7
SURE
Araf Suresi
⌄
⌄
2
A Book -the Quran- is revealed to you O Muhammad, laying upon you an immense responsibility for which you have been chosen. Therefore, let it not oppress your thoughts and feelings or depress your spirits, but use it and act upon it to warn those who deny the truth and to put those who have conformed to Islam in mind of their duties.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
And We brought you into being by a special creation, and We fashioned you and gave you form and countenance and made you a determinate exalted being. Then We said to the augels: "Prostrate yourselves to Adam -your archetype- in adoration" and the angels prostrated in comely order, praise and adoration, except Iblis who aspersed with calumny and declined.
12
13
"Then down you go", Allah said: " From this blissful state; you are doomed to a lower state". " You are here in heaven's realm in the August presence where you cannot display inordinate self - esteem nor exhibit an overweening opinion of your quality, you are dismissed from My heaven's realm, doomed to the vicissitudes of deposition and degradation".
15
16
17
18
19
"As for you Adam", Allah said: "You and your wife make abode in Paradise and eat as you will and wherever you will; it is all replete with choice of all delights, and enjoy all that affords pleasure, but do avoid this particular tree; keep off it and do not draw near it lest you both be wrongful of actions".
20
And there did AL-Shaytan sneakingly whisper them, instigating evil in their repositories of consciousness. He suggested secretly to their minds what made them unintentionally lose their modesty and decency and expose of their bodies what did put them to shame. He said to them: "Allah only forbade you this tree lest you should come to be angels or you be qualified to infinite existence".
21
22
No sooner did they have a taste of the fruit of the forbidden tree than their private parts were exposed, and they realized, then, how shameful this was. They kept collecting leaves from the trees in Paradise to cover their naked bodies, which aroused their sense of shame. There and then, did Allah, their Creator, summon them by a call and say to them: " Did I not command you both to keep off this tree, and say to you that AL-Shaytan was and shall always be your avowed enemy!".
23
24
25
26
O you Children of Adam: We have furnished you with a raiment to screen your nakedness, which offends your sense of modesty and decency, and with a top attire to adorn your personal appearance, and best of all is the vesture of piety. This is one of Allah's striking disclosures to man, so that –you- people may hopefully reflect.
27
O you Children of Adam: Let not AL-Shaytan lead you astray nor tempt you to do what is wrong as he had allured your aboriginal parents by the use of cunning and deceitful attractions inducing them to lose their modesty and decency and expose their private parts and there, he attained the desired end and the goal to his will, besides prompting their expulsion from Paradise. He sees you, and so do his associates, whereas you do not perceive them by sight. We made the satanic take interest in those who deny Allah.
28
And when the Pagans commit themselves to an evil line of conduct* they claim this has been the system on which their fathers were bent, and they insolently allege that Allah has enjoined this set of correlated principles belonging to their belief. Say to them O Muhammad: "Allah does not enjoin immorality nor ordain what is evil or impure, viscious or dissolute; do you people relate to Allah a world you see in a grain of sand or a heaven in a wild flower and from ignorance your comfort flows! "
29
Say to them: " Allah has enjoined the quality of being morally just and the principle of just dealing; He enjoined just conduct, integrity and righteousness, and that you set your minds toward Him at all times and your faces to Him at every mosque where you dutifully observe your act of worship, and invoke Him for mercy and blessings, devoting to Him alone, all religious rites on the ground that as he brought you into being so shall He resurrect you to go back to Him.
30
31
O you children of Adam: Pay attention to your personal appearance and your apparel at every mosque where you dutifully observe your act of worship. The apparel often proclaims the man and his due respect for the dignity of the occasion, not to mention the solemnity of applying your minds to the presence of Allah. Do not be influenced by the Pagan's superstitions of permitting certain kinds of food and prohibiting others, but eat and drink of the permitted but avoid intemperance; Allah does not like the extravagant who carry anything to excess.
32
Say to them O Muhammad: "Who has forbidden the material objects and articles of apparel Allah has produced to His servants to confer on them a combination of qualities affording keen pleasure to the senses especially that of sight, and charming the intellectual and moral faculties! And who has forbidden the virtues adorning the mind and piety adorning the character, qualities giving distinction! And who has forbidden the worthy and wholesome victuals Allah has provisioned" Say to them: such articles and objects, material and immaterial are reserved exclusively in. Day of Judgment for those whose hearts were impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues in life below. Thus, do We expound Our revelations and render Our discourse readily understood by those who reflect.
33
Say to them: " Allah has forbidden indeed the evil line of conduct implying immorality, be it apparent or real, committed overtly or secretly or suggested secretly to the mind, and He forbids unwarranted severe course of action and that you people incorporate with Him other deities of material or immaterial nature whom He never authorized, and that you relate to Him a world you see in a grain of sand or a heaven in a wild flower and from ignorance your comfort flows".
34
35
O you children of Adam: when there come to you Messengers from among you to narrate to you My signs and recite to you My revelations betokening My Omnipotence and Authority, bow down your ears and listen graciously, and remember that he who entertains the profound reverence dutiful to Allah and prints his deeds with wisdom and piety shall have escaped censure; he and such persons shall have no ground for alarm nor shall fear or dread fall upon them nor shall they come to grief.
36
37
Who is more wrong than he who viscously and wrongfully relates to Allah falsehood or denies His revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and Authority! Such persons do have what has been apportioned to them in life according to their good or bad books, just as they do have access to the share of the Book imparted to them by Our Messengers. And when Our angels of death disembody their souls at the predetermined point of time, they ask them: "where now are those you incorporated with Allah and invoked besides Him!". They have forsaken and renounced us " they say, and failed our expectation " So; they were witnesses of their own actions and of their deeds reflecting infidelity and disobedience to Allah.
38
And in Day* of Judgment, they shall be told: "Join those nations and generations of the Jinn and mankind who preceded you in the realm of Hell. As often as a fresh nation, united in evil thought and deeds, is ushered in with gusts of firey wind, it pours maledictions upon its unwise sister, until they are all thronged in, then shall the latter turn their eyes upon the former and direct their spoken words to Allah, thus: " These, O Allah, our Creator, whom we thought were the example to follow, had indeed misled us and alienated us from Your purpose: requite them O Allah with double the torment in the fire".There, Allah says: "But all and each suffers twice as much but you do not know".
39
Then says the former to the latter: "You lacked intellectual, moral and spiritual perception and therefore you were not of advantage to us but we were both entangled in one party defiled with sin. There, Allah says: you have well deserved the torment in requital of what your minds and souls had impelled you to do".
40
Indeed, those who denied Our revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and authority and their pride got the better of their prudence, are they who were born to be great losers. Never shall heaven open its gates nor shall they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the needle's eye: thus, do We requite the sinful who grow daily more and more wicked.
41
42
But those whose hearts are impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues and their deeds with wisdom and piety, realize that We do not charge a soul with more than it can bear. It is they who have the rightful claim to Paradise wherein they shall have passed through nature to Eternity.
43
We will delete all that was embedded of bitter ill -feeling from their bosoms and blot out all that lurked in their memories of grudge and hatred so as to make the clouds of the past dissolve in the glorious light. They shall jointly rejoice beyond a common joy, and in the ecstasy of their joy they shall enjoy the blissful rivers flowing beneath them and interpret their feeling of gratitude in words, thus: " Praise be to Allah and exalted are His glorious attributes: He guided us to His path of righteousness, and without His guidance we would have missed it and we would have been alienated from His purpose" ."Indeed His Messengers have brought us illumination and enlightenment and brought the truth which dawned upon us and upon those who, had worshipped stocks and stones earlier". There and then they shall be told: "This is Paradise of which you have come into possession by right and divine grant".
44
Then shall those rejoicing in Paradise call the inmates of Hell and say to them: "We have found what Allah had promised us the truth personified: have you found what Allah had promised you to be true!". "Indeed we have", say the inmates of Hell. And there, shall one of the sentinels, declare thus: "Allah's curse is cast upon the wrongful of actions".
45
46
Between those in the realm of Paradise and these in the realm of Hell, there shall be a partition veiling those from these; at its height, stand men* able to distinguish those in Paradise from these in Hell by the language spoken by their countenances. They greet those in Paradise with the customary formula "Peace be upon you";people to whom paradise was not particularly their aim but only the obedience to Allah.
47
48
49
They add: "Are those not they you declared on oath that Allah would never extend His mercy to them!". "As you can clearly see, Allah has greeted them and said to them". I bid you a hearty welcome; go into the world of splendour and surpassing beauty, the world of Paradise and Eternity where you shall have no ground for alarm nor shall you come to grief.
50
51
Who treated their religion mockingly and amused themselves with its principles and were deceived by the sensuous enjoyment they regarded as the chief object in life. "There, Allah says to them ": Now is the Day We forget you and you shall be left to twist and turn in the scorching flames of Hell in vindication of the right you had willfully forgotten; you neglected the noble discourse addressed by Our Messengers, and you failed to advance what would have served as a future security on this Momentous Day and you disregarded Allah and His revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and Authority.
