Section 13 of 27 - Table of Contents
SURA XI.-HOUD [LXXV.] MECCA.-123 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ELIF. LAM. RA.1 A book whose verses are stablished in wisdom and then set forth with clearness from the Wise, the All-informed- That ye worship none other than God-Verily I come to you from Him charged with warnings, announcements; And that ye seek pardon of your Lord, and then be turned unto Him! Goodly enjoyments will He give you to enjoy until a destined time, and His favours will He bestow on every one who deserves his favours.2 But if ye turn away, then verily I fear for you the chastisement of the great day. Unto God shall ye return, and over all things is he Potent. Do they not doubly fold up their breasts, that they may hide themselves from Him? But when they enshroud themselves in their garments, doth He not know alike what they conceal and what they shew? For He knoweth the very inmost of their breast. There is no moving thing on earth whose nourishment dependeth not on God; he knoweth its haunts and final resting place: all is in the clear Book. And He it is who hath made the Heavens and the Earth in six days: His throne had stood ere this upon the waters,3 that He might make proof which of you4 would excel in works. And if thou say, "After death ye shall surely be raised again," the infidels will certainly exclaim, "This is nothing but pure sorcery." And if we defer their chastisement to some definite time, they will exclaim, "What keepeth it back?" What! will it not come upon them on a day when there shall be none to avert it from them? And that at which they scoffed shall enclose them in on every side. And if we cause man to taste our mercy, and then deprive him of it, verily, he is despairing, ungrateful. And if after trouble hath befallen him we cause him to taste our favour, he will surely exclaim, "The evils are passed away from me." Verily, he is joyous, boastful. Except those who endure with patience and do the things that are right: these doth pardon await and a great reward. Perhaps thou wilt suppress a part of what hath been revealed to thee, and wilt be distress at heart lest they say, "If a treasure be not sent down to him, or an angel come with him. . . ." But thou art only a warner, and God hath all things in his charge. If they shall say, "The Koran is his own device," SAY: Then bring ten Suras like it5 of your devising, and call whom ye can to your aid beside God, if ye are men of truth. But if they answer you not, then know that it hath been sent down to you in the wisdom of God only, and that there is no God but He. Are ye then Muslims? Those who choose this present life and its braveries, we will recompense for their works therein: they shall have nothing less therein than their deserts. These are they for whom there is nothing in the next world but the Fire: all that they have wrought in this life shall come to nought, and vain shall be all their doings. With such can they be compared who rest upon clear proofs from their Lord? to whom a witness from him reciteth the Koran, and who is preceded by the Book of Moses, a guide and mercy? These have faith in it: but the partisans of idolatry, who believe not in it, are menaced with the fire! Have thou no doubts about that Book, for it is the very truth from thy Lord. But most men will not believe. Who is guilty of a greater injustice than he who inventeth a lie concerning God? They shall be set before their Lord, and the witnesses shall say, "These are they who made their Lord a liar." Shall not the malison of God be on these unjust doers, Who pervert others from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and believe not in a life to come? God's power on earth they shall not weaken; and beside God they have no protector! Doubled shall be their punishment! They were not able to hearken, and they could not see. These are they who have lost their own souls, and the deities of their own devising have vanished from them: There is no doubt but that in the next world they shall be the lost ones. But they who shall have believed and done the things that are right, and humbled them before their Lord, shall be the inmates of Paradise; therein shall they abide for ever. These two sorts of persons resemble the blind and deaf, and the seeing and hearing: shall these be compared as alike? Ah! do ye not comprehend? We sent Noah of old unto his people:-"Verily I come to you a plain admonisher, That ye worship none but God. Verily I fear for you the punishment of a grievous day." Then said the chiefs of his people who believed not, "We see in thee but a man like ourselves; and we see not who have followed thee except our meanest ones of hasty judgment, nor see we any excellence in you above ourselves: nay, we deem you liars." He said: "O my people! how think you? If I am upon a clear revelation from my Lord, who hath bestowed on me mercy from Himself to which ye are blind, can we force it on you, if ye are averse from it? And, O my people! I ask you not for riches: my reward is of God alone: and I will not drive away those who believe that they shall meet their Lord:-but I see that ye are an ignorant people. And, O my people! were I to drive them away, who shall help me against God? Will ye not therefore consider? And I tell you not that with me are the treasures of God: nor do I say, 'I know the things unseen;' nor do I say, 'I am an angel;' nor do I say of those whom you eye with scorn, No good thing will God bestow on them:-God best knoweth what is in their minds-for then should I be one of those who act unjustly." They said: "O Noah! already hast thou disputed with us, and multiplied disputes with us: Bring then upon us what thou hast threatened, if thou be of those who speak truth." He said, "God will bring it on you at His sole pleasure, and it is not you who can weaken him; Nor, if God desire to mislead you, shall my counsel profit you, though I fain would counsel you aright. He is your Lord, and unto Him shall ye be brought back. Do they say, "This Koran is of his own devising?" Say: On me be my own guilt, if I have devised it, but I am clear of that whereof ye are guilty. And it was revealed unto Noah. Verily, none of thy people