The Project Gutenberg ebook of The Koran
Download 6.49 Mb.
|
| And Pharaoh said: "Fetch me every skilled magician." And when the magicians
arrived, Moses said to them, "Cast down what ye have to cast." And when they had cast them down, Moses said, "Verily, God will render vain the sorceries which ye have brought to pass: God prospereth not the work of the evildoers.
it.
Pharaoh and his nobles, lest he should afflict them: For of a truth mighty was Pharaoh in the land, and one who committed excesses. And Moses said: "O my people! if ye believe in God, then put your trust in Him�if ye be Muslims." And they said: "In God put we our trust. O our Lord! abandon us not to trial from that unjust people, And deliver us by thy mercy from the unbelieving people." Then thus revealed we to Moses and to his brother: "Provide houses for your people in Egypt, and in your houses make a Kebla, and observe prayer and proclaim good tidings to the believers."
splendour and riches in this present life: O our Lord! that they may err from thy way! O our Lord! confound their riches, and harden their hearts that they may not believe till they see the dolorous torment." He said: "The prayer of you both is heard: pursue ye both therefore the straight path, and follow not the path of those who have no knowledge." And we led the children of Israel through the sea; and Pharaoh and his hosts followed them in eager and hostile sort until, when the drowning overtook him, he said, "I believe that there is no God but he on whom the children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims." "Yes, now," said God: "but thou hast been rebellious hitherto, and wast one of the wicked doers. But this day will we rescue thee with thy body that thou mayest be a sign to those who shall be after thee:11 but truly, most men are of our signs regardless!"
them with good things: nor did they fall into variance till the knowledge (the Law) came to them: Truly thy Lord will decide between them on the day of Resurrection concerning that in which they differed. And if thou art in doubt as to what we have sent down to thee, inquire at those who have read the Scriptures before thee.12 Now hath the truth come unto thee from thy Lord: be not therefore of those who doubt.
of those who perish. Verily they against whom the decree of thy Lord is pronounced, shall not believe,
torment!
its faith. But it was so, only with the people of JONAS. When they believed, we delivered them from the penalty of shame in this world, and provided for them for a time. But if thy Lord had pleased, verily all who are in the earth would have believed together. What! wilt thou compel men to become believers? No soul can believe but by the permission of God: and he shall lay his wrath on those who will not understand. SAY: Consider ye whatever is in the Heavens and on the Earth: but neither signs, nor warners, avail those who will not believe! What then can they expect but the like of such days of wrath as befel those who flourish before them? SAY: WAIT; I too will wait with you: Then will we deliver our apostles and those who believe. Thus is it binding on us to deliver the faithful. SAY: O men! if ye are in doubt as to my religion, verily I worship not what ye worship beside God; but I worship God who will cause you to die: and I am commanded to be a believer.
who join other gods with God: Neither invoke beside God that which can neither help nor hurt thee: for if thou do, thou wilt certainly then be one of those who act unjustly. And if God lay the touch of trouble on thee, none can deliver thee from it but He: and if He will thee any good, none can keep back his boons. He will confer them on such of his servants as he chooseth: and He is the Gracious, the Merciful! SAY: O men! now hath the truth come unto you from your Lord. He therefore who will be guided, will be guided only for his own behoof: but he who shall err will err only against it; and I am not your guardian!
judge, for He is the best of Judges. _______________________
visited.
6 Verses 27, 28 are to be noted, as defining the proportion to be observed in rewards and punishments, the severity of the latter being only in proportion to the crime, the excellence of the former being above and beyond its strict merits.
gifted with speech at the day of judgment.
