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17. "The Israelites"
  
     
1.
 Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood of which We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Behold! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer.
 
2.
 We gave unto Moses the Scripture, and We appointed it a guidance for the children of Israel, saying: Choose no guardian beside Me.
 
3.
 They were the seed of those whom We carried in the ship along with Noah. Behold! he was a grateful slave.
 
4.
 And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture: You truly will work corruption in the earth twice, and you will become great tyrants.
 
5.
 So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged your country, and it was a threat performed.
 
6.
 Then we gave you once again your turn against them, and We aided you with wealth and children and made you more in soldiery.
 
7.
 Saying: If you do good, you do good for your own souls, and if you do evil, it is for them in like manner. So, when the time for the second of the judgments came We roused against you others of Our slaves to ravage you, and to enter the Temple even as they entered it the first time, and to lay waste all that they conquered with an utter wasting.
 
8.
 It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you, but if you repeat the crime We shall repeat the judgment, and We have appointed hell a dungeon for the disbelievers.
 
9.
 Behold! this Qur'an guides unto that which is straightest, and gives tidings unto the believers who do good works that theirs will be a great reward.
 
10.
 And that those who believe not in the Hereafter, for them We have prepared a painful doom of their own choosing.
 
11.
 Man prays for evil as he prays for good; for man was ever hasty.
 
12.
 And We appoint the night and the day two omens. Then We make dark the omen of the night, and We make the omen of the day sight-giving, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning; and everything have We expounded with a clear expounding.
 
13.
 And every man's augury have We fastened to his own neck, and We shall bring forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open.
 
14.
 And it will be said unto him: Read thy Book. Thy soul sufficeth as reckoner against you this day.
 
15.
 Whosoever goes right, it is only for the good of his own soul that he goes right, and whosoever erreth, erreth only to its hurt. No laden soul can bear another's load, We never judge until we have sent a messenger.
 
16.
 And when We would destroy a township We send commandment to its people who live at ease, and afterward they commit abomination therein, and so the Word of doom has effect for it, and we annihilate it with complete annihilation.
 
17.
 How many generations have We destroyed since Noah! And Allah sufficeth as Knower and Beholder of the sins of His slaves.
 
18.
 Whoso desires that life which hasteneth away, We hasten for him therein what We will for whom We please. And afterward We have appointed for him hell; he will endure the heat thereof, condemned, rejected.
 
19.
 And whoso desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the effort necessary, being a believer; for such, their effort finds favour with their Lord.
 
20.
 Each do We supply, both these and those, from the bounty of thy Lord. And the bounty of thy Lord can never be walled up.
 
21.
 See how We prefer one of them above another, and truly the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.
 
22.
 Set not up with Allah any other god O man lest you sit down reproved, forsaken.
 
23.
 Thy Lord has decreed, that you worship none except Him, and that you show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, say not "Fie" unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word.
 
24.
 And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy, and say: My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they did care for me when I was little.
 
25.
 Your Lord is Best Aware of what is in your minds. If you are righteous, then Lo and Behold! He was ever Forgiving unto those who turn unto Him.
 
26.
 Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth in wantonness.
 
27.
 Behold! the squanderers were ever brothers of the devils, and the devil was ever an ingrate to his Lord.
 
28.
 But if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from thy Lord, for which you hopest, then speak unto them a reasonable word.
 
29.
 And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening, lest you sit down rebuked, denuded.
 
30.
 Behold! thy Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will, and straiteneth it for whom He will. Lo, He was ever Knower, Seer of His slaves.
 
31.
 Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Behold! the slaying of them is great sin.
 
32.
 And come not near unto adultery. Behold! it is an abomination and an evil way.
 
33.
 And slay not the life which Allah has forbidden except in defence of your own and mortal danger to your family. Whoso is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying. Behold! he will be helped.
 
34.
 Come not near the wealth of the orphan except with that which is better till he come to strength; and keep the covenant. Behold! of the covenant it will be asked.
 
35.
 Fill the measure when you measure, and weigh with a right balance; that is meet, and better in the end.
 
36.
 O man, follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Behold! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.
 
37.
 And walk not in the earth exultant. Behold! you cannot not rend the earth, nor cannot you stretch to the height of the hills.
 
38.
 The evil of all that is hateful in the sight of thy Lord.
 
39.
 This is part of that wisdom wherewith thy Lord has inspired you O Messenger. And set not up with Allah any other god, lest you be cast into hell, reproved, abandoned.
 
40.
 Has your Lord then distinguished you O men of Mecca by giving you sons, and has chosen for Himself females from among the angels? Behold! truly you speak an awful word!
 
