gathered.
And they say, "When shall this threat be put in force, if ye speak the
truth?"
SAY: Nay truly, this knowledge is with God alone: and I am only an open
warner.
But when they shall see it nigh, sad shall wax the countenances of the
infidels: and it shall be said, "This is what ye have been calling for."
SAY: What think ye? Whether God destroy me or not, and those who follow me,
or whether he have mercy on us, yet who will protect the infidels from a
woeful torment?
SAY: He is the God of Mercy: in Him do we believe, and in Him put we our
trust; and ye shall know hereafter who is in a manifest error.
SAY: What think ye? If at early morn your waters shall have sunk away, who
then will give you clear running water?
_______________________
1 Thus Shakespeare uses the word braying of clamours of Hell; and Milton
speaks of braying horrible discord. Comp. Sura xxv. 12-21.
2 Der alles durchdringt. Ullm.; perspicax. Mar.; sagacious. Sale. The primary
meaning of the Arabic root is to draw near; hence the above signification, in
the sense of God's presence as interpenetrating all things: hence also the
other sense of benign, as in Sura [lxxxiii.] xlii. 18.
SURA XXIII.-THE BELIEVERS [LXIV.]
MECCA.1-118 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
HAPPY now the BELIEVERS,
Who humble them in their prayer,
And who keep aloof from vain words,2
And who are doers of alms deeds,
And who restrain their appetites,
(Save with their wives, or the slaves whom their right hands possess: for in
that case they shall be free from blame:
But they whose desires reach further than this are transgressors:)
And who tend well their trusts and their covenants,
And who keep them strictly to their prayers:
These shall be the heritors,
Who shall inherit the paradise, to abide therein for ever.
Now of fine clay have we created man:
Then we placed him, a moist germ,3 in a safe abode;
Then made we the moist germ a clot of blood: then made the clotted blood into
a piece of flesh; then made the piece of flesh into bones: and we clothed the
bones with flesh: then brought forth man of yet another make4-Blessed
therefore be God, the most excellent of Makers5-
Then after this ye shall surely die:
Then shall ye be waked up on the day of resurrection.
And we have created over you seven heavens:6-and we are not careless of the
creation.
And we send down water from the Heaven in its due degree, and we cause it to
settle on the earth;-and we have power for its withdrawal:-
And by it we cause gardens of palm trees, and vineyards to spring forth for
you, in which ye have plenteous fruits, and whereof ye eat;
And the tree that groweth up on Mount Sinai; which yieldeth oil and a juice
for those who eat.
And there is a lesson for you in the cattle: We give you to drink of what is
in their bellies, and many advantages do ye derive from them, and for food
they serve you;
And on them and on ships are ye borne.
We sent Noah heretofore unto his people, and he said, "O my people! serve
God: ye have no other God than He: will ye not therefore fear Him?
But the chiefs of the people who believed not said, "This is but a man like
yourselves: he fain would raise himself above you: but had it pleased God to
send, He would have sent angels: We heard not of this with our sires of old;-
Verily he is but a man possessed; leave him alone therefore for a time."
He said, "O my Lord! help me against their charge of imposture."
So we revealed unto him, "Make the ark under our eye, and as we have taught,
and when our doom shall come on, and the earth's surface shall boil up,7
Carry into it of every kind a pair, and thy family, save him on whom sentence
hath already passed: and plead not with me for the wicked, for they shall be
drowned.
And when thou, and they who shall be with thee, shall go up into the ark;
say, 'Praise be unto God, who hath rescued us from the wicked folk.'
And say, 'O my Lord! disembark me with a blessed disembarking: for thou art
the best to disembark."'
Verily in this were signs, and verily we made proof of man.
We then raised up other generations after them;
And we sent among them an apostle from out themselves, with, "Worship ye God!
ye have no other God than He: will ye not therefore fear Him?"
And the chiefs of His people who believed not, and who deemed the meeting
with us in the life to come to be a lie, and whom we had richly supplied in
this present life, said, "This is but a man like yourselves; he eateth of
what ye eat,
And he drinketh of what ye drink:
And if ye obey a man like yourselves, then ye will surely be undone.
What! doth he foretell you, that after ye shall be dead and become dust and
bones, ye shall be brought forth?
Away, away with his predictions!
There is no life beyond our present life; we die, and we live, and we shall
not be quickened again!
