The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

b
The Arabic construction la rayba 
fihi carries more than one meaning, including
‘there is nothing dubious about/in it’ and ‘it is not to be doubted’ as regards its origin or
contents.
c
The root w–q–y in this morphological form has the meaning of being mindful or
being wary of something. The opposite of being mindful of God is to ignore Him or
have no reference to Him in your thought, feeling, or action. This is a fundamental
concept about God and the believers’ relation to Him. Many translators render the term
as ‘those who fear God’, but this is an over-expression of the term and does not
correctly convey the meaning of the concept, which is a very common one in the Qur
an.
d
What is beyond their perception, literally ‘absent’–
–this applies to the nature of
God, the Hereafter, historical information not witnessed, etc.

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keep up the prayer,
a
and give
b
out of what We have provided for
them;
4those who believe in the revelation sent down to you
[Muhammad], and in what was sent before you, those who have
firm faith in the Hereafter. 5Such people are following their Lord’s
guidance and it is they who will prosper. 
6As for those who dis-
believe, it makes no di
fference whether you warn them or not: they
will not believe. 
7God has sealed their hearts and their ears, and their
eyes are covered. They will have great torment.
c
8Some people say, ‘We believe in God and the Last Day,’ when
really they do not believe. 
9They seek to deceive God and the
believers but they only deceive themselves, though they do not real-
ize it. 
10There is a disease in their hearts, to which God has added
more: agonizing torment awaits them for their persistent lying.
11When it is said to them, ‘Do not cause corruption in the land,’ they
say, ‘We are only putting things right,’
12but really they are causing
corruption, though they do not realize it. 
13When it is said to them,
‘Believe, as the others believe,’ they say, ‘Should we believe as the
fools do?’ but they are the fools, though they do not know it. 
14When
they meet the believers, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are
alone with their evil ones, they say, ‘We’re really with you; we were
only mocking.’
15God is mocking them, and allowing them more
slack to wander blindly in their insolence. 
16They have bought error
in exchange for guidance, so their trade reaps no pro
fit, and they are
not rightly guided. 
17They are like people who [labour to] kindle a
fire: when it lights up everything around them, God takes away all
their light, leaving them in utter darkness, unable to see –
–
18deaf,
dumb, and blind: they will never return. 
19Or [like people who,
under] a cloudburst from the sky, with its darkness, thunder, and
lightning, put their 
fingers into their ears to keep out the thunder-
claps for fear of death –
– God surrounds the disbelievers. 
20The
lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it 
flashes on
a
This means regular and proper performance of the formal prayer (salah), as taught
by the Prophet Muhammad.
b
Yun
fiquna in the Arabic of the Quran literally means ‘spend’, on others, in good
causes, in the way of God.
c
The basic meaning of 
 adhab is ‘to restrain (from doing wrong)’, extended to mean
anything di
fficult or painful, punishment, famine (see 23: 78). See Majaz al-Quran, by