readenglishbook.com » Literary Collections » The Speeches & Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah [speed reading book TXT] 📗

Book online «The Speeches & Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah [speed reading book TXT] 📗». Author Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah



1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 27
Go to page:
in creation. The Korān no forgery, as will be plainly seen one day. Every nation has its apostle and its appointed term, which cannot be hastened or retarded. Now the people are warned, and all they do is seen of God. God’s power: He has no Son. The story of Noah and the ark, and Moses and the magicians, and the passage of the Red Sea, and the establishing of the Children of Israel. The people of Jonah. God compels unbelief or belief as He pleases, and none can believe without His permission. The signs of God are in the heavens and the earth. True worship. Thunder (xiii.) 104 The mighty works of God. The punishment of unbelief. Miracles disclaimed. The omniscience and unvariableness of God, the hurler of thunder and lightning and the giver of rain. The reward of the faithful; the torment of apostates. God misleads whom He will, and, if He pleased, could guide all mankind aright. Apostles have been mocked at before: and the mockers were punished. Paradise. Mohammad’s task is only to warn: it is God’s business to punish. SPEECHES OF MEDINA
THE PERIOD OF HARANGUE. Aet. 53-63, a.d. 622-632 113 Deception (lxiv.) 115 God’s power in creation. Former apostles were rejected. The resurrection, though disbelieved, is a fact—a day when people shall find their hopes are deceptive. Paradise and Hell. All things are ordained by God. Obedience to God and the apostle enjoined. The pleasures of this world are to be distrusted, but the fear of God and almsgiving commendable. Iron (lvii.) 118 Praise of God and exhortation to belief and almsgiving and fighting for the faith. The future state of the faithful and of the hypocrites. The charitable shall be doubly rewarded. The present life only a pastime and delusion. Everything predestined. The sending of the apostles, of Noah, Abraham, and Jesus. Asceticism repudiated. Exhortation to faith and fear. The Victory (xlviii.) 124 A victory was given to encourage the faithful. Commendation of those who pledged themselves to support Mohammad and rebuke to the desert Arabs who held aloof (on the occasion of the expedition to Hudeybia); they shall not share in the spoil (of Khaibar). Promise of booty. The truce (of Hudeybia). The opposition to Mohammad’s pilgrimage to Mekka shall be withdrawn; and a victory shall soon be won. The devotion of the faithful and their likeness. Help (cx.) 130 Exhortation to praise God in the hour of triumph. THE LAW GIVEN AT MEDINA 131 Religious Law 133 Creed and good works. Prayer. Alms. Fast. Pilgrimage. Fighting for the faith. Sacred month. Forbidden food. Oaths. Wine. Gambling. Statues. Divination. Civil and Criminal Law 139 Homicide; the blood-wit; murder; retaliation. Fighting against the faith. Theft. Usury. Marriage; adultery; divorce; slander. Testaments and heirs. Maintenance for widows. Testimony. Freeing slaves. Asylum. Small offences and great. THE TABLE-TALK OF MOHAMMAD 145 Concerning prayer 149 Of charity 151 Of fasting 153 Of reading the Korān 154 Of labour and profit 155 Of fighting for the faith 159 Of judgments 160 Of women and slaves 161 Of dumb animals 164 Of hospitality 165 [Pg lxviii]Of government 166 Of vanities and sundry matters 168 Of death 172 Of the state after death 175 Of destiny 180 Notes 183 The Mekka Speeches, I—The Poetic Period 183 The Mekka Speeches, II—The Rhetorical Period 187 The Mekka Speeches, III—The Argumentative Period 190 The Medina Speeches, The Period of Harangue 192 The Law Given at Medina 193 Table-Talk of Mohammad 195 Index of Chapters of the Korān Translated in This Volume 196 The Golden Treasury Series 1 Transcriber's Note

THE SPEECHES AT MEKKA

I. THE POETIC PERIOD

Aet. 40-44
a.d. 609-613

THE NIGHT.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,
By the Day when it is manifested,
By what made the male and the female:
Verily your aims are diverse.
Then as for him who giveth alms and feareth God,
And putteth his faith in the Best,
We will speed him onward to ease.
And as for him who is covetous and desirous of riches,
And denieth the Best,
We will speed him onward to trouble;
And his riches shall not avail him when he falleth down into Hell.
Verily ours is the guiding,
And ours the latter and the former life.
And I have warned you of a flaming fire:
None shall be burned in it but the wretch,
Who hath called it a lie and turned his back.
But the righteous shall be guided away from it—
He that giveth his substance in charity,
And doeth no man a kindness in hope of reward,
But only in seeking the face of his Lord the Most High;
And in the end he shall surely be well pleased.