52
We send down a Book expounding and distinctly expressing the sum of what is vaguely known and what is unknown and with the divine knowledge implying firm belief of what is true on sufficient grounds, a Book based on Our Omniscience of the whole and of all in all, serving as a guide and a mercy to those whose hearts have been touched with the divine hand.
53
Do they -the infidels- purpose to wait until fitting events fulfill the prophecies and all that has been promised in the Book! But when such overwhelming events present themselves shall those who had disregarded the promise and willfully neglected it say: " Indeed; now we do realize that the Messengers of Allah had brought us the truth which dawned on us with illumination and enlightenment". "Are there intercessors to intercede for us or can we be permitted to go back to life below to decide more wisely, think better than what our minds and souls had impelled us to do! " Indeed they have lost their own souls and have been forsaken and renounced by those whom they presumed to share with Allah His divine nature, who failed their expectation.
54
Indeed; Allah, your Creator, is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six days* determined by His own unit of time and proclaimed in His calendar, then He set Himself on the throne of supremacy and dominion and of grace and mercy. He causes the day to lose its identity and its character by absorption into the night; both revolving swiftly in pursuit of each other and one dies into the other**. And the sun, the moon and the stars, He has governed by His cosmic laws and reduced to a state of subservience by His command. Indeed to Him belongs the creation of the whole and of all in all. Praise be to Allah, Creator of the universe and extolled are His glorious attributes.
55
56
Nor does He like those who create discord and make mischief on earth after it has been set in order. And invoke Him with mingled feeling of dread of his just punishment and with reverence, hope and expectation of His mercy and blessings His mercy is indeed in immediate proximity of those whose deeds are imprinted with wisdom and piety.
57
He is it Who sends forth the wind as a forerunner of His mercy heralding a joyful event The watery vapor condenses and floats in the upper air and when it is about to gender a storm We drive it by high winds to a dead or droughty land where it pours its rain and with it We cause the various products to spring up from the soil*. Similarly do We resurrect the dead; an action consequent on Allah's will and it is hoped people will ponder.
58
Physically, the rich soil responds favourably to the fertilizing showers of rain and yields, Allah willing, a rich harvest, -and spiritually, the godly soul' and the clean heart respond favourably to the fertilizing religious conviction and yield piety-, whereas rain physically and admonition spiritually evoke no response in both the bad soil and the evil souls. Thus do We orient Our revelations to circumstances and requirements expounding them to people impelled to the feeling of gratitude and gratefulness.
59
60
61
62
63
"Do you people consider it exceptional to a degree that excites astonishment that Allah sends to you illumination and enlightenment at the hands of a man from your midst in the capacity of a spectacle and a warning to guide you into all truth and induce you to recognize Allah and entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him so that you may hopefully invite His mercy and blessings!"
64
Yet they disbelieved him, refused to give him credence and thought he was conveying a false message In consequence, We rescued him together with those who willingly accepted his message. We put them on board ship -the Ark- and We drowned, in the flood, those who drowned themselves in sin and denied Our signs. Their minds' eyes were indeed blind.
65
And to the people of 'Ad (the 'Adites), We sent one from among their brotherhood, the Messenger Hud, who said to them: "O my people, worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites; you have no Ilah but Him; can you not open your mind's eyes, reverence Him and lift to Him your inward sight!"
66
67
68
69
"Do you people consider it exceptional to a degree that excites astonishment that Allah sends to you illumination and enlightenment at the hands of a man from your midst in the capacity of a spectacle and a warning to guide you into all truth! " "You had better recall to mind his favours and impel yourselves to the feeling of gratitude for the efficacious grace He conferred on you; He made you the inheritors of the people of Nuh and imparted to you a wealth of knowledge, and privileged you with a distinguished stature more than He graced other nations". Therefore, remember with gratitude and humility the privileges He bestowed on you so that Heaven may prosper you".
70
Yet they said to him: "Did you come to us O Hud to induce us to worship Allah alone and renounce the form of religious worship practiced by our fathers and the gods to whom they paid reverence and veneration!". " Then bring to pass the punishment you have promised, if in fact you declare the truth".
71
"Now", said Hud, " you have confirmed yourselves in prepensed malice and the prophesy of Allah's punishment and indignation against you is thus ratified". "Do you contend against Allah in favour of your named idols you and your fathers designated as gods, objects Allah never authorized! " "You Just await the justice prepared above in heaven's realm; I will await it also".
72
73
And to the people of Thamud (the Thambdites) We sent their brother Saleh who said to then: "O my people worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites you have no Ilah but Him. "There has come to you a sign from Allah, your Creator, evincing both the truth of my mission and Allah's supremacy. It is this she-camel which is exclusively His own". " Let it feed freely on pasture in Allah's earth, and keep her out of harm's way lest you be heavily punished".