shall believe, save they who have believed already; therefore be not thou grieved at their doings. But build the Ark under our eye and after our revelation: and plead not with me for the evil doers, for they are to be drowned. So he built the Ark; and whenever the chiefs of his people passed by they laughed him to scorn:6 said he, "Though ye laugh at us, we truly shall laugh at you, even as ye laugh at us; and in the end ye shall know On whom a punishment shall come that shall shame him, and on whom shall light a lasting punishment." Thus was it until our sentence came to pass, and the earth's surface7 boiled up. We said, "Carry into it one pair of every kind, and thy family, except him on whom sentence hath before been passed, and those who have believed." But there believed not with him except a few. And he said, "Embark ye therein. In the name of God be its course and its riding at anchor! Truly my Lord is right Gracious, Merciful." And the Ark moved on with them amid waves like mountains: and Noah called to his son-for he was apart-"Embark with us, O my child! and be not with the unbelievers." He said, "I will betake me to a mountain that shall secure me from the water." He said, "None shall be secure this day from the decree of God, save him on whom He shall have mercy." And a wave passed between them, and he was among the drowned. 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." His wife was standing by and laughed;13 and we announced Isaac to her; and after Isacc, Jacob. She said, "Ah, woe is me! shall I bear a son when I am old, and when this my husband is an old man? This truly would be a marvellous thing." They said, "Marvellest thou at the command of God? God's mercy and blessing be upon you, O people of this house; praise and glory are His due!" And when Abraham's fear had passed away, and these glad tidings had reached him, he pleaded with us for the people of Lot. Verily, Abraham was right kind, pitiful, relenting. "O Abraham! desist from this; for already hath the command of thy God gone forth; as for them, a punishment not to be averted is coming on them." And when our messengers came to Lot, he was grieved for them; and he was too weak to protect them,14 and he said, "This is a day of difficulty." And his people came rushing on towards him, for aforetime had they wrought this wickedness. He said, "O my people! these my daughters will be purer for you: fear God, and put me not to shame in my guests. Is there no rightminded man among you?" They said, "Thou knowest now that we need not thy daughters; and thou well knowest what we require." He said, "Would that I had strength to resist you, or that I could find refuge with some powerful chieftain."15 The Angels said, "O Lot! verily, we are the messengers of thy Lord: they shall not touch thee: depart with thy family in the dead of night, and let not one of you turn back: as for thy wife, on her shall light what shall light on them. Verily, that with which they are threatened is for the morning. Is not the morning near?" And when our decree came to be executed we turned those cities upside down, and we rained down upon them blocks of claystone one after another, marked16 by thy Lord himself. Nor are they far distant from the wicked Meccans. And we sent to Madian17 their brother Shoaib. He said, "O my people! worship God: no other God have you than He: give not short weight and measure: I see indeed that ye revel in good things; but I fear for you the punishment of the all-encompassing day. O my people! give weight and measure with fairness; purloin not other men's goods; and perpetrate not injustice on the earth with corrupt practices: A residue,18 the gift of God, will be best for you if ye are believers: But I am not a guardian over you." They said to him, "O Shoaib! is it thy prayers which enjoin that we should leave what our fathers worshipped, or that we should not do with our substance as pleaseth us? Thou forsooth art the mild, the right director!" He said, "O my people! How think ye? If I have a clear revelation from my Lord, and if from Himself He hath supplied me with goodly supplies, and if I will not follow you in that which I myself forbid you, do I seek aught but your amendment so far as in me lieth? My sole help is in God. In Him do I trust, and to Him do I turn me. O my people! let not your opposition to me draw down upon you the like of that which befel the people of Noah, or the people of Houd, or the people of Saleh: and the abodes of the people of Lot are not far distant from you! Seek pardon of your Lord and be turned unto Him: verily, my Lord is Merciful, Loving. They said, "O Shoaib! we understand not much of what thou sayest, and we clearly see that thou art powerless among us: were it not for thy family we would have surely stoned thee, nor couldest thou have prevailed against us." He said, "O my people! think ye more highly of my family than of God? Cast ye Him behind your back, with neglect? Verily, my Lord is round about your actions. And, O my people! act with what power ye can for my hurt: I verily will act: and ye shall know On whom shall light a punishment that shall disgrace him, and who is the liar. Await ye; verily I will await with you." And when our decree came to pass, we delivered Shoaib and his companions in faith, by our mercy: And a violent tempest overtook the wicked, and in the morning they were found prostrate in their houses As if they had never dwelt in them. Was not Madian swept off even as Themoud had been swept off? Of old sent we Moses with our signs and with incontestable power to Pharaoh, and to his nobles-who followed the behests of Pharaoh, and, unrighteous were Pharaoh's behests. He shall head his people on the day of the Resurrection and cause them to descend into the fire: and wretched the descent by which they shall descend! They were followed by a curse in this world; and in the day of the Resurrection, wretched the gift that shall be given them! Such, the histories of the cities which we relate to thee. Some of them are standing, others mown down: We dealt not unfairly by them, but they dealt not fairly by themselves: and their gods on whom they called beside God availed them not at all when thy