14. Ibrahim

Their messengers said to them ‘We are but mortals like you as you have said; but God is gracious to whomever He will of His servants by way of assigning prophethood. And it is not ours to bring you any warrant save by the leave of God by His command for we are servants enthralled; and in God let believers put their trust let them have confidence in Him.

And why indeed should we not put our trust in God in other words there is nothing to prevent us from doing this when He has guided us our ways? And we shall surely endure the hurt you do us. And in God let the trusting put their trust’.

And those who disbelieved said to their messengers ‘We will assuredly expel you from our land or you will surely return you will surely end up returning to our creed’ our religion. Then their Lord inspired them saying ‘We shall surely destroy the evildoers the disbelievers

and We shall surely make you dwell in the land their land after them after they have been destroyed — that victory over them and bequest of the land to you is for whoever fears the standing before Me that is whoever fears when he comes to stand before Me and fears My threat’ of chastisement.

And they sought victory the messengers sought assistance from God against their people; and every tyrant disdaining obedience to God rebellious obstinate to the truth was brought to nothing;

beyond him that is in front of him is Hell which he will enter and he is given to drink in it of festering fluid — which is what issues out of the insides of the people of the Fire mixed with pus and blood —

which he sips gulping it repeatedly because of its acridity but can scarcely swallow scarcely ingest because it is so foul and disgusting; and death that is those causes of it that necessarily bring it about in the way of different types of chastisement comes to him from every side yet he cannot die; and still beyond him after that chastisement there is a harsh chastisement a severe one following on from the previous one.

The likeness the description of those who disbelieve in their Lord alladhīna kafarū bi-rabbihim the subject substituted by the following a‘māluhum their works the righteous ones such as kindness to kin or an act of charity — in the way that no benefit can be derived from them it is because these works — are as ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day one in which the winds blow violently making them as scattered dust over which none can have power the genitive clause beginning with ka-ramādin ‘as ashes’ constitutes the predicate of the above-mentioned subject; they that is the disbelievers have no power over anything that they have earned anything that they had done in their life on earth in other words they shall find no reward for it since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error extreme perdition!

Have you not seen have you not observed O you being addressed this is an interrogative meant as an affirmative that God created the heavens and the earth in truth? bi’l-haqq is semantically connected to the action of the verb khalaqa ‘created’. If He will He can take you away O mankind and bring about a new creation in your place.

And that for God is surely no great no difficult matter.