Verily they who do not hope to meet us, and are satisfied with the life of this world, and are content with it, and they who are careless of our signs,-- Their dwelling-place is the Fire, for what they have earned. Verily they who believe and do the things that are right, their Lord shall guide them because of their faith; beneath them rivers shall flow in gardens of delight: Their cry therein shall be, “Extolled be thy glory, O God!” and their salutation therein shall be “Peace!” And the end of their cry shall be, “Praise to God, Lord of the worlds!” And if God should hasten woe upon men as they fain would hasten weal, verily their appointed term is decreed for them! therefore we leave those who hope not to meet us groping in their disobedience. Moreover, when affliction toucheth man, he calleth us upon his side, sitting, or standing; and when we take away his affliction from him, he passeth on as though he had not called us in the affliction that touched him! Thus do the deeds of transgressors seem good to them! We have destroyed generations before you, when they sinned and their apostles came to them with manifestations and they would not believe;--thus do we requite the sinful folk. Then we made you their successors in the earth after them, to see how ye would act. But when our manifest signs are recited to them, they who hope not to meet us say, “Bring a different Korān from this, or change it.” Say: It is not for me to change it of mine own will. I follow only what is revealed to me: verily I fear if I disobey my Lord the torment of the great Day. Say: If God pleased, I had not recited it to you nor taught it you; and already I had dwelt a lifetime amongst you before that: have ye then no wits? And who is more wicked than he who forgeth a lie against God, or saith His signs are lies? Surely the sinners shall not prosper! And they worship beside God that which cannot hurt them or help them; and they say, “These shall be our pleaders with God.” Say: Will ye tell God of anything He doth not know in the heavens and in the earth? Extolled be His glory! and far be He above what they associate with Him! Men were of only one religion: then they differed, and had not a decree gone forth from thy Lord, there had certainly been made a decision between them of that whereon they differed. And they say, “Had a sign been sent down to him from his Lord...”--but say: The unseen is with God alone: wait, therefore; verily I am waiting with you. And when we caused men to taste of mercy after affliction had touched them, behold! they have a plot against our signs! Say: God is quick at plotting! verily our messengers write down what ye plot.
He it is who maketh you journey by land and sea, until, when ye are in ships--and they run with them before a fair wind, and they rejoice thereat, there cometh upon them a violent wind, and the waves come upon them from every side, and they suppose they are sore pressed therewith; they call on God, offering Him sincere religion:--“Do thou but deliver us from this, and we will indeed be of the thankful.” But when we have delivered them, lo, they transgress unjustly on the earth! O ye people! ye wrong your own souls only for the enjoyment of the life of this world: then to us shall ye return; and we will tell you what ye have done.
The likeness of the life of this world is as the water which we send down from the heaven, and there mingleth with it the produce of the earth of which men and cattle eat, until when the earth hath put on its blazonry and is arrayed, and its inhabitants think it is they who ordain it, our command cometh to it by night or day, and we make it mown down, as if it had not teemed yesterday! Thus do we explain our signs to a reflecting folk.
And God calleth you unto the abode of peace: and guideth whom He will into the straight way: To those who have done well, weal and to spare, Neither blackness shall cover their faces nor shame! these are the inmates of Paradise, to abide therein for ever. And as for those who have earned evil, the recompense of evil is its like; shame shall cover them--no defender shall they have against God--as though their faces were darkened with the gloom of night: these are the inmates of the Fire to abide therein for ever. And on the day we will gather them all together, then will we say to those who made Partners with God, “To your place, ye and your Partners!” and we will separate between them; and their partners shall say, “Ye worshipped not us, And God is witness enough between us and you that we were indifferent to your worship!” Then shall every soul make proof of what it hath sent on before, and they shall be brought back to God their true Master, and what they devised shall vanish from them.
Say: Who provideth you from the heaven and the earth? who is king over hearing and sight? and who bringeth forth the living from the dead and bringeth forth the dead from the living? and who ruleth all things? And they shall say, “God:” then say: Do ye not fear? So that is God your true Lord: and after the truth, what is there but error? How then are ye turned away? Thus is the word of thy Lord fulfilled upon those who work iniquity: they shall not believe. Say: Is there any of the Partners [of God] who can produce a creature, then bring it back again? Say: God produceth a creature then bringeth it back again: how then are ye deceived? Say: Is there any of the Partners who guideth to the truth? Say: God guideth unto the truth. Is he who guideth to the truth the worthier to be followed, or he who guideth not except he be guided? What is in you so to judge? And most of them only follow a fancy: but a fancy profiteth nothing against the truth! verily God knoweth what they do.
