﴿1﴾ “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. This is a surah which We have sent down and made obligatory, and in it We have sent down clear signs, so that you may take heed.”

That is: This is a “surah” of immense importance, “which We have sent down” as a mercy from Us to Our servants, and which We have protected from every devil; “and made obligatory”—that is, We prescribed therein what We prescribed of legal penalties, rules of testimony, and other matters; “and in it We have sent down clear signs”—that is, sublime rulings, commands and prohibitions, and profound wisdom—“so that you may take heed,” when We explain matters to you and teach you what you did not know. He then began to explain the rulings referred to, saying: