Al-Ahzab 33
The ConfederatesHow to read the Hangul
الرَّحْمَٰنِ르r라흐마니 بِسْمِ비스밀
- Bold = the stressed syllable of the word; a little stronger.
- Overline = long vowel (madd): hold it about two beats. Length matters most in recitation.
- Tiny = no vowel in the Arabic here — just the consonant, short.
- Small Latin letter = a sound Korean lacks, on the next syllable: f upper teeth on lower lip · θ/ð tongue tip between the teeth · r rolled tongue tip (a bare ㄹ is l).
How to read the Hangul
beginning the Christ salvation
- Bold, larger (ˈ) = say it strong and a little longer — the stressed syllable.
- Faint = weak and short (a reduced vowel). Don't give every syllable equal weight.
- Tiny 으 · 트 · 스 = barely voiced. English has no vowel there — stop on the consonant.
- Whole word faint (the, of, and, to…) = light and quick in a sentence; stress the content words.
- Small f v θ ð r = sounds Korean doesn't have — f: upper teeth on the lower lip; v: the same, voiced; θ/ð: tongue tip between the teeth; r: tongue curled back, touching nothing.
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Surah
About this surah
The surah begins by telling the Prophet to be mindful of God and not obey the disbelievers and hypocrites, then corrects two customs: declaring a wife to be like one's mother, and treating adopted sons as real sons. It recalls the time the Confederates surrounded the city of Yathrib, when the believers were severely tested, some hypocrites sought excuses to flee, and God turned the enemy back with a wind and unseen hosts. Guidance follows for the Prophet's wives, along with a verse listing believing men and women together and their shared reward, the marriage matter concerning Zayd, and the statement that Muhammad is God's Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets. It also sets out etiquette for visiting the Prophet's houses, instructs women to draw their outer garments over themselves, and calls on believers to send blessings on the Prophet. It closes with the Trust that the heavens, earth and mountains declined but man took on.
- Adoption and marriage rules
- The siege of the Confederates
- The Prophet's household
- Seal of the Prophets
- The Trust borne by man
The name It is named after the Confederates (verses 20 and 22), the allied forces that came against the believers.
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1
Prophet, be mindful of God, and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. God is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
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2
Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord. God is fully aware of what you do.
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3
Place your trust in God, for God suffices as a trustee.
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4
God has not placed two hearts in any man’s chest. Nor has He made your wives whom you declare to be like your mothers’ backs [your] mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons your [real] sons. That is merely a saying of your mouths. But God speaks the truth, and He guides to the way.
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5
Call them by [the names of] their fathers; that is more just in the sight of God. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your allies. There is no blame on you for what you do by mistake, but [only] for what your hearts intend. God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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6
The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on themselves, and his wives are their mothers. Blood relatives have a greater claim on one another, according to God’s decree, than [other] believers and emigrants — except that you may do a kindness to your close allies. That has been written in the Record.
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7
[Remember] when We took from the prophets their covenant — from you, and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus son of Mary. We took from them a solemn covenant,
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8
so that He may question the truthful about their truthfulness. And He has prepared a painful punishment for the disbelievers.
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9
You who believe, remember God’s blessing upon you when hosts came against you and We sent against them a wind and hosts you did not see. God sees all that you do.
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10
[Remember] when they came at you from above you and from below you, when eyes swerved [in fear] and hearts rose up to the throats, and you were thinking all sorts of thoughts about God.
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11
There the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking.
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12
And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a sickness said, “God and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion.”
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13
And when a group of them said, “People of Yathrib, there is no standing [here] for you, so go back.” And a party of them asked the Prophet for leave, saying, “Our houses are exposed,” though they were not exposed. They wanted nothing but to flee.
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14
Had [the city] been entered against them from its sides and had they then been asked to [join in] sedition, they would have done so, and would have hesitated over it only briefly.
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15
They had already pledged to God before that they would not turn their backs [in flight], and a pledge to God will be questioned about.
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16
Say, “Flight will not benefit you if you flee from death or killing; and even then you will be allowed to enjoy [life] only a little.”
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17
Say, “Who is it that can shield you from God if He intends harm for you or intends mercy for you?” They will find for themselves no protector or helper besides God.
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18
God already knows those among you who hold others back, and those who say to their brothers, “Come over to us,” while they themselves come to battle only a little,
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19
being stingy toward you. When fear comes, you see them looking at you with their eyes rolling like one fainting at the approach of death. But when the fear has passed, they lash you with sharp tongues, stingy with [any] good. Those have not believed, so God has made their deeds come to nothing. That is easy for God.
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20
They think the Confederates have not left. And if the Confederates should come [again], they would wish they were out in the desert among the Bedouins, asking for news about you. Even if they were among you, they would fight only a little.
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21
You have in the Messenger of God an excellent example for whoever hopes for God and the Last Day and remembers God often.
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22
When the believers saw the Confederates, they said, “This is what God and His Messenger promised us. God and His Messenger spoke the truth.” And it only increased them in faith and submission.
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23
Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vow [with their lives], and some of them are still waiting, and they have not changed in the least,
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so that God may reward the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He wills, or turn to them in mercy. God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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25
God turned back those who disbelieved in their rage; they gained no good. God spared the believers from fighting. God is All-Strong, Almighty.
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26
He brought down those of the People of the Book who had backed them from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts: some you killed, and some you took captive.
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27
He made you inherit their land, their homes, and their wealth, and a land you had not yet set foot on. God has power over all things.
