوا۟ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ

Alladhina yazunnuna annahum mulaqu Rabbihim wa annahum ilayhi raji'un

Those who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they are returning to Him.

﴾٤٧﴿ يَٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتِىَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّى فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Ya bani Isra'ila udhkuru ni'matiyal lati an'amtu 'alaykum wa anni faddaltukum 'alal 'alamin

Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed on you, and that I preferred you above the worlds.

﴾٤٨﴿ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ يَوْمًۭا لَّا تَجْزِى نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍۢ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَٰعَةٌۭ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌۭ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

Wattaqu yawmal la tajzi nafsun 'an nafsin shay'an wa la yuqbalu minha shafa'atun wa la yu'khadhu minha 'adlun wa la hum yunsarun

And guard yourselves against a Day when no soul will avail another in anything, and no intercession will be accepted from it, and no compensation taken from it, and they will not be helped.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What This Part Means

Overview

Three Kinds of Reader.

The longest chapter in the Quran spends its first twenty verses sorting the people about to read it.

Four verses for the first group. Two for the second. Thirteen for the third.

The proportions are the argument. The people who believe are described briefly, because there is not much to say about a heart that is working. The people who reject openly get two verses, because an open position is easy to state. And the people who say the words without meaning them get thirteen, two extended similes, and a description of their internal weather, because that condition is complicated, self-concealing, and the one most readers are actually at risk of.

Then verse 21 addresses everyone. Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you. And the argument for it is not a threat. It is a floor, a ceiling, and water.

Then the oldest scene in the record: angels asking a question about a creature not yet made, and a man answering it by naming what they could not name.

And Part One closes on a passage addressed to a community that had received everything, and the sentence that has stopped religious teachers in their tracks for fourteen centuries. Do you order people to righteousness and forget yourselves, while you recite the Book.

Verses 1 to 20

We Are Only Setting Things Right.

Verse 2 makes a claim and then immediately restricts who benefits from it. That is the Book, no doubt in it, guidance for those conscious of Allah. The absence of doubt is stated as a property of the Book. The guidance is stated as something that reaches a particular kind of person. Two different claims in one line.

Verse 3 opens the description with belief in the unseen, and places it before prayer and before spending. Everything else on the list is visible. The first item is the one nobody can verify from outside, and it is the condition for the rest.

Verses 8 through 20 then describe the third group, and the descriptions are behavioural rather than doctrinal.

Verse 11 is the sentence to sit with. And when it is said to them, do not cause corruption on the earth, they say, we are only setting things right. This is not a lie told to others. It is the position they hold. Verse 12 confirms it: they are the ones causing corruption, but la yash'urun, they do not perceive it. The self-assessment is sincere and wrong.

Verse 13 gives the second half of the same disposition. Asked to believe as the people believe, they say, shall we believe as the foolish have believed. Contempt for ordinary believers, held by men who consider themselves more sophisticated. And the verse returns the description to them without raising its voice.

Then two similes, and they describe two different failures.

Verse 17: a man kindles a fire, and just as it lights up what is around him, the light is taken and he is left in darknesses. This is the man who had something. The light was real and it was his, briefly. What is described is loss, and the worst moment for it to arrive is the moment it did arrive, just as things became visible.

Verses 19 and 20: a rainstorm, thunder, lightning, fingers pressed into ears. This man never had a light of his own. He moves in the flashes and stops when they stop. His progress is entirely borrowed and entirely intermittent, and he spends the whole time afraid.

Neither simile is about ignorance. Both are about people who have been shown something.

Verses 21 to 39

I Know What You Do Not Know.

Verse 22 makes the argument for worship out of ordinary things. The earth a bed. The sky a structure. Water sent down, and fruit brought out of it. Firash is bedding, something laid out for a body to rest on. Bina' is a built thing, with the implication of a roof that holds. The case for God is presented as a house you are already living in.

Verse 23 issues the challenge, and its terms are worth noting. Bring a chapter like it. Not a book. One chapter, the shortest of which is three lines. And call your witnesses, meaning bring whoever you like to help. Verse 24 then adds the clause that makes it a prediction rather than a dare: and you will not do it.

Verse 26 answers an objection nobody expected to have to answer. Allah is not shy to give a likeness of a mosquito or of what is above it. Someone had complained that the examples were beneath the subject. And the verse turns the complaint into the demonstration: the same likeness guides many and misleads many, so the material was never the variable. The reader is.

