4:1  O humankind! In due reverence for your Lord, keep from disobedience to Him Who created you from a single human self, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them scattered abroad a multitude of men and women. In due reverence for God, keep from disobedience to Him in Whose name you make demands of one another, and (duly observe) the rights of the wombs (i.e. of kinship, thus observing piety in your relations with God and with human beings). God is ever watchful over you

4:2  Restore their property to the orphans (in your custody, when they come of age), and do not exchange the corrupt for the good (the unlawful for the lawful), nor consume their property by mixing it up with your own. For doing that would be a great crime (whereby you risk the spiritual reward you hope for by caring for them)

4:3  If you fear that you will not be able to observe their rights with exact fairness when you marry the orphan girls (in your custody), you can marry, from among other women (who are permitted to you in marriage and) who seem good to you, two, or three, or four. However, if you fear that (in your marital obligations) you will not be able to observe justice among them, then content yourselves with only one, or the captives that your right hands possess. Doing so it is more likely that you will not act rebelliously

4:4  Give to the women (whom you marry) their bridal-due (mahr) willingly and for good (i.e. without expecting a return); however, if of their own accord they remit any part of it to you, then you are welcome to enjoy it gladly

4:5  Do not give to those of weak mind your property that God has put in your charge (as a means of support for you and for the needy), but feed and clothe them out of it (especially with the profit you will make by exploiting it), and speak to them kindly and words of honest advice

4:6  (Care for and) test the orphans well until they reach the age of marriage. Then, if you find them to be mature of mind, hand over to them their property; and do not consume it by wasteful spending, nor do so in haste fearing that they will come of age (and so take it over). If the guardian is rich (enough to support himself and his family), let him abstain (from his ward’s property); but if he is poor, let him consume thereof in a just and reasonable manner. When you hand (their property) over to them, let there be witnesses on their behalf. God suffices as One Who reckons and settles the accounts (of His servants)

4:7  For the male heirs is a share out of what parents and near kindred leave behind, and for the female heirs is a share of what parents and near kindred leave behind, whether it (the inheritance) be little or much – a share ordained by God

4:8  If some from among other relatives (who do not have a legally defined share), and orphans and the destitute, are present at the division (of the inheritance), give them something thereof (for their provision), and speak to them kindly and pleasing words

4:9  Let those fear (be anxious for the rights of the orphans) who, if they (themselves) were to leave behind weak offspring, would be fearful on their account – and let them keep from disobedience to God for fear of His punishment, and let them speak the truth and proper words (in respect of the division of the inheritance and their treatment of the orphans.

4:10  Surely those who consume the property of orphans wrongfully, certainly they consume a fire in their bellies; and soon they will be roasting in a Blaze (the like of which you have never seen and the degree of whose intensity none knows except God)

4:11  God commands you in (the matter of the division of the inheritance among) your children: for the male is the equivalent of the portion of two females. If there are more than two females (with no males), for them is two-thirds of the inheritance; if there is only one, then the half. As for the parents (of the deceased): for each of the two is one-sixth of the inheritance, in case of his having left a child; but if he has left no children and his parents are his only heirs, then for his mother is one-third. If he has (a surviving mother and, together with or without sisters,) two or more (surviving) brothers, then for his mother is one-sixth – (all these commands to be put into effect) after deduction for any bequest he may have made (provided such bequest is in conformity with the relevant teachings of Islam) and any debt (incurred by him) (– first the debt is paid, then the bequest is fulfilled, and then the inheritance is shared). Your parents and your children: you do not know which of them is nearer to you in (bringing you) benefit. This (law of inheritance) is an ordinance from God (that you must absolutely obey). Assuredly, God is All-Knowing (of your affairs and what benefits or harms you), and All-Wise

4:12  And for you is a half of what your wives leave behind, if they have no children; but if they have a child, then you shall have one-fourth of what they leave behind – after deduction for any bequest they may have made and any debt (incurred by them). And for them is one-fourth of what you leave behind, if you have no children; but if you have a child, then they shall have one-eighth of what you leave behind – after deduction for any bequest you may have made and any debt (incurred by you). And if a man or a woman has no heir in the direct line, but has a brother or a sister (on the mother’s side), for him or her is one-sixth; but if there are two or more, then they shall be sharers in one-third – after deduction for any bequest that may have been made or debt; neither (bequest or debt) intending harm (to the rights of the heirs in such ways as declaring fictitious debts or bequeathing more than one-third of one’s estate). A commandment from God. God is All-Knowing (of all your intentions, actions, and outcomes), All-Clement (not hasty to punish the errors of His servants)

4:13  These are the bounds set by God. Whoever obeys God and His Messenger (by remaining within these bounds), God will admit him into Gardens through which rivers flow, abiding therein. That is the supreme triumph

4:14  But whoever disobeys God and His Messenger and exceeds His bounds, God will admit him into a Fire, to abide therein, and for him is a shameful, humiliating punishment

4:15  Such of your women as have committed indecency (unlawful sex), there must be four male witnesses of you who (having seen them in the act) will testify against them (within one succeeding month in towns and six months in the rural areas). If they do bear witness, then confine those women to their houses until death takes them away or God opens some way for them

4:16  When two from among you have committed it, then punish them both by scolding and beating; but if they are remorseful and repent, and make amends, then withdraw from them. Assuredly, God is He Who accepts repentance and returns it with liberal forgiveness, All-Compassionate

4:17  God’s acceptance of repentance is only for those who commit evil due to an instance of defeat to the evil commanding soul, and then (pull themselves together and) repent shortly afterwards. It is they whose repentance God returns with forgiveness; and God is All-Knowing (of what everyone does and why), and All-Wise

4:18  But of no avail is the repentance of those who commit evil (for a lifetime) until, when one of them is visited by death, he says, "Indeed now I repent." Nor (likewise does the repentance avail) of those who (spend their lives in unbelief and offer to repent just at the time of death, but) die as unbelievers (since such repentance is not acceptable). For such We have prepared a painful punishment

