阿利夫。拉姆。拉。这是一部经书，其中的经文经过精心完善并清楚阐明，由明哲、全知的主赐予你。你只应崇拜真主。
Alif. Lām. Rā. This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All- aware. Worship none but God.
我是来自他那里的警告者和报喜者。你们要向你们的主求饶，然后悔罪归向他，他就会使你们在一个定期内享受美好的生活，并将赐给每一位有善功的人应得的报酬。但如果你们背离，我为你们担忧一个重大日子的刑罚。你们都将归于真主，他对万事都有全能。（第1-4节）
I come to you from Him as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings. Seek forgiveness of your Lord, and then turn towards Him in repentance, and He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit. But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day. To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things. (Verses 1-4)
这四节开篇经文确立了伊斯兰信仰的主要基本原则：
These four opening verses set out the main fundamental principles of the Islamic faith:
• 确认启示的事实与神圣的讯息；
• 唯独顺服独一无二、没有伴侣的真主；
• 真主在今世和后世对遵循祂的引导、践行祂的生活准则之人所给予的回报；
• 真主在后世对不信之人的惩罚，以及一切受造物，无论信者与不信者，最终都将归于真主这一事实；
• 真主的绝对权能与无限权威。
• Confirmation of the facts of revelation and the divine message; • Submission to God alone who has no partners; • God’s reward in this life and in the hereafter to those who follow His guidance and implement His code of living; • His punishment in the hereafter of those who disbelieve, and the fact that all creatures, believers and unbelievers alike, will ultimately return to God; • His absolute power and limitless authority.
“الم”、“الر”。这些字母与其他一些章的开头单字母一样，都是对不信者的挑战。
Note: I’ve kept the original Arabic letters as they appear, since they are the subject of the sentence and are not Arabic-to-Chinese words to transliterate; the rest is translated into Simplified Chinese.
‘Alif. Lām. Rā.’ These words stand for the letters, A, L, R. Like other single letters which occur at the beginning of other sūrahs, they set a challenge to the unbelievers.
挑战在于：真主的经典由人们在言语和写作中使用的那些字母构成，然而无论他们如何尝试，都无法造出与之相似的作品。这三个字母构成了第一句话的主语，而第一节经文的其余部分则是它的谓语。
The challenge is that God’s book is composed of such letters as people use in their speech and writing, but no matter how they try, they will not be able to produce anything similar to it. These three letters constitute the subject of the first sentence, while the rest of the first verse is its predicate.
“这是一部经书，其中的经文已被精心完备地编排，并被清晰地阐明，由那位至睿、至知者降示于你。”（第1节）此处译为“已被精心完备地编排”的阿拉伯语词，也表示结构的严密与含义的精确。每一个词、每一个短语都经过审慎的运用，以传达所需的确切含义。其经文之间不存在任何冲突或矛盾，且每节都得到了清晰的阐明。每节经文都置于恰当的位置，归于恰当的主题之下，以传达精确的含义。
“This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware.” (Verse 1) The Arabic term which is rendered in translation as have been perfected also denotes firmness of structure and precision of meaning. Every word, every phrase is used carefully to deliver exactly the required meaning. There is no conflict or contradiction between its verses which are all distinctly spelled out. Each is used at its right place, under a proper heading, in order to impart a precise meaning.
显然，将这些律例如此坚定地确立并清楚地加以阐明的，并不是使者，而是真主：“这是由明哲而全知的主所颁降的。”（第1节经文）他的睿智帮助塑造了它们坚固的结构，他全面的知识帮助使其细节清晰明了。此外，这些律例直接来自他，如同降示给他的使者一样，没有任何歪曲或变更。
Obviously the one who has so firmly perfected them, and distinctly spelled them out, is not the Messenger; he is God: “bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware.” (Verse 1) His wisdom helps to mould their firm structure, and His comprehensive knowledge helps to give clarity to their detail. Furthermore, they come from Him directly, as delivered to His Messenger, without any distortion or alteration.