74
"Recall to mind His favours and impel yourselves to the feeling of gratitude for the efficacious grace He conferred on you. He made you the inheritors of the people of 'Ad (the 'Adites) and made the earth your world of destined habitation". "on its plains you erect buildings, palaces and castles, and its mountains you hew and carve into homes". "Therefore, remember with gratitude and humility the privileges He bestowed on you and stop making mischief on earth and refrain from creating discord".
75
But the extravagant in their accounts of themselves among his people in whose hearts reigned vices, follies and falsehood said to those whom they viewed with contempt on account of conforming to Islam: " Do you really believe that Saleh has been sent by Allah, his Creator, in the capacity of an Messenger?" "Indeed We do", they said, "and We acknowledge his mission and give credence to the spirit of truth imparted to him from Heaven guiding into all truth".
76
77
They manifested repugnance and disabled the she - camel by cutting her hamstring muscles in opposition and disobedience to Allah's command and authority and they said to Saleh: "Now, let us see how you will bring to pass the catastrophe you threatened that heaven would inflict if indeed you are an Messenger sent by Allah!"
78
79
But Saleh had warned them beforehand of the impending danger, and when he was met with defiance, he relinquished the prospect of their conformity to Islam. And when heaven avenged its own right, he turned away expressing his grief, Thus: "My people", he said "I conveyed to you Allah's message and His warning and I advised you against disobedience to Allah and I announced the event, but you do not seem to like those who give you advice".
80
81
82
83
84
85
And to the people of Madyan (Midian), We sent their brother Shu'aib, who said to them: "O my people worship Allah and adore Him with appropriate acts and rites; you have no Ilah but Him. There has come to you a sign from Allah, your Creator, evincing both the truth of my mission and Allah's supremacy. Therefore, dispense the measure and the weight equitably to the full and do not scant peoples' goods and chattels, chattels personal, chattels real nor chattels interest nor devalue what is valuable, nor create discord or make mischief on earth after it has been set in order". " This is best for you if indeed your hearts have been impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues".
86
"Nor lie in ambush" he added, in every paths threatening those of you who have conformed to Islam, obstructing the path leading them to moral straightness and uprightness, goodness and integrity, virtue and piety, making it your aim to pervert the truth and crook the path of righteousness to your own ends". " Remember when for once you were a small minority and how Allah made you multiply and reach the status of a majority, and look how fatal was the consequence of those who were characterized by acts of prepensed malice.
87
However, since some of you have acknowledged my mission and conformed their will to Allah's will whereas others have not, then have patience and await the event when the justice prepared in heaven's realm be executed by Allah; He is it Who gives the law whereas all other judges just interpret it; He excels all those who sit in judgement.
88
But the extravagant in their accounts of themselves among his people in whose hearts reigned vices, follies and falsehood said to him: "We will oust you of our town together with those who have followed you, and drive all of you away unless you desert your system of faith and worship in favour of ours". There, Shu'aib said: "Even though, with execrations, do we detest your system and shrink from it with horror! "
89
"If we should favour your system of faith and worship", said Shu'aib, "then we will have viciously and wrongfully related to Allah falsehood and denied His revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and Authority". "And how could we turn renegade after we have been graced by Allah Who has delivered us from such an evil system of faith bringing nothing but harm here and Hereafter!" "This shall never happen", he added, "unless it be Allah's will that we be destined to lose our senses and be harmed by courage". "Allah's knowledge encompasses the wide circle of the whole and of all in all and Omniscience is asserted as His own.". " In Allah, our Creator, do we trust and to Him do we and our people plead our causes and He shall justly decide them". "O Allah, our Creator", he prayed, " You are the best and the most competent of all judges Who decide a case as put by opponent parties".
90
91
92
93
But Shu'aib had warned them beforehand of the impending danger, and when he was met with defiance, he relinquished the prospects of their conformity to Islam. When heaven avenged its own right, he turned away expressing his thoughts in words, thus: "My people", he said, "I conveyed to you Allah's message and his warning and advised you against disobedience to Allah and I announced the event, therefore how can I grieve over people who obstinately denied Allah! "
94
95
Then We replaced the unfavorable conditions and hardships by favourable circumstances until they advanced in power, importance and prosperity and proclaimed in ignorance that what has befallen them of misfortunes happened to their fathers before, "and", they added, " it is only time that controls the wavering balance of fortune". In consequence, We suddenly seized them and dressed them with ruin and We caught them unawares.
