Sura XXXVIII (38)
Sad
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
38:1 Sad. By the Koran full of warning! In
sooth the Infidels are absorbed in pride, in contention with thee.
How
many generations have we destroyed before them! And they cried for mercy but no
time was it of escape!
And
they marvel that a warner from among themselves hath come to them; and the
Infidels say, "This is a sorcerer, a liar:
Maketh
he the gods to be but one god? A strange thing forsooth is this!"
And
their chiefs took themselves off. "Go, said they, and cleave steadfastly
to your gods. You see the thing aimed at.
We
heard not of this in the previous creed. It is but an imposture:
To him
alone of us all hath a book of warning been sent down?" Yes! they are in doubt
as to my warnings, for they have not yet tasted my vengeance.
Are
the treasures of the mercy of thy Lord, the Mighty, the bounteous, in their
hands?
Is the
kingdom of the heavens and of the earth and of all that is between them theirs?
Then let them mount up by cords!
38:10 Any army of the confederates shall
here be routed.
Before
them the people of Noah and Ad and Pharaoh the impaler treated their prophets
as impostors;
And
Themoud, and the people of
Nought
did they all but charge the apostles with falsehood:
Just, therefore, the retribution.
And
these (Meccans) await but one single trumpet blast -- There shall be no
delaying it --
Yet
they dare to say, "O our Lord! hasten our lot to us, before the day of
reckoning."
Put
thou up with what they say: and remember our
servant David, a man strong of hand, one who turned him to Us in penitence;
We
constrained the mountains to join with him in lauds at even and at sunrise;
And
the birds which flocked to him, and would all return to him oft;
And we
stablished his kingdom: and wisdom, and skill
to pronounce clear decisions, did we bestow on him.
38-20 Hath the story of the
two pleaders reached thee, O Muhammad, when they mounted the walls of his
closet?
When
they entered in upon David, and he was frightened at them, they said, "Be
not afraid; we are two opposing parties: one
of us hath wronged the other. Judge therefore with truth between us, and be not
unjust, but guide us to the right way.
Now
this my brother had ninety and nine ewes, and I had but a single ewe; and he
said, make me her keeper. And he over-persuaded me in the dispute."
He
said, "Certainly he hath wronged thee in asking for thine ewe to add her
to his own ewes: and truly many associates do
one another wrong -- except those who believe and do the things that are right;
and few indeed are they!" And David perceived that we had tried him; so he
asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down and bowed himself and repented.
So we
forgave him that his sin; and truly he shall have a high rank with Us, and an
excellent retreat in Paradise.
O
David! verily we have made thee our vicegerent upon earth. Judge therefore
between men with truth, and follow not thy passions, lest they cause thee to
err from the way of God. For they who err from the way of God shall meet with a
grievous chastisement, for that they have forgotten the day of reckoning.
We
have not created the heaven and the earth and what is between them for nought.
That is the thought of infidels; but woe to the infidels because of the fire!
Shall
we treat those who believe and do the things that are right like those who
propagate evil on earth? Shall we treat the God-fearing like the impious?
A
blessed Book have we sent down to thee, that men may meditate its verses, and
that those endued with understanding may bear it in mind.
And
Solomon gave we unto David. An excellent servant, for he loved to turn him
Godward.
38:30 Remember when at eventide the prancing
chargers were displayed before him,
And he
said, "Truly I have loved the love of earthly goods above the remembrance
of my Lord, till the sun hath been hidden by the veil of darkness.
Bring
them back to me," And he began to sever the legs and necks.
We
also made trial of Solomon, and placed a phantom on his throne: whereupon he returned to Us (in penitence).
He
said, O my Lord! pardon me, and give me a dominion that may not be to any one
beside me, for thou art the liberal giver.
So we
subjected the wind to him; it ran softly at his bidding, whithersoever he
directed it:
And
the Satans -- every builder and diver --
And
others bound in chains:
"This,"
said we, "is our gift: be bounteous then,
or withhold thy favours; no account shalt thou render."
And
his rank also is high with Us, and an excellent retreat.
38:40 And remember our servant Job when he
cried to his Lord, "Verily, Satan hath laid on me disease and pain."
"Stamp,"
said we, "with thy foot. This is to wash with; cool, and to drink."
And we
gave him back his family, and as many more with them in our mercy; for a
monition to men of judgment.
And we
said, "Take in thine hand a rod, and strike with it, nor break thine
oath." Verily, we found him patient!
How
excellent a servant, one who turned to Us was he!
And
remember our servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, men of might and vision.
With
this cleansing did we cleanse them -- the remembrance of the abode of Paradise.
And
verily, they were, in our sight, of the elect and of the good.
And
remember Ishmael and Elisha and Dhoulkefl, for all these were of the just.
This
is a monition: and verily, the pious shall
have a goodly retreat:
38:50 Gardens of Eden, whose portals shall
stand open to them:
Therein
reclining, they shall there call for many a fruit and drink:
And
with them shall be virgins of their own age, with modest retiring glances:
"This
is what you were promised at the day of reckoning."
"Yes!
this is our provision: it shall never
fail."
Even
so. But for the evil doers is a wretched home --
Hell
-- wherein they shall be burned: how wretched
a bed!
Even
so. Let them then taste it -- boiling water and gore,
And
other things of kindred sort!
To
their leaders it shall be said, "This company shall be thrown in headlong
with you. No greetings shall await them, for they shall be burned in the
fire."
38:60 They shall say:
"But you, too! there shall ble no welcome for you. It was you who prepared
this for us, and wretched is the abode!"
They
will say: "O our Lord! increase twofold
in the fire, the punishment of him who hath brought this upon us."
And
they will say: "Why see we not the men
whom we numbered among the wicked --
Whom
we used to treat with scorn? Have they escaped our eyes?:"
Verily
this is truth -- the wrangling together of the people of the fire.
Say: I am but a warner; and there is no God but God the
One, the Almighty!
Lord
of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all that is between them, the Potent,
the Forgiving!
Say: this is a weighty message,
From
which you turn aside!
Yet
had I no knowledge of what passed among the celestial chiefs when they
disputed,
38:70 -- Verily, it hath been revealed to me
only because I am a public preacher --
When
thy Lord said to the angels, "I am about to make man of clay,
And
when I have formed him and breathed my spirit into him, then worshipping fall
down before him."
And
the angels prostrated themselves, all of them with one accord,
Save
Eblis. He swelled with pride, and became an unbeliever.
"O
Eblis," said God, "what hindereth thee from prostrating thyself
before him whom my hands have made?
Is it
that thou are puffed up with pride? or art thou a being of lofty merit?"
He
said, "I am more excellent than he; me hast thou created of fire: of clay hast thou created him."
He
said: "Begone then hence: thou art accursed,
And
lo! my ban shall be on thee till the day of the reckoning."
38:80 He said:
"O my Lord! respite me till the day of Resurrection."
He
said, "One then of the respited shalt thou be,
Till
the day of the time appointed."
He
said: "I swear by thy might then that all
of them will I seduce,
Save
thy sincere servants among them."
He
said: "It is truth, and the truth I
speak. From thee will I surely fill Hell, and with such of them as shall follow
thee, one and all.
Say: I ask no wage of you for this, nor am I one who
intermeddleth.
Of a
truth the Koran is no other than a warning to all creatures.
And
after a time shall you surely know its message.