He said, “What! do ye then worship, instead of God, that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you? Fie on you and on that ye worship instead of God! What! do ye not then understand?”

They said:¹³ “Burn him, and come to the succour of your gods: if ye will do anything at all.”

We said, “O fire! be thou cold, and to Abraham a safety!”¹⁴

And they sought to lay a plot against him, but we made them the sufferers.

And we brought him and Lot in safety to the land which we have blessed for all human beings:

And we gave him Isaac and Jacob as a farther gift, and we made all of them righteous:

We also made them models who should guide others by our command, and we inspired them with good deeds and constancy in prayer and almsgiving, and they worshipped us.

And unto Lot we gave wisdom, and knowledge; and we rescued him from the city which wrought filthiness; for they were a people, evil, perverse:

And we caused him to enter into our mercy, for he was of the righteous.

And remember Noah when aforetime he cried to us and we heard him, and delivered him and his family from the great calamity;

And we helped him against the people who treated our signs as impostures. An evil people verily were they, and we drowned them all.

And David and Solomon; when they gave judgment concerning a field when some people’s sheep had caused a waste therein; and we were witnesses of their judgment.

And we gave Solomon insight into the affair; and on both of them we bestowed wisdom and knowledge. And we constrained the mountains and the birds to join with David in our praise: Our doing was it!

And we taught David the art of making mail¹⁵ for you, to defend you from each other’s violence: will ye therefore be thankful?

And to Solomon we subjected we subjected the strongly blowing wind; it sped at his bidding to the land we had blessed; for we know all things:

And sundry Satans¹⁶ who should dive for him and perform other work beside: and we kept watch over them.

And remember Job: When he cried to his Lord, “Truly evil hath touched me: but thou art the most merciful of those who shew mercy.”

So we heard him, and lightened the burden of his woe; and we gave him back his family, and as many more with them,— a mercy from us, and a memorial for those who serve us:

And Ismael, and Edris¹⁷ and Dhoulkefl¹⁸—all steadfast in patience.

And we caused them to enter into our mercy; for they were of the righteous:

And Dhoulnoun;¹⁹ when he went on his way in anger, and thought that we had no power over him. But in the darkness he cried “There is no God but thou: Glory be unto Thee! Verily, I have been one of the evil doers:”

So we heard him and rescued him from misery: for thus rescue we the faithful: