{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44515/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44515","id":"gutenberg_44515","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44515","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Qur'an"],"text":"TR\u00dcBNER\u2019S\n\nORIENTAL SERIES.\n\nVII.\n\n\n   Ballantyne Press\n   BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.\n   EDINBURGH AND LONDON\n\n[Illustration: MECCA.]\n\n\n   SELECTIONS FROM THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N\n\n   BY\n\n   EDWARD WILLIAM LANE,\n\n   HON. DOCTOR OF LITERATURE, LEYDEN;\n   CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;\n   HON. MEMBER OF THE GERMAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,\n   THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, ETC.;\n   AUTHOR OF \u201cTHE MODERN EGYPTIANS,\u201d AND \u201cAN ARABIC-ENGLISH LEXICON;\u201d\n   TRANSLATOR OF \u201cTHE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS.\u201d\n\n   A New Edition, Revised and Enlarged,\n\n   _WITH AN INTRODUCTION_,\n\n   BY\n\n   STANLEY LANE POOLE.\n\n   LONDON:\n   TR\u00dcBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.\n\n   1879.\n\n   [_All rights reserved._]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThere are several translations of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n in several languages; but\nthere are very few people who have the strength of mind to read any of\nthem through. The chaotic arrangement and frequent repetitions, and\nthe obscurity of the language, are sufficient to deter the most\npersistent reader, whilst the nature of a part of its contents renders\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n unfit for a woman\u2019s eye.\n\nYet there always has been a wish to know something about the sacred\nbook of the Mohammadans, and it was with the design of satisfying this\nwish, whilst avoiding the weariness and the disgust which a complete\nperusal of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n must produce, that Mr. Lane arranged the\n\u2018Selections\u2019 which were published in 1843. In spite of many printer\u2019s\nerrors, due to the author\u2019s absence from England, the book was so far\nsuccessful that the edition was exhausted, and it is now very\ndifficult to obtain a copy. But partly owing to the obstructions to\nthe reading offered by an interwoven native commentary, and partly by\nreason of the preference shown for the doctrinal over the poetical\npassages, the book went into scholars\u2019 hands rather than into the\nlibraries of the general reading public. It has proved of\nconsiderable service to students of Arabic, who have found it the most\naccurate rendering in existence of a large part of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n; and\neven native Muslims of India, ignorant of Arabic, have used Lane\u2019s\n\u2018Selections\u2019 as their Bible.\n\nIn this edition I have endeavoured rather to carry out the original\nintention of the translator. Experience has shown that the first plan\nwas over-learned to commend itself to the average reader, for whom Mr.\nLane had destined the book; in this edition I have therefore omitted\nmany of the notes, which will not be missed by the reader for whom the\nbook is intended, and for which the Arabic scholar has only to refer\nto the first edition, or to Sale\u2019s _Koran_, whence most of them were\nderived. Again, the text of the first edition was obscured and\ninterrupted by an interwoven commentary, which destroyed the pleasure\nof the language and often made the meaning less intelligible than\nbefore. This commentary has been thinned. Where it added nothing to\nthe text, it has been erased; where it gave a curious or valuable\nexplanation, it has been thrown into a footnote; where it merely\nsupplied a necessary word to complete the sense, that word has been\nleft in the text distinguished by a different type[1]. Once more, the\nearly and wilder _soorahs_ were almost wholly omitted in the first\nedition, whilst the later more dogmatic and less poetical _soorahs_\nwere perhaps too fully represented. I have endeavoured to establish\nthe balance between the two.\n\nIn this edition the Selections are divided into two parts. The first\nis Isl\u00e1m; the second, other religions as regarded in Isl\u00e1m. In the\nfirst are grouped, under distinctive headings, the more important\nutterances of Mo\u1e25ammad on what his followers must believe and do; in\nthe second are his versions of the history of the patriarchs and other\npersonages of the Jewish and Christian writings.\n\nIt is only in the First Part that I have made much alteration, either\nby adding fresh extracts (distinguished by a sign), or by making a few\nmerely verbal alterations in the original extracts, or by the\nsuppression or transposition of the commentary. Any alterations that\ngo beyond this\u2014new renderings, for instance\u2014are duly recorded in the\nfootnotes.\n\nThe Second Part is almost unchanged from the first edition. In this\npart the interwoven commentary is left entire, for the traditions of\nthe commentators about Abraham and Moses and Christ are as curious as\nthe traditions of Mo\u1e25ammad, and about as credible; and the narrative\nstyle of the Second Part allows the introduction of parentheses more\neasily than the rhetorical form which many of the extracts in the\nFirst Part present.\n\nMr. Lane\u2019s Introduction was abridged from Sale\u2019s Preliminary\nDiscourse, with but little addition from his own knowledge. Sale\u2019s\nDiscourse abounds in information, but it is too detailed and lengthy\nfor the purpose of this volume. I have, then, substituted a short\nsketch of the beginnings of Isl\u00e1m. I have tried to bring home to the\nreader the little we know of the early Arabs; then to draw the picture\nof the great Arab prophet and his work; to show what are the salient\npoints of Isl\u00e1m; and finally to explain something of the history of\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n and its contents. I am conscious of having drawn the\npicture with a weak hand, but I hope the sketch may serve as a not\nquite useless introduction to a volume of typical selections from a\nbook which, in the peculiar character of its contents and the\nextraordinary power of its influence, has not its parallel in the\nworld.\n\n   S. L. P.\n\n   _June 1878._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n        _INTRODUCTION._\n\n                                                 PAGE\n      I. THE ARABS BEFORE MO\u1e24AMMAD                 xi\n     II. MO\u1e24AMMAD                              xxxvii\n    III. ISL\u00c1M                                 lxxvii\n     IV. THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N                                 c\n\n\n        _PART THE FIRST._\n\n      I. THE OPENING PRAYER                         3\n     II. PREMONITION                                4\n    III. GOD                                        5\n     IV. MO\u1e24AMMAD AND THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N                   13\n      V. THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL      21\n     VI. PREDESTINATION                            32\n    VII. ANGELS AND JINN                           33\n   VIII. TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE                   34\n     IX. BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS                 38\n\n\n        _PART THE SECOND._\n\n      I. PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS      47\n     II. ADAM AND EVE                              49\n    III. ABEL AND CAIN                             53\n     IV. NOAH AND THE FLOOD                        55\n      V. \u00b4\u00c1D AND THAMOOD                           60\n     VI. DHU-L-\u1e32ARNEYN                             63\n    VII. ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC                   66\n   VIII. JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN            77\n     IX. JOB                                       93\n      X. SHO\u00b4EYB                                   95\n     XI. MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE                      97\n    XII. SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON                     132\n   XIII. JONAH                                    146\n    XIV. EZRA                                     148\n     XV. THE MESSIAH                              149\n\n         INDEXES                                  167\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nI.\u2014_THE ARABS BEFORE MO\u1e24AMMAD._\n\n\n     \u2018Oh, our manhood\u2019s prime vigour! No spirit feels waste,\n   Not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced.\n   Oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock,\n   The strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock\n   Of the plunge in the pool\u2019s living water, the hunt of the bear,\n   And the sultriness showing the lion is couched in his lair.