The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

The Pilgrimage
213
22: 70

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all that is in the heavens and earth? All this is written in a Record;
this is easy for God.
71Yet beside God they serve that for which He has sent no author-
ity and of which they have no knowledge:
a
the evildoers will have no
one to help them. 
72[Prophet], you can see the hostility on the faces
of the disbelievers when Our messages are recited clearly to them: it
is almost as if they are going to attack those who recite Our messages
to them. Say, ‘Shall I tell you what is far worse than what you feel
now? The Fire that God has promised the disbelievers! What a
dismal end!’
73People, here is an illustration, so listen carefully: those
you call on beside God could not, even if they combined all their
forces, create a 
fly, and if a fly took something away from them, they
would not be able to retrieve it. How feeble are the petitioners and
how feeble are those they petition! 
74They have no grasp of God’s
true measure: God is truly most strong and mighty.
75God chooses messengers from among the angels and from
among men. God is all hearing, all seeing: 
76He knows what lies
before and behind them. All matters return to Him. 
77Believers, bow
down, prostrate yourselves, worship your Lord, and do good so that
you may succeed. 
78Strive hard for God as is His due: He has
chosen you and placed no hardship in your religion, the faith of your
forefather Abraham. God has called you Muslims
b
–– both in the past
and in this [message] –– so that the Messenger can bear witness about
you and so that you can bear witness about other people. So keep up
the prayer, give the prescribed alms, and seek refuge in God: He is
your protector –– an excellent protector and an excellent helper.
a
i.e. ‘scriptural knowledge’.
b
i.e. ‘devoted to God’.
The Qur
an
22: 71
214

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23. THE BELIEVERS
A Meccan sura which stresses that the believers are the ones who will succeed,
whereas the disbelievers will be punished for their arrogance and derision.
Several proofs are given of God’s Oneness and His power, and the inevitability
of the Resurrection is emphasized.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1[How] prosperous are the believers! 2Those who pray humbly,
3who shun idle talk, 4who pay the prescribed alms, 5who guard their
chastity 
6except with their spouses or their slaves
a
–– with these they
are not to blame, 
7but anyone who seeks more than this is exceeding
the limits ––
8who are faithful to their trusts and pledges 9and who
keep up their prayers, 
10will rightly be given 11Paradise as their
own,
b
there to remain.
12We created man from an essence of clay, 13then We placed him as
a drop of 
fluid in a safe place, 14then We made that drop into a
clinging form, and We made that form into a lump of 
flesh, and We
made that lump into bones, and We clothed those bones with
flesh, and later We made him into other forms
c
–– glory be to God,
the best of creators! ––
15then you will die 16and then, on the Day of
Resurrection, you will be raised up again.
17We created seven levels
d
above you: We are never unmindful of
Our creation. 
18We sent water down from the sky in due measure
and lodged it in the earth –– We have the power to take it all away if
We so wish ––
19with it We produced for you gardens of date palms
and vines, with many fruits there for you to eat, 
20and a tree, growing
out of Mount Sinai, that produces oil and seasoning for your food.
21There is a lesson for you in livestock: We produce milk for you to
drink from their bellies. And they have many other bene
fits: you eat
them
22and you ride on them, as you do in ships.