4:19  O you who believe! It is not lawful for you to become inheritors, against their will, of women (of your deceased kinsmen, marrying them against their will, without paying their bridal-due, or forcing them to marry others in return for their bridal-due as though they were a part of heritable property); nor should you constrain your wives in order to take away anything of what you have given them (as bridal-due or bridal gift), unless they be guilty of indecency in an obvious manner (such as to justify divorce). Consort with them in a good manner, for if you are not pleased with them, it may well be that you dislike something but God has set in it much good

4:20  But if you still decide to dispense with a wife and marry another and you have given the former (even so much as amounts to) a treasure, do not take back anything thereof. Would you take it back by slandering (for the purpose of contriving the kind of divorce that allows you to take it back) and so committing a flagrant sin

4:21  Then, how could you take it back when you have gone in to each other, and they (the married women) have taken from you a most solemn pledge (of honoring their rights)

4:22  And do not marry the women whom your fathers married – except what has happened (of that sort) in the past (before your conversion: such occurrences are forgivable provided you rectify your conduct and terminate any such contract of marriage). This was indeed a shameful deed and hateful thing, and how evil a way

4:23  Forbidden to you (O believing men) are your mothers (including stepmothers and grandmothers) and daughters (including granddaughters), your sisters (including full sisters and half-sisters), your aunts paternal and maternal, your brothers’ daughters, your sisters’ daughters, your mothers who have given suck to you, your milk-sisters (all those as closely related to you through milk as through descent ), your wives’ mothers, your stepdaughters – who are your foster-children, born of your wives with whom you have consummated marriage; but if you have not consummated marriage with them, there will be no blame on you (should you marry their daughters) – and the spouses of your sons who are of your loins, and to take two sisters together in marriage (including a niece and her aunt maternal or paternal) – except what has happened (of that sort) in the past. Surely God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:24  And (also forbidden to you are) all married women save those (captives) whom your right hands possess (and whose ties with their husbands have practically been cut off). This is God’s decree, binding upon you. Lawful for you are all beyond those mentioned, that you may seek, offering them of your wealth, taking them in sound chastity (i.e. in marriage), and not in licentiousness. And whomever of them you seek to enjoy in marriage (under these conditions), give them their bridal-due as a duty. But there is no blame on you for what you do by mutual agreement after the duty (has been done). Assuredly, God is All-Knowing (of what you do and why), and All-Wise

4:25  If any of you cannot afford to marry free, believing women, (let them marry) believing maidens from among those whom your right hands possess. (Do not regard marriage to such believing maidens as a degradation. Rather, degradation is deviating into licentiousness without marrying.) God knows well all about your faith (and measures you by it); and (whether you be free or slaves) you are one from another (belonging, as believers, to the same faith and community). Marry them, then, with the leave of their guardians, and give them their bridal-due according to religiously lawful and customary good practice, they being women who give themselves in honest chastity, not in licentiousness, nor having secret love-companions. Then if they commit indecency after they have entered into wedlock, they shall be liable to half the penalty to which free (unmarried) women are liable. That (permission to marry slave-girls) is for those of you who fear to fall into sin (by remaining unmarried). But if you persevere (in self-restraint with no fear of falling into sin), that is better for you. And God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:26  God wills to explain to you (His commandments in which your happiness lie), and to guide you to the (righteous) ways of life of those who preceded you, and to turn to you (with mercy and favor). God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

4:27  God wills to turn to you (with mercy and favor by explaining to you His commandments and guiding you to the Straight Path), whereas those who follow (their) lusts (for women, offspring, wealth, fame, status, and position) desire you to deviate greatly (from the Straight Path)

4:28  God wills to lighten for you (your burdens), for human has been created weak (liable to err)

4:29  O you who believe! Do not consume one another’s wealth in wrongful ways (such as theft, extortion, bribery, usury, and gambling), except it be dealing by mutual agreement; and do not destroy yourselves (individually or collectively by following wrongful ways like extreme asceticism and idleness. Be ever mindful that) God has surely been All-Compassionate toward you (particularly as believers)

4:30  Whoever acts wrongfully through enmity (toward others) and by way of deliberate transgression and wronging (both himself and others), We will surely land him in a Fire to roast therein (the like of which you have never seen and the degree of whose intensity none knows except God); that indeed is easy for God

4:31  If you avoid the major sins which you have been forbidden, We will blot out from you your minor evil deeds and make you enter by a noble entrance (to an abode of glory)

4:32  (People differ from each other in capacity and means of livelihood; nor is it in your hands to be born male or female. Therefore) do not covet that in which God has made some of you excel others (thus envying others in such things as status or wealth or physical charms and so objecting to God’s distribution). Men shall have a share according to what they have earned (in both material and spiritual terms), and women shall have a share according to what they have earned. (On the other hand, do not refuse effort and aspiration; instead of envying others,) ask God (to give you more) of His bounty (through lawful labor and through prayer). Assuredly God has full knowledge of everything

4:33  And to everyone We have appointed heirs to what the parents and near kindred might leave behind. (As those heirs have defined portions in the inheritance that must be given them,) so to those with whom you have made a solemn covenant, give them their due share. God is indeed a witness over everything

4:34  Men (those who are able to carry out their responsibilities) are the protectors and maintainers of women inasmuch as God has endowed some of people (in some respects) with greater capacity than others and inasmuch as they (the men) spend of their wealth (for the family’s maintenance). Good, righteous women are the devoted ones (to God) and observant (of their husbands’ rights), who guard the secrets (family honor and property, their chastity, and their husband’s rights, especially where there is none to see them and in the absence of men) as God guards and keeps undisclosed (what should be guarded and private). As for those women from whose determined disobedience and breach of their marital obligations you have reason to fear, admonish them (to do what is right); then, (if that proves to be of no avail), remain apart from them in beds; then (if that too proves to be of no avail) beat them (lightly without beating them in their faces). Then if they obey you (in your directing them to observe God’s rights and their marital obligations) do not seek ways against them (to harm them). (Be ever mindful that) God is indeed All-Exalted, All-Great