This is merely a man who forgeth a lie about God: and we will not believe
him."
He said, "O my Lord! help me against this charge of imposture."
He said, "Yet a little, and they will soon repent them!"
Then did the shout of the destroying angel in justice surprise them, we made
them like leaves swept down by a torrent. Away then with the wicked people!
Then raised we up other generations after them-
Neither too soon, nor too late, shall a people reach its appointed time-
Then sent we our apostles one after another. Oft as their apostle presented
himself to a nation, they treated him as a liar; and we caused one nation to
follow another; and we made them the burden of a tale. Away then with the
people who believe not!
Then sent we Moses and his brother Aaron, with our signs and manifest power,
To Pharaoh and his princes; but they behaved them proudly, for they were a
haughty people.
And they said, "Shall we believe on two men like ourselves, whose people are
our slaves?"
And they treated them both as impostors; wherefore they became of the
destroyed.
And we gave Moses the Book for Israel's guidance.
And we appointed the Son of Mary, and His mother for a sign; and we prepared
an abode for both in a lofty spot,8 quiet, and watered with springs.
"O ye apostles! eat of things that are good: and do that which is right: of
your doings I am cognisant.
And truly this your religion is the one religion;9 and I am your Lord:
therefore fear me."
But men have rent their great concern, one among another, into sects; every
party rejoicing in that which is their own;
Wherefore leave them till a certain time, in their depths of error.
What! think they that what we largely, bestow on them of wealth and children,
We hasten to them for their good? Nay, they have no knowledge.
But they who are awed with the dread of their Lord,
And who believe in the signs of their Lord,
And who join no other gods with their Lord,
And who give that which they give with hearts thrilled with dread because
they must return unto their Lord,
These hasten after good, and are the first to win it.
We will not burden a soul beyond its power: and with us is a book, which
speaketh the truth; and they shall not be wronged:
But as to this Book, their hearts are plunged in error, and their works are
far other than those of Muslims, and they will work those works,
Until when we lay hold on their affluent ones with punishment; lo! they cry
for help:
-"Cry not for help this day, for by Us ye shall not be succoured:
Long since were my signs rehearsed to you, but ye turned back on your heels,
Puffed up with pride, discoursing foolishly by night."
Do they not then heed the things spoken-whether that hath come to them which
came not to their fathers of old?
Or do they not recognise their apostle; and therefore disavow him?
Or say they, "A Djinn is in him?" Nay! he hath come to them with the truth;
but the truth do most of them abhor.
But if the truth had followed in the train of their desires, the heavens and
the earth, and all that therein is, had surely come to ruin! But we have
brought them their warning; and from their warning they withdraw.
Dost thou ask them for remuneration? But, remuneration from thy Lord is best;
and He is the best provider.
And thou indeed biddest them to the right path;
But verily they who believe not in the life to come, from that path do surely
wander!
And if we had taken compassion on them, and relieved them from their trouble,
they would have plunged on in their wickedness, wildly wandering.10
We formerly laid hold on them with chastisement, yet they did not humble them
to their Lord, nor did they abase them;
Until, when we have opened upon them the door of a severe punishment, lo!
they are in despair at it.
It is He who hath implanted in you hearing, and sight, and heart; how few of
you give thanks!
It is He who hath caused you to be born on the earth: and unto Him shall ye
be gathered.
And it is He who maketh alive and killeth, and of Him is the change of the
night and of the day: Will ye not understand?
But they say, as said those of old:-
They say,"What! When we shall be dead, and have become dust and bones, shall
we, indeed, be waked to life?
This have we been promised, we and our fathers aforetime: but it is only
fables of the ancients."
SAY: Whose is the earth, and all that is therein;-if ye know?
They will answer, "God's." SAY: Will ye not, then reflect?
SAY: Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and the Lord of the glorious
throne?
They will say, "They are God's". SAY: Will ye not, then, fear Him?
SAY: In whose hand is the empire of all things, who protecteth but is not
protected? if ye know:
They will answer, "In God's." SAY: How, then, can ye be so spell-bound?
Yea, we have brought them the truth; but they are surely liars:
God hath not begotten offspring; neither is there any other God with Him:
else had each god assuredly taken away that which he had created,11 and some
had assuredly uplifted themselves above others! Far from the glory of God, be
what they affirm of Him!
