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SURE
Nahl Suresi
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Allah's decree is inevitably coming to pass and so you Pagans need not reproach the Messenger for divine visitation in a sarcastic and insulting way. How foolish of you to cut off your last hope of forgiveness by wishing scornfully that it, be hastened on; glory be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes; He is infinitely far beyond those whom they incorporate with Him.
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Next comes all that He distributed to your necessity and advantage of objects of various glorious colours within and without the surface of the earth displaying collective beauty. This is indeed a great sign, breath-taking and highly impressive to those who keep Allah in mind and lift to Him their inward sight.
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It is He Who made the sea subservient to you to use as a source of aliment and ornaments. You eat of its fresh and tender meat -fish- and wear of its coral and pearls. And you see the ships cleaving its surface and ploughing its billowy waves. They help you accomplish your objects sought after of His bounty to the end that your bosoms may hopefully surge up and answer thanks.
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And Allah is 'Alimun (Omniscient) of all that you converse secretly or whisper below your breath and of all that you suggest secretly to the mind, and He is well acquainted with all that the bosoms store of thoughts and feelings and with all that they forge, and He knows what you utter loudly and all that is being said.
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And at Judgement they shall be put to shame and be asked about the whereabouts of those whom they once presumed divine and contended in their favour with opposing arguments against Allah's Omnipotence and Authority There and then shall the learned say: "This is the Day when disgrace and torment are laid upon those who presumed upon Providence".
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It is these who persist in doing wrong and continue firmly in the state of disbelief in Allah until the encounter with the angels of death who disembody their souls. There and then they express their willingness to submit to Allah and learn at last acceptance of their lot and claim they never did wrong. But the angels say to them: "But you did, and Allah is indeed 'Alimun of all you did".
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So would those who entertained the profound reverence dutiful to Allah be asked if they knew what Allah, their Creator, has revealed! "All that is truthful and virtuous", they say, "and all that was imparted to us of knowledge, wisdom and spiritual light". These and such persons whose deeds were imprinted with wisdom and piety in life below shall reap the fruits of their piety. Allah bestows on them His prevenient and efficacious grace here and His efficacious grace is far better for them Hereafter, and how excellent and supreme is the heavenly abode of the God-fearing!
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It is the Gardens of Eden wherein they enter into the joy of Allah, their Creator, and experience the pleasure afforded by the rivers running directly beneath. Therein they will have whatever object of desire from which pleasure or satisfaction is expected and any wish they express in words or in thought will be instantly fulfilled, for thus does Allah reward those who entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him.
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It is these whose hearts reflect the image of religious and spiritual virtues at the moment they encounter the angels of death who disembody their souls. They -the angels- greet them with the expressions of good will: "Peace be upon you. Make entry into Paradise which is the reward commensurate with your deeds."
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Do they -the infidels- purpose to wait until some fitting event presents itself and they distinctly perceive the angels or experience the execution of Allah's decree of retributive punishment! Thus much did their predecessors behave and it was not Allah Who did them injustice but it was they who wronged themselves.
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And to excuse their infidelity which it is not possible to justify, the idolaters insolently say: "Had Allah willed, neither we nor our fathers would have worshipped besides Him other gods, nor would we have enforced taboos other than those decreed by Him" Thus much acted their predecessors. But is the Messenger really responsible for any act or a duty other than relating the divine message and the elucidation of its text!
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And to every nation did We send a Messenger to say to them: " Worship Allah alone and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites and avoid at any cost worshipping anything else irrespective of his or its attribute, be it a human or an idol. " And so, among them -the people- there were those whom Allah had guided to His path of righteousness and others who thrived on disobedience and verified Allah's justifiable ordination to their loss in the maze of error.
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And they -the Pagans- make a solemn declaration with an appeal to Allah -if there be any- or to one of their false gods, -and they are many- that Allah shall never resurrect anyone once he is dead. But indeed He shall. This is a divine promise and the promise of Allah is truth personified but most people do not realize this fact.
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It is an act of mercy to both the guilty and the innocent- that Allah resurrects the dead and restores them to life to illucidate to them the strained points upon which the whole unreasoning turned and the points which were once in the heat of. dispute so that the infidels who denied Him and/or His statutes realize how unjust they were to themselves and to others to justify their falsehood and assert it as true.
