Hizb 7

All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had forbidden himself before the Torah was sent down. Say, ‘Bring the Torah, and read it, if you are truthful.’

So whoever fabricates a lie against Allah after that—it is they who are the wrongdoers.

Say, ‘Allah has spoken the truth; so follow the creed of Abraham, a Hanif, and he was not one of the polytheists.

Indeed the first house to be set up for mankind is the one at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for all nations.

In it are manifest signs [and] Abraham’s Station, and whoever enters it shall be secure. And it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House—for those who can afford the journey to it—and should anyone renege [on his obligation], Allah is indeed without need of the creatures.

Say, ‘O People of the Book! Why do you deny the signs of Allah, while Allah is witness to what you do?’

Say, ‘O People of the Book! why do you bar the faithful from the way of Allah, seeking to make it crooked, while you are witnesses [to its truthfulness]? And Allah is not oblivious of what you do.’

O you who have faith, if you obey a part of those who were given the Book, they will turn you back, after your faith, into faithless ones.

And how would you be faithless while the signs of Allah are recited to you and His Apostle is in your midst? Whoever takes recourse in Allah is certainly guided to a straight path.

O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah with the wariness due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.

Hold fast, all together, to Allah’s cord, and do not be divided [into sects]. Remember Allah’s blessing upon you when you were enemies, then He brought your hearts together, so you became brothers with His blessing. And you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, whereat He saved you from it. Thus does Allah clarify His signs for you so that you may be guided.

There has to be a nation among you summoning to the good, bidding what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. It is they who are the felicitous.

Do not be like those who became divided [into sects] and differed after manifest signs had come to them. For such there will be a great punishment

on the day when [some] faces will turn white and [some] faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black [it will be said to them], ‘Did you disbelieve after your faith? So taste the punishment because of what you used to disbelieve.’

But as for those whose faces become white, they shall dwell in Allah’s mercy, and they will remain in it [forever].

These are the signs of Allah, which We recite to you in truth, and Allah does not desire any wrong for the creatures.

To Allah belongs whatever there is in the heavens and the earth, and to Allah all matters are returned.

You are the best nation [ever] brought forth for mankind: you bid what is right and forbid what is wrong, and have faith in Allah. And if the People of the Book had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them [some] are faithful, but most of them are transgressors.

They will never do you any harm, except for some hurt; and if they fight you, they will turn their backs [to flee], then they will not be helped.

Wherever they are found, abasement is stamped upon them, except for an asylum from Allah and an asylum from the people. They have earned the wrath of Allah, and poverty has been stamped upon them. That, because they would deny the signs of Allah and kill the prophets unjustly. That, because they would disobey and commit transgression.

Yet they are not all alike. Among the People of the Book is an upright nation; they recite Allah’s signs in the watches of the night and prostrate.

They have faith in Allah and the Last Day, and bid what is right and forbid what is wrong, and they are active in [performing] good deeds. Those are among the righteous.

Whatever good they do, they will not go unappreciated for it, and Allah knows well the Godwary.

As for the faithless, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them anything against Allah. They shall be the inmates of the Fire and remain in it [forever].

The parable of what they spend in the life of this world is that of a cold wind that strikes the tillage of a people who wronged themselves, destroying it. Allah does not wrong them, but they wrong themselves.

O you who have faith! Do not take your confidants from others than yourselves; they will spare nothing to ruin you. They are eager to see you in distress. Hatred has already shown itself from their mouths, and what their breasts hide [within] is yet worse. We have certainly made the signs clear for you, should you exercise your reason.

Ah! You are the ones who bear love towards them, while they do not love you, though you believe in all the Books. When they meet you, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips at you out of rage. Say, ‘Die of your rage!’ Indeed Allah knows well what is in the breasts.

If some good should befall you, it upsets them, but if some ill befalls you, they rejoice at it. Yet if you are patient and Godwary, their guile will not harm you in any way. Indeed Allah encompasses what they do.

When you left your family at dawn to settle the faithful in their positions for battle —and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.

When two groups among you were about to lose courage—though Allah is their guardian, and in Allah let all the faithful put their trust.

Certainly Allah helped you at Badr, when you were weak [in the enemy’s eyes]. So be wary of Allah so that you may give thanks.

When you were saying to the faithful, ‘Is it not enough for you that your Lord should aid you with three thousand angels sent down?’

Yes, if you are steadfast and Godwary, and should they come at you suddenly, your Lord will aid you with five thousand angels sent in [to the scene of battle].

Allah did not appoint it but as a good news for you and to reassure with it your hearts; and victory comes only from Allah, the All-mighty, the All-wise,

that He may cut down a section of the faithless, or subdue them, so that they retreat disappointed.

You have no hand in the matter, whether He accepts their repentance or punishes them, for they are indeed wrongdoers.

To Allah belongs whatever there is in the heavens and the earth: He forgives whomever He wishes and punishes whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

O you who have faith! Do not exact usury, twofold and severalfold, and be wary of Allah so that you may be felicitous.

Beware of the Fire, which has been prepared for the faithless,

and obey Allah and the Apostle so that you may be granted [His] mercy.

