And on a day He will gather them, as though they had tarried but an hour of the day: they shall know one another! They are lost who denied the meeting with God and were not guided! Whether we show thee part of what we threatened against them, or whether we take thee to ourself [before], to us is their return--then shall God be witness of what they have done. And every nation hath its apostle; and when their apostle is come, it is decided between them with equity, and they are not wronged. Yet they say, “When will this promise be, if ye be speakers of truth?” Say: I have no power for myself for woe or weal, except as God pleaseth. Every people hath its appointed term: when their term is come, they shall not put it off nor hasten it an hour. Say: Bethink ye, if the torment of God come upon you by night or by day, what portion of it will the sinners willingly hasten on? When it happeneth, will ye believe it then? Yet would ye fain hasten it on! Then shall it be said to those who transgressed, “Taste ye the torment of eternity! Shall ye be rewarded save according to what ye have earned?” They would fain know of thee if this is true. Say: Yea, by my Lord, it is indeed true, and ye cannot weaken Him. And if every soul that transgressed owned all that is on earth, he would assuredly give it in ransom; and they will declare their repentance when they have seen the torment: and there shall be a decision between them with equity, and they shall not be wronged.
Is not indeed whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth God’s? Is not indeed the promise of God true? But most of them do not know! He giveth life and death, and to Him shall ye return.
O ye people! now hath a warning come to you from your Lord, and a healing for what is in your breasts, and a guidance and a mercy to the believers. Say: By the grace of God and his mercy! And in that let them therefore rejoice: this is better than what they heap up. Say: Do ye consider what God hath sent down to you for provision: but ye made thereof unlawful and lawful? Say, did God permit you? or do ye forge against God? But what will they think on the day of resurrection who forge a lie against God? Truly God is full of bounty towards man; but most of them are not thankful. Thou shalt not be in any business, and thou shalt not read from the Korān, and ye shall not do any deed, but we are witness against you when ye are engaged therein; and there escapeth not thy Lord an ant’s weight in earth or in heaven: and there is nothing lesser or greater than that, but it is in the plain Book. Are not they truly the friends of God on whom is no fear neither are they sorrowful--They who believed and feared God,--For them are good tidings in the life of this world, and in the life to come there is no changing in God’s sentences. That is the great prize!
And let not their discourse grieve thee: verily all power belongeth to God, He it is who heareth and knoweth. Doth not whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth belong to God? then what do they follow who call upon Partners beside God? verily they follow but a fancy; and verily they are naught but liars. It is He who made you the night to rest in, and the day for seeing: verily in that are signs to a folk that can hear!
They say, “God hath taken him a son.” Extolled be his glory! He is the Self-sufficient, all that is in the heavens, and all that is in the earth is his! ye have no warranty for this! do ye say about God that which ye know not? Say: Verily they who forge this lie against God shall not prosper:-- A passing joy in this world, then to us they return; and then we will make them taste the grievous torment, because they did not believe.
And tell them the story of Noah, when he said to his people,--“O my people! though my dwelling with you and my warning you of the signs of God hath been grievous to you, yet in God do I put my trust: so gather together your case and your Partners; then will not your case fall upon you in the dark: then decide about me and delay not. And if ye turn, yet ask I no reward from you: my reward is with God alone, and I am commanded to be of those who are resigned.” But they called him a liar, so we delivered him and those who were with him in the ship, and we made them to survive; and we drowned those who had called our signs lies: see then what was the end of those who were warned!
