The Koran
CHAPTER XXXIX.
ENTITLED, THE TROOPS; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
THE revelation of this book is from the mighty, the wise God. Verily we
have revealed this book unto thee with truth: wherefore serve God, exhibiting
the pure religion unto him. Ought not the pure religion to be exhibited
unto God? But as to those who take other patrons besides him, saying, We
worship them, only that they may bring us nearer unto God; verily God will
judge between them concerning that wherein they disagree. Surely God will
not direct him who is a liar, or ungrateful. If God had been minded to
have had a son, be had surely chosen what he pleased out of that which
he hath created. But far be such a thing from him! He is the sole, the
almighty God. He hath created the heavens and the earth with truth: he
causeth the night to succeed the day, and he causeth the day to succeed
the night, and he obligeth the sun and the moon to perform their services;
each of them hasteneth to an appointed period. Is not he the mighty, the
forgiver of sins? He created you of one man, and afterwards out of him
formed his wife: and he hath bestowed on you four pair of cattle. He formeth
you in the wombs of your mothers, by several gradual formations, within
three veils of darkness. This is God, your Lord: his is the kingdom; there
is no God but he. Why therefore are ye turned aside from the worship of
him to idolatry? If ye be ungrateful, verily God hath no need of you; yet
he liketh not ingratitude in his servants: but if ye be thankful, he will
be well pleased with you. A burdened soul shall not bear the burden of
another: hereafter shall ye return unto your Lord, and he shall declare
unto you that which ye have wrought, and will reward you accordingly; for
he knoweth the innermost parts of your breasts. When harm befalleth a man,
he calleth upon his Lord, and turneth unto him: yet afterwards, when God
hath bestowed on him favor from himself, he forgetteth that Being which
he invoked before, and setteth up equals unto God, that he may seduce men
from his way. Say unto such a man, Enjoy this life in thy infidelity for
a little while: but hereafter shalt thou surely be one of the inhabitants
of hell fire. Shall he who giveth himself up to prayer in the hours of
the night, prostrate and standing, and who taketh heed as to the life to
come, and hopeth for the mercy of his Lord, be dealt with as the wicked
unbeliever? Say, Shall they who know their duty, and they who know it not,
be held equal? Verily the men of understanding only will be warned. Say,
O my servants who believe, fear your Lord. They who do good in this world,
shall obtain good in the next; and God’s earth is spacious: verily those
who persevere with patience shall receive their recompense without measure.
Say, I am commanded to worship God, and to exhibit the pure religion unto
him: and I am commanded to be the first Moslem. Say, Verily I fear, if
I be disobedient unto my Lord, the punishment of the great day. Say, I
worship God, exhibiting my religion pure unto him; but do ye worship that
which ye will, besides him. Say, Verily they will be the losers, who shall
lose their own souls, and their families, on the day of resurrection: is
not this manifest loss? Over them shall be roofs of fire, and under them
shall be floors of fire. With this doth God terrify his servants: wherefore,
O my servants, fear me. But those who eschew the worship of idols, and
are turned unto God, shall receive good tidings. Bear good tidings therefore
unto my servants, who hearken unto my word, and follow that which is most
excellent therein; these are they whom God directeth, and these are men
of understanding. Him therefore on whom the sentence of eternal punishment
shall be justly pronounced, canst thou, O Mohammed, deliver him who is
destined to dwell in the fire of hell? But for those who fear their Lord
will be prepared high apartments in paradise, over which shall be other
apartments built; and rivers shall run beneath them: this is the promise
of God; and God will not be contrary to the promise. Dost thou not see
that God sendeth down water from heaven, and causeth the same to enter
and form sources in the earth; and produceth thereby corn of various sorts?
Afterwards he causeth the same to wither; and thou seest it become yellow:
afterwards he maketh it crumble into dust. Verily herein is an instruction
to men of understanding. Shall he, therefore, whose breast God hath enlarged
to receive the religion of Islam, and who followeth the light from his
Lord, be as he whose heart is hardened? But woe unto those whose hearts
are hardened against the remembrance of God! they are in a manifest error.