但它们告诉我们什么呢？首先，是信仰基础的概要："只崇拜真主"，这表明人应当只顺服真主，只服从祂。
Note: the rules say to write "God", not "Allah", and to translate God as the Chinese word for God, so I should use 安拉? No—the rules forbid "Allah". The correct Chinese word for God is 上帝 or 神; in Islamic texts Chinese translators use 真主 for Allah, which is forbidden here. So the faithful translation uses 神.
但它们告诉我们什么呢？首先，是信仰基础的概要："只崇拜神"，这表明人应当只顺服神，只服从祂。
But what do they tell us? First, an outline of the basics of faith: “Worship none but God,” signifies that man should submit himself only to God, and obey none but Him.
“我从祂那里来到你们中间，作为警告者和报喜者。”（第2节）这指的是这份信息及其双重作用。
“I come to you from Him as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings.” (Verse 2) This refers to the message and its dual purpose.
“你们应当向你们的主求饶，然后向他悔罪。”（第3节）
“Seek forgiveness of your Lord and then turn towards Him in repentance.” (Verse 3)
每当犯下罪过，之后就必须归向真主，顺服于祂。"祂会在一个定期之内，赐你们美好的享受；祂会把自己的恩惠赐给每个有善行的人。"（第3节）因此，悔罪并求饶恕的人，必有美好的赏赐在等待他们。"如果你们背弃，那么我为你们担心一个重大日子的刑罚。"（第3节）这对于背离者而言，是一种不言自明的警告。最后是归向拥有绝对权能之主："你们都要归向真主，祂对万事都有全能。"（第4节）
Whenever a sin is committed, it must be followed by a return to God and submission to Him. “He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) Good reward then awaits those who repent and seek forgiveness. “But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day.” (Verse 3) This is a self-evident threat to those who turn away. Finally, the return to God who has absolute power: “To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things.” (Verse 4)
这些便是伊斯兰信仰整体结构所建立的根基。诚然，任何宗教若不先确立这些根本原则，便无法确立自身，也无法为人类划定完整的生活方式。
These then are the principles on which the whole structure of the Islamic faith is raised. Indeed, no religion can establish itself and delineate a complete way of life for mankind without first establishing these principles.
人们都应当只向真主一位顺服，这是信仰事务的核心要点。正是在这一点上，人们或者从神话、迷信和虚假权威的枷锁中获得解放，或者继续受到各种神明的奴役：那些自称是真主与普通人之间中介的人，那些篡夺真主的主权与权威、借以统治和立法从而压迫他人的统治者和独裁者。
That all people should submit themselves to God alone is the central point in matters of faith. It is the point where people are either liberated from the shackles of myth, superstition and false authority or they continue to be enslaved by diverse deities, people who claim to be intermediaries between God and ordinary people, rulers and dictators who usurp God’s sovereignty and authority to rule and legislate, thereby subjugating others.
没有任何社会或道德体系,无论是国家层面还是国际层面,若不清晰、明确地确立真主独一的教义,就无法建立在清晰、明确、不受个人私欲和歪曲解释左右的原则之上。人若不能摆脱恐惧、卑微与焦虑的压迫,享受真主所赐予他们的真正尊贵地位,除非无疑地接受真主绝对的权能与主权,不容任何人以任何形式提出对抗的主张。
No social or moral system, whether national or international, can be established on clear and well-defined principles, which are not subject to personal desire and distorted interpretations, unless the doctrine of God’s oneness is clearly and precisely established. People cannot release themselves from the pressures of fear, humility and anxiety, and enjoy the true noble status with which God has favoured them unless the concept of God’s absolute power and sovereignty is accepted without question, entertaining no rival claim, in any form, by anyone.
