knoweth what He revealeth), they say, ‘Thou art but a forger!’—but the
greater number of them know not!
SAY, The Holy Spirit _Gabriel_ hath brought it down from thy Lord with
truth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and
good tidings unto the Muslims.
And We well know that they say, ‘Only a man[109] teacheth him.’ The
tongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this _is the_
perspicuous Arabic tongue.
(xvi. 103-105).
XXXVI.
SAY, If the sea were ink, for _writing_ the words of my Lord, the sea
would be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and
[so] if we brought its like in aid.[110]
(xviii. 109).
_THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL._
XXXVII.
†The Striking! what is the Striking?
And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?
_It is_ a day when men shall be like scattered moths,
And the mountains like carded wool!
Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life
well-pleasing.
As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.
And what shall teach thee what that is?
A raging fire!
(ci.)
XXXVIII.
†When the earth is shaken with her shaking,
And the earth hath cast forth her dead,[111]
And man shall say, ‘What aileth her?’
On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
Because thy Lord hath inspired her.
On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,
And whosoever shall have wrought an ant’s weight of good shall
behold it,
And whosoever shall have wrought an ant’s weight of ill shall
behold it.
(xcix.)
XXXIX.
†When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,
And when the stars shall be scattered,
And when the seas shall be let loose,
And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,
_Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.
O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,
Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?
In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.
Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.
Verily there are watchers over you,
Worthy recorders,
Knowing what ye do.
Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;
And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];
They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,
And they shall not be hidden from it.
And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?
Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
_It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul;
and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.
(lxxxii.)
XL.
When the sun shall be wrapped up,
And when the stars shall fall down,
And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,
And when the camels ten months gone with young[112] shall be neglected,
And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,
And when the seas shall overflow,[113]
And when the souls shall be joined _to their bodies_,
And when the child[114] that hath been buried alive shall be asked
For what crime she was put to death,
And when the books[115] shall be laid open,
And when the heaven shall be removed,[116]
And when Hell shall be made to burn,
And when Paradise shall be brought near,—
_Then every_ soul shall know what it hath done.
(lxxxi. 1-14.)
XLI.
Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?
Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,
Labouring, toiling:
They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,
They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,
There shall be no food for them but of daree’,[117]—
It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.
(lxxxviii. 1-7.)
XLII.
When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,
And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to
dust with one breaking,
On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:
And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,
And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day
eight _of the angels_[118] shall bear the throne of thy Lord.
On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of
your secrets shall be hidden.
And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right
hand, he shall say,[119] ‘Take ye, read my book;
Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.
And his [shall be] a pleasant life
In a lofty garden,
Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.
[120]‘Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid
beforehand in the past days.’
But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left
hand, he shall say, ‘O would that I had not had my book given
to me,
Nor known what [was] my reckoning!
O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_!
My wealth hath not profited me!
My power is passed away from me!’
‘[121]Take him and chain him,
Then cast him into hell to be burnt,
Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:
For he believed not in God, the Great,
Nor urged to feed the poor;
Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,
Nor any food save filth
Which none but the sinners shall eat.’
(lxix. 13-37.)
XLIII.
When the Calamity shall come to pass
There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening,[122]
[It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_;
When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking,
And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,
And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;
And ye shall be three classes.
And the people of the right hand,[123] what [shall be] the people
of the right hand![124]
And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left
hand![125]
And the Preceders,[126] the Preceders!
These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]
In the gardens of delight,—
A crowd of the former generations,
And a few of the latter generations,
Upon inwrought couches
Reclining thereon, face to face.
Youths ever-young[127] shall go unto them round about
With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,
Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;
And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,
And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.
And damsels[128] with eyes[129] like pearls laid up
_We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done.
Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,
But [only] the saying, ‘Peace! Peace!’
And the people of the right hand—what [shall be] the people of
the right hand!
[They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns
And bananas loaded with fruit,[130]
And a shade _ever_-spread,
And water _ever_-flowing,
And fruits abundant
Unstayed and unforbidden,
And couches raised.
Verily we have created them[131] by a [peculiar] creation,
And have made them virgins,
Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],
For the people of the right hand,
A crowd of the former generations
And a crowd of the latter generations.
And the people of the left hand—what [shall be] the people of
the left hand!
[They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,
And a shade of blackest smoke,
Not cool and not grateful.
