12. And We appoint the night and the day two portents. Then We make dark the portent of the night, and We make the portent of the day sight-giving, that ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and that ye may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning; and everything have We expounded with a clear expounding.
13. And every man’s augury have We fastened to his own neck, and We shall bring forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open.
14. (And it will be said unto him): Read thy book. Thy soul sufficeth as reckoner against thee this day.
15. Whosoever goeth right, it is only for (the good of) his sCjrah 284 THE GLORIOUS KORAN own soul that he goeth right, and whosoever erreth, erreth only to its hurt. No laden soul can bear another’s load. We never punish until We have sent a messenger.
16. And when We would destroy a township We send commandment to its folk who live at ease, and afterward they commit abomination therein, and so the Word (of doom) hath effect for it, and We annihilate it with complete annihilation.
17. How many generations have We destroyed since Noah! And Allah sufficeth as Knower and Beholder of the sins of His slaves. 18. Whoso desireth that (life) which hasteneth away, We hasten for him therein what We will for whom We please. And afterward We have appointed for him hell; he will endure the heat thereof, condemned, rejected.
19. And whoso desireth the Hereafter and striveth for it with the effort necessary, being a believer; for such, their effort findeth favour (with their Lord).
20. Each do We supply, both these and those, from the bounty of thy Lord. And the bounty of thy Lord can never be walled up.
21. See how We prefer one above another, and verily the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.
22. Set not up with Allah any other god (O man) lest thou sit down reproved, forsaken.
23. Thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him, and (that ye show) kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, say not “Fie” unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word.
24. And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy, and say: My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they did care for me when I was little.
25. Your Lord is best aware of what is in your minds.
XVII THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 285 If ye are righteous, then lo! He was ever Forgiving unto those who turn (unto Him).
26. Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and squander not (thy wealth) in wantonness. 27. Lo! the squanderers were ever brothers of the devils, and the devil was ever an ingrate to his Lord.
28. But if thou turn away from them, seeking mercy from thy Lord, for which thou hopest, then speak unto them a reasonable word.
29. And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening, lest thou sit down rebuked, denuded.
30. Lo! thy Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will, and straiteneth (it for whom He will). Lo, He was ever Knower, Seer of His slaves.
31. Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Lo! the slaying of them is great sin.
32. And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way.
33. And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. W^hoso is slain wrongfully, W^e have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying. Lo! he will he helped.
34. Come not near the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better till he come to strength; and keep the covenant. Lo! of the covenant it will be asked.
35. Fill the measure when ye measure, and weigh with a right balance; that is meet, and better in the end. 36. (O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart—of each of these it will be asked.
37. And walk not in the earth exultant. Lo! thou canst SLJRAH 286 THE GLORIOUS KORAN not rend the earth, nor canst thotx stretch to the height of the hills.
38. The evil of all that is hateful in the sight of thy Lord.
39. This is (part) of that wisdom wherewith thy Lord hath inspired thee (OMuhammad). And set not up with Allah any other god, lest thou be cast into hell, reproved, abandoned.
40. Hath your Lord then distinguished you (O men of Mecca) by giving you sons, and hath chosen for Himself females from among the angels? Lo! verily ye speak an awful word!
41. We verily have displayed (Our warnings) in this Qur’an that they may take heed, but it increaseth them in naught save aversion.
42. Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): If there were other gods along with Him, as they say, then had they sought a way against the Lord of the Throne.
43. Glorified is He, and High Exalted above what they say! 44. The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymneth his praise; but ye understand not their praise. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving.
45. And when thou recitest the Qur’an We place between thee and those who believe not in the Hereafter a hidden barrier; 46. And We place upon their hearts veils lest they should understand it, and in their ears a deafness; and when thou makest mention of thy Lord alone in the Qur’an, they turn their backs in aversion.
47. We are best aware of what they wish to hear when they give ear to thee and when they take secret counsel, when the evil-doers say: Ye follow but a man bewitched.
XVII THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 287 48. See what similitudes they coin for thee, and thus are all astray, and cannot find a road!
49. And they say: When we are bones and fragments, shall we, forsooth, be raised up as a new creation?
50. Say: Be ye stones or iron 51. Or some created thing that is yet greater in your thoughts! Then they will say: Who shall bring us back (to life). Say: He Who created you at the first. Then will they shake their heads at thee, and say: When will it be? Say: It will perhaps be soon,* 52. A day when He will call you and ye will answer with His praise, and ye will think that ye have tarried but a little while.
