The Koran
CHAPTER XXVII.
ENTITLED, THE ANT; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
T. S. These are the signs of the Koran, and of the perspicuous book: a
direction, and good tidings unto the true believers; who regularly perform
their prayer, and give alms, and firmly believe in the life to come. As
to those who believe not in the life to come, we have prepared their works
for them; and they shall be struck with astonishment at their disappointment,
when they shall be raised again; these are they whom an evil punishment
awaiteth in this life; and in that which is to come they shall be the greatest
losers. Thou hast certainly received the Koran from the presence of a wise,
a knowing God. Remember when Moses said unto his family, Verily I perceive
fire: I will bring you tidings thereof, or I will bring you a lighted brand,
that ye may be warmed. And when he was come near unto it, a voice cried
unto him, saying, Blessed be he who is in the fire, and whoever is about
it; and praise be unto God, the Lord of all creatures! O Moses, verily
I am God, the mighty, the wise: cast down now thy rod. And when he saw
it, that it moved, as though it had been a serpent, he retreated and fled,
and returned not. And God said, O Moses, fear not; for my messengers are
not disturbed with fear in my sight: except he who shall have done amiss,
and shall have afterwards substituted good in lieu of evil; for I am gracious
and merciful. Moreover put thy hand into thy bosom; it shall come forth
white, without hurt: this shall be one among the nine signs unto Pharaoh
and his people; for they are a wicked people. And when our visible signs
had come unto them, they said, This is manifest sorcery. And they denied
them, although their souls certainly knew them to be from God, out of iniquity
and pride: but behold what was the end of the corrupt doers. We heretofore
bestowed knowledge on David and Solomon; and they said, Praise be unto
God, who hath made us more excellent than many of his faithful servants!
And Solomon was David’s heir; and he said, O men, we have been taught the
speech of birds, and have had all things bestowed on us; this is manifest
excellence. And his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting
of genii, and men, and birds; and they were led in distinct bands, until
they came unto the valley of ants. And an ant, seeing the hosts approaching,
said, O ants, enter ye into your habitations, Iest Solomon and his army
tread you underfoot, and perceive it not. And Solomon smiled, laughing
at her words, and said, O Lord, excite me that I may be thankful for thy
favor, wherewith thou hast favored me, and my parents; and that I may do
that which is right, and well-pleasing unto thee: and introduce me, through
thy mercy, into paradise, among thy servants, the righteous. And he viewed
the birds, and said, What is the reason that I see not the lapwing? Is
she absent? Verily I will chastise her with a severe chastisement, or I
will put her to death, unless she bring me a just excuse. And she tarried
not long before she presented herself unto Solomon, and said, I have viewed
a country which thou hast not viewed; and I come unto thee from Saba, with
a certain piece of news. I found a woman to reign over them, who is provided
with everything requisite for a prince, and hath a magnificent throne.
I found her and her people to worship the sun, besides God: and Satan hath
prepared their works for them, and hath turned them aside from the way
of truth (wherefore they are not rightly directed), lest they should worship
God, who bringeth to light that which is hidden in heaven and earth, and
knoweth whatever they conceal and whatever they discover. God! there is
no God but he; the Lord of the magnificent throne. Solomon said, We shall
see whether thou hast spoken the truth, or whether thou art a liar. Go
with this my letter, and cast it down unto them; then turn aside from them,
and wait to know what answer they will return. And when the queen of Saba
had received the letter, she said, O nobles, verily an honorable letter
hath been delivered unto me; it is from Solomon, and this is the tenor
thereof: In the name of the most merciful God, Rise not up against me:
but come, and surrender yourselves unto me. She said, O nobles, advise
me in my business: I will not resolve on anything, until ye be witnesses
and approve thereof. The nobles answered, We are endued with strength,
and are endued with great prowess in war; but the command appertaineth
unto thee: see therefore what thou wilt command. She said, Verily kings,
when they enter a city by force, waste the same, and abase the most powerful
of the inhabitants hereof: and so will these do with us. But I will send
gifts unto them; and will wait for what farther information those who shall
be sent shall bring back. And when the queen’s ambassador came unto Solomon,
that prince said, Will ye present me with riches? Verily that which God
hath given me, is better than what he hath given you: but ye do glory in
your gifts. Return unto the people of Saba. We will surely come unto them
with forces, which they shall not be able to withstand; and we will drive
them out from their city, humbled; and they shall become contemptible.
