_ Do not they behold the heaven above them, how we have built it and adorned it, and how it has no flaws ?
And the earth, we have stretched it out and thrown thereon firm mountains, and caused to grow thereon every beautiful kind.
An insight and a reminder to every servant who repents !
And we sent down from the heaven water as a blessing, and caused to grow therewith gardens and the harvest grain !
[10] And the tall palm trees having piled up spathes, for a provision to (our) servants; and we quickened thereby a dead land; thus shall the resurrection be!
Before them the people of Noah and the fellows of ar Rass? and Thamdd and*‘Ad and Pharaoh called the apostles liars; and the brethren of Lot and the fellows of the Grove® and the people of Tubba’h* all called the prophets liars, and the threat was duly executed.
Were we then fatigued with the first creation ? nay! but they are in obscurity concerning the new creation.
[15] But we created man, and we know what hisp. 243 soul whispers; for we are nigher to him than his jugular vein!
1 Alluding to the various opinions expressed by the unbelievers with reference to the Qur’an; some calling it sorcery or divination, others poetry, and some asserting it to be ‘old folks’ tales’ or mere invention.
2 See Part II, p. 86, note 3.
5 See Part I, p. 249, note 3.
* See Chapter XLIV, verse 35, p. 219, note 3.
When the two meeters meet}, sitting the one on the right and the other on the left, not a word does he utter, but a watcher is by him ready!
And the agony of death shall come in truth !— ‘that is what thou didst shun !’
And the trumpet shall be blown!—that is the threatened day!
[20] And every soul shall come—with it a driver and a witness!
‘Thou wert heedless of this, and we withdrew thy veil from thee, and to-day is thine eyesight keen?!’
And his mate shall say, ‘ This is what is ready for me (to attest).
‘ Throw into hell every stubborn misbeliever*!— who forbids good, a transgressor, a doubter! [25] who sets other gods with God—and throw him, ye twain, into fierce torment!’
His mate shall say, ‘Our Lord! I seduced him not, but he was in a remote error.’ ,
He shall say, ‘Wrangle not before me; for I sent the threat to you before. The sentence is not changed with me, nor am I unjust to my servants.’
On the day we will say to hell, ‘Art thou full ?’ and it will say, ‘Are there any more ?’
[30] And Paradise shall be brought near to the pious,—not far off.
1 The two recording angels, who accompany every man and note down his every word and action.
4 These words are supposed to be addressed by the ‘driver’ to the unbelieving soul. '
® These words are spoken by God.
R 2
244 THE QuR’AN. L, 31-43.
This is what ye are promised, to every one who turns frequently (to God) and keeps His commandments : who fears the Merciful in secret and brings a repentant heart.
‘ Enter into it in peace : this is the day of eternity ! Y
'
® These words are spoken by God.
R 2
244 THE QuR’AN. L, 31-43.
This is what ye are promised, to every one who turns frequently (to God) and keeps His commandments : who fears the Merciful in secret and brings a repentant heart.
‘ Enter into it in peace : this is the day of eternity ! Y
They shall have what they wish therein, and increase from us!
[35] How many a generation have we destroyed before them, mightier than they in prowess !
Pass through the land, is there any refuge?? Verily, in that is a reminder to whomsoever has a heart, or gives ear, and is a witness thereto.
We did create the heavens and the earth and what is between the two in six days, and no weariness touched us ?.
Be thou patient then of what they say, and celebrate the praises of thy Lord before the rising of the sun and before the setting. And through (some) of the night celebrate His praise and the additional adorations *.
[40] And listen for the day when the crier shall cry from a near place*;—the day when they shall hear the shout® in truth—that is the day of coming forth !
Verily, we quicken and we kill, and unto us the journey is!
On the day when the earth shall be cleft asunder
1 Te. from the vengeance of God. .
A protest against the assertion that God rested on the seventh day.
5 Two sigdahs used at the evening prayers, but not incumbent on the worshipper.
* T.e. a place from which all men may hear; generally supposed by Muslims to be the temple at Jerusalem.
5 The sound of the last trumpet.
p. 245
from them swiftly;—that is a gathering together which is easy to us!
We know what they say; nor art thou over them one to compel.
[45] Wherefore remind, by the Qur’4n, him who fears the threat.
THe CHAPTER OF THE SCATTERERS.
(LI. Mecca.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the scatterers! who scatter! and by those pregnant? with their burden! and by those running on * easily! and by the distributors‘ of affairs! —[5] verily, what ye are threatened with is surely true!
And, verily, the judgment will surely take place!
By the heaven possessed of paths! verily, ye are at variance in what ye say!
He is turned from it who is turned.
[10] Slain be the liars, who are heedless in a flood (of ignorance).
They will ask, ‘When is the day of judgment ?’ The day when at the fire they shall be tried. —‘Taste your trial! this is what ye wished to hasten on!’
[15] Verily, the pious are in gardens and springs, taking what their Lord brings them. Verily, they before that did well. But little of the night they slept; and at the dawn they asked forgiveness.
? The winds. 2 The clouds. 5 The ships. * Angels or winds.
246 THE Qur’AN. LI, 19-36.
And in their wealth was what was due to him who asked, and him who was kept back from asking.
[20] And in the earth are signs to those who are sure, and in yourselves,—what ! do ye not then see ?
? The winds. 2 The clouds. 5 The ships. * Angels or winds.
246 THE Qur’AN. LI, 19-36.
And in their wealth was what was due to him who asked, and him who was kept back from asking.
[20] And in the earth are signs to those who are sure, and in yourselves,—what ! do ye not then see ?
And in the heaven is your provision and that which ye are promised’.
But by the Lord of the heaven and the earth! verily, it is the truth,—like that which ye do utter?!
Has the tale of Abraham’s honoured guests reached thee*? [25] When they entered in unto him and said, ‘ Peace!’ he said, ‘ Peace !—a people unrecognised,’
And he went aside unto his people and fetched a fat calf, and brought it nigh unto them; said he, ‘ Will ye then not eat ?’-
And he felt a secret fear of them: said they, ‘Fear not. And they gave him glad tidings of a knowing boy.