53. Tell My bondmen to speak that which is kindlier. Lo! the devil soweth discord among them. Lo! the devil is for man an open foe.
54. Your Lord is best aware of you. If He will, He will have mercy on you, or if He will. He will punish you. We have not sent thee (O Muhammad) as a warden over them.
55. And thy Lord is best aware of all who are in the heavens and the earth. And We preferred some of the Prophets above others, and unto David We gave the Psalms.
56. Say: Cry unto those (saints and angels) whom ye assume (to be gods) beside Him, yet they have no power to rid you of misfortune nor to change.
57. Those unto whom they cry seek the way of approach to their Lord, which of them shall be the nearest; they hope for His mercy and they fear His doom. Lo! the doom of thy Lord is to be shunned.
58. There is not a township' but We shall destroy it ere the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with dire punishment. That is sec forth in the Book (of Our decrees).
* Or community.
THE GLORIOUS KORAN SURAH 59. Naught hindereth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel—a clear portent—hut they did wrong in respect of her. We send not portents save to warn.
60. And (it was a warning) when We told thee: Lo! thy Lord encompasseth. mankind, and We appointed the vision" which We showed thee as an ordeal for mankind, and (likewise) the Accursed Tree in the Qur’an."" We warn them, but it increaseth them in naught save gross impiety.
61. And when We said unto the angels: Fall down prostrate before Adam and they fell prostrate all save Iblis, he said: Shall I fall prostrate before that which Thou hast created of clay?
62. He said: Seest Thou this (creature) whom Thou hast honoured above me, if Thou give me grace until the Day of Resurrection I verily will seize his seed, save but a few.
63. He said: Go, and whosoever of them followeth thee— lo! hell will be your payment, ample payment.
64. And excite any of them whom thou canst with thy voice, and urge thy horse and foot against them, and be a partner in their wealth and children, and promise them. Satan promiseth them only to deceive.
65. Lo! My (faithful) bondmen—over them thou hast no power, and thy Lord sufficeth as (their) guardian. 66. (O mankind), your Lord is He Who driveth for you the ship upon the sea that ye may seek of His bounty, Lo! He was ever Merciful toward you.
67. And when harm toucheth you upon the sea, all unto whom ye cry (for succour) fail save Him (alone), but when He bringeth you safe to land, ye turn away, for man was ever thankless.
' The Prophet’s vision of his ascent through the seven heavens.
^ See Sur. XLIV, vv.
XVII THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 289 68. Feel ye then secure that He will not cause a slope of the land to engulf you, or send a sand-storm upon you, and then ye will find that ye have no protector?
69. Or feel ye secure that He will not return you to that (plight) a second time, and send against you a hurricane of wind and drown you for your thanklessness, and then ye will not find therein that ye have any avenger against Us?
70. Verily We have honoured the children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment.
71. On the day when We shall summon all men with their record, whoso is given his book in his right hand—such will read their book and they will not be wronged a shred.
72. Whoso is blind here will be blind in the Hereafter, and yet further from the road. 73. And they indeed.strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee, that thou shouldst invent other than it against Us; and then would they have accepted thee as a friend.'
74. And if We had not made thee wholly firm thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little.
75. Then had We made thee taste a double (punishment) of living and a double (punishment) of dying, then hadst thou found no helper against Us.
76. And they indeed wished to scare thee from the land that they might drive thee forth from thence, and then they would have stayed (there) but a little after thee.® 77. (Such was Our) method in the case of those whom ‘ The idolaters more than once offered to compromise with the Prophet.
^ If, as the Jalaleyn declare, vv. 76-82 were revealed at Al-Madinah the reference here is to the plotting of the Jews and Hypocrites.
U SURAH 290 THE GLORIOUS KORAN We sent before thee (to mankind), and thou wilt not find for Our method aught of power to change.
78. Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur’an at dawn is ever witnessed. 79. And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate.
80. And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing. And give me from Thy presence a sustaining Power.
81. And say: Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.'
82. And We reveal of the Qur’Sn that which is a healing and a mercy for believers though it increase the evil-doers in naught save ruin.