Lord's behest came to pass. They did but increase their ruin. Such was thy Lord's grasp19 when he laid that grasp on the cities that had been wicked. Verily his grasp is afflictive, terrible! Herein truly is a sign for him who feareth the punishment of the latter day. That shall be a day unto which mankind shall be gathered together; that shall be a day witnessed by all creatures. Nor do we delay it, but until a time appointed. When that day shall come no one shall speak a word but by His leave, and some shall be miserable and others blessed. And as for those who shall be consigned to misery-their place the Fire! therein shall they sigh and bemoan them- Therein shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth shall last, unless thy Lord shall will it otherwise; verily thy Lord doth what He chooseth. And as for the blessed ones-their place the Garden! therein shall they abide while the Heavens and the Earth endure, with whatever imperishable boon thy Lord may please to add. Have thou no doubts therefore concerning that which they worship: they worship but what their fathers worshipped before them: we will surely assign them their portion with nothing lacking. Of old gave we Moses the Book, and they fell to variance about it. If a decree of respite had not gone forth from thy Lord, there had surely been a decision between them. Thy people also are in suspicious doubts about the Koran. And truly thy Lord will repay every one according to their works! for He is well aware of what they do. Go straight on then as thou hast been commanded, and he also who hath turned to God with thee, and let him transgress no more. He beholdeth what ye do. Lean not on the evil doers lest the Fire lay hold on you. Ye have no protector, save God, and ye shall not be helped against Him. And observe prayer at early morning, at the close of the day, and at the approach of night; for the good deeds drive away the evil deeds. This is a warning for those who reflect: And persevere steadfastly, for verily God will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish. Were the generations before you, endued with virtue, and who forbad corrupt doings on the earth, more than a few of those whom we delivered? but the evil doers followed their selfish pleasures, and became transgressors. And thy Lord was not one who would destroy those cities unjustly, when its inhabitants were righteous. Had thy Lord pleased he would have made mankind of one religion: but those only to whom thy Lord hath granted his mercy will cease to differ. And unto this hath He created them; for the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled, "I will wholly fill hell with Djinn and men." And all that we have related to thee of the histories of these Apostles, is to confirm thy heart thereby. By these hath the truth reached thee, and a monition and warning to those who believe. But say to those who believe not, "Act as ye may and can: we will act our part: and wait ye; we verily will wait." To God belong the secret things of the Heavens and of the Earth: all things return to him: worship him then and put thy trust in Him: thy Lord is not regardless of your doings.20 _______________________ 1 See Sura lxviii. p. 32. 2 Or, will bestow his grace on every gracious one, or will bestow his abundance on every one who hath abundance (of merit). The difficulty of rendering this passage arises from the word fadhl, which means merit as applied to man, favour as applied to God. 3 That is, before the Creation. Precisely the same statement occurs in Raschi on Gen. i. 2, also in the modern catechism. Tsenah ur'enak b'noth Tsion, authoritatively put forth by the Polish and German Talmudist Rabbins. "At the first creation of Heaven and Earth . . . the throne of glory of the Blessed God stood in the air above the waters." Comp. Ps. civ. 3. 4 Men, heaven, and earth. Comp. Tr. Aboth, v. Mischna 1. 5 Comp. verse 37 and Sura [xci.] ii. 21. It should be observed that the challenge in these passages is not to produce a book which shall equal the Koran in point of poetry or rhetoric, but in the importance of its subject- matter with reference to the Divine Unity, the future retribution, etc. Upon these topics Muhammad well knew that he had preoccupied the ground. And we may infer from the fragments of the Revelations of Musailima and Sajāh (Hisam. 946; Attabāri (ed. Kosegarten) i. 134, 136, 152; Tab. Agāni, 339), which are mere imitations of the Koran, that he felt this to be the case. 6 "They laughed and jeered at him in their words." Midr. Tanchuma. "The passage Job xii. 5, refers to the righteous Noah who taught them and spake to them words severe as flames: but they scorned him, and said, 'Old man! for what purpose is this ark?"' Sanhedr. 108. Comp. Midr. Rabbah on Gen. 30, and 33 on Eccl. ix. 14. 7 Or, oven: according to others, reservoir. Geiger thinks that the expression the oven boiled up may be a figurative mode of expressing the Rabbinic idea that "the generation of the Deluge were punished by hot water." Rosch. Haschanah, 16, 2; Sanhedr. 108. Comp. Weil's Legenden, p. 44. 8 The Montes Gordyoei, perhaps. 9 According to another reading: He hath done amiss. The origin of this story is probably Gen. ix. 20-25. 10 A Prophet, so far as we know, of Muhammad's own invention, unless Muir's conjecture be admitted that he was a Christian or Jewish missionary whose adventures and persecution were recast into this form.-The name may have been suggested by, Methusaleh, upon whose piety the Midrasch enlarges. 11 That is, we had intended to make thee our chief. Beidh. 12 Thus, in contradiction to Gen. xviii. 8, the Rabbins; comp. Tr. Baba Mezia, fol. 86, "They made as though they ate." 13 Or, menstrua passa est, in token of the possibility of her bearing a child. 14 Lit. his arm was straitened concerning them. 15 Lit. column. 16 With the name, it is said, of the person each should strike. 17 See Sura [lvi.] xxvi. 176. 18 That is, after giving fair measure. 19 Seizure, for punishment. Hence, the punishment itself. 