The Koran/The Q'uran
by
Mohammed/Mohammad/Muhamad/Muhammad/Mohomet

Part 6 out of 14




And there were in the city nine persons who committed excesses in
the land and did not that which is right.

They said, "Swear ye to one another by God that we will surely
fall on him and on his family by night: then will be say to the
avenger of blood, we witnessed not the destruction of his family:
and verily we speak the truth."

And they devised a device, and we devised a device, and they were
not aware of it

And see what was the end of their device! We destroyed them and
their whole people:

And for their sin these their houses are empty ruins: Verily in this
is a sign to those who understand;

And we delivered those who believed and feared.

And Lot, when he said to his people, "What! proceed ye to such
filthiness with your eyes open?

What! come ye with lust unto men rather than to women? Surely
ye
are an ignorant people."

And the answer of his people was but to say, "Cast out the family
of Lot from your city: they, forsooth, are men of purity!"

So we rescued him and his family: but as for his wife, we decreed
her to be of them that lingered:

And we rained a rain upon them, and fatal was the rain to those
who had had their warning.

SAY: Praise be to God and peace be on His servants whom He
hath chosen! Is God the more worthy or the gods they join with
Him?

Is not He who hath made the Heavens and the Earth, and hath sent
down rain to you from Heaven, by which we cause the luxuriant
groves to spring up! It is not in your power to cause its trees to
spring up! What! A god with God? Yet they find equals for Him!

Is not He, who hath set the earth so firm, and hath made rivers in
its midst, and hath placed mountains upon it, and put a barrier
between the two seas?11 What! a god with God? Yet the greater
part of them have no knowledge!

Is not He the more worthy who answereth the oppressed when they
cry to him, and taketh off their ills, and maketh you to succeed
your sires on the earth? What! a god with God? How few bear
these things in mind!

Is not He, who guideth you in the darkness of the land and of the
sea, and who sendeth forth the winds as the forerunners of His
mercy? What! a god with God? Far from God be what ye join with
Him!

Is not He, who created a Being, then reneweth it, and who
supplieth you out of the Heaven and the Earth? What! a god with
God? SAY: Bring forth your proofs if you speak the truth.

SAY: None either in the Heavens or in the Earth knoweth the
unseen but God. And they know not

When they shall be raised.

Yet they have attained to a knowledge of the life to come: 12 yet
are they in doubt about it: yet are they blind about it!

And the unbelievers say: "When we and our fathers have been
dead shall we be taken forth?

Of old have we been promised this, we and our sires of old it is but
fables of the ancients."

SAY: Go ye through the land, and see what hath been the end of
the wicked.

And grieve not thou for them, nor be in distress at their devisings.

And they say, "When will this promise be made good, if ye speak
true?"

SAY: Haply a part of what ye desire to be hastened may be close
behind you.

And truly thy Lord is full of goodness towards men: But most of
them are not thankful.

And thy Lord knoweth well what their breasts enshroud, and what
they bring to light,

And there is no secret thing in the Heaven or on the Earth, but it is
in the clear Book.

Truly this Koran declareth to the children of Israel most things
wherein they disagree:

And it is certainly guidance and a mercy to the faithful.

Verily, by his wisdom will thy Lord decide between them: for He
is
the Mighty, the Knowing.

Put thou then thy trust in God: for thou hast clear truth on thy
side.13

Thou shalt not make the dead to hear; neither shalt thou make the
deaf to hear the call, when they turn away backward;

Neither art thou the guide of the blind out of their errors: none
truly shalt thou make to hear but those who believe our signs: and
they are Muslims.

When the doom shall be ready to light upon them, we will cause a
monster 14 to come forth to them out of the earth, and cry to them
"Verily men have not firmly believed our signs."

And on that day shall be gathered out of every nation a company
of those who have gainsaid our signs, in separate bands;

Till they come before God, who will say, "Treated ye my signs as
impostures, although ye embraced them not in your knowledge? or
what is it that ye were doing?

And doom shall light upon them for their evil deeds, and nought
shall they have to plead.

See they not that we have ordained the night that they may rest in
it, and the day with its gift of light? Of a truth herein are signs to
people who believe.

On that day there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and all that are
in the heavens, and all that the on the earth shall be
terror-stricken, save him whom God pleaseth to deliver; and all
shall come to him in humble guise.

And thou shalt see the mountains, which thou thinkest so firm,
pass
away with the passing of a cloud! 'Tis the work of God, who
ordereth all things! of all that ye do is He well aware.

To him who shall present himself with good works, shall be a
reward beyond their desert,15 and they shall be secure from the
terror on that day;

And they who shall present themselves with evil shall be flung
downward on their faces into the fire. Shall ye be rewarded but as
ye have wrought?

SAY: Specially am I commanded to worship the Lord of this land,
which He hath sanctified. All things are His: and I am commanded
to be one of those who surrender them to God (a Muslim)

And to recite the Koran: and whoever is rightly guided, assuredly
will be rightly guided to his own behoof.

And as to him who erreth, SAY, I truly am a warner only.And
SAY,
Praise be to God! He will shew you His signs, and ye shall
acknowledge them: and of what ye do, thy Lord is not regardless.

_______________________

1 See Sura lxviii., p. 32, n.

2 Not really leprous.

3 Lit. when our visible signs came to them.

4 This tradition may be derived from 1 Kings iv. 33. Comp.
Geiger,
p. 185. The legend of Solomon's power over the Genii originates
in a mistranslation of Eccl. ii. 8. Comp. also for other points in
this story Prov. vi. 6; 1 Kings x. 1 10.

5 "Demons obeyed him (Solomon) and evil spirits were
subjected to him." Targ. 2. on Esther 1, 2. From the same source
Muhammad has adopted, with slight variations, the whole story of
Solomon's intercourse with the Queen of Saba. Comp. also Tr.
Gittin, fol. 68, and Midr. Jalkut on 1 Kings vi. ch. 182.

6 Lit. unless ye bear me witness.

7 That is, malignant. "The efreets are generally believed to differ
from the other djinn in being very powerful and always malicious;
but to be in other respects of a similar nature" (Lane's Modern
Egyptians, i. 285). "The ghosts of dead persons are also called by
this name" (ib. 289).

8 Or, before thy glance can be withdrawn from an object.

9 Lit. we have consulted the flight of birds: hence presage.

10 Lit. your bird, augury.

11 Comp. Sura [lxvi.] xxv. 55.

12 Lit. their knowledge attaineth to the next life.

13 Lit. art on clear truth.

14 Al Jassaca, the Spy.

15 Or, shall derive advantage from them.

SURA XVIII. THE CAVE [LXIX.]

MECCA. 110 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

PRAISE be to God, who hath sent down the Book to his servant,
and hath not made it tortuous1

But direct; that it may warn of a grievous woe from him, and
announce to the faithful who do the things that are right, that a
goodly reward, wherein they shall abide for ever, awaiteth them;

And that it may warn those who say, "God hath begotten a Son."

No knowledge of this have either they or their fathers! A grievous
saying to come out of their mouths! They speak no other than a lie!

And haply, if they believe not in this new revelation, thou wilt slay
thyself, on their very footsteps, out of vexation.

Verily, we have made all that is on earth as its adornment, that we
might make trial who among mankind would excel in works:

But we are surely about to reduce all that is thereon to dust!

Hast thou reflected that the Inmates of THE CAVE and of Al
Rakim2were on our wondrous signs?

When the youths betook them to the cave they said, "O our Lord!
grant us mercy from before thee, and order for us our affair
aright."

Then struck we upon their ears with deafness in the cave for many
a year:

Then we awaked them that we might know which of the two
parties
could best reckon the space of their abiding.

We will relate to thee their tale with truth. They were youths who
had believed in their Lord, and in guidance had we increased
them;

And we had made them stout of heart, when they stood up and
said, "Our Lord is Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth: we will
call on no other God than Him; for in that case we had said a
thing outrageous.

These our people have taken other gods beside Him, though they
bring no clear proof for them; but, who more iniquitous than he
who forgeth a lie of God?

So when ye shall have separated you from them and from that
which they worship beside God, then betake you to the cave: Your
Lord will unfold his mercy to you, and will order your affairs for
you for the best."

And thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the
right of their cave, and when it set, leave them on the left, while
they were in its spacious chamber. This is one of the signs of God.
Guided indeed is he whom God guideth; but for him whom He
misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a patron, director.

And thou wouldst have deemed them awake,3though they were
sleeping: and we turned them to the right and to the left. And in
the entry lay their dog with paws outstretched.4 Hadst thou come
suddenly upon them, thou wouldst surely have turned thy back on
them in flight, and have been filled with fear at them.

So we awaked them that they might question one another. Said one
of them, "How long have ye tarried here?" They said, "We have
tarried a day or part of day." They said, "Your Lord knoweth best
how long ye have tarried: Send now one of you with this your coin
into the city, and let him mark who therein hath purest food, and
from him let him bring you a supply: and let him be courteous, and
not discover you to any one.

For they, if they find you out, will stone you or turn you back to
their faith, and in that case it will fare ill with you for ever."

And thus made we their adventure known to their fellow citizens,
that they might learn that the promise of God is true, and that as to
"the Hour" there is no doubt of its coming. When they disputed
among themselves concerning what had befallen them, some said,
"Build a building over them; their Lord knoweth best about
them." Those who prevailed in the matter said, "A place of
worship will we surely raise over them."

Some say, "They were three; their dog the fourth:" others say,
"Five; their dog the sixth," guessing at the secret: others say,
"Seven; and their dog the eighth." SAY: My Lord best knoweth the
number: none, save a few, shall know them.

Therefore be clear in they discussions about them,5 and ask not
any Christian concerning them.

Say not thou of a thing, " I will surely do it to-morrow;" without ,
"If God will."6 And when thou hast forgotten, call thy Lord to
mind; and say, "Haply my Lord will guide me, that I may come
near to the truth of this story with correctness."

And they tarried in their cave 300 years, and 9 years over.7

SAY: God best knoweth how long they tarried: With Him are the
secrets of the Heavens and of the Earth: Look thou and hearken
unto Him alone.8 Man hath no guardian but Him, and none may
bear part in his judgments:

And publish what hath been revealed to thee of the Book of thy
Lord none may change his words, and thou shalt find no refuge
beside Him.

Be patient with those who call upon their Lord at morn and even,
seeking his face: and let not thine eyes be turned away from them
in quest of the pomp of this life;9 neither obey him10 whose heart
we have made careless of the remembrance of Us, and who
followeth his own lusts, and whose ways are unbridled.

And SAY: the truth is from your Lord: let him then who will,
believe; and let him who will, be an infidel. But for the offenders
we have got ready the fire whose smoke shall enwrap them: and if
they implore help, helped shall they be with water like molten
brass which shall scald their Wretched the drink! and an unhappy
couch!

But as to those who have believed and done the things that are
right, Verily we will not suffer the reward of him whose works
were good, to perish!

For them, the gardens of Eden, under whose shades shall rivers
flow: decked shall they be therein with bracelets of gold, and
green robes of silk and rich brocade shall they wear, reclining
them therein on thrones. Blissful the reward! and a pleasant
couch!11

And set forth to them as a parable two men; on one of whom we
bestowed two gardens of grape vines, and surrounded both with
palm trees, and placed corn fields between them: Each of the
gardens did yield its fruit, and failed not thereof at all:

And we caused a river to flow in their midst: And this man
received his fruit, and said, disputing with him, to his companion,
"More have I than thou of wealth, and my family is mightier."

And he went into his garden to his own soul unjust. He said, "I
do not think that this will ever perish:

And I do not think that 'the Hour' will come: and even if I be taken
back to my Lord, I shall surely find a better than it in exchange."

His fellow said to him, disputing with him, "What ! hast thou no
belief in him who created thee of the dust, then of the germs of
life,12 then fashioned thee a perfect man?

But God is my Lord; and no other being will I associate with my
Lord.

And why didst thou not say when thou enteredst thy garden, 'What
God willeth! There is no power but in God.' Though thou seest
that I have less than thou of wealth and children,

Yet haply my Lord may bestow on me better than thy garden, and
may send his bolts upon it out of Heaven, so that the next dawn
shall find it barren dust;

Or its water become deep sunk, so that thou art unable to find it."

And his fruits were encompassed by destruction. Then began he to
turn down the palms of his hands at what he had spent on it; for its
vines were falling down on their trellises, and he said, "Oh that I
had not joined any other god to my Lord!"

And he had no host to help him instead of God, neither was he able
to help himself.

Protection in such a case is of God the Truth: He is the best
rewarder, and He bringeth to the best issue.

And set before them a similitude of the present life. It is as water
which we send down from Heaven, and the herb of the Earth is
mingled with it, and on the morrow it becometh dry stubble which
the winds scatter: for God hath power over all things.

Wealth and children are the adornment of this present life: but
good works, which are lasting, are better in the sight of thy Lord
as to recompense, and better as to hope.

And call to mind the day when we will cause the mountains to pass
away,13 and thou shalt see the earth a levelled plain, and we will
gather mankind together, and not leave of them any one.

And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: "Now are ye
come unto us as we created you at first: but ye thought that we
should not make good to you the promise."

And each shall have his book put into his hand: and thou shalt see
the wicked in alarm at that which is therein: and they shall say,
"O woe to us! what meaneth this Book? It leaveth neither small
nor great unnoted down!" And they shall find all that they have
wrought present to them, and thy Lord will not deal unjustly with
any one.

When we said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam,"
they all prostrated them save Eblis, who was of the Djinn,14 and
revolted from his Lord's behest. behest. What! will ye then take
him and his offspring as patrons rather than Me? and they your
enemies? Sad exchange for the ungodly!

I made them not witnesses of the creation of the Heavens and of
the Earth, nor of their own creation, neither did I take seducers as
my helpers.

On a certain day, God shall say, "Call ye on the companions ye
joined with me, deeming them to be gods:" and they shall call on
them, but they shall not answer them: then will we place a valley
of perdition between them:

And the wicked shall see the fire, and shall have a foreboding that
they shall be flung into it, and they shall find no escape from it.

And now in this Koran we have presented to man similitudes of
every kind: but, at most things is man a caviller.

And what, now that guidance is come to them, letteth men from
believing and from asking forgiveness of their Lord unless they
wait till that the doom of the ancients overtake them, or the
chastisement come upon them in the sight of the universe?

We send not our Sent Ones but to announce and to warn: but the
infidels cavil with vain words in order to refute the truth; and they
treat my signs and their own warnings with scorn.

But who is worse than he who when told of the signs of his Lord
turneth him away and forgetteth what in time past his hands have
wrought? Truly we have thrown veils over their hearts lest they
should understand this Koran, and into their ears a heaviness:

And if thou bid them to "the guidance" yet will they not even then
be guided ever.

The gracious one, full of compassion, is thy Lord! if he would have
chastised them for their demerits he would have hastened their
chastisement. But they have a time fixed for the accomplishment
of
our menaces: and beside God they shall find no refuge.

And those cities did we destroy when they became impious; and of
their coming destruction we gave them warning.

Remember when Moses said to his servant, "I will not stop till I
reach the confluence of the two seas,15 or for years will I journey
on."

But when they reached their confluence, they forgot their fish, and
it took its way in the sea at will.

And when they had passed on, said Moses to his servant, "Bring us
our morning meal; for now have we incurred weariness from this
journey."

He said, "What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock for
rest I forgot the fish; and none but Satan made me forget it, so as
not to mention it; and it hath taken its way in the sea in a
wondrous sort."

He said, "It is this we were in quest of."16 And they both went
back
retracing their footsteps.

Then found they one of our servants to whom we had vouchsafed
our mercy, and whom we had instructed with our knowledge.

And Moses said to him, "Shall I follow thee that thou teach me, for
guidance, of that which thou too hast been taught?"

He said, "Verily, thou canst not have patience with me;

How canst thou be patient in matters whose meaning thou
comprehendest not?"

He said, "Thou shalt find me patient if God please, nor will I
disobey thy bidding."

He said, "Then, if thou follow me, ask me not of aught until I have
given thee an account thereof."

