And by the
separators
apart !
Warner - World's Best Literature - v15 - Kab to Les
91) the word Koran is made to cover the whole body of revealed
books, including the Old and New Testaments as well as the book of
Mohammed.
The Koran is perhaps the most widely read book in the world.
It is the text-book in all Mohammedan schools. All Moslems know
large parts of it by heart. Devout Moslems read it through once a
month. Portions of it are recited in the five daily prayers, and the
recitation of the whole book is a meritorious work frequently per-
formed at solemn or festival anniversaries. What Arabic science
there is, has the Koran as its object; and the ambition of every
devout Moslem student is to apprehend the divine philosophy which
it is supposed to contain.
There is no reasonable doubt that the Koran is the work of Mo-
hammed. Its parts were published by him at intervals during the
more than twenty years of his activity as prophet. It is not clear
that all were immediately put on record, but the Prophet encouraged
his followers to commit them to heart. Some, however, were written
down on whatever material came to hand; for we are told that when
a collection of the whole was made, the parts were found “on leaves
of the palm, on white stones and the shoulder-blades of sheep and
camels, and in the breasts of men. ” This essential work of collec-
tion was done soon after the Prophet's death, by his amanuensis,
Zaid Ibn Thabit, at the command of the Caliph Abu Bekr. A few
years later, as divergent copies were circulated, the Caliph Othman
ordered a standard text to be made by three learned men; and when
this was completed, other copies were made to conform to it. This
received text has been transmitted without substantial variation to our
## p. 8708 (#324) ###########################################
8708
THE KORAN
own time, and probably represents correctly the work of Mohammed.
No insinuation against its accuracy was ever uttered by the surviving
comrades of the Prophet.
The Koran consists of chapters, each of which is called a Sura.
They vary in length from a single line to many pages. * There is
reason to think that the longer ones are made by putting together
compositions originally published at different times. In these chap-
ters, unity of thought or plan is difficult to discover.
The only
principle of arrangement for the book as a whole was to put the
longest Suras first and the shortest last: this from the second Sura
on,— the first place was given to the brief prayer called the Fatiha.
Mohammed disclaimed the title of poet. His earliest compositions,
however, have a certain rhythmic form; the verses being short, with
three or four accented syllables. All the verses of a single revelation
rhyme, and a change in the rhyme indicates a transition to a new
composition. The later chapters are also in rhyme; but as the verses
are much longer, the poetic effect is lost.
The fragmentary character of the Suras, and the lack of plan in
the arrangement of the book as a whole, throw great obstacles in the
way of the reader. Moreover, as is the case in many early books,
much is only obscurely expressed because the author expected to sup-
ply something by his own action in delivery. It is of the first import-
ance, therefore, to bring the various revelations into connection with
the life of Mohammed. Some help is given us here by the Tradi-
tions; but for the most part we are dependent on internal evidence.
It is evident at the first glance that the shorter Suras are rhapsodic
in character; gushes of emotion, coming from a man under religious
excitement. The longer compositions, on the other hand, are prosaic,
the result of reflection, frequently commonplace or trivial. With this
general criterion, and with the help of tradition, we can separate
roughly three periods of composition.
Those Suras which constitute the earliest group come last in
the arrangement of the received text. In them Mohammed appears
as a preacher of new truth. Himself much impressed by the doctrine
of the unity of God, he professes it fervently while protesting against
the idolatry of his countrymen. In the intensity of his emotion, he
strengthens his asseverations by oaths of strange import; as in the
following (Sura 100):-
1.
«By the galloping panting troops,
That strike fire from the rocks,
That make their attack at the dawn,
* The longest fills twenty-three pages of Flügel's Arabic text; the shortest
occupies less than the tenth part of a single page.
## p. 8709 (#325) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8709
Whose feet raise a cloud of dust!
Verily, man is ungrateful to his Lord !
Himself must testify this.
Strong only in the love of earthly good!
Doth he not know that when what is in the
tombs is brought forth,
And what is in the breasts is brought to light,
On that day their Lord will know concerning them ? »
As is indicated at the close of this Sura, the coming Judgment
is a prominent thought of the Prophet at this period. It is in fact
alluded to in nearly every chapter, and is described in language
closely approaching the Biblical pictures of the Day of Jehovah. The
earth will shake violently and deliver up its dead; the mountains
will be reduced to dust, or become like wool; the moon will be rent
in twain; men and demons will be summoned to an account. After
this, the good will be welcomed to gardens in which flow perennial
streams, while the wicked will be consigned to the flame. These
predictions form the staple of the revelations of this period, as any
one will readily convince himself by reading from the seventy-third
Sura onward through the book. The repetitions show no great fer-
tility of imagination on the part of the author.
2. As Mohammed continued to preach, he discovered that his
mere announcement was not taken seriously by his hearers. They
refused to give up their false gods, and they scoffed at the idea of a
Judgment. He found it necessary to argue with them and to instruct
them. His argument was simply a more extended description of the
character of God, with an appeal to his power as shown in nature.
An example is the following (xiii. 10, ff. ):-
.
«God is the Knower of the secret and of the manifest, the Great, the
Exalted. It is the same to him whether one speak in secret or speak openly;
whether one conceal himself in the night or go abroad in the day. Each
man has companions before and behind, who watch him by the command of
God.
He it is who shows you the lightning, an object of fear and yet
of desire, and who brings up the heavy-laden clouds. The thunder chants his
praise; the angels also, moved by fear of him. He sends the thunderbolts and
strikes whom he will. Yet men dispute concerning God, though he is mighty
in power. To him sincere prayer is to be made, and those who pray to
another than to him shall receive no answer, more than one who stretches out
his hand to the water to bring it to his mouth, when he is not within reach of
it. The prayer of the unbelievers is only a going astray. Yet to God what-
ever is in heaven or on earth bows down willingly or unwillingly —e
even the
shadows morning and evening. ”
In this same connection we find the argument from nature — where
God is described as sending down the rain which fills the streams;
## p. 8710 (#326) ###########################################
8710
THE KORAN
and in general we may say that the power and goodness of God in
creation and providence are a favorite theme.
For the historical material which he uses in this period, Mohammed
depends mainly on the Bible. He does not refuse stories from other
sources, as Arabic tradition. Whatever he uses he molds to his own
purpose so palpably that we do not need to read between the lines.
He has a scheme of history, according to which every epoch has.
had a prophet to preach the unity of God. The prophet has made
a few converts, but the mass of his people have been unbelieving.
The result has been a judgment of God upon the people, in which
all perish except the prophet and his followers. Noah and Moses
are favorite characters, because they can be fitted so easily into this
scheme. They are therefore brought into prominence a number of
times. So is Abraham, because he was the first of the true believers.
The destruction of Sodom and of the Arab tribes (of which tradition
tells) readily enforces the same lesson. Whatever the narrative may
be, we hear the voice of Mohammed warning and rebuking — whether
the ostensible person be Noah or Abraham or Moses. There is no-
where any interest in history for its own sake. The only exception
is the story of Joseph, where it almost seems as if the beauty of the
Biblical narrative had made the Prophet forget his main purpose.
It is impossible to quote here from this material. From the lit-
erary point of view it has little interest, both because of the promi-
nence of the purpose and because of its repetitions. Not only are
the same stories repeated,- they are interlarded with stereotyped
phrases which cover the author's barrenness of thought, or relieve
his embarrassment in the matter of rhyme.
