In the name of the most merciful GOD. Praise be unto GOD, the creator of
heaven and earth; who maketh the angels _his_ messengers, furnished with
two, and three, and four _pair_ of wings: GOD maketh what addition he
pleaseth unto _his_ creatures; for GOD _is_ almighty. The mercy which
GOD shall freely bestow on mankind, _there is_ none who can withhold;
and what he shall withhold, _there is_ none who can bestow, besides him:
and he _is_ the mighty, the wise. O men, remember the favor of GOD
towards you: is there any creator, besides GOD, who provideth food for
you from heaven and earth? _There is_ no GOD but he: how therefore are
ye turned aside _from acknowledging his unity?_ If they accuse thee of
imposture, apostles before thee have also been accused of imposture; and
unto GOD shall _all_ things return. O men, verily the promise of GOD is
true: let not therefore the present life deceive you, neither let the
deceiver deceive you concerning GOD: for Satan _is_ an enemy unto you;
wherefore hold him for an enemy: he only inviteth his confederates to
be the inhabitants of hell. For those who believe not _there is
prepared_ a severe torment: but for those who shall believe and do that
which is right, _is prepared_ mercy and a great reward. Shall he
therefore for whom his evil work hath been prepared, and who imagineth
it to be good, _be as he who is rightly disposed, and discerneth the
truth_? Verily GOD will cause to err whom he pleaseth, and will direct
whom he pleaseth. Let not thy soul therefore be spent in sighs for their
sakes, _on account of their obstinacy_; for GOD well knoweth that which
they do. _It is God_ who sendeth the winds, and raiseth a cloud: and we
drive the same unto a dead country, and thereby quicken the earth after
it hath been dead; so _shall_ the resurrection _be_. Whoever desireth
excellence; unto GOD _doth_ all excellence _belong_: unto him ascendeth
the good speech; and the righteous work will he exalt. But as for them
who devise wicked _plots_, they shall suffer a severe punishment; and
the device of those _men_ shall be rendered vain. GOD created you
_first_ of the dust, and afterwards of seed: and he hath made you man
and wife. No female conceiveth, or bringeth forth, but with his
knowledge. Nor is any thing added unto the age of him whose life is
prolonged, neither is any thing diminished from his age, but _the same
is written_ in the book _of God's decrees_. Verily this is easy with
GOD. The two seas are not to be held in comparison: this _is_ fresh
_and_ sweet, pleasant to drink; but that _is_ salt _and_ bitter: yet out
of each of them ye eat fish, and take ornaments for you to wear. Thou
seest the ships also ploughing _the waves_ thereof, that ye may seek _to
enrich yourselves by commerce_, of the abundance _of God_: peradventure
ye will be thankful. He causeth the night to succeed the day, and he
causeth the day to succeed the night; and he obligeth the sun and the
moon to perform their services: each _of them_ runneth an appointed
course. This is GOD, your LORD: his _is_ the kingdom. But the _idols_
which ye invoke besides him have not the power even over the skin of a
date-stone: if ye invoke them, they will not hear your calling; and
although they should hear, yet they would not answer you. On the day of
resurrection they shall disclaim your having associated _them with God_:
and none shall declare unto thee _the truth_, like one who is well
acquainted _therewith_. O men, ye have need of GOD; but GOD is
self-sufficient, and to be praised. If he pleaseth, he can take you
away, and produce a new creature _in your stead_: neither _will_ this
_be_ difficult with GOD. A burdened _soul_ shall not bear the burden of
another: and if a heavy-burdened _soul_ call _on another_ to bear part
of its _burden_, no part thereof shall be borne _by the person who shall
be called on_, although he be _ever so nearly_ related. Thou shalt
admonish those who fear their LORD in secret, and are constant at
prayer: and whoever cleanseth himself _from the guilt of disobedience_,
cleanseth himself to _the advantage_ of his own soul; for all shall be
assembled before GOD _at the last day_. The blind and the seeing shall
not be held equal; neither darkness and light; nor the cool shade and
the scorching wind: neither shall the living and the dead be held equal.
GOD shall cause him to hear whom he pleaseth: but thou shalt not make
those to hear who are in _their_ graves. Thou _art_ no other than a
preacher; verily we have sent thee with truth, a bearer of good tidings,
and a denouncer of threats.