He knoweth alike the unseen and the seen: far be He uplifted above the gods
whom they associate with Him!
SAY: O my Lord! If thou wilt let me witness the infliction of that with which
they have been threatened!
O my Lord! place me not among the ungodly people.
Verily, we are well able to make thee see the punishment with which we have
threatened them.
Turn aside evil with that which is better: we best know what they utter
against thee.
And SAY: "O my Lord! I betake me to Thee, against the promptings of the
Satans:
And I betake me to Thee, O my Lord! that they gain no hurtful access to me."
When death overtaketh one of the wicked, he saith, "Lord, send me back again,
That I may do the good which I have left undone."12 "By no means." These are
the very words which he shall speak:
But behind them shall be a barrier, until the day when they shall be raised
again.
And when the trumpet shall be sounded, the ties of kindred between them shall
cease on that day; neither shall they ask each other's help.
They whose balances shall be heavy, shall be the blest.
But they whose balances shall be light,-these are they who shall lose their
souls, abiding in hell for ever:
The fire shall scorch their faces, and their lips shall quiver therein:-
-"What! Were not my signs rehearsed unto you? and did ye not treat them as
lies?"
They shall say, "O our Lord! our ill-fortune prevailed against us, and we
became an erring people.
O our Lord! Bring us forth hence: if we go back again to our sins, we shall
indeed be evil doers."
He will say; "Be ye driven down into it; and, address me not."
A part truly of my servants was there, who said, "O our Lord! we believe:
forgive us, then, and be merciful to us, for of the merciful art thou the
best."
But ye received them with such scoffs that they suffered you to forget my
warning, and ye laughed them to scorn.
Verily this day will I reward then, for their patient endurance: the blissful
ones shall they be!
He will say, "What number of years tarried ye on earth?"
They will say, "We tarried a day, or part of a day;13 but ask the recording
angels."14
God will say, "Short indeed was the time ye tarried, if that ye knew it.
What! Did ye then think that we had created you for pastime, and that ye
should not be brought back again to us?" Wherefore let God be exalted, the
King, the Truth! There is no god but He! Lord of the stately throne! And
whoso, together with God, shall call on another god, for whom he hath no
proof, shall surely have to give account to his Lord. Aye, it shall fare ill
with the infidels.
And SAY: "O my Lord, pardon, and have mercy; for of those who show mercy, art
thou the best."
_______________________
1 This Sura is said by Wahidi Intr, and by Assuyûti, 55, to be the last
Meccan revelation. But there seems to be no reason for this opinion.
2 In prayer. Eccl. v. I; Matt. vi. 7. But it may be understood of idle talk
generally.
3 See Sura xxii. 5, n.
4 That is, a perfect man at last, composed of soul and body. The verb halaka,
to create, is used throughout, for which I have necessarily substituted to
make, in order to retain the same word throughout the verse.
5 These words are said by most commentators on Sura vi. 93, to have been
uttered by Muhammad's scribe, Abdallah, on hearing the previous part of this
verse, and to have been adopted by the prophet, at the same moment, as
identical with his own inspirations.
6 Lit. seven paths-a Talmudic expression.
7 See Sura [lxxv.] xi. 42, n.
8 Comp. Sura xix. 22 ff., p. 119. Wahl understands this passage of Paradise.
9 Comp. Sura xxi. 92, p. 157.
10 There is no reliable tradition as to the nature of the visitation here
alluded to.
11 That is, each would have formed a separate and independent kingdom.
12 Or, in the (world) which I have left.
13 That is, our past life seems brevity itself in comparison with eternal
torment.
14 Lit. those who number, or keep account, i.e. our torments distract us too
much to allow us to compute.
SURA XXI.-THE PROPHETS [LXV.]
MECCA.-112 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
THIS people's reckoning hath drawn nigh, yet, sunk in carelessness, they turn
aside.
Every fresh warning that cometh to them from their Lord they only hear to
mock it,-
Their hearts set on lusts: and they who have done this wrong say in secret
discourse, "Is He more than a man like yourselves? What! will ye, with your
eyes open,1 accede to sorcery?"
SAY: "My Lord knoweth what is spoken in the heaven and on the earth: He is
the Hearer, the Knower."
"Nay," say they, "it is the medley of dreams: nay, he hath forged it: nay, he
is a poet: let him come to us with a sign as the prophets of old were sent."
