The Qur'an

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Celebrated be the praises of Him who took His _ servant a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque’ to the Remote Mosque’, the precinct of which we have blessed, to show him of our signs! verily, He both hears and looks. And we gave Moses the Book and made it a guidance to the children of Israel: ‘Take ye to no guardian but me.’ Seed of those we bore with Noah (in the ark)! verily, he was a thankful servant! And we decreed to the children of Israel in the Book, ‘ Ye shall verily do evil in the earth twice‘, and ye shall rise to a great height (of pride).’ 1 Also called ‘The Children of Israel’ The subject of Mohammed’s miraculous journey in one night from Mecca to Jerusalem, and his ascent into heaven, will be found discussed in the Introduction. 2 The Kaabah at Mecca. 5 The Temple at Jerusalem. * The Mohammedan commentators interpret this as referring the first to either Goliath, Sennacherib, or Nebuchadnezzar, and the latter to a second Persian invasion. The two sins committed by the Jews, and for which these punishments were threatened and executed, were, first, the murder of Isaiah and the imprisonment of Jeremiah, and the second, the murder of John the Baptist. Mohammedan views of ancient history are, however, vague.

[5] And when the threat for the first (sin) of the two came, we sent over them servants of ours, endued with violence, and they searched inside your houses; and it was an accomplished threat. Then we rallied you once more against them, and aided you with wealth and sons, and made. you a numerous band. ‘If ye do well, ye will do well to your own souls ; and if ye do ill, it is against them! ‘And when the threat for the last came '—to harm your faces and to enter the mosque as they entered it the first time, and to destroy what they had got the upper-hand over with utter destruction.’ It may be that thy Lord will have mercy on you;——but if ye return we will return, and we have made hell a prison for the misbelievers. Verily, this Qur’An guides to the straightest path, and gives the glad tidings to the believers [10] who do aright that for them is a great hire; and that for those who believe not in the hereafter, we have prepared a mighty woe. Man prays for evil as he prays for good; and man was ever hasty. We made the night and the day two signs; and we blot out the sign of the night and make the sign of the day visible, that ye may seek after plenty from your Lord, and that ye may number the years and the reckoning; and we have detailed everything in detail.

And every man’s augury® have we fastened on 1 Supply, ‘we sent foes.’ 2 Te. ‘fortune’ or ‘fate,’ literally, ‘bird;’ the Arabs, like the ancient Romans, having been used to practise divination from the flight of birds. his neck; and we will bring forth for him on the resurrection day a book offered to him wide open. [15] ‘Read thy book, thou art accountant enough against thyself to-day!’ He who accepts guidance, accepts it only for his own soul: and he who errs, errs only against it; nor shall one burdened soul bear the burden of another. Nor would we punish until we had sent an apostle. And when we desired to destroy a city we bade! the opulent ones thereof; and they wrought abomination therein; and its due sentence was pronounced ; and we destroyed it with utter destruction. How many generations have we destroyed after Noah! but thy Lord of the sins of his servant is well aware, and sees enough. Whoso is desirous of this life that hastens away, we will hasten on for him therein what we please, —for whom we please. Then we will make hell for him to broil in—despised and outcast. [20] But whoso desires the next life, and strives for it and is a believer—these, their striving shall be gratefully received.

To all—these and those—will we extend the gifts of thy Lord; for the gifts of thy Lord are not restricted. See how we have preferred some of them over others, but in the next life are greater degrees and greater preference, Put not with God other gods, or thou wilt sit despised and forsaken. Thy Lord has decreed that ye shall not serve other than Him; and kindness to one’s parents, * Bade them obey the Apostle, B 2 whether one or both of them reach old age with thee; and say not to them, ‘Fie!’ and do not grumble at them, but speak to them a generous speech. [25] And lower to them the wing of humility out of compassion, and say, ‘O Lord! have compassion on them as they brought me up when I was little!’ Your Lord knows best what is in your souls if ye be righteous, and, verily, He is forgiving unto those who come back penitent. And give thy kinsman his due and the poor and the son of the road; and waste not wastefully, for the wasteful were ever the devil’s brothers; and the devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord. [30] But if thou dost turn away from them to seek after mercy from thy Lord?, which thou hopest for, then speak to them an easy speech.

Make not thy hand fettered to thy neck, nor yet spread it out quite open, lest thou shouldst have to sit down blamed and straitened in means. Verily, thy Lord spreads out provision to whomsoever He will or He doles it out. Verily, He is ever well aware of and sees his servants. | And slay not your children? for fear of poverty ; we will provide for them; beware! for to slay them is ever a great sin! And draw not near to fornication ; verily, it is ever an abomination, and evil is the way thereof. [35] And slay not the soul that God has forbidden you, except for just cause; for he who is slain unjustly we have given his next of kin authority; yet 1 T.e. if you are compelled to leave them in order to seek your livelihood ; or if your present means are insufficient to enable you to relieve others. 2 See Part I, p. 256,-note 2 let him not exceed in slaying; verily, he is ever helped. And draw not near to the wealth of the orphan, save to improve it, until he reaches the age of puberty, and fulfil your compacts; verily, a compact is ever enquired of.

And give full measure when ye measure out, and weigh with a right balance; that is better and a fairer determination. And do not pursue that of which thou hast no knowledge ; verily, the hearing, the sight, and the heart, all of these shall be enquired of. And walk not on the earth proudly; verily, thou canst not cleave the earth, and thou shalt not reach the mountains in height. [40] All this is ever evil in the sight of your Lord and abhorred. That is something of what thy Lord has inspired thee with of wisdom; do not then put with God other gods, or thou wilt be thrown into hell reproached and outcast. What! has your Lord chosen to give you sons, and shall He take for Himself females from among the angels? verily, ye are speaking a mighty speech. Now have we turned it in various ways in this Qur'an, so let them bear in mind; but it will only increase them in aversion. Say, ‘Were there with Him Biher gods, as ye say, then would they seek a way against the Lord of the throne.’ [45] Celebrated be His praises, and exalted be He above what they say with a great exaltation!

The seven heavens and the earth celebrate His praises, and all who therein are; nor is there aught but what celebrates His praise: but ye cannot understand their celebration ;—verily, He is clement and forgiving. And when thou readest the Qur’4én we place between thee and those who believe not in the hereafter a covering veil. And we place covers upon their hearts, lest they should understand, and dulness in their ears. . And when thou dost mention in the Qur'an thy Lord by Himself they turn their backs in aversion. [50] We know best for what they listen when they listen to thee; and when they whisper apart —when the wrong-doers say, ‘ Ye only follow a man enchanted.’ Behold, how they strike out for you parables, and err, and cannot find the way! They say, ‘What! when we have become bones and rubbish are we to be raised up a new creature ?’ Say, ‘Be ye stones, or iron, or a creature, the greatest your breasts can conceive—!’ Then they shall say, ‘Who is to restore us?’ Say, ‘He who originated you at first;’ and they will wag their heads and say, ‘When will that be?’ Say, ‘It may, perhaps, be nigh.’

The day when He shall call on you and ye shall answer with praise to Him, and they will think that they have tarried but a little. [55] And say to my servants that they speak in a kind way!; verily, Satan makes ill-will between them ; verily, Satan was ever unto man an open foe. Your Lord knows you best; if He please He will have mercy upon you, or if He please He will 1 T.e. they are not to provoke the idolaters by speaking too roughly to them so as to exasperate them. torment you: but we have not sent thee to take charge of them. And thy Lord best knows who is in the heavens and the earth; we did prefer some of the prophets over the others, and to David did we give the Psalms. Say, ‘Call on those whom ye pretend other than God ;’ but they shall not have the power to remove distress from you, nor to turn it off. Those on whom they call!, seek themselves for a means of approaching their Lord, (to see) which of them is nearest: and they hope for His mercy and they fear His torment; verily, the torment of thy Lord is a thing to beware of.

[60] There is no city but we will destroy it before the day of judgment, or torment it with keen torment ;—that is in the Book inscribed. Naught hindered us from sending thee with signs, save that those of yore said they were lies ; so we gave Thamitid the visible she-camel, but they treated her unjustly! for we do not send (any one) with signs save to make men fear. And when we said to thee, ‘ Verily, thy Lord encompasses men!’ and we made the vision which we showed thee only a cause of sedition unto men, and the cursed tree ? as well; for we will frighten them, but it will only increase them in great rebellion. 1 Sale interprets this to mean ‘the angels and prophets.’ Rodwell remarks that it is an ‘obvious allusion to the saint worship of the Christians.’ As, however, precisely the same expression is used elsewhere in the Qur’4n for the false gods of the Arabs, and the existence of those ginns and angels whom they associated with God is constantly recognised, their divinity only being denied, I prefer to follow the Moslem commentators, and refer the passage to the gods of the Arabian pantheon at Mecca; cf. Part I, p. 127, note 2.

2 The Zaqqiim; see Chapter XXXVII, verse 60, The vision And when we said to the angels, ‘Adore Adam ;’ and they adored, save Iblis, who said, ‘Am I to adore one whom Thou hast created out of clay ?’ Said he, ‘Dost thou see now? this one whom Thou hast honoured above me, verily, if Thou shouldst respite me until the resurrection day, I will of a surety utterly destroy his seed except a few.’ [65] Said He, ‘ Begone! and whoso of them follows thee—verily, hell is your recompense, an ample recompense. Entice away whomsoever of them thou canst with thy voice; and bear down upon them with thy horse and with thy foot; and share with them in their wealth and their children ; and promise them,—but Satan promises them naught but deceit. Verily, my servants, thou hast no authority over them; thy Lord is guardian enough over them!’ It is your Lord who drives the ships for you in the sea that ye may seek after plenty from Him; verily, He is ever merciful to you. And when distress touches you in the sea, those whom ye call on, except Him, stray away from you; but when He has brought you safe to shore, ye turn away; for man is ever ungrateful.

[7o] Are ye sure that He will not cleave with you the side of the shore, or send against you a heavy sand-storm? then ye will find no guardian for yourselves. Or are ye sure that He will not send you back therein another time, and send against you a violent wind, and drown you for your misbelief? then ye will find for yourselves no protector against us. referred to is the night journey to heaven, although those commentators who believe this to have been an actual fact suppose another vision to account for this passage. But we have been gracious to the children of Adam, and we have borne them by land and sea, and have provided them with good things, and have preferred them over many that we have created. The day when we will call all men by their high priest; and he whose book is given in his right hand—these shall read their book, nor shall they be wronged a straw. But he who in this life is blind shall be blind in the next too, and err farther from the way. [75] They had well-nigh beguiled thee from what we inspired thee with, that thou shouldst forge against us something else, and then they would have taken thee for a friend; and had it not been that we stablished thee, thou wouldst have well-nigh leant towards them a little: then would we have made thee taste of torment both of life and death, then thou wouldst not have found against us any helper’.

And they well-nigh enticed thee away from the land, to turn thee out therefrom; but then—they should not have tarried after thee except a little. [This is] the course of those of our prophets whom we have sent before thee; and thou shalt find no change in our course. [80] Be thou steadfast in prayer Peer the declining of the sun until the dusk of the night, and the reading of the dawn; verily, the reading of the dawn is ever testified to. 1 The commentators say that this refers to a treaty proposed by the tribe of 7Haqif, who insisted, as a condition of their submission, that they should be exempt from the more irksome duties of Muslims, and should be allowed to retain their idol Allat for a certain time, and that their territory should be considered sacred, like that of Mecca. And for the night, watch thou therein as an extra service. It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a laudable station. And say, ‘O my Lord! make me enter with a just entry; and make me come forth with a just coming forth; and grant me from Thee authority to aid.’ | And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished ! verily, falsehood is transient.’

