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[1] CONSIDER these [messages] ranged in serried ranks,
[2] and restraining [from evil] by a call to restraint,
[3] and conveying [to all the world] a reminder:
[4] Verily, most surely, your God is One â
[5] the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of all that is between them, and the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise!
[6] Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,
[7] and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force,
[8] [so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high, but shall be repelled from all sides,
[9] cast out [from all grace], with lasting suffering in store for them [in the life to come];
[10] but if anyone does succeed in snatching a glimpse [of such knowledge], he is [henceforth] pursued by a piercing flame.
[11] AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlightÂen thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created? - for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!
[12] Nay, but whereas thou dost marvel, they [only] scoff;
[13] and when they are reminded [of the truth], they refuse to take it to heart;
[14] and when they become aware of a [divine] message, they turn it to ridicule
[15] and say: âThis is clearly nothing but [a mortalâs] spellbinding eloquence!
[16] Why - after we have died and become mere dust and bones, shall we, forsooth, be raised from the dead? â
[17] and perhaps also our forebears of old?â
[18] Say: âYea, indeed - and most abject will you then be!â â
[19] for that [resurrection which they deride] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry - and then, lo! they will begin to see [the truth]
[20] and will say: âOh, woe unto us! This is the Day of Judgment!â
[21] [And they will be told:] âThis is the Day of Distinction [between the true and the false - the Day] which you were wont to call a lie!â
[22] [And God will thus command:] âAssemble all those who were bent on evildoing, together with others of their ilk and [with] all that they were wont to worship
[23] instead of God, and lead them all onto the way to the blazing fire,
[24] and halt them [there]!â [And then,] behold, they shall be asked,
[25] âHow is it that [now] you cannot succour one another?â
[26] Nay, but on that Day they would willingly surrender [to God];
[27] but [since it will be too late,] they will turn upon one another, demanding of each other [to relieve them of the burden of their past sins].
[28] Some [of them] will say: âBehold, you were wont to approach us [deceptively] from the right!â
[29] [To which] the others will reply: âNay, you yourselves were bereft of all faith!
[30] Moreover, we had no power at all over you: nay, you were people filled with overweening arrogance!
[31] But now our Sustainerâs word has come true against us [as well]: verily, we are bound to taste [the fruit of our sins].
[32] So then, [if it be true that] we have caused you to err grievously - behold, we ourselves had been lost in grievous error!â
[33] And, verily, on that Day they all will share in their common suffering.
[34] Verily, thus shall We deal with all who were lost in sin:
[35] for, behold, whenever they were told, âThere is no deity save God,â they would glory in their arrogance
[36] and would say, âShall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?â
[37] Nay, but he [whom you call a mad poet] has brought the truth; and he confirms the truth of [what the earlier of Godâs] message-bearers [have taught].
[38] Behold, you will indeed taste grievous suffering [in the life to come],
[39] although you shall not be requited for aught but what you were wont to do.
[40] Not so, however, Godâs true servants:
[41] [in the hereafter,] theirs shall be a sustenance which they will recognize
[42] as the fruits [of their life on earth]; and honoured shall they be
[43] in gardens of bliss,
[44] facing one another [in love] upon thrones of happiness.
[45] A cup will be passed round among them [with a drink] from unsullied springs,
[46] clear, delightful to those who drink it:
[47] no headiness will be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon.
[48] And with them will be mates of modest gaze, most beautiful of eye,
[49] [as free of faults] as if they were hidden [ostrich] eggs.
[50] And they will all turn to one another, asking each other [about their past lives].
[51] One of them speaks thus: âBehold, I had [on earth] a close companion
[52] who was wont to ask [me], âWhy - art thou really one of those who believe it to be true
[53] [that] after we have died and become mere dust and bones we shall, forsooth, be brought to judgment?ââ
[54] [And] he adds: âWould you like to look [and see him]?â â
[55] and then he looks and sees that [companion of his] in the midst of the blazing fire,
[56] and says: âBy God! Verily, thou hast almost destroyed me [too, O my erstwhile companion]
[57] for had it not been for my Sustainerâs favour, I would surely be [now] among those who are given over [to suffering]!
[58] But then, [O my friends in paradise,] is it [really] so that we are not to die
[59] [again,] beyond our previous death, and that we shall never [again] be made to suffer?
[60] Verily, this - this indeed - is the triumph supreme!â
[61] For the like of this, then, let them labour, those who labour [in Godâs way]!