3. With the emigration to Medina, Mohammed's circumstances
were entirely changed. He had been the proscribed preacher of a
persecuted sect. He now became the civil ruler as well as the reli-
gious leader of a devoted band of followers. The state of the com-
munity was such that this soon made him an autocrat over a growing
State. His thought was necessarily turned to matters of public policy.
He knew no distinction between State and church. The Koran em-
bodied the decrees of the civil ruler as well as the oracles of the
revealer of truth. Hence the third period shows a predominance
of legislative matter. The division of the booty, the treatment of
captives and renegades, the penalties for wrongs inflicted by the
believers on each other, measures to be taken for the common de-
fense - all these receive attention. The lesson of the victory at Bedr
is set forth for the encouragement of believers, and the mortification
of the defeat at Ohod is made to teach the danger of disobedience.
Even the personal affairs of the Prophet are treated in the Koran,
and God is made to rebuke the Bedawin for rude conduct, to scold
## p. 8711 (#327) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8711
Mohammed's wives for their quarrels, to exculpate Ayesha when as-
sailed by slander, and to give the Prophet a dispensation from the
law imposed on other Moslems. All this is of great interest for the
historian and for the student of comparative law; but it has no place
in literature.
The Arabs affirm that the style of the Koran is perfection itself.
Mohammed himself challenged men and demons to produce anything
like it. As an article of faith, this cannot be shaken by criticism.
And it must be admitted that from its position as the Book of God,
the Koran has been a model for Arabic authors. In this respect its
importance is parallel to that of Luther's Bible, or to that of the
Authorized English Version. It fixed a standard, and is therefore
a classic.
The foreigner may hesitate to contradict the consensus of Arabic
opinion; but he can hardly fail to see that, judged by the best mod-
els of the world's literature, the Koran has many shortcomings. The
compositions are without plan. There is rarely an ordered sequence
of thought. The author often labors to express what he has to say.
Stock phrases are used to relieve the lack of fluency. Monotonous
repetitions of the same story testify to lack of invention. There are
passages of great beauty and force, but they make up only a small
part of the whole. Mohammed was not a master of style.
The translation of Sale, which has been published in numerous
editions, is still regarded as the best. Rodwell in his translation
(1861) attempts to arrange the Suras in chronological order. The
reader may be referred also to the article Mohammedanism in the
Encyclopædia Britannica' (Vol. xvi. , pages 597 ff. ) and the titles
Muhammed' and 'Qur'an' in Hughes's Dictionary of Islam.
(
Henry Preserved Smith .
SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
Translation of E. H. Palmer in (The Sacred Books of the East)
THE OPENING CHAPTER
I
THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds, the mer-
ciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the Day of Judgment!
Thee we serve and thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right
path, the path of those thou art gracious to; not of those thou
art wroth with, nor of those who err.
## p. 8712 (#328) ###########################################
8712
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE NIGHT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the night when it veils!
And the day when it is displayed !
And by what created male and female!
Verily, your efforts are diverse!
But as for him who gives alms and fears God,
And believes in the best,
We will send him easily to ease!
But as for him who is niggardly,
And longs for wealth,
And calls the good a lie,
We will send him easily to difficulty!
And his wealth shall not avail him
When he falls down [into hell]!
Verily it is for us to guide;
And verily, ours are the hereafter and the former life!
And I have warned you of a fire that flames!
None shall broil thereon but the most wretched, who says it
is a lie and turns his back.
But the pious shall be kept away from it - he who gives his
wealth in alms, and who gives no favor to any one for the sake
of reward, but only craving the face of his Lord the most High;
in the end he shall be well pleased!
THE CHAPTER OF THE DAWN
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the dawn and ten nights!
And the single and the double!
And the night when it travels on!
Is there in that an oath for a man of common-sense ?
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with Ad ? — with Iram
of the columns ? the like of which has not been created in the
land ?
And Tharmud when they hewed the stones in the valley ?
And Pharaoh of the stakes ?
Who were outrageous in the land, and did multiply wicked-
ness therein, and thy Lord poured out upon them the scourge
of torment.
## p. 8713 (#329) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8713
»
Verily, thy Lord is on a watch-tower! and as for man, when-
ever his Lord tries him and honors him and grants him favor,
then he says, “My Lord has honored me;) but whenever he
tries him and doles out to him his subsistence, then he says,
"My Lord despises me! ”
Nay, but ye do not honor the orphan, nor do ye urge each
other to feed the poor, and ye devouring the inheritance [of the
weak] with a general devouring, and ye love wealth with a com-
plete love!
Nay, when the earth is crushed to pieces, and thy Lord comes
with the angels, rank on rank, and hell is brought on that day,
-on that day shall man be reminded! but how shall he have a
reminder ?
He will say, “Would that I had something forward for my
life ! )
But on that day no one shall be tormented with a torment
like his, and no one shall be bound with bonds like his!
O thou comforted soul! return unto thy Lord well pleased and
well pleased with!
And enter amongst my servants and enter my Paradise !
THE CHAPTER OF THE MOST HIGH
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Celebrate the name of thy Lord most High, who created and
fashioned, and who decreed and guided, and who brings forth
the pasture, and then makes it dusky stubble!
We shall make thee recite, and thou shalt not forget, save
what God pleases. Verily, he knows the open and what is con-
cealed; and we will send thee easily to ease: wherefore remind,
for verily the reminder is useful.
But he who fears will be mindful: but the wretch will avoid
it; he will broil on the great fire, and then therein shall neither
die nor live!
Prosperous is he who purifies himself and remembers the
name of his Lord and prays!
Nay, but yet prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter
is better and more lasting.
Verily, this was in the books of yore, — the books of Abraham
and Moses.
## p. 8714 (#330) ###########################################
8714
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE ZODIACAL SIGNS
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the heaven with its zodiacal signs!
And the promised day!
And the witness and the witnessed!
The fellows of the pit were slain;
And the fire with its kindling,
When they sat over it
And witnessed, that while, what they were doing with those
who believed.
And they took not vengeance on them save for their belief
in God, the mighty, the praiseworthy,
Who is the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth;
For God is witness over all!
Verily, those who make trial of the believers, men and women,
and do not repent, for them is the torment of hell, and for them
is the torment of the burning!
Verily, those who believe and act aright, for them are gardens
beneath which rivers flow,- that is the great bliss!
Verily, the violence of thy Lord is keen!
Verily, he produces and returns, and he is the forgiving, the
loving, the Lord of the glorious throne; the doer of what he
will!
Has there come to thee the story of the hosts of Pharaoh
and Tharmud ?
Nay, those who misbelieve do say it is a lie; but God is
behind them - encompassing!
Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an in a preserved tablet.
THE CHAPTER OF THE CLEAVING ASUNDER
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
When the heaven is cleft asunder,
And when the stars are scattered,
And when the seas gush together,
And when the tombs are turned upside down,
The soul shall know what it has sent on or kept back!
O man! what has seduced thee concerning thy generous Lord,
who created thee and fashioned thee, and gave thee symmetry,
and in what form he pleased composed thee?
## p. 8715 (#331) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8715
Nay, but ye call the judgment a lie! but over you are guard-
ians set, -noble, writing down! they know what ye do!
Verily, the righteous are in pleasure, and verily, the wicked
are in hell: they shall broil therein upon the Judgment Day; nor
shall they be absent therefrom!
