Robert Bloomfield - "May Day With The Muses"

Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli - "La vita sul pianeta Marte"

Alfred Lord Tennyson - "Queen Mary and Harold"

William Makepeace Thackeray - "The History of Pendennis"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: The Koran (without footnotes)

U >> Unknown >> The Koran (without footnotes)






________


CHAPTER XLIX.

ENTITLED, THE INNER APARTMENTS; REVEALED AT MEDINA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

O TRUE believers, anticipate not any matter in the sight of GOD and his
apostle: and fear GOD; for GOD both heareth and knoweth.
O true believers, raise not your voices above the voice of the prophet;
neither speak loud unto him in discourse, as ye speak loud unto one another,
lest your works become vain, and ye perceive it not.
Verily they who lower their voices in the presence of the apostle of GOD
are those whose hearts GOD hath disposed unto piety: they shall obtain pardon,
and a great reward.
As to those who call unto thee from without the inner apartments; the
greater part of them do not understand the respect due to thee.
If they wait with patience, until thou come forth unto them, it will
certainly be better for them: but GOD is inclined to forgive, and merciful.
O true believers, if a wicked man come unto you with a tale, inquire
strictly into the truth thereof; lest ye hurt people through ignorance, and
afterwards repent of what ye have done;
and know that the apostle of GOD is among you: if he should obey you in
many things, ye would certainly be guilty of a crime, in leading him into a
mistake. But GOD hath made the faith amiable unto you, and hath prepared the
same in your hearts; and hath rendered infidelity, and iniquity, and
disobedience hateful unto you. These are they who walk in the right way;
through mercy from GOD, and grace: and GOD is knowing, and wise.
If two parties of the believers contend with one another, do ye endeavour
to compose the matter between them: and if the one of them offer an insult
unto the other, fight against that party which offered the insult, until they
return unto the judgment of GOD; and if they do return, make peace between
them with equity: and act with justice; for GOD loveth those who act justly.
10 Verily the true believers are brethren; wherefore reconcile your
brethren; and fear GOD, that ye may obtain mercy.
O true believers, let not men laugh other men to scorn; who peradventure
may be better than themselves: neither let women laugh other women to scorn;
who may possibly be better than themselves. Neither defame one another; nor
call one another by opprobrious appellations. An ill name it is to be charged
with wickedness, after having embraced the faith: and whoso repenteth not,
they will be the unjust doers.
O true believers, carefully avoid entertaining a suspicion of another:
for some suspicions are a crime. Inquire not too curiously into other men's
failings: neither let the one of you speak ill of another in his absence.
Would any of you desire to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Surely ye would
abhor it. And fear GOD; for GOD is easy to be reconciled, and merciful.
O men, verily we have created you of a male and a female; and we have
distributed you into nations and tribes, that ye might know one another.
Verily the most honourable of you, in the sight of GOD, is the most pious of
you: and GOD is wise and knowing.
The Arabs of the desert say, We believe. Answer, Ye do by no means
believe; but say, We have embraced Islâm: for the faith hath not yet entered
into your hearts. If ye obey GOD and his apostle, he will not defraud you of
any part of the merit of your works: for GOD is inclined to forgive, and
merciful.
Verily the true believers are those only who believe in GOD and his
apostle, and afterwards doubt not; and who employ their substance and their
persons in the defence of GOD'S true religion: these are they who speak
sincerely.
Say, Will ye inform GOD concerning your religion? But GOD knoweth
whatever is in heaven and in earth: for GOD is omniscient.
They upbraid thee that they have embraced Islâm. Answer, Upbraid me not
with your having embraced Islâm: rather GOD upbraideth you, that he hath
directed you to the faith; if ye speak sincerely.
Verily GOD knoweth the secrets of heaven and earth: and GOD beholdeth
that which ye do.



________


CHAPTER L.

