* | quran | * | 26. ash-shu`ara'. the poets      <   > 

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1.  *     Ta. Sin. Mim.
 
2.  *     These are the signs of the lucid Book.
 
3.  *     Haply thou wearest thyself away with grief because they will not believe.
 
4.  *     Were it our will we could send down to them a sign from Heaven, before which they would humbly bow.
 
5.  *     But from each fresh warning that cometh to them from the God of Mercy they have only turned aside,
 
6.  *     And treated it as a lie: But tidings shall reach them which they shall not laugh to scorn.
 
7.  *     Have they not beheld the earth-how we have caused every kind of noble plant to spring up therein?
 
8.  *     Verily, in this is a sign: but most of them believe not.
 
9.  *     And assuredly, thy Lord!-He is the Mighty, the Merciful.
 
10.  *     And remember when thy Lord called to Moses, "Go to the wicked people,
 
11.  *     The people of Pharaoh. What! will they not fear me?"
 
12.  *     He said, "My Lord, in sooth I fear lest they treat me as a liar:
 
13.  *     And my breast is straitened, and I am slow of speech: send therefore to Aaron to be my helpmate.
 
14.  *     For they have a charge against me, and I fear lest they put me to death."
 
15.  *     He said, "Surely not. Go ye therefore with our signs: we will be with you and will hearken.
 
16.  *     And go to Pharaoh and say: 'Verily we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds-
 
17.  *     Send forth with us the children of Israel."'
 
18.  *     He said, "Did we not rear thee among us when a child? And hast thou not passed years of thy life among us?
 
19.  *     And yet what a deed is that which thou hast done! Thou art one of the ungrateful."
 
20.  *     He said, "I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred:
 
21.  *     And I fled from you because I feared you; but my Lord hath given me wisdom and hath made me one of his Apostles.
 
22.  *     And is this the favour thou hast conferred on me, that thou hast enslaved the children of Israel?"
 
23.  *     Said Pharaoh, "Who then is the Lord of the Worlds?"
 
24.  *     He said, "The Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth and of all that is between them, if only ye believe it."
 
25.  *     Said Pharaoh to those around him, "Hear ye this?"
 
26.  *     Your Lord, said Moses, "and the Lord of your sires of old."
 
27.  *     In sooth, your Apostle whom He hath sent to you, said Pharaoh, "is certainly possessed."
 
28.  *     He said, "Lord is He of the East and of the West, and of all that is between them, if ye can understand."
 
29.  *     He said, "If ye take any God beside me, I will surely put thee in ward."
 
30.  *     Said Moses, "What! if I shew thee that which shall be a proof of my mission?"
 
31.  *     He said, "Forth with it then, if thou speakest truth."
 
32.  *     Then threw he down his staff, and lo! an undoubted serpent:
 
33.  *     And he drew out his hand, and lo! it was white to the beholders.
 
34.  *     He said to his nobles around him. "This truly is a right cunning sorcerer:
 
35.  *     Fain would he drive you out of your land by his Sorcery. But what do ye suggest?"
 
36.  *     They said, "Put him and his brother off awhile, and send summoners to all the cities,
 
37.  *     Who shall bring to thee every cunning magician."
 
38.  *     So the magicians were mustered at a set time, on a solemn day:
 
39.  *     And it was said to the people, "Are ye all assembled?"
 
40.  *     #VALUE!
 
41.  *     And when the magicians were arrived they said to Pharaoh, "Shall we have a reward if we gain the day?"
 
42.  *     He said, "Yes. And verily in that case ye shall be of those who are near my person."
 
43.  *     Moses said to them, "Throw down what ye have to throw."
 
44.  *     So they cast down their ropes and rods, and said, "By Pharaoh's might we shall surely win."
 
45.  *     Then Moses threw down his rod, and lo! it swallowed up their cheating wonders.
 
46.  *     Then the magicians threw themselves down in worship:
 
47.  *     They said, "We believe on the Lord of the Worlds,
 
48.  *     The Lord of Moses and of Aaron."
 
