Sura  33 - The Confederates
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SURA XXXIII (33) - THE CONFEDERATES    (Medina - 73 Verses)       (CIII - 434) 
 
       In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
 
       O Prophet, fear thou God, and obey not the unbelievers and the
hypocrites; - Truly God is Knowing, Wise:
 
       But follow what is revealed to thee from thy Lord:  Cognisant truly is
He of all your actions -
 
       And put thou thy trust in God, for a sufficient guardian is God.
 
       God hath not given a man two hearts within him; neither hath he made
your wives who ye divorce to be as your mothers; nor hath he made your adopted
sons to be as your own sons.  Such words are indeed in your mouths; but God
speaketh the truth, and in the right way He guideth.
 
       Name them after their fathers:  this will be more right before God.  But
if ye know not who their fathers are, then let them be your brethren in the
faith, and your comrades.  And unless made with intent of heart, mistakes in
this matter shall be no crime in you:  for God is Lenient, Merciful.
 
       Nearer of kin to the faithful is the Prophet, than they are to their own
selves.  His wives are their mothers.  According to the Book of God, they who
are related by blood, are nearer to the one to the other than other believers,
and than those who have fled their country for the cause of God:  but whatever
kindness ye shew to your kindred, shall be noted down in the Book.
 
       And remember that we have entered into covenant with the Prophets, and
with thee, and with Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, Son of Mary:  and
we formed with them a strict covenant,
 
       That God may question the men of truth as to their truth.  But a sore
torment hath He prepared for the unbelievers.
 
       O believers! remember the goodness of God towards you, when the armies
came against you, and we sent against them a blast, and hosts that ye saw not;
for the ye of God was upon your doings:
 
33:10  When they assailed you from above you, and from below you, and when
your eyes became distracted, and your hearts came up into your throat, and ye
[Bought divers thoughts of God:
 
       Then were the faithful tried, and with strong quaking did they quake:
 
       And when the disaffected and the diseased of heart said, "God and his
Apostle have made us but a cheating promise:"
 
       And when a part of them said, "O people of Yathrib! there is no place of
safety for you here; therefore return into the city."  And another party of you
asked the prophet's leave to return, saying, "Our houses are left defenceless."
No! they were not left defenceless:  but their sole thought was to flee away.
 
       If the enemy had effected an entry at all points, and they (the
disaffected) had been asked to promote confusion, they would have done so; but
only a short time would they have remained in it. - (Medina).
 
       They had before pledged themselves to God that they would not turn their
backs; and a pledge given to God must be enquired of.
 
       Say:  Flight shall not profit you; if ye have fled the death or the
slaughter, yet even then, but a little while shall ye enjoy your good things!
 
       Say:  Who is here that will screen you from God, whether He choose to
bring evil on you, or to shew you mercy?  None beside God shall they find to
be their patron or helper.
 
       God well knoweth those among you who cause hindrances, and those who say
to their brethren, "Come hither to us;" and who come not to the fight except a
little.
 
       It is out of covetousness in your regard:  for when an alarm cometh,
thou mayest see them look to thee, and roll their eyes like him on whom the
shadows of death have fallen!  Yet, when the alarm is passed, with sharp
tongues will they assail you, covetous of the best of the spoil.  No faith have
these!  God will make their doings of no avail!  And easy is this with God.
 
33:20  They thought that the confederates would never retire:  and were the
confederates to come again, they would fain be dwelling among the Arabs of the
desert, and there ask news about you! for though they were with you, they
fought not except a little.
 
       A noble pattern had ye in God's Apostle, for all who hope in God, and in
the latter day, and oft remember God!
 
       And when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, "This is what God
and His Apostle promised us, and God and His Apostle spoke truly:" and it only
increased their faith and self-devotion.
 
      Some were there among the faithful who made good what they had promised
to God,.  Some have fulfilled their course, and others await its fulfilment,
and have not been changelings who change -
 
       That God may reward the faithful for their faithfulness, and may punish
the hypocrites, if He so please, or be turned unto them:  for God is Forgiving,
Merciful.
 
