Surah

“ You are a young and sensible man, and I do not suspect you of forgetfulness, negligence, or perfidy ; and, verily, you used to write for the Prophet his instructions from above ; then look for the Quran in. every place and collect it." I said, " I swear by God, that if people had ordered me to carry a mountain about from one place to another, it would not be heavier upon me than the order which Abu- Bakr has given for collecting the Quran." I said to Abu-Bakr, " How do you do a thing which the Prophet of God did not ? " He said, " By God, this collecting of the Quran is a good act." ”

“ Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things."
P: O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands; they will say: Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and forgive us! ”

“ My Lord knows best him who has brought the guidance and him who is in manifest error.
86 And thou didst not expect that the Book would be inspired to thee, but it is a mercy from thy Lord, so be not a backer up of the disbelievers.
87 And let them not turn thee aside from the messages of Allah after they have been revealed to thee, and call (men) to thy Lord and be not of the polytheists.
88 And call not with Allah any other god. There is no God but He. Everything will perish but He. His is the judgment, and to Him you will be brought back. ”

“ So if there be of you a hundred steadfast, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be of you a thousand, they shall overcome two thousand by Allah's permission. And Allah is with the steadfast.
67 It is not fit for a prophet to take captives unless he has fought and triumphed in the land. You desire the frail goods of this world, while Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.
68 Were it not for an ordinance from Allah that had gone before, surely there would have befallen you a great chastisement for what you were going to do. ”

“ Sura Jehâd recited before the army.
At the head of every column, as a preparation for the battle, was recited the Sura Jehâd, with the stirring story of the thousand angels that fought on the Prophet’s side at Bedr, and such hortatory texts as these:—‘Stir up the Faithful unto battle. If there be twenty steadfast among you, they shall put to flight two hundred of the Unbelievers, and a hundred shall put to flight a thousand. Victory cometh from the Lord alone; He is mighty and wise. I will cast terror into the hearts of the Infidels. Strike off their heads, and their fingers’ ends. ”

“ Now Allah Almighty had bestowed upon him all that his heart could desire, save boon of child, for though he had lovely wives within his Harem-door and fair concubines galore, he had been not blessed with a son; wherefor he offered up incessant worship to the Creator. One night there appeared to him in a dream a man of comely visage and holy of semblance like unto a prophet, who addressed him, saying, "O puissant King, thy vows are at length heard. Arise to-morrow at day-dawn, pray a two-bow prayer and offer up thy petitions ”

“ We are not insensible to the beauties of the Quran as a literary production, although they have, without doubt, been overrated ; but as we admire its conceptions of the Divine nature, its deep and fervent trust in the power of God, its frequent deep moral earnestness, and its sen tentious wisdom, we would gladly rid ourselves of our recollections of the Prophet, his licen tious harem, his sanguinary battle-fields, his ambitious schemes; whilst as we peruse the Christian scriptures we find the grand central charm in the divine character of its founder. ”

“ And he who bears iniquity is indeed undone.
112 And whoever does good works and he is a believer, he has no fear of injustice, nor of the withholding of his due.
113 And thus have We sent it down an Arabic Qur'an, and have distinctly set forth therein of threats that they may guard against evil, or that it may be a reminder for them.
114 Supremely exalted then is Allah, the King, the Truth. And make not haste with the Qur'an before its revelation is made complete to thee, and say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
115 And certainly We gave a commandment to Adam before, but he forgot ”

“ The light and profane use of the Divine name is universal. The dervishes curse, but every one uses the name Allah wherever they can bring it in. The Ya Allah, as an expression of fatigue, or discontent, or interest, or nothing, is heard all day, and the boy who drives a cow, or a team, or a mule in a caravan, cries Ya Allah incessantly as an equivalent of "go along," and the gardener pushing his spade into the ground, the chopper with every blow of the axe, the labourer throwing up bricks, ejaculates the same. ”

“ And Allah has revealed to thee the Book and the Wisdom, and taught thee what thou knewest not, and Allah's grace on thee is very great.
114 There is no good in most of their secret counsels except (in) him who enjoins charity or goodness or reconciliation between people. And whoever does this, seeking Allah's pleasure, We shall give him a mighty reward.
115 And whoever acts hostilely to the Messenger after guidance has become manifest to him and follows other than the way of the believers, We turn him to that to which he (himself) turns and make him enter hell and it is an evil resort. ”

“ Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil; and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest (force) . And Allah knows what you do.
46 And argue not with the People of the Book except by what is best, save such of them as act unjustly. But say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him we submit.
47 And thus have We revealed the Book to thee. So those whom We have given the Book believe in it, and of these there are those who believe in it; and none deny Our messages except the disbelievers. ”

“ But in spite of the rich development, in every sense of the term, of the teachings of the Prophet, the Qurʼān has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting-point, and the dogma of the unity of God has always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur, a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam. ”

“ Extolled be the perfection of Allah!” Hardly had I made an end of pronouncing the Tasbih—praised be Allah!—when there came out a fire from heaven and all but consumed the company; whereupon they fled from it and descended with curses upon me and, casting me down on a high mountain, went away, exceeding wroth with me, and left me there alone. As I found myself in this plight, I repented of what I had done and reproached myself for having undertaken that for which I was unable, saying, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! ”