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And those who fled their homes and homeland by reason of persecution and emigrated to where they could best serve Allah's cause shall be the recipients of His mercy and blessings. We will confer on them Our prevenient and efficacious grace here; the efficacious grace promised Hereafter is indeed far greater if only they knew.
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We inspired to them clear and plain revelations and signs as well as AL- Zabur (the Psalm) which guide out of darkness and superstitions elf later times and out of want of spiritual and intellectual light into illumination and enlightenment. And We inspired to you O Muhammad the Quran to explain to the people all that has been revealed to them of decrees, ordinances and the fundamental principles of Allah's system of faith and worship so that they may hopefully ponder.
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And now, do the infidels take their cunning for a sinister and crooked wisdom fraught with mischief and feel secure against Allah's wrath which may speak thunder. It may cause the earth to sink under their feet and assert them as her own, or that they unexpectedly be seized with a calamity from whence they never expected or perceived!
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Or that He shall not punish them by inspiring to them constant sense of danger and cause their gradual fall from power, in His own manner, until it is vanished, -re- conquest of Macca, and many other recent events-, to give them a chance, that at some point they may wake up to their senses. Allah is indeed Ghafurun and Rahimun.
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Did they -the infidels- not see into Allah's cosmic sign of the shadow, and how everything that He has created casts its shadow -or image- upon a surface by intercepting the direct rays of the great luminary and other luminaries, and how do objects turn their shadows right and left according to the relative position of the source of light, and how such shadows are governed by cosmic laws in comely prostration to Allah incensed by humiliation!
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They dedicate to their idols, designating them ignorantly as gods, a part of what We apportioned to them of Our bounty -cattle, crops,-, when neither themselves nor their belongings or possessions are really their own, but Allah's own. By Allah, you -infidels- shall have much to answer for and be heavily punished for your intentional assertion of what is false.
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He hides from people or keeps out of sight to conceal the news, which allegedly defames him and blackens his repute. He does not know whether to keep his child alive and be both defamed and despised or bury her in the dust and consign her and the news to oblivion. Evil indeed is the resolution uniting their evil thoughts.
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If these infidels who deny the Hereafter were to be likened in a parable to anything material or immaterial to represent their attributes, their image shall always stand similitude exact of evil, whereas if we were to represent Allah in a parable we find Him above all comparison and like unto Him there is none. And if His attributes were represented in a parable they shall be summed up in the word "Perfection" personified. and He is AL-Aziz (the Almighty) and AL-Hakim (the Wise).
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And if Allah were to punish the people for their wrong or evil doings the minute they commit themselves to such a line of conduct, He would not allow one single living creature domiciled on earth to remain thereon, but He respites them to a predetermined point of time (that they may hopefully repent). And when their time is fulfilled never shall they be able to delay it or anticipate it for one hour or infinitely less.
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And they ascribe to Allah the female gender which they themselves detest and they give a speaking tongue to falsehood at the grossness of which; common sense revolts. They presume upon Allah that all that is good and pleasing shall fall to their lot. It is no wonder that Hell shall be the sea of misery into which their sail be rushed.
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Rest assured O Muhammad by Allah, your Creator, We sent Messengers before you to nations who preceded in order of time. 'They presented them with the spirit of truth guiding into all truth. But AL-Shaytan (Satan) allured them to brighter worlds as a logical result or sequence to their doings and he led the way then and he leads it now amid the encircling gloom wherein he leads them by the nose, but they shall suffer painfully for it.
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And We send down the Book -the Quran- to you O Muhammad only to serve Allah's purpose and be of service in effecting Allah's object of illucidating to the various sects and to the people at large the strained points upon which the whole unreasoning turns and the points in the heat of dispute. 1t is the spirit of truth that guides into all truth as well as a mercy to those whose hearts are imprinted with the image of religious and spiritual virtues.
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And you certainly have a sermon in cattle, serving as an incitement and exhortation to you people. We supply you with a drink from their bellies, a drink produced -under specific circumstances- in the breasts by conjoint action between chyle -the product of chyme or digested food in the intestines- and blood -which carries to the breasts all necessary aliment and elements- and there flows wholesome Milk, pure white and palatable to those who drink it.
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And to collect their food from the nectar produced by the blossoms of the various kinds of fruits and to tread the paths to which Allah, their Creator, has guided them -by way of a natural and innate antenna-. There issues from their bellies a nutritious juicy drink of varying hues affording remedy to people. Indeed, this is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace appreciated by people who ponder.