And what shall make thee know what is Judgment Day?
Again, what shall make thee know what is the Judgment Day? a
day when no soul shall control aught for another; and the bidding
on that day belongs to God!
THE CHAPTER OF THOSE SENT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By those sent in a series!
And by those who speed swiftly!
And by the dispensers abroad!
And by the separators apart !
And by those who instill the reminder, as an excuse or warn-
ing!
Verily, what ye are threatened with will surely happen!
And when the stars shall be erased!
And when the heaven shall be cleft!
And when the mountains be winnowed.
And when the Apostles shall have a time appointed for them!
For what day is the appointment made ?
For the day of decision! and what shall make thee know what
the decision is ?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not destroyed those of yore, and then followed them
up with those of the latter day? Thus do we with sinners.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Did we not create you from contemptible water, and place
it in a sure depository unto a certain decreed term ? for we are
able, and well able too!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not made for them the earth to hold the living
and the dead ? and set thereon firm mountains reared aloft ? and
given you to drink water in streams?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Go off to that which ye did call a lie! Go off to the shadow
of three columns, that shall not shade or avail against the flame!
## p. 8716 (#332) ###########################################
8716
THE KORAN
Verily, it throws off sparks like towers, -as though they were
yellow camels!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day when they may not speak, — when they are
not permitted to excuse themselves!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day of decision! We have assembled you with
those of yore: if ye have any stratagem, employ it now!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Verily, the pious are amid shades and springs and fruit such
as they love. — «Eat and drink with good digestion, for that
which ye have done! ”
Verily, thus we do reward those who do well.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little: verily, ye are sinners! ”
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
And when it is said to them, Bow down, they bow not down.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie !
And in what new discourse after it will they believe ?
THE CHAPTER OF THE GINN
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Say, “I have been inspired that there listened a company of
the ginn, and they said, “We have heard a marvelous Qur'an
that guides to the right direction; and we believe therein, and
we join no one with our Lord, for verily, he — may the majesty
of our Lord be exalted! — has taken to himself no consort nor
son.
« (And verily, a fool amongst us spake against God wide of
the mark!
« And we thought that men and ginn would never speak a
lie against God.
« (And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge
with persons amongst the ginn; but they increase them in their
perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God would
not raise up any one from the dead.
« (But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a
mighty guard and shooting stars; and we did sit in certain seats
thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a shooting
star for him on guard.
## p. 8717 (#333) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8717
some
are
« (And verily, we know not whether evil be meant for those
who are in the earth, or if their Lord means right by them.
« And of us are some who are pious, and of us are
who are otherwise: we are in separate bands.
« (And we thought that we could not frustrate God in the
earth, and could not frustrate him by flight.
« But verily, when we heard the guidance we believed the
rein, and he who believes in his Lord shall fear neither diminu-
tion nor loss.
« (And verily, of us some who are Muslims, and of us
some are trespassers: but those of us who are Muslims, they strive
after right direction; and as for the trespassers, they are fuel for
hell.
« And if they will go right upon the way, we will irrigate
them with copious water to try them thereby; and whoso turns
from the remembrance of his Lord, He will drive him to severe
torment. ) »
And [say] that the mosques are God's, and that ye should not
call any one with God, and that when God's servant stood up to
pray, they called out to him and well-nigh crowded upon him.
Say, "I only call upon my Lord, and I join no one with him. ”
Say, “Verily, I cannot control for you either harm or right
direction. ”
Say, “Verily, as for me none can protect me against God,
nor do I find any refuge beside him,- except delivering the
message from God and his errands; and whoso rebels against God
and his Apostle, verily for him is the fire of hell for them to
dwell therein for ever and for aye! ”
Until when they see what they are threatened with, then shall
they surely know who is most weak at helping and fewest in
numbers!
Say, « I know not if what ye are threatened with be nigh, or
if my Lord will set it for a term. He knows the unseen, and he
one know his unseen save such people as he is well
pleased with; for verily, he sends marching before him and be-
hind him a guard! That he may know that they have delivered
the errands of the Lord; for he compasses what they have, and
reckons everything by number.
DER WADLAKE,
(
lets no
## p. 8718 (#334) ###########################################
8718
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE KINGDOM
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Blessed be He in whose hand is the kingdom, for he is mighty
over all!
Who created death and life, to try you, which of you does
best; for he is the mighty, the forgiving !
Who created seven heavens in stories: thou canst not see any
discordance in the creation of the Merciful!
Why, look again! canst thou see a flaw? Then look twice! -
thy look shall return to thee driven back and dulled!
And we have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and set
them to peit the devils with; and we have prepared for them the
torment of the blaze!
And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the torment of
hell, and an evil journey shall it be!
When they shall be cast therein they shall hear its braying as
it boils — it will well-nigh burst for rage!
Whenever a troop of them is thrown in, its treasurers shall
ask them, “Did not a warner come to you ? »
They shall say, “Yea! a warner came to us, and we called
him a liar, and said, God has not sent down aught: ye are but
in great error. ) »
And they shall say,
« Had we but listened or had sense, we
had not been amongst the fellows of the blaze! ”
And they will confess their sins; but "Avaunt to the fellows
of the blaze ! »
Verily, those who fear their Lord in secret, for them is for-
giveness and great hire!
Speak ye secretly or openly, verily, he knows the nature of
men's breasts!
Ay! He knows who created! for he is the subtle, the well-
aware!
He it is who made the earth flat for you: so walk in the
spacious sides thereof and eat of his provision; for unto him the
resurrection is!
Are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not cleave the
earth with you, and that it then shall quake ?
Or are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not send against
you a heavy sand-storm, and that ye shall know how the warning
was?
(
## p. 8719 (#335) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8719
But those before them did call the Apostles liars, and what a
change it was!
Or have they not looked at the birds above them expanding
their wings or closing them ? none holds them in except the
Merciful One; for he on everything doth look.
Or who is this who will be a host for you, to help you against
the Merciful ? — the misbelievers are only a delusion!
Or who is this who will provide you if he hold back his pro-
vision ?
Nay, but they persist in perverseness and aversion!
Is he who walks upon his face more guided than he who
walks upright upon a straight path ?
Say, “It is he who produced you and made for you hearing
and sight and hearts,” — little it is that ye give thanks.
–
Say, “It is he who sowed you in the earth, and unto him ye
shall be gathered! ”
They say, “When shall this treat be, if ye do speak the
truth ? »
Say, “The knowledge is only with God; and I am but a plain
warner! ”
And when they see it nigh, sorry shall be the faces of those
who misbelieve; and it shall be said, “This is that for which you
used to call! ”
Say, “Have ye considered whether God destroy me and those
with me, or whether we obtain mercy; yet who will protect the
misbelievers from grievous torment ?
Say, “He is the Merciful; we believe in him, and upon him
do we rely: and ye shall shortly know who it is that is in obvi-
ous error! »
Say, “Have ye considered if your waters on the morrow should
have sunk, who is to bring you flowing water ?
(
(
THE CHAPTER OF THE ANT
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
T. S. Those are the signs of the Qur'an and the perspicuous
Book; a guidance and glad tidings to the believers, who are
steadfast at prayer, and give alms, and of the hereafter are sure:
verily, those who believe not in the hereafter we have made
seemly for them in works, and they shall wander blindly on!
