The Koran
CHAPTER VII.
ENTITLED, AL ARAF; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
A. L. M. S. A book hath been sent down unto thee: and therefore let there
be no doubt in thy breast concerning it; that thou mayest preach the same,
and that it may be an admonition unto the faithful. Follow that which hath
been sent down unto you from your Lord; and follow no guide besides him:
how little will ye be warned! How many cities have we destroyed; which
our vengeance overtook by night, or while they were reposing themselves
at noonday! And their supplication, when our punishment came upon them,
was no other than that they said, Verily we have been unjust. We will surely
call those to an account, unto whom a prophet hath been sent; and we will
also call those to account who have been sent unto them. And we will declare
their actions unto them with knowledge; for we are not absent from them.
The weighing of men’s actions on that day shall be just; and they whose
balances laden with their good works shall be heavy, are those who shall
be happy; but they whose balances shall be light, are those who have lost
their souls, because they injured our signs. And now have we placed you
on the earth, and have provided you food therein; but how little are ye
thankful! We created you, and afterwards formed you; and then said unto
the angels, Worship Adam; and they all worshipped him, except Eblis, who
was not one of those who worshipped. God said unto him, What hindered thee
from worshipping Adam, since I had commanded thee? He answered, I am more
excellent than he; thou hast created me of fire, and hast created him of
clay. God said, Get thee down therefore from paradise; for it is not fit
that thou behave thyself proudly therein: get thee hence; thou shalt be
one of the contemptible. He answered, Give me respite until the day of
resurrection. God said, Verily thou shalt be one of those who are respited.
The devil said, Because thou hast depraved me, I will lay wait for men
in thy strait way; then will I come upon them from before, and from behind,
and from their right hands, and from their left; and thou shalt not find
the greater part of them thankful. God said unto him, Get thee hence, despised,
and driven far away: verily whoever of them shall follow thee, I will surely
fill hell with you all: but as for thee, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife
in paradise; and eat of the fruit thereof wherever ye will; but approach
not this tree, lest ye become of the number of the unjust. And Satan suggested
to them both, that he would discover unto them their nakedness, which was
hidden from them; and he said, Your Lord hath not forbidden you this tree,
for any other reason but lest ye should become angels, or lest ye become
immortal. And he sware unto them, saying, Verily I am one of those who
counsel you aright. And he caused them to fall through deceit. And when
they had tasted of the tree, their nakedness appeared unto them; and they
began to join together the leaves of paradise, to cover themselves. And
their Lord called to them, saying, Did I not forbid you this tree; and
did I not say unto you, Verily Satan is your declared enemy? They answered,
O Lord, we have dealt unjustly with our own souls; and if thou forgive
us not, and be not merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish.
God said, Get ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the other; and ye shall
have a dwelling-place upon earth, and a provision for a season. He said,
Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die, and from thence shall
ye be taken forth at the resurrection. O children of Adam, we have sent
down unto you apparel, to conceal your nakedness, and fair garments; but
the clothing of piety is better. This is one of the signs of God; that
peradventure ye may consider. O children of Adam, let not Satan seduce
you, as he expelled your parents out of paradise, by stripping them of
their clothing, that he might show them their nakedness: verily he seeth
you, both he and his companions, whereas ye see not them. We have appointed
the devils to be the patrons of those who believe not: and when they commit
a filthy action, they say, We found our fathers practicing the same: and
God hath commanded us to do it. Say, Verily God commandeth not filthy actions.
