{"collection":"Texts of Islam","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe09_042_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe09_042_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe09_042_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/isl/sbe09/042.htm","summary":"This is a translation of Surah Ash-Shura (Chapter 42) from the Qur'an, presented in E.H. Palmer's 1880 English rendering published in the Sacred Books of the East series. The surah elaborates core Islamic theological principles: God's absolute sovereignty over creation, the unity of prophetic tradition linking Muhammad with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the certainty of resurrection and divine judgment dividing humanity into the saved and the damned. A recurring emphasis falls on God's role as sole patron and provider \u2014 those who take other intercessors or associates beside Him are warned repeatedly of severe consequences, while the faithful who practice patience, forgiveness, communal counsel, and charity are promised paradise. Notably, the text addresses sectarian division among people of prior scriptures, attributing it not to genuine doctrinal grounds but to mutual envy after knowledge had already arrived \u2014 a pointed critique directed at Jews and Christians. The surah closes with a striking epistemological claim about revelation itself: Muhammad did not know the Book or the faith before divine inspiration, which is characterized as a \"spirit\" (identified in a footnote as Gabriel) sent to guide him. Palmer's edition includes brief scholarly footnotes clarifying contested phrases and noting variant interpretations from classical commentators like Baydawi, making this a text of interest both for religious study and for the history of Western Orientalist translation of Islamic scripture.","tags":[],"text":null,"title":"The Qur'\u00e2n, ed. Palmer (SBE9): XLII. The Chapter of Counsel","tradition":"Texts of Islam","translated_text":null,"word_count":1696}