Sura   7 - Al Araf
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SURA VII (7) - AL ARAF [Mecca - 205 Verses]                 (LXXXVII - 293)    
 
       In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
 
       Elif. Lam. Mim. Sad.  A Book hath been sent down to thee:  therefore
let there be no difficulty in thy breast concerning it:  to the intent that
thou mayest warn thereby, and that it may be a monition to the faithful.
 
       Follow ye what hath been sent down to you from your Lord; and follow no
masters beside Him.  How little will ye be monished!
 
       How many cities have we destroyed!  By night, or while they were in
their midday slumber, did our wrath reach them!
 
       And what was their cry when our wrath reached them, but to say, "Verily,
we have been impious."
 
       Surely, therefore, will we call those to account, to whom an Apostle
hath been sent, and of the sent ones themselves will we certainly demand a
reckoning.
 
       And with knowledge will we tell them of their deeds, for we were not
absent from them.
 
       The weighing on that day, with justice! and they whose balances shall be
heavy, these are they who shall be happy.
 
       And they whose balances shall be light, these are they who have lost
their souls, for that to our signs they were unjust:
 
       And now have we stablished you on the earth, and given you therein the
supports of life.  How little do ye give thanks!
 
7:10   We created you; then fashioned you; then said we to the angels,
"Prostrate yourselves unto Adam:  and they prostrated them all in worship, save
Ebilis:  He was not among those who prostrated themselves.
 
       To him said God:  "What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself in
worship at my bidding?"  He said, "Nobler am I than he:  me hast thou created
of fire; of clay hast thou created him."
 
       He said, "Get thee down hence:  Paradise is no place for thy pride:  Get
thee gone then; one of the despised shalt thou be."
 
       He said, "Respite me till the day when mankind shall be raised from the
dead."
 
       He said, "One of the respited shalt thou be."
 
       He said, "Now, for that thou hast caused me to err, surely in thy
straight path will I lay wait for them:
 
       Then I will surely come upon them from before, and from behind, and from
their right hand, and from their left, and thou shalt not find the greater part
of them to be thankful."
 
       He said, "Go forth from it, a scorned, a banished one!  Whoever of them
shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you, one and all.
 
       And, O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in Paradise, and eat ye whence ye
will, but to this tree approach not, lest ye become of the unjust doers."
 
       Then Satan whispered them to shew them their nakedness, which had been
hidden from them both.  And he said, "This tree hath your Lord forbidden you,
only lest ye should become angels, or lest ye should become immortals."
 
7:20   And he sware to them both, "Verily I am unto you one who counselleth
aright."
 
       So he beguiled them by deceits:  and when they had tasted of the tree,
their nakedness appeared to them, and they began to sew together upon
themselves the leaves of the garden.  And their Lord called to them, "Did I not
forbid you this tree, and did I not say to you, 'Verily, Satan is your declared
enemy.'"
 
       They said, "O our Lord!  With ourselves have we dealt unjustly:  if thou
forgive us not and have pity on us, we shall surely be of those who perish."
 
       He said, "Get ye down, the one of you an enemy to the other; and on
earth shall be your dwelling, and your provision for a season."
 
       He said, "On it shall ye live, and on it shall ye die, and from it shall
ye be taken forth."
 
       O children of Adam! now have we sent down to you raiment to hide your
nakedness, and splendid garments; but the raiment of piety - this is best.
This is one of the signs of God, that man haply may reflect.
 
       O children of Adam! let not Satan bring you into trouble, as he drove
forth your parents from the Garden, by despoiling them of their raiment, that
he might cause them to see their nakedness:  He truly seeth you, he and his
comrades, whence ye see not them.  Verily, we have made the Satans tutelars of
those who believe not.
 
       And when the wicked commit some filthy deed, they say, "We found our
fathers practising it, and to us hath God commanded it" - Say:  God enjoineth
not filthy deeds.  Will ye speak of God ye know not what?
 
       Say:  My Lord hath enjoined what is right.  Turn your faces therefore
towards every place where he is worshipped, and call upon him with sincere
religion.  As he created you, to him shall ye return:  some hath he guided, and
some hath he justly left in error, because they have taken the Satans as their
tutelars beside god, and have deemed that they were guided aright.
 