Do ye speak concerning God that which ye know not? Say, My Lord hath commandeth
me to observe justice; therefore set your faces to pray at every place
of worship, and call upon him, approving unto him the sincerity of your
religion. As he produced you at first, so unto him shall ye return. A part
of mankind hath he directed; and a part hath been justly led into error,
because they have taken the devils for their patrons besides God, and imagine
that they are rightly directed. O children of Adam, take your decent apparel
at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but be not guilty of excess;
for he loveth not those who are guilty of excess. Say, Who hath forbidden
the decent apparel of God, which he hath produced for his servants, and
the good things which he hath provided for food? Say, These things are
for those who believe, in this present life, but peculiarly on the day
of resurrection. Thus do we distinctly explain our signs unto people who
understand. Say, Verily my Lord hath forbidden filthy actions, both that
which is discovered thereof, and that which is concealed, and also iniquity,
and unjust violence; and hath forbidden you to associate with God that
concerning which he hath sent you down no authority, or to speak of God
that which ye know not. Unto every nation there is a prefixed term; therefore
when their term is expired, they shall not have respite for an hour, neither
shall they be anticipated. O children of Adam, verily apostles from among
you shall come unto you, who shall expound my signs unto you: whosoever
therefore shall fear God and amend, there shall come no fear on them, neither
shall they be grieved. But they who shall accuse our signs of falsehood,
and shall proudly reject them, they shall be the companions of hell fire;
they shall remain therein for ever. And who is more unjust than he who
deviseth a lie concerning God, or accuseth his signs of imposture? Unto
these shall be given their portion of worldly happiness, according to what
is written in the book of God’s decrees, until our messengers come unto
them, and shall cause them to die; saying, Where are the idols which ye
called upon, besides God? They shall answer, They have disappeared from
us. And they shall bear witness against themselves, that they were unbelievers.
God shall say unto them at the resurrection, Enter ye with the nations
which have preceded you, of genii and of men, into hell fire; so often
as one nation shall enter, it shall curse its sister, until they shall
all have successively entered therein. The latter of them shall say of
the former of them, O Lord, these have seduced us; therefore inflict on
them a double punishment of the fire of hell. God shall answer, It shall
be doubled unto all; but ye know it not. And the former of them shall say
unto the latter of them, Ye have not therefore any favor above us; taste
the punishment for that which ye have gained. Verily they who shall charge
our signs with falsehood, and shall proudly reject them, the gates of heaven
shall not be opened unto them, neither shall they enter into paradise,
until a camel pass through the eye of a needle; and thus will we reward
the wicked doers. Their couch shall be in hell, and over them shall be
coverings of fire; and thus will we reward the unjust. But they who believe
and do that which is right (we will not load any soul but according to
its ability), they shall be the companions of paradise; they shall remain
therein for ever. And we will remove all grudges from their minds; rivers
shall run at their feet, and they shall say, Praised be God, who hath directed
us unto this felicity! for we should not have been rightly directed, if
God had not directed us: now are we convinced by demonstration that the
apostles of our Lord came unto us with truth. And it shall be proclaimed
unto them, This is paradise, whereof ye are made heirs, as a reward for
that which ye have wrought. And the inhabitants of paradise shall call
out to the inhabitants of hell fire, saying, Now have we found that which
our Lord promised us to be true; have ye also found that which your Lord
promised to be true? They shall answer, Yea. And a crier shall proclaim
between them, The curse of God shall be on the wicked; who turn men aside
from the way of God, and seek to render it crooked, and who deny the life
to come. And between the blessed and the damned there shall be a veil;
and men shall stand on al Araf, who shall know every one of them by their
marks; and shall call unto the inhabitants of paradise, saying, Peace be
upon you: yet they shall not enter therein, although they earnestly desire
it. And when they shall turn their eyes towards the companions of hell
fire, they shall say, O Lord, place us not with the ungodly people! And
those who stand on al Araf shall call unto certain men, whom they shall
know by their marks, and shall say, What hath your gathering of riches
availed you, and that ye were puffed up with pride? Are these the men on
whom ye sware that God would not bestow mercy? Enter ye into paradise;
there shall come no fear on you, neither shall ye be grieved. And the inhabitants
of hell fire shall call unto the inhabitants of paradise, saying, Pour
upon us some water, or of those refreshments which God hath bestowed on
you. They shall answer, Verily God hath forbidden them unto the unbelievers;
who made a laughing-stock and a sport of their religion, and whom the life
of the world hath deceived: therefore this day will we forget them, as
they did forget the meeting of this day, and for that they denied our signs
to be from God. And now we have brought unto those of Mecca a book of divine
revelations: we have explained it with knowledge; a direction and mercy
unto people who shall believe. Do they wait for any other than the interpretation
thereof? On the day whereon the interpretation thereof shall come, they
who had forgotten the same before, shall say, Now are we convinced by demonstration
that the messengers of our Lord came unto us with truth: shall we therefore
have any intercessors, who will intercede for us? or shall we be sent back
into the world, that we may do other works than what we did in our lifetime?
