The Koran
CHAPTER XXV.
ENTITLED, AL FORKAN; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
BLESSED be he who hath revealed the Forkan unto his servant, that he may
be a preacher unto all creatures: unto whom belongeth the kingdom of heaven
and of earth: who hath begotten no issue; and hath no partner in his kingdom:
who hath created all things; and disposed the same according to his determinate
will. Yet have they taken other gods besides him; which have created nothing,
but are themselves created, and are able neither to avert evil from, nor
to procure good unto themselves; and have not the power of death, or of
life, or of raising the dead. And the unbelievers say, This Koran is no
other than a forgery which he hath contrived; and other people have assisted
him therein: but they utter an unjust thing, and a falsehood. They also
say, These are fables of the ancients, which he hath caused to be written
down; and they are dictated unto him morning and evening. Say, He hath
revealed it, who knoweth the secrets in heaven and earth: verily he is
gracious and merciful. And they say, What kind of apostle is this? He eateth
food, and walketh in the streets, as we do: unless an angel be sent down
unto him, and become a fellow preacher with him; or unless a treasure be
cast down unto him; or he have a garden, of the fruit whereof he may eat;
we will not believe. The ungodly also say, Ye follow no other than a man
who is distracted. Behold, what they liken thee unto. But they are deceived;
neither can they find a just occasion to reproach thee. Blessed be he,
who, if he pleaseth, will make for thee a better provision than this which
they speak of, namely, gardens, through which rivers flow; and he will
provide thee palaces. But they reject the belief of the hour of judgment,
as a falsehood: and we have prepared for him, who shall reject the belief
of that hour, burning fire; when it shall see them from a distant place,
they shall hear it furiously raging, and roaring. And when they shall be
cast bound together into a strait place thereof, they shall there call
for death: but it shall be answered them, Call not this day for one death,
but call for many deaths. Say, Is this better, or a garden of eternal duration,
which is promised unto the pious? It shall be given unto them for a reward,
and a retreat: therein shall they have whatever they please; continuing
in the same for ever. This is a promise to be demanded at the hands of
thy Lord. On a certain day he shall assemble them, and whatever they worship,
besides God; and shall say unto the worshipped, Did ye seduce these my
servants; or did they wander of themselves from the right way? They shall
answer, God forbid! It was not fitting for us, that we should take any
protectors besides thee: but thou didst permit them and their fathers to
enjoy abundance; so that they forgot thy admonition, and became lost people.
And God shall say unto their worshippers, Now have these convinced you
of falsehood, in that which ye say: they can neither avert your punishment,
nor give you any assistance. And whoever of you shall be guilty of injustice,
him will we cause to taste a grievous torment. We have sent no messengers
before thee, but they ate food, and walked through the streets: and we
make some of you an occasion of trial unto others. Will ye persevere with
patience? since your Lord regardeth your perseverance. (XIX.) They who
hope not to meet us at the resurrection say, Unless the angels be sent
down unto us, or we see our Lord himself, we will not believe. Verily they
behave themselves arrogantly; and have transgressed with an enormous transgression.
The day whereon they shall see the angels, there shall be no glad tidings
on that day for the wicked; and they shall say, Be this removed far from
us! and we will come unto the work which they shall have wrought, and we
will make it as dust scattered abroad. On that day shall they who are destined
to paradise be more happy in an abode, and have a preferable place of repose
at noon. On that day the heaven shall be cloven in sunder by the clouds,
and the angels shall be sent down, descending visibly therein. On that
day the kingdom shall of right belong wholly unto the Merciful; and that
day shall be grievous for the unbelievers. On that day, the unjust person
shall bite his hands for anguish and despair, and shall say, O that I had
taken the way of truth with the apostle! Alas for me! O that I had not
taken such a one for my friend! He seduced me from the admonition of God,
after it had come unto me: for the devil is the betrayer of man. And the
apostle shall say, O Lord, verily my people esteemed this Koran to be a
vain composition. In like manner did we ordain unto every prophet an enemy
from among the wicked: but thy Lord is a sufficient director, and defender.
The unbelievers say, Unless the Koran be sent down unto him entire at once,
we will not believe. But in this manner have we revealed it, that we might
confirm thy heart thereby, and we have dictated it gradually, by distinct
parcels. They shall not come unto thee with any strange question; but we
will bring thee the truth in answer, and a most excellent interpretation.
They who shall be dragged on their faces into hell, shall be in the worst
condition, and shall stray most widely from the way of salvation. We heretofore
delivered unto Moses the book of the law; and we appointed him Aaron his
brother for a counsellor. And we said unto them, Go ye to the people who
charge our signs with falsehood. And we destroyed them with a signal destruction.
