The Qur'an Sura XXVI — THE POETS

J. M. Rodwell, 1861 · Public domain · about this text

1Ta. Sin. Mim. These are the signs of the lucid Book.

2Haply thou wearest thyself away with grief because they will not believe.

3Were it our will we could send down to them a sign from Heaven, before which they would humbly bow.

4But from each fresh warning that cometh to them from the God of Mercy they have only turned aside,

5And treated it as a lie: But tidings shall reach them which they shall not laugh to scorn.

6Have they not beheld the earth–how we have caused every kind of noble plant to spring up therein?

7Verily, in this is a sign: but most of them believe not.

8And assuredly, thy Lord!–He is the Mighty, the Merciful.

9And remember when thy Lord called to Moses, "Go to the wicked people,

10The people of Pharaoh. What! will they not fear me?"

11He said, "My Lord, in sooth I fear lest they treat me as a liar:

12And my breast is straitened, and I am slow of speech: send therefore to Aaron to be my helpmate.

13For they have a charge against me, and I fear lest they put me to death."

14He said, "Surely not. Go ye therefore with our signs: we will be with you and will hearken.

15And go to Pharaoh and say: 'Verily we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds–

16Send forth with us the children of Israel."'

17He said, "Did we not rear thee among us when a child? And hast thou not passed years of thy life among us?

18And yet what a deed is that which thou hast done! Thou art one of the ungrateful."

19He said, "I did it indeed, and I was one of those who erred: And I fled from you because I feared you; but my Lord hath given me wisdom and hath made me one of his Apostles.

20And is this the favour thou hast conferred on me, that thou hast enslaved the children of Israel?"

21Said Pharaoh, "Who then is the Lord of the Worlds?"

22He said, "The Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth and of all that is between them, if only ye believe it."

23Said Pharaoh to those around him, "Hear ye this?"

24"Your Lord," said Moses, "and the Lord of your sires of old."

25"In sooth, your Apostle whom He hath sent to you," said Pharaoh, "is certainly possessed."

26He said, "Lord is He of the East and of the West, and of all that is between them, if ye can understand."

27He said, "If ye take any God beside me, I will surely put thee in ward."

28Said Moses, "What! if I shew thee that which shall be a proof of my mission?"

29He said, "Forth with it then, if thou speakest truth."

30Then threw he down his staff, and lo! an undoubted serpent:

31And he drew out his hand, and lo! it was white to the beholders.

32He said to his nobles around him. "This truly is a right cunning sorcerer:

33Fain would he drive you out of your land by his Sorcery. But what do ye suggest?"

34They said, "Put him and his brother off awhile, and send summoners to all the cities,

35Who shall bring to thee every cunning magician."

36So the magicians were mustered at a set time, on a solemn day:

37And it was said to the people, "Are ye all assembled?"

38–"Yes! and we will follow the magicians if they gain the day."

39And when the magicians were arrived they said to Pharaoh, "Shall we have a reward if we gain the day?"

40He said, "Yes. And verily in that case ye shall be of those who are near my person."

41Moses said to them, "Throw down what ye have to throw."

42So they cast down their ropes and rods, and said, "By Pharaoh's might we shall surely win."

43Then Moses threw down his rod, and lo! it swallowed up their cheating wonders.

44Then the magicians threw themselves down in worship:

45They said, "We believe on the Lord of the Worlds,

46The Lord of Moses and of Aaron."

47Said Pharaoh, "Have ye then believed on him ere I gave you leave? He truly is your master who hath taught you magic. But bye and bye ye shall surely know my power.

48I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you all crucified."

49They said, "It cannot harm us, for to our Lord shall we return:

50Assuredly we trust that our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are of the first who believe."

51Then revealed we this order to Moses: "Go forth by night with my servants, for ye will be pursued."

52And Pharaoh sent summoners through the cities:–

53"These Israelites," said they, "are a scanty band;

54Yet are they enraged against us–

55But we truly are numerous, wary."

56Thus we caused them to quit gardens and fountains,

57And treasures and splendid dwellings;

58So was it; and we gave them to the children of Israel for an heritage.

59Then at sunrise the Egyptians followed them:

60And when the hosts came in view of one another, the comrades of Moses said, "We are surely overtaken."

61He said, "By no means:–for my Lord is with me–He will guide me."

