GOD has indeed heard the words of her who pleads with thee concerning her husband, and complains Unto God. And God does hear what you both have to say: verily, God is all-hearing, all-seeing.

As for those of you who [henceforth] separate themselves from their wives by saying, “Thou art as unlawful to me as my mother”, [let them bear in mind that] they can never be [as] their mothers: none are their mothers save those who gave them birth: and so, behold, they but utter a saying that runs counter to reason, and is [therefore] false. But, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving:

hence, as for those who would separate themselves from their wives by saying, “Thou art as unlawful to me as my mother”, and thereafter would go back on what they have said, [their atonement] shall be the freeing of a human being from bondage before the couple may touch one another again: this you are [hereby] exhorted to do - for God is fully aware of all that you do.

However, he who does not have the where­withal shall fast [instead] for two consecutive months before the couple may touch one another again; and he who is unable to do it shall feed sixty needy ones: this, so that you might prove your faith in God and His Apostle. Now these are the bounds set by God; and grievous suffering [in the life to come] awaits all who deny the truth.

Verily, those who contend against God and His Apostle shall be brought low even as those [evildoers] who lived before them were brought low after We had bestowed [on them] clear messages from on high. And [so,] for those who deny the truth there will be shameful suffering in store

on the Day when God will raise them all from the dead and will make them truly understand all that they did [in life]: God will have taken [all of] it into account, even though they [themselves] may have forgotten it - for God is wit­ness unto everything.

ART THOU NOT aware that God knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth? Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them; and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may he. But in the end, on Resurrection Day, He will make them truly understand what they did: for, verily, God has full knowledge of everything.

Art thou not aware of such as have been for­bidden [to intrigue through] secret confabulations, and yet [always] revert to that which they have been forbidden, and conspire with one another with a view to sinful doings, and aggressive conduct, and dis­obedience to the Apostle? Now whenever such [people] approach thee, [O Muhammad,] they salute thee with a greeting which God has never countenanced; and they say to themselves, “Why does not God chastise us for what we are saying?” Hell shall be their allotted portion: they shall [in­deed] enter it - and how vile a journey’s end!

[Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, when you do hold secret confabulations, do not conspire with one another with a view to sinful doings, and aggressive conduct, and disobedience to the Apostle, but [rather] hold counsel in the cause of virtue and God-consciousness: and [always] remain conscious of God, unto whom you all shall be gathered.

[All other kinds of] secret confabulations are but of Satan’s doing, so that he might cause grief to those who have attained to faith; yet he cannot harm them in the least, unless it be by God’s leave: in God, then, let the believers place their trust!

O YOU who have attained to faith! When you are told, “Make room for one another in your collective life”, do make room: [and in return,] God will make room for you [in His grace]. And whenever you are told, “Rise up [for a good deed]”, do rise up; [and] God will exalt by [many] degrees those of you who have attained to faith and, [above all,] such as have been vouchsafed [true] knowledge: for God is fully aware of all that you do.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever you [intend to] consult the Apostle, offer up something in charity on the occasion of your consultation: this will be for your own good, and more conducive to your [inner] purity. Yet if you are unable to do so, [know that,] verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispen­ser of grace.

Do you, perchance, fear lest [you may be sinning if] you cannot offer up anything in charity on the occasion of your consultation [with the Apostle]? But if you fail to do it [for lack of opportunity], and God turns unto you in His mercy, remain but con­stant in prayer and render [no more than] the purify­ing dues, and [thus] pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God is fully aware of all that you do.

ART THOU NOT aware of those who would be friends with people whom God has condemned? They are neither of you [O believers] nor of those [who utterly reject the truth]: and so they swear to a falsehood the while they know [it to be false].

God has readied for them suffering severe [in the life to come]. Behold, evil indeed is what they are wont to do:

they have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the path of God: hence, shameful suffering awaits them.