4:35  And if you fear that a breach might occur between a couple, appoint an arbiter from among his people and an arbiter from among her people. If they both want to set things aright, God will bring about reconciliation between them. Assuredly, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware

4:36  And (as the essential basis of contentment in individual, family and social life,) worship God and do not associate anything as a partner with Him; and do good to your parents in the best way possible, and to the relatives, orphans, the destitute, the neighbor who is near (in kinship, location, faith), the neighbor who is distant (in kinship and faith), the companion by your side (on the way, in the family, in the workplace, etc.), the wayfarer, and those who are in your service. (Treat them well and bring yourself up to this end, for) God does not love those who are conceited and boastful

4:37  Those who act meanly (in spending out of what God has granted them) and urge others to be mean, and conceal the things God has granted them out of His bounty (such as wealth or knowledge, and certain truths in their Book). We have prepared for (such) unbelievers a shameful, humiliating punishment

4:38  And (likewise) those who spend their wealth (in charity or other good cause) to make a show of it to people (so as to be praised by them) when they believe neither in God nor in the Last Day: Whoever has Satan for a comrade, how evil a comrade he is

4:39  Why, what (harm) would fall upon them, if they believed in God and the Last Day, and spent out of what God has provided for them (purely for the pleasure of God), and God has full knowledge of them (of what they believe in and what they spend)

4:40  Assuredly, God wrongs (no-one) not even so much as an atom’s weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it (with respect to its outcomes and the reward it will bring), and grants (its doer) a tremendous reward purely from His Presence (beyond what it may have merited)

4:41  How, then, will it be (with people on the Day of Judgment) when We bring forward a witness from every community (to testify against them and that God’s Religion was communicated to them), and bring you (O Messenger) as a witness against all those (whom your Message may have reached)

4:42  On that Day those who disbelieved (in this life and died in unbelief) and disobeyed the Messenger wish that the earth might be leveled with them (so as to leave no trace or record of them); but they will not be able to conceal from God any telling (of what they said or did)

4:43  O you who believe! Do not come forward to (stand in) the Prayer while you are in (any sort of) state of drunkenness until you know what you are saying, nor while you are in the state of ritual impurity (requiring the total ablution) – save when you are on a journey (and then unable to bathe) – until you have bathed (done the total ablution). But if you are ill, or on a journey, or if any of you has just satisfied a call of nature, or you have had contact with women, and can find no water, then betake yourselves to pure earth, passing with it lightly over your face and hands (and forearms up to and including the elbows). Assuredly God is One Who grants remission, All-Forgiving

4:44  Do you not see and reflect upon those who were given a portion from the Book? They are occupied with buying straying, and desire that you too should stray from the (right) way

4:45  (O believers!) God knows best who your enemies are; and God suffices as Guardian and Protecting Friend, and God suffices as Helper

4:46  Among those who have become Jews (Judaized) are some who alter the words from their context to distort their meanings, and say: "We have heard and we disobey," and, "Do hear us, may you turn dumb," (while pretending to say: "Will you hearken to us, O respected one!"), and "Listen to us! May you become deaf, O shepherd!" (while pretending to say: "Attend to us!") – thus making a malicious play with their tongues and seeking to revile the (True) Religion. Had they but said, "We have heard and we obey," and "Listen to us," and "Favor us with your attention!", it would indeed have been for their own good, and more upright. But God has excluded them from His mercy because of their (willful, persistent) unbelief, and, but for a few, scarcely do they believe

4:47  O you who were given the Book (before)! Believe (sincerely) in (the whole of) what We have been sending down (on Muhammad), confirming what (of the truth) you already possess, before We obliterate faces so as to deprive them of seeing, hearing, speaking and smelling, or exclude them from Our mercy as We excluded the Sabbath-breakers. (Bear in mind that) God’s command is always executed

4:48  Assuredly God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him; less than that He forgives to whomever He wills (whomever He has guided to repentance and righteousness either out of His pure grace or as a result of the person’s choosing repentance and righteousness by his free will). Whoever associates any partner with God has indeed fabricated a most heinous sin

4:49  Do you (O Messenger) not consider those who regard themselves pure and sanctified? No! Rather, it is God Who makes pure and sanctifies whomever He wills (considering the free will of each), and none is wronged even by as much as a tiny hair

4:50  Look! how they fabricate falsehood in attribution to God; and that suffices for a flagrant sin (to lead them to their perdition.

4:51  Do you not consider those who were given a portion of the Book, how they believe in any false deity and all manner of powers of evil (who institute patterns of faith and rule in defiance of God), and say about those (idolaters) who disbelieve that they are more rightly guided (in the way they follow) than those who believe

4:52  Such are the ones whom God has excluded from His mercy, and he whom God excludes from His mercy, you shall never find one to help and save him

4:53  Or do they have a share in the sovereignty (ownership and dominion of the heavens and the earth, so that they claim some privileged position in God’s sight and a right to guidance, Prophethood, and rule on the earth)? If that were so, they would not give people even as much as (would fill) the groove of a date-stone

4:54  Or do they envy others for what God granted them out of His grace and bounty? Yet We did grant the Family of Abraham (including the progeny of Ishmael proceeding from him, as well as that of Isaac) the Book and the Wisdom, and We granted them a mighty kingdom (in both the material and spiritual realm)

4:55  Among them (those belonging to Abraham’s progeny) have been and are such as truly believe in him (and therefore they believe in Muhammad who has the best claim to a relationship with Abraham, and believe in the Qur’an revealed to him), and among them are such as bar people from him (like some from among those who were given the Book before). (For the latter) Hell suffices for a blaze

