Part 20
What!
come you with lust unto men rather than to women? Surely you are an ignorant
people."
And
the answer of his people was but to say, "Cast out the family of
So we
rescued him and his family: but as for his
wife, we decreed her to be of them that lingered:
And we
rained a rain upon them, and fatal was the rain to those who had had their
warning.
27:60 Say:
Praise be to God and peace by on His servants whom He hath chosen! Is God the more
worthy or the gods they join with Him?
Is not
He who hath made the Heavens and the Earth, and hath sent down rain to you from
Heaven, by which we cause the luxuriant groves to spring up? It is not in your
power to cause its trees to spring up! What! A god with God? Yet they find
equals for Him!
Is not
He, who hath set the earth so firm, and hath made rivers in its midst, and hath
placed mountains upon it, and put a barrier between the two seas? What! a god
with God? Yet the greater part of them have no knowledge!
Is not
He the more worthy who answereth the oppressed when they cry to
him,
and taketh off their ills, and maketh you to succeed your sires on the earth?
What! a god with God? How few bear these things in mind!
Is not
He, who guideth you in the darkness of the land and of the sea, and who sendeth
forth the winds as the forerunners of His mercy? What! a god with God? Far from
God be what you join with Him!
Is not
He, who created a Being, then reneweth it, and who supplieth you out of the Heaven
and the Earth? What! a god with God? Say:
Bring forth your proofs if you speak the truth.
Say: None either in the Heavens or in the Earth knoweth
the unseen but God. And they know not
When
they shall be raised.
- Yet
they have attained to a knowledge of the life to come:
-- yet are they in doubt about it: -- yet are
they blind about it!
And
the unbelievers say: "When we and our
fathers have been dead shall we be taken forth?
27:70 Of old have we been promised this, we
and our sires of old: it is but fables of the
ancients."
Say: Go you through the land, and see what hath been
the end of the wicked.
And
grieve not thou for them, nor be in distress at their devisings.
And
they say, "When will this promise be made good, if you speak true?"
Say: Haply a part of what you desire to be hastened may
be close behind you.
And
truly thy Lord is full of goodness towards men:
But most of them are not thankful.
And
thy Lord knoweth well what their breasts enshroud, and what they bring to
light,
And
there is no secret thing in the Heaven or on the Earth, but it is in the clear
Book.
Truly
this Koran declareth to the children of
And it
is certainly guidance and a mercy to the faithful.
27:80 Verily, by his wisdom will thy Lord
decide between them: for He is the Mighty, the
Knowing.
Put
thou then thy trust in God: for thou hast
clear truth on thy side.
Thou
shalt not make the dead to hear; neither shalt thou make the deaf to hear the
call, when they turn away backward;
Neither
art thou the guide of the blind out of their errors:
none truly shalt thou make to hear but those who believe our signs: and they are Muslims.
When
the doom shall be ready to light upon them, we will cause a monster to come
forth to them out of the earth, and cry to them, "Verily men have not
firmly believed our signs."
And on
that day shall be gathered out of eery nation a company of those who have
gainsaid our signs, in separate bands;
Till
they come before God, who will say, "Treated you my signs as impostures,
although you embraced them not in your knowledge? or what is it that you were
doing?
And
doom shall light upon them for their evil deeds, and nought shall they have to
plead.
See
they not that we have ordained the night that they may rest in it, and the day
with its gift of light? Of a truth herein are signs to people who believe.
On
that day there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and all that are in the
heavens, and all that are on the earth shall be terror-stricken, save him whom
God pleaseth to deliver; and all shall come to him in humble guise.
27:90 And thou shalt see the mountains,
which thou thinkest so firm, pass away with the passing of a cloud! 'Tis the
work of God, who ordereth all things! of all that you do is He well aware.
To him
who shall present himself with good works, shall be a reward beyond their
desert, and they shall be secure from the terror on that day;
And
they who shall present themselves with evil shall be flung downward on their
faces into the fire. Shall you be rewarded but as you have wrought?