Neither their worldly possessions nor their offspring will be of the least avail to them against God: it is they who are destined for the fire, therein to abide!

On the Day when God will raise them all from the dead, they will swear before Him as they [now] swear before you, thinking that they are on firm ground [in their assumptions]. Oh, verily, it is they, they who are the [greatest] liars!

Satan has gained mastery over them, and has caused them to remain oblivious of the remem­brance of God. Such as these are Satan’s partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of Satan, who will truly be the losers!

Verily, those who contend against God and His Apostle - it is they who [on Judgment Day] shall find themselves among the most abject.

[For] God has thus ordained: “I shall most certainly prevail, I and My apostles!” Verily, God is powerful, almighty!

Thou canst not find people who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day and [at the same time] love anyone who contends against God and His Apostle - even though they be their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or [others of] their kindred. [As for the true believers,] it is they in whose hearts He has inscribed faith, and whom He has strength­ened with inspiration from Himself, and whom [in time] He will admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide. Well-pleased is God with them, and well-pleased are they with Him. They are God’s partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall attain to a happy state!

ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God’s limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.

He it is who turned out of their homes, at the time of [their] first gathering [for war], such of the followers of earlier revelation as were bent on denying the truth. You did not think [O believers] that they would depart [without resistance] - just as they thought that their strongholds would protect them against God: but God came upon them in a manner which they had not expected, and cast terror into their hearts; [and thus] they destroyed their homes by their own hands as well as the hands of the believers. Learn a lesson, then, O you who are endowed with insight!

And had it not been for God’s having ordained banishment for them, He would indeed have imposed [yet greater] suffering on them in this world: still, in the life to come there awaits them suffering through fire:

this, because they cut themselves off from God and His Apostle: and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle - verily, God is severe in retribution!

Whatever [of their] palm trees you may have cut down, [O believers,] or left standing on their roots, was [done] by God’s leave, and in order that He might confound the iniquitous.

Yet [remember:] whatever [spoils taken] from the enemy God has turned over to His Apostle, you did not have to spur horse or riding-camel for its sake: but God gives His apostles mastery over whomever He wills - for God has the power to will anything.

Whatever [spoils taken] from the people of those villages God has turned over to His Apostle - [all of it] belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin [of deceased believers], and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, so that it may not be [a benefit] going round and round among such of you as may [already] be rich. Hence, accept [willing­ly] whatever the Apostle* gives you [thereof], and refrain from [demanding] anything that he withholds from you; and remain conscious of God: for, verily, God is severe in retribution.

[Thus, part of such war-gains shall be given] to the poor among those who have forsaken the domain of evil: those who have been driven from their homelands and their possessions, seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance, and who aid [the cause of] God and His Apostle: it is they, they who are true to their word!

And [it shall be offered, too, unto the poor from among] those who, before them, had their abode in this realm and in faith - [those] who love all that come to them in search of refuge, and who harbour in their hearts no grudge for whatever the others may have been given, but rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot: for, such as from their own covetousness are saved - it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state!

And so, they who come after them pray: “O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins, as well as those of our brethren who preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have attained to faith. O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou art compassionate, a dispenser of grace!”

ART THOU NOT aware of how those who would always dissemble [their real feelings] speak to their truth-denying brethren from among the followers of earlier revelation: “If you are driven away, we shall most certainly go forth with you, and shall never pay heed to anyone against you; and if war is waged against you, we shall most certainly come to your succour.” But God bears witness that they are most flagrantly lying:

[for] if those [to whom they have pledged themselves] are indeed driven away, they will not go forth with them; and if war is waged against them, they will not come to their succour; and even if they [try to] succour them, they will most certainly turn their backs [in flight], and in the end will [themselves] find no succour.

Nay, [O believers,] you arouse in their bosoms a fear more intense than [even their fear of] God: this, because they are people who fail to grasp the truth.