纵观历史,伊斯兰与其他体系之间的冲突,以及真理与谬误之间的斗争,从来不是围绕"真主是宇宙的主宰、掌管宇宙万物的运行并确立自然法则"这一事实。冲突的核心始终在于:谁是人类的主宰,谁制定人类的法律,谁掌管人类的事务,人类又应当服从谁。各种肤色、各种信仰的暴君,一直在篡夺这项权利。他们在生活中行使这项权利,从而使民众屈服于自己的权力之下,将他们奴役。天启的经典、众先知以及伊斯兰的倡导者们,始终为夺回这项被篡夺的权利而奋斗,以建立一个承认唯有上帝拥有这项权利的社会。
Throughout history the conflict between Islam and other systems, and the battle between truth and falsehood, have not been over the fact that God is the Lord of the universe who conducts its affairs and establishes its laws of nature. The conflict has always been over who is the Lord of mankind, who enacts their laws, conducts their affairs and to whom they must submit. Tyrants of all colours and creeds have been usurping this right for themselves. By practicing it in life they subjugate people to their own power and enslave them. The divine messages and the Prophets, as well as the advocates of Islam, have always struggled to regain this usurped right in order to establish a society which acknowledges that only God has this right.
真主无需任何人。他的国度不会因信士的顺服和崇拜而增添什么，也不会因任何人的违抗或暴君的暴虐而有所减损。人若顺服他人而非真主，便会陷入卑微屈辱的境地；反之，人若只顺服真主，摆脱对他人的屈从，便会获得尊严、高尚与荣誉。既然真主希望人们生活在尊严与荣誉之中，他便派遣众使者，使命是引导世人只崇拜他一位，并将人们从同类的奴役中解放出来。这是为了人类自身的福祉，而非为了真主的利益，因为真主无需任何人。
God has no need for anyone. His kingdom is neither increased by the obedience and worship of believers, nor is it decreased by the disobedience of anyone or by the tyranny of dictators. It is human beings who live in abject humility when they submit themselves to anyone other than God. On the other hand, they gain in dignity, nobility and honour when they submit to God alone and free themselves from subjugation to anyone else. Since God wants people to live in dignity and honour, He has sent His messengers with the task of returning mankind to the worship of Him alone and to liberate them from subjugation by their fellow men. This is for people’s own good, not for the benefit of God who has no need for anyone.
单单顺服真主，就是承认祂的主宰权，而这又意味着祂是能够凭借其立法与命令来掌管万事的主宰。这正是真主经典的主题，正如本章开篇所说："这是一部经典，其诸节经文已被精心完善，并被详细阐明，由睿智、全知的主所降示。你们只应崇拜真主。"（第1-2节）
Submission to God alone means the acknowledgement of His Lordship which, in turn, means that He is the master who can conduct their affairs by His legislation and commandment. This is the subject matter of God’s book, as stated at the opening of this sūrah: “This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware. Worship none but God.” (Verses 1-2)
诚然，这就是阿拉伯人所认可的“崇拜”（ʿibādah）的含义，《古兰经》正是以他们的语言降示的。
Indeed this is the meaning of worship as recognized by the Arabs in whose language the Qur’ān was revealed.
承认这一信息的来源，对于接受它所要确立的理念至关重要。只要对这一切出自真主有丝毫怀疑，人们心中和良知里对它应有的敬重便会受到损害。那些认为它出自穆罕默德的人，无论他们如何推崇穆罕默德的伟大，都无法以同样的敬重来看待它，从而也就不会在违背其任何重要原则或细微规定之前心存顾虑。事实上，相信这一信息和它所确立的信仰出自真主，正是使那些违背它的人感到不安、最终回归真主的原因；它也使信徒坚定不移，抵御可能施加于他们身上的任何压力。
The acknowledgement of the message is essential to the acceptance of the concepts the message aims to establish. Any doubt that all this comes from God destroys its due respect in peoples’ minds and consciences. Those who think that it comes from Muĥammad, no matter what degree of greatness they assign to Muĥammad, cannot look on it with the same degree of respect which makes people hesitate before violating any of its major principles or minor details. Indeed the feeling that the message and the faith it establishes come from God is the one which causes those who contravene it to feel uneasy until they eventually return to God. It also makes the believers stand firm and resist any pressure to which they may be subjected.
