20 THE RECENSIONS OF THE QUR'AN

'For those who obey the orders of God and of His Prophet, for them, according to these verses, there is a Paradise of Delights; but those who disbelieve after they have believed, and who break their promise and that which the Prophet had stipulated for them, shall be cast into Hell.

'They who have injured their own souls and have been disobedient to the executor of the Prophet1 (i.e., 'Ali), they shall drink of the scalding water. 

'Truly, God is He who gives light to the heavens and to the earth, and who chooses the angels, the prophets, and who makes believers; they are His creation, He creates what He wills: there is no God but He, the merciful and gracious.

'Truly, those who were before them have deceived their prophets. I have punished them for their deceit, and my punishment is severe and strong.

'Truly, God has destroyed 'Ad and Samud2 on account of what they did and has made them as a memorial to you, but ye did not believe. And He did the same with regard to Pharaoh for his opposition to Moses and his brother Aaron. He drowned him and all who followed him as a sign to you, yet most of you are perverse. Truly, God will gather them together in the day of resurrection, and they will not be able to answer when questioned: for them is the Hell, for God is knowing and wise.

'O Prophet! publish my warnings, perhaps they will follow them. In truth, they who turned from my signs and my orders have perished. As to those who keep thy covenant, I reward them with the Paradise of Delights. Truly, God is the pardoner and the great rewarder.
1 Ali is called وصىَّ رسول الله —executor of the Prophet of God.
2 The tribe of 'Ad dwelt to the north of Mecca and that of Samud near by. The prophet Hud was rejected by the 'Adites and the prophet Salih by the Samudites. These men were probably Jewish teachers or Christian evangelists. The destruction of the tribes is referred to in Sura al-'Araf (vii) 71-77, and the Sura al-Fajr (lxxxix) 5-13. Muhammad attributed the disappearance of these tribes to supernatural causes, but a very simple explanation of the fact can be given. The Roman merchants, by opening up direct communication between the Indian Ocean and Suez, destroyed to a great extent the caravan trade of Arabia. Syria and Northern Arabia also became the arena of conflict between Persia and Byzantium. The whole country fell into disorder, cities were ruined and the people in large numbers returned to a wandering life and some tribes disappeared altogether. Muhammad made skilful use of a perfectly natural event to show how divine vengeance followed a people who rejected a prophet, and thus gave a warning to people who might be tempted to reject him.
THE SURA OF THE TWO LIGHTS 21

'Truly, 'Ali is one of the pious men, and we will restore his rights to him at the Day of Judgment. We are not ignorant of the injustice done to Him. We have exalted him above all thy family, and he and his posterity are patient and his enemies are the chief of sinners.

'Say to those who have disbelieved after they had believed, "You have sought the glory of worldly life and have hastened to gain it, and have forgotten what God and His prophet promised you, and you broke the promises after a strict order about them." We have given you examples, perhaps, you may be guided.

'O Prophet! We have sent the manifest signs; in them are shown who will believe on him ('Ali) and who after thee will turn away from him ('Ali).

'Turn from them; certainly they turn aside and certainly We will summon them on the Day (of Judgment), when nothing shall avail them and no one shall pity them. Truly, there is a place for them in Hell and they shall not return. Praise the name of thy Lord and be of those who worship Him.

'Truly, we sent Moses and Aaron with what was needed and they rebelled against Aaron. Patience is good, so we changed them to monkeys and pigs,1 and have cursed them till the day of resurrection. Be patient, they will be punished. We have sent. thee an order, as we did to preceding prophets. We have appointed to thee a successor2 from among them: perhaps they will return. He who turns from my order, from him I will turn, they get but little benefit from their unbelief. Do not ask about those who break the law.

'O Prophet! We have made for thee a compact on the neck 3 of those who believe; possess it and be of the number of those who are thankful.

'Truly, 'Ali is constant in prayer at night making the prescribed prostrations (sajidan), and he fears the Last Day and hopes for mercy from his God.
1 Sura al-Baqara (ii) 62; Sura al-Ma'ida (v) 65; Sura al-'Araf (vii) 166. In the first and third of these references, the punishment is awarded on account of Sabbath breaking, in the second for the rejection of the scriptures. It is not in any way connected with Moses and Aaron. The orthodox leaders, therefore, hold this passage to be spurious and so the whole Sura to be void of any authority.
2 i.e., 'Ali.
3 i.e., they must keep it.