20 In the later period of his life Muhammad attributed his gray hairs to the effect produced upon him by this Sura and its "Sisters." While Abu Bekr and Omar sat in the mosque at Medina, Muhammad suddenly came upon them from the door of one of his wives' houses. . . . And Abu Bekr said, "Ah! thou for whom I would sacrifice father and mother, white hairs are hastening upon thee!" And the Prophet raised up his beard with his hand and gazed at it; and Abu Bekr's eyes filled with tears. "Yes," said Muhammad, "Hūd and its sisters have hastened my white hairs." "And what," asked Abu Bekr, "are its sisters?" "The Inevitable (Sura lvi.) and the Blow (Sura ci.)." Kitāb al Wackidi, p. 84, ap. Muir. SURA XIV.-ABRAHAM, ON WHOM BE PEACE [LXXVI.] MECCA.-52 Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ELIF. LAM. RA. This Book have we sent down to thee that by their Lord's permission thou mayest bring men out of darkness into light, into the path of the Mighty, the Glorious- Of God; to whom belongeth whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the Earth: and woe! for their terrible punishment, to the infidels, Who love the life that now is, above that which is to come, and mislead from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked. These are in a far-gone error. And in order that He might speak plainly to them, we have not sent any Apostle, save with the speech of his own people; but God misleadeth whom He will, and whom He will he guideth: and He is the Mighty, the Wise. Of old did we send Moses with our signs: and said to him, "Bring forth thy people from the darkness into the light, and remind them of the days of God." Verily, in this are signs for every patient, grateful person: When Moses said to his people, "Remember the kindness of God to you, when he rescued you from the family of Pharaoh who laid on you a cruel affliction, slaughtering your male children, and suffering only your females to live." In this was a sore trial from your Lord- And when your Lord caused it to be heard that, "If we render thanks then will I surely increase you more and more: but if ye be thankless. . . . Verily, right terrible my chastisement." And Moses said, "If ye and all who are on the Earth be thankless, yet truly God is passing Rich, and worthy of all praise." Hath not the story reached you of those who were before you, the people of Noah, and Ad, and Themoud, And of those who lived after them? None knoweth them but God. When their prophets came to them with proofs of their mission, they put their hands on their mouths and said, "In sooth, we believe not your message; and in sooth, of that to which you bid us, we are in doubt, as of a thing suspicious." Their prophets said: "Is there any doubt concerning God, maker of the Heavens and of the Earth, who calleth you that He may pardon your sins, and respite you until an appointed time?" They said, "Ye are but men like us: fain would ye turn us from our fathers' worship. Bring us therefore some clear proof." Their Apostles said to them, "We are indeed but men like you. But God bestoweth favours on such of his servants as he pleaseth, and it is not in our power to bring you any special proof, But by the leave of God. In God therefore let the faithful trust. And why should we not put our trust in God, since He hath already guided us in our ways. We will certainly bear with constancy the harm you would do to us. In God let the trustful trust." And they who believed not said to their Apostles, "Forth from our land will we surely drive you, or, to our religion shall ye return." Then their Lord revealed to them, "We will certainly destroy the wicked doers, And we shall certainly cause you to dwell in the land after them. This for him who dreadeth the appearance at my judgment-seat and who dreadeth my menace!" Then sought they help from God, and every proud rebellious one perished: Hell is before him: and of tainted water shall he be made to drink: He shall sup it and scarce swallow it for loathing; and Death shall assail him on every side, but he shall not die: and before him shall be seen a grievous torment. A likeness of those who believe not in their Lord. Their works are like ashes which the wind scattereth on a stormy day: no advantage shall they gain from their works. This is the far-gone wandering. Seest thou not that in truth1 hath God created the Heavens and the Earth? Were such his pleasure He could make you pass away, and cause a new creation to arise. And this would not be hard for God. All mankind shall come forth before God; and the weak shall say to the men of might, "Verily, we were your followers: will ye not then relieve us of some part of the vengeance of God?" They shall say, "If God had guided us, we surely had guided you. It is now all one whether we be impatient, or endure with patience. We have no escape." And after doom hath been given, Satan shall say, "Verily, God promised you a promise of truth: I, too, made you a promise, but I deceived you. Yet I had no power over you: But I only called you and ye answered me. Blame not me then, but blame yourselves: I cannot aid you, neither can ye aid me. I never believed that I was His equal with whom ye joined me."2 As for the evil doers, a grievous torment doth await them. But they who shall have believed and done the things that be right, shall be brought into gardens beneath which the rivers flow: therein shall they abide for ever by the permission of their Lord: their greeting therein shall be "Peace." Seest thou not to what God likeneth a good word?3 To a good tree: its root firmly fixed, and its branches in the Heaven: Yielding its fruit in all seasons by the will of its Lord. God setteth forth these similitudes to men that haply they may reflect. And an evil word is like an evil tree torn up from the face of the earth, and without strength to stand. Those who believe shall God stablish by his steadfast word both in this life and in that which is to come: but the wicked shall He cause to err: God doth his pleasure. Hast thou not beholden those who repay the goodness of God with infidelity, and sink their people into the abode of perdition- Hell? Therein shall they be burned; and wretched the dwelling! They set up compeers with God in order to mislead man from his way. SAY: Enjoy your pleasures yet awhile, but assuredly, your going hence shall be into the fire. Speak to my servants who have