Revealed at Mecca
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, (1)
The Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace, (2)
Lord of the Day of Judgment! (3)
Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid. (4)
Guide us the straight way. (5)
The way of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, (6)
Not of those who have been condemned [by Thee], nor of those who go astray! (7)
Revealed at Mecca
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
Kaf. Ha. Ya. ‘Ayd Sad. (1)
AN ACCOUNT of the grace which thy Sustainer bestowed upon His servant Zachariah: (2) When he called out to his Sustainer in the secrecy of his heart, (3) he prayed: “O my Sustainer! Feeble have become my bones, and my head glistens with grey hair. But never yet, O my Lord, has my prayer unto Thee remained unanswered.” (4) “Now, behold, I am afraid of [what] my kinsfolk [will do] after I am gone, for my wife has always been barren. Bestow, then, upon me, out of Thy grace, the gift of a successor (5) who will be my heir as well as an heir [to the dignity] of the House of Jacob; and make him, O my Sustainer, well-pleasing to Thee!” (6) [Thereupon the angels called out unto him: “O Zachariah! We bring thee the glad tiding of [the birth of ] a son whose name shall be John.” [And God says,] “Never have We given this name to anyone before him.” (7) [Zachariah] exclaimed: “O my Sustainer! How can I have a son when my wife has always been barren and I have become utterly infirm through old age?” (8) Answered [the angel]: “Thus, it is”; [but] thy Sustainer says, “This is easy for Me – even as I have created thee aforetime out of nothing.” (9) [Zachariah] prayed: “O my Sustainer! Appoint a sign for me!” Said [the angel]: “Thy sign shall be that for full three nights [and days] thou wilt not speak unto men.” (10) Thereupon he came out of the sanctuary unto his people and signified to them [by gestures]: “Extol His limitless glory by day and by night!” (11) [And when the son was born and grew up, he was told,] “O John! Hold fast unto the divine writ with [all thy] strength!” – for We granted him wisdom “while he was yet a little boy, (12) as well as, by Our grace, [the gift of ] compassion and purity; and he was [always] conscious of Us (13) and full of piety towards his parents; and never was he haughty or rebellious.” (14) Hence, [God’s] peace was upon him on the day when he was born, and on the day of his death, and will be [upon him] on the day when he shall be raised to life [again]. (15)
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Mary. Lo! She withdrew from her family to an eastern place (16) and kept herself in seclusion from them, whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being. (17)
She exclaimed: “Verily, I seek refuge from thee with the Most Gracious! [Approach me not] if thou art conscious of Him!” (18)
[The angel] answered: “I am but a messenger of thy Sustainer, [who says,] ‘I shall bestow upon thee the gift of a son endowed with purity.’” (19) Said she: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? – for, never have I been a loose woman!” (20)
[The angel] answered: “Thus it is; [but] thy Sustainer says, ‘This is easy for Me; and [thou shalt have a son,] so that We might make him a symbol unto mankind and an act of grace from US.’ And it was a thing decreed [by God]: (21) and in time she conceived him, and then she withdrew with him to a far-off place. (22) And [when] the throes of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree, she exclaimed: “Oh, would that I had died ere this, and had become a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!” (23) Thereupon [a voice] called out to her from beneath that [palm-tree]: “Grieve not! Thy Sustainer has provided a rivulet [running] beneath thee; (24) and shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. (25)
Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened! And if thou shouldst see any human being, convey this unto him: ‘Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed unto the Most Gracious; hence, I may not speak today to any mortal.’” (26) And in time she returned to her people, carrying the child with her. They said: “O Mary! Thou hast indeed done an amazing thing! (27) sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man, nor was thy mother a loose woman!” (28) Thereupon she pointed to him. They exclaimed: “How can we talk to one who [as yet] is a little boy in the cradle?” (29) [But] he said: “Behold, I am a servant of God. He has vouchsafed unto me revelation and made me a prophet, (30) and made me blessed wherever I may be; and He has enjoined upon me prayer and charity as long as I live, (31) and [has endowed me with] piety towards my mother; and He has not made me haughty or bereft of grace. (32) Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!” (33)
SUCH WAS, in the words of truth, Jesus the son of Mary, about whose nature they so deeply disagree. (34) It is not conceivable that God should have taken unto Himself a son: limitless is He in His glory! When He wills a thing to be, He but says unto it “Be” – and it is! (35)
And [thus it was that Jesus always said]: “Verily, God is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer; so worship [none but] Him: this [alone] is a straight way.” (36) And yet, the sects [that follow the Bible] are at variance among themselves [about the nature of Jesus. Woe, then, unto all who deny the truth when that awesome Day will appear! (37) How well will they hear and see [the truth] on the Day when they come before Us! Today, however, these evildoers are obviously lost in error: (38) hence, warn them of [the coming of] the Day of Regrets, when everything will have been decided – for as yet they are heedless, and they do not believe [in it]. (39) Behold, We alone shall remain after the earth and all who live on it have passed away, and (when] unto Us all will have been brought back. (40)