       O children of Adam!  wear your goodly apparel when ye repair to any
mosque, and eat ye and drink; but exceed not, for He loveth not those who
exceed.
 
7:30   Say:  Who hath prohibited God's goodly raiment, and the healthful viands
which He hath provided for his servants?  Say:  These are for the faithful in
this present life, but above all on the day of the resurrection.  Thus make we
our signs plain for people of knowledge.
 
       Say:  Truly my Lord hath forbidden filthy actions whether open or
secret, and iniquity, and unjust violence, and to associate with God that for
which He hath sent down no warranty, and to speak of God that ye know not.
 
       Every nation hath its set time.  And when their time is come, they shall
not retard it an hour; and they shall not advance it.
 
       O children of Adam! there shall come to Apostles from among yourselves,
rehearsing my signs to you; and whoso shall fear God and do good works, no fear
shall be upon them, neither shall they be put to grief.
 
       But they who charge our signs with falsehood, and turn away from them in
their pride, shall be inmates of the fire:  for ever shall they abide therein.
 
       And who is worse that he who deviseth a lie of God, or treateth our
signs as lies?  To them shall a portion here below be assigned in accordance
with the Book of our decrees, until the time when our messengers, as they
receive their souls, shall say, "Where are they on whom ye called beside God?"
They shall say, "Gone from us." And they shall witness against themselves that
they were infidels.
 
       He shall say, "Enter ye into the Fire with the generations of Djinn and
men who have preceded you.  So oft as a fresh generation entereth, it shall
curse its sister, until when they have all reached it, the last comes shall say
to the former, 'O our Lord! these are they who led us astray:  assign them
therefore a double torment of the fire:'"  He will say, "Ye shall all have
double."  But of this are ye ignorant.
 
       And the former of them shall say to the latter, "What advantage have ye
over us?  Taste ye therefore the torment for that which ye have done."
 
       Verily, they who have charged our signs with falsehood and have turned
away from them in their pride, Heaven's gates shall not be opened to them, nor
shall they enter Paradise, until the camel passeth through the eye of the
needle.  After this sort will we recompense the transgressors.
 
       They shall make their bed in Hell, and above them shall be coverings of
fire!  After this sort will we recompense the evil doers.
 
7:40   But as to those who have believed and done the things which are right
(we will lay on no one a burden beyond his power) - These shall be inmates of
Paradise:  for ever shall they abide therein;
 
       And we will remove whatever rancour was in their bosoms:  rivers shall
roll at their feet:  and they shall say, "Praise be to God who hath guided us
hither!  We had not been guided had not God guided us!  Of a surety the
Apostles of our Lord came to us with truth."  And a voice shall cry to them,
"This is Paradise, of which, as the meed of your works, ye are made heirs."
 
       And the inmates of Paradise shall cry to the inmates of the fire, "Now
have we found what our Lord promised us to be true.  Have ye too found what
your Lord promised you to be true?"  And they shall answer, "Yes."  And a
Herald shall proclaim between them:  "The curse of God be upon the evil doers,
 
       Who turn men aside from the way of God, and seek to make it crooked, and
who believe not in the life to come!"
 
       And between them shall be a partition; and on the wall Al Araf shall be
men who will know all, by their tokens, and they shall cry to the inmates of
Paradise, "Peace be on you!" but they shall not yet enter it, although they
long to do so.
 
       And when their eyes are turned towards the inmates of the Fire, they
shall say, "O our Lord! place us not with the offending people."
 
       And they who are upon Al Araf shall cry to those whom they shall know by
their tokens, "Your amassings and your pride have availed you nothing.
 
       Are these they on whom ye sware God would not bestow mercy?  Enter ye
into Paradise!  where no fear shall be upon you, neither shall ye be put to
grief."
 
       And the inmates of the fire shall cry to the inmates of Paradise:  "Pour
upon us some water, or of the refreshments God hath given you?"  They shall
say, "Truly God hath forbidden both to unbelievers,
 
       Who made their religion a sport and pastime, and whom the life of the
world hath deceived."  This day therefore will we forget them, as they forgot
the meeting of this their day, and as they did deny our signs.
 