And his wife approached with a noise, and smote her face, and said, ‘An old woman, barren !’
[30] Said they, ‘Thus says thy Lord, He is knowing, wise.’ Said he, ‘ And about what is your errand, O ye messengers ?’
They said, ‘Verily, we are sent unto a sinful people, to send upon them stones of clay, marked from thy Lord for the extravagant +.’
[35] And we sent out therefrom such as were in it of the believers ; but we only found therein one house of Muslims.
1 T.e. rain, which produces material sustenance, and there too is the promise of the future life.
2 I.e. unreserved and plain as ye yourselves affirm truths to each other.
8-See Part I, pp. 212-214. * See Part I, p. 214, note 1.
p. 247
And we left therein a sign to those who fear the grievous woe.
And in Moses; when we sent him to Pharaoh with obvious authority.
But he turned his back towards his column ', and said, ‘A sorcerer or mad!’
[40] And we seized ‘him and his hosts and hurled them into the sea; for he was to be blamed.
And in ‘Ad, when we sent against them a desolating wind, that left naught on which it came without making it ashes!
And in Thamfd, when it was said to them, ‘Enjoy yourselves for a season.’ But they revolted against the bidding of their Lord; and the noise caught them as they looked on. [45] And they could not stand upright, and they were not helped!
And the people of Noah of yore; verily, they were an abominable people.
And the heaven—we have built it with might, and, verily, we do surely give it ample space !
And the earth—we have spread it out; and how well we lay it out!
And of everything have we created pairs, haply ye may be mindful.
[50] Flee then to God; verily, I am a plain warner from Him to you!
And do not set with God another god; verily, I am a plain warner from Him to you!
Thus there came no apostle to those before them, but they said, ‘A sorcerer, mad!’
1 Kither Pharaoh’s forces, or one of his nobles, or something else on which he relied. See Part I, p. 214, first line, and note 1.
p. 248
Do they bequeath it! to each other ?
Thus there came no apostle to those before them, but they said, ‘A sorcerer, mad!’
1 Kither Pharaoh’s forces, or one of his nobles, or something else on which he relied. See Part I, p. 214, first line, and note 1.
p. 248
Do they bequeath it! to each other ?
Yea, they are an outrageous people!
So turn thy back upon them, so thou wilt not be to blame.
[55] And remind ; for, verily, the reminder shall profit the believers.
And I have not created the ginn and mankind save that they may worship me.
‘I do not desire any provision from them, and I do not wish them to feed me.
Verily, God, He is the provider, endowed with steady might.
Verily, for those who injure (the Apostle) shall be a portion like the portion of their fellows ?, but let them not hurry Me!
[60] Then woe to those who misbelieve from their day which they are threatened.
Tre CHAPTER OF THE Mount. (LII. Mecca.)
<< the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the mount! by the Book inscribed upon an outstretched vellum! by the frequented house*! [5] by the elevated roof‘! by the swelling sea! verily, the torment of thy Lord will come to pass ;—there is none to avert it!
The day when the heavens shall reel about,
1 Le. this taunt.
2 T.e. like the fate of those who wronged the apostles of old.
8 J.e. either the Kaabah itself or the model of it, said to exist in the heavens and to be frequented by the angels,
« Le. of heaven,
p. 249
[10] and the mountains shall move about,—then woe upon that day to those who call (the apostles) liars, who plunge into discussion for a sport !
On the day when they shall be thrust away into the fire of hell,—‘ This is the fire, the which ye used to call a lie!—[15] Is it magic, this? or can ye not see ?—broil ye therein, and be patient thereof or be not patient, it is the same to you: ye are but rewarded for that which ye did do!’
Verily, the pious (shall be) in gardens and pleasure, enjoying what their Lord has given them; for their Lord will save them from the torment of hell.
‘Eat and drink with good digestion, for that which ye have done!’
[20] Reclining on couches in rows; and we will wed them to large-eyed maids,
And those who believe and whose seed follows them in the faith, we will unite their seed with them; and we will not cheat them of their work at all ;— every man is pledged for what he earns *.
And we will extend to them fruit and flesh such as they like. They shall pass to and fro therein a cup in which is neither folly nor sin.
And round them shall go boys of theirs, as though they were hidden pearls.
[25] And they shall accost each other and ask questions, and shall say, ‘Verily, we were before amidst our families shrinking with terror’, but God has been gracious to us and sawed us from the torment of the hot blast. _\
1 Every man is pledged to God for his conduct, and, if he does well, redeems himself. 2 At the thought of the next life,
_\
1 Every man is pledged to God for his conduct, and, if he does well, redeems himself. 2 At the thought of the next life,
250 THE QuR’AN. LIT, 28-42.
‘Verily, we used to call on Him before; verily, He is the righteous, the compassionate !’
Wherefore do thou! remind them: for thou art, by the favour of thy Lord, neither a soothsayer nor mad!
Will they say,‘ A poet ; we wait for him the sad accidents of fate ?’
[30] Say, ‘Wait ye then; for I too am of those who wait!’
Do their dreams bid them this? or are they an outrageous people ?
Or will they say, ‘He has invented it ?’—nay, but they do not believe !
But let them bring a discourse like it, if they tell the truth !
[35] Or were they created of nothing, or were they the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth ?—nay, but they are not sure!
Or have they the treasures of thy Lord? or are they the governors supreme ?
Or have they a ladder whereon they can listen ? >— then let their listener bring obvious authority.
Has He daughters, while ye have sons ?
[40} Or dost thou ask them a hire, while they are borne down by debt ?
Or have they the unseen, so that they write it down?
Or do they desire a plot?—but those who misbelieve it is who are plotted against!
1 Addressed to Mohammed.
T.e. a ladder reaching to the gates of heaven, upon which they may stand and listen to the angels discoursing, as the devils do. See Part I, pp. 50, 51, note 2.
p. 251
Or have they a god beside God? celebrated be God’s praises above what they join with Him !