83. And when We make life pleasant unto man, he turneth away and is averse; and when ill toucheth him he is in despair.
84. Say; Each one doth according to his rule of conduct, and thy Lord is best aware of him whose way is right.
85. They will ask thee concerning the Spirit. Say: The Spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little.
86. And if We willed We could withdraw that which We have revealed unto thee, then wouldst thou find no guardian for thee against L!s in respect thereof.
87. (It is naught) save mercy from thy Lord. Lo! His kindness unto thee was ever great.* ' These words were recited by the Prophet when he witnessed the destruction of the idols round the Ka'bah after the conquest of Mecca.
a Vv. 85, 86 and 87 are said to have been revealed in answer to the third question which some Jewish rabbis prompted the idolaters to ask, the first two questions being answered in the following Surah.
XVII THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 291 88. Say: Verily, though mankind and the Jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.
89. And verily We have displayed for mankind in this Qur’an all kinds of similitudes, but most of mankind refuse aught save disbelief.
90. And they say: We will not put faith in thee till thou cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us; 91. Or thou have a garden of date-palms and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth therein abundantly; 92. Or thou cause the heaven to fall upon us piecemeal, as thou hast pretended, or bring Allah and the angels as a warrant; 93. Or thou have a house of gold; or thou ascend up into heaven, and even then we will put no faith in thine ascension till thou bring down for us a book that we can read. Say (O Muhammad): My Lord be glorified! Am I aught save a mortal messenger?
94. And naught prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came unto them save that they said: Hath Allah sent a mortal as (His) messenger?
95. Say: If there were in the earth angels walking secure. We had sent down for them from heaven an angel as messenger.
96. Say: Allah sulficeth for a witness between me and you. Lo! He is Knower, Seer of His slaves.
97. And he whom Allah guideth, he is led aright; while, as for him whom He sendeth astray, for them thou wilt find no protecting friends beside Him, and We shall assemble them on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf; their habitation will be hell; whenever it abateth. We increase the flame for them.
THE GLORIOUS KORAN SURAH 98. That is their reward because they disbelieved Our revelations and said: When we are bones and fragments shall we, forsooth, be raised up as a new creation? 99. Have they not seen that Allah Who created the heavens and the earth is Able to create the like of them, and hath appointed for them an end whereof there is no doubt? But the wrong-doers refuse aught save disbelief.
loo; Say (unto them): If ye possessed the treasures of the mercy of my Lord, ye would surely hold them back for fear of spending, for man was ever grudging, 101. And verily We gave unto Moses nine tokens, clear proofs (of Allah’s Sovereignty). Do bur ask the Children of Israel how he came unto them, then Pharaoh said unto him: Lo! I deem thee one bewitched, O Moses.
102. He said: In truth thou knowest that none sent down these (portents) save the Lord of the heavens and the earth as proofs, and lo! (for my part) I deem thee lost, O Pharaoh.
103. And he wished to scare them from the land, but We drowned him and those with him, all together.
104. And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter Cometh to pass we shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations."
105. With truth have We sent it down, and with truth hath it descended. And We have sent thee as naught else save a bearer of good tidings and a warner. 106. And (it is) a Qur’an that We have divided, that thou mayest recite it unto mankind at intervals, and We have revealed it by (successive) revelation, 107. Say: Believe therein or believe not, lo! those who ^ A reference to the dispersal of the Jews as the consequence of their own deeds after God had established them in the land.
XVII THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL were given knowledge before it, when it is read unto them, fall down prostrate on their faces, adoring, 108. Saying: Glory to our Lord! Verily the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.
109. They fall down on their faces, weeping, and it increaseth humility in them.
no. Say (unto mankind); Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent,' unto whichsoever ye cry (it is the same). His are the most beautiful names. And thou (Muhammad), be not loud voiced in thy worship nor yet silent therein, but follow a way between.
III. And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hatht He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.
‘ The idolaters had a peculiar objection to the name Ar-Rahman, ‘‘The Beneficent,” in the Koran. They said: ‘‘We do not know this Rahman,” Some of them thought that Ar-Rahman was a man living in Yamamah.