So they both went on, till they embarked in a ship, and he the
unknown staved it in. "What!" said Moses, "hast thou staved it
in that thou mayest drown its crew? a strange thing now hast thou
done!"

He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience
with me?"

He said, "Chide me not that I forgat, nor lay on me a hard
command."

Then went they on till they met a youth, and he slew him. Said
Moses, "Hast thou slain him who is free from guilt of blood? Now
hast thou wrought a grievous thing!"

He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience
with me?"

Moses said, "If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy
comrade no longer; but now hast thou my excuse."

They went on till they came to the people of a city. Of this people
they asked food, but they refused them for guests. And they found
in it a wall that was about to fall, and he set it upright. Said
Moses, "If thou hadst wished, for this thou mightest have obtained
pay."

He said, "This is the parting point between me and thee. But I will
first tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await
with
patience.

"As to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea,
and I was minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who
seized every ship by force.

As to the youth his parents were believers, and we feared lest he
should trouble them by error and infidelity.

And we desired that their Lord might give them in his place a
child, better than he in virtue, and nearer to filial piety.

And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city,
and beneath it was their treasure: and their father was a righteous
man: and thy Lord desired that they should reach the age of
strength, and take forth their treasure through the mercy of thy
Lord. And not of mine own will have I done this. This is the
interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience."

They will ask thee of Dhoulkarnain [the two-horned17]. SAY: I
will
recite to you an account of him.

We stablished his power upon the earth, and made for him a way
to everything. And a route he followed,

Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it to set in a
miry fount; and hard by he found a people.

We said, "O Dhoulkarnain! either chastise or treat them
generously."

"The impious," said he, "will we surely chastise;" then shall he be
taken back to his Lord, and he will chastise him with a grievous
chastisement.

But as to him who believeth and doeth that which is right, he shall
have a generous recompense, and we will lay on them our easy
behests.

Then followed he a route,

Until when he reached the rising of the sun he found it to rise on a
people to whom we had given no shelter from it.

Thus it was. And we had full knowledge of the forces that were
with him.

Then followed he a route

Until he came between the two mountains, beneath which he
found
a people who scarce understood a language.

They said, "O Dhoulkarnain! verily, Gog and Magog18 waste this
land; shall we then pay thee tribute, so thou build a rampart19
between us and them?"

He said, "Better than your tribute is the might wherewith my Lord
hath strengthened me; but help me strenuously, and I will set a
barrier between you and them.

Bring me blocks of iron," until when it filled the space between
the mountain sides "Ply," said he, "your bellows," until when
he had made it red with heat (fire), he said "Bring me molten
brass that I may pour upon it."

And Gog and Magog were not able to scale it, neither were they
able to dig through it.

"This," said he, "is a mercy from my Lord:

But when the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, he will turn
it
to dust; and the promise of my Lord is true."

On that day we will let them dash like billows one over another;
and there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and we will gather them
together in a body.

And we will set Hell on that day close before the infidels,

Whose eyes were veiled from my warning, and who had no power
to hear.

What! do the infidels think that they can take my servants as their
patrons, beside Me? Verily, we have got Hell ready as the abode
of the infidels.

SAY: Shall we tell you who they are that have lost their labour
most?

Whose aim in the present life hath been mistaken, and who deem
that what they do is right?

They are those who believe not in the signs of the Lord, or that
they shall ever meet him. Vain, therefore, are their works; and no
weight will we allow them on the day of resurrection.

This shall be their reward Hell.20 Because they were unbelievers,
and treated my signs and my Apostles with scorn.

But as for those who believe and do the things that are right, they
shall have the gardens of Paradise21 for their abode:

They shall remain therein for ever: they shall wish for no change
from it.

SAY: Should the sea become ink, to write the words of my Lord,
the sea would surely fail ere the words of my Lord would fail,
though we brought its like in aid.

SAY: In sooth I am only a man like you. It hath been revealed to
me that your God is one only God: let him then who hopeth to
meet his Lord work a righteous work: nor let him give any other
creature a share in the worship of his Lord.

_______________________

1 Lit. hath not put crookedness into it.

2 The valley, or mountain, in which the Cave of the Seven
Sleepers
was situated. Comp. Fundgreiben des Orients, iii. 347-381.
Gibbon's Decline and Fall, ch. xxxiii., especially the concluding
sentences.

3 Because they slept with their eyes open. Beidh.

4 The Muhammadans believe that this dog will be admitted into
Paradise. One of its traditional names is Katmir, a word whose
letters, it should be observed, are with one exception identical with
Rakim.

5 Lit. dispute not about them unless with clear disputation.

6 Muhammad had omitted to use the qualifying phrase when, in
reply to the Jews who asked for the History of the Seven Sleepers,
he simply promised to give it on the morrow; hence, this verse.
Comp. James iv. 13 15.

7 They entered the cavern under Decius and awoke in the time of
Theodosius, according to the tradition; which cannot be
reconciled with the number of years given in the text.

8 Thus Ullm. But the words may be taken with Beidh. and Sale, as
ironical. Make thou him to see and hear.

9 Said to have been promulgated at Medina. N”ld. p. 106

10 Omaya Ibn Chalf, who advised Muhammad to cast off all his
poorer followers, out of respect to the Koreisch.

11 It is probable that this and the numerous similar descriptions of
the enjoyments in Paradise are based upon Muhammad's
knowledge, or possibly personal observation, of the luxurious
habits of the Persians, to whom many Arabian tribes owed
allegiance, and with whom they had mercantile transactions by
means of caravans. The word Paradise, the names of cups and
brocade in Sura lvi. pp. 66, 67, and the word sundus in this
passage, are all Persian.

12 Lit ex spermate.

13 Comp. Isai. xl. 4, etc.

14 Muhammad appears, according to this text, to have considered
Eblis not only as the father of the Djinn, but as one of their
number. The truth appears to be that Muhammad derived his
doctrines of the Genii from the Persian and Indian mythology, and
attempted to identify them with the Satan and demons of the
Semitic races. Both the Satans and Djinn represent in the Koran
the principle of Evil. See Sura [xci.] ii. 32, n.

15 The sea of Greece and the sea of Persia. But as no literal
interpretation of the passage seems satisfactory, the
Commentators have devised a spiritual or metaphorical one, and
explain it of the two oceans of natural and supernatural
knowledge. There is no trace of this legend in the Rabbinic
writings.

16 The loss of our fish is a sign to us of our finding him whom we
seek, namely, El-Khidr, or El-Khadir, the reputed vizier of
Dhoulkarnain, and said to have drunk of the fountain of life, by
virtue of which he still lives, and will live till the day of judgment.
He is also said to appear, clad in green robes, to Muslims in
distress, whence his name. Perhaps the name Khidr is formed from
J ethro.

17 Probably Alexander the Great so called from his expeditions
to the East and West. He seems to be regarded in this passage as
invested with a divine commission for the extirpation of impiety
and idolatry. Comp. Dan. viii. and Tr. Tanith, fol. 32. Hottinger
Bibl. Orient. 109.
18 Ar. Yadjoudj and Madjoudj the barbarous people of E. Asia.
See Ibn Batoutah's Travels, iv. p. 274 (Par.ed.)

19 This rampart has been identified with fortifications which
extended from the W. shore of the Caspian Sea to the Pontus
Euxinus, made, as it is said, by Alexander, and repaired by
Yezdegird II. Caussin de Perceval, vol.i.p. 66. See Sura [lxv.] xxi.
96

20 The form of this word in the Arabic, with the h in the second
syllable and the final m, shews that the word was borrowed from
the Hebrew, and not from the Greek or Syriac.

21 Observe in this expression the same admixture of the Semitic
and Indo-Persian elements as was noticed above in the
identification of Satans and Djinn, verse 48.

SURA XXXII. ADORATION [LXX.]

MECCA. 30 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

ELIF. LAM. MIM.1 This Book is without a doubt a Revelation
sent
down from the Lord of the Worlds.

Will they say, He hath forged it? Nay, it is the truth from thy Lord
that thou mayest warn a people to whom no warner hath come
before thee, that haply they may be guided.

God it is who hath created the Heavens and the Earth and all that
is between them in six days; then ascended his throne. Save Him
ye have no patron, and none to plead for you. Will ye not then
reflect?

