An-Nisa 4:93–152

And whoever slays a believer deliberately, intending to kill him, with something that is lethal, aware of the fact that he [the slain] is a believer, his requital is Hell, abiding therein, and God is wroth with him and has cursed him, He has removed him from His mercy, and has prepared for him a mighty chastisement, in the Fire: this may be explained as [referring to] the person that deems such [killing] licit, or as being his requital if he were to be requited, but it would not be anything new if this threat [of punishment] were to be forgone, because of what He says: Other than that [that is, idolatry] He forgives whomever He will [Q. 4:48]. It is reported from Ibn ‘Abbās that it [the verse] should be understood as it stands, abrogating other verses of ‘forgiveness’. The verse in [sūrat] al-Baqara [Q. 2:178] clearly indicates that the one who kills deliberately should be killed in return, or if he is pardoned then he has to pay the blood-money, the value of which has already been mentioned. It is made clear in the Sunna that between the intentional and the unintentional, there is a type of killing that is identified as [being with] quasi-deliberate intent (shibh al-‘amd), where the killer has slain with what in most cases is not [a] lethal [implement]. In such a case, there is no [right to] retaliation and blood-money is paid instead, so that it [this type of killing] is described as intentional, but [considered] unintentional in [that there applies] the fixing of the period [for payment] and the sharing of the burden [by the killer’s clan]; in this [case] and that of intentional killing redemption is more urgent than in unintentional killing.

The following was revealed when a group from among the Companions passed by a man from the Banū Sulaym driving his flock of sheep, and he offered them a greeting of peace. But they said, ‘He only greeted us dissimulating, out of fear’. So they killed him and took away his flock: O you who believe, when you are going forth, travelling in order to struggle, in the way of God, be discriminating (fa-tabayyanū; a variant reading has fa-tathabbatū, ‘ascertain’, here and further below); and do not say to him who offers you peace (read al-salām or al-salam), that is, the greeting, or [offers you] submission, declaring the profession of faith (shahāda), which is an indication of being a Muslim: ‘You are not a believer: you are only saying this to dissimulate for fear of your life and property’, so that you then end up killing him, desiring, seeking by this, the transient goods of the life of this world, that is, its enjoyment, in the way of spoils. With God are plenteous spoils, rendering you free of the need to kill such a person for his property. So you were formerly, when your lives and property were protected simply upon your professing the faith; but God has been gracious to you, making you known for your faith and uprightness. So be discriminating, lest you kill a believer and treat those entering the religion as you were treated [formerly]. Surely God is ever Aware of what you do, and will requite you for it.

The believers who sit at home, away from the struggle, other than those who have an injury, such as a chronic illness or blindness or the like (read in the nominative, ghayru ūlī l-darar, ‘other than those who have an injury’, as an adjectival clause; or in the accusative, ghayra ūlī l-darar, as an exceptive clause) are not the equals of those who struggle in the way of God with their possessions and their lives. God has preferred those who struggle with their possessions and their lives over the ones who sit at home, on account of some injury, by a degree, by [a degree of] merit, since both have the same intention, but the extra degree is given to those who have carried out the struggle; yet to each, of the two groups, God has promised the goodly reward, Paradise, and God has preferred those who struggle over the ones who sit at home, without any injury, with a great reward (ajran ‘azīman, is substituted by [the following, darajātin minhu]),

degrees, that is, stations one higher than the other in honour, from Him, and forgiveness and mercy (maghfiratan and rahmatan are in the accusative because [they constitute an object] of the implied verb [faddala, ‘He has preferred’]). Surely God is ever Forgiving, to His friends, Merciful, to those that obey Him.

The following was revealed regarding a group of people who submitted to Islam but did not emigrate and were then slain in the battle of Badr alongside the disbelievers: And those whom the angels take [in death], while they are wronging their souls, having remained among the disbelievers and neglected to emigrate, the angels will say, to them in rebuke: ‘What was your predicament?’, in other words, ‘in what circumstances were you with regard to your religion’. They will say, giving excuses, ‘We were oppressed, unable to establish religion, in the land’, the land of Mecca. The angels will say, to them in rebuke: ‘But was not God’s earth spacious that you might have emigrated therein?’, from the land of unbelief to another land, as others did? God, exalted be He, says: as for such, their abode shall be Hell — an evil journey’s end, it is!

