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you depart; but God is not ashamed of the truth. And when ye ask of the prophet's wives what ye may have occasion for, ask it of them from behind a curtain. This will be more pure for your hearts and their hearts. Neither is it fit for you to give any uneasiness to the apostle of God, or to marry his wives after him for ever: for this would be a grievous thing in the sight of God. Whether ye divulge a thing, or conceal it, verily God knoweth all things. It shall be no crime in them as to their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves which their right hands possess, if they speak to them unveiled: and fear ye God; for God is witness of all things. Verily God and his angels bless the prophet: O true believers, do ye also bless him, and salute him with a respectful salutation. As to those who offend God and his apostle, God shall curse them in this world and in the next; and he hath prepared for them a shameful punishment. And they who shall injure the true believers of either sex, without their deserving it, shall surely bear the guilt of calumny and a manifest injustice. O prophet, speak unto thy wives, and thy daughters, and the wives of the true believers, that they cast their outer garments over them when they walk abroad; this will be more proper, that they may be known to be matrons of reputation, and may not be affronted by unseemly words or actions. God is gracious and merciful. Verily if the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is an infirmity, and they who raise disturbances in Medina, do not desist; we will surely stir thee up against them, to chastise them: henceforth they shall not be suffered to dwell near thee therein, except for a little time, and being accursed; wherever they are found they shall be taken, and killed with a general slaughter, according to the sentence of God concerning those who have been before; and thou shalt not find any change in the sentence of God. Men will ask thee concerning the approach of the last hour: answer, Verily the knowledge thereof is with God alone; and he will not inform thee: peradventure the hour is nigh at hand. Verily God hath cursed the infidels, and hath prepared for them a fierce fire, wherein they shall remain for ever: they shall find no patron or defender. On the day whereon their faces shall be rolled in hell fire, they shall say, Oh that we had obeyed God, and had obeyed his apostle! And they shall say, O Lord, verily we have obeyed our lords and our great men; and they have seduced us from the right way. O Lord, give them the double of our punishment; and curse them with a heavy curse! O true believers, be not as those who injured Moses; but God cleared him from the scandal which they had spoken concerning him; and he was of great consideration in the sight of God. O true believers, fear God, and speak words well directed; that God may correct your works for you, and may forgive you your sins: and whoever shall obey God and his apostle, shall enjoy great felicity. We proposed the faith unto the lieavens, and the earth, and the mountains: and they refused

to undertake the same, and were afraid thereof; but man undertook it: verily he was unjust to himself, and foolish: that God may punish the hypocritical men, and the hypocritical women, and the idolaters, and the idolatresses; and that God may be turned unto the true believers, both men and women; for God is gracious and merciful.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

ENTITLED, SABA; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

PRAISE be to God, unto whom belongeth whatever is in the heavens and on earth: and unto him be praise in the world to come; for he is wise and intelligent. He knoweth whatsoever entereth into the earth, and whatsoever cometh out of the same, and whatsoever descendeth from heaven, and whatsoever ascendeth thereto: and he is merciful and ready to forgive. The unbelievers say, The hour of judgment will not come unto us. Answer, Yea, by my Lord, it will surely come unto you; it is he who knoweth the hidden secret: the weight of an ant, either in heaven or in earth, is not absent from him, nor anything lesser than this, or greater, but the same is written in the perspicuous book of his decrees; that he may recompense those who shall have believed and wrought righteousness: they shall receive pardon and an honourable provision. But they who endeavour to render our signs of none effect, shall receive a punishment of painful torment. Those unto whom knowledge hath been given, see that the book which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the truth, and directeth into the glorious and laudable way. The unbelievers say to one another, Shall we show you a man who shall prophesy unto you, that when ye shall have been dispersed with a total dispersion, ye shall be raised a new creature? He hath forged a lie concerning God, or rather he is distracted. But they who believe not in the life to come, shall fall into punishment and a wide error. Have they not therefore considered what is before them, and what is behind them, of the heaven and the earth? If we please, we will cause the earth to open and swallow them up, or will cause a piece of the heaven to fall upon them: verily herein is a sign unto every servant, who turneth unto God. We heretofore bestowed on David excellence from us: and we said, O mountains, sing alternate praises with him; and we obliged the birds also to join therein. And we softened the iron for him, saying, Make thereof complete coats of mail, and rightly dispose the small plates which compose the same: and work ye rightcousness, O family of David; for I see that which ye do. And we made the wind subject unto Solomon: it blew in the morning for a month, and in the evening for a month. And we made a fountain of molten brass to flow for him. And some of the genii were obliged to

work in his presence, by the will of his Lord; and whoever of them turn ed aside from our command, we will cause him to taste the pain of hell fire. They made for him whatever he pleased, of palaces, and statues, and large dishes like fishponds, and cauldrons standing firm on their trevets; and we said, Work righteousness, O family of David, with thanksgiving; for few of my servants are thankful. And when we had decreed that Solomon should die, nothing discovered his death unto them, except the creeping thing of the earth, which gnawed his staff. And when his body fell down, the genii plainly perceived that if they had known that which is secret, they had not continued in a vile punishment. The descendants of Saba had heretofore a sign in their dwellings; namely, two gardens, on the right hand and on the left: and it was said unto them, Eat ye of the provision of your Lord, and give thanks unto him; ye have a good country, and a gracious Lord. But they turned aside from what we had commanded them: wherefore we sent against them the inundation of al Arem, and we changed their two gardens for them into two gardens producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some little fruit of the lote-tree. This we gave them in reward, because they were ungrateful: is any thus rewarded except the ungrateful? And we placed between them and the cities which we have blessed, cities situate 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. 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 gods, besides God, 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 assistant 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 God. Say, Who provideth food for you from heaven and earth? Answer, God: 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 assemble us together at the last day: then will he 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 God. 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? Answer, A threat is denounced unto you of a day which ye shall not retard one hour, neither shall ye hasten. The unbelievers say, We will by no means believe in this Korân, nor in that which hath been revealed before it. But if thou couldst 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 God, and that we should set up other gods as equal 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. Ön a certain day he shall gather them all together: then shall he say unto the angels, Did these worship you? And the angels shall answer, God 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 hell 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 gods which your fathers worshipped. And they say of the Korân, 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 book 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 God 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 God 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. 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 couldst 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 mystery 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 XXXV.

ENTITLED, 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 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 favour 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

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