| | A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018) rendition of Surah The Light(an-Nur)
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| 24:1 | | A Surah which We have sent down, and which We have ordained. In it We have sent down clear signs, in order that you may receive advice |
| 24:2 | | The woman and the man guilty of impermissible sex, flog each of them with a hundred lashes. Let not compassion move you in their case, a matter prescribed by God, if you believe in God and the Last Day, and let a group of the believers witness their punishment |
| 24:3 | | Let no man guilty of impermissible sex marry a woman, except one similarly guilty, or an unbeliever. Nor let any but this kind of man or an unbeliever, marry such a woman, to the believers this is forbidden |
| 24:4 | | And those who accuse chaste women, and do not produce four witnesses to support their accusations, flog them with eighty lashes, and reject their evidence ever after, for such people are wicked transgressors |
| 24:5 | | Unless they repent thereafter and correct their conduct, for God is Oft-Forgiving, Mercifully Redeeming |
| 24:6 | | And for those who accuse their spouses, and have in support, no evidence but their own, their solitary evidence can be taken if they bear witness four times with a promise by God that they are solemnly telling the truth |
| 24:7 | | And the fifth promise should be that they solemnly invoke the curse of God on themselves if they are lying |
| 24:8 | | But it would avert the punishment from the wife, if she bears witness four times with a promise by God, that her husband is telling a lie |
| 24:9 | | And the fifth promise should be that she solemnly invokes the punishment of God on herself if her accuser is telling the truth |
| 24:10 | | If it were not for God's grace and mercy on you, and if God were not Oft-Returning, Full of Wisdom, you would be ruined indeed |
| 24:11 | | Those who brought forward the lie are a group among you. Do not think it is bad for you, in the contrary, it is good for you. To every person among them will come the punishment of the harmful deeds that he earned, and to him who took on himself the lead among them, will be a terrible penalty |
| 24:12 | | Why did the believers, men and women, when you heard of the affair, not put the best light on it in their own minds and say, “This charge is an obvious lie” |
| 24:13 | | Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it? When they do not bring witnesses, such men in the sight of God, are guilty |
| 24:14 | | Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, in the present and the hereafter, a terrible penalty would have seized you, because you rushed hastily into this affair |
| 24:15 | | When you put it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths, things of which you had no knowledge, and you thought it to be a light matter, when it was most serious in the sight of God |
| 24:16 | | And why did you not say when you heard it?– “It is not right of us to speak of this. Glory be to God, this is a most serious slander. |
| 24:17 | | God advises you that you may never repeat such conduct, if you are true believers |
| 24:18 | | And God makes the signs plain to you, for God is full of knowledge and wisdom |
| 24:19 | | Those who love to see scandal spread among the believers will have a terrible penalty in this life and in the hereafter. God knows, and you know not |
| 24:20 | | Were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you and that God is full of kindness and mercy |
| 24:21 | | O you who believe, follow not Satan’s footsteps. If any follow the footsteps of Satan, he will command what is shameful and wrong, and were it not for the grace and mercy of God on you, not one of you would have ever been purified, but God purifies whom He pleases, and God is the One who hears and knows all things |
| 24:22 | | Let not those among you who are endued with grace and means, resolve by promise against helping their relatives, those in want, and those who have left their homes in God's cause. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that God would forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Mercifully Redeeming |
| 24:23 | | Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this life and in the hereafter, for them is a terrible penalty |
| 24:24 | | On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions |
| 24:25 | | On that day, God will pay them back all that is due, and they will realize that God is the Truth, He Who makes all things manifest |
| 24:26 | | Unethical women are for unethical men, and immoral men are for immoral women. And refined women are for refined men, and refined men are for refined women. These are not affected by what people say, for them there is forgiveness and an honorable reward |
| 24:27 | | O you who believe, enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them. That is best for you, and perhaps you will apply it |
| 24:28 | | If you find no one in the house, still do not enter until permission is given to you. If you are asked to come back later, then come back later. That makes for greater refinement for yourselves, and God knows well all that you do |
| 24:29 | | It is no blame on your part to enter abandoned houses which are useful for you, and God has knowledge of what you reveal and what you conceal |
| 24:30 | | Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That will make for greater refinement for them, and God is well acquainted with all that they do |
| 24:31 | | And say to the believing women, that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty, that they should not display their ornaments, except what seems appropriate to her, that they should draw their garments over their bosoms and not display their adornment, except to their husbands, their parents, their husband’s parents, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their maids, or those whom their right hands possess, or male servants who do not desire them, or small children who are not aware of women’s need for privacy, and that they should not let their feet draw attention to what they conceal of their zeenah. O you believers, turn all together towards God, that you may attain bliss |
| 24:32 | | Marry those among you who are single, the virtuous ones among you, male and female. If they are poor, God will give them means out of His bounty, for God encompasses all, and He knows all things |
| 24:33 | | Let those who do not find the means for marriage keep themselves chaste until God gives them means out of His grace, and if those whom your right hand possess ask for a deed in writing to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum, give them such a deed if you know any good in them. Yes, and give them something out of the means which God has given to you. And do not force your female captives into prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that you may make a profit in the goods of this life, but if anyone compels them, then indeed because they were compelled, God is Oft-Forgiving, Mercifully Redeeming |
| 24:34 | | We have already sent down to you verses making things clear, an illustration from the story of people who passed away before you, and advice for those who are conscious of God |