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And Allah is He Who brought you people into being and caused you to exist. Then He disembodies your souls and deprives you of animate existence, and among you is he who is carried through the stealing steps of age to advanced life that he loses the wits once about him and he loses remembrance of the knowledge he formerly mastered and he becomes the abject heir of an illustrious name.
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And it is Allah Who privileged some of you with more livelihood than others and made His grace abound more in some than in others. And those who are privileged will not go shares with what has fallen to their lot with those whom they have on hand -captives, slaves,- so that they be as the master, so the man. How then do they make Allah go shares with His servants! Is this not simply a denial of His grace which abounds in them!
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And it is Allah Who provided you with wives and mated you to your kind and from them did He bless you with sons and grandsons, and provisioned you with the wholesome sustenance of victuals, eatables and drinkables. Is it then that they -the infidels- assert or vindicate falsehood and will not esteem Allah's efficacious grace abounding in them!
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Allah cites an instance of two men in illustration of a general truth. One is a slave, the property of his master, who is divested of freedom and personal rights, the other is the master in whom Our grace abounds; he is free to spend in divine service and/or in other services secretly and publicly. Can they produce or achieve something equal or possess a like degree in any aspect of life! Never. Therefore, how can Allah the Creator of all be equaled with any being! Praise be to Him and extolled are His glorious attributes, but most of them do not realize this fact.
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Again Allah cites an instance of two other men in illustration of a general truth: one of them is mute, unable to accomplish anything, totally dependent on his master for his livelihood. Wherever he sends him to perform a work he utterly fails to accomplish the desired end. Does he compare width his master who is whole just and keeps on the path of righteousness!
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And it is Allah alone Who is Omniscient of all the hidden, the unknown and the mysteries in the heavens and the earth which are beyond human knowledge or comprehension. The bringing about of the Eventful Event of the predetermined Hour takes no more time than that taken in the twinkle of an eye or even less; Allah is Qadirun indeed over all things
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And it is Allah Who brought you of your mothers' wombs to the external world unconscious of your surroundings, devoid of intellectual acquaintance or with perception of your environment and empty of all knowledge, and He provided you with the faculties of hearing and vision faculties divine, and He implanted in you the seat of feeling, understanding and thought –intellect- that you may hopefully be thankful.
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Do they -the infidels- not apply their sight and direct their intellectual eye to the birds moving through mid air at the floor of the vault of heaven! No one keeps them equipoise but Him Who designed their construction and made it fit to the object in view. Is this not indeed emblematic of Almightiness and Omnipotence to which bow those whose hearts have been touched with the divine hand!
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And it is Allah Who made of your homes a place inspiring calm and peace of mind, and of the skins of animals or hides He provided you with portable dwellings -tents- easy to carry in your travels from place to place and to pitch them where you choose to rest. And from their wool, their fur and their hair did He furnish you with movable articles, goods and chattels to enjoy up to a predetermined point of time.
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And it is Allah Who made the trees and other objects He created cast shadows* when they intercept light to protect you from the scorching heat of the sun and He hollowed out for you caves in the hills and the mountains to shelter you and He equipped you with garments to protect you from the heat and other garments -armours- to shield you from the weapons when you contend in warfare. Thus does Allah mean to make all grace abound in you that you may hopefully conform to Islam.
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The day shall come when We summon a witness from every nation -the Messenger sent to them- to testify of his peoples' response. There and then never shall those who denied Allah be permitted to plea in justification of their deeds of inequity. And if they invoke His forgiveness, never will heaven respond favourably to their invocation.
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The day shall come when We summon a witness from every nation, the Messenger who evolved from their midst and conveyed Our message, to testify of his peoples' response and We summon you O Muhammad to testify of your peoples' response. The Book -the Quran- which We sent down to you is the fountain-head of divine knowledge and the chief source of divine information. It illucidates every aspect of every thought and it is a guide into all truth and a mercy extended to the people and a joyful tidings to those who conformed to Islam.
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Allah enjoins justice and deeds of wisdom and piety, and benevolence to those of your kindred who are in need. And He forbids all that is wrongful and obscene, all that is offensive and excites disgust and unwarranted severe course of action. He exhorts you and urges you to what is good and laudable, that you may hopefully heed.