Jesus and Muhammad. 9 This is the doctrine of the Rabbins. Comp. Midrasch Rabba, and Midr. Jalkut on Numb. xxii. 2. 10 The preaching of Noah is mentioned by the Rabbins. Sanhedrin, 108. Comp. Midr. Rabbah on Gen. Par. 30 and 33, on Eccl. ix. 14, and in the probably sub. Apostolic 2 Pet. ii. 5.
repentance, in the case of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, who rebelled excessively against the most High; Who is God that I should hearken to his voice? (Ex. v. 2). But with the same tongue that sinned he did penance: Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods? (xv. 11). The Holy One, Blessed be He, delivered him from the dead, . . . so that he should not die (ix. 15, 16).�For now have I stretched forth my hand, and verily thee have I raised up from among the dead, to proclaim my might." Ex. ix. 15, 16. A strange comment! Pirke R. Eliezer, § 43. Comp. Midr. on Ps. cvi. Midr. Jalkut, ch. 238.
the Koran is not in unison with, and confirmatory of, them. SURA XXXIV.�SABA1 [LXXXV.]
is on the Earth; and to Him be praise in the next world: for he is the All- wise, the All-informed!
what cometh down from heaven, and what goeth up into it: and He is the Merciful, the Forgiving!
Lord who knoweth the unseen, it will surely come upon you! not the weight of a mote either in the Heavens or in the Earth escapeth him; nor is there aught less than this or aught greater, which is not in the clear Book;� To the intent that God may reward those who have believed and done the things that are right: Pardon and a noble provision shall they receive: But as for those who aim to invalidate our signs,�a chastisement of painful torment awaiteth them! And they to whom knowledge hath been given see that what hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord is the truth, and that it guideth into the way of the Glorious one, the Praiseworthy.
man who will foretell you that when ye shall have been utterly torn and rent to pieces, ye shall be restored in a new form?
believe not in the next life, shall incur the chastisement, and be lost in the mazes of estrangement from God.
the Heaven and the Earth? If such were our pleasure, we could sink them into that Earth, or cause a portion of that Heaven to fall upon them! herein truly is a sign for our every returning servant. Of old bestowed we on David a gift, our special boon:�"Ye mountains and ye birds answer his songs of praise." And we made the iron soft for him:�"Make coats of mail, and arrange its plates; and work ye righteousness; for I behold your actions." And unto Solomon did we subject the wind, which travelled in the morning a month's journey, and a month's journey in the evening. And we made a fountain of molten brass to flow for him. And of the Djinn were some who worked in his presence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them as swerved from our bidding will we cause to taste the torment of the flame.
large as tanks for watering camels, and cooking pots that stood firmly. "Work," said we, "O family of David with thanksgiving:" But few of my servants are the thankful! And when we decreed the death of Solomon, nothing shewed them that he was dead but a reptile of the earth that gnawed the staff which supported his corpse.2 And when it fell, the Djinn perceived that if they had known the things unseen, they had not continued in this shameful affliction.3 A sign there was to SABA, in their dwelling places:�two gardens, the one on the right hand and the other on the left:�"Eat ye of your Lord's supplies, and give thanks to him: Goodly is the country, and gracious is the Lord!"
changed them their gardens into two gardens of bitter fruit and tamarisk and some few jujube trees.
recompense any except the ungrateful? And we placed between them and the cities which we have blessed, conspicuous cities, and we fixed easy stages: "Travel ye through them by night and day, secure."
against themselves did they act unjustly: so we made them a tale, and scattered them with an utter scattering. Truly herein are signs to everyone that is patient, grateful. And Eblis found that he had judged truly of them: and they all except a remnant of the faithful, followed him: Yet no power had he over them. Only we would discern him who believed in the life to come, from him who doubted of it; for thy Lord watcheth all things. SAY: Call ye upon those whom ye deem gods, beside God: their power in the Heavens and in the Earth is not the weight of an atom�neither have they any share in either; nor hath He a helper from among them.
