Chapter II: The Rhetorical Period

_Aet._ 44-46
A.D. 613-615

THE KINGDOM.

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

Blessed be He in whose hand is the KINGDOM: and He is powerful over
all;
Who created death and life to prove you which of you is best in
actions, and He is the Mighty, the Very Forgiving;
Who hath created seven heavens in stages: thou seest no fault in
the creation of the Merciful; but lift up thine eyes again; dost
thou see any cracks?
Then lift up the eyes again twice; thy sight will recoil to thee
dazzled and dim.
Moreover, we have decked the lower heaven with lamps, and have made
them for pelting the devils, and we have prepared for them the
torment of the flame.
And for those who disbelieve in their Lord, the torment of Hell:
and evil the journey to it!
When they shall be cast into it, they shall hark to its braying as
it boileth;--
It shall well-nigh burst with fury! Every time a troop is thrown
into it, its keepers shall ask them, “Did not a warner come to
you?”
They shall say, “Yea! a warner came to us; but we took him for a
liar, and said, ‘God hath not sent down anything. Verily, ye are
only in great error.’”
And they shall say, “Had we but hearkened or understood, we had not
been among the people of the flame!”
And they will confess their sins: so a curse on the people of the
flame!
Verily they who fear their Lord in secret, for them is
forgiveness--a great reward.
And whether ye hide your speech, or say it aloud, verily He knoweth
well the secrets of the breast!
What! shall He not know, who created? and He is the subtle, the
well-aware!
It is He who hath made the earth smooth for you: so walk on its
sides, and eat of what He hath provided--and unto Him shall be
the resurrection.
Are ye sure that He who is in the Heaven will not make the earth
sink with you? and behold, it shall quake!
Or are ye sure that He who is in the Heaven will not send against
you a sand-storm,--so shall ye know about the warning!
And assuredly those who were before them called it a lie, and how
was it with their denial?
Or do they not look up at the birds over their heads, flapping
their wings? None supporteth them but the Merciful: verily He
seeth all.
Who is it that will be a host for you, to defend you, if not the
Merciful? verily the unbelievers are in naught but delusion!
Who is it that will provide for you, if He withhold His provision?
Nay, they persist in pride and running away!
Is he, then, who goeth grovelling on his face better guided than he
who goeth upright on a straight path?
Say: it is He who produced you and made you hearing and sight and
heart--little are ye thankful!
Say: it is He who sowed you in the earth, and to Him shall ye be
gathered.
But they say, “When shall this threat be, if ye are speakers of
truth?”
Say: the knowledge thereof is with God alone, and I am naught but a
plain warner.
But when they shall see it nigh, the countenance of those who
disbelieved shall be evil,--and it shall be said, “This is what
ye called for.”
Say: Have ye considered--whether God destroy me and those with me,
or whether we win mercy--still who will save the unbelievers from
aching torment?
Say: He is the Merciful: we believe in Him, and in Him we put our
trust--and ye shall soon know which it is that is in manifest
error!
Say: Have ye considered if your waters should sink away to-morrow,
who will bring you running water?

(lxvii.)

THE MOON.

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

The Hour approacheth and the MOON is cleft asunder.
But if they see a sign they turn aside, and say “Useless magic!”
And they call it a lie, and follow their own lusts:--but everything
is ordained.
Yet there came to them messages of forbiddance--
Wisdom supreme--but warners serve not!
Then turn from them: the Day when the Summoner shall summon to a
matter of trouble,
With eyes cast down shall they come forth from their graves, as if
they were scattered locusts,
Hurrying headlong to the summoner: the unbelievers shall say, “This
is a hard day!”