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Abraham. Behold, he was a man of truth, [already] a prophet (41) when he spoke [thus] unto his father: “O my father! Why dost thou worship something that neither hears nor sees and can be of no avail whatever to thee?” (42) “O my father! Behold, there has indeed come to me [a ray] of knowledge such as has never yet come unto thee: follow me, then; I shall guide thee onto a perfect way.” (43) “O my father! Do not worship Satan – for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!” (44) “O my father! I dread lest a chastisement from the Most Gracious befall thee, and then thou wilt become [aware of having been] close unto Satan!” (45) He answered: “Dost thou dislike my gods, O Abraham? Indeed, if thou desist not, I shall most certainly cause thee to be stoned to death! Now begone from me for good!” (46) [Abraham] replied: “Peace be upon thee! I shall ask my Sustainer to forgive thee: for, behold, He has always been kind unto me. (47) But I shall withdraw from you all and from whatever you invoke instead of God, and shall invoke my Sustainer [alone]: it may well be that my prayer [for thee] will not remain unanswered by my Sustainer.” (48) And after he had withdrawn from them and from all that they were worshipping instead of God, We bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob, and made each of them a prophet; (49) and We bestowed upon them [manifold] gifts out of Our grace, and granted them a lofty power to convey the truth [unto others]. (50)
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Moses. Behold, he was a chosen one, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet. (51) And [remember how] We called upon him from the right-hand slope of Mount Sinai and drew him near [unto Us] in mystic communion, (52) and [how], out of Our grace, We granted unto him his brother Aaron, to be a prophet [by his side]. (53)
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Ishmael. Behold, he was always true to his promise, and was an apostle [of God], a prophet, (54) who used to enjoin upon his people prayer and charity, and found favour in his Sustainer’s sight. (55)
AND CALL to mind, through this divine writ, Idris. Behold, he was a man of truth, a prophet, (56) whom We exalted onto a lofty station. (57)
THESE WERE some of the prophets upon whom God bestowed His blessings – [prophets] of the seed of Adam and of those whom We caused to be borne [in the ark] with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel and [all of them were] among those whom We had guided and elected; [and] whenever the messages of the Most Gracious were conveyed unto them, they would fall down [before Him], prostrating themselves and weeping. (58) Yet they were succeeded by generations [of people] who lost all [thought of] prayer and followed [but] their own lusts; and these will, in time, meet with utter disillusion. (59)
Excepted, however, shall be those who repent and attain to faith and do righteous deeds: for it is they who will enter paradise and will not be wronged in any way: (60) [theirs will be the] gardens of perpetual bliss which the Most Gracious has promised unto His servants, in a realm which is beyond the reach of human perception: [and,] verily, His promise is ever sure of fulfilment! (61) No empty talk will they hear there – nothing but [tidings of] inner soundness and peace; and there will they have their sustenance by day and by night: (62) this is the paradise which We grant as a heritage unto such of Our servants as are conscious of Us. (63)
AND [the angels say]: “We do not descend [with revelation], again and again, other than by thy Sustainer’s command: unto Him belongs all that lies open before us and all that is hidden – from us and all that is in-between. And never does thy Sustainer forget [anything] – (64) the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them! Worship, then, Him alone, and remain steadfast in His worship! Dost thou know any whose name is worthy to be mentioned side by side with His?” (65)
WITH ALL THIS, man [often] says, “What! Once I am dead, shall I again be brought forth alive?” (66) But does man not bear in mind that We have created him aforetime out of nothing? (67) And so, by thy Sustainer, [on Judgment Day] We shall most certainly bring them forth together with the satanic forces [which impelled them in life] and then We shall most certainly gather them, on their knees, around hell; (68) and thereupon We shall, indeed, draw forth from every group [of sinners] the ones that had been most determined in their disdainful rebellion against the Most Gracious: (69) for, indeed, We know best as to which of them is most deserving of the fires of hell. (70) And every one of you will come within sight of it: this is, with thy Sustainer, a decree that must be fulfilled. (71) And once again: We shall save [from hell] those who have been conscious of Us; but We shall leave in it the evildoers, on their knees. (72)
AS IT IS, whenever Our messages are conveyed to them in all their clarity, those who are bent on denying the truth are wont to say unto those who have attained to faith: “Which of the two kinds of man is in a stronger position and superior as a community?” (73) And yet, how many a generation have We destroyed before their time – [people] who surpassed them in material power and in outward show! (74) Say: “As for him who lives in error, may the Most Gracious lengthen the span of his life!” [And let them say whatever they say until the time when they behold that [doom] of which they were forewarned – whether it be suffering [in this world] or [at the coming of] the Last Hour: for then they will understand which [of the two kinds of man] was worse in station and weaker in resources! (75) And God endows those who avail themselves of [His] guidance with an ever-deeper consciousness of the right way; and good deeds, the fruit whereof endures forever, are, in thy Sustainer’s sight, of far greater merit [than any worldly goods], and yield far better returns. (76) And hast thou ever considered [the kind of man] who is bent on denying the truth of Our messages and says, “I will surely be given wealth and children”? (77) Has he, perchance, attained to a realm which is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception? Or has he concluded a covenant with the Most Gracious? (78) Nay! We shall record what he says, and We shall lengthen the length of his suffering [in the hereafter], (79) and divest him of all that he is [now] speaking of: for [on Judgment Day] he will appear before Us in a lonely state. (80) For [such as] these have taken to worshipping deities other than God, hoping that they would be a [source of] strength for them. (81) But nay! [On Judgment Day] these [very objects of adoration] will disavow the worship that was paid to them, and will turn against those [who had worshipped them]! (82)