49.  *     Said Pharaoh, "Have ye then believed on him ere I gave you leave? He truly is your master who hath taught you magic. But bye and bye ye shall surely know my power. I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you all crucified."
 
50.  *     They said, "It cannot harm us, for to our Lord shall we return:
 
51.  *     Assuredly we trust that our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are of the first who believe."
 
52.  *     Then revealed we this order to Moses: "Go forth by night with my servants, for ye will be pursued."
 
53.  *     And Pharaoh sent summoners through the cities:-
 
54.  *     These Israelites, said they, "are a scanty band;
 
55.  *     Yet are they enraged against us-
 
56.  *     But we truly are numerous, wary."
 
57.  *     Thus we caused them to quit gardens and fountains,
 
58.  *     And treasures and splendid dwellings;
 
59.  *     So was it; and we gave them to the children of Israel for an heritage.
 
60.  *     Then at sunrise the Egyptians followed them:
 
61.  *     And when the hosts came in view of one another, the comrades of Moses said, "We are surely overtaken."
 
62.  *     He said, "By no means:-for my Lord is with me-He will guide me."
 
63.  *     And we revealed this order to Moses, "Strike the sea with thy rod." And it clave asunder, and each part became like a huge mountain.
 
64.  *     Then made we the others to draw on;
 
65.  *     And we saved Moses, and those who were with him, all;
 
66.  *     But we drowned the others.
 
67.  *     Truly in this was a sign; but most of them did not believe.
 
68.  *     But verily thy Lord,-He is the Mighty, the Merciful!
 
69.  *     And recite to them the story of Abraham
 
70.  *     When he said to his Father and to his people, "What worship ye?"
 
71.  *     They said, "We worship idols, and constant is our devotion to them."
 
72.  *     He said, "Can they hear you when ye cry to them?
 
73.  *     Or help you or do you harm?"
 
74.  *     They said, "But we found our Fathers do the like."
 
75.  *     He said, "How think ye? They whom ye worship,
 
76.  *     Ye and your fathers of early days,
 
77.  *     Are my foes: but not so the Lord of the Worlds,
 
78.  *     Who hath created me, and guideth me,
 
79.  *     Who giveth me food and drink;
 
80.  *     And when I am sick, he healeth me,
 
81.  *     And who will cause me to die and again quicken me,
 
82.  *     And who, I hope, will forgive me my sins in the day of reckoning.
 
83.  *     My Lord! bestow on me wisdom and join me to the just,
 
84.  *     And give me a good name among posterity,
 
85.  *     And make me one of the heirs of the garden of delight,
 
86.  *     And forgive my father, for he was one of the erring,
 
87.  *     And put me not to shame on the day when mankind shall be raised up,
 
88.  *     The day when neither wealth nor children shall avail,
 
89.  *     Save to him who shall come to God with a sound heart:
 
90.  *     When Paradise shall be brought near the pious,
 
91.  *     And Hell shall lay open for those who have gone astray.
 
92.  *     And it shall be said to them, 'Where are they whom ye worshipped
 
93.  *     Beside God? Can they harm you or help themselves?'
 
94.  *     And they shall be cast into it-the seducers and the seduced,
 
95.  *     And all the host of Eblis.
 
96.  *     They shall say, as they wrangle therein together,
 
97.  *     'By God, we were in a plain error,
 
98.  *     When we equalled you with the Lord of the Worlds:
 
99.  *     And none misled us but the wicked,
 
100.  *     And we have none to plead for us,
 
101.  *     Nor friend who careth for us.
 
102.  *     Could we but return, we would be of the believers."'
 
103.  *     Verily, in this was a sign: but most of them believed not.
 
104.  *     And truly thy Lord!-He is the Mighty, the Merciful!
 
105.  *     The people of Noah gainsaid the Apostles,
 
106.  *     When their brother Noah said to them, "Will ye not fear God?
 
107.  *     Of a truth am I your faithful Apostle;
 
108.  *     Fear God then and obey me.
 