The people of Noah, before them, called it a lie, and they called
our servant a liar, and said, “Mad!” and he was rejected.
Then he besought his Lord, “Verily I am overpowered: defend me.”
So we opened the gates of heaven with water pouring forth,
And we made the earth break out in springs, and the waters met by
an order foreordained;
And we carried him on a vessel of planks and nails,
Which sailed on beneath our eyes;--a reward for him who had been
disbelieved.
And we left it as a sign; but doth any one mind?
_And what was my torment and warning?_
_And we have made the Korān easy for reminding; but doth anyone
mind?_

Ad called it a lie; _but what was my torment and warning?_
Lo, we sent against them a biting wind on a day of settled ill-luck.
It tore men away as though they were trunks of palm-trees torn-up.
_But what was my torment and warning?_
_And we have made the Korān easy for reminding; but doth any one
mind?_

Thamūd called the warning a lie:
And they said, “A single mortal from among ourselves shall we
follow? verily then we should be in error and madness.
Is the reminding committed to him alone among us? Nay, he is an
insolent liar.”
They shall know to-morrow about the insolent liar!
Lo! we will send the she-camel to prove them: so mark them well,
and be patient.
And predict to them that the water shall be divided between
themselves and her, every draught taken in turn.
But they called their companion, and he took and hamstrung her--
_And what was my torment and warning?_
Lo! we sent against them one shout; and they became like the dry
sticks of the hurdle-maker.
_And we have made the Korān easy for reminding; but doth any one
mind?_

The people of Lot called the warning a lie;--
Lo! we sent a sand-storm against them, except the family of Lot,
whom we delivered at daybreak
As a favour from us; thus do we reward the thankful.
And he had warned them of our attack, but they misdoubted the
warning;
And they sought his guests, so we put out their eyes.
“_So taste ye my torment and warning!_”
And in the morning there overtook them a punishment abiding.
“_So taste my torment and warning._”
_And we have made the Korān easy for reminding; but doth any one
mind?_

And there came a warning to the people of Pharaoh:
They called our signs all a lie: so we gripped them with the grip
of omnipotent might.

Are your unbelievers better men than those? Is there immunity for
you in the Books?
Do they say, “We are a company able to defend itself?”
They shall all be routed, and turn their backs.
Nay, but the Hour is their threatened time, and the Hour shall be
most grievous and bitter.
Verily the sinners are in error and madness!
One day they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces: “_Taste
ye the touch of Hell._”

Verily all things have we created by a decree,
And our command is but one moment, like the twinkling of an eye.
And we have destroyed the like of you:--_but doth any one mind?_
And everything that they do is in the Books;
Everything, little and great, is written down.
Verily the pious shall be amid gardens and rivers,
In the seat of truth, before the King Omnipotent.

(liv.)

K.

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

K. By the glorious Korān.
Nay, they marvel that a warner from among themselves hath come to
them: and the unbelievers say, “This is a marvellous thing!
When we are dead and are become dust!--that is a far-fetched
return!”
We know what the earth consumeth of them, and with us is a book
that keepeth count.
Nay, they called the truth a lie when it came to them, but they are
in a perplexed state.
Will they not look up to the heaven above them, how we built it,
and beautified it, and there are no flaws therein?
And we spread out the earth, and cast stable mountains upon it, and
caused to grow there plants of all beauteous kinds,
For consideration and warning to every repentant servant.
And we sent down water from heaven as a blessing, and caused
thereby gardens and harvest grain to grow,
And tall palm-trees with spathes heaped up,
A provision for our servants; and revived thereby a barren land.
Like that shall the resurrection be.
Before them the people of Noah and the people of Er-Rass and Thamūd
called the prophets liars,
And Ad, and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot, and the people of the
grove, and the people of Tubba´--one and all called the apostles
liars,--and found the threat true.
Were we then impotent as to the first creation? yet they are in
doubt about a new creation.
We created man, and we know what his soul whispereth, and we are
nearer to him than his jugular vein.