4:56  Those who (knowingly) conceal and reject Our Revelations, We will land them in a Fire to roast there. Every time their skins are burnt off, We will replace them with other skins, that they may taste the punishment. Assuredly, God is All-Glorious with irresistible might, and All-Wise

4:57  But those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, We will admit them into the Gardens through which rivers flow, therein abiding for ever. Therein for them will be spouses purified, and We will admit them to an all-protecting shade (ease and contentment)

4:58  God commands you to deliver trusts (including public and professional duties of service) to those entitled to them; and when you judge between people, to judge with justice. How excellent is what God exhorts you to do; assuredly, God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing

4:59  O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger, and those from among you who are invested with authority; and if you are to dispute among yourselves about anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if indeed you believe in God and the Last Day. This is the best (for you) and fairest in the end

4:60  Do you not consider those who assert that they believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent before you, and yet desire to go for judgment in their disputes to (the rule of) the powers of evil (who institute patterns of rule in defiance of God), when they were expressly commanded to reject it. Truly, Satan desires to lead them far astray

4:61  When they were told: "Come to that which God has sent down and to the Messenger (and submit to God’s judgment)," you see the hypocrites turn away from you with disgust

4:62  But how then, when a disaster befalls them because of what they have forwarded with their own hands (to their future), they come to you, swearing by God and say: "We intended only goodwill and conciliation!"

4:63  Such are the ones – God knows what is in their hearts; so withdraw from them (do not care what they say and do), and (continue to) admonish them, and say to them profound words touching their very souls

4:64  (Everyone should know well that) We have never sent a Messenger but that he should be obeyed by God’s leave. If, when they wronged themselves (by committing a sin), they but came to you and implored God to forgive them – with the Messenger praying to God for their forgiveness – they would find that God is One Who returns the repentance of His servants with liberal forgiveness and additional reward, and All-Compassionate

4:65  But no! By your Lord, they do not (truly) believe unless they make you the judge regarding any dispute between them, and then find not the least vexation within themselves over what you have decided, and surrender in full submission

4:66  If We were to ordain for them, "Lay down your lives (in God’s cause so that you may be purified of your sins)" or "Leave your habitations (that you have contaminated with your sins and emigrate to another land in God’s cause)," they would not do that save a few of them. But if they had done what was urged upon them (before things had come to this point) – if only they would do it from now on – it would indeed have been (and would be) for their own good and (more apt for them) to be more securely established (in the land)

4:67  And then We would surely have granted them from Our Presence a tremendous reward

4:68  And indeed guided them to a straight path (in belief, thought, feeling and action)

4:69  Whoever obeys God and the Messenger (as they must be obeyed), then those are (and in the Hereafter will be, in Paradise) in the company of those whom God has favored (with the perfect guidance) – the Prophets, and the truthful ones (loyal to God’s cause and truthful in whatever they do and say), and the witnesses (those who see the hidden Divine truths and testify thereto with their lives), and the righteous ones (in all their deeds and sayings and dedicated to setting everything right). How excellent they are for companions

4:70  Such is the grace that is from God, and God suffices as One All-Knowing (of how great that grace is, who deserves it, and the rank of those favored with it)

4:71  O you who believe! (While such great grace is there) be fully prepared, then (as circumstance demands) either go forward in (small) consolidated groups (on military expeditions) or go forward all together

4:72  There are indeed among you such as him who lags behind. Then, if a disaster befalls you, he says: "Indeed God bestowed His favor upon me that I was not present with them."

4:73  But if some bounty from God comes to you, he is sure to say – just as if there had never been any tie of affection between you and him, (and therefore as if there had been an obstacle to his going forth with you) – "Oh, if only I had been with them, I would have come by a great gain."

4:74  So let those who trade the life of this world for the Hereafter fight in God’s cause. Whoever fights in God’s cause, whether he is killed or victorious, We will grant him a tremendous reward

4:75  Why, then, should you not fight in the cause of God and of the oppressed, helpless men, women, and children, who cry out: "O Lord! Bring us out of this land whose people are oppressors, and appoint for us from Your Presence a protector, and appoint for us from Your Presence a helper!"

4:76  Those who (truly) believe fight in God’s cause, while those who disbelieve fight in the way of taghut (powers of evil who institute patterns of rule in defiance of God). So (O believers) fight against the friends and allies of Satan. Assuredly, Satan’s guile is ever feeble

4:77  Do you not consider those who were told, "Restrain your hands (from war and similar endeavor), and do the Prayer in conformity with all its conditions, and pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms (at which time they insistently asked you when they would be allowed to fight). But as the time has come and fighting has been ordained for them, a party among them fear people as one should fear God, or with even greater fear, and say: "O Lord! Why have you ordained fighting for us? If only You had granted us a little more respite!" Say (to them, O Messenger): "The enjoyment of the world is short-lived, whereas the Hereafter is the best for him who keeps from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety, and you will not be wronged by so much as a tiny hair."

4:78  Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even though you be in towers built up strong and high. Yet, when some good happens to them, they say: "This is from God;" and when an evil befalls them, they say: "This is because of you." Say: "All is from God." But how is it with these people that they do not grasp the truth of anything said (or anything that has happened)

4:79  (O human being!) Whatever good happens to you, it is from God; and whatever evil befalls you, it is from yourself. We have sent you (O Messenger) to humankind as a Messenger, and God suffices for a witness

4:80  He who obeys the Messenger (thereby) obeys God, and he who turns away from him (and his way), (do not be grieved, O Messenger, for) We have not sent you as a keeper and watcher over them (to prevent their misdeeds and be accountable for them)

4:81  They say (when in your presence, to every command of yours), "By all means!" But when they leave your presence, a party of them make secret plans against what you say. God records whatever secret plans they make. So withdraw from them, and put your trust in God. God suffices as the One to be relied on, to Whom affairs should be referred