Then after him, we sent apostles to their people, and they came to them with manifestations: but they would not believe in what they had denied before: thus do we put a seal upon the hearts of the transgressors. Then sent we, after them, Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his nobles with our signs; but they were puffed up and were a sinful folk. And when the truth came to them from us, they said, “This is clear sorcery indeed.” Moses said, “Say ye of the truth when it is come to you, Is this sorcery?--but sorcerers shall not prosper.” They said, “Art thou come to us to hinder us from what we found our fathers in, and in order that for you twain there shall be majesty in the land? but we are not going to believe in you!” And Pharaoh said, “Fetch me every wise sorcerer.” And when the sorcerers came, Moses said to them, “Cast down what ye have to cast.” And when they had cast them down, Moses said, “What ye come with is sorcery: verily God will make it vain; aye, God doth not prosper the work of evildoers; And God will establish the truth by his word, though loth be the sinners.” And none believed in Moses but the children of his own folk, for fear of Pharaoh and his nobles, lest he should afflict them: for of a truth Pharaoh was mighty in the earth, and verily he was of the transgressors. And Moses said, “O my people! if ye believe in God, put your trust in Him, if ye are resigned.”
And they said, “In God do we put our trust. O our Lord, make us not a trial to the folk of the wicked, And deliver us in Thy mercy from the folk of the unbelievers.” Then revealed we to Moses and to his brother: “Build houses for your people in Egypt, and make your houses with a Kibla, and perform prayer, and give good tidings to the believers.” And Moses said, “O our Lord, thou hast indeed given to Pharaoh and his nobles adornments and riches in the life of this world: O our Lord! may they err from thy way; O our Lord, confound their riches, and harden their hearts, so shall they not believe until they see the aching torment.” God said: “Your prayer is heard, then stand ye upright, and follow not the path of those who know not.” And we brought the Children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh and his host followed them, eager and hostile, until when drowning overtook him he said, “I believe that there is no God but He in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the resigned.” “Now! thou hast been rebellious aforetime, and wast one of the evildoers, This day will we raise thee in thy flesh, to be a sign to those who come after thee: but verily many men are heedless of our signs!”
Moreover we lodged the Children of Israel in a firm abode, and provided them with good things: and they did not differ until the knowledge came to them; verily thy Lord will decide between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that on which they differed.
And if thou art in doubt of what we have sent down to thee, inquire of those who read the Scriptures before thee. Now hath truth come unto thee from thy Lord: then be not thou of those who doubt, Neither be of those who deny the signs of God lest thou be among the losers. Verily they against whom the word of thy Lord is passed shall not believe,--Though there came unto them every kind of sign,--till they behold the aching torment. Else any city had believed, and its faith had benefited it:--save the people of JONAH; when they believed, we took away from them the torment of shame in the life of this world, and provided for them awhile. But if thy Lord pleased, verily all who are in the earth had believed together. Then canst thou compel men to become believers? It is not in a soul to believe but by the permission of God: and He shall lay His curse on those who have no wits. Say: Look upon that which is in the heavens and in the earth: but signs and warners avail not a folk that will not believe! What then can they expect but the like of the days of those who passed away before them? Say: Wait ye,--I too am waiting with you. Then will we deliver our apostles and those who believe: thus is it binding on us to deliver the faithful. Say: O ye people! if ye are in doubt of my religion, I do not worship those whom ye worship beside God; but I worship God, who taketh you away; and I am commanded to be of the faithful.
And set thy face towards religion as a Hanīf, and be not of those idolaters: And invoke not beside God that which can neither help nor hurt; for if thou do, thou wilt certainly be of the wicked. And if God touch thee with affliction, there is none to remove it but He. And if He desire thy good, there is none to hinder His bounty--He will confer it on whom He pleaseth of his servants: and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful! Say: O ye people! now hath truth come unto you from your Lord; then he who is guided, is guided only for his own behoof: but he who erreth doth err only against himself; and I am no governor over you! And follow what is revealed to thee: and be patient till God judgeth; and He is the best of judges.
(x.)
