And that they to whom the Scriptures have been given, and the believers, may not doubt; And that the infirm of heart and the unbelievers may say, What meaneth God by this parable? Thus God misleadeth whom He will, and whom He will doth He guide aright: and none knoweth the armies of thy Lord but Himself: and this is no other than a warning to mankind. Nay, by the Moon! By the Night when it retreateth! By the Morn when it brighteneth! Hell is one of the most grievous woes, Fraught with warning to man, To him among you who desireth to press forward, or to remain behind.5 For its own works lieth every soul in pledge. But they of God’s right hand In their gardens shall ask of the wicked;– “What hath cast you into Hell-fire?”6 They will say, “We were not of those who prayed, And we were not of those who fed the poor, And we plunged into vain disputes with vain disputers, And we rejected as a lie, the day of reckoning, Till the certainty7 came upon us”– And intercession of the interceders shall not avail them. Then what hath come to them that they turn aside from the Warning As if they were affrighted asses fleeing from a lion? And every one of them would fain have open pages given to him out of Heaven. It shall not be. They fear not the life to come. It shall not be. For this Koran is warning enough. And whoso will, it warneth him. But not unless God please, shall they be warned. Meet is He to be feared. Meet is forgiveness in Him. _______________________