24:1  A Sura that We brought down and imposed. We have brought down clear revelations in it, may you take heed.

24:2  The adulteress and the adulterer: lash each of them a hundred lashes. Do not let compassion for them overcome you with regards to applying God's religion if you believe in God and the Last Day, and let a group of believers witness their punishment.

24:3  The adulterer is not to marry except an adulteress or a mushrikah. And the adulteress, none marries her except an adulterer or a mushrik. That has been prohibited for the believers.

24:4  And those who accuse married women then do not produce four witnesses, lash them eighty lashes, and after that, never accept any testimony from them. Those are the wicked ones,

24:5  except for those who repent after that and reform, then indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.

24:6  Those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses other than themselves, then the testimony of any of them counts as four testimonies if he swears by God that he is of the truthful.

24:7  And the fifth shall be God's curse upon him if he should be among the liars.

24:8  The punishment shall be averted from her if she testifies four testimonies, swearing by God, that he is indeed of the liars.

24:9  And the fifth will be God's wrath upon her if he was of the truthful.

24:10  This would not have been possible but for God's favour and mercy upon you, and because God is Redeemer, Wise.

24:11  Those who came up with the falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it is bad for you, for it is good for you. For every person among them is what he has incurred of the sin. As for the one among them who had the greatest share of it, for him is a great punishment.

24:12  If only when you heard it, the believing men and the believing women would have thought well of one another and said, "This is a clear falsehood"!

24:13  If only they would have come up with four witnesses for it, then if they fail to produce the witnesses, it is they in the sight of God who are the liars.

24:14  If it were not for God's favour and mercy upon you, in this world and in the Hereafter, you would have suffered a great punishment for what you indulged in.

24:15  When you declared it with your own tongues, and you said with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, you considered it to be a trivial matter when, in the sight of God, it is indeed great.

24:16  If only when you heard it, you would have said, "It is not for us to speak of this. Glory to You, this is a great slander"?

24:17  God advises you not to revert to the like of this ever again if you are believers.

24:18  God clarifies the revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.

24:19  Those who would love to see immorality spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. God knows while you do not know.

24:20  This would not have been possible but for God's favour and mercy upon you, and because God is Compassionate, Merciful.

24:21  O you who believe, do not follow in the footsteps of the devil. Whoever follows in the footsteps of the devil, then indeed, he advocates immorality and evil. Were it not for God's favour upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have ever been purified, but God purifies whom He wills. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.

24:22  Those among you who possess wealth and resources should not swear not to give to their relatives and the needy and the immigrants in the sake of God. They shall pardon and overlook. Would you not like God to forgive you? Indeed God is Forgiver, Merciful.

24:23  Those who accuse chaste, unsuspecting, believing women are cursed in the world and in the Hereafter, and they shall have a great punishment

24:24  on the Day when their tongues, hands, and feet will bear witness against them regarding what they used to do.

24:25  On that Day, God will pay them their rightful due in full, and they will know that God is the Clear Truth.

24:26  Bad women are for bad men, bad men are for bad women, good women are for good men, and good men are for good women. Those are exonerated from what they say. They shall have forgiveness and a generous provision.

24:27  O you who believe, do not enter homes other than your homes until you have been made welcome, and until you greet their people. This is better for you, may you then take heed.

24:28  If you find no one in them, still do not enter them until you are given permission. If you are told, "Go back," then go back. This is purer for you. God is Knowledgeable of what you do.

24:29  There is no blame upon you for entering uninhabited homes wherein there are some of your belongings. God knows what you reveal and what you conceal.

24:30  Say to the believing men to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts. This is purer for them. Indeed, God is All-Aware of what they do.

24:31  And say to the believing women to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts, and not to show their zinat except that of it which is normally shown. They shall also cover their cleavage with their khimars. They shall not show their zinat except in the presence of their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, what their right hands possess, the male attendants who have no sexual desire and the children who are yet to attain awareness of women's nakedness. They shall not strike their feet so as to reveal details of their hidden zinat. Repent to God all of you, O believers, so that you may succeed.

24:32  Marry those among you who are unmarried and the righteous male and female slaves. If they are poor, God will enrich them from His favour. God is Immense, Knowledgeable.

24:33  Those who cannot find the means to get married shall maintain morality until God enriches them from His favour. Should any of those whom your right hand possesses seek a contract, write one for them if you know of some good in them, and give them from God's money that He has bestowed upon you. Do not force your girls into prostitution, seeking the material gain of the worldly life, if they wish to remain chaste. If anyone should force them, then God, due to them being forced, is Forgiver, Merciful.

24:34  We have brought down to you clarifying revelations and a precedent from those who passed away before you, as well as advice for the reverent.

24:35  God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The allegory of His Light is that of a niche in which is a lamp. The lamp is inside a glass. The glass is like a brilliant planet that is lit from a blessed olive tree that is neither eastern nor western. Its oil almost lights up even though no fire has touched it. Light upon Light. God guides to His Light whom He wills. God cites the examples for the people, and God is Knowledgeable of all things.