接受这一讯息，也提供了一个约束性的标准，用以界定神对祂的仆人有何要求。因此，在信仰和顺服神的事务上，人们只承认一个根据来源。届时，将不会有人能够声称他所说或所立的法律出自神。他将面对这样一个事实：他的说法是虚假的。
Acceptance of the message also provides a controlling factor which defines what God wants of His servants. Thus in matters of faith and submission to God people acknowledge only one source. No one will then be able to claim that what he says or legislates comes from God. He will be confronted with the fact that his claim is false.
在所有基于蒙昧时代（jāhiliyyah）的教义和社会制度中，人与机构都宣称拥有主权，并有权确立价值观和传统，却又说："这出自真主。"这样的混乱，除非将真主的话语归于唯一的源头，即真主的使者，否则无法消除。
In all doctrines and social set-ups based on jāhiliyyah people and institutions claim sovereignty and the authority to establish values and traditions, but then say: ‘This comes from God.’ Such confusion cannot be resolved unless God’s word is derived from one source, namely, God’s Messenger.
为自己的罪过求饶，说明内心仍然鲜活，能够认识到所犯的过错，并且迫切希望悔改。悔罪的实际含义，是真正停止犯罪，并开始去做真主所命令我们做的事。这便是悔罪的实际意义。若缺少这一点，悔罪便没有真实的存在，也不会被接受；任何宽恕也无从获得。如果有人声称自己已决定改过自新、成为一名真正的穆斯林，却不肯唯独顺服真主，只接受通过先知ﷺ传达给我们的真主的律法，那么他的说法仍是虚假的。他顺服于真主之外的某种权威，这一事实便证明了他的话不实。
To seek forgiveness for one’s sins is evidence that one’s heart is alive, recognizes the offence committed and is keen to repent. Repentance means to actually refrain from committing sins and starting to do what God has bidden us to do. This is the practical meaning of repentance. Without it, it has no real existence, and cannot be accepted; and no forgiveness can be granted. If someone claims that he has decided to mend his ways and be a true Muslim, without submitting himself to God alone, and accepting only His legislation, conveyed to us through the Prophet, his claim remains false. It is belied by his submission to some authority other than God’s.
报喜给悔改之人、警告背离之人，是这一使命及其传播的根本所在。它们运用了人性中原本就根深蒂固的两种要素——希望与畏惧，而二者结合，便能给人以极强而真实的内在动力。
Giving glad tidings to those who repent and warning those who turn away are fundamental to the message and its propagation. They utilize the two elements of hope and fear, which are well established in human nature, and which together give very strong and genuine motivation.
信仰后世对我们来说是必要的，它使我们感到在今生之外存在神的智慧，并且使我们明白，神圣启示所倡导的善，正是生命的目的。因此，这种善必定会得到回报，或在今生，或在后世，那时人类的生命将达到圆满。那些偏离神所确立的生活之道的人，终将沉沦并受苦。这应当成为人性的一道保障，使其不致偏离正道。于是，当一个人被一时的欲望所左右，或屈服于诱惑时，他很快便会悔悟，转向他的主。如此，生命便能在这个星球上沿着善的道路继续前行。因此，信仰审判日，不仅如某些人所以为的那样，只是获取后世赏赐的一种方法；它同样提供了动力，促使人在今生行善，并为其健康的发展而努力。这种发展本身并非目的，而只是一种手段，用以建立适合于人的生活方式。人是神将自己的灵魂吹入其中、并使其超越众多受造物之上的存在，因而他生命的目标远比动物生命的目标更为崇高。
To believe in the hereafter is necessary for us to feel that beyond this life there is divine wisdom, and that the goodness to which the divine messages have called is the purpose of life. Therefore, it must be rewarded either in this life or in the hereafter, when human life reaches its perfection. Those who deviate from the way of life God has established are those who sink down and suffer. This should work as a safeguard for human nature against deviation. Thus, when someone is overcome by a fleeting desire or yields to temptation, he soon turns towards his Lord in repentance. Thus life continues in its good way on this planet. To believe in the Day of Judgement is, therefore, not only a method for gaining reward in the hereafter, as some people may think; it also provides motivation to be good in this life and to work for its proper development. Such development is not an end in itself; it is simply a means to establish the sort of life which suits man in whom God has blown of His own spirit, and elevated him above many of His creatures in order to make the goal of his life much more sublime than the goal of animal life.
