Quran — Page 409

Say: “Go all over the earth, and behold what happened in the end to those [sinners] who lived before [you]: most of them were wont to ascribe divine qualities to things or beings other than God.”

Set, then, thy face steadfastly towards the one ever-true faith, ere there come from God a Day [of reckoning - the Day] which cannot be averted. On that Day all will be sundered:

he who has denied the truth will have to bear [the burden of] his denial, whereas all who did what is right and just will have made goodly provision for themselves,

so that He might reward, out of His bounty, those who have attained to faith and done righteous deeds. Verily, He does not love those who refuse to acknowledge the truth –

for among His wonders is this: He sends forth [His messages as He sends forth] the winds that bear glad tidings, so that He might give you a taste of His grace [through life-giving rains], and that ships might sail at His behest, and that you might go about in quest of some of His bounties, and that you might have cause to be grateful.

And indeed, [O Muhammad, even] before thee did We send forth apostles - each one unto his own people and they brought them all evidence of the truth: and then, [by causing the believers to triumph,] We inflicted Our retribution upon those who [de­liberately] did evil: for We had willed it upon Our­selves to succour the believers.

It is God who sends forth the winds [of hope], so that they raise a cloud - whereupon He spreads it over the skies as He wills, and causes it to break up so that thou seest rain issue from within it: and as soon as He causes it to fall upon whomever He wills of His servants - lo! they rejoice,

even though a short while ago, [just] before it was sent down upon them, they had abandoned all hope!

Behold, then, [O man,] these signs of God’s grace - how He gives life to the earth after it had been lifeless! Verily, this Selfsame [God] is indeed the One that can bring the dead back to life: for He has the power to will anything!