THE THUNDER.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ A. L. M. R. These are the Signs of the Book! and that which was sent down to thee from thy Lord is the truth: but most men do not believe. It is God who raised the heavens without pillars that ye can see; then ascended the Throne, and subdued the sun and the moon: each runneth to its appointed goal, to rule every thing, to manifest signs. Haply ye will be convinced of meeting your Lord! And it is He who spread out the earth, and put thereon firm mountains, and rivers; and of every fruit He hath made therein two kinds: He maketh the night to cover the day; verily in that are signs for reflecting folk. And on the earth are neighbouring tracts, and gardens of grapes, and corn, and palms clustered and not clustered at the root; they are watered by the same water, yet we make some better than others for food: verily in that are signs for folk that have wits. If ever thou dost wonder, wonderful is their saying, “What! when we have become dust, shall we indeed become a new creation?” These are they who disbelieve in their Lord: and these shall have the shackles on their necks, and these shall be the inmates of the fire to abide therein for ever. They will bid thee hasten evil rather than good: examples have passed away before them; and verily thy Lord is full of forgiveness unto men despite their iniquity; and verily thy Lord is heavy in punishing.
And they who disbelieve say, “Unless a sign be sent down to him from his Lord...” Thou art but a warner, and to every people its guide. God knoweth what every woman beareth, and the decrease of the wombs and the increase; for the pattern of all things is with Him, Who knoweth the hidden and the seen, the Great, the Most High. Equal is he of you who concealeth his words and he that proclaimeth them: he who hideth by night, and he who goeth abroad by day. Each hath angels before him and behind him, who watch over him by God’s command. Verily God doth not change towards a people, till they change themselves; and when God willeth evil unto a people, there is no averting it, nor have they any protector beside Him.
It is He who showeth you the lightning for fear and hope [of rain], and gathereth the lowering clouds, And the THUNDER magnifieth His praise, and the angels, for awe of Him, and He sendeth His thunderbolts and smiteth therewith whom He pleaseth:--and they are wrangling about God! but strong is His might! Unto Him is the true cry: but those whom they cry to beside Him shall answer them naught save as one who stretcheth forth his hands to the water that it may reach his mouth, but it doth not reach it! The cry of the unbelievers is but in error. And unto God bow down all things in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows at morn and eve!
Say: Who is Lord of the heavens and the earth? Say: God. Say: Why then have ye taken beside Him Patrons who are powerless for weal or woe to themselves? Say: What! are the blind and the seeing alike? or are darkness and light the same? or have they made Partners for God, who create as He creates, so that they confuse the creation? Say: God is the Creator of all things, He is the One, the Conqueror. He sendeth down water from heaven; and the valleys flow in their degree, and the torrent beareth along foaming froth, and from the [ore] which they burn in the fire, desiring ornaments or necessaries, a scum like it ariseth. So doth God liken truth and falsehood. As to the scum it passeth off as refuse, and as to what profiteth man it remaineth on the earth. Thus doth God frame parables. For those who respond to their Lord, good; but those who respond not to Him, had they all that the earth containeth and its like beside it, they would surely give it in ransom: these shall have an evil reckoning, and Hell shall be their home,--and wretched the bed! Is he who knoweth that what hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord is naught but the truth, like to him who is blind? but men of understanding alone will mind, Who fulfil their covenant with God and break not the compact; And who join what God hath bidden to be joined, and who fear their Lord and dread the evil reckoning; And who are patient, seeking the face of their Lord, and perform prayer and give alms secretly and openly of what we have provided them, and turn away evil with good: for these is the reward of the Abode,--Gardens of eternity, into which they shall enter together with those who were just of their fathers and their wives and their offspring: and the angels shall go in unto them at every gate [saying]:--“Peace be upon you! because ye were patient.” And pleasant is the reward of the Abode! But those who break God’s covenant after they have pledged it, and cut asunder what God hath bidden to be joined, and work iniquity in the earth, for these is a curse and a sore abode!