\n   And the meal, the rich dates yellowed over with gold-dust divine,\n   And the locust flesh steeped in the pitcher, the full draught of wine,\n   And the sleep in the dried river-channel where bulrushes tell\n   That the water was wont to go warbling so softly and well.\n   How good is man\u2019s life, the mere living! how fit to employ\n   All the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!\u2019\n\n   \u2014BROWNING, _Saul_.\n\n\nBetween Egypt and Assyria, jostled by both, yielding to neither, lay a\nstrange country, unknown save at its marches even to its neighbours,\ndwelt-in by a people that held itself aloof from all the earth\u2014a\npeople whom the great empires of the ancient world in vain essayed to\nconquer, against whom the power of Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium was\nproven impotence, and at whose hands even the superb Alexander, had he\nlived to test his dream, might for once have learnt the lesson of\ndefeat. Witnessing the struggle and fall of one and another of the\ngreat tyrannies of antiquity, yet never entering the arena of the\nfight;\u2014swept on its northern frontier by the conflicting armies of\nKhusru and C\u00e6sar, but lifting never a hand in either cause;\u2014Arabia was\nat length to issue forth from its silent mystery, and after baffling\nfor a thousand years the curious gaze of strangers, was at last to\ndraw to itself the fearful eyes of all men. The people of whom almost\nnothing before could certainly be asserted but its existence was\nfinally of its own free will to throw aside the veil, to come forth\nfrom its fastnesses, and imperiously to bring to its feet the kingdoms\nof the world.\n\nIt is not all Arabia of which I speak. The story to tell has nothing\nas yet to say to the \u2018happy\u2019 tilled lands of the south, nor to the\noutlying princedoms of El-\u1e24eereh and Ghass\u00e1n bordering the territories\nand admitting the suzerainty of Persia and Rome. These lands were not\nwrapped in mystery: the Himyerite\u2019s kingdom in the Yemen, the rule of\nZenobia at Palmyra, were familiar to the nations around. But the\ncradle of Isl\u00e1m was not here.\n\nAlong the eastern coast of the Red Sea, sometimes thrusting its spurs\nof red sandstone and porphyry into the waves, sometimes drawing away\nand leaving a wide stretch of lowland, runs a rugged range of\nmountain. One above another, the hills rise from the coast, leaving\nhere and there between them a green valley, where you may see an Arab\nsettlement or a group of Bedawees watering their flocks. Rivers there\nare none; and the streams that gather from the rainfall are scarcely\nformed but they sink into the parched earth. Yet beneath the dried-up\ntorrent-beds a rivulet trickles at times, and straightway there\nspreads a rich oasis dearly prized by the wanderers of the desert. All\nelse is bare and desolate. Climb hill after hill, and the same sight\nmeets the eye\u2014barren mountain-side, dry gravelly plain, and the rare\ngreen valleys. At length you have reached the topmost ridge; and you\nsee, not a steep descent, no expected return to the plain, but a vast\ndesert plateau, blank, inhospitable, to all but Arabs unindwellable.\nYou have climbed the \u1e24ij\u00e1z\u2014the \u2018barrier\u2019\u2014and are come to the steppes\nof the Nejd\u2014the \u2018highland.\u2019 In the valleys of this barrier-land are\nthe Holy Cities, Mekka and Medina. Here is the birthplace of Isl\u00e1m:\nthe Arab tribes of the \u1e24ij\u00e1z and the Nejd were the first disciples of\nMo\u1e25ammad.\n\nOne may tell much of a people\u2019s character from its home. Truism as it\nseems, there is yet a meaning in the saying that the Arabs are\npeculiarly the people of Arabia. Those who have travelled in this\nwonderful land tell us of the quickening influence of the air and\nscene of the desert. The fresh breath of the plain, the glorious sky,\nthe still of the wide expanse, trod by no step but your own, looked\nupon only by yourself and perhaps yonder solitary eagle or the wild\ngoat leaping the cliffs you have left behind, the absolute stillness\nand aloneness, bring about a strange sense of delight and exultation,\na bounding-up of spirits held in long restraint, an unknown nimbleness\nof wit and limb. The Arabs felt all this and more in their bright\nimaginative souls. A few would settle in villages, and engage in the\ntrade which came through from India to the West; but such were held in\npoor repute by the true Bedawees, who preferred above all things else\nthe free life of the desert. It is a relief to turn from the hurry and\nunrest of modern civilisation, from the never-ending strife for\nwealth, for \u2018position,\u2019 for pleasure, even for knowledge, and look for\na moment on the careless life of the Bedawee. He lived the aimless,\nsatisfied life of some child; he sought no change; he was supremely\ncontent with the exquisite sense of simple existence; he was happy\nbecause he lived. He wished no more. He dreaded the dark After-death;\nhe thrust it from his thoughts as often as it would force itself\nunwelcome upon him. Utterly fearless of man and fortune, he took no\nthought for the morrow: whatever it brought forth, he felt confidently\nhis strength to enjoy or endure; only let him seize the happiness of\nto-day while it shall last, and drain to the dregs the overbrimming\ncup of his life. He was ambitious of glory and victory, but it was not\nan ambition that clouded his joy. Throughout a life that was full of\nenergy, of passion, of strong endeavour after his ideal of desert\nperfectness, there was yet a restful sense of satisfied enjoyment, a\nfeeling that life was of a surety well worth living.\n\nFor the Arab had his ideal of life. The true son of the desert must in\nthe old times do more than stretch his limbs contentedly under the\nshade of the overhanging rock. He must be brave and chivalrous,\ngenerous, hospitable; ready to sacrifice himself and his substance for\nhis clan; prompt to help the needy and the traveller; true to his\nword, and, not least, eloquent in his speech.\n\nDevotion to the clan was the strongest tie the Arab possessed. Though\ntracing their descent from a common traditional ancestor, the great\nnorthern family of Bedawees was split up into numerous clans, owning\nno central authority, but led, scarcely governed, each by its own\nchief, who was the most valiant and best-born man in it. The whole\nclan acted as one being; an injury done to one member was revenged by\nall, and even a crime committed by a clansman was upheld by the whole\nbrotherhood. Though a small spark would easily light-up war between\neven friendly clans, it was rarely that those of kin met as enemies.\nIt is told how a clan suffered long and oft-repeated injuries from a\nkindred clan without one deed of revenge. \u2018They are our brothers,\u2019\nthey said; \u2018perhaps they will return to better feelings; perhaps we\nshall see them again as they once were.\u2019 To be brought to poverty or\neven to die for the clan, the Arab deemed his duty\u2014his privilege. To\nadd by his prowess or his hospitality or his eloquence to the glory of\nthe clan was his ambition.\n\n   A mountain[2] we have where dwells he whom we shelter there,\n     lofty, before whose height the eye falls back blunted:\n   Deep-based is its root below ground, and overhead there soars\n     its peak to the stars of heaven whereto no man reaches.\n   A folk are we who deem it no shame to be slain in fight,\n     though that be the deeming thereof of Salool and \u00b4\u00c1mir;\n   Our love of death brings near to us our days of doom,\n     but their dooms shrink from death and stand far distant.\n   There dies among us no lord a quiet death in his bed,\n     and never is blood of us poured forth without vengeance.\n   Our souls stream forth in a flood from the edge of the whetted swords:\n     no otherwise than so does our spirit leave its mansion.\n   Pure is our stock, unsullied: fair is it kept and bright\n     by mothers whose bed bears well, and fathers mighty.\n   To the best of the uplands we wend, and when the season comes\n     we travel adown to the best of fruitful valleys.\n   Like rain of the heaven are we: there is not in all our line\n     one blunt of heart, nor among us is counted a niggard.\n   We say nay when so we will to the words of other men,\n     but no man to us says nay when we give sentence.\n   When passes a lord of our line, in his stead there rises straight\n     a lord to say the say and do the deeds of the noble.\n   Our beacon is never quenched to the wanderer of the night,\n     nor has ever a guest blamed us where men meet together.\n   Our Days[3] are famous among our foemen, of fair report,\n     branded and blazed with glory like noble horses.\n   Our swords have swept throughout all lands both west and east,\n     and gathered many a notch from the steel of hauberk-wearers;\n   Not used are they when drawn to be laid back in the sheaths\n     before that the folk they meet are spoiled and scattered.