And we will send- down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, but it will only increase the wrong-doers in loss. [85] And when we favour man he turns away and retires aside, but when evil touches him he is ever in despair. Say, ‘Every one acts after his own manner, but your Lord knows best who is most guided in the way.’ They will ask thee. of the spirit*, Say," [ae spirit comes at the bidding of my Lord, and ye are given but a little knowledge thereof.’ If we had wished we would have taken away that with which we have inspired thee ; then thou wouldst have found no guardian against us, unless by a mercy from thy Lord; verily, His grace towards thee is great! [90] Say, ‘If mankind and ginns united together to bring the like of this Qur'an, they could not bring the like, though they should back each other up!’ We have turned about for men in this Qur’dn every parable; but most men refuse to accept it, save ungratefully. * According to some, the soul generally; but according to others, and more probably, the angel Gabriel as the agent of revelation.

And they say, ‘ We will by no means believe in thee, until there gush forth for thee a fountain from . the earth ; or there be made for thee a garden of palms and grapes, and rivers come gushing out amidst them; or thou make the sky to fall down upon us in pieces; or thou bring us God and the angels beforé us; |[95|..or there be made for thee a house of gold; or thou climb up into the heaven; and even then we will not believe in thy. climbing there, until thou send down on us a book that we may read!’ Say, ‘Celebrated be the praises of my Lord! was I aught but a mortal apostle ?’ Naught prohibited men from believing when the guidance came to them, save their saying, ‘God has sent a mortal for an apostle.’ Say, ‘Were there angels on the earth walking in quiet, we had surely sent them an angel as an apostle.’ Say, ‘God is witness enough between me and you; verily, He is ever of His servants well aware, and sees.’ He whom God guides, he is guided indeed ; and he whom God leads astray, thou shalt never find patrons for them beside Him; and we will gather them upon the resurrection day upon their faces, blind, and dumb, and deaf; their resort is hell ; whenever it grows dull we will give them another blaze !

[100] That is their reward for that they disbelieved in our signs, and said, ‘What! when we are bones and rubbish, shall we then be raised up a new creation ?’ Could they not see that God who created the heavens and the earth is able to create the like of them, and to set for them an appointed time ; there is no doubt therein, yet the wrong-doers refuse to accept it, save ungratefully ! Say, ‘Did ye control the treasuries of the mercy of my Lord, then ye would hold them through fear of expending ; for man is ever niggardly!’ And we did bring Moses nine manifest signs; then ask the children of Israel (about) when he came to them, and Pharaoh said to him, ‘Verily, I think thee, O Moses! enchanted.’ He said, ‘Well didst thou know that none sent down these save the Lord of the heavens and the earth as visible signs; and, verily, I think thee, O Pharaoh! ruined.’ [105] And he desired to drive them out of the land ; but we drowned him and those with him, one and all. And after him we said to the children of Israel, ‘Dwell ye in the land; and when the promise of the hereafter comes to pass, we will bring you in a mixed crowd (to judgment).

‘In truth have we sent it down, and in truth has it come down; and we have not sent thee as aught but a herald of glad tidings and a warner. ‘And a Qur'an which we have divided, that thou mayst read it to mankind leisurely, and we sent it down, sending it down! Say, ‘ Believe ye therein, or believe not; verily, those who were given the knowledge before it, when it is read to them fall down upon their beards adoring! and they say, “Celebrated be the praises -* As occasion required, of our Lord! verily, the promise of our Lord is ever fulfilled”—they fall down upon their beards weeping, and it increases their humility.’ [110] Say, ‘ Call on God, or call on the Merciful One, whichever ye may call on Him by; for His are the best of names 1.’ And do not say thy prayers openly, nor yet murmur them, but seek a way between these. And say, ‘ Praise belongs to God, who has not taken to Himself a son, and has not had a partner in His kingdom, nor had a patron against (such) abasement. And magnify Him greatly?! Ture CHAPTER OF THE © AVE.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Praise belongs to God, who sent down to His servant the Book, and put no crookedness therein, —straight, to give warning of keen violence from Him; and to give the glad tidings to the believers, who do what is right, that for them is a goodly reward wherein they shall abide for ever and for 1 The Arabs whom Mohammed addressed seem to have imagined that he meant by Allah and Ar-ra‘hman (the Merciful One) two separate deities. The various epithets which are applied to God in the Qur’4n, such as ‘kind,’ ‘seeing,’ ‘knowing,’ &c., are called by the Muslims al ’asm4@’u Thusna, ‘the best of names,’ and are repeated in telling the beads of their rosary. ® This command is obeyed by the Muslims frequently pronouncing the phrase Allahu akbar, especially as an expression of astonishment. It is the same expression as that used by the Egyptian women concerning Joseph, in Chapter XII, verse 31. aye; and to give warning to those who say, ‘God hath taken to Himself a son.’ They have no knowledge thereof, nor their fathers; a serious word it is that comes forth from their mouths! verily, they only speak a lie!

[5] Haply thou wilt grieve thyself to death for sorrow after them, if they believe not in this new revelation. Verily, we have made what is on the earth an ornament thereof, to try them, which of them is best in works; but, verily, we are going to make what is thereon bare soil. Hast thou reckoned that the Fellows of the Cave and Er-raqim were a wonder amongst our signs! ?’ When the youths resorted to the cave and said, ‘O our Lord! bring us mercy from Thee, and dispose for us our affair aright!’ [to] And we struck their ears (with deafness) in the cave for a number of years. Then we raised them up again, that we might know which of the two crews? could best calculate the time of their tarrying. We will narrate to thee their story in truth. Verily, they were youths who believed in their Lord, and we added to their guidance, and we braced up their hearts, when they stood up and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, we will not call upon any god beside Him, for then we should have said an extravagant thing.

1 This is the well-known story of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, What is meant by Er-raqim no one knows. The most generally accepted Mohammedan theory is that it was a dog belonging to the party; though some commentators take it to be the name of the valley or mountain in which the cave was situated; others again say that it was a metal plate inscribed with the name of the Sleepers, * That is, the youths themselves or the people they met on their awakening, These people of ours have taken to other gods beside Him. Though they do not bring any manifest authority for them. And who is more unjust than he who forges against God a lie? [15]‘So when ye have gone apart from them and what they serve other than God, then resort ye to the cave. Our Lord will unfold His mercy to you, and will dispose for you your affair advantageously.’ And thou mightst have seen the sun when it rose decline from their cave towards the right hand, and when it set leave them on the left hand, while they were in the spacious part thereof. That is one of the signs of God. Whom God guides he is guided indeed, and whom He leads astray thou shalt surely find for him no patron to guide aright. Thou mightst have reckoned them waking though they were sleeping, as we turned them towards the right and towards the left;

and their dog spreading out his fore-paws on the threshold. Hadst thou come suddenly upon them thou wouldst surely have turned and fled away from them, and wouldst surely have been filled by them with dread. Thus did we raise them up that they might question each other. Spake a speaker amongst them, ‘How long have ye tarried?’ They said, ‘We have tarried a day or part of a day.’ They said, ‘Your Lord knows best your tarrying; so send one of you with this coin of yours to the city, and let him look which of them has purest food, and let him bring you provision thereof; and let him be subtle and not let any one perceive you. Verily, they—should they perceive you— would stone you, or would force you back again unto their faith, and ye would never prosper then,’

[20] Thus did we make their people acquainted with their story, that they might know that God's promise is true; and that the Hour, there is no doubt concerning it. When they disputed amongst themselves concerning their affair, and said, ‘ Build a building over them, their Lord knows best about them ;’ and those who prevailed in their affair said, ‘We will surely make a mosque over them.’ They will say, ‘Three, and the fourth of them was their dog:’ and they will say, ‘Five, and the sixth of them was their dog:’ guessing at the unseen: and they will say, ‘Seven, and the eighth of them was their dog.” Say, ‘My Lord knows best the number of them; none knows them but a few.’ Dispute not therefore concerning them save with a plain disputation, and ask not any one of them! concerning them. And never say of anything, ‘Verily, I am going to do that to-morrow, except ‘if God please ;’ and remember thy Lord when thou hast forgotten, and say, ‘It may be that my Lord will guide me to what is nearer to the right than this *.’ They tarried in their cave three hundred years and nine more. [25] Say, ‘God knows best of their tarrying. His are the unseen things of the heavens and the earth—He can see! and hear *!’

1 That is, the Christians. 2 Mohammed being asked by the Jews concerning the number of the Seven Sleepers, had promised to bring them a revelation upon the subject on the morrow: this verse is a rebuke for his presumption. 8 This expression Sale takes to be ironical, and translates, ‘make thou him to see and hear;’ Rodwell renders it, ‘look thou and hearken unto him:’ both translators having missed both the force They have no patron beside Him, nor does He let any one share in His judgment. So, recite what thou art inspired with of the Book of thy Lord; there is no changing His words; nor shalt thou ever find a refuge beside Him; and keep thyself patient, with those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, desiring His face; nor let thine eyes be turned from them, desiring the adornment of the life of this world; and obey not him! whose heart we have made heedless of remembrance of us, and who follows his lusts, for his affair is ever in advance (of the truth). But say, * Phe truth 15 from your Lord, so’ let him who will, believe; and let him who will, disbelieve. Verily, we have prepared for the evildoers a fire, sheets of which shall encompass them; and if they cry for help, they shall be helped with water like molten brass, which shall roast their faces :—an ill drink and an evil couch!

Verily, those who believe and act aright,—verily, we will not waste the hire of him who does good works. [30] These, for them are gardens of Eden; beneath them rivers flow; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and shall wear green robes of silk, and of brocade; reclining therein on of the idiom and the explanation given by the commentators Al Baidhavi and Jalalain, to whom Sale refers. The meaning is that which I have given, and the idiom is equivalent to that which occurs in a passage of Hariri, Maqdémah 3 (p. 30, De Sacy’s first edition), akrim bihi, ‘how noble it is!’ abzar bihi being equivalent to ma abzarahu, ‘how observant He is!’ 1 Said to refer to Ommiiyet ibn ‘/Zalf, who had requested Moham- med to give up his poorer followers to please the Qurdis; see Chapter VI, verse 52. thrones ;—pleasant is the reward, and goodly the couch ! Strike out for them a parable: Two men, for one of whom we made two gardens of grapes, and surrounded them with palms, and put corn between the two. Each of the two gardens brought forth its food and did not fail in aught. And we caused a river to gush forth amidst them; and he had fruit, and said unto his fellow, who was his next-door neighbour, ‘I am more wealthy than thee, and mightier of household.’

And he went in unto his garden, having wronged himself: said he, ‘I do not think that this will ever disappear; and I do not think that the hour is imminent; and if even I be sent back unto my Lord, I shall find a better one than it in exchange.’ [35] Said unto him his fellow, who was his nextdoor neighbour, ‘Thou hast disbelieved in Him who created thee from earth, and then from a clot, then fashioned thee a man; but God, He is my Lord; nor will I associate any one with my Lord. Why couldst thou not have said, when thou didst go into thy garden, “ What God pleases’! there is no power save in God,’—to look at, I am less than thee in wealth and children; but haply my Lord will give me something better than thy garden, and will send upon it thunder-claps from the sky, and it shall be on the morrow bare slippery soil; or on the morrow its water may be deeply sunk, so that thou canst not get thereat!’ [40] And his fruits were encompassed, and on the 1 In the original M4 sa’ allah; this is the usual formula for expressing admiration among Muslims.

morrow he turned down the palms of his hands? for what he had spent thereon, for it was fallen down upon its trellises. And he said, ‘Would that I had never associated any one with my Lord!’ And he had not any party to help him beside God, nor was he helped. In such a case the patronage is God’s, the true; He is best at rewarding and best at bringing to an issue. Strike out for them, too, a parable of the life of this world; like water which we send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth is mingled therewith ;—and on the morrow it is dried up, and the winds scatter it ; for God is powerful over all. Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world; but enduring good works are better with thy Lord, as a recompense, and better as a hope. | [45] And the day when we will move the mountains, and thou shalt see the (whole) earth stalking forth ; and we will gather them, and will not leave one of them behind. Then shall they be presented to thy Lord in ranks.—Now have ye come to us as we created you at first! nay, but ye thought that we would never make our promise good!

