That ye may sit balanced on their backs and remember the goodness of your Lord as ye sit so evenly thereon, and say: "Glory to Him who hath subjected these to us! We could not have attained to it of ourselves:
And truly unto our Lord shall we return."
Yet do they a.s.sign to him some of his own servants for offspring! Verily man is an open ingrate!
Hath G.o.d adopted daughters from among those whom he hath created, and chosen sons for you?
But when that3 is announced to any one of them, which he affirmeth to be the case with the G.o.d of Mercy,4 his face settleth into darkness and he is silent-sad.
What! make they a being to be the offspring of G.o.d who is brought up among trinkets, and is ever contentious without reason?
And they make the angels who are the servants of G.o.d of Mercy, females. What!
did they witness their creation? Their witness shall be taken down, and they shall hereafter be enquired at.
And they say: "Had the G.o.d of Mercy so willed it we should never have worshipped them." No knowledge have they in this: they only lie.
Have we ere this given them a Book?5 and do they possess it still?
But say they: "Verily we found our fathers of that persuasion, and verily, by their footsteps do we guide ourselves."
And thus never before thy time did we send a warner to any city but its wealthy ones said: "Verily we found our fathers with a religion, and in their tracks we tread."
SAY,-such was our command to that apostle-"What! even if I bring you a religion more right than that ye found your fathers following?" And they said, "Verily we believe not in your message."
Wherefore we took vengeance on them, and behold what hath been the end of those who treated our messengers as liars!
And bear in mind when Abraham said to his father and to his people, "Verily I am clear of what ye worship,
Save Him who hath created me; for he will vouchsafe me guidance."
And this he established as a doctrine that should abide among his posterity, that to G.o.d might they be turned.
In sooth to these idolatrous Arabians and to their fathers did I allow their full enjoyments, till the truth should come to them, and an undoubted apostle:
But now that the truth hath come to them, they say, ""Tis sorcery, and we believe it not."
And they say, "Had but this Koran been sent down to some great one of the two cities6 ...!"
Are they then the distributors of thy Lord"s Mercy?7 It is we who distribute their subsistence among them in this world"s life; and we raise some of them by grades above others, that the one may take the other to serve him: but better is the mercy of thy Lord than all their h.o.a.rds.
But for fear that all mankind would have become a single people of unbelievers, verily we would certainly have given to those who believe not in the G.o.d of Mercy roofs of silver to their houses, and silver stairs to ascend by;
And doors of silver to their houses, and couches of silver to recline on;
And ORNAMENTS OF GOLD: for all these are merely the good things of the present life; but the next life doth thy Lord reserve for those who fear Him.
And whoso shall withdraw from the Warning of the G.o.d of Mercy, we will chain a Satan to him, and he shall be his fast companion:
For the Satans will turn men aside from the Way, who yet shall deem themselves rightly guided;
Until when man shall come before us, he shall say, "O Satan, would that between me and thee were the distance of the East and West."8 And a wretched companion is a Satan.
But it shall not avail you on that day, because ye were unjust: partners shall ye be in the torment.
What! Canst thou then make the deaf to hear, or guide the blind and him who is in palpable error?
Whether therefore we take thee off by death, surely will we avenge ourselves on them;
Or whether we make thee a witness of the accomplishment of that with which we threatened them, we will surely gain the mastery over them.9
Hold thou fast therefore what hath been revealed to thee, for thou art on a right path:
For truly to thee and to thy people it is an admonition; and ye shall have an account to render for it at last.10
And ask our Sent Ones whom we have sent before thee,
"Appointed we G.o.ds beside the G.o.d of Mercy whom they should worship?"11
Of old sent we Moses with our signs to Pharaoh and his n.o.bles: and he said, "I truly am the Apostle of the Lord of the worlds."
And when he presented himself before them with our signs, lo! they laughed at them,
Though we shewed them no sign that was not greater than its fellow:12 and therefore did we lay hold on them with chastis.e.m.e.nt, to the intent that they might be turned to G.o.d.
Then they said, "O Magician! call on thy Lord on our behalf to do as he hath engaged with thee, for truly we would fain be guided."
But when we relieved them from the chastis.e.m.e.nt, lo! they broke their pledge.
And Pharaoh made proclamation among his people. Said he, "O my people! is not the kingdom of Egypt mine, and these rivers which flow at my feet?13 Do ye not behold?
Am I not mightier than this despicable fellow,
And who scarce can speak distinctly?
Have bracelets of gold14 then been put upon him, or come there with him a train of Angels?"
And he inspired his people with levity, and they obeyed him; for they were a perverse people:
And when they had angered us, we took vengeance on them, and we drowned them all.
And we made them a precedent and instance of divine judgments to those who came after them.
And when the Son of Mary was set forth as an instance of divine power, lo!
thy people cried out for joy thereat:
And they said, "Are our G.o.ds or is he the better?"15 They put this forth to thee only in the spirit of dispute. Yea, they are a contentious people.
Jesus is no more than a servant whom we favoured, and proposed as an instance of divine power to the children of Israel.