And Solomon said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her throne,
before they come and surrender themselves unto me? A terrible genius answered,
I will bring it unto thee, before thou arise from thy place: for I am able
to perform it, and may be trusted. And one with whom was the knowledge
of the scriptures said, I will bring it unto thee, in the twinkling of
an eye. And when Solomon saw the throne placed before him, he said, This
is a favor of my Lord, that he may make trial of me, whether I will be
grateful, or whether I will be ungrateful: and he who is grateful, is grateful
to his own advantage, but if any shall be ungrateful,verily my Lord is
self-sufficient and munificent. And Solomon said unto his servants, Alter
her throne, that she may not know it, to the end we may see whether she
be rightly directed, or whether she be one of those who are not rightly
directed. And when she was come unto Solomon, it was said unto her, Is
thy throne like this? She answered, As though it were the same. And we
have had knowledge bestowed on us before this, and have been resigned unto
God. But that which she worshipped, besides God, had turned her aside from
the truth; for she was of an unbelieving people. It was said unto her,
Enter the palace. And when she saw it, she imagined it to be a great water;
and she discovered her legs, by lifting up her robe to pass through it.
Whereupon Solomon said unto her, Verily this is a palace evenly floored
with glass. Then said the queen, O Lord, verily I have dealt unjustly with
my own soul; and I resign myself, together with Solomon, unto God, the
Lord of all creatures. Also we heretofore sent unto the tribe of Thamud
their brother Saleh; who said unto them, Serve ye God. And behold they
were divided into two parties, who disputed among themselves. Saleh said,
O my people, why do you hasten evil rather than good? Unless ye ask pardon
of God, that ye may obtain mercy, ye are lost. They answered, We presage
evil from thee, and from those who are with thee. Saleh replied, The evil
which ye presage is with God: but ye are a people who are proved by a vicissitude
of prosperity and adversity. And there were nine men in the city, who acted
corruptly in the earth, and behaved not with integrity. And they said unto
one another, Swear ye reciprocally by God, that we will fall upon Saleh
and his family by night: and afterwards we will say unto him who hath right
to avenge his blood, We were not so much as present at the destruction
of his family; and we certainly speak the truth. And they devised a plot
against him: but we devised a plot against them; and they perceived it
not. And see what was the issue of their plot: we utterly destroyed them
and their whole people; and these their habitations remain empty, because
of the injustice which they committed. Verily herein is a sign, unto people
who understand. And we delivered those who believed and feared God. And
remember Lot, when he said unto his people, Do ye commit a wickedness,
though ye see the heinousness thereof? Do ye approach lustfully unto men,
leaving the women? Ye are surely an ignorant people. (XX.) But the answer
of his people was no other than that they said, Cast the family of Lot
out of your city: for they are men who preserve themselves pure from the
crimes of which ye are guilty. Wherefore we delivered him and his family,
except his wife, whom we decreed to be one of those who remained behind
to be destroyed. And we rained on them a shower of stones: and dreadful
was the shower which fell on those who had been warned in vain. Say, Praise
be unto God; and peace be upon his servants whom he hath chosen! Is God
more worthy, or the false gods which they associate with him? Is not he
to be preferred, who hath created the heavens and the earth, and sendeth
down rain for you from heaven, whereby we cause delicious groves to spring
up? It is not in your power to cause the trees thereof to shoot forth.
Is there any other god partner with the true God? Verily these are a people
who deviate from the truth. Is not he more worthy to be adored who hath
established the earth, and hath caused rivers to flow through the midst
thereof, and placed thereon immovable mountains, and set a bar between
the two seas? Is there any other god equal with the true God? Yet the greater
part of them know it not. Is not he more worthy who heareth the afflicted,
when he calleth upon him, and taketh off the evil which distressed him;
and who hath made you the successors of your forefathers in the earth?
