ENTITLED, THE TRUE BELIEVER;g REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
H. M.h THE revelation of this book is from the mighty, the wise GOD;
the forgiver of sin and the accepter of repentance; severe in punishing;
long suffering. There is no GOD but he: before him shall be the general
assembly at the last day.
None disputeth against the signs of GOD, except the unbelievers: but let
not their prosperous dealing in the landi deceive thee with vain allurement.
The people of Noah, and the confederated infidels which were after them,
accused their respective prophets of imposture before these; and each nation
hatched ill designs against their apostle, that they might get him into their
power; and they disputed with vain reasoning, that they might thereby
invalidate the truth: wherefore I chastised them; and how severe was my
punishment!
Thus hath the sentence of thy LORD justly passed on the unbelievers; and
they shall be the inhabitants of hell fire.
The angels who bear the throne of God, and those who stand about it,k
celebrate the praise of their LORD, and believe in him; and they ask pardon
for the true believers, saying, O LORD, thou encompassest all things by thy
mercy and knowledge; wherefore forgive those who repent, and follow thy path,
and deliver them from the pains of hell:
O LORD, lead them also into gardens of eternal abode, which thou hast
promised unto them, and unto every one who shall do right, of their fathers,
and their wives, and their children; for thou art the mighty, the wise God.
And deliver them from evil; for whomsoever thou shalt deliver from evil
on that day, on him wilt thou show mercy; and this will be great salvation.
10 But the infidels at the day of judgment, shall hear a voice crying unto
them, Verily the hatred of GOD towards you is more grievous than your hatred
towards yourselves: since ye were called unto the faith, and would not
believe.
They shall say, O LORD, thou hast given us death twice, and thou hast
twice given us life;l and we confess our sins: is there therefore no way to
get forth from this fire?
And it shall be answered them, This hath befallen you, for that when one
GOD was preached unto you, ye believed not; but if a plurality of gods had
been associated with him, ye had believed: and judgment belongeth unto the
high, the great GOD.
g This title is taken from the passage wherein mention is made of one
of Pharaoh's family who believed in Moses.
h See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. III. p. 46, &c.
i By trading into Syria and Yaman. See chapter 3, p. 52, note m.
k These are the Cherubim, the highest order of angels, who approach
nearest to GOD'S presence.1
l Having first created us in a state of death, or void of life and
sensation, and then given life to the inanimate body;2 and afterwards caused
us to die a natural death, and raised us again at the resurrection. Some
understand the first death to be a natural death, and the second that in the
sepulchre, after the body shall have been there raised to life in order to be
examined;3 and consequently suppose the two revivals to be those of the
sepulchre and the resurrection.4
1 Al Beidâwi. 2 See c p. 2, p. 4. 3 See Prelim
Disc. Sect. IV. p. 60, &c.
4 Al Beidâwi. Jallal.
It is he who showeth you his signs, and sendeth down food unto you from
heaven: but none will be admonished, except he who turneth himself unto God.
Call therefore upon GOD, exhibiting your religion pure unto him, although
the infidels be averse thereto.
He is the Being of exalted degree, the possessor of the throne; who
sendeth down the spirit, at his command, on such of his servants as he
pleaseth: that he may warn mankind of the day of meeting,m
the day whereon they shall come forth out of their graves, and nothing of
what concerneth them shall be hidden from GOD. Unto whom will the kingdom
belong, on that day? Unto the only, the almighty GOD.
On that day shall every soul be rewarded according to its merits: there
shall be no injustice done on that day. Verily GOD will be swift in taking an
account.
Wherefore warn them, O prophet, of the day which shall suddenly approach;
when men's hearts shall come up to their throats, and strangle them.
The ungodly shall have no friend or intercessor who shall be heard.
20 God will know the deceitful eye, and that which their breasts conceal;
and GOD will judge with truth: but the false gods which they invoke,
besides him, shall not judge at all: for GOD is he who heareth and seeth.
