Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/272

146 haply ye may prosper!’ They said, ‘ Hast thou come to us that we may worship God alone, and leave what our fathers used to worship ? then bring us what thou dost threaten us with, if thou art of those who tell the truth!’ He said, ‘ There shall fall upon you from your Lord horror and wrath ; do ye wrangle with me about names, which ye and your fathers have named yourselves, for which God sent down no power; wait then expectant, and I with you will wait expectant too ! But we rescued him and those with him, by mercy from ourselves, and we cut off the hindermost parts of those who said our signs were lies and who were not believers.’

Unto Thamûd (we sent) their brother Zâliʿh, who said, ‘ O my people! worship God; ye have no god but Him : there has come to you a manifest sign from your Lord. This she-camel of God′s is a sign for you ; leave her then to eat in the land of God, and touch her not with evil, or there will overtake you grievous woe. And remember how he made you vicegerents after ʿÂd and stablished you in the earth, so that ye took for yourselves castles on its plains and hewed out mountains into houses ; and remember the benefits of God, and waste not the land, despoiling it.’ Said the chiefs of those who were big with pride from amongst his people to those who were weak, — to those amongst them who believed, ‘ Do ye know that Zâliʿh is sent from his Lord?’ They said, ‘We do believe in that with which he is sent.’ Said those who were big with pride, ‘ Verily, in what ye do believe we disbelieve.’