\n   If thou knowest not, ask men what they think of us and them\n     \u2014not alike are he that knows and he that knows not.\n   The children of Ed-Dayy\u00e1n are the shaft of their people\u2019s mill,\n     \u2014around them it turns and whirls, while they stand midmost.[4]\n\nThe renown of the clan was closely wrapped up with the Arab\nchieftain\u2019s personal renown. He was keenly sensitive on the point of\nhonour, and to that notion he attached a breadth of meaning which can\nscarcely be understood in these days. Honour included all the\ndifferent virtues that went to make up the ideal Bedawee. To be proved\nwanting in any of these was to be dishonoured. Above all things, the\nman who would \u2018keep his honour and defile it not\u2019 must be brave and\nhospitable\u2014\n\n   A rushing rain-flood when he gave guerdons:\n     when he sprang to the onset, a mighty lion.\n\nThe Arab warrior was a mighty man of valour. He would spend whole days\nin the saddle, burdened with heavy armour, in the pursuit of a foe,\nseeking the life of the slayer of his kin, or sweeping down upon the\ncaravan of rich merchandise which his more peaceful countrymen of the\ntowns were carrying through the deserts. The Arab lived mainly by\nplunder. His land did not yield him food\u2014unless it were dates, the\nBedawee\u2019s bread\u2014and he relied on the success of his foraging\nexpeditions for his support. These he conducted with perfect\ngood-breeding; he used no violence when it could be avoided; he merely\nrelieved the caravan from the trouble of carrying any further the\ngoods that he was himself willing to take charge of, urging, if\nnecessary, the unfair treatment of his forefather Ishmael as an\nexcellent reason for pillaging the sons of Isaac. \u2018When a woman is the\nvictim, no Bedouin brigand, however rude, will be ill-mannered enough\nto lay hands upon her. He begs her to take off the garment on which he\nhas set his heart, and he then retires to a distance and stands with\neyes averted, lest he should do violence to her modesty.\u2019\n\nThe poems of the early Arabs are full of the deeds of their warriors,\nthe excitement of the pitched battle, the delight of the pursuit, the\nnightly raid on the camp, the trial of skill between rival chiefs, and\nthe other pictures of a warrior\u2019s triumph. Here we find little of the\ngenerosity of war: mercy was rarely exercised and hatred was carried\nto its extremest limits; quarter was neither asked nor given; to\ndespatch a wounded man was no disgrace; the families of the vanquished\nwere enslaved. Notwithstanding his frank genial nature, the Arab was\nof a dangerously quick temper, derived, he boasted, from the flesh he\nlived on of the camel, the surliest and most ill-conditioned of\nbeasts. If he conceived himself insulted, he was bound to revenge\nhimself to the full, or he would have been deemed dishonoured for\never. And since his fiery temper easily took offence, the history of\nthe early Arabs is full of the traditions of slight quarrels and their\nhorrible results\u2014secret assassination and the long-lasting blood-feud.\n\n   Many the warriors, noon-journeying, who, when\n     night fell, journeyed on and halted at dawning\u2014\n   Keen each one of them, girt with a keen blade\n     that when one drew it flashed forth like the lightning\u2014\n   They were tasting of sleep by sips, when, as\n     they nodded, thou didst fright them, and they were scattered.\n   Vengeance we did on them: there escaped us\n     of the two houses none but the fewest.\n   And if Hudheyl[5] broke the edge of his[6] sword-blade\u2014\n     many the notch that Hudheyl gained from him!\n   Many the time that he made them kneel down on\n     jagged rocks where the hoof is worn with running!\n   Many the morning he fell on their shelter,\n     and after slaughter came plunder and spoiling!\n   Hudheyl has been burned by me, one valiant\n     whom Evil tires not though they be wearied\u2014\n   Whose spear drinks deep the first draught, and thereon\n     drinks deep again of the blood of foemen.\n   Forbidden was wine, but now it is lawful:\n     hard was the toil that made it lawful!\n   Reach me the cup, O Saw\u00e1d son of \u00b4Amr!\n     my body is spent with gaining my vengeance.\n   To Hudheyl we gave to drink Death\u2019s goblet,\n     whose dregs are disgrace and shame and dishonour.\n   The hyena laughs over the slain of Hudheyl, and\n     the wolf\u2014see thou\u2014grins by their corpses,\n   And the vultures flap their wings, full-bellied\n     treading their dead, too gorged to leave them.\n\nThe contempt which the Arab, with a few noble exceptions, felt for the\ngentler virtues is seen in these lines:\u2014\n\n   Had I been a son of M\u00e1zin, there had not plundered my herds\n     the sons of the Child of the Dust, Dhuhl son of Sheyb\u00e1n!\n   There had straightway arisen to help me a heavy-handed kin,\n     good smiters when help is needed, though the feeble bend to the blow:\n   Men who, when Evil bares before them his hindmost teeth,\n     fly gaily to meet him, in companies or alone.\n   They ask not their brother, when he lays before them his wrong\n     in his trouble, to give them proof of the truth of what he says.\n   But as for my people, though their number be not small,\n     they are good for nought against evil, however light it be;\n   They requite with forgiveness the wrong of those that do them wrong,\n     and the evil deeds of the evil they meet with kindness and love;\n   As though thy Lord had created among the tribes of men\n     themselves alone to fear Him, and never one man more.\n   Would that I had in their stead a folk who, when they ride forth,\n     strike swiftly and hard, on horse or on camel borne!\n\nA point on which the temper of the Bedawee was easily touched was his\nfamily pride. The Arab prized good blood as much in men as in his\nhorses and camels. In these he saw the importance of breed, and in men\nhe firmly believed the same principle held good. With the tenacious\nmemory of his race, he had no difficulty in remembering the whole of a\ncomplicated pedigree, and he would often proudly dwell on the purity\nof his blood and the gallant deeds of his forefathers. He would\nchallenge another chief to prove a more noble descent, and hot\ndisputes and bitter rivalries often came of these comparisons.\n\nBut if noble birth brought rivalry and hatred, it brought withal\nexcellent virtues. The Arab nobleman was not a man who was richer and\nmore idle and luxurious than his inferiors: his position, founded upon\ndescent, depended for its maintenance on personal qualities. Rank\nbrought with it onerous obligations. The chief, if he would retain and\ncarry on the repute of his line, must not only be fearless and ready\nto fight all the world; he must be given to hospitality, generous to\nkith and kin, and to all who cry unto him. His tent must be so pitched\nin the camp that it shall not only be the first that the enemy\nattacks, but also the first the wayworn stranger approaches; and at\nnight fires must be kindled hard by to guide wanderers in the desert\nto his hospitable entertainment. If a man came to an Arab noble\u2019s\ntent and said, \u2018I throw myself on your honour,\u2019 he was safe from his\nenemies until they had trampled on the dead body of his host. Nothing\nwas baser than to give up a guest; the treachery was rare, and brought\nendless dishonour upon the clan in which the shame had taken place.\nThe poet extols the tents\u2014\n\n   Where dwells a kin great of heart, whose word is enough to shield\n     whom they shelter when peril comes in a night of fierce strife\n     and storm;\n   Yea, noble are they: the seeker of vengeance gains not from them\n     the blood of his foe, nor is he that wrongs them left without\n     help.\n\nThe feeling lasted even under the debased rule of Muslim despots; for\nit is related that a governor was once ordering-out some prisoners to\nexecution, when one of them asked for a drink of water, which was\nimmediately given him. He then turned to the governor and said, \u2018Wilt\nthou slay thy guest?\u2019 and was forthwith set free. A pledge of\nprotection was inferred in the giving of hospitality, and to break his\nword was a thing not to be thought upon by an Arab. He did not care to\ngive an oath; his simple word was enough, for it was known to be\ninviolable. Hence the priceless worth of the Arab chief\u2019s word of\nwelcome: it meant protection, unswerving fidelity, help, and succour.\n\nThere was no bound to this hospitality. It was the pride of the Arab\nto place everything he possessed at the service of the guest. The last\nmilch-camel must be killed sooner than the duties of hospitality be\nneglected. The story is told of \u1e24\u00e1tim, a gallant poet-warrior of the\ntribe of \u1e6cayyi, which well illustrates the Arab ideal of hostship.