Sura XXXIII (33)
The Confederates
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
O
Prophet, fear thou God, and obey not the unbelievers and the hypocrites; --
Truly God is Knowing, Wise:
But
follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord:
Cognisant truly is He of all your actions --
And
put thou thy trust in God, for a sufficient guardian is God.
God
hath not given a man two hearts within him; neither hath he made your wives who
you divorce to be as your mothers; nor hath he made your adopted sons to be as
your own sons. Such words are indeed in your mouths; but God speaketh the
truth, and in the right way He guideth.
Name
them after their fathers: this will be more
right before God. But if you know not who their fathers are, then let them be
your brethren in the faith, and your comrades. And unless made with intent of
heart, mistakes in this matter shall be no crime in you:
for God is Lenient, Merciful.
Nearer
of kin to the faithful is the Prophet, than they are to their own selves. His
wives are their mothers. According to the Book of God, they who are related by
blood, are nearer to the one to the other than other believers, and than those
who have fled their country for the cause of God:
but whatever kindness you shew to your kindred, shall be noted down in the
Book.
And
remember that we have entered into covenant with the Prophets, and with thee,
and with Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, Son of Mary: and we formed with them a strict covenant,
That
God may question the men of truth as to their truth. But a sore torment hath He
prepared for the unbelievers.
O
believers! remember the goodness of God towards you, when the armies came
against you, and we sent against them a blast, and hosts that you saw not; for
the you of God was upon your doings:
33:10 When they assailed you from above you,
and from below you, and when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts came
up into your throat, and you [Bought divers thoughts of God:
Then
were the faithful tried, and with strong quaking did they quake:
And
when the disaffected and the diseased of heart said, "God and his Apostle
have made us but a cheating promise:"
And
when a part of them said, "O people of Yathrib! there is no place of
safety for you here; therefore return into the city." And another party of
you asked the prophet's leave to return, saying, "Our houses are left
defenceless." No! they were not left defenceless:
but their sole thought was to flee away.
If the
enemy had effected an entry at all points, and they (the disaffected) had been
asked to promote confusion, they would have done so; but only a short time
would they have remained in it. -- (Medina).
They
had before pledged themselves to God that they would not turn their backs; and
a pledge given to God must be enquired of.
Say: Flight shall not profit you; if you have fled the
death or the slaughter, yet even then, but a little while shall you enjoy your
good things!
Say: Who is here that will screen you from God, whether
He choose to bring evil on you, or to shew you mercy? None beside God shall
they find to be their patron or helper.
God
well knoweth those among you who cause hindrances, and those who say to their
brethren, "Come hither to us;" and who come not to the fight except a
little.
It is
out of covetousness in your regard: for when
an alarm cometh, thou mayest see them look to thee, and roll their eyes like
him on whom the shadows of death have fallen! Yet, when the alarm is passed,
with sharp tongues will they assail you, covetous of the best of the spoil. No
faith have these! God will make their doings of no avail! And easy is this with
God.
33:20 They thought that the confederates
would never retire: and were the confederates
to come again, they would fain be dwelling among the Arabs of the desert, and there
ask news about you! for though they were with you, they fought not except a
little.
A
noble pattern had you in God's Apostle, for all who hope in God, and in the
latter day, and oft remember God!
And
when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, "This is what God and
His Apostle promised us, and God and His Apostle spoke truly:" and it only increased their faith and
self-devotion.
Some
were there among the faithful who made good what they had promised to God,.
Some have fulfilled their course, and others await its fulfilment, and have not
been changelings who change --
That
God may reward the faithful for their faithfulness, and may punish the
hypocrites, if He so please, or be turned unto them:
for God is Forgiving, Merciful.
And
God drove back the infidels in their wrath; they won no advantage; God sufficed
the faithful in the fight: for God is Strong,
Mighty.
And He
caused those of the people of the Book (the Jews), who had aided the
confederates, to come down out of their fortresses, and cast dismay into their
hearts: some you slew, others you took
prisoners.
And He
gave you their land, and their dwellings, and their wealth, for an heritage --
even a land on which you had never set foot:
for the might of God is equal to all things.
O Prophet!
say to thy wives, If you desire this present life and its braveries, come then,
I will provide for you, and dismiss you with an honourable dismissal.
But if
you desire God and His Apostle, and a home in the next life, then, truly, hath
God prepared for those of you who are virtuous, a great reward.
33:30 O wives of the Prophet! should any of
you be guilty of a prove lewdness, doubly shall her chastisement be doubled: and with God this is easy.
But
whoever of you shall obey God and His Apostle, and shall do that which is
right, twice over will we give her her reward, and we have prepared for her a
noble provision
O
wives of the Prophet! you are not as other women. If you fear God, be not too
complaisant of speech, lest the man of unhealthy heart should lust after you,
but speak with discreet speech.
And
abide still in your houses, and go not in public decked as in the days of your
former ignorance, but observe prayer, and pay the impost, and obey God and the
Apostle: for God only desireth to put away
filthiness from you as his household, and with cleansing to cleanse you.
And
recollect what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the Book of God, and of
wisdom: for God is keen-sighted, cognisant of
all.
Truly
the men who resign themselves to God (Muslims), and the women who resign
themselves, and the believing men and the believing women, and the devout men
and the devout women, and the men of truth, and the women of truth, and the
patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and
the men who give alms and the women who give alms, and the men who fast and the
women who fast, and the chaste men and the chaste women, and the men and the
women who oft remember God: for them hath God
prepared forgiveness and a rich recompense.
And it
is not for a believer, man or woman, to have any choice in their affairs, when
God and His Apostle have decreed a matter: and
whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle, erreth with palpable error.