Say: Specially ma I commanded to worship the Lord of
this land, which He hath sanctified. All things are His:
and I am commanded to be one of those who surrender them to God (a Muslim)
And to
recite the Koran: and whosoever is rightly
guided, assuredly will be rightly guided to his own behoof.
And as
to him who erreth, say, I truly am a warner only. And say, Praise be to God! He
will shew you His signs, and you shall acknowledge them:
and of what you do, thy Lord is not regardless.
Sura XXVIII (28)
The Story
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Ta.
Sin. Mim. These are the signs of the lucid Book.
We will
recite to thee portions of the History of Moses and Pharaoh with truth, for the
teaching of the faithful.
Now
Pharaoh lifted himself up in the earth, and divided his people into parties: one portion of them he brought low -- He slew
their male children, and let their females only live; for he was one of those
who wrought disorders.
And we
were minded to shew favour to those who were brought lo in the land, and to
make them spiritual chief, and to make them spiritual chiefs, and to make them
Pharaoh's heirs,
And to
stablish them in the land; and to make Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts, the
eye-witnesses of what they dreaded from them.
And we
said by revelation to the mother of Moses, "Give him suck; and if thou
fearest for him, launch him on the sea; and fear not, neither fret; for we will
restore him to thee, and make him one of the apostles."
And
Pharaoh's family took him up to be a foe and a sorrow to them, for sinners were
Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts!
And
Pharaoh's wife said, "Joy of the eye to me and thee! put him not to death: haply he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him
as a son." But they knew not what they did.
And
the heart of Moses' mother became a blank through fear:
and almost had she discovered him, but that we girt up her heart with
constancy, in order that she might be one of those who believe.
28:10 She said to his sister, "Follow
him." And she watched him from afar: and
they perceived it not.
And we
caused him to refuse the nurses, until his sister came and said, Shall I point
out to you the family of a house that will rear him for you, and will be
careful of him?
So we
restored him to his mother, to be the joy of her eyes, and that she might not
fret, and that she might know that the promise of God was true. But most men
knew it not.
And
when he had reached his age of strength, and had become a man, we bestowed on
him wisdom and knowledge; for thus do we reward the righteous.
And he
entered a city at the time when its inhabitants would not observe him, and
found therein two men fights: the one, of his
own people; the other, of his enemies. And he who was of his own people asked
his help against him who was of his enemies. And Moses smote him with his fist
and slew him. Said he, "This is a work of Satan; for he is an enemy, a
manifest misleader."
He
said, "O my Lord, I have sinner to mine own hurt:
forgive me." So God forgave him; for He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
He
said, "Lord, because thou hast showed me this grace, I will never again be
a helper of the wicked."
And in
the city at noon he was full of fear, casting furtive glances round him: and lo! the man whom he had helped the day before,
cried out to him again for help. Said Moses to him, "Thou art plainly a
most depraved person."
And
when he would have laid violent hands on him who was their common foe, he said
to him, "O Moses, dost thou desire to slay me, as thou slayedst a man
yesterday? Thou desirest only to become a tyrant in this land, and desirest not
to become a peacemaker."
But a
man came running up from the city's end. He said, "O Moses, of a truth,
the nobles consult to slay thee -- Begone then -- I counsel thee as a
friend."
28:20 So forth he went from it in fear,
looking warily about him. He said, "O Lord, deliver me from the unjust
people."
And
when he was journeying toward Madian, he said, "Haply my Lord will direct
me in an even path."
And
when he arrived at the water of Madian, he found at it a company of men
watering.
And he
found beside them, two women keeping back their flock:
"Why do you," said he, "thus?" They said "We shall not
water till the shepherds shall have driven off; for our father is very
aged."
So he
watered for them -- then retired to the shade and said, 'O my Lord, of the good
thou hast caused me to meet with I stand in need."
