The Koran
CHAPTER XL.
ENTITLED, THE TRUE BELIEVER; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
H. M. The revelation of this book is from the mighty, the wise God; the
forgiver of sin, and the accepter of repentance; severe in punishing; long-suffering.
There is no God but he: before him shall be the general assembly at the
last day. None disputeth against the signs of God, except the unbelievers:
but let not their prosperous dealing in the land deceive thee with vain
allurement. The people of Noah, and the confederated infidels which were
after them, accused their respective prophets of imposture before these;
and each nation hatched ill designs against their apostle, that they might
get him into their power; and they disputed with vain reasoning, that they
might thereby invalidate the truth: wherefore I chastised them; and how
severe was my punishment! Thus hath the sentence of thy Lord justly passed
on the unbelievers; that they shall be the inhabitants of hell fire. The
angels who bear the throne of God, and those who stand about it, celebrate
the praise of their Lord, and believe in him; and they ask pardon for the
true believers, saying, O Lord, thou encompassest all things by thy mercy
and knowledge; wherefore forgive those who repent and follow thy path,
and deliver them from the pains of hell: O Lord, lead them also into gardens
of eternal abode, which thou hast promised unto them, and unto every one
who shall do right, of their fathers, and their wives, and their children;
for thou art the mighty, the wise God. And deliver them from evil; for
whomsoever thou shalt deliver from evil on that day, on him wilt thou show
mercy; and this will be great salvation. But the infidels, at the day of
judgment, shall hear a voice crying unto them, Verily the hatred of God
towards you is more grievous than your hatred towards yourselves: since
ye were called unto the faith, and would not believe. They shall say, O
Lord, thou hast given us death twice, and thou hast twice given us life;
and we confess our sins: is there therefore no way to get forth from this
fire? And it shall be answered them, This hath befallen you, for that when
one God was preached unto you, ye believed not; but if a plurality of gods
had been associated with him, ye had believed; and judgment belongeth unto
the high, the great God. It is he who showeth you his signs, and sendeth
down food unto you from heaven: but none will be admonished, except he
who turneth himself unto God. Call therefore upon God, exhibiting your
religion pure unto him, although the infidels be averse thereto. He is
the Being of exalted degree, the possessor of the throne; who sendeth down
the spirit, at his command, on such of his servants as he pleaseth; that
he may warn mankind of the day of meeting, the day whereon they shall come
forth out of their graves, and nothing of what concerneth them shall be
hidden from God. Unto whom will the kingdom belong, on that day? Unto the
only, the almighty God. On that day shall every soul be rewarded according
to its merits; there shall be no injustice done on that day. Verily God
will be swift in taking an account. Wherefore warn them, O prophet, of
the day which shall suddenly approach; when man’s hearts shall come up
to their throats, and strangle them. The ungodly shall have no friend or
intercessor who shall be heard. God will know the deceitful eye, and that
which their breasts conceal; and God will judge with truth: but the false
gods which they invoke besides him, shall not judge at all; for God is
he who heareth and seeth. Have they not gone through the earth and seen
what hath been the end of those who were before them? They were more mighty
than these in strength, and left more considerable footsteps of their power
in the earth: yet God chastised them for their sins, and there was none
to protect them from God. This they suffered, because their apostles had
come unto them with evident signs, and they disbelieved: wherefore God
chastised them; for he is strong, and severe in punishing. We heretofore
sent Moses with our signs and manifest power, unto Pharaoh, and Haman,
and Karun; and they said, He is a sorcerer and a liar. And when he came
unto them with the truth from us, they said, Slay the sons of those who
have believed with him, and save their daughters alive: but the stratagem
of the infidels was no other than vain. And Pharaoh said, Let me alone,
that I may kill Moses; and let him call upon his Lord: verily I fear lest
he change your religion, or cause violence to appear in the earth. And
Moses said unto his people, Verily I have recourse unto my Lord, and your
Lord, to defend me against every proud person, who believeth not in the
day of account. And a man who was a true believer, of the family of Pharaoh,
and concealed his faith, said, Will you put a man to death, because he
saith, God is my Lord; seeing he is come unto you with evident signs from
your Lord? If he be a liar, on him will the punishment of his falsehood
light; but if he speaketh the truth, some of those judgments with which
he threateneth you, will fall upon you: verily God directeth not him who
is a transgressor or a liar. O my people, the kingdom is yours this day;
and ye are conspicuous in the earth: but who shall defend us from the scourge
of God, if it come unto us? Pharaoh said, I only propose to you what I
think to be most expedient: and I guide you only into the right path. And
he who had believed, said, O my people, verily I fear for you a day like
that of the confederates against the prophets in former times; a condition
like that of the people of Noah, and the tribes of Ad, and Thamud, and
of those who have lived after them: for God willeth not that any injustice
be done unto his servants. O my people, verily I fear for you the day whereon
men shall call unto one another; the day whereon ye shall be turned back
from the tribunal, and driven to hell: then shall ye have none to protect
you against God. And he whom God shall cause to err, shall have no director.
