The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

a
Cf. 
19: 29–30. The word mahd means a place smoothed out for a small child to
sleep in. It is not a piece of furniture like a cradle.
b
Another possible translation is ‘to tell you what you eat and what you store . . .’.
3: 46
The Qur
an
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dust, said to him, ‘Be’, and he was. 
60This is the truth from your
Lord, so do not be one of those who doubt. 
61If anyone disputes this
with you now that you have been given this knowledge, say, ‘Come,
let us gather our sons and your sons, our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves, and let us pray earnestly and invoke God’s
rejection on those of us who are lying. 
62This is the truth of the
matter: there is no god but God; God is the Exalted, the Decider.’
a
63If they turn away, [know that] God is well aware of anyone who
causes corruption.
b
64Say, ‘People of the Book, let us arrive at a
statement that is common to us all: we worship God alone, we
ascribe no partner to Him, and none of us takes others beside God as
lords.’ If they turn away, say, ‘Witness our devotion to Him.’
65People of the Book, why do you argue about Abraham when the
Torah and the Gospels were not revealed until after his time? Do you
not understand? 
66You argue about some things of which you have
some knowledge, but why do you argue about things of which you
know nothing? God knows and you do not. 
67Abraham was neither a
Jew nor a Christian. He was upright and devoted to God, never an
idolater, 
68and the people who are closest to him are those who truly
follow his ways, this Prophet, and [true] believers –
– God is close to
[true] believers.
69Some of the People of the Book would dearly love to lead you
[believers] astray, but they only lead themselves astray, though they
do not realize it. 
70People of the Book, why do you deny God’s
revelations when you can see they are true? 
71People of the Book,
why do you mix truth with falsehood? Why do you hide the truth
when you recognize it? 
72Some of the People of the Book say, ‘At the
beginning of the day, believe in what has been revealed to these
believers [the Muslims], then at the end of the day reject it, so that
they too may turn back, 
73but do not sincerely believe in anyone
unless he follows your own religion’–
– [Prophet], tell them, ‘True
guidance is the guidance of God’–
– [they say], ‘Do not believe that
anyone else could be given a revelation similar to what you were
given, or that they could use it to argue against you in your Lord’s
presence.’ [Prophet], tell them, ‘All grace is in God’s hands: He
grants it to whoever He will –
– He is all embracing, all knowing –
–
a
This translation of the term hakim is suggested by Razi.
b
Corruption of beliefs and all that follows from that.
3: 73
The Family of 
Imran
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74and He singles out for His mercy whoever He will. His grace is
in
finite.’
75There are People of the Book who, if you [Prophet] entrust
them with a heap of gold, will return it to you intact, but there are
others of them who, if you entrust them with a single dinar, will not
return it to you unless you keep standing over them, because they
say, ‘We are under no obligation towards the gentiles.’ They tell a lie
against God and they know it. 
76No indeed! God loves those who
keep their pledges and are mindful of Him, 
77but those who sell out
God’s covenant and their own oaths for a small price will have no
share in the life to come. God will neither speak to them nor look at
them on the Day of Resurrection –
– He will not cleanse them [of
their sins] –
– agonizing torment awaits them. 
78There are some who
twist the Scripture with their tongues to make you [people] think
that what they say is part of the Scripture when it is not; they say it
is from God when it is not; they attribute lies to God and they
know it.
79No person to whom God had given the Scripture, wisdom, and
prophethood would ever say to people, ‘Be my servants, not God’s.’
[He would say], ‘You should be devoted to God because you have
taught the Scripture and studied it closely.’
80He would never
command you to take angels and prophets as lords. How could
he command you to be disbelievers after you had devoted yourselves
to God?
81God took a pledge from the prophets, saying, ‘If, after I have
bestowed Scripture and wisdom upon you, a messenger comes con-
firming what you have been given, you must believe in him and
support him. Do you a
ffirm this and accept My pledge as binding on
you?’ They said, ‘We do.’ He said, ‘Then bear witness and I too will
bear witness.’
82Those who turn away after this are the ones who
break pledges.
83Do they seek anything other than submission to
God? Everyone in the heavens and earth submits to Him, willingly
or unwillingly; they will all be returned to Him.
84Say [Muhammad], ‘We [Muslims] believe in God and in what
has been sent down to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and
the Tribes. We believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus,
and the prophets from their Lord. We do not make a distinction
between any of the [prophets]. It is to Him that we devote ourselves.’
85If anyone seeks a religion other than [islam] complete devotion to
3: 74