From the Heaven to the Earth He governeth all things: hereafter
shall they come up to him on a day whose length shall be a
thousand of such years as ye reckon.2

This is He who knoweth the unseen and the seen; the Mighty, the
Merciful,

Who hath made everything which he hath created most good; and
began the creation of man with clay;

Then ordained his progeny from germs of life,3 from sorry water:

Then shaped him, and breathed of His Spirit into him, and gave
you hearing and seeing and hearts: what little thanks do ye return!

And they say, "What! when we shall have lain hidden in the earth,
shall we become a new creation?"

Yea, they deny that they shall meet their Lord.

SAY: The angel of death who is charged with you shall cause you
to die: then shall ye be returned to your Lord.

Couldst thou but see when the guilty shall droop their heads
before their Lord, and cry, "O our Lord! we have seen and we
have heard: return us then to life: we will do that which is right.
Verily we believe firmly!"

(Had we pleased we had certainly given to every soul its guidance.
But true shall be the word which hath gone forth from me I will
surely fill hell with Djinn and men together.)

"Taste then the recompense of your having forgotten the meeting
with this your day. We, too, we have forgotten you: taste then an
eternal punishment for that which ye have wrought."

They only believe in our signs, who, when mention is made of
them, fall down in ADORATION, and celebrate the praise of their
Lord, and are not puffed up with disdain:

Who, as they raise them4 from their couches, call on their Lord
with fear and desire, and give alms of that with which we have
supplied them.

No soul knoweth what joy of the eyes is reserved for the good in
recompense of their works.

Shall he then who is a believer be as he who sinneth grossly? they
shall not be held alike.

As to those who believe and do that which is right, they shall have
gardens of eternal abode as the meed of their works:

But as for those who grossly sin, their abode shall be the fire: so
oft as they shall desire to escape out of it, back shall they be
turned into it. And it shall be said to them, Taste ye the torment of
the fire, which ye treated as a lie.

And we will surely cause them to taste a punishment yet nearer at
hand, besides the greater punishment, that haply they may turn to
us in penitence.

Who acteth worse than he who is warned by the signs of his Lord,
then turneth away from them? We will surely take vengeance on
the guilty ones.

We heretofore gave the Book of the law to Moses: have thou no
doubt as to our meeting with him:5 and we appointed it for the
guidance of the children of Israel.

And we appointed Imƒms from among them who should guide
after
our command when they had themselves endured with constancy,
and had firmly believed in our signs.

Now thy Lord! He will decide between them on the day of
resurrection as to the subject of their disputes.

Is it not notorious to them how many generations, through whose
abodes they walk, we have destroyed before them? Truly herein
are sings: will they not then hear?

See they not how we drive the rain to some parched land and
thereby bring forth corn of which their cattle and themselves do
eat? Will they not then behold?

They say, "When will this decision take place? Tell us, if ye are
men of truth?"

SAY: On the day of that decision, the faith of infidels shall not
avail them, and they shall have no further respite.

Stand aloof from them then, and wait thou, for they too wait.6

_______________________

1 See Sura lxviii. 1, p. 32.

2 Comp. Sura [cvii.] xxii. 46, and Ps. xc. 4, which is taken literally
by many of the Talmudists. Comp. e.g. Sanhed. 96, 2.

3 Lit. ex spermate genitali.

4 Lit. their sides are raised.

5 Noldeke thinks that the word for meeting is used here in the
same sense as in v. 10 above and Sura [lxxi.] xli. 54, and that the
clause does not belong to this verse, p. 108, n.

6 Wait thou for their punishment as they wait for thy downfall.

SURA1 XLI. THE MADE PLAIN [LXXI.]

MECCA. 54 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

HA. MIM.2 A Revelation from the Compassionate, the Merciful!

A Book whose verses (signs) are MADE PLAIN an Arabic Koran,
for men of knowledge;

Announcer of glad tidings and charged with warnings! But most of
them withdraw and hearken not:

And they say, "Our hearts are under shelter from thy teachings,
and in our ears is a deafness, and between us and thee there is a
veil. Act as thou thinkest right: we verily shall act as we think
right."

SAY: I am only a man like you.3 It is revealed to me that your God
is one God: go straight then to Him, and implore his pardon. And
woe to those who join gods with God;

Who pay not the alms of obligation, and in the life to come believe
not!

But they who believe and do the things that are right shall receive
a perfect4 recompense.

SAY: Do ye indeed disbelieve in Him who in two days created the
earth? and do ye assign Him peers? The Lord of the worlds is He!

And he hath placed on the earth the firm mountains which tower
above it; and He hath blessed it, and distributed food throughout
it, for the cravings of all alike, in four days:

Then He applied himself to the Heaven, which then was but
smoke:
and to it and to the Earth He said, "Come ye, whether in
obedience or against your will?" and they both said, "We come
obedient."

And He made them seven heavens in two days, and in each heaven
made known its office: And we furnished the lower heaven with
lights and guardian angels. This, the disposition of the Almighty,
the All-knowing.

If they turn away, then SAY: I warn you of a tempest, like the
tempest of Ad and Themoud!

When the apostles came to them on every side,5 saying, "Worship
none but God," they said, "Had our Lord been pleased to send
down, He had surely sent down angels; and in sooth, your message
we do not believe."

As to Ad, they bore them proudly and unjustly in the land, and
said, "Who more mighty than we in prowess?" Saw they not that
God their creator was mightier than they in prowess? And they
rejected our signs.

Therefore on ill-omened days did we send against them an
impetuous blast that we might make them taste the chastisement of
shame in this world: but more shameful shall be the chastisement
of the life to come; and they shall not be protected.

And as to Themoud, we had vouchsafed them guidance; but to
guidance did they prefer blindness; wherefore the tempest of a
shameful punishment overtook them for their doings:

But we rescued the believing and the God-fearing:

And warn of the day when the enemies of God shall be gathered6
unto the fire urged on in bands:

Until when they reach it, their ears and their eyes and their skins
shall bear witness against them of their deeds:

And they shall say to their skins, "Why witness ye against us?"
They shall say, "God, who giveth a voice to all things, hath given
us a voice: He created you at first, and to Him are ye brought
back.

And ye did not hide yourselves so that neither your ears nor your
eyes nor your skins should witness against you: but ye thought that
God knew not many a thing that ye did!

And this your thought which ye did think of your Lord hath ruined
you, so that ye are become of those who perish."

And be they patient, still the fire shall be their abode: or if they
beg for favour, yet shall they not be of favoured.

And we will appoint Satans as their fast companions; for it was
they who made their present and future state seem fair and right to
them; and the sentence passed on the peoples of Djinn and men
who flourished before them hath become their due, and they shall
perish.

Yet the unbelievers say, "Hearken not to this Koran, but keep up a
talking, that ye may overpower the voice of the reader."

Surely therefore will we cause the unbelievers to taste a terrible
punishment;

And recompense them according to the worst of their actions.

This the reward of the enemies of God, the Fire! it shall be their
eternal abode, in requital for their gainsaying our signs.

And they who believed not shall say, "O our Lord! shew us those
of the Djinn and men who led us astray: both of them will we put
under out feet, that they may be of the humbled."

But as for those who say, "Our Lord is God;" and who go straight
to Him,7 angels shall descend to them and say, "Fear ye not,
neither be ye grieved, but rejoice ye in the paradise which ye have
been promised.

We are your guardians in this life and in the next: your's therein
shall be your soul's desire, and your's therein whatever ye shall
ask for,

The hospitality of a Gracious, a Merciful One."

And who speaketh fairer than he who biddeth to God and doth the
thing that is right, and saith, "I for my part am of the Muslims"?

Moreover, good and evil are not to be treated as the same thing.
Turn away evil by what is better, and lo! he between whom and
thyself was enmity, shall be as though he were a warm friend.

But none attain to this save men steadfast in patience, and none
attain to it except the most highly favoured.8

And if an enticement from Satan entice thee, then take refuge in
God, for He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

And among his signs are the night, and the day, and the sun, and
the moon. Bend not in adoration to the sun or the moon, but bend
in adoration before God who created them both, if ye would serve
Him.