24:36  In such houses that God has permitted to be erected and in which His name is mentioned, He is glorified mornings and evenings

24:37  by men who are not distracted by trade nor selling from the remembrance of God and from observing the Salat and giving the Zakat. They fear a Day when the hearts and sights will be overturned.

24:38  God will certainly reward them for the best of what they did and will increase for them His favour. God provides whom He wills without count.

24:39  As for those who disbelieve, their work is like a mirage in the desert. A thirsty person thinks it is water until, when he reaches it, he finds it is nothing but finds God there to pay him his account in full. God is swift in reckoning.

24:40  Or like darkness in the midst of a deep sea covered by waves, upon which are waves, and above which are clouds; darkness, one above another. If he holds his hand out, he can barely see it. Those to whom God gives no light can never have any light.

24:41  Have you not seen that everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God, even the birds in their flight formation? Each has known its prayer and its glorification. God is Knowledgeable of what they do.

24:42  To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and to God is the ultimate destination.

24:43  Have you not seen that God drives the clouds, then gathers them together, then piles them on top of one another, and then you see the rain emerging from within it? He brings down from the sky mountainous amounts in which there is hail. He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The brightness of its lightning almost snatches away the sight.

24:44  God alternates the night and the day. Indeed, in that is a lesson for those who possess vision.

24:45  God created every creature from water. Some of them move on their bellies, some of them walk on two legs, and some of them walk on four. God creates whatever He wills. Indeed, God is Capable of all things.

24:46  We have brought down clarifying revelations, and God guides whom He wills to a straight path.

24:47  They say, "We believe in God and in the messenger, and we obey," but then afterwards, a group of them turns away. Those are not believers.

24:48  And if they are called to God and His messenger to judge between them, a group of them turns away.

24:49  However, if the right is on their side, they come to him submissively!

24:50  Is there sickness in their hearts? Or have they doubted? Or do they fear that God and His messenger may treat them unjustly? Rather, those are the transgressors.

24:51  The utterance of the believers, whenever called to God and His messenger to judge between them, is only to say, "We hear and we obey." Those are the successful ones.

24:52  Those who obey God and His messenger, and fear God and reverence Him, they are the triumphant.

24:53  They swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if you should command them, they would go out. Say, "Do not swear. Your obedience is already known. Indeed, God is All-Aware of what you do."

24:54  Say, "Obey God and obey the messenger." If they turn away, then he is responsible for his obligations, and you are responsible for your obligations. If you obey him, you will be guided. The sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery.

24:55  God promises those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will make them successors in the land just as He made those before them successors. He will establish for them their religion that He has approved for them. He will replace for them the fear, which they previously had, with security. They should worship Me and never associate anything with Me. And whoever disbelieves after that, they are indeed the wicked.

24:56  Observe the Salat and give the Zakat, and obey the messenger so that you may attain mercy.

24:57  Do not think that those who disbelieve are able to thwart anything in the land. Their refuge is the Fire; what a miserable destination!

24:58  O you who believe, those whom your right hand possess, as well as those who have not yet attained puberty, should seek your permission at three times: before the Fajr Salat, when you remove your clothes at noon and after the Isha Salat. These are three private times during which you are likely to be exposed. Beyond those times, there is no blame upon you or upon them to move freely among one another. God thus clarifies the revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.

24:59  Once the children among you reach puberty, they must ask permission first, just like those who preceded them asked permission. God thus clarifies His revelations for you. God is Knowledgeable, Wise.

24:60  Regarding the elderly post-menstrual women who no longer seek marriage, there is no blame upon them for relaxing their clothes, provided they do not flaunt their zinat. Indeed, maintaining morality is better for them. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.

24:61  There is no blame upon the blind, nor is there blame upon the cripple, nor is there blame upon the sick, nor upon yourselves for eating at your homes, or the homes of your fathers, or the homes of your mothers, or the homes of your brothers, or the homes of your sisters, or the homes of your paternal uncles, or the homes of your paternal aunts, or the homes of your maternal uncles, or the homes of your maternal aunts, or those whose keys are in your possession, or your friend. There is no blame upon you whether you eat together or separately. When you enter any home, greet yourselves with a greeting from God, blessed and good. God thus clarifies the revelations for you so that you may understand.

24:62  The true believers are but those who believe in God and His messenger, and when they are with him in a communal matter, they do not leave until they have asked his permission. The ones who ask your permission are indeed the ones who believe in God and His messenger. If they ask your permission in order to tend to some of their affairs, you may grant permission to whomever you wish and ask forgiveness for them from God. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful.

24:63  Do not treat the calling of the messenger among you as you treat your calling to one another. God knows those of you who sneak away unnoticed. Those who oppose his orders should beware lest some test befalls them or that they are stricken by a painful punishment.

24:64  Absolutely, to God belongs what is in the heavens and the earth. He knows what you are up to. On the Day they are returned to Him, He will inform them of what they had done. God is Knowledgeable of all things.