XXXV. When We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse (and God best knoweth what He revealeth), they say, 'Thou art but a forger!'-but the greater number of them know not! SAY, The Holy Spirit Gabriel hath brought it down from thy Lord with truth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and good tidings unto the Muslims. And We well know that they say, 'Only a man1 teacheth him.' The tongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this is the perspicuous Arabic tongue. (xvi. 103-105). XXXVI. SAY, If the sea were ink, for writing the words of my Lord, the sea would be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and [so] if we brought its like in aid.2 1 Namely, a Christian slave whom the Prophet used to visit. [The Mekkans accounted for the production of the Kurán by an unlearned man like Moḥammad by ascribing it to the teaching of some Christian, (xviii. 109). whom is doubtful. Moḥammad's reply is that the Christian's was a foreign tongue, whilst the Kurán was in Arabic.] 2 ['As a further supply,' orig. ed.] THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL. XXXVII. +The Striking! what is the Striking? And what shall teach thee what the Striking is? It is a day when men shall be like scattered moths, And the mountains like carded wool! Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life well-pleasing. As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit. And what shall teach thee what that is? A raging fire! XXXVIII. (ci.) +When the earth is shaken with her shaking, On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works, And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of good shall behold it, And whosoever shall have wrought an ant's weight of ill shall behold it. (xcix.) [Lit. Burdens:' explained by El-Beydáwee and others as buried treasures and as dead.] XXXIX. +When the heaven shall be cloven asunder, And when the graves shall be turned upside-down, In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee. Verily there are watchers over you, Worthy recorders, Knowing what ye do. Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell; And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire]; They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom, And they shall not be hidden from it. And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is? Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment? It is a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul; and all on that day shall be in the hands of God. (lxxxii.) XL. When the sun shall be wrapped up, And when the stars shall fall down, And when the mountains shall be made to pass away, be neglected, And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together, And when the seas shall overflow,2 And when the souls shall be joined to their bodies, The most highly esteemed of pro- these renderings, and also 'be dried perty. up,' are supported by various autho2 ['Be set on fire,' orig. ed. Both rities. See Lane: Lex. voce sejera.] And when the child1 that hath been buried alive shall be asked For what crime she was put to death, And when the books 2 shall be laid open, XLI. (lxxxi. 1-14.) Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee? Labouring, toiling: They shall feel the heat of scorching fire, They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling, There shall be no food for them but of daree',4 It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger. XLII. (lxxxviii. 1-7.) When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet, And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to dust with one breaking, On that day the Calamity shall come to pass: And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day, And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day eight of the angels 5 shall bear the throne of thy Lord. On that day ye shall be presented for the reckoning; none of your secrets shall be hidden. And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right hand, he shall say, 'Take ye, read my book; 1 Woman-child. 2 Of men's actions. 3 As the skin is plucked off a slaughtered sheep. 6 4 A kind of thorn which no beast eateth, by reason of its impurity. 5 Or eight ranks of them. 6 Unto a company, by reason of his joy thereat. Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning. In a lofty garden, Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand. 16 Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid beforehand in the past days.' But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left hand, he shall say, 'O would that I had not had my book given to me, Nor known what [was] my reckoning! O would that my death had been the ending of me! My wealth hath not profited me! My power is passed away from me!' 2 Take him and chain him, Then cast him into hell to be burnt, Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him: For he believed not in God, the Great, Nor urged to feed the poor; Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend, Nor any food save filth Which none but the sinners shall eat.' XLIII. (lxix. 13-37.) When the Calamity shall come to pass There shall not be a soul that will deny its happening,3 [It will be] an abaser of some, an exalter of others; When the earth shall be shaken with a violent shaking, And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling, And shall become fine dust scattered abroad; 1 And it shall be said unto such. 2 And it shall be said unto the keepers of hell. • As it hath denied it in the present world. |