When the two note-takers take note, sitting on the right hand and
on the left,
Not a word doth he utter, but a watcher is by him ready.
And the stupor of death shall come in truth;--“this is what thou
would’st have avoided.”
And the trumpet shall be blown,--that is the Day of the Threat!
And every soul shall come, along with a driver and a witness--
“Thou didst not heed this: so we have taken away from thee thy
veil, and to-day thy sight is keen.”
And his companion shall say, “This is what I am ready to witness.”
“Cast ye into Hell every unbelieving rebel,
Hinderer of the good, transgressor, doubter,
Who setteth up other gods with God; cast ye him into the fierce
torment.”
His companion shall say, “O our Lord! I misled him not; but he was
in fathomless error.”
God shall say, “Wrangle not before me, for I charged you before
about the threat.
My word does not change, and I am not unjust to my servants.”
On that day will we say to Hell, “Art thou full?” and it shall say,
“Is there more?”
And Paradise shall be brought nigh to the righteous, not afar:--
“This is what ye were promised, unto every one who turneth himself
to God and keepeth His laws,
Who feareth the Merciful in secret, and cometh with a contrite
heart;
Enter it in peace:”--that is the Day of Eternity!
They shall have what they please therein, and increase at our hands.

And how many generations have we destroyed before them, mightier
than they in valour! then seek through the land--is there any
refuge?
Verily in that is a warning to him who hath a heart, or giveth ear,
and is a beholder.
And We created the heavens, and the earth, and what is between
them, in six days, and no weariness touched us.
Then be patient with what they say, magnify thy Lord with praise
before the rising of the sun and its setting,
And in the night magnify Him, and in the endings of the prayers.
And give ear to the day when the crier shall cry from a near place,
The day when they shall hear the shout in truth--that is the day of
resurrection!
Verily it is we who give life and death, and to us do all return.
The day when the earth shall gape asunder over them suddenly--that
is the gathering easy to us!
We know well what they say: and thou art not a tyrant over them.
But warn by the Korān him who feareth the threat.

(l.)

Y. S.

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

Y. S. By the wise Korān!
Verily thou art of the Messengers
Upon the straight way.
A revelation of the Mighty, the Merciful:--
To warn a people whose fathers were not warned, and themselves are
heedless.
Our word has proved true against the most of them; yet they will
not believe!
Verily we have put shackles on their necks, reaching to the chin,
and their heads are tied back;
And we have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them,
and we have covered them so that they see not;
And it is all one to them whether thou warn them or warn them not:
they will not believe.
Thou wilt only warn to good purpose him who followeth the monition
and feareth the Merciful in secret: so tell him good tidings of
forgiveness and a noble reward.
Verily it is we who quicken the dead, and write down the deeds they
have sent before them and the vestiges they leave behind them;
and everything do we set down in the plain Exemplar.

And frame for them a parable--the people of the town [of Antioch],
when the Apostles came to it;
When we sent unto them two, and they called them liars; so we
strengthened them with a third, and they said, “Verily we are
sent unto you.”
The people said, “Ye are only men like us; and the Merciful hath
not revealed aught; in sooth ye are only lying.”
They said, “Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you;
And there is naught laid upon us but to announce a plain message.”
The people said, “Of a truth we have drawn an evil augury from
you: unless ye desist, we will surely stone you, and a painful
punishment shall surely betide you from us.”
They said, “Your evil augury is with yourselves! If ye be
warned?--Nay! ye are an ignorant people.”
And there came from the furthest part of the city a man running: he
said, “O my people! follow the Apostles,
Follow those who ask you not for recompense, and who are guided
aright.
And what is in me, that I should not worship Him who made me and to
whom ye must return?
Shall I take gods beside Him? If the Merciful be pleased to afflict
me, their intercession will not avail me aught, nor will they
deliver me;
Verily in that case I should be in a manifest error.
Verily I believe in your Lord: therefore hear ye me.”--
It was said, “Enter into Paradise,” and he said, “Would that my
people knew
How that my Lord hath forgiven me and hath made me one of the
honoured!”
And afterwards we sent not down upon his people armies out of
heaven nor what we were wont to send down:
It was but one shout, and lo, they were extinct!

O the pity of men! No apostle cometh to them but they laugh him to
scorn.
Do they not consider how many generations we have destroyed before
them?
Verily they shall not return to them,
But gathered together before us shall they all be arraigned.