(xcii.)

THE COUNTRY.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
I swear by this Country
And thou art a dweller in this country—
And by father and child!
Verily we have created man amid trouble:—
Doth he think that no one shall prevail against him?
He saith “I have squandered riches in abundance:”
Doth he think that no one seeth him?
Have we not made him two eyes,
And a tongue and two lips,
And pointed him out the two highways?
Yet he doth not attempt the steep one.
And what shall teach thee what the steep one is?
The ransoming of captives,
Or feeding on the day of famine
The orphan of thy kindred
Or the poor that lieth in the dust;
Finally, to be of those who believe, and enjoin steadfastness on each other, and enjoin mercy on each other:—
These are the people of the right hand.
And those who disbelieve in our signs, they are the people of the left:
Over them a Fire closeth.

(xc.)

THE SMITING.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
The Smiting! what is the Smiting?
And what shall teach thee what the Smiting is?
The Day when men shall be like scattered moths,
And the mountains like carded wool!
Then as for him whose scales are heavy—his shall be a life well-pleasing.
And as for him whose scales are light—his abode shall be the Bottomless Pit.
And what shall teach thee what that is?
A Raging Fire!

(ci.)

THE QUAKING.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
When the earth shall quake with her quaking,
And when the earth hath cast forth her burdens,
And man shall say, “What aileth her?”
On that day shall she tell out her tidings,
Because thy Lord doth inspire her.
On that day shall men come in companies to behold their works,
And whosoever hath wrought an ant’s weight of good shall behold it,
And whosoever hath wrought an ant’s weight of evil shall behold it.

(xcix.)

THE RENDING ASUNDER.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
When the Heaven is rent asunder,
And when the stars are scattered,
And when the seas are let loose,
And when the tombs are turned upside-down,
The soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.
O man! what hath deceived thee respecting thy Lord, the Generous;
Who created thee, and fashioned thee, and moulded thee aright?
In what form it pleased him He builded thee.
Nay! but ye take the Judgment for a lie!
But verily there are watchers over you—
Worthy reporters—
Knowing what ye do.
Verily the righteous shall be in delight,
And the wicked in Hell-Fire:
They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,
And they shall not be hidden from it.
What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
Again, what shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?
A day when no soul can avail aught for another soul, for the ordering on that day is with God.

(lxxxii.)

THE CHARGERS.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
By the Chargers that pant,
And the hoofs that strike fire,
And the scourers at dawn,
Who stir up the dust with it,
And cleave through a host with it!
Verily Man is thankless towards his Lord,
And verily he is witness thereof,
And verily in his love of weal he is grasping.
Doth he not know?—when what is in the tombs shall be laid open,
And what is in men’s breasts shall be laid bare;
Verily on that day their Lord shall know them well!

(c.)

SUPPORT.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
What thinkest thou of him who calleth the Day of Judgment a lie?
He it is who driveth away the orphan,
And is not urgent for the feeding of the poor.
Woe then to those who pray,
Those who are careless in their prayers,
Who make a pretence,
But withhold support.

(cvii.)

THE BACKBITER.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Woe to every backbiter, slanderer!
Who hath heaped up riches and counted them over!
He thinketh that his riches have made him everlasting:
Nay! he shall surely be cast into Blasting Hell.
And what shall teach thee what Blasting Hell is?
The fire of God kindled,
Which reaches over the hearts;
Verily it is closed over them [like a tent],
With stays well-stretched.

(civ.)

THE SPLENDOUR OF MORNING.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
By the splendour of morning,
And the still of night!
Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee nor hated thee;
And the future will surely be better for thee than the present,
And thy Lord will surely give to thee and thou wilt be well
1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 27
Go to page:

Free e-book «The Speeches & Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah [speed reading book TXT] 📗» - read online now

Comments (0)

There are no comments yet. You can be the first!
Add a comment