24:1  surah that We have sent down, and ordained, and in which We have sent down clear signs, that haply you may remember

24:2  As for the adulterer and the adulteress, flog them each one hundred lashes, and let not pity for them overcome you concerning God’s Judgment, if you believe in God and the Last Day. And let their punishment be witnessed by a group of the believers

24:3  The adulterer shall marry none but an adulteress or idolatress, and the adulteress shall marry none but an adulterer or idolater. And that is forbidden to the believers

24:4  And as for those who accuse chaste women, but then do not bring four witnesses, flog them eighty lashes, and never accept any testimony from them. And it is they who are the iniquitous

24:5  save those who repent thereafter and make amends, for truly God is Forgiving, Merciful

24:6  And as for those who accuse their wives and have no witnesses but themselves, then the testimony of one of them shall be four testimonies, swearing by God that he is among the truthful

24:7  and the fifth shall be that the curse of God be upon him if he is among the liars

24:8  And the punishment shall be averted from her should she give four testimonies, swearing by God that he is among the liars

24:9  and the fifth that God’s Wrath shall come upon her if he is among the truthful

24:10  And were it not for God’s Bounty upon you, and His Mercy, and that God is Relenting, Wise

24:11  Truly those who brought forth the lie were a group among you. Do not suppose it to be an evil for you. Rather, it is a good for you. Unto each man among them is the sin he committed. And he among them who undertook the greater part of it, his shall be a great punishment

24:12  Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and women think well of their own, and say, “This is a manifest lie”

24:13  Why did they not bring forth four witnesses thereto? For when they brought not the witnesses, it is they who were then liars in the Eyes of God

24:14  And were it not for God’s Bounty upon you, and His Mercy, in this world and the Hereafter, a great punishment would have befallen you for having engaged [in vain talk] concerning it

24:15  when you accepted it with your tongues, and spoke with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, supposing it to be slight, though it is great in the Eyes of God

24:16  And why, when you heard it, did you not say, “It is not for us to speak of this! Glory be to Thee! This is a tremendous calumny!

24:17  God exhorts you, lest you ever return to the like of it, if you are believers

24:18  And God makes clear unto you the signs, and God is Knowing, Wise

24:19  Truly those who desire that indecency be spread among those who believe, theirs shall be a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. God knows, and you know not

24:20  And were it not for God’s Bounty toward you, and His Mercy, and that God is Kind, Merciful

24:21  O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Satan! And whosoever follows the footsteps of Satan, truly he enjoins indecency and wrong. And were it not for God’s Bounty toward you, and His Mercy, not one of you would ever be pure. But God purifies whomsoever He will, and God is Hearing, Knowing

24:22  And let not the men of bounty and means among you forswear giving to kinsfolk and the indigent and those who emigrated in the way of God. And let them pardon and forbear. Do you not desire that God forgive you? And God is Forgiving, Merciful

24:23  Truly those who accuse chaste and heedless believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and theirs shall be a great punishmen

24:24  on the day their tongues, their hands, and their feet bear witness against them as to that which they used to do

24:25  On that Day God will pay them their just due in full, and they will know that God is the Manifest Truth

24:26  Vile women are for vile men, and vile men are for vile women, and good women are for good men, and good men are for good women. They are innocent of what they say. Theirs is forgiveness and a generous provision

24:27  O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you inquire and greet the dwellers thereof. That is better for you, that haply you may remember

24:28  But if you find not anyone therein, then enter them not until permission is granted you. And if it is said to you, “Turn back,” then turn back. That is purer for you, and God knows what you do

24:29  There is no blame upon you for entering uninhabited houses wherein there is some good for you. And God knows what you disclose and what you conceal

24:30  Tell the believing men to lower their eyes and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Surely God is Aware of whatsoever they do

24:31  And tell the believing women to lower their eyes and to guard their private parts, and to not display their adornment except that which is visible thereof. And let them draw their kerchiefs over their breasts, and not display their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands’ fathers, or their sons, or their husbands’ sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or male attendants free of desire, or children who are innocent of the private areas of women. Nor let them stamp their feet such that the ornaments they conceal become known. And repent unto God all together, O believers, that haply you may prosper

24:32  And marry those who are single among you, and the righteous among your male slaves and your female slaves. If they are poor, God will enrich them from His Bounty. And God is All-Encompassing, Knowing

24:33  And let those who are unable to marry be chaste till God enriches them from His Bounty. And as for those among the ones whom your right hands possess who seek a contract [of emancipation] with you, contract with them if you know of any good in them, and give unto them from the Wealth of God, which He has given you. And compel not your female slaves into prostitution if they desire to be chaste, for the sake of seeking after the ephemeralities of the life of this world. And whosoever compels them, then truly God, after their having been compelled, will be Forgiving, Merciful

24:34  We have indeed sent down unto you clarifying signs and a description of those who have passed before you, and an exhortation for the reverent

24:35  God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as a shining star kindled from a blessed olive tree, neither of the East nor of the West. Its oil would well-nigh shine forth, even if no fire had touched it. Light upon light. God guides unto His Light whomsoever He will, and God sets forth parables for mankind, and God is Knower of all things

24:36  [It is] in houses that God has permitted to be raised and wherein His Name is remembered. He is therein glorified, morning and evening

