English - Chapter 24 - An-Nur

˹This is˺ a sûrah which We have revealed and made ˹its rulings˺ obligatory, and revealed in it clear commandments so that you may be mindful

As for female and male fornicators, give each of them one hundred lashes, and do not let pity for them make you lenient in ˹enforcing˺ the law of God, if you ˹truly˺ believe in God and the Last Day. And let a number of believers witness their punishment

A male fornicator would only marry a female fornicator or idolatress. And a female fornicator would only be married to a fornicator or idolater. This is ˹all˺ forbidden to the believers

Those who accuse chaste women ˹of adultery˺ and fail to produce four witnesses, give them eighty lashes ˹each˺. And do not ever accept any testimony from them—for they are indeed the rebellious—

except those who repent afterwards and mend their ways, then surely God is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful

And those who accuse their wives ˹of adultery˺ but have no witness except themselves, the accuser must testify, swearing four times by God that he is telling the truth

and a fifth oath that God may condemn him if he is lying

For her to be spared the punishment, she must swear four times by God that he is telling a lie

and a fifth oath that God may be displeased with her if he is telling the truth

˹You would have suffered,˺ had it not been for God’s grace and mercy upon you, and had God not been Accepting of Repentance, All-Wise

Indeed, those who came up with that ˹outrageous˺ slander are a group of you. Do not think this is bad for you. Rather, it is good for you. They will be punished, each according to their share of the sin. As for their mastermind, he will suffer a tremendous punishment

If only the believing men and women had thought well of one another, when you heard this ˹rumour˺, and said, “This is clearly ˹an outrageous˺ slander!”

Why did they not produce four witnesses? Now, since they have failed to produce witnesses, they are ˹truly˺ liars in the sight of God

Had it not been for God’s grace and mercy upon you in this world and the Hereafter, you would have certainly been touched with a tremendous punishment for what you plunged into—

when you passed it from one tongue to the other, and said with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, taking it lightly while it is ˹extremely˺ serious in the sight of God

If only you had said upon hearing it, “How can we speak about such a thing! Glory be to You ˹O Lord˺! This is a heinous slander!”

God forbids you from ever doing something like this again, if you are ˹true˺ believers

And God makes ˹His˺ commandments clear to you, for God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

Indeed, those who love to see indecency spread among the believers will suffer a painful punishment in this life and the Hereafter. God knows and you do not know

˹You would have suffered,˺ had it not been for God’s grace and mercy upon you, and had God not been Ever Gracious, Most Merciful

O believers! Do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Whoever follows Satan’s footsteps, then ˹let them know that˺ he surely bids ˹all to˺ immorality and wickedness. Had it not been for God’s grace and mercy upon you, none of you would have ever been purified. But God purifies whoever He wills. And God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing

Do not let the people of virtue and affluence among you swear to suspend donations to their relatives, the needy, and the emigrants in the cause of God. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love to be forgiven by God? And God is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful

Surely those who accuse chaste, unsuspecting, believing women are cursed in this life and the Hereafter. And they will suffer a tremendous punishment

on the Day their tongues, hands, and feet will testify against them for what they used to do

On that Day, God will give them their just penalty in full, and they will ˹come to˺ know that God ˹alone˺ is the Ultimate Truth

Wicked women are for wicked men, and wicked men are for wicked women. And virtuous women are for virtuous men, and virtuous men are for virtuous women. The virtuous are innocent of what the wicked say. They will have forgiveness and an honourable provision

O believers! Do not enter any house other than your own until you have asked for permission and greeted its occupants. This is best for you, so perhaps you will be mindful

If you find no one at home, do not enter it until you have been given permission. And if you are asked to leave, then leave. That is purer for you. And God has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of what you do

There is no blame on you if you enter public places where there is something of benefit for you. And God knows what you reveal and what you conceal

˹O Prophet!˺ Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely God is All-Aware of what they do

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness. Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments. Turn to God in repentance all together, O believers, so that you may be successful

Marry off the ˹free˺ singles among you, as well as the righteous of your bondmen and bondwomen. If they are poor, God will enrich them out of His bounty. For God is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing

And let those who do not have the means to marry keep themselves chaste until God enriches them out of His bounty. And if any of those ˹bondspeople˺ in your possession desires a deed of emancipation, make it possible for them, if you find goodness in them. And give them some of God’s wealth which He has granted you. Do not force your ˹slave˺ girls into prostitution for your own worldly gains while they wish to remain chaste. And if someone coerces them, then after such a coercion God is certainly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful ˹to them˺

Indeed, We have sent down to you clear revelations, along with examples of those who had gone before you, and a lesson to the God-fearing

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp is in a crystal, the crystal is like a shining star, lit from ˹the oil of˺ a blessed olive tree, ˹located˺ neither to the east nor the west, whose oil would almost glow, even without being touched by fire. Light upon light! God guides whoever He wills to His light. And God sets forth parables for humanity. For God has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things