And the Book shall be placed’, and thou shalt see the sinners in fear of what is in it; and they will say, ‘ Alas, for us! what ails this Book, it leaves neither small nor great things alone, without numbering them?’ and they shall find present what they have done; and thy Lord will not wrong any one. And when we said to the angels, ‘ Adore Adam,’ * Le. wrung his hands. ? In the hand of each. 20 7 THE QURAN. * XVIII, 48-se. they adored him, save only Iblis, who was of the ginn, who revolted from the bidding of his Lord. ‘What! will ye then take him and his seed as patrons, rather than me, when they are foes of yours ? bad for the wrong-doers is the exchange !’ I did not make them witnesses of the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor of the creation of themselves, nor did I take those who lead astray for my supporters. . [50] On the day when He shall say, ‘ Call ye my partners whom ye pretend:’ and they shall call on them, but they shall not answer them; and we will set the vale of perdition between them; and the sinners shall see the fire, and shall think that they are going to fall therein, and shall find no escape therefrom. We have turned about in this Qur'an for men every parable; but man is ever at most things a caviller.

Naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came to them, or from asking pardon of their Lord, except the coming on them of the course of those of yore, or the coming of the torment before their eyes; We sent not prophets save as heralds of glad tidings and as warners; but those who misbelieve wrangle with vain speech to make void the truth therewith ; and they take my signs and the warnings given them as a jest. [55] Who is more unjust than he who, being 1 This passage is aimed at the Qurais. The ‘course of those of yore’ is the punishment inflicted on the ‘people of Noah, Lot,’ &c. for similar acts of misbelief, and ‘the torment’ is said to refer to their losses at the battle of Bedr. reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away therefrom, and forgets what his hands have done before ? verily, we will place veils upon their hearts lest they should understand, and dulness in their ears ! And if thou shouldst call them to the guidance, they will not be guided then for ever. But thy Lord is forgiving, endowed with mercy ; were He to punish them for what they have earned He would have hastened for them the torment. Nay rather, they have their appointed time, and shall never find a refuge beside Him.

These cities, we destroyed them when they were unjust; and for their destruction we set an appointed time. And when Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not cease until I reach the confluence of the two seas, or else I will go on for years? [60] But when they reached the confluence of the two” they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea with a free course. And when they had passed by, he said to his servant, ‘Bring us our dinners, for we have met with toil from this journey of ours.’ Said he, ‘ What thinkest thou ? when we resorted to the rock, then, verily, I forgot the fish, but it was only Satan who made me forget it, lest I should remember it; and it took its way in the sea wondrously!’ Said he, ‘This is what we were searching for *,’ So they turned back upon their footsteps, following them up. * The word used signifies a space of eighty years and upwards. ? Literally, ‘of their intermediate space.’ * See Part IT, note 3, p. 23. Then they found a servant of our servants, to whom we had given mercy from ourselves, and had taught him knowledge from before us. [65] Said Moses to him, ‘Shall I follow thee, so that thou mayest teach me, from what thou hast been taught, the right way ?’ said he, ‘ Verily, thou canst never have patience with me. How canst thou be patient in what thou comprehendest no knowledge of?’ He said, ‘Thou wilt find me, if God will, patient; nor will I rebel against thy bidding.’ He said, ‘ Then, if thou followest me, ask me not about anything until I begin for them the mention of it.’

[70] So they set out until when they rode? in the bark, he scuttled it. Said he, ‘ Hast thou scuttled it to drown its crew ? Thou hast produced a strange thing.’ Said he, ‘Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst never have patience with me?’ Said he, ‘Rebuke me not for forgetting, and impose not on me a difficult command. So they set out until they met a boy, and he killed him. And he (Moses) said, ‘Hast thou killed a pure person without (his killing) a person? thou hast produced an unheard-of thing.’ Said he, ‘Did I not tell thee, verily, thou canst not have patience with me?’ [75] Said he, ‘If I ask thee about anything after it, then do not accompany me. Now hast thou arrived at my excuse. So they set out until when they came to the people of a city; and they asked ’ That is, embarked. All nautical metaphors in Arabic being taken from camel riding. ‘The Arabs do not call the camel ‘the ship of the desert,’ but they call a ship ‘the riding camel of the the people thereof for food; but they refused to entertain them. And they found therein a wall which wanted! to fall to pieces, and he set it upright. Said (Moses), ‘ Hadst thou pleased thou mightst cer- - tainly have had a hire for this.’

Said he, ‘This is the parting between me and thee. I will give thee the interpretation of that with which thou couldst not have patience. As for the bark it belonged to poor people, who toiled on the sea, and I wished to damage it, for behind it was a king who seized on every bark? by force. And as for the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should impose upon them rebellion and misbelief. [80] So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange a better one than him in purity, and nearer in filial affection. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them both, and their father was a righteous man, and their Lord desired that they should reach puberty, and then take out their treasure as a mercy from thy Lord; and I did it not on my own bidding. That is the interpretation of what thou couldst not have patience with °.’ 1 The expression wanted to fall is colloquial in Arabic as well asin English. Baid#avi says, ‘the expression wanting to is in this case figuratively used for being on the point of.

2 That is, every whole or sound ship. ’ For this legend there appears to be no ancient authority whatever; the Mohammedan commentators merely expand it, and say that El ‘Hiddr (a mythical personage, who is identified with the prophet Elias, St. George, and the prime minister of Alexander the Great) had disappeared in search of the water of immortality. Moses was inspired to search for him, and told that he would find him by a rock where two seas met, and where he should lose a fish And they will ask thee about Duu ’] Qarnain}, say, ‘I will recite to you a mention of him; verily, we stablished for him in the earth, and we gave him a way to everything; and he followed a way until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a black muddy spring 2, and he found thereat a people.’ [85] We said, ‘O Dau ’1 Qarndin! thou mayest either torment these people, or treat them well.’ Said he, ‘As for him who does wrong, I will torment him, then shall he be sent back to his Lord, and He will torment him with an unheard-of torment ; but as for him who believes and acts aright, for him is an excellent reward, and we will tell him our easy bidding.’

Then he followed a way until when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rise upon a people to whom we had given no shelter therefrom. [90] So! And we comprehended the knowledge of what (forces) he had with him. Then he followed a way until when he reached the point between the two mountains, he found below them both a people who could scarcely under- which he was directed to take with him. Moses’ servant in the legend is Joshua, and the mysterious young man who guided him is generally supposed to be El ‘Hidsr himself, rendered immortal and supernaturally wise by having found and drunk of the water of life. * Literally, ‘the two horned;’ this personage is generally supposed to be Alexander the Great, who is so represented on his coins. The Mohammedan histories of him, however, contain so many gross anachronisms, making him, for instance, a contemporary with Moses, Abraham, &c., that it is probable they may have confused him with some much more ancient traditional conqueror. * Probably, as Baidhavi suggests, the ocean, which, with its dark waters, would remind an Arab of such a pool. stand speech. They said, *O Duu | QOarnain! verily, Yagig and Magtig? are doing evil in the land. Shall we then pay thee tribute, on condition that thou set between us and them a rampart ?’ He said, ‘What my Lord hath established me in is better ; so help me with strength, and I will set between -you and them a barrier.

[95] ‘ Bring me pigs of iron until they fill up the space between the two mountain sides.’ Said he, ‘Blow until it makes it a fire.’ Said he, ‘ Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten brass®.’ So they ® could not scale it, and they could not tunnel it. Said he; “This: is a.anerey from my JLerd but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it as dust, for the promise of my Lord iS tie. And we left some of them to surge on that day4 over others, and the trumpet will be blown, and we will gather them together. * Gog and Magog. The people referred to appear to be tribes of the Turkomans, and the rampart itself has been identified with some ancient fortifications extending from the west coast of the Caspian to the Pontus Euxinus. The word translated mountains is the same as that translated rampart a little further on. I have, in rendering it mountains, followed the Mohammedan commentators, whose view is borne out by the subsequent mention of mountain sides, * The process here described for repressing the incursions of Gog and Magog is the building of a wall of pig iron across the Opening between the two mountains, fusing this into a compact mass of metal, and strengthening it by pouring molten brass over the whole. |

* Gog and Magog. * On the day of judgment, or, as some think, a little before it. [100] And we will set forth hell on that day before the misbelievers, whose eyes were veiled from my Reminder, and who were unable to hear. What! did those who misbelieve reckon that they could take my servants for patrons beside me? Verily, we have prepared hell for the misbelievers to alight in! Say, ‘Shall we inform you of those who lose most by their works ? those who erred in their endeavours after the life of this world, and who think they are doing good deeds.’ [105] Those who misbelieve in the signs of their Lord and in meeting Him, vain are their works; and we will not give them right weight on the resurrection day. That is their reward,—hell! for that they misbelieved and took my signs and my apostles as a mockery. Verily, those who believe and act aright, for them are gardens of Paradise! to alight in, to dwell therein for aye, and they shall crave no change therefrom. Say, ‘Were the sea ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail before the words of my Lord fail; aye, though we brought as much ink again !’

[110] Say, ‘I am only a mortal like yourselves; I am inspired that your God is only one God. Then let him who hopes to meet his Lord act righteous acts, and join none in the service of his Lord.’ * Here the Persian word Firdaus is used, which has supplied the name to the abode of the blessed in so many languages.

Tue CuHaptTeR oF Mary. In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. K. H. Y.‘#. Z. The mention of thy Lord’s mercy to His servant Zachariah, when he called on his Lord with a secret calling. Said he, ‘My Lord! verily, my bones are weak, and my head flares with hoariness ;—and I never was unfortunate in my prayers to Thee, my Lord! [5] But I fear my heirs after me, and my wife is barren; then grant me from Thee a successor, to be my heir and the heir of the family of Jacob, and make him, my Lord! acceptable.’ ‘O Zachariah ! verily, we give thee glad tidings of a son, whose name shall be John. We never made a namesake of his before 1.’ Said he, ‘My Lord! how can I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I have reached through old age to decrepitude ?’ [10] He said, ‘ Thus says thy Lord, It is easy for Me, for I created thee at first when yet thou wast nothing.’ Said he, ‘O my Lord! make for me a sign.’ He said, ‘Thy sign is that thou shalt not speak to men for three nights (though) sound.’

Then he went forth unto his people from the 1 Cf. Luke i. 61, where, however, it is said that none of Zachariah’s kindred was ever before called by that name. Some commentators avoid the difficulty by interpreting the word samiyyun to mean ‘deserving of the name.’ chamber, and he made signs to them: ‘Celebrate (God’s) praises morning and evening !’ ‘O John! take the Book with strength ;’ and we gave him judgment when a boy, and grace from us, and purity ; and he was pious and righteous to his parents, and was not a rebellious tyrant. [15] So peace upon him the day he was born, and the day he died, and the day he shall be raised up alive. And mention, in the Book, Mary; when she retired from her family into an eastern place; and she took a veil (to screen herself) from them; and we sent unto her our spirit; and he took for her the semblance of a well-made man. Said she, ‘Verily, I take refuge in the Merciful One from thee, if thou art pious.’ Said he, ‘Iam only a messenger of thy Lord to bestow on thee a pure boy.’ [20] Said she, ‘ How can I have a boy when no man has touched me, and when I am no harlot ?’ He said, ‘Thus says thy Lord, It is easy for Me! and we will make him a sign unto man, and a mercy from us ; for it is a decided matter.’

