It was He who created the heavens and earth in six Days [periods] and then ascended the throne. He knows what enters the earth and what comes out of it; what descends from the sky and what ascends to it. He is with you wherever you are; He sees all that you do;
Have faith in God and His Messenger and spend in charity from that of which He has made you trustees: those of you who believe and give alms shall be richly rewarded.
What could be your reason for not believing in God, when the Messenger calls on you to have faith in your Lord and He has already made a covenant with you, if indeed you are true believers?
It is He who sends down to His Servant clear revelations, so that He may lead you out of darkness into light. God is indeed compassionate and merciful to you.
Why should you not spend for the cause of God, when God alone holds the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Those of you who spent and fought before the victory will be higher in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards. Yet God has promised you all a good reward. He is aware of all that you do.
On the Day, you [Prophet] shall see the faithful, both men and women, with their light streaming out before them and on their right hands, [and you shall hear a voice saying to them:] \"Glad tidings for you today! You shall enter gardens with rivers flowing through them wherein you shall forever dwell. That is the supreme triumph.\"
On that Day, the hypocrites, both men and women, will say to the faithful, \"Wait a while for us, so that we may have some of your light.\" They will be told, \"Turn back and look for a light elsewhere.\" A wall will then be raised between them. It will have a gate on the inside of which will be grace and mercy and on the outside of which will be punishment.
The hypocrites will call out to the faithful: \"Were we not on your side?\" They will reply, \"Yes, but you gave in to temptation, you wavered and doubted and were deceived by your wishful thinking until God's will was done; then the Deceiver [Satan] misled you about God.\"
So this Day no ransom can be taken from you nor from those who were bent on denying the truth. Your home is the fire; that is your companion, and a hapless journey's end.
Has the time not come for the faithful when their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of God and of the revelation of truth, so that they should not become like those who were given the Book before them, whose hearts with the passage of time became hardened and many of whom were disobedient?
Those who believe in God and His messengers are the truthful ones and the witnesses in the sight of their Lord. They shall have their reward and their light. But those who are bent on denying the truth and reject Our signs shall be destined for Hell.
Never forget that the life of this world is only a game and a passing delight, a show, and mutual boasting and trying to outrival each other in riches and children. It is like the growth of vegetation after the rain, which delights the planter, but which then withers away, turns yellow and becomes worthless stubble. In the life to come there will be a terrible punishment, or God's forgiveness and approval: the life of this world is nothing but means of deception.
Vie with one another for your Lord's forgiveness and for a Paradise as vast as heaven and earth, which has been made ready for those who believe in God and His messengers. Such is God's grace. He bestows it upon whoever He pleases. There is no limit to God's bounty.
No misfortune can affect the earth or your own selves without its first having been recorded in a book, before We bring it into being. That is easy for God to do;
nor those who, being miserly themselves, urge others to be miserly. He who turns his back should remember that God alone is self-sufficient and worthy of all praise.
We sent Our messengers with evidence and, with them, We sent down the Book and the Scales of Justice, so that men might act in all fairness. We sent down iron with its great inherent strength and its many benefits for mankind, so that God might know who would stand up for God, though unseen, and His messengers. God is powerful, and almighty.
We sent forth Noah and Abraham and bestowed upon their offspring prophethood and the Book. Some of them were rightly guided, but many others were transgressors.
Then, in their wake, We followed them up with [others of] Our messengers and after them Jesus, son of Mary. We gave him the Gospel and imbued the hearts of those who followed him with compassion and mercy. But We did not prescribe monasticism for them: that was their own innovation by which they sought to please God. But then, they did not observe it in the way that it should have been observed. So We rewarded only those who were truly faithful, for many of them were disobedient.
Believers, fear God and believe in His messenger. He will show you mercy in double measure and will provide a light for you to walk in. God will grant you forgiveness. He is forgiving and merciful.
The People of the Book should know that they have no power whatsoever over God's grace. His grace is entirely in His hand and He bestows it upon whoever He wills. God is truly infinite in His bounty.