God hath revealed a most excellent discourse; a book comformable to itself,
and containing repeated admonitions. The skins of those who fear their
Lord shrink for fear thereat: afterwards their skins grow soft, and their
hearts also, at the remembrance of their Lord. This is the direction of
God: he will direct thereby whom he pleaseth; and whomsoever God shall
cause to err, he shall have no director. Shall he therefore who shall be
obliged to screen himself with his face from the severity of the punishment
on the day of resurrection, be as he who is secure therefrom? And it shall
be said unto the ungodly, Taste that which ye have deserved. Those who
were before them, accused their apostles of imposture; wherefore a punishment
came upon them from whence they expected it not: and God caused them to
taste shame in this present life; but the punishment of the life to come
will certainly be greater. If they were men of understanding, they would
know this. Now have we proposed unto mankind, in this Koran, every kind
of parable; that they may be warned: an Arabic Koran, wherein there is
no crookedness; that they may fear God. God propoundeth as a parable a
man who hath several companions which are at mutual variance, and a man
who committeth himself wholly to one person: shall these be held in equal
comparison? God forbid! But the greater part of them do not understand.
Verily thou, O Mohammed, shalt die, and they also shall die: and ye shall
debate the matter with one another before your Lord, at the day of resurrection.
(XXIV.) Who is more unjust than he who uttereth a lie concerning God, and
denieth the truth, when it cometh unto him? Is there not a dwelling provided
in hell for the unbelievers? But he who bringeth the truth, and giveth
credit thereto, these are they who fear God; they shall obtain whatever
they shall desire, in the sight of their Lord: this shall be the recompense
of the righteous: that God may expiate from them the very worst of that
which they have wrought, and may render them their reward according to
the utmost merit of the good which they have wrought. Is not God a sufficient
protector of his servant? yet they will attempt to make thee afraid of
the false deities which they worship besides God. But he whom God shall
cause to err, shall have none to direct him: and he whom God shall direct,
shall have none to mislead him. Is not God most mighty, able to avenge?
If thou ask them who hath created the heavens and the earth, they will
surely answer, God. Say, Do ye think therefore that the deities which ye
invoke besides God, if God be pleased to afflict me, are able to relieve
me from his affliction? or if he be pleased to show mercy unto me, that
they are able to withhold his mercy? Say, God is my sufficient support:
in him let those put their trust, who seek in whom to confide. Say, O my
people, do ye act according to your state; verily I will act according
to mine: hereafter shall ye know on which of us will be inflicted a punishment
that shall cover him with shame, and on whom a lasting punishment shall
fall. Verily we have revealed unto thee the book of the Koran, for the
instruction of mankind, with truth. Whoso shall be directed thereby, shall
be directed to the advantage of his own soul; and whoso shall err, shall
only err against the same: and thou art not a guardian over them. God taketh
unto himself the souls of men at the time of their death; and those which
die not he also taketh in their sleep: and he withholdeth those on which
he hath passed the decree of death, but sendeth back the others till a
determined period. Verily herein are signs unto people who consider. Have
the Koreish taken idols for their intercessors with God? Say, What, although
they have not dominion over anything, neither do they understand? Say,
Intercession is altogether in the disposal of God: his is the kingdom of
heaven and earth; and hereafter shall ye return unto him. When the one
sole God is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the life
to come, shrink with horror: but when the false gods, which are worshipped
besides him, are mentioned, behold, they are filled with joy. Say, O God,
the creator of heaven and earth, who knowest that which is secret and that
which is manifest; thou shalt judge between thy servants concerning that
wherein they disagree. If those who act unjustly were masters of whatever
is in the earth, and as much more therewith, verily they would give it
to ransom themselves from the evil of the punishment, on the day of resurrection:
and there shall appear unto them, from God, terrors which they never imagined;
and there shall appear unto them the evils of that which they shall have
gained; and that which they mocked at shall encompass them. When harm befalleth
man, he calleth upon us; yet afterwards, when we have bestowed on him favor
from us, he saith, I have received it merely because of God’s knowledge
of my deserts. On the contrary, it is a trial; but the greater part of
them know it not. Those who were before them, said the same: but that which
they had gained, profited them not; and the evils which they had deserved,
fell upon them. And whoever of these Meccans shall have acted unjustly,
on them likewise shall fall the evils which they shall have deserved; neither
shall they frustrate the divine vengeance. Do they not know that God bestoweth
provision abundantly on whom he pleaseth, and is sparing unto whom he pleaseth?