But if they should see a fragment of the sky falling down, they would say, ‘ Clouds in masses!’
[45] But leave them till they meet that day of theirs whereon they shall swoon’; the day when their plotting shall avail them naught, and they shall not be helped!
And, verily, there is a torment beside that? for those who do wrong; but most of them do not know!
But wait thou patiently for the judgment of thy Lord, for thou art in our eyes. And celebrate the praises of thy Lord what time thou risest, and in the night, and at the fading of the stars!
Tue CHAPTER OF THE STAR.
(LITI. Mecca.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the star when it falls, your comrade errs not, nor is he deluded! nor speaks he out of lust! It is but an inspiration inspired! [5] One mighty in power® taught him, endowed with sound understanding, and appeared, he being in the loftiest tract.
1 At the sound of the last trumpet.
2 Te. beside the torment of the judgment day they shall be punished with defeat and loss here.
® The angel Gabriel, who appeared twice to Mohammed in his natural form, namely, on the occasion of the ‘Night Journey,’ to which this passage refers, and on the first revelation of the Qur'an. (See Introduction, pp. xx and xxxii.)
252 THE QuR’AN, LIII, 7-30.
® The angel Gabriel, who appeared twice to Mohammed in his natural form, namely, on the occasion of the ‘Night Journey,’ to which this passage refers, and on the first revelation of the Qur'an. (See Introduction, pp. xx and xxxii.)
252 THE QuR’AN, LIII, 7-30.
Then drew he near and hovered o'er! until he was two bows’ length off or nigher still! [10] Then he inspired his servant what he inspired him; the heart belies not what he saw! What, will ye dispute with him on what he saw ?
And he saw him another time, by the lote tree none may pass; [15] near which is the garden of the Abode! When there covered the lote tree what did cover it! The sight swerved not nor wandered.
' He saw then the greatest of the signs of his Lord.
Have ye considered Allat and Al ’Huzzé, [20] and Manat the other third’? Shall there be male offspring for Him and female for you? That were an unfair division! They are but names which ye have named, ye and your fathers! God has sent down no authority for them! They do but follow suspicion and what their souls lust after !'—And yet there has come to them guidance from their Lord.
Shall man have what he desires ? [25] But God’s is the hereafter and the present!
How many an angel in the heaven !—their intercession avails not at all, save after God has given permission to whomsoever He will and is pleased’ with !
Verily, those who believe not in the hereafter do surely name the angels with female names? !—but they have no knowledge thereof; they do but follow suspicion, and, verily, suspicion shall not avail against the truth at all!
[30] But turn aside from him who turns his back upon our remembrance and desires naught but this
1 See Introduction, p. xxvii, and Part II, p. 62, note 1. 2 See Introduction, pp. xii and xiii.
p. 253
world’s life! This is their sum of knowledge; verily, thy Lord knows best who has erred from His way, and He knows best who is guided!
God’s is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, that He may reward those who do evil for what they have done; and may reward those who do good with good! those who shun great sins and iniquities,—all but venial faults,—verily, thy Lord is of ample forgiveness ; He knows best about you, when He produced you from the earth, and when ye were embryos in the wombs of your mothers.
Make not yourselves out, then, to be pure; He knows best who it is that fears.
Hast thou considered him who turns his back ? who gives but little [35] and then stops!? Has he then the knowledge of the unseen, so that he can see ?
Make not yourselves out, then, to be pure; He knows best who it is that fears.
Hast thou considered him who turns his back ? who gives but little [35] and then stops!? Has he then the knowledge of the unseen, so that he can see ?
Has he not been informed of what is in the pages of Moses and Abraham who fulfilled his word ?— that no burdened soul shall bear the burden of another ? [40] and that man shall have only that for which he strives; and that his striving shall at length be seen? Then shall he be rewarded for it with the most full reward; and that unto thy Lord is the limit; [45] and that it is He who makes men laugh and weep; and that it is He who kills and makes alive; and that He created pairs, male
1 This passage refers to one El Walfd ibn Mug/dirah, who being abused for following Mohammed and forsaking the religion of the Qurdis, answered that he had done so to escape divine vengeance. Thereupon an idolater offered to take on himself El Walid’s sin for a certain sum of money. The offer was accepted, and Walfd apostatized from El Islm, paying down a portion of the amount agreed upon at the time. Later on he refused to pay the balance on the ground that he had already paid enough.
254 THE QuR’AN, LIII, 46-LIV, r.
and female, from a clot when it is emitted; and that for Him is the next production!; and that he enriches and gives possession; [50] and that He is the Lord of the Dog-star’, and that He it was who destroyed ‘Ad of yore, and Thamdd, and left none of them ; and the people of Noah before them,— verily, they were most unjust and outrageous !
And the overthrown (cities)* He threw down; [55] and there covered them what did cover them!
Which then of your Lord’s benefits do ye dispute ?
This is a warner, one of the warners of yore!
The approaching day approaches; there is none to discover it but God.
At this new discourse then do ye wonder ? [60] and do ye laugh and not weep? and ye divert yourselves the while!
But adore God and serve (Him)*.
Tur CHAPTER OF THE Moon, (LIV. Mecca.)
Yon the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
The Hour draws nigh, and the moon is splitp. 255 asunder’. But if they see a sign they turn aside and say, ‘ Magic, continuous?!’
1 T.e. the resurrection.
2 Sirius, or the Dog-star, was an object of worship amongst the ancient Arabs.
3 Sodom, Gomorrah, &c.
* At this verse the Qurais, who were present at the first reading of this chapter when their gods were spoken well of, fell down adoring with Mohammed, See Introduction, p. xxxii.
And they call it a lie and follow their lusts; but every matter is settled!
There has come to them some information® with restraint in it—{5] wisdom far-reaching—but warners avail not!
But turn thy back on them!
The day when the caller* shall call to an awkward thing®.