ART THOU NOT aware that We have let loose all [manner of] satanic forces upon those who deny the truth – [forces] that impel them [towards sin] with strong impulsion? (83) Hence, be not in haste [to call down God’s punishment] upon them: for We but number the number of their days. (84) On the Day when We shall gather the Godconscious unto [Us,] the Most Gracious, as honoured guests, (85) and drive those who were lost in sin unto hell as a thirsty herd is driven to a well – (86) [on that Day] none will have [the benefit of] intercession unless he has [in his lifetime] entered into a bond with the Most Gracious. (87) As it is, some assert, “The Most Gracious has taken unto Himself a son”! (88) Indeed, [by this assertion] you have brought forth something monstrous, (89) whereat the heavens might well-nigh be rent into fragments, and the earth be split asunder, and the mountains fall down in ruins! (90) That men, should ascribe a son to the Most Gracious, (91) although it is inconceivable that the Most Gracious should take unto Himself a son! (92) Not one of all [the beings] that are in the heavens or on earth appears before the Most Gracious other than as a servant: (93) indeed, He has full cognizance of them, and has numbered them with [unfailing] numbering; (94) and every one of them will appear before Him on Resurrection Day in a lonely state. (95)
VERILY, those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds will the Most Gracious endow with love: (96) and only to this end have We made this [divine writ] easy to understand, in thine own tongue, [O Prophet,] so that thou might convey thereby a glad tiding to the God-conscious, and warn thereby those who are given to [futile] contention: (97) for, how many a generation have We destroyed before their time – [and] canst thou perceive any one of them [now], or hear any whisper of them? (98)
Revealed in Medina
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
ALL THAT IS in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God’s limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise. (1) He it is who turned out of their homes, at the time of [their] first gathering [for war], such of the followers of earlier revelation as were bent on denying the truth. You did not think [O believers] that they would depart [without resistance] – just as they thought that their strongholds would protect them against God: but God came upon them in a manner which they had not expected, and cast terror into their hearts; [and thus] they destroyed their homes by their own hands as well as the hands of the believers. Learn a lesson, then, O you who are endowed with insight! (2) And had it not been for God’s having ordained banishment for them, He would indeed have imposed [yet greater] suffering on them in this world: still, in the life to come there awaits them suffering through fire: (3) this, because they cut themselves off from God and His Apostle: and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle – verily, God is severe in retribution! (4) Whatever [of their] palm trees you may have cut down, [O believers,] or left standing on their roots, was [done] by God’s leave, and in order that He might confound the iniquitous. (5) Yet [remember:] whatever [spoils taken] from the enemy God has turned over to His Apostle, you did not have to spur horse or riding-camel for its sake: but God gives His apostles mastery over whomever He wills – for God has the power to will anything. (6) Whatever [spoils taken] from the people of those villages God has turned over to His Apostle – [all of it] belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin [of deceased believers], and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, so that it may not be [a benefit] going round and round among such of you as may [already] be rich. Hence, accept [willingly] whatever the Apostle* gives you [thereof], and refrain from [demanding] anything that he withholds from you; and remain conscious of God: for, verily, God is severe in retribution. (7) [Thus, part of such war-gains shall be given] to the poor among those who have forsaken the domain of evil: those who have been driven from their homelands and their possessions, seeking favour with God and [His] goodly acceptance, and who aid [the cause of] God and His Apostle: it is they, they who are true to their word! (8) And [it shall be offered, too, unto the poor from among] those who, before them, had their abode in this realm and in faith – [those] who love all that come to them in search of refuge, and who harbour in their hearts no grudge for whatever the others may have been given, but rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot: for, such as from their own covetousness are saved – it is they, they that shall attain to a happy state! (9) And so, they who come after them pray: “O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins, as well as those of our brethren who preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have attained to faith. O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou art compassionate, a dispenser of grace!” (10)