For before this they were blest with worldly goods,
And they persisted in heinous sin,[132]
And said, ‘When we shall have died and become dust and bones,
shall we indeed be raised to life,
And our fathers the former generations?’
SAY, Verily the former and the latter generations
Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.
Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],
Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Zaḳḳoom,
And fill therewith [your] bellies,
And drink thereon boiling water,
And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.—
This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.
(lvi. 1-56.)
XLIV.
Verily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke of which
shall encompass them; and if they ask relief, they shall be relieved
with water like the dregs of oil, which shall scald _their_ faces.
Miserable shall be the drink, and evil shall be the couch.
As for those who have believed and done the things that are right,
verily We will not suffer the reward of him that hath done well to
perish:
For these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them[133] shall
rivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and
shall wear green garments of fine brocade and of thick brocade,
reclining therein on the thrones. Excellent shall be the reward, and
pleasant shall be the couch.
(xviii. 28-30.)
XLV.
_Call to mind_ the day when We will cause the mountains to pass away
and thou shalt see the earth plain; and We will assemble them[134] and
not leave of them any one.
And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: ‘Now are ye come unto
Us as We created you the first time.[135] Nay, ye thought that We
would not perform [Our] promise to you.’[136]
And the book shall be put [in every man’s hand], and thou shalt see
the sinners fearful because of that which is [written] therein, and
they shall say, ‘O woe is us! what meaneth this book? It leaveth
neither a small _sin_ nor a great _sin_, but it enumerateth it!’ And
they shall find that which they shall have wrought present;[137] and
thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.
(xviii. 45-47.)
XLVI.
They have not esteemed God with the estimation due unto Him, since the
whole earth [shall be] His handful on the day of resurrection, and the
heavens [shall be] folded together by His right hand. Extolled be His
perfection and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate
_with Him_!
And the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in the heavens and
they that are in the earth shall die, except those whom God shall
please. Then it shall be blown another time; and lo, they shall arise,
waiting.
And the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And the book
shall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought and the witnesses,
and judgment shall be given between them with truth, and they shall
not be treated unjustly.
And every soul shall be fully paid _the reward_ of what it hath done,
and He well knoweth what they do.
And those who have disbelieved shall be driven in troops unto hell,
until when they come to it, its gates shall be opened, and its
guardians shall say unto them, ‘Did not Messengers from among you come
unto you rehearsing the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the
meeting of this your day?’ They shall answer, ‘Yea:’ (But the sentence
of punishment[138] hath been justly pronounced against the
unbelievers:)
It shall be said, ‘Enter ye the gates of hell to remain therein for
ever:’ and evil shall be the abode of the proud.
And those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on in troops unto
paradise, until when they come unto it, its gates are already opened,
and its guardians say unto them: ‘Peace be on you! Ye have been good:
therefore enter it to abide _therein_ for ever.’
And they shall say, ‘Praise be to God, who hath performed unto us His
promise, and hath made us to inherit the land, that we may dwell in
Paradise wheresoever we please; and how excellent is the reward of the
workers!’[139]
And thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne, extolling the
perfection with the praise of their Lord. And judgment shall be given
between them[140] with truth: and it shall be said,‘Praise be to God,
the Lord of the Worlds!’
(xxxix. 67-75.)
XLVII.
Paradise shall be brought near unto the pious, _to a place_ not
distant _from them, so that they shall see it_.
_And it shall be said unto them_, ‘This is what ye have been promised,
unto every one who hath earnestly turned himself unto God and kept
_His laws_,
Who hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come with a penitent
heart:
Enter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.’
(l. 30-33.)
XLVIII.
†Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from women and
children, and hoarded riches of gold and silver, and pastured[141]
horses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is the enjoyment of this
world’s life! But God, goodly is the home with Him!
SAY, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared in the
presence of their Lord for those that fear [God]? Theirs shall be
gardens beneath which rivers run, and in which they shall abide for
ever, and stainless wives, and acceptance with God: for God regardeth
His servants,
—Who say, ‘O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive us then our
sins, and keep us from the torment of the fire,’—
The patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the charitable, and
they who seek pardon at each daybreak.
(iii. 12-15.)
XLIX.
†And repute not those slain in God’s cause[142] to be dead:
nay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;
Joyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed them, and rejoicing
for those that follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them,
that on them no fear shall come, neither shall they grieve;
Rejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that God suffereth
not the reward of the faithful to perish.
(iii. 163-165.)
L.
Whosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male or female,
being a believer,—these shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged
in the least degree.
(iv. 123.)
LI.
For those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared] the
punishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.[143]
When they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,[144] while
it boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.
(lxvii. 6-8.)
LII.
If thou shouldst see[145] those who have offended[146] when they see
the punishment![147]—for power belongeth altogether unto God, and God
is severe in punishing:
When those who have been followed will declare themselves clear of
those who have followed [them],[148] when they have seen the
punishment, and the ties [that bound them together] shall be severed
from them:
And those who have followed shall say, ‘O that there were for us a
return _to the world_! then would we declare ourselves clear of them,
like as they have _now_ declared themselves clear of us!’ After this
manner will God show them their _evil_ works, for which [they shall
pour forth] lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the fire.
(ii. 160-162.)
LIII.
And the Devil[149] shall say, when the matter shall have been
determined,[150] ‘Verily God promised you the promise of truth;[151]
and I promised you,[152] but I deceived you: yet had I no power over
you;
But I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore blame not me, but
blame your own selves. I am not a helper of you, neither are ye
helpers of me. Verily I renounce your having associated me _with God_
heretofore.’
(xiv. 26, 27).
LIV.
Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire, and
thou shalt not find for them any defender.
(iv. 144.)
LV.
They[153] will ask thee respecting the Hour,[154] at what time is its
coming fixed. SAY, The knowledge of it is only with my Lord: none
shall manifest it in its time but He. It is grievous in the heavens
and in the earth. It shall not come upon you otherwise than suddenly.
They will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted therewith. SAY,
The knowledge of it is only with God: but the greater number of men
know not!
SAY, I possess not for myself _power to procure_ advantage nor _to
avert_ mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I knew things unseen, I
should obtain abundance of good, and evil should not happen unto me. I
am only a denouncer of threats _unto the unbelievers_, and an
announcer of good tidings unto the people who believe.
(vii. 186-188.)
_PREDESTINATION._
LVI.
A soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according to a writing
_of God_, definite _as to time_.
(iii. 139.)
LVII.
They say [whose companions were slain at the battle of Oḥod], ‘If
aught of the affair had been _submitted_ to us we had not been slain
here.’[155] SAY, Had ye been in your houses, those _of you_ who were
decreed to be slain had gone forth to the places where they lie.
(iii. 148.)
LVIII.
Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although you be in lofty
towers. If good fortune betide them,[156] they say, ‘This is from
God!’ But if evil betide them, they say, ‘This is from thee, _O
Moḥammad_!’ SAY, All is from God. And what aileth this people that
they are not near to understanding what is said _unto them_?
Whatsoever good betideth thee, _O man, it is_ from God; and whatsoever
evil betideth thee, from thyself _is it_.
(iv. 80, 81.)
LIX.
†No soul can believe but by the permission of God.
(x. 100.)
LX.
†And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But ye shall
not will it, unless God will it.
(lxxvi. 29, 30.)
LXI.
†Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves into
destruction.[157]
(ii. 191.)
_ANGELS AND JINN._[158]
LXII.
They say, ‘The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.’[159] Extolled be
His purity! Nay, _they are_ honoured servants.
They prevent Him not in speech,[160] and according to His command they
act.
He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they shall
not intercede
Save for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread of Him.
And him[161] among them who saith, ‘I am a god beside Him,’ that
[angel] We will recompense with Hell.
(xxi. 26-30.)
LXIII.
†SAY, It hath been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn
listened [to me] and said, ‘Verily we have heard a wonderful
discourse[162]
Which guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and we will by
no means associate any one with our Lord....
We tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a mighty garrison and
darting flames;
We sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever listeneth now
findeth a darting flame in ambush for him.
We know not whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or
whether their Lord intendeth for them a right guidance.
There are among us the good, and among us _those who are_ not so,—we
are of various ways.
(lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)
_TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE._
LXIV.
Verily God commandeth justice and the doing of good and the giving
unto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and
oppression. He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.
(xvi. 92.)[163]
LXV.
†By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,
By the Day when it appeareth in glory,
By Him who made male and female;
Verily your aims are indeed different!
As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],
And yieldeth assent to the Good,
To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.
But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,
And calleth the Good a lie,
To him will We make easy the path to distress;
And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?
Truly man’s guidance is with Us,
And Ours the next Life and this life Present.
I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;
None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,—
Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.