109.  *     I ask of you no reward for this, for my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone:
 
110.  *     Fear God then and obey me."
 
111.  *     They said, "Shall we believe on thee when the meanest only are thy followers?"
 
112.  *     He said, "But I have no knowledge of that they did:
 
113.  *     To my Lord only must their account be given: would that ye understood this!
 
114.  *     And I will not thrust away those who believe,
 
115.  *     For I am only one charged with plain warnings."
 
116.  *     They said, "Now unless thou desist, O Noah, one of the stoned shalt thou surely be."
 
117.  *     He said, "Lord! my people treat me as a liar:
 
118.  *     Decide thou therefore a decision between me and them, and rescue me and the faithful who are with me."
 
119.  *     So we saved him and those who were with him in the fully-laden ark,
 
120.  *     And afterwards we drowned the rest.
 
121.  *     Herein truly was a sign, but most of them believed not.
 
122.  *     But thy Lord!-He is the Mighty, the Merciful.
 
123.  *     The Adites treated their Apostles as liars,
 
124.  *     When their brother Houd said to them, "Will ye not fear God?
 
125.  *     I am your Apostle, worthy of all credit;
 
126.  *     Fear God then and obey me:
 
127.  *     I ask for no reward for this; for my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.
 
128.  *     What! build ye landmarks on all heights in mere pastime?
 
129.  *     And raise ye structures to be your lasting abodes?
 
130.  *     And when ye put forth your power do ye put it forth with harshness?
 
131.  *     Fear ye God then and obey me;
 
132.  *     And fear ye Him who hath plenteously betowed on you ye well know what:
 
133.  *     Plenteously bestowed on you flocks and children,
 
134.  *     And gardens and fountains;
 
135.  *     Indeed I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day."
 
136.  *     They said, "It is the same to us whether thou warn or warn us not.
 
137.  *     This is but a tale of the ancients,
 
138.  *     And we are not they who shall be punished."
 
139.  *     And they charged him with imposture; and we destroyed them. In this was a sign: but most of them believed not.
 
140.  *     But thy Lord!-He is the Mighty, the Merciful!
 
141.  *     The Themoudites also treated their Apostles as liars,
 
142.  *     When their brother Saleh said to them, "Will ye not fear God?
 
143.  *     I am your Apostle worthy of all credit:
 
144.  *     Fear God, then, and obey me.
 
145.  *     I ask of you no reward for this: my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.
 
146.  *     Shall ye be left secure amid these things here?
 
147.  *     Amid gardens and fountains,
 
148.  *     And corn-fields and palm-trees, with flower-sheathing branches?
 
149.  *     And, insolent that ye are, will ye hew out your dwellings in the mountains?
 
150.  *     But fear God and obey me,
 
151.  *     And obey not the bidding of those who commit excess,
 
152.  *     Who act disorderly on the earth and reform it not."
 
153.  *     They said, "Certainly thou art a person bewitched;
 
154.  *     Thou art only a man like us: produce now a sign if thou art a man of truth."
 
155.  *     He said, "This she-camel, then-drink shall there be for her, and drink shall there be for you, on a several day for each.
 
156.  *     But harm her not, lest the punishment of a tremendous day overtake you."
 
157.  *     But they ham-strung her, and repented of it on the morrow;
 
158.  *     For the punishment overtook them. In this truly was a sign, but most of them believed not.
 
159.  *     But thy Lord!-He is the Powerful, the Merciful!
 
160.  *     The people of Lot treated their apostles as liars,
 
161.  *     When their brother Lot said to them, "Will ye not fear God?
 
162.  *     I am your Apostle worthy of all credit:
 
163.  *     Fear God, then, and obey me.
 
164.  *     For this I ask you no reward: my reward is of the Lord of the worlds alone.
 
165.  *     What! with men, of all creatures, will ye have commerce?
 
166.  *     And leave ye your wives whom your Lord hath created for you? Ah! ye are an erring people!"
 
167.  *     They said, "O Lot, if thou desist not, one of the banished shalt thou surely be."
 
