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38:1  SAD. By the Koran full of warning
38:2  In sooth the Infidels are absorbed in pride, in contention with thee
38:3  How many generations have we destroyed before them! And they cried for mercy but no time was it of escape
38:4  And they marvel that a warner from among themselves hath come to them; and the Infidels say, "This is a sorcerer, a liar
38:5  Maketh he the gods to be but one god? A strange thing forsooth is this!"
38:6  And their chiefs took themselves off. "Go, said they, and cleave steadfastly to your gods. Ye see the thing aimed at
38:7  We heard not of this in the previous creed. It is but an imposture
38:8  To him alone of us all hath a book of warning been sent down?" Yes! they are in doubt as to my warnings, for they have not yet tasted my vengeance
38:9  Are the treasures of the mercy of thy Lord, the Mighty, the bounteous, in their hands
38:10  Is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth and of all that is between them theirs? Then let them mount up by cords
38:11  Any army of the confederates shall here be routed
38:12  Before them the people of Noah and Ad and Pharaoh the impaler treated their prophets as impostors
38:13  And Themoud, and the people of Lot, and the dwellers in the forest: these were the confederates
38:14  Nought did they all but charge the apostles with falsehood: Just, therefore, the retribution
38:15  And these (Meccans) await but one single trumpet blast - There shall be no delaying it
38:16  Yet they dare to say, "O our Lord! hasten our lot to us, before the day of reckoning."
38:17  Put thou up with what they say: and remember our servant David, a man strong of hand, one who turned him to Us in penitence
38:18  We constrained the mountains to join with him in lauds at even and at sunrise
38:19  And the birds which flocked to him, and would all return to him oft
38:20  And we stablished his kingdom: and wisdom, and skill to pronounce clear decisions, did we bestow on him
38:21  Hath the story of the two pleaders reached thee, O Muhammad, when they mounted the walls of his closet
38:22  When they entered in upon David, and he was frightened at them, they said, "Be not afraid; we are two opposing parties: one of us hath wronged the other. Judge therefore with truth between us, and be not unjust, but guide us to the right way
38:23  Now this my brother had ninety and nine ewes, and I had but a single ewe; and he said, make me her keeper. And he over-persuaded me in the dispute."
38:24  He said, "Certainly he hath wronged thee in asking for thine ewe to add her to his own ewes: and truly many associates do one another wrong - except those who believe and do the things that are right; and few indeed are they!" And David perceived that we had tried him; so he asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down and bowed himself and repented
38:25  So we forgave him that his sin; and truly he shall have a high rank with Us, and an excellent retreat in Paradise
38:26  O David! verily we have made thee our vicegerent upon earth. Judge therefore between men with truth, and follow not thy passions, lest they cause thee to err from the way of God. For they who err from the way of God shall meet with a grievous chastisement, for that they have forgotten the day of reckoning
38:27  We have not created the heaven and the earth and what is between them for nought. That is the thought of infidels; but woe to the infidels because of the fire
38:28  Shall we treat those who believe and do the things that are right like those who propagate evil on earth? Shall we treat the God-fearing like the impious
38:29  A blessed Book have we sent down to thee, that men may meditate its verses, and that those endued with understanding may bear it in mind
38:30  And Solomon gave we unto David. An excellent servant, for he loved to turn him Godward
38:31  Remember when at eventide the prancing chargers were displayed before him
38:32  And he said, "Truly I have loved the love of earthly goods above the remembrance of my Lord, till the sun hath been hidden by the veil of darkness
38:33  Bring them back to me." And he began to sever the legs and necks
38:34  We also made trial of Solomon, and placed a phantom on his throne: whereupon he returned to Us (in penitence)
38:35  He said, O my Lord! pardon me, and give me a dominion that may not be to any one beside me, for thou art the liberal giver
38:36  So we subjected the wind to him; it ran softly at his bidding, whithersoever he directed it
38:37  And the Satans - every builder and diver
38:38  And others bound in chains
38:39  "This," said we, "is our gift: be bounteous then, or withhold thy favours; no account shalt thou render."
38:40  And his rank also is high with Us, and an excellent retreat
38:41  And remember our servant Job when he cried to his Lord, "Verily, Satan hath laid on me disease and pain."
38:42  "Stamp," said we, "with thy foot. This is to wash with; cool, and to drink."
38:43  And we gave him back his family, and as many more with them in our mercy; and for a monition to men of judgment
38:44  And we said, "Take in thine hand a rod, and strike with it, nor break thine oath." Verily, we found him patient! How excellent a servant, one who turned to Us was he
38:45  And remember our servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, men of might and vision
38:46  With this cleansing did we cleanse them the remembrance of the abode of Paradise
38:47  And verily, they were, in our sight, of the elect and of the good
38:48  And remember Ishmael and Elisha and Dhoulkefl, for all these were of the just
38:49  This is a monition: and verily, the pious shall have a goodly retreat
38:50  Gardens of Eden, whose portals shall stand open to them
38:51  Therein reclining, they shall there call for many a fruit and drink
38:52  And with them shall be virgins of their own age, with modest retiring glances
38:53  "This is what ye were promised at the day of reckoning."
38:54  "Yes! this is our provision: it shall never fail."
38:55  Even so. But for the evil doers is a wretched home
38:56  Hell - wherein they shall be burned: how wretched a bed
38:57  Even so. Let them then taste it - boiling water and gore
38:58  And other things of kindred sort
38:59  To their leaders it shall be said, "This company shall be thrown in headlong with you. No greetings shall await them, for they shall be burned in the fire."
38:60  They shall say: "But ye, too! there shall be no welcome for you. It was ye who prepared this for us, and wretched is the abode!"
38:61  They will say: "O our Lord! increase twofold in the fire, the punishment of him who hath brought this upon us."
38:62  And they will say: "Why see we not the men whom we numbered among the wicked
38:63  Whom we used to treat with scorn? Have they escaped our eyes?"
38:64  Verily this is truth - the wrangling together of the people of the fire
38:65  SAY: I am but a warner; and there is no God but God the One, the Almighty
38:66  Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth, and of all that is between them, the Potent, the Forgiving
38:67  SAY: this is a weighty message
38:68  From which ye turn aside
38:69  Yet had I no knowledge of what passed among the celestial chiefs when they disputed
38:70  - Verily, it hath been revealed to me only because I am a public preacher
38:71  When thy Lord said to the angels, "I am about to make man of clay
38:72  And when I have formed him and breathed my spirit into him, then worshipping fall down before him."
38:73  And the angels prostrated themselves, all of them with one accord
38:74  Save Eblis. He swelled with pride, and became an unbeliever
38:75  "O Eblis," said God, "what hindereth thee from prostrating thyself before him whom my hands have made? Is it that thou are puffed up with pride? or art thou a being of lofty merit?"
38:76  He said: "I am more excellent than he; me hast thou created of fire: of clay hast thou created him."
38:77  He said: "Begone then hence: thou art accursed
38:78  And lo! my ban shall be on thee till the day of the reckoning."
38:79  He said: "O my Lord! respite me till the day of Resurrection."
38:80  He said, "One then of the respited shalt thou be
38:81  Till the day of the time appointed."
38:82  He said: "I swear by thy might then that all of them will I seduce
38:83  Save thy sincere servants among them."
38:84  He said: "It is truth, and the truth I speak
38:85  From thee will I surely fill Hell, and with such of them as shall follow thee, one and all
38:86  Say: I ask no wage of you for this, nor am I one who intermeddleth
38:87  Of a truth the Koran is no other than a warning to all creatures
38:88  And after a time shall ye surely know its message