Never will they fight you, [even] in unison, otherwise than from within fortified strongholds or from behind walls. Severe is their warlike discord among themselves: thou wouldst think that they are united, whereas [in fact] their hearts are at odds [with one another]: this, because they are people who will not use their reason.

[To both kinds of your enemies, O believers, is bound to happen] the like of [what happened to] those who, a short while before them, had to taste the evil that came from their own doings, with [yet more] grievous suffering awaiting them [in the life to come]:

the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, “Deny the truth!” - but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, “Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!”

Thus, in the end, both [the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites] will find themselves in the fire, therein to abide: for such is the recompense of evil­doers.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God; and let every human being look to what he sends ahead for the morrow! And [once again]: Remain conscious of God, for God is fully aware of all that you do;

and be not like those who are oblivious of God, and whom He therefore causes to be oblivious of [what is good for] their own selves: [for] it is they, they who are truly depraved!

Not equal are those who are destined for the fire and those who are destined for paradise: those who are destined for paradise - it is they, they [alone] who shall triumph [on Judgment Day]!

HAD WE bestowed this Qur’an from on high upon a mountain, thou wouldst indeed see it humbling itself, breaking asunder for awe of God. And [all] such parables We propound unto men, so that they might [learn to] think.

GOD IS HE save whom there is no deity: the One who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception, as well as all that can be wit­nessed by a creature’s senses or mind: He, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.

God is He save whom there is no deity: the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, the One with whom all salvation rests, the Giver of Faith, the One who determines what is true and false, the Almighty, the One who subdues wrong and restores right, the One to whom all greatness belongs! Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity!

He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all forms and appearances! His [alone] are the attributes of perfection. All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take My enemies - who are your enemies as well - for your friends, showing them affection even though they are bent on denying whatever truth has come unto you, [and even though] they have driven the Apostle and yourselves away, [only] because you believe in God, your Sustainer! If [it be true that] you have gone forth [from your homes] to strive in My cause, and out of a longing for My goodly acceptance, [do not take them for your friends,] inclining towards them in secret affection: for I am fully aware of all that you may conceal as well as of all that you do openly. And any of you who does this has already strayed from the right path.

If they could but overcome you, they would [still] remain your foes, and would stretch forth their hands and tongues against you with evil intent: for they desire that you [too] should deny the truth.

But [bear in mind that] neither your kinsfolk nor [even] your own children will be of any benefit to you on Resurrection Day, [for then] He will decide between you [on your merit alone]: and God sees all that you do.

Indeed, you have had a good example in Abraham and those who followed him, when they said unto their [idolatrous] people: "Verily, we are quit of you and of all that you worship instead of God: we deny the truth of whatever you believe; and between us and you there has arisen enmity and hatred, to last until such a time as you come to believe in the One God!" The only exception was Abraham's saying to his father "I shall indeed pray for [God's] forgiveness for thee, although I have it not in my power to obtain anything from God in thy behalf." [And Abraham and his followers prayed:] "O our Sustainer! In Thee have we placed our trust, and unto Thee do we turn: for unto Thee is all journeys' end.

O our Sustainer! Make us not a plaything for those who are bent on denying the truth! And forgive us our sins, O our sustainer: for Thou alone art, almighty, truly wise!"

In them, indeed, you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day. And if any turns away, [let him know that] God is truly self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due."

[But] it may well be that God will bring about [mutual] affection between you [O believers] and some of those whom you [now] face as enemies: for, God is all-powerful - and God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity: for, verily, God loves those who act equitably.

God only forbids you to turn in friendship towards such as fight against you because of [your] faith, and drive you forth from your homelands, or aid [others] in driving you forth: and as for those [from among you] who turn towards them in friendship; it is they, they who are truly wrongdoers!