62And we revealed this order to Moses, "Strike the sea with thy rod." And it clave asunder, and each part became like a huge mountain.

63Then made we the others to draw on;

64And we saved Moses, and those who were with him, all;

65But we drowned the others.

66Truly in this was a sign; but most of them did not believe.

67But verily thy Lord,–He is the Mighty, the Merciful!

68And recite to them the story of Abraham

69When he said to his Father and to his people, "What worship ye?"

70They said, "We worship idols, and constant is our devotion to them."

71He said, "Can they hear you when ye cry to them?

72Or help you or do you harm?"

73They said, "But we found our Fathers do the like."

74He said, "How think ye? They whom ye worship,

75Ye and your fathers of early days,

76Are my foes: but not so the Lord of the Worlds,

77Who hath created me, and guideth me,

78Who giveth me food and drink;

79And when I am sick, he healeth me,

80And who will cause me to die and again quicken me,

81And who, I hope, will forgive me my sins in the day of reckoning.

82My Lord! bestow on me wisdom and join me to the just,

83And give me a good name among posterity,

84And make me one of the heirs of the garden of delight,

85And forgive my father, for he was one of the erring,

86And put me not to shame on the day when mankind shall be raised up,

87The day when neither wealth nor children shall avail,

88Save to him who shall come to God with a sound heart:

89When Paradise shall be brought near the pious,

90And Hell shall lay open for those who have gone astray.

91And it shall be said to them, 'Where are they whom ye worshipped

92Beside God? Can they harm you or help themselves?'

93And they shall be cast into it–the seducers and the seduced,

94And all the host of Eblis.

95They shall say, as they wrangle therein together,

96'By God, we were in a plain error,

97When we equalled you with the Lord of the Worlds:

98And none misled us but the wicked,

99And we have none to plead for us,

100Nor friend who careth for us.

101Could we but return, we would be of the believers."'

102Verily, in this was a sign: but most of them believed not.

103And truly thy Lord!–He is the Mighty, the Merciful!

104The people of Noah gainsaid the Apostles,

105When their brother Noah said to them, "Will ye not fear God?

106Of a truth am I your faithful Apostle;

107Fear God then and obey me.

108I ask of you no reward for this, for my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone:

109Fear God then and obey me."

110They said, "Shall we believe on thee when the meanest only are thy followers?"

111He said, "But I have no knowledge of that they did:

112To my Lord only must their account be given: would that ye understood this!

113And I will not thrust away those who believe,

114For I am only one charged with plain warnings."

115They said, "Now unless thou desist, O Noah, one of the stoned shalt thou surely be."

116He said, "Lord! my people treat me as a liar:

117Decide thou therefore a decision between me and them, and rescue me and the faithful who are with me."

118So we saved him and those who were with him in the fully-laden ark,

119And afterwards we drowned the rest.

120Herein truly was a sign, but most of them believed not.

121But thy Lord!–He is the Mighty, the Merciful.

122The Adites treated their Apostles as liars,

123When their brother Houd said to them, "Will ye not fear God?

124I am your Apostle, worthy of all credit;

125Fear God then and obey me:

126I ask for no reward for this; for my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.

127What! build ye landmarks on all heights in mere pastime?

128And raise ye structures to be your lasting abodes?

129And when ye put forth your power do ye put it forth with harshness?

130Fear ye God then and obey me;

131And fear ye Him who hath plenteously betowed on you ye well know what:

132Plenteously bestowed on you flocks and children,

133And gardens and fountains;

134Indeed I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous day."

135They said, "It is the same to us whether thou warn or warn us not.

136This is but a tale of the ancients,

137And we are not they who shall be punished."

138And they charged him with imposture; and we destroyed them. In this was a sign: but most of them believed not.

139But thy Lord!–He is the Mighty, the Merciful!

140The Themoudites also treated their Apostles as liars,

141When their brother Saleh said to them, "Will ye not fear God?

142I am your Apostle worthy of all credit:

143Fear God, then, and obey me.

144I ask of you no reward for this: my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.

145Shall ye be left secure amid these things here?

146Amid gardens and fountains,

147And corn-fields and palm-trees, with flower-sheathing branches?

148And, insolent that ye are, will ye hew out your dwellings in the mountains?

149But fear God and obey me,

150And obey not the bidding of those who commit excess,

151Who act disorderly on the earth and reform it not."

