这章经文以清晰而有力的宣告开始："这部经典是由全能、睿智的真主从天降下的。"（第1节）因为他是全能的，所以他能够从天降下这部经典；因为他是睿智的，所以他知道降下这部经典的目的，并确保这一切都依照精妙周密的安排而完成。

The sūrah begins with a clear, emphatic statement: “This book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise.” (Verse 1) As He is Almighty, He is able to bestow it from on high, and as He is wise, He knows the purpose of bestowing it, ensuring that it is all done in accordance with wise and elaborate planning.

然而，这一章并未着重阐述这一事实。它只是引言，其主旨才是这部经典所要确立的：即真主的独一性，将一切崇拜专归于祂，确保信仰的纯正，消除一切所谓与真主同列的痕迹，并建立与真主的直接联系，无需任何中介或代求。

The sūrah, however, does not dwell on this fact. It is only a prelude to its main theme, which this book has been revealed to establish, namely, God’s oneness, addressing all worship to Him alone, ensuring sincerity in faith, eliminating all traces of any alleged partnership with God and establishing direct contact with Him without any intermediary or need for intercession.

“是我降示你这部经典，其中陈述的是真理。”（第2节）这部经典所降示的真理的实质，是真主的绝对独一性，它构成了一切存在的基础。该章在第5节中说：“他依真理创造了天地。”正是同一个真理构成了宇宙的根基，也为降示《古兰经》提供了目的。它是一个单一而一致的真理，由掌管天地的体系之统一所印证，并通过这部经典以人类的语言表达出来。它是为独一的造物主所造之万物盖上印章的真理。

“It is We who have bestowed on you this revelation from on high, stating the truth.” (Verse 2) The essence of the truth with which the book has been revealed is the absolute oneness of God, which forms the foundation of all existence. In verse 5 the sūrah states: “He has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with the truth.” It is all the same truth that makes up the foundation of the universe and provides the purpose for revealing the Qur’ān. It is a single, consistent truth confirmed by the unity of the system that controls the heavens and the earth, and expressed in human language through this hook. It is the truth that puts the seal on everything made by the only Creator.

“因此，你应当单单崇拜真主，诚心地信仰祂。”（第2节）这里的呼吁是对先知说的，他是从天上降下的这部经典的承受者。它体现了他所倡导的宪章，他号召全人类接受这一宪章：单单崇拜真主，诚心奉献，并以此为基础，在人类生活的各个领域中行事。这些并非空洞的言论。它是一套完整的体系，从坚定的信仰出发，进而转化为贯穿个人与社会的全面生活方式。

“Therefore, worship God alone, sincere in your faith in Him.” (Verse 2) The address here is to the Prophet, the recipient of the book as it is bestowed from on high. It embodies the constitution which he advocates, calling on all mankind to adopt it: to worship God alone, sincere in our devotion, and to conduct human life, in all spheres, on this basis. These are not mere statements. It is a complete system, starting with a firm belief that is translated into an all-embracing way of life for both the individual and the community.

信仰真主独一的信徒，只顺服真主，不向他者低头，也不向他人有所祈求。在他看来，唯有真主拥有至大的权能，唯有真主掌管一切。

A believer in God’s oneness submits only to God, bowing his head to none other, and asking nothing from others. For him only God is powerful and holds sway.

随后，经文驳斥了多神教徒为反对认主独一而提出的复杂迷信之说：“那些以真主以外的物为保护者的人说：我们崇拜它们，只是为了让它们使我们更接近真主。真主必在他们所争论的事上判决他们之间的是非。真主不引导说谎的忘恩者。”（第3节）

Then a refutation of the complex superstition the idolaters presented in opposition to belief in God’s oneness follows: “Those who take others besides Him as their protectors say: We worship them for no reason other than that they would bring us nearer to God.’ God will judge between them concerning all matters on which they differ. God will not grace with guidance anyone who is an ungrateful liar.” (Verse 3)

虽然他们宣称真主创造了他们和天地，但他们并未将这一信念推演至其自然且合乎逻辑的结论——即应当将一切崇拜与顺服专一地归于祂。相反，他们捏造了一种迷信，认为天使是真主的女儿，甚至雕刻天使的神像来加以崇拜。接着，他们又辩称，对这些神像的崇拜，例如对拉特、欧撒和玛纳特的崇拜，本质上并非对它们的虔诚奉献，而只是一种亲近真主的姿态，希望这些神像或其所代表的对象最终能为他们向真主代为求情。

Although they declared that God created them and the heavens and earth, they would not carry this belief to its natural and logical consequence which required that they devote all their worship and submission to Him alone. Instead they invented the superstition that the angels were God’s daughters and even carved statues representing angels so that they could worship these. They then claimed that their worship of these statues, such as al-Lāt, al-`Uzzā and Manāt, was not in essence devotion to them. It was merely a gesture to bring them closer to God, in the hope that these statues or what they represented would eventually intercede with God on their behalf.