7:50   And now have we brought them the Book:  with knowledge have we explained
it; a guidance and a mercy to them that believe.
 
       What have they to wait for now but its interpretation?  When its
interpretation shall come, they who aforetime were oblivious of it shall say,
"The Prophets of our Lord did indeed bring the truth; shall we have any
intercessor to intercede for us? or could we not be sent back?  Then would we
act otherwise that we have acted."  But they have ruined themselves; and the
deities of their own devising have fled from them!
 
       Your Lord is God, who in six days created the Heavens and the Earth, and
then mounted the throne:  He throweth the veil of night over the day:  it
pursueth it swiftly:  and he created the sun and the moon and the stars,
subjected to laws by His behest:  Is not all creation and its empire HIs?
Blessed be God the Lord of the Worlds!
 
       Call upon your Lord with lowliness and in secret, for He loveth not the
transgressors.
 
       And commit not disorders on the earth after it hath been well ordered;
and call on Him with fear and longing desire:  Verily the mercy of God is nigh
unto the righteous.
 
       And He it is who sendeth forth the winds as the heralds of his
compassion, until they bring up the laden clouds, which we drive along to some
dead land and send down water thereon, by which we cause an upgrowth of all
kinds of fruit.  - Thus will we bring forth the dead.  Haply ye will reflect.
 
       In a rich soil, its plants spring forth abundantly by the will of its
Lord, and in that which is bad, they spring forth but scantily.  Thus do We
diversify our signs for those who are thankful.
 
       Of old sent We Noah to his people, and he said, "O my people!  worship
God.  Ye have no God but Him:  indeed I fear for you the chastisement of the
great day."
 
       The chiefs of his people said, "We clearly see that thou art in a
palpable error."
 
       He said, "There is no error in my, O my people! but I am a messenger
from the Lord of the Worlds.
 
7:60   I bring to you the messages of my Lord, and I give you friendly counsel;
for I know from God what ye know not.
 
       Marvel ye that a Warning should come to you from your Lord through one
of yourselves, that he may warn you, and that ye may fear for yourselves, and
that haply ye may find mercy?"
 
       But they treated him as a liar:  so we delivered him and those who were
with him in the ark, and we drowned those who charged our signs with falsehood;
for they were a blind people.
 
       And to Ad we sent their brother Houd.  "O my people!" said he, "worship
God:  ye have no other god than Him:  Will ye not then fear Him?"
 
       Said the unbelieving chiefs among his people, "We certainly perceive
that thou art unsound of mind; and we surely deem thee an impostor."
 
       He said, "O my people! it is not unsoundness of mind in me, but I am an
Apostle from the Lord of the Worlds.
 
       The messages of my Lord do I announce to you, and I am your faithful
counsellor.
 
       Marvel ye that a warning hath come to you from your Lord through one of
yourselves that He may warn you?  Remember how he hath made you the successors
of the people of Noah, and increased you in tallness of stature.  Remember then
the favours of God, that it may haply be well with you."
 
       They said, "Art thou come to us in order that we may worship one God
alone, and leave what our fathers worshipped?  Then bring that upon us with
which thou threatenest us, if thou be a man of truth."
 
       He said, "Vengeance and wrath shall suddenly light on you from your
Lord.  Do ye dispute with me about names that you and your fathers have given
your idols, and for which god hath sent you down to warranty?  Wait ye then,
and I too will wait with you."
 
7:70   And we delivered him, and those who were on his side, by our mercy, and
we cut off, to the last man, those who had treated our signs as lies, and who
were not believers.
 
       And to Themoud we sent their brother Saleh.  He said, O my people!
worship God:  ye have no other god than Him:  now hath a clear proof of my
mission come to you from your Lord, this she-camel of God being a sign to you:
therefore let her go at large to pasture on God's earth:  and touch her not to
harm her, lest a grievous chastisement seize you.
 
       And remember how he hath made you successors to the Adites, and given
you dwellings on the earth, so that on its plains ye build castles, and hew out
houses in the hills.  And bear in mind the benefits of god, and lay not the
earth waste with deeds of license.
 