ART THOU NOT aware of how those who would always dissemble [their real feelings] speak to their truth-denying brethren from among the followers of earlier revelation: “If you are driven away, we shall most certainly go forth with you, and shall never pay heed to anyone against you; and if war is waged against you, we shall most certainly come to your succour.” But God bears witness that they are most flagrantly lying: (11) [for] if those [to whom they have pledged themselves] are indeed driven away, they will not go forth with them; and if war is waged against them, they will not come to their succour; and even if they [try to] succour them, they will most certainly turn their backs [in flight], and in the end will [themselves] find no succour. (12) Nay, [O believers,] you arouse in their bosoms a fear more intense than [even their fear of] God: this, because they are people who fail to grasp the truth. (13) Never will they fight you, [even] in unison, otherwise than from within fortified strongholds or from behind walls. Severe is their warlike discord among themselves: thou wouldst think that they are united, whereas [in fact] their hearts are at odds [with one another]: this, because they are people who will not use their reason. (14) [To both kinds of your enemies, O believers, is bound to happen] the like of [what happened to] those who, a short while before them, had to taste the evil that came from their own doings, with [yet more] grievous suffering awaiting them [in the life to come]: (15) the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, “Deny the truth!” – but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, “Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!” (16) And so, they who come after them pray: “O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins, as well as those of our brethren who preceded us in faith, and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have attained to faith. O our Sustainer! Verily, Thou art compassionate, a dispenser of grace!” Thus, in the end, both [the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites] will find themselves in the fire, therein to abide: for such is the recompense of evildoers. (17)
O YOU who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God; and let every human being look to what he sends ahead for the morrow! And [once again]: Remain conscious of God, for God is fully aware of all that you do; (18) and be not like those who are oblivious of God, and whom He therefore causes to be oblivious of [what is good for] their own selves: [for] it is they, they who are truly depraved! (19) Not equal are those who are destined for the fire and those who are destined for paradise: those who are destined for paradise – it is they, they [alone] who shall triumph [on Judgment Day]! (20)
HAD WE bestowed this Qur’an from on high upon a mountain, thou wouldst indeed see it humbling itself, breaking asunder for awe of God. And [all] such parables We propound unto men, so that they might [learn to] think. (21)
GOD IS HE save whom there is no deity: the One who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception, as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature’s senses or mind: He, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace. (22) God is He save whom there is no deity: the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, the One with whom all salvation rests, the Giver of Faith, the One who determines what is true and false, the Almighty, the One who subdues wrong and restores right, the One to whom all greatness belongs! Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! (23) He is God, the Creator, the Maker who shapes all forms and appearances! His [alone] are the attributes of perfection. All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise! (24)
Revealed at Mecca
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
CONSIDER the daybreak (1) and the ten nights! (2) Consider the multiple and the One! (3) Consider the night as it runs its course! (4) Considering all this – could there be, to anyone endowed with reason, a [more] solemn evidence of the truth? (5)
ART THOU NOT aware of how thy Sustainer has dealt with [the tribe of] ‘Ad, (6) [the people of] Iram the many-pillared, (7) the like of whom has never been reared in all the land? – (8) and with [the tribe of] Thamud, who hollowed out rocks in the valley? – (9) and with Pharaoh of the [many] tent-poles? (10) [It was they] who transgressed all bounds of equity all over their lands, (11) and brought about great corruption therein: (12) and therefore thy Sustainer let loose upon them a scourge of suffering: (13) for, verily, thy Sustainer is ever on the watch! (14)
BUT AS FOR man, whenever his Sustainer tries him by His generosity and by letting him enjoy a life of ease, he says, “My Sustainer has been [justly] generous towards me”; (15) whereas, whenever He tries him by straightening his means of livelihood, he says, “My Sustainer has disgraced me!” (16) But nay, nay, [O men, consider all that you do and fail to do:] you are not generous towards the orphan, (17) and you do not urge one another to feed the needy, (18) and you devour the inheritance [of others] with devouring greed, (19) and you love wealth with boundless love! (20) Nay, but [how will you fare on Judgment Day,] when the earth is crushed with crushing upon crushing, (21) and [the majesty of] thy Sustainer stands revealed, as well as [the true nature of] the angels; rank upon rank? (22) And on that Day hell will be brought [within sight]; on that Day man will remember [all that he did and failed to do]: but what will that remembrance avail him? (23) He will say, “Oh, would that I had provided beforehand for my life [to come]!” (24) For, none can make suffer as He will make suffer [the sinners] on that Day, (25) and none can bind with bonds like His. (26) [But unto the righteous God will say,] “O thou human being that hast attained to inner peace! (27) Return thou unto thy Sustainer, well-pleased [and] pleasing [Him]: (28) enter, then, together with My [other true] servants – (29) yea, enter thou My paradise!” (30)
Translated by Muhammad Asad1
— To seek learning is a sacred duty incumbent on every Muslim man or woman.
— No-one can be considered a believer until he desires for his brother what he desires for himself.
— God wills that whosoever among you wishes to undertake any task must be conscious of the obligation to perfect it.
— Your blood, your possessions, your wives are inviolable.
— Faith is indeed in giving and seeking advice.
— He who preaches prejudice is not one of our number.
