O Prophet, say to your wives: 'If you seek this life and its finery, come, I will release you with a fine release. 28 but if you desire God and His Apostle, and [thus the good of] the life in the hereafter, then [know that,] verily, for the doers of good among you God has readied a mighty reward!" 29 O wives of the Prophet! Whoever of you commits an open illegal sexual intercourse, the torment for her will be doubled, and that is ever easy for Allah. 30 ۞ But if any of you devoutly obeys God and His Apostle and does good deeds, on her shall We bestow her reward twice-over: for We shall have readied for her a most excellent sustenance [in the life to come]. 31 O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God. Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way. 32 And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance; and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you to utmost purity. 33 And remember that which is recited in your houses of the signs of God and the Wisdom; God is All-subtle, All-aware. 34