       Said the chiefs of his people puffed up with pride, to those who were
esteemed weak, even to those of them who believed, "What! know ye for certain
that Saleh is sent by his Lord?"  They said, "Truly we believe in that with
which he hath been sent."
 
       Then said those proud men, "Verily, we reject that in which ye believe."
 
       And they ham-strung the she-camel, and rebelled against their Lord's
command, and said, "O Saleh, let thy menaces be accomplished upon us if thou
art one of the Sent Ones."
 
       Then the earthquake surprised them; and in the morning they were found
dead on their faces in their dwellings.
 
       So he turned away from them, and said, "O my people!  I did indeed
announce to you the message of my Lord:  and I gave you faithful counsel, but
ye love not faithful counsellors.
 
       We also sent Lot, when he said to his people, commit ye this filthy deed
in which no creature hath gone before you?
 
       Come ye to men, instead of women, lustfully?  Ye are indeed a people
given up to excess.
 
7:80   But the only answer of his people was to say, "Turn them out of your
city, for they are men who vaunt them pure."
 
       And we delivered him and his family, except his wife; she was of those
who lingered:
 
       And we rained a rain upon them:  and see what was the end of the wicked!
 
       And we sent to Madian their brother Shoaib.  He said, "O my people!
worship God; ye have no other God than Him:  now hath a clear sign come to you
from your Lord:  give therefore the full in measures and weights; take from no
man his chattels, and commit no disorder on the earth after it has been made so
good.  This will be better for you, if you will believe it.
 
       And lay not in ambush by every road in menacing sorts; nor mislead him
who believeth in God, from His way, nor seek to make it crooked; and remember
when ye were few and that he multiplied you, and behold what hath been the end
of the authors of disorder!
 
       And if a part of you believe in that with which I am sent, and a part of
you believe not, then wait steadfastly until God shall judge between us, for He
is the best of judges."
 
       Said the chiefs of his people puffed up with pride, "We will surely
banish thee, O Shoaib, and thy fellow-believers from our cities, unless indeed
ye shall back to our religion." "What!" said he, "though we abhor it?
 
       Now shall we have devised a lie concerning God, if after he hath
delivered us from your religion we shall return to it; nor can we return to it,
unless by the will of God our Lord:  our Lord embraceth all things in his ken.
In God have we put our trust:  O our Lord! decide between us and between our
people, with truth; for the best to decide art Thou."
 
       And the chiefs of his people who believed not, said, "If ye follow
Shoaib, ye shall then surely perish."
 
       An earthquake therefore surprised them, and they were found in the
morning dead on their faces, in their dwellings.
 
7:90   Those who had treat Shoaib as an impostor, became as though they had
never dwelt in them:  they who treated Shoaib as an impostor, were they that
perished.
 
       So he turned away from them and said, O my people!  I proclaimed to you
the messages of my Lord, and I counselled you aright; but how should I be
grieved for a people who do not believe?
 
       Nor did we ever send a prophet to any city without afflicting its people
with adversity and trouble, that haply they might humble them.
 
       Then changed we their ill for good, until they waxed wealthy, and said,
"Of old did troubles and blessings befall our fathers:" therefore did we seize
upon them suddenly when they were unaware.
 
       But if that the people of these cities had believed and feared us, we
would surely have laid open to them blessings out of the Heaven and the Earth:
but they treated our signs as lies, and we took vengeance on them for their
deeds.
 
       Were the people, therefore, of those cities secure that our wrath would
not light on them by night, while they were slumbering?
 
       Were the people of those cities secure that our wrath would not light on
them in broad day, while they were disporting themselves?
 
       Did they, therefore, deem themselves secure from the deep counsel of
God?  But none deem themselves secure from the deep counsel of God, save those
who perish.
 
       Is it not proved to those who inherit this land after its ancient
occupants, that if we please we can smite them for their sins, and put a seal
upon their hearts, that they hearken not?
 
       We will tell thee the stories of these cities.  Their apostles came to
them with clear proofs of their mission; but they would not believe in what
they had before treated as imposture. - Thus doth God seal up the hearts of the
unbelievers -
 
7:100  And we found not of their covenant in most of them; but we found most of
them to be perverse.
 
