{"collection":"Texts of Islam","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe06_006_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe06_006_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_isl_sbe06_006_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/isl/sbe06/006.htm","summary":"This is a partial English translation of the Qur'an (specifically Surah Al-An'am, \"The Cattle,\" from Volume 6 of the Sacred Books of the East series), rendered by Edward Henry Palmer in 1880 as part of a Victorian scholarly project to translate major world religious texts. The text presents the core theological arguments of early Meccan revelation: the absolute oneness of God (tawhid), the rejection of polytheism and idolatry, the authority of Muhammad as prophet, and the certainty of resurrection and divine judgment. A recurring rhetorical structure dominates\u2014God (speaking in first person or directing the Prophet to \"Say\") responds to the objections of disbelievers who demand miracles, deny resurrection, and mock the message, countering each challenge with appeals to God's creative power over nature and history. The passage makes a notably strong predestinarian claim: God actively leads some astray and guides others, a position rendered here without softening, and insists that even a physically delivered book or angelic messenger would not convince the faithless. Palmer's translation uses archaic King James\u2013style English (\"thou,\" \"ye,\" \"dost\"), reflecting the 19th-century European convention of rendering sacred texts in elevated register to signal seriousness. Readers interested in early Islamic theology, the Qur'an's argument against shirk (associating partners with God), or Victorian-era comparative religion scholarship will find this a substantive if stylistically dated entry point.","tags":[],"text":null,"title":"The Qur'\u00e2n, ed. Palmer (SBE6): VI. The Chapter of Cattle","tradition":"Texts of Islam","translated_text":null,"word_count":6536}