God is lavish with provision to whom He pleaseth, or He stinteth it. And they rejoice in the life of this world; but the life of this world is but a passing joy to the life to come. And they who disbelieve say, “Unless a sign be sent down to him from his Lord...” Say: God truly misleadeth whom He will; and He guideth to himself those who repent, Who believe, and whose hearts are at peace in the remembrance of God! yea, in the remembrance of God shall the hearts be at peace of those who believe and do the things that are right--good betide them, and happy be their goal! Thus have we sent thee among a nation, before whom other nations have passed away, that thou mayest tell them what we have inspired thee with: yet they disbelieve in the Merciful! Say: He is my Lord--there is no God but Him. In Him do I put my trust, and unto Him is my return. Though there were a Korān by which the mountains were removed or the earth cloven or the dead given speech--Nay! to God belongeth the rule in all: know not they who believe, that if God pleased, He would certainly have guided men in all?
And calamity shall not cease to befal the unbelievers for what they have done, or settle hard by their dwellings, until the promise of God shall come to pass. Verily God will not fail in what He promised. Before thee apostles have been mocked at--and long I suffered those who disbelieved; then I took hold of them; and how great was my punishment! Who then is he that is standing over every soul to mark what it hath earned? Yet they made Partners with God! Say: Name them! could ye inform him of what He knoweth not in the earth, or are they aught beyond words? Nay, their artifice commended itself to those who disbelieve; and they are turned aside from the road; and whom God misleadeth, he hath no guide. Torment is theirs in the life of this world, and assuredly the torment of the world to come shall be worse, and they shall have no one to ward them from God.
A likeness of the Paradise which is promised to those that fear God:--The rivers flow beneath it; its food and its shades are everlasting. That is the end of those who fear God: but the end of the unbelievers is the Fire.
They to whom we have given the Book rejoice in what hath been sent down to thee, yet some of the confederates deny a part of it. Say: I am commanded only to worship God, and not to associate any with Him: on Him I cry, and unto Him is my goal. Thus have we sent down the Korān as an Arabic judgment; and assuredly, if thou followed their desires after the knowledge had come to thee, thou shouldst have no protector nor warder against God. And we have sent apostles before thee, and gave them wives and offspring. But to no apostle was it given to bring a sign save by God’s permission: to each age its Book. God wipeth out or confirmeth what He pleaseth, and with Him is the Mother of the Book. And whether we show thee somewhat of that which we promised them, or take thee hence before; verily, it is thine to announce only, and ours to take account. See they not that we come into the land and cut down its chiefs? And when God judgeth, there is none to reverse His sentence: and He is swift to reckon. And those who were before them plotted: but God’s is the master plot: He knoweth what every one soul earneth, and the infidels shall know for whom is the reward of the abode. And those who disbelieve shall say, “Thou art not sent from God.” Say: God is witness enough between me and you, and he that hath knowledge of the Book.
(xii.)
THE SPEECHES OF MEDINA THE PERIOD OF HARANGUE DECEPTION.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ All that is in the heavens, and all that is in the earth, magnifieth God: His is the kingdom, His is the praise, and He is powerful over all things. It is He who hath created you; and one of you is an unbeliever, and another a believer; and God seeth what ye do. He created the heavens and the earth in truth; and He hath fashioned you and made goodly your forms; and to Him is your journeying. He knoweth what is in the heavens and the earth; and He knoweth what ye hide and what ye manifest; and God knoweth well the secrets of the breast.
Hath not the story come to you of those who disbelieved aforetime, and tasted the evil fruit of their doings, and received an aching torment? That was because when their apostles had come to them with manifestations, they said, “Shall mortal men guide us?” And they believed not and turned their backs. But God had no need of them; and God is Self-sufficient and worthy to be praised! The unbelievers pretend that they shall by no means be raised again. Say: Nay, by my Lord, but ye shall be raised; then shall ye certainly be told of what ye have done: and that is easy with God. Believe then in God and His Apostle, and in the light which we have sent down; for God knoweth perfectly what ye do. The day when He shall gather you together for the Day of Assembly, that is the day of DECEPTION. And whoso believeth in God and doeth that which is right, God shall take away his sins, and He will bring him into the gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell there evermore: that is the great prize! But those who believe not, but deny our signs--those shall be the inmates of the fire, to dwell therein for ever; and evil is their journey. There happeneth no misfortune but by God’s permission; and whoso believeth in God, He guideth his heart; and God knoweth all things. Obey God, therefore, and obey the Apostle: but if ye turn away, our Apostle is only charged with a plain message:--God, there is no God but He! Then in God let the faithful trust.