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Do not be like the unstable workwoman who unravels and breaks the strands of her woven fabric after she has manufactured it in a loom by crossing the warp and the weft and interlaced them very strongly. What a tangled web you weave when first you practice to deceive. You use your oaths among yourselves with the guilt of deception residing in the intention; you break and dishonour your vows with the weak when you find them more advantageous with the strong. This is unexcusable nor is it in conformity with Islamic principles. Allah tests your prudence and in Day of Judgment shall He clear up matters with which you were at variance
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And do not carelessly use your oaths among yourselves to practise deception lest one's foot should slide and lose its hold after it has been holding in a stable position and you suffer the evil consequence for precluding Allah's spirit of truth from guiding into all truth and you suffer the torment laid upon the damned.
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What you people may have of advantages shall come to an end or cease to exist whereas what Allah has is eternal and everlasting, and We will richly reward those who possessed their souls in patience which was purposed to fulfill their obligation to Allah and satisfy their conscience and their hearts. Their reward shall be assessed at the gauge of the best of their deeds.
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If We happen to exchange a revelation which has already served its purpose for another revelation appropriate for the new circumstance, and Allah knows exactly what to reveal and when, they -the infidels- accuse your O Muhammad of forgery. Indeed, most of them do not know the facts nor do they reflect.
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He who renounces his faith in Allah after he has conformed his will earlier to His will shall suffer for it unless he has been forced to do so by persecution and assault but deep down he preserves a heart happily maintaining the image of religious and spiritual virtues. But he who cunningly and deceptively incites someone to reject the idea of Faith and allures him or her to brighter worlds shall have come within the measure of Allah's wrath and these are they who shall pass through nature to eternal suffering.
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Nevertheless, Allah, your Creator, accepts true repentance and the atonement made by the people. Therefore, those who emigrated to where they could best serve Allah, after they had suffered persecution and were forced to turn renegade, and strove in Allah's cause. and endured the hardships with patience and perseverance shall find Allah indeed Ghafurun and Rahimun
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Allah represents the fate of those who rebelled against His law by means of a parable of the town in which His grace abounded in security and peace of mind and in rich supplies of provisions from every direction. But instead of content living ever in thankful hearts, its heart beat rebellious to its own resolves and was rendered ungrateful to Allah and disobedient to His laws. By consequence He incensed it by humiliation and vested it with hunger and fear devolving upon it in requital of what its peoples' souls had impelled them to do.
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He only forbids you to eat the flesh of a dead beast and blood, the flesh of swine and the flesh of a beast slaughtered under the invocation of a- name other than that of Allah. But under compelling circumstances and not through willful disobedience and transgression shall Allah admit of relaxation that no sin is incurred; Allah is indeed Ghafurun and Rahimun
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Do not give a speaking tongue to falsehood at the grossness of which common sense revolts. You create taboos for yourselves out of superstition and designate this as lawful and that as forbidden, wherefore you assert what is false and ascribe it to Allah. Those who relate falsehood to Allah or wittingly endeavour by falsification of words to make things seem divine which are not, shall never be graced with prosperity from heaven, nor with success.
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The Sabbath was imposed on those who were hard hearted and always disputed with their prophet and argued against its validity and its timing -the Jews- Saturday and the Christians -Sunday- and many among them defiantly and shamefully broke it. And they shall always contend with opposing arguments until Allah settles their dispute in Day of Judgement.
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Invite people O Muhammad graciously to the path of Allah, the path of righteousness, with wise, graceful and appropriate inducements meeting them on their own ground and propitiating them, each in his own capacity, to open their hearts' ears and their minds' eyes. Reason with them in a logical, peaceable and gracious manner; Allah, your Creator, knows best those who have wandered from His path of righteousness and He knows best those who steer a straight course and Providence their guide.
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And if you should inflict punishment, exact a retribution or make reprisals for injury, harm or wrong, then you may avenge your right with a similar injury and to the same extent. But if you bear the wrong and bear with the wrongful -as an obligation to Allah and not a reflection of human weakness- you shall possess your souls, derive great benefits and advantage yourselves of Allah's expectative grace.
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And have patience O Muhammad, show forbearance under their provocation and bear with them their faults and limitations. For in patience, you apply yourself unto Allah Who consoles your soul and your heart unto wisdom which alleviates your mental distress. And do not be grieved at heart for their denial of the divine message and for their hearts which dare rise defiant against Allah. Nor should you be sorely distressed on account of their cunning which they take for a sinister and crooked wisdom.