Have they not gone through the earth, and seen what hath been the end of
those who were before them? They were more mighty than these in strength, and
left more considerable footsteps of their power in the earth: yet GOD
chastised them for their sins, and there was none to protect them from GOD.
This they suffered, because their apostles had come unto them with
evident signs, and they disbelieved: wherefore GOD chastised them; for he is
strong, and severe in punishing.
We heretofore sent Moses with our signs and manifest power,
unto Pharaoh, and Haman, and Karûn; and they said, He is a sorcerer, and
a liar.
And when he came unto them with the truth from us, they said, Slay the
sons of those who have believed with him, and save their daughters alive:n but
the stratagem of the infidels was no other than vain.
And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses;o and let him call
upon his LORD: verily I fear lest he change your religion, or cause violence
to appear in the earth.p
And Moses said unto his people, Verily I have recourse unto my LORD and
your LORD, to defend me against every proud person, who believeth not in the
day of account.
And a man who was a true believer, of the family of Pharaoh,q and
concealed in his faith, said, Will ye put a man to death, because he saith,
GOD is my LORD; seeing he is come unto you with evident signs from your LORD?
If he be a liar, on him will the punishment of his falsehood light; but if he
speaketh the truth, some of those judgments with which he threateneth you will
fall upon you: verily GOD directeth not him who is a transgressor, or a liar:
m When the Creator and his creatures,5 the inhabitants of heaven and of
earth, the false deities and their worshippers, the oppressor and the
oppressed, the labourer and his works, shall meet each other.6
n i.e., Pursue the resolution which has been formerly taken, and
execute it more strictly for the future. See chapter 7, p. 117, note r.
o For they advised him not to put Moses to death, lest it should be
thought he was not able to oppose him by dint of argument.1
p By raising of commotions and seditions, in order to introduce his new
religion.
q This seems to be the same person who is mentioned, chapter 28, p.
291.
5 See cap. 6, p. 91 6 Al Beidâwi, Jallal 1 Al
Beidâwi
32
30 O my people, the kingdom is yours this day; and ye are conspicuous in
the earth; but who shall defend us from the scourge of GOD, if it come unto
us?r Pharaoh said, I only propose to you what I think to be most expedient;
and I guide you only into the right path.
And he who had believed said, O my people, Verily I fear for you a day
like that of the confederates against the prophets in former times;
a condition like that of the people of Noah, and the tribes of Ad and
Thamud,
and of those who have lived after them; for GOD willeth not that any
injustice be done unto his servants.
O my people, verily I fear for you the day whereon men shall call unto
one another;s
the day whereon ye shall be turned back from the tribunal, and driven to
hell: then shall ye have none to protect you against GOD. And he whom GOD
shall cause to err shall have no director.
Joseph came unto you, before Moses, with evident signs; but ye ceased not
to doubt of the religion which he preached unto you, until, when he died, ye
said, GOD will by no means send another apostle after him. Thus doth GOD
cause him to err, who is a transgressor, and a sceptic.
They who dispute against the signs of GOD, without any authority which
hath come unto them, are in great abomination with GOD, and with those who
believe. Thus doth GOD seal up every proud and stubborn heart.
And Pharaoh said, O Haman, build me a tower, that I may reach the tracts,
the tracts of heaven, and may view the GOD of Moses;t for verily I think
him to be a liar.
40 And thus the evil of his work was prepared for Pharaoh, and he turned
aside from the right path: and the stratagems of Pharaoh ended only in loss.
And he who had believed said, O my people, follow me: I will guide you
into the right way.
O my people, verily this present life is but a temporary enjoyment; but
the life to come is the mansion of firm continuance.
Whoever worketh evil shall only be rewarded in equal proportion to the
same: but whoever worketh good, whether male or female, and is a true
believer, they shall enter paradise: they shall be provided for therein
superabundantly.