\n\u1e24\u00e1tim was at one time brought to the brink of starvation by the dearth\nof a rainless season. For a whole day he and his family had eaten\nnothing, and at night, after soothing the children to sleep by telling\nthem some of those stories in which the Arabs have few rivals, he was\ntrying by his cheerful conversation to make his wife forget her\nhunger. Just then they heard steps without, and a corner of the tent\nwas raised. \u2018Who is there?\u2019 said \u1e24\u00e1tim. A woman\u2019s voice replied, \u2018I am\nsuch a one, thy neighbour. My children have nothing to eat, and are\nhowling like young wolves, and I have come to beg help of thee.\u2019\n\u2018Bring them here,\u2019 said \u1e24\u00e1tim. His wife asked him what he would do,\nfor if he could not feed his own children, how should he find food for\nthis woman\u2019s? \u2018Do not disturb thyself,\u2019 he answered. Now \u1e24\u00e1tim had a\nhorse renowned far and wide for the purity of his stock and the\nfleetness and beauty of his paces. He would not kill his favourite for\nhimself nor even for his own children; but now he went out and slew\nhim, and prepared him with fire for the strangers\u2019 need. And when he\nsaw them eating with his wife and children, he exclaimed, \u2018It were a\nshame that you alone should eat whilst all the camp is perishing of\nhunger;\u2019 and he went and called the neighbours to the meal, and in the\nmorning there remained of the horse nothing but his bones. But as for\nhimself, wrapped in his mantle, he sat apart in a corner of the tent.\n\nThis \u1e24\u00e1tim is a type of the Arab nature at its noblest. Though\nrenowned for his courage and skill in war, he never suffered his\nenmity to overcome his generosity. He had sworn an oath never to take\na man\u2019s life, and he strictly observed it, and always withheld the\nfatal last blow. In spite of his clemency, he was ever successful in\nthe wars of his clan, and brought back from his raids many a rich\nspoil, only to spend it at once in his princely fashion. His\ngenerosity and faithful observance of his word at times placed him in\npositions of great danger; but the alternative of denying his\nprinciples seems never to have occurred to his mind. For instance, he\nhad imposed upon himself as a law never to refuse a gift to him that\nasked it of him. Once, engaged in single combat, he had disarmed and\nrouted his opponent, who then turned and said, \u2018\u1e24\u00e1tim, give me thy\nspear.\u2019 At once he threw it to him, leaving himself defenceless; and\nhad he not met an adversary worthy of himself, this had been the last\nof his deeds. Happily \u1e24\u00e1tim was not the only generous warrior of the\nArabs, and his foe did not avail himself of his advantage. When\n\u1e24\u00e1tim\u2019s friends remonstrated with him on the rashness of an act which,\nin the spirit of shopkeepers, they regarded as quixotic, \u1e24\u00e1tim said,\n\u2018What would you have me to do? He asked of me a gift!\u2019\n\nIt was \u1e24\u00e1tim\u2019s practice to buy the liberty of all captives who sought\nhis aid: it was but another application of the Arab virtue of\nhospitality. Once a captive called to him when he was on a journey and\nhad not with him the means of paying the ransom. But he was not wont\nto allow any difficulties to baulk him of the exercise of his duty,\nand he had the prisoner released, stepping meanwhile into his chains\nuntil his own clan should send the ransom.\n\nBrave, chivalrous, faithful, and generous beyond the needful of Arab\nideal\u2014so that his niggard wife, using the privilege of high dames,\nrepudiated him because he was ever ruining himself and her by his open\nhand\u2014\u1e24\u00e1tim filled up the measure of Arab virtue by his eloquence, and\nsuch of his poems as have come down to us reflect the nobility of his\nlife. As a youth he had shown a strong passion for poetry, and would\nspare no means of doing honour to poets. His grandfather, in despair\nat the boy\u2019s extravagance, sent him away from the camp to guard the\ncamels, which were pastured at a distance. Sitting there in a state of\nsolitude little congenial to his nature, \u1e24\u00e1tim lifted his eyes and saw\na caravan approaching. It was the caravan of three great poets who\nwere travelling to the court of the King of El-\u1e24eereh. \u1e24\u00e1tim begged\nthem to alight and to accept of refreshment after the hot and dreary\njourney. He killed them a camel each, though one would have more than\nsufficed for the three; and in return they wrote him verses in praise\nof himself and his kindred. Overjoyed at the honour, \u1e24\u00e1tim insisted on\nthe poets each accepting a hundred camels; and they departed with\ntheir gifts. When the grandfather came to the pasturing and asked\nwhere the camels were gone, \u1e24\u00e1tim answered, \u2018I have exchanged them for\na crown of honour, which will shine for all time on the brow of thy\nrace. The lines in which great poets have celebrated our house will\npass from mouth to mouth, and will carry our glory over all Arabia.\u2019\n[7]\n\nThis story well illustrates the Arab\u2019s passionate love of poetry. He\nconceived his language to be the finest in the world, and he prized\neloquence and poetry as the goodliest gifts of the gods. There were\nthree great events in Arab life, when the clan was called together and\ngreat feastings and rejoicings ensued. One was the birth of a son to a\nchief; another the foaling of a generous mare; the third was the\ndiscovery that a great poet had risen up among them. The advent of the\npoet meant the immortality of the deeds of the clansmen and the\neverlasting contumely of their foes; it meant the raising up of the\nglory of the tribe over all the clans of Arabia, and the winning of\ntriumphs by bitterer weapons than sword and spear\u2014the weapons of\nstinging satire and scurrilous squib. No man might dare withstand the\npower of the poets among a people who were keenly alive to the point\nof an epigram, and who never forgot an ill-natured jibe if it were\nborne upon musical verse. Most of the great heroes of the desert were\npoets as well as warriors, and their poesy was deemed the chiefest gem\nin their crown, and, like their courage, was counted a proof of\ngenerous birth. The Khalif \u00b4Omar said well, \u2018The kings of the Arabs\nare their orators and poets, those who practise and who celebrate all\nthe virtues of the Bedawee.\u2019\n\nThis ancient poetry of the Arabs is the reflection of the people\u2019s\nlife. Far away from the trouble of the world, barred by wild wastes\nfrom the stranger, the Bedawee lived his happy child\u2019s life, enjoying\nto the uttermost the good the gods had sent him, delighting in the\nface that Nature showed him, inspired by the glorious breath of the\ndeserts that were his home. His poetry rings of that desert life. It\nis emotional, passionate, seldom reflective. Not the end of life, the\nwhence and the whither, but the actual present joy of existence, was\nthe subject of his song. Vivid painting of nature is the\ncharacteristic of this poetry: it is natural, unpolished, unlaboured.\nThe scenes of the desert\u2014the terrors of the nightly ride through the\nhill-girdled valley where the Ghools and the Jinn have their haunts;\nthe gloom of the barren plain, where the wolf, \u2018like a ruined\ngamester,\u2019 roams ululating; the weariness of the journey under the\nnoonday sun; the stifling of the sand-storm, the delusions of the\nmirage; or again, the solace of the palm-tree\u2019s shade, and the\ndelights of the cool well;\u2014such are the pictures of the Arab poet. The\npeople\u2019s life is another frequent theme: the daily doings of the\nherdsman, the quiet pastoral life, on the one hand; on the other, the\ndeeds of the chiefs\u2014war, plunder, the chase, wassail, revenge,\nfriendship, love. There were satires on rival tribes, panegyrics on\nchiefs, laments for the dead. This poetry is wholly objective,\nartless, childlike; it is the outcome of a people still in the\nfreshness of youth, whom the mysteries and complications of life have\nnot yet set a-thinking. \u2018Just as his language knows but the present\nand the past, so the ancient Arab lived but in to-day and yesterday.\nThe future is nought to him; he seizes the present with too thorough\nabandonment to have an emotion left for anything beyond. He troubles\nhimself not with what fate the morrow may bring forth, he dreams not\nof a beautiful future,\u2014only he revels in the present, and his glance\nlooks backward alone. Rich in ideas and impressions, he is poor in\nthought. He drains hastily the foaming cup of life; he feels deeply\nand passionately; but it is as if he were never conscious of the\ncoming of the thoughtful age which, while it surveys the past, as\noften turns an anxious look to the unknown future.