Moreover this Korān could not have been devised without God: but it confirmeth what preceded it, and explaineth the Scripture--there is no doubt therein--from the Lord of the worlds. Do they say, “He hath devised it himself?” Say: Then bring a chapter like it: and call on whom ye can beside God, if ye be speakers of truth. Nay, they call all that a lie, of which they compass not the knowledge, though the explanation of it hath not yet been given them; so did those who were before them call the Scriptures lies: but see what was the end of the wicked! And some of them believe in it, and some of them believe not in it. But thy Lord knoweth best about the evildoers. And if they call thee a liar, say, I have my work, and ye have your work: ye are clear of what I work, and I am clear of what ye work. And some of them hearken to thee; but canst thou make the deaf hear if they have no wits? And some of them regard thee; but canst thou guide the blind when they see not? Verily God doth not wrong man a whit, but men wrong themselves.
And on a day He will gather them, as though they had tarried but an hour of the day: they shall know one another! They are lost who denied the meeting with God and were not guided! Whether we show thee part of what we threatened against them, or whether we take thee to ourself [before], to us is their return--then shall God be witness of what they have done. And every nation hath its apostle; and when their apostle is come, it is decided between them with equity, and they are not wronged. Yet they say, “When will this promise be, if ye be speakers of truth?” Say: I have no power for myself for woe or weal, except as God pleaseth. Every people hath its appointed term: when their term is come, they shall not put it off nor hasten it an hour. Say: Bethink ye, if the torment of God come upon you by night or by day, what portion of it will the sinners willingly hasten on? When it happeneth, will ye believe it then? Yet would ye fain hasten it on! Then shall it be said to those who transgressed, “Taste ye the torment of eternity! Shall ye be rewarded save according to what ye have earned?” They would fain know of thee if this is true. Say: Yea, by my Lord, it is indeed true, and ye cannot weaken Him. And if every soul that transgressed owned all that is on earth, he would assuredly give it in ransom; and they will declare their repentance when they have seen the torment: and there shall be a decision between them with equity, and they shall not be wronged. Is not indeed whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth God’s? Is not indeed the promise of God true? But most of them do not know! He giveth life and death, and to Him shall ye return.
O ye people! now hath a warning come to you from your Lord, and a healing for what is in your breasts, and a guidance and a mercy to the believers. Say: By the grace of God and his mercy! And in that let them therefore rejoice: this is better than what they heap up. Say: Do ye consider what God hath sent down to you for provision: but ye made thereof unlawful and lawful? Say, did God permit you? or do ye forge against God? But what will they think on the day of resurrection who forge a lie against God? Truly God is full of bounty towards man; but most of them are not thankful. Thou shalt not be in any business, and thou shalt not read from the Korān, and ye shall not do any deed, but we are witness against you when ye are engaged therein; and there escapeth not thy Lord an ant’s weight in earth or in heaven: and there is nothing lesser or greater than that, but it is in the plain Book. Are not they truly the friends of God on whom is no fear neither are they sorrowful-- They who believed and feared God,-- For them are good tidings in the life of this world, and in the life to come there is no changing in God’s sentences. That is the great prize!
And let not their discourse grieve thee: verily all power belongeth to God, He it is who heareth and knoweth. Doth not whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth belong to God? then what do they follow who call upon Partners beside God? verily they follow but a fancy; and verily they are naught but liars. It is He who made you the night to rest in, and the day for seeing: verily in that are signs to a folk that can hear!
They say, “God hath taken him a son.” Extolled be his glory! He is the Self-sufficient, all that is in the heavens, and all that is in the earth is his! ye have no warranty for this! do ye say about God that which ye know not? Say: Verily they who forge this lie against God shall not prosper:-- A passing joy in this world, then to us they return; and then we will make them taste the grievous torment, because they did not believe.
And tell them the story of Noah, when he said to his people,--“O my people! though my dwelling with you and my warning you of the signs of God hath been grievous to you, yet in God do I put my trust: so gather together your case and your Partners; then will not your case fall upon you in the dark: then decide about me and delay not. And if ye turn, yet ask I no reward from you: my reward is with God alone, and I am commanded to be of those who are resigned.” But they called him a liar, so we delivered him and those who were with him in the ship, and we made them to survive; and we drowned those who had called our signs lies: see then what was the end of those who were warned!
