The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

The Qur
an
40

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God, it will not be accepted from him: he will be one of the losers in
the Hereafter. 
86Why would God guide people who deny the truth,
after they have believed and acknowledged that the Messenger is
true, and after they have been shown clear proof ? God does not
guide evildoers: 
87such people will be rewarded with rejection by
God, by the angels, by all people, 
88and so they will remain, with
no relief or respite for their su
ffering. 89Not so those who afterwards
repent and mend their ways –
– God is most forgiving and merciful –
–
90[although] the repentance of those who, having believed, then
increase in their disbelief, will not be accepted. They are the ones
who have gone [far] astray: 
91those who disbelieve and die dis-
believers will not be saved even if they o
ffer enough gold to fill the
entire earth. Agonizing torment is in store for them, and there will
be no one to help them. 
92None of you [believers] will attain true
piety unless you give out of what you cherish: whatever you give,
God knows about it very well.
93Except for what Israel made unlawful for himself, all food was
lawful to the Children of Israel before the Torah was revealed.
a
Say,
‘Bring the Torah and read out [the relevant passage] if you are telling
the truth. 
94Those who persist in making up lies and attributing
them to God after this are the wrongdoers.’
95[Prophet], say, ‘God
speaks the truth, so follow Abraham’s religion: he had true faith and
he was never an idolater.’
96The first House [of worship] to be estab-
lished for people was the one at Mecca.
b
It is a blessed place; a source
of guidance for all people; 
97there are clear signs in it; it is the place
where Abraham stood to pray; whoever enters it is safe. Pilgrimage
to the House is a duty owed to God by people who are able to
undertake it. Those who reject this [should know that] God has no
need of anyone. 
98Say, ‘People of the Book, why do you reject God’s
revelations? God witnesses everything you do.’
99Say, ‘People of the
Book, why do you turn the believers away from God’s path and try
to make it crooked, when you yourselves [should be] witnesses to the
[truth]? God is not heedless of anything you do.’
a
The commentators explain that Israel/Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) vowed to give
up camel 
flesh and camel milk if he were relieved of his sciatica, and the Jews in Medina
argued with Muhammad: ‘You claim to be following the religion of Abraham. If this
were so you would not be eating camel meat and drinking its milk, as these are forbidden
in Abraham’s religion.’ This verse answers this argument (Razi).
b
The original reads Bakka, which was an old name for Mecca.
3: 99
The Family of 
Imran
41

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100You who believe, some of those who were given the Scripture
would turn you into disbelievers if you were to yield to them.
101How can you disbelieve when God’s revelations are being recited
to you and His Messenger is living among you? Whoever holds fast
to God will be guided to the straight path. 
102You who believe, be
mindful of God, as is His due, and make sure you devote yourselves
to Him, to your dying moment. 
103Hold fast to God’s rope all
together; do not split into factions. Remember God’s favour to you:
you were enemies and then He brought your hearts together and
you became brothers by His grace; you were about to fall into a pit
of Fire and He saved you from it –
– in this way God makes His
revelations clear to you so that you may be rightly guided. 
104Be
a
a
community that calls for what is good, urges what is right, and
forbids what is wrong: those who do this are the successful ones.
105Do not be like those who, after they have been given clear revela-
tion, split into factions and fall into disputes: a terrible punishment
awaits such people. 
106On the Day when some faces brighten and
others darken, it will be said to those with darkened faces, ‘How
could you reject your faith after believing? Taste the torment for
doing so,’
107but those with brightened faces will be in God’s grace,
there to remain. 
108These are God’s revelations: We recite them to
you [Prophet] with the Truth. God does not will injustice for His
creatures. 
109Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God; it
is to Him that all things return.
110[Believers], you are the best community singled out for people:
you order what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God. If
the People of the Book had also believed, it would have been better
for them. For although some of them do believe, most of them are
lawbreakers –
–
111they will not do you much harm: even if they come
out to 
fight you, they will soon turn tail; they will get no help––
112and, unless they hold fast to a lifeline from God and from man-
kind, they are overshadowed by vulnerability wherever they are
found. They have drawn God’s wrath upon themselves. They are
overshadowed by weakness, too, because they have persistently dis-
believed in God’s revelation and killed prophets without any right,
all because of their disobedience and boundless transgression. 
113But
they are not all alike. There are some among the People of the Book