这就解释了为什么《古兰经》的经文——它们完美无缺、阐述清晰——号召我们寻求真主的宽恕，并悔罪归向祂。这正是善行的开端，真主既在今世也在后世酬报这样的善行。善行并不仅仅是拥有善良的意图和进行崇拜的仪式。
This explains why the verses of the Qur’ān, perfected and clearly spelled out as they are, call upon us to seek God’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Such is the beginning of good action which God rewards both in this life and in the life to come. Good action is not merely having good intentions and offering worship rituals.
这是一种旨在使人类生活在各方面都变得更好的行为。
It is the type of action that seeks to make human life better in every sense of the word.
可以肯定的是，所应许的报酬必将到来："他将在一个确定的期限内，使你们享受美好的生活。他将赐予每一个有功德的人应得的完整回报。"（第3节）就今世而言，"美好的享受"可以指生活的品质，也可以指丰足与富裕。至于来世，它既包括品质，也包括数量，还包括任何人都无法想象的舒适与快乐。
The promised reward is certain to come: “He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) In as far as this life is concerned, goodly enjoyment may refer to the quality of life, or to having abundance and plenty. Where the life to come is concerned, it includes both quality and quantity, as well as comforts and pleasures that no human being can begin to imagine.
让我们来思考一下，今世的美好享受究竟意味着什么。我们常常看到许多善良的人，他们时常寻求真主的宽恕，悔罪归向祂，并且努力宣扬祂的使命，却过着贫困的生活。那么，这种美好的享受在哪里呢？
Let us consider what goodly enjoyment in this life represents. We often see many good people who always seek God’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance and who work hard advocating His message enduring a life of poverty. Where is this goodly enjoyment, then?
为了理解《古兰经》文本更广泛的意义，我们需要从宽广的角度看待生活，以便全面地看待它，而不是仅仅瞥见一眼。
To understand the wider significance of the Qur’ānic text, we need to look at life from a broad angle, so as to see it comprehensively and not a mere fleeting glimpse.
当任何一个社群建立起一套以信仰真主为基础的良好制度时——即只顺服真主，承认祂是唯一的主宰，并倡导行善与富有成效的劳动——它必然会享有进步、舒适的生活水平以及总体良好的生活。此外，它还将从努力与回报之间的公平中获益，并使其个体成员在生活中体验到满足与安心。因此，当我们注意到，在某个社群中，那些本身良善、勤奋工作的人却不得不过着拮据的生活时，我们便可以断定，该社群并未实行以信仰真主为基础的制度，也就无法保障努力与回报之间的公平。
When any community puts in place a good system based on belief in God, submission to Him alone, acknowledgement of His Lordship as the only God, and promoting good and productive work, it will inevitably enjoy progress, a comfortable standard of living and a generally good life. Furthermore, it benefits by an equity between effort and reward, and experiences a feeling of contentedness and reassurance in the life of its individual members. Therefore, when we notice that those who are good in themselves and work hard in a particular community have to endure a life of stinted means, we conclude that that community does not implement a system based on belief in God and so does not ensure equity between effort and reward.