168.  *     He said, "I utterly abhor your doings:
 
169.  *     My Lord! deliver me and my family from what they do."
 
170.  *     So we delivered him and his whole family-
 
171.  *     Save an aged one among those who tarried-
 
172.  *     Then we destroyed the rest-
 
173.  *     And we rained a rain upon them, and fatal was the rain to those whom we had warned.
 
174.  *     In this truly was a sign; but most of them did not believe.
 
175.  *     But thy Lord! He is the Powerful, the Merciful!
 
176.  *     The dwellers in the forest of Madian treated the Apostles as liars.
 
177.  *     When Shoaib their brother said to them, "Will ye not fear God?
 
178.  *     I truly am your trustworthy Apostle.
 
179.  *     Fear God, then, and obey me:
 
180.  *     No reward ask I of you for this: my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.
 
181.  *     Fill the measure, and be not of those who minish:
 
182.  *     Weigh with exact balance:
 
183.  *     And defraud not men in their substance, and do no wrong on the earth by deeds of licence;
 
184.  *     And fear Him who made you and the races of old."
 
185.  *     They said, "Certainly thou art a person bewitched.
 
186.  *     Thou art but a man like us, and we deem thee liar-
 
187.  *     Make now a part of the heaven to fall down upon us, if thou art a man of truth."
 
188.  *     He said, "My Lord best knoweth your doings."
 
189.  *     And when they treated him as a liar, the chastisement of the day of cloud overtook them. This truly was the chastisement of a dreadful day!
 
190.  *     In this was a sign, but most of them believed not.
 
191.  *     But thy Lord!-He is the Mighty, the Merciful!
 
192.  *     Verily from the Lord of the Worlds hath this Book come down;
 
193.  *     The faithful spirit hath come down with it
 
194.  *     Upon thy heart, that thou mightest become a warner-
 
195.  *     In the clear Arabic tongue:
 
196.  *     And truly it is foretold in the Scriptures of them of yore.
 
197.  *     Was it not a sign to them that the learned among the children of Israel recognised it?
 
198.  *     If we had sent it down unto any foreigner,
 
199.  *     And he had recited it to them, they had not believed.
 
200.  *     In such sort have we influenced the heart of the wicked ones,
 
201.  *     That they will not believe it till they see the grievous chastisement?
 
202.  *     And it shall come upon them on a sudden when they look not for it:
 
203.  *     And they will say, "Can we be respited?"
 
204.  *     What! will they seek to hasten on our chastisement?
 
205.  *     How thinkest thou? If after we have given them their fill for years,
 
206.  *     That with which they are menaced come upon them at last,
 
207.  *     Of what avail will their enjoyments be to them?
 
208.  *     We never destroyed a city which had not first its warners
 
209.  *     With admonition; nor did we deal unjustly.
 
210.  *     The Satans were not sent down with this Koran:
 
211.  *     It beseemed them not, and they had not the power,
 
212.  *     For they are far removed from hearing it.
 
213.  *     Call not thou on any other god but God, lest thou be of those consigned to torment:
 
214.  *     But warn thy relatives of nearer kin,
 
215.  *     And kindly lower thy wing over the faithful who follow thee.
 
216.  *     And if they disobey thee, then say: "I will not be answerable for your doings;"-
 
217.  *     And put thy trust in Him that is the Mighty, the Merciful,
 
218.  *     Who seeth thee when thou standest in prayer,
 
219.  *     And thy demeanour amongst those who worship;
 
220.  *     For He heareth, knoweth all.
 
221.  *     Shall I tell you on whom Satan descend?
 
222.  *     They descend on every lying, wicked person:
 
223.  *     They impart what they have heard;-but most of them are liars.
 
224.  *     It is the POETS whom the erring follow:
 
225.  *     Seest thou not how they rove distraught in every valley?
 
226.  *     And that they say that which they do not?
 
227.  *     Save those who believe and do good works, and oft remember God; And who defend themselves when unjustly treated. But they who treat them unjustly shall find out what a lot awaiteth them.