Part 16

Moses said, "If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy comrade no longer; but now hast thou my excuse."

They went on till they came to the people of a city. Of this people they asked food, but they refused them for guests. And they found in it a wall that was about to fall, and he set it upright. Said Moses, "If thou hadst wished, for this thou mightest have obtained pay."

He said, "This is the parting point between me adn thee. But I will first tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await with patience.

"As to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea, and I was minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who seized every ship by force.

As to the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should trouble them by error and infidelity.

18:80 And we desired that their Lord might give them in his place a child, better than he in virtue, and near to filial piety.

As to the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and beneath it was their treasure: and their father was a righteous man: and thy Lord desired that they should reach the age of strength, and take force their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And not of mine own will have I done this. This is the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience."

They will ask thee of Dhoulkarnain [the two-horned]. Say: I will recite to you an account of him.

We stablished his power upon the earth, and made for him a way to everything. And a route his followed,

Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it to set in a miry fount; and hard by he found a people.

We said, "O Dhoulkarnain! either chastise or treat them generously."

"The impious," said he, "will we surely chastise;" then shall he be taken back to his Lord, and he will chastise him with a grievous chastisement.

But as to him to believeth and doeth that which is right, he shall have a generous recompense, and we will lay on them our easy behests.

Then followed he a route,

Until when he reached the rising of the sun he found it to rise on a people to whom we had given no shelter from it.

18:90 Thus it was. And we had full knowledge of the forces that were with him.

Then followed he a route

Until he came between the two mountains, beneath which he found a people who scarce understood a language.

They said, "O Dhoulkarnain! verily, God and Magog waste this land: shall we then pay thee tribute, so thou build a rampart between us and them?"

He said, "Better than your tribute is the might wherewith my Lord had strengthened me; but help me strenuously, and I will set a barrier between you and them.

Bring me blocks of iron," -- until when it filled the space between the mountain sides -- "Ply," said he, "your bellows," -- until when he had made it red with heat (fire), he said, -- "Bring me molten brass that I may pour upon it."

And God and Magog were not able to scale it, neither were they able to dig through it.

"This," said he, "is a mercy from my Lord:

But when the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, he will turn it to dust; and the promise of my Lord is true."

On that day we will let them dash like billows one over another; and there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and we will gather them together in a body.

18:100 And we will set Hell on that day close before the infidels,

Whose eyes were veiled from my warning, and who had no power to hear.

What! do the infidels think that they can take my servants as their patrons, beside Me? Verily, we have got Hell ready as the abode of the infidels.

Say: Shall we tell you who they are that have lost their labour most?

Whose aim in the present life hath been mistaken, and who deem that what they do is right?

They are those who believe not in the signs of the Lord, or that they shall ever meet him. Vain, therefore, are their works; and no weight will we allow them on the day of resurrection.

This shall be their reward -- Hell. Because they were unbelievers, and treated my signs and my Apostles with scorn.

But as for those who believe and do the things that are right, they shall have the gardens of Paradise for their abode:

They shall remain therein for ever: they shall wish for no change from it.

Say: Should the sea become ink, to write the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail ere the words of my Lord would fail, though we brought its like in aid.

18:110 Say: In sooth I am only a man like you. It hath been revealed to me that your God is one only God: let him then who hopeth to meet his Lord work a righteous work: nor let him give any other creature a share in the worship of his Lord.

Sura XIX (19)

Mary

(Mecca -- 98 Verses)

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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Kaf. Ha. Ya. Ain. Sad. A recital of thy Lord's mercy to his servant Zachariah;

When he called upon his Lord with secret calling,

And said, "O Lord, verily my bones are weakened, and the hoar hairs glisten on my head,

And never, Lord, have I prayed to thee with ill success.

But now I have fears for my kindred after me; and my wife is barren:

Give me, then, a successor as thy special gift, who shall be my heir and an heir of the family of Jacob: and make him, Lord, well pleasing to thee."

- "O Zachariah! verily we announce to thee a son, -- his name John:

That name We have given to none before him."

He said: "O my Lord! how when my wife is barren shall I have a son, and when I have now reached old age, failing in my powers?"

19:10 He said: So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said, Easy is this to me, for I created thee aforetime when thou wast nothing."

