servants.
Moreover, we have made the Book an heritage to those of our servants whom we
have chosen. Some of them injure themselves by evil deeds; others keep the
midway between good and evil; and others, by the permission of God, outstrip
in goodness; this is the great merit!
Into the gardens of Eden shall they enter: with bracelets of gold and pearl
shall they be decked therein, and therein shall their raiment be of silk:
And they shall say, "Praise be to God who hath put away sorrow from us.
Verily our Lord is Gracious, Grateful,
Who of His bounty hath placed us in a manison that shall abide for ever:
therein no toil shall reach us, and therein no weariness shall touch us."
But for infidels is the fire of Hell; to die shall never be decreed them, nor
shall aught of its torment be made light to them. Thus reward we every
infidel!
And therein shall they cry aloud, "Take us hence, O our Lord! righteousness
will we work, and not what we wrought of old."�"Prolonged we not your days
that whoever would be warned might be warned therein? And the preacher came
to you�
Taste it then."�There is no protector for the unjust.
God truly knoweth the hidden things both of the Heavens and of the Earth: for
He knoweth the very secrets of the breast.
He hath appointed you his vicegerents in the earth: And whoever believeth
not, on him shall be his unbelief; and their unbelief shall only increase for
the unbelievers, hatred at the hands of their Lord:�and their unbelief shall
only increase for the unbelievers their own perdition!
SAY: What think ye of the gods whom ye invoke beside God? Shew me what part
of the earth they have created? Had they a share in the creation of the
Heavens? Have we given them a Book in which they can find proofs that they
are to be called on? Nay, the wicked promise one another only deceits.
Verily God holdeth fast the Heavens and the Earth that they pass not away:
and if they were passing away none could hold them back but He: for He is
Kind, Gracious.
They swore by God with their mightiest oath that should a preacher come to
them they would yield to guidance more than any people: but when the preacher
came to them it only increased in them their estrangement,
Their haughtiness on earth and their plotting of evil! But the plotting of
evil shall only enmesh those who make use of it.5 Look they then for aught
but God's way6 of dealing with the peoples of old? Thou shalt not find any
change in the way of God,�
Yea, thou shalt not find any variableness in the way of God.
Have they never journeyed in the land and seen what hath been the end of
those who flourished before them, though mightier in strength than they? God
is not to be frustrated by aught in the Heavens or in the Earth; for He is
the All-knowing, the All-mighty.
If, moreover, God should chastise men according to their deserts, He would
not leave even a reptile on the back of the earth! But to an appointed time
doth He respite them.
And when their time shall come, then verily God's eye is on his servants.
_______________________
1 See note at Sura [xcvii.] iii. 18. This is one of the passages said to have
originated with Zayd.
2 Not only seas, properly so called, but the great masses of fresh water in
the Nile, Tigris, inland lakes, etc. 3 The Gospel.
4 This idea was probably suggested by Muhammad's reminiscences of the view
from the Cave of Hira, to the north and west of which there is a prospect
thus described by Burckhardt (Travels, p. 176). "The country before us had a
dreary aspect, not a single green spot being visible; barren, black, and grey
hills, and white sandy valleys were the only objects in sight."
5 Lit. shall encompass its people.
6 Method of dealing, i.e., first warning, then punishing.
SURA VII.�AL ARAF [LXXXVII.]
MECCA.�205 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
ELIF. LAM. MIM. SAD.1 A Book hath been sent down to thee: therefore let there
be no difficulty in thy breast concerning it: to the intent that thou mayest
warn thereby, and that it may be a monition to the faithful.
Follow ye what hath been sent down to you from your Lord; and follow no
masters beside Him. How little will ye be monished!
How many cities have we destroyed! By night, or while they were in their
midday slumber, did our wrath reach them!
And what was their cry when our wrath reached them, but to say, "Verily, we
have been impious."
Surely, therefore, will we call those to account, to whom an Apostle hath
been sent, and of the sent ones themselves will we certainly demand a
reckoning.
And with knowledge will we tell them of their deeds, for we were not absent
from them.
The weighing2 on that day, with justice! and they whose balances shall be
heavy, these are they who shall be happy.
And they whose balances shall be light, these are they who have lost their
souls, for that to our signs they were unjust:
And now have we stabilished you on the earth, and given you therein the
supports of life. How little do ye give thanks!
We created you; then fashioned you; then said we to the angels, "Prostrate
yourselves unto Adam: and they prostrated them all in worship, save Eblis: He
was not among those who prostrated themselves.
To him said God: "What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself in worship
at my bidding?" He said, "Nobler am I than he: me hast thou created of fire;
of clay hast thou created him."