O YOU who have attained to faith! Whenever believing women come unto you, forsaking the domain of evil, examine them, [although only] God is fully aware of their faith; and if you have thus ascertained that they are believers, do not send them back to the deniers of the truth, [since] they are [no longer] lawful to their erstwhile husbands, and these are [no longer] lawful to them. None the less, you shall return to them whatever they have spent [on their wives by way of dower]; and [then, O believers,] you will be committing no sin if you marry them after giving them their dowers. On the other hand, hold not to the marriage-tie with women who [continue to] deny the truth, and ask but for [the return of] whatever you have spent [by way of dower] -just as they [whose wives have gone over to you] have the right to demand [the return of] whatever they have spent. Such is God's judgment: He judges between you [in equity] - for God is all-knowing, wise.

And if any of your wives should go over to the deniers of the truth, and you are thus afflicted in turn, then give unto those whose wives have gone away the equivalent of what they had spent [on their wives by way of dower], and remain conscious of God, in whom you believe!

O Prophet! Whenever believing women come unto thee to pledge their allegiance to thee, [pledging] that [henceforth] they would not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught but God, and would not steal, and would not commit adultery, and would not kill their children, and would not indulge in slander, falsely devising it out of nothingness: and would not disobey thee in anything [that thou declarest to be] right - then accept their pledge of allegiance, and pray to God to forgive them their [past] sins: for, behold, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Be not friends with people whom God has condemned! They [who would befriend them] are indeed bereft of all hope of a life to come - just as those deniers of the truth are bereft of all hope of [ever again seeing] those who are [now] in their graves.

ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God's limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

O YOU who have attained to faith! Why do you say one thing and do another?

Most loathsome is it in the sight of God that you say what you do not do!

Verily, God loves [only] those who fight in His cause in [solid] ranks, as though they were a building firm and compact.

Now when Moses spoke to his people, [it was this same truth that he had in mind:] "O my people! Why do you cause me grief, the while you know that I am an apostle of God sent unto you?" And so, when they swerved from the right way, God let their hearts swerve from the truth: for God does not bestow His guidance upon iniquitous folk.

And [this happened, too,] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel! Behold, I am an apostle of God unto you, [sent] to confirm the truth of whatever there still remains of the Torah, and to give [you] the glad tiding of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he [whose coming Jesus had foretold] came unto them with all evidence of the truth, they said: "This [alleged message of his] is [nothing but] spellbinding eloquence!"

And who could be more wicked than one who invents [such] a lie about [a message from] God, seeing that he is [but] being called to self-surrender unto Him? But God does not bestow His guidance upon evil-doing folk.

They aim to extinguish God's light with their utterances: but God has willed to spread His light in all its fullness, however hateful this may be to all who deny the truth

He it is who has sent forth His Apostle with [the task of] spreading guidance and the religion of truth, to the end that He make it prevail over all [false] religion, however hateful this may be to those who ascribe divinity to aught but God.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering [in this world and in the life to come]?

You are to believe in God and His Apostle, and to strive hard in God's cause with your possessions and your lives: this is for your own good - if you but knew it!

[If you do so,] He will forgive you your sins, and [in the life to come] will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, and into goodly mansions in [those] gardens of perpetual bliss: that [will be] the triumph supreme!

And [withal, He will grant you] yet another thing that you dearly love: succour from God [in this world], and a victory soon to come: and [thereof, O Prophet,] give thou a glad tiding to all who believe.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Be helpers [in the cause of God - even as Jesus, the son of Mary, said unto the white-garbed ones, "Who will be my helpers in God's cause?" - whereupon the white-garbed [disciples] replied, "We shall be [thy] helpers [in the cause] of God!" And so [it happened that] some of the children of Israel came to believe [in the apostleship of Jesus], whereas others denied the truth. But [now] We have given strength against their foes unto those who have [truly] attained to faith: and they have become the ones that shall prevail.

ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols the limitless glory of God, the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, the Almighty, the Wise!

He it is who has sent unto the unlettered people an apostle from among themselves, to convey unto them His messages, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom - whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error

and [to cause this message to spread] from them unto other people as soon as they come into contact with them: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!