Verse 30 is the oldest recorded conversation about human beings, and the angels' question is not an objection. It is an inference from information. Will You place in it one who causes corruption in it and sheds blood. They were right, and history has confirmed them in detail. And the answer given is not a denial. It is four words. I know what you do not know.

Then verse 31, and the demonstration. And He taught Adam the names, all of them. Then the angels are asked to produce them and cannot. Their reply in verse 32 is the model answer for anyone who does not know something. Glory be to You. We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. No defensiveness, no attempt to reason toward it, and an acknowledgment of the source of everything they did know.

What settles the matter is not that the human being is better. It is that he can hold and use knowledge that was given to him. That capacity is what the position of khalifah required, and it is the same capacity that makes the corruption in verse 30 possible.

Verse 34 records the refusal in three words: aba wastakbara. He refused and was arrogant. Refusal first, then arrogance, in that order.

And verse 37 is the sentence that keeps the whole story from being a tragedy. Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned to him in mercy. He was given the words. He did not compose them. The first man to need forgiveness was taught how to ask for it, and the verb for receiving them means to meet something coming toward you.

Verses 40 to 48

Do You Order People to Righteousness.

Verse 40 opens the long address to the children of Israel with a transaction stated in the plainest possible terms. Fulfil My covenant and I will fulfil your covenant. And then the clause that governs the rest of it: and fear Me alone. Every failure catalogued in the coming sixty verses is a failure of that last clause, because fear of somebody else is what produces the concealment, the selling of verses, and the mixing of truth with falsehood.

Verse 41 names the specific transaction. And do not sell My signs for a small price. Not do not sell them. The price is described as small in advance, whatever it turns out to be, because of what is on the other side of the trade.

Verse 42 names two distinct acts and it matters that they are separate. Do not dress the truth in falsehood, and do not conceal the truth. The first is active mixing, presenting a real thing with a false thing attached so the two travel together. The second is simply not saying it. Both are prohibited, and most people who would never do the first do the second regularly.

And then verse 44, which is one of the most uncomfortable verses in the Quran for anyone who teaches, writes, or advises. Do you order people to righteousness and forget yourselves, while you recite the Book. Will you not use your reason.

The final appeal is not to piety. It is to reason. The verse treats the gap between what a man says and what he does as an intellectual failure before it treats it as a moral one, because the man is reciting the instructions out loud while not following them, and there is no coherent account of that.

Verse 45 then gives the two instruments. Seek help through patience and the prayer. And it adds something honest: wa innaha lakabiratun, and it is heavy. The prayer is described as a weight. Not for everyone, but for most people, and the exception is named: except for the humble. Anyone who has found the prayer difficult is described accurately here rather than being told it should feel easy.

And verse 46 defines those humble ones by one thing only. Those who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they are returning to Him. Not by their practice. By what they expect.

Verse 48 then closes the section by removing four exits in a single sentence. No soul will avail another in anything. No intercession accepted from it. No compensation taken from it. And they will not be helped. Someone standing in for you, a word put in on your behalf, a payment, and outside assistance. All four are named, and all four are closed. The chapter that will spend two hundred and forty more verses telling people what to do begins by establishing that nobody else will be able to do it for them.

Structural Summary

Verses One to Forty-Eight. Three Kinds of Reader.

Four verses, then two, then thirteen, and the proportions are the argument. The unseen placed before everything visible. A sincere self-assessment that is wrong. Contempt for ordinary believers, returned without a raised voice. A light that arrives and is taken at the moment things become visible. A man who moves only in other people's flashes. A bed, a roof, and water offered as the case. One chapter demanded, and a prediction attached. A mosquito, and the reader named as the variable. A question that was correct, answered with four words rather than a denial. The model answer for not knowing something. Refusal recorded before arrogance. Words given to the first man who needed them. A price called small in advance. Mixing and withholding named separately. A gap between speech and conduct treated as a failure of reason. A prayer described as heavy, and the exception named. And four exits closed in one sentence.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Verses One to Forty-Eight. Do Not Defend the Answer.

Verse 11 describes people whose corruption is invisible to themselves. Ask one person who will tell you the truth what you are doing that you think is helping and is not. Do not defend the answer.

Verse 42 separates mixing from withholding. Identify the true thing you have not been saying because saying it costs something. Say it this week to the one person it concerns.

Verse 45 admits the prayer is heavy. Take the prayer you rush most. Pray it once this week at half speed, with nothing else scheduled after it.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verses 1 to 201 / 17

Verses 1 to 20

How many verses are given to each of the three groups, and what does the split tell you?