26.The Poets

Ta Sin Mim
These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear
[Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe
If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility
Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away
they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them
Do they not see the earth, and what noble kinds of thing We grow in it
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
Your Lord called to Moses: ‘Go to those wrongdoers
the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?’
Moses said, ‘My Lord, I fear they will call me a liar
and I will feel stressed and tongue-tied, so send Aaron too
besides, they have a chargeagainst me, and I fear they may kill me.’
God said, ‘No [they will not]. Go, both of you, with Our signs––We shall be with you, listen-ing
Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say, “We bring a message from the Lord of the Worlds
let the Children of Israel leave with us.” ’
Pharaoh said, ‘Did we not bring you up as a child among us? Did you not stay with us for many years
And then you committed that crime of yours: you were so ungrateful.’
Moses replied, ‘I was misguided when I did it
and I fled from you in fear; later my Lord gave me wisdom and made me one of His messengers
And is this- that you have enslaved the Children of Israel- the favour with which you reproach me?’
Pharaoh asked, ‘What is this “Lord of the Worlds”?’
Moses replied, ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and earth and everything between them. If you would only have faith!’
Pharaoh said to those present, ‘Do you hear what he says?’
Moses said, ‘He is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.’
Pharaoh said, ‘This messenger who has been sent to you is truly possessed.’
Moses continued, ‘Lord of the East and West and everything between them. If you would only use your reason!’
But Pharaoh said [to him], ‘If you take any god other than me, I will throw you into prison,’
and Moses asked, ‘Even if I show you something convincing?’
‘Show it then,’ said Pharaoh, ‘if you are telling the truth.’
So Moses threw down his staff and- lo and behold!- it became a snake for everyone to see
Then he drew out his hand and- lo and behold!- it was white for the onlookers to see
Pharaoh said to the counsellors around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer
He means to use his sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’
They answered, ‘Delay him and his brother for a while, and send messengers to all the cities
to bring every accomplished sorcerer to you.’
The sorcerers were [to be] assembled at the appointed time on a certain day
and the people were asked
‘Are you all coming? We may follow the sorcerers if they win!’
When the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?’
and he said, ‘Yes, and you will join my inner court.’
Moses said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you will.’
They threw their ropes and staffs, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we shall be victorious.’
But Moses threw his staff and- lo and behold!- it swallowed up their trickery
and the sorcerers fell down on their knees
exclaiming, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds
the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’
Pharaoh said, ‘How dare you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be the master who taught you sorcery! Soon you will see: I will cut off your alternate hands and feet and then crucify the lot of you!’
‘That will do us no harm,’ they said, ‘for we are sure to return to our Lord
We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we were the first to believe.’
Then We revealed Our will to Moses, ‘Leave with My servants by night, for you will be pursued!’
Pharaoh sent messengers into the cities, proclaiming
‘These people are a puny band––
they have enraged us
and we are a large army, on the alert.’
So it was that We made them leave their gardens and their springs
their treasures and their noble dwellings
We gave [such] things [later]to the Children of Israel
Pharaoh and his people pursued them at sunrise
and as soon as the two sides came within sight of one another, Moses’ followers said, ‘We shall definitely be caught.’
Moses said, ‘No, my Lord is with me: He will guide me,’
and We revealed to Moses: ‘Strike the sea with your staff.’ It parted- each side like a mighty mountain
and We brought the others to that place
We saved Moses and all his companions
and drowned the rest
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
Tell them the story of Abraham
when he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’
They said, ‘We worship idols, and are constantly in attendance on them.’
He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call
Do they help or harm you?’
They replied, ‘No, but this is what we saw our fathers doing.’
Abraham said, ‘Those idols you have worshipped
you and your forefathers
are my enemies; not so the Lord of the Worlds
who created me. It is He who guides me
He who gives me food and drink
He who cures me when I am ill
He who will make me die and then give me life again
and He who will, I hope, forgive my faults on the Day of Judgement
My Lord, grant me wisdom; join me with the righteous
give me a good name among later generations
make me one of those given the Garden of Bliss
forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray
and do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected
the Day when neither wealth nor children can help
when the only one who will be saved is the one who comes before God with a heart devoted to Him.’
When the Garden is brought near to the righteous
and the Fire is placed in full view of the misguided
it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you worshipped
beside God? Can they help you now, or even help themselves?’
and then they will all be hurled into Hell, together with those that misled them
and all Iblis’s supporters
There they will say to their gods, as they bicker among themselves
‘We were clearly misguided
when we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds
It was the evildoers who led us astray
and now we have no intercessor
and no true friend
If only we could live our lives again, we would be true believers!’