He said, "Vouchsafe me, O my Lord! a sign." He said: "Thy sign shall be that for three nights, though sound in health, thou speakest not to man."

And he came forth from the sanctuary to his people, and made signs to them to sign praises morn and even.

We said: "O John! receive the Book with purpose of heart:" -- and We bestowed on him wisdom while yet a child;

And mercifulness from Ourself, and purity; and pious was he, and duteous to his parents; and not proud, rebellious.

And peace was on him on the day he was born, and the day of his death, and shall be on the day when he shall be raised to life!

And make mention in the Book, of Mary, when she went apart from her family, eastward,

And took a veil to shroud herself from them: and we sent our spirit to her, and he took before her the form of a perfect man.

She said: "I fly for refuge from thee to the God of Merch! If thou fearest Him, begone from me."

He said: "I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a holy son."

19:20 She said: "How shall I have a son, when man hath never touched me? and I am not unchaste."

He said: "So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said: 'Easy is this with me:' and we will make him a sign to mankind, and mercy from us. For it is a thing decreed."

And she conceived him, and retired with him to a far-off place.

And the throes came upon her by the trunk of a palm. She said: "Oh, would that I had died ere this, and been a thing forgotten, forgotten quite!"

And one cried to her from below her: "Grieve not thou, thy Lord hath provided a streamlet at thy feet: --

And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee: it will drop fresh ripe dates upon thee.

Eat then and drink, and be of cheerful eye: and shouldst thou see a man,

Say, -- Verily, I have vowed abstinence to the God of mercy. -- To no one will I speak this day."

Then came she with the babe to her people, bearing him. They said, "O Mary! now hast thou done a strange thing!

O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor unchaste thy mother."

19:30 And she made a sign to them, pointing towards the babe. They said, "How shall we speak with him who is in the cradle, an infant?"

It said, "Verily, I am the servant of God; He hath given me the Book, and He hath made me a prophet;

And he hath made me blessed wherever I may be, and hath enjoined me prayer and almsgiving so long as I shall live;

And to be duteous to her that bare me: and he hath not made me proud, depraved.

And the peace of God was on me the day I was born, and will be the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised to life."

This is Jesus, the son of Mary; this is a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.

It beseemeth not God to beget a son. Glory be to Him! when he decreeth a thing. He only saith to it, Be, and it Is.

And verily, God is my Lord and your Lord; adore Him then. This is the right way.

But the Sects have fallen to variance among themselves about Jesus: but woe, because of the assembly of a great day, to those who believe not!

Make them hear, make them behold the day when they shall come before us! But the offenders this day are in a manifest error.

19:40 Warn them of the day of sighing when the decree shall be accomplished, while they are sunk in heedlessness and while they believe not.

Verily, we will inherit the earth and all who are upon it. To us shall they be brought back.

Make mention also in the Book of Abraham; for he was a man of truth, a Prophet.

When he said to his Father, "O my Father! why dost thou worship that which neither seeth nor heareth, nor profiteth thee aught?

O my Father! verily now hath knowledge come to me which hath not come to thee. Follow me therefore -- I will guide thee into an even path.

O my Father! worship not Satan, for Satan is a rebel against the God of Mercy.

O my Father! indeed I fear lest a chastisement from the God of Mercy light upon thee, and thou become Satan's vassal."

He said, "Castest thou off my Gods, O Abraham? if thou forbear not, I will surely stone thee. Begone from me for a length of time."

He said, "Peace be on thee! I will pray my Lord for thy forgiveness, for he is gracious to me:

But I will separate myself from you, and the gods you call on beside Go, and on my Lord will I call. Haply, my prayers to my Lord will not be with ill success."

19:50 And when he had separated himself from them and that which they worshipped beside God, we bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and each of them we made a prophet:

And we bestowed gifts of them in our mercy, and gave them the lofty tongue of truth."

And commemorate Moses in "the Book;" for he was a man of purity: moreover he was an Apostle, a Prophet:

From the right side of the mountain we called to him, and caused him to draw nigh to us for secret converse:

And we bestowed on him in our mercy his brother Aaron, a Prophet.