4:82  Do they not contemplate the Qur’an (so that they may be convinced that it is from God)? Had it been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much (incoherence or) inconsistency

4:83  Whenever any news comes to them, related to (public) security or alarm, they go about spreading it (without ascertaining if the news is true or not and without thinking about whether it is beneficial or harmful to spread it). Whereas if they would but refer it to the Messenger and to those among them (in the community) who are entrusted with authority, those from among them who are competent to investigate it would bring to light what it is really about. (O believers!) Save for God’s grace and mercy upon you (in illuminating your way and guiding you with Revelation and His Messenger, and protecting you against your enemies and wrong ways), all but a few (of you) would have been (deceived by the hypocrites and) following Satan

4:84  Fight (therefore, O Messenger) in God’s cause – for (in the same way that every individual is responsible for himself) you are (first of all) responsible for none except yourself. (Even left by yourself alone, fulfill your responsibility) – and urge on the believers (to take their responsibility). It may be that God will (thereby) restrain the force of those who disbelieve. Indeed God is strongest in might and strongest in repressing and punishing

4:85  Whoever intercedes, mediates and helps for a good cause will have a share in its blessings, and whoever intercedes, mediates and helps for an evil cause shares in its burden. God has full watch over all things

4:86  When (whether traveling or at home, or in war or at peace) you are greeted with a greeting (of peace and goodwill), answer with one better, or (at least) with the same. Surely God keeps account of all things

4:87  God, there is no deity but He. He will gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, about (the coming of) which there is no doubt. Who can be truer in statement than God

4:88  (O believers!) How is it with you that you are in two groups regarding the hypocrites (from Makkah and other tribes who claim to be Muslims yet take part in the hostile machinations of their people against you), seeing that God has thrown them back (to unbelief) on account of what they have earned (by their sins)? Do you seek to guide him whom God has led astray? Whoever God has led astray, for him you cannot find a (safe) way (to follow)

4:89  They yearn that you should disbelieve just as they disbelieved so that you might be all alike. Do not, therefore, take from among them confidants and allies until they emigrate (to Madinah and join you) in God’s cause. But if they turn away (from this call and continue their hostility against you), seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and do not take to yourselves any of them as confidant, nor as helper

4:90  Except those who seek refuge in a people between whom and you there is a treaty (of peace or alliance), or (those who) come to you with hearts shrinking from fighting against you as well as fighting against their own people. Had God willed, He would certainly have given them power over you and they would have fought against you. If they withdraw from you and do not fight against you, and offer you peace, then God allows you no way (to war) against them

4:91  You will find others who wish to be secure from you (by signing treaty with you) and to be secure from their people (by breaking their treaty with you and joining them): every time they are called back to conspiracy and hostility against you, they plunge into it headlong. Hence, if they do not withdraw from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands (from hurting you), then seize them and kill them wherever you come upon them. It is against such that We have given you a clear sanction

4:92  Yet (be circumspect), it is not for a believer to kill another believer unless it be by mistake. He who has killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave, and pay blood-money to his family (legal heirs), unless they forgo it as a freewill offering. If he (the victim), while himself a believer, belonged to a people hostile to you (between whom and you there is no treaty), then (the expiation is to) set free a believing slave. If he (the victim) belonged to a (non-Muslim) people between whom and you there is a treaty, then (the expiation is to) pay blood-money to his heirs, and to set free a believing slave. But he who has no means (to make such expiation), must fast for two consecutive months – a penance from God (a way of repentance). God is All-Knowing (of everything including what is in your bosoms), All-Wise

4:93  Whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense (in the Hereafter) is Hell, therein to abide; and God has utterly condemned him, excluded him from His mercy, and prepared for him a tremendous punishment

4:94  O you who believe! When you go forth (to war) in God’s cause, investigate with care until the situation becomes fully clear to you, and do not say to anyone who offers you (the greeting of) peace (thereby indicating his being a Muslim), "You are not a believer," seeking the fleeting gains of the present, worldly life; for with God are gains abundant. Even thus (as he now is) were you before (ignorant of faith and what being a Muslim is, and you too entered Islam with a similar word); but God has since then been gracious to you. So investigate with care until the situation becomes fully clear to you. Surely God is fully aware of all that you do

4:95  Not equal are those of the believers who (when not all believers are required to mobilize for God’s cause) sit still without justifiable excuse (and without doing any harm to God’s cause) and those who strive (and fight) in God’s cause with their wealth and their persons. God has exalted in rank those who strive with their wealth and their persons over those who sit still. To each God has promised the best reward (Paradise), and yet God has exalted those who strive over those who sit still by a tremendous reward

4:96  For them are ranks from Him (differing according to the degree of the sincerity and striving of each), and forgiveness and mercy (to bring unforeseen blessings). God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:97  As to those whose souls the angels (charged with taking the souls of people) take in the state of wronging themselves (by continuing to live in unbelief without suffering to emigrate to a land where they would be able to attain faith): They (the angels) ask them: "What situation were you in (so that you were not with the believers)?" They say: "We were under such oppression in this land that we could not find way to faith." They (the angels) say: "Was God’s earth not wide enough for you to emigrate in it?" Such are those whose refuge is Hell: how evil a destination to arrive at

4:98  Except those truly oppressed among the men, and the women, and the children altogether without means and not guided to a way (to emigrate, and including those who, in their lifetime, have not had a means to be guided to faith)

4:99  For those (while their circumstances are unchanged, it is expected that) God will not hold them accountable and will excuse them. Assuredly God is One Who excuses much, All-Forgiving

4:100  Whoever emigrates in God’s cause will find on the earth enough room for refuge and plentiful resources. He who leaves his home as an emigrant to God and His Messenger and whom death overtakes (while still on the way), his reward is due and sure with God. Assuredly, God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:101  (O believers!) When you go forth on the earth, there is no blame on you that you shorten the (Prescribed) Prayers, if you fear that those who disbelieve might cause you harm (by attacking you). Assuredly, the unbelievers are a manifest enemy to you

