Part 12
But
when they enshroud themselves in their garments, doth He not know alike what
they conceal and what they shew?
For He
knoweth the very inmost of their breast.
There
is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not on god; he knoweth
its haunts and final resting place: all is in
the clear Book.
And He
it is who hath made the Heavens and the Earth in six days: His throne had stood ere this upon the waters,
that He might make proof which of you would excel in works.
11:10 And if thou say, "After death you
shall surely be raised again," the infidels will certainly explain,
"This is nothing but pure sorcery."
And if
we defer their chastisement to some definite time, they will exclaim,
"What keepeth it back?" What! will it not
come upon them on a day when there shall be none to avert it from them? And
that at which they scoffed shall enclose them in on every side.
And if
we cause man to taste our mercy, and then deprive him of it, verily, he is
despairing, ungrateful.
And if
after trouble hath befallen him we cause him to taste our favour, he will
surely exclaim, "The evils are passed away from me." Verily, he is
joyous, boastful.
Except
those who endure with patience and do the things that are right: these doth pardon await and a great reward.
Perhaps
thou wilt suppress a part of what hath been revealed to thee, and wilt be
distressed at heart lest they say, "If a treasure be not sent down to him, or an angel come with him...." But thou art only a
warner, and God hath all things in his charge.
If
they shall say, "The Koran is his own device," Say: Then bring ten Suras like it of your devising, and
call whom you can to your aid beside God, if you are men of truth.
But if
they answer you not, then know that it hath been sent down to you in the wisdom
of God only, and that there is no God but He. Are you
then Muslims?
Those
who choose this present life and its braveries, we will recompense for their
works therein: they shall having nothing less
therein than their deserts.
These
are they for whom there is nothing in the next world but the Fire: all that they have wrought in this life shall come
to nought, and vain shall be all their doings.
11:20 With such can
they be compared who rest upon clear proofs from their Lord? to
whom a witness from him reciteth the Koran, and who is preceded by the Book of
Moses, a guide and mercy? These have faith in it:
but the partisans of idolatry, who believe not in it, are menaced with the
fire! Have thou no doubts about that Book, for it is the very truth from thy
Lord. But most men will not believe.
Who is
guilty of a greater injustice than he who inventeth a lie concerning God? They
shall be set before their Lord, and the witnesses shall say, "These are they
who made their Lord a liar." Shall not the malison of God be on these
unjust doers,
Who
pervert others from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and believe
not in a life to come? God's power on earth they shall not weaken; and beside
God they have no protector! Doubled shall be their punishment! They were not
able to hearken, and they could not see.
These
are they who have lost their own souls, and the deities of their own devising
have vanished form them:
There
is no doubt but that in the next world they shall be the lost one.
But
they who shall have believed and done the things that are right, and humbled
them before their Lord, shall be the inmates of
These
two sorts of persons resemble the blind and deaf, and the seeing and the
hearing: shall these be compared as alike? Ah!
do you not comprehend?
We
sent Noah of old unto his people: --
"Verily I come to you a plain admonisher,
That
you worship none but God. Verily I fear for you the punishment of a grievous
day."
Then
said the chiefs of his people who believed not, "We see in thee but a man
like ourselves; and we see not who have followed thee except our meanest ones
of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in you above ourselves: nay, we deem you liars."
11:30 He said:
"O my people! how think you? If I am upon a clear revelation from my Lord,
who hath bestowed on me mercy from Himself to which you are blind, can we force
it on you, if you are averse from it?
And, O
my people! I ask you not for riches: my reward
is of God alone: and I will not drive away
those who believe that they shall meet their Lord:
-- but I see that you are an ignorant people.
And, O
my people! were I to drive them away, who shall help me against God? Will you
not therefore consider?
And I
tell you not that with me are the treasurers of God:
nor do I say, 'I know the things unseen;' nor do I say, 'I am an angel;' nor do
I say of those whom you eye with scorn, No good thing will God bestow on them: -- God best knoweth what is in their minds -- for
then should I be one of those who act unjustly."
They
said, "O Noah! already hast thou disputed with us, and multiplied disputes
with us: Bring then upon us what thou hast
threatened, if thou be of those who speak truth."
He
said, "God will bring it on you at His sole pleasure, and it is not you
who can weaken him;
Nor,
if God desire to mislead you, shall my counsel profit you, though I fain would
counsel you aright. He is your Lord, and unto Him shall you be brought back.
Do
they say, "This Koran is of his own devising?" Say: On me be my own guilt, if I have devised it, but I
am clear of that whereof you are guilty.
And it
was revealed unto Noah. Verily, none of thy people shall believed, save they
who have believed already; therefore be not thou grieved at their doings.