因此，偏离简单而自然的逻辑，使他们陷入了如此多的谬误之中：天使并不是真主的女儿，偶像也并非代表天使。

Thus, deviation from simple, natural logic landed them in such a medley of falsehood: for the angels are not God’s daughters, nor do the idols represent angels.

真主不接受这种偏离。祂既不接受人们为他人所作的说情，也不允许人们以这种方式亲近祂。每当人类背离其自身本性的逻辑，偏离对真主独一的朴素信仰，人就走入了歧途。这种对独一性的信仰正是伊斯兰教的根本，也是每位使者所宣讲的天启宗教的根本。如今，我们在世界各地都能看到对圣徒的崇拜，其实质与古代阿拉伯人的做法相似：他们崇拜天使，或崇拜代表天使的偶像，以求亲近真主。真主以祂无限的尊严规定了使人亲近祂的途径，那就是相信真主的独一，不借助任何中介或代求者。

God does not accept such deviation. He neither accepts intercession on people’s behalf nor allows them to draw closer to Him in this way. Humanity deviates from the logic of its own nature whenever it moves away from the simple faith of God’s oneness, which is the essence of Islam, as it was the essence of divine religion, preached by every messenger of God. Nowadays, we see in different parts of the world worship of saints, which is similar in essence to the practice of the Arabs of old who worshipped angels, or statues representing angels, to draw closer to God. God, in His limitless glory, defines the way that brings people close to Him: this is belief in God’s oneness without intermediaries or intercessors of any sort.

“真主不引导忘恩的说谎者。”（第3节）他们对真主撒谎，声称天使是祂的女儿；他们也对祂撒谎，声称崇拜天使会在真主面前为他们说情。

然后，这一章试图触动人心。它引导人们去观察身边的生命迹象，这些迹象实际上源于他们自身的被造以及为他们所驯服的牲畜：

The sūrah then seeks to touch people’s hearts. It refers them to the evidence of life close by them, and in fact derived from their own creation and from the animals made subservient to them:

他从一个灵魂创造了你们，又从它创造了它的配偶；他为你们赐下了八对牲畜。他在你们母亲的腹中，一个创造接着一个创造，置于三重黑暗之中地创造你们。这就是真主——你们的主，国权属于他。除他之外没有应受崇拜的神明。那么，你们怎么会背离真理呢？（第6节）

He has created you all from a single soul, and from it He fashioned its mate; and He has bestowed on you four kinds of cattle in pairs; and He creates you in your mothers’ wombs, one act of creation after another, in threefold depths of darkness. Such is God, your Lord: to Him belongs all dominion. There is no deity other than Him. How, then, can you lose sight of the truth? (Verse 6)

让人审视自身。他并非自己创造了自己，除了神所告诉他的之外，他也不知道创造人类的是谁。然而，我们都源自同一个灵魂，具有同一种本性，以及使我们有别于其他受造物的相同特质。此外，每一个人都分享这些特质，因为人类的灵魂在历代各族、无数的人类之中是同一的。而且，其配偶也是由同一本质所造。因此，尽管男女之间在细节上存在种种差异，他们仍然共享所有这些特质。这再次证实了人类原初设计的统一性，无论男女，也证实了创造这一单一灵魂及其两种表现形式的意志是统一的。

Let man look at his own self. He has not created himself, nor does he know who created the human entity except for what God has told him. Yet we all originate from one soul, with one nature and the same characteristics that distinguish us from the rest of creation. Moreover, every human individual shares in these characteristics, because the human soul is one in the countless millions of humans across all generations and all communities. Moreover, its mate or spouse is also made from the same essence. Thus, despite all differences of detail between men and women, they share all these characteristics. This again confirms the unity of the original design for mankind, male and female, and the unity of the Will that created this single soul with its two manifestations.

人类配偶的事实被提及之后，紧接着又提到牲畜中的同一现象，这也暗示该规律适用于所有生物。

The reference to the fact of human spouses is coupled by a reference to the same phenomenon in cattle, which in turn suggests that it applies to all living creatures:

“他为你们赐予八对牲畜。”阿拉伯语原文用的是“八个 zawj”，这个词既表示“一对”，也表示“配偶”，因此在译文中有此译法。这八个由绵羊、山羊、牛和骆驼的雄性与雌性组成。经文提到它们是由真主赐予的，这意味着正是真主使它们顺服于人。正是这种顺服，从天上赐下，并在人的世界中得以实现。因此，人获得了真主的许可，可以为了人类生活的益处而使用牲畜。

“He has bestowed on you four kinds of cattle in pairs.” The Arabic phrase states ‘eight ‘zawj,’ but this word means both ‘couple’ and ‘spouse’. Hence, the way it is rendered in translation. The eight are made up of a male and a female of sheep, goats, bovine and camels. The verse mentions that they have been bestowed by God, which means that it is God who has made them subservient to man. It is their subservience that is bestowed from on high and effected in man’s world. Thus, man is given God’s permission to use cattle for the benefit of human life.