24:1  This is a Surah which WE have revealed and the ordinances of which WE have made obligatory; and WE have revealed therein clear commandments that you may take heed

24:2  The adulteress and the adulterer - flog each one of them with a hundred stripes. And let not pity for the twain take hold of you in executing the judgment of ALLAH, if you believe in ALLAH and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment

24:3  The adulterer cannot have sexual intercourse but with an adulteress or an idolatrous woman, and an adulteress - none can have sexual intercourse with her but an adulterer or an idolatrous man. That indeed is forbidden to the believers

24:4  And those who culminate chaste woman but bring not four witnesses - flog them with eighty stripes, and do not admit their evidence ever after, for it is they that are the transgression

24:5  Except those who repent thereafter and make amends, for truly ALLAH is Most forgiving, Merciful

24:6  And as for those who charge their wives with adultery and have no witnesses except themselves - the evidence of anyone of such people shall suffice if he bears witness four times in the name of ALLAH solemnly affirming that he is of those who speak the truth

24:7  And the fifth time that ALLAH's curse be upon him if he be of the liars

24:8  But it shall avert the punishment from her if she bears witness four times in the name of ALLAH that he is of the liars

24:9  And the fifth time that the wrath of ALLAH be upon her if he has spoken the truth

24:10  And were it not for ALLAH's grace and HIS mercy upon you, and that ALLAH is compassionate and Wise, you would have come to grief

24:11  Verily, those who invented the great lie are a party from among you. Think not that this incident is an evil for you, nay, it is good for you. Every one of them shall have his share of what he has earned of the sin; and he among them who took the principal part therein shall have a grievous punishment

24:12  When you heard of it, why did not the believing men and believing women think well of their own people and say, `This is a manifest lie?

24:13  Why did not those, who gave currency to this charge, bring four witnesses to prove it? Since they have not brought the required witnesses, they are indeed liars in the sight of ALLAH

24:14  Were it not for the grace of ALLAH and HIS mercy upon you, in this world and the Hereafter, a great punishment would have befallen you on account of the slander you plunged in

24:15  For, you began to learn it from each other's tongue and then you uttered with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge, and you thought it to be a light matter, while in the sight of ALLAH it was a grievous thing

24:16  And wherefore did you not say, when you heard of it, `It is not proper for us to talk about it. Holy art Thou, O God, this is a grievous calumny.

24:17  ALLAH admonishes you that you never repeat the like thereof, if you are believers

24:18  And ALLAH explains to you the commandments; and ALLAH is All-Knowing, Wise

24:19  Those, who love that indecency should spread among the believers, will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And ALLAH knows and you know not

24:20  And but for the grace of ALLAH and HIS mercy upon you and that ALLAH is Compassionate and Merciful, you would have been ruined

24:21  O ye who believe ! Follow not the footsteps of Satan, and whoso follows the footsteps of satan should know that he, surely, enjoins indecency and manifest evil. And but for the grace of ALLAH and HIS mercy upon you, not one of you would ever be pure; but ALLAH purifies whom HE pleases. And ALLAH is All-Hearing, All-Knowing

24:22  And let not persons of wealth and means among you swear that they will not give aught to the kindred and to the needy and to those who have left their homes in the cause of ALLAH. Let them forgive and forbear. Do you not desire that ALLAH should forgive you? And ALLAH is Most Forgiving, Merciful

24:23  Verily, those, who calumniate chaste, unwary, believing women, are cursed in this world and the hereafter. And for them is a grievous chastisement

24:24  On the day when their tongues and their hands and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do

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

24:26  Evil things are a characteristic of bad men, and bad men are inclined towards bad things. And good things are a characteristic of good men, and good men are inclined towards good things, these are innocent of all that the calumniators allege. For them is forgiveness and an honourable provision

24:27  O ye who believe ! Enter not houses other than your own until you have asked leave and saluted the inmates thereof. That is better for you that you may be heedful

24:28  And if you find no one therein, do not enter them until you are given permission. And if it be said to you, `Go Back,' then go back; that is purer for you. And ALLAH knows well what you do

