The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

b
spouses, and o
ffspring: You alone are the
Almighty, the All Wise. 
9Protect them from all evil deeds: those You
a
Making wealth by trading.
b
The word aba
 includes male and female ancestors. Father and mother
are called abawan.

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protect on that Day from [the punishment for] evil deeds will receive
Your mercy –
– that is the supreme triumph.’
10But those who dis-
believed will be told, ‘When you were called to the faith and rejected
it, God’s disgust with you was even greater then than the self-disgust
you feel [today].’
11They will say, ‘Our Lord, twice You have caused
us to be lifeless
a
and twice You have brought us to life. Now we
recognize our sins. Is there any way out?’
12[They will be told], ‘This
is all because when God alone was invoked you rejected this, yet
when others were associated with Him you believed [in them].’
Judgement belongs to God the Most High, the Most Great.
13It is He who shows you [people] His signs and sends water down
from the sky to sustain you, though only those who turn to God will
take heed. 
14So call upon God and dedicate your religion to Him
alone, however hateful this may be to the disbelievers: 
15He is exalted
in rank, the Lord of the Throne. He sends revelations with His
teachings to whichever of His servants He will, in order to warn of
the Day of Meeting, 
16the Day when they will come out and nothing
about them will be concealed from God. ‘Who has control today?’
‘God, the One, the All Powerful. 
17Today each soul will be rewarded
for whatever it has done; today no injustice will be done. God is swift
in reckoning.’
18Warn them [Prophet] of the ever-approaching Day, when hearts
are at throats, choking them. The evildoer will have no friends, nor
any intercessor to be heeded. 
19God is aware of the most furtive of
glances, and of all that hearts conceal: 
20God will judge with truth,
while those they invoke besides Him will not judge at all. God is the
All Hearing, the All Seeing.
21Have they not travelled through the land and seen how those
who lived before them met their end? They were stronger than them
and made a more impressive mark on the land, yet God destroyed
them for their sins –
– they had no one to defend them against Him –
–
22because messengers repeatedly came to them with clear signs and
still they rejected them. God destroyed them: He is truly full of
strength, severe in punishment.
a
Literally ‘dead’, leading some commentators to interpret this as referring to one’s
initial death, followed shortly thereafter by a second ‘death’ after questioning in the
grave. The more generally accepted view, however, is that earthly life is both preceded
and succeeded by a state of lifelessness. The two acts of giving life therefore refer to
birth and resurrection.
40: 10
302
The Qur
an

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23We sent Moses with Our signs and clear authority 24to Pharaoh,
Haman, and Korah and they said, ‘Sorcerer! Liar!’
25When he
brought the truth to them from Us, they said, ‘Kill the sons of those
who believe with him; spare only their women’–
– the scheming of
those who reject the truth can only go wrong –
–
26and Pharaoh said,
‘Leave me to kill Moses –
– let him call upon his Lord! –
– for I fear he
may cause you to change your religion, or spread disorder in the
land.’
27Moses said, ‘I seek refuge with my Lord and yours from
every tyrant who refuses to believe in the Day of Reckoning.’
28A secret believer from Pharaoh’s family said, ‘How can you kill a
man just for saying, “My Lord is God”? He has brought you clear
signs from your Lord –
– if he is a liar, on his own head be it –
– and if he
is truthful, then at least some of what he has threatened will happen
to you. God does not guide any rebellious, outrageous liar. 
29My
people, as masters in the land you have the power today, but who will
help us against God’s might if it comes upon us?’ But Pharaoh said, ‘I
have told you what I think; I am guiding you along the right path.’
30The believer said, ‘My people, I fear your fate will be the fate of
those others who opposed [their prophets]: 
31the fate of the people
of Noah, 
 Ad, Thamud, and those who came after them–– God never
wills injustice on His creatures. 
32My people, I fear for you on the
Day you will cry out to one another, 
33the Day you will turn tail
and
flee with no one to defend you from God! Whoever God leaves
to stray will have no one to guide him. 
34Joseph came to you before
with clear signs, but you never ceased to doubt the message he
brought you. When he died, you said, “God will not send another
messenger.”’
In this way God leaves the doubting rebels to stray –
–
35those who
dispute God’s messages, with no authority given to them, are doing
something that is loathed by God and by those who believe. In this
way God seals up the heart of every arrogant tyrant. 
36Pharaoh said,
‘Haman, build me a tall tower so that I may reach the ropes
a
that
lead
37to the heavens to look for this God of Moses. I am convinced
that he is lying.’ In this way the evil of Pharaoh’s deed was made
alluring to him and he was barred from the right path –
– his scheming
led only to ruin.
38The believer said, ‘My people, follow me! I will guide you to