The Koran (Al-Qur'an): Selected passages for young readers

MECCA.-8 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

HAVE we not OPENED thine heart for thee?

And taken off from thee thy burden,

Which galled thy back?

And have we not raised thy name for thee?

Then verily along with trouble cometh ease.

Verily along with trouble cometh ease.

But when thou art set at liberty, then prosecute thy toil.

And seek thy Lord with fervour.

MECCA.-7 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

PRAISE be to God, Lord of the worlds!

The compassionate, the merciful!

King on the day of reckoning!

Thee only do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help.

Guide Thou us on the straight path,2

The path of those to whom Thou hast been gracious;-with whom thou art not angry, and who go not astray.3

_______________________ 1 This Sura, which Nöldeke places last, and Muir sixth, in the earliest class of Meccan Suras, must at least have been composed prior to Sura xxxvii. 182,where it is quoted, and to Sura xv. 87, which refers to it. And it can scarcely be an accidental circumstance that the words of the first, second, and fifth verses do not occur in any other Suras of the first Meccan period as given by N"ldeke, but frequently in those of the second, which it therefore, in N"ldeke, opinion, immediately precedes. But this may be accounted for by its having been recast for the purposes of private and public devotion by Muhammad himself, which is the meaning probably of the Muhammadan tradition that it was revealed twice. It should also be observed that, including the auspicatory formula, there are the same number of petitions in this Sura as in the Lord's Prayer.

It is recited several times in each of the five daily prayers, and on many other occassions, as in concluding a bargain, etc. It is termed "the Opening of the Book," "the Completion," "the Sufficing Sura," the Sura of Praise, Thanks, and Prayer," "the Healer," "the Remedy," "the Basis," "the Treasure," "the Mother of the Book," "the Seven Verses of Repetition." The Muhammadans always say "Amen" after this prayer, Muhammad having been instructed, says the Sonna, to do so by the Angel Gabriel. 2 Islam 3 The following transfer of this Sura from the Arabic into the corresponding English characters may give some idea of the rhyming prose in which the Koran is written:

Bismillahi 'rahhmani 'rrahheem.

El-hamdoo lillahi rabi 'lalameen.

Arrahhmani raheem.

Maliki yowmi-d-deen.

Eyaka naboodoo, wa‚yaka nest aeen.

Ihdina 'ssirat almostakeem.

Sirat alezeena anhamta aleihim, gheiri-'l mughdoobi aleihim, wala dsaleen.

Ameen.

MECCA.-78 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The God of MERCY hath taught the Koran,

Hath created man,

Hath taught him articulate speech,

The Sun and the Moon have each their times,

And the plants and the trees bend in adoration.

And the Heaven, He hath reared it on high, and hath appointed the balance;

That in the balance ye should not transgress.

Weigh therefore with fairness, and scant not the balance.

And the Earth, He hath prepared it for the living tribes:

Therein are fruits, and the palms with sheathed clusters,

And the grain with its husk, and the fragrant plants.

Which then of the bounties of your Lord will ye twain1 deny?

He created man of clay like that of the potter.

And He created the djinn of pure fire:

Which then of the bounties, etc.

He is the Lord of the East,2

He is the Lord of the West:

Which, etc.

He hath let loose the two seas3 which meet each other:

Yet between them is a barrier which they overpass not:

Which, etc.

From each he bringeth up pearls both great and small:

Which, etc.

And His are the ships towering up at sea like mountains:

Which, etc.

All on the earth shall pass away,

But the face of thy Lord shall abide resplendent with majesty and glory:

Which, etc.

To Him maketh suit all that is in the Heaven and the Earth. Every day doth some new work employ Him:

Which, etc.

We will find leisure to judge you, O ye men and djinn:4

Which, etc.

O company of djinn and men, if ye can overpass the bounds of the Heavens and the Earth, then overpass them. But by our leave only shall ye overpass them:

Which, etc.

A bright flash of fire shall be hurled at you both, and molten brass, and ye shall not defend yourselves from it:

Which, etc.

When the Heaven shall be cleft asunder, and become rose red, like stained leather:

Which, etc.

On that day shall neither man nor djinn be asked of his sin:

Which, etc.

By their tokens shall the sinners be known, and they shall be seized by their forelocks and their feet:

Which, etc.

"This is Hell which sinners treated as a lie."

To and fro shall they pass between it and the boiling water:

Which, etc.

But for those who dread the majesty of their Lord shall be two gardens:

Which, etc.

With o'erbranching trees in each:

Which, etc.

In each two kinds of every fruit:

Which, etc.

