thee who run into disbelief precipitately; surely they can do no harm to Allah. Allah intends not to assign them any portion in the Hereafter; and for them is a grievous chastisement.
177 Those who buy disbelief at the price of faith can do no harm to Allah, and for them is a painful chastisement.
178 And let not those who disbelieve think that our granting them respite is good for themselves. We grant them respite only that they may add to their sins; and for them is an humiliating chastisement.
179 Allah will not leave the believers in the condition in which you are until He separates the evil from the good. Nor is Allah going to make you acquainted with the unseen, but Allah chooses of His messengers whom He pleases. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And if you believe and keep your duty, you will have a great reward.
180 And let not those who are niggardly in spending that which Allah has granted them out of His grace, think that it is good for them. Nay, it is evil for them. They shall have a collar of their niggardliness on their necks on the Resurrection day. And Allah’s is the heritage of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Aware of what you do.
SECTION 19: Carpings of People of the Book
181 Allah has certainly heard the saying of those who said: Allah is poor and we are rich. We shall record what they say, and their killing the prophets unjustly, and We shall say: Taste the chastisement of burning.
182 This is for that which your own hands have sent before, and because Allah is not in the least unjust to the servants.
183 Those who say: Allah has enjoined us that we should not believe in any messenger until he brings us an offering which is consumed by the fire. Say: Indeed there came to you messengers before me with clear arguments and with that which you demand. Why then did you try to kill them, if you are truthful?
184 But if they reject thee, so indeed were rejected before thee messengers who came with clear arguments and scriptures and the illuminating Book.
185 Every soul will taste of death. And you will be paid your reward fully only on the Resurrection day. Then whoever is removed far from the Fire and is made to enter the Garden, he indeed attains the object. And the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities.
186 You will certainly be tried in your property and your persons. And you will certainly hear from those who have been given the Book before you and from the idolaters much abuse. And if you are patient and keep your duty, surely this is an affair of great resolution.
187 And when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Book: You shall explain it to men and shall not hide it. But they cast it behind their backs and took a small price for it. So evil is that which they buy.
188 Think not that those who exult in what they have done, and love to be praised for what they have not done — think not them to be safe from the chastisement; and for them is a painful chastisement.
189 And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.
SECTION 20: Ultimate Triumph of the Faithful
190 In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, there are surely signs for men of understanding.
191 Those who remember Allah standing and sitting and (lying) on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee! Save us from the chastisement of the Fire.
192 Our Lord, whomsoever Thou makest enter the Fire, him Thou indeed bringest to disgrace. And there will be no helpers for the wrongdoers.
193 Our Lord, surely we have heard a Crier calling to the faith, saying: Believe in your Lord. So we do believe. Our Lord, grant us protection from our sins and remove our evils and make us die with the righteous.
194 Our Lord, grant us what Thou hast promised us by Thy messengers and disgrace us not on the day of Resurrection. Surely Thou never failest in (Thy) promise!
195 So their Lord accepted their prayer, (saying): I will not suffer the work of any worker among you to be lost whether male or female, the one of you being from the other. So those who fled and were driven forth from their homes and persecuted in My way and who fought and were slain, I shall truly remove their evil and make them enter Gardens wherein flow rivers — a reward from Allah. And with Allah is the best reward.
196 Let not control in the land, of those who disbelieve, deceive thee.
197 A brief enjoyment! Then their abode is hell. And evil is the resting-place.
198 But those who keep their duty to their Lord, for them are Gardens wherein flow rivers, to abide therein; an entertainment from their Lord. And that which Allah has in store for the righteous is best.
199 And of the People of the Book there are those who believe in Allah and (in) that which has been revealed to you and (in) that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah — they take not a small price for the messages of Allah. These it is that have their reward with their Lord. Surely Allah is Swift to take account!
200 O you who believe, be steadfast and try to excel in steadfastness and guard (the frontiers). And keep your duty to Allah that you may be successful.
Chapter 4
Al-Nisa’: The Women
(Revealed at Madinah: 24 sections; 176 verses)
This chapter is named The Women because it deals chiefly with the rights of women.
The connection of the last chapter with this one lies in the fact that that chapter deals with the battle of Uhud, while this one deals with the circumstances to which the battle had given rise. For the decimation of the Muslim force had left a large number of orphans and widows to be looked after, and it is with duties towards these two classes that the chapter opens. The two chief features of the battle of Uhud were, the death of a large number of Muslims and the desertion of hypocrites; while, following it, were circumstances which brought about a final rupture with the Jews, and it is with these three subjects that the chapter deals.
The opening section lays down injunctions relating to the duties of guardians towards their orphan wards. The second section brings woman to a status of equality with man, and lays down a new law of inheritance, for among the Arabs a woman had no right to inherit the property of a deceased relative. The third section deals with the treatment of women in general and denounces the practice of claiming women as a part of inheritance. The fourth section discusses what women may not be taken in marriage, and the fifth gives them the right of disposing of their earnings as they please; while the sixth first points out the remedy when there is a disagreement between the husband and the wife and then inculcates the principle of charity in general, introducing the subject of hypocrisy towards its close.
After having laid stress, in the seventh and the eighth sections, upon external as well as internal purity, showing how the Jews had neglected the latter of these and how, for no other reason than envy of the Muslims, they had sided with the polytheists, and after having enjoined upon the Muslims to be strictly firm in justice, we are led on in the ninth section to the dealings of the hypocrites who had refused to accept the Prophet’s