## p. 8720 (#336) ###########################################
8720
THE KORAN
These are they who shall have an evil torment, and they in the
hereafter shall be those who must lose. Verily, thou dost meet
with this Qur'an from the wise, the knowing One!
When Moses said to his people, “Verily, I perceive a fire, I
will bring you therefrom news; or I will bring you a burning
brand: haply ye may be warned. ” But when he came to it, he
was called to, “Blessed be he who is in the fire, and he who is
about it! and celebrated be the praises of God, the Lord of the
worlds! O Moses! verily I am God, the mighty wise: throw down
thy staff ! ” and when he saw it quivering, as though it were a
snake, he turned back fleeing and did not return. “O Moses!
fear not: verily, as for me apostles fear not with me; save only
those who have done wrong and then substitute good for evil:
for verily, I am forgiving, merciful! but put thy hand in thy
bosom, it shall come forth white without hurt; - one of nine
signs of Pharaoh and his people: verily, they are a people who
act abominably. ”
And when our signs come to them visibly, they said, “This
is obvious sorcery! ” and they gainsaid them, though their souls
made sure of them, unjustly, haughtily; but behold what was the
end of the evil-doers!
And we gave David and Solomon knowledge; and they both
said, “Praise belongs to God, who hath preferred us over many
of his servants who believe !
And Solomon was David's heir; and said, “O ye folk! we have
been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given every-
thing: verily, this is an obvious grace! ”
And assembled for Solomon were his hosts of the ginns and
men and birds, and they were marshaled; until they came upon
the valley of the ants. Said an ant, “Oye ants! go into your
dwellings, that Solomon and his hosts crush you not while they
do not perceive. ”
And he smiled, laughing at her speech, and said, “O Lord!
excite me to be thankful for thy favor, wherewith thou hast
favored me and my parents, and to do righteousness which may
please thee; and make me enter into thy mercy amongst thy
righteous servants! »
And he reviewed the birds, and said, “How is it I see not
the hoopoe? is he then amongst the absent ? I will surely tor-
ment him with a severe torment; or I will surely slaughter him;
or he shall bring me obvious authority. ”
(
»
## p. 8721 (#337) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8721
(
And he tarried not long, and said, "I have compassed what
ye compassed not; for I bring you from Seba a sure information:
verily, I found a woman ruling over them, and she was given
all things, and she had a mighty throne; and I found her and
her people adoring the sun instead of God, for Satan had made
seemly to them their works, and turned them from the path, so
that they are not guided. Will they not adore God, who brings
forth the secrets of the heavens, and knows what they hide and
what they manifest ? God, there is no god but he, the Lord of
the mighty throne. ”
Said he, “We will see whether thou hast told the truth, or
whether thou art of those who lie. Go with this my letter and
throw it before them; then turn back away from them, and see
what they return. ”
Said she, “O ye chiefs! verily, a noble letter has been thrown
before me.
It is from Solomon, and verily it is, 'In the name
of the merciful and compassionate God. Do not rise up against
me, but come to me resigned! She said, “Oye chiefs! pro-
nounce sentence for me in my affair. I never decide an affair
until ye testify for me. ”
They said, “We are endowed with strength, and endowed
with keen violence: but the bidding is thine; see then what it is
that thou wilt bid. ”
She said, “Verily, kings when they enter a city despoil it,
and make mighty ones of its people the meanest; thus it is they
do! So verily I am going to send them a gift, and will wait to
see with what the messenger will return. "
And when he came to Solomon, he said, "Do ye proffer me
wealth, when what God has given me is better than what he has
given you ? nay, ye in your gifts rejoice! return to them, for we
will surely come to them with hosts which they cannot confront;
and we will surely drive them out therefrom mean and made
small ! »
Said he, “O chiefs! which of you will bring me her throne
before they come to me resigned ? ”
Said a demon of the ginns, “I will bring thee it before thou
canst rise up from thy place, for I therein am strong and faith-
ful. ”
He who had the knowledge of the book said, "I will bring
it to thee before thy glance can turn. " And when he saw it
!
I
i
XV-546
## p. 8722 (#338) ###########################################
8722
THE KORAN
(
settled down beside him, he said, “This is of my Lord's grace,
and he may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and he
who is grateful is only grateful for his own soul, and he who is
ungrateful — verily, my Lord is rich and generous. ”
Said he, Disguise for her the throne; let us see whether she
is guided, or whether she is of those who are not guided. ” And
when she came it was said, “Was thy throne like this? ” She
sạid, “It might be it;” and we were given knowledge before
her, but we were resigned.
But that which she served beside God turned her away:
verily, she was of the unbelieving people. And it was said to
her, “Enter the court; » and when she saw it, she reckoned it
to be an abyss of water, and she uncovered her legs. Said he,
“Verily, it is a court paved with glass ! » Said she, My Lord!
verily, I have wronged myself, but I am resigned with Solomon
to God and the Lord of the worlds! »
And we sent unto Thamud their brother Zali'h, «Serve God;"
but behold, they were two parties who contended!
Said he, “O my people! why do ye hasten on evil acts before
good deeds ? why do ye not ask forgiveness of God ? haply ye
may obtain mercy. ” They said, “We have taken an augury
concerning thee and those who are with thee. " Said he,
Said he, Your
augury is in God's hands; nay, but ye are a people who are
tried! ”
And where there were in the city nine persons who despoiled
land and did not right: Said they, “Swear to each other by
God, we will surely fall upon him by night and on his people;
then we will surely say unto his next of kin, “We witnessed not
the destruction of his people, and we do surely tell the truth. ”
And they plotted a plot, and we plotted a plot, that we destroyed
them and their people altogether!
Thus are their homes overturned, for they were unjust; verily,
in that is a sign to people who do know!
But we saved thus who believed and did fear.
And Lot when he said to his people, "Do ye approach an
abominable sin while ye can see ? do ye indeed approach men
lustfully rather than women ? nay, ye are a people who are
ignorant. ” But the answer of his people was only to say, “Drive
out Lot's family from your city! verily, they are a folk who
would keep pure. ”
(
(
## p. 8723 (#339) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8723
Lipkan
an
But we saved him and his family except his wife; her we
destined to be of those who lingered: and we rained down upon
them rain, and evil was the rain to those who were warned.
Say, “Praise belongs to God; and peace be upon his servants
,
whom he has chosen! Is God best, or what they associate with
him ? » He who created the heavens and the earth; and sends
down upon you from the heaven water: and we cause to grow
therewith gardens fraught with beauty; ye could not cause the
trees thereof to grow! Is there a god with God? Nay, but they
are people who make peers with him! He who made the earth,
settled and placed amongst it rivers; and placed upon it firm
mountains; and placed between the two seas a barrier: is there
a god with God ? nay, but most of them know not! He who
answers the distressed when he calls upon him and removes the
evil; and makes you successors in the earth: is there a god with
God ? little is it that ye are mindful. He who guides you in the
darkness of the land and of the sea; and who sends winds as
glad tidings before his mercy: is there a god with God ? exalted
be God above what they associate with him. He who began the
creation and then will make it return again; and who provides
you from the heaven and the earth: is there a god with God ? so
bring your proofs if you do speak the truth!
Say, “None in the heavens or the earth know the unseen
save only God; but they perceived not when they shall be
raised! ” — nay, but their knowledge attains to somewhat of the
hereafter; nay, but they are in doubt concerning it!
books, including the Old and New Testaments as well as the book of
Mohammed.