So she conceived him, and she retired with him into a remote place. And the labour pains came upon her at the trunk of a palm tree, and she said, ‘O that I had died before this, and been forgotten out of mind!’ and he called} to her from beneath her, ‘Grieve not, for thy Lord has placed a stream beneath thy feet ; [25] and shake towards thee the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop upon thee fresh dates fit to * Either the infant himself or the angel Gabriel; or the expression ‘beneath her’ may be rendered ‘beneath it,’ and may refer to the palm tree. ee gather ; so eat, and drink, and cheer thine eye ; and if thou shouldst see any mortal say, “Verily, I have vowed to the Merciful One a fast, and I will not speak to-day with a human being.” ’ Then she brought it to her people, carrying it; said they, ‘O Mary! thou hast done an extraordinary thing! O sister of Aaron!! thy father was not a bad man, ror was thy mother a harlot!’ [30] And she pointed to him, and they said, ‘ How are we to speak with one who is in the cradle a child?’ He said, ‘Verily, I am a servant of God; He has brought me the Book, and He has made me a prophet, and He has made me blessed wherever I be; and He has required of me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live, and piety towards my mother, and has not made me a miserable tyrant ; and peace upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised up alive.’

[35] That is, Jesus the son of Mary,—by the word of truth whereon ye do dispute! God could not take to himself any son! celebrated be His praise! when He decrees a matter He only says to it, ‘BE, and it is; and, verily, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him; this is the right way. And the parties have disagreed amongst themselves, but woe to those who disbelieve, from the witnessing of the mighty day! they can hear and they can see*, on the day when they shall come to us; but the. evildoers are to-day in obvious error ! [40] And warn them of the day of sighing, when 1 See Part I, note 1, p. 50. 4-See Part IJ, note 3, p. 16. the matter is decreed while they are heedless, and while they do not believe. Verily, we will inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and unto us shall they return! And mention, in the Book, Abraham; verily, he was a confessor,—a prophet. When he said to his father, ‘O my sire! why dost thou worship what can neither hear nor see nor avail thee aught? O my sire! verily, to me has come knowledge which has not come to thee; then follow me, and I will guide thee to a level way.

[45] ‘O my sire! serve not Satan; verily, Satan is ever a rebel against the Merciful. O my sire! verily, I fear that there may touch thee torment from the Merciful, and that thou mayest be a client GF oatan,. Said he, ‘What! art thou averse from my gods, O Abraham ? verily, if thou dost not desist I will certainly stone thee; but get thee gone from me for a time!’ Said he, ‘ Peace be upon thee! I will ask forgiveness for thee from my Lord; verily, He is very gracious to me: but I will part from you and what ye call on beside God, and will pray my Lord that I be not unfortunate in my prayer to my Lord.’ [50] And when he had parted from them and what they served beside God, we granted him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them we made a prophet; and we granted them of our mercy, and we made the tongue of truth lofty for them. And mention, in the Book, Moses; verily, he was sincere, and was an apostle,—a prophet. We called 1 That is, ‘gave them great renown,’ him from the right side of the mountain; and we made him draw nigh unto us to commune with him, and we granted him, of our mercy, his brother Aaron as a prophet.

[55] And mention, in the Book, Ishmael; verily, he was true to his promise, and was an apostle,— a prophet; and he used to bid his people prayers and almsgiving, and was acceptable in the sight of his Lord. And mention, in the Book, Idris1; verily, he was a confessor,—a prophet; and we raised him to a lofty place. These are those to whom God has been gracious, of the prophets of the seed of Adam, and of those whom we bore with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, and of those we guided and elected; when the signs of the Merciful are read to them, they fall down adoring and weeping. [60] And successors succeeded them, who lost sight of prayer and followed lusts, but they shall at length find themselves going wrong, except such as repent and believe and act aright; for these shall enter Paradise, and shall not be wronged at all,— gardens of Eden, which the Merciful has promised to His servants in the unseen; verily, His es ever comes to pass! They shall hear no empty talk therein, but only ‘peace ;’ and they shall have their provision therein, morning and evening; that is Paradise which we will give for an inheritance to those of our servants

who are pious! [65] We do not descend? save at the bidding 1 Generally identified with Enoch. 2 Amongst various conjectures the one most usually accepted of thy Lord; His is what is before us, and what is behind us, and what is between those; for thy Lord is never forgetful,—the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and of what is between the two; then serve Him and persevere in His service. Dost thou know a namesake of His ? Man will say, ‘What! when I have died shall I then come forth alive? Does not man then remember that we created him before when he was naught?’ And by thy Lord! we will surely gather them together, and the devils too; then we will surely bring them forward around hell, on their knees ! [7o] Then we will drag off from every sect whichever of them has been most bold against the Merciful. Then we know best which of them deserves most to be broiled therein. There is not one of you who will not go down | to it,—that is settled and decided by thy Lord}. Then we will save those who fear us; but we will leave the evildoers therein on their knees.

And when our signs are recited to them manifest, those who misbelieve say to those who believe, ‘Which of the two parties is best Bice and in the best company ?’ [75] And how many generations before them by the Mohammedan commentators is, that these are the words of the angel Gabriel, in answer to Mohammed’s complaint of long intervals elapsing between the periods of revelation. * This is interpreted by some to mean that all souls, good and bad, must pass through hell, but that the good will not be harmed. Others think it merely refers to the passage of the bridge of el Aaraf, | have we destroyed who were better off in property and appearance ? Say, ‘Whosoever is in error, let the Merciful extend to him length of days!—until they see what they are threatened with, whether it be the torment or whether it be the Hour, then they shall know who is worse placed and weakest in forces!’ And those who are guided God will increase in guidance. And enduring good works are best with thy Lord for a reward, and best for restoration. [80] Hast thou seen him who disbelieves in our signs, and says, ‘I shall surely be given wealth and children! ?’

Has he become acquainted with the unseen, or has he taken a compact with the Merciful? Not so! We will write down what he says, and we will extend to him a length of torment, and we will make him inherit what he says, and he shall come to us alone. They take other gods besides God to be their glory. [85] Not so! They? shall deny their worship and shall be opponents of theirs |! Dost thou not see that we have sent the devils against the misbelievers, to drive them on to sin? but, be not thou hasty with them. Verily, we will number them a number (of days),—the day when we will gather the pious to the Merciful as ambassadors, and we will drive the sinners to hell like * "Hasty ibn Wail, being indebted to ‘Habb4b, refused to pay him.unless he renounced Mohammed. This ‘Habbab said he would never do alive or dead, or when raised again at the last day. FE] ’Hasiy told him to call for his money on the last day, as he should have wealth and children then. * That is, the false gods. (herds) to water! [90] They shall not possess intercession, save he who has taken a compact with the Merciful.

They say, ‘The Merciful has taken to Himself a son :—ye have brought a monstrous thing! The heavens well-nigh burst asunder thereat, and the earth is riven, and the mountains fall down broken, that they attribute to the Merciful a son! but it becomes not the Merciful to take to Himself a son! there is none in the heavens or the earth but comes to the Merciful as a servant; He counts them and numbers them by number, [95] and they are all coming to Him on the resurrection day singly. Verily, those who believe and act aright, to them the Merciful will give love. We have only made it easy for thy tongue that thou mayest thereby give glad tidings to the pious, and warn thereby a contentious people. How many a generation before them have we destroyed? Canst thou find any one of them, or hear a whisper of them ? | Tue Cuapter or Z, H.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. 7. H. We have not sent down this Qur'an to thee that thou shouldst be wretched; only as a reminder to him who fears—descending from Him _who created the earth and the high heavens, the Merciful settled on the throne! [5] His are what is in the heavens, and what is in the earth, and what is between the two, and what is beneath the ground! And if thou art public in thy speech— yet, verily, he knows the secret, and more hidden still. God, there is no god but He! His are the excellent names. | Has the story of Moses come to thee? When_ he saw the fire and said to his family, ‘Tarry ye ; verily, I perceive a fire! [10] Haply I may bring you therefrom a brand, or may find guidance by the fire!” And when he came to it he was called to, ‘O Moses! verily, I am thy Lord, so take off thy sandals; verily, thou art in the holy valley Zuva, and I have chosen thee. So listen to what is inspired thee; verily, I am God, there is no god but Me! then serve Me, and be steadfast in prayer to remember Me.

[15] ‘Verily, the hour is coming, I almost make it appear 2, that every soul may be recompensed for its efforts. ‘Let not then him who believes not therein and follows his lusts ever turn thee away therefrom, and thou be ruined. ‘What is that in thy right hand, O Moses ?’ Said he, ‘It is my staff on which I lean, and 1 The Arabs used to light fires to guide travellers to shelter and entertainment. These fires, ‘the fire of hospitality,’ ‘the fire of war,’ &c. are constantly referred to in the ancient Arabic poetry. No less than thirteen fires are enumerated by them. 2 This may be also rendered, ‘I almost conceal it (from myself) ;’ i‘#fA’un having, like many words in Arabic, two meanings directly opposite to each other. This probably arose from words being adopted into the Qurais idiom from other dialects. wherewith I beat down leaves for my flocks, and_ for which I have other uses.’ [20] Said He, ‘Throw it down, O Moses!’ and he threw it down, and behold! it was a snake that moved about. Said He, ‘ Take hold of it and fear not; we will restore it to its first state.

‘But press thy hand to thy side, it shall come forth white without harm,—another sign! to show thee of our great signs! [25] ‘Go unto Pharaoh, verily, he is outrageous!’ Said he, ‘My Lord! expand for me my breast; and make what I am bidden easy to me; and loose the knot from my tongue!, that they may understand my speech ; [30] and make for me a minister ° from my people,—Aaron my brother; gird up my loins through him®, and join him with me in the affair; that we may celebrate Thy praises much and remember Thee much. [35] ‘Verily, Thou dost ever behold us!’ He said,‘ Thou art granted thy request, O Moses! and we have already shown favours unto thee at another time. When we inspired thy mother with what we inspired her, “Hurl him into the ark, and hurl him into the sea; and the sea shall cast him on the shore, and an enemy of mine and of his shall take him ;’—for on thee have I cast my 1 The Muslim legend is that Moses burnt his tongue with a live coal when a child. This incident is related at length, together with other Mohammedan legends connected with Moses and the Exodus, in my ‘ Desert of the Exodus,’ Appendix C. p. 533. Transl.

2 Literally, viztr, ‘vizier,’ ‘one who bears the burden’ of office. ® Ie. ‘strengthen me.’ The idiom is still in common use amongst the desert Arabs. | love, [40] that thou mayest be formed under my eye. When thy sister walked on and said, “ Shall I guide you to one who will take charge of him ?” And we restored thee to thy mother, that her eye might be cheered and that she should not grieve. And thou didst slay a person and we saved thee from the trouble, and we tried thee with various trials. And thou didst tarry for years amongst the people of Midian; then thou didst come (hither) at (our) decree, O Moses! And I have chosen thee for myself. Go, thou and thy brother, with my signs, and be not remiss in remembering me. [45] Go ye both to Pharaoh; verily, he is outrageous! and speak to him a gentle speech, haply he may be mindful or may fear, They two said, ‘Our Lord! verily, we fear that he may trespass against us, or that he may be outrageous. He said, ‘Fear not; verily, I am with you twain. I hear and see! ‘So come ye to him and say, “ Verily, we are the apostles of thy Lord; send then the children of Israel with us; and do not torment them. We have brought thee a sign from thy Lord, and peace be upon him who follows the guidance!

[50] ‘“ Verily, we are inspired that the torment will surely come upon him who calls us liars and turns his back.”’ Said he, ‘And who is your Lord, O Moses ?’ He said, ‘Our Lord is He who gave everything its creation, then guided it.’ Said he, ‘And what of the former generations ?’ He said, ‘The knowledge of them is with my Lord in a book; my Lord misleads not, nor forgets ! [55] Who made for you the earth a bed; and has traced for you paths therein; and has sent down from the sky water,—and we have brought forth thereby divers sorts of different vegetables. Eat and pasture your cattle therefrom; verily, in that are signs to those endued with intelligence. From it have we created you and into it will we send you back, and from it will we bring you forth another inbueten! We did show him our signs, all of them, but he called them lies and did refuse. Said he, ‘Hast thou come to us, to turn us out of our land with thy magic, O Moses? [60] Then we will bring you magic like it; and we will make between us and thee an appointment; we will not break it, nor do thou either ;—a fair place.’

