The Clear Quran: A Thematic English Translation: English Only

by Anonymous

As for your women past the age of menstruation, in case you do not know, their waiting period is three months, and those who have not menstruated as well. As for those who are pregnant, their waiting period ends with delivery.

God does not require of any soul beyond what He has given it. After hardship, God will bring about ease.

The Prophet used to visit all of his wives in the evening. It so happened that he stayed longer than usual at the home of Zainab bint Jaḥsh, where he was offered honey—something he liked very much. Out of jealousy, two other wives (Ḥafṣah and ’Ȃishah) agreed between themselves to tell the Prophet, when he visited each of them, that his mouth gave off a bad smell, knowing that he did not like bad smells. Eventually, the Prophet made an oath that he would never eat honey again, and told Ḥafṣah not to tell anyone about this. But she told ’Ȃishah that their plan worked. Both wives are subtly advised to learn from the example of the two believing women mentioned at the end of the chapter—Mary and Ȃsiyah, the wife of Pharaoh—and take a lesson from the fate of the wives of Noah and Lot, who were both destroyed despite being wives of prophets.

Perhaps, if he were to divorce you ˹all˺, his Lord would replace you with better wives who are submissive ˹to God˺, faithful ˹to Him˺, devout, repentant, dedicated to worship and fasting—previously married or virgins.

1. Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything. 2. ˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.

Reward of the Believers 12. Indeed, those in awe of their Lord without seeing Him1206 will have forgiveness and a mighty reward.

19. Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds them up except the Most Compassionate. Indeed, He is All-Seeing of everything.

23. Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “He is the One Who brought you into being and gave you hearing, sight, and intellect. ˹Yet˺ you hardly give any thanks.”

And do not obey the despicable, vain oath-taker, 11. slanderer, gossip-monger, 12. withholder of good, transgressor, evildoer, 13. brute, and—on top of all that—an illegitimate child. 14. Now, ˹simply˺ because he has been blessed with ˹abundant˺ wealth and children,

Indeed, We have tested those ˹Meccans˺ as We tested the owners of the garden—when they swore they would surely harvest ˹all˺ its fruit in the early morning, 18. leaving no thought for God’s Will.

The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear ˹you recite˺ the Reminder,1216 and say, “He is certainly a madman.” 52. But it is simply a reminder to the whole world.

25. And as for those given their record in their left hand, they will cry ˹bitterly˺, “I wish I had not been given my record, 26. nor known anything of my reckoning! 27. I wish death was the end! 28. My wealth has not benefited me! 29. My authority has been stripped from me.”

19. Indeed, humankind was created impatient: 20. distressed when touched with evil, 21. and withholding when touched with good— 22. except those who pray, 23. consistently performing their prayers; 24. and who give the rightful share of their wealth 25. to the beggar and the poor; 26. and who ˹firmly˺ believe in the Day of Judgment; 27. and those who fear the punishment of their Lord— 28. ˹knowing that˺ none should feel secure from their Lord’s punishment— 29. and those who guard their chastity1222 30. except with their wives or those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession,1223 for then they are free from blame, 31. but whoever seeks beyond that are the transgressors.

We are truly capable 41. of replacing them with ˹others˺ better than them, and We cannot be prevented ˹from doing so˺.

So let them indulge ˹in falsehood˺ and amuse ˹themselves˺ until they face their Day,

This Meccan chapter describes how Noah strived to deliver the message to his people for 950 years (corresponding to the total number of Arabic letters in this chapter).

What is the matter with you that you are not in awe of the Majesty of God, 14. when He truly created you in stages ˹of development˺?

15. Do you not see how God created seven heavens, one above the other, 16. placing the moon within them as a ˹reflected˺ light, and the sun as a ˹radiant˺ lamp?

17. God ˹alone˺ caused you1230 to grow from the earth like a plant.

how will you guard yourselves against ˹the horrors of˺ a Day which will turn children’s hair grey? 18. It will ˹even˺ cause the sky to split apart. His promise ˹of judgment˺ must be fulfilled. 19. Surely this is a reminder. So let whoever wills take the ˹Right˺ Way to their Lord.

Do not do a favour expecting more ˹in return˺.1241

Every soul will be detained for what it has done, 39. except the people of the right, 40. who will be in Gardens, asking one another 41. about the wicked ˹who will then be asked˺: 42. “What has landed you in Hell?” 43. They will reply, “We were not of those who prayed, 44. nor did we feed the poor. 45. We used to indulge ˹in falsehood˺ along with others, 46. and deny the Day of Judgment, 47. until the inevitable came to us.”

