27. Rub’ el-Hizb ربع ٢٧

Hurry towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as wide as the heavens and earth prepared for the righteous,

who give, both in prosperity and adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people- God loves those who do good-

those who remember God and implore forgiveness for their sins if they do something shameful or wrong themselves- who forgives sins but God?- and who never knowingly persist in doing wrong.

The reward for such people is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens graced with flowing streams, where they will remain. How excellent is the reward of those who labour!

God’s ways have operated before your time: travel through the land, and see what was the end of those who disbelieved.

This is a clear lesson to people, and guidance and teaching for those who are mindful of God.

Do not lose heart or despair- if you are true believers you have the upper hand-

if you have suffered a blow, they too have suffered one like it. We deal out such days among people in turn, for God to find out who truly believes, for Him to choose martyrs from among you- God does not love evildoers-

for Him to cleanse those who believe and for Him to destroy the disbelievers.

Did you think you would enter the Garden without God first proving which of you would struggle for His cause and remain steadfast?

Before you encountered death, you were hoping for it. Well, now you have seen it with your own eyes.

Muhammad is only a messenger before whom many messengers have been and gone. If he died or was killed, would you revert to your old ways? If anyone did so, he would not harm God in the least. God will reward the grateful.

No soul may die except with God’s permission at a predestined time. If anyone strives for the rewards of this world, We will give him some of them. If anyone strives for the rewards of the Hereafter, We will give him some of them: We will reward the grateful.

Many prophets have fought, with large bands of godly men alongside them who, in the face of their sufferings for God’s cause, did not lose heart or weaken or surrender: God loves those who are steadfast.

All they said was, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins and our excesses. Make our feet firm, and give us help against the disbelievers,’

and so God gave them both the rewards of this world and the excellent rewards of the Hereafter: God loves those who do good.

You who believe, if you obey the disbelievers, they will make you revert to your old ways and you will turn into losers.

No indeed! It is God who is your protector: He is the best of helpers.

We will strike panic into the disbelievers’ hearts because they attribute partners to God although He has sent no authority for this: their shelter will be the Fire- how miserable is the home of the evildoers!

God fulfilled His promise to you: you were routing them, with His permission, but then you faltered, disputed the order, and disobeyed, once He had brought you within sight of your goal- some of you desire the gains of this world and others desire the world to come- and then He prevented you from [defeating] them as a punishment. He has now forgiven you: God is most gracious to the believers.