Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/338

212 god but Him. He it is that produced you from the earth, and made you live therein! Then ask pardon of Him; then turn again to Him: verily, my Lord is nigh and answers!'

They said, 'O Zâli'h! thou wert amongst us one we hoped in before this: dost thou forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? verily, we are in hesitating doubt as to that to which thou callest us.'

He said, 'O my people! let us see; if I stand upon a manifest sign from my Lord, and there come from Him mercy, who will help me against God if I rebel against Him? Ye will add only to my loss.

'O my people! this she-camel of God is a sign for you; leave her, then, to feed in God's earth, and touch her not with evil, or there will catch you torment that is nigh.' But they did hamstring her, and he said, 'Enjoy yourselves in your houses for three days;—that is the promise that shall not be belied.'

And when our order came we saved Zâli'h, and those who believed with him, by our mercy, from disgrace upon that day. Verily, thy Lord He is powerful and mighty.

And the noise caught those who had done wrong; and on the morrow they were lying corpses in their houses, as though they had never dwelt therein. Did not Thamûd indeed disbelieve in their Lord? Aye! away with Thamûd!

Our messengers did come to Abraham with glad tidings; they said, 'Peace!' He said, 'Peace be