and glorify Him morning and evening.

Surely in this there is a lesson for every person who has aheart, and can hear and witness.

Then it will be said to the wrongdoers: "Taste the everlastingpunishment! Should you not be rewarded according to your deeds?"

O believers, spend in Allah's Way the best portion of the wealthyou have lawfully earned and that which We have produced for youfrom the earth, and do not pick out for charity those worthlessthings that you yourselves would not accept but with closed eyes.Bear in mind that Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.

O My servants who have believed! Surely My earth is spacious tomigrate if needed, therefore worship Me and Me Alone.

When the earth will be shaken to her utmost convulsion,

Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deedsthat He will most surely make them vicegerent in the earth as Hemade their ancestors before them, and that He will establish forthem their religion, the one which He has chosen for them, andthat He will change their present state of fear into peace andsecurity. Let them worship Me Alone and not to commit shirk withMe; and if anyone rejects faith after this, it is they who arethe transgressors.

Do not create mischief in the land after it has been set inorder. Pray to Him with fear and hope. Surely the mercy of Allahis always close to those who do good to others.

Do you not see how Allah sends down water from the sky whichpenetrates the earth and come out through springs? With it Hebrings forth a variety of crops with different colors, then theywither and you see them turning yellow, and then finally Hecrumbles them to dust. Surely, in this example, there is a lessonfor the people of understanding.

They will be asked: "How many years did you live on earth?"

They will reply: "We lived there a day or part of a day; You mayask those who kept the count."

It will be said: "Well, now you know that your stay was just alittle while - what a pity, you did not believe it then!"

Have they not looked at the earth to see how We have caused allkinds of noble pairs to grow in it?

Surely in this there is a sign; yet most of them do not believe.

It is Allah Who sends the winds to raise the clouds, then Hespreads them in the sky and breaks them into fragments as Hepleases, then you see raindrops falling from their midst. When Heshowers this rain upon those of His servants whom He pleases, lo!They are filled with joy,

though before its coming they may have lost all hope.

Just look at the traces of Allah's Mercy! How He gives life tothe earth after its death. Surely the same way He will give lifeto the dead; for He has power over all things.

Do you not see that Allah sends down water from the sky so theland becomes green? Surely Allah is the Benignant, Aware.

Do they not see how We drive the rain to the parched lands andtherefrom bring forth crops of which they and their cattle eat?Have they no vision?

And among His other signs is the earth that you see barren; butwhen We send down rain upon it, it stirs to life and it's yieldincreases. Surely He Who gives it life, will raise the dead tolife. Surely He has power over all things.

Allah sends down water from the sky, and with it gives life tothe land after it has been dead (this Qur'an is being sent toserve the same purpose). Surely in this example there is a signfor those who listen.

And of His signs is the showing of lightning, in which there isfear as well as hope, and He sends down rainwater from the skyand with it gives life to the earth after its death; surely thereare signs in this for those who use their common sense.

The dead land may serve as a sign for them; We give it life andproduce from it grain for them, which they eat.

We also produce from it gardens with date-palms and vines, and Wecause springs to gush forth from it.

So that they may enjoy the fruits thereof. It was not their handsthat made all this; should they not then give thanks?

and in the alternation of night and day, in the sustenance thatAllah sends down from heaven with which He revives the earthafter its death and in the changing of the winds, there are signsfor those who use their common sense.

He is the One Who spread out the earth and placed thereonmountains and rivers, created fruits of every kind in pairs, twoand two and makes the night cover the day. Certainly in thesethings there are signs for those who use their common sense.

He is the One Who has made the earth a cradle for you, traced theroads on it for you to walk on; and sends down water from the skywith which We produce pairs of various kinds of vegetation

- eat from these yourselves and pasture your cattle. Surely thereare Signs in it for those who use their brains.

We have created you from the earth, into it We shall return youand from it We shall bring you back to life once again.

And of His signs are the firmly standing heaven and earth by Hiscommand; then as soon as He will summon you out of the earth, youshall come forth at one call.

To Him belongs everything that is in the heavens and the earth;all are obedient to Him.

Do they not see the sky and the earth that surrounds them fromfront and from behind? If We want, We can cave in the earth toswallow them up or let the fragments of the sky fall upon them.Surely there is a sign in this for every devotee that turns toAllah in repentance.

