Part 24
Then, at
the day of resurrection, you shall wrangle with one another in the presence of
your Lord.
And
who acteth more unjustly than he who lieth of God, and treateth the truth when
it cometh to him as a lie? Is there not a dwelling-place in Hell for the infidels?
But he
who bringeth the truth, and he who believeth it to be the truth: these are the God-fearing.
Whatever
they shall desire, awaiteth them with their Lord! This is the reward of the
righteous;
Tht
God may do away the guilt of their worst actions, and for their best actions
render them their reward.
Is not
God all-sufficient for his servant? Yet would they scare thee by their idols.
But no guide shall there be for him whom God misleadeth:
And he
whom God guideth shall have none to mislead him. Is not God, all-mighty, able
to revenge?
And if
thou ask them who hath created the Heavens and the Earth, they will surely
answer, God. Say: This you, then, that they on
whom you call beside God, if God choose to afflict me, could remove his
affliction? or if he choose to show me mercy, could they withhold His mercy?
Say: God sufficeth me:
in Him let the trusting trust.
39:40 Say:
O my people, act your part as best you can, I too will act mine; and in the end
you shall know
On
whom shall light a punishment that shall shame him, and on whom a lasting
punishment shall fall.
Assuredly
we have sent down the Book to thee for man and for the ends of truth. Whoso
shall be guided by it -- it will be for his own advantage, and whoso shall err,
shall only err to his own loss. But not to thy keeping are they entrusted.
God
taketh souls unto Himself at death; and during their sleep those who do not die: and he retaineth those on which he hath passed a
decree of death, but sendeth the others back till a time that is fixed. Herein
are signs for the reflecting.
Have
they taken aught beside God as intercessors? Say:
What! though they have no power over anything, neither do they understand?
Say: Intercession is wholly with God: His the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth!
To him shall you be brought back hereafter!
But
when the One God is named, the hearts of those who believe not in the life to
come, shrivel up: but when the deities who are
adored beside Him are named, lo! they are filled with joy.
Say: O God, creator of the Heaven and of the Earth, who
knowest the hidden and the manifest, thou shalt judge between thy servants as
to the subject of their disputes.
If the
wicked possessed all that is in the earth and as much against therewith, verily
they would ransom themselves with it from the pain of the punishment on the day
of the resurrection; and there shall appear to them, from God, things they had
never reckoned on:
And
their own ill deeds shall be clearly perceived by them, and that fire at which
they mocked shall encircle them on every side.
39:50 When trouble befalleth a man he crieth
to Us; afterwards, when we have vouchsafed favour to him, he saith, "God
knew that I deserved it." Nay, it is a trial. But the greater part of them
knew it not.
The
same said those who flourished before them; but their deeds profited them not.
And
their own ill deeds recoiled upon them. And whoso among these
(Meccans)
shall do wrong, on them likewise their own misdeeds shall light, neither shall
they invalidate God.
Know they
not that God giveth supplies with open hand, and that He is sparing to whom He
will? Of a truth herein are signs to those who believe.
Say: O my servants who have transgressed to your own
hurt, despair not of God's mercy, for all sins doth God forgive. Gracious,
Merciful is He!
And
return you to your Lord, and to Him resign yourselves, ere the punishment come
on you, for then you shall not be helped:
And
follow that most excellent thing which hath been sent down to you from your
Lord, ere the punishment come on you suddenly, and when you look not for it:
So
that a soul say, "Oh misery! for my failures in duty towards God! and
verily I was of those who scoffed:"
Or
say, "Had God guided me, I had surely been of those who feared Him:"
Or say,
when it seeth the punishment, "Could I but return, then I would be of the
righteous."
39:60 Nay! my signs had already come to
thee, and thou didst treat them as untruths, and wast arrogant, and becamest of
those who believed not.
And on
the resurrection day, thou shalt see those who have lied of God, with their
faces black. Is there not an abode in Hell for the arrogant?