“ He is the Hearer, the Knower.
66 Now, surely, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah's. And what do follow those who call on associates besides Allah? They follow naught but conjecture, and they only lie.
67 He it is Who made for you the night that you might rest therein and the day giving light. Surely in this are signs for a people who hear.
68 They say Allah has taken a son (to Himself) . Glory be to Him! He is the Self-sufficient. His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. You have no authority for this. Say you against Allah what you know not? ”

“ But as to those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add doubt to their doubt, and they shall die infidels.
Do they not see that they are proved every year once or twice? Yet they turn not, neither are they warned.
And whenever a Sura is sent down, they look at one another. . . . "Doth any one see you?" then turn they aside. God shall turn their hearts aside, because they are a people devoid of understanding.
Now hath an Apostle come unto you from among yourselves: your iniquities press heavily upon him. He is careful over you, and towards the faithful, compassionate, merciful. ”

“ The "Chapter of the Cattle:" Heaven is whose,
And whose is earth? Say Allah's, That did choose
On His own might to lay the law of mercy.
He, at the Resurrection, will not lose
One of His own. What falleth, night or day,
Falleth by His Almighty word alway.
Wilt thou have any other Lord than Allah,
Who is not fed, but feedeth all flesh? Say!
For if He visit thee with woe, none makes
The woe to cease save He; and if He takes
Pleasure to send thee pleasure, He is Master
Over all gifts; nor doth His thought forsake
The creatures of the field, nor fowls that fly ”

“ O my people, serve Allah, you have no God other than Him. Will you not guard against evil?
24 But the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said: He is nothing but a mortal like yourselves, who desires to have superiority over you. And if Allah had pleased, He could have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our fathers of yore.
25 He is only a madman, so bear with him for a time.
26 He said: My Lord, help me against their calling me a liar. ”

“ Praised be Allah, he is yet here with us in the enjoyment of property and rank and prosperity, except that Allah hath stricken him with love of a damsel called the Lady Budur;, and he is so whelmed by his love of her and his longing for her, that he is like a great rock cumbering the ground. If he hunger, he saith not, 'Give me meat;' nor, if he thirst, doth he say, 'Give me drink.' Quoth I, 'Ask leave for me to go in to him.' Said the slave, 'O my lord, wilt thou go in to one who understandeth or to one who understandeth not?' ”

“ The Minister answered, "O King, peradventure Allah shall yet bring something to pass; so rely upon the Almighty and be instant in prayer. It is also my counsel that thou spread a banquet and invite to it the poor and needy, and let them eat of thy food; and supplicate the Lord to vouchsafe thee a son; for perchance there may be among thy guests a righteous soul whose prayers find acceptance; and thereby thou shalt win thy wish." So the King rose, made the lesser ablution, and prayed a two-bow prayer, [4] then he cried upon Allah with pure intention ”

“ It is told of Allah's Apostle that he said, 'There will be brought on the Judgment-day a man with whom He shall reckon and finding no good deed to his account, shall order him to the Fire; but the man will cry, 'O my God, Thou hast not dealt justly by me!' Then shall Allah (to whom be honour and glory!) say, 'How so?' and the man shall answer, O Lord, for that Thou callest Thyself the Compassionating, the Compassionate, yet wilt Thou punish me with the Fire!' And Allah (magnified be His Majesty!) ”

“ Say True guidance -- Allah's guidance -- is that one may be given the like of what you were given; or they would prevail on you in argument before your Lord. Say Grace is surely in Allah's hand. He gives it to whom He pleases. And Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
73 He specially chooses for His mercy whom He pleases. And Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.
74 And among the People of the Book there is he who, if thou entrust him with a heap of wealth, would pay it back to thee ”

“ Surely Allah is Able to send down a sign, but most of them know not?'
38 And there is no animal in the earth, nor a bird that flies on its two wings, but (they are) communities like yourselves. We have not neglected anything in the Book. Then to their Lord will they be gathered.
39 And those who reject Our messages are deaf and dumb, in darkness. Whom Allah pleases He leaves in error. And whom He pleases He places on the right way.
40 Say: See, if the chastisement of Allah overtake you or the hour come upon you, will you call on others than Allah, if you are truthful? ”

“ Then arose the sixth Wazir and said, "Allah favour thee with all felicity, O King, in this world and in the next world! Verily, the ancients have left us this saying, 'Whoso prayeth and fasteth and giveth parents their due and is just in his rule meeteth his Lord and He is well pleased with him.' Thou hast been set over us and hast ruled us justly and thine every step in this hath been blessed; wherefore we beseech Allah Almighty to make great thy reward eternal and requite thee thy beneficence. ”

“ I have already analysed it and asked you to compare it with the Christian prayer called the Lord's prayer. I am sure you have noted and admired its simplicity and clearness and its almost scientific precision and comprehensiveness. I am only amplifying what I have already said when I say that the Sura teaches three cardinal and eternal truths:—
1st.—There is but One God who has created the worlds, maintains them, and rules them. In the inimitable words of the Sura of Purity.
2ndly.— (a) God being our Creator, we have to worship, adore and love Him and Him alone. This is the duty we owe to God. ”

“ Said she, "O my lord, all this cometh by boon of thy father's blessing and orisons when he prayed for thee, before his death, saying, 'I beseech Allah to cast thee into no straits except He grant thee ready relief!' So praised be Allah Almighty for that He hath brought thee deliverance and hath requited thee with more than went from thee! But Allah upon thee, O my lord, return not to thy practice of associating with doubtful folk ”