And, O my people, as for me, I invite you to salvation; but ye invite me
to hell fire:
ye invite me to deny GOD, and to associate with him that whereof I have
no knowledge; but I invite you to the most mighty, the forgiver of sins.
There is no doubt but that the false gods to which ye invite me deserve
not to be invoked, either in this world or in the next; and that we must
return unto GOD; and that the transgressors shall be the inhabitants of hell
fire:
and ye shall then remember what I now say unto you. And I commit my
affair unto GOD; for GOD regardeth his servants.
Wherefore GOD delivered him from the evils which they had devised; and a
grievous punishment encompassed the people of Pharaoh.u
r See the speech of Gamaliel to the Jewish Sanhedrim, when the apostles
were brought before them.2
s i.e., The day of judgment, when the inhabitants of paradise and of
hell shall enter into mutual discourse: when the latter shall call for help,
and the seducers and the seduced shall cast the blame upon each other.3
t See chapter 28, p. 293.
u Some are of opinion that those who were sent by Pharaoh to seize the
true believer, his kinsman, are the persons more particularly meant in this
place: for they tell us that the said believer fled to a mountain, where they
found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beasts, which ranged themselves in
order about him, and that his pursuers thereupon returned in a great fright to
their master, who put them to death for not performing his command.1
2 Acts v. 38, 39 3 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin 1 Al
Beidâwi.
They shall be exposed to the fire of hell morning and evening:x and the
day whereon the hour of judgment shall come, it shall be said unto them,
Enter, O people of Pharaoh, into a most severe torment.
50 And think on the time when the infidels shall dispute together in hell
fire; and the weak shall say unto those who behaved with arrogance,y Verily we
were your followers: will ye therefore relieve us from any part of this fire?
Those who behaved with arrogance shall answer, Verily we are all doomed
to suffer therein: for GOD hath now judged between his servants.
And they who shall be in the fire shall say unto the keepers of hell,z
Call ye on your LORD, that he would ease us, for one day, from this
punishment.
They shall answer, Did not your apostles come unto you with evident
proofs? They shall say, Yea. The keepers shall reply, Do ye therefore call
on God: but the calling of the unbelievers on him shall be only in vain.
We will surely assist our apostles, and those who believe, in this
present life, and on the day whereon the witnesses shall stand forth:
a day, whereon the excuse of the unbelievers shall not avail them; but a
curse shall attend them, and a wretched abode.
We heretofore gave unto Moses a direction; and we left as an inheritance
unto the children of Israel the book of the law; a direction, and an
admonition to men of understanding.
Wherefore do thou, O prophet, bear the insults of the infidels with
patience; for the promise of GOD is true; and ask pardon for thy fault;a and
celebrate the praise of thy LORD, in the evening and in the morning.
As to those who impugn the signs of GOD, without any convincing proof
which hath been revealed unto them, there is nothing but pride in their
breasts;b but they shall not attain their desire: wherefore fly for refuge
unto GOD; for it is he who heareth and seeth.
Verily the creation of heaven and earth is more considerable than the
creation of man: but the greater part of men do not understand.
60 The blind and the seeing shall not be held equal; nor they who believe
and work righteousness, and the evil doer: how few revolve these things in
their mind!
The last hour will surely come; there is no doubt thereof: but the
greater part of men believe it not.
Your LORD said, Call upon me, and I will hear you: but they who proudly
disdain my service shall enter with ignominy into hell.
It is GOD who hath appointed the night for you to take your rest therein,
and the day to give you light: verily GOD is endued with beneficence towards
mankind: but the greater part of men do not give thanks.
This is GOD, your LORD, the Creator of all things; there is no GOD
besides him: how therefore are ye turned aside from his worship?
