Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 9.djvu/37

ⅩⅧ, 55-63. reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away therefrom, and forgets what his hands have done before ? verily, we will place veils upon their hearts lest they should understand, and dulness in their ears !

And if thou shouldst call them to the guidance, they will not be guided then for ever.

But thy Lord is forgiving, endowed with mercy ; were He to punish them for what they have earned He would have hastened for them the torment. Nay rather, they have their appointed time, and shall never find a refuge beside Him.

These cities, we destroyed them when they were unjust ; and for their destruction we set an appointed time.

And when Moses said to his servant, ‘ I will not cease until I reach the confluence of the two seas, or else I will go on for years .’

But when they reached the confluence of the two they forgot their fish, and it took its way in the sea with a free course.

And when they had passed by, he said to his servant, ‘ Bring us our dinners, for we have met with toil from this journey of ours.’ Said he, ‘ What thinkest thou ? when we resorted to the rock, then, verily, I forgot the fish, but it was only Satan who made me forget it, lest I should remember it ; and it took its way in the sea wondrously !’

Said he, ‘ This is what we were searching for .’ So they turned back upon their footsteps, following them up.