The Koran
CHAPTER XVIII.
ENTITLED, THE CAVE; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
Praise be unto God, who hath sent down unto his servant the book of the
Koran, and hath not inserted therein any crookedness, but hath made it
a straight rule that he should threaten a grievous punishment unto the
unbelievers, from his presence; and should bear good tidings unto the faithful,
who work righteousness, that they shall receive an excellent reward, namely,
paradise, wherein they shall remain for ever; and that he should warn those
who say, God hath begotten issue; of which matter they have no knowledge
neither had their fathers. A grievous saying it is, which proceedeth from
their mouths; they speak no other than a lie. Peradventure thou wilt kill
thyself with grief after them, out of thy earnest zeal for their conversion,
if they believe not in this new revelation of the Koran. Verily we have
ordained whatsoever is on the earth for the ornament thereof, that we might
make trial of men, and see which of them excelleth in works: and we will
surely reduce whatever is thereon, to dry dust. Dost thou consider that
the companions of the cave, and Al Rakim, were one of our signs, and a
great miracle? When the young men took refuge in the cave, they said, O
Lord, grant us mercy from before thee, and dispose our business for us
to a right issue. Wherefore we struck their ears with deafness, so that
they slept without disturbance in the cave for a great number of years:
then we awakened them, that we might know which of the two parties was
more exact in computing the space which they had remained there. We will
relate unto thee their history with truth. Verily they were young men who
had believed in their Lord; and we had abundantly directed them: and we
fortified their hearts with constancy when they stood before the tyrant;
and they said, Our Lord is the Lord of Heaven and earth; we will by no
means call on any god besides him, for then should we surely utter an extravagance.
These our fellow people have taken other gods, besides him; although they
bring no demonstrative argument for them: and who is more unjust than he
who deviseth a lie concerning God? And they said the one to the other,
When ye shall separate yourselves from them, and from the deities which
they worship, except God, fly into the cave: your Lord will pour his mercy
on you abundantly, and will dispose your business for you to advantage.
And thou mightest have seen the sun, when it had risen, to decline from
their cave towards the right hand: and when it went down, to leave them
on the left hand; and they were in the spacious part of the cave. This
was one of the signs of God. Whomsoever God shall direct, he shall be rightly
directed, and whomsoever he shall cause to err, thou shalt not find any
to defend or to direct. And thou wouldest have judged them to have been
awake, while they were sleeping; and we caused them to turn themselves
to the right hand, and to the left. And their dog stretched forth his fore-legs
in the mouth of the cave; if thou hadst come suddenly upon them, verily
thou wouldest have turned thy back and fled from them, and thou wouldest
have been filled with fear at the sight of them. And so we awaked them
from their sleep, that they might ask questions of one another. One of
them spake and said, How long have ye tarried here? They answered, We have
tarried a day, or part of a day The others said, Your Lord best knoweth
the time ye have tarried: and now send one of you with this your money
into the city, and let him see which of its inhabitants hath the best and
cheapest food, and let him bring you provision from him, and let him behave
circumspectly, and not discover you to any one. Verily, if they come up
against you, they will stone you, or force you to return to their religion;
and then shall ye not prosper for ever. And so we made their people acquainted
with what had happened to them; that they might know that the promise of
God is true, and that there is no doubt of the last hour; when they disputed
among themselves concerning their matter. And they said, Erect a building
over them: their Lord best knoweth their condition. Those who prevailed
in their affair answered, We will surely build a chapel over them. Some
say, The sleepers were three; and their dog was the fourth: and others
say, They were five; and their dog was the sixth; guessing at a secret
matter: and others say, They were seven; and their dog was the eighth.