\u2019\n\nIt is very difficult for a Western mind to enter into the real beauty\nof the old Arab poetry. The life it depicts is so unlike any we can\nnow witness, that it is almost removed beyond the pale of our\nsympathies. The poetry is loaded with metaphors and similes, which to\nus seem far-fetched, though they are drawn from the simplest daily\nsights of the Bedawee. Moreover, it is only in fragments that we can\nread it; for the change in the whole character of Arab life and in the\ncurrent of Arab ideas which followed the conquests of Isl\u00e1m\nextinguished the old songs, which were no longer suitable to the new\nconditions of things; and as they were seldom recorded in writing, we\npossess but a little remnant of them.[8] Yet \u2018these fragments may be\nbroken, defaced, dimmed, and obscured by fanaticism, ignorance, and\nneglect; but out of them there arises anew all the freshness, bloom,\nand glory of desert-song, as out of Homer\u2019s epics rise the glowing\nspring-time of humanity and the deep blue heavens of Hellas. It is not\na transcendental poetry, rich in deep and thoughtful legend and lore,\nor glittering in the many-coloured prisms of fancy, but a poetry the\nchief task of which is to paint life and nature as they really are;\nand within its narrow bounds it is magnificent. It is chiefly and\ncharacteristically full of manliness, of vigour, and of a chivalrous\nspirit, doubly striking when compared with the spirit of abjectness\nand slavery found in some other Asiatic nations. It is wild and vast\nand monotonous as the yellow seas of its desert solitudes; it is\ndaring and noble, tender and true.\u2019 [9]\n\nThere was one place where, above all others, the \u1e32a\u1e63eedehs of the\nancient Arabs were recited: this was \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh, the Olympia of Arabia,\nwhere there was held a great annual Fair, to which not merely the\nmerchants of Mekka and the south, but the poet-heroes of all the land\nresorted. The Fair of \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh was held during the sacred months,\u2014a sort\nof \u2018God\u2019s Truce,\u2019 when blood could not be shed without a violation of\nthe ancient customs and faiths of the Bedawees. Thither went the poets\nof rival clans, who had as often locked spears as hurled rhythmical\ncurses. There was little fear of a bloody ending to the poetic\ncontest, for those heroes who might meet there with enemies or\nblood-avengers are said to have worn masks or veils, and their poems\nwere recited by a public orator at their dictation. That these\nprecautions and the sacredness of the time could not always prevent\nthe ill-feeling evoked by the pointed personalities of rival singers\nleading to a fray and bloodshed is proved by recorded instances; but\nsuch results were uncommon, and as a rule the customs of the time and\nplace were respected. In spite of occasional broils on the spot, and\nthe lasting feuds which these poetic contests must have excited, the\nFair of \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh was a grand institution. It served as a focus for the\nliterature of all Arabia: every one with any pretensions to poetic\npower came, and if he could not himself gain the applause of the\nassembled people, at least he could form one of the critical audience\non whose verdict rested the fame or the shame of every poet. The Fair\nof \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh was a literary congress, without formal judges, but with\nunbounded influence. It was here that the polished heroes of the\ndesert determined points of grammar and prosody; here the seven Golden\nSongs were recited, although (alas for the charming legend!) they were\n_not_ afterwards \u2018suspended\u2019 on the Ka\u1ea1beh; and here \u2018a magical\nlanguage, the language of the \u1e24ij\u00e1z,\u2019 was built out of the dialects of\nArabia, and was made ready to the skilful hand of Mo\u1e25ammad, that he\nmight conquer the world with his \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\n\nThe Fair of \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh was not merely a centre of emulation for Arab\npoets: it was also an annual review of Bedawee virtues. It was there\nthat the Arab nation once-a-year inspected itself, so to say, and\nbrought forth and criticised its ideals of the noble and the beautiful\nin life and in poetry. For it was in poetry that the Arab\u2014and for that\nmatter each man all the world over\u2014expressed his highest thoughts, and\nit was at \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh that these thoughts were measured by the standard of\nthe Bedawee ideal. The Fair not only maintained the highest standard\nof poetry that the Arabic language has ever reached: it also upheld\nthe noblest idea of life and duty that the Arab nation has yet set\nforth and obeyed. \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh was the press, the stage, the pulpit, the\nParliament, and the Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise of the Arab people; and when,\nin his fear of the infidel poets (whom Imra-el-\u1e32eys was to usher to\nhell), Mo\u1e25ammad abolished the Fair, he destroyed the Arab nation even\nwhilst he created his own new nation of Muslims;\u2014and the Muslims\ncannot sit in the places of the old pagan Arabs.\n\nIt is very difficult for the Western mind to dissociate the idea of\nOriental poetry from the notion of amatory odes, and sonnets to the\nlady\u2019s eyebrow: but even the few extracts that have been given in this\nchapter show that the Arab had many other subjects besides love to\nsing about, and though the divine theme has its place in almost every\npoem, it seldom rivals the prominence of war and nature-painting, and\nit is treated from a much less sensual point of view than that of\nlater Arab poets. Many writers have drawn a gloomy picture of the\ncondition of women in Arabia before the coming of Mo\u1e25ammad, and there\nis no doubt that in many cases their lot was a miserable one. There\nare ancient Arabic proverbs that point to the contempt in which\nwoman\u2019s judgment and character were held by the Arabs of \u2018the Time of\nIgnorance,\u2019 and Mo\u1e25ammad must have derived his mean opinion of women\nfrom a too general impression among his countrymen. The marriage tie\nwas certainly very loose among the ancient Arabs. The ceremony itself\nwas of the briefest. The man said _khi\u1e6db_ (_i.e._ I am an\nasker-in-marriage), and the giver-away answered _nik\u1e25_ (_i.e._, I am a\ngiver-in-marriage), and the knot was thus tied, only to be undone with\nequal facility and brevity. The frequency of divorce among the Arabs\ndoes not speak well for their constancy, and must have had a degrading\neffect upon the women. Hence it is argued that women were the objects\nof contempt rather than of respect among the ancient Arabs.\n\nYet there is reason to believe that the evidence upon which this\nconclusion is founded is partial and one-sided. There was a wide gulf\nbetween the Bedawee and the town Arab. It is not impossible that the\nview commonly entertained as to the state of women in pre\u00efslamic times\nis based mainly on what Mo\u1e25ammad saw around him in Mekka, and not on\nthe ordinary life of the desert. To such a conjecture a curiously\nuniform support is lent by the ancient poetry of the desert; and\nthough the poets were then\u2014as they always are\u2014men of finer mould than\nthe rest, yet their example, and still more their poems passing from\nmouth to mouth, must have created a widespread belief in their\nprinciples. It is certain that the roaming Bedawee, like the medi\u00e6val\nknight, entertained a chivalrous reverence for women, although he,\ntoo, like the knight, was not always above a career of promiscuous\ngallantry; but there was always a certain glamour of romance about the\nintrigues of the Bedawee. He did not regard the object of his love as\na chattel to be possessed, but as a divinity to be assiduously\nworshipped. The poems are full of instances of the courtly respect\ndisplayed by the heroes of the desert toward defenceless maidens, and\nthe mere existence of so general an ideal of conduct in the poems is a\nstrong argument for Arab chivalry: for with the Arabs the abyss\nbetween the ideal accepted of the mind and the attaining thereof in\naction was narrower than it is among \u2018more advanced\u2019 nations.\n\nWhatever was the condition of women in the trading cities and\nvillages, it is certain that in the desert woman was regarded as she\nhas never since been among Muslims. The modern \u1e25areem system was there\nas yet undreamt of; the maid of the desert was unfettered by the\nruinous restrictions of modern life in the East. She was free to\nchoose her own husband, and to bind him to have no other wife than\nherself. She might receive male visitors, even strangers, without\nsuspicion: for her virtue was too dear to her and too well assured to\nneed the keeper. It was the bitterest taunt of all to say to a hostile\nclan that their men had not the heart to give nor their women to deny;\nfor the chastity of the women of the clan was reckoned only next to\nthe valour and generosity of the men. In those days bastardy was an\nindelible stain. It was the wife who inspired the hero to deeds of\nglory, and it was her praise that he most valued when he returned\ntriumphant. The hero of desert song thought himself happy to die in\nguarding some women from their pursuers. Wounded to the death,\n\u00b4Antarah halted alone in a narrow pass, and bade the women press on to\na place of safety. Planting his spear in the ground, he supported\nhimself on his horse, so that when the pursuers came up they knew not\nhe was dead, and dared not approach within reach of his dreaded arm.