The Speeches & Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad · Prophet Muhammad
THE FACT.
_In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ When the FACT becomes fact, None shall deny it is a fact,-- Abasing,--exalting! When the earth shall be shaken in a shock, And the mountains shall be powdered in powder, And become like flying dust, And ye shall be three kinds. Then the people of the right hand--what people of good omen! And the people of the left hand--what people of ill omen! And the outstrippers, still outstripping:-- These are the nearest [to God], In gardens of delight; A crowd of the men of yore, And a few of the latter days; Upon inwrought couches, Reclining thereon face to face. Youths ever young shall go unto them round about With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,-- Their heads shall not ache with it, neither shall they be confused; And fruits of their choice, And flesh of birds to their desire; And damsels with bright eyes like hidden pearls,-- A reward for what they have wrought. They shall hear no folly therein, nor any sin, But only the greeting, “Peace! peace!”
And the people of the right hand--what people of good omen! Amid thornless lote-trees, And bananas laden with fruit, And shade outspread, And water flowing, And fruit abundant, Never failing, nor forbidden, And wives exalted-- Verily we produced them specially And made them virgins, Amorous, of equal age, For the people of the right hand,-- A crowd of the men of yore, And a crowd of the latter days. But the people of the left hand--what people of ill omen!-- Amid burning wind and scalding water, And a shade of black smoke, Not cool or grateful! Verily, before that, they were prosperous; But they persisted in the most grievous sin, And used to say, “When we have died, and become dust and bones, shall we indeed be raised again, And our fathers the men of yore?” Say: Verily those of yore and of the latter days Shall surely be gathered to the trysting-place of a day which is known. Then ye, O ye who err and call it a lie, Shall surely eat of the tree of Zakkūm, And fill your bellies with it, And drink upon it scalding water,-- Drink like the thirsty camel:-- This shall be their entertainment on the Day of Judgment!
It is we who created you; why then will ye not believe? Have ye considered the germs of life-- Is it ye who create them, or are we the creators? It is we who have decreed death among you; yet are we not debarred From changing you for your likes, or producing you how ye know not. But ye have known the first creation: why will ye not mind? Have ye considered what ye sow? Is it ye who raise it, or are we the raisers thereof? If we pleased we could surely make it dry, so that ye would stop and marvel, [saying] “We have spent, yet we are forbidden [the fruits].” Have ye considered the water ye drink? Is it ye who send it down from the clouds, or do we send it down? If we pleased we could make it salt; why will ye not be thankful? Have ye considered the fire which ye kindle? Is it ye who make the wood that produces it, or do we make it? It is we who have made it for a reminder and a benefit to the traveller. Then magnify the name of thy Lord the Most Great.
And I swear by the setting-places of the stars, And that, if ye knew it, is verily a mighty oath, Verily this is the honourable Korān, Written in the preserved Book: Let none touch it but the purified,-- A revelation from the Lord of the worlds. Will ye then disdain this discourse, And make it your daily bread to discredit it? Why then when the dying man’s soul has come up to his throat, And ye at the moment are watching,-- And we are nearer to him than ye, although ye see us not,-- Why, if ye are to have no Judgment, Do ye not cause that soul to return, if ye speak the truth? But if he be one of those brought nearest to God, There is rest for him and sweet odour and a garden of delights. And if he be of the people of the right hand, [He shall be greeted with] “Peace to thee,” from the people of the right. And if he be of those who call it a lie, The erring, Then an entertainment of scalding water, And broiling in Hell. Verily this is assured truth! So magnify the name of thy Lord the Most Great. (lvi.)
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.