Then after him, we sent apostles to their people, and they came to them with manifestations: but they would not believe in what they had denied before: thus do we put a seal upon the hearts of the transgressors. Then sent we, after them, Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his nobles with our signs; but they were puffed up and were a sinful folk. And when the truth came to them from us, they said, “This is clear sorcery indeed.” Moses said, “Say ye of the truth when it is come to you, Is this sorcery?--but sorcerers shall not prosper.” They said, “Art thou come to us to hinder us from what we found our fathers in, and in order that for you twain there shall be majesty in the land? but we are not going to believe in you!” And Pharaoh said, “Fetch me every wise sorcerer.” And when the sorcerers came, Moses said to them, “Cast down what ye have to cast.” And when they had cast them down, Moses said, “What ye come with is sorcery: verily God will make it vain; aye, God doth not prosper the work of evildoers; And God will establish the truth by his word, though loth be the sinners.” And none believed in Moses but the children of his own folk, for fear of Pharaoh and his nobles, lest he should afflict them: for of a truth Pharaoh was mighty in the earth, and verily he was of the transgressors.
And Moses said, “O my people! if ye believe in God, put your trust in Him, if ye are resigned.” And they said, “In God do we put our trust. O our Lord, make us not a trial to the folk of the wicked, And deliver us in Thy mercy from the folk of the unbelievers.” Then revealed we to Moses and to his brother: “Build houses for your people in Egypt, and make your houses with a Kibla, and perform prayer, and give good tidings to the believers.” And Moses said, “O our Lord, thou hast indeed given to Pharaoh and his nobles adornments and riches in the life of this world: O our Lord! may they err from thy way; O our Lord, confound their riches, and harden their hearts, so shall they not believe until they see the aching torment.” God said: “Your prayer is heard, then stand ye upright, and follow not the path of those who know not.” And we brought the Children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh and his host followed them, eager and hostile, until when drowning overtook him he said, “I believe that there is no God but He in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the resigned.”
“Now! thou hast been rebellious aforetime, and wast one of the evildoers, This day will we raise thee in thy flesh, to be a sign to those who come after thee: but verily many men are heedless of our signs!” Moreover we lodged the Children of Israel in a firm abode, and provided them with good things: and they did not differ until the knowledge came to them; verily thy Lord will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that on which they differed.
And if thou art in doubt of what we have sent down to thee, inquire of those who read the Scriptures before thee. Now hath truth come unto thee from thy Lord: then be not thou of those who doubt, Neither be of those who deny the signs of God lest thou be among the losers. Verily they against whom the word of thy Lord is passed shall not believe,-- Though there came unto them every kind of sign,--till they behold the aching torment. Else any city had believed, and its faith had benefited it:--save the people of JONAH; when they believed, we took away from them the torment of shame in the life of this world, and provided for them awhile. But if thy Lord pleased, verily all who are in the earth had believed together. Then canst thou compel men to become believers? It is not in a soul to believe but by the permission of God: and He shall lay His curse on those who have no wits. Say: Look upon that which is in the heavens and in the earth: but signs and warners avail not a folk that will not believe! What then can they expect but the like of the days of those who passed away before them? Say: Wait ye,--I too am waiting with you. Then will we deliver our apostles and those who believe: thus is it binding on us to deliver the faithful. Say: O ye people! if ye are in doubt of my religion, I do not worship those whom ye worship beside God; but I worship God, who taketh you away; and I am commanded to be of the faithful. And set thy face towards religion as a Hanīf, and be not of those idolaters: And invoke not beside God that which can neither help nor hurt; for if thou do, thou wilt certainly be of the wicked. And if God touch thee with affliction, there is none to remove it but He. And if He desire thy good, there is none to hinder His bounty--He will confer it on whom He pleaseth of his servants: and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful! Say: O ye people! now hath truth come unto you from your Lord; then he who is guided, is guided only for his own behoof: but he who erreth doth err only against himself; and I am no governor over you! And follow what is revealed to thee: and be patient till God judgeth; and He is the best of judges.
(x.)