       And God drove back the infidels in their wrath; they won no advantage;
God sufficed the faithful in the fight:  for God is Strong, Mighty.
 
       And He caused those of the people of the Book (the Jews), who had aided
the confederates, to come down out of their fortresses, and cast dismay into
their hearts:  some ye slew, others ye took prisoners.
 
       And He gave you their land, and their dwellings, and their wealth, for
an heritage - even a land on which ye had never set foot:  for the might of God
is equal to all things.
 
       O Prophet! say to thy wives, If ye desire this present life and its
braveries, come then, I will provide for you, and dismiss you with an
honourable dismissal.
 
       But if ye desire God and His Apostle, and a home in the next life, then,
truly, hath God prepared for those of you who are virtuous, a great reward.
 
33:30  O wives of the Prophet! should any of you be guilty of a prove
lewdness, doubly shall her chastisement be doubled: and with God this is easy.
 
       But whoever of you shall obey God and His Apostle, and shall do that
which is right, twice over will we give her her reward, and we have prepared
for her a noble provision
 
       O wives of the Prophet!  ye are not as other women.  If ye fear God, be
not too complaisant of speech, lest the man of unhealthy heart should lust
after you, but speak with discreet speech.
 
       And abide still in your houses, and go not in public decked as in the
days of your former ignorance, but observe prayer, and pay the impost, and obey
God and the Apostle:  for God only desireth to put away filthiness from you as
his household, and with cleansing to cleanse you.
 
       And recollect what is rehearsed to you in your houses of the Book of
God, and of wisdom:  for God is keen-sighted, cognisant of all.
 
       Truly the men who resign themselves to God (Muslims), and the women who
resign themselves, and the believing men and the believing women, and the
devout men and the devout women, and the men of truth, and the women of truth,
and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble
women, and the men who give alms and the women who give alms, and the men who
fast and the women who fast, and the chaste men and the chaste women, and the
men and the women who oft remember God: for them hath God prepared forgiveness
and a rich recompense.
 
       And it is not for a believer, man or woman, to have any choice in their
affairs, when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter:  and whoever
disobeyeth God and His Apostle, erreth with palpable error.
 
       And, remember, when thou saidst to him unto whom God had shewn favour,
and to whom thou also hadst shewn favour, "Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear
God;" and thou didst hide in they mind what God would bring to light, and thou
didst fear man; but more right had it been to fear God.  And when Zaid had
settled concerning her to divorce her, we married her to thee, that it might
not be a crime in the faithful to marry the wives of their adopted sons, when
they have settled the affair concerning them.  And the behest of God is to be
performed.
 
       No blame attacheth to the prophet where God hath given him a permission.
Such was the way of God with those prophets who flourished before thee; for
God's behest is a fixed decree -
 
       Who fulfilled the mission with which God had charged them, and feared
Him, and feared none but god.  And God taketh a sufficient account.
 
33:40  Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle
of God, and the seal of the prophets: and God knoweth all things.
 
       O Believers! remember God with frequent remembrance, and praise Him
morning and evening.
 
       He blesseth you, and His angels intercede for you, that He may bring you
forth out of darkness into light: and Merciful is He to the Believers.
 
       Their greeting on the day when they shall meet Him shall be "Peace!"
And He hath got ready for them a noble recompense.
 
       O Prophet! we have sent thee to be a witness, and a herald of glad
tidings, and a warner;
 
       And one who, through His own permission, summoneth to god, and a
light-giving torch.
 
       Announce, therefore, to believers, that great boons do await them from
God;
 
       And obey not the Infidels and Hypocrites - yet abstain from injuring
them:   and put thou thy trust in God, for God is a sufficient guardian.
 
       O Believers! when ye marry believing women, and then divorce them before
ye have consummated the marriage, ye have no term prescribed you, which ye must
fulfil towards them:  provide for them, and dismiss them with a reputable
dismissal.
 
       O Prophet!  we allow thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered, and the
slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which God hath granted
thee, and the daughters of thy uncle, and of thy paternal and maternal aunts
who fled with thee to Medina, and any believing woman who hath given herself up
to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to wed her - a Privilege for thee above
the rest of the Faithful.
 