And,
remember, when thou saidst to him unto whom God had shewn favour, and to whom
thou also hadst shewn favour, "Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear
God;" and thou didst hide in they mind what God would bring to light, and
thou didst fear man; but more right had it been to fear God. And when Zaid had
settled concerning her to divorce her, we married her to thee, that it might
not be a crime in the faithful to marry the wives of their adopted sons, when
they have settled the affair concerning them. And the behest of God is to be
performed.
No
blame attacheth to the prophet where God hath given him a permission. Such was
the way of God with those prophets who flourished before thee; for God's behest
is a fixed decree --
Who
fulfilled the mission with which God had charged them, and feared Him, and
feared none but god. And God taketh a sufficient account.
33:40 Muhammad is not the father of any man
among you, but he is the Apostle of God, and the seal of the prophets: and God knoweth all things.
O
Believers! remember God with frequent remembrance, and praise Him morning and
evening.
He
blesseth you, and His angels intercede for you, that He may bring you forth out
of darkness into light: and Merciful is He to
the Believers.
Their
greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be "Peace!" And He
hath got ready for them a noble recompense.
O
Prophet! we have sent thee to be a witness, and a herald of glad tidings, and a
warner;
And
one who, through His own permission, summoneth to god, and a light-giving
torch.
Announce,
therefore, to believers, that great boons do await them from God;
And
obey not the Infidels and Hypocrites -- yet abstain from injuring them: and put thou thy trust in God, for God is a
sufficient guardian.
O
Believers! when you marry believing women, and then divorce them before you have
consummated the marriage, you have no term prescribed you, which you must
fulfil towards them: provide for them, and
dismiss them with a reputable dismissal.
O
Prophet! we allow thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered, and the slaves whom
thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which God hath granted thee, and the
daughters of thy uncle, and of thy paternal and maternal aunts who fled with
thee to Medina, and any believing woman who hath given herself up to the
Prophet, if the Prophet desired to wed her -- a Privilege for thee above the
rest of the Faithful.
33:50 We well know what we have settled for
them, in regard to their wives and to the slaves whom their right hands hold,
that there may be no fault on thy part: and
God is Indulgent, Merciful!
Thou
mayest decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and thou mayest take to
thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for of those thou
shalt have before neglected; and this shall not be a crime in thee. Thus will
it be easier to give them the desire of their eyes, and not to put them to
grief, and to satisfy them with what thou shalt accord to each of them. God
knoweth what is in your hearts, and God is Knowing, Gracious.
It is
not permitted thee to take other wives hereafter, nor to change thy present
wives for other women, though their beauty charm thee, except slaves whom thy
right hand shall possess. And God watcheth all things.
O
Believers! enter not into the houses of the Prophet, save by his leave, for a
meal, without waiting his time. When you are invited then enter, and when you
have eaten then disperse at once. And engage not in familiar talk, for this
would cause the Prophet trouble, and he would be ashamed to bid you go; but God
is not ashamed to say the truth. And when you would ask any gift of his wives,
ask it from behind a veil. Purer will this be for your hearts and for their
hearts. And you must not trouble the Apostle of God, nor marry his wives, after
him, for ever. This would be a grave offense with God.
Whether
you bring a matter to the light or hide it, God truly hath knowledge of all
things.
No
blame shall attach to them (your wives) for speaking to their fathers unveiled,
or to their sons, or to their brothers, or to their brothers' sons, or to their
sisters' sons, or to their women, or to the slaves whom their right hands hold.
And fear you God: for God witnesseth all
things.
Verily,
God and His Angels bless the Prophet! Bless you Him, O Believers, and salute
Him with salutations of Peace.
Verily,
they who affront God and His Apostle, the curse of God is on them in this
world, and in the world to come: and He hath
prepared for them a shameful chastisement.
And
they who shall affront believing men and believing women, for no fault of
theirs, they shall surely bear the guilt of slander, and of a clear wrong.
O
Prophet! speak to thy wives and to thy daughters, and to the wives of the
Faithful, that they let their veils fall low. Thus will they more easily be
known, and they will not be affronted. God is Indulgent, Merciful!
33:60 If the Hypocrites, and the men of
tainted hearts, and the stirrers of sedition in
Cursed
wherever they are found; they shall be seized and slain with slaughter!
Such
hath been the way of God with those who lived before them; and no change canst
thou find in the way of God.
Men
will ask thee of "the Hour." Say:
The knowledge of it is with God alone: and who
can tell thee whether haply the Hour be not nigh at hand?
Verily,
God hath cursed the Infidels, and hath got ready for them the flame:
For
aye shall they abide therein; none to befriend them, no helper shall they find!
On the
day when their faces shall be rolled in the fire, they shall cry: "Oh! would that we had obeyed God, and obeyed
the Apostle!"
And
they shall say: "Oh our Lord! indeed we
obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way of God --
O our
Lord! give them a double chastisement, and curse them with a heavy curse."
O
Believers! be not like those who affronted Moses. But God cleared him from what
they said of him, and of God what he high esteemed.
33:70 O Believers! fear God, and speak with
well-guided speech.
That
God may bless your doings for you, and forgive you your sins. And whoso obeyeth
God and His Apostle with great bliss shall he be blessed.
Verily,
we proposed to the Heavens, and to the Earth, and to the Mountains to receive
the Faith, but they refused the burden, and they feared to receive it. Man
undertook to bear it, but hath proved unjust, senseless!
Therefore
will God punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the men
and the women who join gods with God; but to the believing men and women will
God turn him: for God is Indulgent, Merciful!