THE THUNDER.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ A. L. M. R. These are the Signs of the Book! and that which was sent down to thee from thy Lord is the truth: but most men do not believe. It is God who raised the heavens without pillars that ye can see; then ascended the Throne, and subdued the sun and the moon: each runneth to its appointed goal, to rule every thing, to manifest signs. Haply ye will be convinced of meeting your Lord! And it is He who spread out the earth, and put thereon firm mountains, and rivers; and of every fruit He hath made therein two kinds: He maketh the night to cover the day; verily in that are signs for reflecting folk. And on the earth are neighbouring tracts, and gardens of grapes, and corn, and palms clustered and not clustered at the root; they are watered by the same water, yet we make some better than others for food: verily in that are signs for folk that have wits. If ever thou dost wonder, wonderful is their saying, “What! when we have become dust, shall we indeed become a new creation?” These are they who disbelieve in their Lord: and these shall have the shackles on their necks, and these shall be the inmates of the fire to abide therein for ever. They will bid thee hasten evil rather than good: examples have passed away before them; and verily thy Lord is full of forgiveness unto men despite their iniquity; and verily thy Lord is heavy in punishing. And they who disbelieve say, “Unless a sign be sent down to him from his Lord...” Thou art but a warner, and to every people its guide. God knoweth what every woman beareth, and the decrease of the wombs and the increase; for the pattern of all things is with Him, Who knoweth the hidden and the seen, the Great, the Most High. Equal is he of you who concealeth his words and he that proclaimeth them: he who hideth by night, and he who goeth abroad by day. Each hath angels before him and behind him, who watch over him by God’s command. Verily God doth not change towards a people, till they change themselves; and when God willeth evil unto a people, there is no averting it, nor have they any protector beside Him.
It is He who showeth you the lightning for fear and hope [of rain], and gathereth the lowering clouds, And the THUNDER magnifieth His praise, and the angels, for awe of Him, and He sendeth His thunderbolts and smiteth therewith whom He pleaseth:--and they are wrangling about God! but strong is His might! Unto Him is the true cry: but those whom they cry to beside Him shall answer them naught save as one who stretcheth forth his hands to the water that it may reach his mouth, but it doth not reach it! The cry of the unbelievers is but in error. And unto God bow down all things in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows at morn and eve!
Say: Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: God. Say: Why then have ye taken beside Him Patrons who are powerless for weal or woe to themselves? Say: What! are the blind and the seeing alike? or are darkness and light the same? or have they made Partners for God, who create as He creates, so that they confuse the creation? Say: God is the Creator of all things, He is the One, the Conqueror. He sendeth down water from heaven; and the valleys flow in their degree, and the torrent beareth along foaming froth, and from the [ore] which they burn in the fire, desiring ornaments or necessaries, a scum like it ariseth. So doth God liken truth and falsehood. As to the scum it passeth off as refuse, and as to what profiteth man it remaineth on the earth. Thus doth God frame parables. For those who respond to their Lord, good; but those who respond not to Him, had they all that the earth containeth and its like beside it, they would surely give it in ransom: these shall have an evil reckoning, and Hell shall be their home,--and wretched the bed! Is he who knoweth that what hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord is naught but the truth, like to him who is blind? but men of understanding alone will mind, Who fulfil their covenant with God and break not the compact; And who join what God hath bidden to be joined, and who fear their Lord and dread the evil reckoning; And who are patient, seeking the face of their Lord, and perform prayer and give alms secretly and openly of what we have provided them, and turn away evil with good: for these is the reward of the Abode,-- Gardens of eternity, into which they shall enter together with those who were just of their fathers and their wives and their offspring: and the angels shall go in unto them at every gate [saying]:-- “Peace be upon you! because ye were patient.” And pleasant is the reward of the Abode! But those who break God’s covenant after they have pledged it, and cut asunder what God hath bidden to be joined, and work iniquity in the earth, for these is a curse and a sore abode!
God is lavish with provision to whom He pleaseth, or He stinteth it. And they rejoice in the life of this world; but the life of this world is but a passing joy to the life to come. And they who disbelieve say, “Unless a sign be sent down to him from his Lord...” Say: God truly misleadeth whom He will; and He guideth to himself those who repent, Who believe, and whose hearts are at peace in the remembrance of God! yea, in the remembrance of God shall the hearts be at peace of those who believe and do the things that are right--good betide them, and happy be their goal! Thus have we sent thee among a nation, before whom other nations have passed away, that thou mayest tell them what we have inspired thee with: yet they disbelieve in the Merciful! Say: He is my Lord--there is no God but Him. In Him do I put my trust, and unto Him is my return. Though there were a Korān by which the mountains were removed or the earth cloven or the dead given speech--Nay! to God belongeth the rule in all: know not they who believe, that if God pleased, He would certainly have guided men in all?