33:50  We well know what we have settled for them, in regard to their wives
and to the slaves whom their right hands hold, that there may be no fault on
thy part:  and God is Indulgent, Merciful!
 
       Thou mayest decline for the present whom thou wilt of them, and thou
mayest take to thy bed her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for
of those thou shalt have before neglected; and this shall not be a crime in
thee.  Thus will it be easier to give them the desire of their eyes, and not
to put them to grief, and to satisfy them with what thou shalt accord to each
of them.  God knoweth what is in your hearts, and God is Knowing, Gracious.
 
       It is not permitted thee to take other wives hereafter, nor to change
thy present wives for other women, though their beauty charm thee, except
slaves whom thy right hand shall possess.  And God watcheth all things.
 
       O Believers!  enter not into the houses of the Prophet, save by his
leave, for a meal, without waiting his time.  When ye are invited then enter,
and when ye have eaten then disperse at once.  And engage not in familiar talk,
for this would cause the Prophet trouble, and he would be ashamed to bid you
go; but God is not ashamed to say the truth.  And when ye would ask any gift of
his wives, ask it from behind a veil.  Purer will this be for your hearts and
for their hearts.  And ye must not trouble the Apostle of God, nor marry his
wives, after him, for ever.  This would be a grave offense with God.
 
       Whether ye bring a matter to the light or hide it, God truly hath
knowledge of all things.
 
       No blame shall attach to them (your wives) for speaking to their fathers
unveiled, or to their sons, or to their brothers, or to their brothers' sons,
or to their sisters' sons, or to their women, or to the slaves whom their right
hands hold.  And fear ye God:  for God witnesseth all things.
 
       Verily, God and His Angels bless the Prophet!  Bless ye Him, O
Believers, and salute Him with salutations of Peace.
 
       Verily, they who affront God and His Apostle, the curse of God is on
them in this world, and in the world to come:  and He hath prepared for them a
shameful chastisement.
 
       And they who shall affront believing men and believing women, for no
fault of theirs, they shall surely bear the guilt of slander, and of a clear
wrong.
 
       O Prophet! speak to thy wives and to thy daughters, and to the wives of
the Faithful, that they let their veils fall low.  Thus will they more easily
be known, and they will not be affronted.  God is Indulgent, Merciful!
 
33:60  If the Hypocrites, and the men of tainted hearts, and the stirrers of
sedition in Medina desist not, we will surely stir thee up against them.  Then
shall they  not be suffered to dwell near thee therein, but a little while:
 
       Cursed wherever they are found; they shall be seized and slain with
slaughter!
 
       Such hath been the way of God with those who lived before them; and no
change canst thou find in the way of God.
 
       Men will ask thee of "the Hour."  Say: The knowledge of it is with God
alone: and who can tell thee whether haply the Hour be not nigh at hand?
 
       Verily, God hath cursed the Infidels, and hath got ready for them the
flame:
 
       For aye shall they abide therein; none to befriend them, no helper shall
they find!
 
       On the day when their faces shall be rolled in the fire, they shall cry:
"Oh! would that we had obeyed God, and obeyed the Apostle!"
 
       And they shall say:  "Oh our Lord! indeed we obeyed our chiefs and our
great ones, and they misled us from the way of God -
 
       O our Lord! give them a double chastisement, and curse them with a heavy
curse."
 
       O Believers! be not like those who affronted Moses.  But God cleared him
from what they said of him, and of God what he high esteemed.
 
33:70  O Believers! fear God, and speak with well-guided speech.
 
       That God may bless your doings for you, and forgive you your sins.  And
whoso obeyeth God and His Apostle with great bliss shall he be blessed.
 
       Verily, we proposed to the Heavens, and to the Earth, and to the
Mountains to receive the Faith, but they refused the burden, and they feared to
receive it.  Man undertook to bear it, but hath proved unjust, senseless!
 
       Therefore will God punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical
women, and the men and the women who join gods with God; but to the believing
men and women will God turn him:  for God is Indulgent, Merciful!
-- Sura  33 - The Confederates