SURA XVIII.-THE CAVE [LXIX.]
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Rodwell, J. M. (John Medows)
Or its water become deep sunk, so that thou art unable to find it."
And his fruits were encompassed by destruction. Then began he to turn down the palms of his hands at what he had spent on it; for its vines were falling down on their trellises, and he said, "Oh that I had not joined any other god to my Lord!"
And he had no host to help him instead of God, neither was he able to help himself.
Protection in such a case is of God-the Truth: He is the best rewarder, and He bringeth to the best issue.
And set before them a similitude of the present life. It is as water which we send down from Heaven, and the herb of the Earth is mingled with it, and on the morrow it becometh dry stubble which the winds scatter: for God hath power over all things.
Wealth and children are the adornment of this present life: but good works, which are lasting, are better in the sight of thy Lord as to recompense, and better as to hope.
And call to mind the day when we will cause the mountains to pass away,13 and thou shalt see the earth a levelled plain, and we will gather mankind together, and not leave of them any one.
And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks:-"Now are ye come unto us as we created you at first: but ye thought that we should not make good to you the promise."
And each shall have his book put into his hand: and thou shalt see the wicked in alarm at that which is therein: and they shall say, "O woe to us! what meaneth this Book? It leaveth neither small nor great unnoted down!" And they shall find all that they have wrought present to them, and thy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.
When we said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam," they all prostrated them save Eblis, who was of the Djinn,14 and revolted from his Lord's behest. behest.-What! will ye then take him and his offspring as patrons rather than Me? and they your enemies? Sad exchange for the ungodly!
I made them not witnesses of the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, nor of their own creation, neither did I take seducers as my helpers.
On a certain day, God shall say, "Call ye on the companions ye joined with me, deeming them to be gods:" and they shall call on them, but they shall not answer them: then will we place a valley of perdition between them:
And the wicked shall see the fire, and shall have a foreboding that they shall be flung into it, and they shall find no escape from it.
And now in this Koran we have presented to man similitudes of every kind: but, at most things is man a caviller.
And what, now that guidance is come to them, letteth men from believing and from asking forgiveness of their Lord-unless they wait till that the doom of the ancients overtake them, or the chastisement come upon them in the sight of the universe?
We send not our Sent Ones but to announce and to warn: but the infidels cavil with vain words in order to refute the truth; and they treat my signs and their own warnings with scorn.
But who is worse than he who when told of the signs of his Lord turneth him away and forgetteth what in time past his hands have wrought? Truly we have thrown veils over their hearts lest they should understand this Koran, and into their ears a heaviness:
And if thou bid them to "the guidance" yet will they not even then be guided ever.
The gracious one, full of compassion, is thy Lord! if he would have chastised them for their demerits he would have hastened their chastisement. But they have a time fixed for the accomplishment of our menaces: and beside God they shall find no refuge.
And those cities did we destroy when they became impious; and of their coming destruction we gave them warning.
Remember when Moses said to his servant, "I will not stop till I reach the confluence of the two seas,15 or for years will I journey on."
But when they reached their confluence, they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea at will.
And when they had passed on, said Moses to his servant, "Bring us our morning meal; for now have we incurred weariness from this journey."
He said, "What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock for rest I forgot the fish; and none but Satan made me forget it, so as not to mention it; and it hath taken its way in the sea in a wondrous sort."
He said, "It is this we were in quest of."16 And they both went back retracing their footsteps.
Then found they one of our servants to whom we had vouchsafed our mercy, and whom we had instructed with our knowledge.
And Moses said to him, "Shall I follow thee that thou teach me, for guidance, of that which thou too hast been taught?"
He said, "Verily, thou canst not have patience with me;
How canst thou be patient in matters whose meaning thou comprehendest not?"
He said, "Thou shalt find me patient if God please, nor will I disobey thy bidding."
He said, "Then, if thou follow me, ask me not of aught until I have given thee an account thereof."
So they both went on, till they embarked in a ship, and he-the unknown-staved it in. "What!" said Moses, "hast thou staved it in that thou mayest drown its crew? a strange thing now hast thou done!"
He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with me?"
He said, "Chide me not that I forgat, nor lay on me a hard command."
Then went they on till they met a youth, and he slew him. Said Moses, "Hast thou slain him who is free from guilt of blood? Now hast thou wrought a grievous thing!"
He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with me?"
Moses said, "If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy comrade no longer; but now hast thou my excuse."
They went on till they came to the people of a city. Of this people they asked food, but they refused them for guests. And they found in it a wall that was about to fall, and he set it upright. Said Moses, "If thou hadst wished, for this thou mightest have obtained pay."
He said, "This is the parting point between me and thee. But I will first tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await with patience.
"As to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea, and I was minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who seized every ship by force.