Ahmed Ali · MealMerkezi.Net

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ALL PRAISE BE to God who has revealed to His votary the Book which is free of all obliquity,

Ahmed Ali 18:1

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Immutable, so that it may warn of a severe punishment from Him; and give happy tidings to those who believe and do the right that there is a better reward (of Paradise) for them,

Ahmed Ali 18:2

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Where they will abide for ever;

Ahmed Ali 18:3

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And that it may warn those who say: "God has begotten a son."

Ahmed Ali 18:4

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They have no knowledge of this, as their fathers did not have. How terrible are the words they utter! They speak nothing but lies.

Ahmed Ali 18:5

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Will you kill yourself for grief of them if they do not believe in this presentation?

Ahmed Ali 18:6

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We have made whatever exists on the earth its adornment to test and try them (and) know who acts better;

Ahmed Ali 18:7

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For We shall certainly turn it to barren dust.

Ahmed Ali 18:8

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Do you think the men of the cave and Ar-Raqim were so strange among Our signs?

Ahmed Ali 18:9

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When those young men took shelter in the cave, and prayed: "O Lord, grant us Your favour and dispose our affair aright,"

Ahmed Ali 18:10

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We sealed off their ears in the cave for a number of years,

Ahmed Ali 18:11

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Then roused them to ascertain which of the two groups could account for the period they had stayed.

Ahmed Ali 18:12

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We narrate their story to you in all truth. They were a few young men who believed in their Lord; so We gave them greater guidance.

Ahmed Ali 18:13

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And strengthened their hearts when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall invoke no god beside Him, for we shall have uttered a blasphemy then.

Ahmed Ali 18:14

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As for these our people here, they have taken to other gods apart from Him. Then why do they not bring a clear authority for them? Who is more wicked than he who fabricates a lie against God?"

Ahmed Ali 18:15

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(And they said to each other:) "Now that you have withdrawn from them and what they worship beside God, it is better to take refuge in the cave. Your Lord may bestow of His mercy on you, and facilitate your affair."

Ahmed Ali 18:16

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You may well have seen when the sun came up it moved away to the right of the cave, and when it went down it turned away to the left, and they stayed in its open space. This was among the signs of God. Whoever is guided by God follows the right path; and whosoever goes astray will not find a guide to show him the way.

Ahmed Ali 18:17

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You may have thought that they were awake, yet they were asleep. We made them turn right and left, while their dog lay with his forelegs stretched across the threshold. If you had looked at them you would have surely turned away and fled with horror at the sight.

Ahmed Ali 18:18

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Even so We roused them that they may question one another. One of them asked: "How long have you stayed here?" They said: "A day or less than a day." "Your Lord knows best," they said, "how long you have stayed. So send one of you to the town with this money of yours to look for wholesome food and bring it for you; but he should be careful not to let your presence known.

Ahmed Ali 18:19

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If they come to know of you they will stone you to death, or force you to go back to their creed; then you will never succeed."

Ahmed Ali 18:20

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Thus did We inform the people about them that they may know the promise of God is true, and there is no doubt that the Hour will come. As they were arguing among themselves as to what should be done with them, (some) said: "Erect a monument over them. Their Lord is best cognisant of them." Those who prevailed, said: "We shall build a place of worship over their (sepulchre)."

Ahmed Ali 18:21

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Some will say: "They were three, and their dog was the fourth;" and some will also say: "They were five and their dog was the sixth," -- guessing in the dark. And some will even say: "They were seven, and their dog the eighth." Say: "My Lord alone knows best their number; none but only a few know of them." So do not argue about it with them but lightly, and do not enquire about them from any one of them.

Ahmed Ali 18:22

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Do not say of any thing: "I will do it tomorrow,"

Ahmed Ali 18:23

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Without (adding), "if God may please;" and think of your Lord in ease you forget, and say: "Perhaps my Lord will show me a nearer way to rectitude."

Ahmed Ali 18:24

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(It is said) they stayed in the cave three hundred years and nine.

Ahmed Ali 18:25

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You say: "God only knows how long they stayed. He alone knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth. How distinctly He sees and hears! They have no other guardian but Him, and He does not share His authority with any one."

Ahmed Ali 18:26

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Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no one who can change the word of God; and you will not find refuge except in Him.

Ahmed Ali 18:27

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Persevere with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His magnificence. Do not turn your eyes away from them, seeking the splendours of this world, and do not follow him whose heart We have made oblivious to Our remembrance, who follows his own lust and exceeds the bound.

Ahmed Ali 18:28

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Say: "The truth is from your Lord: So believe if you like, or do not believe if you will." We have prepared for the sinners a fire which will envelope them in its tent. If they ask for water they will be helped to liquid like molten brass that would scald their mouths. How evil the drink, and evil the resting-place!

Ahmed Ali 18:29

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But surely We do not let the reward of those who believe and do the right to go waste.

Ahmed Ali 18:30