And a sign for them is the dead earth which we quicken and bring
thereforth grain, and they eat of it;
And we make therein gardens of palm-trees and vines, and cause
springs to gush forth therein;
That they may eat of its fruits, and of the labour of their hands:
and will they not be thankful?
Extolled be the glory of Him who hath created all sorts of what the
earth beareth, and of men’s selves, and of that they know not of!
And a sign for them is the night. We draw away the day from it, and
lo! they are in darkness;
And the sun hasteneth to her resting-place.--This is the ordinance
of the Mighty, the Wise!--
And for the moon we have decreed his mansions, till he is wasted to
the likeness of a withered palm-branch.
It is not meet that the sun should overtake the moon, nor the night
outstrip the day; but each doth swim in its sphere.
And it is a sign for them that we carry their offspring in the
burthened ship;
And that we create for them the like of it to ride on;
And if we please, we drown them, and there is no succour for them,
nor are they delivered,
Save in our mercy, and for a transient joy.
And when it is said to them, “Fear what is before you and what is
behind you; haply ye may obtain mercy:”
Thou bringest not one sign of the signs of their Lord but they turn
away from it!
And when it is said to them, “Give alms of what God hath bestowed
on you,” they who disbelieve say to those who believe, “Shall we
feed him whom God can feed if He pleases? verily ye are only in
manifest error.”

And they say “When will this threat come to pass, if ye be speakers
of truth?”
They await but a single blast; it shall smite them whilst they are
wrangling,
And they shall not be able to make their wills, and unto their
families they shall not return.
And the trumpet shall be blown, and behold they shall hasten out of
the graves to their Lord:
Saying, “Oh, woe is us! who hath roused us from our sleeping-place?
This is what the Merciful threatened; and the apostles spake
truth.”
There shall be but one blast, and, lo! all are arraigned before us;
And on that day no soul shall be wronged at all, nor shall ye be
recompensed save for what ye have wrought.

Verily on that day the people of Paradise shall, be happy in their
pursuits,
They and their wives reclining on couches in the shade;
They have fruit there and whatsoever they demand:
“Peace” is their greeting from a merciful Lord.

“Separate ye this day, O ye sinners!
Did I not charge you, O sons of Adam, not to serve the
Devil,--surely he is your open enemy,--
But to worship Me: this is the straight way?
Yet he led away a great multitude of you: had ye no wits?
This is Hell, which ye were threatened with:
Roast there to-day, because ye did not believe.”
On that day will we set a seal on their mouths, but their hands
shall speak to us, and their feet shall bear witness of what they
have earned for themselves.
And if we pleased, we could put out their eyes, and still would
they hasten on their way: but how would they see?
And if we pleased we could transform them as they stand so that
they could not go on or turn back;
And him whom we make old, we bow down his body: have they no wits?

We have not taught [Mohammad] poetry, nor would it befit him. It is
only a warning and a plain Korān,
To warn whosoever liveth: and the sentence shall be carried out
upon the unbelievers.
Do they not see that we have created for them, of what our hands
have made, the cattle which they possess?
And we have subdued them unto them, and some of them are for riding
and of some they eat,
And they have in them profit and milk to drink: and will they not
be thankful?
But they have taken other gods beside God, if haply they may be
holpen:
They are not able to help them; yet they themselves are an army
arrayed for their defence.

But let not their speech grieve thee: verily, we know what they
hide and what they show!
Doth not man see that we created him from a germ? Yet, behold he is
an open adversary,
And he putteth arguments to us, and forgetteth his creation,
saying, “Who can quicken bones that are rotten?”
Say: He who first made them to be shall quicken them: for all
creating He knoweth well;--
Who made for you fire from a green tree, and behold, ye kindle with
it;
And is not He who created the Heavens and the Earth able to create
their like? Yea! for He is the wise Creator.
His command, when he willeth a thing, is only to say to it “BE,”
and it is!

Then extolled be the Perfection of Him in whose hand is the empire
over all, and to whom ye must return.

(xxxvi.)

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.