In the earth, there are signs for the firm believers,

Do you not see that Allah has subdued to you all that is in theearth and the ships that sail through the sea by His command? Heis withholding the sky in a way that it cannot fall down on theearth without His permission; surely Allah is very kind andmerciful to mankind.

True servants of the Compassionate (Allah) are those who walk onthe earth in humility and when the ignorant people address them,they say: "Peace;"

You shall not walk arrogantly on the earth, for you can neitherrend the earth asunder nor attain the height of the mountains.

All these and their evil aspects are hateful in the sight of yourRabb.

Ask them: "Do you really deny the One Who created the earth intwo periods and do you set up rivals in worship with Him while Heis the Rabb of the worlds.

So, from this creation, He formed the seven heavens in twoperiods and to each heaven He ordained its laws. He adorned thelowest heaven with brilliant lamps and made it secure. Such isthe design of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing."

He set upon it mountains towering high above its surface, Hebestowed blessings upon it and in four periods provided it withsustenance according to the needs of all those who live in andask for it.

O mankind! Have fear of your Rabb; the catastrophic quaking ofthe Hour of Doom will be terrible indeed.

On that Day you shall see that every nursing mother will forgether nursing-babe and every pregnant female will miscarry, and youwill see people as if they are intoxicated, though they will notbe drunk: such will be the horror of Allah's chastisement.

Rush towards the forgiveness from your Rabb to a Paradise as vastas the Heavens and the earth which is prepared for the righteouspeople;

they are those who spend generously in the way of Allah, whetherthey are in prosperity or in adversity, who control their angerand forgive other people for Allah loves such charitable people,

We shall say to them: "Eat and drink to your heart's content,this is the reward for your good deeds."

O culprits! Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little while. Surelyyou are culprits.

It is made lawful for you to approach your wives during the nightof the fast; they are an apparel for you and you for them. Allahknows that you were committing dishonesty to your souls. So Hehas relented towards you and pardoned you. Now, you may approachyour wives and seek what Allah has written for you. Eat and drinkuntil the white thread of dawn appears to you distinct from theblack thread of night, then complete your fast till nightfall. Donot approach your wives during I'htikaf (retreat in the mosquesin last ten days of Ramadhan). These are the limits set by Allah:do not ever violate them. Thus Allah makes His revelations clearto mankind so that they may guard themselves against evil.

Game of the sea and its use as food is lawful for you and theseafarers, but the game of the land is forbidden as long as youare in Ihram (pilgrim garb). Have fear of Allah to whom you shallall be assembled.

It is He who has created all kinds of plants, trellised anduntrellised, the palm trees, the field crops with produce ofdifferent kinds, the olives and pomegranates, similar in kind yetdifferent in taste. Eat of their fruit in their season and giveaway their Zakah on the harvest day. Do not be spendthrift,surely He does not love the spendthrifts.

O Rasools! Eat of pure things and do good deeds, certainly I haveknowledge of all your actions.

O Mankind! Eat of what is lawful and clean on the earth and donot follow the footsteps of Shaitan, surely he is your openenemy.

It is He Who has made the earth subservient to you, to walkthrough its tracts and eat of His provided sustenance. To Him isthe return at resurrection.

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.

Why should you not eat that on which Allah's name has beenpronounced, when He has clearly spelled out for you in detailwhat is forbidden - except in a case of extreme helplessness? Infact, many do mislead people by their appetites unchecked byknowledge. Your Rabb knows best those who transgress.

Eschew all sin whether open or secret: surely those who earn sinwill get due punishment for their wrongdoings.

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.

He has only forbidden you to eat carrion (meat of dead a body),blood, pork, and that over which any name other than Allah hasbeen invoked. But if one is forced by necessity, intendingneither to break the Divine Law nor to transgress limits, thensurely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Whoever shall do good deeds, provided he is a believer, hisendeavor will not be rejected: We are recording it all for him.

Have you not considered how your Rabb dealt with the Army of theElephant (reference is made to Abraha, a Christian king of Yaman,who attacked Makkah with the army of elephants in the year of theProphet Muhammad's birth)?

Did He not make their treacherous plan a flop?

And send against them flocks of birds,

which pelted them with stones of baked clay,

thus rendered them like the chewed-up chaff.

Other descendants include Zakariya, Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus),and Ilyas (Elias); all of them were righteous;

Ilyas (Elias) was surely one of Our Rasools.

Also mention Isma'il, Al-Yas'a (Elisha) and Zul-Kifl; all of themwere among the best.