And remember the people of Noah, when they accused our apostles of imposture:
we drowned them, and made them a sign unto mankind. And we have prepared
for the unjust a painful torment. Remember also Ad, and Thamud, and those
who dwelt at al Rass; and many other generations, within this period. Unto
each of them did we propound examples for their admonition; and each of
them did we destroy with an utter destruction. The Koreish have passed
frequently near the city which was rained on by a fatal rain; have they
not seen where it once stood? Yet have they not dreaded the resurrection.
When they see thee, they will receive thee only with scoffing, saying,
Is this he, whom God hath sent as his apostle? Verily he had almost drawn
us aside from the worship of our gods; if we had not firmly persevered
in our devotion towards them. But they shall know hereafter, when they
shall see the punishment prepared for them, who hath strayed more widely
from the right path. What thinkest thou? He who taketh his lust for his
god; canst thou be his guardian? Dost thou imagine that the greater part
of them hear, or understand? They are no other than like the brute cattle;
yea, they stray more widely from the true path. Dost thou not consider
the works of thy Lord, how he stretcheth forth the shadow before sunrise?
if he had pleased, he would have made it immovable for ever. Then we cause
the sun to rise, and to show the same; and afterwards we contract it by
an easy and gradual contraction. It is he who hath ordained the night to
cover you as a garment; and sleep to give you rest; and hath ordained the
day for waking. It is he who sendeth the winds, driving abroad the pregnant
clouds, as the forerunners of his mercy: and we send down pure water from
heaven, that we may thereby revive a dead country, and give to drink thereof
unto what we have created, both of cattle and men, in great numbers, and
we distribute the same among them at various times, that they may consider:
but the greater part of men refuse to consider, only out of ingratitude.
If we had pleased, we had sent a preacher unto every city: wherefore do
not thou obey the unbelievers, but oppose them herewith, with a strong
opposition. It is he who hath let loose the two seas; this fresh and sweet,
and that salt and bitter, and hath placed between them a bar, and a bound
which cannot be passed. It is he who hath created man of water; and hath
made him to bear the double relation of consanguinity and affinity; for
the Lord is powerful. They worship, besides God, that which can neither
profit them nor hurt them; and the unbeliever is an assistant of the devil
against his Lord. We have sent thee to be no other than a bearer of good
tidings, and a denouncer of threats. Say, I ask not of you any reward for
this my preaching, besides the conversion of him who shaII desire to take
the way unto his Lord. And do thou trust in him who liveth, and dieth not;
and celebrate his praise: (he is sufficiently acquainted with the faults
of his servants:) who hath created the heavens and the earth, and whatever
is between them, in six days; and then ascended his throne; the Merciful.
Ask now the knowing concerning him. When it is said unto the unbelievers,
Adore the Merciful; they reply, And who is the Merciful? Shall we adore
that which thou commandest us? And this precept causeth them to fly the
faster from the faith. Blessed be he who hath placed the twelve signs in
the heavens; and hath placed therein a lamp by day, and the moon which
shineth by night! It is he who hath ordained the night and the day to succeed
each other, for the observation of him who will consider, or desireth to
show his gratitude. The servants of the Merciful are those who walk meekly
on the earth, and, when the ignorant speak unto them, answer, Peace: and
who pass the night adoring their Lord, and standing up to pray unto him;
and who say, O Lord, avert from us the torment of hell, for the torment
thereof is perpetual; verily the same is a miserable abode, and a wretched
station: and who, when they bestow, are neither profuse nor niggardly;
but observe a just medium between these; and who invoke not another god
together with the true God; neither slay the soul, which God hath forbidden
to be slain, unless for a just cause: and who are not guilty of fornication.
But he who shall do this, shall meet the reward of his wickedness: his
punishment shall be doubled unto him on the day of resurrection; and he
shall remain therein, covered with ignominy, for ever: except him who shall
repent, and believe, and shall work a righteous work; unto them will God
change their former evils into good; for God is ready to forgive, and merciful.
And whoever repenteth, and doth that which is right; verily he turneth
unto God with an acceptable conversion. And they who do not bear false
witness; and when they pass by vain discourse, pass by the same with decency;
and who, when they are admonished by the signs of their Lord, fall not
down as if they were deaf and blind, but stand up and are attentive thereto:
and who say, O Lord, grant us of our wives and our offspring such as may
be the satisfaction of our eyes; and make us patterns unto those who fear
thee. These shall be rewarded with the highest apartments in paradise,
because they have persevered with constancy; and they shall meet therein
with greeting and salutation; they shall remain in the same for ever: it
shall be an excellent abode and a delightful station. Say, My Lord is not
solicitous on your account, if ye do not invoke him; ye have already charged
his apostle with imposture; but hereafter shall there be a lasting punishment
inflicted on you.
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