4:102  When you (O Messenger) are among the believers (who are on an expedition and in fear that the unbelievers might harm them) and stand (to lead) the Prayer for them, let a party of them stand in Prayer with you and retain their arms with them (while the other party maintain their positions against the enemy). When the first party have done the prostrations (finished the rak‘ah), let them go to the rear of your company (and there hold positions against the enemy), and let the other party who have not prayed come forward and pray with you, being fully prepared against danger and retaining their arms. Those who disbelieve wish that you should be heedless of your weapons and your equipment, so that they might swoop upon you in a single (surprise) attack. But there will be no blame on you if you lay aside your arms (during Prayer) if you are troubled by rain (and the ground impedes your movement), or if you are ill; however, be fully prepared against danger. Surely God has prepared for the unbelievers a shameful, humiliating punishment

4:103  When you have finished the Prayer (especially considering you have shortened your Prayers when journeying and in the state of fear), remember and mention God (with your tongues and hearts), standing and sitting and lying down on your sides (and even while at war). Then when you are once again secure, do the Prayer in conformity with all its conditions (and do the Prayers you had to omit just at the time of actual fighting). (Know that) the Prayer (being the most important kind of worship) is prescribed for the believers at fixed times

4:104  Do not be faint of purpose in pursuing these people (who fight with you, and keep them under pressure as long as the state of war continues between you and them). If you are suffering (having to endure hardships), they too are suffering just as you are, but you hope (to receive) from God what they cannot hope for. God is indeed All-Knowing (of the states and conditions of all things), All-Wise

4:105  Surely We have sent down to you the Book with the truth (embodying it, with nothing false in it), so that you should judge between people according to how God has shown you. So do not be a pleader on behalf of those who betray their trust

4:106  Pray God for forgiveness. Assuredly God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:107  And do not plead on behalf of those who betray themselves (by lying to conceal the truth of the matter brought before you). Assuredly, God does not love whoever betrays trust and persists in sin

4:108  They strive to hide (their evil deeds) from people but they do not strive to hide from God, whereas He is always with them when they hold night counsels displeasing to Him. God indeed encompasses (with His Knowledge, Seeing, Hearing and Power) all that they do

4:109  Ah! You (O believers) might well plead on their behalf in the life of this world, but who will plead with God on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection, or who will then be their defender and guardian

4:110  Yet whoever does an evil or wrongs himself (by committing sins to harm himself spiritually), and then implores God for forgiveness, will find God All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:111  Whereas whoever earns a sin (failing to seek forgiveness for it), earns it only against himself (to his own loss only). And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

4:112  And he who earns a wrong or sin and then throws the blame on an innocent person, has thereby laid upon himself (the additional burden of) a calumny and a flagrant sin

4:113  But for God’s grace and favor upon you and His mercy, one party of them determined to mislead you, yet they mislead none but themselves, and cannot harm you in any way. (How could they do so, seeing that) God has sent down on you the Book and the Wisdom, and taught you what you did not know. God’s grace and favor upon you is tremendous indeed

4:114  No good is there in most of their secret counsels except for him who exhorts to a deed of charity, or kind equitable dealings and honest affairs, or setting things right between people. Whoever does that seeking God’s good pleasure, We will grant to him a tremendous reward

4:115  While whoever cuts himself off from the Messenger after the guidance (to what is truest and best in thought, belief, and conduct) has become clear to him, and follows a way other than that of the believers (for whom it is impossible to agree unanimously on a way that leads to error), We leave him (to himself) on the way he has turned to, and land him in Hell to roast there: how evil a destination to arrive at

4:116  Indeed God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him; less than that He forgives to whomever He wills (whomever He has guided to repentance and righteousness as a result of his choosing repentance and righteousness by his free will). Whoever associates partners with God has indeed strayed far away (from the Straight Path)

4:117  In His stead, they invoke female deities – (in so doing) they in fact invoke none but a haughty, rebellious Satan

4:118  One who is accursed by God (excluded from His mercy). Once he said: "Of Your servants I will surely take a share to be assigned to me (by their following me)

4:119  I will surely lead them astray and surely engross them in vain desires (superstitious fancies and false conceptions); and I will surely command them, and they will surely slit the ears of cattle (to mark them out as meant for their idols and as forbidden to themselves to eat, thus making a lawful thing unlawful); and also I will surely command them and they will surely alter God’s creation." Whoever takes Satan for a confidant and guardian instead of God has indeed suffered a manifest loss

4:120  (In reality, however, Satan has no authority over people against God.) He makes promises to them and fills them with vain desires (superstitious fancies and false conceptions), and what he promises them is nothing but delusion

4:121  Such (as those deluded by Satan): their shelter is Hell, and they will find no way to escape from it

4:122  As for those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, We will admit them into the Gardens beneath (the places and through the trees of) which rivers flow, therein abiding for ever. This is God’s promise in truth. Who can be truer than God in speech

4:123  It is not according to your fancies, nor according to the fancies of the People of the Book. (No one has a privilege in God’s sight by virtue of being nominally a Muslim or Jew or Christian. Rather, the truth is this:) Whoever does an evil will be recompensed for it, and he will not find for himself, apart from God, a guardian or a helper (to guard or help him against the consequence of that evil)

4:124  And whoever does deeds of righteousness, whether male or female, and is a (true) believer – such will enter Paradise, and they will not be wronged by even so little as (would fill) the groove of a date-stone

4:125  Who is better in religion than he who has submitted his whole being to God (seeking only His good pleasure, as one devoted to) doing good, aware that God is seeing him, and who follows the way (millah) of Abraham being of pure faith (free of unbelief, of associating partners with God and of hypocrisy). God accepted Abraham as a friend (one close and trusted)

4:126  To God belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and God encompasses everything (with His Knowledge and Power)