41.
 We truly have displayed Our warnings in this Qur'an that they may take heed, but it increases them in nothing except aversion.
 
42.
 Say O Messenger, to the disbelievers: If there were other gods along with Him, as they say, then had they sought a way against the Lord of the Throne.
 
43.
 Glorified is He, and High Exalted above what they say!
 
44.
 The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymneth His praise; but you understand not their praise. Behold! He is ever Clement, Forgiving.
 
45.
 And when you recitest the Qur'an we place between you and those who believe not in the Hereafter a hidden barrier;
 
46.
 And We place upon their hearts veils lest they should understand it, and in their ears a deafness; and when you makest mention of thy Lord alone in the Qur'an, they turn their backs in aversion.
 
47.
 We are Best Aware of what they wish to hear when they give ear to you and when they take secret counsel, when the evil-doers say: Ye follow but a man bewitched.
 
48.
 See what likenesses they make for thee, and thus are all astray, and cannot find a road!
 
49.
 And they say: When we are bones and fragments, shall we forsooth, be raised up as a new creation?
 
50.
 Let it be said: Be you stones or iron
 
51.
 Or some created thing that is yet greater in your thoughts! Then they will say: Who shall bring us back to life. Let it be said: He Who created you at the first. Then will they shake their heads at thee, and say: When will it be? Let it be said: It will perhaps be soon;
 
52.
 A day when He will call you and you will answer with His praise, and you will think that you have lingered but a little while.
 
53.
 Tell My servants to speak that which is kindlier. Behold! the devil soweth discord among them. Behold! the devil is for man an open foe.
 
54.
 Your Lord is Best Aware of you. If He will, He will have mercy on you, or if He will, He will judge you. We have not sent you O Messenger as a warden over them.
 
55.
 And thy Lord is Best Aware of all who are in the heavens and the earth. And we preferred some of the prophets above others, and unto David We gave the Psalms.
 
56.
 Let it be said: Cry unto those saints and angels whom you assume to be gods beside Him, yet they have no power to rid you of misfortune nor to change.
 
57.
 Those unto whom they cry seek the way of approach to their Lord, which of them shall be the nearest; they hope for His mercy and they fear His doom. Behold! the doom of thy Lord is to be shunned.
 
58.
 There is not a township but We shall destroy it ere the Day of Resurrection, or judge it with dire judgment. That is set forth in the Book of Our decrees.
 
59.
 Nothing hindereth Us from sending omens except that the people of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel - a clear omen except to warn.
 
60.
 And it was a warning when we told thee: Behold! thy Lord encompasses humanity, and We appointed the sight which We showed you as an ordeal for humanity, and likewise the Accursed Tree in the Qur'an. We warn them, but it increases them in nothing except gross impiety.
 
61.
 And when We said unto the angels: Fall down prostrate before Adam and they fell prostrate all except the Archangel Lucifer, he said: Shall I fall prostrate before that which You have created of clay?
 
62.
 He said: Seest You this creature whom You have honoured above me, if You give me grace until the Day of Resurrection I truly will seize his seed, except but a few.
 
63.
 He said: Go, and whosoever of them follows you - Lo and Behold! hell will be your payment, ample payment.
 
64.
 And excite any of them whom you cannot with thy voice, and urge thy horse and foot against them, and be a partner in their wealth and children, and promise them. Satan promiseth them only to deceive.
 
65.
 Behold! My faithful servants - over them you have no power, and thy Lord sufficeth as their guardian.
 
66.
 O humanity, your Lord is He Who driveth for you the ship upon the sea that you may seek of His bounty. Behold! He was ever Merciful toward you.
 
67.
 And when harm toucheth you upon the sea, all unto whom you cry for help fail except Him alone, but when He brings you safe to land, you turn away, for man was ever thankless.
 
68.
 Feel you then secure that He will not cause a slope of the land to engulf you, or send a sand-storm upon you, and then you will find that you have no protector?
 
69.
 Or feel you secure that He will not return you to that plight a second time, and send against you a hurricane of wind and drown you for your thanklessness, and then you will not find therein that you have any avenger against Us?
 
70.
 Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment.
 
71.
 On the day when We shall summon all men with their record, whoso is given his book in his right hand - such will read their book and they will not be wronged a shred.
 
72.
 Whoso is blind here will be blind in the Hereafter, and yet further from the road.
 
73.
 And they indeed strove hard to beguile you Muhammad away from that wherewith We have inspired thee, that you should invent other than it against Us; and then would they have accepted you as a friend.
 
