Part 130

And we put coverings over their hearts lest they should understand it, and in their ears a heaviness;

And when in the Koran thou namest thy One Lord, they turn their backs in flight.

We well know why they hearken, when they hearken unto thee, and when they whisper apart; when the wicked say, "Ye follow no other than a man enchanted."

See what likenesses they strike out for thee! But they are in error, neither can they find the path.

They also say, "After we shall have become bones and dust, shall we in sooth be raised a new creation?"

SAY: "Yes, though ye were stones, or iron, or any other creature, to your seeming, yet harder to be raised." But they will say, "Who shall bring us back?" SAY: "He who created you at first." And they will wag their heads at thee, and say, "When shall this be?" SAY: "Haply it is nigh."

On that day shall God call you forth, and ye shall answer by praising Him; and ye shall seem to have tarried but a little while.

Enjoin my servants to speak in kindly sort: Verily Satan would stir up strifes among them, for Satan is man's avowed foe.

Your Lord well knoweth you: if He please He will have mercy on you; or if He please He will chastise you: and we have not sent thee to be a guardian over them.

Thy Lord hath full knowledge of all in the heavens and the earth. Higher gifts have we given to some of the prophets than to others, and the Psalter we gave to David.

SAY: Call ye upon those whom ye fancy to be gods beside Him; yet they will have no power to relieve you from trouble, or to shift it elsewhere.

Those whom ye call on, themselves desire union with their Lord,18 striving which of them shall be nearest to him: they also hope for his mercy and fear his chastisement. Verily the chastisement of thy Lord is to be dreaded.

There is no city which we will not destroy before the day of Resurrection, or chastise it with a grievous chastisement. This is written in the Book.

Nothing hindered us from sending thee with the power of working miracles, except that the peoples of old treated them as lies. We gave to Themoud19 the she-camel before their very eyes, yet they maltreated her! We send not a prophet with miracles but to strike terror.

And remember when we said to thee, Verily, thy Lord is round about mankind; we ordained the vision20 which we shewed thee, and likewise the cursed tree of the Koran, only for men to dispute of; we will strike them with terror; but it shall only increase in them enormous wickedness:

And when we said to the Angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam:" and they all prostrated them, save Eblis. "What!" said he, "shall I bow me before him whom thou hast created of clay?

Seest thou this man whom thou hast honoured above me? Verily, if thou respite me till the day of Resurrection, I will destroy his offspring, except a few."

He said, "Begone; but whosoever of them shall follow thee, verily, Hell shall be your recompense; an ample recompense!

And entice such of them as thou canst by thy voice; assault them with thy horsemen and thy footmen;21 be their partner in their riches and in their children, and make them promises: but Satan shall make them only deceitful promises.

As to my servants, no power over them shalt thou have; And thy Lord will be their sufficient guardian."

It is your Lord who speedeth onward the ships for you in the sea, that ye may seek of his abundance; for he is merciful towards you.

When a misfortune befalleth you out at sea, they whom ye invoke are not to be found: God alone is there: yet when he bringeth you safe to dry land, ye place yourselves at a distance from Him. Ungrateful is man.

What! are ye sure, then, that he will not cleave the sides of the earth for you? or that he will not send against you a whirlwind charged with sands? Then shall ye find no protector.

Or are ye sure that he will not cause you to put back to sea a second time, and send against you a storm blast, and drown you, for that ye have been thankless? Then shall ye find no helper against us therein.

And now have we honoured the children of Adam: by land and by sea have we carried them: food have we provided for them of good things, and with endowments beyond many of our creatures have we endowed them.

One day we will summon all men with their leaders: they whose book shall be given into their right hand, shall read their book, and not be wronged a thread:

And he who has been blind here, shall be blind hereafter, and wander yet more from the way.

And, verily, they had well nigh beguiled thee from what we revealed to thee, and caused thee to invent some other thing in our name: but in that case they would surely have taken thee as a friend;22