4:127  (O Messenger!) They ask you to pronounce laws concerning women. Answer them: "God pronounces to you the laws concerning them and it is recited to you in this Book concerning female orphans, to whom you do not give what has been ordained for them (as bridal-due or for their maintenance), and yet desire to marry them (out of greed to get their charms or wealth for yourself, or by refusing to let them marry to continue benefiting from their wealth); and also concerning the weak, helpless children (whose rights should be protected), and that you must be assiduous in observing the rights of orphans." Whatever good you do – surely God has full knowledge of it

4:128  If a woman fears from her husband ill-treatment or (such breach of marital obligations as) his turning away in aversion, then there will be no blame on them to set things right peacefully between them; peaceful settlement is better. (Bear in mind that) human souls are prone to selfish avarice, so (O husbands) if you do good in consciousness of God and act in reverence for Him and piety (in observing the rights of women), then surely God is fully aware of what you do

4:129  You will never be able to deal between your wives with absolute equality (in respect of love and emotional attachment), however much you may desire to do so. But do not turn away altogether (from any one of them), so as to leave her in a dangling state (uncertain if she has or does not have a husband). If you act righteously (between them) and act in piety (fearful of doing any deliberate wrong to any of them), then surely God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:130  If (despite every effort to reconcile them, it is no longer possible to sustain marriage, and) the couple do separate, (let neither fear to become poor and helpless, for) God suffices all by His abundance. God is All-Embracing (in His bounty), All-Wise

4:131  And to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And assuredly We commanded those who were given the Book before you, and (We command) you (O Muslims) to act in piety and reverence for God, fearful of disobedience to Him (in all matters including especially observing your mutual rights). Yet if you disbelieve (and despite this admonishment act with ingratitude to Him, then bear in mind that) to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth: (if you believe in Him and thank Him, this adds nothing to Him, or if you disbelieve in Him and become ungrateful to Him, this does not diminish anything from Him. For) God is All-Wealthy and Self-Sufficient (absolutely independent of all His creatures), All-Praiseworthy (as your Lord, Who provides for you and all other beings and meets all your needs)

4:132  (Again, know that) to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth; and God suffices as One on Whom to rely and to Whom all affairs should be referred

4:133  If He wills, He can remove you, O humankind, and bring in others in your place. God is entirely Able to do that

4:134  If one desires the reward of this world, (let him know that) with God is the reward of this world and the Hereafter. God is indeed All-Hearing, All-Seeing

4:135  O you who believe! Be upholders and standard-bearers of justice, bearing witness to the truth for God’s sake, even though it be against your own selves, or parents or kindred. Whether the person concerned be rich or poor, (bear in mind that) God is nearer to them (than you are and more concerned with their well-being). So do not (in expectation of some gain from the rich or out of misplaced compassion for the poor) follow your own desires lest you swerve from justice. If you distort (the truth) or decline (to bear truthful witness), then know that God is fully aware of all that you do

4:136  O you who believe! Believe in God and His Messenger (Muhammad) and the Book He has been sending down on His Messenger in parts and the (Divine) Books He sent down before. Whoever disbelieves in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Last Day, has indeed gone far astray

4:137  Those who have believed and then disbelieved, then believed, and again disbelieved, and thereafter grown more intense in unbelief, God will never forgive them, nor will He guide them to a way (leading to the ultimate triumph and salvation)

4:138  To the hypocrites (who are as just described) give glad tidings that for them is a painful punishment

4:139  (The hypocrites are) those who take unbelievers for confidants, guardians and allies in preference to the believers: do they seek might and glory in being together with them? (If so, let them know that) might and glory belong altogether to God

4:140  He has already revealed to you in the Book that when you hear the Revelations of God being rejected and mocked, no longer sit with them (show your disagreement) until they engage in some other talk, or else you will surely become like them. Assuredly, God will gather the hypocrites and the unbelievers all together in Hell

4:141  (The hypocrites are) those who wait to see what befalls you: thus if a victory comes to you from God, they say, "Were we not with you?" but if the unbelievers meet with a success, they say (to them:) "Did we not gain leverage over you (by not joining the believers and weakening them from within) and did we not defend you from the believers?" God will judge between you (and them) on the Day of Resurrection, and never will God allow the unbelievers to find a way (to triumph) over the (true) believers

4:142  The hypocrites would trick God, whereas it is God who "tricks" them (by causing them to fall into their own traps). When they rise to do the Prayer, they rise lazily, and to be seen by people (to show them that they are Muslims); and they do not remember God (within or outside the Prayer) save a little

4:143  Vacillating between (the believers) and (the unbelievers), neither with these, nor with those. Whoever God leads astray, for him you can never find a sound way (to follow)

4:144  O you who believe! Do not take the unbelievers for guardians and confidants in preference to the believers; or do you want to offer God a manifest proof against yourselves (of being hypocrites and so incur His punishment)

4:145  Assuredly, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth of the Fire; and you will never find for them any helper (against the Fire)

4:146  Except those who repent and mend their ways and hold fast to God and practice their Religion purely and sincerely for God’s sake: those (who repent) are counted with the believers, and in time God will grant to the believers a tremendous reward

4:147  What should God punish you if you are grateful (to Him) and believe (in Him)? God is Ever-Responsive to gratitude, All-Knowing

4:148  God does not like any harsh speech to be uttered save by one who has been wronged (and therefore has the right to express that in appropriate language). God is indeed All-Hearing, All-Knowing

4:149  Whether you do some good openly or do it in secret, or pardon an evil (done to you, even though you have the right to legal retaliation, know that) God is All-Pardoning, Ever-Able (to punish or forgive)

4:150  Those (deserving punishment) are they who disbelieve in God (not recognizing Him at all or not as He should be) and His Messengers (denying Messengership altogether or denying some of the Messengers), and who seek to make distinction between God and His Messengers (by claiming belief in God but denying Messengership or denying some of the Messengers), and say, "We believe in some and deny others," seeking to take a way in between