And commemorate Ismael in "the Book;" for he was true to his promise, and was an Apostle, a Prophet;

And he enjoined prayer and almsgiving on his people, and was well pleasing to his Lord.

And commemorate Edris in "the Book;" for he was a man of truth, a Prophet:

And we uplifted him to a place on high.

These are they among the prophets of the posterity of Adam, and among those whom we bare with Noah, and among the posterity of Abraham and Israel, and among those whom we have guided and chosen, to whom God hath shewed favour. When the signs of the God of Mercy were rehearsed to them, they bowed them down worshipping and weeping.

19:60 But others have come in their place after them: they have made an end of prayer, and have gone after their own lusts; and in the end they shall meet with evil: --

Save those who turn and believe and do that which is right, these shall enter the Garden, and in nought shall they be wronged:

The Garden of Eden, which the God of Mercy hath promised to his servant, though yet unseen: for his promise shall come to pass:

No vain discourse shall they hear therein, but only "Peace;" and their food shall be given them at morn and even:

This is the Paradise which we will make the heritage of those our servants who fear us.

We come not down from heaven but by thy Lord's command. His, whatever is before us and whatever is behind us, and whatever is between the two! And thy Lord is not forgetful, --

Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all that is between them! Worship Him, then, and abide thou steadfast in his worship. Knoweth thou any other of the same name?

Man saith: "What! after I am dead, shall I in the end be brought forth alive?"

Doth not man bear in mind that we made him at first, when he was nought?

And I swear by thy Lord, we will surely gather together them and the Satans: then will we set them on their knees round Hell:

19:70 Then will we take forth from each band those of them who have been stoutest in rebellion against the God of Mercy:

Then shall we know right well to whom its burning is most due:

No one is there of you who shall not go down unto it -- This is a settled decree with thy Lord --

Then will we deliver those who had the fear of God, and the wicked will we leave in it on their knees.

And when our clear signs are rehearsed to them, the infidels say to those who believe: "Which of the two parties is in the best plight? and which is the most goodly company?"

But how many generations have we brought to ruin before them, who surpassed them in riches and in splendour!

Say: As to those who are in error, the God of Mercy will lengthen out to them a length of days.

Until they see that with which they are threatened, whether it be some present chastisement, or whether it be "the Hour," and they shall then know which is in the worse state, and which the more weak in forces:

But God will increase the guidance of the already guided.

And good works which abide, are in thy Lord's sight better in respect of guerdon, and better in the issue than all worldly good.

19:80 Hast thou marked him who believeth not in our signs, and saith, "I shall surely have riches and children bestowed upon me?"

Hath he mounted up into the secrets of God? hath he made a compact with the God of Mercy?

No! we will certainly write down what he saith, and will lengthen the length of his chastisement:

And We will inherit what he spake of, and he shall come before us all alone.

They have taken other gods beside God to be their help.

But it shall not be. Those gods will disavow their worship and will become their enemies.

Seest thou not that we send the Satans against the Infidels to urge them into sin?

Wherefore be not thou in haste with them; for a small number of days do we number to them.

One day we will gather the God-fearing before the God of Mercy with honours due:

But the sinners will we drive unto Hell, like flocks driven to the watering.

19:90 None shall have power to intercede, save he who hath received permission at the hands of the God of Mercy.

They say: "The God of Mercy hath gotten offspring." Now have you done a monstrous thing!

Almost might the very Heavens be rent thereat, and the Earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall down in fragments,

That they ascribe a son to the God of Mercy, when it beseemeth not the God of Mercy to beget a son!

Verily there is none in the Heavens and in the Earth but shall approach the God of Mercy as a servant. He hath taken note of them, and numbered them with exact numbering:

And each of them shall come to Him, on the day of Resurrection, singly:

But love with the God of Mercy vouchsafe to those who believe and do the things that be right.

Verily we have made this Koran easy and in thine own tongue, that thou mayest announce glad tidings by it to the God-fearing, and that thou mayest warn the contentious by it.

How many generations have we destroyed before them! Canst thou search out one of them? or canst thou hear a whisper from them?

Sura XX (20)

Ta. Ha.

(Mecca -- 135 Verses)

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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Ta. Ha. Not to sadden thee have we sent down this Koran to thee,

But as a warning for him who feareth;

It is a missive from Him who hath made the earth and the lofty heavens!