But if they are too proud for this, yet they who are with thy Lord
do celebrate His praises night and day,9 and cease not.

And among His signs is this, that thou seest the earth drooping:
but, when we send down the rain upon it, it is stirred and swelleth;
verily He who giveth it life, will surely give life to the dead; for
His might extendeth over all things.10

They truly who with obloquy disown our signs are not hidden from
us. Is he then who shall be cast into the fire, or he who shall come
forth secure on the day of resurrection, in the better position? Do
what ye will: but His eye is on all your doings.

Verily, they who believe not in "the warning," after it hath come
to them and yet the Koran is a glorious book!

Falsehood, from whatever side it cometh, shall not come night
it;11
it is a missive down from the Wise, the Praiseworthy.

Nothing hath been said to thee which hath not been said of old to
apostles before thee. Verily with thy Lord is forgiveness, and with
Him is terrible retribution.

Had we made it a Koran in a foreign tongue, they had surely said,
"Unless its signs be made clear !12 What! in a foreign tongue?
and the people Arabian?" SAY: It is to those who believe a guide
and a medicine;13 but as to those who believe not, there is a
thickness in their ears, and to them it is a blindness: they are like
those who are called to from afar.

Of old we gave the Book to Moses, and disputes arose about it:
and if a decree of respite from thy Lord had gone before, there
would surely have been a decision between them: for great were
their doubts and questionings about it.14

He who doth right it is for himself:15 and he who doth it is for
himself: and thy Lord will not deal unfairly with his servants.

With Him alone16 is the knowledge of "the Hour." No fruit
cometh
forth from its coverings, neither doth any female conceive, nor is
she delivered, but with His knowledge. And on that day He shall
call men to Him, saying, "Where are the companions ye gave
me?" They shall say, "We own to thee, there is no one of us can
witness for them."

And what they erst called on shall pass away from them, and they
shall perceive that there will be no escape for them.

Man ceaseth not to pray for good: but if evil betide him he
despondeth, despairing.

And if we cause him to taste our mercy after affliction hath
touched him, he is sure to say, "This is my due: and I take no
thought of the Hour of Resurrection: and if I be brought back to
my Lord, I shall indeed attain with Him my highest good." But we
will then certainly declare their doings to the Infidels, and cause
them to taste a stern punishment.

When we are gracious to man, he withdraweth and turneth him
aside: but when evil toucheth him, he is a man of long prayers.

SAY: What think ye? If this Book be from God and ye believe it
not, who will have gone further astray than he who is at a distance
from it?

We will shew them our signs in different countries and among
themselves, until it become plain to them that it is the truth. Is it
not enough for thee that thy Lord is witness of all things?

Are they not in doubt as to the meeting with their Lord? But doth
he not encompass all things?

_______________________

1 In some MSS. this Sura is entitled Adoration. Thus Beidh.
According to His. 186, comp. Caussin 1, 375 f., Muhammad's aim
in this Sura was the conversion of a noble Meccan, Utba ben
Rabia, to Islam. The precise year is uncertain.

2 See Sura lxviii. 1, p. 32.

3 Thus SS. Paul and Barnabas, Acts xiv. 15.

4 Or, never failing.

5 Lit. from before them and from behind them.

6 See Sura [lx.] xxxvi. 64, n.

7 Comp. Sura [lxxxviii.] xlvi. 12.

8 Lit. the possessor of great good fortune.

9 Comp. Rev. iv. 8 in the original.

10 Thus Tr. Taanith (init.).

11 Lit. vanity shall not come to it from before it, or from behind it.

12 We will not receive it. The literal rendering of the following
words is what! foreign and Arabian?

13 Comp. Sura [lxvii.] xvii. 83, 84.

14 Lit. verily they were in suspicious doubting about it.

15 Lit. for his soul. See next Sura, v. 14.

16 Lit. to Him is referred.

SURA XLV. THE KNEELING [LXXII.]

MECCA. 36 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

HA. MIM.1 This Book is sent down2 from God, the Mighty, the
Wise!

Assuredly in the Heavens and the Earth are signs for those who
believe:

And in your own creation, and in the beasts which are scattered
abroad are signs to the firm in faith:

And in the succession of night and day, and in the supply which
God sendeth down from the Heaven whereby He giveth life to the
earth when dead, and in the change of the winds, are signs for a
people of discernment.

Such are the signs of God: with truth do we recite them to thee.
But in what teaching will they believe, if they reject3 God and his
signs?

Woe to every lying sinner,

Who heareth the signs of God recited to him, and then, as though
he heard them not, persisteth in proud disdain! Apprise him of an
afflictive punishment.

And when he becometh acquainted with any of our signs he
turneth them into ridicule. These! a shameful punishment for
them!

Hell is behind them! and neither their gains nor the lords whom
they have adopted beside God shall avail them in the least: and
theirs, a great punishment!

This is "Guidance:" and for those who disbelieve the signs of their
Lord is the punishment of an afflictive torment.

It is God who hath subjected the sea to you that the ships may
traverse it at his bidding, and that ye may go in quest of the gifts of
his bounty, and that ye may be thankful.

And he hath subjected to you all that is in the Heavens and all that
is on the Earth: all is from him. Verily, herein are signs for those
who reflect.

Tell the believers to pardon those who hope not for the days of
God4 in which He purposeth to reward men according to their
deeds.

He who doth that which is right, doth it to his own behoof, and
whoso doth evil, doth it to his own hurt. Hereafter, to your Lord
shall ye be brought back.

To the children of Israel gave we of old the Book and the Wisdom,
and the gift of Prophecy, and we supplied them with good things,
and privileged them above all peoples:

And we gave them clear sanctions for our behests: neither did they
differ, through mutual envy, till after they had become possessed
of knowledge; but thy Lord will judge between them on the day of
resurrection, as to the subject of their disputes.

Afterwards we set thee over our divine law:5 follow it then: and
follow not the wishes of those who have no knowledge,

For against God shall they avail thee nothing. And in sooth, the
doers of evil are one another's patrons; but the patron of them that
fear Him is God himself.

This Book hath insight for mankind, and a Guidance and Mercy to
a people who are firm in faith.

Deem they whose gettings are only evil, that we will deal with
them as with those who believe and work righteousness, so that
their lives and deaths shall be alike? Ill do they judge.

In all truth hath God created the Heavens and the Earth, that he
may reward every one as he shall have wrought; and they shall not
be wronged.

What thinkest thou? He who hath made a God of his passions, and
whom God causeth wilfully to err, and whose ears and whose
heart he hath sealed up, and over whose sight he hath placed a
veil who, after his rejection by God, shall guide such a one? Will
ye not then be warned?

And they say, "There is only this our present life: we die and we
live, and nought but time destroyeth us." But in this they have no
knowledge: it is merely their own conceit.

And when our clear signs are recited to them, their only argument
is to say, "Bring back our fathers, if ye speak the truth."

Say: God giveth you life, then causeth you to die: then will He
assemble you on the day of resurrection: there is no doubt of it:
but most men have not this knowledge.

And God's is the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; and on
the day when the Hour shall arrive, on that day shall the
despisers6 perish.

And thou shalt see every nation KNEELING: to its own book shall
every nation be summoned: "This day shall ye be repaid as ye
have wrought.

This our Book will speak of you with truth: therein have we
written
down whatever ye have done."

As to those who have believed and wrought righteously, into his
mercy shall their Lord cause them to enter. This shall be
undoubted bliss!

But as to the Infidels "Were not my signs recited to you? but ye
proudly scorned them, and became a sinful people."

And when it was said, "Verily the Promise of God is truth; and as
to the Hour, there is no doubt of it;" ye said, "We know not what
the hour is we conceive it a mere conceit, we have no
assurance of it."

And the evils they have wrought shall rise up into their view, and
that at which they mocked shall hem them in on every side.

And it shall be said to them, "This day will we forget you as ye
forgat your meeting with us this day, and your abode shall be the
fire, and none shall there be to succour you:

This, because ye received the signs of God with mockery, and this
present life deceived you." On that day therefore they shall not
come out from it; and they shall not be asked to win the favour of
God.