Said he, ‘Let your appointment be for the day of adornment!, and let the people assemble in the forenoon *.’ But Pharaoh turned his back, and collected his tricks, and then he came. Said Moses to them, ‘Woe to you! do not forge against God a lie; lest He destroy you by torment ; for disappointed has ever been he who has forged.’ [65] And they argued their matter among themselves; and secretly talked it over. Said they, ‘These twain are certainly two magicians, who wish to turn you out of your land by their magic, and to remove your most exemplary doctrine ®, Collect therefore your tricks, and then ' Tre. the festival. * In order that they might all see. * Or, ‘your most eminent men,’ as some commentators interpret it, i.e. the children of Israel. form a row; for he is prosperous to-day who has the upper hand.’ Said they, ‘O Moses! either thou must throw, or we must be the first to throw.’ He said, ‘Nay, throw ye!’ and lo! their ropes and their staves appeared to move along. [70] And Moses felt a secret fear within his soul. Said we, ‘Fear not! thou shalt have the upper hand. Throw down what is in thy right hand; and it shall devour what they have made. Verily, what they have made is but a magician’s trick; and no magician shall prosper wherever he comes.’

And the magicians were cast down in adoration ; said they, ‘We believe in the Lord of Aaron and of Moses!’ Said he!, ‘Do ye believe in Him before I give you leave? Verily, he is your master who taught you magic! Therefore will I surely cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees; and ye shall surely know which of us is keenest at torment and more lasting.’ [75] Said they, ‘We will never prefer thee to what has come to us of manifest signs, and to Him who originated us. Decide then what thou canst decide ; thou canst only decide in the life of this world! Verily, we believe in our Lord, that He may pardon us our sins, and the magic thou hast forced us to use; and God is better and more lasting!’ Verily, he who comes to his Lord a sinner,— verily, for him is hell; he shall not die therein, and shall not live. But he who comes to Him a believer who has done aright—these, for them are the highest ranks, —gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for aye; for that is the reward of him who keeps pure.

And we inspired Moses, ‘Journey by night with my servants, and strike out for them a dry road in the sea. [80] Fear not pursuit, nor be afraid!’ Then Pharaoh followed them with his armies, and there overwhelmed them of the sea that which overwhelmed them. And Pharaoh and his people went astray and were not guided. O children of Israel! We have saved you from your enemy; and we made an appointment with you on the right side of the mount; and we sent down upon you the manna and the quails. ‘Eat of the good things we have provided you with, and do not exceed therein, lest my wrath light upon you; for whomsoever my wrath lights upon he falls! ‘Yet am I forgiving unto him who repents and believes and does right, and then is guided. [85] ‘ But what has hastened thee on away from thy people, O Moses ?’ He said, ‘They were here upon my track and I hastened on to Thee, my Lord! that thou mightest be pleased.’ Said He, ‘Verily, we have tried thy people, since thou didst leave, and es SAmarty! has led them astray.’ And Moses returned to his people, wrathful, grieving |

* I.e. the Samaritan; some take it to mean a proper name, in order to avoid the anachronism. Said he, ‘O my people! did not your Lord promise you a good promise? Has the time seemed too long for you, or do you desire that wrath should light on you from your Lord, that ye have broken your promise to me ?’ [90] They said, ‘We have not broken our promise to thee of our own accord. But we were made to carry loads of the ornaments of the people, and we hurled them down, and so did es Sdmarty cast; and he brought forth for the people a corporeal calf which lowed.” And they said, ‘This is your god and the god of Moses, but he has forgotten!’ What! do they not see that it does not return them any speech, and cannot control for them harm or profit? Aaron too told them before, ‘O my people! ye are only being tried thereby ; and, verily, your Lord is the Merciful, so follow me and obey my bidding.’ They said, ‘We will not cease to pay devotion to it until Moses come back to us.’ Said he, ‘O Aaron! what prevented thee, when thou didst see them go astray, from following me? Hast thou then rebelled against my bidding ?’

[95] Said he, ‘O son of my mother! seize me not by my beard, or my head! Verily, I feared lest thou shouldst say, “Thou hast made a division amongst the children of Israel, and hast not observed my word.”’ Said he, ‘What was thy design, O SAmariy ?’ Said he, ‘I beheld what they beheld not, and I grasped a handful from the footprint of the messenger’ and cast it; for thus my soul induced me.’ * A handful of dust from the footprint of the angel Gabriel’s Said he, ‘ Then get thee gone; verily, it shall be thine in life to say, “Touch me not?!” and, verily, for thee there is a threat which thou shalt surely never alter. But look at thy god to which thou wert just now devout; we will surely burn it, and then we will scatter it in scattered pieces in the sea. ‘Your God is only God who,—there is no god but He,—He embraceth everything in His knowledge.’ | Thus do we narrate to thee the history of what has gone before, and we have brought thee a reminder from us. [100] Whoso turns therefrom, verily, he shall bear on the resurrection day a burden:—for them to bear for aye, and evil for them on the resurrection day will it be to bear.

On the day when the trumpet shall be blown, and we will gather the sinners in that day blueeyed ~ They shall whisper to each other, ‘ Ye have only tarried ten days.” We know best what they say, when the most exemplary of them in his way shall say, ‘ Ye have only tarried a day.’ [105] They will ask thee about the mountains; horse, which, being cast into the calf, caused it to become animated and to low. * The idea conveyed seems to be that he should be regarded as a leper, and obliged to warn people from coming near him. The reference is no doubt to the light in which the Samaritans (see Part II, p. 40, note 1) were regarded by the Jews. ? Because ‘blue eyes’ were especially detested by the Arabs as being characteristic of their greatest enemies, the Greeks. So they speak of an enemy as ‘black-livered,’ ‘red-whiskered,’ and ‘blueeyed.’ The word in the text may also mean ‘blear-eyed,’ or ‘blind.’ say, ‘My Lord will scatter them in scattered pieces, and He will leave them a level plain, thou wilt see therein no crookedness or inequality.’ On that day they shall follow the caller in whom is no crookedness!; and the voices shall be hushed before the Merciful, and thou shalt hear naught but a shuffling.

On that day shall no intercession be of any avail, save from such as the Merciful permits, and who is acceptable to Him in speech. He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend knowledge of Him. [110] Faces shall be humbled before the Living, the Self-subsistent; and he who bears injustice 1s ever lost. But he who does righteous acts and is a believer, he shall fear neither wrong nor diminution. Thus have we sent it down an Arabic Qur'an ; and we have turned about in it the threat,— haply they may fear, or it may cause them to remember. Exalted then be God, the king, the truth! Hasten not the Qur’dn before its inspiration is decided tor thee; hurt say, “OC. ord) incredce mc in knowledge 2.’ We did make a covenant with Adam of yore, but he forgot it, and we found no firm purpose in him. [115] And when we said to the angels, ‘ Adore 1 That is, the angel who is to summon them to judgment, and from whom none can escape, or who marches straight on. * Cf. Part IT, p. 16, note 2. Adam, they adored, save Iblis, who refused. And we said, ‘O Adam! verily, this is a foe to thee and to thy wife; never then let him drive you twain forth from the garden or thou wilt be wretched. Verily, thou hast not to be hungry there, nor naked! and, verily, thou shalt not thirst therein, nor feel the noonday heat !’

But the devil whispered to him. Said he, ‘O Adam! shall I guide thee to the tree of immortality, and a kingdom that shall not wane ?’ And they eat therefrom, and their shame became apparent to them; and they began to stitch upon themselves some leaves of the garden ; and Adam rebelled against his Lord, and went astray. [120] Then his Lord chose him, and relented towards him, and guided him. Said he, ‘Go down, ye twain, therefrom altogether, some of you foes to the other. And if there should come to you from me a guidance; then whoso follows my guidance shall neither err nor be wretched. But he who turns away from my reminder, verily, for him shall be a straitened livelihood ; and we will gather him on the resurrection day blind!’ [125] He shall say, ‘My Lord! wherefore hast Thou gathered me blind when I used to see?’ He shall say, ‘Our signs came to thee, and thou didst forget them ; thus to-day art thou forgotten !’ Thus do we recompense him who is extravagant and believes not in the signs of his Lord; and the torment of the hereafter is keener and more lasting ! |

Does it not occur to them! how many generations we have destroyed before them ?—they walk in their very dwelling-places ; verily, in that are signs to those endued with intelligence. And had it not been for thy Lord’s word already passed (the punishment) would have been inevitable and (at) an appointed time. [130] Bear patiently then what they say, and celebrate the praises of thy Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and at times in the night celebrate them; and at the ends of the day ; haply thou mayest please (Him). And do not strain after what we have provided a few! of them with—the flourish of the life of this world, to try them by; but the provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting. Bid thy people prayer, and persevere in it; we do not ask thee to provide. We will provide, and the issue shall be to piety. They say, ‘Unless he bring us a sign from his Lord —What! has there not come to them the manifest sign of what was in the pages of yore ?’ But had we destroyed them with torment before it, they would have said, ‘Unless Thou hadst sent to us an apostle, that we might follow Thy signs before we were abased and put to shame.’

[135] Say, ‘Each one has to wait, so wait ye! but in the end ye shall know who are the fellows of the level way, and who are guided!’ A6 : THE QUR'AN. , Sx] ris Tue CHAPTER OF THE PROPHETS.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Their reckoning draws nigh to men, yet in heedlessness they turn aside. No reminder comes to them from their Lord of late, but they listen while they mock, and their hearts make sport thereof! And those who do wrong discourse secretly (saying), ‘Is this man aught but a mortal like yourselves? will ye accede to magic, while ye can see ?’ Say, ‘My Lord knows what is said in the heavens and the earth, He hears and knows!’ [5] ‘Nay! they say, ‘— a jumble of dreams ; nay! he has forged it; nay! he is a poet; but let him bring us a sign as those of yore were sent.’ No city before them which we destroyed believed—how will they believe ? Nor did we send before them any but men whom we inspired? Ask ye the people of the Scriptures if ye do not know. Nor did we make them bodies not to eat food, nor were they immortal. Yet we made our promise to them good, and we saved them and whom we pleased; but we destroyed those who committed excesses. [10] We have sent down to you a book in which - is a reminder for you; have ye then no sense ?

How many a city which had done wrong have we broken up, and raised up after it another people! And when they perceived our violence they ran away from it. ‘Run not away, but return to what ye delighted in, and to your dwellings! haply ye will be questioned.’ Said they, ‘O woe is us! verily, we were wrong-doers,’ [15] And that ceased not to be their cry until we made them mown down,—smouldering out! We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between the two in play. Had we wished to take to a sport, we would have taken to one from before ourselves; had we been bent on doing so. Nay, we hurl the truth against falsehood and it crashes into it, and lo! it vanishes, but woe to you for what ye attribute (to God)! His are whosoever are in the heavens and the earth, and those who are with Him are not too big with pride for His service, nor do they weary. [20] They celebrate His praises by night and day without intermission. Or have they taken gods from the earth who can raise up (the dead) ? Were there in both (heaven and earth) gods beside God, both would surely have been corrupted. Celebrated then be the praise of God, the Lord of the throne, above what they ascribe!

He shall not be questioned concerning what He does, but they shall be questioned. Have they taken gods beside Him? Say, ‘ Bring your proofs. This is the reminder of those who are with me, and of those who were before me.’ Nay, most of them know not the truth, and they do turn aside. [25] We have not sent any prophet before thee, but we inspired him that, ‘There is no god but Me, so serve ye Me.’ And they say, ‘The Merciful has taken a son'; * Or, child, since the passage refers both to the Christian celebrated be His praise!’—Nay, honoured servants ; they do not speak until He speaks; but at His bidding do they act. He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they shall not intercede except for him whom He is pleased with } and they shrink through fear. | | [30] And whoso of them should say, ‘Verily, I am god instead of Him,’ such a one we recompense with hell; thus do we recompense the wrong-doers. Do not those who misbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were both solid, and we burst them asunder; and we made from water every living thing—will they then not believe?

