Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/270

144 those who forgot it before will say, ‘ There did come to us the apostles of our Lord in truth, have we intercessors to intercede for us ? or, could we return, we would do otherwise than we did.’ They have lost themselves, and that which they devised has strayed away from them.

Verily, your Lord is God who created the heavens and the earth in six days; then He made for the Throne. He covers night with the day — it pursues it incessantly — and the sun and the moon and the stars are subject to His bidding. Aye! — His is the creation and the bidding, — blessed be God the Lord of the worlds!

Call on your Lord humbly and secretly, verily, He loves not the transgressors. And do not evil in the earth after it has been righted ; and call upon Him with fear and earnestness ; verily, the mercy of God is nigh unto those who do well.

He it is who sends forth the winds as heralds before His mercy ; until when they lift the heavy cloud which we drive to a dead land, and send down thereon water, and bring forth therewith every kind of fruit ; — thus do we bring forth the dead ; haply ye may remember.

And the good land brings forth its vegetation by the permission of its Lord ; and that which is vile brings forth naught but scarcity. Thus do we turn about our signs for a people who are grateful.

We did send Noah unto his people, and he said, ‘O my people! serve God, ye have no god but Him; verily, I fear for you the torment of the mighty day.’ Said the chiefs of his people, ‘ Verily,