Praise then be to God, Lord of the Heavens and Lord of the Earth;
the Lord of the worlds!

And His be the greatness in the Heavens and on the Earth; for He
is the Mighty, the Wise!

_______________________

1 See Sura lxviii. p. 32.

2 Lit. the sending down, i.e. the revelation of the Book.

3 Lit. after God.

4 That is, the days of victory. In Scripture phrase, "the days of the
right hand of the Most High."

5 The Arabic amri may be rendered either command or business,
i.e. of religion.

6 Lit. the makers vain, i.e. vanitatis arguentes alcoranum. Mar.

SURA XVI. THE BEE [LXXIII.]

MECCA. 128 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

THE doom of God cometh to pass. Then hasten it not. Glory be to
Him! High let Him be exalted above the gods whom they join with
Him!

By his own behest will He cause the angels to descend with the
Spirit on whom he pleaseth among his servants, bidding them,
"Warn that there is no God but me; therefore fear me."

He hath created the Heavens and the Earth to set forth his truth;1
high let Him be exalted above the gods they join with Him!

Man hath He created from a moist germ;2 yet lo! man is an open
caviller.

And the cattle! for you hath He created them: in them ye have
warm garments and gainful uses; and of them ye eat:

And they beseem you well3 when ye fetch them home and when
ye
drive them forth to pasture:

And they carry your burdens to lands which ye could not else
reach but with travail of soul: truly your Lord is full of goodness,
and merciful:

And He hath given you horses, mules, and asses, that ye may ride
them, and for your ornament: and things of which ye have no
knowledge hath he created.

Of God it is to point out "the Way." Some turn aside from it: but
had He pleased, He had guided you all aright.

It is He who sendeth down rain out of Heaven: from it is your
drink; and from it are the plants by which ye pasture.

By it He causeth the corn, and the olives, and the palm-trees, and
the grapes to spring forth for you, and all kinds of fruits: verily, in
this are signs for those who ponder.

And He hath subjected to you the night and the day; the sun and
the moon and the stars too are subjected to you by his behest;
verily, in this are signs for those who understand:

And all of varied hues that He hath created for you over the earth:
verily, in this are signs for those who remember.

And He it is who hath subjected the sea to you, that ye may eat of
its fresh fish, and take forth from it ornaments to wear thou seest
the ships ploughing its billows and that ye may go in quest of his
bounties, and that ye might give thanks.

And He hath thrown firm mountains on the earth, least it move
with you; and rivers and paths for your guidance,

And way marks. By the stars too are men guided.

Shall He then who hath created be as he who hath not created?
Will ye not consider?

And if ye would reckon up the favours of God, ye could not count
them. Aye! God is right Gracious, Merciful!

And God knoweth what ye conceal, and what ye bring to light,

While the gods whom they call on beside God, create nothing, but
are themselves created:

Dead are they, lifeless! and they know not

When they shall be raised!

Your God is the one God: and they who believe not in a future life,
have hearts given to denial, and are men of pride:

Beyond a doubt God knoweth what they conceal and what they
manifest:

He truly loveth not the men of pride.

For when it is said to them, "What is this your Lord hath sent
down?" they say, "Fables of the ancients,"

That on the day of resurrection they may bear their own entire
burden, and the burden of those whom they, in their ignorance,
misled. Shall it not be a grievous burden for them?

They who were before them did plot of old. But God attacked their
building at its foundation the roof fell on them from above; and,
whence they looked not for it, punishment overtook them:4

On the day of resurrection, too, will He shame them. He will say,
"Where are the gods ye associated with me, the subjects of your
disputes?" They to whom "the knowledge" hath been given will
say, Verily, this day shall shame and evil fall upon the infidels.

The sinners against their own souls whom the angels shall cause to
die will proffer the submission, "No evil have we done." Nay! God
knoweth what ye have wrought:

Enter ye therefore the gates of Hell to remain therein for ever: and
horrid the abiding place of the haughty ones!

But to those who have feared God it shall be said, "What is this
that your Lord hath awarded?" They shall say, "That which is
best. To those who do good, a good reward in this present world;
but better the mansion of the next, and right pleasant the abode of
the God-fearing!"

Gardens of Eden into which they shall enter; rivers shall flow
beneath their shades; all they wish for shall they find therein! Thus
God rewardeth those who fear Him;

To whom, as righteous persons, the angels shall say, when they
receive their souls, "Peace be on you! Enter Paradise as the meed
of your labours."

What can the infidels expect but that the angels of death come
upon them, or that a sentence of thy Lord take effect? Thus did
they who flourished before them. God was not unjust to them, but
to their ownselves were they unjust;

And the ill which they had done recoiled upon them, and that
which they had scoffed at encompassed them round about.

They who have joined other gods with God say, "Had He pleased,
neither we nor our fathers had worshipped aught but him; nor
should we, apart from him, have forbidden aught." Thus acted
they who were before them. Yet is the duty of the apostles other
than public preaching?

And to every people have we sent an apostle saying: Worship
God and turn away from Taghout.5 Some of them there were
whom
God guided, and there were others decreed to err. But go through
the land and see what hath been the end of those who treated my
apostles as liars!

If thou art anxious for their guidance, know that God will not
guide him whom He would lead astray, neither shall they have any
helpers.

And they swear by God with their most sacred oath that "God will
never raise him who once is dead." Nay, but on Him is a promise
binding, though most men know it not,

That He may clear up to them the subject of their disputes, and
that the infidels may know that they are liars.

Our word to a thing when we will it, is but to say, "Be," and it is.6

And as to those who when oppressed have fled their country for
the sake of God, we will surely provide them a goodly abode in
this world, but greater the reward of the next life, did they but
know it

They who bear ills with patience and put their trust in the Lord!

None have we sent before thee but men inspired ask of those who
have Books of Monition,7 if ye know it not

With proofs of their mission and Scriptures: and to thee have we
sent down this Book of Monition that thou mayest make clear to
men what hath been sent down to them, and that they may ponder
it.

What! Are they then who have plotted mischiefs, sure that God
will
not cause the earth to cleave under them? or that a chastisement
will not come upon them whence they looked not for it?

Or that He will not seize upon them in their comings and goings,
while they shall not be able to resist him?

Or that he will not seize them with some slowly wasting scourge?
But verily your Lord is Good, Gracious.

Have they not seen how everything which God hath created
turneth its shadow right and left, prostrating itself before God in
all abasement?

And all in the Heavens and all on the Earth, each thing that
moveth, and the very angels, prostrate them in adoration before
God, and are free from pride;

They fear their Lord who is above them, and do what they are
bidden:

For God hath said, "Take not to yourselves two gods, for He is
one God: me, therefore! yea, me revere!

All in the Heavens and in the Earth is His! His due unceasing
service! Will ye then fear any other than God?

And all your blessings are assuredly from God: then, when trouble
befalleth you, to Him ye turn for help:

Then when He relieveth you of the trouble, lo! some of you join
associates with your Lord:

To prove how thankless are they for our gifts! Enjoy yourselves
then: but in the end ye shall know the truth.

And for idols, of which they know nothing, they set apart a share
of our bounties! By God ye shall be called to account for your
devices!

And they ascribe daughters unto God! Glory be to Him! But they
desire them not for themselves:8

For when the birth of a daughter is announced to any one of them,
dark shadows settle on his face, and he is sad:

He hideth him from the people because of the ill tidings: shall he
keep it with disgrace or bury it in the dust?9 Are not their
judgments wrong?

To whatever is evil may they be likened who believe not in a
future
life;10 but God is to be likened to whatever is loftiest: for He is the
Mighty, the Wise.

Should God punish men for their perverse doings, he would not
leave on earth a moving thing! but to an appointed term doth He
respite them; and when their term is come, they shall not delay or
advance it an hour.

Yet what they loathe themselves do they assign to God; and their
tongues utter the lie, that theirs shall be a goodly lot. But beyond a
doubt is it that the fire awaiteth them, and that they shall be the
first sent into it.

By God we have sent Apostles to nations before thee, but Satan
prepared their work for them, and this day is he their liege; and a
woeful punishment doth await them.

And we have sent down the Book to thee only, that thou mightest
clear up to them the subject of their wranglings, and as a guidance
and a mercy to those who believe.