Such is God's bounty: He grants it to anyone who is willing [to receive it]: for God is limitless in His great bounty.

THE PARABLE of those who were graced with the burden of the Torah, and thereafter failed to bear this burden, is that of an ass that carries a load of books [but cannot benefit from them]. Calamitous is the parable of people who are bent on giving the lie to God's messages - for God does not bestow His guidance upon such evildoing folk!

Say: "O you who follow the Jewish faith! If you claim that you [alone] are close to God, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should be longing for death - if what you say is true!"

But never will they long for it, because [they are aware] of what their hands have wrought in this world; and God has full knowledge of evildoers.

Say: "Behold, the death from which you are fleeing is bound to overtake you - and then you will be brought back unto Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind, whereupon He will make you truly understand all that you were doing [in life].

O YOU who have attained to faith! When the call to prayer is sounded on the day of congregation, hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.

And when the prayer is ended, disperse freely on earth and seek to obtain [something] of God's bounty; but remember God often, so that you might attain to a happy state!

Yet [it does happen that] when people become aware of [an occasion for] worldly gain or a passing delight, they rush headlong towards it, and leave thee standing [and preaching]. Say: "That which is with God is far better than all passing delight and all gain! And God is the best of providers!"

WHEN THE HYPOCRITES come unto thee, they say, "We bear witness that thou art indeed God's Apostle!" But God knows that thou art truly His Apostle; and He bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed false [in their declaration of faith].

They have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the Path of God. Evil indeed is all that they are wont to do:

this, because [they profess that] they have attained to faith, whereas [inwardly] they deny the truth - and so, a seal has been set on their hearts so that they can no longer understand [what is true and what false].

Now when thou seest them, their outward appearance may please thee; and when they speak, thou art inclined to lend ear to what they say. [But though they may seem as sure of themselves] as if they were timbers [firmly] propped up, they think that every shout is [directed] against them. They are the [real] enemies [of all faith], so beware of them. [They deserve the imprecation,] "May God destroy them!" How perverted are their minds!

for, when they are told, "Come, the Apostle of God will pray [unto God] that you be forgiven", they turn their heads away, and thou canst see how they draw back in their false pride.

As for them it is all the same whether thou dost pray that they be forgiven or dost not pray for them: God will nor forgive them - for, behold, God does not bestow His guidance upon such iniquitous folk.

It is they who say [to their compatriots], "Do not spend anything on those who are with God's Apostle, so that they [may be forced to] leave." However, unto God belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth: but this truth the hypocrites cannot grasp.

[And] they say, "Indeed, when we return to the City [we,] the ones most worthy of honour will surely drive out therefrom those most contemptible ones!" However, all honour belongs to God, and [thus] to His Apostle and those who believe [in God]: but of this the hypocrites are not aware.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Let not your worldly goods or your children make you oblivious of the remembrance of God: for If any behave thus - it is they, they who are the losers!

And spend on others out of what We have provided for you as sustenance, ere there come a time when death approaches any of you, and he then says, "O my Sustainer! If only Thou wouldst grant me a delay for a short while, so that I could give in charity and be among the righteous!"

But never does God grant a delay to a human being when his term has come; and God is fully aware of all that you do.

ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God's limitless glory: His is all dominion, and to Him all praise is due; and He has the power to will anything.

He it is who has created you: and among you are such as deny this truth, and among you are such as believe [in it]. And God sees all that you do.

He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth, and has formed you - and formed you so well; and with Him is your journey's end.

He knows all that is in the heavens and on earth; and He knows all that you keep secret as well as all that you bring into the open: for God has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men].

HAVE THE STORIES of those who, in earlier times, refused to acknowledge the truth never yet come within your ken? [They denied it -] and so they had to taste the evil outcome of their own doings, with [more] grievous suffering awaiting them [in the life to come]:

this, because time and again there came unto them their apostles with all evidence of the truth, but they [always] replied, "Shall mere mortal men be our guides?" And so they. denied the truth and turned away. But God was not in need [of them]: for God is self-sufficient, ever to be praised.