Hasten towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the Godwary

—those who spend in ease and adversity, and suppress their anger, and excuse [the faults of] the people, and Allah loves the virtuous;

and those who, when they commit an indecent act or wrong themselves, remember Allah, and plead [to Allah seeking His] forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins except Allah?—and who knowingly do not persist in what [sins] they have committed.

Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever]. How excellent is the reward of the workers!

Certain [Divine] precedents have passed before you. So travel through the land and observe how was the fate of the deniers.

This is an explanation for mankind, and a guidance and advice for the Godwary.

Do not weaken or grieve: you shall have the upper hand, should you be faithful.

If wounds afflict you, like wounds have already afflicted those people; and We make such vicissitudes rotate among mankind, so that Allah may ascertain those who have faith, and that He may take martyrs from among you, and Allah does not like the wrongdoers.

And so that Allah may purge [the hearts of] those who have faith and that He may wipe out the faithless.

Do you suppose that you would enter paradise, while Allah has not yet ascertained those of you who have waged jihad and He has not ascertained the steadfast?

Certainly you were longing for death before you had encountered it. Then certainly, you saw it, as you were looking on.

Muhammad is but an apostle; [other] apostles have passed before him. If he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Anyone who turns back on his heels, will not harm Allah in the least, and soon Allah will reward the grateful.

No soul may die except by Allah’s leave, at an appointed time. Whoever desires the reward of this world, We will give him of it; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him of it; and soon We will reward the grateful.

How many a prophet there has been with whom a multitude of godly men fought. They did not falter for what befell them in the way of Allah, neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves; and Allah loves the steadfast.

All that they said was, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs, make our feet steady, and help us against the faithless lot.’

So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the fair reward of the Hereafter; and Allah loves the virtuous.

O you who have faith! If you obey the faithless, they will turn you back on your heels, and you will become losers.

Indeed, Allah is your Master, and He is the best of helpers.

We shall cast terror into the hearts of the faithless because of their ascribing partners to Allah, for which He has not sent down any authority, and their refuge shall be the Fire, and evil is the [final] abode of the wrongdoers.

Allah certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were slaying them with His leave, until you lost courage, disputed about the matter, and disobeyed after He showed you what you loved. Some among you desire this world, and some among you desire the Hereafter. Then He turned you away from them so that He might test you. Certainly He has excused you, for Allah is gracious to the faithful.

When you were fleeing without paying any attention to anyone, while the Apostle was calling you from your rear, He requited you with grief upon grief, so that you may not grieve for what you lose nor for what befalls you, and Allah is well aware of what you do.

Then He sent down to you safety after grief—a drowsiness that came over a group of you—while another group, anxious only about themselves, entertained false notions about Allah, notions of [pagan] ignorance. They say, ‘Do we have any role in the matter?’ Say, ‘Indeed the matter belongs totally to Allah.’ They hide in their hearts what they do not disclose to you. They say, ‘Had we any role in the matter, we would not have been slain here.’ Say, ‘Even if you had remained in your houses, those destined to be slain would have set out toward the places where they were laid to rest, so that Allah may test what is in your breasts, and that He may purge what is in your hearts, and Allah knows well what is in the breasts.’

Those of you who fled on the day when the two hosts met, only Satan had made them stumble because of some of their deeds. Certainly, Allah has excused them, for Allah is all-forgiving, all-forbearing.

O you who have faith! Do not be like the faithless who say of their brethren, when they travel in the land or go into battle, ‘Had they stayed with us they would not have died or been killed,’ so that Allah may make it a regret in their hearts. But Allah gives life and brings death, and Allah watches what you do.

If you are slain in the way of Allah, or die, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are surely better than what they amass.

If you die or are slain, you will surely be mustered toward Allah.

It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you. So excuse them and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah. Indeed Allah loves those who trust in Him.

If Allah helps you, no one can overcome you, but if He forsakes you, who will help you after Him? So in Allah let all the faithful put their trust.

A prophet may not breach his trust, and whoever breaches his trust will bring his breaches on the Day of Resurrection; then every soul shall be recompensed fully for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.

Is he who follows [the course of] Allah’s pleasure like him who earns Allah’s displeasure and whose refuge is hell, an evil destination?

They have ranks with Allah, and Allah watches what they do.

Allah certainly favoured the faithful when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves to recite to them His signs and to purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.

What, when an affliction visits you—while you have inflicted twice as much—do you say, ‘How is this?’! Say, ‘This is from your own souls.’ Indeed Allah has power over all things.

What befell you on the day when the two hosts met, was by Allah’s permission, so that He may ascertain the faithful,

and ascertain the hypocrites. [When] they were told: ‘Come, fight in the way of Allah, or defend [yourselves], they said, ‘If we knew any fighting, we would have surely followed you.’ That day they were nearer to unfaith than to faith. They say with their mouths what is not in their hearts, and Allah knows well whatever they conceal.

Those who said of their brethren, while they themselves sat back: ‘Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed.’ Say, ‘Then keep death off from yourselves, if you are truthful.’

Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of Allah to be dead; no, they are living and provided for near their Lord,

exulting in what Allah has given them out of His grace, and rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them from [those left] behind them, that they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.