— Woman is but man’s full-sister.
— A man’s conduct is a measure of his faith.
— Beneath the throne of God lie treasures the keys to which are the tongue of the poets.
Translated by S. B. Bushrui2
— Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His Messenger, his migration was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that which he migrated.
— Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying the zākat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadān.
— Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s belly for forty days in the form of seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath of life into him and who is commanded about four matters: to write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions, and whether happy or unhappy. By Allah, other than Whom there is no god, verily one of you behaves like the people of Paradise until there is but an arm’s length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of Hell-fire and thus he enters it: and one of you behaves like the people of Hell-fire until there is but an arm’s length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he behaves like the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.
— That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary is his prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.
— What I have forbidden to you, avoid; what I have ordered for you [to do], do as much of it as you can. It was only their excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed those who were before you.
— The blood of a Muslim may not be legally spilt other than in one of three [instances]: the married person who commits adultery; a life for a life; and one who forsakes his religion and abandons the community.
— Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the Faithful to do that which he commanded the Messengers, and the Almighty has said: “Oh ye Messengers! Eat of the good things, and do right.” And Allah the Almighty has said: “Oh ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you.” Then he mentioned [the case of] a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [saying]: O Lord! O Lord! – While his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered!
— Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.
— Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour, and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest.
— I have been ordered to fight against people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and until they perform the prayers and pay the zakāt, and if they do so they will have gained protection from me for their lives and property, unless [they do acts that are punishable] in accordance with Islam, and their reckoning with Islam, and their reckoning will be with Allah the Almighty.
— Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters.
— Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out, and behave well towards people.
— Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.
Translated by Ezzedin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies3
Muhammad b. al-Ḥasan said that Abū Yūsuf said: I asked Abū Hanīfa [his opinion] concerning the spoil taken by Muslims from unbelievers in the territory of war, and how they should divide it, whether its division should take place in the territory of war or in the territory of Islam after they have taken it there. Also what would he assign to the horse-rider and the foot-warrior, and whether he would give preference to certain kinds of horses over others? How would he divide up one-fifth [share]? Would the slaves be entitled to any share of the spoil? Would the women be entitled to any share of the spoil? What would be the status of the territory conquered by Muslims; would it be regarded as house-hold property [to be divided as spoil among the warriors] or not?
Abū Hanīfa replied: If the Muslims captured any spoil, it should never be divided in the territory of war because they would not have yet taken it to a place of security. Its security would be achieved after they take it to the dār al-Islām. But if they ever divided it in the territory of war, it would be permissible, although it would be commendable if they divided it after they have taken it to the dār al-Islām. So also held Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan]. However, Abū Yūsuf held that if the Imām could not find transport to carry it [to the dār al-Islām] he may divide in the dār al-ḥarb.
Abū Ḥanīfa held that the slave is not entitled to a share of the spoil, but if he participated in the fighting he would be entitled to compensation, not to a share. He held the same opinion concerning women and mukātabs. Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] held similar opinions.
Abū Ḥanīfa held that the volunteer who joins an army and the warrior whose name [is registered] in the dīwān [of the permanent army] receive equal [shares]. But [Muslim] merchants who enter [the enemy territory] in pursuit of their trade and find themselves in the Muslim army would not be entitled to anything of the spoil.
Abū Ḥanīfa held that the horse is entitled to one share and the foot-warrior to one share because, he said, he would disapprove of rating the animal higher than an individual Muslim. But Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] held that the horse should be given two shares and the foot-warrior one on the strength of the ḥadīth and the sunna.
Abū Ḥanīfa held that two or more horses [i.e., owned by one warrior] would not be entitled to more [than the share of one horse] because, he said, if two horses were to be given [two separate] shares, then three horses or more should be given, too. So also held Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] but Abū Yūsuf held that he was in favor of giving [separate] shares to two horses, but not to more.
Abū Ḥanīfa held that a thoroughbred horse, a hybrid, and a jade would be entitled to equal shares, making no distinction between one and the other on the strength of God’s command in His Book [the Qur’an], in which no preference is given [to the horse] over other [riding animals]. So also held Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan].
Abū Ḥanīfa held that if the Imām conquered a territory of the unbelievers he would have the choice to do whatever appeared to be more advantageous and acceptable to the Muslims. If he decides to take out the land and property the one-fifth [state share] and divide the four-fifths among the warriors who captured it, he may do so. The one-fifth would be [then] divided into three parts: one for the poor, one for the orphans, and one for the wayfarer. But, Abū Ḥanīfa said, if the Imām decides to immobilize the land and leave it to its people as Dhimmīs who would be obliged to pay for themselves and their land [the poll tax and] the kharāj, as [the Caliph] ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb had decreed for the Sawād [territory], he may do so.
Abū Yūsuf said: I asked Abū Ḥanīfa [his opinion] concerning men who would be called to take part in an expedition and those who do not take part but instead would contribute (i.e., pay scutage) to those who take the field.
