The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

[Verses] Made Distinct
309
41: 44

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Qur
an, they would have said, ‘If only its verses were clear! What?
Foreign speech to an Arab?’ Say, ‘It is guidance and healing for those
who have faith, but the ears of the disbelievers are heavy, they are
blind to it, it is as if they are being called from a distant place.’
45We
gave the Scripture to Moses but disputes arose about it –
– if it were
not for a decree that had already been issued from your Lord, they
would already have been judged –
– and still they are doubtful and
suspicious of it.
46Whoever does good does it for his own soul and whoever does
evil does it against his own soul: your Lord is never unjust to His
creatures. 
47Knowledge of the Hour belongs solely to Him and no
crop comes out of its sheath, nor does any female conceive or give
birth, without His knowledge. On the Day He asks them, ‘Where are
My partners?’ they will answer, ‘We admit to You that none of us can
see [them]’:
48the gods they invoked before will have vanished away;
they will know that there is no escape.
49Man never tires of asking for good, but if evil touches him he
loses all hope and becomes despondent. 
50Whenever We let him taste
some of Our mercy after he has been a
fflicted, he is sure to say, ‘This
is all my own doing: I do not think the Hour will ever come, but even
if I were to be taken back to my Lord, the best reward would await
me with Him.’ We shall most certainly inform the disbelievers
of what they have done and give them a taste of severe torment.
51Whenever We are gracious to man, he goes away haughtily, but, as
soon as evil touches him, he turns to prolonged prayer. 
52Say
[Prophet], ‘Have you ever thought, what if this revelation really is
from God and you still reject it? Who could be more astray than
someone who cuts himself o
ff so far [from God]?’ 53We shall show
them Our signs in every region of the earth and in themselves, until
it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that
your Lord witnesses everything? 
54Truly, they doubt that they will
meet their Lord; truly He encompasses
a
everything.
a
This is muhit, a metaphor in Arabic for having full knowledge and full power over
everything.
The Qur
an
41: 45
310

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42. CONSULTATION
A Meccan sura that takes its name from verse 
38, where the practice of
consultation (shura) is listed as one characteristic of the Muslim community.
The sura discusses man’s habit of creating division and disharmony in matters
of religion, and God’s all-prevailing power, wisdom, and 
final decision. The
unity of religion is stressed (verse 
13) as is the continuity of the prophets (verse
3). The Prophet is reminded that he cannot compel people to believe, that they
will be judged according to their deeds, and that he is only there to deliver the
message. The nature of revelation is described in verses 
51–3.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Ha Mim 2 Ayn Sin Qaf
3This is how God, the Mighty, the Wise, sends revelation to you
[Prophet] as He did to those before you. 
4All that is in the heavens
and earth belongs to Him: He is the Exalted, the Almighty. 
5The
heavens are almost broken apart from above as the angels proclaim
the praises of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on earth. God
is indeed the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. 
6As for those who
take protectors other than Him, God is watching them; you are not
responsible for them.
7So We have revealed an Arabic Quran to you, in order that you
may warn the capital city
a
and all who live nearby. And warn [espe-
cially] about the Day of Gathering, of which there is no doubt, when
some shall be in the Garden and some in the blazing Flame. 
8If God
had so pleased, He could have made them a single community, but
He admits to His mercy whoever He will; the evildoers will have no
one to protect or help them. 
9How can they take protectors other
than Him? God alone is the Protector; He gives life to the dead; He
has power over all things. 
10Whatever you may differ about is for
God to judge. [Say], ‘Such is God, my Lord. In Him I trust and to
Him I turn, 
11the Creator of the heavens and earth.’ He made mates
for you from among yourselves –– and for the animals too –– so that
a
Literally ‘the mother of cities’, Mecca.

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you may multiply. There is nothing like Him: He is the All Hearing,
the All Seeing. 
12The keys of the heavens and the earth are His;
He provides abundantly or sparingly for whoever He will; He has
full knowledge of all things.
13In matters of faith, He has laid down for you [people] the same
commandment that He gave Noah, which We have revealed to you
[Muhammad] and which We enjoined on Abraham and Moses and
Jesus: ‘Uphold the faith and do not divide into factions within it’–
–
what you [Prophet] call upon the idolaters to do is hard for them;
God chooses whoever He pleases for Himself and guides towards
Himself those who turn to Him. 
14They divided, out of rivalry,
only after knowledge had come to them, and, if it had not been for
a decree already passed by your Lord to reprieve them until an
appointed time, they would already have been judged. Those after
them, who inherited the Scripture, are in disquieting doubt about it.
15So [Prophet] call people to that faith and follow the straight path
as you have been commanded. Do not go by what they desire, but
say, ‘I believe in whatever Scripture God has sent down. I am com-
manded to bring justice between you. God is our Lord and your
Lord –
– to us our deeds and to you yours, so let there be no argument
between us and you –
– God will gather us together, and to Him we
shall return.’
16As for those who argue about God after He has been
acknowledged, their argument has no weight with their Lord: anger
will fall upon them and agonizing torment awaits them. 
17It is God
who has sent down the Scripture with Truth and the Balance.
a
How
can you tell? The Last Hour may well be near: 
18those who do not
believe in it seek to hasten it, but the believers stand in awe of it.
They know it to be the Truth; those who argue about the Hour are
far, far astray.
19God is most subtle towards His creatures; He provides [bounti-
fully] for whoever He will; He is the Powerful, the Almighty. 
20If
anyone desires a harvest in the life to come, We shall increase it for
him; if anyone desires a harvest in this world, We shall give him a
share of it, but in the Hereafter he will have no share. 
21How can they
believe in others who ordain for them things which God has not
sanctioned in the practice of their faith? If it were not for God’s