Joseph came unto you, before Moses, with evident signs; but ye ceased not
to doubt of the religion which he preached unto you, until, when he died,
ye said, God will by no means send another apostle, after him. Thus doth
God cause him to err, who is a transgressor and a skeptic. They who dispute
against the signs of God, without any authority which hath come unto them,
are in great abomination with God, and with those who believe. Thus doth
God seal up every proud and stubborn heart. And Pharaoh said, O Haman,
build me a tower, that I may reach the tracts, the tracts of heaven, and
may view the God of Moses; for I verily think him to be a liar. And thus
the evil of his work was prepared for Pharaoh, and he turned aside from
the right path: and the stratagems of Pharaoh ended only in loss. And he
who had believed, said, O my people, follow me: I will guide you into the
right way. O my people, verily this present life is but a temporary enjoyment;
but the life to come is the mansion of firm continuance. Whoever worketh
evil, shall only be rewarded in equal proportion to the same: but whoever
worketh good, whether male or female, and is a true believer, they shall
enter paradise; they shall be provided for therein superabundantly. And,
O my people, as for me, I invite you to salvation; but ye invite me to
hell fire: ye invite me to deny God, and to associate with him that whereof
I have no knowledge; but I invite you to the most mighty, the forgiver
of sins. There is no doubt but that the false gods to which ye invite me,
deserve not to be invoked, either in this world or in the next; and that
we must return unto God; and that the transgressors shall be the inhabitants
of hell fire: and ye shall then remember what I now say unto you. And I
commit my affair unto God: for God regardeth his servants. Wherefore God
delivereth him from the evils which they had devised; and a grievous punishment
encompassed the people of Pharaoh. They shall be exposed to the fire of
hell morning and evening; and the day whereon the hour of judgment shall
come, it shall be said unto them, Enter, O people of Pharaoh, into a most
severe torment. And think on the time when the infidels shall dispute together
in hell fire, and the weak shall say unto those who behaved with arrogance,
Verily we were your followers; will ye, therefore, relieve us from any
part of this fire? Those who behaved with arrogance shall answer, Verily
we are all doomed to suffer therein; for God hath now judged between his
servants. And they who shall be in the fire, shall say unto the keepers
of hell, Call ye on your Lord, that he would ease us, for one day, from
this punishment. They shall answer, Did not your apostles come unto you
with evident proofs? They shall say, Yea. The keepers shall reply, Do ye
therefore call on God: but the calling of the unbelievers on him shall
be only in vain. We will surely assist our apostles, and those who believe,
in this present life, and on the day whereon the witnesses shall stand
forth: a day, whereon the excuse of the unbelievers shall not avail them;
but a curse shall attend them, and a wretched abode. We heretofore gave
unto Moses a direction: and we left as an inheritance unto the children
of Israel the book of the law; a direction, and an admonition to men of
understanding. Wherefore do thou, O prophet, bear the insults of the infidels
with patience; for the promise of God is true: and ask pardon for thy fault;
and celebrate the praise of thy Lord, in the evening and in the morning.
