Part 7

Heretofore We brought to Moses nine evident signs: Ask then the Children of Israel [the story]--when he came unto them, and Pharaoh said unto him, “Verily I consider thee to be bewitched, O Moses.” He said, “Thou knowest that none hath sent these down as proofs but the Lord of the heavens and the earth; and verily I consider thee, O Pharaoh, accursed.” So he sought to drive them out of the land; but we drowned him and those with him, every one. And after this we said to the Children of Israel, “Dwell ye in the land, and when the promise of the life to come befalleth, we will bring you in a troop to judgment.” And in truth have we sent down [the Korān], and in truth came it down, and we have sent thee only to give good tidings and to warn. And the Korān have we divided that thou mayest recite it unto men by degrees; and we have sent it down by [separate] sendings. Say: Believe ye therein or believe ye not;--those verily to whom knowledge hath been given before, when it is told to them, fall down on their faces in adoration, and say, “Extolled be the glory of our Lord! verily the promise of our Lord is accomplished.” And they fall down upon their faces weeping, and it increaseth their humility.

Say: Call upon God, or call upon the Merciful, whichever ye call Him by; for His are the goodliest names. And be not loud in thy prayer, nor yet mutter it low; but follow a course between. And Say: Praise be to God who hath not taken a son, and who hath no partner in the Kingdom, and no protector hath He for abasement; and glorify Him gloriously.

(xvii.)

THE SPEECHES AT MEKKA

III. THE ARGUMENTATIVE PERIOD

_Aet._ 46-53 A.D. 615-622

THE BELIEVER.

_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._

H. M. The revelation of the Book is from God the Mighty, the Wise, Forgiver of sin, and accepter of repentance,--heavy in punishment, Long-suffering: there is no God but He, to whom is your journeying. None dispute about the signs of God save those who disbelieve; but let not their trafficking in the land deceive thee. Before them the people of Noah, and the allies after them, denied, and every folk hath purposed against its apostle to overmaster him, and they argued with falsehood to rebut the truth therewith; but I did overmaster them and how great was my punishment! And thus was the sentence of thy Lord accomplished upon those who disbelieved, that they should be inmates of the Fire!

They that bear the Throne and they that are round about it magnify the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and beg forgiveness for those who believe:--“O our Lord! thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge, give pardon to those who repent and follow thy path, and keep them from the torment of hell, O our Lord, and bring them into the gardens of eternity which thou hast promised to them and to the just among their fathers and their wives and their offspring; verily thou art the Mighty, the Wise; And keep them from evil; for he whom thou keepest from evil on that day, on him hast thou had mercy--and that is the great prize!”

Verily to those who disbelieve shall come a voice, “Surely the hatred of God is greater than your hatred among yourselves, when ye are called to the faith, and disbelieve.” They shall say, “O our Lord, twice hast thou given us death, and twice hast thou given us life: and we acknowledge our sins: is there then a way to escape?”-- “That hath befallen you because when one God was proclaimed, ye disbelieved: but when Partners were ascribed to Him, ye believed: but judgment belongeth unto God, the High, the Great.” It is He who showeth you His signs, and sendeth down to you provision from heaven: but none mindeth except the repentant.

Then call on God with due obedience, though loth be the infidels; Of high degree, Lord of the throne; He sendeth down the Spirit at His will upon whom He pleaseth of His servants to warn men of the day of the Tryst:-- The day when they shall come forth, and when nothing of theirs shall be hidden from God. Whose is the kingship on that day? It is God’s, the One, the Conqueror! The day every soul shall be rewarded for what it hath earned: no injustice shall there be on that day! Verily God is swift to reckon. And warn them of the approaching Day, when their hearts shall choke in their throats, When the wicked have no friend nor intercessor to prevail. He knoweth the deceitful of eye, and what the breast concealeth, And God judgeth with truth; but those gods whom they call on beside Him cannot judge aught. Verily it is God that heareth and seeth!

Have they not journeyed in the earth, and seen what was the end of those who were before them? Those were mightier than they in strength, and in their footprints on the earth: but God overtook them in their sins, and there was none to keep them from God. That was because apostles had come to them with manifestations, and they believed not: but God overtook them; verily He is strong and heavy in punishment.