ENTITLED, K; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

K. BY the glorious Koran:
verily they wonder that a preacher from among themselves is come unto
them; and the unbelievers say, This is a wonderful thing:
after we shall be dead, and become dust, shall we return to life? This is a
return remote from thought.
Now we know what the earth consumeth of them; and with us is a book
which keepeth an account thereof.
But they charge falsehood on the truth, after it hath come unto them:
wherefore they are plunged in a confused business.
Do they not look up to the heaven above them, and consider how we have
raised it and adorned it; and that there are no flaws therein?
We have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon mountains firmly
rooted: and we caused every beautiful kind of vegetables to spring up
therein;
for a subject of meditation, and an admonition unto every man who turneth
unto us.
And we send down rain as a blessing from heaven, whereby we cause gardens
to spring forth, and the grain of harvest,
10 and tall palm-trees having branches laden with dates hanging one above
another,
as a provision for mankind; and we thereby quicken a dead country: so
shall be the coming forth of the dead from their graves.
The people of Noah, and those who dwelt at Al Rass, and Thamud,
and Ad, and Pharaoh, accused the prophets of imposture before the
Meccans; and also the brethren of Lot,
and the inhabitants of the wood near Midian, and the people of Tobba: all
these accused the apostles of imposture; wherefore the judgments which I
threatened were justly inflicted on them.
Is our power exhausted by the first creation? Yea; they are in a
perplexity, because of a new creation which is foretold them, namely the
raising of the dead.
We created man, and we know what his soul whispereth within him; and we
are nearer unto him than his jugular vein.
When the two angels deputed to take account of a man's behavior, take an
account thereof; one sitting on the right hand, and the other on the left:
he uttereth not a word, but there is with him a watcher, ready to note
it.
And the agony of death shall come in truth: this, O man, is what thou
soughtest to avoid.
20 And the trumpet shall sound: this will be the day which hath been
threatened.
And every soul shall come; and therewith shall be a driver and a
witness.
And the former shall say unto the unbeliever, Thou wast negligent
heretofore of this day: but we have removed thy veil from off thee; and thy
sight is become piercing this day.
And his companions shall say, This is what is ready with me to be
attested.
And God shall say, Cast into hell every unbeliever, and perverse person,
and every one who forbade good, and every transgressor, and doubter of
the faith,
who set up another god with the true GOD; and cast him into a grievous
torment.
His companion shall say, O LORD, I did not seduce him; but he was in a
wide error.
God shall say, Wrangle not in my presence: since I threatened you
beforehand with the torments which ye now see prepared for you.
The sentence is not changed with me: neither do I treat my servants
unjustly.
30 On that day we will say unto hell, Art thou full? and it shall answer, Is
there yet any addition?
And paradise shall be brought near unto the pious;
and it shall be said unto them, This is what ye have been promised; unto
every one who turned himself unto God, and kept his commandments;
who feared the Merciful in secret, and came unto him with a converted
heart:
enter the same in peace: this is the day of eternity.
Therein shall they have whatever they shall desire; and there will be a
superabundant addition of bliss with us.
How many generations have we destroyed before the Meccans, which were
more mighty than they in strength? Pass, therefore, through the regions of
the earth, and see whether there be any refuge from our vengeance.
Verily herein is an admonition unto him who hath a heart to understand,
or giveth ear, and is present with an attentive mind.
We created the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, in
six days, and no weariness affected us.
Wherefore patiently suffer what they say; and celebrate the praise of
thy LORD before sunrise, and before sunset,
40 and praise him in some part of the night: and perform the additional
parts of worship.
And hearken unto the day whereon the crier shall call men to judgment
from a near place:
the day whereon they shall hear the voice of the trumpet in truth: this
will be the day of men's coming forth from their graves:
we give life, and we cause to die; and unto us shall be the return of all
creatures:
the day whereon the earth shall suddenly cleave in sunder over them.
This will be an assembly easy for us to assemble.
We well know what the unbelievers say; and thou art not sent to compel
them forcibly to the faith. Wherefore warn, by the Koran, him who feareth
my threatening.



________


CHAPTER LI.