The Koran is perhaps the most widely read book in the world.
It is the text-book in all Mohammedan schools. All Moslems know
large parts of it by heart. Devout Moslems read it through once a
month. Portions of it are recited in the five daily prayers, and the
recitation of the whole book is a meritorious work frequently per-
formed at solemn or festival anniversaries. What Arabic science
there is, has the Koran as its object; and the ambition of every
devout Moslem student is to apprehend the divine philosophy which
it is supposed to contain.
There is no reasonable doubt that the Koran is the work of Mo-
hammed. Its parts were published by him at intervals during the
more than twenty years of his activity as prophet. It is not clear
that all were immediately put on record, but the Prophet encouraged
his followers to commit them to heart. Some, however, were written
down on whatever material came to hand; for we are told that when
a collection of the whole was made, the parts were found “on leaves
of the palm, on white stones and the shoulder-blades of sheep and
camels, and in the breasts of men. ” This essential work of collec-
tion was done soon after the Prophet's death, by his amanuensis,
Zaid Ibn Thabit, at the command of the Caliph Abu Bekr. A few
years later, as divergent copies were circulated, the Caliph Othman
ordered a standard text to be made by three learned men; and when
this was completed, other copies were made to conform to it. This
received text has been transmitted without substantial variation to our
## p. 8708 (#324) ###########################################
8708
THE KORAN
own time, and probably represents correctly the work of Mohammed.
No insinuation against its accuracy was ever uttered by the surviving
comrades of the Prophet.
The Koran consists of chapters, each of which is called a Sura.
They vary in length from a single line to many pages. * There is
reason to think that the longer ones are made by putting together
compositions originally published at different times. In these chap-
ters, unity of thought or plan is difficult to discover.
The only
principle of arrangement for the book as a whole was to put the
longest Suras first and the shortest last: this from the second Sura
on,— the first place was given to the brief prayer called the Fatiha.
Mohammed disclaimed the title of poet. His earliest compositions,
however, have a certain rhythmic form; the verses being short, with
three or four accented syllables. All the verses of a single revelation
rhyme, and a change in the rhyme indicates a transition to a new
composition. The later chapters are also in rhyme; but as the verses
are much longer, the poetic effect is lost.
The fragmentary character of the Suras, and the lack of plan in
the arrangement of the book as a whole, throw great obstacles in the
way of the reader. Moreover, as is the case in many early books,
much is only obscurely expressed because the author expected to sup-
ply something by his own action in delivery. It is of the first import-
ance, therefore, to bring the various revelations into connection with
the life of Mohammed. Some help is given us here by the Tradi-
tions; but for the most part we are dependent on internal evidence.
It is evident at the first glance that the shorter Suras are rhapsodic
in character; gushes of emotion, coming from a man under religious
excitement. The longer compositions, on the other hand, are prosaic,
the result of reflection, frequently commonplace or trivial. With this
general criterion, and with the help of tradition, we can separate
roughly three periods of composition.
Those Suras which constitute the earliest group come last in
the arrangement of the received text. In them Mohammed appears
as a preacher of new truth. Himself much impressed by the doctrine
of the unity of God, he professes it fervently while protesting against
the idolatry of his countrymen. In the intensity of his emotion, he
strengthens his asseverations by oaths of strange import; as in the
following (Sura 100):-
1.
«By the galloping panting troops,
That strike fire from the rocks,
That make their attack at the dawn,
* The longest fills twenty-three pages of Flügel's Arabic text; the shortest
occupies less than the tenth part of a single page.
## p. 8709 (#325) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8709
Whose feet raise a cloud of dust!
Verily, man is ungrateful to his Lord !
Himself must testify this.
Strong only in the love of earthly good!
Doth he not know that when what is in the
tombs is brought forth,
And what is in the breasts is brought to light,
On that day their Lord will know concerning them ? »
As is indicated at the close of this Sura, the coming Judgment
is a prominent thought of the Prophet at this period. It is in fact
alluded to in nearly every chapter, and is described in language
closely approaching the Biblical pictures of the Day of Jehovah. The
earth will shake violently and deliver up its dead; the mountains
will be reduced to dust, or become like wool; the moon will be rent
in twain; men and demons will be summoned to an account. After
this, the good will be welcomed to gardens in which flow perennial
streams, while the wicked will be consigned to the flame. These
predictions form the staple of the revelations of this period, as any
one will readily convince himself by reading from the seventy-third
Sura onward through the book. The repetitions show no great fer-
tility of imagination on the part of the author.
2. As Mohammed continued to preach, he discovered that his
mere announcement was not taken seriously by his hearers. They
refused to give up their false gods, and they scoffed at the idea of a
Judgment. He found it necessary to argue with them and to instruct
them. His argument was simply a more extended description of the
character of God, with an appeal to his power as shown in nature.
An example is the following (xiii. 10, ff. ):-
.
«God is the Knower of the secret and of the manifest, the Great, the
Exalted. It is the same to him whether one speak in secret or speak openly;
whether one conceal himself in the night or go abroad in the day. Each
man has companions before and behind, who watch him by the command of
God.
He it is who shows you the lightning, an object of fear and yet
of desire, and who brings up the heavy-laden clouds. The thunder chants his
praise; the angels also, moved by fear of him. He sends the thunderbolts and
strikes whom he will. Yet men dispute concerning God, though he is mighty
in power. To him sincere prayer is to be made, and those who pray to
another than to him shall receive no answer, more than one who stretches out
his hand to the water to bring it to his mouth, when he is not within reach of
it. The prayer of the unbelievers is only a going astray. Yet to God what-
ever is in heaven or on earth bows down willingly or unwillingly —e
even the
shadows morning and evening. ”
In this same connection we find the argument from nature — where
God is described as sending down the rain which fills the streams;
## p. 8710 (#326) ###########################################
8710
THE KORAN
and in general we may say that the power and goodness of God in
creation and providence are a favorite theme.
For the historical material which he uses in this period, Mohammed
depends mainly on the Bible. He does not refuse stories from other
sources, as Arabic tradition. Whatever he uses he molds to his own
purpose so palpably that we do not need to read between the lines.
He has a scheme of history, according to which every epoch has.
had a prophet to preach the unity of God. The prophet has made
a few converts, but the mass of his people have been unbelieving.
The result has been a judgment of God upon the people, in which
all perish except the prophet and his followers. Noah and Moses
are favorite characters, because they can be fitted so easily into this
scheme. They are therefore brought into prominence a number of
times. So is Abraham, because he was the first of the true believers.
The destruction of Sodom and of the Arab tribes (of which tradition
tells) readily enforces the same lesson. Whatever the narrative may
be, we hear the voice of Mohammed warning and rebuking — whether
the ostensible person be Noah or Abraham or Moses. There is no-
where any interest in history for its own sake. The only exception
is the story of Joseph, where it almost seems as if the beauty of the
Biblical narrative had made the Prophet forget his main purpose.
It is impossible to quote here from this material. From the lit-
erary point of view it has little interest, both because of the promi-
nence of the purpose and because of its repetitions. Not only are
the same stories repeated,- they are interlarded with stereotyped
phrases which cover the author's barrenness of thought, or relieve
his embarrassment in the matter of rhyme.
3. With the emigration to Medina, Mohammed's circumstances
were entirely changed. He had been the proscribed preacher of a
persecuted sect. He now became the civil ruler as well as the reli-
gious leader of a devoted band of followers. The state of the com-
munity was such that this soon made him an autocrat over a growing
State. His thought was necessarily turned to matters of public policy.