And
one of them came to him, walking bashfully. Said she, "My father calleth
thee, that he may pay thee wages for thy watering for us." And when he
came to him and had told him his story, "Fear not," said he,
"thou hast escaped from an unjust people."
One of
them said, "O my father, hire him: for
the best thou canst hire is the strong, the trusty."
He
said, "Truly to one of these my two daughters I desire to marry thee, if
for eight years thou wilt be my hired servant:
and if thou fulfil ten, it shall be of thine own accord, for I wish not to deal
hardly with thee. Thou wilt find me, if God will, one of the upright."
He
said, "Be it so between me and thee:
Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there will be no injustice to me. And God
is witness of what we say."
And
when Moses had fulfilled the term, and was journeying with his family, he
perceived a fire on the mountain side. He said to his family, "Wait you,
for I perceive a fire. Haply I may you tidings from it, or a brand from the
fire to warm you."
28:30 And when he came up to it, a Voice
cried to him out of the bush from the right side of the valley in the sacred
hollow, "O Moses, I truly am God, the Lord of the Worlds:
Throw
down now thy rod." And when he saw it move as though it were a serpent,
the retreated and fled and returned not. "O Moses," cried the Voice,
"draw near and fear not, for thou art in safety.
Put
thy hand into thy bosom; it shall come forth white, but unharmed: and draw back thy hand to thee without fear. These
shall be two signs from thy Lord to Pharaoh and his nobles; for they are a
perverse people.
He
said, "O my Lord! truly I have slain one of them, therefore fear I lest
they slay me.
My
brother Aaron is clearer of speech than I. Send him, therefore, with me as a
help, and to make good my cause, for I fear lest they treat me as an
imposter."
He
said, "We will strengthen thine arm with thy brother, and we will give
power unto you both, and they shall not equal you in our signs. You twain and
they who shall follow you, shall gain the day."
And
when Moses came to him with our demonstrative signs they said, "This is
nought but magical device. We never heard the like among our sires of
old."
And
Moses said, "My Lord best knoweth on whom He hath bestowed His guidance,
and whose shall be the recompense of the abode of Paradise. Verily, the wicked
shall not prosper."
And
Pharaoh said, "O you nobles, you have no other God that I know of but myself.
Burn me then, Haman, bricks of clay, and build me a tower that I may mount up
to the God of Moses, for in sooth, I deem him a liar."
And he
and his hosts behaved themselves proudly and unjustly on the earth, and thought
that they should never be brought back to us.
28:40 But we seized on him and his hosts and
cast them into the sea: Behold, then, the end
of the wrongful doers:
And we
made them imams who invite to the fire of hell, and on the day of Resurrection
they shall not be helped.
We
followed them with a curse in this world, and covered shall they be with shame
on the day of Resurrection.
And
after we had destroyed the former generations, we gave the book of the Law to
Moses for man's enlightening, and a guidance and a mercy, that haply they might
reflect.
And
thou wast not on the western slope of Sinai when we laid his charge on Moses,
nor wast thou one of the witnesses;
But we
raised up generations after Moses, men whose days were lengthened; neither
didst thou dwell among the inhabitants of Madian to rehearse to them our signs,
but we sent Apostles to them.
Nor
wast thou on the slope of Sinai when we called to Moses, but it is of the mercy
of thy Lord that thou warnest a people, to whom no warner had come before thee,
to the intent that they should reflect:
And
that they should not say when a calamity shall befal them for the previous
handy work, "O our Lord! why hast thou not sent an Apostle to us? Then we
should have followed thy signs and have been of the believers."
Yet
when the truth came to them from our very presence, they said, "Unless the
like powers be given to him that were given to Moses...." But did they not
disbelieve in what of old was given to Moses? They said, "Two works of
sorcery have helped each other;" and they said, "We disbelieve them
both."
Say: Bring then a Book from before God which shall be a
better tuide than these, that I may follow it; if you speak the truth.