SORAH XVIII Al-Kahf, "The Cave/’ takes its name from the story of the youths who took refuge from, persecution in a cave (vv. 10—27) and were preserved there as if asleep for a long period—a story which is generally identified by Western writers Gibbon) with the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. But a strong tradition in the Muslim world asserts that this story and that of Dhu’l Qarneyn ("The Two- Horned One"), vv. 83—98, possibly also that of Moses and the angel, vv. 60—82, were revealed to the Prophet to enable him to answer the questions which the Jewish doctors of Yathrib had instructed the idolaters to ask him, as a test of Prophethood, The questions were three: "Ask him,” said the Rabbis, "of some youths who were of old, what was their fate, for they have a strange story; and ask him of a much-travelled man who reached the sunrise regions of the earth and the sun-set regions thereof, what was his history; and ask him of the Spirit, what it is."
The tormentors of the Prophet, who had been to Yathrib to get hints from the Jews, on their return to Mecca put these questions to the Prophet, after having told the people that it was to be a crucial test. The Prophet said that he would surely answer them upon the morrow, without adding "if God will,” as though he could command God’s revelation. As a reproof for that omission, the wished-for revelation was withheld from him for some days, and when it came included the rebuke contained in verse 24.' There is no reason whatever to doubt the truth of the tradition which connects this chapter with three questions set by Jewish rabbis, and the answers must have been considered satisfying, or at least silencing, or the Jews would certainly have made fun of them when they were taunting the Prophet daily after his flight to Yathrib (Al-Madinah). That being so, it would seem rash to identify the story with that of the Christian Seven Sleepers; it must belong, as the story of the "Two-Horned One’ ’ actually does belong, to rabbinical lore. The third of the questions is answered in Surah XVII, vv. 85 IF.
It belongs to the middle group of Meccan Surahs.
I Ibn Hisham (Cairo edition), Part I, pp. 102, 103.
st!>RAH XVIII THE CAVE THE CAVE Revealed at Mecca In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. Praise be to Allah Who hath revealed the Scripture unto His slave, and hath not placed therein any crookedness, 2. (But hath made it) straight, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring unto the believers who do good works the news that theirs will be a fair reward, 3. Wherein they will abide for ever; 4. And to warn those who say: Allah hath chosen a son, 5. (A thing) whereof they have no knowledge, nor (had) their Others. Dreadful is the word that cometh out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.
6. Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps.
7. Lo! We have placed all that is in the earth as an ornament thereof that we may try them: which of them is best in conduct.
8. A.ird lo.' We shall make all that is therein a barren mound.
9. Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents?
10. When the young men fled for refuge to the Cave and said: Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence, and shape for us right conduct in our plight.
It. Then We sealed up their hearing in the Cave for a number of years.
12. And afterward We raised them up that We might sOrah 296 THE GLORIOUS KORAN know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried.
13. We narrate unto thee their story with truth. Lo! they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.
14. And We made firm their hearts when they stood forth and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We cry unto no god beside Him, for then should we uttet an enormity.
15. These, our people, have chosen (other) gods beside Him though they bring no clear warrant (vouchsafed) to them. And who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah?
16. And when ye withdraw from them and that which they worship except Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave; your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and will prepare for you a pillow in your plight.
17. And thou mightest have seen the sun when it rose move away from their cave to the right, and when it set go past them on the left, and they were in the cleft thereof. That was (one) of the portents of Allah. He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, and he whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guiding friend.
18. And thou wouldst have deemed them waking though they were asleep, and we caused them to turn over to the right and the left, and their dog stretching out his paws on the threshold. 19. If thou hadst observed them closely thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them, 20. And in like manner We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said; How long have ye tarried? They said: We have tarried xvin THE CAVE a day or some part of a day, (Others) said: Your Lord best knoweth what ye have tarried. Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city, and let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof. Let him be courteous and let no man know of you.
21. For they, if they should come to know of you, will stone you or turn you back to their religion; then ye will never prosper.
22. And in like manner We disclosed them (to the people of the city) that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that, as for the Hour, there is no doubt concerning it. When (the people of the city) disputed of their case among themselves, they said: Build over them a building; their Lord knoweth best concerning them. Those who won their point said: We verily shall build a place of worship over them.
23. (Some) will say: They were three, their dog the fourth, and (some) say: Five, their dog the sixth, guessing at random; and (some) say: Seven, and their dog the eighth. Say (OMuhammad): My Lord is best aware of their number. None knoweth them save a few. So contend not concerning them except with an outward contending, and ask not any of them to pronounce concerning them.
