He said, "O my Lord! respite me till the day when man shall be raised from
the dead."

He said, "One then of the respited shalt thou be

Till the day of the predestined time."

He said, "O my Lord! because thou hast beguiled me, I will surely make all
fair seeming to them11 on the earth; I will surely beguile them all;

Except such of them as shall be thy sincere servants."

He said, "This is the right way with me;

For over none of my servants shalt thou have power, save those beguiled ones
who shall follow thee."

And verily, Hell is the promise for them one and all.

It hath seven Portals;12 at each Portal is a separate band of them;

But 'mid gardens and fountains shall the pious dwell:

"Enter ye therein in peace, secure-"

And all rancour will We remove from their bosoms: they shall sit as brethren,
face to face, on couches:

Therein no weariness shall reach them, nor forth from it shall they be cast
for ever.

Announce to my servants that I am the Gracious, the Merciful,

And that my chastisement is the grievous chastisement.

And tell them of Abraham's guests.

When they entered in unto him, and said, "Peace."

"Verily," said he, "We fear you."

They said, "Fear not, for of a sage son we bring thee tidings."

He said, "Bring ye me such tidings now that old age hath come upon me? What,
therefore, are your tidings really?"

They said, "We announce them to thee in very truth. Be not then one of the
despairing."

"And who," said he, "despaireth of the mercy of his Lord, but they who err?"

He said, "What is your business then, O ye Sent Ones?"

They said, "We are sent unto a people who are sinners,

Except the family of Lot, whom verily we will rescue all,

Except his wife. We have decreed that she shall be of those who linger."

And when the Sent Ones came to the family of Lot

He said, "Yes; are persons unknown to me."

They said, "Yes; but we have come to thee for a purpose about which thy
people doubt:

We have come to thee with very truth, and we are truthful envoys.

Lead forth therefore thy family in the dead of the night; follow thou on
their rear: and let no one of you turn round, but pass ye on whither ye are
bidden."

And this command we gave him because to the last man should these people be
cut off at morning.

Then came the people of the city rejoicing at the news13-

He said, "These are my guests: therefore disgrace me not.

And fear God and put me not to shame."

They said, "Have we not forbidden thee to entertain any one whatever?"14

He said, "Here are my daughters, if ye will thus act."

As thou livest, O Muhammad, they were bewildered in the drunkenness of their
lust.

So a tempest overtook them at their sunrise,

And we turned the city upside down, and we rained stones of baked clay upon
them.

Verily, in this are signs for those who scan heedfully;

And these cities lay on the high road.15

Verily, in this are signs for the faithful.

The inhabitants also of El Aika16 were sinners:


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