The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

26: 215
The Poets 237
messenger to you: 179 be mindful of God and obey me. 180 I ask no
reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds.
181 Give full measure: do not sell others short. 182 Weigh with correct
scales: 183 do not deprive people of what is theirs. Do not spread
corruption on earth. 184 Be mindful of God who created you and
former generations,’ 185 but they replied, ‘You are bewitched! 186 You
are nothing but a man like us. In fact we think you are a liar. 187 Make
bits of the heavens fall down on us, if you are telling the truth.’ 188 He
said, ‘My Lord knows best what you do.’ 189 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. 190 There truly is a sign in this, though
most of them will not believe: 191 your Lord alone is the Almighty, the
Merciful.
192 Truly, this Quran has been sent down by the Lord of the
Worlds: 193 the Trustworthy Spirit a brought it down 194 to your heart
[Prophet], so that you could bring warning 195 in a clear Arabic
tongue. 196 This was foretold in the scriptures of earlier religions.
197 Is it not proof enough for them that the learned men of the
Children of Israel have recognized it? 198 If We had sent it down to
someone who was not an Arab, b 199 and he had recited it to them,
they still would not have believed in it. 200 So We make it pass straight
through the hearts of the guilty: 201 they will not believe in it until
they see the grievous torment, 202 which will suddenly hit them when
they are not expecting it, 203 and then they will say, ‘Can we have
more time?’ 204 How can they ask that Our punishment be brought to
them sooner? 205 Think, if we let them enjoy this life for some years
206 and then the promised torment came upon them, 207 what good
would their past enjoyment be to them? 208 Never have We destroyed
a town without sending down messengers to warn it, 209 as a reminder
from Us: We are never unjust.
210 It was not the jinn c who brought down this Quran: 211 it is
neither in their interests nor in their power, 212 indeed they are prevented
from overhearing it. 213 So [Prophet] do not invoke any gods
beside God, or you will incur punishment. 214 Warn your nearest
kinsfolk 215 and lower your wing tenderly over the believers who
a Generally understood to mean the Angel Gabriel.
b This alludes to the refusal of many Meccan Arabs to believe that revelation could
come to a man from among themselves.
c Cf. 72: 8–9; 37: 7–10.