       Then after them we sent Moses with our signs to Pharaoh and his nobles,
who acted unjustly in their regard.  But see wht was the end of the corrupt
doers!
 
       And Moses said, "O Pharaoh! verily I am an apostle from the Lord of the
Worlds.
 
       Nothing but truth is it right for me to speak of God.  Now am I come to
you from your Lord with a proof of my mission; send away, therefore, the
children of Israel with me."  He said, "If thou comest with a sign, shew it if
thou art a man of truth."
 
       So he threw down his rod, and lo! it distinctly became a serpent.
 
       Then drew he forth his hand, and lo! it was white to the beholders.
 
       The nobles of Pharaoh's people said, "Verily, this is an expert
enchanter:
 
       Fain would he expel you from your land:  what then do ye order to be
done?"
 
       They said, "Put him and his brother off awhle, and send round men to
your cities who shall muster
 
       And bring to thee every skilled enchanter."
 
7:110  And the enchanters came to Pharaoh.  Said they, "Shall we surely be
rewarded if we prevail?"
 
       He said, "Yes; and ye certainly shall be near my person."
 
       They said, "O Moses! either cast thou down thy rod first, or we will
cast down ours."
 
       He said, "Cast ye down." And when they had cast them down they enchanted
the people's eyes, and made them afraid; for they had displayed a great
enchantment.
 
       Then spake we unto Moses, "Throw down thy rod;" and lo! it devoured
their lying wonders.
 
       So the truth was made strong, and that which they had wrought proved
vain:
 
       And they were vanquished on the spot, and drew back humiliated.
 
       But the other enchanters prostrated themselves adoring:
 
       Said they, "We believe on the Lord of the World,
 
       The Lord of Moses and Aaron."
 
7:120  Said Pharoah, "Have ye believed on him, ere I have given you leave?
This truly is a plot which ye have plotted in this my city, in order to drive
out its people.  But ye shall see in the end what shall happen.
 
       I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides; then will I
have you all crucified."
 
       They said, "Verily, to our Lord do we return;
 
       And thou takest vengeance on us only because we have believed on the
signs of our Lord when they came to us.  Lord!  pour out constancy upon us, and
cause us to die Muslims."
 
       Then said the chiefs of Pharaoh's people - "Wilt thou let Moses and his
people go to spread disorders in our land, and desert thee and thy gods?"  He
said, "We will cause their male children to be slain and preserve their females
alive:  and verily we shall be masters over them."
 
       Said Moses to his people, "Cry unto God for help, and bear up patiently,
for the earth is God's:  to such of His servants as He pleaseth doth He give it
as a heritage; and for those that fear Him is a happy issue."
 
       "We have been oppressed," they said, "before thou camest to us, and
since thou hast been with us:" "Perhaps," said he, "your Lord will destroy your
enemy, and will make you his successors in the land, and He will see how ye
will act therein."
 
       Already had we chastised the people of Pharaoh with dearth and scarcity
of fruits, that haply they might take warning:
 
       And when good fell to their lot they said, "This is our due." But if ill
befel them, they regarded Moses and his partisans as (the birds) of evil omen.
Yet, was not their evil omen from God?  But most of them knew it not.
 
       And they said, "Whatever sign thou bring us for our enchantment, we will
not believe on thee."
 
7:130  And we sent upon them the flood and the locusts and the kummal (lice)
and the frogs and the blood, - clear signs - but they behaved proudly, and were
a sinful people.
 
       And when any plague fell upon them, they said, "O Moses! pray for us to
thy Lord, according to that which he hath covenanted with thee:  Truly if thou
take off the plague from us, we will surely believe thee, and will surely send
the children of Israel with thee."  But when we had taken off the plague from
them, and the time which God had granted them had expired, behold! they broke
their promise.
 
       Therefore we took vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea, because
they treated our signs as falsehoods and were heedless of them.
 