Thus are they turned aside, who oppose the signs of GOD.
x Some expound these words of the previous punishment they are doomed
to suffer according to a tradition of Ebn Masúd, which informs us that their
souls are in the crops of black birds, which are exposed to hell fire every
morning and evening until the day of judgment.2
y See chapter 14, p. 187, note
z See chapter 74.
a In being too backward and negligent in advancing the true religion,
for fear of the infidels.3
b This sentence may be understood generally, though it was revealed on
account of the idolatrous Meccans or of the Jews, who said of Mohammed, This
man is not our lord, but the Messias, the Son of David, whose kingdom will be
extended over sea and land.4
2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem.
It is GOD who hath given you the earth for a stable floor, and the heaven
for a ceiling; and who hath formed you, and made your forms beautiful, and
feedeth you with good things. This is GOD, your LORD. Wherefore blessed be
GOD, the LORD of all creatures!
He is the living God: there is no GOD but he. Wherefore call upon him,
exhibiting unto him the pure religion. Praise be unto GOD, the LORD of all
creatures!
Say, Verily I am forbidden to worship the deities which ye invoke,
besides GOD, after that evident proofs have come unto me from my LORD; and I
am commanded to resign myself unto the LORD of all creatures.
It is he who first created you of dust, and afterwards of seed, and
afterwards of coagulated blood; and afterwards brought you forth infants out
of your mothers' wombs: then he permitteth you to attain your age of full
strength, and afterwards to grow old men (but some of you die before that
age), and to arrive at the determined period of your life;c that peradventure
ye may understand.
70 It is he who giveth life, and causeth to die: and when he decreeth a
thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is.
Dost thou not observe those who dispute against the signs of GOD, how
they are turned aside from the true faith?
They who charge with falsehood the book of the Koran, and the other
scriptures and revealed doctrines which we have sent our former apostles to
preach, shall hereafter know their folly,
when the collars shall be on their necks, and the chains by which they
shall be dragged into hell; then shall they be burned in the fire.
And it shall be said unto them, Where are the gods which ye associated,
besides GOD? They shall answer, They have withdrawn themselves from us: yea,
we called on nothingd heretofore. Thus doth GOD lead the unbelievers into
error.
This hath befallen you, for that ye rejoiced insolently on earth, in that
which was false; and for that ye were elated with immoderate joy.
Enter the gates of hell, to remain therein forever: and wretched shall be
the abode of the haughty!
Wherefore persevere with patience, O Mohammed; for the promise of GOD is
true. Whether we cause thee to see any part of the punishment with which we
have threatened them, or whether we cause thee to die before thou see it;
before us shall they be assembled at the last day.
We have sent a great number of apostles before thee;e the histories of
some of whom we have related unto thee, and the histories of others of them we
have not related unto thee: but no apostle had the power to produce a sign,
unless by the permission of GOD. When the command of GOD, therefore, shall
come, judgment shall be given with truth; and then shall they perish who
endeavor to render the signs of God of no effect.
It is GOD who hath given you the cattle, that ye may ride on some of
them, and may eat of others of them;
80 (ye also receive other advantages therefrom;)f and that on them ye may
arrive at the business proposed in your mind: and on them are ye carried by
land, and on ships by sea.
And he showeth you his signs; which, therefore, of the signs of GOD, will
ye deny?
Do they not pass through the earth, and see what hath been the end of
those who were before them? They were more numerous than these, and more
mighty in strength, and left more considerable monuments of their power in the
earth: yet that which they had acquired profited them not.
c See chapter 22, p. 250.
d Seeing an idol is nothing in the world.1
e See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 59.
f See chapter 16, p. 195
1 Idem
And when their apostles came unto them with evident proofs of their
mission, they rejoiced in the knowledge which was with them:g but that which
they mocked at encompassed them.
And when they beheld our vengeance, they said, We believe in GOD alone,
and we renounce the idols which we associated with him:
but their faith availed them not, after they had beholden our vengeance.
This was the ordinance of GOD, which was formerly observed in respect to his
servants and then did the unbelievers perish.
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