He said, "Get thee down hence: Paradise is no place for thy pride: Get thee
gone then; one of the despised shalt thou be."
He said, "Respite me till the day when mankind shall be raised from the
dead."
He said, "One of the respited shalt thou be."
He said, "Now, for that thou hast caused me to err, surely in thy straight
path will I lay wait for them:
Then will I surely come upon them from before, and from behind, and from
their right hand, and from their left, and thou shalt not find the greater
part of them to be thankful."
He said, "Go forth from it, a scorned, a banished one! Whoever of them shall
follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you, one and all.
And, O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise, and eat ye whence ye will,
but to this tree approach not, lest ye become of the unjust doers."
Then Satan whispered them to shew them their nakedness, which had been hidden
from them both. And he said, "This tree3 hath your Lord forbidden you, only
lest ye should become angels, or lest ye should become immortals."
And he sware to them both, "Verily I am unto you one who counselleth aright."
So he beguiled them by deceits: and when they had tasted of the tree, their
nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew together upon themselves
the leaves of the garden. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid
you this tree, and did I not say to you, 'Verily, Satan is your declared
enemy.' "
They said, "O our Lord! With ourselves have we dealt unjustly: if thou
forgive us not and have pity on us, we shall surely be of those who perish."
He said, "Get ye down, the one of you an enemy4 to the other; and on earth
shall be your dwelling, and your provision for a season."
He said, "On it shall ye live, and on it shall ye die, and from it shall ye
be taken forth."
O children of Adam! now have we sent down to you raiment to hide your
nakedness, and splendid garments; but the raiment of piety�this is best. This
is one of the signs of God, that man haply may reflect.
O children of Adam! let not Satan bring you into trouble, as he drove forth
your parents from the Garden, by despoiling them of their raiment, that he
might cause them to see their nakedness: He truly seeth you, he and his
comrades, whence ye see not them. Verily, we have made the Satans tutelars of
those who believe not.
And when the wicked commit some filthy deed, they say, "We found our fathers
practising it, and to us hath God commanded it"�SAY: God enjoineth not filthy
deeds. Will ye speak of God ye know not what?
SAY: My Lord hath enjoined what is right. Turn your faces therefore towards
every place where he is worshipped5 and call upon him with sincere religion.
As he created you, to him shall ye return: some hath he guided, and some hath
he justly left in error, because they have taken the Satans as their tutelars
beside God, and have deemed that they were guided aright.
O children of Adam! wear your goodly apparel when ye repair to any mosque,6
and eat ye and drink; but exceed not, for He loveth not those who exceed.
SAY: Who hath prohibited God's goodly raiment, and the healthful viands which
He hath provided for his servants? SAY: These are for the faithful in this
present life, but above all on the day of the resurrection. Thus make we our
signs plain for people of knowledge.
SAY: Truly my Lord hath forbidden filthy actions whether open or secret, and
iniquity, and unjust violence, and to associate with God that for which He
hath sent down no warranty, and to speak of God that ye know not.
Every nation hath its set time. And when their time is come, they shall not
retard it an hour; and they shall not advance it.
O children of Adam! there shall come to you Apostles from among yourselves,
rehearsing my signs to you; and whoso shall fear God and do good works, no
fear shall be upon them, neither shall they be put to grief.
But they who charge our signs with falsehood, and turn away from them in
their pride, shall be inmates of the fire: for ever shall they abide therein.
And who is worse than he who deviseth a lie of God, or treateth our signs as
lies? To them shall a portion here below be assigned in accordance with the
Book of our decrees, until the time when our messengers,7 as they receive
their souls, shall say, "Where are they on whom ye called beside God?" They
shall say: "Gone from us." And they shall witness against themselves that
they were infidels.
He shall say, "Enter ye into the Fire with the generations of Djinn and men
who have preceded you. So oft as a fresh generation entereth, it shall curse
its sister, until when they have all reached it, the last comers shall say to
the former, 'O our Lord! these are they who led us astray: assign them
therefore a double torment of the fire:"' He will say, "Ye shall all have
double." But of this are ye ignorant.
And the former of them shall say to the latter, "What advantage have ye over
us? Taste ye therefore the torment for that which ye have done."
Verily, they who have charged our signs with falsehood and have turned away
from them in their pride, Heaven's gates shall not be opened to them, nor
shall they enter Paradise, until the camel8 passeth through the eye of the
needle. After this sort will we recompense the transgressors.
They shall make their bed in Hell, and above them shall be coverings of fire!
After this sort will we recompense the evil doers.
But as to those who have believed and done the things which are right (we
will lay on no one a burden beyond his power) These shall be inmates of
Paradise: for ever shall they abide therein;
And we will remove whatever rancour was in their bosoms: rivers shall roll at
their feet: and they shall say, "Praise be to God who hath guided us hither!
