Say, Will ye dispute with us concerning God, who is our
Lord, and your Lord? we have our works, and ye have your works, and unto
him are we sincerely devoted. Will ye say, Truly Abraham, and Ismael,
and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes were Jews or Christians? Say, Are
ye wiser, or God? And who is more unjust than he who hideth the
testimony which he hath received from God? But God is not regardless of
that which ye do. That people are passed away, they have what they have
gained, and ye shall have what ye gain, nor shall ye be questioned
concerning that which they have done. The foolish men will say, What
hath turned them from their Keblah, towards which they formerly
prayed?[31] Say, Unto God belongeth the east and the west: he directeth
whom he pleaseth into the right way. Thus have we placed you, O
Arabians, an intermediate nation, that ye may be witnesses against the
rest of mankind, and that the apostle may be a witness against you. We
appointed the Keblah towards which thou didst formerly pray, only that
we might know him who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth back
on his heels; though this change seem a great matter, unless unto those
whom God hath directed. But God will not render your faith of no effect;
for God is gracious and merciful unto man. We have seen thee turn about
thy face towards heaven with uncertainty, but we will cause thee to turn
thyself towards a Keblah that will please thee. Turn, therefore, thy
face towards the holy temple of Mecca; and wherever ye be, turn your
faces towards that place. They to whom the scripture hath been given,
know this to be truth from their Lord. God is not regardless of that
which ye do. Verily although thou shouldst show unto those to whom the
scripture hath been given all kinds of signs, yet they will not follow
thy Keblah, neither shalt thou follow their Keblah; nor will one part of
them follow the Keblah of the other. And if thou follow their desires,
after the knowledge which hath been given thee, verily thou wilt become
one of the ungodly. They to whom we have given the scripture know our
apostle, even as they know their own children; but some of them hide the
truth, against their own knowledge. Truth is from thy Lord, therefore
thou shalt not doubt. Every sect hath a certain tract of heaven to which
they turn themselves in prayer; but do ye strive to run after good
things: wherever ye be, God will bring you all back at the resurrection,
for God is almighty. And from what place soever thou comest forth, turn
thy face towards the holy temple; for this is truth from thy Lord;
neither is God regardless of that which ye do. From what place soever
thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; and wherever
ye be, thitherward turn your faces, lest men have matter of dispute
against you; but as for those among them who are unjust doers, fear them
not, but fear me, that I may accomplish my grace upon you, and that ye
may be directed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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