But now have they lost their souls; and that which they impiously imagined,
hath fled from them. Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and
the earth in six days; and then ascended his throne: he causeth the night
to cover the day; it succeedeth the same swiftly: he also created the sun
and the moon, and the stars, which are absolutely subject unto his command.
Is not the whole creation, and the empire thereof, his? Blessed be God,
the Lord of all creatures! Call upon your Lord humbly and in secret: for
he loveth not those who transgress. And act not corruptly in the earth,
after its reformation, and call upon him with fear and desire: for the
mercy of God is near unto the righteous. It is he who sendeth the winds,
spread abroad before his mercy, until they bring a cloud heavy with rain,
which we drive unto a dead country; and we cause water to descend thereon,
by which we cause all sorts of fruits to spring forth. Thus will we bring
forth the dead from their graves; that peradventure ye may consider. From
a good country shall its fruit spring forth abundantly, by the permission
of its Lord; but from the land which is bad, it shall not spring forth
otherwise than scarcely. Thus do we explain the signs of divine providence
unto people who are thankful. We formerly sent Noah unto his people: and
he said, O my people, worship God: ye have no other God than him. Verily
I fear the punishment of the great day, The chiefs of his people answered
him, We surely perceive thee to be in a manifest error. He replied, O my
people, there is no error in me; but I am a messenger from the Lord of
all creatures. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord; and I counsel
you aright: for I know from God that which ye know not. Do ye wonder that
an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by a man from among you,
to warn you, that ye may take heed to yourselves, and that peradventure
ye may obtain mercy? And they accused him of imposture: but we delivered
him and those who were with him in the ark, and we drowned those who charged
our signs with falsehood; for they were a blind people. And unto the tribe
of Ad we sent their brother Hud. He said, O my people worship God: ye have
no other God than him: will ye not fear him? The chiefs of those among
his people who believed not, answered, Verily we perceive that thou art
guided by folly: and we certainly esteem thee to be one of the liars. He
replied, O my people, I am not guided by folly; but I am a messenger unto
you from the Lord of all creatures: I bring unto you the messages of my
Lord; and I am a faithful counsellor unto you. Do ye wonder that an admonition
hath come unto you from your Lord, by a man from among you, that he may
warn you? Call to mind how he hath appointed you successors unto the people
of Noah, and hath added unto you in stature largely. Remember the benefits
of God, that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou come unto us, that we
should worship God alone, and leave the deities which our fathers worshipped?
Now bring down that judgment upon us, with which thou threatenest us, if
thou speakest truth. Hud answered, Now shall there suddenly fall upon you
from your Lord vengeance and indignation. Will ye dispute with me concerning
the names which ye have named, and your fathers; as to which God hath not
revealed unto you any authority? Do ye wait therefore, and I will be one
of those who wait with you. And we delivered him, and them who believed
with him, by our mercy; and we cut off the uttermost part of those who
charged our signs with falsehood, and were not believers. And unto the
tribe of Thamud, we sent their brother Saleh. He said, O my people, worship
God: ye have no God besides him. Now hath a manifest proof come unto you
from your Lord. This she-camel of God is a sign unto you: therefore dismiss
her freely, that she may feed in God’s earth; and do her no hurt, lest
a painful punishment seize you. And call to mind how he hath appointed
you successors unto the tribe of Ad, and hath given you a habitation on
earth; ye build yourselves castles on the plains thereof, and cut out the
mountains into houses. Remember therefore the benefits of God, commit not
violence in the earth, acting corruptly. The chiefs among his people who
were puffed up with pride, said unto those who were esteemed weak, namely,
unto those who believed among them, Do ye know that Saleh hath been sent
from his Lord? They answered, We do surely believe in that wherewith he
hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride replied, Verily we believe
not in that wherein ye believe. And they cut off the feet of the camel,
and insolently transgressed the command of their Lord, and said, O Saleh,
cause that to come upon us, with which thou hast threatened us, if thou
art one of those who have been sent by God. Whereupon a terrible noise
from heaven assailed them; and in the morning they were found in their
dwellings prostrate on their breasts and dead. And Saleh departed from
them, and said, O my people, now have I delivered unto you the message
of my Lord; and I advised you well, but ye love not those who advise you
well. And remember Lot, when he said unto his people, Do ye commit a wickedness,
wherein no creature hath set you an example? Do ye approach lustfully unto
men, leaving the women? Certainly ye are people who transgress all modesty.