Until when at last their hearts shall be relieved from terror, they shall say, "What saith your Lord?" they shall say, "The Truth; and He is the High, the Great." SAY: Who supplieth you out of the Heavens and the Earth? SAY: God. And either we or ye have guidance, or are in palpable error! SAY: Not as to our faults shall ye be questioned; neither shall we be questioned as to your actions. SAY: Our Lord will gather us together: then will He judge between us in justice; for He is the Judge, the Knowing! SAY: Shew me those whom ye have united with Him as associates: Nay, rather, He is God, the Mighty, the Wise! And we have sent thee to mankind at large, to announce and to threaten. But most men understand not. And they say, "When will this threat come to pass? Tell us, if ye be men of truth."
hasten on.
which preceded it." But couldst thou see when the wicked shall be set before their Lord! With reproaches will they answer one another. The weak shall say to the mighty ones, "But for you we had been believers:" Then shall the mighty ones say to the weak, "What! was it we who turned you aside from the guidance which had reached you? Nay, but ye acted wickedly yourselves."
night and by day, when ye bad us believe not in God, and gave him peers." And they shall proclaim their repentance after they have seen the punishment! And yokes will we place on the necks of those who have not believed! Shall they be rewarded but as they have wrought?
"In sooth we disbelieve your message." And they said, "We are the more abundant in riches and in children, nor shall we be among the punished." SAY: Of a truth my Lord will be liberal or sparing in his supplies to whom he pleaseth: but the greater part of men acknowledge it not. Neither by your riches nor by your children shall you bring yourselves into nearness with Us; but they who believe and do the thing that is right shall have a double reward for what they shall have done: and in the pavilions of Paradise shall they dwell secure! But they who shall aim to invalidate our signs, shall be consigned to punishment. SAY: Of a truth my Lord will be liberal in supplies to whom he pleaseth of his servants, or will be sparing to him: and whatever ye shall give in alms he will return; and He is the best dispenser of gifts.
"Did these worship you?" They shall say, "Glory be to thee! Thou art our master, not these! But they worshipped the Djinn: it was in them that most of them believed. On this day the one of you shall have no power over others for help or hurt. And we will say to the evil doers, "Taste ye the torment of the fire, which ye treated as a delusion."
man who would fain pervert you from your father's Worship." And they say, "This (Koran) is no other than a forged falsehood." And the unbelievers say to the truth when it is presented to them, "Tis nothing but palpable sorcery."
any one to them before thee, charged with warnings. They also flourished before them, treated our apostles as impostors in like sort: but not to the tenth part of what we bestowed on them,6 have these attained. And yet when they charged my apostles with deceit, how terrible was my vengeance: SAY: One thing in sooth do I advise you:�that ye stand up before God two and two, or singly,7 and then reflect that in your fellow citizen is no djinn:8 he is no other than your warner before a severe punishment.
alone. And He is witness over all things! SAY: Truly my Lord sendeth forth the Truth:�Knower of things unseen! SAY: Truth is come, and falsehood shall vanish and return no more. SAY: If I err, verily to my own cost only shall I err: but if I have guidance, it will be of my Lord's revealing, for He is the Hearer, the near at hand.
forth from the place that is so near;9 And shall say, "We believe in Him!" But how, in their present distance, shall they receive the faith, When they had before denied it, and aimed their shafts at the mysteries from afar?10
As was done unto their likes of old, who were lost in the questionings of doubt.
_______________________ 1 In Arabia Felix, three days' journey from Sanaa. 2 The Talmud mentions the worm Shameer, used by Solomon to cut the stones for building the temple. Pirke Aboth. v. See Buxt. Lex. Talmud, p. 2456. Tr. Gittin, fol. 68; and Midr. Jalkut on 1 Kings, vi. 7. This passage of Scripture may have suggested the idea that Solomon built, etc., by the aid of Spirits. 3 That is, in their difficult toils.
de Sacy, fix this event in the second century of our era. 5 The Saba, of verse 14 formed an important branch of the trading population of Yemen. This whole passage, 14-18, alludes to the cessation of traffic between them and Syria, which led to the desire to lengthen the stages and diminish the expense of the journey. See Muir's Life of Muhammad, i. p. cxxxix. Muhammad attributes this desire to covetousness.