96
Had the town's folk conformed to the system of faith and worship as ordained by Allah, and entertained the profound reverence dutiful to Him, We would have opened for them all channels of mercy, blessings and prosperity from the realm of heaven above them and from the earth beneath their feet. But they obstinately and insolently denied Our signs betokening Authority and by consequence We seized them and reduced them to ruins.
97
98
99
100
Can those people who have inherited the earth not perceive the signal instances of punishment which befell their predecessors and served as a deterrent! Do they not realize that We control their fate and that if We willed, We could requite them as and when We please for their iniquities and imprint their hearts with dullness of comprehension that they counsel deaf, unwilling to hear admonition!
101
These were the town's folk who were united in evil thoughts and deeds narrating their course of events and leading to a final catastrophes Their Messengers came to them carrying evidence sufficient to establish their delegated Authority to implement Our statutes. But they refused to acknowledge what they and their fathers denied before. Thus does Allah imprint the hearts of the disobedient who grow daily more and more wicked with dullness of comprehension.
102
103
In succession, We sent Mussa to Pharaoh and his people in whose hearts reigned vices and falsehood and We equipped him with signs demonstrating delegated divine power and authority. But they were wrongful of actions; and there, you can see what was the end of those who were characterized with prepensed malice.
104
105
With great care and solemnity do I relate to Allah nothing but the truth. "l do hereby present you people with a sign from Allah, your Creator, evincing both the truth of my mission and Allah's supremacy, and by virtue of this sign and of Allah's delegated authority I demand the release of Bani Israel from bondage and they be permitted to go with me to where they are free to practice Allah's system of faith and worship".
106
107
108
109
110
111
They suggested to Pharaoh they should adapt themselves and conform to the time and circumstances so as to gain time and added: "The time to degrade and defeat him and his brother has not come yet". "Meanwhile, send, O Pharaoh, some of your recruits to the cities to gather to themselves the multitude of men who practice magic
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
123
There, Pharaoh said to them: "Have you yielded to his claims and surrendered yourselves to his Allah without my permission!" Indeed", he added, "This is a skilful deceit designed to outwit the inhabitants of the city to drive them out from hence, and in consequence you shall come to know how heavily you shall pay for this".
125
126
And they added: "Do you take vengeance on us just because we have acknowledged the signs of Allah when they were presented to us indicating clearly Allah's Omnipotence and Supremacy and because we asserted to the spirit of truth guiding into all truth!". And they prayed: O Allah, our Creator, inspire patience and just confidence to us and occasion our death as men who have conformed to Islam".
127
There and then said those of Pharaoh's people in whose hearts reigned vice, malice and falsehood: "O Pharaoh, would you set Mussa and his people free so as to create discord in the land and play the mischief with your subjects and renounce you and your gods, disclaiming obedience to your statutes!". " But, Pharaoh said: We will kill their sons, and to serve our purpose, spare their women, and we will gain mastery over them and be their supreme controlling power".
128
" Implore Allah's aid", said Mussa to his people, "and have recourse to prayer, for more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of, and resort to patience to possess your souls". "The earth", he added, " belongs to Allah. He apportions it as a heritage to whom He will of His servants, and the happy outcome falls to those who entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Him".
129
But in despair did his people say to him: " We have been burdened with cruel impositions before you came to us and since you have been with us". " May Allah, your Creator, said Mussa, reduce your enemy into a useless form and designate you the successors in the land, and then He shall see how you conduct yourselves in life!"
130
131
Whenever they had good fortune on their side they attributed it to their merit, and whenever they were befallen with a misfortune or wedded to a calamity, they attributed it to Mussa and his people who were esteemed birds of evil omen presaging some direful calamity. Indeed, events portending good or evil and all that is destined to happen, rest in the hands of Allah, notwithstanding the mould of a man's fortune is in himself, and the event when justified is sanctioned by Allah, but most of them fail to perceive this fact.
132
134
As often as they were troubled grievously, they appealed to Mussa, to invoke Allah. His creator", they said, "in virtue of what He conferred on you of sufficient grace, to deliver us from this burdensome affliction which is exhaustive to the mind, and if you do we promise to acknowledge the truth of your mission and release the Children of Israel from bondage so that they be free to go with you".
135
Whenever We removed the cause of distress for a determined period of time to give them a chance to bring themselves to their senses, they promised Mussa they would pay heed. But no sooner they recovered than they broke their moral obligation, as if to confess themselves mistaken was opposed to their sense of personal dignity.
136
137
And by divine grant did We bring those oppressed, into possession of the eastern and western parts of the land We had blessed*, and thus has the good word of Allah, your Creator, answered the purpose, and complied with the conditions of Bani Israel for their patience and endurance. And We ruined and buried all that Pharaoh and his people had erected of splendid structures and all that they laid as means or support.