But the answer of his people was no other than that they said the one to
the other, Expel them your city; for they are men who preserve themselves
pure from the crimes which ye commit. Therefore we delivered him and his
family, except his wife; she was one of those who stayed behind: and we
rained a shower of stones upon them. Behold therefore what was the end
of the wicked. And unto Madian we sent their brother Shoaib. He said unto
them, O my people, worship God; ye have no God besides him. Now hath an
evident demonstration come unto you from your Lord. Therefore give full
measure and just weight, and diminish not unto men ought of their matters;
neither act corruptly in the earth, after its reformation. This will be
better for you, if ye believe. And beset not every way, threatening the
passenger; and turning aside from the path of God him who believeth in
him, and seeking to make it crooked. And remember, when ye were few, and
God multiplied you; and behold, what hath been the end of those who acted
corruptly. And if part of you believeth that wherewith I am sent, and part
believe not, wait patiently until God judge between us; for he is the best
judge. (IX.) The chiefs of his people, who were elated with pride, answered,
We will surely cast thee, O Shoaib, and those who believe with thee, out
of our city; or else thou shalt certainly return unto our religion. He
said, What, though we be averse thereto? We shall surely imagine a lie
against God, if we return unto your religion, after that God hath delivered
us from the same: and we have no reason to return unto it, unless God our
Lord shall please to abandon us. Our Lord comprehendeth everything by his
knowledge. In God do we put our trust. O Lord, do thou judge between us
and our nation with truth: for thou art the best judge. And the chiefs
of his people, who believed not, said. If ye follow Shoaib, ye shall surely
perish. Therefore a storm from heaven assailed them, and in the morning
they were found in their dwellings dead and prostrate. They who accused
Shoaib of imposture became as though they had never dwelt therein; they
who accused Shoaib of imposture perished themselves. And he departed from
them, and said, O my people, now have I performed unto you the messages
of my Lord; and I advised you aright: but why should I be grieved for an
unbelieving people? We have never sent any prophet unto a city, but we
afflicted the inhabitants thereof with calamity and adversity, that they
might humble themselves. Then we gave them in exchange good in lieu of
evil, until they abounded, and said, Adversity and prosperity formerly
happened unto our fathers, as unto us. Therefore we took vengeance on them
suddenly, and they perceived it not beforehand. But if the inhabitants
of those cities had believed and feared God, we would surely have opened
to them blessings both from heaven and earth. But they charged our apostles
with falsehood; wherefore we took vengeance on them, for that which they
had been guilty of. Were the inhabitants therefore of those cities secure
that our punishment should not fall on them by night, while they slept?
Or were the inhabitants of those cities secure that our punishment should
not fall on them by day, while they sported? Were they therefore secure
from the stratagem of God? But none will think himself secure from the
stratagem of God, except the people who perish. And hath it not manifestly
appeared unto those who have inherited the earth after the former inhabitants
thereof, that, if we please, we can afflict them for their sins? But we
will seal up their hearts; and they shall not hearken. We will relate unto
thee some stories of these cities. Their apostles had come unto them with
evident miracles, but they were not disposed to believe in that which they
had before gainsaid. Thus will God seal up the hearts of the unbelievers.
And we found not in the greater part of them any observance of their covenant;
but we found the greater part of them wicked doers. Then we sent, after
the above-named apostles, Moses with our signs unto Pharaoh and his princes;
who treated them unjustly: but behold what was the end of the corrupt doers.