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
The people of Noah, too, called the messengers liars
Their brother Noah said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God
I am a faithful messenger sent to you
be mindful of God and obey me
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds
be mindful of God and obey me.’
They answered, ‘Why should we believe you when the worst sort of people follow you?’
He said, ‘What knowledge do I have of what they used to do
It is for my Lord alone to bring them to account- if only you could see
I will not drive believers away
I am here only to give people a clear warning.’
So they said, ‘Noah, if you do not stop this, you will be stoned.’
He said, ‘My Lord, my people have rejected me
so make a firm judgement between me and them, and save me and my believing followers.’
So We saved him and his followers in the fully laden ship
and drowned the rest
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
The people of Ad, too, called the messengers liars
Their brother Hud said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God
I am a faithful messenger sent to you
be mindful of God and obey me
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds
How can you be so vain that you set up monuments on every high place
Do you build fortresses because you hope to be immortal
Why do you act like tyrants whenever you attack someone
Be mindful of God and obey me
be mindful of Him who has provided you with everything you know
He has given you livestock, sons
gardens, springs
for I truly fear that the torment of a grievous day will overtake you.’
They replied, ‘It makes no difference to us whether you warn us or not
for we only do what our forefathers used to do
we shall not be punished.’
They denounced him as a liar, and so We destroyed them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
The people of Thamud, too, called the messengers liars
Their brother Salih said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God
I am a faithful messenger to you
be mindful of God and obey me
I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds
[Do you think] you will be left secure for ever in what you have here
gardens, springs
fields, palm trees laden with fruit
carving your fine houses from the mountains
Be mindful of God and obey me
do not obey those who are given to excess
and who spread corruption in the land instead of doing what is right.’
They said, ‘You are bewitched
You are nothing but a man like us. Show us a sign, if you are telling the truth.’
He said, ‘Here is a camel. She should have her turn to drink and so should you, each on a specified day
so do not harm her, or the punishment of a terrible day will befall you.’
But they hamstrung her. In the morning they had cause to regret it
the punishment fell upon them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
The people of Lot, too, called the messengers liars
Their brother Lot said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God
I am a faithful messenger to you
be mindful of God and obey me
I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds
Must you, unlike [other] people, lust after males
and abandon the wives that God has created for you? You are exceeding all bounds,’
but they replied, ‘Lot! If you do not stop this, you will be driven away.’
So he said, ‘I loathe what you do
Lord, save me and my family from what they are doing.’
We saved him and all his family
except for an old woman who stayed behind
then We destroyed the others
and poured a rain of destruction down upon them. How dreadful that rain was for those who had been forewarned
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
The forest-dwellers, too, called the messengers liars
Shuayb said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God
I am a faithful messenger to you
be mindful of God and obey me
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds
Give full measure: do not sell others short
Weigh with correct scales
do not deprive people of what is theirs. Do not spread corruption on earth
Be mindful of God who created you and former generations,’
but they replied, ‘You are bewitched
You are nothing but a man like us. In fact we think you are a liar
Make bits of the heavens fall down on us, if you are telling the truth.’
He said, ‘My Lord knows best what you do.’
They called him a liar, and so the torment of the Day of Shadow came upon them- it was the torment of a terrible day
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful
Truly, this Quran has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds
the Trustworthy Spirit brought it down
to your heart [Prophet], so that you could bring warning
in a clear Arabic tongue
This was foretold in the scriptures of earlier religions
Is it not proof enough for them that the learned men of the Children of Israel have recognized it
If We had sent it down to someone who was not an Arab
and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it
So We make it pass straight through the hearts of the guilty
they will not believe in it until they see the grievous torment
which will suddenly hit them when they are not expecting it
and then they will say, ‘Can we have more time?’
How can they ask that Our punishment be brought to them sooner
Think, if we let them enjoy this life for some years
and then the promised torment came upon them
what good would their past enjoyment be to them
Never have We destroyed a town without sending down messengers to warn it
as a reminder from Us: We are never unjust
It was not the jinn who brought down this Quran
it is neither in their interests nor in their power
indeed they are prevented from overhearing it
So [Prophet] do not invoke any gods beside God, or you will incur punishment
Warn your nearest kinsfolk
and lower your wing tenderly over the believers who follow you
If they disobey you, say, ‘I bear no responsibility for your actions.’
Put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful
who sees you when you stand up [for prayer]
and sees your movements among the worshippers
He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing
Shall I tell you who the jinn come down to
They come down to every lying sinner
who readily lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars
only those who are lost in error follow the poets
Do you not see how they rove aimlessly in every valley
how they say what they do not do
Not so those [poets] who believe, do good deeds, remember God often, and defend themselves after they have been wronged. The evildoers will find out what they will return to

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