On couches with linings of brocade shall they recline, and the fruit of the two gardens shall be within easy reach:

Which, etc.

Therein shall be the damsels with retiring glances, whom nor man nor djinn hath touched before them:

Which, etc.

Like jacynths and pearls:

Which, etc.

Shall the reward of good be aught but good?

Which, etc.

And beside these shall be two other gardens:5

Which, etc.

Of a dark green:

Which, etc.

With gushing fountains in each:

Which, etc.

In each, fruits and the palm and the pomegranate:

Which, etc.

In each, the fair, the beauteous ones:

Which, etc.

With large dark eyeballs, kept close in their pavilions:

Which, etc.

Whom man hath never touched, nor any djinn:6

Which, etc.

Their spouses on soft green cushions and on beautiful carpets shall recline:

Which, etc.

Blessed be the name of thy Lord, full of majesty and glory.

_______________________ 1 Men and djinn. The verb is in the dual. , of all that lies between the extreme points at which the sun rises and sets at the winter and summer solstices. he hath set at large, poured forth over the earth the masses of fresh and salt water which are in contact at the mouths of rivers, etc. ] xxvii. ] xxxv. 13. 4 Lit. O ye two weights; hence, treasures; and, generally, any collective body of men or things. 5 One for men, the other for the Genii; or, two for each man and Genius; or, both are for the inferior classes of Muslims. Beidh. 6 It should be remarked that these promises of the Houris of Paradise are almost exclusively to be found in Suras written at a time when Muhammad had only a single wife of 60 years of age, and that in all the ten years subsequent to the Hejira, women are only twice mentioned as part of the reward of the faithful. Suras ii. 23 and iv. 60. While in Suras xxxvi. 56; xliii. 70; xiii.

23; xl. 8 the proper wives of the faithful are spoken of as accompanying their husbands into the gardens of bliss.

MECCA.-135 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

TA. HA.2 Not to sadden thee have we sent down this Koran to thee,

But as a warning for him who feareth;

It is a missive from Him who hath made the earth and the lofty heavens!

The God of Mercy sitteth on his throne:

His, whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them both, and whatsoever is beneath the humid soil!

Thou needest not raise thy voice:3 for He knoweth the secret whisper, and the yet more hidden.

God! There is no God but He! Most excellent His titles!

Hath the history of Moses reached thee?

When he saw a fire, and said to his family, "Tarry ye here, for I perceive a fire:

Haply I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide."4

And when he came to it, he was called to, "O Moses!

Verily, I am thy Lord:. therefore pull off thy shoes: for thou art in the holy valley of Towa.

And I have chosen thee: hearken then to what shall be revealed.

Verily, I am God: there is no God but me: therefore worship me, and observe prayer for a remembrance of me.

Verily the hour is coming:-I all but manifest it-

That every soul may be recompensed for its labours.

Nor let him who believeth not therein and followeth his lust, turn thee aside from this truth, and thou perish.

Now, what is that in thy right hand, O Moses?"

Said he, "It is my staff on which I lean, and with which I beast down leaves for my sheep, and I have other uses for it."

He said, "Cast it down, O Moses!"

So he cast it down, and lo! it became a serpent that ran along.

He said, "Lay hold on it, and fear not: to its former state will we restore it."

"Now place thy right hand to thy arm-pit: it shall come forth white, but unhurt:-another sign!-

That We may shew thee the greatest of our signs.

Go to Pharaoh, for he hath burst all bounds."

He said, "O my Lord! enlarge my breast for me,

And make my work easy for me,

And loose the knot of my tongue,5

That they may understand my speech.

And give me a counsellor6 from among my family,

Aaron my brother;

By him gird up my loins,7

And make him a colleague in my work,

That we may praise thee oft and oft remember thee,

For thou regardest us."

He said, "O Moses, thou hast obtained thy suit:

Already, at another time, have we showed thee favour,

When we spake unto thy mother what was spoken:

'Cast him into the ark:8 then cast him on the sea [the river], and the sea shall throw him on the shore: and an enemy to me and an enemy to him shall take him up.' And I myself have made thee an object of love,

That thou mightest be reared in mine eye.

When thy sister went and said, 'Shall I shew you one who will nurse him?'9 Then We returned thee to thy mother that her eye might be cheered, and that she might not grieve. And when thou slewest a person, We delivered thee from trouble, and We tried thee with other trial.

For years didst thou stay among the people of Midian; then camest thou hither by my decree, O Moses:

And I have chosen thee for Myself.

Go thou and thy brother with my signs and be not slack to remember me.