believed, that they observe prayer, and give alms of that with which we have supplied them, both privately and openly, ere the day come when there shall be neither traffic nor friendship. It is God who hath created the Heavens and the Earth, and sendeth down water from the Heaven, and so bringeth forth the fruits for your food: And He hath subjected to you the ships, so that by His command, they pass through the sea; and He hath subjected the rivers to you: and He hath subjected to you the sun and the moon in their constant courses: and He hath subjected the day and the night to you: of everything which ye ask Him, giveth He to you; and if ye would reckon up the favours of God, ye cannot count them! Surely man is unjust, ungrateful! ABRAHAM said, "O Lord make this land secure, and turn aside me and my children from serving idols: For many men, O my Lord, have they led astray. But whosoever shall follow me, he truly shall be of me; and whosoever shall disobey me. . . . Thou truly art Gracious, Merciful. O our Lord! verily I have settled some of my offspring in an unfruitful valley, nigh to thy holy house;4 O our Lord, that they may strictly observe prayer! Make thou therefore the hearts of men to yearn toward them, and supply them with fruits that they may be thankful. O our Lord! thou truly knowest what we hide and what we bring to light; nought on earth or in heaven is hidden from God. Praise be to God who hath given me, in my old age, Ismael and Isaac! My Lord is the hearer of prayer. Lord! grant that I and my posterity may observe prayer. O our Lord! and grant this my petition. O our Lord! forgive me and my parents and the faithful, on the day wherein account shall be taken." Think thou not that God is regardless of the deeds of the wicked. He only respiteth them to the day on which all eyes shall stare up with terror: They hasten forward in fear; their heads upraised in supplication; their looks riveted; and their hearts a blank. Warn men therefore of the day when the punishment shall overtake them, And when the evil doers shall say, "O our Lord! respite us yet a little while:5 To thy call will we make answer; thine Apostles will we follow." "Did ye not once swear that no change should befal you? Yet ye dwelt in the dwellings of those6 who were the authors of their undoing7 and it was made plain to you how we had dealt with them; and we held them up to you as examples. They plotted their plots: but God could master their plots, even though their plots had been so powerful as to move the mountains." Think not then that God will fail his promise to his Apostles: aye! God is mighty, and Vengeance is His. On the day when the Earth shall be changed into another Earth, and the Heavens also, men shall come forth unto God, the Only, the Victorious. And thou shalt see the wicked on that day linked together in chains- Their garments of pitch, and fire shall enwrap their faces that God may reward every soul as it deserveth; verily God is prompt to reckon. This is a message for mankind, that they may thereby be warned: and that they may know that there is but one God; and that men of understanding may ponder it. _______________________ 1 See Sura [lxxxiv.] x. 5. 2 Lit. I truly renounce your having associated me (with God) heretofore. 3 The preaching and the profession of Islam. Comp. Ps. i. 3, 4. 4 The Caaba. 5 Lit. to a term near at hand. 6 Of the anciently destroyed cities of Themoud, Ad, etc. 7 Lit. were unjust to their own souls. SURA XII.-JOSEPH, PEACE BE ON HIM [LXXVII.] MECCA.-III Verses In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ELIF. LAM. RA.1 These are signs of the clear Book. An Arabic Koran have we sent it down, that ye might understand it. In revealing to thee this Koran,2 one of the most beautiful of narratives will we narrate to thee, of which thou hast hitherto been regardless. When Joseph said to his Father, "O my Father! verily I beheld eleven stars and the sun and the moon-beheld them make obeisance to me!"3 He said, "O my son! tell not thy vision to thy brethren, lest they plot a plot against thee: for Satan is the manifest foe of man. It is thus that thy Lord shall choose thee and will teach thee the interpretation of dark saying, and will perfect his favours on thee and on the family of Jacob, as of old he perfected it on thy fathers Abraham and Isaac; verily thy Lord is Knowing, Wise!" Now in JOSEPH and his brethren are signs for the enquirers;4 When they said, "Surely better loved by our Father, than we, who are more in number, is Joseph and his brother; verily, our father hath clearly erred. Slay ye Joseph! or drive him to some other land, and on you alone shall your father's face be set! and after this, ye shall live as upright persons." One of them said, "Slay not Joseph, but cast him down to the bottom of the well: if ye do so, some wayfarers will take him up." They said, "O our Father! why dost thou not entrust us with Joseph? indeed we mean him well. Send him with us to-morrow that he may enjoy himself and sport: we will surely keep him safely." He said, "Verily, your taking him away will grieve me; and I fear lest while ye are heedless of him the wolf devour him." They said, "Surely if the wolf devour him, and we so many, we must in that case be weak indeed."5 And when they went away with him they agreed to place him at the bottom of the well. And We revealed to him, "Thou wilt yet tell them of this their deed, when they shall not know thee." And they came at nightfall to their father weeping. They said, "O our Father! of a truth, we went to run races, and we left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured him: but thou wilt not believe us even though we speak the truth." And they brought his shirt with false blood upon it. He said, "Nay, but yourselves have managed this affair.6 But patience is seemly: and the help of God is to be implored that I may bear what you tell me." And wayfarers came and sent their drawer of water,7 and he let down his bucket. "Good news!"8 said he, "This is a youth!" And they kept his case secret, to make merchandise of him. But God knew what they did. And they sold him for a paltry price-for some dirhems counted down, and at no high rate did they value