And we placed between them and the cities which we have blessed, cities situated near each other; and we made the journey easy between them, saying, Travel through the same by night and by day, in security.

But they said, O LORD, put a greater distance between our journeys: and they were unjust unto themselves; and we made them the subject of discourse, and dispersed them with a total dispersion. Verily, herein are signs unto every patient, grateful person.

20 And Eblis found his opinion of them to be true: and they followed him, except a party of the true believers: and he had no power over them, unless to tempt them, that we might know him who believed in the life to come, from him who doubted thereof. Thy LORD observeth all things.

Say unto the idolaters, Call upon those whom ye imagine to be G.o.ds, besides G.o.d: they are not masters of the weight of an ant in heaven or on earth, neither have they any share in the creation or government of the same; nor is any of them a.s.sistant to him therein.

No intercession will be of service in his presence, except the intercession of him to whom he shall grant permission to intercede for others: and they shall wait in suspense until, when the terror shall be taken off from their hearts, they shall say to one another: What doth your LORD say? They shall answer, That which is just: and he is the high, the great G.o.d.

Say, Who provideth food for you from heaven and earth? Answer, G.o.d: and either we, or ye, follow the true direction, or are in a manifest error.

Say, Ye shall not be examined concerning what we shall have committed: neither shall we be examined concerning what ye shall have done.

Say, Our LORD will a.s.semble us together at the last day: then he will judge between us with truth; and he is the judge, the knowing.

Say, Show me those whom ye have joined as partners with him? Nay; rather he is the mighty, the wise G.o.d.

We have not sent thee otherwise than unto mankind in general, a bearer of good tidings, and a denouncer of threats; but the greater part of men do not understand.

And they say, When will this threat be fulfilled, if ye speak truth?

30 Answer, A threat is denounced unto you of a day which ye shall not r.e.t.a.r.d one hour, neither shall ye hasten.

The unbelievers say, We will by no means believe in this Koran, nor in that which hath been revealed before it. But if thou couldest see when the unjust doers shall be set before their LORD! They will iterate discourse with one another: those who were esteemed weak shall say unto those who behaved themselves arrogantly, Had it not been for you, verily we had been true believers.

They who behaved themselves arrogantly shall say unto those who were esteemed weak, Did we turn you aside from the true direction, after it had come unto you? On the contrary, ye acted wickedly of your own free choice.

And they who were esteemed weak shall say unto those who behaved with arrogance, Nay, but the crafty plot which ye devised by night and by day, occasioned our ruin: when ye commanded us that we should not believe in G.o.d, and that we should set up other G.o.ds as equals unto him. And they shall conceal their repentance, after they shall have seen the punishment prepared for them. And we will put yokes on the necks of those who shall have disbelieved: shall they be rewarded any otherwise than according to what they shall have wrought?

We have sent no warner unto any city, but the inhabitants thereof who lived in affluence said, Verily we believe not that with which ye are sent.

And those of Mecca also say, We abound in riches and children, more than ye; and we shall not be punished hereafter.

Answer, Verily my LORD will bestow provision in abundance unto whom he pleaseth, and will be sparing unto whom he pleaseth: but the greater part of men know not this.

Neither your riches nor your children are the things which shall cause you to draw nigh unto us with a near approach: only whoever believeth, and worketh righteousness, they shall receive a double reward for that which they shall have wrought: and they shall dwell in security, in the upper apartments of paradise.

But they who shall endeavour to render our signs of none effect shall be delivered up to punishment.

Say, Verily my LORD will bestow provision in abundance unto whom he pleaseth of his servants, and will be sparing unto whom he pleaseth: and whatever thing ye shall give in alms, he will return it; and he is the best provider of food.

40 On a certain day he shall gather them altogether: then shall he say unto the angels, Did these worship you?

And the angels shall answer, G.o.d forbid! thou art our friend, and not these: but they worshipped devils; the greater part of them believed in them.

On this day the one of you shall not be able either to profit or to hurt the other. And we will say unto those who have acted unjustly, Taste ye the pain of h.e.l.l fire, which ye rejected as a falsehood.

When our evident signs are read unto them, they say of thee, O Mohammed, This is no other than a man who seeketh to turn you aside from the G.o.ds which your fathers worshipped. And they say of the Koran, This is no other than a lie blasphemously forged. And the unbelievers say of the truth, when it is come unto them, This is no other than manifest sorcery: yet we have given them no books of scripture wherein to exercise themselves, nor have we sent unto them any warner before thee.

They who were before them in like manner accused their prophets of imposture: but these have not arrived unto the tenth part of the riches and strength which we had bestowed on the former: and they accused my apostles of imposture; and how severe was my vengeance!

Say, Verily I advise you unto one thing, namely, that ye stand before G.o.d by two and two, and singly; and then consider seriously and you will find that there is no madness in your companion Mohammed: he is no other than a warner unto you, sent before a severe punishment.

Say, I ask not of you any reward for my preaching; it is your own, either to give or not: my reward is to be expected from G.o.d alone; and he is witness over all things.

