Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!

"Eat and enjoy yourselves for a little: verily, ye are sin

ners!"

Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!

And when it is said to them, Bow down, they bow not down.

Woe on that day for those who say it is a lie!

And in what new discourse after it will they believe?

THE CHAPTER OF THE GINN.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.

Say, "I have been inspired that there listened a company of the ginn, and they said, 'We have heard a marvelous Qur'an that guides to the right direction; and we believe therein, and we join no one with our Lord, for verily, he may the majesty of our Lord be exalted! - has taken to himself no consort nor

son.

"And verily, a fool amongst us spake against God wide of the mark!

"And we thought that men and ginn would never speak a lie against God.

“And there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge with persons amongst the ginn; but they increase them in their perverseness. And they thought, as ye thought, that God would not raise up any one from the dead.

"But we touched the heavens and found them filled with a mighty guard and shooting stars; and we did sit in certain seats thereof to listen; but whoso of us listens now finds a shooting star for him on guard.

"And verily, we know not whether evil be meant for those who are in the earth, or if their Lord means right by them.

“And of us are some who are pious, and of us are some who are otherwise: we are in separate bands.

“And we thought that we could not frustrate God in the earth, and could not frustrate him by flight.

"But verily, when we heard the guidance we believed the rein, and he who believes in his Lord shall fear neither diminution nor loss.

"And verily, of us are some who are Muslims, and of us some are trespassers: but those of us who are Muslims, they

strive after right direction; and as for the trespassers, they are fuel for hell.

"And if they will go right upon the way, we will irrigate them with copious water to try them thereby; and whoso turns from the remembrance of his Lord, He will drive him to severe torment.'

And [say] that the mosques are God's, and that ye should not call anyone with God, and that when God's servant stood up to pray, they called out to him and well-nigh crowded upon him. Say, "I only call upon my Lord, and I join no one with him." Say, "Verily, I cannot control for you either harm or right direction."

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Say, "Verily, as for me none can protect me against God, nor do I find any refuge beside him, except delivering the message from God and his errands; and whoso rebels against God and his Apostle, verily for him is the fire of hell for them to dwell therein for ever and for aye!"

Until when they see what they are threatened with, then shall they surely know who is most weak at helping and fewest in numbers!

if

Say, "I know not if what ye are threatened with be nigh, or my Lord will set it for a term. He knows the unseen, and he lets no one know his unseen save such people as he is well pleased with; for verily, he sends marching before him and behind him a guard!" That he may know that they have delivered the errands of the Lord; for he compasses what they have, and reckons everything by number.

THE CHAPTER OF THE KINGDOM.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Blessed be he in whose hand is the kingdom, for he is mighty over all!

Who created death and life, to try you, which of you does best; for he is the mighty, the forgiving!

Who created seven heavens in stories: thou canst not see any discordance in the creation of the Merciful!

Why, look again! canst thou see a flaw? Then look twice! thy look shall return to thee driven back and dulled!

And we have adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and set them to pelt the devils with; and we have prepared for them the torment of the blaze!

And for those who disbelieve in their Lord is the torment of hell, and an evil journey shall it be!

When they shall be cast therein they shall hear its braying as it boils it will well-nigh burst for rage!

Whenever a troop of them is thrown in, its treasurers shall ask them, "Did not a warner come to you?"

They shall say, "Yea! a warner came to us, and we called him a liar, and said, 'God has not sent down aught: ye are but in great error.'"

And they shall say, "Had we but listened or had sense, we had not been amongst the fellows of the blaze!"

And they will confess their sins; but "Avaunt to the fellows of the blaze!"

Verily, those who fear their Lord in secret, for them is forgiveness and great hire!

Speak ye secretly or openly, verily, he knows the nature of men's breasts!

Ay! He knows who created! for he is the subtle, the wellaware!

He it is who made the earth flat for you: so walk in the spacious sides thereof and eat of his provision; for unto him the resurrection is!

Are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not cleave the earth with you, and that it then shall quake?

Or are ye sure that he who is in heaven will not send against you a heavy sand-storm, and that ye shall know how the warning was?

But those before them did call the Apostles liars, and what a change it was!

Or have they not looked at the birds above them expanding their wings or closing them?-none holds them in except the Merciful One; for he on everything doth look.