Verily herein are signs unto people who believe. Say, O my servants who
have transgressed against your own souls, despair not of the mercy of God:
seeing that God forgiveth all sins; for he is gracious and merciful. And
be turned unto your Lord, and resign yourselves unto him, before the threatened
punishment overtake you; for then ye shall not be helped. And follow the
most excellent instructions which have been sent down unto you from your
Lord, before the punishment come suddenly upon you, and ye perceive not
the approach thereof; and a soul say, Alas! for that I have been negligent
in my duty to God: verily I have been one of the scorners: or say, If God
had directed me, verily I had been one of the pious: or say, when it seeth
the prepared punishment, If I could return once more into the world, I
would become one of the righteous. But God shall answer, My signs came
unto thee heretofore, and thou didst charge them with falsehood, and wast
puffed up with pride: and thou becamest one of the unbelievers. On the
day of resurrection thou shalt see the faces of those who have uttered
lies concerning God, become black: is there not an abode prepared in hell
for the arrogant? But God shall deliver those who shall fear him, and shall
set them in their place of safety: evil shall not touch them, neither shall
they be grieved. God is the creator of all things, and he is the governor
of all things. His are the keys of heaven and earth: and they who believe
not in the signs of God, they shall perish. Say, Do ye therefore bid me
to worship other than God, O ye fools? since it hath been spoken by revelation
unto thee, and also unto the prophets who have been before thee, saying,
Verily if thou join any partners with God, thy work will be altogether
unprofitable, and thou shalt certainly be one of those who perish: wherefore
rather fear God, and be one of those who give thanks. But they make not
a due estimation of God: since the whole earth shall be but his handful,
on the day of resurrection; and the heavens shall be rolled together in
his right hand. Praise be unto him! and far be he exalted above the idols
which they associate with him! The trumpet shall be sounded, and whoever
are in heaven and whoever are on earth shall expire; except those whom
God shall please to exempt from the common fate. Afterwards it shall be
sounded again; and behold, they shall arise and look up. And the earth
shall shine by the light of its Lord: and the book shall be laid open,
and the prophets and the martyrs shall be brought as witnesses; and judgment
shall be given between them with truth, and they shall not be treated unjustly.
And every soul shall be fully rewarded, according to that which it shall
have wrought; for he perfectly knoweth whatever they do. And the unbelievers
shall be driven unto hell by troops, until, when they shall arrive at the
same, the gates thereof shall be opened: and the keepers thereof shall
say unto them, Did not apostles from among you come unto you, who rehearsed
unto you the signs of your Lord, and warned you of the meeting of this
your day? They shall answer, Yea: but the sentence of eternal punishment
hath been justly pronounced on the unbelievers. It shall be said unto them,
Enter ye the gates of hell, to dwell therein for ever; and miserable shall
be the abode of the proud! But those who shall have feared their Lord,
shall be conducted by troops towards paradise, until they shall arrive
at the same: and the gates thereof shall be ready set open; and the guards
thereof shall say unto them, Peace be on you! ye have been good: wherefore
enter ye into paradise, to remain therein for ever. And they shall answer,
Praise unto God, who hath performed his promise unto us, and hath made
us to inherit the earth, that we may dwell in paradise wherever we please!
How excellent is the reward of those who work righteousness! And thou shalt
see the angels going in procession round the throne, celebrating the praises
of their Lord: and judgment shall be given between them with truth; and
they shall say, Praise be unto God, the Lord of all creatures!
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