We sent Moses of old with our signs and with plain authority, To Pharaoh, and Haman, and Korah: and they said, “A lying wizard.” And when he came to them with truth from us they said, “Slay the sons of those who believe with them, and spare their women;” but the plot of the unbelievers was at fault: And Pharaoh said, “Let me alone to kill Moses; and let him call upon his Lord: verily I fear lest he change your religion, or cause iniquity in the earth.” And Moses said, “Verily I take refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every one puffed up who believeth not in the day of reckoning.” And there spake a man of the family of Pharaoh, a BELIEVER, who concealed his faith, “Will ye kill a man because he saith my Lord is God, when he hath come unto you with manifestations from your Lord? for if he be a liar, upon him alone is his lie, but if he be a man of truth, somewhat of that which he threateneth will befall you. Verily God guideth not him who is an outrageous liar. O my people, to-day is the kingdom yours who are uppermost in the earth! but who will defend us against the might of God if it come upon us?” Pharaoh said, “I will only show you what I think, and I will not guide you save in a right way.” Then said he who believed, “O my people, verily 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 Thamūd, And of those who came after them; and God willeth not injustice to His servants. And, O my people! verily I fear for you the day of crying out: The day when ye shall turn your backs in flight, ye shall have no protector against God; and he whom God misleads, no guide has he. Moreover, Joseph came unto you before with manifestations; but ye ceased not to doubt about [the message] he brought you, until when he died ye said, ‘God will by no means send an apostle after him.’ Thus God misleadeth him who is an outrageous doubter. They who dispute about the signs of God, and no proof coming to them, are very hateful to God and to those who believe. Thus God sealeth the heart of all who are puffed up and arrogant.” And Pharaoh said, “O Haman, build me a tower, mayhap I shall reach the avenues, The avenues of the heavens, and may ascend to the God of Moses: but verily I hold him a liar.” And thus the wickedness of his deed seemed good to Pharaoh, and he was turned away from the right path; but the plot of Pharaoh only came to ruin. And he who believed said, “O my people, follow me: I will guide you the right way. O my people, the life of this world is but a passing joy; but the life to come, that is the abode imperishable. Whosoever doeth evil shall not be rewarded save with its like; and whosoever doeth right, whether male or female, being a believer--these shall enter paradise; and be provided therein without count. And O my people! how is it that I bid you to salvation, but that ye bid me to the Fire? Ye call me to disbelieve in God and join to Him that of which I have no knowledge: and I call you to the Mighty, the Very Forgiving. There is no doubt but that those ye call me to are not to be called on in this world or in the world to come, and that we shall return unto God, and the transgressors shall be inmates of the Fire. Then shall ye call to mind what I said to you: and I commit my case to God: verily God regardeth His servants.” So God kept him from the evil which they devised, and there encompassed the people of Pharaoh the woeful torment-- The Fire, to which they shall be exposed morning and evening; and on the day when the Hour cometh--“Enter, ye people of Pharaoh, into the sorest torment.” And when they shall wrangle together in the fire, the feeble shall say to those who were puffed up, “Verily we followed you: will ye then remove from us aught of the Fire?” And those who were puffed up will say, “Verily we are all in it. Behold! God hath judged between His servants.” And they who are in the Fire shall say to the keepers of Hell, “Call on your Lord, that He remit us one day from the torment.” The keepers shall say, “Did there not come to you your apostles with manifestations?” They shall say, “Yea.” The keepers shall say, “Call then,” but the cry of the unbelievers shall be vain.

Verily we will help our apostles and those who believe, both in the life of this world and on the day when the witness shall stand forth;-- A day whereon the excuse of the wicked shall not profit them; but they shall have the curse and the abode of woe. And of old gave we Moses the guidance, and the Children of Israel made we heirs of the Book,--a guidance and a warning to those who have understanding. Be patient, therefore; verily the promise of God is true; and seek pardon for thy sins, and magnify the praises of thy Lord at eve and early morn. Verily those who dispute about the signs of God, without proof reaching them, there is naught in their breasts but pride: and they shall not win. But seek refuge with God; verily, He heareth and seeth.

Surely the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of man. But most men do not know. Moreover the blind and the seeing are not equal, nor the sinner and they who believe and do the things that are right;--little do they mind! Verily the Hour is assuredly coming: there is no doubt of it;--but most men do not believe. And your Lord saith, “Call upon me;--I will hearken unto you: but as to those who are too puffed up for my service, they shall enter Hell in contempt.”