Humbly casting down their looks shall they come forth from their graves, as though they were locusts scattered abroad !
But turn thy back on them!
The day when the caller* shall call to an awkward thing®.
Humbly casting down their looks shall they come forth from their graves, as though they were locusts scattered abroad !
Hurrying forwards to the caller !\the misbelievers shall say, ‘ This is a difficult day !’
Noah’s people before them called (the apostles) liars; they called our servant a liar; and they said, ‘Mad!’ and he was rejected.
[10] And he called upon his Lord, ‘Verily, I am overcome, come then to my help!’
And we opened the gates of heaven with water pouring down!
1 According to a tradition this refers to a miracle: the unbelievers having asked for a sign, the moon appeared to be cloven in twain. The tradition is, however, supported by very doubtful authority, and is directly opposed to the teaching of the Qur’én elsewhere, for the power to comply with the demand for a sign is always distinctly disclaimed. The more usual explanation is the natural one, that the expression merely refers to one of the signs of the day of judgment.
2 This word is interpreted by some to mean ‘transient,’ by others ‘ powerful.’
5 The Qur'an.
* The angel IsrAfil.
5 The last judgment.
256 THE Qur’AN. LIV, 12-31.
And we made the earth burst forth in springs, and the waters met at a bidding already decreed.
But we bore him on the thing of planks and nails; sailing on beneath our eyes, a reward for him who had been disbelieved !
[15] And we left it a sign ;—but is there any one who will mind ?
‘Ad called the apostles liars, and how was my punishment and my warning ?
Verily, we sent on them a cold storm wind on a day of continuous ill-luck!
[20] It reft men away as though they had been palm stumps torn up!
We have made the Qur’4n easy as a reminder— but is there any one who will mind ?
[25]‘ Is the warning cast on him alone among us ? nay, he is an insolent liar!
‘They shall know to-morrow about the insolent liar ! °
‘Verily, we are about to send the she-camel as a trial for them, then watch them and have patience! and inform them that the water is shared between them (and her); each draught shall be sought by turns.’
Then they called their companion, and he plied (a knife) and hamstrung her.
[30] Then how was my punishment and my warning? Verily, we sent against them one noise, and they were like the dry sticks of him who builds a fold.
1 Or madness.
p. 257
We have made the Qur'an easy as a reminder— but is there any one who will mind ?
Lot’s people called the apostles liars; verily, we sent against them a heavy sand storm; all, save Lot’s family, we saved them at the dawn. [35] Asa favour from us ; so do we reward him who gives thanks! .
He indeed had warned them of our assault, but they doubted of the warning.
And they desired his guest, and we put out their eyes.—
[35] Asa favour from us ; so do we reward him who gives thanks! .
He indeed had warned them of our assault, but they doubted of the warning.
And they desired his guest, and we put out their eyes.—
‘So taste ye my torment and warning!’
And there overtook them on the morning a settled punishment !—
‘So taste ye my torment and warning !’
[40] We have made the Qur’4n easy as a reminder—but is there any one who will mind ?
The warning came to Pharaoh’s people; they called our signs all lies, and we seized on them with the seizing of a mighty powerful one.
Are your misbelievers better than they? or.have ye an exemption in the Scriptures? Or do they Say we are a victorious company ?
[45] The whole shall be routed and shall turn their backs in flight}.
Nay, the Hour is their promised time! and the Hour is most severe and bitter !
Verily, the sinners are in error and excitement. On the day when they shall be dragged to the fire upon their faces !—‘ Taste ye the touch of hell.’
Verily, everything have we created by decree, [50] and our bidding is but one (word), like the twinkling of an eye!
1 This is appealed to by Muslims as a prophecy fulfilled at the battle of Bedr.
[9] s
258 THE QuR’AN. LIV, s1—LV, 17.
We have destroyed the like of you—but is there any who will mind ?
And everything they do is in the books’, and everything small and great is written down.
Verily, the pious shall be amid gardens and rivers, [55] in the seat of truth, with the powerful king.
Tue CHAPTER OF THE MERCIFUL. (LV. Mecca.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
The Merciful taught the Qur’4n;
He created man, taught him plain speech.
The sun and the moon have their appointed time ;
[5] The herbs and the trees adore;
And the heavens, He raised them and set the balance, that ye should not be outrageous in the balance ;
But weigh ye aright, and stint not the balance.
And the earth He has set it for living creatures; [10] therein are fruits and palms, with sheaths; and grain with chaff and frequent shoots ;
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
He created men of crackling clay like the potters. And He created the ginn from smokeless fire.
[15] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny?
The Lord of the two easts? and the Lord of the two wests !
* The books kept by the recording angels. 2 See p. 214, note 1.
p. 259
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
He has let loose the two seas that meet together ; [20] between them is a barrier they cannot pass! Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain
deny ?
He brings forth from each pearls both large and small] !
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny?
His are the ships which rear aloft in the sea like mountains.
[25] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny? ;
Every one upon it} is transient, but the face of thy Lord endowed with majesty and honour shall endure.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny?
His are the ships which rear aloft in the sea like mountains.
[25] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny? ;
Every one upon it} is transient, but the face of thy Lord endowed with majesty and honour shall endure.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ? .
Of Him whosoever is in the heaven and the earth does beg; every day He is in (some fresh) business !
[30] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
We shall be at leisure for you, O ye two weighty ones? !
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
O assembly of ginns and mankind! if ye are able to pass through the confines of heaven and earth
1 The earth. 2 IT. e. mankind and the ginn; the meaning is, that God will have leisure to judge them both.
$2
260 THE Qur’AN. LV, 33-50.
then pass through them !—ye cannot pass through save by authority!
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ? [35] There shall be sent against you a flash of fire, and molten copper, and ye shall not be helped ! Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
And when the heaven is rent asunder and become rosy red '—(melting) like grease !
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
On that day neither man nor ginn shall be asked about his crime!
[40] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny?
The sinners shall be known by their marks, and shall be seized by the forelock and the feet!