\nAt length the horse moved, and the body fell to the ground, and the\nenemies saw that it was but the corpse of the hero that had held the\npass. In death, as in a life _sans peur et sans reproche_, \u00b4Antarah\nwas true to the chivalry of his race.\n\nThere are many instances like this of the knightly courtesy of the\nArab chief in \u2018the Time of Ignorance.\u2019 In the old days, as an ancient\nwriter says, the true Arab had but one love, and her he loved till\ndeath, and she him. Even when polygamy became commoner, especially in\nthe towns, it was not what is meant by polygamy in a modern Muslim\nstate: it was rather the patriarchal system of Abram and Sarai.\n\nThere is much in the fragments of the ancient poetry which reflects\nthis fine spirit. It is ofttimes \u2018tender and true,\u2019 and even Isl\u00e1m\ncould not wholly root out the real Arab sentiment, which reappears in\nMuslim times in the poems of Aboo-Fir\u00e1s. Especially valuable is the\nevidence of the old poetry with regard to the love of a father for his\ndaughters. Infanticide, which is commonly attributed to the whole Arab\nnation of every age before Isl\u00e1m, was in reality exceedingly rare in\nthe desert, and after almost dying out only revived about the time of\nMo\u1e25ammad. It was probably adopted by poor and weak clans, either from\ninability to support their children, or in order to protect themselves\nfrom the stain of having their children dishonoured by stronger\ntribes, and the occasional practice of this barbarous and suicidal\ncustom affords no ground for assuming an unnatural hatred and contempt\nfor girls among the ancient Arabs. These verses of a father to his\ndaughter tell a different story:\u2014\n\n   If no Umeymeh were there, no want would trouble my soul,\n     no labour call me to toil for bread through pitchiest night;\n   What moves my longing to live is but that well do I know\n     how low the fatherless lies, how hard the kindness of kin.\n   I quake before loss of wealth lest lacking fall upon her,\n     and leave her shieldless and bare as flesh set forth on a board.\n   My life she prays for, and I from mere love pray for her death\u2014\n     yea death, the gentlest and kindest guest to visit a maid.\n   I fear an uncle\u2019s rebuke, a brother\u2019s harshness for her;\n     my chiefest end was to spare her heart the grief of a word.\n\nOnce more, the following lines do not breathe the spirit of\ninfanticide:\u2014\n\n   Fortune has brought me down (her wonted way)\n     from station great and high to low estate;\n   Fortune has rent away my plenteous store:\n     of all my wealth, honour alone is left.\n   Fortune has turned my joy to tears: how oft\n     did Fortune make me laugh with what she gave!\n   But for these girls, the \u1e32a\u1e6da\u2019s downy brood,\n     unkindly thrust from door to door as hard,\n   Far would I roam and wide to seek my bread\n     in earth that has no lack of breadth and length;\n   Nay, but our children in our midst, what else\n     but our hearts are they walking on the ground?\n   If but the wind blow harsh on one of them,\n     mine eye says no to slumber all night long.\n\nHitherto we have been looking at but one side of Arab life. The\nBedawees were indeed the bulk of the race, and furnished the swords of\nthe Muslim conquests; but there was also a vigorous town-life in\nArabia, and the citizens waxed rich with the gains of their\ntrafficking. For through Arabia ran the trade-route between East and\nWest: it was the Arab traders who carried the produce of the Yemen to\nthe markets of Syria; and how ancient was their commerce one may\ndivine from the words of a poet of Jud\u00e6a spoken more than a thousand\nyears before the coming of Mo\u1e25ammad.\n\n   Wedan and Javan from San\u00b4a paid for thy produce:\n     sword-blades, cassia, and calamus were in thy trafficking.\n   Dedan was thy merchant in saddle-cloths for riding;\n   Arabia and all the merchants of Kedar, they were the merchants\n     of thy hand:\n     in lambs and rams and goats, in these were they thy merchants.\n   The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants,\n     with the chief of all spices, and with every precious stone,\n       and gold,\n          they paid for thy produce.\n   Haran, Aden, and Canneh, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and\n     Chilmad were thy merchants;\n   They were thy merchants in excellent wares,\n     in cloth of blue and broidered work,\n     in chests of cloth of divers colours, bound with cords\n        and made fast among thy merchandize.[10]\n\nMekka was the centre of this trading life, the typical Arab city of\nold times\u2014a stirring little town, with its caravans bringing the silks\nand woven stuffs of Syria and the far-famed damask, and carrying away\nthe sweet-smelling produce of Arabia, frankincense, cinnamon,\nsandal-wood, aloe, and myrrh, and the dates and leather and metals of\nthe south, and the goods that come to the Yemen from Africa and even\nIndia; its assemblies of merchant-princes in the Council Hall near the\nKa\u1ea1beh; and again its young poets running over with love and\ngallantry; its Greek and Persian slave-girls brightening the luxurious\nbanquet with their native songs, when as yet there was no Arab school\nof music, and the monotonous but not unmelodious chant of the\ncamel-driver was the national song of Arabia; and its club, where busy\nmen spent their idle hours in playing chess and draughts, or in\ngossiping with their acquaintance. It was a little republic of\ncommerce, too much infected with the luxuries and refinements of the\nstates it traded with, yet retaining enough of the free Arab nature to\nredeem it from the charge of effeminacy.\n\nMekka was a great home of music and poetry, and this characteristic\nlasted into Muslim times. There is a story of a certain stonemason who\nhad a wonderful gift of singing. When he was at work the young men\nused to come and importune him, and bring him gifts of money and food\nto induce him to sing. He would then make a stipulation that they\nshould first help him in his work; and forthwith they would strip off\ntheir cloaks, and the stones would gather round him rapidly. Then he\nwould mount a rock and begin to sing, whilst the whole hill was\ncoloured red and yellow with the variegated garments of his audience.\nSingers were then held in the highest admiration, and the greatest\nchiefs used to pay their court to ladies of the musical profession.\nOne of them used to give receptions, open to the whole city, in which\nshe would appear in great state, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting,\neach dressed magnificently, and wearing \u2018an elegant artificial\nchignon.\u2019 It was in this town-life that the worse qualities of the\nArab came out; it was here that his raging passion for dicing and his\nthirst for wine were most prominent. In the desert there was little\nopportunity for indulging in either luxury; but in a town which often\nwelcomed a caravan bringing goods to the value of twenty thousand\npound, such excesses were to be looked for. Excited by the song of the\nGreek slave-girl and the fumes of mellow wine, the Mekkan would throw\nthe dice till, like the Germans of Tacitus, he had staked and lost his\nown liberty.\n\nBut Mekka was more than a centre of trade and of song. It was the\nfocus of the religion of the Arabs. Thither the tribes went up every\nyear to kiss the black stone which had fallen from heaven in the\nprimeval days of Adam, and to make the seven circuits of the Ka\u1ea1beh\nnaked,\u2014for they would not approach God in the garments in which they\nhad done their sins,\u2014and to perform the other ceremonies of the\npilgrimage. The Ka\u1ea1beh, a cubical building in the centre of Mekka, was\nthe most sacred temple in all Arabia, and it gave its sanctity to all\nthe district around. It had been, saith tradition, first built by Adam\nfrom a heavenly model, and then rebuilt from time to time by Seth and\nAbraham and Ishmael, and less reverend persons, and it contained the\nsacred things of the land. Here was the black stone, here the great\ngod of red agate, Hubal, and the three hundred and sixty idols, one\nfor each day of the year, which Mo\u1e25ammad afterwards destroyed in one\nday. Here was Abraham\u2019s stone and that other which marked the tomb of\nIshmael, and hard by Zemzem, the god-sent spring which gushed from the\nsand when the forefather of the Arabs was perishing of thirst.