138
And We brought Bani Israel safely across the sea, and there, they came across a people who paid divine honours to idols**. They demanded of Mussa to make for them an idol as an object of worship similar to the idols worshipped by those people. In response, said Mussa: "You people are indeed ignorant and you are a wicked impudent boldfaced people who have no shame of their sins".
139
140
141
And through His Omnipotence and Authority, We delivered you from the state of bondage and from the cruel impositions laid upon you by the Pharaonic who brutally slaughtered your sons and spared your women, and this was indeed a severe but a sure test of your actions and reactions echoing your true beliefs and the prevalent inclination among you.
142
Then We ordained the divine assignation for Mussa and arranged the place and the time when We would be exposed to his mental view after he had completed the exclusive religious devotion imposed on him for thirty nights complemented by ten more nights to total forty nights, the requisite for granting him an audience. And when the set time was fulfilled and Mussa was ready to have spiritual audience of Allah, his Creator, he said to his brother Harun: "Take my place and act for me among my people and improve the state of things and put an end to abuse, disorder and malpractice and do not yield to those who are characterized by acts of prepensed malice".
143
When Mussa came to the place set for Our assignation, the hallowed environment spoke Allah's presence proclaimed by sound. And when Allah spoke to Mussa, he expressed his wish, thus: "O Allah, my Creator", he asked, "may I perceive you by sight!". "You shall not be able to see Me", said Allah, "but look at the mountain", if it remains standing in its place, you shall then see Me. And when Allah manifested to the mountain an infinitely short flash of His mercifully invisible glorious light, the mountain was levelled with the ground*. Terribly shocked, Mussa dropped unconscious, and when he recovered from the swoon, he prayed: "Praise be to You O Allah and extolled are Your glorious attributes; in lowliest plight do I stand repentant and I am the first and foremost of those who conform to Your will".
144
"I have chosen you O Mussa", said Allah, "by preference out of all people to convey My divide message and My discourse of practical divinity revealed directly to you". "Therefore, take all that I have imparted to you with heart and hand with heart and soul, and act strongly upon it and impel yourself to the feeling of gratitude and gratefulness".
145
We set down for him in writing on the plates all that bore reference to every subject, affair, event, circumstance, concern, contention, dispute, litigation and the like, distinctly expressing all that was meant, leaving nothing merely implied. And We commanded him to act strongly upon all that was imparted to him and to enjoin his people to adopt those divine precepts that would be in their best interests. And We added: "I will show your people the destined desolate abode and the destined insecure condition of those who grew daily more and more wicked".
146
"I will", said Allah, "deafen the hearts' ears of those whose pride gets the better of their prudence, who exhibit unjustifiable inordinate self-esteem in the world they live on". Whenever they see a sign clearly indicating Allah's Authority, they take pride in setting it to nought, and when they see the path of righteousness, they simply avoid it, but when they see the path of wickedness, they joyfully follow it, this turn of mind accords well with their persistent denial of Our signs they have been oblivious of.
147
And those who refuse to recognize Our revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and Authority and reject the truth of Resurrection and the audience of Allah in Day of Judgement are born to be losers; their hopes shall be doomed to disappointment and their deeds to worthlessness. Shall they be requited but with what is commensurate with their deeds!
148
Influenced by idolatrous Egypt, the people of Mussa took advantage of his absence on the Mount, being absorbed in the intense spiritual communion with Allah, and melted all their gold ornaments and built a body in the image of a calf* lowing like cattle when down wind. Did they not perceive that it was mute! Never did it speak to them nor would it guide them or determine the course of events! Yet they reverenced it and adored it with appropriate acts and rites, and were wrongful of actions.
149
150
And when Mussa returned and found that his people have wronged themselves, he strongly resented their evil act, and so great was his indignation against them. Grieved at heart, he said: "Evil indeed is what your minds and souls have you to do; did you wish Allah's punishment be hastened on! He dropped the plates and dragged his brother by the head, laying the blame on him, But Harun said to him: " O son of my mother; the people judged me wanting in power and authority over them and almost killed me". "Therefore, do not let my enemies gloat over me and rejoice at my misfortune, nor should you associate me with the wrongful of actions".
151
152
153
154
155
There, did Mussa choose from the innocent among his people seventy persons, in compliance with Allah's command to present themselves at the divine assignation. When they gathered at the arranged time and place, fearful echoes thundered in their ears and the earth's surface convulsed under their feet as an expression of strong divine reproach against those among them who committed themselves to the most evil conduct. There and then did Mussa pray, thus: "O Allah, my Creator: had You willed you would have planted their Hereafter and mine before now". "Would you destroy us in requital of the evil committed by the simpleton among us!". " It is Your means of trial, You use it to subject people to the test and consequently deafen the hearts' ears of whom You will and open the minds' eyes of whom You will, You are our Tutelary Protector". "We beseech you to forgive us and to have mercy on us; You are the Most Merciful of all who forgive".
