English - Chapter 26 - Ash-Shuara

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These are the signs of the perspicuous book

Peradventure thou afflictest thy self unto death, lest the Meccans become not true believers

If We pleased, We could send down unto them a convincing sign from heaven, unto which their necks would humbly submit

But where cometh unto them no admonition from the Merciful, being newly revealed as occasions require, but they turn aside from the same

and they have charged it with falsehood: But a message shall come unto them, which they shall not laugh to scorn

Do they not behold the earth, how many vegetables We cause to spring up therein, of every noble species

Verily herein is a sign: But the greater part of them do not believe

Verily thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful God

Remember when thy Lord called Moses, saying, go to the unjust people

the people of Pharaoh; will they not dread Me

Moses answered, O Lord, verily I fear lest they accuse me of falsehood

and lest my breast become straitened, and my tongue be not ready in speaking: Send therefore unto Aaron, to be my assistant

Also they have a crime to object against me; and I fear they will put me to death

God said, they shall by no means put thee to death: Wherefore go ye with our signs; for We will be with you, and will hear what passes between you and them

Go ye therefore unto Pharaoh, and say, verily we are the apostle of the Lord of all creatures

Send away with us the children of Israel

And when they had delivered their message, Pharaoh answered, have we not brought thee up among us, when a child; and hast thou not dwelt among us for several years of thy life

Yet hast thou done thy deed which thou hast done: And thou art an ungrateful person

Moses replied, I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred

wherefore I fled from you, because I feared you: But my Lord hath bestowed on me wisdom, and hath appointed me one of his apostles

And this is the favour which thou hast bestowed on me, that thou hast enslaved the children of Israel

Pharaoh said, and who is the Lord of all creatures

Moses answered, the Lord of heaven and earth, and of whatever is between them: If ye are men of sagacity

Pharaoh said unto those who were about him, do ye not hear

Moses said, your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers

Pharaoh said unto those who were present, your apostle, who is sent unto you, is certainly distracted

Moses said, the Lord of the east, and of the west, and of whatever is between them; if ye are men of understanding

Pharaoh said unto him, verily if thou take any god besides me, I will make thee one of those who are imprisoned

Moses answered, what, although I come unto you with a convincing miracle

Pharaoh replied, produce it therefore, if thou speakest truth

And he cast down his rod, and behold, it became a visible serpent

And he drew forth his hand out of his bosom; and behold, it appeared, white unto the spectators

Pharahoh said unto the princes who were about him, verily this man is a skilful magician

He seeketh to dispossess you of your land by his sorcery; what therefore do ye direct

They answered, delay him, and his brother by good words for a time; and send through the cities men to assemble

and bring unto thee every skilful magician

So the magicians were assembled at an appointed time, on a solemn day

And it was said unto the people, are ye assembled together

Perhaps we may follow the magicians, if they do get the victory

And when the magicians were come, they said unto Pharaoh, shall we certainly receive a reward, if we do get the victory

He answered, yea; and ye shall surely be of those who approach my person

Moses said unto them, cast down what ye are about to cast down

Wherefore they cast down their ropes and their rods, and said, by the might of Pharaoh, verily we shall be the conquerors

And Moses cast down his rod, and behold, it swallowed up that which they had caused falsely to appear changed into serpents

Whereupon the magicians prostrated themselves, worshipping

and said, we believe in the Lord of all creatures

the Lord of Moses and of Aaron

Pharaoh said unto them, have ye believed on him, before I have given you permission? Verily he is your chief, who hath taught you magic: But hereafter ye shall surely know my power. I will cut off your hands and your feet, on the opposite sides, and I will crucify you all

They answered, it will be no harm unto us; for we shall return unto our Lord

We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first who have believed

And we spake by revelation unto Moses, saying, march forth with my servants by night; for ye will be pursued

And Pharaoh sent officers through the cities to assemble forces, saying

verily these are a small company

and they are enraged against us

But we are a multitude well provided

So we caused them to quit their gardens, and fountains

and treasures, and fair dwellings

Thus did We do; and We made the children of Israel to inherit the same

And they pursued them at sun-rise

And when the two armies were come in sight of each other, the companions of Moses said, we shall surely be overtaken