Say, Verily my LORD sendeth down the truth to his prophets: he is the knower of secrets.

Say, Truth is come, and falsehood is vanished, and shall not return any more.

50 Say, If I err, verily I shall err only against my own soul: but if I be rightly directed, it will be by that which my LORD revealeth unto me; for he is ready to hear, and nigh unto those who call upon him.

If thou couldest see, when the unbelievers shall tremble, and shall find no refuge, and shall be taken from a near place, and shall say, We believe in him! But how shall they receive the faith from a distant place: since they had before denied him, and reviled the mysteries of faith, from a distant place?

And a bar shall be placed between them and that which they shall desire; as it hath been done with those who behaved like them heretofore: because they have been in a doubt which hath caused scandal.

CHAPTER x.x.xV.

ENt.i.tLED, THE CREATOR; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL G.o.d.

PRAISE be unto G.o.d the Creator of heaven and earth; who maketh the angels his messengers, furnished with two, and three, and four pair of wings: G.o.d maketh what addition he pleaseth unto his creatures; for G.o.d is almighty.

The mercy which G.o.d shall freely bestow on mankind, there is none who can withhold; and what he shall withhold, there is none who can bestow, besides him; and he is the mighty, the wise.

O men, remember the favor of G.o.d towards you: is there any creator, besides G.o.d, who provideth food for you from heaven and earth? There is no G.o.d but he: how therefore are ye turned aside from acknowledging his unity?

If they accuse thee of imposture, apostles before thee have also been accused of imposture: and unto G.o.d shall all things return.

O men, verily the promise of G.o.d is true: let not therefore the present life deceive you, neither let the deceiver deceive you concerning G.o.d: for Satan is an enemy unto you; wherefore hold him for an enemy: he only inviteth his confederates to be the inhabitants of h.e.l.l.

For those who believe not there is prepared a severe torment: but for those who shall believe and do that which is right, is prepared mercy and a great reward.

Shall he therefore for whom his evil work hath been prepared, and who imagineth it to be good, be as he who is rightly disposed, and discerneth the truth? Verily G.o.d will cause to err whom he pleaseth, and will direct whom he pleaseth. Let not thy soul therefore be spent in sighs for their sakes, on account of their obstinacy; for G.o.d well knoweth that which they do.

It is G.o.d who sendeth the winds, and raiseth a cloud; and we drive the same unto a dead country, and thereby quicken the earth after it hath been dead; so shall the resurrection be.

10 Whoever desireth excellence; unto G.o.d doth all excellence belong: unto him ascendeth the good speech; and the righteous work will he exalt. But as for them who devise wicked plots, they shall suffer a severe punishment; and the device of those men shall be rendered vain.

G.o.d created you first of the dust, and afterwards of seed; and he hath made you man and wife. No female conceiveth, or bringeth forth, but with his knowledge. Nor is anything added unto the age of him whose life is prolonged, neither is anything diminished from his age, but the same is written in the book of G.o.d's decrees. Verily this is easy with G.o.d.

The two seas are not to be held in comparison: this is fresh and sweet, pleasant to drink: but that is salt and bitter: yet out of each of them ye eat fish, and take ornaments for you to wear. Thou seest the ships also ploughing the waves thereof, that ye may seek to enrich yourselves by commerce, of the abundance of G.o.d: peradventure ye will be thankful.

He causeth the night to succeed the day, and he causeth the day to succeed the night; and he obligeth the sun and the moon to perform their services: each of them runneth an appointed course. This is G.o.d, your LORD: his is the kingdom. But the idols which ye invoke besides him have not the power even over the skin of a date-stone: if ye invoke them, they will not hear your calling; and although they should hear, yet they would not answer you. On the day of resurrection they shall disclaim your having a.s.sociated them with G.o.d: and none shall declare unto thee the truth, like one who is well acquainted therewith.

O men, ye have need of G.o.d; but G.o.d is self-sufficient, and to be praised.

If he pleaseth, he can take you away, and produce a new creature in your stead: neither will this be difficult with G.o.d.

A burdened soul shall not bear the burden of another: and if a heavy- burdened soul call on another to bear part of its burden, no part thereof shall be borne by the person who shall be called on, although he be ever so nearly related. Thou shalt admonish those who fear their LORD in secret and are constant at prayer: and whoever cleanseth himself from the guilt of disobedience, cleanseth himself to the advantage of his own soul; for all shall be a.s.sembled before G.o.d at the last day.

The blind and the seeing shall not be held equal; 20 neither darkness and light; nor the cool shade and the scorching wind: neither shall the living and the dead be held equal. G.o.d shall cause him to hear whom he pleaseth; but thou shalt not make those to hear who are in their graves.

Thou art no other than a preacher: verily we have sent thee with truth, a bearer of good tidings, and a denouncer of threats. There hath been no nation, but a preacher hath in past times been conversant among them: if they charge thee with imposture, they who were before them likewise charged their apostles with imposture. Their apostles came unto them with evident miracles, and with divine writings, and with the enlightening book: afterwards I chastised those who were unbelievers; and how severe was my vengeance!