\n\nThe religion of the ancient Arabs, little as we know of it, is\nespecially interesting, inasmuch as the Arabs longest retained the\noriginal Semitic character, and hence probably the original Semitic\nreligion: and so in the ancient religion of Arabia we see the religion\nonce professed by Chaldeans, Canaanites, Ph\u0153nicians. This ancient\nreligion \u2018rises little higher than animistic polydaemonism. It is a\ncollection of tribal religions standing side by side, only loosely\nunited, though there are traces of a once closer connection.\u2019 [11]\nThe great objects of worship were the sun and the stars and the three\nmoon-goddesses\u2014El-L\u00e1t the bright moon, Men\u00e1h the dark, and El-\u00b4Uzz\u00e0\nthe union of the two; whilst a lower cultus of trees, stones, and\nmountains, supposed to be dwelt-in by souls, shows that the religion\nhad not yet quite risen above simple fetishism. At the time of\nMo\u1e25ammad the Arabs worshipped numerous images, which may have been\nmerely a development from the previous stone-worship, or may have been\nintroduced from intercourse with Christians. There are traces of a\nbelief in a supreme God behind this pantheon, and the moon-goddesses\nand other divinities were regarded as daughters of _the most high God_\n(All\u00e1h ta\u00b4\u00e1la)\u2014a conception also possibly derived from Christianity.\nThe various deities (but not the Supreme Allah) had their fanes, where\nhuman sacrifices, though rare, were not unknown; and their cultus was\nsuperintended by a hereditary line of seers, who were held in great\nreverence, but never developed into a priestly caste.\n\nBesides the tribal gods, individual households had their special\nPenates, to whom was due the first and the last sal\u00e1m of the returning\nor outgoing host. But in spite of all this superstitious apparatus the\nArabs were never a religious people. In the old days, as now, they\nwere reckless, skeptical, materialistic. They had their gods and their\ndivining-arrows, but they were ready to demolish both if the responses\nproved contrary to their wishes. A great majority believed in no\nfuture life nor in a reckoning-day of good and evil. If a few tied\ncamels to the graves of the dead that the corpse might ride mounted to\nthe judgment-seat, it must have been the exception; and if there are\nsome doubtful traces of the doctrine of metempsychosis, this again\nmust have been the creed of the very few.\n\nChristianity and Judaism had made but small impress upon the Arabs.\nThere were Jewish tribes in the north, and there is evidence in the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n and elsewhere that the traditions and rites of Judaism were\nwidely known in Arabia. But the creed was too narrow and too\nexclusively national to commend itself to the majority of the people.\nChristianity fared even worse. Whether or not St. Paul went there, it\nis at least certain that very little effect was produced by the\npreaching of Christianity in Arabia. We hear of Christians on the\nborders, and even two or three among the Mekkans, and bishops and\nchurches are spoken of at Dhaf\u00e1r and Nejr\u00e1n. But the Christianity that\nthe Arabs knew was, like the Judaism of the northern tribes, a very\nimperfect reflection of the faith it professed to set forth. It had\nbecome a thing of the head instead of the heart, and the refinements\nof monophysite and monothelite doctrines gained no hold upon the Arab\nmind.\n\nThus Judaism and Christianity, though they were well known, and\nfurnished many ideas and ceremonies to Isl\u00e1m, were never able to\neffect any general settlement in Arabia. The common Arabs did not care\nmuch about any religion, and the finer spirits found the wrangling\ndogmatism of the Christian and the narrow isolation of the Jew little\nto their mind. For there were before the time of Mo\u1e25ammad men who were\ndissatisfied with the low fetishism in which their countrymen were\nplunged, and who protested emphatically against the idle and often\ncruel superstitions of the Arabs. Not to refer to the prophets, who,\nas the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n relates, were sent in old time to the tribes of \u00b4\u00c1d and\nThamood to convert them, there was, immediately before the preaching\nof Mo\u1e25ammad, a general feeling that a change was at hand; a prophet\nwas expected, and women were anxiously hoping for male children if so\nbe they might mother the Apostle of God; and the more thoughtful\nminds, tinged with traditions of Judaism, were seeking for what they\ncalled \u2018the religion of Abraham.\u2019 These men were called _\u2018\u1e24aneefs,\u2019_\nor skeptics, and their religion seems to have consisted chiefly in a\nnegative position, in denying the superstition of the Arabs, and in\nonly asserting the existence of one sole-ruling God whose absolute\nslaves are all mankind, without being able to decide on any minor\ndoctrines, or to determine in what manner this one God was to be\nworshipped. So long as the \u1e24aneefs could give their countrymen no more\ndefinite creed than this, their influence was limited to a few\ninquiring and doubting minds. It was reserved for Mo\u1e25ammad to\nformulate the faith of the \u1e24aneefs in the dogmas of Isl\u00e1m. For the\nleader of these few \u2018skeptics\u2019 was Zeyd ibn \u00b4Amr, to whom Mo\u1e25ammad\noften resorted, and another, Wara\u1e33ah, was the cousin of the Prophet\nand his near neighbour: and thus the \u1e24aneefs were the forerunners of\nthe man who was to change the destinies of the Arabs.\n\nWe can no longer see the true Arab as he was in \u2018the Time of\nIgnorance,\u2019 and we cannot but regret our loss; for the Pagan Arab is a\nnoble type of man, though there be nobler. There is much that is\nadmirable in his high mettle, his fine sense of honour, his\nknightliness, his \u2018open-handed, both-handed,\u2019 generosity, his frank\nfriendship, and his manly independent spirit; and the faults of this\nwild reckless nature are not to be weighed against its many\nexcellencies. When Mo\u1e25ammad turned abroad the current of Arab life, he\nchanged the character of the people. The mixture with foreign nations,\nand the quiet town-life that succeeded to the tumult of conquest,\ngradually effaced many of the leading ideas of the old Arab nature,\nand the remnant that still dwell in the land of their fathers have\nlost much of that nobleness of character which in their ancestors\ncovered a multitude of sins. Mo\u1e25ammad in part destroyed the Arab and\ncreated the Muslim. The last is no amends for the first. The modern\nBedawee is neither the one nor the other; he has lost the greatness\nof the old type without gaining that of the new. As far as the Arabs\nalone are concerned, Mo\u1e25ammad effected a temporary good and a lasting\nharm. As to the world at large, that is matter for another chapter.\n\n\n\n\nII.\u2014_MO\u1e24AMMAD._\n\n   For every fiery prophet in old times,\n   And all the sacred madness of the bard,\n   When God made music through them, could but speak\n   His music by the framework and the chord;\n   And as _he_ saw it _he hath_ spoken truth.\n\n   \u2014THE HOLY GRAIL.\n\n\nA prophet for the Arabs must fulfil two conditions if he will bring\nwith his good tidings the power of making them accepted: he must\nspring from the traditional centre of Arabian religion, and he must\ncome of a noble family of pure Arab blood. Mo\u1e25ammad fulfilled both.\nHis family was that branch of the \u1e32ureysh which had raised Mekka to\nthe dignity of the undisputed metropolis of Arabia, and which, though\nimpoverished, still held the chief offices of the sacred territory.\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s grandfather was the virtual chief of Mekka; for to him\nbelonged the guardianship of the Ka\u1ea1beh, and he it was who used the\ngenerous privilege of giving food and water to the pilgrims who\nresorted to the \u2018House of God.\u2019 His youngest son, after marrying a\nkinswoman belonging to a branch of the \u1e32ureysh, settled at Yethrib\n(Medina), died before the birth of his son (571), and this son,\nMo\u1e25ammad, lost his mother when he was only six years old. The orphan\nwas adopted by his grandfather, \u00b4Abd-el-Mu\u1e6d\u1e6dalib; and a tender\naffection sprang up between the chief of eighty years and his little\ngrandson. Many a day the old man might be seen sitting at his wonted\nplace near the Ka\u1ea1beh, and sharing his mat with his favourite. He\nlived but two years more; and at his dying request, his son Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib\ntook charge of Mo\u1e25ammad, for whom he too ever showed a love as of\nfather and mother.