established, he never reverts to the insinuations against the soundness of his mind which in the earlier Suras he so often rebuts.
from the surface of the earth. Ullm. 10 That is, when in this life. SURA XXXV.�THE CREATOR, OR THE ANGELS [LXXXVI.] MECCA.�45 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful PRAISE be to God, Maker of the Heavens and of the Earth! Who employeth the ANGELS as envoys, with pairs of wings, two, three, and four: He addeth to his creature what He will! Truly God hath power for all things.
shall keep back, none can afterwards send forth. And He is the Mighty, the Wise.
than God, who nourisheth you with the gifts of heaven and earth? There is no God but He! How then are ye turned aside from Him?
treated as impostors. But to God shall all things return. O men! assuredly the promise of God is true: let not then the present life deceive you: and let not the Deceiver deceive you as to God. Yes, Satan is your foe. For a foe then hold him. He calleth his followers to him that they may become inmates of the flame. The unbelievers,�for them a terrible punishment! But believers and doers of good works, for them is mercy, and a great reward! Shall he, the evil of whose deeds are so tricked out to him that he deemeth them good, be treated like him who seeth things aright? Verily God misleadeth whom He will, and guideth whom He will. Spend not thy soul in sighs for them: God knoweth their doings. It is God who sendeth forth the winds which raise the clouds aloft: then drive we them on to some land dead from drought,1 and give life thereby to the earth after its death. So shall be the resurrection.
up to Him, and the righteous deed will He exalt. But a severe punishment awaiteth the plotters of evil things; and the plots of such will He render vain.
sexes: and no female conceiveth or bringeth forth without his knowledge; and the aged ageth not, nor is aught minished from man's age, but in accordance with the Book. An easy thing truly is this to God.
the other salt, bitter; yet from both ye eat fresh fish, and take forth for you ornaments to wear, and thou seest the ships cleaving their waters that ye may go in quest of his bounties, and that ye may be thankful. He causeth the night to enter in upon the day, and the day to enter in upon the night; and He hath given laws to the sun and to the moon, so that each journeyeth to its appointed goal: This is God your Lord: All power is His: But the gods whom ye call on beside Him have no power over the husk of a date stone!
not answer you, and in the day of resurrection they will disown your joining them with God: and none can instruct thee like Him who is informed of all.
Praiseworthy! If He please, He could sweep you away, and bring forth a new creation! Nor will this be hard for God. And the burdened soul shall not bear the burden of another: and if the heavy laden soul cry out for its burden to be carried, yet shall not aught of it be carried, even by the near of kin! Thou shalt warn those who fear their Lord in secret, and observe prayer. And whoever shall keep himself pure, he purifieth himself to his own behoof: for unto God shall be the final gathering. And the blind and the seeing are not alike; neither darkness and light; nor the shade and the hot wind; Nor are the living and the dead the same thing! God indeed shall make whom He will to hearken, but thou shalt not make those who are in their graves to hearken; for only with warning art thou charged.
warner; nor hath there been a people unvisited by its warner. And if they treat thee as a liar, so did those who were before them threat their Apostles who came to them with the proofs of their mission, and with the Scriptures and with the enlightening Book:3
it we cause the up-growth of fruits of varied hues, and that on the mountains4 are tracks of varied hues, white and red, and others are of a raven black? And of men and reptiles and animals, various likewise are the hues. Such only of his servants as are possessed of knowledge fear God. Lo! God is Mighty, Gracious! Verily they who recite the Book of God, and observe prayer, and give alms in public and in private from what we have bestowed upon them, may hope for a merchandise that shall not perish:
for He is Gracious, Grateful. And that which we have revealed to thee of the Book is the very Truth, confirmatory of previous Scriptures: for God knoweth and beholdeth his Directory: koran koran -> The Koran (Al-Qur'an) by George Sale koran -> The Koran (Al-Qur'an) by George Sale koran -> Commonly called the Download 6.49 Mb. Share with your friends:
|