       And we gave to the people who had been brought so low, the eastern and
the western lands, which we had blessed as an heritage:  and the good word of
thy Lord was fulfilled on the children of Israel because they had borne up with
patience:  and we destroyed the works and the structures of Pharaoh and his
people:
 
       And we brought the children of Israel across the sea, and they came to a
people who gave themselves up to their idols.  They said, "O Moses! make us a
god, as they have gods."  He said, "Verily, ye are an ignorant people:
 
       For the worship they practise will be destroyed, and that which they do,
is vain."
 
       He said, "Shall I seek any other god for you than God, when it is He who
hath preferred you above all other peoples?"
 
       And remember when we rescued you from the people of Pharaoh they had
laid on you a cruel affliction; they slew your sons, and let only your
daughters live, and in this was a great trial from your Lord.
 
       And we appointed a meeting with Moses for thirty nights, which we
completed with then other nights, so that his whole time with his Lord amounted
to forty nights.  Then said Moses to his brother Aaron, "Take thou my place
among my people, and act rightly, and follow not the way of the corrupt doers."
 
       And when Moses came at our set time and his Lord spake with him, he
said, "O Lord, shew thyself to me, that I may look upon thee." He said, "Thou
shalt not see Me; but look towards the mount, and if it abide firm in its
place, then shalt thou see Me." And when God manifested Himself to the mountain
he turned it to dust!  and Moses fell in a swoon.
 
7:140  And when he came to himself, he said, "Glory be to thee!  To thee do I
turn in penitence, and I am the first of them that believe."
 
       He said, "O Moses!  thee above all men have I chosen by my commissions,
and by my speaking to thee.  Take therefore what I have brought thee, and be
one of those who render thanks.
 
       And we wrote for him upon the tables a monition concerning every
matters, and said, "Receive them thyself with steadfastness, and command thy
people to receive them for the observance of its most goodly precepts:  - I
will shew you the abode of the wicked."
 
       The unjustly proud ones of the earth will I turn aside from my signs,
for even if they see every sign they will n ot believe them; and if they see
the path of uprightness, they will not take it for their path, but if they see
the path of error, for their pasty will they take it.
 
       This, - for that they treated our signs as lies, and were heedless of
them.
 
       Vain will be the works of those who treated our signs, and the meeting
of the life to come, as lies!  Shall they be rewarded but as they have wrought?
 
       And the people of Moses took during his absence a calf made of their
ornaments, and ruddy like gold, and lowing.  Saw they not that it could not
speak to them, nor guide them in the way?
 
       Yet they took it for God and became offenders!
 
       But when they repented, and saw that they had erred, they said, Truly if
our Lord have no mercy on us, and forgive us, we shall surely be of those who
perish.
 
       And when Moses returned to his people, wrathful, angered, he said, "Evil
is it that ye have done next upon my departure.  Would ye hasten on the
judgments of your Lord?"  And he threw down the tables, and seized his brother
by the head and dragged him unto him.  Said he, "Son of my mother! the people
thought me weak, and had well nigh slain me.  Make not mine enemies to rejoice
over me, and place me not among the wrong doers."
 
7:150  He said, "O Lord, forgive me and my brother, and bring us into thy
mercy' for of those who shew mercy thou art the most merciful."
 
       Verily as to those who took the calf as a god, wrath from their Lord
shall overtake them, and shame in this present life:  for thus recompense we
the devisers of a lie.
 
       But to those who have done evil, then afterwards repent and believe, thy
Lord will thereafter be Lenient, Merciful.
 
       And when the anger of Moses was stilled, he took up the tables; and in
their writing was guidance and mercy for those who dread their Lord.
 
       And Moses chose seventy men of his people for a meeting appointed by us.
And when the earthquake overtook them, he said, "O my Lord! if it had been thy
pleasure, thou hadst destroyed them and me ere this! wilt thou destroy us for
what our foolish ones have done?  It is nought by thy trial:  thou wilt mislead
by it whom thou wilt, and guide whom thou wilt.  Our guardian, thou!  Forgive
us then and have mercy on us; for of those who forgive art thou the best:
 
       And write down for us what is good in this world, as well as in the
world to come, for to thee are we guided." He said, "My chastisement shall fall
on whom I will, and my mercy embraceth all things, and I write it down for
those who shall fear me, and pay the alms, and believe in our signs,
 
       Who shall follow the Apostle, the unlettered Prophet - whom they shall
find described with them in the Law and Evangel.  What is right will he enjoin
them, and forbid them what is wrong, and will allow them healthful viands and
prohibit the impure, and will ease them of their burden, and of the yokes which
were upon them; and those who shall believe in him, and strengthen him, and
help him, and follow the light which hath been sent down with him, - these are
they with whom it shall be well."
 