And we placed on the earth firm mountains lest it should move with them, and He made therein open roads for paths, haply they may be guided! and we made the heaven a guarded roof; yet from our signs they turn aside! He it is who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each floating in a sky. [35] We never made for any mortal before thee immortality; what, if thou shouldst die, will they live on for aye? Every soul shall taste of death! we will test them with evil and with good, as a trial; and unto us shall they return! And when those who misbelieve see thee!, they only take thee for a jest, ‘Is this he who mentions your gods?’ Yet they at the mention of the Merciful do disbelieve. doctrine and to the Arab notion that the angels are daughters of God. Man is created out of haste. I will show you my signs; but do not hurry Me. And they say, ‘When will this threat (come to pass), if ye tell the truth >’ [40] Did those who misbelieve but know when the fire shall not be warded off from their faces nor from their backs, and they shall not be helped! Nay, it shall come on them suddenly, and shall dumbfounder them, and they shall not be able to repel it, nor shall they be respited.

Prophets before thee have been mocked at, but that whereat they jested encompassed those who mocked. Say, ‘Who shall guard you by night and by day from the Merciful?’ Nay, but they from the mention of their Lord do turn aside. Have they gods to defend them against us? These cannot help themselves, nor shall they be abetted against us. [45] Nay, but we have granted enjoyment to these men and to their fathers whilst life was prolonged. Do they not see that we come to the land and shorten its borders? Shall they then prevail ? Say, ‘I only warn you by inspiration;’ but the deaf hear not the call when they are warned. But if a blast of the torment of thy Lord touches them, they will surely say, ‘O, woe is us! verily, we were wrong-doers !’ We will place just balances upon the resurrection day, and no soul shall be wronged at all, even though it be the weight of a grain of mustard seed, we will bring it; for we are good enough at reckoning up. We did give to Moses and Aaron the Discrimination, and a light and a reminder to those who fear; [50] who are afraid of their Lord in secret ; and who at the Hour do shrink.

This is a blessed reminder which we have sent down, will ye then deny it? And we gave Abraham a right direction before ; for about him we knew. When he said to his father and to his people, ‘What are these images to which ye pay devotion ?? Said they, ‘We found our fathers serving them.’ [55] Said he, ‘ Both you and your fathers have been in obvious error.’ They said, ‘Dost thou come to us with the truth, or art thou but of those who play ?’ : He said, ‘Nay, but your Lord is Lord of the heavens and the earth, which He originated; and I am of those who testify to this; and, by God! I will plot against your idols after ye have turned and shown me your backs!’ So he brake them all in pieces, except a large one they had; that haply they might refer it to that. [60] Said they, ‘Who has done this with our gods? verily, he is of the wrong-doers!’ They said, ‘We heard a youth mention them who is called Abraham.’ Said they, ‘Then bring him before the eyes of men; haply they will bear witness.’ Said they, ‘Was it thou who did this to our gods, O Abraham?’ Said he, ‘Nay, it was this largest of them; but ask them, if they can speak.’

[65] Then they came to themselves and said, ‘Verily, ye are the wrong-doers.’ Then they turned upside down again!: ‘Thou knewest that these cannot speak.’ Said he, ‘Will ye then serve, beside God, what cannot profit you at all, nor harm you? fie upon you, and what ye serve beside God! have ye then no sense ?’ Said they, ‘Burn him, and help your gods, if ye are going to do so!’ We said, ‘O fire! be thou cool and a safety for Abraham!’ [70] They desired to plot against him, but we made them the losers. And we brought him and Lot safely to the land which we have blessed for the world, and we bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob as a fresh gift, and each of them we made righteous persons; and we made them high priests? to guide (men) by our bidding, and we inspired them to do good works, and to be steadfast in prayer, and to give alms; and they did serve us. And Lot, to him we gave judgment and knowledge, and we brought him safely out of the city which had done vile acts; verily, they were a people who wrought abominations! [75] And we made him enter into our mercy; verily, he was of the righteous! |

And Noah, when he cried aforetime, and we answered him and saved him and his people from the mighty trouble, and we helped him against the people who said our signs were lies; verily, * Literally, ‘they turned upside down upon their heads,’ the metaphor implying that they suddenly changed their opinion and relapsed into belief in their idols. ? See Part I, p. 17, note 1. they were a bad people, so we drowned them all together. And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment concerning the field, when some people’s sheep had strayed therein at night; and we testified to their judgment!; and this we gave Solomon to understand. To each of them we gave judgment and knowledge; and to David we subjected the mountains to celebrate our praises, and the birds too,—it was we who did it? [80] And we taught him the art of making coats of mail for you, to shield you from each other's violence; are ye then grateful ? And to Solomon (we subjected) the wind blowing stormily, to run on at his bidding to the land * which we have blessed,—for all things did we know,—and some devils to dive for: him, and to do other works beside that; and we kept guard over them.

And Job, when he cried to his Lord, ‘As for me, harm has touched me, but Thou art the most merciful of the merciful ones.’ And we answered 1 This case, say the commentators, being brought before David and Solomon, David said that the owner of the field should take the sheep in compensation for the damage; but Solomon, who was only eleven years old at the time, gave judgment that the owner of the field should enjoy the produce of the sheep—that is, their milk, wool, and lambs—until the shepherd had restored the field to its former state of cultivation, and this judgment was approved by David. * This legend, adopted from the Talmud, arises from a too literal interpretation of Psalm cxlviii. * The legend of Solomon, his seal inscribed with the holy name by which he could control all the powers of nature, his carpet or throne that used to be transported with him on the wind wherever he pleased, his power over the ginns, and his knowledge of the language of birds and beasts are commonplaces in Arabic writings. him, and removed from him the distress that was upon him; and we gave his family, and the like of them with them, as a mercy from us, and a remembrance to those who serve us. —

[85] And Ishmael, and Idris, and Duu ‘1 Kifl}, all of these were of the patient: and we made them enter into our mercy; verily, they were among the righteous. And Duu ’nnfin?, when he went away in wrath and thought that we had no power over him; and he cried out in the darkness, ‘There is no god but Thou, celebrated be Thy praise! Verily, I was of the evildoers!’ And we answered him, and saved him from the trouble. Thus do we save believers! And Zachariah, when he cried unto his Lord, ‘O Lord! leave me not alone; for thou art the best of heirs *.’ [90] And we answered him, and bestowed upon him John; and we made his wife right for him; verily, these vied in good works, and called on us with longing and dread, and were humble before us. | And she who guarded her private parts, and we breathed into her of our Spirit, and we made her and her son a sign unto the worlds. Verily, this your nation’ is one nation; and I am your Lord, so serve me. 1 That is, Elias, or, as some say, Joshua, and some say Zachariah, so called because he had a portion from God Most High, and guaranteed his people, or because he had double the work of the prophets of his time and their reward; the word Kifl being used in the various senses of ‘portion,’ ‘sponsorship,’ and ‘double.’ —Baidhavt.

? Literally, ‘he of the fish,’ that is, Jonah. P mee Part 1, p.27. * The word ‘ummatun’ is here used in the sense rather of But they cut up their affair amongst themselves; they all shall return to us; and he who acts aright, and he who is a believer, there is no denial of his efforts, for, verily, we will write them down for him. [95] There is a ban upon a city which we have destroyed that they shall not return, until Yagtg and Magig are let out’, and they from every hummock? shall glide forth. And the true promise draws nigh, and lo! they are staring—the eyes of those who misbelieve! O, woe is us! we were heedless of this, nay, we were wrong-doers ! Verily, ye, and what ye serve beside God, shall be the pebbles of hell *, to it shall ye go down! Had these been God’s they would not have gone down thereto: but all shall dwell therein for aye; [100] for them therein is groaning, but they therein shall not be heard. Verily, those for whom the good (reward) from us was fore-ordained, they from it shall be kept far away; they shall not hear the slightest sound thereof, and they in what their souls desire shall dwell for aye. The greatest terror shall not grieve them; and the angels shall meet them, (saying), ‘ This is your day which ye were promised!’

‘religion, regarding the various nations and generations as each professing and representing a particular faith, and means that the religion preached to the Meccans was the same as that preached to their followers by the various prophets who are mentioned in this chapter. * “Hadab, some read gadath, ‘ grave.’ = oee bart bh. 4, hz. The day when we will roll up the heavens as es-Sigill rolls up the books!; as we produced it at its first creation will we bring it back again— a promise binding upon us; verily, we are going to do it. And already have we written in the Psalms [105] after the reminder that ‘the earth shall my righteous servants inherit *’ Verily, in this is preaching for a people who serve me! We have only sent thee as a mercy to the worlds. Say, ‘I am only inspired that your God is one God; are ye then resigned?’ But if they turn their backs say, ‘I have proclaimed (war) against all alike, but I know not if what ye are threatened with be near or far!’ [110] Verily, He knows what is spoken openly, and He knows what ye hide. I know not, haply it is a trial for you and a provision for a season.

Say, ‘My Lord! judge thou with truth! and our Lord is the Merciful whom we ask for aid against what they ascribe!’ 1 Fs-Sigill is the name of the angel who has charge of the book on which each human being’s fate is written, which book he rolls up at a person’s death. The word, however, may mean a scroll or register, and the passage may be rendered, ‘like the rolling up of a scroll for writings.’ ? Psalm xxxvil. 29. _ Tue CHAPTER OF THE PILGRIMAGE. (XXIT. Mecca:) In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. | O ye folk! fear your Lord. Verily, the earthquake of the Hour is a mighty thing. On the day ye shall see it, every suckling woman shall be scared away from that to which she gave suck; and every pregnant woman shall lay down her load; and thou shalt see men drunken, though they be not drunken: but the torment of God is Severe, And amongst men is one who wrangles about God without knowledge, and follows every rebellious devil; against whom it is written down that whoso takes him for a patron, verily, he will lead him astray, and will guide him towards the torment of the blaze!

[5] O ye folk! if ye are in doubt about the raising (of the dead),—verily, we created you from earth, then from a clot, then from congealed blood, then from a morsel, shaped or shapeless, that we may explain to you. And we make what we please rest in the womb until an appointed time; then we bring you forth babes; then let you reach your full age; and of you are some who die; and of you are some who are kept back till the most decrepit age, till he knows no longer aught of knowledge. And ye see the earth parched, and when we send down water on it, it stirs and swells, and brings forth herbs of every beauteous kind. That is because God, He is the truth, and because He quickens the dead, and because He is mighty over all; and because the Hour is coming, there is no doubt therein, and because God raises up those who are in the tombs. And amongst men is one who wrangles about God without knowledge or guidance or an illuminating book; twisting his neck from the way of God; for him is disgrace in this world, and we will make him taste, upon the resurrection day, the torment of burning.

[10] That is for what thy hands have done before, and for that God is not unjust unto His servants. And amongst men is one who serves God (wavering) on a brink; and if there befall him good, he is comforted ; but if there befall him a trial, he turns round again, and loses this world and the next—that isan obvious loss. He calls, besides God, on what can neither harm him nor profit him;—that is a wide error. He calls on him whose harm is nigher than his profit,— a bad lord and a bad comrade. Verily, God makes those who believe and do aright enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow ; verily, God does what He will. [15] He who thinks that God will never help him in this world or the next—let him stretch a cord to the roof’ and put an end to himself; and let him cut it and see if his stratagem will remove what he is enraged at. Thus have we sent down manifest signs; for, verily, God guides whom He will. Verily, those who believe, and those who are. * The word may also be rendered ‘sky.’ Jews, and the Sabzeans, and the Christians, and -the Magians, and those who join other gods with God, verily, God will decide between them on the resurrection day; verily, God is witness over all.