It is God who made you the night to rest in, and the day for seeing: verily God is bounteous to man, but most men are not thankful. That is God your Lord, Creator of all things: there is no god but He: then why do ye turn away? Thus do they turn away who gainsay the signs of God-- God, who made you the earth for a resting-place and the heaven for a tent, and formed you and made goodly your forms and provided you with good things--that is God, your Lord. Then blessed be God, the Lord of the worlds! He is the Living One. No god is there but He! then call upon Him, purifying your service to Him. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds! Say: Verily I am forbidden to serve those whom ye call on beside God, since there came to me manifestations from my Lord, and I am bidden to resign myself to the Lord of the worlds. He it is who created you of dust, then of a germ, then of blood; then bringeth you forth a babe: then ye come to your strength, then ye become old men (but some of you die before) and reach the appointed term: haply ye will understand! It is He who giveth life and death; and when He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, “Be,” and it is.

Hast thou not beheld those who cavil at the signs of God, how they are turned aside? They who call the Book, and that with which we have sent our apostles, a lie: they shall soon know! When the shackles shall be on their necks, and the chains, whilst they are dragged into Hell--then in the fire shall they be burned-- Then shall it be said to them, “Where is that which ye joined in worship beside God?” They shall say, “They are lost to us, Nay! we did not call before upon anything.” Thus God misleadeth the unbelievers. “That is because ye exulted on earth in what was not true, and because ye were insolent.” Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein for ever: and wretched is the abode of the proud!

But be thou patient: verily the promise of God is true: and whether we show thee part of what we threatened them, or whether we make thee to die; yet to us shall they return. We have sent apostles before thee. Of some we have told thee and of some we have not told thee: but no apostle was able to bring a sign unless by the permission of God. But when God’s behest cometh, everything is decided with truth: and those perish who think it vain.

It is God who hath made for you the cattle, some to ride and some to eat, (And ye have profit from them) and to attain by them the aims of your hearts, for on them and in ships are ye borne: And He showeth you His signs: which then of the signs of God will ye deny? Have they not journeyed in the earth, and seen what was the end of those who were before them? They were in number more than they, and mightier in strength, and in their footprints on the earth: but what they had earned availed them nothing; And when their apostles came to them with manifestations, they exulted in what knowledge they had; but that which they had scoffed at encompassed them. And when they beheld our might they said, “We believe in God alone, and we disbelieve in what we joined in worship with Him.” And naught availed their faith, after they witnessed our might. Such the way of God which was reserved for his servants--and therein the unbelievers have lost.

(xl.)

JONAH.

_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._

A. L. R. These are the signs of the wise Book! Is it a matter of wonder to the people that we revealed to a man from among themselves, “Warn the people; and bring good tidings to those who believe, that the reward of their good faith is with their Lord?” The unbelievers say, “Lo! this is an evident sorcerer!”

Verily your Lord is God, who made the heavens and the earth in six days--then ascended the throne to govern all things: there is none to plead with Him save by His permission.--This is God, your Lord! then worship ye Him: will ye not mind? Unto Him shall ye all return by the sure promise of God: behold! He produces a creature, then maketh it return again, that He may reward with equity those who believe and do the things that are right: but those who believe not, for them is the scalding drink, and an aching torment--because they did not believe. It is He who hath made the sun for shining, and the moon for light, and ordained him mansions that ye may learn the number of years and the reckoning of time. God did not create that but in truth. He maketh His signs plain to a people who know. Verily in the alterations of the night and the day, and in all that God created in the heavens and the earth, are signs to a godfearing folk.