[Abū Ḥanīfa] replied: If the Muslims were short in spoil or fay’, no harm is there if they help each other. But if the Muslims had sufficient fay’, I would disapprove of giving it.
I said: I asked Abū Ḥanīfa [his opinion] about [the Muslim] who takes an animal from the fay’ for a ride or wears a garment, whether he disapproves of that and prohibits it.
He replied: If [the Muslim] were wounded and was afraid of its [effect] on his life, it would be all right to take the animal for a ride or use clothing, if he were in need of them.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about the man who takes weapons from the fay’ to fight with them.
[He replied]: It would be objectionable for him [to do so].
I asked: If he were in need of them?
[He replied]: No harm then if he were in need and could not find any other [weapons].
I asked: If an enemy shoots [the Muslim] with an arrow and the latter shot it back to him or snatched a sword from the hand of the enemy and struck them with it, do you think that there would be any harm in that?
He replied: There is no harm in it.
I asked: If a man hamstrung his own animal and, fearful of an enemy [attacking] him, found an animal belonging to the enemy on which he rode and returned to his people, do you think that there would be any harm in that?
He replied: No harm in it, if he were frightened, or hungry, or in need [of the animal], or [was afraid] of treachery.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about the killing of women and children and very old men chronically ill and incapable of fighting?
[He replied: He said] he would prohibit [such killing] and he disapproved of it.
I asked: If [a Muslim] captures a prisoner of war, would it be lawful to kill him or should he be brought to the Imām?
He replied: Whatever he did would be all right. Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] held that he should do whatever he deems good or advantageous to the Muslims.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about the corpse of an enemy killed by the Muslims, whether [it would be all right] to sell it to the unbelievers.
He replied: No harm in doing so in the dār al-ḥarb, i.e., outside the army camp of the Muslims. Do you not think that it is lawful for the Muslims to take away the property [of the enemy]? So, if such [property] were taken in lieu of their corpses, it would be all right. However, Abū Yūsuf disapproved of such [an act] and prohibited it. He held that it is unlawful for the Muslims to sell corpses, to transact with interest, to sell wine or swine, whether to the inhabitants of the territory of war or others.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about an army if it attacks the territory of war and takes spoil and thereafter another Muslim army which had not taken part in the fighting would join it before the spoil is taken to the dār al-Islām and before it is divided up.
He replied: [The second army] would be entitled to participate in the spoil, because the first had not yet taken it to a place of security and was still in the dār al-ḥarb.
[I said]: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about the commander of an army who attacks the territory of war, whether he has the right to promise primes before the taking of spoil by saying, “He who captures anything may have for himself such-and-such [a portion of it].”
[He replied: As to that, I would say “yes”] but as to offering primes after the spoil has already been captured, he [the commander] should not do it.
[I said:] I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] whether there is any harm for the Muslims in seeking the assistance of unbelievers [in a war] against the inhabitants of the territory of war and whether they would be entitled to any [regular] share of the [captured] spoil.
He replied: There is no harm in seeking their assistance, provided the command is in the hands of the Muslims, but if the command were in the hands of the unbelievers, the Muslims should not participate in the fighting along with unbelievers, unless they were fearful of their safety—[in such a case it would be all right to fight with them] in self-defence. But [if the unbelievers participate with the Muslims] they would not be entitled to any share, save to compensation.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about the prisoner of war, whether he would be killed, released on ransom, or divided [as spoil]?
He replied: He should not be released on ransom; he should be killed or taken as fay’. The Imām can make a choice and do whatever he deems advantageous to the Muslims.
[I said:] I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa]: Would it be lawful to exchange Muslim prisoners for prisoners of the unbelievers?
He replied: There is no harm in it, but I disapprove of ransoming prisoners of the unbelievers with property.
I said: I asked [Abū Ḥanīfa his opinion] about men who take spoil consisting of camels, horses and sheep and are unable to drive them or about any of the animals belonging to the Muslims that resist being driven.
He replied: I disapprove of hamstringing or mutilating them, but there is no harm in slaughtering them and burning them so that the enemy would not get any benefit of them.
Abū Ḥanīfa said: If the unbelievers captured a slave or a riding animal or clothing [from the Muslims] and the Muslims recaptured [any of] them as spoil and the owner found it before the spoil was divided, he may take it without paying anything [as a right of postliminium], but if he found it after the spoil was divided he may take it by paying its value, unless it were gold or silver or anything to be weighed or measured; then, Abū Ḥanīfa added, the owner would not have to take it if he found it after the spoil was divided, for he would have to take something by paying as much in weight or measure.
Abū Ḥanīfa said: If a slave ran away to the enemy and was taken [by one of them] and thereafter was recaptured by the Muslims, his master may take him back without paying anything, whether before or after the spoil was divided, because the runaway slave is unlike the prisoner of war or the property captured and taken to a place of security.