Go ye to Pharaoh, for he hath burst all bounds:

But speak ye to him with gentle speech; haply he will reflect or fear."

They said, "O our Lord! truly we fear lest he break forth against us, or act with exceeding injustice."

He said, "Fear ye not, for I am with you both. I will hearken and I will behold.

Go ye then to him and say, 'Verily we are Sent ones of thy Lord; send therefore the children of Israel with us and vex them not: now are we come to thee with signs from thy Lord, and, Peace shall be on him who followeth the right guidance.

For now hath it been revealed to us, that chastisement shall be on him who chargeth with falsehood, and turneth him away."'

And he said, "Who is your Lord, O Moses?"

He said, "Our Lord is He who hath given to everything its form and then guideth it aright."

"But what," said he, "was the state of generations past?"10

He said, "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in the Book of his decrees. My Lord erreth not, nor forgetteth.

He hath spread the earth as a bed, and hath traced out paths for you therein, and hath sent down rain from Heaven, and by it we bring forth the kinds11 of various herbs:

-'Eat ye, and feed your cattle.' Of a truth in this are signs unto men endued with understanding.

From it have we created you, and into it will we return you, and out of it will we bring you forth a second time."12

And we shewed him all our signs: but he treated them as falsehoods, and refused to believe.

He said, "Hast thou come, O Moses, to drive us from our land by thine enchantments?

Therefore will we assuredly confront thee with like enchantments: so appoint a meeting between us and you-we will not fail it, we, and do not thou-in a place alike for both."

He said, "On the feast day13 be your meeting, and in broad daylight let the people be assembled."

And Pharaoh turned away, and collected his craftsmen and came.

Said Moses to them, "Woe to you! devise not a lie against God:

For then will he destroy you by a punishment. They who have lied have ever perished."

And the magicians discussed their plan, and spake apart in secret:

They said, "These two are surely sorcerers: fain would they drive you from your land by their sorceries, and lead away in their paths your chiefest men:

So muster your craft: then come in order: well this day shall it be for him, who shall gain the upper hand."

They said, "O Moses, wilt thou first cast down thy rod, or shall we be the first who cast?"

He said, "Yes, cast ye down first." And lo! by their enchantment their cords and rods seemed to him as if they ran.

And Moses conceived a secret fear within him.

We said, "Fear not, for thou shalt be the uppermost:

Cast forth then what is in thy right hand: it shall swallow up what they have produced: they have only produced the deceit of an enchanter: and come where he may, ill shall an enchanter fare."

And the magicians fell down and worshipped. They said,

"We believe in the Lord of Aaron and of Moses."

Said Pharaoh, "Believe ye on him ere I give you leave? He, in sooth, is your Master who hath taught you magic. I will therefore cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on trunks of the palm, and assuredly shall ye learn which of us is severest in punishing, and who is the more abiding."14

They said, "We will not have more regard to thee than to the clear tokens which have come to us, or than to Him who hath made us: doom the doom thou wilt: Thou canst only doom as to this present life: of a truth we have believed on our Lord that he may pardon us our sins and the sorcery to which thou hast forced us, for God is better, and more abiding than thou.15

As for him who shall come before his Lord laden with crime-for him verily is Hell: he shall not die in it and he shall not live.

But he who shall come before Him, a believer, with righteous works,-these! the loftiest grades await them:

Gardens of Eden, beneath whose trees16 the rivers flow: therein shall they abide for ever. This, the reward of him who hath been pure."

Then revealed we to Moses, "Go forth by night with my servants and cleave for them a dry path in the sea;

Fear not thou to be overtaken, neither be thou afraid."

And Pharaoh followed them with his hosts, and the whelming billows of the sea overwhelmed them,17 for Pharaoh misled his people, and did not guide them.

O children of Israel! we rescued you from your foes; and We appointed a meeting with you on the right side of the mountain; and We caused the manna and the quail to descend on you:

"Eat," said We, "of the good things with which we have supplied you; but without excess, lest my wrath fall on you; for on whom my wrath doth fall, he perisheth outright.

Surely however will I forgive him who turneth to God and believeth, and worketh righteousness, and then yieldeth to guidance.

But what hath hastened thee on apart from thy people,18 O Moses?"

He said, "They are hard on my footsteps: but to thee, O Lord, have I hastened, that thou mightest be well pleased with me."

He said, "Of a truth now have we proved thy people since thou didst leave them, and Samiri19 had led them astray."

And Moses returned to his people, angered, sorrowful.

He said, "O my people! did not your Lord promise you a good promise? Was the time of my absence long to you? or desired ye that wrath from your Lord should light on you, that ye failed in your promise to me?"