156
He added: "We pray and beseech You to bestow on us Your prevenient and efficacious grace here, and Your efficacious grace Hereafter; we have surrendered ourselves to You and our purpose and cause to Your divine service". "My punishment", said Allah, "is a penalty I inflict on whom I will, and My mercy is extended to the wide circle of the all; I will accord it to those who entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Me. It is those who give alms and give credence to Our revelations and signs, with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues".
157
Who acknowledge the mission of Our Messenger, the unlettered Prophet whom they find well described in their AL-Tawrah (Torah) and AL-Injil (Gospel). Who enjoins them equity and the general principles of justice and forbids them all that is wrongful and obscene; He informs them of all that Allah has rendered lawful for them to eat and of all that is unlawful. He shall release them from the rules fettering them and from the restrictions imposed upon them, and release their minds from what had burdened them of anxious thoughts. Therefore, those who recognize his mission; give credence to his message, honour him, afford him the help he needs and act in accordance with the spiritual and intellectual enlightenment imparted to him, shall be the recipients of Allah's mercy and blessings and it is these whom Heaven shall prosper.
158
Say to them O Muhammad: O you people: you had better believe that I have been sent to you all with a divine message from Allah Who has the rightful claim to the heavens and the earth. Allah Who has the supreme controlling power and the absolute authority over them; there is no Ilah but Him Who gives life and occasions death. Therefore, you people had better believe in Allah with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues, and accept with consenting mind His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet who solemnly believes in Allah and His divine words -those inspired to him and to other Messengers before him-. You had better give credence; to his statement and discourse on practical divinity and follow him so that you may hopefully be guided to the path of righteousness.
159
160
161
We said to them "You make abode in this town* and eat as you will, wherever you will. It is all replete with choice of all delights. Enjoy all that is wholesome and affords pleasure, but let your bosoms surge up and answer thanks and express your thoughts in words invoking Me to relieve your hearts and unload your burden of sins", "Humble yourselves and bow your knees to Me as you go through the gate ", "then and only then will I forgive your iniquities and reward those whose deeds are imprinted with wisdom and piety with what runs higher than what corresponds with their piety"
162
163
Ask them about the town which stood by the see-front* where their minds and souls impelled them to transgress Allah's commandment and break the Sabbath ordained by Allah to be set apart for rest and worship. The fish were made to come to the surface on the Sabbath day, and to dive deep on other days; a means of trial to test their prevalent inclination. As was expected, being wicked, they yielded to temptation
164
Those indifferent among the people of Mussa, said to those concerned: "why waste your breath admonishing people destined to suffer annihilation or condemnation!". "This said the concerned, "is only to discharge the duty imposed by Allah, your Creator, toward these people, they might hope fully open their hearts' ears and be dutiful to Him".
165
166
167
168
And We split them into separate aggregates forming communities among the populations of the various countries of the world; Among them are those who are virtuous, who instruct men in the way of righteous living, and others who are contrary in nature, in character and in tendency, who flourish on wickedness. We have tried them with interchange of favours and efficacious grace and with disfavors, misfortunes and disgrace that they may hopefully be dutiful to Allah.
169
Then, there came their successors on whom the weight of AL-Tawrah had devolved and the responsibility of subscribing to its precept had fallen. Yet they chose to go by the world and its vanities, and unmerited forgiveness haunted their imagination; They said: "We will be forgiven our iniquities", and in vanity they wasted their days. Every opportunity favourable to a wicked end or purpose gave them occasion to a burst of merriment. Do they not recall to the mind that they did subscribe to the covenant Allah had revealed in AL-Tawrah which they have carefully studied; the covenant forbidding them to relate to Allah but the truth and emphasizing that the Hereafter is infinitely far better and more advantageous to those who entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Allah. Can you - people- not reflect!
170
171
And you Ahl AL-Kitab had better recall to the mind that once when your fathers camped at the foot of the Mount and heaven thundered and the awe - inspiring echoes thundered in their ears as We entered with them into a covenant, and We stabilized the Mount above them when it shook with such fits of awe for the profound reverence dutiful to Allah and they thought it was collapsing over their heads. There and then did We say to them: " Adhere to all We have imparted to you -AL-Tawrah- and observe the code of discipline and body of regulations and hold them in esteem and hold to your promise and pay attention and regard to it and be mindful of Our commandments, you may hopefully entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Me".