But
God shall rescue those who fear him into their safe retreat: no ill shall touch them, neither shall they be put
to grief.
God is
the creator of all things, and of all things is He the guardian! His the keys
of the Heaven and of the Earth! and -- who believe not in the signs of God --
these! they shall perish!
Say: What! do you then bid me worship other than God, O
you ignorant ones?
But
now hath it been revealed to thee and to those who flourished before thee, --
"Verily, if thou join partners with God, vain shall be all thy work, and
thyself shalt be of those who perish.
Nay,
rather worship God! and be of those who render thanks."
But
they have not deemed of God as is He due; for on the resurrection day the whole
Earth shall be but his handful, and in his right hand shall the Heavens be
folded together. Praise be to Him! and high be He uplifted above the partners
they join with Him!
And
there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and all who are in the Heavens and all
who are in the Earth shall expire, save those whom God shall vouchsafe to live.
Then shall there be another blast on it, and lo! arising they shall gaze around
them:
And
the earth shall shine with the light of her lord, and the Book shall be set,
and the prophets shall be brought up, and the witnesses; and judgment shall be
given between them with equity; and none shall be wronged:
39:70 And every soul shall receive as it
shall have wrought, for well knoweth He men's actions.
And by
troops shall the unbelievers be driven towards Hell, until when they reach it,
its gates shall be opened, and its keepers shall say to them, "Came not
apostles from among yourselves to you, reciting to you the signs of the Lord,
and warning you of the meeting with Him on this your day?" They shall say,
"Yes." But just is the sentence of punishment on the unbelievers.
It
shall be said to them, "Enter you the gates of Hell, therein to dwell for
ever;" and wretched the abode of the arrogant!
But
those who feared their Lord shall be driven on by troops to Paradise, until
when they reach it, its gates shall be opened, and its keepers shall say to
them, "All hail! virtuous have you been:
enter therein, to abide herein for ever."
And
they shall say, "Praise be to God, who hath made good to us His promise,
and hath given to us the earth as our heritage, that we may dwell in Paradise
wherever we please!" And goodly is the reward of those who travailed
virtuously.
And
thou shalt see the Angels circling around the Throne with praises of their Lord: and judgment shall be pronounced between them with
equity: and it shall be said, "Glory be
to God the Lord of the Worlds."
Sura XL (40)
The Believer
(
________________________________________
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
40:1 Ha. Mim. The Revelation (sending down)
of the Book is from God the Almighty, the All-knowing,
Forgiver
of sin, and receiver of penitence, -- vehement in chastisement,
Long-suffering!
There is no God but He: to Him shall be the
final gathering.
None
but infidels gainsay the signs of God: but let
not their prosperity in the land deceive thee.
The
people of Noah, and the confederates after them, have brought the charge of
imposture before these Meccans: each nation
schemed against their apostle to lay violent hold on him, and disputed with
vain words to refute the truth. Therefore did I lay violent hold on them; and
how greater was my chastisement!
Thus
is it that thy Lord's sentence, that inmates shall they be of the fire, was
accomplished upon the infidels.
They
who bear the throne and they who encircle it, celebrate the praise of their
Lord and believe in Him, and implore forgiveness for the believers: -- "O our Lord! thou embracest all things in
mercy and knowledge; forgive, therefore, those who turn to thee and follow thy
path; keep them from the pains of hell:
O our
Lord! and bring them into the Gardens of
And
keep them from evil: for on him hast thou
mercy whom on that day thou shalt keep from evil;" and this will be the
great felicity.
40:10 But to the infidels shall a voice cry,
"Surely the hatred of God is more grievous than your hatred of yourselves,
when you were called to the faith, and remained unbelievers."
They
shall say, "Twice, O our Lord, hast thou given us death, and twice hast
thou given us life: and we acknowledge our
sins: is there no way to escape?"
"This
hath befallen you, for that when One God was proclaimed to you, you believed
not: but when partners had been united with
him, you believed: But judgment belongeth unto
God, the High, the Great."