152They said, "Certainly thou art a person bewitched;

153Thou art only a man like us: produce now a sign if thou art a man of truth."

154He said, "This she-camel, then–drink shall there be for her, and drink shall there be for you, on a several day for each.

155But harm her not, lest the punishment of a tremendous day overtake you."

156But they ham-strung her, and repented of it on the morrow;

157For the punishment overtook them. In this truly was a sign, but most of them believed not.

158But thy Lord!–He is the Powerful, the Merciful!

159The people of Lot treated their apostles as liars,

160When their brother Lot said to them, "Will ye not fear God?

161I am your Apostle worthy of all credit:

162Fear God, then, and obey me.

163For this I ask you no reward: my reward is of the Lord of the worlds alone.

164What! with men, of all creatures, will ye have commerce?

165And leave ye your wives whom your Lord hath created for you? Ah! ye are an erring people!"

166They said, "O Lot, if thou desist not, one of the banished shalt thou surely be."

167He said, "I utterly abhor your doings:

168My Lord! deliver me and my family from what they do."

169So we delivered him and his whole family–

170Save an aged one among those who tarried–

171Then we destroyed the rest–

172And we rained a rain upon them, and fatal was the rain to those whom we had warned.

173In this truly was a sign; but most of them did not believe.

174But thy Lord! He is the Powerful, the Merciful!

175The dwellers in the forest of Madian treated the Apostles as liars.

176When Shoaib their brother said to them, "Will ye not fear God?

177I truly am your trustworthy Apostle.

178Fear God, then, and obey me:

179No reward ask I of you for this: my reward is of the Lord of the Worlds alone.

180Fill the measure, and be not of those who minish:

181Weigh with exact balance:

182And defraud not men in their substance, and do no wrong on the earth by deeds of licence;

183And fear Him who made you and the races of old."

184They said, "Certainly thou art a person bewitched.

185Thou art but a man like us, and we deem thee liar–

186Make now a part of the heaven to fall down upon us, if thou art a man of truth."

187He said, "My Lord best knoweth your doings."

188And when they treated him as a liar, the chastisement of the day of cloud overtook them. This truly was the chastisement of a dreadful day!

189In this was a sign, but most of them believed not.

190But thy Lord!–He is the Mighty, the Merciful!

191Verily from the Lord of the Worlds hath this Book come down;

192The faithful spirit hath come down with it

193Upon thy heart, that thou mightest become a warner–

194In the clear Arabic tongue:

195And truly it is foretold in the Scriptures of them of yore.

196Was it not a sign to them that the learned among the children of Israel recognised it?

197If we had sent it down unto any foreigner,

198And he had recited it to them, they had not believed.

199In such sort have we influenced the heart of the wicked ones,

200That they will not believe it till they see the grievous chastisement?

201And it shall come upon them on a sudden when they look not for it:

202And they will say, "Can we be respited?"

203What! will they seek to hasten on our chastisement?

204How thinkest thou? If after we have given them their fill for years,

205That with which they are menaced come upon them at last,

206Of what avail will their enjoyments be to them?

207We never destroyed a city which had not first its warners

208With admonition; nor did we deal unjustly.

209The Satans were not sent down with this Koran:

210It beseemed them not, and they had not the power,

211For they are far removed from hearing it.

212Call not thou on any other god but God, lest thou be of those consigned to torment:

213But warn thy relatives of nearer kin,

214And kindly lower thy wing over the faithful who follow thee.

215And if they disobey thee, then say: "I will not be answerable for your doings;"–

216And put thy trust in Him that is the Mighty, the Merciful,

217Who seeth thee when thou standest in prayer,

218And thy demeanour amongst those who worship;

219For He heareth, knoweth all.

220Shall I tell you on whom Satan descend?

221They descend on every lying, wicked person:

222They impart what they have heard;–but most of them are liars.

223It is the POETS whom the erring follow:

224Seest thou not how they rove distraught in every valley?

225And that they say that which they do not?

226Save those who believe and do good works, and oft remember God;

227And who defend themselves when unjustly treated. But they who treat them unjustly shall find out what a lot awaiteth them.

← Sura XXV — AL FURKAN The Qur'an Sura XXVII — THE ANT →

Suras are in the standard order; verse divisions follow Rodwell's 1861 edition and do not always match the standard ayah numbering.