him. And he who bought him-an Egyptian-said to his wife, "Treat him hospitably; haply he may be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son." Thus did we settle Joseph in the land, and we instructed him in the interpretation of dark sayings, for God is equal to his purpose; but most men know it not. And when he had reached his age of strength we bestowed on him judgment and knowledge; for thus do we recompense the well doers. And she in whose house he was conceived a passion for him, and she shut the doors and said, "Come hither." He said, "God keep me! Verily, my lord hath given me a good home: and the injurious shall not prosper." But she longed for him; and he had longed for her had he not seen a token from his lord.9 Thus we averted evil and defilement from him, for he was one of our sincere servants. And they both made for the door, and she rent his shirt behind; and at the door they met her lord. "What," said she, "shall be the recompense of him who would do evil to thy family, but a prison10 or a sore punishment?" He said, "She solicited me to evil." And a witness out of her own family11 witnessed: "If his shirt be rent in front she speaketh truth, and he is a liar: But if his shirt be rent behind, she lieth and he is true." And when his lord saw his shirt torn behind, he said, "This is one of your devices! verily your devices are great! Joseph! leave this affair. And thou, O wife, ask pardon for thy crime, for thou hast sinned." And in the city, the women said, "The wife of the Prince hath solicited her servant: he hath fired her with his love: but we clearly see her manifest error." And when she heard of their cabal, she sent to them and got ready a banquet for them, and gave each one of them a knife, and said, "Joseph shew thyself to them." And when they saw him they were amazed at him, and cut their hands,12 and said, "God keep us! This is no man! This is no other than a noble angel!" She said, "This is he about whom ye blamed me. I wished him to yield to my desires, but he stood firm. But if he obey not my command, he shall surely be cast into prison, and become one of the despised." He said, "O my Lord! I prefer the prison to compliance with their bidding: but unless thou turn away their snares from me, I shall play the youth with them, and become one of the unwise." And his Lord heard him and turned aside their snares from him: for he is the Hearer, the Knower. Yet resolved they, even after they had seen the signs of his innocence, to imprison him for a time. And there came into the prison with him two youths. Said one of them, "Methought in my dream that I was pressing grapes." And the other said, "I dreamed that I was carrying bread on my head, of which the birds did eat. Declare to us the interpretation of this, for we see thou art a virtuous person." He said, "There shall not come to you in a dream any food wherewith ye shall be fed, but I will acquaint you with its interpretation ere it come to pass to you. This is a part of that which my Lord hath taught me: for I have abandoned the religion13 of those who believe not in God and who deny the life to come; And I follow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. We may not associate aught with God. This is of God's bounty towards us and towards mankind: but the greater part of mankind are not thankful. O my two fellow prisoners! are sundry lords best, or God, the One, the Mighty? Ye worship beside him mere names which ye have named, ye and your fathers, for which God hath not sent down any warranty. Judgment belongeth to God alone. He hath bidden you worship none but Him. This is the right faith: but most men know it not. O my two fellow prisoners! as to one of you, he will serve wine unto his Lord: but as to the other, he will be crucified and the birds shall eat from off his head. The matter is decreed concerning which ye enquire." And he said unto him who he judged would be set at large, "Remember me with thy lord." But Satan caused him to forget the remembrance of his Lord,14 so he remained some years in prison. And the King said, "Verily, I saw in a dream seven fat kine which seven lean devoured; and seven green ears and other withered. O nobles, teach me my vision, if a vision ye are able to expound." They said, "They are confused dreams, nor know we aught of the unravelling of dreams." And he of the twain who had been set at large, said, "I will tell you the interpretation; let me go for it." "Joseph, man of truth! teach us of the seven fat kine which seven lean devoured, and of the seven green ears, and other withered, that I may return to the men, and that they may be informed." He said, "Ye shall sow seven years as is your wont, and the corn which ye reap leave ye in its ear, except a little of which ye shall eat. Then after that shall come seven grievous years which shall eat what ye have stored for them, except a little which ye shall have kept. Then shall come after this a year, in which men shall have rain, and in which they shall press the grape." And the King said, "Bring him to me."15 And when the messenger came to Joseph he said, "Go back to thy lord, and ask him what meant the women who cut their hands, for my lord well knoweth the snare they laid." Then said the Prince to the women, "What was your purpose when ye solicited Joseph?" They said, "God keep us! we know not any ill of him." The wife of the Prince said, "Now doth the truth appear. It was I who would have led him into unlawful love, and he is one of the truthful." "By this" (said Joseph) "may my lord know that I did not in his absence play him false, and that God guideth not the machinations of deceivers. Yet I hold not myself clear, for the heart is prone to evil, save theirs on whom my Lord hath mercy; for gracious is my Lord, Merciful." And the King said, "Bring him to me: I will take him for my special service." And when he had spoken with him he said, "From this day shalt thou be with us, invested with place and trust." He said, "Set me over the granaries of the land,16 I will be their prudent keeper!" Thus did we stablish Joseph in the land that he might house himself therein at pleasure. We bestow our favours on whom we will, and suffer not the reward of