We had not been guided had not God guided us! Of a surety the Apostles of our
Lord came to us with truth." And a voice shall cry to them, "This is
Paradise, of which, as the meed of your works, ye are made heirs."
And the inmates of Paradise shall cry to the inmates of the fire, "Now have
we found what our Lord promised us to be true. Have ye too found what your
Lord promised you to be true?" And they shall answer, "Yes." And a Herald
shall proclaim between them: "The curse of God be upon the evil doers,
Who turn men aside from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and who
believe not in the life to come!"
And between them shall be a partition; and on the wall AL ARAF9 shall be men
who will know all,10 by their tokens, and they shall cry to the inmates of
Paradise, "Peace be on you!" but they shall not yet enter it, although they
long to do so.
And when their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the Fire, they shall
say, "O our Lord! place us not with the offending people."
And they who are upon Al Araf shall cry to those whom they shall know by
their tokens, "Your amassings and your pride have availed you nothing.
Are these they on whom ye sware God would not bestow mercy? Enter ye11 into
Paradise! where no fear shall be upon you, neither shall ye be put to grief."
And the inmates of the fire shall cry to the inmates of Paradise: "Pour upon
us some water, or of the refreshments12 God hath given you?" They shall say,
"Truly God hath forbidden both to unbelievers,
Who made their religion a sport and pastime, and whom the life of the world
hath deceived." This day therefore will we forget them, as they forgot the
meeting of this their day, and as they did deny our signs.
And now have we brought them the Book: with knowledge have we explained it; a
guidance and a mercy to them that believe.
What have they to wait for now but its interpretation? When its
interpretation13 shall come, they who aforetime were oblivious of it shall
say, "The Prophets of our Lord did indeed bring the truth; shall we have any
intercessor to intercede for us? or could we not be sent back? Then would we
act otherwise than we have acted." But they have ruined themselves; and the
deities of their own devising have fled from them!
Your Lord is God, who in six days created the Heavens and the Earth, and then
mounted the throne: He throweth the veil of night over the day: it pursueth
it swiftly: and he created the sun and the moon and the stars, subjected to
laws by His behest: Is not all creation and its empire His? Blessed be God
the Lord of the Worlds!
Call upon your Lord with lowliness and in secret, for He loveth not
transgressors.
And commit not disorders on the earth after it hath been well ordered; and
call on Him with fear and longing desire: Verily the mercy of God is nigh
unto the righteous.
And He it is who sendeth forth the winds as the heralds of his compassion,14
until they bring up the laden clouds, which we drive along to some dead land
and send down water thereon, by which we cause an upgrowth of all kinds of
fruit.�Thus will we bring forth the dead. Haply ye will reflect.
In a rich soil, its plants spring forth abundantly by the will of its Lord,
and in that which is bad, they spring forth but scantily. Thus do We
diversify our signs for those who are thankful.
Of old sent We Noah to his people,15 and he said, "O my people! worship God.
Ye have no God but Him: indeed I fear for you the chastisement of the great
day."
The chiefs of his people said, "We clearly see that thou art in a palpable
error."
He said, "There is no error in me, O my people! but I am a messenger from the
Lord of the Worlds.
I bring to you the messages of my Lord, and I give you friendly counsel; for
I know from God what ye know not.
Marvel ye that a Warning should come to you from your Lord through one of
yourselves, that he may warn you, and that ye may fear for yourselves, and
that haply ye may find mercy?"
But they treated him as a liar: so we delivered him and those who were with
him in the ark, and we drowned those who charged our signs with falsehood;
for they were a blind people.
And to Ad16 we sent their brother Houd.17 "O my people!" said he, "worship
God: ye have no other god than Him: Will ye not then fear Him?"
Said the unbelieving chiefs among his people, "We certainly perceive that
thou art unsound of mind; and we surely deem thee an impostor."
He said, "O my people! it is not unsoundness of mind in me, but I am an
Apostle from the Lord of the Worlds.
The messages of my Lord do I announce to you, and I am your faithful18
counsellor.
Marvel ye that a warning hath come to you from your Lord through one of
yourselves that He may warn you? Remember how he hath made you the successors
of the people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature. Remember
then the favours of God, that it may haply be well with you."
They said, "Art thou come to us in order that we may worship one God alone,
and leave what our fathers worshipped? Then bring that upon us with which
thou threatenest us, if thou be a man of truth."
He said, "Vengeance and wrath shall suddenly light on you from your Lord. Do
ye dispute with me about names that you and your fathers have given your
idols, and for which God hath sent you down no warranty? Wait ye then, and I
too will wait with you."