And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle sent from the Lord of
all creatures. It is just that I should not speak of God other than the
truth. Now am I come unto you with an evident sign from your Lord: send
therefore the children of Israel away with me. Pharaoh answered, If thou
comest with a sign, produce it, if thou speakest truth. Wherefore he cast
down his rod; and behold, it became a visible serpent. And he drew forth
his hand out of his bosom; and behold, it appeared white unto the spectators.
The chiefs of the people of Pharaoh said, This man is certainly an expert
magician: he seeketh to dispossess you of your land; what therefore do
ye direct? They answered, Put off him and his brother by fair promises
for some time, and in the meanwhile send unto the cities persons who may
assemble and bring unto thee every expert magician. So the magicians came
unto Pharaoh; and they said, Shall we surely receive a reward, if we do
overcome? He answered, Yea; and ye shall certainly be of those who approach
near unto my throne. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down thy rod
first, or we will cast down ours. Moses answered, Do ye cast down your
rods first. And when they had cast them down, they enchanted the eyes of
the men who were present, and terrified them; and they performed a great
enchantment. And we spake by revelation unto Moses, saying, Throw down
thy rod. And behold, it swallowed up the rods which they had caused falsely
to appear changed into serpents. Wherefore the truth was confirmed, and
that which they had wrought vanished. And Pharaoh and his magicians were
overcome there, and were rendered contemptible. And the magicians prostrated
themselves, worshipping; and they said, We believe in the Lord of all creatures,
the Lord of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said, Have ye believed on him, before
I have given you permission? Verily this is a plot which ye have contrived
in the city, that ye might cast forth from thence the inhabitants thereof.
But ye shall surely know that I am your master; for I will cause your hands
and your feet to he cut off on the opposite sides, then will I cause you
all to be crucified. The magicians answered, We shall certainly return
unto our Lord, in the next life; for thou takest vengeance on us only because
we have believed in the signs of our Lord, when they have come unto us.
O Lord pour on us patience, and cause us to die Moslems. And the chiefs
of Pharaoh’s people said, Wilt thou let Moses and his people go, that they
may act corruptly in the earth, and leave thee and thy gods? Pharaoh answered,
We will cause their male children to be slain and we will suffer their
females to live; and by that means we shall prevail over them. Moses said
unto his people, Ask assistance of God, and suffer patiently; for the earth
is God’s, he giveth it for an inheritance unto such of his servants as
he pleaseth: and the prosperous end shall be unto those who fear him. They
answered, We have been afflicted by having our male children slain, before
thou camest unto us, and also since thou hast come unto us. Moses said,
Peradventure it may happen that your Lord will destroy your enemy, and
will cause you to succeed him in the earth, that he may see how ye will
act therein. And we formerly punished the people of Pharaoh with dearth
and scarcity of fruits, that they might be warned. Yet when good happened
unto them, they said, This is owing unto us: but if evil befell them, they
attributed the same to the ill luck of Moses, and those who were with him.
Was not their ill luck with God? but most of them knew it not. And they
said unto Moses, Whatever sign thou show unto us, to enchant us therewith,
we will not believe on thee. Wherefore we sent upon them a flood, and locusts,
and lice, and frogs, and blood; distinct miracles: but they behaved proudly,
and became a wicked people. And when the plague fell on them, they said,
O Moses, entreat thy Lord for us, according to that which he hath covenanted
with thee: verily if thou take the plague from off us, we will surely believe
thee, and we will let the children of Israel go with thee. But when we
had taken the plague from off them, until the term which God had granted
them was expired, behold, they broke their promise. Wherefore we took vengeance
on them, and drowned them in the Red Sea; because they charged our signs
with falsehood, and neglected them. And we caused the people who had been
rendered weak, to inherit the eastern parts of the earth and the western
parts thereof, which we blessed with fertility; and the gracious word of
thy Lord was fulfilled on the children of Israel, for that they had endured
with patience: and we destroyed the structures which Pharaoh and his people
had made, and that which they had erected. And we caused the children of
Israel to pass through the sea, and they came unto a people who gave themselves
up to the worship of their idols; and they said, O Moses, make us a god
in like manner as these people have gods. Moses answered, Verily ye are
an ignorant people: for the religion which these follow will be destroyed,
and that which they do is vain. He said, Shall I seek for you any other
god than God; since he hath preferred you to the rest of the world? And
remember when we delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who grievously
oppressed you; they slew your male children, and let your females live:
therein was a great trial from your Lord. And we appointed unto Moses a
fast of thirty nights before we gave him the law, and we completed them