4:151  Such are in truth unbelievers, and We have prepared for the unbelievers a shameful, humiliating punishment

4:152  But as for those who believe in God and His Messengers and make no distinction between them (between God and His Messengers or between the Messengers themselves), to them God will grant their rewards (in full). God is indeed All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate

4:153  The People of the Book ask you to cause a Book to be sent down on them from heaven. (O Messenger, let this not shock you, for) they asked an even greater thing than this of Moses, when they said, "Show God to us openly," and the thunderbolt seized them for their wrong-doing. Then they adopted the (golden) calf as deity – and this after the (miracles and other) clear proofs of the truth had come to them. Yet We (accepted their atonement and) pardoned them that; and We granted Moses (the Book and the Criterion, and thereby) a clear proof and authority

4:154  (Moreover) We raised the Mount to tower above them to secure their promise (to hold firmly to the Book), and (on another occasion when We guided them to a town) We commanded them, "Go into it through its gate prostrating (humbly in utmost submission to God)"; and again We once commanded them, "Do not exceed the bounds with respect to the Sabbath," and We took from them a most solemn pledge

4:155  And so because of their breaking their pledge, and their intentional ignoring of God’s signs (in the universe and in themselves) and their rejection of His Revelations, and their killing certain Prophets against all right, and their saying, "Our hearts have become callous (no longer having any ability to believe)." No! Rather, God has set a seal on their hearts because of their persistent unbelief, so that, with the exception of few, scarcely do they believe

4:156  And because of their (persistence in) unbelief and speaking against Mary a tremendous calumny

4:157  And their saying "We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God " – whereas they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the matter was made dubious to them. Those who differ about this matter and about Jesus are indeed confused; they have no definite knowledge thereof, following mere conjecture; and they killed him not of a certainty

4:158  But God raised him to Himself. God is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise

4:159  Yet there is none of the People of the Book but will, before the moment of his death, (grasp the truth about Jesus and) believe in him (though that belief will be of no benefit to them then); and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them

4:160  So, because of the wrong committed by the Jews We made unlawful for them many pure, wholesome things which had (hitherto) been lawful for them, and because of their barring many from God’s way

4:161  And because of their taking interest although it had been forbidden to them, and consuming the wealth of people in wrongful ways (such as usury, theft, usurpation, bribery, gambling, and selling God’s Revelations); and We have prepared for the unbelievers among them (those who persisted in unbelief despite all the many warnings) a painful punishment

4:162  But those of them firmly rooted in Knowledge, and the (true) believers believe in what has been sent down to you (O Messenger) and what was sent down before you; and especially those who do the Prayer in conformity with all its conditions, and those who pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms, and the believers in God and the Last Day (as both must be believed in): to them will We will grant a tremendous reward

4:163  We have revealed to you (O Messenger) as We revealed to Noah and the Prophets after him; and We revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Prophets who were raised in the tribes, and Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon; and We gave David the Psalms

4:164  And Messengers We have already told you of (with respect to their mission) before, and Messengers We have not told you of; and God spoke to Moses in a particular way

4:165  Messengers (have been sent as) bearers of glad tidings and warners, so that people might have no argument against God after the Messengers (had come to them). And God is All-Glorious with irresistible might, All-Wise

4:166  (Whether people believe or not) God bears witness to (the truth of) what He has sent down to you. And He has sent it down from, based on and together with, His Knowledge. And the angels also bear witness (to it) though God suffices for a witness

4:167  Surely those who (in defiance of that testimony) disbelieve and bar (people) from God’s way, have indeed gone far astray

4:168  Surely those who disbelieve and do wrong (to people by barring them from God’s way, and to God and His Messengers and angels, and to all believers and all creatures bearing witness to the truth, and to their own conscience, by accusing them of lying and deception) – God will indeed not forgive them nor will He guide them to a roa

4:169  Except the road of Hell, to abide therein for ever; and that is easy for God

4:170  O humankind! The Messenger has come to you with the truth from your Lord: believe, then, for your own good. And if you disbelieve, then (know that your unbelief will in no way harm Him, for) to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and on the earth. And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

4:171  O People of the Book! Do not go beyond the bounds in your religion, and do not say anything of God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was but a Messenger of God, and a Word of His (Power) which He conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God (as the One, Unique God), and His Messengers (including Jesus, as Messenger); and do not say: (God is one of) a trinity. Give up (this assertion) – (it is) for your own good (to do so). God is but One God; All-Glorified He is in that He is absolutely above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And God suffices as the One to be relied on, to Whom affairs should be referred

4:172  The Messiah never disdains to be a servant to God, nor do the angels near-stationed to Him. Whoever disdains to worship God as a servant and feels his pride (puffed up by arrogance, should know that) God will gather them all to Himself (and call them to account)

4:173  To those who believe and do good, righteous deeds He will grant their rewards in full, and will give them yet more out of His bounty; but as to those who are disdainful and arrogant, He will punish them with a painful punishment, and they will not find for them, against God, a guardian and protector, nor a helper

4:174  O humankind! Now a Proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear Light (to illuminate your way and show you everything clearly)

4:175  So those who believe in God (as taught by this proof and light), and hold fast to Him – He will admit them into a (great) mercy from His Presence, and a bounty, and guide them direct to Him on a straight path

4:176  They ask you (O Messenger) to pronounce a ruling. Say (to them): God pronounces to you the ruling concerning inheritance from those who have left behind no lineal heirs (kalalah): should a man die childless but have a sister, for her is the half of what he has left behind; and the brother will inherit from her if the sister dies childless. If the heirs are two sisters, for them is two-thirds of what he has left behind. And if the heirs are brothers and sisters, then for the male is the equivalent of the portion of two females. God makes (His commandments) clear to you lest you go astray. God has full knowledge of everything