ENTITLED, THE CREATOR;c REVEALED AT MECCA.
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:d 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?
x Mohammed, having in the preceding words answered the imputation of
madness or vain enthusiasm, by appealing to their cooler thoughts of him and
his actions, endeavours by these to clear himself of the suspicion of any
worldly view or interest, declaring that he desired no salary or support from
them for executing his commission, but expected his wages from GOD alone.
y See chapter 25, p. 275.
z viz., At their death, or the day of judgment, or the battle of Bedr.2
a That is, from the outside of the earth to the inside thereof; or,
from before GOD'S tribunal to hell fire; or, from the plain of Bedr to the
well into which the dead bodies of the slain were thrown.3
b i.e., When they are in the other world; whereas faith is to be
received in this.
c Some entitle this chapter The Angels: both words occur in the first
verse.
d That is, some angels have a greater and some a lesser number of
wings, according to their different orders, the words not being designed to
express the particular number. Gabriel is said to have appeared to Mohammed,
on the night he made his journey to heaven, with no less than six hundred
wings.4
2 Al Beidâwi. 3 Idem. 4 Idem.
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.
10 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.e
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,f 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;g and he hath
made you man and wife. No female conceiveth, or bringeth forth, but with his
knowledge. Nor is anything added unto the age of him whose life is prolonged,
neither is anything 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:h yet out of each of them ye
eat fish,i and take ornamentsk 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.
e See chapter 29, p. 298, note
f As the Koreish did against Mohammed. See chapter 8, p. 128, note n.
g See chapter 22, p. 250.
h That is, the two collective bodies of salt water and fresh. See
chapter 25, p. 274
i See chapter 16, p. 196, note u.
k As pearls and coral.
20 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.l GOD shall cause
him to hear whom he pleaseth; but thou shalt not make those to hear who are in
their graves.m 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,n and with the enlightening book:o
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 colours?q In the mountain also there are
some tracts white and red, of various colours;q and others are of a deep
black: and of men, and beasts, and cattle there are whose colours 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 Koran 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 Koran in heritage unto such of our
servants as we have chosen: of them there is one who injureth his own soul;r
and there is another of them who keepeth the middle way;s and there is another
of them who outstrippeth others in good works, by the permission of GOD. This
is the great excellence.
30 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;
l This passage expresses the great difference between a true believer
and an infidel, truth and vanity, and their future reward and punishment.
m i.e., Those who obstinately persist in their unbelief, who are
compared to the dead.
n As the volumes delivered to Abraham, and to other prophets before
Moses.
o viz., The law or the gospel.
p That is, of different kinds. See chapter 16, p. 196.
q Being more or less intense.1
r By not practising what he is taught and commanded in the Korân.
s That is, who meaneth well, and performeth his duty for the most part,
but not perfectly
1 Al Beidâwi.
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 preachert
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.
40 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.
t viz., Mohammed.