And calamity shall not cease to befal the unbelievers for what they have done, or settle hard by their dwellings, until the promise of God shall come to pass. Verily God will not fail in what He promised. Before thee apostles have been mocked at--and long I suffered those who disbelieved; then I took hold of them; and how great was my punishment! Who then is he that is standing over every soul to mark what it hath earned? Yet they made Partners with God! Say: Name them! could ye inform him of what He knoweth not in the earth, or are they aught beyond words? Nay, their artifice commended itself to those who disbelieve; and they are turned aside from the road; and whom God misleadeth, he hath no guide. Torment is theirs in the life of this world, and assuredly the torment of the world to come shall be worse, and they shall have no one to ward them from God.
A likeness of the Paradise which is promised to those that fear God:--The rivers flow beneath it; its food and its shades are everlasting. That is the end of those who fear God: but the end of the unbelievers is the Fire.
They to whom we have given the Book rejoice in what hath been sent down to thee, yet some of the confederates deny a part of it. Say: I am commanded only to worship God, and not to associate any with Him: on Him I cry, and unto Him is my goal. Thus have we sent down the Korān as an Arabic judgment; and assuredly, if thou followed their desires after the knowledge had come to thee, thou shouldst have no protector nor warder against God. And we have sent apostles before thee, and gave them wives and offspring. But to no apostle was it given to bring a sign save by God’s permission: to each age its Book. God wipeth out or confirmeth what He pleaseth, and with Him is the Mother of the Book. And whether we show thee somewhat of that which we promised them, or take thee hence before; verily, it is thine to announce only, and ours to take account. See they not that we come into the land and cut down its chiefs? And when God judgeth, there is none to reverse His sentence: and He is swift to reckon. And those who were before them plotted: but God’s is the master plot: He knoweth what every one soul earneth, and the infidels shall know for whom is the reward of the abode. And those who disbelieve shall say, “Thou art not sent from God.” Say: God is witness enough between me and you, and he that hath knowledge of the Book.
(xii.)
THE SPEECHES OF MEDINA THE PERIOD OF HARANGUE DECEPTION.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ All that is in the heavens, and all that is in the earth, magnifieth God: His is the kingdom, His is the praise, and He is powerful over all things. It is He who hath created you; and one of you is an unbeliever, and another a believer; and God seeth what ye do. He created the heavens and the earth in truth; and He hath fashioned you and made goodly your forms; and to Him is your journeying. He knoweth what is in the heavens and the earth; and He knoweth what ye hide and what ye manifest; and God knoweth well the secrets of the breast.
Hath not the story come to you of those who disbelieved aforetime, and tasted the evil fruit of their doings, and received an aching torment? That was because when their apostles had come to them with manifestations, they said, “Shall mortal men guide us?” And they believed not and turned their backs. But God had no need of them; and God is Self-sufficient and worthy to be praised! The unbelievers pretend that they shall by no means be raised again. Say: Nay, by my Lord, but ye shall be raised; then shall ye certainly be told of what ye have done: and that is easy with God. Believe then in God and His Apostle, and in the light which we have sent down; for God knoweth perfectly what ye do. The day when He shall gather you together for the Day of Assembly, that is the day of DECEPTION. And whoso believeth in God and doeth that which is right, God shall take away his sins, and He will bring him into the gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell there evermore: that is the great prize! But those who believe not, but deny our signs--those shall be the inmates of the fire, to dwell therein for ever; and evil is their journey. There happeneth no misfortune but by God’s permission; and whoso believeth in God, He guideth his heart; and God knoweth all things. Obey God, therefore, and obey the Apostle: but if ye turn away, our Apostle is only charged with a plain message:-- God, there is no God but He! Then in God let the faithful trust. O ye who believe! verily in your wives and your children ye have an adversary, wherefore beware of them. But if ye relent and pardon and forgive, then verily God too is Forgiving and Merciful. Your wealth and your children are but a snare: but God, with Him is the great reward. Then fear God with all your might, and hear and obey, and give alms for your own sakes; and whoso is saved from his own covetousness,--these it is who prosper. If ye lend God a good loan, He will double it to you, and will forgive you: for God is Grateful, Mild, Knowing the secret and the open; the Mighty, the Wise!
(lxiv.)
IRON.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifieth God, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, He giveth life and giveth death, and He is powerful over all things. He is the first and the last, the seen and the unseen, and all things doth He know. It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then ascended the Throne; He knoweth what goeth into the earth and what cometh out of it, and what cometh down from the sky and what riseth up into it; and He is with you, wherever ye be; and God seeth what ye do. His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to God shall all things return. He maketh the night to follow the day, and He maketh the day to follow the night, and He knoweth the secrets of the breast.