They who are bent on denying the truth claim that they will never be raised from the dead! Say: "Yea, by my Sustainer! Most surely will you be raised from the dead, and then, most surely, will you be made to understand what you did [in life]! For, easy is this for God!"

Believe then, [O men,] in God and His Apostle, and in the light [of revelation] which We have bestowed [on you] from on high! And God is fully aware of all that you do.

[Think of] the time when He shall gather you all together unto the Day of the [Last] Gathering - that Day of Loss and Gain! For, as for him who shall have believed in God and done what is just and right, He will [on that Day] efface his bad deeds, and will admit him into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: that will be a triumph supreme!

But as for those who are bent on denying the truth and on giving the lie to Our messages - they are destined for the fire, therein to abide: and how vile a journey’s end!

NO CALAMITY can ever befall [man] unless it be by God's leave: hence, whoever believes in God guides his [own] heart [towards this truth]; and God has full knowledge of everything.

Pay heed, then, unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle; and if you turn away, [know that] Our Apostle's only duty is a clear delivery of this message:

God - there is no deity save Him! In God then let the believers place their trust.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Behold, some of your spouses and your children are enemies unto you: so beware of them! But if you pardon [their faults] and forbear, and forgive-then, behold, God will be much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

Your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation, whereas with God there is a tremendous reward.

Remain, then, conscious of God as best you can, and listen [to Him], and pay heed. And spend in charity for the good of your own selves: for, such as from their own covetousness are saved – it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state!

If you offer up to God a goodly loan, He will amply repay you for it, and will forgive you your sins: for God is ever responsive to gratitude, forbearing,

knowing all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind - the Almighty, the Wise!

O PROPHET! When you [intend to divorce women, divorce them with a view to the waiting period appointed for them, and reckon the period [carefully], and be conscious of God, your Sustainer. Do not expel them from their homes; and neither shall they [be made to] leave unless they become openly guilty of immoral conduct. These, then, are the bounds set by God - and he who transgresses the bounds set by God does indeed sin against himself: [for, O man, although] thou knowest it not, after that [first breach] God may well cause something new to come about.

And so, when they are about to reach the end of their waiting-term, either retain them in a fair manner or part with them in a fair manner. And let two persons of [known] probity from among your own community witness [what you have decided]; and do yourselves bear true witness before God: thus are admonished all who believe in God and the Last Day. And unto everyone who is conscious of God, He [always] grants a way out [of unhappiness],

and provides for him in a manner beyond all expectation; and for everyone who places his trust in God He [alone] is enough. Verily, God always attains to His purpose: [and] indeed, unto everything has God appointed its [term and] measure.

Now as for such of your women as are beyond, the age of monthly courses, as well as for such as do not have any courses, their waiting-period - if you have any doubt [about it] - shall be three [calendar] months; and as for those who are with child, the end of their waiting-term shall come when they deliver their burden. And for everyone who is conscious of God, He makes it easy to obey His commandment:

[for] all this is God's commandment, which He has bestowed upon you from on high. And unto everyone who is conscious of God will He pardon [some of] his bad deeds, and will grant him a vast reward.

[Hence,] let the women [who are undergoing a waiting-period] live in the same manner as you live yourselves, In accordance with your means; and do not harass them with a view to making their lives a misery. And if they happen to be with child, spend freely on them until they deliver their burden; and if they nurse your offspring [after the divorce has become final], give them their [due] recompense; and take counsel with one another in a fair manner [about the child's future]. And if both of you find it difficult [that the mother should nurse the child], let another woman nurse it on behalf of him [who has begotten it].

[In all these respects,] let him who has ample means spend in accordance with his amplitude; and let him whose means of subsistence are scanty spend in accordance with what God has given him: God does not burden any human being with more than He has given him - [and it may well be that] God will grant, after hardship, ease.