Except the oppressed among the men, women, and children who are unable to devise a plan, having no strength to emigrate and no substance, and are not guided to a way, a means [of going] to the land of emigration.

As for such, perhaps God will pardon them, for God is ever Pardoning, Forgiving.

Whoever emigrates in the way of God will find in the earth many refuges, places of emigration, and abundance, of provision; whoever goes forth from his house as an emigrant to God and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, along the way, as occurred with Junda‘ [or Jundab] b. Damra al-Laythī, his wage is then incumbent upon, fixed [with], God; surely God is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

And when you are going forth, travelling, in the land you would not be at fault if you shorten the prayer, by making it two [genuflexions] instead of four, if you fear that you may be afflicted by those who do not believe, that is, [if you fear] that you may be harmed [by them]: this [fear of affliction at the hands of the disbelievers] is [just intended as] an explication of the reality [of the situation] at that time and the point no longer applies. In the Sunna, it is pointed out that ‘travel’ (safar) means long-distance [travel], which is [approximately] 50 miles. God’s words ‘you would not be at fault’ should be understood as [denoting] a dispensation and not a requirement, and this is the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī; the disbelievers are a manifest foe to you, their enmity being evident.

When you, O Muhammad (s), are, present, among them, while you [all] fear an enemy, and you stand to lead them in prayer (this type of address is customary in the Qur’ān), let a party of them stand with you, while another party stand back, and let them, the party standing with you, take their weapons, with them. Then when they have performed their prostrations, that is, [when] they have prayed, let them, the other party, be behind you, on guard until you complete the prayers; thereupon, let this party go on guard, and let another party who have not prayed come and pray with you, taking their precautions and their weapons, with them until you have completed the prayers. The Prophet (s) did this once at Batn Nakhla, as reported by the two Shaykhs [Bukhārī and Muslim]. The disbelievers wish, when you have stood up to pray, that you should be heedless of your weapons and your baggage that they may descend upon you all at once, by making an assault against you and capturing you, and herein is the reasoning behind keeping weapons on oneself. You are not at fault, if rain bothers you, or if you are sick, to lay aside your weapons, and not carry them: this implies that when there is no such excuse, it is compulsory to carry them, and this is one of two opinions held by al-Shāfi‘ī [on this matter]; the other [opinion] is that this [precaution] constitutes a sunna, and this is the more preferable opinion. But take your precautions, against the enemy and be on your guard as best you can; God has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating chastisement.

When you have performed the prayer, [when] you have completed it, remember God, by [repeating] ‘There is no god but God’ (tahlīl) and ‘Glory be to God’ (tasbīh), standing and sitting and on your sides, lying down, in other words, in all states. Then, when you are reassured, [when] you are secure, observe the prayer, perform it with its proper due, surely the prayer is for believers a prescription, enjoined, that is, an obligation, at specific times, that is, its appointed times are set, and so it should not be postponed from these times.

After they returned from Uhud, the Prophet (s) dispatched a group to seek out Abū Sufyān and his companions, but they complained about their wounds, and the following was revealed: Be not faint, [be not] weak, in seeking, in pursuing, the enemy, the disbelievers, in order to fight them; if you are suffering, [if] you have pains from a wound, they are also suffering as you are suffering, that is, just like you, yet they do not shrink from fighting you; and you hope from God, in the way of victory and the reward for it, that for which they cannot hope, and since you have this advantage over them, you should be more willing for it than them. God is ever Knower, of all things, Wise, in His actions.

Tu‘ma b. Ubayriq stole a coat of mail and hid it with a Jew. When it was discovered with the latter, Tu‘ma accused him of having stolen it, and swore by God that he [Tu‘ma] had not stolen it, and his clan asked the Prophet (s) to advocate on his behalf and absolve him, whereupon the following was revealed: Surely We have revealed to you the Book, the Qur’ān, with the truth (bi’l-haqq is semantically connected to anzalnā, ‘We have revealed’) so that you may judge between people by that which God has shown you, what God has taught you. And do not be a disputant for traitors, like Tu‘ma, disputing on their behalf.