Before their time, none of the cities which we have destroyed, believed: will
these men, then, believe?
And we sent none, previous to thee, but men to whom we had revealed
ourselves. Ask ye the people who are warned by Scriptures,2 if ye know it
not.
We gave them not bodies which could dispense with food: and they were not to
live for ever.
Then made we good our promise to them; and we delivered them and whom we
pleased, and we destroyed the transgressors.
And now have we sent down to you "the book," in which is your warning: What,
will ye not then understand?
And how many a guilty city have we broken down, and raised up after it other
peoples:
And when they felt our vengeance, lo! they fled from it.
"Flee not," said the angels in mockery, "but come back to that wherein ye
revelled, and to your abodes! Questions will haply be put to you."
They said, "Oh, woe to us! Verily we have been evil doers."
And this ceased not to be their cry, until we made them like reaped corn,
extinct.
We created not the heaven and the earth, and what is between them, for sport:
Had it been our wish to find a pastime, we had surely found it in ourselves;-
if to do so had been our will.
Nay, we will hurl the truth at falsehood, and it shall smite it, and lo! it
shall vanish. But woe be to you for what ye utter of God!
All beings in the heaven and on the earth are His: and they who are in his
presence disdain not his service, neither are they wearied:
They praise Him night and day: they rest not.3
Have they taken gods from the earth who can quicken the dead?
Had there been in either heaven or earth gods besides God, both surely had
gone to ruin. But glory be to God, the Lord of the throne, beyond what they
utter!
He shall not be asked of his doings, but they shall be asked.
Have they taken other gods beside Him? SAY; Bring forth your proofs that they
are gods. This is the warning of those who are with me, and the warning of
those who were before me: but most of them know not the truth, and turn
aside.
No apostle have we sent before thee to whom we did not reveal that "Verily
there is no God beside me: therefore worship me."
Yet they say, "The God of Mercy hath begotten issue from the angels." Glory
be to Him! Nay, they are but His honoured servants:
They speak not till He hath spoken;4 and they do His bidding.
He knoweth what is before them and what is behind them; and no plea shall
they offer
Save for whom He pleaseth; and they tremble for fear of Him.
And that angel among them who saith "I am a god beside Him," will we
recompense with hell: in such sort will we recompense the offenders.
Do not the infidels see that the heavens and the earth were both a solid
mass, and that we clave them asunder, and that by means of water we give life
to everything? Will they not then believe?
And we set mountains on the earth lest it should move with them, and we made
on it broad passages between them as routes for their guidance;
And we made the heaven a roof strongly upholden; yet turn they away from its
signs.
And He it is who hath created the night and the day, and the sun and the
moon, each moving swiftly in its sphere.
At no time5 have we granted to man a life that shall last for ever: if thou
then die, shall they live for ever?
Every soul shall taste of death:6 and for trial will we prove you with evil
and with good; and unto Us shall ye be brought back.
And when the infidels see thee they receive thee only with scoffs:-"What! is
this he who maketh such mention of your gods?" Yet when mention is made to
them of the God of Mercy, they believe not.
"Man," say they, "is made up of haste."7 But I will shew you my signs:8
desire them not then to be hastened.
They say, "When will this threat be made good? Tell us, if ye be men of
truth?"
Did the infidels but know the time when they shall not be able to keep the
fire of hell from their faces or from their backs, neither shall they be
helped!
But it shall come on them suddenly and shall confound them; and they shall
not be able to put it back, neither shall they be respited.
Other apostles have been scoffed at before thee: but that doom at which they
mocked encompassed the scoffers.
SAY: Who shall protect you by night and by day from the God of Mercy? Yet
turn they away from the warning of their Lord.
Have they gods beside Us who can defend them? For their own succour have they
no power; neither shall the gods they join with God screen them from Us.
Yes! we have given these men and their fathers enjoyments so long as their
life lasted. What! see they not that we come to a land and straiten its
borders9 Is it they who are the conquerors?
SAY: I only warn you of what hath been revealed to me: but the deaf will not
hear the call, whenever they are warned;
Yet if a breath of thy Lord's chastisement touch them, they will assuredly
say, "Oh! woe to us! we have indeed been offenders."
Just balances will we set up for the day of the resurrection, neither shall
any soul be wronged in aught; though, were a work but the weight of a grain
of mustard seed, we would bring it forth to be weighed: and our reckoning
will suffice.