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28
Prophet, say to your wives, “If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and release you in a gracious manner.
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29
But if you desire God and His Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter, then God has prepared for those of you who do good a great reward.”
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30
Wives of the Prophet, whoever of you commits a flagrant indecency, the punishment will be doubled for her two times over. That is easy for God.
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31
But whoever of you is devoutly obedient to God and His Messenger and does righteous deeds, We will give her reward twice over, and We have prepared for her a generous provision.
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32
Wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. If you are mindful of God, do not be soft in speech, lest one in whose heart is a sickness should be tempted, but speak in an appropriate manner.
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33
Stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves as in the display of the former [days of] ignorance. Keep up the prayer, give the alms (zakat), and obey God and His Messenger. God only wishes to remove impurity from you, people of the household, and to purify you thoroughly.
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34
And remember what is recited in your houses of God’s verses and of wisdom. God is Subtle, All-Aware.
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35
For men and women who submit [to God], men and women who believe, men and women who are devout, men and women who are truthful, men and women who are patient, men and women who are humble, men and women who give in charity, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their chastity, and men and women who remember God often — for them God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.
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36
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when God and His Messenger have decided a matter, to have any choice in their matter. Whoever disobeys God and His Messenger has gone clearly astray.
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37
[Remember] when you said to the one on whom God had bestowed favor and on whom you had bestowed favor, “Keep your wife and be mindful of God,” while you concealed within yourself what God was going to reveal, and you feared people, though God has more right that you fear Him. Then, when Zayd had ended his relationship with her, We married her to you, so that there would be no hardship for the believers concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they have ended their relationship with them. God’s command must be carried out.
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38
There is no hardship for the Prophet in what God has ordained for him. [Such was] God’s way with those who passed away before. God’s command is a decree firmly fixed.
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39
[Such are] those who convey the messages of God and fear Him, and fear no one but God. God is sufficient as a reckoner.
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40
Muhammad is father to none of your men; rather, he is God's Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets. And God knows everything.
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41
You who believe, remember God with much remembrance,
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and glorify Him morning and evening.
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43
It is He who blesses you, as do His angels, so that He may bring you out of the darkness into the light. He is Most Merciful to the believers.
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44
On the day they meet Him they will be greeted with “Peace,” and He has readied a noble reward for them.
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Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news, and a warner,
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and as one who calls to God by His permission, and as a light-giving lamp.
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47
Give good news to the believers that they will have from God a great bounty.
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48
Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; disregard their harm, and put your trust in God. God is sufficient as a guardian.
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49
You who believe, if you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, there is no waiting period for you to count concerning them. So provide for them and release them in a gracious manner.
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50
Prophet, We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their bridal gifts, and those whom your right hand possesses from what God has granted you [as spoils of war], and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet and the Prophet wishes to marry her — this is only for you, not for the [other] believers. We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess — so that there may be no hardship for you. God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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51
You may defer whichever of them you wish and take to yourself whichever you wish, and there is no blame on you if you invite back one whom you had set aside. That is more likely to comfort their eyes, keep them from grieving, and make all of them content with what you give them. God knows what is in your hearts. God is All-Knowing, Forbearing.
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Beyond this, [other] women are not lawful to you, nor may you exchange them for other wives, even if their beauty pleases you — except those whom your right hand possesses. God is watchful over all things.
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53
You who believe, do not enter the Prophet’s houses unless permission is given to you for a meal, without waiting for it to be prepared. But when you are invited, enter, and when you have eaten, disperse, without lingering for conversation. That used to trouble the Prophet, and he was shy of [asking] you, but God is not shy of the truth. When you ask [his wives] for anything, ask them from behind a screen. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. It is not right for you to trouble the Messenger of God, nor ever to marry his wives after him. That would be an enormity in the sight of God.
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Whether you reveal something or conceal it, God has knowledge of all things.
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There is no blame on them [if they appear unscreened] before their fathers, their sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, or those whom their right hands possess. And be mindful of God, [you women]. God is witness over all things.
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56
God and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. You who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with peace.
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57
Those who offend God and His Messenger — God has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.
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And those who harm believing men and believing women for something they have not done have taken upon themselves [the burden of] slander and a manifest sin.
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Prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more likely to make them recognized, so that they will not be harassed. God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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60
If the hypocrites, those in whose hearts is a sickness, and the rumor-mongers in the city do not desist, We will surely rouse you against them, and then they will remain your neighbors there only a little while,
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accursed. Wherever they are found, they will be seized and killed outright.
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[Such was] God’s way with those who passed away before, and you will find no change in God’s way.
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People ask you about the Hour. Say, “Knowledge of it is only with God.” And what will make you understand? Perhaps the Hour is near.
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God has cursed the disbelievers and prepared for them a Blaze,
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to remain therein forever. They will find no protector or helper.
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On the day their faces are turned over in the Fire, they will say, “If only we had obeyed God and obeyed the Messenger!”
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And they will say, “Our Lord, we obeyed our masters and our great ones, and they led us astray from the way.
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Our Lord, give them double the punishment and curse them with a mighty curse.”
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Believers, do not be like those who hurt Moses — God proved him innocent of what they alleged, and he held a place of honor with God.
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You who believe, be mindful of God and speak words that are right.
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He will set your deeds right for you and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys God and His Messenger has achieved a great triumph.
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We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were afraid of it; yet man bore it. He has truly been unjust and ignorant.
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[This is] so that God may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the idolater men and idolater women, and that God may turn in mercy to the believing men and believing women. God is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.