by adding of ten more; and the stated time of his Lord was fulfilled in
forty nights. And Moses said unto his brother Aaron, Be thou my deputy
among my people during my absence; and behave uprightly, and follow not
the way of the corrupt doers. And when Moses came at our appointed time,
and his Lord spake unto him, he said, O Lord, Show me thy glory, that I
may behold thee. God answered, Thou shalt in no wise behold me; but look
towards the mountain, and if it stand firm in its place, then shalt thou
see me. But when his Lord appeared with glory in the mount, he reduced
it to dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. And when he came to himself,
he said, Praise be unto thee! I turn unto thee with repentance, and I am
the first of true believers. God said unto him, O Moses, I have chosen
thee above all men, by honoring thee with my commissions, and by my speaking
unto thee; receive therefore that which I have brought thee, and be one
of those who give thanks. And we wrote for him on the tables an admonition
concerning every matter, and a decision in every case, and said, Receive
this with reverence; and command thy people that they live according to
the most excellent precepts thereof. I will show you the dwelling of the
wicked. I will turn aside from my signs those who behave themselves proudly
in the earth, without justice: and although they see every sign, yet they
shall not believe therein; and although they see the way of righteousness,
yet they shall not take that way; but if they see the way of error, they
shall take that way. This shall come to pass because they accuse our signs
of imposture; and neglect the same. But as for them who deny the truth
of our signs and the meeting of the life to come, their works shall be
vain: shall they be rewarded otherwise than according to what they shall
have wrought? And the people of Moses, after his departure, took a corporeal
calf, made of their ornaments, which lowed. Did they not see that it spake
not unto them, neither directed them in the way? yet they took it for their
god, and acted wickedly. But when they repented with sorrow, and saw that
they had gone astray, they said, Verily if our Lord have not mercy upon
us, and forgive us not, we shall certainly become of the number of those
who perish. And when Moses returned unto his people, full of wrath and
indignation, he said, An evil thing is it that ye have committed after
my departure; have ye hastened the command of your Lord? And he threw down
the tables, and took his brother by the hair of the head, and dragged him
unto him. And Aaron said unto him, Son of my mother, Verily the people
prevailed against me, and it wanted little but they had slain me: make
not my enemies therefore to rejoice over me, neither place me with the
wicked people. Moses said, O Lord, forgive me and my brother, and receive
us into thy mercy; for thou art the most merciful of those who exercise
mercy. Verily as for them who took the calf for their god, indignation
shall overtake them from their Lord, and ignominy in this life: thus will
we reward those who imagine falsehood. But unto them who do evil, and afterwards
repent and believe in God, verily the Lord will thereafter be clement and
merciful. And when the anger of Moses was appeased, he took the tables;
and in what was written thereon was a direction and mercy unto those who
feared their Lord. And Moses chose out of his people seventy men, to go
up with him to the mountain at the time appointed by us: and when a storm
of thunder and lightning had taken them away, he said, O Lord, if thou
hadst pleased, thou hadst destroyed them before, and me also; wilt thou
destroy us for that which the foolish men among us have committed? This
is only thy trial; thou wilt thereby lead into error whom thou pleasest,
and thou wilt direct whom thou pleasest. Thou art our protector, therefore
forgive us, and be merciful unto us; for thou art the best of those who
forgive. And write down for us good in this world, and in the life to come;
for unto thee are we directed. God answered, I will inflict my punishment
on whom I please; and my mercy extendeth over all things: and I will write
down good unto those who shall fear me, and give alms, and who shall believe
in our signs; who shall follow the apostle, the illiterate prophet, whom
they shall find written down with them in the law and the gospel: he will
command them that which is just, and will forbid them that which is evil;
and will allow unto them as lawful the good things which were before forbidden,
and will prohibit those which are bad; and he will ease them of their heavy
burden, and of the yokes which were upon them. And those who believe on
him, and honor him, and assist him, and follow the light which hath been
sent down with him, shall be happy. Say, O men, Verily I am the messenger
of God unto you all: unto him belongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth;
there is no God but he; he giveth life, and he causeth to die. Believe
therefore in God and his apostle, the illiterate prophet, who believeth
in God and his word; and follow him, that ye may be rightly directed. Of
the people of Moses there is a party who direct others with truth, and
act justly according to the same. And we divided them into twelve tribes,
as into so many nations. And we spake by revelation unto Moses, when his
people asked drink of him, and we said, Strike the rock with thy rod; and
there gushed thereout twelve fountains, and men knew their respective drinking-place.