       Say to them:  O men!  Verily I am God's apostle to you all;
 
       Whose is the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth!  There is no God
but He!  He maketh alive and killeth!  Therefore believe on God, and his
Apostle - the unlettered Prophet - who believeth in God and his word.  And
follow him that ye may be guided aright.
 
       And among the people of Moses there is a certain number who guide others
with truth, and practise what is right according to it.
 
7:160  And we divided the Israelites into twelve tribes, as nations; and we
revealed unto Moses when the people asked drink of him - "Strike the rock with
thy staff:" and there gushed forth from it twelve fountains - the men all knew
their drinking places.  And we caused clouds to overshadow them, and send down
upon them the manna and the quails.... "Eat of the good things with which we
have supplied you."  But it was not us whom they injured, but they injured
their own selves:
 
       And when it was said to them, "Dwell in this city, and eat therefrom
what ye will, and say 'Hittat" (forgiveness), and enter the gate with
prostrations; then will we pardon your offences - we will give increase to the
doers of good:"
 
       But the ungodly ones among them changed that word into another than that
which had been told me:  therefore sent we forth wrath out of Heaven upon them
for their wrong doings.
 
       And ask them about the city that stood by the sea, when its inhabitants
broke the Sabbath; when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day appearing
openly, but came not to them on the day when they kept no Sabbath.  Thus did we
make trial of them, for that they were evildoers.
 
       And when some of them said, why warn ye those whom God would destroy or
chastise with terrible chastisement? they said, For our own excuse with your
Lord; and that they may fear Him.
 
       And when they forgot their warnings, we delivered those who had
forbidden evil; and we inflicted a severe chastisement on those who had done
wrong, for that they were evil doers.
 
       But when they proudly persisted in that which we forbidden, we said to
them, "Become scouted apes;" and then thy Lord declared that until the day of
the resurrection, he would surely send against them (the Jews) those who should
evil entreat and chastise them:  for prompt is thy Lord to punish; and He is
Forgiving, Merciful.
 
       And we have divided them upon the Earth as peoples:  some of them are
upright and some are otherwise; and by good things and by evil things have we
proved them, to the intent that they might return to us.
 
       And they have had successors to succeed them:  they have inherited the
Book:  they have received the passing good things of this lower world, and say,
"It will be forgiven us."  Yet if the like good things came to them again, they
would against receive them.  But hath there not been received on their part a
covenant through the Scripture that they should speak nought of God but the
truth?  And yet they study its contents.  But the mansion of the next world
hath more value for those who fear God - Do ye not then comprehend? -
 
       And who hold fast the Book, and observe prayer:  verily, we will not
suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.
 
7:170  And when we shook the mount over them as if it had been a shadow, and
they thought it falling upon them... "Received, said we, with steadfastness
what we have brought you, and remember what is therein, to the end that ye may
fear God."
 
       And when thy Lord brought forth their descendants from the reins of the
sons of Adam and took them to witness against themselves, "Am I not," said He,
"your Lord?"  They said, "Yes, we witness it."  This we did, lest ye should say
on the day of Resurrection, "Truly, of this were we heedless, because
uninformed;"
 
       Or lest ye should say, "Our fathers, indeed, aforetime joined other gods
with our God, and we are their seed after them:  wilt thou destroy us for the
doings of vain men?"
 
       Thus make we our signs clear:  that haply they may return to God.
 
       Receite to them the history of him to whom we vouchsafed our signs, and
who departed from the, so that Satan followed him, and he became one of the
seduced.
 
       Had we pleased, we had certainly thereby exalted him; but he crouched to
the earth and followed his own list:  his likeness, hterefore, is as that of
the dog which lolls out his tongue, whether thou chase him away, or leave him
alone!  Such is the likeness of those who treat our signs as lies.  Tell them
this tale then, that they may consider.
 