24:29  It is not wrong on your part to enter uninhabited houses wherein are your goods. And ALLAH knows what you do openly and what you hide

24:30  Say to the believing men that they restrain their looks and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Surely, ALLAH is Well-Aware of what they do

24:31  And say to the believing women that they restrain their looks and guard their private parts, and that they display not their beauty or their embellishment except that which is apparent thereof, and that they draw their head-coverings over their bosoms, and that they display not their beauty or their embellishment save to their husbands, or to their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers or the sons of their brothers, or the sons of their sisters, or women who are their companions, or those that their right hands possess, or such of male attendants as have no desire for women, or young children who have not yet attained knowledge of the hidden parts of women. And that they strike not their feet so that what they hide of their ornaments may become known. And turn ye to ALLAH all together, O believers, that you may prosper

24:32  And arrange marriages for widows from among you, and for your male slaves and female slaves who are fit for marriage. If they be poor, ALLAH will grant them means out of HIS bounty; and ALLAH is Bountiful, All-Knowing

24:33  And let those who find no means of marriage keep themselves chaste, until ALLAH grants them means out of HIS bounty. And such as desire a deed of manumission in writing from among those whom your right hands possess, write it for them if you know any good in them; and give them out of the wealth of ALLAH which HE has bestowed upon you. And force not your maids into unchaste life by keeping them unmarried if they desire to keep chaste, in order that you may seek the gain of the present life. But if anyone forces them, then after their compulsion ALLAH will be Forgiving and Merciful to them

24:34  And WE have sent down to you manifest Signs, and have related to you the example of those who have passed away before you, and an admonition to the God-fearing

24:35  ALLAH is the light of the heavens and the earth. HIS light is as if there were a lustrous niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is inside a glass-globe. The globe is, as it were, a glittering star. The lamp is lit from the oil of a blessed tree -an olive - neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil well-nigh would shine forth even though fire touched it not. Light upon light ! ALLAH guides to HIS light whomsoever HE pleases. And ALLAH sets forth parables for men, and ALLAH knows all things full well

24:36  This light illumines houses with regard to which ALLAH has ordained that they be exalted and that HIS name be remembered in them. Therein do glorify HIM in the mornings and the evenings

24:37  Men, whom neither merchandise nor traffic diverts from the remembrance of ALLAH and the observance of Prayer, and the giving of Zakat. They fear a day in which hearts and eyes will be in a state of agitation and anguish

24:38  So ALLAH will give them the best reward of their deeds, and give them increase out of HIS bounty. And ALLAH does provide for whomsoever HE pleases without measure

24:39  And as to those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one imagines it to be water until, when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing. And he finds ALLAH near him, WHO then pays him his account in full; And ALLAH is swift in reckoning

24:40  Or, their deeds are like thick layers of darkness spread over a vast and deep sea, on whose surface rise waves above waves, above which are clouds - layers upon layers of darkness. When he holds out his hands, he can hardly see it; and he whom ALLAH gives no light - for him there is no light at all

24:41  Seest thou not that it is ALLAH Whose praises, all who are in the heavens and the earth celebrate, and so do the birds with their wings outspread? Each one knows his own mode of prayer and praise. And ALLAH knows well what they do

24:42  And to ALLAH belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to ALLAH shall be the return

24:43  Seest thou not that ALLAH drives the clouds slowly, then joins them together, then piles them up so that thou seest rain issue forth from the midst thereof? And HE sends down from the sky clouds like mountains wherein is hail, and HE smites therewith whom HE pleases, and turns it away from whom HE pleases. The flash of its lightning may well-nigh take away the sight

24:44  ALLAH alternates the night and the day. Therein, surely, is a lesson for those who have eyes

24:45  And ALLAH has created every animal from water. Of them are some that go upon their bellies, and of them are some that go upon two feet, and among them are some that go upon four. ALLAH creates what HE pleases. Surely, ALLAH has the power to do all that HE pleases

24:46  WE have indeed sent down manifest Signs. And ALLAH guides whom HE pleases to the right path