172
Allah your Creator brings forth the progeny of the Children of Adam from their backs. Symbolized by a figure in human form so as to be witnesses of their own reaction to Allah, they were asked: "Am I not your Creator!" "Indeed You are", they answered. "Then", Allah said, "You cannot deny this in Day of Judgment with the excuse that you were not aware of this fact".
173
174
175
And narrate to the Jews O Muhammad the story of the Israelite to whom We imparted intellectual acquaintance with all the facts and We vested him with the power of comprehending Our signs. Yet he blinded his mind's eyes and refrained from proceeding with Our purpose. By consequence, We sent him to the Devil who had led him by the nose to the maze of error.
176
Had We willed We Would have opened his heart's ears and influenced him with the divine course of action, and thereby exalted his best faculties to the highest spiritual honours. But he chose to direct his intellect earthward, indulge in vanities and remain low. And there, he stood similitude exact of the dog which lolls his tongue whether you drive him away or you let him alone. This is exactly the similitude of those who deny Our revelations and signs betokening Omnipotence and Authority. Therefore, recourse O Muhammad to the narratives of such persons so that they may hopefully pause to think.
177
178
179
We have disposed to the abode in Hell many of the Jinn and mankind whom We had foreknown to be losers; they carry hearts stigmatized with dullness of comprehension and eyes lacking perception and they have no ears for admonition. These are they standing similitude exact of cattle, in fact even worse, and these are the heedless of all truth.
180
181
182
183
184
Do the infidels not pause to think of their fellow - citizen and countryman* and his disposition, and weigh the matter mentally, give it due weight, and honestly admit that he is not possessed by an evil spirit nor is there a demoniac element in him. He is but a spectacle and a warning who stands manifest of moral and spiritual sublimity!
185
Do they not see into the immensity of the universe and look with their minds' eyes at the realms of the heavens and the earth and the precision with which structures are related and at the unique government of all that He has created! Do they not ponder that the end of their term of life may well be approaching! Therefore, if they refuse to acknowledge the truth as is featured in these signs, what then will convince them if these signs and this divine discourse do not!
186
187
The infidels insolently call upon you O Muhammad for information relative to the point of time at which the predetermined Eventful Hour of Judgment takes place! Say to them: " it is only Allah alone Who knows when, He alone has the rightful claim to the knowledge of the how and when of here and Hereafter; no one reveals it when due but Him as His word prompts". "It weighs quite heavily on the heavens and all those within and on the earth and the hopes of all those therein, and the encounter with it is simply a sudden start of a surprise". They ask you about it as if you are anxious to know the how and when and as a result you have been informed. Say to them: " Rest assured that it is only Allah alone Who does know when, but most people do not realize this fact".
188
Say to them O Muhammad: "I have no control over what will become nor of what will befall me, be it good or bad but as Allah wills. He is the Principle Power by Whom events are unalterably predetermined". "If I indulged in prophecy and were able to foretell future events and realize the unseen I would have made all grace abound in me, and never would I have failed to be out of harm's way". "I am only a spectacle and a warning to people whose hearts have been touched with the divine hand".
189
He is it Who brought you into being from one single soul -Adam- and from him, by a special creation, did He evolve his mate in whom he seeks consolation and finds comfort. And when he -the early man- approached her with amorous intention, she conceived and the pregnancy passed unnoticed in its early stages. But as the ovum became an embryo and the embryo developed into a foetus which grew larger and the mother grew heavier, the parents invoked the deity's mercy and blessings interpreting their thoughts in words "If You ", they said, "give us a healthy child free from abnormalities and malformations, we will most certainly be grateful".
190
191
193
194
195
Do they have feet to go or hands to hold, or do they have eyes to see or ears to hear; they have neither the special faculties to perceive external objects nor the faculties of mind or soul, understanding or intelligence as bearing on action, behaviour or judgement. Say to them O Muhammad: "Call on your predominant partners who have authority over you besides Allah and let them devise their plan of unfavourable action against me and conduct it to conclusion, and give me no respite".
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
And if you do not present them with a supernatural act to satisfy their desire, they wish you would go in quest of it. Say to them: I only follow what is revealed to me by spiritual influence from Allah, my Creator; this is the Quran, the true illumination and enlightenment. It is revealed by Allah, your Creator, to open your mind's eyes and guide those whose hearts have been touched with the divine hand into all truth and to confer on them Allah's mercy and blessings.
204
205
And bear Allah, your Creator, in your inmost thoughts and secret feelings so that the principle of thought and action, the soul, exercises devotional contemplation with humbleness and profound reverence and with bated breath at the beginning and the end of the day. Let not your innermost being be unmindful of Allah.