Quran — Page 234

AND SO, [O Prophet,] be not in doubt about anything that those [misguided people] worship: they but [thoughtlessly] worship as their forefathers worshipped aforetime; and, behold, We shall most certainly give them their full due [for whatever good or evil they have earned], without diminishing aught thereof.

And, indeed, [similar was the case when] We vouchsafed the divine writ unto Moses, and some of his people set their own views against it; and had it not been for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Sustainer, judgment would indeed have been passed on them [then and there]: for, behold, they were in grave doubt, amounting to suspicion, about him [who called them unto God].

And, verily, unto each and all will thy Sustainer give their full due for whatever [good or evil] they may have done: behold, He is aware of all that they do!

Pursue, then, the right course, as thou hast been bidden [by God], together with all who, with thee, have turned unto Him; and let none of you behave in an overweening manner: for, verily, He sees all that you do.

And do not incline towards, nor rely upon, those who are bent on evildoing lest the fire [of the hereafter] touch you: for [then] you would have none to protect you from God, nor would you ever be succoured [by Him].

And be constant in praying at the beginning and the end of the day, as well as during the early watches of the night: for, verily, good deeds drive away evil deeds: this is a reminder to all who bear [God] in mind.

And be patient in adversity: for, verily,. God does not fail to requite the doers of good!

BUT, ALAS, among those generations [whom We destroyed] before your time there were no people endowed with any virtue - [people] who would speak out against the [spread of] corruption on earth -except the few of them whom We saved [because of their righteousness], whereas those who were bent on evildoing only pursued pleasures which corrupted their whole being, and so lost themselves in sinning.

For, never would thy Sustainer destroy a community for wrong [beliefs alone] so long as its people behave righteously [towards one another].