28:50 And if they answer thee not, then know
that verily they are following their own caprices:
and who goeth more widely astray that he who followeth his own caprice without
guidance from God? for God guideth not the wicked.
And
now have we caused our word to come unto them, that they may be warned:
They
to whom we gave the Scriptures for it, do in it believe.
And
when it is recited to them they say, "We believe in it, for it is the
truth from our Lord. We were Muslims before it came."
Twice
shall their reward be given them, for that they suffered with patience, and
repelled evil with good, and gave alms out of that with which we provided them.
And
when they hear light discourse they withdraw from it, and say, "Our works
for us and your works for you! Peace be on you! We are not in quest of
fools!"
Thou
truly canst not guide whom thou desirest; but God guideth whom He will; and He
best knoweth those who yield to guidance.
But
they say, "If we follow the way in which thou art guided, we shall be
driven from our country." But have we not established for them a sacred
secure precinct, to which fruits of every kind, our gift for their support, are
gathered together? But most of them have no knowledge.
And
how many cities have we destroyed that flourished in wanton ease! And these
their dwellings have not been inhabited since their time save by a few, and it
is we who became their heirs.
But
thy Lord did not destroy the cities till He had sent an apostle to their
mother-city to rehearse our signs to its people:
nor did we destroy the cities unless its people were unjust.
28:60 And all that hath been bestowed on you
is merely for enjoyment and pomp of this life present:
but that which is with God is better and more lasting. Will you not be wise?
Shall
he then to whom we have promised a goodly promise and who obtaineth it, be as
he on whom we have bestowed the enjoyments of this life present, and who on the
day of Resurrection shall be brought up for punishment?
On
that day will God cry to them and say, "Where are my companions, as you
supposed them?"
They
on whom doom shall be justly pronounced will say, "O our Lord! these are
they whom we led astray: we led them astray
even as we had been led astray ourselves: Thou
hast no cause of blame against us: It was not
we whom they worshipped.
And it
shall be said, "Call now on those whom you made God's companions:" and they shall call on them, but they will
not answer them. And they shall see the punishment, and wish that they had been
guided aright.
And on
that day shall God call to them and say, "How answered you the
apostles?"
But on
that day they shall be too blinded with confusion to give an account, nor shall
they ask it of one another.
Yet as
to him who shall turn to God and believe and do the thing that is right, it may
come to pass that he shall be among the happy.
And
thy Lord createth what he will and hath a free choice. But they, the false
gods, have no power to choose. Glory be to God! and high let him be exalted
above those whom they associate with him.
And
thy Lord knoweth what their breasts conceal and what they bring to light.
28:70 And He is God! There is no god but He!
His, all praise in this life and in the next, and His the power supreme, and to
Him shall you be brought back!
Say: What think you? If God should enshroud you with a
long night until the day of resurrection, what god beside God would bring you
light? Will you not then hearken?
Say: What think you? If God should make it one long day
for you until the day of resurrection, what god but God could bring you the
night in which to take your rest? Will you not then see?
Of His
mercy he hath made for you the night that you may take your rest in it; and the
day that you may seek what you need out of his bounteous supplies, and that you
may give thanks.
One
day God will call to them and say, "Where are my companions as you
supposed them?
And we
will bring up a witness out of every nation and say, "Bring your
proofs." And they shall know that the truth is with God alone, and the
gods of their own devising shall desert them.
Now
Korah was of the people of Moses: but he
behaved haughtily toward them; for we had given him such treasure that its keys
would have burdened a company of men of strength. When his people said to him,
"Exult not, for God loveth not those who exult;
But
seek, by means of what God hath given thee, to attain the future Mansion; and
neglect not thy part in this world, but be bounteous to others as God hath been
bounteous to thee, and seek not to commit excesses on the earth; for God loveth
not those who commit excesses:"
He
said, "It hath been given me only on account of the knowledge that is in
me." Did he not know that God had destroyed before him generations that
were mightier than he in strength and had amassed more abundant wealth? But the
wicked shall not be asked of their crimes.