But
build the
11:40 So he built the
On
whom a punishment shall come that shall shame him, and on whom shall light a
lasting punishment."
Thus
was it until our sentence came to pass, and the earth's surface boiled up. We
said, "Carry into it one pair of every kind, and thy family, except him on
whom sentence hath before been passed, and those who have believed." But
there believed not with him except a few.
And he
said, "Embark you therein. In the name of God be its course and its riding
at anchor! Truly my Lord is right Gracious, Merciful."
And
the
He
said, "I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from the
water." He said, "None shall be secure this day from the decree of
God, save him on whom He shall have mercy." And a wave passed between
them, and he was among the drowned.
And it
was said, "O Earth! swallow up thy water;" and "cease, O
Heaven!" And the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and the
And
Noah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord! verily my son is of my family: and thy promise is true, and thou art the most
just of judges."
He
said, "O Noah! verily, he is not of thy family:
in this thou actest not aright. Ask not of me that whereof thou knowest nought: I warn thee that thou become not of the ignorant.
He
said, "To thee verily, O my Lord, do I repair lest I ask that of thee
wherein I have no knowledge: unless thou forgive
me and be merciful to me I shall be one of the lost.
11:50 It was said to him, "O Noah!
debark with peace from Us, and with blessings on thee and on peoples to be born
from those who are with thee; but as for other and unbelieving peoples, we will
give them their good things in this world, but hereafter shall a grievous
punishment light on them from us.
This
is one of the secret Histories: we reveal it
unto thee: neither thou nor thy people knew it
ere this: be patient thou: verily, there is a prosperous issue to the
God-fearing.
And
unto Ad we sent their Brother Houd. He said, "O my people, worship God.
You have no God beside Him. You only devise a lie.
O my
people! I ask of you no recompense for this: my
recompense is with Him only who hath made me. Will you not then understand?
O my
people! ask pardon of your Lord; then be turned unto Him: He will send down the heavens upon you with copious rains;
And
with strength on strength will He increase you:L
only turn not back with deeds of evil."
They
said, "O Houd, thou hast not brought us proofs of thy mission: we will not abandon our gods at thy word, and we
believe thee not.
We can
only say that some of our gods have smitten thee with evil." Said he,
"Now take I God to witness, do you also witness, that I am clear of your
joining other gods
To
God. Conspire then against me all of you, and delay me not.
For I
trust in God, my Lord and yours. No single beast is there which he holdeth not
by its forelock. Right, truly, is the way in which my Lord goeth.
11:60 But if you turn back, I have already
declared to you my message. And my Lord will put another people in your place,
nor shall you at all hurt Him; verily, my Lord keepeth watch over all
things."
And
when our doom came to be inflicted, we rescued Houd and those who had like
faith with Him, by our special mercy: we
rescued them from the rigorous chastisement.
These
men of Ad gainsaid the signs of their Lord, and rebelled against his
messengers, and followed the bidding of every proud contumacious person.
Followed
therefore were they in this world by a curse; and in the day of Resurrection it
shall be said to them, "What! Did not Ad disbelieve their Lord?" Was
not Ad, the people of Houd, cast far away?
And
unto Themoud we sent their Brother Saleh: --
"O my people! said he, worship God: you
have no other god then Him. He hath raised you up out of the earth, and hath
given you to dwell therein. Ask pardon of him then, and be turned unto him; for
thy Lord is nigh, ready to answer."
They
said, "O Saleh! our hopes were fixed on thee till now: forbiddest thou us to worship what our fathers
worshipped/ Truly we misdoubt the faith to which thou callest us, as
suspicious."
He
said, "O my people! what think you? If I have a revelation from my Lord to
support me, and if He hath shewed his mercy on me, who could protect me from
God if I rebel against him? You would only confer on me increase of ruin.
O my
people! this is the she-Camel of God, and sign unto you. Let her go at large
and feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a speedy punishment overtake
you."
Yet
they hamstrung her: then said he, "Yet
three days more enjoy yourselves in your dwellings:
this menace will not prove untrue."
And
when our sentence came to pass, we rescued Saleh and those who had a like faith
with him, by our mercy, from ignominy on that day. Verily, thy Lord is the
Strong, the Mighty!
11:70 And a violent tempest overtook the
wicked, and they were found in the morning prostrate in their dwellings,
As
though they had never abode in them. What! Did not Themoud disbelieve his Lord?
Was not Themoud utterly cast off?
And
our messengers came formerly to Abraham with glad tidings. "Peace,"
said they. He said, "Peace," and he tarried not, but brought a
roasted calf.