And pray for forgiveness from God, for that which you considered doing; surely God is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

And do not dispute on behalf of those who betray themselves, through acts of disobedience, for the evil consequences of their betrayal shall fall on them; surely God loves not one who is treacherous, frequently betraying, and sinful, that is to say, He will punish him.

They, the likes of Tu‘ma and his clan, hide themselves, in shame, from people, but they do not hide themselves from God; for He is with them, in His knowledge [of them], while they plot, they conspire, at night with discourse displeasing to Him, in their resolve to swear by God and deny the theft and accuse the Jew of it. God is ever Encompassing, in knowledge, of what they do.

Ah! There you are (addressing Tu‘ma’s clan) you have contested, you have disputed, on their behalf, that is to say, on behalf of Tu‘ma and his men (a variant reading has ‘anhu, ‘on his behalf’) in the life of this world; but who will contest against God on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection, if He were to punish them, or who will be a guardian for them, and take charge of their affair or defend them? In other words, no one will do such a thing.

Whoever does evil, [commits] a sin by which another is harmed, as when Tu‘ma falsely accused the Jew, or wrongs himself, committing a sin [the consequences of which are] limited to him, and then prays for God’s forgiveness, for it, that is to say, [and then] he repents, he shall find God is Forgiving, Merciful, to him.

And whoever commits a sin commits it against himself only, since the evil consequences fall on him, harming no one else; and God is ever Knower, Wise, in His actions.

And whoever commits a mistake, a minor sin, or a sin, a grave sin, and then casts it upon the innocent, [one who is innocent] of it, he has thereby burdened himself with calumny, by his false accusation, and a manifest sin, [one which is] evident on account of what he has committed.

Were it not for God’s bounty to you, O Muhammad (s), and His mercy, by way of protecting you, a party of them, of Tu‘ma’s clan, would have intended, [would have] conspired, to lead you astray, from judging with truth by deceiving you; but they lead only themselves astray; they will not hurt you at all, since the evil consequence of their leading you astray would have fallen on them. God has revealed to you the Book, the Qur’ān, and wisdom, the rulings contained therein, and He has taught you what you did not know, of rulings and the Unseen; and God’s bounty to you, in this and other respects, is ever great.

There is no good in much of their, that is, of people’s, secret conversations, that is, what they converse and talk secretly about, except for, the secret talk of, he who enjoins to voluntary almsgiving, or kindness, a righteous deed, or setting things right between people. And whoever does that, the aforementioned, desiring, seeking, God’s good pleasure, [and] nothing else of the affairs of this world, We shall surely give him (read nu’tīhi or yu’tīhi, ‘He will give him’, that is, ‘God [will give him]’) a great wage.

But whoever makes a breach with, [whoever] opposes, the Messenger, in the truth that he brings, after guidance has become clear to him, [after] the truth has become manifest to him through miracles, and follows, a path, other than the way of the believers, that is to say, [other than] the path they follow in religion, by disbelieving, We shall turn him over to what he has turned to, We shall make him a leader of the misguidance which he has followed, by leaving this as it is between them in this world, and We shall expose him, We shall admit him in the Hereafter, in Hell, where he will burn — an evil journey’s end, an [evil] return it is.

God does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him; He forgives all except that, to whomever He will. Whoever associates anything with God, verily he has strayed far away, from the truth.

What (in, is [to be understand as] mā, ‘only’) they pray to, [what] the idolaters worship, instead of Him, God, that is, other than Him, are but females, idols with feminine names, such as al-Lāt, al-‘Uzza and Manāt; and they (in, is [to be understand as] mā, ‘only’) only pray to, they [only] worship, by worshipping [these female idols], a rebellious satan, one who has rebelled against obedience [to God], for they are obeying him in this [worship of female idols].

