Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) in English

1. تلك الرسل فضلنا بعضهم على بعض منهم من كلم الله ورفع بعضهم درجات وآتينا عيسى ابن مريم البينات وأيدناه بروح القدس ولو شاء الله ما اقتتل الذين من بعدهم من بعد ما جاءتهم البينات ولكن اختلفوا فمنهم من آمن ومنهم من كفر ولو شاء الله ما اقتتلوا ولكن الله يفعل ما يريد

   253

   These are the apostles, some of whom We gave an advantage over others: of them are those to whom Allah spoke and some of them He raised in rank, and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, manifest proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Had Allah wished, those who succeeded them would not have fought one another after the manifest proofs had come to them. But they differed. So there were among them those who had faith and there were among them those who were faithless, and had Allah wished, they would not have fought one another; but Allah does whatever He desires.

   tilka r-rusulu faḍḍalnā baʿḍahum ʿalā baʿḍin minhum man kallama llāhu wa-rafaʿa baʿḍahum darajātin wa-ʾātaynā ʿīsā bna maryama l-bayyināti wa-ʾayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi l-qudusi wa-law shāʾa llāhu mā qtatala lladhīna min baʿdihim min baʿdi mā jāʾathumu l-bayyinātu wa-lākini khtalafū fa-minhum man ʾāmana wa-minhum man kafara wa-law shāʾa llāhu mā qtatalū wa-lākinna llāha yafʿalu mā yurīdu

2. يا أيها الذين آمنوا أنفقوا مما رزقناكم من قبل أن يأتي يوم لا بيع فيه ولا خلة ولا شفاعة والكافرون هم الظالمون

   254

   O you who have faith! Spend out of what We have provided you before there comes a day on which there will be no bargaining, neither friendship, nor intercession. And the faithless—they are the wrongdoers.

   yā-ʾayyuhā lladhīna ʾāmanū ʾanfiqū mimmā razaqnākum min qabli ʾan yaʾtiya yawmun lā bayʿun fīhi wa-lā khullatun wa-lā shafāʿatun wa-l-kāfirūna humu ẓ-ẓālimūna

3. الله لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم لا تأخذه سنة ولا نوم له ما في السماوات وما في الأرض من ذا الذي يشفع عنده إلا بإذنه يعلم ما بين أيديهم وما خلفهم ولا يحيطون بشيء من علمه إلا بما شاء وسع كرسيه السماوات والأرض ولا يئوده حفظهما وهو العلي العظيم

   255

   Allah—there is no god except Him—is the Living One, the All-sustainer. Neither drowsiness befalls Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that may intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not comprehend anything of His knowledge except what He wishes. His seat embraces the heavens and the earth and He is not wearied by their preservation, and He is the All-exalted, the All-supreme.

   allāhu lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa l-ḥayyu l-qayyūmu lā taʾkhudhuhū sinatun wa-lā nawmun lahū mā fī s-samāwāti wa-mā fī l-ʾarḍi man dhā lladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahū ʾillā bi-ʾidhnihī yaʿlamu mā bayna ʾaydīhim wa-mā khalfahum wa-lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shayʾin min ʿilmihī ʾillā bi-mā shāʾa wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-lā yaʾūduhū ḥifẓuhumā wa-huwa l-ʿaliyyu l-ʿaẓīmu

4. لا إكراه في الدين قد تبين الرشد من الغي فمن يكفر بالطاغوت ويؤمن بالله فقد استمسك بالعروة الوثقى لا انفصام لها والله سميع عليم

   256

   There is no compulsion in religion: rectitude has become distinct from error. So one who disavows fake deities and has faith in Allah has held fast to the firmest handle for which there is no breaking; and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.

   lā ʾikrāha fī d-dīni qad tabayyana r-rushdu mina l-ghayyi fa-man yakfur bi-ṭ-ṭāghūti wa-yuʾmin bi-llāhi fa-qadi stamsaka bi-l-ʿurwati l-wuthqā lā nfiṣāma lahā wa-llāhu samīʿun ʿalīmun-i