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

Extolled be the glory of Him who conveyed his servant by night from
the Sacred Mosque to the furthest mosque, whose precincts we have
blessed, to show him our signs! Verily, He it is who heareth and
seeth!
And we gave the Book of the Law to Moses and made it a guide to the
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL--“Take ye no guardian beside Me,
Seed of those whom we bare [in the ark] with Noah! Verily he was a
grateful servant!”
And we ordained for the Children of Israel in the Book,--“Ye shall
surely work iniquity in the earth twice, and ye shall be puffed
up with a mighty arrogance.”
So when the threat came to pass for the first of the two sins, we
sent upon you servants of ours armed with grievous punishment;
and they went among your houses, and the threat was carried out.
Then in turn we gave you victory over them, and helped you with
riches and sons, and made you a very numerous host.
If ye do well, ye will do well to your own souls, and if ye do ill,
it will be to them also. And when the threat came to pass for the
second sin,--[the enemy came] to afflict you, and to enter the
mosque as they entered it the first time, and to utterly destroy
what they had overpowered.
Haply your Lord will have mercy on you! and if ye turn, we will
turn; but we have made Hell for a prison for the unbelievers.

Verily this Korān guideth to the right way and giveth good tidings
to believers,
Who do that which is right, that for them is a great reward;
And that for those who believe not in the life to come, we have
made ready an aching torment.

Man prayeth for evil as he prayeth for good: for man was ever hasty.

We have made the night and the day for two signs: then we blot out
the sign of the night, and make the sign of the day manifest,
that ye may seek bounty from your Lord, and may know the number
of the years and the reckoning of time; and we have defined
everything definitely.
And every man’s fate we have fastened about his neck. And we will
bring to him on the day of Resurrection a book which shall be
offered to him open:--
“Read thy Book: thou thyself art accountant enough against thyself
this day.”
He who is guided, for his own good only shall he be guided, and he
who erreth but to his own hurt; and one burthened soul shall not
be burthened with another’s burthen.

And we did not punish until we had sent an apostle.
And when we resolved to destroy a city, we enjoined its men of
wealth, but they disobeyed therein; so the sentence proved true,
and we destroyed it utterly.
How many generations have we swept away since Noah! and thy Lord
knoweth and seeth enough of the sins of His servants.

Whoso desireth the present life, we will present him with what we
please therein, to whom we choose: finally, we will make Hell for
him to roast in, disgraced and banished:
But whoso desireth the life to come, and striveth after it
strenuously, and he a believer,--the endeavour of these shall be
acceptable:
To all, to these and those, will we extend the gifts of thy Lord;
and the gifts of thy Lord are not limited.
See how we have made some of them excellent above others! but the
life to come is greater in degrees and greater in excellence.

Set no other god with God, lest thou sit down disgraced and
defenceless.
Thy Lord hath ordained that ye worship none but Him; and kindness
to your parents, whether one or both of them attain old age with
thee: then say not to them, “Fie!” neither reproach them; but
speak to them generous words,
And droop the wing of humility to them out of compassion, and say,
“Lord, have compassion on them, like as they fostered me when I
was little.”
(Your Lord knoweth perfectly what is in your souls, whether ye be
well-doers;
And verily He is forgiving to the repentant.)
And render to thy kinsman his due, and to the poor and to the son
of the road (but lavish not wastefully;
Truly the wasteful are brothers of the Devil, and the Devil is
ungrateful to his Lord:)
But if thou turnest away from them, to seek the mercy which thou
hopest from thy Lord, yet speak to them gentle words.
And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck; nor yet stretch
it forth right open, or thou wilt sit down in reproach and
destitution.
Verily thy Lord will be openhanded with provision for whom He
pleaseth, or He will be sparing; He knoweth and seeth His
servants.
And slay not your children for fear of want: we will provide for
them. Beware! verily killing them is a great sin.
And draw not near to inchastity; verily it is a foul thing, and
evil is the course.
And slay not the soul whom God hath forbidden you to slay, unless
for a just cause: and whosoever shall be slain wrongfully, we
give his heir the right [of retaliation]; but let him not exceed
in slaying; verily he is protected.
And approach not the substance of the orphan, except to make it
better, till he cometh to maturity: and observe your covenants;
verily covenants shall be inquired of hereafter.
And give full measure when ye measure, weigh with an even balance;
that is best and fairest in the end.
And follow not that of which thou hast no knowledge: verily the
hearing, and the sight, and the heart,--all of them shall be
inquired of.
And walk not proudly on the earth: verily thou shalt never cleave
the earth, nor reach to the mountains in height!
All that is evil in thy Lord’s eye, an abomination.