But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,—
Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,
And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake
of recompense,
But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.
And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.[1]
(xcii.)
LXVI.
†What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?
It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,
And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.
Woe, then, to those who pray,
Who in their prayer are careless,
Who make a show [of devotion],
But refuse help [to the needy].[164]
(cvii.)
LXVII.
Your turning your faces _in prayer_ towards the east and the west is
not piety: but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day,
and in the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets, and who giveth
money, notwithstanding his love _of it_, to relations and orphans, and
to the needy and the son of the road,[165] and to the askers and for
_the freeing_ of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the
[appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant when they
covenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in the time
of violence. These are they who have been true: and these are they who
fear God.
(ii. 172.)
LXVIII.
†He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth in God
and the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the [appointed]
alms, and dreadeth none but God: for these are among the
rightly-guided.
(ix. 18.)
LXIX.
O ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect by reproach
and harm, like him who expendeth his wealth to make a vain show unto
men, and believeth not in God and the Last Day. For his likeness is as
the likeness of a smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent
rain hath fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot
have aught that they have gained, and God directeth not the
unbelieving people.
And the likeness of those who expend their wealth from a desire of
God’s being pleased, and from assurance on their part,[166] is as the
likeness of a garden upon a hill, on which a violent rain hath fallen,
and it hath produced its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not
upon it, a gentle rain _falleth_.
(ii. 266, 267.)
LXX.
If ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal them and give
them to the poor, it will be better for you; and it will expiate
_some_ of your sins.
(ii. 273.)
LXXI.
A kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms which hurt[167]
followeth.
(ii. 265.)
LXXII.
Revile not what they invoke in preference to God,[168] lest they
revile God evilly without knowledge.
(vi. 108.)
LXXIII.
Turn away _evil_ by that which is better: and lo, he between whom and
thyself [was] enmity [shall become] as though he were a warm friend:
But none is endowed with this[169] except those who have been patient,
and none is endowed with it except he who is greatly favoured.[170]
(xli. 34, 35.)
LXXIV.
†If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a
better greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh count of all
things.
(iv. 88.)
LXXV.
†If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying his
debt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye remit it as
alms, it will be better for you.
(ii. 280.)[171]
_BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS._
LXXVI.
†Dispute not with the people of the Scripture[172] unless in
the kindliest[173] manner, except against such of them as deal evilly
[with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in that which hath been
sent down unto us and [that which] hath been sent down unto you, and
our God and your God is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.[174]
(xxix. 45.)
LXXVII.
Verily those who have believed,[175] and those who have become Jews,
and the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever hath believed in God
and the Last Day, and hath done that which is right,—they shall have
their reward with their Lord, and _there shall come_ no fear upon
them, neither shall they grieve.
(ii. 59.)[176]
LXVIII.
Whoso desireth any other religion than El-Islám, it shall not be
accepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall be] of those that
perish.
(iii. 79.)
LXXIX.
The likeness of those who have disbelieved[177] is as the likeness of
him who crieth out to that which heareth not [aught] save a calling
and a voice. _They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they do not
understand.
(ii. 166.)
LXXX.
[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour[178] in a
plain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until when he cometh
to it he findeth it not aught:[179] (but he findeth God there, and He
fully payeth him his account: and God is swift in reckoning:)
Or, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over waves,—over
them clouds,—darknesses one over another: when [one] putteth forth his
hand he is not nearly able to see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth
not light, he hath no light.
(xxiv. 39, 40.)
LXXXI.
Propound unto them as a parable two men, on one of whom[180] We
bestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We surrounded them with
palm-trees, and put corn between them; each of the gardens brought
forth its fruit, and failed not thereof at all;
And We caused a river to flow between them; and he had abundance. And
he said unto his companion, disputing with him, ‘I am greater than
thou in wealth and more mighty in family.’
And he entered his garden, being unjust to his own soul.[181] He said,
‘I do not think that this will ever perish,
And I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come; and if I should be
taken back unto my Lord, I shall assuredly find a better [garden] than
it in return.’
His companion said unto him, disputing with him, ‘Dost thou disbelieve
in Him who created thee of dust, then completely fashioned thee into a
man?
God is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with my Lord.
And why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou not say, ‘What God
willeth[182] [cometh to pass]: there is no power but in God?’ If thou
seest me to be inferior to thee in amount of wealth and in number of
children,