Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/98

ⅹⅽⅱ Qurʼân to convulse nature they would not believe. Further threats against misbelievers. God notes the deeds of every soul. Stratagem unavailing against Him. Paradise and Hell. Mohammed bidden to persevere in asserting the unity of God. Had he not followed the Qurʼân God would have forsaken him. Other apostles have had wives and children: none could bring a sign without God’s permission: for every period there is a revelation. God can annul or confirm any part of his revelation which He pleases: he has the 'Mother of the Book' (i.e. the Eternal Original). Whether Mohammed live to see his predictions fulfilled or not, God only knows: his duty is only to preach the message. The conquests of Islâm pointed to. God will support the prophet against misbelievers.

ⅩⅣ. (Mecca.)

The Qurʼân revealed to bring men from darkness into light. God is Lord of all. No apostle sent except with the language of his own people. Moses sent to Pharaoh. The people of Noah, ʿÂd, and Thamûd objected that their prophets were mortals like themselves. The prophets relied on God who vindicated them. Frightful description of hell. Misbelievers are like ashes blown away by a stormy wind. Helplessness of the damned: Satan will desert them. But believers are in Paradise. A good word is like a good tree whose root is in the earth and whose branches are in the sky, and which gives fruit in all seasons. A bad word is as a tree that is felled. God’s word is sure. Idolaters are threatened with hell-fire. God is the creator of all: He subjects all things to man’s use. Abraham prayed that the territory of Mecca might be a sanctuary. The unjust are only respited till the judgment day. The ruins of the dwellings of those who have perished for denying the mission of their apostles are a proof of the truth of Mohammed’s mission. The Lord will take vengeance at the last day, when sinners shall burn in hell with shirts of pitch to cover them. The Qurʼân is a warning and an admonition.

ⅩⅤ. (Mecca.)

Misbelievers will one day regret their misbelief. No city was ever destroyed without warning. The infidels mockingly ask Mohammed to bring down angels to punish them. So did the sinners of old act towards their apostles. There are signs enough