Do they not see that God, whosoever is in the heavens adores Him, and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the beasts, and many among men, though many a one deserves the torments? Whomsoever God abases there is none to honour him ; verily, God does what He pleases. [20] These are two disputants! who dispute about their Lord, but those who misbelieve, for them are cut out garments of fire, there shall be poured over their heads boiling water, wherewith what is in their bellies shall be dissolved and their skins too, and for them are maces of iron. Whenever they desire to come forth therefrom through pain, they are sent back into it: ‘And taste ye the torment of the burning !’ Verily, God will make those who believe and do right enter into gardens beneath which rivers flow ; they shall be bedecked therein with bracelets of gold and with pearls, and their garments therein shall be of silk, and they shall be guided to the goodly speech, and they shall be guided to the laudable way. [25] Verily, those who misbelieve and who turn men away from God’s path and the Sacred Mosque, which we have made for all men alike, the dweller therein, and the stranger, and he who desires therein profanation with injustice, we will make him taste grievous woe.

+ Namely, the believers and the misbelievers. And when we established for Abraham the place of the House, (saying), ‘Associate naught with me, but cleanse my House for those who make the circuits, for those who stand to pray, for those who bow, and for those too who adore. ‘And proclaim amongst men the Pilgrimage ; let them come to you on foot and on every slim camel, from every deep pass, that they may witness advantages for them, and may mention the name of God for the stated days! over what God has provided them with of brute beasts, then eat thereof and feed the badly off, the poor. [30] ‘Then let them finish the neglect of their persons #, and let them pay their vows and make the circuit round the old House. ‘That do. And whoso magnifies the sacred things of God it is better for him with his Lord. ‘Cattle are lawful for you, except what is recited to you; and avoid the abomination of idols, and avoid speaking falsely, being ‘Hanifs to God, not associating aught with Him; for he who associates aught with God, it is as though he had fallen from heaven, and the birds snatch him up, or the wind blows him away into a far distant place.

‘That—and he who makes grand the symbols ?® of God, they come from piety of heart. ' The first ten days of Duu ’l ‘Higgeh, or the tenth day of that month, when the sacrifices were offered in the vale of Mina, and the three following days. * Such as not shaving their heads and other parts of their bodies, or cutting their beards and nails, which are forbidden the pilgrim from the moment he has put on the I‘hram, or pilgrim garb, until the offering of the sacrifice at Mina. * This means by presenting fine and comely offerings. ‘Therein have ye advantages for an appointed time, then the place for sacrificing them is at the old House.’ [35] To every nation have we appointed rites, to mention the name of God over what He has provided them with of brute beasts; and your God is one God, to Him then be resigned, and give glad tidings to the lowly, whose hearts when God is mentioned are afraid, and to those who are patient of what befalls them, and to those who are steadfast in prayer and of what we have given them expend in alms. The bulky (camels) we have made for you one of the symbols of God, therein have ye good; so mention the name of God over them as they stand ina row?, and when they fall down (dead) eat of them, and feed the easily contented and him who begs.

Thus have we subjected them to you; Bandy, ye may give thanks! Their meat will never reach to God, nor yet their blood, but the piety from you will reach to Him. Thus hath He subjected them to you that ye may magnify God for guiding you: and give thou glad tidings to those who do good. Verily, God will defend those who believe; verily, God loves not any misbelieving traitor. [40] Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged,—and, verily, God to help them has the might,—who have been driven forth from their homes undeservedly, only for that they said, ‘Our Lord is God;’ and were it not for God’s repelling some men with others, cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein God’s name is * Waiting to be sacrificed. mentioned much, would be destroyed. But God will surely help him who helps Him; verily, God is powerful, mighty. Who, if we stablish them in the earth, are steadfast in prayer, and give alms, and bid what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and God’s is the future of affairs. But if they call thee liar, the people of Noah called him liar before them, as did ‘Ad and Thamtid, and the people of Abraham, and the people of Lot, and the fellows of Midian; and Moses was called a liar too: but I let the misbelievers range at large, and then I seized on them, and how great was the change!

And how many a city have we destroyed while it yet did wrong, and it was turned over on its roofs, and (how many) a deserted well and lofty palace ! [45] Have they not travelled on through the land? and have they not hearts to understand with, or ears to hear with ? for it is not their eyes which are blind, but blind are the hearts which are within their breasts. They will bid thee hasten on the torment, but God will never fail in his promise; for, verily, a day with thy Lord is as a thousand years of what ye number. And to how many a city have I given full range while it yet did wrong! then I seized on it, and unto me was the return. Say, ‘O ye folk! Iam naught but a plain warner to you, but those who believe and do right, for them is forgiveness and a generous provision; [50] but those who strive to discredit our signs, they are the 62 THE QUR'AN. XXII, s1-ps. We have not sent before thee any apostle or prophet, but that when he wished, Satan threw not something into his wish?; but God annuls what Satan throws ; then does God confirm his signs, and God is knowing, wise—to make what Satan throws a trial unto those in whose hearts is sickness, and those whose hearts are hard; and, verily, the wrongdoers are in a wide schism—and that those who have been given ‘the knowledge’ may know that it is the truth from thy Lord, and may believe therein, and that their hearts may be lowly; for, verily, God surely will guide those who believe into a right way.

But those who misbelieve will not cease to be in doubt thereof until the Hour comes on them suddenly, or there comes on them the torment of the barren day ?. [55] The kingdom on that day shall be God’s, He shall judge between them; and those who believe 1 Some say that the word tamanna means ‘reading,’ and the passage should then be translated, ‘but that when he read Satan threw something into his reading;’ the occasion on which the verse was produced being that when Mohammed was reciting the words of the Qur’an, Chapter LIII, verses 19, 20, ‘Have ye considered Allat and Al ’Huzza and Manat the other third?’ Satan put it into his mouth to add, ‘ they are the two high-soaring cranes, and, verily, their intercession may be hoped for;’ at this praise of their favourite idols the Qurais were much pleased, and at the end of the recitation joined the prophet and his followers in adoration. Mohammed, being informed by the angel Gabriel of the reason for their doing so, was much concerned until this verse was revealed for his consolation. The objectionable passage was of course annulled, and the verse made to read as it now stands.

* Either ‘the day of resurrection,’ as giving birth to no day after it, or, ‘a day of battle and defeat,’ that makes mothers childless, such as the infidels experienced at Bedr. XXII, gs-6s. ©THE CHAPTER OF THE PILGRIMAGE. 63 and do aright shall be in gardens of pleasure, but those who misbelieve and say our signs are lies, these—for them is shameful woe. And those who flee in God’s way, and then are slain or die, God will provide them with a goodly provision ; for, verily, God is the best of providers. He shall surely make them enter by an entrance that they like; for, verily, God is knowing, clement. That (is so). Whoever punishes with: the like of what he has been injured with, and shall then be outraged again, God shall surely help him; verily, God pardons, forgives. [60] That for that God joins on the night to the day, and joins on the day to the night, and that God is hearing, seeing; that is for that God is the truth, and for that what ye call on beside Him is falsehood, and that God is the high, the great. Hast thou not seen that God sends down from the sky water, and on the morrow the earth is green? verily, God is kind and well aware.

His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth ; and, verily, God is rich and to be praised. Hast thou not seen that God has subjected for you what is in the earth, and the ship that runs on in the sea at His bidding, and He holds back the sky from falling on the earth save at His bidding}? verily, God to men is gracious, merciful. [65] He it is who quickens you, then makes you 1 As it will do at the last day. The words of the text might also be rendered ‘ withholds the rain,’ though the commentators do not seem to notice this sense. die, then will He quicken you again—verily, man is indeed ungrateful. For every nation have we made rites which they observe ; let them not then dispute about the matter, but call upon thy Lord; verily, thou art surely in a right guidance! But if they wrangle with thee, say, ‘God best knows what ye do.’ God shall judge between them on the resurrection day concerning that whereon they disagreed. Didst thou not know that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth? verily, that is in a book ; verily, that for God is easy.

[7o] And they serve beside God what ze has sent down no power for, and what they have no knowledge of; but the wrong-doers shall have none to help them. When our signs are read to them manifest, thou mayest recognise in the faces of those who misbelieve disdain; they well-nigh rush at those who recite to them our signs. Say, ‘Shall I inform you of something worse than that for you, the Fire which God has promised to those who misbelieve ? an evil journey shall it be!’ O ye folk! a parable is struck out for you, so listen to it. Verily, those on whom ye call beside God could never create a fly if they all united together to do it, and if the fly should despoil them of aught they could not snatch it away from it—weak is both the seeker and the sought. They do not value God at His true value; verily, God is powerful, mighty. God chooses apostles of the angels and of men; verily, God hears and sees. [75] He knows what is before them and what is behind them; and unto God affairs return. O ye who believe! bow down and adore, and serve your Lord, and do well, haply ye may prosper ; and fight strenuously for God, as is His due. He has elected you, and has not put upon you any hindrance by your religion,—the faith of your father Abraham. He has named you Muslims before and in this (book), that the Apostle may be a witness against you, and that ye may be witnesses against men.

Be ye then steadfast in prayer, and give alms, and hold fast by God; He is your sovereign, and an. excellent sovereign, and an excellent help!

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Prosperous are the believers who in their prayers are humble, and who from vain talk turn aside, and who in almsgiving are active. [5] And who guard their private parts—except for their wives or what their right hands possess for then, verily, they are not to be blamed ;—but whoso craves aught beyond that, they are the transgressors—and who observe their trusts and covenants, and who guard well their prayers: [10] these are the heirs who shall inherit Paradise ; they shall dwell therein for aye! We have created man from an extract of clay ; then we made him a clot in a sure depository ; then we created the clot congealed blood, and we created the congealed blood a morsel; then we created the morsel bone, and we clothed the bone with flesh ; then we produced it another creation ; and blessed be God, the best of creators !! [15] Then shall ye after that surely die; then shall ye on the day of resurrection be raised. And we have created above you seven roads?; nor are we heedless of the creation. And we send down from the heaven water by measure, and we make it rest in the earth; but, verily, we are able to take it away; and we produce for you thereby gardens of palms and grapes wherein ye have many fruits, and whence ye eat.

[20] And a tree growing out of Mount Sinai which produces oil, and a condiment for those who eat. _ And, verily, ye have a lesson in the cattle; we - give you to drink of what is in their bellies; and ye have therein many advantages, and of them ye eat, and on them and on ships ye are borne! We sent Noah unto his people, and he said, ‘O my people! worship God, ye have no god but Him; do ye then not fear ?’ Said the chiefs of those who misbelieved among his people, ‘This is nothing but a mortal like yourselves who wishes to have preference over you, and had God pleased He would have sent angels ; we have not heard of this amongst our fathers of yore: [25] he is nothing but a man possessed; let him bide then for a season.’ Said he, ‘ Help me, for they call me liar!’ And we inspired him, ‘Make the ark under 1 See Part I, p. 126, note 2. 2 That is, ‘seven heavens,’ our eyes and inspiration; and when the oven boils over, conduct into it of every kind two, with thy family, except him of them against whom the word has passed; and do not address me for those who do wrong, verily, they are to be drowned!

‘But when thou art settled, thou and those with thee in the ark, say, “ Praise belongs to God, who saved us from the unjust people!” [30] ‘And say, “My Lord! make me to alight in a blessed alighting-place, for Thou art the best of those who cause men to alight!”’ Verily, in that is a sign, and, verily, we were trying them. Then we raised up after them another generation ; and we sent amongst them a prophet of themselves (saying), ‘Serve God, ye have no god but He; will ye then not fear ?’ Said the chiefs of his people who misbelieved, and called the meeting of the last day a lie, and to whom we gave enjoyment in the life of this world, ‘This is only a mortal like yourselves, who eats of what ye eat, [35] and drinks of what ye drink; and if ye obey a mortal like yourselves, verily, ye will then be surely losers! Does he promise you that when ye are dead, and have become dust and bones, that then ye will be brought forth ? ‘Away, away with what ye are threatened,—there. is only our life in the world! We die and we live, and we shall not be raised! [40] He is only a man who forges against God a lie. And we believe not in him !’