As to those who impugn the signs of God, without any convincing proof which
hath been revealed unto them, there is nothing but pride in their breasts;
but they shall not attain their desire: wherefore, fly for refuge unto
God, for it is he who heareth and seeth. Verily the creation of heaven
and earth is more considerable than the creation of man: but the greater
part of men do not understand. The blind and the seeing shall not be held
equal; nor they who believe and work righteousness, and the evildoer:
how few revolve these things in their mind! The last hour will surely come;
there is no doubt thereof: but the greater part of men believe it not.
Your Lord saith, Call upon me, and I will hear you: but they who proudly
disdain my service shall enter with ignominy into hell. It is God who hath
appointed the night for you to take your rest therein, and the day to give
you light: verily God is endued with beneficence towards mankind; but the
greater part of men do not give thanks. This is God, your Lord; the Creator
of all things: there is no God besides him: how therefore are ye turned
aside from his worship? Thus are they turned aside who oppose the signs
of God. It is God who hath given you the earth for a stable floor, and
the heaven for a ceiling: and who hath formed you, and made your forms
beautiful; and feedeth you with good things. This is God, your Lord. Wherefore,
blessed be God, the Lord of all creatures! He is the living God: there
is no God but he. Wherefore call upon him, exhibiting unto him the pure
religion. Praise be unto God, the Lord of all creatures! Say, Verily I
am forbidden to worship the deities which ye invoke, besides God, after
that evident proofs have come unto me from my Lord; and I am commanded
to resign myself unto the Lord of all creatures. It is he who first created
you of dust, and afterwards of seed, and afterwards of coagulated blood,
and afterwards brought you forth infants out of your mothers’ wombs: then
he permitteth you to attain your age of full strength, and afterwards to
grow old men (but some of you die before that age), and to arrive at the
determined period of your life; that peradventure ye may understand. It
is he who giveth life, and causeth to die: and when he decreeth a thing,
he only saith unto it, Be, and it is. Dost thou not observe those who dispute
against the signs of God, how they are turned aside from the true faith?
They who charge with falsehood the book of the Koran, and the other scriptures
and revealed doctrines which we sent our former apostle to preach, shall
hereafter know their folly; when the collars shall be on their necks, and
the chains by which they shall be dragged into hell; then shall they be
burned in the fire. And it shall be said unto them, Where are the gods
which ye associated, besides God? They shall answer, They have withdrawn
themselves from us: yea, we called on nothing heretofore. Thus doth God
lead the unbelievers into error. This hath befallen you, for that ye rejoiced
insolently on earth in that which was false; and for that ye were elated
with immoderate joy. Enter ye the gates of hell, to remain therein for
ever: and wretched shall be the abode of the haughty! Wherefore persevere
with patience, O Mohammed; for the promise of God is true. Whether we cause
thee to see any part of the punishment with which we have threatened them,
or whether we cause thee to die before thou see it; before us shall they
be assembled at the last day. We have sent a great number of apostles before
thee; the histories of some of whom we have related unto thee, and the
histories of others of them we have not related unto thee: but no apostle
had the power to produce a sign, unless by the permission of God. When
the command of God, therefore, shall come, judgment shall be given with
truth; and then shall they perish who endeavor to render the signs of God
of no effect. It is God who hath given you the cattle, that ye may ride
on some of them, and may eat of others of them (ye also receive other advantages
therefrom); and that on them ye may arrive at the business proposed in
your mind: and on them are ye carried by land, and on ships by sea. And
he showeth you his signs; which, therefore, of the signs of God will ye
deny? Do they not pass through the earth, and see what hath been the end
of those who were before them? They were more numerous than these, and
more mighty in strength, and left more considerable monuments of their
power in the earth; yet that which they had acquired profited them not.
And when their apostles came unto them with evident proofs of their mission,
they rejoiced in the knowledge which was with them: but that which they
mocked at encompassed them. And when they beheld our vengeance, they said,
We believe in God alone, and we renounce the idols which we associated
with him: but their faith availed them not, after they had beholden our
vengeance. This was the ordinance of God, which was formerly observed in
respect to his servants: and then did the unbelievers perish.
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