And we delivered him, and those who were on his side, by our mercy, and we
cut off, to the last man, those who had treated our signs as lies, and who
were not believers.
And to Themoud we sent their brother Saleh.19 He said, O my people! worship
God: ye have no other god than Him: now hath a clear proof of my mission come
to you from your Lord, this she-camel of God being a sign to you: therefore
let her go at large to pasture on God's earth: and touch her not to harm her,
lest a grievous chastisement seize you.
And remember how he hath made you successors to the Adites, and given you
dwellings on the earth, so that on its plains ye build castles, and hew out
houses in the hills. And bear in mind the benefits of God, and lay not the
earth waste with deeds of licence.
Said the chiefs of his people puffed up with pride, to those who were
esteemed weak, even to those of them who believed, "What! know ye for certain
that Saleh is sent by his Lord?" They said, "Truly we believe in that with
which he hath been sent."
Then said those proud men, "Verily, we reject that in which ye believe."
And they ham-strung the she-camel, and rebelled against their Lord's command,
and said, "O Saleh, let thy menaces be accomplished upon us if thou art one
of the Sent Ones."
Then the earthquake surprised them; and in the morning they were found dead
on their faces in their dwellings.
So he turned away from them, and said, "O my people! I did indeed announce to
you the message of my Lord: and I gave you faithful counsel, but ye love not
faithful counsellors.20
We also sent Lot, when he said to his people, commit ye this filthy deed in
which no creature hath gone before you?
Come ye to men, instead of women, lustfully? Ye are indeed a people given up
to excess.
But the only answer of his people was to say, "Turn them out of your city,
for they are men who vaunt them pure."
And we delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was of those who
lingered:
And we rained a rain upon them: and see what was the end of the wicked!
And we sent to Madian21 their brother Shoaib. He said, "O my people! worship
God; ye have no other God than Him: now hath a clear sign come to you from
your Lord: give therefore the full in measures and weights; take from no man
his chattels, and commit no disorder on the earth after it has been made so
good. This will be better for you, if you will believe it.
And lay not in ambush by every road in menacing sort; nor mislead him who
believeth in God, from His way, nor seek to make it crooked; and remember
when ye were few and that he multiplied you, and behold what hath been the
end of the authors of disorder!
And if a part of you believe in that with which I am sent, and a part of you
believe not, then wait steadfastly until God shall judge between us, for He
is the best of judges."
Said the chiefs of his people puffed up with pride, "We will surely banish
thee, O Shoaib, and thy fellow-believers from our cities, unless indeed ye
shall come back to our religion." "What!" said he, "though we abhor it?
Now shall we have devised a lie concerning God, if after he hath delivered us
from your religion we shall return to it; nor can we return to it, unless by
the will of God our Lord: our Lord embraceth all things in his ken. In God
have we put our trust: O our Lord! decide between us and between our people,
with truth; for the best to decide art Thou."
And the chiefs of his people who believed not, said, "If ye follow Shoaib, ye
shall then surely perish."
An earthquake therefore surprised them, and they were found in the morning
dead on their faces, in their dwellings.
Those who had treated Shoaib as an impostor, became as though they had never
dwelt in them: they who treated Shoaib as an impostor, were they that
perished.
So he turned away from them and said, O my people! I proclaimed to you the
messages of my Lord, and I counselled you aright; but how should I be grieved
for a people who do not believe?
Nor did we ever send a prophet to any city without afflicting its people with
adversity and trouble, that haply they might humble them.22
Then changed we their ill for good, until they waxed wealthy, and said, "Of
old did troubles and blessings befall our fathers:" therefore did we seize
upon them suddenly when they were unaware.
But if that the people of these cities had believed and feared us, we would
surely have laid open to them blessings out of the Heaven and the Earth: but
they treated our signs as lies, and we took vengeance on them for their
deeds.
Were the people, therefore, of those cities secure that our wrath would not
light on them by night, while they were slumbering?
Were the people of those cities secure that our wrath would not light on them
in broad day, while they were disporting themselves?
Did they, therefore, deem themselves secure from the deep counsel23 of God?
But none deem themselves secure from the deep counsel of God, save those who
perish.
Is it not proved to those who inherit this land after its ancient occupants,
that if we please we can smite them for their sins, and put a seal upon their
hearts, that they hearken not?
We will tell thee the stories of these cities. Their apostles came to them
with clear proofs of their mission; but they would not believe in what they
had before treated as imposture.�Thus doth God seal up the hearts of the
unbelievers�
And we found not of their covenant in most of them; but we found most of them
to be perverse.
Then after them we sent Moses with our signs to Pharaoh and his nobles, who
acted unjustly in their regard. But see what was the end of the corrupt
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