CHAPTER XXXV.: INTITLED "THE CREATOR." REVEALED AT MECCA

In the name of the most merciful GOD. Praise be unto GOD, the creator of heaven and earth; who maketh the angels _his_ messengers, furnished with two, and three, and four _pair_ of wings: GOD maketh what addition he pleaseth unto _his_ creatures; for GOD _is_ almighty. The mercy which GOD 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 GOD towards you: is there any creator, besides GOD, who provideth food for you from heaven and earth? _There is_ no GOD 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 GOD shall _all_ things return. O men, verily the promise of GOD is true: let not therefore the present life deceive you, neither let the deceiver deceive you concerning GOD: for Satan _is_ an enemy unto you; wherefore hold him for an enemy: he only inviteth his confederates to be the inhabitants of hell. 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 GOD 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 GOD well knoweth that which they do. _It is God_ 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_. Whoever desireth excellence; unto GOD _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. GOD 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 any thing added unto the age of him whose life is prolonged, neither is any thing diminished from his age, but _the same is written_ in the book _of God's decrees_. Verily this is easy with GOD. 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 God_: 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 GOD, 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 associated _them with God_: and none shall declare unto thee _the truth_, like one who is well acquainted _therewith_. O men, ye have need of GOD; but GOD 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 GOD. 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 assembled before GOD _at the last day_. The blind and the seeing shall not be held equal; neither darkness and light; nor the cool shade and the scorching wind: neither shall the living and the dead be held equal. GOD 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 GOD sendeth down rain from heaven, and that we thereby produce fruits of various colors? In the mountains also _there are_ some tracts white and red, of various colors; and _others are_ of a deep black: and of men, and beasts, and cattle _there are_ whose colors _are_ in like manner various. Such only of his servants fear GOD as are endued with understanding: verily GOD _is_ mighty _and_ ready to forgive. Verily they who read the book of GOD, 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: that _God_ 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 endeavors_. That which we have revealed unto thee of the book _of the Korân_ is the truth, confirming the _scriptures_ which _were revealed_ before it: for GOD knoweth _and_ regardeth his servants. And we have given the book _of the Korân_ 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 GOD. 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 GOD, 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 hell: 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 _hell, 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 hell_. And the unjust shall have no protector. Verily GOD knoweth the secrets _both_ of heaven and earth, for he knoweth the innermost parts of the breasts _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. Say, what think ye of your deities which ye invoke besides GOD? 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 ungodly make unto one another only deceitful promises. Verily GOD 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 GOD, 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 encompass 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 GOD; neither shalt thou find any variation in the ordinance of GOD. 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? GOD is not to be frustrated by anything either in heaven or on earth; for he is wise _and_ powerful. If GOD 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 GOD will regard his servants.