He knew no distinction between State and church. The Koran em-
bodied the decrees of the civil ruler as well as the oracles of the
revealer of truth. Hence the third period shows a predominance
of legislative matter. The division of the booty, the treatment of
captives and renegades, the penalties for wrongs inflicted by the
believers on each other, measures to be taken for the common de-
fense - all these receive attention. The lesson of the victory at Bedr
is set forth for the encouragement of believers, and the mortification
of the defeat at Ohod is made to teach the danger of disobedience.
Even the personal affairs of the Prophet are treated in the Koran,
and God is made to rebuke the Bedawin for rude conduct, to scold
## p. 8711 (#327) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8711
Mohammed's wives for their quarrels, to exculpate Ayesha when as-
sailed by slander, and to give the Prophet a dispensation from the
law imposed on other Moslems. All this is of great interest for the
historian and for the student of comparative law; but it has no place
in literature.
The Arabs affirm that the style of the Koran is perfection itself.
Mohammed himself challenged men and demons to produce anything
like it. As an article of faith, this cannot be shaken by criticism.
And it must be admitted that from its position as the Book of God,
the Koran has been a model for Arabic authors. In this respect its
importance is parallel to that of Luther's Bible, or to that of the
Authorized English Version. It fixed a standard, and is therefore
a classic.
The foreigner may hesitate to contradict the consensus of Arabic
opinion; but he can hardly fail to see that, judged by the best mod-
els of the world's literature, the Koran has many shortcomings. The
compositions are without plan. There is rarely an ordered sequence
of thought. The author often labors to express what he has to say.
Stock phrases are used to relieve the lack of fluency. Monotonous
repetitions of the same story testify to lack of invention. There are
passages of great beauty and force, but they make up only a small
part of the whole. Mohammed was not a master of style.
The translation of Sale, which has been published in numerous
editions, is still regarded as the best. Rodwell in his translation
(1861) attempts to arrange the Suras in chronological order. The
reader may be referred also to the article Mohammedanism in the
Encyclopædia Britannica' (Vol. xvi. , pages 597 ff. ) and the titles
Muhammed' and 'Qur'an' in Hughes's Dictionary of Islam.
(
Henry Preserved Smith .
SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
Translation of E. H. Palmer in (The Sacred Books of the East)
THE OPENING CHAPTER
I
THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds, the mer-
ciful, the compassionate, the ruler of the Day of Judgment!
Thee we serve and thee we ask for aid. Guide us in the right
path, the path of those thou art gracious to; not of those thou
art wroth with, nor of those who err.
## p. 8712 (#328) ###########################################
8712
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE NIGHT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the night when it veils!
And the day when it is displayed !
And by what created male and female!
Verily, your efforts are diverse!
But as for him who gives alms and fears God,
And believes in the best,
We will send him easily to ease!
But as for him who is niggardly,
And longs for wealth,
And calls the good a lie,
We will send him easily to difficulty!
And his wealth shall not avail him
When he falls down [into hell]!
Verily it is for us to guide;
And verily, ours are the hereafter and the former life!
And I have warned you of a fire that flames!
None shall broil thereon but the most wretched, who says it
is a lie and turns his back.
But the pious shall be kept away from it - he who gives his
wealth in alms, and who gives no favor to any one for the sake
of reward, but only craving the face of his Lord the most High;
in the end he shall be well pleased!
THE CHAPTER OF THE DAWN
In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the dawn and ten nights!
And the single and the double!
And the night when it travels on!
Is there in that an oath for a man of common-sense ?
Hast thou not seen how thy Lord did with Ad ? — with Iram
of the columns ? the like of which has not been created in the
land ?
And Tharmud when they hewed the stones in the valley ?
And Pharaoh of the stakes ?
Who were outrageous in the land, and did multiply wicked-
ness therein, and thy Lord poured out upon them the scourge
of torment.
## p. 8713 (#329) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8713
»
Verily, thy Lord is on a watch-tower! and as for man, when-
ever his Lord tries him and honors him and grants him favor,
then he says, “My Lord has honored me;) but whenever he
tries him and doles out to him his subsistence, then he says,
"My Lord despises me! ”
Nay, but ye do not honor the orphan, nor do ye urge each
other to feed the poor, and ye devouring the inheritance [of the
weak] with a general devouring, and ye love wealth with a com-
plete love!
Nay, when the earth is crushed to pieces, and thy Lord comes
with the angels, rank on rank, and hell is brought on that day,
-on that day shall man be reminded! but how shall he have a
reminder ?
He will say, “Would that I had something forward for my
life ! )
But on that day no one shall be tormented with a torment
like his, and no one shall be bound with bonds like his!
O thou comforted soul! return unto thy Lord well pleased and
well pleased with!
And enter amongst my servants and enter my Paradise !
THE CHAPTER OF THE MOST HIGH
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Celebrate the name of thy Lord most High, who created and
fashioned, and who decreed and guided, and who brings forth
the pasture, and then makes it dusky stubble!
We shall make thee recite, and thou shalt not forget, save
what God pleases. Verily, he knows the open and what is con-
cealed; and we will send thee easily to ease: wherefore remind,
for verily the reminder is useful.
But he who fears will be mindful: but the wretch will avoid
it; he will broil on the great fire, and then therein shall neither
die nor live!
Prosperous is he who purifies himself and remembers the
name of his Lord and prays!
Nay, but yet prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter
is better and more lasting.
Verily, this was in the books of yore, — the books of Abraham
and Moses.
## p. 8714 (#330) ###########################################
8714
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE ZODIACAL SIGNS
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By the heaven with its zodiacal signs!
And the promised day!
And the witness and the witnessed!
The fellows of the pit were slain;
And the fire with its kindling,
When they sat over it
And witnessed, that while, what they were doing with those
who believed.
And they took not vengeance on them save for their belief
in God, the mighty, the praiseworthy,
Who is the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth;
For God is witness over all!
Verily, those who make trial of the believers, men and women,
and do not repent, for them is the torment of hell, and for them
is the torment of the burning!
Verily, those who believe and act aright, for them are gardens
beneath which rivers flow,- that is the great bliss!
Verily, the violence of thy Lord is keen!
Verily, he produces and returns, and he is the forgiving, the
loving, the Lord of the glorious throne; the doer of what he
will!
Has there come to thee the story of the hosts of Pharaoh
and Tharmud ?
Nay, those who misbelieve do say it is a lie; but God is
behind them - encompassing!
Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an in a preserved tablet.
THE CHAPTER OF THE CLEAVING ASUNDER
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
When the heaven is cleft asunder,
And when the stars are scattered,
And when the seas gush together,
And when the tombs are turned upside down,
The soul shall know what it has sent on or kept back!
O man! what has seduced thee concerning thy generous Lord,
who created thee and fashioned thee, and gave thee symmetry,
and in what form he pleased composed thee?
## p. 8715 (#331) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8715
Nay, but ye call the judgment a lie! but over you are guard-
ians set, -noble, writing down! they know what ye do!
Verily, the righteous are in pleasure, and verily, the wicked
are in hell: they shall broil therein upon the Judgment Day; nor
shall they be absent therefrom!
And what shall make thee know what is Judgment Day?