And God sendeth down water from Heaven, and by it giveth life to
the Earth after it hath been dead: verily, in this is a sign to those
who hearken.

Ye have also teaching from the cattle. We give you drink of the
pure milk, between dregs and blood, which is in their bellies; the
pleasant beverage of them that quaff it.

And among fruits ye have the palm and the vine, from which ye
get
wine and healthful nutriment: in this, verily, are signs for those
who reflect.

And thy Lord hath taught the BEE, saying: "Provide thee houses
in the mountains, and in the trees, and in the hives which men do
build thee:

Feed, moreover, on every kind of fruit, and walk the beaten paths
of thy Lord." From its belly cometh forth a fluid of varying hues,11
which yieldeth medicine to man. Verily in this is a sign for those
who consider.

And God hath created you; by and bye will he take you to himself;
and some among you will he carry on to abject old age, when all
that once was known is known no longer. Aye, God is Knowing,
Powerful.

And God hath abounded to some of you more than to others in the
supplies of life; yet they to whom He hath abounded, impart not
thereof to the slaves whom their right hands possess, so that they
may share alike. What! will they deny, then, that these boons are
from God?

God, too, hath given you wives of your own race, and from your
wives hath He given you sons and grandsons, and with good things
hath he supplied you. What, will they then believe in vain idols?
For God's boons they are ungrateful!

And they worship beside God those who neither out of the
Heavens
or Earth can provide them a particle of food, and have no power
in themselves!

Make no comparisons, therefore, with God.12 Verily, God hath
knowledge, but ye have not.

God maketh comparison between a slave13 the property of his
lord,
who hath no power over anything, and a free man whom we have
ourselves supplies, and who giveth alms therefrom both in secret
and openly. Shall they be held equal? No: praise be to God! But
most men know it not.

God setteth forth also a comparison between two men, one of
whom is dumb from his birth, and hath no power over anything,
and is a burden to his lord: send him where he will, he cometh not
back with success. Shall he and the man who enjoineth what is
just, and keepeth in the straight path, be held equal?

God's are the secrets of the Heavens and of the Earth! and the
business of the last hour will be but as the twinkling of an eye, or
even less. Yes! for all things is God Potent.

God hath brought you out of your mothers' wombs devoid of all
knowledge; but hath given you hearing, and sight, and heart, that
haply ye might render thanks.

Have they never looked up at the birds subjected to Him in
Heaven's vault? None holdeth them in hand but God! In this are
signs for those who believe.

And God hath given you tents to dwell in: and He hath given you
the skins of beasts for tents, that ye may find them light when ye
shift your quarters, or when ye halt; and from their wool and soft
fur and hair, hath He supplied you with furniture and goods for
temporary use.

And from the things which He hath created, hath God provided
shade for you, and hath given you the mountains for places of
shelter, and hath given you garments to defend you from the heat,
and garments to defend you in your wars. Thus doth He fill up the
measure of His goodness towards you, that you may resign
yourselves to Him.

But if they turn their backs, still thy office is only plain spoken
preaching.

They own the goodness of God then they disown it and most of
them are infidels.

But one day, we will raise up a witness out of every nation: them
shall the infidels have no permission to make excuses, and they
shall find no favour.

And when they who have acted thus wrongly shall behold their
torment, it shall not be made light to them, nor will God deign to
look upon them.

And when they who had joined associates with God shall see those
their associate-gods, they shall say, "O our Lord! these are our
associate-gods whom we called upon beside Thee." But they shall
retort on them, "Verily, ye are liars."

And on that day shall they proffer submission to God; and the
deities of their own invention shall vanish from them.

As for those who were infidels and turned others aside from the
way of God, to them we will add punishment on punishment for
their corrupt doings.

And one day we will summon up in every people a witness against
them from among themselves; and we will bring thee up as a
witness against these Meccans: for to thee have we sent down the
Book which cleareth up everything, a guidance, and mercy, and
glad tidings to those who resign themselves to God (to Muslims).

Verily, God enjoineth justice and the doing of good and gifts to
kindred, and he forbiddeth wickedness and wrong and oppression.
He warneth you that haply ye may be mindful.

Be faithful in the covenant of God when ye have covenanted, and
break not your oaths after ye have pledged them: for now have ye
made God to stand surety for you. Verily, God hath knowledge of
what ye do.

And, because you are a more numerous people than some other
people, be not like her who unravelleth the thread which she had
strongly spun, by taking your oaths with mutual perfidy. God is
making trial of you in this: and in the day of resurrection he will
assuredly clear up to you that concerning which ye are now at
variance.

Had God pleased, He could have made you one people: but He
causeth whom He will to err, and whom He will He guideth: and
ye shall assuredly be called to account for your doings.

Therefore take not your oaths with mutual fraud, lest your foot slip
after it hath been firmly fixed, and ye taste of evil because ye have
turned others aside from the way of God, and great be your
punishment.

And barter not the covenant of God for a mean price; for with God
is that which is better for you, if ye do but understand.

All that is with you passeth away, but that which is with God
abideth. With a reward meet for their best deeds will we surely
recompense those who have patiently endured.

Whoso doeth that which is right, whether male or female, if a
believer, him will we surely quicken to a happy life, and
recompense them with a reward meet for their best deeds.

When thou readest the Koran, have recourse to God for help
against Satan the stoned,14

For no power hath he over those who believe, and put their trust in
their Lord,

But only hath he power over those who turn away from God, and
join other deities with Him.

And when we change one (sign) verse for another, and God
knoweth best what He revealeth, they say, "Thou art only a
fabricator." Nay! but most of them have no knowledge.

SAY: The Holy Spirit15 hath brought it down with truth from thy
Lord, that He may stablish those who have believed, and as
guidance and glad tidings to the Muslims.

We also know that they say, "Surely a certain person teacheth
him." But the tongue of him at whom they hint is foreign,16 while
this Koran is in the plain Arabic.

As for those who believe not in the signs of God, God will not
guide them, and a sore torment doth await them.

Surely they invent a lie who believe not in the signs of God and
they are the liars.

Whoso, after he hath believed in God denieth him, if he were
forced to it and if his heart remain steadfast in the faith, shall be
guiltless:17 but whoso openeth his breast to infidelity on such
shall be wrath from God, and a severe punishment awaiteth them.

This, because they have loved this present life beyond the next,
and because God guideth not the unbelievers!

These are they whose hearts and ears and eyes God hath sealed
up: these are the careless ones: in the next world shall they perish
beyond a doubt.

To those also who after their trials fled their country,18 then
fought
and endured with patience, verily, thy Lord will in the end be
forgiving, gracious.

On a certain day shall every soul come to plead for itself, and
every soul shall be repaid according to its deeds; and they shall
not be wronged.

God proposeth the instance of a city,19 secure and at ease, to
which its supplies come in plenty from every side. But she was
thankless for the boons of God; God therefore made her taste the
woe20 of famine and of fear, for what they had done.

Moreover, an apostle of their own people came to them, and they
treated him as an impostor. So chastisement overtook them
because they were evil doers.

Of what God hath supplied you eat the lawful and good, and be
grateful for the favours of God, if ye are his worshippers.

Forbidden to you is that only which dieth of itself, and blood, and
swine's flesh, and that which hath been slain in the name of any
other than God: but if any be forced, and neither lust for it nor
wilfully transgress, then verily God is forgiving, gracious.21

And say not with a lie upon your tongue, "This is lawful and this is
forbidden:" for so will ye invent a lie concerning God: but they
who invent a lie of God shall not prosper:

Brief their enjoyment, but sore their punishment!

To the Jews22 we have forbidden that of which we before told
thee;
we injured them not, but they injured themselves.

To those who have done evil in ignorance, then afterwards have
repented and amended, verily thy Lord is in the end right gracious,
merciful.

Verily, Abraham was a leader in religion:23 obedient to God,
sound in faith:24 he was not of those who join gods with God.

Grateful was he for His favours: God chose him and guided him
into the straight way;

And we bestowed on him good things in this world: and in the
world to come he shall be among the just.

We have moreover revealed to thee that thou follow the religion of
Abraham, the sound in faith. He was not of those who join gods
with God.