ENTITLED, THE DISPERSING; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

BY the winds dispersing and scattering the dust;
and by the clouds bearing a load of rain;
by the ships running swiftly in the sea;
and by the angels who distribute things necessary for the support of all
creatures;
verily that wherewith ye are threatened is certainly true;
and the last judgment will surely come.
By the heaven furnished with paths;
ye widely differ in what ye say.
He will be turned aside from the faith, who shall be turned aside by the
divine decree.
10 Cursed be the liars;
who wade in deep waters of ignorance, neglecting their salvation.
They ask, When will the day of judgment come?
On that day shall they be burned in hell fire;
and it shall be said unto them, Taste your punishment; this is what ye
demanded to be hastened.
But the pious shall dwell among gardens and fountains,
receiving that which their LORD shall give them; because they were
righteous doers before this day.
They slept but a small part of the night;
and early in the morning they asked pardon of God:
and a due portion of their wealth was given unto him who asked, and unto
him who was forbidden by shame to ask.
20 There are signs of the divine power and goodness in the earth, unto men
of sound understanding;
and also in your own selves: will ye not therefore consider?
Your sustenance is in the heaven; and also that which ye are promised.
Wherefore by the LORD of heaven and earth I swear that this is certainly
the truth; according to what ye yourselves speak.
Hath not the story of Abraham's honoured guests come to thy knowledge?
When they went in unto him, and said, Peace: he answered Peace; saying
within himself, These are unknown people.
And he went privately unto his family, and brought a fatted calf.
And he set it before them, and when he saw they touched it not, he said,
Do ye not eat?
And he began to entertain a fear of them. They said, Fear not: and they
declared unto him the promise of a wise youth.
And his wife drew near with exclamation, and she smote her face, and
said, I am an old woman, and barren.
30 The angels answered, Thus saith thy LORD: verily he is the wise, the
knowing.
And Abraham said unto them, What is your errand, therefore, O messengers
of God?
They answered, Verily we are sent unto a wicked people:
that we may send down upon them stones of baked clay,
marked from thy LORD, for the destruction of transgressors.
And we brought forth the true believers who were in the city:
but we found not therein more than one family of Moslems.
And we overthrew the same, and left a sign therein unto those who dread
the severe chastisement of God.
In Moses also was a sign: when we sent him unto Pharaoh with manifest
power.
But he turned back, with his princes, saying, This man is a sorceror, or
a madman.
40 Wherefore we took him and his forces, and cast them into the sea: and he
was one worthy of reprehension.
And in the tribe of Ad also was a sign: when we sent against them a
destroying wind;
it touched not aught whereon it came, but it rendered the same as a thing
rotten, and reduced to dust.
In Thamud likewise was a sign: when it was said unto them, Enjoy
yourselves for a time.
But they insolently transgressed the command of their LORD: wherefore a
terrible noise from heaven assailed them, while they looked on;
and they were not able to stand on their feet, neither did they save
themselves from destruction.
And the people of Noah did we destroy before these: for they were a
people who enormously transgressed.
We have built the heaven with might; and we have given it a large extent:
and we have stretched forth the earth beneath; and how evenly have we
spread the same!
And of everything have we created two kinds, that peradventure ye may
consider.
50 Fly, therefore, unto GOD; verily I am a public warner unto you, from
him.
And set not up another god with the true GOD: verily I am a public warner
unto you, from him.
In like manner there came no apostle unto their predecessors, but they
said, This man is a magician, or a madman.
Have they bequeathed this behavior successively the one to the other?
Yea; they are a people who enormously transgress.
Wherefore withdraw from them; and thou shalt not be blameworthy in so
doing.
Yet continue to admonish: for admonition profiteth the true believers.
I have not created genii and men for any other end than that they should
serve me.
I require not any sustenance from them; neither will I that they feed me.
Verily GOD is he who provideth for all creatures; possessed of mighty
power.
Unto those who shall injure our apostle shall be given a portion like
unto the portion of those who behaved like them in times past; and they shall
not wish the same to be hastened.
60 Woe, therefore, to the unbelievers, because of their day with which they
are threatened!