It is
He who sheweth you his signs, and sendeth down supplies to you from Heaven: but none will receive warning save he who turneth
to God.
Call
then on God, offering him a pure worship, though the infidels abhor it.
Of
exalted grade, of the throne possessed, He sendeth forth the Spirit at His own
behest on whomsoever of His servants He pleaseth, that He may warn of the day
of meeting,
The
day when they shall come forth from their graves, when nought that concerneth
them shall be hidden from God. With whom shall be the power supreme on that
day? With God, the One, the Almighty.
On
that day shall every soul be recompensed as it hath deserved: no injustice on that day! Verily, God will be
swift to reckon.
Warn
them, then, of the approaching day, when men's hearts shall rise up, choking
them, into their throats.
The
evil-doers shall have no friend or intercessor who shall prevail.
40:20 God knoweth the deceitful of eye, and
what men's breasts conceal.
And
everything will God decide with truth: But
nothing shall those gods whom men call on beside him, decide. Verily, God! the
Hearer, the Beholder, He!
Have
they never journeyed in this land, and seen what hath been the end of those who
flourished before them? Mightier were they in strength than these Meccans, and
their races remain in the land: Yet God took
them in their sins, and there was none to defend them against God.
This,
because they apostles had come to them with proofs of their mission, and they
believed not: so God took them in hand; for He
is mighty, vehement in punishing.
Moreover
we had sent Moses of old with our signs and with clear authority.
To
Pharaoh, and Haman, and Karun: and they said,
"Sorcerer, impostor."
And when
he came to them from our presence with the truth, they said, "Slay the
sons of those who believe as he doth, and save their females alive;" but
the stratagem of the unbelievers issued only in failure.
And
Pharaoh said, "Let me alone, that I may kill Moses; and let him call upon
his Lord: I fear lest he change your religion,
or cause disorder to dhew itself in the land."
And
Moses said, "I take refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every proud one
who believeth not in the day of reckoning."
And a
man of the family of Pharaoh, who was a believer, but hid his faith, said,
"Will you slay a man because he saith my Lord is god, when he hath already
come to you with proofs of his mission from your Lord? and if he be a liar, on
him will be his life: but if he be a man of
truth, part at least of what he threateneth will fall upon you. Truly God
guideth not him who is a transgressor, a liar.
40:30 O my people! this day is the kingdom
yours, the eminent of the earth! but who shall defend us from the vengeance of
God if it come on us?" Pharaoh said, "i would have you see only what
I see; and in a right way only will I guide you."
Then
said he who believed, "O my people! truly I fear for you the like of the
day of the allies,
The
like of the state of the people of Noah and Ad and Themoud,
And of
those who came after them; yet God willeth not injustice to his servants.
And, O
my people! I indeed fear for you the day of mutual outcry --
The
day when you shall be turned back from the Judgment into hell. No protector
shall you have then against God. And he whom God shall mislead no guide shall
there be for him.
Moreover,
Joseph had come to you before with clear tokens, but you ceased not to doubt of
the message with which he came to you, until when he died, you said, 'God will
by no means raise up an apostle after him.'" Thus God misleadeth him who
is the transgressor, the doubter.
They
who gainsay the signs of the God without authority having come to them, are
greatly hated by the God and by those who believe. Thus God sealeth up every
proud, contumacious heart.
And
Pharaoh said, "O Haman, Build for me a tower that I may reach the avenues,
The
avenues of the heavens, and may mount to the God of Moses, for I verily deem
him a liar."
40:40 And thus the evil of his doings was
made fair-seeming to Pharaoh, and he turned away from the path of truth; but
the artifice of Pharaoh ended only in his ruin.
And he
who believed said, "O my people! follow me:
into the right way will I guide you.
O my
people! this present life is only a passing joy, but the life to come is the
mansion that abideth.
Whoso
shall have wrought evil shall not be recompensed but with its life; but whoso
shall have done the things that are right, whether male or female, and is a
believer -- these shall enter paradise: good
things unreckoned shall they enjoy therein.