the righteous to perish. And truly the recompense of the life to come is better, for those who have believed and feared God. And Joseph's brethren came and went in to him and he knew them, but they recognised him not. And when he had provided them with their provision, he said, "Bring me your brother from your father. See ye not that I fill the measure, and am the best of hosts? But if ye bring him not to me, then no measure of corn shall there be for you from me, nor shall ye come near me." They said, "We will ask him of his father, and we will surely do it." Said he to his servants, "Put their money into their camel-packs, that they may perceive it when they have returned to their family: haply they will come back to us." And when they returned to their father, they said, "O, our father! corn is withholden from us: send, therefore, our brother with us and we shall have our measure; and all care of him will we take." He said, "Shall I entrust you with him otherwise than as I before entrusted you with his brother? But God is the best guardian, and of those who shew compassion He is the most compassionate." And when they opened their goods they found their money had been returned to them. They said, "O, our father, what more can we desire? Here is our money returned to us; we will provide corn for our families, and will take care of our brother, and shall receive a camel's burden more of corn. This is an easy quantity."17 He said, "I will not send him with you but on your oath before God that ye will, indeed, bring him back to me, unless hindrances encompass you." And when they had given him their pledge, he said, "God is witness of what we say." And he said, "O, my sons! Enter not by one gate, but enter by different gates.18 Yet can I not help you against aught decreed by God: judgment belongeth to God alone. In Him put I my trust, and in Him let the trusting trust." And when they entered as their father had bidden them, it did not avert from them anything decreed of God; but it only served to satisfy a desire in the soul of Jacob which he had charged them to perform; for he was possessed of knowledge which we had taught him; but most men have not that knowledge. And when they came in to Joseph, he took his brother to him. He said, "Verily, I am thy brother. Be not thou grieved for what they did."19 And when he had provided them with their provisions, he placed his drinking cup in his brother's camel-pack. Then a crier cried after them, "O travellers! ye are surely thieves." They turned back to them and said, "What is that ye miss?" "We miss," said they, "the prince's cup. For him who shall restore it, a camel's load of corn! I pledge myself for it." They said, "By God! ye know certainly that we came not to do wrong20 in the land and we have not been thieves." "What," said the Egyptians, "shall be the recompense of him who hath stolen it, if ye be found liars?" They said, "That he in whose camel-pack it shall be found be given up to you in satisfaction for it. Thus recompense we the unjust." And Joseph began with their sacks, before the sack of his brother, and then from the sack of his brother he drew it out. This stratagem did we suggest to Joseph. By the King's law he had no power to seize his brother, had not God pleased. We uplift into grades of wisdom whom we will. And there is one knowing above every one else endued with knowledge. They said, "If he steal, a brother of his hath stolen heretofore."21 But Joseph kept his secret, and did not discover it to them. Said he, aside, "Ye are in the worse condition. And God well knoweth what ye state." They said, "O Prince! Verily he hath a very aged father; in his stead, therefore, take one of us, for we see that thou art a generous person." He said, "God forbid that we should take but him with whom our property was found, for then should we act unjustly." And when they despaired of Benjamin, they went apart for counsel. The eldest of them said, "Know ye not how that your father hath taken a pledge from you before God, and how formerly ye failed in duty with regard to Joseph? I will not quit the land till my father give me leave, or God decide for me; for of those who decide is He the best. Return ye to your father and say, 'O our father! Verily, thy son hath stolen: we bear witness only of what we know: we could not guard against the unforeseen. Enquire for thyself in the city where we have been, and of the caravan with which we have arrived; and we are surely speakers of the truth.' He said, "Nay, ye have arranged all this among yourselves: But patience is seemly: God, may be, will bring them back to me together; for he is the Knowing, the Wise." And he turned away from them and said, "Oh! how I am grieved for Joseph!" and his eyes became white with grief, for he bore a silent sorrow. They said, "By God thou wilt only cease to think of Joseph when thou art at the point of death, or dead." He said, "I only plead my grief and my sorrow to God: but I know from God what ye know not:22 Go, my sons, and seek tidings of Joseph and his brother, and despair not of God's mercy, for none but the unbelieving despair of the mercy of God." And when they came in to Joseph, they said, "O Prince, distress hath reached us and our family, and little is the money that we have brought. But give us full measure, and bestow it as alms, for God will recompense the almsgivers." He said, "Know ye what ye did to Joseph and his brother in your ignorance?" They said, "Canst thou indeed be Joseph?" He said, "I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Now hath God been gracious to us. For whoso feareth God and endureth. . . . God verily will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish!" They said, "By God! now hath God chosen thee above us, and we have indeed been sinners!" He said, "No blame be on you this day. God will forgive you, for He is the most merciful of those who shew mercy. Go ye with this my shirt and throw it on my father's face, and he shall recover his sight: and bring me all your family." And when the caravan was departed, their father said, "I surely perceive the smell of Joseph:23 think ye that I dote?" They said, "By God, it is thy old mistake." And when the bearer