And
when he saw that their hands touched it not, he misliked them, and grew fearful
of them. They said, "Fear not," for we are sent to the people of
His
wife was standing by and laughed; and we announced Isaac to her; and after
Isaac, Jacob.
She
said, "Ah, woe is me! shall I bear a son when I am old, and when this my
husband is an old man? This truly would be a marvellous thing."
They
said, "Marvellest thou at the command of God? God's mercy and blessing be
upon you, O people of this house; praise and glory are His due!"
And
when Abraham's fear had passed away, and these glad tidings had reached him, he
pleaded with us for the people of
"O
Abraham! desist from this; for already hath the command of thy God gone forth;
as for them, a punishment not to be averted is coming on them."
And
when our messengers came to
11:80 And his people came rushing on towards
him, for aforetime had they wrought this wickedness. He said, "O my
people! these my daughters will be purer for you:
fear God, and put me not to shame in my guests. Is there no rightminded man
among you?"
They
said, "Thou knowest now that we need not thy daughters; and thou well
knowest what we require."
He
said, "Would that I had strength to resist you, or that I could find
refuge with some powerful chieftain."
The
Angels said, "O
And
when our decree came to be executed we turned those cities upside down, and we
rained down upon them blocks of claystone one after another, marked by thy Lord
himself. Nor are they far distant from the wicked Meccans.
And we
sent to Madian their brother Shoaib. He said, "O my people! worship God: no other God have you than He: give not short weight and measure: I see indeed that you revel in good things; but I
fear for you the punishment of the all-encompassing day.
O my
people! give weight and measure with fairness; purloin not other men's goods;
and perpetrate not injustice on the earth with corrupt practices:
A
residue, the gift of God, will be best for you if you are believers:
But I
am not a guardian over you."
They
said to him, "O Shoaib! is it thy prayers which enjoin that we should
leave what our fathers worshipped, or that we should not do with our substance
as pleaseth us? Thou forsooth art the mild, the right director!"
11:90 He said, "O my people! How think
you? If I have a clear revelation from my Lord, and if from Himself He hath
supplied me with goodly supplies, and if I will not follow you in that which I
myself forbid you, do I seek aught but your amendment so far as in me lieth? My
sole help is in God. In Him do I trust, and to Him do I turn me.
O my
people! let not your opposition to me draw down upon you the like of that which
befel the people of Noah, or the people of Houd, or the people of Saleh: and the abodes of the people of
Seek
pardon of your Lord and be turned unto Him:
verily, my Lord is Merciful, Loving.
They
said, "O Shoaib! we understand not much of what thou sayest, and we
clearly see that thou art powerless among us:L
were it not for thy family we would have surely stoned thee, nor couldest thou
have prevailed against us."
He
said, "O my people! think you more highly of my family than of God? Cast
you Him behind your back, with neglect? Verily, my Lord is round about your
actions.
And, O
my people! act with what power you can for my hurt:
I verily will act: and you shall know
On
whom shall light a punishment that shall disgrace him, and who is the liar.
Await you; verily I will await with you."
And
when our decree came to pass, we delivered Shoaib and his companions in faith,
by our mercy: And a violent tempest overtook
the wicked, and in the morning they were found prostrate in their houses
As if
they had never dwelt in them. Was not Madian swept off even as Themoud had been
swept off?
Of old
sent we Moses, with our signs and with incontestable power to Pharaoh, and to
his nobles -- who followed the behests of Pharaoh, and, unrighteous were
Pharaoh's bests.
11:100 He shall head his people on the day of
the Resurrection and cause them to descend into the fire: and wretched the descent by which they shall descend!
They
were followed by a curse in this world; and in the day of the Resurrection,
wretched the gift that shall be given them!
Such,
the histories of the cities which we relate to thee. Some of them are standing,
others mown down:
We
dealt not unfairly by them, but they dealt not fairly by themselves: and their gods on whom they called beside God
availed them not at all when thy Lord's behest came to pass. They did not
increase their ruin.
Such
was thy Lord's grasp when he laid that grasp on the cities that had been
wicked. Verily his grasp is afflictive, terrible!
Herein
truly is a sign for him who feareth the punishment of the latter day. That shall
be a day unto which mankind shall be gathered together; that shall be a day
witnessed by all creatures.
No do
we delay it, but until a time appointed.
When
that day shall come no one shall speak a word but by His leave, and some shall
be miserable and others blessed.
And as
for those who shall be consigned to misery -- their place the Fire! therein
shall they sigh and bemoan them --
Therein
shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth shall last, unless thy Lord
shall will it otherwise; verily thy Lord doth what He chooseth.
