Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 9.djvu/23

ⅩⅦ, 56-62. torment you : but we have not sent thee to take charge of them.

And thy Lord best knows who is in the heavens and the earth ; we did prefer some of the prophets over the others, and to David did we give the Psalms.

Say, ‘ Call on those whom ye pretend other than God ;’ but they shall not have the power to remove distress from you, nor to turn it off.

Those on whom they call, seek themselves for a means of approaching their Lord, (to see) which of them is nearest : and they hope for His mercy and they fear His torment ; verily, the torment of thy Lord is a thing to beware of.

There is no city but we will destroy it before the day of judgment, or torment it with keen torment ; — that is in the Book inscribed.

Naught hindered us from sending thee with signs, save that those of yore said they were lies ; so we gave Thamûd the visible she-camel, but they treated her unjustly ! for we do not send (any one) with signs save to make men fear.

And when we said to thee, ‘ Verily, thy Lord encompasses men !’ and we made the vision which we showed thee only a cause of sedition unto men, and the cursed tree as well ; for we will frighten them, but it will only increase them in great rebellion.