_There hath been_ no nation, but a preacher hath in past times been
_conversant_ among them: if they charge thee with imposture, they who
were before them likewise charged _their apostles_ with imposture. Their
apostles came unto them with evident _miracles_, and with _divine_
writings, and with the Enlightening Book: afterwards I chastised those
who were unbelievers; and how _severe_ was my vengeance! Dost thou not
see that GOD sendeth down rain from heaven, and that we thereby produce
fruits of various colors? In the mountains also _there are_ some tracts
white and red, of various colors; and _others are_ of a deep black: and
of men, and beasts, and cattle _there are_ whose colors _are_ in like
manner various. Such only of his servants fear GOD as are endued with
understanding: verily GOD _is_ mighty _and_ ready to forgive. Verily
they who read the book of GOD, and are constant at prayer, and give alms
out of what we have bestowed on them, _both_ in secret and openly, hope
for a merchandise which shall not perish: that _God_ may fully pay them
their wages, and make them a _superabundant_ addition of his liberality;
for he _is_ ready to forgive _the faults of his servants, and_ to
requite _their endeavors_. That which we have revealed unto thee of the
book _of the Korân_ is the truth, confirming the _scriptures_ which
_were revealed_ before it: for GOD knoweth _and_ regardeth his servants.
And we have given the book _of the Korân_ in heritage unto such of our
servants as we have chosen: of them _there is one_ who injureth his own
soul; and _there is another_ of them who keepeth the middle way; and
_there is another_ of them who outstrippeth _others_ in good _works_, by
the permission of GOD. This is the great excellence. They shall be
introduced into gardens of perpetual abode; they shall be adorned
therein with bracelets of gold, and pearls, and their clothing therein
_shall be_ of silk: and they shall say, Praise be unto GOD, who hath
taken away sorrow from us! verily our LORD _is_ ready to forgive _the
sinners_, and to reward _the obedient_: who hath caused us to take up
our rest in a dwelling of _eternal_ stability, through his bounty,
wherein no labor shall touch us, neither shall any weariness affect us.
But for the unbelievers _is prepared_ the fire of hell: it shall not be
decreed them to die _a second time_; neither shall _any part_ of the
punishment thereof be made lighter unto them. Thus shall every infidel
be rewarded. And they shall cry out aloud in _hell, saying,_ LORD, take
us hence, and we will work righteousness, and not what we have
_formerly_ wrought. _But it shall be answered them_, Did we not grant
you lives of length sufficient, that whoever would be warned might be
warned therein; and did not the preacher come unto you? Taste therefore
_the pains of hell_. And the unjust shall have no protector. Verily GOD
knoweth the secrets _both_ of heaven and earth, for he knoweth the
innermost parts of the breasts _of men_. It is he who hath made you to
succeed in the earth. Whoever shall disbelieve, on him _be_ his
unbelief; and their unbelief shall only gain the unbelievers greater
indignation in the sight of their LORD; and their unbelief shall only
increase the perdition of the unbelievers. Say, what think ye of your
deities which ye invoke besides GOD? Show me what _part_ of the earth
they have created. Or had they any share in _the creation of_ the
heavens? Have we given unto _the idolaters_ any book _of revelations_,
so that they _may rely_ on any proof therefrom _to authorize their
practice?_ Nay; but the ungodly make unto one another only deceitful
promises. Verily GOD sustaineth the heavens and the earth, lest they
fail: and if they should fail, none could support the same besides him;
he is gracious _and_ merciful. _The Koreish_ swore by GOD, with a most
solemn oath, that if a preacher had come unto them, they would surely
have been more _willingly_ directed than any nation: but now a preacher
is come unto them, it hath only increased in them _their_ aversion _from
the truth, their_ arrogance in the earth, and _their_ contriving of
evil; but the contrivance of evil shall only encompass the authors
thereof. Do they expect any other than the punishment awarded against
the _unbelievers_ of former times? For thou shalt not find any change in
the ordinance of GOD; neither shalt thou find any variation in the
ordinance of GOD. Have they not gone through the earth, and seen what
hath been the end of those who were before them; although they were more
mighty in strength than they? GOD is not to be frustrated by anything
either in heaven or on earth; for he is wise _and_ powerful. If GOD
should punish men according to what they deserve, he would not leave on
the back of _the earth_ so much as a beast; but he respiteth them to a
determined time; and when their time shall come, verily GOD will regard
his servants.