Again, what shall make thee know what is the Judgment Day? a
day when no soul shall control aught for another; and the bidding
on that day belongs to God!
THE CHAPTER OF THOSE SENT
IN The name of the merciful and compassionate God.
By those sent in a series!
And by those who speed swiftly!
And by the dispensers abroad!
And by the separators apart !
And by those who instill the reminder, as an excuse or warn-
ing!
Verily, what ye are threatened with will surely happen!
And when the stars shall be erased!
And when the heaven shall be cleft!
And when the mountains be winnowed.
And when the Apostles shall have a time appointed for them!
For what day is the appointment made ?
For the day of decision! and what shall make thee know what
the decision is ?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not destroyed those of yore, and then followed them
up with those of the latter day? Thus do we with sinners.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Did we not create you from contemptible water, and place
it in a sure depository unto a certain decreed term ? for we are
able, and well able too!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Have we not made for them the earth to hold the living
and the dead ? and set thereon firm mountains reared aloft ? and
given you to drink water in streams?
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Go off to that which ye did call a lie! Go off to the shadow
of three columns, that shall not shade or avail against the flame!
## p. 8716 (#332) ###########################################
8716
THE KORAN
Verily, it throws off sparks like towers, -as though they were
yellow camels!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day when they may not speak, — when they are
not permitted to excuse themselves!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
This is the day of decision! We have assembled you with
those of yore: if ye have any stratagem, employ it now!
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Verily, the pious are amid shades and springs and fruit such
as they love. — «Eat and drink with good digestion, for that
which ye have done! ”
Verily, thus we do reward those who do well.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little: verily, ye are sinners! ”
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!
And when it is said to them, Bow down, they bow not down.
Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie !
And in what new discourse after it will they believe ?
THE CHAPTER OF THE GINN
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Say, “I have been inspired that there listened a company of
the ginn, and they said, “We have heard a marvelous Qur'an
that guides to the right direction; and we believe therein, and
we join no one with our Lord, for verily, he — may the majesty
of our Lord be exalted! — has taken to himself no consort nor
son.
« (And verily, a fool amongst us spake against God wide of
the mark!
« And we thought that men and ginn would never speak a
lie against God.
« (And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge
with persons amongst the ginn; but they increase them in their
perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God would
not raise up any one from the dead.
« (But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a
mighty guard and shooting stars; and we did sit in certain seats
thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a shooting
star for him on guard.
## p. 8717 (#333) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8717
some
are
« (And verily, we know not whether evil be meant for those
who are in the earth, or if their Lord means right by them.
« And of us are some who are pious, and of us are
who are otherwise: we are in separate bands.
« (And we thought that we could not frustrate God in the
earth, and could not frustrate him by flight.
« But verily, when we heard the guidance we believed the
rein, and he who believes in his Lord shall fear neither diminu-
tion nor loss.
« (And verily, of us some who are Muslims, and of us
some are trespassers: but those of us who are Muslims, they strive
after right direction; and as for the trespassers, they are fuel for
hell.
« And if they will go right upon the way, we will irrigate
them with copious water to try them thereby; and whoso turns
from the remembrance of his Lord, He will drive him to severe
torment. ) »
And [say] that the mosques are God's, and that ye should not
call any one with God, and that when God's servant stood up to
pray, they called out to him and well-nigh crowded upon him.
Say, "I only call upon my Lord, and I join no one with him. ”
Say, “Verily, I cannot control for you either harm or right
direction. ”
Say, “Verily, as for me none can protect me against God,
nor do I find any refuge beside him,- except delivering the
message from God and his errands; and whoso rebels against God
and his Apostle, verily for him is the fire of hell for them to
dwell therein for ever and for aye! ”
Until when they see what they are threatened with, then shall
they surely know who is most weak at helping and fewest in
numbers!
Say, « I know not if what ye are threatened with be nigh, or
if my Lord will set it for a term. He knows the unseen, and he
one know his unseen save such people as he is well
pleased with; for verily, he sends marching before him and be-
hind him a guard! That he may know that they have delivered
the errands of the Lord; for he compasses what they have, and
reckons everything by number.
DER WADLAKE,
(
lets no
## p. 8718 (#334) ###########################################
8718
THE KORAN
THE CHAPTER OF THE KINGDOM
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
Blessed be He in whose hand is the kingdom, for he is mighty
over all!
Who created death and life, to try you, which of you does
best; for he is the mighty, the forgiving !
Who created seven heavens in stories: thou canst not see any
discordance in the creation of the Merciful!
Why, look again! canst thou see a flaw? Then look twice! -
thy look shall return to thee driven back and dulled!
And we have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and set
them to peit the devils with; and we have prepared for them the
torment of the blaze!
And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the torment of
hell, and an evil journey shall it be!
When they shall be cast therein they shall hear its braying as
it boils — it will well-nigh burst for rage!
Whenever a troop of them is thrown in, its treasurers shall
ask them, “Did not a warner come to you ? »
They shall say, “Yea! a warner came to us, and we called
him a liar, and said, God has not sent down aught: ye are but
in great error. ) »
And they shall say,
« Had we but listened or had sense, we
had not been amongst the fellows of the blaze! ”
And they will confess their sins; but "Avaunt to the fellows
of the blaze ! »
Verily, those who fear their Lord in secret, for them is for-
giveness and great hire!
Speak ye secretly or openly, verily, he knows the nature of
men's breasts!
Ay! He knows who created! for he is the subtle, the well-
aware!
He it is who made the earth flat for you: so walk in the
spacious sides thereof and eat of his provision; for unto him the
resurrection is!
Are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not cleave the
earth with you, and that it then shall quake ?
Or are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not send against
you a heavy sand-storm, and that ye shall know how the warning
was?
(
## p. 8719 (#335) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8719
But those before them did call the Apostles liars, and what a
change it was!
Or have they not looked at the birds above them expanding
their wings or closing them ? none holds them in except the
Merciful One; for he on everything doth look.
Or who is this who will be a host for you, to help you against
the Merciful ? — the misbelievers are only a delusion!
Or who is this who will provide you if he hold back his pro-
vision ?
Nay, but they persist in perverseness and aversion!
Is he who walks upon his face more guided than he who
walks upright upon a straight path ?
Say, “It is he who produced you and made for you hearing
and sight and hearts,” — little it is that ye give thanks.
–
Say, “It is he who sowed you in the earth, and unto him ye
shall be gathered! ”
They say, “When shall this treat be, if ye do speak the
truth ? »
Say, “The knowledge is only with God; and I am but a plain
warner! ”
And when they see it nigh, sorry shall be the faces of those
who misbelieve; and it shall be said, “This is that for which you
used to call! ”
Say, “Have ye considered whether God destroy me and those
with me, or whether we obtain mercy; yet who will protect the
misbelievers from grievous torment ?
Say, “He is the Merciful; we believe in him, and upon him
do we rely: and ye shall shortly know who it is that is in obvi-
ous error! »
Say, “Have ye considered if your waters on the morrow should
have sunk, who is to bring you flowing water ?
(
(
THE CHAPTER OF THE ANT
IN THE name of the merciful and compassionate God.
T. S. Those are the signs of the Qur'an and the perspicuous
Book; a guidance and glad tidings to the believers, who are
steadfast at prayer, and give alms, and of the hereafter are sure:
verily, those who believe not in the hereafter we have made
seemly for them in works, and they shall wander blindly on!