The Sabbath was only ordained for those who differed about it:
and of a truth thy Lord will decide between them on the day of
resurrection as to the subject of their disputes.

Summon thou to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and with kindly
warning: dispute with them in the kindest manner: thy Lord best
knoweth those who stray from his way, and He best knoweth those
who have yielded to his guidance.

If ye make reprisals,25 then make them to the same extent that ye
were injured: but if ye can endure patiently, best will it be for the
patiently enduring.

Endure then with patience. But thy patient endurance must be
sought in none but God. And be not grieved about the infidels, and
be not troubled at their devices; for God is with those who fear
him and do good deeds.

_______________________

1 See Sura [lxxxiv.] x. 5, n.

2 Ex gutta spermatis. Pirke Aboth iii. Unde venisti? ex gutt…
f tidd. This verse is said to be an allusion to a difficulty proposed
by an idolatrous Arab, who brought a carious leg-bone to
Muhammad, and asked whether it could be restored to life.
Compare a similar argument for the Resurrection, Tr. Sanhedrin,
fol. 91 a.

3 Lit. there is beauty in them for you, i.e. they win you credit.

4 In allusion to Gen. xi. 1-10.

5 An Arabian idol.

6 Ps. xxxv. 9.

7 Lit. the family of the admonition, i.e. Jews and Christians versed
in the Pentateuch and Gospel.

8 The idolatrous Arabians regarded Angels as females and
daughters of God. But their own preference was always for male
offspring. Thus Rabbinism teaches that to be a woman is a great
degradation. The modern Jew says in his Daily Prayers, fol. 5, 6,
"Blessed art thou, O Lord our God! King of the Universe! who
hath not made me a woman."

9 See Sura lxxxi. 8, p. 45. It is said that the only occasion on which
Othman ever shed a tear was when his little daughter, whom he
was burying alive, wiped the dust of the grave-earth from his
beard.

10 Lit. the likeness of evil to those, etc.

11 The Arabs are curious in and fond of honey: Mecca alone
affords eight or nine varieties green, white, red, and brown.
Burton's Pilgr. iii. 110.

12 Ex. xx. 4.

13 The slave, and the dumb in verse following, are the idols.

14 See Sura [xcvii.] iii. 34, and n. 1, p. 114.

15 Gabriel.

16 This passage has been supposed to refer to Salman the Persian.
He did not, however, embrace Islam till a much later period, at
Medina. N”ld. p. 110. Mr. Muir thinks that it may refer to Suheib,
son of Sinan, "the first fruits of Greece," as Muhammad styled
him, who, while yet a boy, had been carried off by some Greeks as
a slave, from Mesopotamia to Syria, brought by a party of the Beni
Kalb, and sold to Abdallah ibn Jodda'ƒn of Mecca. He became
rich, and embraced Islam. Dr. Sprenger thinks the person alluded
to may have been Addas, a monk of Nineveh, who had settled at
Mecca. Life of M. p. 79.

17 This is to be understood of the persecutions endured by the
more humble and needy Muslims by their townspeople of Mecca.

18 From Mecca to Medina, i.e. the Mohadjers, to whom also verse
43 refers. Both passages, therefore, are of a later date than the
rest of this Sura. Thus N”ldeke. Sprenger, however (Life, p. 159),
explains this passage of the seven slaves purchased and
manumitted by Abu Bekr. They had been tortured for professing
Islam, shortly after Muhammad assumed the Prophetic office.

19 Mecca.

20 Lit. the garment.

21 Comp. Sura [lxxxix.] vi. 119.

22 Comp. Sura [lxxxix.] vi. 147. This verse as well as the
following, and verse 125, were probably added at Medina.

23 Antistes. Maracci. Or the text may be literally rendered
Abraham was a people, i.e. the people of Abraham; from whom
the
idolatrous Koreisch pretended to derive their origin.

24 Ar. a Hanyf. According to a tradition in Waquidi, fol. 255, Zaid
(who died only five years before Muhammad received his first
inspiration, and undoubtedly prepared the way for many of his
subsequent announcements) adopted this term at the instance of a
Christian and a Jew, who exhorted him to become a Hanyf. Zaid
having at this time renounced idolatry, and being unable to
receive either Judaism or Christianity, "What," said he, "is a
Hanyf?" They both told him, it was the religion of Abraham, who
worshipped nothing but God. On this Zaid exclaimed, "O God, I
bear witness that I follow the religion of Abraham." The root,
whence Hanyf is derived, means generally to turn from good to
bad, or vice versƒ, and is equivalent to the verbs convert and
pervert.

25 All Muhammadan commentators explain this verse as a
prohibition to avenge the death of Hamza on the Meccans with too
great severity.

SURA XXX. THE GREEKS [LXXIV.]

MECCA. 60 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

ELIF. LAM. MIM.1 THE GREEKS have been defeated2

In a land hard by: But after their defeat they shall defeat their
foes,

In a few years.3 First and last is the affair with God. And on that
day shall the faithful rejoice

In the aid of their God: He aideth whom He will; and He is the
Mighty, the Merciful.

It is the promise of God: To his promise God will not be untrue:
but most men know it not.

They know the outward shews of this life present, but of the next
life are they careless.

Have they not considered within themselves that God hath not
created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is between them
but for a serious end, and for a fixed term? But truly most men
believe not that they shall meet their Lord.

Have they never journeyed through the land, and seen what hath
been the end of those who were before them? Mightier were they
than these in strength; and they broke up the land, and dwelt in it
in greater numbers than they who dwell there now; and their
apostles came to them with proofs of their mission: and it was not
God who would wrong them, but they wronged themselves.

Then evil was the end of the evil doers; because they had treated
our signs as lies, and laughed them to scorn.

God bringth forth the creation then causeth it to return
again then to Him shall ye come back.4

And on the day when the hour shall arrive, the guilty shall be
struck dumb for despair,

And they shall have no intercessors from among the gods whom
they have joined with God, and they shall deny the gods they
joined with Him.

And on that day when the Hour shall arrive, shall men be
separated one from another;

And as for those who shall have believed and done the things that
are right, they shall enjoy themselves in a flowery mead;

But as for those who shall not have believed, but treated our signs
and the meeting of the next life as lies, they shall be given over to
the torment.

Glorify God therefore when ye reach the evening, and when ye rise
at morn:

And to Him be praise in the Heavens and on the Earth; and at
twilight, and when ye rest at noon.

He bringeth forth the living out of the dead, and He bringeth forth
the dead out of the living: and He quickeneth the earth when dead.
Thus is it that ye too shall be brought forth.5

And one of his signs it is that He hath created you out of dust; then
lo! ye become men who spread themselves far and wide:

And one of his signs it is, that He hath created wives for you of
your own species,6 that ye may dwell with them, and hath put love
and tenderness between you. Herein truly are signs for those who
reflect.

And among his signs are the creation of the Heavens and of the
Earth, and your variety of tongues and colour. Herein truly are
signs for all men.

And of his signs are your sleep by night and by day, and your
goings in quest of his bounties. Herein truly are signs to those who
hearken.

And of his signs are, that He sheweth you the lightning, a source of
awe and hope; and that He sendeth down rain from the heaven
and giveth life by it to the earth when dead. Herein truly are signs
to those who understand.

And of his signs also one is that the Heaven and the Earth stand
firm at his bidding: hereafter, when with one summons He shall
summon you out of the earth, lo! forth shall ye come.

His, whatsoever is in the Heavens and on the Earth: all are
obedient to him.

And He it is who bringeth a creature forth, then causeth it to
return again; and to him is this most easy. To whatever is loftiest
in heaven and earth is He to be likened; and He is the Mighty, the
Wise.

He setteth forth to you an instance drawn from yourselves. Have
ye among the slaves whom your right hands have won, any partner
in what we have bestowed on you, so that ye share alike? Fear ye
them as ye fear each other? (Thus make we our signs clear to men
of understanding.)

No, ye do not. But the wicked, devoid of knowledge, follow their
own desires:7 and those whom God shall mislead, who shall guide,
and who shall be their protector?

Set thou thy face then, as a true convert,8 towards the Faith which


 


Back to Full Books