That is part of the wisdom which thy Lord hath revealed to thee.
And make no other god beside God, or thou wilt be thrown into
Hell in reproach and banishment.
Hath then the Lord assigned to you sons, and shall He take for
himself daughters from among the angels? verily ye do say a
tremendous saying!
And we made variations in this Korān to warn them; yet it only
increaseth their repulsion.
Say: If there were other gods with Him, as ye say, they would then
seek occasion against the Lord of the throne.
Extolled be His glory, and be He greatly exalted far above what
they say!
The seven heavens, and the earth, and all that is therein, magnify
Him, and there is naught but magnifieth His praise; only ye
understand not their worship. Verily He is forbearing, forgiving.
When thou declaimest the Korān, we put between thee and those who
believe not in the life to come a close veil;
And we put coverings over their hearts, lest they should understand
it, and deafness in their ears.
And when thou tellest of thy Lord in the Korān as One, they turn
their backs in repulsion.
We know well what they listen for, when they listen to thee, and
when they whisper apart, when the wicked say, “Ye do but follow a
man enchanted.”
See what comparisons they make for thee! but they wander and cannot
find the way.

They say, “What! when we have become bones and dust, shall we
forsooth be raised as a new creature?”
Say: Yes! were ye stones, or iron, or any creature, the hardest [to
raise again] that your minds can imagine. But they will say, “Who
shall restore us?” Say: He who began you in the beginning! And
they will wag their heads at thee and say, “When shall this be?”
Say: Maybe it is nigh at hand.--
A day when God shall summon you and ye shall answer with His
praise; and ye shall think that ye have tarried but a little
while.
And say to my servants that they speak pleasantly: verily the Devil
provoketh strife among them; verily the Devil is man’s open enemy.
Your Lord knoweth you well; if He please He will have mercy on you;
or if He please He will torment you; and we have not sent thee to
be our governor over them!
Thy Lord knoweth well who is in the heavens and in the earth. And
we distinguished some of the prophets above others, and we gave
to David the Psalms.
Say: Call ye upon those whom ye profess beside Him; but they will
have no power to put away trouble from you or alter it.
Those whom they invoke do themselves strive for access to their
Lord, which of them shall be nearest: and they hope for His mercy
and fear His torment: verily the torment of thy Lord is to be
dreaded.
There is no city but we will destroy it before the Day of
Resurrection, or torment it with grievous torment. That is
written in the Book.

Nothing hindered our sending thee with signs but that the people of
yore called them lies. We gave Thamūd the she-camel before their
very eyes, but they maltreated her; and we send not [a prophet]
with signs except to terrify.
And when we said to thee, “Verily thy Lord encompasseth
mankind;”--and we made the vision which we showed thee, and
the accursed tree in the Korān, only to prove men; and we will
terrify them; but it shall only add to their great disobedience.
And when we said to the angels, “Bow down to Adam:” and they all
bowed down save Iblīs: who said, “What! shall I bow down to him
whom thou hast created of clay?”
And said, “Dost thou consider this one whom thou hast honoured
above me? Verily, if thou didst spare me till the day of
Resurrection, I would utterly destroy his offspring, all but a
few!”
God said, “Begone; but whosoever of them followeth thee, verily,
Hell is to be your reward--reward enough!
And tempt whom thou canst of them by thy voice; and assail them
with thy horsemen and thy footmen, and share with them in their
riches and their children, and make them promises. (But the
Devil’s promises are deceitful.)
Verily thou hast no power over my servants: and thy Lord sufficeth
for a defender.”
It is your Lord who driveth your ships on the sea, that ye may seek
of His abundance, verily He is merciful to you.
And when a harm befalleth you at sea, they whom ye call on beside
Him are missing! Then when He bringeth you safe to land, ye stand
aloof: for man was ever thankless.
Are ye sure that He will not swallow you up on the shore, or send
a sand-storm against you? then ye would not find for you any
defender.
Or are ye sure that He will not turn you back again to sea, and
send against you a storm of wind and drown you, because ye were
thankless? Then shall ye find for yourselves no helper against us.
And we have honoured the sons of Adam; and we have borne them on
the land and on the sea, and have fed them with good things, and
distinguished them above many of our creatures.