24. And say not of anything: Lo! I shall do that tomorrow, 25. Except if Allah will. And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest, and say: It may be that my Lord guideth me unto a nearer way of truth than this.
26. And (it is said) they tarried in their Cave three hundred years and add nine.
27. Say: Allah is best aware how long they tarried. His is the invisible of the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! They have no protecting s6rah 298 THE GLORIOUS KORAN friend beside Him, and He maketb none to share in His government.
28. And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Scripture of thy Lord. There is none who can change His words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him.
29. Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.
30. Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!
31. Lo! as for those who believe and do good works—Lo! We suffer not the reward of one whose work is goodly to be lost.
32. As for such, theirs will be Gardens of Eden, wherein rivers flow beneath them; therein they will be given armlets of gold and will wear green robes of finest silk and gold embroidery, reclining upon thrones therein. Blest the reward, and fair the resting-place!
33. Coin for them a similitude: Tw'o men, unto one of whom We had assigned two gardens of grapes, and We had surrounded both with date-palms and had put between them tillage.
34. Each of the gardens gave its fruit and withheld naught thereof. And We caused a river to gush forth therein, 35. And he had fruit. And he said unto his comrade, when XVIII THE CAVE he spake with him: I am more than thee in wealth, and stronger in respect of men.
36. And he went into his garden, while he (thus) wronged himself. He said: I think not that all this will ever perish.
37. I think not that the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back unto my Lord I surely shall find better than this as a resort. 38. And his comrade, while he disputed with him, exclaimed: Disbelievest thou in Him Who created thee of dust, then of a drop (of seed), and then fashioned thee a man?
39. But He is Allah, my Lord, and I ascribe unto my Lord no partner.
40. If only, when thou entcredst thy garden, thou hadst said: That which Allah willeth (will come to pass)! There is no strength save in Allah! Though thou seest me as less than thee in wealth and children, 41. Yet it may be that my Lord will give me better than thy garden, and will send on it a bolt from heaven, and some morning it will be a smooth hillside, 42. Or some morning the water thereof will be lost in the earth so that thou canst not make search for it.
43. And his fruit was beset (with destruction). Then began he to wring his hands for all that he had spent upon it, when (now) it was all ruined on its trellises, and to say: Would that I had ascribed no partner to my Lord!
44. And he had no troop of men to help him as against Allah, nor could he save himself.
45. In this case is protection only from Allah, the True. He is best for reward, and best for consequence. 46. And coin for them the similitude of the life of the world as water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingleth with it and then becometh THE GLORIOUS KORAN s£>rah dry twigs that the winds scatter. Allah is Able to do all things.
47. Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord’s sight for reward, and better in respect of hope.
48. And (bethink you of) the Day when We remove the hills and ye see the earth emerging, and We gather them together so as to leave not one of them behind.
49. And they are set before thy Lord in ranks (and it is said unto them): Now verily have ye come unto Us as We created you at the first. But ye thought that We had set no tryst for you.
50. And the Book is placed, and thou seest the guilty fearful of that which is therein, and they say: What kind of a book is this that leaveth not a small thing nor a great thing but hath counted it! And they find all that they did confronting them, and thy Lord wrongeth no one. 51. And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the Jinn,' so he rebelled against his Lord’s command, Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange for evil-doers!
52. I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; nor choose I mis- leaders for (My) helpers.
53. And (be mindful of) the Day when He will say: Call those partners of Mine whom ye pretended. Then they will cry unto them, but they will not hear their prayer, and We shall set a gulf of doom between them.
' The fact that Iblis or Satan is of the Jinn and not of the angels, though he was among the latter, explains his disobedience; since Jinn, like men, can choose their path of conduct.
XVIII THE CAVE 54. And the guilty behold the Fire and know that they are about to fall therein, and they find no way of escape thence.
55. And verily We have displayed for mankind in this Qur’an all manner of similitudes, but man is more than anything contentious. 56. And naught hindereth mankind from believing when the guidance cometh unto them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, unless (it be that they wish) that the judgement of the men of old should come upon them or (that) they should be confronted with the Doom.
57. We send not the messengers save as bearers of good news and warners. Those who disbelieve contend with falsehood in order to refute the Truth thereby. And they take Our revelations and that wherewith they are threatened as a jest.