The God of Mercy sitteth on his throne:

His, whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them both, and whatsoever is beneath the humid soil!

Thou needest not raise thy voice: for He knoweth the secret whisper, and the yet more hidden.

God! There is no God but He! Most excellent His titles!

Hath the history of Moses reached thee?

When he saw a fire, and said to his family, "Tarry you here, for I perceive a fire:

20:10 Haply I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide."

And when he came to it, he was called to, "O Moses!

Verily, I am thy Lord: therefore pull off they shoes: for thou art in the holy valley of Towa.

And I have chosen thee: hearken then to what shall be revealed.

Verily, I am God: there is no God but me: therefore worship me, and observe prayer for a remembrance of me.

Verily the hour is coming: -- I all but manifest it --

That every soul may be recompensed for its labours.

Nor let him who believeth not therein and followeth his lust, turn thee aside from this truth, and thou perish.

Now, what is that in thy right hand, O Moses?"

Said he, "It is my staff on which I lean, and with which I beat down leaves for my sheep, and I have other uses for it."

20:20 He said, "Cast it down, O Moses!"

So he cast it down, and lo! it became a serpent that ran along.

He said, "Lay hold on it, and fear not: to its former state will we restore it."

"Now play thy right hand to thy arm-pit: it shall come forth white, but unhurt: -- another sign! --

That we may shew thee the greatest of our signs.

Go to Pharaoh, for he hath burst all bounds."

He said, "O my Lord! enlarge my breast for me,

And make my work easy for me,

And loose the knot of my tongue,

That they may understand my speech.

20:30 And give me a counsellor from among my family,

Aaron my brother;

By him gird up my loins,

And make him a colleague in my work,

That we may praise thee oft and oft remember thee,

For thou regardest us."

He said, "O Moses, thou hast obtained thy suit:

Already, at another time, have we showed thee favour,

When we spake unto thy mother what was spoken:

'Cast him into the ark: then cast him on the sea [the river], and the sea shall throw him on the shore: and an enemy to me and an enemy to him shall take him up.' And I myself have made thee an object of love,

20:40 That thou mightest be reared in mine eye.

When thy sister went and said, 'Shall I shew you one who will nurse him?' Then We returned thee to thy mother that her eye might be cheered, and that she might not grieve. And when thou slewest a person, We delivered thee from trouble, and We tried thee with other trial.

For years didst thou stay among the people of Midian; then camest thou hither by my decree, O Moses:

And I have chosen thee for Myself.

Go thou and thy brother with my signs and be not slack to remember me.

Go you to Pharaoh, for he hath burst all bounds:

But speak you to him with gentle speech; haply he will reflect or fear."

They said, "O our Lord! truly we fear lest he break forth against us, or act with exceeding injustice."

He said, "Fear you not, for I am with you both. I will hearken and I will behold.

Go you then to him and say, 'Verily we are Sent ones of thy Lord; send therefore the children of Israel with us and vex them not: now are we come to thee with signs from thy Lord, and, Peace shall be on him who followeth the right guidance.

20:50 For now hath it been revealed to us, that chastisement shall be on him who chargeth with falsehood, and turneth him away.'"

And he said, "Who is your Lord, O Moses?"

He said, "Our Lord is He who hath given to everything its form and then guideth it aright."

"But what," said he, "was the state of generations past?"

He said, "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in the Book of his decrees. My Lord erreth not, nor forgetteth.

He hath spread the earth as a bed, and hath traced out paths for you therein, and hath sent down rain from Heaven, and by it we bring forth the kinds of various herbs:

- 'Eat you, and feed your cattle.' Of a truth in this are signs unto men endued with understanding.

From it have we created you, and into it will we return you, and out of it will we bring you forth a second time."

And we shewed him all our signs: but he treated them as falsehoods, and refused to believe.

He said, "hast thou come, O Moses, to drive us from our land by thine enchantments?

20:60 Therefore will we assuredly confront thee with like enchantments: so appoint a meeting between us and you -- we will not fail it, we, and do not thou - in a place alike for both."

He said, "On the feast day be your meeting, and in broad daylight let the people be assembled."