## p. 8720 (#336) ###########################################
8720
THE KORAN
These are they who shall have an evil torment, and they in the
hereafter shall be those who must lose. Verily, thou dost meet
with this Qur'an from the wise, the knowing One!
When Moses said to his people, “Verily, I perceive a fire, I
will bring you therefrom news; or I will bring you a burning
brand: haply ye may be warned. ” But when he came to it, he
was called to, “Blessed be he who is in the fire, and he who is
about it! and celebrated be the praises of God, the Lord of the
worlds! O Moses! verily I am God, the mighty wise: throw down
thy staff ! ” and when he saw it quivering, as though it were a
snake, he turned back fleeing and did not return. “O Moses!
fear not: verily, as for me apostles fear not with me; save only
those who have done wrong and then substitute good for evil:
for verily, I am forgiving, merciful! but put thy hand in thy
bosom, it shall come forth white without hurt; - one of nine
signs of Pharaoh and his people: verily, they are a people who
act abominably. ”
And when our signs come to them visibly, they said, “This
is obvious sorcery! ” and they gainsaid them, though their souls
made sure of them, unjustly, haughtily; but behold what was the
end of the evil-doers!
And we gave David and Solomon knowledge; and they both
said, “Praise belongs to God, who hath preferred us over many
of his servants who believe !
And Solomon was David's heir; and said, “O ye folk! we have
been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given every-
thing: verily, this is an obvious grace! ”
And assembled for Solomon were his hosts of the ginns and
men and birds, and they were marshaled; until they came upon
the valley of the ants. Said an ant, “Oye ants! go into your
dwellings, that Solomon and his hosts crush you not while they
do not perceive. ”
And he smiled, laughing at her speech, and said, “O Lord!
excite me to be thankful for thy favor, wherewith thou hast
favored me and my parents, and to do righteousness which may
please thee; and make me enter into thy mercy amongst thy
righteous servants! »
And he reviewed the birds, and said, “How is it I see not
the hoopoe? is he then amongst the absent ? I will surely tor-
ment him with a severe torment; or I will surely slaughter him;
or he shall bring me obvious authority. ”
(
»
## p. 8721 (#337) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8721
(
And he tarried not long, and said, "I have compassed what
ye compassed not; for I bring you from Seba a sure information:
verily, I found a woman ruling over them, and she was given
all things, and she had a mighty throne; and I found her and
her people adoring the sun instead of God, for Satan had made
seemly to them their works, and turned them from the path, so
that they are not guided. Will they not adore God, who brings
forth the secrets of the heavens, and knows what they hide and
what they manifest ? God, there is no god but he, the Lord of
the mighty throne. ”
Said he, “We will see whether thou hast told the truth, or
whether thou art of those who lie. Go with this my letter and
throw it before them; then turn back away from them, and see
what they return. ”
Said she, “O ye chiefs! verily, a noble letter has been thrown
before me.
It is from Solomon, and verily it is, 'In the name
of the merciful and compassionate God. Do not rise up against
me, but come to me resigned! She said, “Oye chiefs! pro-
nounce sentence for me in my affair. I never decide an affair
until ye testify for me. ”
They said, “We are endowed with strength, and endowed
with keen violence: but the bidding is thine; see then what it is
that thou wilt bid. ”
She said, “Verily, kings when they enter a city despoil it,
and make mighty ones of its people the meanest; thus it is they
do! So verily I am going to send them a gift, and will wait to
see with what the messenger will return. "
And when he came to Solomon, he said, "Do ye proffer me
wealth, when what God has given me is better than what he has
given you ? nay, ye in your gifts rejoice! return to them, for we
will surely come to them with hosts which they cannot confront;
and we will surely drive them out therefrom mean and made
small ! »
Said he, “O chiefs! which of you will bring me her throne
before they come to me resigned ? ”
Said a demon of the ginns, “I will bring thee it before thou
canst rise up from thy place, for I therein am strong and faith-
ful. ”
He who had the knowledge of the book said, "I will bring
it to thee before thy glance can turn. " And when he saw it
!
I
i
XV-546
## p. 8722 (#338) ###########################################
8722
THE KORAN
(
settled down beside him, he said, “This is of my Lord's grace,
and he may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and he
who is grateful is only grateful for his own soul, and he who is
ungrateful — verily, my Lord is rich and generous. ”
Said he, Disguise for her the throne; let us see whether she
is guided, or whether she is of those who are not guided. ” And
when she came it was said, “Was thy throne like this? ” She
sạid, “It might be it;” and we were given knowledge before
her, but we were resigned.
But that which she served beside God turned her away:
verily, she was of the unbelieving people. And it was said to
her, “Enter the court; » and when she saw it, she reckoned it
to be an abyss of water, and she uncovered her legs. Said he,
“Verily, it is a court paved with glass ! » Said she, My Lord!
verily, I have wronged myself, but I am resigned with Solomon
to God and the Lord of the worlds! »
And we sent unto Thamud their brother Zali'h, «Serve God;"
but behold, they were two parties who contended!
Said he, “O my people! why do ye hasten on evil acts before
good deeds ? why do ye not ask forgiveness of God ? haply ye
may obtain mercy. ” They said, “We have taken an augury
concerning thee and those who are with thee. " Said he,
Said he, Your
augury is in God's hands; nay, but ye are a people who are
tried! ”
And where there were in the city nine persons who despoiled
land and did not right: Said they, “Swear to each other by
God, we will surely fall upon him by night and on his people;
then we will surely say unto his next of kin, “We witnessed not
the destruction of his people, and we do surely tell the truth. ”
And they plotted a plot, and we plotted a plot, that we destroyed
them and their people altogether!
Thus are their homes overturned, for they were unjust; verily,
in that is a sign to people who do know!
But we saved thus who believed and did fear.
And Lot when he said to his people, "Do ye approach an
abominable sin while ye can see ? do ye indeed approach men
lustfully rather than women ? nay, ye are a people who are
ignorant. ” But the answer of his people was only to say, “Drive
out Lot's family from your city! verily, they are a folk who
would keep pure. ”
(
(
## p. 8723 (#339) ###########################################
THE KORAN
8723
Lipkan
an
But we saved him and his family except his wife; her we
destined to be of those who lingered: and we rained down upon
them rain, and evil was the rain to those who were warned.
Say, “Praise belongs to God; and peace be upon his servants
,
whom he has chosen! Is God best, or what they associate with
him ? » He who created the heavens and the earth; and sends
down upon you from the heaven water: and we cause to grow
therewith gardens fraught with beauty; ye could not cause the
trees thereof to grow! Is there a god with God? Nay, but they
are people who make peers with him! He who made the earth,
settled and placed amongst it rivers; and placed upon it firm
mountains; and placed between the two seas a barrier: is there
a god with God ? nay, but most of them know not! He who
answers the distressed when he calls upon him and removes the
evil; and makes you successors in the earth: is there a god with
God ? little is it that ye are mindful. He who guides you in the
darkness of the land and of the sea; and who sends winds as
glad tidings before his mercy: is there a god with God ? exalted
be God above what they associate with him. He who began the
creation and then will make it return again; and who provides
you from the heaven and the earth: is there a god with God ? so
bring your proofs if you do speak the truth!
Say, “None in the heavens or the earth know the unseen
save only God; but they perceived not when they shall be
raised! ” — nay, but their knowledge attains to somewhat of the
hereafter; nay, but they are in doubt concerning it!