74.
 And if We had not made you wholly firm you mightest almost have inclined unto them a little.
 
75.
 Then had we made you taste a double judgment of living and a double judgment of dying, then hadst you found no helper against Us.
 
76.
 And they indeed wished to scare you from the land that they might drive you forth from thence, and then they would have stayed there but a little after thee.
 
77.
 Such was Our method in the case of those whom We sent before you to humanity, and you will not find for Our method anyway can of power to change.
 
78.
 Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and the recital of the Qur'an at dawn. Behold! the recital of the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed.
 
79.
 And some part of the night awake for it, a largess for thee. It may be that thy Lord will raise you to a praised estate.
 
80.
 And say: My Lord! Cause me to come in with a firm incoming and to go out with a firm outgoing. And give me from Thy presence a sustaining Power.
 
81.
 And say: Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Behold! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.
 
82.
 And We reveal of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy for believers though it increase the evil-doers in nothing except ruin.
 
83.
 And when We make life pleasant unto man, he turns away and is averse; and when ill toucheth him he is in despair.
 
84.
 Let it be said: Each one does according to his rule of conduct, and thy Lord is Best Aware of him whose way is right.
 
85.
 They are asking you concerning the Spirit. Let it be said: The Spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge you have been bestowed but little.
 
86.
 And if We willed We could withdraw that which We have revealed unto thee, then would you find no guardian for you against Us in respect thereof.
 
87.
 It is nothing except mercy from thy Lord. Behold! His kindness unto you was ever great.
 
88.
 Let it be said: Verily, though humanity and the spirits should assemble to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.
 
89.
 And truly The Lord have displayed for humanity in this Qur'an all kind of likenesss, but most of humanity refuse anyway can except disbelief.
 
90.
 And they say: We will not put faith in you till you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us;
 
91.
 Or you have a garden of date-palms and grapes, and cause rivers to gush forth therein abundantly;
 
92.
 Or you cause the heaven to fall upon us piecemeal, as you have pretended, or bring Allah and the angels as a warrant;
 
93.
 Or you have a house of gold; or you ascend up into heaven, and even then we will put no faith in your ascension till you bring down for us a book that we can read. Say O Messenger: My Lord be Glorified! Am I anyway can except a mortal messenger?
 
94.
 And nothing prevented humanity from believing when the guidance came unto them except that they said: Has Allah sent a mortal as His messenger?
 
95.
 Let it be said: If there were in the earth angels walking secure, We had sent down for them from heaven an angel as messenger.
 
96.
 Let it be said: Allah sufficeth for a witness between me and you. Behold! He is Knower, Seer of His slaves.
 
97.
 And he whom Allah guides, he is led aright; while, as for him whom He sends astray, for them you will find no protecting friends beside Him, and We shall assemble them on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf; their habitation will be hell; whenever it abateth, We increase the flame for them.
 
98.
 That is their reward because they disbelieved Our revelations and said: When we are bones and fragments shall we, forsooth, be raised up as a new creation?
 
99.
 Have they not seen that Allah Who created the heavens and the earth is Able to create the like of them, and has appointed for them an end of which there is no doubt? But the wrong-doers refuse anyway can except disbelief.
 
100.
 Say unto them: If you possessed the treasures of the mercy of my Lord, you would surely hold them back for fear of spending, for man was ever grudging.
 
101.
 And truly The Lord gave unto Moses nine tokens, clear proofs of Allah's Sovereignty. Do but ask the Children of Israel how he came unto them, then Pharaoh said unto him: Behold! I deem you one bewitched, O Moses.
 
102.
 He said: In truth you know that none sent down these omens except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as proofs, and Lo and Behold! for my part I deem you lost, O Pharaoh.
 
103.
 And he wished to scare them from the land, but We drowned him and those with him, all together.
 
104.
 And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations.
 
105.
 With truth have We sent it down, and with truth has it descended. And We have sent you as nothing else except a bearer of good tidings and a warner.
 
106.
 And it is a Qur'an that We have divided, that you mayst recite it unto humanity at intervals, and We have revealed it by successive revelation.
 
107.
 Let it be said: Believe therein or believe not, Lo and Behold! those who were given knowledge before it, when it is read unto them, fall down prostrate on their faces, adoring,
 
108.
 Saying: Glory to our Lord! Verily the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.
 
109.
 They fall down on their faces, weeping, and it increases humility in them.
 
110.
 Say unto humanity: Cry unto Allah, or cry unto the Beneficent, unto whichsoever you cry it is the same. His are the most beautiful names. And you Muhammad, be not loud-voiced in thy worship nor yet silent therein, but follow a way between.
 
111.
 And say: Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who has no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.
 

 
 
 

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