And, O
my people! how is it that I bid you to salvation, but that you bid me to the
fire?
You
invite me to deny God, and to join with him gods of whom I know nothing; but I
invite you to the Mighty, the Forgiving.
No
doubt is there that they to whom you invite me are not to be invoked either in
this world or in the world to come: and that
unto God is our return, and that the transgressors shall be in the inmates of
the fire.
Then
shall you remember what I am saying unto you:
and to God commit I my case: Verily, God
beholdeth his servants."
So God
preserved him from the evils which they had planned, and the woe of the
punishment encompassed the people of Pharaoh.
It is the
fire to which they shall be exposed morning and evening, and on the day when
"the Hour" shall arrive -- "Bring in the people of Pharaoh into
the severest punishment."
40:50 And when they shall wrangle together in
the fire, the weak shall say to those who had borne themselves so proudly,
"It is your we followed: will you
therefore relieve us from aught of the fire?"
And
those proud ones shall say, "Verily we are all in it; for now hath God
judged between his servants."
And
they who are in the fire shall say to the keepers of Hell, "Implore your
Lord that he would give us ease but for one day from this torment."
They
shall say, "Came not your apostles to you with the tokens?" They
shall say, "Yes." They shall say, "Cry you then aloud for help:" but the cry of the unbelievers shall be only
in vain.
Assuredly,
in this present life will we succour our apostles and those who shall have
believed, and on the day when the witnesses shall stand forth;
A day
whereon the plea of the evil doers shall not avail them; but theirs shall be a
curse, and theirs the woe of the abode in Hell.
And of
old gave we Moses the guidance, and we made the children of Israel the heritors
of the Book, -- a guidance and warning to men endued with understanding.
Therefore
be steadfast thou and patient; for true is the promise of God: and seek pardon for thy fault, and celebrate the
praise of thy Lord at evening and at morning.
As to
those who cavil at the signs of God without authority having reached them,
nought is there but pride in their breasts:
but they shall not succeed. Fly thou for refuge then to God, for He is the
Hearer, the Beholder.
Greater
surely than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and of the earth: but most men know it not.
40:60 Moreover, the blind and the seeing,
and the evil doer and they who believe and do the things that are right, shall
not be deemed equal. How few ponder this!
Aye,
"the Hour" will surely come: there
is no doubt of it: but most men believe it
not.
And
your Lord saith, "Call upon me -- I will hearken unto you: but they who turn in disdain from my service shall
enter Hell with shame."
It is
God who hath ordained the night for your rest, and the day to give you light: verily God is rich in bounties to men: but most men render not the tribute of thanks.
This
is God your Lord, Creator of all things: no
god is there but He: why then do you turn away
from Him?
Yet
thus are they turned aisde who gainsay the signs of God.
It is
God who hath given you the earth as a sure foundation, and over it built up the
Heaven, and formed you, and made your forms beautiful, and feedeth you with
good things. This is God your Lord. Blessed then be Goid the Lord of the World!
He is
the Living One. No God is there but He. Call then upon Him and offer Him a pure
worship. Praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds!
Say: Verily I am forbidden to worship what you call on
beside God, after that the clear tokens have come to me from my Lord, and I am
bidden to surrender myself to the Lord of the Worlds.
He it
is who created you of the dust, then of the germs of life, then of thick blood,
then brought you forth infants: then he
letteth you reach your full strength, and then become old men (but some of you
die first), and reach the ordained term. And this that haply you may
understand.
40:70 It is He who giveth life and death;
and when He decreeth a thing, He only saith of it, "Be," and it is.
Seest
thou not those who cavil at the signs of God? how are they turned aside!
They
who treat "the Book," and the message with which we have sent our
Sent Ones, as a lie, shall know the truth hereafter.
When
the collars shall be on their necks and the chains to drag them into Hell: then in the fire shall they be burned.