O ye who believe! verily in your wives and your children ye have an adversary, wherefore beware of them. But if ye relent and pardon and forgive, then verily God too is Forgiving and Merciful. Your wealth and your children are but a snare: but God, with Him is the great reward. Then fear God with all your might, and hear and obey, and give alms for your own sakes; and whoso is saved from his own covetousness,--these it is who prosper. If ye lend God a good loan, He will double it to you, and will forgive you: for God is Grateful, Mild, Knowing the secret and the open; the Mighty, the Wise!
(lxiv.)
IRON.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifieth God, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, He giveth life and giveth death, and He is powerful over all things. He is the first and the last, the seen and the unseen, and all things doth He know. It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then ascended the Throne; He knoweth what goeth into the earth and what cometh out of it, and what cometh down from the sky and what riseth up into it; and He is with you, wherever ye be; and God seeth what ye do. His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to God shall all things return. He maketh the night to follow the day, and He maketh the day to follow the night, and He knoweth the secrets of the breast.
Believe in God and His apostle, and give alms of what He hath made you to inherit; for to those of you who believe and give alms shall be a great reward. What aileth you that ye do not believe in God and His Apostle who calleth you to believe in your Lord? He hath already accepted your covenant if ye believe. It is He who hath sent down to His servant manifest signs to lead you from darkness into light: for God is indeed kind and merciful towards you. And what aileth you that ye give not alms in the path of God, when God’s is the heritage of the heavens and the earth? Those of you who give before the victory, and fight, shall not be deemed equal,--they are of nobler degree than those who give afterwards and fight. Yet to all hath God promised the beauteous reward; and God knoweth what ye do. Who is he who will lend God a good loan?--He will double it for him, and his shall be a noble recompense.
The day ye shall see the faithful, men and women, their light running in front and on their right hand--“Glad tidings for you this day!--gardens whereunder rivers flow, to abide therein for ever:” that is the great prize! The day when the hypocrites, men and women, will say to those who believe, “Stay for us, that we may kindle our light from yours.” It shall be said, “Go back and find a light.” And there shall be set up between them a wall, with a gate in it; and inside, within it, shall be Mercy, and outside, in front of it, Torment! They shall cry out, “Were we not with you?” The others shall say, “Yea! but ye fell into temptation, and waited, and doubted, and your desires deceived you, till the behest of God came,--and the arch-tempter beguiled you from God.” And on that day no ransom shall be accepted from you, nor from those who disbelieved--your goal is the Fire, which is your master; and evil is the journey thereto. Hath not the Hour come to those who believe, to humble their hearts to the warning of God and the truth which He hath sent down? and that they may not be like those who received the Scripture aforetime, whose lives were prolonged, but their hearts were hardened, and many of them were disobedient. Know that God quickeneth the earth after its death: now have we made clear to you the signs,--haply ye have wits! Verily the charitable, both men and women, and they who lend God a good loan, it shall be doubled to them, and theirs shall be a noble recompense.
And they who believe in God and His Apostle, these are the truth-tellers and the witnesses before their Lord: they have their reward and their light. And they who disbelieve and deny our signs--these are the inmates of Hell! Know that the life of this world is but a game and pastime and show and boast among you; and multiplying riches and children is like rain, whose vegetation delighteth the infidels--then they wither away, and thou seest them all yellow, and they become chaff. And in the life to come is grievous torment, Or else forgiveness from God and His approval: but the life of this world is naught but a delusive joy. Strive together for forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise, whose width is as the width of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in God and in His Apostle. That is the grace of God! who giveth it to whom He pleaseth; and God is the fount of boundless grace.