And we caused clouds to overshadow them, and manna and quails to descend
upon them, saying, Eat of the good things which we have given you for food:
and they injured not us, but they injured their own souls. And call to
mind when it was said unto them, Dwell in this city, and eat of the provisions
thereof wherever ye will, and say, Forgiveness! and enter the gate worshipping:
we will pardon you your sins, and will give increase unto the well-doers.
But they who were ungodly among them changed the expression into another,
which had not been spoken unto them. Wherefore we sent down upon them indignation
from heaven, because they had transgressed. And ask them concerning the
city, which was situate on the sea, when they transgressed on the sabbath
day: when their fish came unto them on their sabbath day, appearing openly
on the water; but on the day whereon they celebrated no sabbath, they came
not unto them. Thus did we prove them, because they were wicked doers.
And when a party of them said unto the others, Why do ye warn a people
whom God will destroy, or will punish with a grievous punishment? They
answered, This is an excuse for us unto your Lord; and peradventure they
will beware. But when they had forgotten the admonitions which had been
given them, we delivered those who forbade them to do evil; and we inflicted
on those who had transgressed, a severe punishment, because they had acted
wickedly. And when they proudly refused to desist from what had been forbidden
them, we said unto them, Be ye transformed into apes, driven away from
the society of men. And remember when thy Lord declared that he would surely
send against the Jews, until the day of resurrection, some nation who should
afflict them with a grievous oppression; for thy Lord is swift in punishing,
and he is also ready to forgive and merciful: and we dispersed them among
the nations in the earth. Some of them are upright persons, and some of
them are otherwise. And we proved them with prosperity and with adversity,
that they might return from their disobedience; and a succession of their
posterity hath succeeded after them, who have inherited the book of the
law, who receive the temporal goods of this world, and say, It will surely
be forgiven us; and if a temporal advantage like the former be offered
them, they accept it also. Is not the covenant of the book of the law established
with them, that they should not speak of God ought but the truth? Yet they
diligently read that which is therein. But the enjoyment of the next life
will be better for those who fear God than the wicked gains of these people
(Do ye not therefore understand?) and for those who hold fast the book
of the law, and are constant at prayer: for we will by no means suffer
the reward of the righteous to perish. And when we shook the mountain of
Sinai over them, as though it had been a covering, and they imagined that
it was falling upon them; and we said, Receive the law which we have brought
you, with reverence; and remember that which is contained therein, that
ye may take heed. And when thy Lord drew forth their posterity from the
loins of the sons of Adam, and took them to witness against themselves,
saying, Am not I your Lord? They answered, Yea: we do bear witness. This
was done lest ye should say, at the day of resurrection, Verily we were
negligent as to this matter, because we were not apprised thereof; or lest
ye should say, Verily our fathers were formerly guilty of idolatry, and
we are their posterity who have succeeded them; wilt thou therefore destroy
us for that which vain men have committed? Thus do we explain our signs,
that they may return from their vanities. And relate unto the Jews the
history of him unto whom we brought our signs, and he departed from them;
wherefore Satan followed him, and he became one of those who were seduced.
And if we had pleased, we had surely raised him thereby unto wisdom; but
he inclined unto the earth, and followed his own desire. Wherefore his
likeness is as the likeness of a dog, which, if thou drive him away, putteth
forth his tongue, or, if thou let him alone, putteth forth his tongue also.