________


CHAPTER LII.

ENTITLED, THE MOUNTAIN; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

BY the mountain of Sinai;
and by the book written
in an expanded scroll;
and by the visited house;
and by the elevated roof of heaven;
and by the swelling ocean:
verily the punishment of thy LORD will surely descend;
there shall be none to withhold it.
On that day the heaven shall be shaken, and shall reel;
10 and the mountains shall walk and pass away.
And on that day woe be unto those who accused GOD's apostles of
imposture;
who amused themselves in wading in vain disputes!
On that day shall they be driven and thrust into the fire of hell;
and it shall be said unto them, This is the fire which ye denied as a
fiction.
Is this a magic illusion? Or do ye not see?
Enter the same to be scorched: whether ye bear your torments patiently,
or impatiently, it will be equal unto you: ye shall surely receive the reward
of that which ye have wrought.
But the pious shall dwell amidst gardens and pleasures;
delighting themselves in what their LORD shall have given them: and their
LORD shall deliver them from the pains of hell.
And it shall be said unto them, Eat and drink with easy digestion;
because of that which ye have wrought:
20 leaning on couches disposed in order: and we will espouse them unto
virgins having large black eyes.
And unto those who believe, and whose offspring follow them in the faith,
we will join their offspring in paradise: and we will not diminish unto them
aught of the merit of their works. (Every man is given in pledge for that
which he shall have wrought.)
And we will give them fruits in abundance, and flesh of the kinds which
they shall desire.
They shall present unto one another therein a cup of wine, wherein there
shall be no vain discourse, nor any incitement unto wickedness.
And youths appointed to attend them shall go round them: beautiful as
pearls hidden in their shell.
And they shall approach unto one another, and shall ask mutual questions.
And they shall say, Verily we were heretofore amidst our family, in great
dread with regard to our state after death:
but GOD hath been gracious unto us, and hath delivered us from the pain
of burning fire:
for we called on him heretofore; and he is the beneficent, the merciful.
Wherefore do thou, O prophet, admonish thy people. Thou art not, by the
grace of thy LORD, a soothsayer, or a madman.
30 Do they say, He is a poet; we wait, concerning him, some adverse turn of
fortune?
Say, Wait ye my ruin: verily I wait, with you, the time of your
destruction.
Do their mature understandings bid them say this; or are they people who
perversely transgress?
Do they say, He hath forged the Koran? Verily they believe not.
Let them produce a discourse like unto it, if they speak truth.
Were they created by nothing; or were they creators of themselves?
Did they create the heavens and the earth? Verily they are not firmly
persuaded that God hath created them.
Are the stores of thy LORD in their hands? Are they the supreme
dispensers of all things?
Have they a ladder whereby they may ascend to heaven, and hear the
discourses of angels? Let one, therefore, who hath heard them, produce an
evident proof thereof.
Hath God daughters, and have ye sons?
40 Dost thou ask them a reward for thy preaching? but they are laden with
debts.
Are the secrets of futurity with them; and do they transcribe the same
from the table of GOD's degrees?
Do they seek to lay a plot against thee? But the unbelievers are they
who shall be circumvented.
Have they any god, besides GOD? Far be GOD exalted above the idols which
they associate with him!
If they should see a fragment of the heaven falling down upon them, they
would say, It is only a thick cloud.
Wherefore leave them, until they arrive at their day wherein they shall
swoon for fear:
a day, in which their subtle contrivances shall not avail them at all,
neither shall they be protected.
And those who act unjustly shall surely suffer another punishment besides
this: but the greater part of them do not understand.
And wait thou patiently the judgment of thy LORD concerning them; for
thou art in our eye: and celebrate the praise of thy LORD, when thou risest
up;
and praise him in the night-season, and when the stars begin to
disappear.



________


CHAPTER LIII.