There happeneth no misfortune on the earth or to yourselves, but it is written in the Book before we created it: verily that is easy to God!--That ye may not grieve over what is beyond you, nor exult over what cometh to you; for God loveth not any presumptuous boasters, Who are covetous and commend covetousness to men. But whoso turneth away,--verily God is Rich and worthy to be praised. We sent Our Apostles with manifestations, and We sent down by them the Book and the Balance, that men might stand upright in equity, and We sent down IRON, wherein is great strength and uses for men,--and that God might know who would help Him and His Apostles in secret: verily God is strong and mighty. And we sent Noah and Abraham, and we gave their seed prophecy in the Scripture: and some of them are guided, but many are disobedient.
Then we sent our apostles in their footsteps, and we sent Jesus the Son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel, and put in the hearts of those that follow him kindness and pitifulness; but monkery, they invented it themselves! We prescribed it not to them--save only to seek the approval of God, but they did not observe this with due observance. Yet we gave their reward to those of them that believed, but many of them were transgressors. O ye who believe, fear God and believe in His Apostle; He will give you a double portion of His mercy, and will set you a light to walk by, and will forgive you: for God is forgiving and merciful:--That the People of the Scripture may know that they have not power over aught of God’s grace; and that grace is in the hands of God alone, who giveth to whom He pleaseth: and God is the fount of boundless grace.
(lvii.)
THE VICTORY.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ Verily we have won for thee a clear VICTORY-- That God may forgive thee thy former and latter sins, and fulfil His grace to thee, and guide thee on the straight way, And that God may help thee mightily. He it is who sent down peace into the hearts of the faithful, to strengthen their faith with faith, (for God’s are the armies of the heavens and the earth, and God is All-knowing and Wise:) To bring the faithful, men and women, into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever, and to take away their offences; and that is the great prize with God: And to torment the hypocrites and the idolaters, men and women, who think of God an evil thought; there shall come upon them a turn of evil, and God is wroth with them and hath cursed them, and hath prepared Hell for them, and evil shall be their journey. God’s are the armies of the heavens and the earth, and God is Mighty and Wise!
Verily we have sent thee as a witness and a herald of gladness and a warner, That ye may believe in God and in His Apostle; and may revere Him, and honour Him, and magnify Him morning and evening. In truth, they who swear fealty to thee, do but swear fealty to God: the hand of God is upon their hands! Whosoever therefore breaketh it, breaketh it only to his own hurt; but whosoever is true to what he hath covenanted with God, He will give him a great reward.
The Arabs of the desert who were left behind will say to thee, “Our property and our families employed us; so ask pardon for us.” They speak with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say: But who can obtain aught for you from God, if He design for you harm, or design for you benefit? Nay, God is acquainted with what ye do! Nay, ye thought that the Apostles and the faithful would not come back to their families any more, and that seemed good in your hearts, and ye thought an evil thought, and ye are a lost people. And whosoever believeth not in God and His Apostle...verily we have made ready a flame for the unbelievers! And God’s is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth; He forgiveth whom He will, and He tormenteth whom He will: and God is Forgiving, Merciful! They who were left behind will say when ye go forth to the spoil to take it, “Let us follow you.” They would fain change the Word of God. Say: Ye shall by no means follow us; thus hath God said already. Then they will say, “Nay, ye are jealous of us.” Nay, they are men of but little understanding. Say to those who were left behind of the Arabs of the desert, Ye shall be called out against a people of mighty valour; ye shall fight with them, or they shall profess Islam. If, therefore, ye obey, God will bring you a goodly reward; but if ye turn your backs as ye turned your backs before, He will torment you with aching torment.