Dost thou not see that G.o.d sendeth down rain from heaven, and that we thereby produce fruits of various colours? In the mountain also there are some tracts white and red, of various colours; and others are of a deep black: and of men, and beasts, and cattle there are whose colours are in like manner various. Such only of his servants fear G.o.d as are endued with understanding: verily G.o.d is mighty and ready to forgive.

Verily they who read the book of G.o.d, and are constant at prayer, and give alms out of what we have bestowed on them, both in secret and openly, hope for a merchandise which shall not perish: 30 that G.o.d may fully pay them their wages, and make them a superabundant addition of his liberality; for he is ready to forgive the faults of his servants, and to requite their endeavours.

That which we have revealed unto thee of the book of the Koran is the truth, confirming the scriptures which were revealed before it: for G.o.d knoweth and regardeth his servants.

And we have given the book of the Koran in heritage unto such of our servants as we have chosen: of them there is one who injureth his own soul; and there is another of them who keepeth the middle way; and there is another of them who outstrippeth others in good works, by the permission of G.o.d. This is the great excellence.

They shall be introduced into gardens of perpetual abode; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their clothing therein shall be of silk: and they shall say, Praise be unto G.o.d, who hath taken away sorrow from us! verily our LORD is ready to forgive the sinners, and to reward the obedient; who hath caused us to take up our rest in a dwelling of eternal stability, through his bounty, wherein no labor shall touch us, neither shall any weariness affect us.

But for the unbelievers is prepared the fire of h.e.l.l: it shall not be decreed them to die a second time; neither shall any part of the punishment thereof be made lighter unto them. Thus shall every infidel be rewarded.

And they shall cry out aloud in h.e.l.l, saying, LORD, take us hence, and we will work righteousness, and not what we have formerly wrought. But it shall be answered them, Did we not grant you lives of length sufficient, that whoever would be warned might be warned therein; and did not the preacher come unto you? taste therefore the pains of h.e.l.l. And the unjust shall have no protector.

Verily G.o.d knoweth the secrets both of heaven and earth, for he knoweth the innermost parts of the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of men.

It is he who hath made you to succeed in the earth. Whoever shall disbelieve, on him be his unbelief; and their unbelief shall only gain the unbelievers greater indignation in the sight of their LORD; and their unbelief shall only increase the perdition of the unbelievers.

40 Say, What think ye of your deities which ye invoke besides G.o.d? Show me what part of the earth they have created. Or had they any share in the creation of the heavens? Have we given unto the idolaters any book of revelations, so that they may rely on any proof therefrom to authorize their practice? Nay; but the unG.o.dly make unto one another only deceitful promises.

Verily G.o.d sustaineth the heavens and the earth, lest they fail: and if they should fail, none could support the same besides him; he is gracious and merciful.

The Koreish swore by G.o.d, with a most solemn oath, that if a preacher had come unto them, they would surely have been more willingly directed than any nation: but now a preacher is come unto them, it hath only increased in them their aversion from the truth, their arrogance in the earth, and their contriving of evil; but the contrivance of evil shall only encompa.s.s the authors thereof. Do they expect any other than the punishment awarded against the unbelievers of former times?

For thou shalt not find any change in the ordinance of G.o.d; neither shalt thou find any variation in the ordinance of G.o.d.

Have they not gone through the earth, and seen what hath been the end of those who were before them; although they were more mighty in strength than they? G.o.d is not to be frustrated by anything either in heaven or on earth; for he is wise and powerful.

If G.o.d should punish men according to what they deserve, he would not leave on the back of the earth so much as a beast: but he respiteth them to a determined time; and when their time shall come, verily G.o.d will regard his servants.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

ENt.i.tLED, Y.S.; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL G.o.d.

Y.S.

I SWEAR by the instructive Koran, that thou art one of the messengers of G.o.d, sent to show the right way.

This is a revelation of the most mighty, the merciful G.o.d: that thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were not warned, and who live in negligence.

Our sentence hath justly been p.r.o.nounced against the greater part of them; wherefore they shall not believe.

We have put yokes on their necks, which come up to their chins; and they are forced to hold up their heads; and we have set a bar before them, and a bar behind them; and we have covered them with darkness; wherefore they shall not see.

10 It shall be equal unto them whether thou preach unto them, or do not preach unto them; they shall not believe.

But thou shalt preach with effect unto him only who followeth the admonition of the Koran, and feareth the Merciful in secret. Wherefore bear good tidings unto him, of mercy, and an honourable reward.

Verily we will restore the dead to life, and will write down their works which they shall have sent before them, and their footsteps which they shall have left behind them: and everything do we set down in a plain register.

Propound unto them as an example the inhabitants of the city of Antioch, when the apostles of Jesus came thereto: when we sent unto them two of the said apostles; but they charged them with imposture. Wherefore we strengthened them with a third. And they said, Verily we are sent unto you by G.o.d.

The inhabitants answered, Ye are no other than men, as we are; ye only publish a lie.

The apostles replied, Our LORD knoweth that we are really sent unto you: and our duty is only public preaching.