11:110 And as for the blessed ones -- their
place the Garden! therein shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth
endure, with whatever imperishable boon thy Lord my please to add.
Have
thou no doubts therefore concerning that which they worship: they worship but what their fathers worshipped
before them: we will surely assign them their
portion with nothing lacking.
Of old
gave we Moses the Book, and they fell to variance about it. If a decree of
respite had not gone forth from thy Lord, there had surely been a decision
between them. Thy people also are in suspicious doubts about the Koran.
And
truly thy Lord will repay every one according to their works! for He is well
aware of what they do.
Go
straight on then as thou hast been commanded, and he also who hath turned to
God with thee, and let him transgress no more. He beholdeth what you do.
Lean
not on the evil doers lest the Fire lay hold on you. You have no protector,
save God, and you shall not be helped against Him.
And
observe prayer at early morning, at the close of the day, and at the approach
of night; for the good deeds drive away the evil deeds. This is a warning for
those who reflect:
And
persevere steadfastly, for verily God will not suffer the reward of the
righteous to perish.
Were
the generations before you, endued with virtue, and who forbad corrupt doings
on the earth, more than a few of those whom we delivered? but the evil doers
followed their selfish pleasures, and became transgressors.
And thy
Lord was not one who would destroy those cities unjustly, when its inhabitants
were righteous.
11:120 Had thy Lord pleased he would have
made mankind of one religion:L but those only
to whom thy Lord hath granted his mercy will cease to differ. And unto this
hath He created them; for the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled, "I will
wholly fill hell with Djinn and men."
And
all that we have related to thee of the histories of these Apostles, is to
confirm thy heart thereby. By these hath the truth reached thee, and a monition
and warning to those who believe.
But
say to those who believe not, "Act as you may and can: we will act our part:
and wait you; we verily will wait."
To God
belong the secret things of the Heavens and of the Earth: all things return to him:
worship him then and put thy trust in Him: thy
Lord is not regardless of your doings!
Sura XII (12)
Joseph, Peace Be On Him
(
________________________________________
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
An Arabic
Koran have we sent it down, that you might understand it.
In
revealing to thee this Koran, one of the most beautiful of narratives will be
narrate to thee, of which thou hast hitherto been regardless.
When
Joseph said to his Father, "O my Father! verily I beheld eleven stars and
the sun and moon -- beheld them make obeisance to me!"
He
said, "O my son! tell not thy vision to thy brethren, lest they plot a
plot against thee: for Satan is the manifest
foe of man.
It is
thus that thy Lord shall choose thee and will teach thee the interpretation of
dark sayings, and will perfect his favours on thee and on the family of Jacob,
as of old he perfected it on thy fathers Abraham and Isaac; verily thy Lord is
Knowing, Wise!"
Now in
Joseph and his brethren are signs for the enquirers;
When
they said, "Surely better loved by our Father, than we, who are more in
number, is Joseph and his brother; verily, our father hath clearly erred.
Slay
you Joseph! or drive him to some other land, and on you along shall your
father's face be set! and after this, you shall live as upright persons."
12:10 One of them said, "Slay not
Joseph, but cast him down to the bottom of the well:
if you do so, some wayfarers will take him up."
They
said, "O our Father! why dost thou not entrust us with Joseph? indeed we
mean him well.
Send
him with us to-morrow that he may enjoy himself and sport: we will surely keep him safely.:
He
said, "Verily, your taking him away will grieve me; and I fear lest while
you are heedless of him the wolf devour him."
They
said, "Surely if the wolf devour him, and we so many, we must in that case
be weak indeed."
And
when they went away with him they agreed to place him at the bottom of the
well. And We revealed to him, "Thou wilt yet tell them of this their deed,
when they shall not know thee."
And
they came at nightfall to their father weeping.
They
said, "O our Father! of a truth, we went to run races, and we left Joseph
with our clothes, and the wolf devoured him:
but thou wilt not believe us even though we speak the truth."
And
they brought his shirt with false blood upon it. He said, "Nay, but
yourselves have managed this affair. But patience is seemly: and the help of God is to be implored that I may
bear what you tell me."
And
wayfarers came and sent their drawer of water, and he let down his bucket.
"Good news!" said he, "This is a youth!:
And they kept his case secret, to make merchandise of him. But God knew what
they did.
12:20 And they sold him for a paltry price
-- for some dirhems counted down, and at no high rate did they value him.
And he
who bought him -- an Egyptian -- said to his wife, "Treat him hospitable;
haply he may be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son." Thus did we
settle Joseph in the land, and we instructed him in the interpretation of dark
sayings, for God is equal to his purpose; but most men know it not.