Say, My Lord best knoweth their number: none shall know them, except a
few. Wherefore dispute not concerning them, unless with a clear disputation,
according to what hath been revealed unto thee: and ask not any of the
Christians concerning them. Say not of any matter, I will surely do this
to-morrow; unless thou add, If God please. And remember thy Lord, when
thou forgettest, and say, My Lord is able to direct me with ease, that
I may draw near unto the truth of this matter rightly. And they remained
in their cave three hundred years, and nine years over. Say, God best knoweth
how long they continued there: unto him are the secrets of heaven and earth
known; do thou make him to see and to hear. The inhabitants thereof have
no protector besides him; neither doth he suffer any one to have a share
in the establishment or knowledge of his decree. Read that which hath been
revealed unto thee, of the book of thy Lord, without presuming to make
any change therein: there is none who hath power to change his words; and
thou shalt not find any to fly to, besides him, if thou attempt it. Behave
thyself with constancy towards those who call upon their Lord morning and
evening, and who seek his favor, and let not thine eyes be turned away
from them, seeking the pomp of this life; neither obey him whose heart
we have caused to neglect the remembrance of us, and who followeth his
lusts, and leaveth the truth behind him, and say, The truth is from your
Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him who will, be incredulous.
We have surely prepared for the unjust hell fire, the flame and smoke whereof
shall surround them like a pavilion; and if they beg relief, they shall
be relieved with water like molten brass, which shall scald their faces:
O how miserable a portion, and how unhappy a couch! As to those who believe
and do good works, we will not suffer the reward of him who shall work
righteousness to perish; for them are prepared gardens of eternal abode,
which shall be watered by rivers; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets
of gold, and shall be clothed in green garments of fine silk and brocades,
reposing themselves therein on thrones. O how happy a reward, and how easy
a couch! And propound unto them as a parable two men; on the one of whom
we had bestowed two vineyards, and had surrounded them with palm-trees,
and had caused corn to grow between them. Each of the gardens brought forth
its fruit every season, and failed not at all; and we caused a river to
flow in the midst thereof: and he had great abundance. And he said unto
his companion by way of debate, I am superior to thee in wealth, and have
a more powerful family. And he went into his garden, being guilty of injustice
against his own soul, and said, I do not think that this garden will decay
for ever, neither do I think that the last hour will come: and although
I should return unto my Lord, verily I shall find a better garden than
this in exchange. And his companion said unto him, by way of debate, Dost
thou not believe in him who created thee of the dust, and afterwards of
seed; and then fashioned thee into a perfect man? But as for me, God is
my Lord; and I will not associate any other deity with my Lord. And when
thou enterest thy garden, wilt thou not say, What God pleaseth shall come
to pass; there is no power but in God alone? Although thou seest me to
be inferior to thee in wealth and number of children, my Lord is well able
to bestow on me a better gift than thy garden, and to shoot his arrows
against the same from heaven, so that it shall become barren dust, or its
water may sink deep into the earth, that thou canst not draw thereof. And
his possessions were encompassed with destruction, as his companion had
forewarned him: wherefore he began to turn down the palms of his hands
out of sorrow and regret for that which he had expended thereon; for the
vines thereof were fallen down on their trails: and he said, Would to God
that I had not associated any other deity with my Lord! And he had no party
to assist him, besides God, neither was he able to defend himself against
his vengeance. In such case protection belongeth of right unto God alone;
he is the best rewarder, and the best giver of success. And propound to
them a similitude of the present life. It is like water which we send down
from heaven; and and the herb of the earth is mixed therewith, and after
it hath been green and flourishing, in the morning it becometh dry stubble,
which the winds scatter abroad: and God is able to do all things. Wealth
and children are the ornament of this present life: but good works, which
are permanent, are better in the sight of thy Lord, with respect to the
reward, and better with respect to hope. On a certain day we will cause
the mountains to pass away, and thou shalt see the earth appearing plain
and even; and we will gather mankind together, and we will not leave any
one of them behind. And they shall he set before thy Lord in distinct order,