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
‘This is hell, which the sinners did call a lie! they shall circulate between it and water boiling quite !’
[45] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny?
But for him who fears the station of his Lord are gardens twain !
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Both furnished with branching trees.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
[50] In each are flowing springs.
1 The word is also said to mean red leather.
LV, s1-69. THE CHAPTER OF THE MERCIFUL. 261
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
In each are, of every fruit, two kinds.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Reclining on beds the linings of which are of brocade, and the fruit of the two gardens within reach to cull.
[55] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Therein are maids of modest glances whom no man nor ginn has deflowered before.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
As though they were rubies and pearls.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
[60] Is the reward of goodness aught but goodness ?
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
And besides these, are gardens twain},
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will be twain deny ?
With dark green foliage.
[65] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
In each two gushing springs.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
And besides these, are gardens twain},
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will be twain deny ?
With dark green foliage.
[65] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
In each two gushing springs.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
In each fruit and palms and pomegranates.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
1 For the inferior inhabitants of Paradise.
262 THE QUR'AN. LV, 7o—LVI, 9.
[70] In them maidens best and fairest !
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Bright and large-eyed maids kept in their tents.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Whom no man nor ginn has deflowered before them.
[75] Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Reclining on green cushions and beautiful carpets.
Then which of your Lord’s bounties will ye twain deny ?
Blessed be the name of thy Lord possessed of majesty and honour!
Tue CHAPTER OF THE INEVITABLE.
(LVI. Mecca.)
‘In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
When the inevitable! happens; none shall call its happening a lie !—abasing—exalting !
When the earth shall quake, quaking! [5] and the mountains shall crumble, crumbling, and become like motes dispersed!
And ye shall be three sorts ;
And the fellows of the right hand—what right lucky fellows !
And the fellows of the left hand—what unlucky fellows !
1 T.e. the day of judgment.
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[10] And the foremost foremost?!
These are they who are brought nigh,
In gardens of pleasure !
A crowd of those of yore,
And a few of those of the latter day!
[15] And gold-weft couches, reclining on them face to face.
Around them shall go eternal youths, with goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine; no headache shall they feel therefrom, nor shall their wits be dimmed !
[20] And fruits such as they deem the best ;
And flesh of fowl as they desire ;
And bright and large-eyed maids like hidden pearls ;
A reward for that which they have done!
They shall hear no folly there and no sin;
[25] Only the speech, ‘ Peace, Peace !’
And the fellows of the right—what right lucky fellows !
Amid thornless lote trees.
And tal‘h? trees with piles of fruit ;
And outspread shade,
[30] And water out-poured ;
And fruit in abundance, neither failing nor forbidden ;
And beds upraised !
Verily, we have produced them? a production.
[35] And made them virgins, darlings of equal age (with their spouses) for the fellows of the right!
1 T.e. the foremost in professing the faith on earth shall be the foremost then.
2 The mimosa gummifera is generally so called in Arabia; but the banana is said to be meant in this passage.
5 The celestial damsels.
p. 66
A crowd of those of yore, and a crowd of those of the latter day!
[40] And the fellows of the left—what unlucky fellows !
In hot blasts and boiling water ;
5 The celestial damsels.
p. 66
A crowd of those of yore, and a crowd of those of the latter day!
[40] And the fellows of the left—what unlucky fellows !
In hot blasts and boiling water ;
And a shade of pitchy smoke,
Neither cool nor generous !
Verily, they were affluent ere this, [45] and did persist in mighty crime ; and used to say, ‘What, when we die and have become dust and bones, shall we then indeed be raised ? or our fathers of yore ?’
Say, ‘Verily, those of yore and those of the latter day [50] shall surely be gathered together unto the tryst of the well-known day.’
Then ye, O ye who err! who say it is a lie! shall eat of the Zaqqtm tree! and fill your bellies with it! and drink thereon of boiling water! [55] and drink as drinks the thirsty camel.
This is their entertainment on the judgment day!
We created you, then why do ye not credit ?
Have ye considered what ye emit ?
Do we create it, or are we the creators ?
[60] We have decreed amongst you death; but we are not forestalled from making the likes of you in exchange, or producing you as ye know not of.
Ye do know the first production—why then do ye not mind ?
Have ye considered what ye till ?
Do ye make it bear seed, or do we make it bear seed ?
[65] If we pleased we could make it mere grit, so that ye would pause to marvel:
‘Verily,we have got into debt? and we are excluded?’
* Le. for seed and labour. ? From reaping the fruits of it.
p. 265
Have ye considered the water which ye drink ?
Do ye make it come down from the clouds, or do we make it come down ?
If we pleased we could make it pungent—why then do ye not give thanks ?
[70] Have ye considered the fire which ye strike ?
Do ye produce the tree that gives it’, or do we produce it ?
We have made it a memorial and a chattel for the traveller of the waste ?
Then celebrate the grand name of thy Lord!
So I will not swear by the positions of the stars ; [75] and, verily, it is a grand oath if ye did but know—that, verily, this is the honourable Qur'an —in the laid-up Book !
Let none touch it but the purified !
A revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
[80] What! this new discourse will ye despise ?
And make for your provision, that you call it a lie ?
Why then—when it? comes up to the throat, and ye at that time look on, though we are nearer to him than you are, but ye cannot see—{85] why, if ye are not to be judged, do ye not send it back, if ye do tell the truth ?
But either, if he be of those brought nigh to God,—then rest and fragrance and the garden of pleasure!
Or, if he be of the fellows of the right! [90] then ‘Peace to thee!’ from the fellows of the right !
1 The ancient Arabs produced fire by the friction of a stick in a hollow piece of wood. Cf. p. 167, line 25. 2 The soul of a dying man.
p. 6
Or, if he be of the fellows of the right! [90] then ‘Peace to thee!’ from the fellows of the right !
