Part 158

And it was said, "O Earth! swallow up thy water;" and "cease, O Heaven!" And the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and the Ark rested upon Al- Djoudi;8 and it was said, "Avaunt! ye tribe of the wicked!"

And Noah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord! verily my son is of my family: and thy promise is true, and thou art the most just of judges."

He said, "O Noah! verily, he is not of thy family: in this thou actest not aright.9 Ask not of me that whereof thou knowest nought: I warn thee that thou become not of the ignorant.

He said, "To thee verily, O my Lord, do I repair lest I ask that of thee wherein I have no knowledge: unless thou forgive me and be merciful to me I shall be one of the lost.

It was said to him, "O Noah! debark with peace from Us, and with blessings on thee and on peoples to be born from those who are with thee; but as for other and unbelieving peoples, we will give them their good things in this world, but hereafter shall a grievous punishment light on them from us.

This is one of the secret Histories: we reveal it unto thee: neither thou nor thy people knew it ere this: be patient thou: verily, there is a prosperous issue to the God-fearing.

And unto Ad we sent their Brother HOUD. He said, "O my people, worship God. You have no God beside Him. Ye only devise a lie.

O my people! I ask of you no recompense for this: my recompense is with Him only who hath made me. Will ye not then understand?

O my people! ask pardon of your Lord; then be turned unto Him: He will send down the heavens upon you with copious rains:

And with strength on strength will He increase you: only turn not back with deeds of evil."

They said, "O Houd, thou hast not brought us proofs of thy mission: we will not abandon our gods at thy word, and we believe thee not.

We can only say that some of our gods have smitten thee with evil." Said he, "Now take I God to witness, and do ye also witness, that I am clear of your joining other gods

To God. Conspire then against me all of you, and delay me not.

For I trust in God, my Lord and yours. No single beast is there which he holdeth not by its forelock. Right, truly, is the way in which my Lord goeth.

But if ye turn back, I have already declared to you my message. And my Lord will put another people in your place, nor shall ye at all hurt Him; verily, my Lord keepeth watch over all things."

And when our doom came to be inflicted, we rescued Houd and those who had like faith with Him, by our special mercy: we rescued them from the rigorous chastisement.

These men of Ad gainsaid the signs of their Lord, and rebelled against his messengers, and followed the bidding of every proud contumacious person.

Followed therefore were they in this world by a curse; and in the day of the Resurrection it shall be said to them, "What! Did not Ad disbelieve their Lord?" Was not Ad, the people of Houd, cast far away?

And unto Themoud we sent their Brother Saleh:10-"O my people! said he, worship God: you have no other god than Him. He hath raised you up out of the earth, and hath given you to dwell therein. Ask pardon of him then, and be turned unto him; for thy Lord is nigh, ready to answer."

They said, "O Saleh! our hopes were fixed on thee till now:11 forbiddest thou us to worship what our fathers worshipped? Truly we misdoubt the faith to which thou callest us, as suspicious."

He said, "O my people! what think ye? If I have a revelation from my Lord to support me, and if He hath shewed his mercy on me, who could protect me from God if I rebel against him? Ye would only confer on me increase of ruin.

O my people! this is the she-Camel of God, and a sign unto you. Let her go at large and feed in God's earth, and do her no harm, lest a speedy punishment overtake you."

Yet they hamstrung her: then said he, "Yet three days more enjoy yourselves in your dwellings: this menace will not prove untrue."

And when our sentence came to pass, we rescued Saleh and those who had a like faith with him, by our mercy, from ignominy on that day. Verily, thy Lord is the Strong, the Mighty!

And a violent tempest overtook the wicked, and they were found in the morning prostrate in their dwellings,

As though they had never abode in them. What! Did not Themoud disbelieve his Lord? Was not Themoud utterly cast off?

And our messengers came formerly to Abraham with glad tidings. "Peace," said they. He said, "Peace," and he tarried not, but brought a roasted calf.

And when he saw that their hands touched it not,12 he misliked them, and grew fearful of them. They said, "Fear not, for we are sent to the people of Lot."