Quran — Page 523

[But] thus it is: never yet came any apostle to those who lived before their time but they said, “A spellbinder [Lit., "sorcerer".] [is he], or a madman!”

Have they, perchance, handed down this [way of thinking] as a legacy unto one another? Nay, they are people filled with overweening ar­rogance!

Turn, then, away from them, and thou shalt incur no blame;

yet go on reminding [all who would listen]: for, verily, such a reminder will profit the believers.

And [tell them that] I have not created the invisible beings and men to any end other than that they may [know and] worship Me.

[But withal,] no sustenance do I ever demand of them, nor do I demand that they feed Me:

for, verily, God Himself is the Provider of all sustenance, the Lord of all might, the Eternal!

And, verily, they who are bent on doing evil shall have their share [of evil] like unto the share of their fellows [of old]: so let them not ask Me to hasten [their doom]!

For, woe unto those who are bent on denying the truth - [woe] on the Day which they have been promised

CONSIDER Mount Sinai!

Consider [God’s] revelation, inscribed

on wide-open scrolls.

Consider the long-enduring house [of worship]!

Consider the vault [of heaven] raised high!

Consider the surf-swollen sea!

VERILY, [O man,] the suffering decreed by thy Sustainer [for the sinners] will indeed come to pass:

there is none who could avert it.

[It will come to pass] on the Day when the skies will be convulsed in [a great] convulsion,

and the mountains will move with [an awesome] movement.

Woe, then, on that Day to all who give the lie to the truth –

all those who [throughout their lives] but idly played with things vain –

on the Day when they shall be thrust into the fire with [an irresistible] thrust, [and will be told:]

“This is the fire which you were wont to call a lie!