and he shall say unto them, Now are ye come unto us naked, as we created
you the first time: but ye thought that we should not perform our promise
unto you. And the book wherein every one’s actions are recorded shall be
put info his hand; and thou shalt see the wicked in great terror, because
of that which is written therein, and they shall say, Alas for us! what
meaneth this book? it omitteth neither a small action nor a great one,
but it compriseth the same; and they shall find that which they have wrought,
present before their eyes: and thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any
one. Remember when we said unto the angels, Worship ye Adam: and they all
worshipped him, except Eblis, who was one of the genii, and departed from
the command of his Lord. Will ye therefore take him and his offspring for
your patrons besides me, notwithstanding they are your enemies? Miserable
shall such a change be to the ungodly! I called not them to be present
at the creation of the heavens and of the earth, nor at the creation of
themselves, neither did I take those seducers for my assistants. On a certain
day, God shall say unto the idolaters, Call those whom ye imagined to be
my companions, to protect you: and they shall call them, but they shall
not answer them: and we will place a valley of destruction between them:
and the wicked shall see hell fire; and they shall know that they shall
be thrown into the same, and they shall find no way to avoid it. And now
have we variously propounded unto men, in this Koran, a parable of every
kind; but man cavilleth at most things therein. Yet nothing hindereth men
from believing, now a direction is come unto them, and from asking pardon
of their Lord, excepting that they wait until the punishment of their predecessors
come to be inflicted on them, or that the chastisement of the next life
come upon them publicly. We send not our messengers, but to bear good tidings,
and to denounce threats. Those who believe not, dispute with vain arguments,
that they may thereby render the truth of no effect: and they hold my signs,
and the admonitions which have been made them, in derision. And who is
more unjust than he who hath been acquainted with the signs of his Lord,
and retireth afar off from the same, and forgetteth that which his hands
have formerly committed? Verily we have cast veils over their hearts, lest
they should understand the Koran, and into their ears thickness of hearing:
if thou invite them to the true direction, yet will they not therefore
be directed for ever. Thy Lord is gracious, endued with mercy; if he would
have punished them for that which they have committed, he would doubtless
have hastened their punishment: but a threat hath been denounced against
them, and they shall find no refuge, besides him. And those former cities
did we destroy, when they acted unjustly; and we gave them previous warning
of their destruction. And remember when Moses said unto his servant Joshua,
the son of Nun, I will not cease to go forward, until I come to the place
where the two seas meet; or I will travel for a long space of time. But
when they were arrived at the meeting of the two seas, they forgot their
fish which they had taken with them; and the fish took its way freely in
the sea. And when they had passed beyond that place, Moses said unto his
servant, Bring us our dinner: for now are we fatigued with this our journey.
His servant answered, Dost thou know what has befallen me? When we took
up our lodging at the rock, verily I forgot the fish: and none made me
to forget it, except Satan, that I should not remind thee of it. And the
fish took its way in the sea, in a wonderful manner. Moses said, This is
what we sought after. And they both went back, returning by the way they
came. And coming to the rock they found one of our servants, unto whom
we had granted mercy from us, and whom we had taught wisdom from before
us. And Moses said unto him, Shall I follow thee, that thou mayest teach
me part of that which thou hast been taught, for a direction unto me? He
answered, Verily thou canst not bear with me: for how canst thou patiently
suffer those things, the knowledge whereof thou dost not comprehend? Moses
replied, Thou shalt find me patient, if God please; neither will I be disobedient
unto thee in anything. He said, If thou follow me therefore, ask me not
concerning anything, until I shall declare the meaning thereof unto thee.
So they both went on by the sea-shore, until they went up into a ship;
and he made a hole therein. And Moses said unto him, Hast thou made a hole
therein, that thou mightest drown those who are on board? now hast thou
done a strange thing. He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldest
not bear with me? Moses said, Rebuke me not, because I did forget; and
impose not on me a difficulty in what I am commanded. Wherefore they left
the ship and proceeded, until they met with a youth; and he slew him. Moses
said, Hast thou slain an innocent person, without his having killed another?