Is there any other god who can be equalled with the true God? How few consider
these things! Is not he more worthy who directeth you in the dark paths
of the land and of the sea; and who sendeth the winds driving abroad the
clouds as the forerunners of his mercy? Is there any other god who can
be equalled with the true God? Far be God from having those partners in
his power, which ye associate with him! Is not he more worthy, who produceth
a creature, and after it hath been dead restoreth it to life, and who giveth
you food from heaven and earth? Is there any other god with the true God,
who doth this? Say, Produce your proof thereof, if ye speak truth. Say,
None either in heaven or earth knoweth that which is hidden, besides God:
neither do they understand when they shall be raised. However their knowledge
attaineth some notion of the life to come: yet they are in an uncertainty
concerning the same; yea, they are blind as to the real circumstances thereof.
And the unbelievers say, When we and our fathers shall have been reduced
to dust, shall we be taken forth from the grave? Verily we have been threatened
with this, both we and our fathers, heretofore. This is no other than fables
of the ancients. Say unto them, Pass through the earth, and see what hath
been the end of the wicked. And be not thou grieved for them; neither be
thou in any concern on account of the plots which they are contriving against
thee. And they say, When will this threat be accomplished, if ye speak
true? Answer, Peradventure some part of that punishment, which ye desire
to be hastened, may follow close behind you: verily thy Lord is endued
with indulgence towards mankind; but the greater part of them are not thankful.
Verily thy Lord knoweth what their breasts conceal, and what they discover;
and there is nothing hidden in heaven or on earth, but it is written in
a clear book. Verily this Koran declareth unto the children of Israel most
of those points concerning which they disagree: and it is certainly a direction,
and a mercy unto the true believers. Thy Lord will decide the controversy
between them, by his definitive sentence; and he is the mighty, the wise.
Therefore put thy trust in God; for thou art in the manifest truth. Verily
thou shalt not make the dead to hear, neither shalt thou make the deaf
to hear thy call to the true faith, when they retire and turn their backs;
neither shalt thou direct the blind to extricate themselves out of their
error. Thou shalt make none to hear thee, except him who shall believe
in our signs: and they are wholly resigned unto us. When the sentence shall
be ready to fall upon them, we will cause a beast to come forth unto them
from out of the earth, which shall speak unto them: verily men do not firmly
believe in our signs. On the day of resurrection we will assemble, out
of every nation, a company of those who shall have charged our signs with
falsehood; and they shall be prevented from mixing together, until they
shall arrive at the place of judgment. And God shall say unto them, Have
ye charged my signs with falsehood, although ye comprehended them not with
your knowledge? Or what is it that ye were doing? And the sentence of damnation
shall fall on them, for that they have acted unjustly; and they shall not
speak in their own excuse. Do they not see that we have ordained the night,
that they may rest therein, and the day giving open light? Verily herein
are signs unto people who believe. On that day the trumpet shall be sounded;
and whoever are in heaven and on earth shall be struck with terror, except
those whom God shalt please to exempt therefrom; and all shall come before
him, in humble guise. And thou shalt see the mountains, and shalt think
them firmly fixed; but they shall pass away, even as the clouds pass away.
This will be the work of God, who hath rightly disposed all things: and
he is well acquainted with that which ye do. Whoever shall have wrought
righteousness, shall receive a reward beyond the desert thereof; and they
shall be secure from the terror of that day; but whoever shall have wrought
evil, shall be thrown on their faces into hell fire. Shall ye receive the
reward of any other than of that which ye shall have wrought? Verily I
am commanded to worship the Lord of this territory of Mecca, who hath sanctified
the same: unto him belong all things. And I am commanded to be a Moslem,
and to rehearse the Koran: he who shall be directed thereby, will be directed
to his own advantage; and to him who shall go astray, say, Verily I am
a warner only. And say, Praise be unto God! he will show you his signs,
and ye shall know them: and thy Lord is not regardless of that which they
do.
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