G od maketh what addition he pleafeth unto his creatures ; for G od is almighty.
The mercy which G od fhall freely beftow on mankind, there is none
who can with-hold ; and what he fhall with-hold, there is none who can
beftow, befides him: and he is the mighty, the wife. O men, remember
the favour of G od towards you : is there any creator, befides G od, who provided!
food for you from heaven and earth ? T h en is no G od but he : how
therefore are ye turned afide from acknowledging his unity ? If they accufe
thee of impofture, apoftles before thee have alfo been accufed of impofture :
and unto G od fhall all things return. O men, verily the promife of G od is
true: let not therefore the prelent life deceive you, neither let the deceiver
deceive you concerning G od : for S a t a n is an enemy unto you ; wherefore
hold him for an enemy : he only inviteth his confederates to be the inhabitants
of hell. For thofe who believe not there is prepared a fevere torment:
but for thofe who lhall believe and do that which is right, is prepared mercy
and a great reward. Shall he therefore for whom his evil work hath been
prepared, and who imagineth it to be good, he as he who is rightly difpof-
ed, and difcerneth the truth ? Verily G od will caufe to err whom he pleafeth,
and will direft whom he pleafeth. Let not thy foul therefore be fpent in fighs
for their fakes, on account o f their ohftinacy ; for G od well knoweth that which
they do. It is G od who fendeth the winds, and raifeth a cloud; and we
drive the fame unto a dead country, and thereby quicken the earth after it
hath been dead : fo fhall the refurreftion hea. Whoever defireth excellence j
unto G od doth all excellence belong : unto him afcendeth the good fpeech;
and the righteous work will he exalt. But as for them who devife wicked
plots \ they lhall fuffer a fevere punilhment; and the device of thofe men
lhall be rendred vain. G od created you firft of the dull, and afterwards
of feedc : and he hath made you man and wife. No female conceiveth, or
bringeth forth, but with his knowledge. Nor is any thing added unto the
age of him whofe life is prolonged, neither is any thing diminilhed from
his age, but the fame is written in the book o f G o d ' s decrees. Verily this is eafy
with G od. The two feas are not to be held in comparifon : this is frelh and
fweet, pleafant to drink ; but that is fait and bitter3 : yet out of each of
them ye eat fiffi*, and take ornamentsf for you to wear. Thou feeft the
Ihips alfo plowing the waves thereof, that ye may feek to enrich yourfelves hy
commerce, of the abundance of G o d : peradventure ye will be thankful. He
caufeth the night to fucceed the day, and he caufeth the day to fucceed the
night .; and he obligeth the fun and the moon to perform their fervices:
and fome a leiTer number of wings, according
to their different orders; the words not being
defigned to exprefs thé particular number. Gabriel
is faid to have appeared to Mohammed, oh
the night he made his journey to heaven, with
.«no Iefs than fix hundred wings1.
* See chap. 29. p. 526. not. e.
KJVbo devife wicked plots i\ As the Koreijb
did againfl Mohammed. See chap. 8. p. 142.
not. h.
c See chap. 22. p. 274.
d ‘The two feas, &c.j That is, The two col-
leflive bodies of fait water and frelh. See chap.
25. p. 300.
c ßee chap. 16. p. 215. not. e.
f Ornaments;] As pearls and coral.
1 ■ ^/‘•Bbxdawi.
each of them runneth an appointed courfe. This is G od, your L ord : his is
the kingdom. But the idols which ye invoke befides him, have not the power
even over the (kin of a date-ftone : if ye invoke them, they will not hear
your calling ; and although they lhould hear, yet they would not anfwer you.
On the day of refurreftion they lhall difclaim your having afiociated them
with God : and none (hall declare unto thee the truth, like one who is well-
acquainted therewith. O men, ye have need of G od ; but G od is felf-fuffi-
cient, and to be praifed. If he pleafeth, he can take you away, and produce
a new creature in your Jlead: neither will this he difficult with G o d . A bur-
thened foul lhall not bear the burthen of another: and if a heavy-burthened
foul call on another to bear part of its burthen, no part thereof (hall be born
by the perfon who fhall be called on, although he be ever fo nearly related.
Thou (halt admonifh thofe who fear their L o r d in fecret, and are conftant
at prayer : and whoever cleanfeth himfelf from the guilt of difobedience, cleanf-
eth himfelf to the advantage of his own foul ; for all (hall be aflembled before
G od at the laft day. The blind and the feeing (hall not be held equal; neither
darknefs and light; nor the cool (hade and the fcorching wind: neicher
lhall the living and the dead be held equal *. G o d lhall caufe him to hear
whom he pleafeth : but thou (halt not make thofe to hear who are in their
graves3. Thou art no other than a preacher: verily we have fent thee with
truth, a bearer of good tidings, and a denouncer of threats. There hath
been no nation, but a preacher hath in pad: times been converfant among them:
if; they charge thee with impofture, they who were before them likewife
charged their apoftles with impofture. Their apoftles came unto them with
evident miracles, and with divine writingsc, and with the inlightening book 4:
afterwards I chaftifed thofe who were unbelievers ; and how fevere was my vengeance
! Doft thou not fee that G od fendeth down rain from heaven ; and
that we thereby produce fruits of various colours e ? In the mountains alfo
there are fome tracks white and red, of various coloursf ; and others are of a
deep black: and of men, and beads, and cattle there are whole colours are
in like manner various. Such only of his fervants fear G o d , as are indued
with underftanding: verily G od is mighty, and ready to forgive. Verily they
who read the book of G od, and are conftant at prayer, and give alms out of
what we have bellowed on them, both in fecret and openly, hope for a merchandize
which lhall not perifh: that God may fully pay them their wages,
and make them a fuperabundant addition of his liberality ; for he is ready to forgive
a The blind and the feeing fhall not be held to Abraham, and to other prophets before
equal, &c.] This paffage exprefles the great dif- Mofes.
ference between a true believer and an infidel, d The inlightening book ;] viz. The Law, or
truth and vanity, and their future reward and the Gofpel.
punilhment. '• e O f various colours;] That is, O f different
b Thofe who are in their graves ;] i. e. Thofe kinds. See chap. 16. p. 215.
who obftinately perfift in their unbelief, who f O f various colours;] Being more or lefs in*
are compared to the dead. » tenfe 1.
c Divine writings;] As the volumes delivered .
1 A l BeiPawi.