Said he, ‘My Lord! help me, for they call me liar!’ He said, ‘Within a little they will surely awake repenting |’ And the noise seized them deservedly; and we made them as rubbish borne by a torrent; so, away with the unjust people! Then we raised up after them other generations. [45] No nation can anticipate its appointed time, nor keep it back. Then we sent our apostles one after another. Whenever its apostle came to any nation they called him a liar; and we made some to follow others ; and we made them legends; away then with a people who do not believe! Then we sent Moses and his brother Aaron with our signs, and with plain authority to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they were too big with pride, and were a haughty people. And they said, ‘Shall we believe two mortals like ourselves, when their people are servants of ours ?’ [50] So they called them liars, and were of those who perished. And we gave Moses the Book, that haply they might be guided. And we made the son of Mary and his mother a sign; and we lodged them both on a high place, furnished with security and a spring.

O ye apostles! eat of the good things and do right ; verily, what ye do I know! And, verily, this nation! of yours is one nation, and I am your Lord; so fear me. [55] And they have become divided as to their affair amongst themselves into sects*, each party 2 Or, ‘religion.’ * Literally, ‘into Scriptures,’ i.e. into sects, each appealing to a particular book, | rejoicing in what they have themselves. So leave them in their flood (of error) for a time. Do they reckon that that of which we grant them such an extent, of wealth and children, we hasten to them as good things—nay, but they do not perceive! Verily, those who shrink with terror at their Lord, [60] and those who in the signs of their Lord believe, and those who with their Lord join none, and those who give what they do give while their hearts are afraid that they unto their Lord will return,—these hasten to good things and are first to gain the same. But we will not oblige a soul beyond its capacity; for with us is a. book that utters the truth, and they shall not be wronged. [65] Nay, their hearts are in a flood (of error) at this, and they have works beside this which they do* Until we catch the affluent ones amongst them with the torment; then lo! they cry for aid. |

Cry not for aid to-day! verily, against us ye will not be helped. My signs were recited to you, but upon your heels did ye turn back, big with pride at it *, in vain discourse by night. [70] Is it that they did not ponder over the words, whether that has come to them which came not to their fathers of yore? Or did they not know their apostle, that they thus deny him? Or do they say, ‘He is possessed by a ginn?’ Nay, he came to them with the truth, and most of them are averse from the truth. | But if the truth were to follow their lusts, the * Ie. their works are far different to the good works just described. * At their possession of the Kaabah. The Qurdis are meant. heavens and the earth would be corrupted with all who in them are!—Nay, we brought them their reminder, but they from their reminder turn aside. Or dost thou ask them for a tribute? but the tribute of thy Lord is better, for He is the best of those who provide. [75] And, verily, thou dost call them to a right way ; but, verily, those who believe not in the hereafter from the way do veer.

But if we had mercy on them, and removed the distress’ they have, they would persist in their rebellion, blindly wandering on! And we caught them with the torment ?, but they did not abase themselves before their Lord, nor did they humble themselves; until we opened for them a door with grievous torment, then lo! they are in despair. [80] He it is who produced for you hearing, and sight, and minds,—little is it that ye thank. And He it is who created you in the earth, and unto Him shall ye be gathered. And He it is who gives you life and death; and His is the alternation of the night and the day ; have ye then no sense? Nay, but they said like that which those of yore did say. They said, ‘What! when we have become earth and bones, are we then going to be raised? [85] We have been promised this, and our fathers too, before ;—this is naught but old folks’ tales!’ Say, ‘Whose is the earth and those who are therein, if ye but know ?’ * The famine which the Meccans suffered; and which was attributed to Mohammed’s denunciations. 2 Their defeat at Bedr.

They will say, ‘God's. Say, ‘Do ye not then mind ?’ Say, ‘Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the mighty throne ?’ They will say, ‘God.’ Say, ‘Do ye not then fear ?’ [90] Say, ‘In whose hand is the dominion of everything; He succours but is not succoured,—if ye did but know ?’ They will say, ‘God's. Say, ‘Then how can ye be so infatuated ?’ Nay, we have brought them the truth, but, verily, they are liars! 7 God never took a son, nor was there ever any god with Him;—then each god would have gone off with what he had created, and some would have exalted themselves over others,—celebrated be His praises above what they attribute (to Him)! He who knows the unseen and the visible, exalted be He above what they join with Him! [95] Say, ‘My Lord! if Thou shouldst show me what they are threatened,—my Lord! then place me not amongst the unjust people.’ Repel evil by what is better’. We know best what they attribute (to thee). And say, ‘My Lord! I seek refuge in Thee from the incitings of the devils ; [100] and I seek refuge in Thee from their presence !’

Until when death comes to any one of them he says, ‘My Lord! send ye me back ?, haply I may do right in that which I have left!’ 1 T.e. by doing good for evil, provided that the cause of Islam suffers nothing from it. 2 T.e. back to life. The plural is used ‘by way of respect,’ say the commentators. ‘Not so!—a mere word he speaks!—but behind them is a bar until the day they shall be raised. And when the trumpet shall be blown, and there shall be no relation between them on that day, nor shall they beg of each other then! [105] And he whose scales are heavy,—they are the prosperous. But he whose scales are light— these are they who lose themselves, in hell to dwell for aye! The fire shall scorch their faces, and they shall curl their lips therein! ‘Were not my signs recited to you? and ye said that they were lies!’ They say, ‘Our Lord! our misery overcame us, and we were a people who did err! Our Lord! take us out therefrom, and if we return}, then shall we be unjust.’ [110] He will say, ‘Go ye away into it and speak not to me!’

Verily, there was a sect of my servants who said, ‘Our Lord! we believe, so pardon us, and have mercy upon us, for Thou art the best of the merciful ones.’ ° And ye took them for a jest until ye forgat my reminder and did laugh thereat. Verily, I have recompensed them this day for their patience; verily, they are happy now. He will say, ‘How long a number of years did ye tarry on earth ?’ [115] They will say, ‘ We tarried a day or part of a day, but ask the Numberers 2.’ He will say, ‘Ye have only tarried a little, were ye but to know it. Did ye then reckon that we created you for sport, and that to us ye would not return?’ But exalted be God, the true; there is no god but He, the Lord of the noble throne! and * To our evil ways. * That is, the recording angels. XXITI, 116-XXIV, 6. THE CHAPTER OF LIGHT. “é whoso calls upon another god with God has no proof of it, but, verily, his account is with his Lord; verily, the misbelievers shall not prosper. And say, ‘Lord, pardon and be merciful, for Thou art the best of the merciful ones!’

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. A chapter which we have sent down and determined, and have sent down therein manifest signs ; haply ye may be mindful. The whore and the whoremonger. Scourge each of them with a hundred stripes, and do not let pity for them take hold of you in God’s religion, if ye believe in God and the last day; and let a party of the believers witness their torment. And the whoremonger shall marry none but a whore or an idolatress; and the whore shall none marry but an adulterer or an idolater; God has prohibited this to the believers; but those who cast (imputations) on chaste women and then do not bring four witnesses, scourge them with eighty stripes, and do not receive any testimony of theirs ever, for these are the workers of abomination. [5] Except such as repent after that and act aright, for, verily, God is forgiving and compassionate. And those who cast (imputation) on their wives and have no witnesses except themselves, then the testimony of one of them shall be to testify four times that, by God, he is of those who speak the truth; and the fifth testimony shall be that the curse of God shall be on him if he be of those who lie. And it shall avert the punishment from her if she bears testimony four times that, by God, he is of those who lie; and the fifth that the wrath of God shall be on her if he be of those who speak the truth.

[10] And were it not for God’s grace upon you and His mercy, and that God is relenting, wise. . .1 Verily, those who bring forward the lie, a band of you,—reckon it not as an evil for you, nay, it is good for you; every man of them shall have what he has earned of sin; and he of them who managed to aggravate it, for him is mighty woe 2. Why did not, when ye heard it, the believing men and believing women think good in themselves, and say, ‘This is an obvious lie?’ Why did they not bring four witnesses to it ? but since they did not bring the witnesses, then they in God’s eyes are * He would punish you. * This passage and what follows refers to the scandal about Mohammed’s favourite wife Ayesha, who, having been accidentally left behind when the prophet and his followers were starting at night on an expedition, in the sixth year of the Higrah, was brought on to the camp in the morning by Zafwan ibn de Mwha/fal : this gave rise to rumours derogatory to Ayesha’s character, which these verses are intended to refute. Ayesha never forgave those who credited the reports against her innocence, and ’Ali, who had spoken in a disparaging manner of her on the occasion, so seriously incurred her displeasure that she contrived to bring about the ruin of his family, and the murder of his two sons Hasan and Husein; the principal parties concerned in the actual spread of the calumny were punished with the fourscore stripes above ordained, with the exception of the ringleader, Abdallah ibn Ubbai, who was too important a person to be so treated.

the liars. And but for God’s grace upon you, and His mercy in this world and the next, there would have touched you, for that which ye spread abroad, mighty woe. When ye reported it with your tongues, and spake with your mouths what ye had no knowledge of, and reckoned it a light thing, while in God's eyes it was grave. [15] And why did ye not say when ye heard it, ‘It is not for us to speak of this ? Celebrated be His praises, this is a mighty calumny!’ God admonishes you that ye return not to the like of it ever, if ye be believers; and God manifests to you the signs, for God is knowing, wise. Verily, those who love that scandal should go abroad amongst those who believe, for them is grievous woe in this world and the next; for God knows, but ye do not know. [20] And but for God’s grace upon you, and His mercy, and that God is kind and compassionate.. .! O ye who believe! follow not the footsteps of Satan, for he who follows the footsteps of Satan, verily, he bids you sin and do wrong; and but for God's grace upon you and His mercy, not one of you would be ever pure; but God purifies whom He will, for God both hears and knows. And let not those amongst you who have plenty and ample means swear that they will not give aught to their kinsman and the poor! and those who have fled their homes in God’s way, but let them pardon and pass it over. Do ye not like God to forgive you? and God is forgiving, compassionate.

* Abu bekr had sworn not to do anything more for a relation of his, named Mis/a‘h, who had taken part in spreading the Be a against Ayesha. Verily, those who -cast imputations on chaste women who are negligent but believing shall be cursed in this world and the next; and for them is mighty woe. The day when their tongues and hands and feet shall bear witness against them of what they did, on [25] that day God will pay them their just due; and they shall know that God, He is the plain truth. The vile women to the vile men, and the vile men to the vile women; and the good women to the good men, and the good men to the good women : these are clear of what they say to them— forgiveness and a noble provision! 7 O ye who believe! enter not into houses which are not your own houses, until ye have asked leave and saluted the people thereof, that is better for you; haply ye may be mindful. And if ye find no one therein, then do not enter them until permission is given you, and if it be said to you, ‘Go back!’ then go back, it is purer for you; for God of what ye do doth know. It is no crime against you that ye enter uninhabited houses,—a convenience for you;—and God knows what ye show and what ye hide.

[30] Say to the believers that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts; that is purer for them; verily, God is well aware of what they do. | And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts, and display not their ornaments, except those which are outside; and let them pull their kerchiefs over their bosoms and not display their ornaments save to their husbands and fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or what their right hands possess, or their male attendants who are incapable’, or to children who do not note women’s nakedness; and that they beat not with their feet that their hidden ornaments may be known ?;—but turn ye all repentant to God, O ye believers! haply ye may prosper. And marry the single amongst you, and the righteous among your servants and your handmaidens. If they be poor, God will enrich them of His grace, for God both comprehends and knows. And let those who cannot find a match, until God enriches them of His grace, keep chaste.