Moses answered, by no means: For my Lord is with me, Who will surely direct me

And We commanded Moses by revelation, saying, smite the sea with thy rod. And when he had smitten it, it became divided into twelve parts, between which were as many paths, and every part was like a vast mountain

And We drew thither the others

and We delivered Moses and all those who were with him

Then We drowned the others

Verily herein was a sign; but the greater part of them did not believe

Verily thy Lord is the mighty, and the merciful

And rehearse unto them the story of Abraham

When he said unto his father, and his people, what do ye worship

They answered, we worship idols; and we constantly serve them all the day long

Abraham said, do they hear you, when ye invoke them

Or do they either profit you, or hurt you

They answered, but we found our fathers do the same

He said, what think ye? The gods which ye worship

and your forefathers worshipped

are my enemy: Except only the Lord of all creatures

who hath created me, and directeth me

and who giveth me to eat, and to drink

and when I am sick, healeth me

and Who will cause me to die, and will afterwards restore me to life

and Who, I hope, will forgive my sins on the day of judgment

O Lord, grant me wisdom; and join me with the righteous

And grant that I may be spoken of with honour among the latest posterity

and make me an heir of the garden of delight

And forgive my father, for that he hath been one of those who go astray

And cover me not with shame on the day of resurrection

on the day in which neither riches nor children shall avail

unless unto him who shall come unto God with a sincere heart

When paradise shall be brought near to the view of the pious

and hell shall appear plainly to those who shall have erred

and it shall be said unto them, where are your deities which ye served

besides God? Will they deliver you from punishment, or will they deliver themselves

And they shall be cast into the same, both they, and those who have been seduced to their worship

and all the host of Eblis

The seduced shall dispute therein with their false gods, saying

by God, we were in a manifest error

when we equalled you with the Lord of all creatures

And none seduced us but the wicked

We have now no intercessors

nor any friend who careth for us

If we were allowed to return once more into the world, we would certainly become true believers

Verily herein was a sign: But the greater part of them believed not

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

The people of Noah accused God's messengers of imposture

When their brother Noah said unto them, will ye not fear God

Verily I am a faithful messenger unto you

wherefore fear God, and obey me

I ask no reward of you for my preaching unto you; I expect my reward from no other than the Lord of all creatures

Wherefore fear God, and obey me

They answered, shall we believe on thee, when only the most abject persons have followed thee

Noah said, I have no knowledge of that which they did

it appertaineth unto my Lord alone to bring them to account, if ye understand

wherefore I will not drive away the believers

I am no more than a public preacher

They replied, assuredly, unless thou desist, O Noah, thou shalt be stoned

He said, O Lord, verily my people take me for a liar

Wherefore judge publicly between me and them; and deliver me and the true believers who are with me

Wherefore We delivered him, and those who were with him, in the ark filled with men and animals

and afterwards We drowned the rest

Verily herein was a sign: But the greater part of them believed not

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

The tribe of Ad charged God's messengers with falsehood

When their brother Hud said unto them, will ye not fear God

Verily I am a faithful messenger unto you

wherefore fear God, and obey me

I demand not of you any reward for my preaching unto you: I expect my reward from no other than the Lord of all creatures

Do ye build a land-mark on every high place, to divert yourselves

And do ye erect maginificent works, hoping that ye may continue in their possession for ever

And when ye exercise your power, do ye exercise it with cruelty and rigour

Fear God, by leaving these things; and obey Me

He hath bestowed on you cattle, and children

and gardens, and springs of water

Verily I fear for you the punishment of a grievous day

They answered, it is equal unto us whether thou admonish us, or dost not admonish us

This which thou preachest is only a device of the ancients

neither shall we be punished for what we have done

And they accused him of imposture: Wherefore We destroyed them. Verily herein was a sign: But the greater part of them believed not

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

The tribe of Thamud also charged the messengers of God with falsehood

When their brother Saleh said unto them, will ye not fear God

Verily I am a faithful messenger unto you

Wherefore fear God, and obey me

I demand no reward of you for my preaching unto you; I expect my reward from no other than the Lord of all creatures

Shall ye be left for ever secure in the possession of the things which are here

among gardens, and fountains

and corn, and palm-trees, whose branches sheathe their flowers

And will ye continue to cut habitations for your selves out of the mountains, behaving with insolence