And Pharaoh turned away, and collected his craftsmen and came.

Said Moses to them, "Woe to you! devise not a lie against God:

For then will he destroy you by a punishment. They who have lied have ever perished."

And the magicians discussed their plan, and spake apart in secret:

They said, "These two are surely sorcerers: fain would they drive you from your land by their sorceries, and lead away in their paths your chiefest men:

So muster your craft: then come in order: well this day shall it be for him, who shall gain the upper hand."

They said, "O Moses, wilt thou first cast down thy rod, or shall we be the first who cast?

He said, "yes, cast you down first." And lo! by their enchantment their cords and rods seemed to him as if they ran.

20:70 And Moses conceived a secret fear within him.

We said, "Fear not, for thou shalt be the uppermost:

Cast forth then what is in thy right hand: it shall swallow up what they have produced: they have only produced the deceit of an enchanter: and come where he may, ill shall an enchanter fare."

And the magicians fell down and worshipped. They said, "We Believe in the Lord of Aaron and of Moses."

Said Pharaoh, "Believe you on him ere I give you leave? He, in sooth, is your Master who hath taught you magic. I will therefore cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on trunks of the palm, and assuredly shall you learn which of us is severest in punishing, and who is the more abiding."

They said, "We will not have more regard to thee than to the clear tokens which have come to us, or than to Him who hath made us: doom the doom thou wilt: Thou canst only doom as to this present life: of a truth we have believed on our Lord that he may pardon us our sins and the sorcery to which thou hast forced us, for God is better, and more abiding than thou.

As for him who shall come before his Lord laden with crime -- for him verily is Hell: he shall not die in it and he shall not live.

But he who shall come before Him, a believer, with righteous works, -- these! the loftiest grades await them:

Gardens of Eden, beneath whose trees the rivers flow: therein shall they abide for ever. This, the reward of him who hath been pure."

Then revealed we to Moses, "Go forth by night with my servants and cleave for them a dry path in the sea;

20:80 Fear not thou to be overtaken, neither be thou afraid."

And Pharaoh followed them with his hosts, and the whelming billows of the sea overwhelmed them, for Pharaoh misled his people, and did not guide them.

O children of Israel! we rescued you from your foes; and We appointed a meeting with you on the right side of the mountain; and We caused the manna and the quail to descend upon you:

"Eat," said We, "of the good things with which we have supplied you; but without excess, lest my wrath fall upon you; for on whom my wrath doth fall, he perisheth outright.

Surely however will I forgive him who turneth to God and believeth, and worketh righteousness, and then yieldeth to guidance.

But what hath hastened thee on apart from thy people, O Moses?"

He said, "They are hard on my footsteps: but to thee, O Lord, have I hastened, that thou mightest be well pleased with me."

He said, "Of a truth now have we proved thy people since thou didst leave them, and Samiri had led them astray."

And Moses returned to his people, angered, sorrowful.

He said, "O my people! did not your Lord promise you a good promise? Was the time of my absence long to you? or desired you that wrath from your Lord should light upon you, that you failed in your promise to me?"

20:90 They said, "Not of our own accord have we failed in the promise to thee, but we were made to bring loads of the people's trinkets, and we threw them into the fire -- and Samiri likewise cast them in, and brought forth to them a corporeal lowing calf: and they said, 'This is your God and the God of Moses, whom he hath forgotten.'"

What! saw they not that it returned them no answer, and could neither hurt nor help them?

And Aaron had before said to them, "O my people! by this calf are you only proved: surely your Lord is the God of Mercy: follow me therefore and obey my bidding."

They said, "We will not cease devotion to it, till Moses come back to us."

He said, "O Aaron! when thou sawest that they had gone astray, what hindered thee from following me? Hast thou then disobeyed my command?"

He said, 'O Son of my mother! seize me not by my beard, nor by my head: indeed I feared lest thou shouldst say, 'Thou hast rent the children of Israel asunder, and hast not observed my orders.'"

He said, "And what was they motive, O Samiri?" He said, "I saw what they saw not: so I took a handful of dust from the track of the messenger of God, and flung it into the calf, for so my soul prompted me."