1 The ancient Arabs produced fire by the friction of a stick in a hollow piece of wood. Cf. p. 167, line 25. 2 The soul of a dying man.
p. 6
Or, if he be of those who say it ‘is a lie——who err! then an entertainment of boiling water! and broiling in hell!
[95] Verily, this is surely certain truth!
So celebrate the grand name of thy Lord!
Tue Carter or IRON. (LVII. Mecca.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Whatever is in the heavens and the earth celebrates the praises of God, for He is the mighty, the wise!
His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth : He quickens and He kills, and He is mighty over all!
He is the first and the last; and the outer and the inner; and He all things doth know !
He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He made for the throne; and He knows what goes into the earth and what goes forth therefrom, and what comes down from the sky and what goes up therein, and He is with you wheresoe’er ye be: for God on what ye do doth look!
[5] His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and unto God affairs return. He makes the night succeed the day, and makes the day succeed the night; and He knows the nature of men’s breasts.
Believe in God and His Apostle, and give alms of what He has made you successors of. For those amongst you who believe and give alms—for them is mighty hire.
p. 267
What ails you that ye do not believe in God and His Apostle? He calls on you to believe in your Lord; and He has taken a compact from you, if ye be believers.
He it is who sends down upon His servants manifest signs, to bring you forth from the darkness into the light; for, verily, God to you is kind, compassionate !
[10] What ails you that ye give not alms in God’s cause? for God’s is the inheritance of the heavens and the earth. Not alike amongst you is he who gives alms before the victory and fights,—they are grander in rank than those who give alms afterwards and fight. But to all does God promise good; and God of what ye do is well aware!
Who is there who will lend a good loan to God ? for He will double it for him, and for him is a generous reward.
On the day when thou shall see believers, men and women, with their light running on before them and on their right hand1,—‘ Glad tidings for you today.—Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for aye; that is the grand bliss!’
On the day when thou shall see believers, men and women, with their light running on before them and on their right hand1,—‘ Glad tidings for you today.—Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for aye; that is the grand bliss!’
On the day when the hypocrites, men and women, shall say to those who believe, ‘ Wait for us that we may kindle at your light.’ It will be said, ‘Get ye back, and beg a light.’ And there shall be struck out. between them a wall with a door; within it shall be mercy, and outside before it torment. They shall cry out to them, ‘We were not with you!’ they shall say, ‘Yea, but ye did tempt yourselves, and did wait, and did doubt ; and your vain hopes beguiled you ; and the beguiler beguiled you about God.
1 Te. guiding them to Paradise.
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‘Wherefore to-day there shall not be taken from you a ransom, nor from those who misbelieved. Your resort is the fire ; it is your sovereign, and an ill journey will it be!’
[15] Is the time come to those who believe, for their hearts to be humbled at the remembrance of God, and of what He has sent down in truth? and for them not to be like those who were given the Scriptures before, and over whom time was prolonged, but their hearts grew hard, and many of them were workers of abomination ?
Know that God quickens the earth after its death!—we have manifested to you the signs; haply ye may have some sense!
Verily, those who give in charity, men and women, who have lent to God a goodly loan,— it shall be doubled for them, and for them is a generous hire.
And those who believe in God and His Apostle, they are the confessors and the martyrs with their Lord ; for them is their hire and their light! But those who misbelieve and call our signs lies, they are the fellows of hell!
Know that the life of this world is but a sport, and a play, and an adornment, and something to boast of amongst yourselves ; and the multiplying of children is like a rain-growth, its vegetation pleases the misbelievers; then they wither away, and thou mayest see them become yellow; then they become but grit.
But in the hereafter is a severe woe, [20] ‘and forgiveness from God and His goodwill; but the life of this world is but a chattel of guile.
Race towards forgiveness from your Lord and
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Paradise, whose breadth is as the breadth of the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who believe in God and His apostles! and God’s grace, He gives it to whom He pleases, for God is Lord of mighty grace !
No accident befalls in the earth, or in yourselves, but it was in the Book, before we created them; verily, that is easy unto God.
That ye may not vex yourselves for what ye miss, nor be overjoyed at what He gives you; for God loves no arrogant boaster, who are niggardly and bid men be niggardly: but whoso turns his back}, verily, God is rich, praiseworthy.
That ye may not vex yourselves for what ye miss, nor be overjoyed at what He gives you; for God loves no arrogant boaster, who are niggardly and bid men be niggardly: but whoso turns his back}, verily, God is rich, praiseworthy.
[25] We did send our apostles with manifest signs ; and we did send down among you the Book and the balance, that men might stand by justice ; and we sent down iron in which is both keen violence and advantages to men; and that God might know who helps Him and His apostles in secret ; verily, God is strong and mighty!
And we sent Noah and Abraham; and placed in their seed prophecy and the Book; and some of them are guided, though many of them are workers of abomination !
Then we followed up their footsteps with our apostles; and we followed them up with Jesus the son of Mary; and we gave him the gospel ; and we placed in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and compassion.—But monkery, they invented it; we only prescribed to them the craving after the goodwill of God, and they observed it not with due observance. But we gave to those who
1 Le. from almsgiving.
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believe amongst them their hire; though many amongst them were workers of abomination!
O ye who believe! fear God, and believe in His Apostle: He will give you two portions of His mercy, and will make for you a light for you to walk in, and will forgive you ; for God is forgiving, compassionate.
That the people of the Book may know that they cannot control aught of God’s grace; and that grace is in God’s hands, He gives it to whom He will; for God is Lord of mighty grace !
Tue CHAPTER OF THE WRANGLER. (LVIII. Medinah.)
Gop has heard the speech of her who wrangled with you about her husband!, and complained to God ; and God hears your gossip ; verily, God both hears and sees.
Those among you who back out of their wives? they are not their mothers: their mothers are only those who gave them birth ; and, verily, they speak a wrong speech and a false.
Verily, God both pardons and forgives. But those who back out of their wives and then would recall their speech,—then the manumission of a captive. before they touch each other; that is what ye are admonished, and God of what ye do is well aware!