Abū Ḥanīfa said: If a riding animal escaped [to the territory of war] and was captured [by the unbelievers], and thereafter recaptured by the Muslims, the owner may take it back without paying anything if he found it before the spoil was divided, but he must pay its value if he found it after the spoil was divided. Thus the runaway slave is treated differently from the riding animal which ran away.
However, Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] held that these cases should be treated alike if [the unbelievers] captured them in their territory, regardless whether [the captive] were a runaway slave, and expelled person, or a prisoner of war. If the owner found him before the spoil is divided, he may take him without paying anything; if he found him after the division, he must pay its value. Abū Ḥanīfa held that if an unbeliever entered the dār al-Islām under an amān along with the said slave and sold him there, nobody would have the right to claim ownership [of the slave], according to the opinion of all [the jurists], except in the case of the runaway slave, whose master, according to Abū Ḥanīfa, has the right to take him wherever he may find him without paying anything.
Abū Ḥanīfa said: If a Muslim slave is captured by the unbelievers and a Muslim purchases this slave from them, his master has the right to take him back by paying his value, if he so wishes. But if he did not take him back and the unbelievers recaptured him and [the slave] was purchased by another man, Abū Ḥanīfa held that [the first] owner would have no right to take him back until purchased by the second owner who takes him back by paying the price of the second sale; thereafter the first owner takes him back on payment of both prices. Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] held the same opinion.
Yūsuf and Muḥammad [b. al-Ḥasan] said: If a slave girl became blind in the hand of the purchaser or suffered a defect and her [first] master wanted to take her back, deducting from her price a portion equivalent to the [value of the] defect, it would not be lawful for him to do so. He should either take her by paying the full price or leave her. This is also the opinion of Abū Ḥanīfa, as far as Abū Yūsuf knows. Do you not think that if a man sold a slave to another and the slave became blind while in the possession of the vendor, the purchaser would be told that he can take the slave by paying the full price or leave him?
If a man cuts off the hand of the slave girl and her master collects the arsh [damages] and the [first] owner from whom the unbelievers had captured the slave girl wanted to take her back and demanded to deduct from her price a portion equal [to the value of the defect], it would not be lawful for him to do so; if he wants to take her back, he has either to pay the full price or leave her. [For] do you think that if [the owner], in whose hand was the slave girl, caused the loss of her eye, he can deduct anything from her price? If this [case] were like any other sale transaction, deduction from the price [equivalent to the value of the defect] would be lawful. If it were also like the shuf’a [jus retractum] sale, deduction from the price would be lawful. And [also] like the purchase [of a house], if part of it is destroyed, a portion of the price equal [to the value of that part] would be deducted from the price to be paid by the preempting purchaser.
Do you not think that if [the person] who has purchased [the slave girl] from the enemy had intercourse with her, nothing would be deducted from her price and the [first] owner could take her back [only] by paying the full [price], and the intercourse would be lawful? If she gave birth to a child and the owner in whose hand was [the child] set him free and the [first] owner took the slave girl back by paying the full price, nothing would be deducted from her price. If the child were killed and an arsh were paid [to the owner], the [first] owner could [still] take the mother by paying the full price or could leave her.
If [the mother] gave birth to a child and the mother were set free [by the owner] and the first owner wanted the child, he should either pay the full price [of the mother] or leave him. Such a purchase is neither like [an ordinary] sale or the shuf’a sale, for [in this situation] the man [the first owner] has a priority right of purchasing the thing by paying the [full] price in the condition in which it is found, regardless of changes over which he had no control, and he must pay the full price [if he wishes to take it back].
If the price could proportionately be divided between the mother and the arsh [paid] for the injury of the child, or if it could be divided between the mother and the defect caused to her, then the price could be proportionately divided between her and the defect caused to her when [for instance] she is blinded by her possessor. Similarly, one could divide the price between her and the nuptial gift due to her, if her possessor had intercourse with her, provided he has to pay damages to her, not being the owner of her entire person, [and] if any accident takes place, the price would be diminished proportionately. If such were the case it would not be lawful [for the owner] to set her free. Do you not think that the pre-empting purchaser (shāfi’) would be entitled to purchase a house by the shuf’a from the vendor and annul the payment of price on the part of the [frustrated] purchaser? But if the owner of the slave girl set her free, his manumission would be lawful, and if he sold her, his sale would be lawful; if the [first] owner wishes to take her back, he would have to pay the price offered by the second purchaser. But if she were given as a gift [to another man], the first owner would be entitled to take her back by paying her value to the person to whom she was given as a gift. Such [a transfer] at any rate is neither like [an ordinary] sale nor the shuf’a sale. Do you not think that if a man sold a slave woman, it would not be lawful for him to resell her or set her free or give her as a gift after his first sale [to another man] is achieved, while the latter [owner] would have the right to sell her or give her as a gift, and if he had intercourse with her, the intercourse would be lawful, and if she gave birth to a child, would become an umm walad for him? But if the vendor had intercourse with her [after selling her], the intercourse would be unlawful, and if she gave birth to a child for him, she would not become an umm walad for him, in case the purchaser wanted to take her as well as her child. Thus, such [a transaction] would be neither like a shuf’a, nor a sale, nor a gift.