He said, "Begone then: verily thy doom even in this life shall be to say, 'Touch me not.' And there is a threat against thee, which thou shalt not escape hereafter. Now look at thy god to which thou hast continued so devoted: we will surely burn it and reduce it to ashes, which we will cast into the sea.

Your God is God, beside whom there is no God: In his knowledge he embraceth all things."

20:100 Whoso shall turn aside from it shall verily carry a burden on the day of Resurrection:

Under it shall they remain: and grievous, in the day of Resurrection, shall it be to them to bear.

On that day there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and We will gather the wicked together on that day with leaden eyes:

They shall say in a low voice, one to another, -- "You tarried but ten days on earth."

We are most knowing with respect to that which they will say when the most veracious of them will say. "You have not tarried above a day."

And they will ask thee of the mountains: Say: scattering my Lord will scatter them in dust;

And he will leave them a level plain: thou shalt see in it no hollows or jutting hills.

On that day shall men follow their summoner -- he marcheth straight on: and low shall be their voices before the God of Mercy,n or shalt thou heart aught by the light footfall.

No intercession shall avail on that day, save his whom the God of Mercy shall allow to intercede, and whose words he shall approve.

He knoweth their future and their past; but in their own knowledge they comprehend it not: --

20:110 And humble shall be their faces before Him that Liveth, the Self-subsisting: and undone he, who shall bear the burden of iniquity;

But he who shall have done the things that are right and is a believer, shall fear neither wrong nor loss.

Thus have We sent down to thee an Arabic Koran, and have set forth menaces therein diversely, that haply they may fear God, or that it may give birth to reflection in them.

Exalted then be God, the King, the Truth! Be not hasty in its recital while the revelation of it to thee is incomplete. Say rather, "O my Lord, increase knowledge unto me."

And of old We made a covenant with Adam; but he forgat it; and we found no firmness of purpose in him.

And when We said to the angels, "Fall down and worship Adam," they worshipped all, save Eblis, who refused: and We said, "O Adam! this truly is a foe to thee and to thy wife. Let him not therefore drive you out of the garden, and you become wretched;

For to thee is it granted that thou shalt not hunger therein, neither shalt thou be naked;

And that thou shalt not thirst therein, neither shalt thou parch with heat;"

But Satan whispered him: said he, "O Adam! shall I shew thee the tree of Eternity, and the Kingdom that faileth not?:"

And they both ate thereof, and their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew of the leaves of the Garden to cover them, and Adam disobeyed his Lord and went astray.

20:120 Afterwards his Lord chose him for himself, and was turned towards him, and guided him.

And God said, "Get you all down hence, the one of you a foe unto the other. Hereafter shall guidance come unto you from me;

And whoso followeth my guidance shall not err, and shall not be wretched:

But whoso turneth away from my monition, his truly shall be a life of misery:

And We will assemble him with others on the day of Resurrection, blind."

He will say, "O my Lord! why hast thou assembled me with others, blind? whereas I was endowed with sight."

He will answer, "Thus is it, because our signs came unto thee and thou didst forget them, and thus shalt thou be forgotten this day."

Even thus will We recompense him who hath transgressed and hath not believed in the signs of his Lord; and assuredly the chastisement of the next world will be more severe and more lasting.

Are not they, who walk the very places where they dwelt, aware how many generations we have destroyed before them? Verily in this are signs to men of insight.

And had not a decree of respite from thy Lord first gone forth, their chastisement had at once ensued. Yet the time is fixed.

20:130 Put up then with what they say; and celebrate the praise of thy Lord before the sunrise, and before its setting; and some time in the night do thou praise him, and in the extremes of the day, that thou haply mayest please Him.

And strain not thine eye after what We have bestowed on divers of them -- the braveries of this world -- that we may thereby prove them. The portion which thy Lord will give, is better and more lasting.

Enjoin prayer on thy family, and persevere therein. We ask not of thee to find thine own provision -- we will provide for thee, and a happy issue shall there be to piety.

But they say, "If he come not to us with a sign from his Lord...!" But have not clear proof for the Koran come to them, in what is in the Books of old?

And had We destroyed them by a chastisement before its time, they would surely have said, "O our Lord! How could we believe if thou didst not send unto us an Apostle that we might follow thy signs ere that we were humbled and disgraces."