? Khaulah bint Tua‘labah being divorced from her husband by the formula mentioned below, and which was always considered to be a final separation, appealed to Mohammed, who said he could not alter the custom. Afterwards, on the woman praying to God, this passage was revealed, abolishing the objectionable form of divorce.
2 I.e. divorce them by the formula ‘Thou art to me as my mother’s back!’ See Part I, p. 43, note 4.
LVIII, gs-9. THE CHAPTER OF THE WRANGLER. 271
Afterwards, on the woman praying to God, this passage was revealed, abolishing the objectionable form of divorce.
2 I.e. divorce them by the formula ‘Thou art to me as my mother’s back!’ See Part I, p. 43, note 4.
LVIII, gs-9. THE CHAPTER OF THE WRANGLER. 271
[5] But he who finds not (the means) :— then a fast for two months consecutively, before they touch each other; and he who cannot endure that :—then the feeding of sixty poor folk. That is that ye may believe in God and His Apostle; and these are the bounds of God; and for the misbelievers is grievous woe!
Verily, those who oppose God and His Apostle shall be upset, as those before them were upset.
We have sent down manifest signs: for the misbelievers is shameful woe on the day when God shall raise them all together, and shall inform them of what they have done. God has taken account of it, but they forget it; for God is witness over all!
Dost thou not see that God knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth? and that there cannot be a privy discourse of three but He makes the fourth ? nor of five but He makes the sixth? nor less than that nor more, but that He is with them wheresoe’er they be? then He will inform them of what they have done upon the resurrection day ; verily, God all things doth know!
Dost thou not look at those who were prohibited from privy talk, and then returned to that they were forbidden ? and they too discourse together with sin and enmity and rebellion against the Apostle; and when they come to thee they greet thee with what God greets thee not?; and they say in themselves, Why does not God torment us for what we say ? Hell is enough for them! they shall broil therein, and an ill journey shall it be!
1 Instead of saying, Es salém ’halaika, ‘peace be upon thee!’ they used to say, Es s4m ’halaika, ‘ mischief be upon thee!’
272 THE Qur’AN. LVIII, 10-17.
[10] O ye who believe! when ye discourse together, then discourse not in sin and enmity and rebellion against the Apostle ; but discourse together in righteousness and piety; and fear God, for unto Him ye shall be gathered!
Privy talk is only from the devil, that those who do believe may grieve: it cannot hurt them at all, except by the permission of God: and upon God let the believers rely.
O ye who believe! when it is said to you, ‘Make room in your assemblies,’ then make room; God will make room for you ; and when it is said to you, ‘Rise up,’ then rise up; God will raise all you who believe, as well as those who are given knowledge, in rank; for God of what ye do is well aware!
O ye who believe! when it is said to you, ‘Make room in your assemblies,’ then make room; God will make room for you ; and when it is said to you, ‘Rise up,’ then rise up; God will raise all you who believe, as well as those who are given knowledge, in rank; for God of what ye do is well aware!
O ye who believe! when ye address the Apostle, then give in charity before addressing him ; that is better for you, and more pure. But if ye find not the means,—then God is forgiving, compassionate. What! do ye shrink from giving in charity before addressing him? then if ye do it not, and God relents towards you, then be steadfast in prayer, and give alms, and fear God and His Apostle ; for God is well aware of what ye do!
[15] Dost thou not look at those who take for patrons a people? God is wrath with? they are neither of you nor of them, and they swear to you a lie the while they know; for them God has prepared severe torment; verily, evil is it they have done!
They take their faith for a cloak; and they turn men aside from the path of God; and for them is shameful woe !
1 The Jews.
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Their wealth shall not avail them, nor their children at all, against God ; theyare the fellows of the Fire, and they shall dwell therein for aye!
On the day when God raises them all together, then will they swear to Him as they swore to you; and they will think that they rest on somewhat.— Ay, verily, they are liars !
[20] Satan hath overridden them, and made them forget the remembrance of God: they are the crew of Satan; ay, the crew of Satan, they are the losers!
Verily, those who oppose God and His Apostle are amongst the most vile.
God has written, ‘I will surely prevail, I and my apostles ;’ verily, God is strong and mighty!
Thou shalt not find a people who believe in God and the last day loving him who opposes God and His Apostle, even though it be their fathers, or their sons, or their brethren, or their clansmen.
He has written faith in their hearts, and He aids them with a spirit from Him; and will make them enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to , dwell therein for aye! God is well pleased with them, and they well pleased with Him: they are God’s crew; ay, God's crew, they shall prosper !
Tue CHAPTER OF THE EMIGRATION.
(LIX. Medinah.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. °
What is in the heavens and in the earth celebrates God’s praises; He is the mighty, the wise!
[9] T
274 THE QuR’AN. LIX, 2-6.
He it was who drove those of the people of the Book who misbelieved forth from their houses, at the first emigration’; ye did not think that they would go forth, and they thought that their fortresses would defend them against God; but God came upon them from whence they did not reckon, and cast dread into their hearts! They ruined their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; wherefore take example, OQ ye who. are endowed with sight !
They ruined their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; wherefore take example, OQ ye who. are endowed with sight !
Had it not been that God had prescribed for them banishment, He would have tormented them in this world?; but for them in the next shall be the torment of the Fire! that is because they opposed God and His Apostle: and whoso opposes God, verily, God is keen to punish !
[5] What palm trees ye did cut down or what ye left standing upon their roots was by God’s permission, and to disgrace the workers of abomination; and as for the spoils that God gave to His Apostle from these (people) ye did not press forward after them with horse or riding camel; but God gives His Apostle authority over whom He pleases, for God is mighty over all?!
1 The Jews of en Nadhir, near Medinah, who at first promised to stand neuter between him and the idolaters. After his success at Bedr they came over to his side, but turned again after the defeat of Ohod. For this offence they were forced to leave the country.