God has cursed him, He has removed him from His mercy. And he, namely, Satan, said, ‘Assuredly I will take to myself, I will appoint for myself, an appointed portion, an apportioned share, of Your servants, [whom] I shall call to obey me.

And I will surely lead them astray, from truth with evil whisperings, and surely I will fill them with desires, I shall cast into their hearts [thoughts] that life will endure, that there will be no resurrection and no reckoning; and surely I will command them and they will cut up the cattle’s ears, and this was done to the [she-camels they called] bahā’ir. And surely I will command them and they will change God’s creation’, [substituting] His religion with unbelief, making lawful what God has made unlawful and making unlawful what God has made lawful. And whoever takes Satan for a patron, following him and obeying him, instead of God, has surely suffered a manifest loss, [one that is] evident, since he will end up in the Fire, made perpetual for him.

He promises them, long life, and fills them with desires, of attaining their hopes in this world, and that there will be neither resurrection nor requital; but what Satan promises them, therewith, is only delusion, falsehood.

For such — their abode shall be Hell, and they shall find no refuge from it, no alternative [to it].

But those who believe and perform righteous deeds, We shall admit them to Gardens underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein for ever; God’s promise in truth, that is, God promised them this and fulfilled it in truth; and who, that is, [and] none, is truer in utterance, that is, in statement, than God?

When the Muslims and the People of the Scripture began to pride themselves [upon God’s promise] the following was revealed: It, this matter, is not, dependent upon, your desires nor the desires of the People of the Scripture, but upon righteous deeds. Whoever does evil shall be requited for it, either in the Hereafter or in this life through trials and tribulations, as is stated in hadīth; and he will not find besides God, that is, other than Him, any friend, to protect him, or helper, to defend him against Him.

And whoever does, any, righteous deeds, whether male or female, and is a believer — such shall be admitted into (read passive yudkhalūna, or active yadkhulūna, ‘they shall enter’) Paradise, and not be wronged, by as much as, the dint in a date-stone.

And who, that is, [and] none, is fairer in religion than he who submits his purpose, that is, [than he who] is compliant and offers his deeds sincerely, to God and is virtuous, [and] declares God’s Oneness, and who follows the creed of Abraham, the one that is in accordance with the creed of Islam, as a hanīf? (hanīfan is a circumstantial qualifier), that is to say, [one] inclining away from all religions to the upright religion. And God took Abraham for a close friend, as His elect, one whose love for Him is pure.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants; and God is ever the Encompasser of all things, in knowledge and power, that is, He is ever possessed of such attributes.

They will ask you for a pronouncement concerning, the matter of, women, and their inheritance. Say, to them: ‘God pronounces to you concerning them, and what is recited to you in the Book, the Qur’ān, in the ‘inheritance’ verse [Q. 4:11], and He also pronounces to you, concerning the orphan women to whom you do not give what is prescribed, [what] is obligatory, for them, of inheritance, for you, O guardians, [who] desire, not, to marry them, because of their ugliness, and you prevent them from marrying [others], coveting their inheritance: in other words, God pronounces to you not to do this; and, concerning, the oppressed, young, children, that you give them what is their due, and, He also commands you, that you deal justly, equitably, with orphans, with respect to inheritance and dowry. Whatever good you do, God is ever Knower of it’, and He will requite you for it.

And if a woman (wa-in imra’atun is in the nominative because of [it being the subject of] the explicative verb [that follows]) fears, anticipates, from her husband ill-treatment, if he looks down on her by refraining to sleep with her or by not maintaining her adequately, because he is averse to her and aspires to one more beautiful than her, or rejection, turning his face away from her, they are not at fault if they are reconciled through some agreement, in terms of shares and maintenance expenses, so that she concedes something to him in return for continuing companionship; if she agrees to this [then that is fine], but if [she does] not, then the husband must either give her all her due, or part with her (an yassālahā, ‘they reconcile’: the original tā’ [of yatasālahā] has been assimilated with the sād; a variant reading has an yuslihā, from [the fourth form] aslaha); reconciliation is better, than separation, ill-treatment or rejection. God, exalted be He, in explaining the natural disposition of man, says: But greed has been made present in the souls (al-shuhh is extreme niggardliness), meaning that they have a natural propensity for this, as if they [the souls] are ever in its presence, never absent from it. The meaning is: a woman would scarcely allow [another] to share her husband with her, and a man would scarcely allow her [to enjoy] him if he were to fall in love with another. If you are virtuous, in your conjugal life with women, and fear, being unjust to them, surely God is ever aware of what you do, and He will requite you for it.