ENTITLED, THE STAR; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

BY the star, when it setteth;
your companion Mohammed erreth not; nor is he led astray:
neither doth he speak of his own will.
It is no other than a revelation, which hath been revealed unto him.
One mighty in power, endued with understanding, taught it him:
and he appeared
in the highest part of the horizon.
Afterwards he approached the prophet, and near unto him;
until he was at the distance of two bows' length from him, or yet
nearer;
10 and he revealed unto his servant that which he revealed.
The heart of Mohammed did not falsely represent that which he saw.
Will ye therefore dispute with him concerning that which he saw?
He also saw him another time,
by the lote-tree beyond which there is no passing:
near it is the garden of eternal abode.
When the lote-tree covered that which it covered,
his eyesight turned not aside, neither did it wander:
and he really beheld some of the greatest signs of his LORD.
What think ye of Allat, and Al Uzza,
20 and Manah, that other third goddess?
Have ye male children, and God female?
This, therefore, is an unjust partition.
They are no other than empty names, which ye and your fathers have
named goddesses. GOD hath not revealed concerning them anything to
authorize their worship. They follow no other than a vain opinion, and
what their souls desire: yet hath the true direction come unto them from
their LORD.
Shall man have whatever he wisheth for?
The life to come and the present life are GOD'S:
and how many angels soever there be in the heavens, their intercession
shall be of no avail, until after GOD shall have granted permission unto
whom he shall please and shall accept.
Verily they who believe not in the life to come give unto the angels a
female appellation.
But they have no knowledge herein: they follow no other than a bare
opinion; and a bare opinion attaineth not anything of truth.
Wherefore withdraw from him who turneth away from our admonition,
and seeketh only the present life.
30 This is their highest pitch of knowledge. Verily thy LORD well knoweth
him who erreth from his way; and he well knoweth him who is rightly directed.
Unto GOD belongeth whatever is in heaven and earth: that he may reward
those who do evil, according to that which they shall have wrought; and may
reward those who do well, with the most excellent reward.
As to those who avoid great crimes, and heinous sins, and are guilty only
of lighter faults; verily thy LORD will be extensive in mercy towards them.
He well knew you when he produced you out of the earth, and when ye were
embryos in your mothers' wombs: wherefore justify not yourselves: he best
knoweth the man who feareth him.
What thinkest thou of him who turneth aside from following the truth,
and giveth little, and covetously stoppeth his hand?
Is the knowledge of futurity with him, so that he seeth the same?
Hath he not been informed of that which is contained in the books of
Moses,
and of Abraham who faithfully performed his engagements?
To wit: that a burdened soul shall not bear the burden of another;
and that nothing shall be imputed to a man for righteousness, except his
own labor;
40 and that his labor shall surely be made manifest hereafter,
and that he shall be rewarded for the same with a most abundant reward;
and that unto thy LORD will be the end of all things;
and that he causeth to laugh, and causeth to weep;
and that he putteth to death, and giveth life:
and that he createth the two sexes, the male and the female,
of seed when it is emitted;
and that unto him appertaineth another production, namely, the raising of
the dead again to life hereafter;
and that he enricheth, and causeth to acquire possessions;
and that he is the LORD of the dog-star;
50 and that he destroyed the ancient tribe of Ad,
and Thamud, and left not any of them alive;
and also the people of Noah, before them; for they were most unjust and
wicked:
and he overthrew the cities which were turned upside down;
and that which covered them, covered them.
Which, therefore, of thy LORD'S benefits, O man, wilt thou call in
question?
This our apostle is a preacher like the preachers who preceded him.
The approaching day of judgment draweth near:
there is none who can reveal the exact time of the same, besides GOD.
Do ye, therefore, wonder at this new revelation,
60 and do ye laugh, and not weep,
spending your time in idle diversions?
But rather worship GOD, and serve him.



________


CHAPTER LIV.

ENTITLED, THE MOON; REVEALED AT MECCA.

IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.