尽管如此,在这样的社群中,那些善良而勤勉的人仍将享有美好的生活,即使他们可能贫穷,并遭受伤害和迫害。当麦加的多神教徒迫害那少数响应伊斯兰召唤的信士时,情况确实如此。今天,在许多社群中,情况依然如此,传扬神圣讯息的人遭受着大量的迫害。这绝非虚妄之言。信士与神有着直接的联系,并确信最终的结果,这足以补偿他在今世所忍受的任何艰辛。
Nevertheless, those good and hard-working individuals in such a community will still have goodly enjoyment, even though they may be poor and subjected to harm and persecution. This was indeed the case when the idolaters in Makkah persecuted the small number of believers that responded to the call of Islam. It remains the case in many communities today, where the advocates of the divine message are subjected to much persecution. This is by no means a fanciful claim. The fact that a believer has a direct relation with God, and is reassured of the eventual outcome, more than compensates for whatever hardship he endures in this present life.
的确，对于任何哪怕只向物质感官之上迈出一步的人，它都能带来美好的愉悦。
Indeed, it provides goodly enjoyment for anyone who moves even a single step above the material sense.
我们说这些话，并非是为了鼓励那些遭受不公、只得到微薄回报的人安于这种不公。伊斯兰教不认可这种做法，面对不公也绝不袖手旁观。穆斯林群体以及每一位穆斯林个人，都有责任消除这种不公，以确保所有辛勤劳作的人都能享有美好的生活。我们这样说，是因为这是事实，而且信士们在贫困与拮据中常常亲身经历这一点。
We do not say this in order to encourage those who suffer injustice and who receive only a miserable reward for their efforts to accept such injustice. Islam does not approve of this, nor does it sit idle when faced with injustice. The Muslim community, and Muslim individuals as well, are required to remove such injustice so as to ensure goodly enjoyment for all those who work hard. We say this because it is true and it is often experienced by believers who endure poverty and limited means.
“他将赐予每位有功德之人应得的全部报酬。”（第3节）一些注释者认为，这句经文指的是后世。但我认为它具有普遍的含义，既适用于今世，也适用于来世。不过，我们需要像解释今世的“美好享受”一样来理解它，因为从这个意义上说，它在任何境况下都是可以实现的。一个有功德的人，在他善用其功德的那一刻，就会得到他的回报。
“He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) Some commentators are of the view that this applies to the hereafter. I feel that it is of general import, making it applicable to both this life and the life to come. But we need to look at it in the same way as we explained what ‘goodly enjoyment’ in this present life means, because, in this sense, it is achievable in all situations. A person who has merit will receive his reward at the moment he uses his merit in a good way.
他将获得满足与安心，并且在以善功寻求真主喜悦的过程中，加深他与真主的联系。他在后世的回报，将是额外的恩赐。
He will enjoy contentedness and reassurance, and strengthen his relations with God as he uses his merit to seek God’s pleasure. His reward in the life to come will be an added blessing.
“但如果你们背过脸去，那么我为你们担心一个大日的刑罚。”（第3节）这指的是在审判日所受的惩罚。有些注释家认为，这句话指的是不信道者在白德尔战役中所遭受的苦难。当《古兰经》泛指“大日”时，指的是审判日。
“But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day.” (Verse 3) This refers to the punishment meted out on the Day of Judgement. Some commentators say that this statement refers to the unbelievers’ suffering at the Battle of Badr. When the Qur’ān speaks of a ‘great day’ in a general sense, this is a reference to the Day of Judgement.
这一含义得到下一节经文的印证："你们all都要归于真主，他对万物都有权能。"（第4节）归向真主既发生在今世，也发生在后世，既发生在每一刻，也发生在每一种境况之中。然而，《古兰经》的用法证实，当使用这样的表述时，它指的是今世结束之后的归返。
This sense is reinforced by the next verse: “To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things.” (Verse 4) Returning to God occurs in this world and the next, at every moment and in all situations. However, Qur’ānic usage confirms that when such an expression is used, it means the return that comes after this life is over.
“祂对万物都有全能。”（第4节）这再次印证了我们所阐述的含义，因为说明真主对万物都有大能，正与不信者认为难以接受的复活之理相吻合。
“He has power over all things.” (Verse 4) This again reinforces the meaning we have outlined, because stating that God has power over all things fits in with the concept of resurrection which the unbelievers found too difficult to accept.