| 24:35 | | God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp. The lamp enclosed in glass. The glass as it were a brilliant star lit from a blessed olive tree, neither from the East nor from the West, whose oil is luminous, though fire does not touch it, light upon light, and God guides whom He wills to His light. God puts forward parables for humanity, and God knows all things |
| 24:36 | | Lit is such a light in houses which God has permitted to be raised to honor, for the celebration of His name in them. In them He is glorified in the mornings and in the evenings, again and again |
| 24:37 | | By the people for whom neither a deal nor a sale can divert from the remembrance of God, nor from prayer, nor from paying zakat. Their anxiety is about the day when hearts and eyes will be transformed in a world completely new |
| 24:38 | | That God may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His grace. For God provides for those whom He wills, without measure |
| 24:39 | | But the unbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts which the person parched with thirst mistakes for water, until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds God with him, and God will pay him his account, and God is swift in taking account |
| 24:40 | | Or the unbelievers’ state is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow covered by billow, covered by dark clouds. Depths of darkness, one above another. If a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it. For any to whom God does not give light, there is no light |
| 24:41 | | Do you not see that it is God Whose praises all beings in the heavens and on earth, and the birds of the air with wings outspread? Each one knows its own mode of prayer and praise, and God knows well all that they do |
| 24:42 | | Yes, to God belongs the control of the heavens and the earth, and to God is the final goal |
| 24:43 | | Do you not see that God makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then make them into a heap? Then you will see rain come out from their center, and He sends down from the sky, mountain masses of clouds which holds hail. He strikes with it whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases. And the vivid flash of His lightning nearly blinds the sight |
| 24:44 | | It is God Who alternates the night and the day, indeed in these things are an instructive similitude for those who have vision |
| 24:45 | | And God has created every animate creature from water. Of them there are some that crawl on their bellies, some that walk on two legs, and some that walk on four. God creates what He wills, for indeed God has power over all things |
| 24:46 | | We have indeed sent down signs that make things manifest, and God guides whom He wills to a way that is straight |
| 24:47 | | They say, “We believe in God and in the messenger, and we follow them.” But even after that, some of them turn away. They are not really believers |
| 24:48 | | When they are summoned to God and His messenger, in order that He may judge between them, behold, some of them refuse to come |
| 24:49 | | But if the truth is on their side, they come to him promptly |
| 24:50 | | Is it that there is a disease in their hearts, or do they doubt it, or do they fear that God and His messenger will deal unjustly with them? No, they behave wrongfully |
| 24:51 | | The answer of the believers, when summoned to God and His messenger, in order that He may judge between them, is no thing other than this, they say, “We hear, and we follow.” It is these who will attain felicity |
| 24:52 | | It is those who follow God and His messenger, and are conscious of God and do right, who will win in the end |
| 24:53 | | They swear their strongest promises by God, that if only you would command them, they would leave their homes. Say, “Do not make promises, action would be better, and indeed God is well acquainted with all that you do. |
| 24:54 | | Say, “Follow God, and follow the messenger, but if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him and you for that placed on you. If you follow him, you will be on right guidance. The messenger’s duty is only to preach the clear message |
| 24:55 | | God has promised to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will indeed grant them in the land inheritance of power, as He granted it to those before them, that He will establish in authority, their religion, the one which He has chosen for them, and that He will change their state, after the fear in which they lived, to one of security and peace. ‘They will worship Me and not associate anything with Me.’ If any do not believe after this, they are rebellious and wicked |
| 24:56 | | So establish prayer and give zakat, and follow the messenger, that you may receive mercy |
| 24:57 | | Never think that the unbelievers are going to stop God's plan on earth. Their abode is the fire, and it is indeed an evil refuge |
| 24:58 | | O you who believe, let those whom your right hands possess, and the children among you who have not come of age, ask your permission before they come to your presence on three occasions. Before morning prayer, when you put aside your clothes in the afternoon, and after the night prayer. These are your three times of privacy. Outside of those times, it is not wrong for you or for them, to move about among each other. Thus God makes clear the signs to you, for God is full of knowledge and wisdom |
| 24:59 | | But when the children among you come of age, let them also ask for permission, as do those senior to them in age. Thus God makes clear His signs to you, for God is full of knowledge and wisdom |
| 24:60 | | Post menopausal women, who do not desire marriage, there is no blame on them if they put away their garments, provided they do not flaunt their beauty, but it is best for them to be modest, and God is the One Who sees and knows all things |
| 24:61 | | It is no blame on the blind, nor on those born disabled, nor on one afflicted with illness, nor on yourselves, if you all eat from your own houses, or those of your fathers, or your mothers, or your brothers, or your sisters, or your father’s brothers or your father’s sisters, or your mother’s brothers, or your mother’s sisters, or in houses of which the keys are in your possession, or in the house of a sincere friend of yours. There is no blame on you, whether you eat together or separately, but if you enter houses, greet each other with a greeting blessed and good, as from God. Thus God makes clear the signs to you that you may understand |
| 24:62 | | Believers are those who believe in God and His messenger. When they are with him on a matter requiring collective action, they do not depart until they have asked to be excused, those who ask to be excused are those who believe in God and His messenger. So when they ask to be excused, to attend to a matter, excuse those whom you will, and ask God for their forgiveness, for God is Oft-Forgiving, Mercifully Redeeming |
| 24:63 | | Do not call the messenger to you, like you call others to you. God knows those of you who slip away under the shelter of some excuse. So let those beware who oppose the messenger’s orders, lest some trial befalls them, or a terrible penalty is inflicted on them |
| 24:64 | | Undoubtedly, to God belongs what is in the heavens and on earth. Indeed He knows what you intend on doing, and one day they will be brought back to Him, and He will tell them the truth of what they did, for God knows all things |