You will never be able to be just to, to treat equally, your wives, in terms of love, even if you be eager, for this; yet do not turn altogether away, towards the one you love with respect to the shares and maintenance expenses, so that you leave her, the one from whom you turn away, like one suspended, one that is neither a slavegirl nor a woman with a husband. If you set things right, by being just with the shares, and fear, injustice, surely God is ever Forgiving, regarding the inclination in your hearts, Merciful, to you in this respect.

But if they, the married couple, separate, by way of divorce, God will compensate each of them, [from the need] of the other, out of His plenty, that is, out of His bounty, by giving her another as husband, and giving him another as wife. God is ever Embracing, of His creatures in bounty, Wise, in what He has ordained for them.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. We have charged those who were given the Scripture, meaning the scriptures, before you, namely, the Jews and Christians, and you, O people of the Qur’ān: ‘Fear God’, fear His punishment, by being obedient to Him. And We said to them and to you: ‘If you disbelieve, in what you have been charged with, then to God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth’, as creatures, possessions and servants, and He will not be harmed by your disbelief: God is ever Independent, of the need for His creation or their worship, Praised, praise-worthy for what He does with them.

To God belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth (He has repeated this in order to reaffirm [the reason] why fear of God is necessary); God suffices as a Guardian, witnessing the fact that what is contained in them belongs to Him.

If He will, He can remove you, O people, and bring others, instead of you, surely God is ever able to do that.

Whoever desires, by his deeds, the reward of this world, then God has the reward of this world and of the Hereafter, for the one who wants it, and no one else has it, so why do any of you demand the lower [reward]? Why do you not seek the higher one, by devoting yourself sincerely to Him, since what [reward] he seeks can only be found with Him; God is ever Hearer, Seer.

O you who believe, be upright in justice; witnesses, of the truth, for God, even though it, the witnessing, be against yourselves, so be witness against them [your selves] by affirming the truth and not concealing it; or, against, parents and kinsmen, whether the person, witnessed against, be rich or poor; God is closer to the two, than you and He has better knowledge of what is good for them. So do not follow any whim, in your testimonies by being partial to the rich one, seeking his pleasure, or [by being partial] to the poor one out of compassion for him, lest you swerve, so that you do not incline away from the truth, for if you twist (a variant reading [for talwūw] has talū) [if] you distort your testimony, or refrain, from giving it, surely God is ever aware of what you do, and will requite you accordingly.

O you who believe, believe, with perseverance, in God and His Messenger and the Book which has been revealed to His Messenger, Muhammad (s), and that is the Qur’ān; and the Book which was revealed before, to the messengers, namely, the scriptures (a variant reading [for nuzzila and unzila, ‘was revealed’] has the active form for both verbs [nazzala and anzala, ‘He revealed’]). And whoever disbelieves in God and His angels and His Books, and His messengers, and the Last Day, verily he has strayed far away, from the truth.

Verily, those who believed, in Moses, namely, the Jews, and then disbelieved, by worshipping the calf, and then believed, after that, and then disbelieved, in Jesus, and then increased in disbelief, in Muhammad — it was not for God to forgive them, for what they have persisted in [of disbelief], nor to guide them to a way, to the truth.

Give tidings to, inform, O Muhammad (s), the hypocrites that for them there is a painful chastisement, namely, the chastisement of the Fire.

Those who (alladhīna, is either a substitution for, or an adjectival qualification of, al-munāfiqīna, ‘the hypocrites’) take disbelievers for friends instead of believers, because they mistakenly believe them to be strong — do they desire, [do] they seek, power with them? (an interrogative of disavowal), that is to say, they shall not find such [power] with them. Truly, power belongs altogether to God, in this world and the Hereafter, and none but His friends shall attain it.