THE hour of judgment approacheth; and the moon hath been split in
sunder:
but if the unbelievers see a sign, they turn aside, saying, This is a
powerful charm.
And they accuse thee, O Mohammed, of imposture, and follow their own
lusts: but everything will be immutably fixed.
And now hath a message come unto them, wherein is a determent from
obstinate infidelity;
the same being consummate wisdom: but warners profit them not;
wherefore do thou withdraw from them. The day whereon the summoner shall
summon mankind to an ungrateful business,
they shall come forth from their graves with downcast looks: numerous as
locusts scattered far abroad;
hastening with terror unto the summoner. The unbelievers shall say, This
is a day of distress.
The people of Noah accused that prophet of imposture, before thy people
rejected thee: they accused our servant of imposture, saying, He is a madman;
and he was rejected with reproach.
10 He called, therefore, upon his LORD, saying, Verily I am overpowered;
wherefore avenge me.
So we opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring down,
and we caused the earth to break forth into springs; so that the water of
heaven and earth met, according to the decree which had been established.
And we bare him on a vessel composed of planks and nails;
which moved forward under our eyes: as a recompense unto him who had
been ungratefully rejected.
And we left the said vessel for a sign: but is any one warned thereby?
And how severe was my vengeance, and my threatening!
Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished
thereby?
Ad charged their prophet with imposture: but how severe was my vengeance,
and my threatening!
Verily we sent against them a roaring wind, on a day of continued ill
luck;
20 it carried men away, as though they had been roots of palm-trees
forcibly torn up.
And how severe was my vengeance and my threatening!
Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one admonished
thereby?
Thamud charged the admonitions of their prophet with falsehood,
and said, Shall we follow a single man among us? verily we should then be
guilty of error, and preposterous madness:
is the office of admonition committed unto him preferably to the rest of
us? Nay; he is a liar, and an insolent fellow.
But God said to Saleh, to-morrow shall they know who is the liar, and the
insolent person:
for we will surely send the she-camel for a trial of them: and do thou
observe them, and bear their insults with patience:
and prophesy unto them that the water shall be divided between them, and
each portion shall be sat down to alternately.
And they called their companion: and he took a sword, and slew her.
30 But how severe was my vengeance, and my threatening!
For we sent against them one cry of the angel Gabriel; and they became
like the dry sticks used by him who buildeth a fold for cattle.
And now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one
admonished thereby?
The people of Lot charged his preaching with falsehood:
but we sent against them a wind driving a shower of stones, which
destroyed them all except the family of Lot; whom we delivered early in the
morning,
through favor from us. Thus do we reward those who are thankful.
And Lot had warned them of our severity in chastising; but they doubted
of that warning.
And they demanded his guests of him, that they might abuse them: but we
put out their eyes, saying, Taste my vengeance, and my threatening.
And early in the morning a lasting punishment surprised them.
Taste, therefore, my vengeance, and my threatening.
40 Now have we made the Koran easy for admonition: but is any one
admonished thereby?
The warning of Moses also came unto the people of Pharaoh;
but they charged every one of our signs with imposture: wherefore we
chastised them with a mighty and irresistible chastisement.
Are your unbelievers, O Meccans, better than these? Is immunity from
punishment promised unto you in the scriptures?
Do they say, We are a body of men able to prevail against our enemies?
The multitude shall surely be put to flight, and shall turn their back.
But the hour of judgment is their threatened time of punishment: and
that hour shall be more grievous and more bitter than their afflictions in
this life.
Verily the wicked wander in error, and shall be tormented hereafter in
burning flames.
On that day they shall be dragged into the fire on their faces; and it
shall be said unto them, Taste ye the touch of hell.
All things have we created bound by a fixed decree:
50 and our command is no more than a single word, like the twinkling of
an eye.
We have formerly destroyed nations like unto you; but is any of you
warned by their example?
Everything which they do is recorded in the books kept by the guardian
angels:
and every action both small and great, is written down in the preserved
table.
Moreover the pious shall dwell among gardens and rivers,
in the assembly of truth, in the presence of a most potent king.