Hizb 8

They rejoice in Allah’s blessing and grace, and that Allah does not waste the reward of the faithful.

Those who responded to Allah and the Apostle [even] after they had been wounded—for those of them who have been virtuous and Godwary there shall be a great reward.

—Those to whom the people said, ‘All the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ That only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is an excellent trustee.’

So they returned with Allah’s blessing and grace, untouched by any harm. They pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is dispenser of a great grace.

That is only Satan frightening [you] of his followers! So fear them not, and fear Me, should you be faithful.

Do not grieve for those who are active in unfaith; they will not hurt Allah in the least: Allah desires to give them no share in the Hereafter, and there is a great punishment for them.

Those who have bought unfaith for faith will not hurt Allah in the least, and there is a painful punishment for them.

Let the faithless not suppose that the respite that We grant them is good for their souls: We give them respite only that they may increase in sin, and there is a humiliating punishment for them.

Allah will not leave the faithful in your present state, until He has separated the bad ones from the good. Allah will not acquaint you with the Unseen, but Allah chooses whomever He wishes from His apostles. So have faith in Allah and His apostles; and if you are faithful and Godwary, there shall be a great reward for you.

Let the stingy not suppose that [their grudging] what Allah has given them out of His bounty is good for them; no, it is bad for them. They will be collared with what they grudge on the Day of Resurrection. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is well aware of what you do.

Allah has certainly heard the remark of those who said, ‘Allah is poor and we are rich.’ We will record what they have said, and their killing of the prophets unjustly, and We shall say, ‘Taste the punishment of the burning.

That is because of what your hands have sent ahead, and because Allah is not tyrannical to His servants.’

Tell those who say, ‘Allah has pledged us not to believe in any apostle unless he brings us an offering consumed by fire,’ ‘Apostles before me certainly did bring you manifest signs and what you speak of. Then why did you kill them, if you are truthful?’

But if they deny you, [other] apostles have been denied before you, who came with manifest signs, holy writs, and an illuminating scripture.

Every soul shall taste death, and you will indeed be paid your full rewards on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is delivered from the Fire and admitted to paradise has certainly succeeded. The life of this world is nothing but the wares of delusion.

You will surely be tested in your possessions and your souls, and you will surely hear much affront from those who were given the Book before you and from the polytheists; but if you are patient and Godwary, that is indeed the steadiest of courses.

When Allah made a covenant with those who were given the Book: ‘You shall explain it for the people, and you shall not conceal it,’ they cast it behind their backs and sold it for a paltry gain. How evil is what they buy!

Do not suppose those who brag about what they have done, and love to be praised for what they have not done—do not suppose them saved from punishment and there is a painful punishment for them.

To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things.

Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for those who possess intellect.

Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth [and say], ‘Our Lord, You have not created this in vain! Immaculate are You! Save us from the punishment of the Fire.

Our Lord, whoever that You make enter the Fire will surely have been disgraced by You, and the wrongdoers will have no helpers.

Our Lord, we have indeed heard a summoner calling to faith, declaring, ‘‘Have faith in your Lord!’’ So we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and absolve us of our misdeeds, and make us die with the pious.

Our Lord, give us what You have promised us through Your apostles, and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed You do not break Your promise.’

Then their Lord answered them, ‘I do not waste the work of any worker among you, whether male or female; you are all on the same footing. So those who migrated and were expelled from their homes, and were tormented in My way, and those who fought and were killed—I will surely absolve them of their misdeeds and I will admit them into gardens with streams running in them, as a reward from Allah, and Allah—with Him is the best of rewards.’

Never be misled by the bustle of the faithless in the towns.

It is a trivial enjoyment; then their refuge is hell, and it is an evil resting place.

But those who are wary of their Lord—for them shall be gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever], a hospitality from Allah; and what is with Allah is better for the pious.

Indeed among the People of the Book there are some who have faith in Allah and in what has been sent down to you, and in what has been sent down to them. Humble toward Allah, they do not sell the signs of Allah for a paltry gain. They shall have their reward near their Lord; indeed Allah is swift at reckoning.

O you who have faith! Be patient, stand firm, and close [your] ranks, and be wary of Allah so that you may be felicitous.

O mankind! Be wary of your Lord who created you from a single soul, and created its mate from it, and from the two of them scattered numerous men and women. Be wary of Allah, in whose Name you adjure one another and [of severing ties with] blood relations. Indeed Allah is watchful over you.

Give the orphans their property, and do not replace the good with the bad, and do not eat up their property [by mingling it] with your own property, for that is indeed a great sin.

