the Book, that they should not say against God aught but the truth ? Yet they study therein ! But the abode of the future life is better for those who fear — do ye not then understand ? But those who hold fast by the Book and are steadfast in prayer — verily, we will not waste the hire of those who do right.
170 And when we shook the mountain over them, as though it were a shadow, and they thought it would fall upon them (saying), ‘ Take ye what we have given you with firmness, and remember what is therein ; haply ye may fear.’
And when thy Lord took from the children of Adam out of their loins their seed, and made them bear witness against themselves, ‘ Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘ Yea! we do bear witness ’ — lest ye should say on the day of resurrection, ‘ Verily, for this we did not care;’ or say, ‘ Verily, our fathers associated others with God before us, and we were but their seed after them : wilt Thou then destroy us for what vaindoers did ?’ — Thus do we detail the signs ; haply they may return.
Read to them the declaration of him to whom we brought our signs, and who stepped away therefrom, and Satan followed him, and he was of those who
were beguiled[1]. 175 Had we pleased we would have exalted him thereby, but he crouched upon the earth and followed his lust, and his likeness was as the likeness of a dog, whom if thou shouldst attack
- ↑ Said to refer to Balaam, but also to several pretenders of prophecy amongst the Arabians. By some it is referred to ′Omâiyyat ibn Abi Zalt, or to a certain Jewish Rabbi, who had prophesied the coming of a prophet about Mohammed′s time, but would not acknowledge the latter as such.
