The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

The Qur
an
28: 12
246

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When Moses came to him and told him his story, the old man said,
‘Do not be afraid, you are safe now from people who do wrong.’
26One of the women said, ‘Father, hire him: a strong, trustworthy
man is the best to hire.’
27The father said, ‘I would like to marry you
to one of these daughters of mine, on condition that you serve me for
eight years: if you complete ten, it will be of your own free will. I do
not intend to make things di
fficult for you: God willing, you will find
I am a fair man.’
28Moses said, ‘Let that be the agreement between
us –
– whichever of the two terms I ful
fil, let there be no injustice to
me –
– God is witness to what we say.’
29Once Moses had fulfilled the term and was travelling with his
family, he caught sight of a 
fire on the side of the mountain and
said to his family, ‘Wait! I have seen a 
fire. I will bring you news
from there, or a burning stick for you to warm yourselves.’
30But
when he reached it, a voice called out to him from the right-hand
side of the valley, from a tree on the blessed ground: ‘Moses, I am
God, the Lord of the Worlds. 
31Throw down your staff.’ When he
saw his sta
ff moving like a snake, he fled in fear and would not
return. Again [he was called]: ‘Moses! Draw near! Do not be
afraid, for you are one of those who are safe. 
32Put your hand
inside your shirt and it will come out white but unharmed –
– hold
your arm close to your side, free from all fear. These shall be two
signs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs; they are truly
wicked people.’
33Moses said, ‘My Lord, I killed one of their men,
and I fear that they may kill me. 
34My brother Aaron is more
eloquent than I: send him with me to help me and con
firm my
words –
– I fear they may call me a liar.’
35God said, ‘We shall
strengthen you through your brother; We shall give you both power
so that they cannot touch you. With Our signs you, and those who
follow you, will triumph.’
36But when Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said,
‘These are mere conjuring tricks; we never heard this from our
forefathers.’
37Moses said, ‘My Lord knows best who comes with
guidance from Him and who will have the 
final Home: wrongdoers
will never succeed.’
38Pharaoh said, ‘Counsellors, you have no other
god that I know of except me. Haman, light me a 
fire to bake clay
bricks, then build me a tall building so that I may climb up to
Moses’ God: I am convinced that he is lying.’
39Pharaoh and his armies behaved arrogantly in the land with no
The Story
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28: 39

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right –
– they thought they would not be brought back to Us –
–
40so We
seized him and his armies and threw them into the sea. See what
became of the wrongdoers! 
41We made them leaders calling [others]
only to the Fire: on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped.
42We made Our rejection pursue them in this world, and on the Day
of Resurrection they will be among the despised. 
43After We had
destroyed the earlier generations, We gave Moses the Scripture to
provide insight, guidance, and mercy for people, so that they might
take heed.
44You [Muhammad] were not present on the western side of the
mountain when We gave Our command to Moses: you were not
there –
–
45We have brought into being many generations who lived
long lives –
– you did not live among the people of Midian or recite
Our Revelation to them –
– We have always sent messengers to
people –
–
46nor were you present on the side of Mount Sinai when
We called out to Moses. But you too have been sent as an act of grace
from your Lord, to give warning to a people to whom no warner has
come before, so that they may take heed, 
47and may not say, if a
disaster should befall them as a result of what they have done with
their own hands, ‘Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, we
might have followed Your message and become believers.’
48Even
now that Our truth has come to them, they say, ‘Why has he not been
given signs like those given to Moses?’ Did they not also deny the
truth that was given to Moses before? They say, ‘Two kinds of sor-
cery, helping each other,’ and, ‘We refuse to accept either of them.’
49Say [Muhammad], ‘Then produce a book from God that gives
better guidance than these two and I will follow it, if you are telling
the truth.’
50If they do not respond to you, you will know that they
follow only their own desires. Who is further astray than the one
who follows his own desires with no guidance from God? Truly God
does not guide those who do wrong.
51We have caused Our Word to come to them so that they may be
mindful.
52Those to whom We gave the Scripture before believe in
it,
a
53and, when it is recited to them, say, ‘We believe in it, it is the
truth from our Lord. Before it came we had already devoted our-
selves to Him.’
54They will be given their rewards twice over because
they are steadfast, repel evil with good, give to others out of what
a
The Qur
an.
The Qur
an
28: 40
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We have provided for them, 
55and turn away whenever they hear
frivolous talk, saying, ‘We have our deeds and you have yours. Peace
be with you! We do not seek the company of ignorant people.’
56You [Prophet] cannot guide everyone you love to the truth; it is
God who guides whoever He will: He knows best those who will
follow guidance. 
57They say, ‘If we were to follow guidance with you
[Prophet], we would be swept from our land.’ Have We not estab-
lished for them a secure sanctuary
a
where every kind of produce is
brought, as a provision from Us? But most of them do not compre-
hend.
58We have destroyed many a community that once revelled in
its wanton wealth and easy living: since then their dwelling places
have barely been inhabited –
– We are the only heir. 
59Your Lord
would never destroy towns without 
first raising a messenger in their
midst to recite Our messages to them, nor would We destroy towns
unless their inhabitants were evildoers. 
60Whatever things you
have been given for the life of this world are merely [temporary]
grati
fication and vanity: that which is with God is better and more
lasting –
– will you not use your reason?
61Can the person who will see the fulfilment of the good promise
We gave him be compared to someone We have given some enjoy-
ments for this worldly life but who, on the Day of Resurrection, will
be summoned?
b
62The Day will come when God will call them,
saying, ‘Where now are those you allege are My partners?’
63and
those [ringleaders] against whom the verdict will be passed will say,
‘Our Lord, these are the ones we caused to deviate. We caused them
to deviate as we ourselves deviated, but now we disown them before
You: they did not really serve us.’
64It will then be said to them,
‘Now call those you worshipped as partners,’ and they will call them
but receive no answer. They will see the su
ffering and wish they had
followed guidance. 
65On that Day He will call them, saying, ‘How
did you respond to My messengers?’
66All arguments will seem
obscure to them on that Day; they will not be able to consult one
another. 
67Yet anyone who has repented, believed, and done good
deeds can hope to 
find himself among the successful. 68Your Lord
creates what He pleases and chooses those He will –
– they have no
choice –
– so glory be to God, and may He be exalted above the