If you fear that you may not deal justly with the orphans, then marry [other] women that you like, two, three, or four. But if you fear that you may not treat them fairly, then [marry only] one, or [marry from among] your slave-women. That makes it likelier that you will not be unfair.

Give women their dowries, handing it over to them; but if they remit anything of it of their own accord, then consume it as [something] lawful and wholesome.

Do not give the feeble-minded your property, which Allah has assigned you to manage: provide for them out of it and clothe them, and speak to them honourable words.

Test the orphans when they reach the age of marriage. Then if you discern in them maturity, deliver to them their property. And do not consume it lavishly and hastily lest they should grow up. As for him who is well-off, let him be abstemious, and as for him who is poor, let him eat in an honourable manner. And when you deliver to them their property, take witnesses over them, and Allah suffices as reckoner.

Men have a share in the heritage left by parents and near relatives, and women have a share in the heritage left by parents and near relatives, whether it be little or much, a share ordained [by Allah].

And when the division is attended by relatives, the orphans and the needy, provide for them out of it, and speak to them honourable words.

Let those fear [the result of mistreating orphans] who, were they to leave behind weak offspring, would be concerned on their account. So let them be wary of Allah, and let them speak upright words.

Indeed those who consume the property of orphans wrongfully, only ingest fire into their bellies, and soon they will enter the Blaze.

Allah enjoins you concerning your children: for the male shall be the like of the share of two females, and if there be [two or] more than two females, then for them shall be two-thirds of what he leaves; but if she be alone, then for her shall be a half; and for each of his parents a sixth of what he leaves, if he has children; but if he has no children, and his parents are his [sole] heirs, then it shall be a third for his mother; but if he has brothers, then a sixth for his mother, after [paying off] any bequest he may have made or any debt [he may have incurred]. Your parents and your children—you do not know which of them is likelier to be beneficial for you. This is an ordinance from Allah. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-wise.

For you shall be a half of what your wives leave, if they have no children; but if they have children, then for you shall be a fourth of what they leave, after [paying off] any bequest they may have made or any debt [they may have incurred]. And for them [it shall be] a fourth of what you leave, if you have no children; but if you have children, then for them shall be an eighth of what you leave, after [paying off] any bequest you may have made or any debt [you may have incurred]. If a man or woman is inherited by siblings and has a brother or a sister, then each of them shall receive a sixth; but if they are more than that, then they shall share in one third, after [paying off] any bequest he may have made or any debt [he may have incurred] without prejudice. [This is] an enjoinment from Allah, and Allah is all-knowing, all-forbearing.

These are Allah’s bounds, and whoever obeys Allah and His Apostle, He shall admit him to gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever]. That is the great success.

But whoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle and transgresses the bounds set by Allah, He shall make him enter a Fire, to remain in it [forever], and there will be a humiliating punishment for him.

Should any of your women commit an indecent act, produce against them four witnesses from yourselves, and if they testify, detain them in [their] houses until death finishes them, or Allah decrees a course for them.

Should two among you commit it, chastise them both; but if they repent and reform, let them alone. Indeed Allah is all-clement, all-merciful.

[Acceptance of] repentance by Allah is only for those who commit evil out of ignorance and then repent promptly. It is such whose repentance Allah will accept, and Allah is all-knowing, all-wise.

But [acceptance of] repentance is not for those who go on committing misdeeds: when death approaches any of them, he says, ‘I repent now.’ Nor is it for those who die while they are faithless. For such We have prepared a painful punishment.

O you who have faith! It is not lawful for you to inherit women forcibly, and do not press them to take away part of what you have given them, unless they commit a gross indecency. Consort with them in an honourable manner; and should you dislike them, maybe you dislike something while Allah invests it with an abundant good.

If you desire to take a wife in place of another, and you have given one of them a quintal [of gold], do not take anything away from it. Would you take it by way of calumny and flagrant sin?!

How could you take it back, when you have known each other, and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?

Do not marry any of the women whom your fathers had married, excluding what is already past. That is indeed an indecency, an outrage and an evil course.

Forbidden to you are your mothers, your daughters and your sisters, your paternal aunts and your maternal aunts, your brother’s daughters and your sister’s daughters, your [foster-]mothers who have suckled you and your sisters through fosterage, your wives’ mothers, and your stepdaughters who are under your care [born] of the wives whom you have gone into—but if you have not gone into them there is no sin upon you—and the wives of your sons who are from your own loins, and that you should marry two sisters at one time—excluding what is already past; indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful—