(14) People are naturally tempted by the lure of women, children, treasures of gold and silver, horses of mark, cattle and plantations. These are the enjoyments in the life of this world; but with Allah lies a goodly abode to return to. ▶
4 The actual disparity between the two armies was roughly that of three to one, but even a cursory glance was enough to tell the casual observer that the army of unbelievers was about twice as large as that of the believers.
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Al [Imran 3: 15–19
(15) Say: “Shall I tell you of things better than these? For the God-fearing there are, with their Lord, Gardens beneath which rivers flow; there they will abide for ever, will have spouses of stainless purity as companions, and will enjoy the good pleasure of Allah.” Allah thoroughly observes His ser- vants. (16) These are the ones who pray: “Our Lord! We do indeed believe, so forgive us our sins and keep us safe from the chastisement of the Fire;” (17) people who are steadfast, truthful, obedient, spend (in the way of Allah) and implore Allah’s forgiveness before daybreak.
(18) Allah Himself bears witness that there is no god but He; and likewise do the angels and those possessed of knowledge bear witness in truth and justice that there is no god but He, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (19) The true religion with Allah is Islam. The People of the Book adopted many different ways rather than follow the True Way of Islam even after the knowledge of Truth had reached them, ▶
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Al [Imran 3: 20–2
and this merely to commit excesses against one another. Let him who refuses to follow the ordinances and directives of Allah know that Allah is swift in His reckoning. (20) But if they remonstrate with you, tell them: “I have submitted my whole being to Allah, and so have those who follow me.” And ask the People of the Book as well as those who follow no heavenly Scripture: “Have you also submitted (to Allah)?” If they have submitted to Him, they are indeed on the Right Way; but if they turn away from submitting to Allah, then your duty is merely to deliver the Message. Allah observes the affairs of His servants.
(21) Give those who refuse to follow the directives of Allah, who unjustly slay the Prophets, and slay those who enjoin justice, the glad tidings of a grievous chastisement. (22) These are the people whose works have gone to waste both in this world and in the World to Come. They have none to come to their help.
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Al [Imran 3: 23–7
(23) Have you not noticed those who were given a portion of the Book? Whenever their learned men are summoned to the Book of Allah to judge the differences among them, a party of them turns away in aversion. (24) This is because they say: “The Fire of Hell shall not touch us except for a limited number of days.” The false beliefs which they have forged have deluded them in their faith. (25) How, then, will they fare when We shall gather them all together to witness the Day about (the coming of) which there is no doubt, and when every human being shall be paid in full for what he has done, and none shall be wronged?
(26) Say: “O Allah, Lord of all dominion! You bestow dominion on whomever You please, and take away domin- ion from whomever You please, and You exalt whom You please, and abase whom You please. In Your Hand is all good. Surely You are All-Powerful. (27) You cause the night to pass into the day and the day to pass into the night. ▶
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Al [Imran 3: 28–9
You bring forth the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living, and You grant livelihood to whomever You will beyond all reckoning.”
(28) The believers may not take the unbelievers for their allies in preference to the believers. Whoever does this has nothing to do with Allah unless he does so in order to protect himself from their wrongdoing.5 Allah warns you to beware of Him for to Allah is the ultimate return.6 (29) Say: “Whether you conceal what is in your hearts or disclose it, Allah knows it. ▶
5 This means that it is lawful for a believer, helpless in the grip of the enemies of Islam and in imminent danger of severe wrong and persecution, to keep his faith concealed and to behave in such manner as to create the impression that he is on the same side as his enemies. A person whose Muslim identity is discovered is permitted to adopt a friendly attitude towards the unbelievers in order to save his life. If he considers himself incapable of enduring the excess to which he may be subjected, he may even state that he is not a believer.
6 One may resort to prudent concealment of faith (taqiyah) in order to save one’s life. This concealment should, however, remain within reasonable limits. The most one is permitted to do is to save one’s life and property without jeopardizing either the interests of Islam or the Muslim community as a whole, and without causing loss of life and property to other Muslims. One must never allow saving one’s own life to lead to the propagation of unbelief at the expense of Islam and to the dominance of unbelievers over Muslims.
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Al [Imran 3: 30–4
Allah knows all that is in the heavens and in the earth and He has power over everything.” (30) The Day is approaching when every soul shall find itself confronted with what- ever good it has done and whatever evil it has wrought. It will then wish that there be a wide space between it and the Day! Allah warns you to beware of Him; He is Most Tender towards His servants.
(31) (O Messenger), tell people: “If you indeed love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you and will forgive you your sins. Allah is All- Forgiving, All-Compassionate.” (32) Say: “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger.” If they turn away from this then know that Allah does not love those who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.
(33) Truly Allah chose Adam and Noah and the descendants of Abraham and of [Imran7 above all mankind (34) (for His Messengership) – a people alike and the seed of one another. ▶
7 [Imran was the father of Moses and Aaron, and has been mentioned in the Bible as Amram.
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Al [Imran 3: 35–7
Allah is All-Hearing, All- Knowing (35) (He also heard) when [Imran’s woman8 said: “O Lord! Behold, unto You do I vow that the child in my womb is to be devoted to Your exclusive service. Accept it, then, from me. Surely You alone are All-Hearing, All- Knowing.” (36) But when she gave birth to a female child, she said: “O Lord! I have given birth to a female” – and Allah knew full well what she had given birth to – “and a male is not the same as a female. I have named her Mary and commit her and her offspring to You for protection from Satan, the accursed.” (37) Thereupon her Lord graciously accepted Mary and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth and placed her in the care of Zechariah.
Whenever Zechariah visited her in the sanctuary, he found her provided