Or who is this who will be a host for you, to help you against the Merciful?—the misbelievers are only a delusion!

Or who is this who will provide you if he hold back his provision?

Nay, but they persist in perverseness and aversion!

Is he who walks upon his face more guided than he who walks upright upon a straight path?

Say, "It is he who produced you and made for you hearing and sight and hearts,"-little it is that ye give thanks.

Say, "It is he who sowed you in the earth, and unto him ye shall be gathered!"

They say, "When shall this treat be, if ye do speak the truth?"

Say, "The knowledge is only with God; and I am but a plain warner!"

And when they see it nigh, sorry shall be the faces of those who misbelieve; and it shall be said, "This is that for which you used to call!"

Say, "Have ye considered whether God destroy me and those with me, or whether we obtain mercy; yet who will protect the misbelievers from grievous torment?"

Say, "He is the Merciful; we believe in him, and upon him do we rely and ye shall shortly know who it is that is in obvious error!"

Say, "Have ye considered if your waters on the morrow should have sunk, who is to bring you flowing water?"

THE CHAPTER OF THE ANT.

In the name of the merciful and compassionate God.

T. S. Those are the signs of the Qur'an and the perspicuous Book; a guidance and glad tidings to the believers, who are steadfast at prayer, and give alms, and of the hereafter are sure: verily, those who believe not in the hereafter we have made seemly for them in works, and they shall wander blindly on! These are they who shall have an evil torment, and they in the hereafter shall be those who must lose. Verily, thou dost meet with this Qur'an from the wise, the knowing One!

When Moses said to his people, "Verily, I perceive a fire, I will bring you therefrom news; or I will bring you a burning brand: haply ye may be warned." But when he came to it, he was called to, "Blessed be he who is in the fire, and he who is about it! and celebrated be the praises of God, the Lord of the worlds! O Moses! verily I am God, the mighty wise: throw down thy staff!" and when he saw it quivering, as though it were a snake, he turned back fleeing and did not return. Moses! fear not: verily, as for me apostles fear not with me; save only those who have done wrong and then substitute good for evil for verily, I am forgiving, merciful! but put thy hand in thy bosom, it shall come forth white without hurt; - one of nine signs of Pharaoh and his people: verily, they are a people who act abominably."

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And when our signs come to them visibly, they said, "This

is obvious sorcery!" and they gainsaid them, though their souls made sure of them, unjustly, haughtily; but behold what was the end of the evil-doers!

And we gave David and Solomon knowledge; and they both said, "Praise belongs to God, who hath preferred us over many of his servants who believe!"

And Solomon was David's heir; and said, "O ye folk! we have been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given everything: verily, this is an obvious grace!"

And assembled for Solomon were his hosts of the ginns and men and birds, and they were marshaled; until they came upon the valley of the ants. Said an ant, "O 66 ye ants! go into your dwellings, that Solomon and his hosts crush you not while they do not perceive."

And he smiled, laughing at her speech, and said, “O Lord! excite me to be thankful for thy favor, wherewith thou hast favored me and my parents, and to do righteousness which may please thee; and make me enter into thy mercy amongst thy righteous servants! "

And he reviewed the birds, and said, "How is it I see not the hoopoe? is he then amongst the absent? I will surely torment him with a severe torment; or I will surely slaughter him; or he shall bring me obvious authority."

And he tarried not long, and said, "I have compassed what ye compassed not; for I bring you from Seba a sure information: verily, I found a woman ruling over them, and she was given all things, and she had a mighty throne; and I found her and her people adoring the sun instead of God, for Satan had made seemly to them their works, and turned them from the path, so that they are not guided. Will they not adore God, who brings forth the secrets of the heavens, and knows what they hide and what they manifest? God, there is no god but he, the Lord of the mighty throne.'

Said he, "We will see whether thou hast told the truth, or whether thou art of those who lie. Go with this my letter and throw it before them; then turn back away from them, and see what they return."

Said she, "O ye chiefs! verily, a noble letter has been thrown before me. It is from Solomon, and verily it is, "In the name of the merciful and compassionate God. Do not rise up against me, but come to me resigned!'" She said, "O ye chiefs! pronounce sentence for me in my affair. cide an affair until ye testify for me."

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