On a day we will summon all men with their scripture: then whoso is
given his book into his right hand,--these shall read their book
and not be wronged a whit.
And he who has been blind in this life shall be blind in the life
to come, and miss the road yet more.
And verily they had well-nigh tempted thee from what we revealed to
thee, to forge against us something false; and then they would
have taken thee to friend;
And had we not prevented thee, thou hadst well-nigh inclined to
them a little:
In that case we would have made thee to taste of torment double in
life and double in death, then should’st thou find for thyself no
helper against us.
And they well-nigh frightened thee from the land, to drive thee out
of it; but if they had, they should only have tarried a little
while behind thee.
[This was our] custom with our apostles whom we sent before thee,
and thou shalt find no changing in our custom.

Perform prayer from the setting of the sun till the fall of night,
and the recital at dawn,--verily the recital at dawn is witnessed:
And watch thou part of the night as a voluntary service; it may be
that thy Lord will raise thee to a place of praise:
And say: O my Lord, cause me to enter with a right entry, and to
come forth with a right forthcoming, and grant me from thyself a
power of defence.
And say: Truth is come and falsehood is fled away: verily falsehood
is a fleeting thing.

And we send down from the Korān healing and mercy to the faithful;
but it shall only add to the ruin of the wicked.
And when we are gracious to man, he turneth away and standeth
aloof; but when evil touches him he is in despair.
Say: Every one doeth after his own fashion, but your Lord knoweth
perfectly who is best guided on the road.
And they will ask thee of the Spirit; Say: The Spirit cometh at my
Lord’s behest, and ye are given but scant knowledge.
And assuredly, if we pleased we could take away what we have
revealed to thee: then wouldst thou not find for thyself a
defender against us,
Save in mercy from thy Lord; verily His bounty towards thee is
great.
Say: Surely if mankind and the Jinn united in order to produce the
like of this Korān, they could not produce its like, though they
helped one another.
We have varied every kind of parable for men in this Korān, but
most men consent only to discredit it.
And they say, “We will by no means believe in thee till thou makest
a spring to gush forth for us from the earth;
Or till there cometh to thee a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and
thou makest rivers to gush forth abundantly in its midst;
Or thou make the heaven to fall down in pieces upon us, as thou
pretendest; or bring God and the angels before us;
Or thou have a house of gold; or thou ascend up into Heaven; and we
will not believe in thy ascent until thou send down to us a book
which we may read.” Say: Extolled be the glory of my Lord! Am I
aught save a man, a messenger?
And nothing prevented men from believing, when the guidance came to
them, but their saying, “Hath God sent a mere man as a messenger?”
Say: Had there been angels upon the earth walking at ease, we had
surely sent them an angel from heaven as an apostle.
Say: God is witness enough between me and you: verily He knoweth
and seeth His servants.
And whom God guideth, he is guided, and whom He misleadeth, thou
shalt find him no protectors beside Him; and we will gather them
on the day of Resurrection upon their faces, blind, and dumb, and
deaf, hell is their abode; so oft as its fire dieth down, we will
stir up the flame.
This is their reward, for that they believed not our signs, and
said, “When we are become bones and dust, shall we indeed be
raised a new creature?”
Do they not see that God, who created the heavens and the earth is
able to create their likes? and He hath made an appointed term
for them: there is no doubt of it; but the wicked consent only to
deny it!
Say: If ye possessed the treasures of the mercy of thy Lord, ye
would then assuredly keep them, in fear of spending: for man is
niggardly.

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