       Evil the likeness of those who treat our signs as lies! and it is
themselves they injure.
 
       He whom God guideth is the guided, and they whom he misleadeth shall be
the lost.
 
       Many, moreover, fo the Djinn and men ahve we created for Hell.  Hearts
have they with which they understand not, and eyes have they with which they
see not, and ears have they with which they hearken not.  They are like the
brutes:  Yea, they go more astray:  these are the heedless.
 
       Most excellent titles hath God:  by these call ye on Him, and stand
aloof from those who pervert his titles  For what they have done shall they be
repaid!
 
7:180  And among those whom we have created are a people who guide others with
truth, and in accordance therewith act justly.
 
       But as for those who treat our signs as lies, we will gradually bring

them down by means of which they know not:
 
       And though I lengthen their days, verily, my stratagem shall prove
effectual.
 
       Will they not bethink them that their companion Muhammad is not
djinn-possessed?  Yes, his office is only that of plain warner.
 
       Will they not look forth on thr realms of the Heaven and of the Earth,
and on all things which God hath made, to see whether haply their end by not
drawing on?  And in what other book will they believe who reject the Koran?
 
       No other guide for him whom God shall mislead!  He will leave them
distraught in their wanderings.
 
       They will ask thee of the Hour - for what time is its coming fixed?
Say:  The knowledge of it is only with my Lord:  none shall manifest it in its
time but He:  it is the burden of the Heavens and of the Earth:  not otherwise
than on a sudden will it come on you.
 
       They will ask thee as if thou wast privy to it.  Say:  The knowledge of
ti is with none but God.  But most men know not this.
 
       Say:  I have no control over what may be helpful or hurtful to me, but
as God willeth.  Had I the knowledge of this secrets, I should revel in the
good, and evil should not touch me.  But I am only a warner, and an announcer
of good tidings to those who believe.
 
       He it is who hath created you from a single person, and from him brought
forth his wife that he might dwell with her:  and when he had known her, she
bore a light burden, and went about with it; and when it became heavy, they
both cried to God their Lord, "If thou give us a perfect child we will surely
be of the thankful."
 
7:190  Yet when God had given them a perfect child, they joined partners with
Him in return for what he had given them.  But high is God above the partners
they joined with Him!
 
       What!  Will they join those with Him who cannot create anything, and are
themselves created, and have no power to help them, or to help themselves?
 
       And if ye summon them to "the guidance," they will not follow you!  It
is the same to them whether y summon them or whether ye hold your peace!
 
       Truly they whom ye call on beside God, are, like yourselves, His
servants!  Call on them then, and let them answer you, if what ye say of them
be true!
 
       Have they feet to walk with?  Have they hands to hold with?  Have they
eyes to see with?  Have they ears to hear with?  Say:  Call on this joint gods
of yours; then make your plot against me, and delay it not.
 
       Verily, my Lord is God, who hath send down "the Book;" and He is the
protector of the righteous.
 
       But they whom ye call on beside Him, can lend you no help, nor can they
help themselves:
 
       And if ye summon them to "the guidance," they hear you not:  thou seest
them look towards thee, but they do not see!
 
       Make the best of things; and enjoin what is just, and withdraw from the
ignorant:
 
       And if stirrings to evil from Satan stir thee, fly thou for refuge to
God:   He verily heareth, knoweth!
 
7:200  Verily, they who fear God, when some phantom from Satan toucheth them,
remember Him, and lo! they see clearly.
 
       Their Brethren will only continue them in error, and cannot preserve
themselves from it.
 
       And when thou bringest not a verse (sign) of the Koran to them, they
say, "hast thou not yet patched it up?  Say:  I only follow my Lord's
utterances to me.  This is a clear proof on the part of your Lord, and a
guidance and a mercy for those who believe.
 
       And when the Koran is read, then listen ye to it and keep silence, that
haply ye may obtain mercy.
 
       And think within thine own self on God, with lowliness and with fear and
without loud spoken words, at even and at morn; and be not one of the heedless.
 
       Verily they who are round about thy Lord disdain not His service.  They
praise Him and prostrate themselves before Him.
-- Sura   7 - Al Araf