And Korah
went forth to his people in his pomp. Those who were greedy for this present
life said, "Oh that we had the like of that which hath been bestowed on
Korah! Truly he is possessed of great good fortune.
28:80 But they to whom knowledge had been
given said, "Woe to you! the reward of God is better for him who believeth
and worketh righteousness, and none shall win it but those who have patiently
endured."
And we
clave the earth for him and for his palace, and he had no forces, in the place
of God, to help him, nor was he among those who are succoured.
And in
the morning those who the day before had coveted his lot said, "Aha! God
enlargeth supplies to whom he pleaseth of his servants, or is sparing. Had not
God been gracious to us, He had caused it to cleave for us. Aha! the ungrateful
can never prosper."
As to
this future mansion, we will bestow it on those who seek not to exalt them in
the earth or to do wrong: And there is a happy
issue for the God-fearing.
Whoso
doeth good shall have reward beyond its merits, and whoso doeth evil, they who
do evil shall be rewarded only as they shall have wrought.
He who
hath sanctioned the Koran to thee will certainly bring thee to thy home. Say: My Lord best knoweth who hath guidance, and who is
in undoubted error.
Thou
didst never expect that the Book would be given thee. Of thy Lord's mercy only
hath it been sent down. Be not thou helpful then to the unbelievers:
Neither
let them turn thee aside from the signs of God after they have been sent down
to thee, but bid men to thy Lord: and be not
among those who add gods to God:
And
call not on any other god with God. There is no god but He! Everything shall
perish except Himself! Judgment is His, and to Him shall you return!
Sura XXIX (29)
The Spider
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________________________________________
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Elif.
Lam. Mim. think men that when they say, "We believe," they shall be
let alone and not be put to proof?
We put
to proof those who lived before them; for God will surely take knowledge of
those who are sincere, and will surely take knowledge of the liars.
Think
they who work evil that they shall escape Us? Ill do they judge.
To him
who hopeth to meet God, the set time of God will surely come. The Hearer, the
Knower, He!
Whoso
maketh efforts for the faith, maketh them for his own good only. Verily God is
rich enough to dispense with all creatures.
And as
to those who shall have believed and done the things that are right, their evil
deeds will we surely blot out from them, and according to their best actions
will we surely reward them.
Moreover
we have enjoined on man to shew kindness to parents:
but if they strive with thee that thou join that with Me of which thou hast no
knowledge, obey them not. To me do you return, and then will I tell you of your
doings:
And
those who shall have believed and done the things that are right, we will
surely give them an entering in among the just.
But
some men say, "We believe in God," yet when they meet with sufferings
in the cause of God, they regard trouble from man as chastisement from God. Yet
if a success come from thy Lord they are sure to say, "We were on your
side!" Doth not God well know what is in the breasts of his creatures?
29:10 Yes, and God well knoweth those who
believe, and He well knoweth the Hypocrites.
The
unbelievers say to the faithful, "Follow you our way, and we will surely
bear your sins." But not aught of their sins will they bear -- verily they
are liars!
But
their own burdens, and burdens beside their own burdens shall they surely bear: and inquisition shall be made of them on the day
of Resurrection as to their false devices.
Of old
sent we Noah to his people: a thousand years
save fifty did he tarry among them; and the flood overtook them in their
wrongful doings:
But we
rescued him and those who were in the vessel; and we made it a sign to all men:
And
Abraham; when he said to his people, "Worship God and fear Him. This will
be best for you, if you have knowledge;"
You
only worship idols beside God, and are the authors of a lie. Those whom you
worship beside God can give you no supplies:
seek, then, your supplies from God; and serve Him and give Him thanks. To Him
shall you return.
Suppose
that you treat me as a liar! nations before you have treated God's messenger as
a liar; but open preaching is his only duty.
See
they not how God bringeth forth creation? and then causeth it to return again?