AND HOW MANY a community has turned with disdain from the commandment of its Sustainer and His apostles! -whereupon We callled them all to account with an accounting severe, and caused them to suffer with a suffering unnameable:

and thus they had to taste the evil outcome of their own doing: for, [in this world,] the end of their doings was ruin,

[the while] God has readied for them [yet more] suffering severe [in the life to come] Hence, remain conscious of God, O you who are endowed with insight - [you] who have attained to faith! God has indeed bestowed on you a reminder from on high:

[He has sent] an apostle who conveys unto you God's clear messages, so that He might those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds out of the depths of darkness into the light. And whoever believes in God and does what is right and just, him will He admit into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide beyond the count of time: indeed, a most goodly provision will God have granted him!

GOD is He who has created seven heavens, and, like them, [the many aspects] of the earth. Through all of them flows down from on high, unceasingly, His [creative] will, so that you might come to know that God has the power to will anything, and that God encompasses all things with His knowledge.

O PROPHET! Why dost thou, out of a desire to please [one or another of] thy wives, impose [on thyself] a prohibition of something that God has made lawful to thee? But God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace:

God has already enjoined upon you [O believers] the breaking and expiation of [such of] your oaths [as may run counter to what is right and just]: for, God is your Lord Supreme, and He alone is all-knowing, truly wise.

And lo! [It so happened that] the Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives; and when she thereupon divulged it, and God made this known to him, he acquainted [others] with some of it and passed over some of it. And as soon as he let her know it, she asked, "Who has told thee this?" - [to which] he replied, "The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has told me."

[Say, O Prophet:] "Would that you two turn unto God in repentance, for the hearts of both of you have swerved [from what is right]! And if you uphold each other against him [who is God's message-bearer, know that] God Himself is his Protector, and [that,] therefore, Gabriel, and all the righteous among the believers and all the [other] angels will come to his aid."

[O wives of the Prophet!] Were he to divorce [any of] you, God might well give him in your stead spouses better than you - women who surrender themselves unto God, who truly believe, devoutly obey His will, turn [unto Him] in repentance [whenever they have sinned] worship [Him alone] and go on and on [seeking His goodly acceptance] - be they women previously married or virgins.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Ward off from yourselves and those who are close to you that fire [of the hereafter] whose fuel is human beings and stones: [lording] over it are angelic powers awesome [and] severe, who do not disobey God in whatever He has commanded them, but [always] do what they are bidden to do.

[Hence,] O you who are bent on denying the truth, make no [empty] excuses today: [in the life to come] you shall be but recompensed for what you were doing [in this world].

O you who have attained to faith! Turn unto God in sincere repentance: it may well be that your Sustainer will efface from you your bad deeds, and will admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, on a Day on which God will not shame the Prophet and those who share his faith: their light will spread rapidly before them, and on their right; [and] they will pray: "O our Sustainer! Cause this our light to shine for us forever, and forgive us our sins: for, verily, Thou hast the power to will anything!"

O PROPHET! Strive hard against the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites, and be adamant with them. And [if they do not repent,] their goal shall be hell - and how vile a journey’s end!

For those who are bent on denying the truth God has propounded a parable in [the stories of] Noah's wife and Lot's wife: they were wedded to two of Our righteous servants, and each one betrayed her husband; and neither of the two [husbands] will be of any avail to these two women when they are told [on Judgment Day], "Enter the fire with all those [other sinners] who enter it!"

And for those who have attained to faith God has propounded a parable in [the story of] Pharaoh's wife as she prayed "O my Sustainer! Build Thou for me a mansion in the paradise [that is] with Thee, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me, from all evildoing folk!

And [We have propounded yet another parable of God-consciousness in the story of] Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed of Our spirit into that [which was in her womb], and who accepted the truth of her Sustainer’s words - and [thus,] of His revelations - and was one of the truly devout.