It has been revealed (read active nazzala, ‘He has revealed’, or passive nuzzila, ‘It has been revealed’) to you in the Book, in the Qur’ān, in sūrat al-An‘ām [Q. 6:68], that: (an has been softened and its subject omitted, in other words, [read it as] annahu) ‘When you hear God’s signs, the Qur’ān, being disbelieved in and mocked, do not sit with them, that is, the disbelievers and the mockers, until they engage in some other talk, for otherwise you, if you were to sit with them, would surely be like them’, in sinfulness. God will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers, all together, into Hell, just as they were gathered together in this world in unbelief and mockery.

Those who (alladhīna, substitutes for the previous alladhīna [of verse 139]) wait in watch for you, [hoping] for misfortunes [to befall you], and, if a victory, such as a conquest or booty, comes to you from God, say, to you: ‘Were we not with you?’, in religion and in the struggle? So give us from the booty; but if the disbelievers have some luck, by gaining a victory over you, they say, to them: ‘Did we not gain mastery, authority, over you, capable of capturing you and slaying you, but we spared you, and did we not defend you against the believers?’, lest they be victorious over you, by forsaking them and apprising you of their plans, and thus have we not done you a favour? God, exalted be He, says: God will judge between you, and them, on the Day of Resurrection, admitting you into Paradise and them into the Fire; and God will never grant the disbelievers a way, a means [to success], over the believers, by annihilating them.

The hypocrites seek to trick God, by manifesting the opposite of what they hide in themselves of unbelief, in order to escape His rulings in this world; but He is tricking them, He will requite them for their trickery, and so they will be disgraced in this world through God apprising His Prophet of what they hide, and punished in the Hereafter. When they stand up to pray, with the believers, they stand up lazily, reluctantly, and, for their prayers, to be seen by people, and they do not remember, pray [to], God save a little, for ostentation.

Wavering, hesitant, all the time, between that unbelief and belief — not, belonging, to these, disbelievers, neither to those, believers; and he whom God sends astray, you will never find for him a way, a path [back] to guidance.

O you who believe, take not the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers: do you desire to give God over you, by your taking them as friends, a clear warrant?, a manifest proof of your hypocrisy?

Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest level, place, of the Fire, that is, its bottom; and you will never find a helper for them, anyone to guard them from the Fire.

Save those who repent, of hypocrisy, and make amends, in their deeds, and hold fast to, put their trust [in], God and make their religion purely God’s, free from any pretence; those are with the believers, in terms of what they shall be given; and God will certainly give the believers a great wage, in the Hereafter, and that is Paradise.

Why would God chastise you if you are thankful, of His favours, and believe, in Him? (the interrogative is meant as a denial, in other words: He would not punish you). God is ever Thankful, of the deeds of believers, rewarding them, Knowing, of His creation.

God does not like the utterance of evil words out loud, by any person, that is to say, He will punish him for it, unless a person has been wronged, in which case He would not punish him for uttering it out loud, when he is informing [others] of the wrong done to him by the wrong-doer or summoning [them] against him. God is ever Hearer, of what is said, Knower, of what is done.

If you show, manifest, good, in the way of pious deeds, or conceal it, [if] you do it in secret, or pardon evil, injustice, then surely God is ever Pardoning, Powerful.

Those who disbelieve in God and His messengers and seek to divide between God and His messengers, by believing in Him but not in them, and say, ‘We believe in some, of the messengers, and disbelieve in some’, of the others, and seek to adopt a way, a path, to follow, between them, [between] unbelief and belief.

Those are the disbelievers truly (haqqan is the verbal noun, emphasising the content of what precedes it in the sentence); and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating chastisement, namely, the chastisement of the Fire.

And those who believe in God and, all of, His messengers and do not seek to divide between any of them, those — We shall surely give them (nu’tīhim, also read yu’tīhim, ‘He shall surely give them’) their wages, the reward for their deeds. God is ever Forgiving, to His friends, Merciful, to those who obey Him.