If a man gave a [female] servant as a gift to another man and her value increased by him, he who gave her as a gift has no right to take her back. If a man gave a gift to a member of his near of kin who is unlawful to him [in marriage] and [the beneficiary] obtained possession, he who gave the gift has no right to take it back. If the female slave were captured by the unbelievers [and sold to the near of kin], the [first] owner would have the right to take her back from the near of kin or any other, whether her worth has increased or not—together with her children—but the person who gave her as a gift would not have the right to take the child if the child were born when she was in the possession of the receiver of the gift.
If a mukātaba were mortgaged with a man and was [thereafter] captured by the unbelievers as a prisoner from Muslim hands and purchased by another man from them [the unbelievers], the [original] owner would not have the right to take her back until the man in whose hand she was mortgaged would pay her price and from whom the owner would take her by paying the debt and the price. Such [a transaction] is neither like a sale, nor gift, nor shuf’a.
If a man sold a slave woman but, before the purchaser obtained possession and paid the price, the inhabitants of the territory of war captured her and another man purchased her [from them], the [first] purchaser would not have the right to claim her until the original vendor had recovered her from the one who had purchased her from the enemy by paying her price. If he obtains her on paying the price, then the [first] purchaser would have the right to take her by paying the original price with which he had purchased her and the other price which the [original] owner had paid to redeem her.
If a slave, liable both to a debt and a tort, were captured by the unbelievers and purchased [later by a Muslim] from them, the latter would be liable for the debt [of the slave] but not for the tort. If the [original] owner took him back by paying the price, he would be liable for [both] the debt and the tort. If [the slave] returned to the first owner, he would be liable to the tort and the debt; if he did not return to the first owner, the tort would be waived, but he would remain liable for the debt. [For] do you not think that if a slave in debt were sold by his master, but not if he were set free? [And] do you not think that the debt for which a slave was mortgaged would be disregarded until [the original mortgagee] takes [the mortgaged slave] back on paying [the purchaser] the price and thus receives his mortgage, and thereafter the original owner could redeem him by paying the debt?
If the inhabitants of the territory of war captured a male or female slave or any property from the Muslims and thereafter became Muslims while still in possession of these objects, then the slave would become their property, [so much so] that the [original] owner would not have the right to take him back; if the slave were in debt, [the new owner] would remain liable for debt; if he were liable to a tort, [the new owner] would not be liable for it. If the [captured] property were a mortgage, it would not revert to the charge of mortgage, and the debt for which [the property] was given in mortgage would be waived, if the value of the [mortgaged property] were equal to the debt.
If a free man were captured by the inhabitants of the territory of war and those people while in possession [of the free man] became Muslims, the free man would remain free and would never become a slave. The same would hold true in the case of the mudabbar, the umm walad, and the mukātab, who revert to their original status and do not become slaves [of the captor]. This applies to any property which is not lawful to be sold and which the people of the territory of war capture—those people would not have the right to own it if they capture it.
If a free man asked another man to purchase [him from the unbelievers] he would remain a free man and the merchant who purchased him would have the right to recuperate from him [i.e., the prisoner] the price [paid to the enemy]. Likewise, if a mukātaba, an umm walad, and a mudabbar [were made prisoners and purchased at their demand from the enemy], the purchaser will have the right to recuperate from [the mukātaba, etc.] the price paid [to the enemy] after these [mukātaba, etc.] obtain their freedom.
If a free man asked another to purchase for him a named free man [a prisoner in the hands of the enemy] from the dār al-ḥarb and if the other purchased him, the free man who has been purchased would not have to pay the price at all, but the commanded person has the right [to recuperate the price] from the man who gave the order, provided he had guaranteed the price, or had said, “Purchase [him] for me.” On the other hand, if he said: “Purchase him for yourself and consider it a charity,” he would not be liable [to reimbursing].
If a man purchased a slave from the unbelievers [in the dār al-ḥarb], who had captured him from the Muslims, and the [new] purchaser mortgaged him, and if the original [Muslims] owner arrived later, he would not have the right to redeem [the slave] until he paid the debt [for which the slave was mortgaged] and separated the different charges. Thereafter, [the original Muslim] owner can recuperate him on payment of the price [paid to the enemy]. If the owner wanted to pay the debt to the mortgagee and also the price, and if [the mortgagee] voluntarily renounced the debt, he might do that; but the [original] owner would not constrain him to redeem until he takes him back with payment of the debt.
If [the slave] were hired [while in the hands of the purchaser], the hiring would be permissible and the [original] owner may take back [the slave] and cancel the hiring for the remaining period [if he wishes to do so]. The hiring is different from the amount of mortgage. For do you not think that the hiring is a divisible thing, if it is made for a number [of days, for instance]? The present case is likewise [divisible]. But God knows best!
Translated by Majid Khadduri4