Now hast thou committed an unjust action. (XVI.) He answered, Did I not
tell thee that thou couldest not bear with me? Moses said, If I ask thee
concerning anything hereafter, suffer me not to accompany thee: now hast
thou received an excuse from me. They went forwards therefore, until they
came to the inhabitants of a certain city: and they asked food of the inhabitants
thereof; but they refused to receive them. And they found therein a wall,
which was ready to fall down; and he set it upright. Whereupon Moses said
unto him, If thou wouldest thou mightest doubtless have received a reward
for it. He answered, This shall be a separation between me and thee: but
I will first declare unto thee the signification of that which thou couldest
not bear with patience. The vessel belonged to certain poor men, who did
their business in the sea: and I was minded to render it unserviceable,
because there was a king behind them, who took every sound ship by force.
As to the youth, his parents were true believers, and we feared lest he,
being an unbeliever, should oblige them to suffer his perverseness and
ingratitude: wherefore we desired that their Lord might give them a more
righteous child in exchange for him, and one more affectionate towards
them. And the wall belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and under
it was a treasure hidden which belonged to them; and their father was a
righteous man: and thy Lord was pleased that they should attain their full
age, and take forth their treasure, through the mercy of thy Lord. And
I did not what thou hast seen of mine own will, but by God’s direction.
This is the interpretation of that which thou couldest not bear with patience.
The Jews will ask thee concerning Dhu’lkarnein. Answer, I will rehearse
unto you an account of him. We made him powerful in the earth, and we gave
him means to accomplish everything he pleased. And he followed his way,
until he came to the place where the sun setteth; and he found it to set
in a spring of black mud, and he found near the same a certain people.
And we said, O Dhu’lkarnein, either punish this people, or use gentleness
towards them. He answered, Whosoever of them shall commit injustice, we
will surely punish him in this world; afterwards shall he return unto his
Lord, and he shall punish him with a severe punishment. But whosoever believeth,
and doth that which is right, shall receive the most excellent reward,
and we will give him in command that which is easy. Then he continued his
way, until he came to the place where the sun riseth; and he found it to
rise on certain people, unto whom we had not given anything wherewith to
shelter themselves therefrom. Thus it was; and we comprehended with our
knowledge the forces which were with him. And he prosecuted his journey
from south to north, until he came between the two mountains; beneath which
he found certain people, who could scarce understand what was said. And
they said, O Dhu’lkarnein, verily Gog and Magog waste the land; shall we
therefore pay the tribute, on condition that thou build a rampart between
us and them? He answered, The power wherewith my Lord hath strengthened
me, is better than your tribute: but assist me strenuously, and I will
set a strong wall between you and them. Bring me iron in large pieces,
until it fill up the space between the two sides of these mountains. And
he said to the workmen, Blow with your bellows, until it make the iron
red hot as fire. And he said further, Bring me molten brass, that I may
pour upon it. Wherefore, when this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could
not scale it, neither could they dig through it. And Dhu’lkarnein said,
This is a mercy from my Lord: but when the prediction of my Lord shall
come to be fulfilled, he shall reduce the wall to dust; and the prediction
of my Lord is true. On that day we will suffer some of them to press tumultuously
like waves on others; and the trumpet shall be sounded, and we will gather
them in a body together. And we will set hell, on that day, before the
unbelievers; whose eyes have been veiled from my remembrance, and who could
not hear my words. Do the unbelievers think that I will not punish them,
for that they take my servants for their protectors besides me? Verily
we have prepared hell for the abode of the infidels. Say, Shall we declare
unto you those whose works are vain, whose endeavor in the present life
hath been wrongly directed, and who think they do the work which is right?
These are they who believe not in the signs of their Lord, or that they
shall be assembled before him; wherefore their works are vain, and he will
not allow them any weight on the day of resurrection. This shall be their
reward, namely, hell; for that they have disbelieved, and have held my
signs and my apostles in derision. But as for those who believe and do
good works, they shall have the gardens of paradise for their abode; they
shall remain therein for ever; they shall wish for no change therein. Say,
If the sea were ink to write the words of my Lord, verily the sea would
fail, before the words of my Lord would fail; although we added another
sea like unto it as a further supply. Say, Verily I am only a man as ye
are. It is revealed unto me that your God is one only God: let him therefore
who hopeth to meet his Lord, work a righteous work; and let him not make
any other to partake in the worship of his Lord.
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