of good tidings came, he cast it on his face, and Jacob's eyesight returned." Then he said, "Did I not tell you that I knew from God what ye knew not?" They said, "Our father, ask pardon for our crimes for us, for we have indeed been sinners." He said, "I will ask your pardon of my Lord, for he is Gracious, Merciful." And when they came into Joseph he took his parents24 to him, and said, "Enter ye Egypt, if God will, secure." And he raised his parents to the seat of state, and they fell down bowing themselves unto him. Then said he, "O my father, this is the meaning of my dream of old. My Lord hath now made it true, and he hath surely been gracious to me, since he took me forth from the prison, and hath brought you up out of the desert, after that Satan had stirred up strife between me and my brethren; for my Lord is gracious to whom He will; for He is the Knowing, the Wise. O my Lord, thou hast given me dominion, and hast taught me to expound dark sayings. Maker of the Heavens and of the Earth! My guardian art thou in this world and in the next! Cause thou me to die a Muslim, and join me with the just." This is one of the secret histories25 which we reveal unto thee. Thou wast not present with Joseph's brethren when they conceived their design and laid their plot: but the greater part of men, though thou long for it, will not believe. Thou shalt not ask of them any recompense for this message. It is simply an instruction for all mankind. And many as are the signs in the Heavens and on the Earth, yet they will pass them by, and turn aside from them: And most of them believe not in God, without also joining other deities with Him. What! Are they sure that the overwhelming chastisement of God shall not come upon them, or that that Hour shall not come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware? SAY: This is my way: resting on a clear proof, I call you to God, I and whoso followeth me: and glory be to God! I am not one of those who add other deities to Him. Never before thee have we sent any but men, chosen out of the people of the cities, to whom we made revelations. Will they not journey through the land, and see what hath been the end of those who were before them? But the mansions of the next life shall be better for those who fear God. Will they not then comprehend? When at last the Apostles lost all hope, and deemed that they were reckoned as liars, our aid reached them, and we delivered whom we would; but our vengeance was not averted from the wicked. Certainly in their histories is an example for men of understanding. This is no new tale of fiction, but a confirmation of previous scriptures, and an explanation of all things, and guidance and mercy to those who believe. _______________________ 1 See Sura lxviii. p. 32. In no other Sura beside this is one subject treated of throughout. It was recited to the first eight of the Ansars who were converted, and clearly proves that Muhammad must have been in confidential intercourse with learned Jews. 2 The word Koran is here used in the same sense as Sura. 3 Muhammad was either unaware of the previous dream mentioned, Gen. xxxvii. 7, or passes it by in silence. 4 The captious and unbelieving Koreisch. 5 Wir mussten denn zuerst das Leben einbüssen. Wahl. Ullm. Maracci. 6 Lit. your minds have made a thing seem pleasant to you. 7 According to Gen. xxxvii. 24, the well or pit had "no water in it. 8 Some take the Arabic Boshra as the proper name of the person who accompanied the drawer of water. 9 The apparition of his father, who said, "Hereafter shall the names of thy brethren, engraven on precious stones, shine on the breast of the High Priest. Shall thine be blotted out?" Tr. Sotah, fol. 36. Comp. Weil, Legenden, p. 109, n. 10 Lit. that he be imprisoned. 11 An infant in the cradle. Sepher Hadjascher, as below on v. 31. 12 Instead of their food, through surprise at his beauty. Seph. Hadj. in Midr. Jalkut. See also Midr. Abkhir, ib. ch. 146. 13 It is curious to observe how Muhammad, in this and the following verse, puts his own doctrine and convictions into the mouth of Joseph. 14 Satan induced Joseph to place his confidence in man, rather than in God alone, in punishment of which sin the imprisonment was continued. Thus Midr. Rabba. Gen. Par. 89. Midr. Jalkut, ib. ch. 147. 15 In Gen. xli. 14, Joseph is released from prison before the interpretation of the dreams. But the Koran makes him decline to quit it till his character is cleared. 16 According to Gen. xli. 39, Pharaoh of his own accord sets Joseph over his house and land. 17 For the king to bestow. 18 Thus we read in Mid. Rab. on Gen. Par. 91, "Jacob said to them, Enter ye not all by one gate." See also Midr. Jalkut, ch. 148. 19 Thus also, in the Sepher Hadjaschar, Joseph first discovers himself to Benjamin, in opposition to Gen. xlv. 1. 20 Comp. Gen. xlii. 9. 21 Joseph is said by the Muhammadan commentators to have stolen an idol of gold belonging to his mother's father, which he broke, that he might not worship it. But this comment, as well as the text of the Koran, is probably based upon some such tradition as that of Midr. Rabba, Par. 92, "He is a thief and the son of a thief" (Comp. Gen. xxxi. 19)-spoken of Benjamin. 22 That is, that Joseph was still alive. Thus Midr. Tanchumah on Gen. xlii. 1. 23 Comp. Gen. xxvii. 27. 24 Joseph's mother had long been dead. See Gen. xxxv. 19. But the object of Muhammad was probably to bring the event into strict accordance with the prediction of the dream. Gen. xxxvii. 10. Some, however, suppose that Bilhah is here meant, and her appearance before Joseph is also asserted to be the fulfilment of the dream by some of the Rabbins. Comp. Raschi on Gen. xxxvii. 10. 25 Lit. This is of the announcements of the things unseen (by thee, Muhammad). Compare the manner in which the story of the Creation and of Moses in the mount is introduced. Sura xxxviii. 70; xxviii. 45. Mr. Muir thinks that Muhammad must at this period, while recasting and working up these materials, have entered upon a course of wilful dissimulation and deceit (although the end would justify to him the means employed) in claiming inspiration for them.Prev Next All
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