˹That light shines˺ through houses ˹of worship˺ which God has ordered to be raised, and where His Name is mentioned. He is glorified there morning and evening

by men who are not distracted—either by buying or selling—from God’s remembrance, or performing prayer, or paying alms-tax. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will tremble

˹hoping˺ that God may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and increase them out of His grace. And God provides for whoever He wills without limit

As for the disbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert, which the thirsty perceive as water, but when they approach it, they find it to be nothing. Instead, they find God there ˹in the Hereafter, ready˺ to settle their account. And God is swift in reckoning

Or ˹their deeds are˺ like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by ˹dark˺ clouds. Darkness upon darkness! If one stretches out their hand, they can hardly see it. And whoever God does not bless with light will have no light

Do you not see that God is glorified by all those in the heavens and the earth, even the birds as they soar? Each ˹instinctively˺ knows their manner of prayer and glorification. And God has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all they do

To God ˹alone˺ belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And to God is the final return

Do you not see that God gently drives the clouds, then joins them together, piling them up into masses, from which you see raindrops come forth? And He sends down from the sky mountains ˹of clouds˺ loaded with hail, pouring it on whoever He wills and averting it from whoever He wills. The flash of the clouds’ lightning nearly takes away eyesight

God alternates the day and night. Surely in this is a lesson for people of insight

And God has created from water every living creature. Some of them crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some walk on four. God creates whatever He wills. Surely God is Most Capable of everything

We have indeed sent down revelations clarifying ˹the truth˺. But God ˹only˺ guides whoever He wills to the Straight Path

And the hypocrites say, “We believe in God and the Messenger, and we obey.” Then a group of them turns away soon after that. These are not ˹true˺ believers

And as soon as they are called to God and His Messenger so he may judge between them, a group of them turns away

But if the truth is in their favour, they come to him, fully submitting

Is there a sickness in their hearts? Or are they in doubt? Or do they fear that God and His Messenger will be unjust to them? In fact, it is they who are the ˹true˺ wrongdoers

The only response of the ˹true˺ believers, when they are called to God and His Messenger so he may judge between them, is to say, “We hear and obey.” It is they who will ˹truly˺ succeed

For whoever obeys God and His Messenger, and fears God and is mindful of Him, then it is they who will ˹truly˺ triumph

They swear by God their most solemn oaths that if you ˹O Prophet˺ were to command them, they would certainly march forth ˹in God’s cause˺. Say, “˹You˺ do not ˹have to˺ swear; your obedience is well known!” Surely God is All-Aware of what you do.”

Say, “Obey God and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, then he is only responsible for his duty and you are responsible for yours. And if you obey him, you will be ˹rightly˺ guided. The Messenger’s duty is only to deliver ˹the message˺ clearly.”

God has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them successors in the land, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their faith which He has chosen for them; and will indeed change their fear into security—˹provided that˺ they worship Me, associating nothing with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this ˹promise˺, it is they who will be the rebellious

Moreover, establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and obey the Messenger, so you may be shown mercy

Do not think ˹O Prophet˺ that the disbelievers can escape in the land. The Fire will be their home. Indeed, what an evil destination

O believers! Let those ˹bondspeople˺ in your possession and those of you who are still under age ask for your permission ˹to come in˺ at three times: before dawn prayer, when you take off your ˹outer˺ clothes at noon, and after the late evening prayer. ˹These are˺ three times of privacy for you. Other than these times, there is no blame on you or them to move freely, attending to one another. This is how God makes the revelations clear to you, for God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

And when your children reach the age of puberty, let them seek permission ˹to come in˺, as their seniors do. This is how God makes His revelations clear to you, for God is All-Knowing, All-Wise

As for elderly women past the age of marriage, there is no blame on them if they take off their ˹outer˺ garments, without revealing their adornments. But it is better for them if they avoid this ˹altogether˺. And God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing

There is no restriction on the blind, or the disabled, or the sick. Nor on yourselves if you eat from your homes, or the homes of your fathers, or your mothers, or your brothers, or your sisters, or your paternal uncles, or your paternal aunts, or your maternal uncles, or your maternal aunts, or from the homes in your trust, or ˹the homes of˺ your friends. There is no blame on you eating together or separately. However, when you enter houses, greet one another with a greeting ˹of peace˺ from God, blessed and good. This is how God makes His revelations clear to you, so perhaps you will understand

The ˹true˺ believers are only those who believe in God and His Messenger, and when they are with him on a public matter, they do not leave without his permission. Indeed, those who ask your permission ˹O Prophet˺ are the ones who ˹truly˺ believe in God and His Messenger. So when they ask your permission for a private matter, grant permission to whoever you wish and ask God’s forgiveness for them. Surely God is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful

Do not treat the Messenger’s summons to you ˹as lightly˺ as your summons to one another. God certainly knows those of you who slip away, hiding behind others. So let those who disobey his orders beware, for an affliction may befall them, or a painful torment may overtake them

Surely to God belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. He knows well what you stand for. And ˹on˺ the Day all will be returned to Him, He will inform them of what they did. For God has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things