24:37  by men whom neither trade nor buying and selling distract from the remembrance of God, the performance of prayer, and the giving of alms, fearing a day when eyes and hearts will be turned about

24:38  that God may reward them for the best of that which they have done, and increase them from His Bounty. And God provides for whomsoever He will without reckoning

24:39  As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage upon a desert plain which a thirsty man supposes is water, till when he comes upon it, he does not find it to be anything, but finds God there. He will then pay him his reckoning in full, and God is swift in reckoning

24:40  Or like the darkness of a fathomless sea, covered by waves with waves above them and clouds above them—darknesses, one above the other. When one puts out one’s hand, one can hardly see it. He for whom God has not appointed any light has no light

24:41  Hast thou not considered that God is glorified by whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth, and by the birds spreading their wings? Each indeed knows its prayer and its glorification, and God knows that which they do

24:42  And unto God belongs sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and unto God is the journey’s end

24:43  Has thou not considered that God drives the clouds, then joins them together, then makes them as a heap, and then thou seest the rain come forth from amid them? And He sends down from the sky—from the mountains [of clouds] therein—hail, wherewith He smites whomsoever He will, and which He turns away from whomsoever He will. The flash of His lightning well-nigh takes away sight

24:44  God alternates the night and the day. Truly in that is a lesson for those possessed of sight

24:45  And God created every beast from water: among them are those that go upon their bellies, and among them are those that go upon two legs, and among them are those that go upon four. God creates whatsoever He will. Truly God is Powerful over all things

24:46  We have indeed sent down clarifying signs, and God guides whomsoever He will unto a straight path

24:47  And they say, “We believe in God and in the Messenger, and We obey.” Then a group of them turn away thereafter, and believers they are not

24:48  And when they are called to God and His Messenger, that He may judge between them, behold, a group of them turn away

24:49  But if the right is theirs, they come unto Him submissively

24:50  Is there a disease in their hearts? Or do they doubt, or fear that God and His Messenger will deal unjustly with them? Nay, but it is they who are the wrongdoers

24:51  The only words of the believers when they are called unto God and His Messenger, that he may judge between them, will be to say, “We hear and we obey.” And it is they who shall prosper

24:52  Whosoever obeys God and His Messenger, and who fears God and reverences Him, it is they who shall triumph

24:53  And they swear by God with their most solemn oaths that, wert thou to command them, they would surely go forth. Say, “Swear not! [But give] honorable obedience! Surely God is Aware of whatsoever you do.

24:54  Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger.” But if they turn away, he is only accountable for that wherewith he has been burdened, and you are accountable for that wherewith you have been burdened. But if you obey him, you will be rightly guided, and naught is incumbent upon the Messenger save the clear proclamation

24:55  God has promised those among you who believe and perform righteous deeds that He will surely make them vicegerents upon the earth, as He caused those before them to be vicegerents, and that He will establish for them their religion, which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change them from a state of fear to [one of] security. They will worship Me, not ascribing any partners unto Me. And whosoever disbelieves thereafter, it is they who are iniquitous

24:56  And perform the prayer, and give the alms, and obey the Messenger, that haply you may receive mercy

24:57  Do not suppose that the disbelievers thwart [aught] on the earth. The Fire will be their refuge—what an evil journey’s end

24:58  O you who believe! Let those whom your right hands possess and those who have not come of age ask your leave three times: before the dawn prayer, when you doff your garments at noon, and after the night prayer—three times of privacy for you. Beyond these, there is no blame upon you or upon them should you go about [visiting] one another. Thus does God make clear unto you the signs, and God is Knowing, Wise

24:59  And when the children among you come of age, let them ask leave as those before them asked leave. Thus does God make clear unto you His signs, and God is Knowing, Wise

24:60  As for elderly women who no longer anticipate marriage, there is no blame upon them to doff their garments without displaying any ornament. And it is better for them to be modest, and God is Hearing, Knowing

24:61  There is no fault against the blind, nor fault against the lame, nor fault against the sick, nor upon yourselves in that you eat from your houses, or your fathers’ houses, or your mothers’ houses, or your brothers’ houses, or your sisters’ houses, or your paternal uncles’ houses, or your paternal aunts’ houses, or your maternal uncles’ houses, or your maternal aunts’ houses, or those whose keys you possess, or [those of] your friends. There is no blame upon you whether you eat together or separately. So when you enter houses, greet each other with a salutation from God, blessed and good. Thus does God make clear unto you the signs, that haply you may understand

24:62  Only they are believers who believe in God and His Messenger and who, when they are with him in a collective affair, go not forth until asking his leave. Truly those who ask thy leave, it is they who believe in God and His Messenger. So when they ask thy leave in some matter of theirs, give leave unto whomsoever thou wilt, and seek forgiveness for them from God. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful

24:63  Do not deem the Messenger’s calling among you to be like your calling to one another. Indeed, God knows those among you who steal away under shelter. So let those who contradict his command be wary, lest a trial befall them or a painful punishment befall them

24:64  Behold! Unto God belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and on the earth. God certainly knows [the state] you are in. On the day they will be returned unto Him, He will inform them of that which they did. And God is Knower of all things