Then shall
it be said to them, "Where are they whom you made the objects of joint
worship with God?" They shall say, "They have vanished away from us.
Yea, it was nought on which we called heretofore." Thus God leadeth the
unbelievers astray.
-
"This for you, because of your unrighteous insolence and immoderate joys
on earth.
Enter
you the portal of Hell to abide therein for ever. And, wretched the abode of
the haughty ones!"
`Therefore
be thou steadfast in patience: for the promise
of God is truth: and whether we shall make
thee see part of the woes with which we threatened them, or whether we cause
thee first to die, unto us shall they be brought back.
And we
have already sent apostles before thee: of some
we have told thee, and of others we have told you nothing: but no apostle had the power to work a miracle
unless by the leave of God. But when God's behest cometh, everything will be
decided with truth: and then they perish who
treated it as a vain thing.
It is
God who hath given you the cattle that on some of them you may ride, and of
some may eat:
40:80 (Other advantages too do you derive
from them) and that by them you may effect the projects you cherish in your
breasts; for on them, and on ships are you borne:
And He
sheweth you His signs: which, then, of the
signs of God will you deny?
Have
they not journeyed in this land, and seen what hath been the end of those who
flourished before them? More were they than these in number and mightier in strength,
and greater are the traces of their power remaining in the land: yet their labours availed them nothing.
And
when their apostles had come to them with the tokens of their mission, they
exulted in what they possessed of knowledge; but that retribution at which they
scoffed, encompassed them.
And
when they beheld our vengeance they said, "We believe in God alone, and we
disbelieve in the deities we once associated with Him."
But
their faith, after they had witnessed our vengeance, profited them not. Such is
the procedure of God with regard to his servants who flourished of old. And
then the unbelievers perished.
Sura XLI (41)
The Made Plain
(
________________________________________
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Ha.
Mim. A Revelation from the Compassionate, the Merciful!
A Book
whose verses (signs) are made plain -- an Arabic Koran, for men of knowledge;
Announcer
of glad tidings and charged with warnings! But most of them withdraw and
hearken not:
And they
say, "Our hearts are under shelter from thy teachings, and in our ears is
a deafness, and between us and thee there is a veil. Act as thou thinkest right: we verily shall act as we think right."
Say: I am only aman like you. It is revealed to me that
your God is one God: go straight then to Him,
and implore his pardon. And woe to those who join gods with God;
Who
pay not the alms of obligation, and in the life to come believe not!
But
they who believe and do the things that are right shall receive a perfect
recompense.
Say: Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who in two days
created the earth? and do you assign Him peers? The Lord of the worlds is He!
And he
hath placed on the earth the firm mountains which tower above it; and He hath
blessed it, and distributed food throughout it, for the cravings of all are
alike, in four days:
41:10 Then He applied himself to the Heaven,
which then was but smoke: and to it and to the
Earth He said, "Come you, whether in obedience or against your will?"
and they both said, "We come obedient."
And He
made them seven heavens in two days, and in each heaven made known its office: And we furnished the lower heaven with lights and
guardian angels. This, the disposition of the Almighty, the All-knowing.
If they
turn away, then say: I warn you of a tempest,
like the tempest of Ad and Themoud!
When
the apostles came to them, on every side, saying, "Worship none but
God," they said, "Had our Lord been pleased to send down, He had
surely sent down angels; and in sooth, your message we do not believe."
As to
Ad, they bore them proudly and unjustly in the land, and said, "Who more
mighty than we in prowess?" Saw they not that God their creator was
mightier than they in prowess? And they rejected our signs.
Therefore
on ill-omened days did we send against them an impetuous blast that we mighty
make them taste the chastisement of shame in this world:
-- but more shameful shall be the chastisement of the life to come; and they
shall not be protected.
