The Koran Part 90

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 wors.h.i.+p none but G.o.d. 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d?

Will ye not therefore consider?

And I tell you not that with me are the treasures of G.o.d: 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 G.o.d bestow on them:-G.o.d 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, "G.o.d will bring it on you at His sole pleasure, and it is not you who can weaken him;

Nor, if G.o.d 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.s, 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 pa.s.sed, and those who have believed."

But there believed not with him except a few.

And he said, "Embark ye therein. In the name of G.o.d 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 G.o.d, save him on whom He shall have mercy." And a wave pa.s.sed 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 G.o.d-fearing.

And unto Ad we sent their Brother HOUD. He said, "O my people, wors.h.i.+p G.o.d.

You have no G.o.d 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 G.o.ds at thy word, and we believe thee not.

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

To G.o.d. Conspire then against me all of you, and delay me not.

For I trust in G.o.d, 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 chastis.e.m.e.nt.

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, wors.h.i.+p G.o.d: you have no other G.o.d 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 wors.h.i.+p what our fathers wors.h.i.+pped? Truly we mis...o...b.. 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 G.o.d if I rebel against him? Ye would only confer on me increase of ruin.

O my people! this is the she-Camel of G.o.d, and a sign unto you. Let her go at large and feed in G.o.d'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 pa.s.s, 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?