Verily they who do not hope to meet us, and are satisfied with the life of this world, and are content with it, and they who are careless of our signs,-- Their dwelling-place is the Fire, for what they have earned. Verily they who believe and do the things that are right, their Lord shall guide them because of their faith; beneath them rivers shall flow in gardens of delight: Their cry therein shall be, “Extolled be thy glory, O God!” and their salutation therein shall be “Peace!” And the end of their cry shall be, “Praise to God, Lord of the worlds!” And if God should hasten woe upon men as they fain would hasten weal, verily their appointed term is decreed for them! therefore we leave those who hope not to meet us groping in their disobedience. Moreover, when affliction toucheth man, he calleth us upon his side, sitting, or standing; and when we take away his affliction from him, he passeth on as though he had not called us in the affliction that touched him! Thus do the deeds of transgressors seem good to them! We have destroyed generations before you, when they sinned and their apostles came to them with manifestations and they would not believe;--thus do we requite the sinful folk. Then we made you their successors in the earth after them, to see how ye would act. But when our manifest signs are recited to them, they who hope not to meet us say, “Bring a different Korān from this, or change it.” Say: It is not for me to change it of mine own will. I follow only what is revealed to me: verily I fear if I disobey my Lord the torment of the great Day. Say: If God pleased, I had not recited it to you nor taught it you; and already I had dwelt a lifetime amongst you before that: have ye then no wits? And who is more wicked than he who forgeth a lie against God, or saith His signs are lies? Surely the sinners shall not prosper! And they worship beside God that which cannot hurt them or help them; and they say, “These shall be our pleaders with God.” Say: Will ye tell God of anything He doth not know in the heavens and in the earth? Extolled be His glory! and far be He above what they associate with Him! Men were of only one religion: then they differed, and had not a decree gone forth from thy Lord, there had certainly been made a decision between them of that whereon they differed. And they say, “Had a sign been sent down to him from his Lord ...”--but say: The unseen is with God alone: wait, therefore; verily I am waiting with you. And when we caused men to taste of mercy after affliction had touched them, behold! they have a plot against our signs! Say: God is quick at plotting! verily our messengers write down what ye plot.

He it is who maketh you journey by land and sea, until, when ye are in ships--and they run with them before a fair wind, and they rejoice thereat, there cometh upon them a violent wind, and the waves come upon them from every side, and they suppose they are sore pressed therewith; they call on God, offering Him sincere religion:--“Do thou but deliver us from this, and we will indeed be of the thankful.” But when we have delivered them, lo, they transgress unjustly on the earth! O ye people! ye wrong your own souls only for the enjoyment of the life of this world: then to us shall ye return; and we will tell you what ye have done.

The likeness of the life of this world is as the water which we send down from the heaven, and there mingleth with it the produce of the earth of which men and cattle eat, until when the earth hath put on its blazonry and is arrayed, and its inhabitants think it is they who ordain it, our command cometh to it by night or day, and we make it mown down, as if it had not teemed yesterday! Thus do we explain our signs to a reflecting folk.

And God calleth you unto the abode of peace: and guideth whom He will into the straight way: To those who have done well, weal and to spare, Neither blackness shall cover their faces nor shame! these are the inmates of Paradise, to abide therein for ever. And as for those who have earned evil, the recompense of evil is its like; shame shall cover them--no defender shall they have against God--as though their faces were darkened with the gloom of night: these are the inmates of the Fire to abide therein for ever. And on the day we will gather them all together, then will we say to those who made Partners with God, “To your place, ye and your Partners!” and we will separate between them; and their partners shall say, “Ye worshipped not us, And God is witness enough between us and you that we were indifferent to your worship!” Then shall every soul make proof of what it hath sent on before, and they shall be brought back to God their true Master, and what they devised shall vanish from them.

Say: Who provideth you from the heaven and the earth? who is king over hearing and sight? and who bringeth forth the living from the dead and bringeth forth the dead from the living? and who ruleth all things? And they shall say, “God:” then say: Do ye not fear? So that is God your true Lord: and after the truth, what is there but error? How then are ye turned away? Thus is the word of thy Lord fulfilled upon those who work iniquity: they shall not believe. Say: Is there any of the Partners [of God] who can produce a creature, then bring it back again? Say: God produceth a creature then bringeth it back again: how then are ye deceived? Say: Is there any of the Partners who guideth to the truth? Say: God guideth unto the truth. Is he who guideth to the truth the worthier to be followed, or he who guideth not except he be guided? What is in you so to judge? And most of them only follow a fancy: but a fancy profiteth nothing against the truth! verily God knoweth what they do.

Moreover this Korān could not have been devised without God: but it confirmeth what preceded it, and explaineth the Scripture--there is no doubt therein--from the Lord of the worlds. Do they say, “He hath devised it himself?” Say: Then bring a chapter like it: and call on whom ye can beside God, if ye be speakers of truth. Nay, they call all that a lie, of which they compass not the knowledge, though the explanation of it hath not yet been given them; so did those who were before them call the Scriptures lies: but see what was the end of the wicked! And some of them believe in it, and some of them believe not in it. But thy Lord knoweth best about the evildoers. And if they call thee a liar, say, I have my work, and ye have your work: ye are clear of what I work, and I am clear of what ye work. And some of them hearken to thee; but canst thou make the deaf hear if they have no wits? And some of them regard thee; but canst thou guide the blind when they see not? Verily God doth not wrong man a whit, but men wrong themselves.