الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ
AS FOR THOSE who are bent on denying the truth and on barring [others] from the path of God – all their [good] deeds will He let go to waste; (1)
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَآمَنُوا بِمَا نُزِّلَ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ كَفَّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَأَصْلَحَ بَالَهُمْ
whereas those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds, and have come to believe in what has been bestowed from on high on Muhammad – for it is the truth from their Sustainer – [shall attain to God's grace:] He will efface their [past] bad deeds, and will set their hearts at rest. (2)
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا اتَّبَعُوا الْبَاطِلَ وَأَنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّبَعُوا الْحَقَّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ كَذَٰلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ أَمْثَالَهُمْ
This, because they who are bent on denying the truth pursue falsehood, whereas they who have attained to faith pursue [but] the truth [that flows] from their Sustainer. In this way does God set forth unto man the parables of their true state. (3)
فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَثْخَنْتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا الْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً حَتَّىٰ تَضَعَ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ذَٰلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَانْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَنْ يُضِلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ
NOW WHEN you meet [in war] those who are bent on denying the truth, smite their necks until you overcome them fully, and then tighten their bonds; but thereafter [set them free,] either by an act of grace or against ransom, so that the burden of war may be lifted: thus [shall it be]. And [know that] had God so willed, He could indeed punish them [Himself]; but [He wills you to struggle] so as to test you [all] by means of one another. And as for those who are slain in God's cause, never will He let their deeds go to waste: (4)
سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ
He will guide them [in the hereafter as well], and will set their hearts at rest, (5)
وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ
and will admit them to the paradise which He has promised them. (6)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَنْصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنْصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ
O you who have attained to faith! If you help [the cause of] God, He will help you, and will make firm your steps; (7)
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَتَعْسًا لَهُمْ وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ
but as for those who are bent on denying the truth, ill fortune awaits them, since He will let all their [good] deeds go to waste: (8)
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَرِهُوا مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ
this, because they hate [the very thought of] what God has bestowed from on high – and thus He causes all their deeds to come to nought! (9)
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ دَمَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ أَمْثَالُهَا
Have they, then, never journeyed about the earth and beheld what happened in the end to those [willful sinners] who lived before their time? God destroyed them utterly: and the like thereof awaits all who deny the truth. (10)
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ مَوْلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَأَنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ لَا مَوْلَىٰ لَهُمْ
This, because God is the Protector of all who have attained to faith, whereas they who deny the truth have no protector. (11)
- Soon will He guide them4825 and improve their condition,
- 4825 If we read "who are slain" in the last clause but one of verse 4, (see last note), "guide" would mean "guide them in their spiritual journey after death". Improve their condition: see n. 4818 above.If after death, their minds and hearts will be more and more settled and at rest, and their spiritual satisfaction greater.
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Soon will He guide them and improve their condition,
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
He will guide them and improve their state,
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
He will guide them and improve their condition.
— M. Habib Shakir -
He will guide them and set right their state.
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Anon He shall guide them, and shall make good their state.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
He will guide them and repair their condition;
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
He will guide them and put right their condition;
— Ayub Khan -
He will guide them to success and will improve their condition.
— Sher Ali -
He will guide them [in the hereafter as well], and will set their hearts at rest,
— Muhammad Asad -
He will guide them, and dispose their minds aright,
— Arthur Arberry -
He will guide them and set their condition right
— Abu'l Ala Maududi