And
when he had reached his age of strength we bestowed on him judgment and
knowledge; for thus do we recompense the well doers.
And
she in whose house he was conceived a passion for him, and she shut the doors
and said, "Come hither." He said, "God keep me! Verily, my lord
hath given me a good home: and the injurious
shall not prosper."
But
she longed for him; and he had longed for her had he not seen a token from his
lord. Thus we averted evil and defilement from him, for he was one of our
sincere servants.
And
they both made for the door, and she rent his shirt behind; and at the door
they met her lord. "What," said she, "shall be the recompense of
him who would do evil to thy family, but a prison or a sore punishment?"
He
said, "She solicited me to evil." And a witness out of her own family
witnessed: "If his shirt be rent in front
she speaketh truth, and he is a liar:
But if
his shirt be rent behind, she lieth and he is true."
And
when his lord saw his shirt torn behind, he said, "This is one of your
devices! verily your devices are great!
Joseph!
leave this affair. And thou, O wife, ask pardon for thy crime, for thou hast
sinned."
12:30 And in the city, the women said,
"The wife of the Prince hath solicited her servant:
he hath fired her with his love: but we
clearly see her manifest error."
And
when she heard of their cabal, she sent to them and got ready a banquet for
them, and gave each one of them a knife, and said, "Joseph shew thyself to
them." And when they saw him they were amazed at him, and cut their hands,
and said, "God keep us! This is no man! This is no other than a noble
angel!"
She
said, "This is he about whom you blamed me. I wished him to yield to my
desires, but he stood firm. But if he obey not my command, he shall surely be
cast into prison, and become one of the despised."
He
said, "O my Lord! I prefer the prison to compliance with their bidding: but unless thou turn away their snares from me, I
shall play the youth with them, and become one of the unwise."
And
his Lord heard him and turned aside their snares from him: for he is the Hearer, the Knower.
Yet
resolved they, even after they had seen the signs of his innocence, to imprison
him for a time.
And
there came into the prison with him two youths. Said one of them,
"Methought in my dream that I was pressing grapes." And the other
said, "I dreamed that I was carrying bread on my head, of which the birds
did eat. Declare to us the interpretation of this, for we see thou art a
virtuous person."
He
said, "There shall not come to you in a dream any food wherewith you shall
be fed, but I will acquaint you with its interpretation ere it come to pass to
you. This is a part of that which my Lord hath taught me: for I have abandoned the religion of those who believe not in
God and who deny the life to come;
And I
follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. We may not
associate aught with God. This is of God's bounty towards us and towards
mankind: but the greater part of mankind are
not thankful.
O my
two fellow prisoners! are sundry lords best, or God, the One, the Mighty?
12:40 You worship beside him mere names
which you have named, you and your fathers, for which God hath not sent down
any warranty. Judgment belongeth to God alone. He hath bidden you worship none
but Him. This is the right faith: but most men
know it not.
O my
two fellow prisoners! as to one of you, he will serve wine unto his Lord: but as to the other, he will be crucified and the
birds shall eat from off his head. The matter is decreed concerning which you
enquire."
And he
said unto him who he judged would be set at large, "Remember me with thy
lord." But Satan caused him to forget the remembrance of his Lord, so he
remained some years in prison.
And
the King said, "Verily, I saw in a dream seven fat kine which seven lean
devoured; and seven green ears and other withered. O nobles, teach me my
vision, if a vision you are able to expound."
They
said, "They are confused dreams, nor know we aught of the unravelling of
dreams."
And he
of the twain who had been set at large, said, "I will tell you the
interpretation; let me go for it."
"Joseph,
man of truth! teach us of the seven fat kine which have lean devoured, and of
the seven green ears, and other withered, that I may return to the men, and
that they may be informed."
He
said, "You shall sow seven years as is your wont, and the corn which you
reap leave you in its ear, except a little of which you shall eat.
Then
after that shall come seven grievous years which shall eat what you have stored
for them, except a little which you shall have kept.
Then
shall come after this a year, in which men shall have rain, and in which they shall
press the grape."
12:50 And the King said, "Bring him to
me," And when the messenger came to Joseph he said, "Go back to thy
lord, and ask him what meant the women who cut their hands, for my lord well
knoweth the snare they laid."
Then
said the Prince to the women, "What was your purpose when you solicited
Joseph?" They said, "God keep us! we know not any ill of him."
The wife of the Prince said, "Now doth the truth appear. It was I who
would have led him into unlawful love, and he is one of the truthful."
"By
this" (said Joseph) "may my lord know that I did not in his absence
play him false, and that God guideth not the machinations of deceivers.