Recite to them in all truth the story of Adam's two sons: Howeach offered a sacrifice, and how the offering of one wasaccepted while that of the other was not. The latter said: "Iwill kill you." The former replied: "Allah only accepts thesacrifice from the righteous.

Even if you stretch your hand to kill me, I shall not stretch myhand to slay you, for I fear Allah, the Rabb of the worlds.

I intend to let you bear the burden of my sins as well as yoursand thus become an inmate of the Fire which is the reward forwrongdoers."

The latter's soul prompted him to kill his brother; he killed himand thus became one of the losers.

(He carried around the dead body of his brother and did not knowwhat to do with it.) Then Allah sent a raven, which dug theground to show him how to bury the dead body of his brother."Alas!" He cried, "I failed even to be like this raven to findsome way to dispose of the dead body of my brother!" So he becamefull of regrets.

On account of that incident, We ordained for the Children ofIsrael that whoever kills a person, except as a punishment formurder or mischief in the land, it will be written in his book ofdeeds as if he had killed all the human beings on the surface ofthe Earth and whoever will save a life shall be regarded as if hegave life to all the human beings on the surface of the Earth.Yet, even though Our Rasools came to them one after the otherwith clear revelations, it was not long before, many of themcommitted excesses in the land.

The beduin Arabs who stayed behind will soon say to you: "Ourgoods and families kept us occupied, so please ask forgivenessfor us." They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts.Tell them: "Who can intervene on your behalf with Allah if it beHis will to do you harm or He pleases to do you good? Allah iswell aware of your actions.

Rather you thought that the Rasool and the believers would neverreturn to their families; this fancy seemed pleasing to yourhearts. You conceived evil thoughts and thus incurred damnation."

As for those, who, even after their injuries during the battle ofUhud, responded to the call of Allah and His Rasool to follow theQureysh army which was gathering to attack again, there will be agreat reward for such of those who do righteous deeds and refrainfrom evil,

and who, when the people told them: "Your enemies have mustered agreat force against you: fear them," grew more firm in theirfaith and replied: "Allah's help is all-sufficient for us. He isthe best protector."

As a result they returned home with blessings and grace fromAllah and suffered no harm at all. Besides this, they had thehonor of following what pleased Allah, and Allah is the Owner ofmighty grace.

Therefore, call them to the true Deen, stay firm on the Right Wayas you are commanded and do not follow their vain desires. Tellthem: "I believe in whatever Allah has revealed from the Book andI am commanded to do justice between you. Allah is Our Rabb andyour Rabb. We are responsible for Our deeds and you for yours.Let there be no dispute among us. Allah will bring us alltogether on the Day of Judgement and decide as to who is rightand who is wrong. Towards Him lies the goal.

Those who call out to you, O Muhammad, from outside the privateapartments, most of them lack common sense.

If only they had patience until you could come out to them, itwould certainly be better for them. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Whenever any adversity strikes you at sea, all those to whom youpray besides Him forsake you except He; yet when He brings yousafe to the land, you turn your backs upon Him. Indeed, man isever ungrateful.

Then instead of Allah, he starts calling those deities who canneither harm nor help him; now that is going too far off indeviation from the Right Way.

He is calling upon those who are more likely to harm than help;what an evil master and what an evil friend he chooses for help!

That is because Allah is the One Who is Real; and all thosedeities besides Him, whom they invoke, are false; indeed it isAllah Who is the Supreme, the Great.

So do not call on other gods besides Allah, lest you become oneof those who incur His punishment.

Invoke no other god besides Allah. There is no god but Him.Everything is perishable except Him. To him belongs the judgementand to him will you all be returned.

He causes the night to pass into the day and the day into thenight, and He has made the sun and the moon to serve you; eachone follows its course for an appointed term. Such is Allah, yourRabb; His is the kingdom; and those to whom you pray besides Himdo not even own a thread of a date-stone.

If you pray to them they cannot hear your prayers and even ifthey could hear you they could not answer you. On the Day ofResurrection they will deny your associating them with Allah. Omankind! None can inform you about all this except the One Who isAll-Aware.

O Prophet, tell them: "I have been forbidden to invoke those whomyou invoke besides Allah. How can I do this when clearrevelations have come to me from my Rabb, and I have beencommanded to submit myself to the Rabb of the worlds."

Ask them: "Have you pondered on those whom you invoke besidesAllah? Show me anything that they have created in the earth, ordo they have any share in the creation of the heavens? Bring meany Book revealed before this, or some remnant of divineknowledge in support of your beliefs if you are telling thetruth."

And who could be more astray than the one who invokes thosedeities besides Allah who cannot answer him till the Day ofResurrection - which, in fact, are not even aware that they arebeing invoked?

And when mankind shall be assembled on the Day of Judgement, theywill become enemies of those who invoked them and deny theirworship altogether.

Do not set up another god besides Allah, surely I am assigned byHim as a plain Warner to you all."

Do they have a god other than Allah? Exalted is Allah, far abovethose deities they associate with Him.