And as
to Themoud, we had vouchsafed them guidance; but to guidance did they prefer
blindness; wherefore the tempest of a shameful punishment overtook them for
their doings:
But we
rescued the believing and the God-fearing:
And
warn of the day when the enemies of God shall be gathered unto the fire urged
on in bands:
Until
when they reach it, their ears and their eyes and their skins shall bear
witness against them of their deeds:
41:20 And they shall say to their skins,
"Why witness you against us?" They shall say, "God, who giveth a
voice to all things, hath given us a voice: He
created you at first, and to Him are you brought back.
And
you did not hide yourselves so that neither your ears nor your eyes nor your
skins should witness against you: but you thought
that God knew not many a thing that you did!
And
this your thought which you did think of your Lord hath ruined you, so that you
are become of those who perish."
And be
they patient, still the fire shall be their abode:
or if they beg for favour, yet shall they not be of the favoured.
And we
will appoint Satans as their fast companions; for it was they who made their
present and future state seem fair and right to them; and the sentence passed
on the peoples of Djinn and men who flourished before them hath become their
due, and they shall perish.
Yet
the unbelievers say, "Hearken not to this Koran, but keep up a talking,
that you may overpower the voice of the reader."
Surely
therefore will we cause the unbelievers to taste a terrible punishment;
And
recompense them according to the worst of their actions.
This
the reward of the enemies of God, -- the Fire! it shall be their eternal abode,
in requital for their gainsaying our signs.
And
they who believed not shall say, "O our Lord! shew us those of the Djinn
and men who led us astray: both of them will
we put under our feet, that they may be of the humbled."
41:30 But as for those who say, "Our
Lord is God;" and who go straight to Him, the angels shall descend to them
and say, "Fear you not, neither be you grieved, but rejoice you in the
paradise which you have been promised.
We are
your guardians in this life and in the next:
your's therein shall be your soul's desire, and your's therein whatever you
shall ask for,
The
hospitality of a Gracious, a Merciful One."
And
who speaketh fairer than he who biddeth to God and doth the thing that is
right, and saith, "I for my part am of the Muslims"?
Moreover,
good and evil are not to treated as the same thing. Turn away evil by what is
better, and lo! he between whom and thyself was enmity, shall be as though he
were a warm friend.
But
none attain to this save men steadfast in patience, and none attain to it
except the most highly favoured.
And if
an enticement from Satan entice thee, then take refuge in God, for He is the
Hearing, the Knowing.
And
among his signs are the night, and the day, and the sun, and the moon. Bend not
in adoration to the sun or the moon, but bend in adoration before God who
created them both, if you would serve Him.
But if
they are too proud for this, yet they who are with thy Lord do celebrate His
praises night and day, and cease not.
And
among His signs is this, that thou seest the earth drooping: but, when we send down the rain upon it, it is
stirred and swelleth; verily He who giveth it life, will surely give life to
the dead; for His might extendeth over all things.
41:40 They truly who with obloquy disown our
signs are not hidden from us. Is he then who shall be cast into the fire, or he
who shall come forth secure on the day of resurrection, in the better position?
Do what you will: but His eye is on all your
doings.
Verily,
they who believe not in "the warning," after it hath come to them...
and yet the Koran is a glorious book!
Falsehood,
from whatever side it cometh, shall not come nigh it; it is a missive down from
the Wise, the Praiseworthy.
Nothing
hath been said to thee what hath not been said of old to apostles before thee.
Verily with thy Lord is forgiveness, and with Him is terrible retribution.
Had we
made it a Koran in a Persian tongue, they had surely said, "Unless its
signs be made clear...! What! A book in a Persian and Arabic?" Say: It is to those who believe a guide and a medicine;
but as to those who believe not, there is a thickness in their ears, and to
them it is a blindness: they are like those
who are called to from afar.
Of old
we gave the Book to Moses, and disputes rose about it:
and if a decree of respite from thy Lord had gone before, there would surely
have been a decision between them: for great
were their doubts and questionings about it.
He who
doth right -- it is for himself: and he who
doth evil -- it is for himself: and thy Lord
will not deal unfairly with his servants.