[62] Is such [a paradise] the better welcome - or the [hellish] tree of deadly fruit?
[63] Verily, We have caused it to be a trial for evildoers:
[64] for, behold, it is a tree that grows in the very heart of the blazing fire [of hell],
[65] its fruit [as repulsive] as satansâ heads;
[66] and they [who are lost in evil] are indeed bound to eat thereof, and to fill their bellies therewith.
[67] And, behold, above all this they will be confounded with burning desÂpair!
[68] And once again: Verily, the blazing fire is their ultimate goal â
[69] for, behold, they found their forebears on a wrong way,
[70] and [now] they make haste to follow in their footsteps!
[71] Thus, indeed, most of the people of old went astray before them,
[72] although, verily, We had sent warners unto them:
[73] and behold what happened in the end to those that had been warned [to no avail]!
[74] EXCEPT for Godâs true servants, [most people are apt to go astray.]
[75] And, indeed, [it was for this reason that] Noah cried unto Us - and how excellent was Our response:
[76] for We saved him and his household from that awesome calamity,
[77] and caused his offspring to endure [on earth];
[78] and We left him thus to be remembered among later generations:
[79] âPeace be upon Noah throughout all the worlds!â
[80] Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good â
[81] for he was truly one of our believing servants:
[82] [and so We saved him and those who followed him] and then We caused the others to drown.
[83] AND, BEHOLD, of his persuasion was Abraham, too,
[84] when he turned to his Sustainer with a heart free of evil,
[85] and [thus] spoke to his father and his people: âWhat is it that you worship?
[86] Do you want [to bow down before] a lie - [before] deities other than God?
[87] What, then, do you think of the Sustainer of all the worlds?â
[88] Then he cast a glance at the stars,
[89] and said, âVerily, I am sick [at heart]!â
[90] and at that they turned their backs on him and went away.
[91] Thereupon he approached their gods stealthily and said, âWhat! You do not eat [of the offerings placed before you]?
[92] What is amiss with you that you do not speak?â
[93] And then he fell upon them, smiting them with his right hand.
[94] [But] then the others came towards him hurÂriedly [and accused him of his deed].
[95] He answered: âDo you worship something that you [yourselves] have carved,
[96] the while it is God who has created you and all your handiwork?â
[97] They exclaimed: âBuild a pyre for him, and cast him into the blazing fire!â
[98] But whereas they sought to do evil unto him, We [frustrated their designs, and thus] brought them low?
[99] And [Abraham] said: âVerily, I shall [leave this land and] go wherever my Sustainer will guide me!â
[100] [And he prayed:] âO my Sustainer! Bestow upon me the gift of [a son who shall be] one of the righteous!â â
[101] whereupon We gave him the glad tiding of a boy-child gentle [like himself]?
[102] And [one day,] when [the child] had become old enough to share in his [fatherâs] endeavours, the latter said: âO my dear son! I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee: consider, then, what would be thy view!â [Ishmael] answered: âO my father! Do as thou art bidden: thou wilt find me, if God so wills, among those who are patient in adversity!â
[103] But as soon as the two had surrendered themselves to [what they thought to be] the will of God, and [Abraham] had laid him down on his face,
[104] We called out to him: âO Abraham,
[105] thou hast already fulfilled [the purpose of] that dream- vision!â Thus, verily, do We reward the doers of good:
[106] for, behold, all this was indeed a trial, clear in itself.
[107] And We ransomed him with a tremendous sacrifice,
[108] and left him thus to be remembered among later generations:
[109] âPeace be upon Abraham!â
[110] Thus do We reward the doers of good â
[111] for he was truly one of our believing servants.
[112] And [in time] We gave him the glad tiding of Isaac, [who, too, would be] a prophet, one of the righteous;
[113] and We blessed him and Isaac: but among the offspring of these two there were [desÂtined] to be both doers of good and such as would glaringly sin against themselves.
[114] THUS, INDEED, did We bestow Our favour upon Moses and Aaron;
[115] and We saved them and their people from the awesome calamity [of bondage],
[116] and succoured them, so that [in the end] it was they who achieved victory.
[117] And We gave them the divine writ that made [right and wrong] distinct,
[118] and guided them the straight way,
[119] and left them thus to be rememÂbered among later generations:
[120] âPeace be upon Moses and Aaron!â
[121] Thus do We reward the doers of good â
[122] for those two were truly among Our believing serÂvants.