This truly is easy for God.
Say,
Go through the earth, and see how he hath brought forth created beings.
Hereafter, with a second birth will God cause them to be born again; for God is
Almighty.
29:20 Whom He pleaseth will He chastise, and
on whom He pleaseth will He have mercy, and to Him shall you be taken back.
And
you shall not invalidate his power either in the Earth or in the Heaven: and, save God, you shall have neither patron nor
helper.
As for
those who believe not in the signs of God, or that they shall ever meet him, these
of my mercy shall despair, and these doth a grievous chastisement await."
And
the only answer of his people was to say, "Slay him or burn him." But
from the fire did God save him! Verily, herein are signs to those who believe.
And
Abraham said, "Of a truth you have taken idols along with God as your bond
of union in this life present;
But on
the day of resurrection some of you shall deny the others, and some of you
shall curse the others; and your abode shall be the fire, and you shall have
none to help."
But
Lot believed on him, and said, "I betake me to my Lord, for He truly is
the Mighty, the Wise."
And we
bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and placed the gift of prophecy and the
Scripture among his posterity; And we gave him his reward in this world, and in
the next he shall be among the just.
We
sent also Lot: when he said to his people,
"Proceed you to a filthiness in which no people in the world hath ever
gone before you?
Proceed
you even to men? attack you them on the highway? and proceed you to the crime
in your assemblies?" but the only answer of his people was to say,
"Bring God's chastisement upon us, if thou art a man of truth." He
cried: My Lord! help me against this polluted
people.
29:30 And when our messengers came to
Abraham with the tidings of a son, they said, "Of a truth we will destroy
in in-dwellers in this city, for its in-dwellers are evil doers."
He
said, "Lot is therein." They said, "We know full well who
therein is. Him and his family will we save, except his wife; she will be of
those who linger.
And
when our messengers came to Lot, he was troubled for them, and his arm was too
weak to protect them; and they said, "Fear not, and distress not thyself,
for thee and thy family will we save, except thy wife; she will be of those who
linger.
We
will surely bring down upon the dwellers in this city vengeance from Heaven for
the excesses they have committed."
And in
what we have left of it is a clear sign to men of understanding.
And to
Madian we sent their brother Shoaib. And he said, "Oh! my people! worship
God, and expect the latter day, and enact not in the land deeds of harmful
excess."
But
they treated him as an imposter: so an
earthquake assailed them; and at morn they were found prostrate and dead in
their dwellings.
And we
destroyed Ad and Themoud. Already is this made plain to you in the ruins of
their dwellings. For Satan had made their own works fair seeming to them, and
drew them from the right path, keen-sighted though they were.
And
Corah and Pharaoh and Haman. With proofs of his mission did Moses come to them,
and they behaved proudly on the earth; but us they could not outstrip;
For,
every one of them did we seize in his sin. Against some of them did we sent a
stone-charged wind: Some of them did the
terrible cry of Gabriel surprise: for some of
them we cleaved the earth; and some of them we drowned. And it was not God who
would deal wrongly by them, but they wronged themselves.
29:40 The likeness for those who take to
themselves guardians instead of God is the likeness of the spider who buildeth
her a house: But verily, frailest of all
houses surely is the house of the spider. Did they but know this!
God
truly knoweth all that they call on beside Him; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.
These
similitudes do we set forth to men: and one
understand them except the wise.
God
hath created the Heavens and the Earth for a serious end. Verily in this is a
sign to those who believe.
Recite
the portions of the Book which have been revealed to thee and discharge the duty
of prayer: for prayer restraineth from the
filthy and the blame-worthy. And the gravest duty is the remembrance of God;
and God knoweth what you do.
Dispute
not, unless in kindly sort, with the people of the Book; save with such of them
as have dealt wrongfully with you: And say
you, "We believe in what hath been sent down to us and hath been sent down
to you. Our God and your God is one, and to him are we self-surrendered"
(Muslims).