58. And who doth greater wrong than he who hath been reminded of the revelations of his Lord, yet turneth away from them and forgetteth what his hands send forward (to the Judgement)? Lo! on their hearts We have placed coverings so that they understand not, and in their ears a deafness. And though thou call them to the guidance, in that case they can never be led aright.
59. Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn. He would hasten on the doom for them; but theirs is an appointed term from which they will find no escape.
60. And (all) those townships! We destroyed them when they did wrong, and We appointed a fixed time for their destruction. 61. And when Moses said unto his servant: I will not give up until I reach the point where the two rivers meet, though I march on for ages.
THE GLORIOUS KORAN sCtrah 62. And when they reached the point where the two met, they forgot their fish, and it took its way into the waters, being free.
63. And when they had gone further, he said unto his servant: Bring us our breakfast. Verily we have found fatigue in this our journey.
64. He said: Didst thou see, when we took refuge on the rock, and I forgot the fish—and none but Satan caused me to forget to mention it—it took its way into the waters by a marvel.
65. He said: This is that which we have been seeking. So they retraced their steps again.
66. Then found they one of Our slaves, unto whom We had given mercy from Us, and had taught him knowledge from Our presence.
67. Moses said unto him: May I follow thee, to the end that thou mayst teach me right conduct of that which thou hast been taught?
68. He said: Lo! thou canst not bear with me.
69. How canst thou bear with that whereof thou canst not compass any knowledge?
70. He said: Allah willing, thou shalt find me patient and I shall not in aught gainsay thee.
71. He said: Well, if thou go with me, ask me not concerning aught till I myself make mention of it unto thee. 72. So they twain set out till, when they were in the ship, he made a hole therein. (Moses) said: Hast thou made a hole therein to drown the folk thereof? Thou verily hast done a dreadful thing.
73. He said: Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
74. (Moses) said: Be not wroth with me that I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my fault.
XVIII THE CAVE 75. So they twain journeyed on till, when they met a lad, he slew him. (Moses) said: What! Hast thou slain an innocent soul who hath slain no man? Verily thou hast done a horrid thing.
76. He said: Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
77. (Moses) said: If I ask thee after this concerning aught, keep not company with me. Thou hast received an excuse from me.
78. So they twain journeyed on till, when they came unto the folk of a certain township, they asked its folk for food, but they refused to make them guests. And they found therein a wall upon the point of falling into ruin, and he repaired it. (Moses) said: If thou hadst wished, thou couldst have taken payment for it.
79. He said: This is the parting between thee and me! I will announce unto thee the interpretation of that thou couldst not bear with patience.
80. As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the river,’ and I wished to mar it, for there was a king behind them who is taking every ship by force.
81. And as for the lad, his parents were believers and We feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.
82. And We intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in purity and nearer to mercy.
83. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been righteous, and thy Lord intended that they should come to their full strength and should bring forth their treasure as a mercy from their Lord; and I did it not upon my own command. Such is the interpretation of that wherewith thou couldst not bear.
^ Or, ir might be, "sea.”
THE GLORIOUS KORAN sOrah 84. They will ask thee of Dhu'I-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him.
85. LoJ We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.
86. And he followed a road 87. Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu’I-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness. 88. He said: As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him, and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, who will punish him with awful punishment!
89. But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command.
90. Then he followed a road 91. Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.
92. So (it was). And We knew all concerning him.
93. Then he followed a road 94. Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying.
95. They said: O Dhu’I-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are spoiling the land. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier between us and them?
96. He said: That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank.
97. Give me pieces of iron—till, when he had levelled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow!—till, when he XVIII THE CAVE had made it a fire, he said: Bring me molten copper to pour thereon, 98. And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it).
99. He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass. He will lay it low, for the promise of my Lord is true.
100. And on that day We shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering.
101. On that day We shall present hell to the disbelievers, plain to view, 102. Those whose eyes were hoodwinked from My reminder, and who could not bear to hear.
103. Do the disbelievers reckon that they can choose My bondmen as protecting friends beside Me? Lo! We have prepared hell as a welcome for the disbelievers.
104. Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works?
105. Those whose effort goeth astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon that they do good work.
106. Those are they who disbelieve in the revelations of their Lord and in the meeting with Him. Therefor their works are vain, and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight to them.
107. That is their reward: hell, because they disbelieved, and made a jest of Our revelations and Our messengers.
108. Lo! those who believe and do good works, theirs are the Gardens of Paradise for welcome,