[123] AND, BEHOLD, Elijah [too] was indeed one of Our message-bearers
[124] when he spoke [thus] to his people: âWill you not remain conscious of God?
[125] Will you invoke Baal and forsake [God,] the best of artisans -
[126] God, your Sustainer and the Sustainer of your forebears of old?â
[127] But they gave him the lie: and therefore they will most surely be arraigned [on Judgment Day],
[128] excepting only [those who were] Godâs true servants;
[129] and him We left thus to be rememÂbered among later generations:
[130] âPeace be upon Elijah and his followers!â
[131] Verily, thus do We reward the doers of good â
[132] for he was truly one of Our believing servants!
[133] AND, BEHOLD, Lot was indeed one of Our mesÂsage-bearers;
[134] [and so,] when [We decreed the doom of his sinful town,] We saved him and his household,
[135] except an old woman who was among those that stayed behind;
[136] and then We utterly destroyed the others:
[137] and, verily, [to this day] you pass by the remnants of their dwellings at morning-time
[138] and by night. Will you not, then, use your reason?
[139] AND, BEHOLD, Jonah was indeed one of Our mesÂsage-bearers
[140] when he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship.
[141] And then they cast lots, and he was the one who lost;
[142] [and they cast him into the sea,] whereupon the great fish swallowed him, for he had been blameworthy.
[143] And had he not been of those who [even in the deep darkness of their distress are able to] extol Godâs limitless glory,
[144] he would indeed have remained in its belly till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead:
[145] but We caused him to be cast forth on a desert shore, sick [at heart] as he was,
[146] and caused a creeping plant to grow over him [out of the barren soil].
[147] And [then] We sent him [once again] to [his people,] a hundred thousand [souls] or more:
[148] and [this time] they believed [in him] and so We allowed them to enjoy their life during the time allotted to them?
[149] AND NOW ask them to enlighten thee: Has thy Sustainer daughters, whereas they would have [only] sons?
[150] - or is it that We have created the angels female, and they [who believe them to be divine] have witnessed [that act of creation]?
[151] Oh, verily, it is out of their own [inclination to] falsehood that some people assert,
[152] âGod has begotten [a son]â; and, verily, they are lying [too, when they say],
[153] âHe has chosen daughters in preference to sonsâ!
[154] What is amiss with you and your judgment?
[155] Will you not, then, bethink yourselves?
[156] Or have you, perchance, a clear evidence [for your assertions]?
[157] Produce, then, that divine writ of yours, if you are speaking the truth!
[158] And some people have invented a kinship between Him and all manner of invisible forces although [even] these invisible forces know well that, verily, they [who thus blaspheme against God] shall indeed be arraigned [before Him on Judgment Day: for]
[159] limitless is God in His glory, above anything that men may devise by way of definition!
[160] Not thus, however, [behave] Godâs true serÂvants:
[161] for, verily, neither you [blasphemers] nor the objects of your worship
[162] can cause anyone to fall prey to your temptation
[163] unless it be such as rushes towards the blazing fire [of his own accord]!
[164] [All forces of nature praise God and say:] âAmong us, too, there is none but has a place assigned to it [by Him];
[165] and, verily, we too are ranged [before Him in worship];
[166] and, verily, we too extol His limitless glory!â
[167] AND, INDEED, they [who deny the truth] have always been wont to say,
[168] âIf only we had a tradition [to this effect] from our forebears,
[169] we would certainly be true servants of God.â
[170] And yet, [now that this divine writ has been placed before them,] they refuse to acknowledge it as true! In time, however, they will come to know [what it was that they had rejected]:
[171] for, long ago has Our word gone forth unto Our servants, the message- bearers,
[172] that, verily, they - they indeed - would be succoured,
[173] and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious!
[174] Hence, turn thou aside for a while from those [who deny the truth],
[175] and see them [for what they are]; and in time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].
[176] Do they, then, [really] wish that Our chasÂtisement be hastened on?
[177] But then, once it alights upon them, hapless will be the awakening of those who were warned [to no avail]!
[178] Hence, turn thou aside for a while from them,
[179] and see [them for what they are]; and n time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now].
[180] LIMITLESS in His glory is thy Sustainer, the Lord of almightiness, [exalted] above anything that men may devise by way of definition!
[181] And peace be upon all His message-bearers!
[182] And all praise is due to God alone, the SusÂtainer of all the worlds!