2 Like those of Quraidkah, who were slaughtered. See Introduction, p. xxxix.
8 The Muslims did not use cavalry on the occasion, Mohammed himself being the only mounted member of the expedition. - For this reason the spoils were assigned to the prophet alone, and not divided in the usual manner as prescribed in Chapter VIII, verse 42, Part I, pp. 167, 168.
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What God gave as spoils to His Apostle of the people of the cities is God’s, and the Apostle’s, and for kinsfolk, orphans, and the poor, and the wayfarer, so that it should not be circulated amongst the rich men of you.
And what the Apostle gives you, take; and what he forbids you, desist from; and fear God, verily, God is keen to punish !
And (it is) for the poor who fled?, who were driven forth from their houses and their wealth, who. crave grace from God and His goodwill, and help God and the Apostle ; they are the truthful.
And those who were settled in the abode? and the faith before them, love those who fled to them?; and they do not find in their breasts a need of what has been given to them; preferring them to themselves, even though there be poverty amongst them ; and whoso is preserved from his own coveteousness, these are the prosperous !
[10] And those who came after them say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were beforehand with us in the faith, and place not in our hearts ill-will towards those who believe—our Lord ! verily, thou art kind, compassionate !’
Dost thou not look on those who were hypocritical, saying to their brethren who misbelieved amongst the people of the Book‘, ‘If ye be driven forth we will go forth with you; and we will never obey any one concerning you; and if ye be fought
1 The poorer Muhagerin were allowed to participate in the spoil, but not the Ansérs.
? The Ansars at Medinah.
8 The Muhagerin.
‘ The Jews.
p. 20
? The Ansars at Medinah.
8 The Muhagerin.
‘ The Jews.
p. 20
against we will help you.’ But God bears witness that they are surely liars!
If they be driven forth, these will not go forth with them; and if they be fought against, these will not help them; or if they do help them, they will turn their backs in flight ;—then shall they not be helped !
Ye indeed are a keener source of fear in their hearts than God; that is because they are a people who do not understand! They will not fight against you in a body save in fortified cities, or from behind walls; their valour is great amongst themselves ;— thou dost reckon them as one body, but their hearts are separated. That is because they are a people who have no sense!
[15] Like unto those before them, recently!; they tasted the evil result of their affair, and for them is grievous woe.
Like unto the devil when he said to man, ‘ Disbelieve.’ But when he disbelieved, he said, ‘Verily, I am clear of thee! Verily, I fear God the Lord of the worlds!’ And the end of them both shall be that they shall both be in the Fire, to dwell therein for aye! for that is the reward of the unjust !
O ye who believe! fear God; and let each soul look to what it sends on for the. morrow; and fear God; verily, God is well aware of what ye do!
And be ye not like those who forget God, and He makes them forget themselves; they are the workers of abomination !
[20] Not deemed alike shall be the fellows of the
1 Either the idolaters slain at Bedr, or the Jews of Qainuq&h, or those of Nadhir.
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Fire and the fellows of Paradise: the fellows of Paradise they are the blissful !
Had we sent down this Qur’4n upon a mountain, thou wouldst have seen it humbling itself, splitting asunder from the fear of God! These parables do we strike out for men ; haply they may reflect !
He is God than whom there is no god; who knows the unseen and the visible; He is the merciful, the compassionate! He is God than whom there is no god; the King, the Holy, the Peace-Giver, the Faithful, the Protector, the Mighty, the Repairer, the Great !—celebrated be the praises of God above what they join with Him.
He is God, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner ; His are the excellent names’! His praises, whatever are in the heavens and the earth do celebrate; for God is the mighty, the wise !
Tuer CHAPTER OF THE TR (LX. Medinah.)
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. |
O ye who believe! take not my enemy and your enemy for patrons, encountering them with love; for they misbelieve in the truth that is to come to you; they drive out the Apostle and you for that ye believe in God your Lord?!
1 See Introduction, p. Ixvii. 2 ‘Ha/ib ibn abi Balta’hah had given the Meccans warning of an
278 THE Qur’An. LX, 1-6.
1 See Introduction, p. Ixvii. 2 ‘Ha/ib ibn abi Balta’hah had given the Meccans warning of an
278 THE Qur’An. LX, 1-6.
If ye go forth fighting strenuously in my cause and craving my good pleasure, and secretly show love for them, yet do I know best what ye conceal and what ye display! and he of you who does so has erred from the level path.
If they find you they will be enemies to you, and they will stretch forth against you their hands and their tongues for evil, and would fain that ye should disbelieve ; neither your kindred nor your children shall profit you upon the resurrection day; it will separate you! but God on what ye do doth look !
Ye had a good example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, ‘Verily, we are clear of you and of what ye serve beside God. We disbelieve in you: and between us and you is enmity and hatred begun for ever, until ye believe in God alone!’
But not! the speech of Abraham to his father, ‘Verily, I will ask forgiveness for thee, though I cannot control aught from God!’ O our Lord! on thee do we rely! and unto thee we turn! and unto thee the journey is!
[5] Our Lord! make us not a trial for those who misbelieve ; but forgive us! Our Lord! verily, thou art mighty, wise !
Ye had in them a good example for him who intended surprise by Mohammed, and on his letter being intercepted, excused himself by saying that he had only done so in order to make terms for his family, who were at Mecca, and that he knew that the information would be of no avail. Mohammed pardoned him, but the verse in the text prohibits such conduct for the future.
1 Ie. they are not to imitate Abraham’s speech to his father, and ask forgiveness for their infidel friends. Cp. Part I, p. 189, verse II5.
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would hope in God and the last day. But whoso turns his back, verily, God, He is rich and to be praised.
Mayhap that God will place love between you and between those of them ye are hostile towards?: for God is powerful, and God is forgiving, compassionate. .
God forbids you not respecting those who have not fought against you for religion’s sake, and who have not driven you forth from your homes, that ye should act righteously and justly towards them ; verily, God loves the just !
He only forbids you to make patrons of those who have fought against you for religion’s sake, and driven you forth from your homes, or have aided in your expulsion; and whoever makes patrons of them, they. are the unjust!