4. An-Nisaa

So how shall it be the predicament of the disbelievers when We bring forward from every community a witness to testify against it regarding its deeds and this shall be its prophet; and We bring you O Muhammad (s) as witness against these?

Upon that day the day of bringing forward; the disbelievers those who have disobeyed the Messenger will wish that law ‘if’ means an ‘that’ the earth might be levelled with them read passive tusawwā or active tasawwā or tassawwā so that like it they might also become dust and this is because of the terror of that day as is stated in another verse The disbeliever shall say ‘O would that I were dust!’ Q. 7840. And they will not hide from God any talk of what they did although at another stage they do actually hide it and say ‘By God our Lord we never associated anything with You’ Q. 623.

O you who believe draw not near to prayer that is do not perform prayer whilst you are inebriated by a drink this was revealed concerning being drunk during the congregational prayer; until you know what you are saying when you have sobered up; nor whilst you are defiled as a result of sexual penetration or ejaculation junuban ‘defiled’ is in the accusative because it is a circumstantial qualifier and may be used to refer to the singular or plural — unless you are traversing crossing a way a route that is unless you are travelling — until you have washed yourselves in which case you may perform prayer a proviso is made for the traveller because a different stipulation applies to him as will follow. It is said that the purpose of this verse is to prohibit the approach to places of prayer that is mosques the exception being if one were merely passing through and not staying. But if you are sick with an illness made worse by contact with water or on a journey that is or travelling whilst you are ritually defiled or impure or if any of you comes from the privy al-ghā’it a place designated for relieving nature that is to say or if any of you have defecated or you have touched women lāmastum a variant reading has lamastum both mean lams that is ‘touching with the hand’ as stated by Ibn ‘Umar; this is also the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī and it extends to touching with other parts of the skin; according to Ibn ‘Abbās however it is referring to sexual intercourse; and you can find no water with which to purify yourselves for prayer having made the effort to seek it out and search for it — the sick being exempt in this case — then resort to seek when the time for the prayer has commenced wholesome soil clean earth strike it twice and wipe your faces and your hands with it up to the elbows the verb masaha ‘to wipe’ may stand on its own with a direct object or take a particle before the direct object sc. masaha bi-. God is ever Pardoning Forgiving.

Have you not seen those who were given a share a portion of the Book namely the Jews purchasing error with guidance and desiring that you should err from the way? that you should stray from the path of truth and be like them.

God has better knowledge of your enemies than you do and He informs you of them in order that you avoid them. God suffices as a Protector a Preserver of you from them God suffices as a Helper defending you against their plotting.

Some group from among the Jews distort alter the words that God revealed in the Torah pertaining to the descriptions of Muhammad (s) from their contexts those contexts in which they were placed and they say to the Prophet s when he commands them something ‘We have heard your words and we disobey your command; and hear as one who does not hear’ wa’sma‘ ghayr musma‘in is a circumstantial qualifier functioning as an invocation in other words ‘And may you not hear!’ and they say to him ‘Mind us’ rā‘inā a term with which it had been forbidden to address him being a curse word in their language; twisting distorting with their tongues and slandering defaming religion Islam. If they had said ‘We have heard and obey’ instead of ‘And we disobey’ and only ‘Hear’ and ‘Consider us’ unzur ilaynā instead of rā‘inā it would have been better for them than what they said and more upright more just than that but God has cursed them removing them from His mercy for their unbelief so they believe not except a few among them such as ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām and his companions.

O you who have been given the Scripture believe in what We have revealed of the Qur’ān confirming what is with you of the Torah before We obliterate faces erasing the eyes noses and eyebrows in them and turn them inside out and make them like the napes of the neck a flat plate or curse them by transforming them into apes as We cursed as We transformed those of the Sabbath among them and God’s command His decree is done after this was revealed ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām converted to Islam and so it was said that this had been a conditional threat of punishment so that when some of them converted to Islam it the threat was lifted. It is also said that obliteration and transformation will take place before the rising of the Hour.

Have you not seen those who praise themselves for purity? namely the Jews when they say ‘We are God’s children and His beloved’ in other words it is not a matter of their purifying themselves. Nay God purifies whom He will through faith and they shall not be wronged they shall not be diminished of their deeds a single date-thread as much as the peel on a date-stone.

Consider in amazement how they invent falsehood against God in that way and that suffices for a clear an evident sin.