Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/180

54 with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him from earth, then He said to him BE, and he was ; — the truth from thy Lord, so be thou not of those who are in doubt. And whoso disputeth with thee after what has come to thee of knowledge, say, ‘ Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves : then we will imprecate and put God’s curse on those who lie.’

Verily, those are the true stories, and there is no god but God, and, verily, God He is the mighty, the wise ; but if they turn back, God knows the evildoers.

Say, ‘ O ye people of the Book, come to a word laid down plainly between us and you, that we will not serve other than God, nor associate aught with him, nor take each other for lords rather than God.’ But if they turn back then say, ‘ Bear witness that we are resigned.’

O people of the Book, why do ye dispute about Abraham, when the law and the gospel were not revealed until after him ? What ! do ye not understand ? Here ye are, disputing about what ye have some knowledge of; why then do ye dispute about what ye have no knowledge of? God knows and ye know not.

Abraham was not a Jew, nor yet a Christian, but he was a ʿHânif resigned, and not of the idolaters. Verily, the people most worthy of Abraham are those who follow him and his prophets, and those who believe; — God is the patron of the believers.