AL MUJADILAH (The Woman Who Pleads)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 God has indeed heard the statement of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband and carries her complaint to God: and God hears the arguments between both sides among you: for God hears and sees all things.
2 If any men among you divorce their wives by saying they are as their mothers, they cannot be their mothers: none can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And in fact they use words blasphemous and false: but truly God is one that blots out and forgives.
3 But those who divorce their wives by saying they are as their mothers, then wish to go back on the words they uttered, should free a slave before they touch each other: this are you admonished to perform: and God is well acquainted with what you do.
4 And if any has not the wherewithal, he should fast for two months consecutively before they touch each other. But if any is unable to do so, he should feed sixty indigent ones. This, that you may show your faith in God and his Messenger, those are limits set by God. For those who reject, there is a grievous penalty.
5 Those who resist God and his Messenger will be humbled to dust, as were those before them: for we have already sent down clear signs. And the unbelievers will have a humiliating penalty,
6 On the day that God will raise them all up and show them the truth of their conduct. God has reckoned its value, though they may have forgotten it, for God is witness to all things.
7 Do you not see that God knows all that is in the heavens and on earth? There is not a secret consultation between three, but he makes the fourth among them, nor between five but he makes the sixth, nor between fewer nor more, but he is in their midst, wherever they be: in the end will he tell them the truth of their conduct, on the day of judgment. For God has full knowledge of all things.
8 Will you not turn your sight towards those who were forbidden secret counsels yet revert to that which they were forbidden? And they hold secret counsels among themselves for iniquity and hostility, and disobedience to the Messenger. And when they come to you, they salute you, not as God salutes you. And they say to themselves, Why does not God punish us for our words?” Enough for them is hell: in it will they burn, and evil is that destination!
9 O you who believe! When you hold secret counsel, do it not for iniquity and hostility, and disobedience to the prophet; but do it for righteousness and self restraint; and fear God, to whom you shall be brought back.
10 Secret counsels are only from Iblis, in order that he may cause grief to the believers; but he cannot harm them in the least, except as God permits; and on God let the believers put their trust.
11 O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, make room: God will provide ample room for you. And when you are told to rise up, rise up: God will raise up to ranks, those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge. And God is well acquainted with all you do.
12 O you who believe! When you consult the Messenger in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation. That will be best for you, and most conducive to purity. But if you find not the wherewithal, God is oft-forgiving, most merciful.
13 Is it that you are afraid of spending sums in charity before your private consultation? If, then, you do not so, and God forgives you, then establish regular prayer; practise regular charity; and obey God and his Messenger. And God is well-acquainted with all that you do.
14 Do you not turn your attention to those who turn to such as have the wrath of God upon them? They are neither of you nor of them, and they swear to falsehood knowingly.
15 God has prepared for them a severe penalty: evil indeed are their deeds.
16 They have made their oaths a screen: thus they obstruct men from the path of God: therefore shall they have a humiliating penalty.
17 Of no profit whatever to them, against God, will be their riches nor their sons: they will be companions of the fire, to dwell in it forever.
18 One day will God raise them all up: then will they swear to him as they swear to you: and they think that they have something. No, indeed! They are but liars!
19 Iblis has got the better of them: so he has made them lose the remembrance of God. They are the party of Iblis. Truly, it is the party of Iblis that will perish!
20 Those who resist God and his Messenger will be among those most humiliated.
21 God has decreed: “It is I and my messengers who must prevail”: for God is one full of strength, able to enforce his will.
22 You will not find any people who believe in God and the Last Day, loving those who resist God and his Messenger, even though they were their fathers or their sons, or their brothers, or their kindred. For such he has written faith in their hearts, and strengthened them with a spirit from himself. And he will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell in them forever. God will be well pleased with them, and they with him. They are the party of God. Truly it is the party of God that will achieve felicity.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