When an affliction befalls the people, they turn in prayer totheir Rabb in repentance. But when He let them taste a blessingfrom Him, lo! Some of them start committing shirk,

showing no gratitude for What We have given them. Enjoyyourselves; soon you will find out your folly.

Man is such that when he is in trouble he appeals to Us; but whenWe bestow Our favor upon him, he says: "This has been given to mebecause of certain knowledge I possess." Nay! It is but a test,yet most of them do not know.

The same was said by those who passed before them, but theygained nothing from what they did

and the evil consequences of their deeds overtook them. Verysoon, the wrongdoers among these people will also be overtaken bythe evil consequences of their misdeeds and they will not be ableto escape.

Keep yourself content with those who call on their Rabb morning and evening seeking His good pleasure; and let not your eyes turn away from them desiring the attraction of Worldly Life; nor obey the one whose heart We have permitted to neglect Our remembrance, who follows his own desires and goes to extremes in the conduct of his affairs.

Call on your Rabb with humility and in private; for He does notlove the transgressors.

Praying to Him Alone is the right thing. The other deities theypray to, besides Him, cannot answer their prayers. They are likea man who stretches forth his hands to the water and asks it toreach his mouth. It cannot reach his mouth this way; likewise theprayer of the unbelievers is nothing but a fruitless effort.

Do they not look at the camels, how they were created?

We have included the sacrificial camels among the Symbols ofAllah, for there is much good for you in them. Therefore,pronounce the name of Allah over them while standing, and whenthey fall down on their sides after slaughter, when theirmovement completely stops, then eat of their meat, feed thecontented (poor who do not ask) and the beggars (poor who ask).Thus We have subjected these animals to you so that you may begrateful.

We charge no soul with more than it can bear; We have a Book ofrecord which shall clearly tell the truth, and they shall not betreated unjustly.

If any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, lethim marry one of his own slave girls who is a believer; Allahknows how good you are in your faith. You all belong to one andthe same community. Marry them with the permission of theirfamily and give them their fair dowry so that they may live adecent life in wedlock and not live as prostitutes or look forsecret illicit relationships. Then if after marriage they commitadultery, they shall be given half the punishment prescribed fora free adulteress. The concession of such a marriage is for thoseof you who fear that they might commit a sin if they do not getmarried, but it is better for you to practice self-restraint.Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

If any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, lethim marry one of his own slave girls who is a believer; Allahknows how good you are in your faith. You all belong to one andthe same community. Marry them with the permission of theirfamily and give them their fair dowry so that they may live adecent life in wedlock and not live as prostitutes or look forsecret illicit relationships. Then if after marriage they commitadultery, they shall be given half the punishment prescribed fora free adulteress. The concession of such a marriage is for thoseof you who fear that they might commit a sin if they do not getmarried, but it is better for you to practice self-restraint.Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

O Prophet! We have made lawful to you the wives to whom you havegiven their dowers; and those ladies whom your right handspossess (from the prisoners of war) whom Allah has assigned toyou; and the daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, and thedaughters of your maternal uncles and aunts, who have migratedwith you; and the believing woman who gave herself to the Prophetif the Prophet desires to marry her - this permission is only foryou and not for the other believers; We know what restrictions Wehave imposed on the other believers concerning their wives andthose whom their right hands possess. We have granted you thisprivilege as an exception so that no blame may be attached toyou. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

If any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, lethim marry one of his own slave girls who is a believer; Allahknows how good you are in your faith. You all belong to one andthe same community. Marry them with the permission of theirfamily and give them their fair dowry so that they may live adecent life in wedlock and not live as prostitutes or look forsecret illicit relationships. Then if after marriage they commitadultery, they shall be given half the punishment prescribed fora free adulteress. The concession of such a marriage is for thoseof you who fear that they might commit a sin if they do not getmarried, but it is better for you to practice self-restraint.Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

It is not fit for a Prophet that he should take prisoners of waruntil he has thoroughly subdued the land. Do you, O followers ofMuhammad, desire the temporal goods of this world? While Allahdesires for you the hereafter? Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Had there not been a previous sanction from Allah to take ransom,you should have been sternly punished for what you have taken.

Very well, enjoy the booty which you have taken, for it is lawfuland pure, but in the future fear Allah. Allah is Forgiving,Merciful.

O Prophet! Tell the captives in your custody: "If Allah findsgoodness in your hearts He will give you even better than whathas been taken from you, as well as forgive you. Allah IsForgiving, Merciful."

But if they have treacherous designs against you, O Prophet, theyhave already shown treason against Allah. That is why He madethem your captives. Allah is Knowledgeable, Wise.

When the forbidden months (10,11,12 & 1 of the Islamic calendar) are over, then fight the mushrikïn wherever you find them, seize them, besiege them, and lie in ambush for them in every stratagem of war, but if they repent, establish Salah and pay Zakah, then let them go their way: surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Those who accuse chaste but careless believing women are cursedin this life, and in the Hereafter they shall have a grievouspunishment.

Such people should not forget that Day when their own tongues,their own hands and their own feet will testify against theirmisdeeds.

