J. F. Campbell Collection > Koran: or, Alcoran of Mohammed

S'J2 AL KORAN. coxy. xli.
better, who shall be cast into hdl Are, or he who shall appear secure on the
day of resurrection 1 Work that which ye will : he certainly beholdeth
whatever ye do. Verily they who believe not in the admonition o/</te^ordn,
after it hath come unto them, shall one day he discovered. It is certainly a
book of infinite value : vanity shall not approach it, either from before it,
or from behind it :"* it is a. revelation from a wise God, whose praise is
justly to be celebrated. No other is said unto thee hy the infidels of Mecca
tlian what hath been formerly said unto the apostles before thee : verily thy
Lord is inclined to forgiveness, and is also able to cliastise severely. If W9
had revealed tlie Kordn in a foreign language,^ they had surely said, Unless
the signs thereof be distinctly explained, we will not receive tJis same : is
the hook written in a foreign tongue, and the person unto zohom it is directed
an Arabian 1 Answer, It is, unto those who believe, a sure guide, and a
remedy for doubt and uncertainty : but unto those who believe not, it is a
thickness of hearing in their ears, and it is a darkness which covereth
them ; these are as they who are called unto from a distant place," t "We
heretofore gave the book of the law unto Moses ; and a dispute arose con-
cerning the same : % and if a previous decree had not proceeded from thy
Lord, to respite the opposers of that revelation, vei-ily the Tnatter had been
decided between them, hy the destruction of the it f dels ; for they were in a
very great doubt as to the same. He who doth right, doth it to tM advan-
tage o/his own soul ; and he who doth evil, doth it against the same : for thy
Lord is not unjust towards his servants, [*XXV.] Unto him is reserved
the knowledge of the hour of judgment: and no fruit cometh forth from
the knops which involve it ; neither doth any female conceive in her womb,
nor is she delivered of her burden^ but with his knowledge. On the day
whereon he shall call them to him, saying, Where are my companions
which ye ascribed unto me? they shall answer, We assure thee there is no
witness of this matter among us -.^ and the idols which they called on before
shall withdraw themselves fi-om them ; and they shall perceive that there
will he no way to escape. Man is not wearied with asking good ; but if
evil befall him, he despondeth, and despaireth. And if we cause him to
taste mercy from us, after affliction hath touched him, he surely saith, This
is due to me on account of my deserts : I do not think the hour of judgment
will eoer come : and if I be brought before my Lord, I shall surely attain,
with him, the most excellent condition. But we will then declare unto
* That is, It shall not be prevailed against, or frustrated by any means, or in any
respect whatever.
* " They have refused to believe in tlie Koran, and it is the supremely excellent
book. None of the sacred books accuse it of falsehood." — Savary.
b See chap. 16, p. 223, &c.
" Being so far oflF that they hear not, or understand not the voice of him who calls
to them.
f " Had we written the Koran in a foreign idiom, tliey would have exclaimed,
Why is it not written in our own language ? Reply to them, Is its style barbarous ?
Is its author an Arabian? This book is the light and remedy of believers. The
ears of the unbelievers are closed up. A cloud obscures their eyes. They will not
understand." — Savary.
X " The subject of a thousand disputes." — Savary.
^ For they shall disclaim their idols nt the rcsurrectioa.