Fear God, and obey me

and obey not the command of the transgressors

who act corruptly in the earth, and reform not the same

They answered, verily thou art distracted

Thou art no other than a man like unto us: Produce now some sign, if thou speakest truth

Saleh said, this she-camel shall be a sign unto you: She shall have her portion of water, and ye shall have your portion of water alternately, on a several day appointed for you

and do her no hurt, lest the punishment of a terrible day be inflicted on you

But they slew her; and were made to repent of their impiety

For the punishment which had been threatened overtook them. Verily herein was a sign; but the greater part of them did not believe

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

The people of Lot likewise accused God's messengers of imposture

When their brother Lot said unto them, will ye not fear God

Verily I am a faithful messenger unto you

Wherefore fear God, and obey me

I demand no reward of you for my preaching: I expect my reward from no other than the Lord of all creatures

Do ye approach unto the males among mankind

and leave your wives which your Lord hath created for you? Surely ye are people who transgress

They answered, unless thou desist, O Lot, thou shalt certainly be expelled our city

He said, verily I am one of those who abhor your doings

O Lord, deliver me, and my family, from that which they act

Wherefore We delivered him, and all his family

except an old woman, his wife, who perished among those who remained behind

Then We destroyed the rest

and We rained on them a shower of stones; and terrible was the shower which fell on those who had been warned in vain

Verily herein was a sign; but the greater part of them did not believe

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

The inhabitants of the wood also accused God's messengers of imposture

When Shoaib said unto them, will ye not fear God

Verily I am a faithful messenger unto you

Wherefore fear God, and obey me

I ask no reward of you for my preaching: I expect my reward from no other than the Lord of all creatures

Give just measure, and be not defrauders

and weigh with an equal balance

and diminish not unto men ought of their matters; neither commit violence in the earth, acting corruptly

And fear him who hath created you, and also the former generations

They answered, certainly thou art distracted

Thou art no more than a man, like unto us; and we do surely esteem thee to be a liar

Cause now a part of the heaven to fall upon us, if thou speakest truth

Shoaib said, my Lord best knoweth that which ye do

And they charged him with falsehood: Wherefore the punishment of the day of the shadowing cloud overtook them; and this was the punishment of a grievous day

Verily herein was a sign; but the greater part of them did not believe

Thy Lord is the mighty, the merciful

This book is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all creatures

which the faithful spirit hath caused to descend

upon thy heart, that thou mightest be a preacher to thy prople

in the perspicuous Arabic tongue

And it is born witness to in the scriptures of former ages

Was it not a sign unto them, that the wise men among the children of Israel knew it

Had We revealed it unto any of the foreigners

and he had read the same unto them, yet they would not have believed therein

Thus have We caused obstinate infidelity to enter the hearts of the wicked

They shall not believe therein, until they see a painful punishment

It shall come suddenly upon them, and they shall not foresee it

And they shall say, shall we be respited

Do they therefore desire our punishment to be hastened

What thinkest thou? If We suffer them to enjoy the advantage of this life for several years

and afterwards that with which they are threatened come upon them

what will that which they have enjoyed profit them

We have destroyed no city, but preachers were first sent unto it

to admonish the inhabitants thereof; neither did We treat them unjustly

The devils did not descend with the Koran, as the infidels give out

It is not for their purpose, neither are they able to produce such a book

for they are far removed from hearing the discourse of the angels in heaven

Invoke no other god with the true God, lest thou become one of those who are doomed to punishment

And admonish thy more near relations

And behave thy self with meekness towards the true believers who follow thee

And if they be disobedient unto thee, say, verily I am clear of that which ye do

And trust in the most mighty, the merciful God

who seeth thee when thou risest up

and thy behaviour among those who worship

for He both heareth and knoweth

Shall I declare unto you upon whom the devils descend

They descend upon every lying and wiched person

They learn what is heard; but the greater part of them are liars

And those who err follow the steps of the poets

Dost thou not see that they rove as bereft of their senses through every valley

and that they say that which they do not

Except those who believe, and do good works, and remember God frequently; and who defend themselves, after they have been unjustly treated. And they who act unjustly shall know hereafter, with what treatment they shall be treated