24:47  And they say, `We believe in ALLAH and in the Messenger, and we obey;' then after that some of them turn away. Such are not believers at all

24:48  And when they are called to ALLAH and HIS Messenger that he may judge between them, lo ! a party of them turn away

24:49  And if they consider the right to be on their side, they come to him running in submission

24:50  Is it that there is a disease in their hearts? Or, do they doubt, or do they fear that ALLAH and HIS Messenger will be unjust to them? Nay, it is they themselves who are the wrongdoers

24:51  All that the believers say, when they are called to ALLAH and HIS Messenger in order that he may judge between them, is that they say, `We hear and we obey.' And it is they who will prosper

24:52  And whoso obeys ALLAH and HIS Messenger, and fears ALLAH, and takes HIM as a shield for protection, it is they who will be successful

24:53  And they swear by ALLAH their strongest oaths that, if thou command them, they will surely go forth. Say, `Swear not; what is required of you is obedience to what is right. Surely ALLAH is aware of what you do.

24:54  Say, `Obey ALLAH, and obey the Messenger.' But if you turn away, he is responsible for what he is charged with and you are responsible for what you are charged with. And if you obey him, you will be rightly guided. And the Messenger is only responsible for the plain delivery of the Message

24:55  ALLAH has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that HE will, surely, make them successors in the earth, as HE made Successors from among those who were before them; and that HE will, surely, establish for them their religion which HE has chosen for them; and that HE will, surely, give them in exchange security and peace after their fear; They will worship ME and they will not associate anything with ME. Then whoso disbelieves after that, they will be the rebellious

24:56  And observe Prayer and give the Zakat and obey the Messenger, that you may be shown Mercy

24:57  Think not that those who disbelieve can frustrate Our design in the earth; their abode is Hell; and it is indeed evil resort

24:58  O ye who believe ! let those whom your right hand possess, and those of you, who have not reached puberty, ask leave of you at three times before coming into your private apartments -before the Morning Prayer, and when you lay aside your clothes at noon (in summer) and after the night Prayer. These are the three times of privacy for you. At other times there is no blame on you nor on them, for some of you have to attend upon others and to move about freely according to need. Thus does ALLAH make plain to you the Signs; for ALLAH is All-Knowing, Wise

24:59  And when the children among you reach puberty, they too should ask leave, even as their elders before them asked leave. Thus does ALLAH make plain to you HIS commandments; And ALLAH is All-Knowing, Wise

24:60  Such elderly women as are past the age of marriage -there is no blame on them if they lay aside their outer clothing without displaying their beauty. But to abstain even from that is better for them. And ALLAH is All-Hearing, All-Knowing

24:61  There is no harm for the blind, and there is no harm for the lame, and there is no harm for the sick and none for yourselves, that you eat from your own houses, or the houses of your fathers, or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the houses of your sisters, or the houses of your father's brothers, or the houses of your father's sisters, or the houses of your mother's brothers, or the houses of your mother's sisters, or the houses of which the keys are in your possession, or from the house of a friend of yours. Nor is there any harm whether you eat together or separately. But when you enter houses, salute your people with the greeting of peace - a greeting from your Lord, full of blessing and purity. Thus does ALLAH expound to you the commandments, that you may understand

24:62  Those alone are true believers who believe in ALLAH and HIS Messenger and who, when they are with him for the consideration of some matter of common concern which has brought them together, go not away until they have asked leave of him. Surely, those who ask leave of thee, it is they alone who truly believe in ALLAH and HIS Messenger. So, when they ask leave of thee for some urgent affair of theirs, give leave to those of them whom thou pleasest and ask forgiveness for them of ALLAH. Surely, ALLAH is Most forgiving, Merciful

24:63  Treat not the calling of the Messenger among you like the calling of one of you to another. ALLAH indeed knows those of you who steal away covertly. So let those who go against HIS command beware lest a trial afflict them or a grievous punishment overtake them

24:64  Hearken ! To ALLAH belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. HE knows in what condition you are. And on the day when they will be returned unto HIM, HE will inform them of what they did. And ALLAH knows everything full well