In fact, each one of them wishes to be given a ˹personal˺ letter ˹from God˺ for all ˹to read˺.1246

Do people think We cannot reassemble their bones? 4. Yes ˹indeed˺! We are ˹most˺ capable of restoring ˹even˺ their very fingertips.

36. Do people think they will be left without purpose? 37. Were they not ˹once˺ a sperm-drop emitted? 38. Then they became a clinging clot,1250 then He developed and perfected their form, 39. producing from it both sexes, male and female. 40. Is such ˹a Creator˺ unable to bring the dead back to life?

˹For˺ indeed, We ˹alone˺ created humans from a drop of mixed fluids,1252 ˹in order˺ to test them, so We made them hear and see.

23. Indeed, it is We Who have revealed the Quran to you ˹O Prophet˺ in stages. 24. So be patient with your Lord’s decree, and do not yield to any evildoer or ˹staunch˺ disbeliever from among them.

Surely those ˹pagans˺ love this fleeting world, ˹totally˺ neglecting a weighty Day ahead of them.

Did We not create you from a humble fluid, 21. placing it in a secure place 22. until an appointed time?1257 23. We ˹perfectly˺ ordained ˹its development˺. How excellent are We in doing so!

˹it is˺ the Day the Trumpet will be blown, and you will ˹all˺ come forth in crowds. 19. The sky will be ˹split˺ open, becoming ˹many˺ gates, 20. and the mountains will be blown away, becoming ˹like˺ a mirage.

the disbelievers will cry, “I wish I were dust.”

And as for those who were in awe of standing before their Lord and restrained themselves from ˹evil˺ desires, 41. Paradise will certainly be ˹their˺ home.

After this chapter was revealed, the Prophet would honour ’Abdullâh, calling him ‘the man for whom my Lord rebuked me.’ He even appointed him several times as his deputy over Medina.

Surely this ˹Quran˺ is only a reminder to the whole world— 28. to whoever of you wills to take the Straight Way.

their hearts have been stained by all ˹the evil˺ they used to commit!

when they saw the faithful, they would say, “These ˹people˺ are truly astray,” 33. even though they were not sent as keepers over the believers. 34. But

You will certainly pass from one state to another.

The beginning of this Meccan chapter condemns the persecution of the Christians of Najrân (a city on the border of Yemen and Saudi Arabia) at the hands of the pagans around 524 C.E.

Those who persecute the believing men and women and then do not repent will certainly suffer the punishment of Hell and the torment of burning. 11. Surely those who believe and do good will have Gardens under which rivers flow. That is the greatest triumph.

Let people then consider what they were created from! 6. ˹They were˺ created from a spurting fluid, 7. stemming from between the backbone and the ribcage.1288 8. Surely He is fully capable of bringing them back ˹to life˺— 9. on the Day all secrets will be disclosed. 10. Then one will have neither power nor ˹any˺ helper.

They are certainly devising ˹evil˺ plans, 16. but I too am planning. 17. So bear with the disbelievers ˹O Prophet˺. Let them be for ˹just˺ a little while.

We will facilitate for you the Way of Ease.1290 9. So ˹always˺ remind ˹with the Quran˺—˹even˺ if the reminder is beneficial ˹only to some˺.

But you ˹deniers only˺ prefer the life of this world, 17. even though the Hereafter is far better and more lasting.

Those who disbelieve in God’s might are criticized for failing to reflect on the wonders of His creation, and are warned of the fate of some destroyed disbelievers mentioned at the beginning of the next chapter.

17. Do they not ever reflect on camels—how they were ˹masterfully˺ created;1291 18. and the sky—how it was raised ˹high˺;

So, ˹continue to˺ remind ˹them, O Prophet˺, for your duty is only to remind. 22. You are not ˹there˺ to compel them ˹to believe˺. 23. But whoever turns away, persisting in disbelief, 24. then God will inflict upon them the major punishment.1292

15. Now, whenever a human being is tested by their Lord through ˹His˺ generosity and blessings, they boast, “My Lord has ˹deservedly˺ honoured me!” 16. But when He tests them by limiting their provision, they protest, “My Lord has ˹undeservedly˺ humiliated me!” 17. Absolutely not!

you are not ˹even˺ gracious to the orphan, 18. nor do you urge one another to feed the poor. 19. And you devour ˹others’˺ inheritance greedily,1297 20. and love wealth fervently. 21. Enough!

The underlying theme of this Meccan chapter is that human beings are equipped with the necessary faculties to choose between right and wrong.

7. Do they think that no one sees them? 8. Have We not given them two eyes, 9. a tongue, and two lips; 10. and shown them the two ways ˹of right and wrong˺?