On that Day, Allah will give them the full reward they deserve,then they will realize that Allah is the One Who manifests theTruth.

He has forbidden you to eat dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine,and that on which any name other than Allah has been invoked; butif someone is compelled by absolute necessity, intending neitherto sin nor to transgress, he shall incur no sin. Surely Allah isForgiving, Merciful.

You are forbidden to eat the meat of any animal that dies byitself (dead body), blood, the flesh of swine (pork) and that onwhich any name other than Allah has been invoked; also that whichis strangled to death , killed by a violent blow, killed by aheadlong fall and of those beaten or gored to death; and thatwhich has been partly eaten by a wild animal unless you are ableto slaughter it before its death; also that which is sacrificedon altars or is divided by raffling of arrows. All these aresinful acts. Today the unbelievers have given up all their hopeof vanquishing your religion. Have no fear of them, fear Me.Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favorupon you and approved Al-Islam as a Deen (way of life for you).Anyone who is compelled by hunger to eat what is forbidden, notintending to commit sin, will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.

O Muhammad tell them: I did not find in what has been revealed tome anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it,except the meat of an already dead animal, or running blood orthe flesh of swine (pork) - for these are unclean - or flesh ofan animal which has become profane because of slaughtering in thenames other than Allah. Even so, if anyone is forced in ahelpless situation, intending neither disobedience nortransgression, you will find your Rabb Forgiving, Merciful.

It is Allah Who has provided you with cattle, that you may usesome for riding and some for food;

and there are also other advantages in them for you; they takeyou where you wish to go carrying you on their backs as shipscarry you by the sea.

The One Who has created all living things in pairs and made foryou the ships and cattle on which you ride

so that you may firmly sit on their backs, then as you mount,recall the goodness of your Rabb and say: "Glory be to Him Whohas subjected these to Our use, otherwise We could not havebrought them under our control,

and to our Rabb we shall all return."

We have subjected these animals to them, that they may ride onsome and eat the flesh of others,

It is Allah Who has provided you with cattle, that you may usesome for riding and some for food;

and there are also other advantages in them for you; they takeyou where you wish to go carrying you on their backs as shipscarry you by the sea.

O believers! Fulfil your contract obligations. Allfour-legged animals from livestock are lawful to you other thanthose which are hereby announced. However do not violate theprohibition of hunting while you are in Ihram (Hajj dress).Indeed Allah orders whatever He pleases.

In cattle, too, there is a lesson for you: from within theirbodies We produce milk for you to drink, besides this you gainnumerous other benefits; some of them you eat,

yet on others as well as on ships you ride.

so that they may witness the benefits which are made availablehere for them, and pronounce the name of Allah over the cattlewhich We have provided as food for them, on the appointed days,then eat meat themselves and feed the indigent and needy.

and make a proclamation of Hajj (Pilgrimage) to mankind: theywill come to you on foot and on lean camels from every distantquarter,

so that they may witness the benefits which are made availablehere for them, and pronounce the name of Allah over the cattlewhich We have provided as food for them, on the appointed days,then eat meat themselves and feed the indigent and needy.

Then they should accomplish their needful acts of shaving orcutting their hair and taking a bath, fulfill their vows and gofor Tawaf-e-Ziyarah to the Ancient House.

This was the object for which the Ka'bah was built, and whoeverhonors the sacred rites of Allah, it is good for him in the sightof his Rabb. The meat of cattle is lawful to you, except what hasalready been mentioned to you; therefore, shun the abomination ofidols and shun all false statements.

Do they not see that among the other things which Our hands havefashioned, We have created cattle which are under theirdomination?

We have subjected these animals to them, that they may ride onsome and eat the flesh of others,

in them there are other advantages and drinks (milk) for them.Should they not then be grateful?

Anyone who intercedes for a good cause shall have a share in it,and anyone who intercedes for an evil cause shall also get ashare in its burden. Allah has control over everything.

Anyone who intercedes for a good cause shall have a share in it,and anyone who intercedes for an evil cause shall also get ashare in its burden. Allah has control over everything.

Their doom is because Allah has revealed the Book with the truth;surely those who seek causes of dispute in the Book (The Qur'an)are in extreme schism (divergence).

and accepted what the shaitans falsely attributed to the kingdomof Sulaiman; not that Sulaiman was an unbeliever, it was theshaitans who were unbelievers: they taught witchcraft to thepeople and that which was revealed to the two angels, Harut andMarut in the city of Babylon. Yet these two angels never taughtmagic to anyone without saying: "We have been sent to tempt you;do not renounce your faith." Inspite of this warning those peoplekept on learning, from the angels, the magic which could causediscord between husband and wife; although they could harm nonewith it except with Allah's permission. They learned, indeed,what harmed them and did not profit them; even though they knewfully well that the buyers of magic would have no share in thehappiness of the Hereafter. Surely, they sold their souls for abad price, if they could understand it!

If they would have believed (accepted Islam) and kept themselvesaway from evil, there would have been a better reward from Allah,if they could understand it!