This is the likeness of the people who accuse our signs of falsehood. Rehearse
therefore this history unto them, that they may consider. Evil is the similitude
of those people who accuse our signs of falsehood and injure their own
souls. Whomsoever God shall direct, he will be rightly directed; and whomsoever
he shall lead astray, they shall perish. Moreover we have created for hell
many of the genii and of men; they have hearts by which they understand
not, and they have eyes by which they see not, and they have ears by which
they hear not. These are like the brute beasts; yea, they go more astray:
these are the negligent. God hath most excellent names: therefore call
on him by the same; and withdraw from those who use his names perversely:
they shall be rewarded for that which they shall have wrought. And of those
whom we have created there are a people who direct others with truth, and
act justly according thereto. But those who devise lies against our signs,
we will suffer them to fall gradually into ruin, by a method which they
know not: and I will grant them to enjoy a long and prosperous life; for
my stratagem is effectual. Do they not consider that there is no devil
in their companion? He is no other than a public preacher. Or do they not
contemplate the kingdom of heaven and earth, and the things which God hath
created; and consider that peradventure it may be that their end draweth
nigh? And in what new declaration will they believe, after this? He whom
God shall cause to err, shall have no director; and he shall leave them
in their impiety, wandering in confusion. They will ask thee concerning
the last hour; at what time its coming is fixed? Answer, Verily the knowledge
thereof is with my Lord; none shall declare the fixed time thereof, except
he. The expectation thereof is grievous in heaven and on earth: it shall
come upon you no otherwise than suddenly. They will ask thee, as though
thou wast well acquainted therewith. Answer, Verily the knowledge thereof
is with God alone: but the greater part of men know it not. Say, I am able
neither to procure advantage unto myself, nor to avert mischief from me,
but as God pleaseth. If I knew the secrets of God, I should surely enjoy
abundance of good, neither should evil befall me. Verily I am no other
than a denouncer of threats, and a messenger of good tidings unto people
who believe. It is he who hath created you from one person, and out of
him produced his wife, that he might dwell with her; and when he had known
her, she carried a light burden for a time, wherefore she walked easily
therewith. But when it became more heavy, they called upon God, their Lord,
saying, If thou give us a child rightly shaped, we will surely be thankful.
Yet when he had given them a child rightly shaped, they attributed companions
unto him, for that which he had given them. But far be that from God, which
they associated with him! Will they associate with him false gods which
create nothing, but are themselves created; and can neither give them assistance,
nor help themselves? And if ye invite them to the true direction, they
will not follow you: it will be equal unto you, whether ye invite them,
or whether ye hold your peace. Verily the false deities whom ye invoke
besides God, are servants like unto you. Call therefore upon them, and
let them give you an answer, if ye speak truth. Have they feet, to walk
with? Or have they hands, to lay hold with? Or have they eyes, to see with?
Or have they ears, to hear with? Say, Call upon your companions, and then
lay a snare for me, and defer it not; for God is my protector, who sent
down the book of the Koran; and he protecteth the righteous. But they whom
ye invoke besides him, cannot assist you, neither do they help themselves;
and if ye call on them to direct you, they will not hear. Thou seest them
look towards thee, but they see not. Use indulgence, and command that which
is just, and withdraw far from the ignorant. And if an evil suggestion
from Satan be suggested unto thee, to divert thee from thy duty, have recourse
unto God; for he heareth and knoweth. Verily they who fear God, when a
temptation from Satan assaileth them, remember the divine commands, and
behold, they clearly see the danger of sin, and the wiles of the devil.
But as for the brethren of the devils, they shall continue them in error;
and afterwards they shall not preserve themselves therefrom. And when thou
bringest not a verse of the Koran unto them, they say, Hast thou not put
it together? Answer, I follow that only which is revealed unto me from
my Lord. This book containeth evident proofs from your Lord, and is a direction
and mercy unto people who believe. And when the Koran is read, attend thereto,
and keep silence; that ye may obtain mercy. And meditate on thy Lord in
thine own mind, with humility and fear, and without loud speaking, evening
and morning; and be not one of the negligent. Moreover the angels who are
with my Lord, do not proudly disdain his service, but they celebrate his
praise and worship him.
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