The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
214 The Quran 22: 71 all that is in the heavens and earth? All this is written in a Record; this is easy for God. 71 Yet beside God they serve that for which He has sent no authority and of which they have no knowledge: a the evildoers will have no one to help them. 72 [Prophet], you can see the hostility on the faces of the disbelievers when Our messages are recited clearly to them: it is almost as if they are going to attack those who recite Our messages to them. Say, ‘Shall I tell you what is far worse than what you feel now? The Fire that God has promised the disbelievers! What a dismal end!’ 73 People, here is an illustration, so listen carefully: those you call on beside God could not, even if they combined all their forces, create a fly, and if a fly took something away from them, they would not be able to retrieve it. How feeble are the petitioners and how feeble are those they petition! 74 They have no grasp of God’s true measure: God is truly most strong and mighty. 75 God chooses messengers from among the angels and from among men. God is all hearing, all seeing: 76 He knows what lies before and behind them. All matters return to Him. 77 Believers, bow down, prostrate yourselves, worship your Lord, and do good so that you may succeed. 78 Strive hard for God as is His due: He has chosen you and placed no hardship in your religion, the faith of your forefather Abraham. God has called you Muslims b ––both in the past and in this [message]––so that the Messenger can bear witness about you and so that you can bear witness about other people. So keep up the prayer, give the prescribed alms, and seek refuge in God: He is your protector––an excellent protector and an excellent helper. a i.e. ‘scriptural knowledge’. b i.e. ‘devoted to God’.
23. THE BELIEVERS A Meccan sura which stresses that the believers are the ones who will succeed, whereas the disbelievers will be punished for their arrogance and derision. Several proofs are given of God’s Oneness and His power, and the inevitability of the Resurrection is emphasized. In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy 1 [How] prosperous are the believers! 2 Those who pray humbly, 3 who shun idle talk, 4 who pay the prescribed alms, 5 who guard their chastity 6 except with their spouses or their slaves a ––with these they are not to blame, 7 but anyone who seeks more than this is exceeding the limits––8 who are faithful to their trusts and pledges 9 and who keep up their prayers, 10 will rightly be given 11 Paradise as their own, b there to remain. 12 We created man from an essence of clay, 13 then We placed him as a drop of fluid in a safe place, 14 then We made that drop into a clinging form, and We made that form into a lump of flesh, and We made that lump into bones, and We clothed those bones with flesh, and later We made him into other forms c ––glory be to God, the best of creators!––15 then you will die 16 and then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be raised up again. 17 We created seven levels d above you: We are never unmindful of Our creation. 18 We sent water down from the sky in due measure and lodged it in the earth––We have the power to take it all away if We so wish––19 with it We produced for you gardens of date palms and vines, with many fruits there for you to eat, 20 and a tree, growing out of Mount Sinai, that produces oil and seasoning for your food. 21 There is a lesson for you in livestock: We produce milk for you to drink from their bellies. And they have many other benefits: you eat them 22 and you ride on them, as you do in ships. a Cf. 4: 25. b Literally ‘will be the heirs to “inherit” Paradise’, but they do not inherit from anyone who dies. c Razi quotes Ibn Abbas to explain ‘other forms’ as referring to all the various stages of infancy, childhood, and maturity––cf. 22: 5; 40: 67. d Taraiq: ‘levels (of heaven)’ or ‘highways’ (Razi).
- Page 190 and 191: 164 The Quran 15: 56 have told you
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23. THE BELIEVERS<br />
A Meccan sura which stresses that the believers are the ones who will succeed,<br />
whereas the disbelievers will be punished for their arrogance and derision.<br />
Several proofs are given of God’s Oneness and His power, and the inevitability<br />
of the Resurrection is emphasized.<br />
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy<br />
1 [How] prosperous are the believers! 2 Those who pray humbly,<br />
3 who shun idle talk, 4 who pay the prescribed alms, 5 who guard their<br />
chastity 6 except with their spouses or their slaves a ––with these they<br />
are not to blame, 7 but anyone who seeks more than this is exceeding<br />
the limits––8 who are faithful to their trusts and pledges 9 and who<br />
keep up their prayers, 10 will rightly be given 11 Paradise as their<br />
own, b there to remain.<br />
12 We created man from an essence of clay, 13 then We placed him as<br />
a drop of fluid in a safe place, 14 then We made that drop into a<br />
clinging form, and We made that form into a lump of flesh, and We<br />
made that lump into bones, and We clothed those bones with<br />
flesh, and later We made him into other forms c ––glory be to God,<br />
the best of creators!––15 then you will die 16 and then, on the Day of<br />
Resurrection, you will be raised up again.<br />
17 We created seven levels d above you: We are never unmindful of<br />
Our creation. 18 We sent water down from the sky in due measure<br />
and lodged it in the earth––We have the power to take it all away if<br />
We so wish––19 with it We produced for you gardens of date palms<br />
and vines, with many fruits there for you to eat, 20 and a tree, growing<br />
out of Mount Sinai, that produces oil and seasoning for your food.<br />
21 <strong>The</strong>re is a lesson for you in livestock: We produce milk for you to<br />
drink from their bellies. And they have many other benefits: you eat<br />
them 22 and you ride on them, as you do in ships.<br />
a Cf. 4: 25.<br />
b Literally ‘will be the heirs to “inherit” Paradise’, but they do not inherit from<br />
anyone who dies.<br />
c Razi quotes Ibn Abbas to explain ‘other forms’ as referring to all the various stages<br />
of infancy, childhood, and maturity––cf. 22: 5; 40: 67.<br />
d Taraiq: ‘levels (of heaven)’ or ‘highways’ (Razi).
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