We gave of old to Moses and Aaron the illumination,10 and a light and a
warning for the God-fearing,
Who dread their Lord in secret, and who tremble for "the Hour."
And this Koran which we have sent down is a blessed warning: will ye then
disown it?
Of old we gave unto Abraham his direction,11 for we knew him worthy.
When he said to his Father and to his people, "What are these images to which
ye are devoted?"
They said, "We found our fathers worshipping them."
He said, "Truly ye and your fathers have been in a plain mistake."
They said, "Hast thou come unto us in earnest? or art thou of those who
jest?"
He said, "Nay, your Lord is Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth, who hath
created them both; and to this am I one of those who witness:
-And, by God, I will certainly lay a plot against your idols, after ye shall
have retired and turned your backs."
So, he broke them all in pieces, except the chief of them, that to it they
might return, inquiring.
They said, "Who hath done this to our gods? Verily he is one of the unjust."
They said, "We heard a youth make mention of them: they call him Abraham."
They said, "Then bring him before the people's eyes, that they may witness
against him."
They said, "Hast thou done this to our gods, O Abraham?"
He said, "Nay, that their chief hath done it: but ask ye them, if they can
speak."
So they turned their thoughts upon themselves, and said, "Ye truly are the
impious persons:"
Then became headstrong in their former error12 and exclaimed,"Thou knowest
that these speak not."
He said, "What! do ye then worship, instead of God, that which doth not
profit you at all, nor injure you? Fie on you and on that ye worship instead
of God! What! do ye not then understand?"
They said:13 "Burn him, and come to the succour of your gods: if ye will do
anything at all."
We said, "O fire! be thou cold, and to Abraham a safety!"14
And they sought to lay a plot against him, but we made them the sufferers.
And we brought him and Lot in safety to the land which we have blessed for
all human beings:
And we gave him Isaac and Jacob as a farther gift, and we made all of them
righteous:
We also made them models who should guide others by our command, and we
inspired them with good deeds and constancy in prayer and almsgiving, and
they worshipped us.
And unto Lot we gave wisdom, and knowledge; and we rescued him from the city
which wrought filthiness; for they were a people, evil, perverse:
And we caused him to enter into our mercy, for he was of the righteous.
And remember Noah when aforetime he cried to us and we heard him, and
delivered him and his family from the great calamity;
And we helped him against the people who treated our signs as impostures. An
evil people verily were they, and we drowned them all.
And David and Solomon; when they gave judgment concerning a field when some
people's sheep had caused a waste therein; and we were witnesses of their
judgment.
And we gave Solomon insight into the affair; and on both of them we bestowed
wisdom and knowledge. And we constrained the mountains and the birds to join
with David in our praise: Our doing was it!
And we taught David the art of making mail15 for you, to defend you from each
other's violence: will ye therefore be thankful?
And to Solomon we subjected we subjected the strongly blowing wind; it sped
at his bidding to the land we had blessed; for we know all things:
And sundry Satans16 who should dive for him and perform other work beside:
and we kept watch over them.
And remember Job: When he cried to his Lord, "Truly evil hath touched me: but
thou art the most merciful of those who shew mercy."
So we heard him, and lightened the burden of his woe; and we gave him back
his family, and as many more with them,-a mercy from us, and a memorial for
those who serve us:
And Ismael, and Edris17 and Dhoulkefl18-all steadfast in patience.
And we caused them to enter into our mercy; for they were of the righteous:
And Dhoulnoun;19 when he went on his way in anger, and thought that we had no
power over him. But in the darkness he cried "There is no God but thou: Glory
be unto Thee! Verily, I have been one of the evil doers:"
So we heard him and rescued him from misery: for thus rescue we the faithful:
And Zacharias; when he called upon his Lord saying, "O my Lord, leave me not
childless: but there is no better heir than Thyself."20
So we heard him, and gave him John, and we made his wife fit for child-
bearing. Verily, these vied in goodness, and called upon us with love and
fear, and humbled themselves before us:
And her who kept her maidenhood, and into whom21 we breathed of our spirit,
and made her and her son a sign to all creatures.
Of a truth, this, your religion, is the one22 Religion, and I your Lord;
therefore serve me:
But they have rent asunder this their great concern among themselves into
sects. All of them shall return to us.