Surah 3 - Ali 'Imran - 003.151 - 003.200

[Anne Terri]

Surah 3 - Ali 'Imran - 003.151 - 003.200

003.151 Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with God, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers!

003.152 God did indeed fulfil His promise to you when ye with His permission Were about to annihilate your enemy,-until ye flinched and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed it after He brought you in sight (of the booty) which ye covet. Among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then did He divert you from your foes in order to test you but He forgave you: For God is full of grace to those who believe.

003.153 Behold! ye were climbing up the high ground, without even casting aside glance at any one, and the Apostle in your rear was calling you back. There did God give you one distress after another by way of requital, to teach you not to grieve for (the booty) that had escaped you and for (the ill) that had befallen you. For God is well aware of all that ye do.

003.154 After (the excitement) of the distress, He sent down calm on a band of you overcome with slumber, while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, Moved by wrong suspicions of God-suspicions due to ignorance. They said: "What affair is this of ours?" Say thou: "Indeed, this affair is wholly God's." They hide in their minds what they dare not reveal to thee. They say (to themselves): "If we had had anything to do with this affair, We should not have been in the slaughter here." Say: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death"; but (all this was) that God might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. For God knoweth well the secrets of your hearts.

003.155 Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts Met,-it was Satan who caused them to fail, because of some (evil) they had done. But God Has blotted out (their fault): For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.

003.156 O ye who believe! Be not like the Unbelievers, who say of their brethren, when they are travelling through the Earth or engaged in fighting: "If they had stayed with us, they would not have died, or been slain." This that God may make it a cause of sighs and regrets in their hearts. It is God that gives Life and Death, and God sees well all that ye do.

003.157 And if ye are slain, or die, in the way of God, forgiveness and mercy from God are far better than all they could amass.

003.158 And if ye die, or are slain, Lo! it is unto God that ye are brought together.

003.159 It is part of the Mercy of God that thou dost deal gently with them Wert thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about thee: so pass over (Their faults), and ask for (God's) forgiveness for them; and consult them in affairs (of moment). Then, when thou hast Taken a decision put thy trust in God. For God loves those who put their trust (in Him).

003.160 If God helps you, none can overcome you: If He forsakes you, who is there, after that, that can help you? in God, then, Let believers put their trust.

003.161 No prophet could (ever) be false to his trust. If any person is so false, He shall, on the Day of Judgment, restore what he misappropriated; then shall every soul receive its due,- whatever it earned,- and none shall be dealt with unjustly.

003.162 Is the man who follows the good pleasure of God Like the man who draws on himself the wrath of God, and whose abode is in Hell?- A woeful refuge!

003.163 They are in varying gardens in the sight of God, and God sees well all that they do.

003.164 God did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of God, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.

003.165 What! When a single disaster smites you, although ye smote (your enemies) with one twice as great, do ye say?- "Whence is this?" Say (to them): "It is from yourselves: For God hath power over all things."

003.166 What ye suffered on the day the two armies Met, was with the leave of God, in order that He might test the believers,-
003.167 And the Hypocrites also. These were told: "Come, fight in the way of God, or (at least) drive (The foe from your city)." They said: "Had we known how to fight, we should certainly have followed you." They were that day nearer to Unbelief than to Faith, saying with their lips what was not in their hearts but God hath full knowledge of all they conceal.

003.168 (They are) the ones that say, (of their brethren slain), while they themselves sit (at ease): "If only they had listened to us they would not have been slain. " Say: "Avert death from your own selves, if ye speak the truth."

003.169 Think not of those who are slain in God's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord;

003.170 They rejoice in the bounty provided by God: And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.

003.171 They glory in the Grace and the bounty from God, and in the fact that God suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least).

003.172 Of those who answered the call of God and the Apostle, even after being wounded, those who do right and refrain from wrong have a great reward;-

003.173 Men said to them: "A great army is gathering against you": And frightened them: But it (only) increased their Faith: They said: "For us God sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs."

003.174 And they returned with Grace and bounty from God: no harm ever touched them: For they followed the good pleasure of God: And God is the Lord of bounties unbounded.

003.175 It is only the Evil One that suggests to you the fear of his votaries: Be ye not afraid of them, but fear Me, if ye have Faith.

003.176 Let not those grieve thee who rush headlong into Unbelief: Not the least harm will they do to God: God's plan is that He will give them no portion in the Hereafter, but a severe punishment.

003.177 Those who purchase Unbelief at the price of faith,- not the least harm will they do to God, but they will have a grievous punishment.

003.178 Let not the Unbelievers think that our respite to them is good for themselves: We grant them respite that they may grow in their iniquity: But they will have a shameful punishment.

003.179 God will not leave the believers in the state in which ye are now, until He separates what is evil from what is good nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Apostles (For the purpose) whom He pleases. So believe in God. And His apostles: And if ye believe and do right, ye have a reward without measure.

003.180 And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which God Hath given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them: Nay, it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks Like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. To God belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and God is well-acquainted with all that ye do.

003.181 God hath heard the taunt of those who say: "Truly, God is indigent and we are rich!"- We shall certainly record their word and (their act) of slaying the prophets in defiance of right, and We shall say: "Taste ye the penalty of the Scorching Fire!

003.182 "This is because of the (unrighteous deeds) which your hands sent on before ye: For God never harms those who serve Him."

003.183 They (also) said: "God took our promise not to believe in an apostle unless He showed us a sacrifice consumed by Fire (From heaven)." Say: "There came to you apostles before me, with clear Signs and even with what ye ask for: why then did ye slay them, if ye speak the truth?"

003.184 Then if they reject thee, so were rejected apostles before thee, who came with Clear Signs, Books of dark prophecies, and the Book of Enlightenment.

003.185 Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.

003.186 Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and ye shall certainly Hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs.

003.187 And remember God took a covenant from the People of the Book, to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And vile was the bargain they made!

003.188 Think not that those who exult in what they have brought about, and love to be praised for what they have not done,- think escape the penalty. For them is a penalty Grievous indeed.

003.189 To God belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and God hath power over all things.

003.190 Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding,-

003.191 Men who celebrate the praises of God, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

003.192 "Our Lord! any whom Thou dost admit to the Fire, Truly Thou coverest with shame, and never will wrong-doers Find any helpers!

003.193 "Our Lord! we have heard the call of one calling (Us) to Faith, 'Believe ye in the Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take to Thyself our souls in the company of the righteous.

003.194 "Our Lord! Grant us what Thou didst promise unto us through Thine apostles, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: For Thou never breakest Thy promise."

003.195 And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: Ye are members, one of another: Those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain,- verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from the presence of God, and from His presence is the best of rewards."

003.196 Let not the strutting about of the Unbelievers through the land deceive thee:

003.197 Little is it for enjoyment: Their ultimate abode is Hell: what an evil bed (To lie on)!

003.198 On the other hand, for those who fear their Lord, are Gardens, with rivers flowing beneath; therein are they to dwell (for ever),- a gift from the presence of God; and that which is in the presence of God is the best (bliss) for the righteous.

003.199 And there are, certainly, among the People of the Book, those who believe in God, in the revelation to you, and in the revelation to them, bowing in humility to God: They will not sell the Signs of God for a miserable gain! For them is a reward with their Lord, and God is swift in account.

003.200 O ye who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear God; that ye may prosper.