\n\nSuch is the bare outline of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s childhood; and of his youth we\nknow about as little, though the Arabian biographies abound in\nlegends, of which some may be true and most are certainly false. There\nare stories of his journeyings to Syria with his uncle, and his\nencounter with a mysterious monk of obscure faith; but there is\nnothing to show for this tale, and much to be brought against it. All\nwe can say is, that Mo\u1e25ammad probably assisted his family in the war\nof the Fij\u00e1r, and that he must many a time have frequented the annual\nFair of \u00b4O\u1e33\u00e1dh, hearing the songs of the desert chiefs and the praise\nof Arab life, and listening to the earnest words of the Jews and\nChristians and others who came to the Fair. He was obliged at an early\nage to earn his own living; for the noble family of the H\u00e1shimees, to\nwhich he belonged, was fast losing its commanding position, whilst\nanother branch of the \u1e32ureysh was succeeding to its dignities. The\nprincely munificence of H\u00e1shim and \u00b4Abd-el-Mu\u1e6d\u1e6dalib was followed by\nthe poverty and decline of their heirs. The duty of providing the\npilgrims with food was given up by the H\u00e1shimees to the rival branch\nof Umeyyeh, whilst they retained only the lighter office of serving\nwater to the worshippers. Mo\u1e25ammad must take his share in the labour\nof the family, and he was sent to pasture the sheep of the \u1e32ureysh on\nthe hills and valleys round Mekka; and though the people despised the\nshepherd\u2019s calling, he himself was wont to look back with pleasure to\nthese early days, saying that God called never a prophet save from\namong the sheep-folds. And doubtless it was then that he developed\nthat reflective disposition of mind which at length led him to seek\nthe reform of his people, whilst in his solitary wanderings with the\nsheep he gained that marvellous eye for the beauty and wonder of the\nearth and sky which resulted in the gorgeous nature-painting of the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n. Yet he was glad to change this menial work for the more\nlucrative and adventurous post of camel-driver to the caravans of his\nwealthy kinswoman Khadeejeh; and he seems to have taken so kindly to\nthe duty, which involved responsibilities, and to have acquitted\nhimself so worthily, that he attracted the notice of his employer, who\nstraightway fell in love with him, and presented him with her hand.\nThe marriage was a singularly happy one, though Mo\u1e25ammad was scarcely\ntwenty-five and his wife nearly forty, and it brought him that repose\nand exemption from daily toil which he needed in order to prepare his\nmind for his great work. But beyond that, it gave him a loving woman\u2019s\nheart, that was the first to believe in his mission, that was ever\nready to console him in his despair and to keep alive within him the\nthin flickering flame of hope when no man believed in him\u2014not even\nhimself\u2014and the world was black before his eyes.\n\nWe know very little of the next fifteen years. Khadeejeh bore him sons\nand daughters, but only the daughters lived. We hear of his joining a\nleague for the protection of the weak and oppressed, and there is a\nlegend of his having acted with wise tact and judgment as arbitrator\nin a dispute among the great families of Mekka on the occasion of the\nrebuilding of the Ka\u1ea1beh. During this time, moreover, he relieved his\nstill impoverished uncle of the charge of his son \u00b4Alee\u2014afterwards the\nBayard of Isl\u00e1m,\u2014and he freed and adopted a certain captive, Zeyd; and\nthese two became his most devoted friends and disciples. Such is the\nshort but characteristic record of these fifteen years of manhood. We\nknow very little about what Mo\u1e25ammad did, but we hear only one voice\nas to what he was. Up to the age of forty his unpretending modest way\nof life had attracted but little notice from his townspeople. He was\nonly known as a simple upright man, whose life was severely pure and\nrefined, and whose true desert sense of honour and faith-keeping had\nwon him the high title of El-Emeen, \u2018the Trusty.\u2019\n\nLet us see what fashion of man this was, who was about to work a\nrevolution among his countrymen, and change the conditions of social\nlife in a vast part of the world. The picture[12] is drawn from an\nolder man than we have yet seen; but Mo\u1e25ammad at forty and Mo\u1e25ammad at\nfifty or more were probably very little different. \u2018He was of the\nmiddle height, rather thin, but broad of shoulders, wide of chest,\nstrong of bone and muscle. His head was massive, strongly developed.\nDark hair, slightly curled, flowed in a dense mass down almost to his\nshoulders. Even in advanced age it was sprinkled by only about twenty\ngrey hairs\u2014produced by the agonies of his \u201cRevelations.\u201d His face was\noval-shaped, slightly tawny of colour. Fine, long, arched eyebrows\nwere divided by a vein which throbbed visibly in moments of passion.\nGreat black restless eyes shone out from under long, heavy eyelashes.\nHis nose was large, slightly aquiline. His teeth, upon which he\nbestowed great care, were well set, dazzling white. A full beard\nframed his manly face. His skin was clear and soft, his complexion\n\u201cred and white,\u201d his hands were as \u201csilk and satin,\u201d even as those of\na woman. His step was quick and elastic, yet firm, and as that of one\n\u201cwho steps from a high to a low place,\u201d In turning his face he would\nalso turn his full body. His whole gait and presence were dignified\nand imposing. His countenance was mild and pensive. His laugh was\nrarely more than a smile....\n\n\u2018In his habits he was extremely simple, though he bestowed great care\non his person. His eating and drinking, his dress and his furniture,\nretained, even when he had reached the fulness of power, their almost\nprimitive nature. The only luxuries he indulged in were, besides arms,\nwhich he highly prized, a pair of yellow boots, a present from the\nNegus of Abyssinia. Perfumes, however, he loved passionately, being\nmost sensitive of smell. Strong drinks he abhorred.\n\n\u2018His constitution was extremely delicate. He was nervously afraid of\nbodily pain; he would sob and roar under it. Eminently unpractical in\nall common things of life, he was gifted with mighty powers of\nimagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling.\n\u201cHe is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain,\u201d it was said of\nhim. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his\nawkward little page to be scolded, whatever he did. \u201cTen years,\u201d said\nAnas, his servant, \u201cwas I about the Prophet, and he never said as much\nas \u2018uff\u2019 to me.\u201d He was very affectionate towards his family. One of\nhis boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a\nblacksmith\u2019s wife. He was very fond of children. He would stop them in\nthe streets and pat their little cheeks. He never struck any one in\nhis life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation\nwas, \u201cWhat has come to him?\u2014may his forehead be darkened with mud!\u201d\nWhen asked to curse some one he replied, \u201cI have not been sent to\ncurse, but to be a mercy to mankind.\u201d \u201cHe visited the sick, followed\nany bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended\nhis own clothes, milked his goats, and waited upon himself,\u201d relates\nsummarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of\nanother man\u2019s palm, and turned not before the other had turned.... He\nwas the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest\nand most agreeable in conversation; those who saw him were suddenly\nfilled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who\ndescribed him would say, \u201cI have never seen his like either before or\nafter.\u201d He was of great taciturnity; but when he spoke it was with\nemphasis and deliberation, and no one could ever forget what he said.\nHe was, however, very nervous and restless withal, often low-spirited,\ndowncast as to heart and eyes. Yet he would at times suddenly break\nthrough these broodings, become gay, talkative, jocular, chiefly among\nhis own. He would then delight in telling little stories, fairy tales,\nand the like. He would romp with the children and play with their\ntoys.\u2019\n\n\u2018He lived with his wives in a row of humble cottages, separated from\none another by palm-branches, cemented together with mud. He would\nkindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. \u00b4\u00c1\u00efsheh\ntells us that he slept upon a leathern mat, and that he mended his\nclothes, and even clouted his shoes, with his own hand. For months\ntogether ... he did not get a sufficient meal. The little food that he\nhad was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it.\nIndeed, outside the Prophet\u2019s house was a bench or gallery, on which\nwere always to be found a number of the poor, who lived entirely on\nhis generosity, and were hence called the \u201cpeople of the bench.\u201d His\nordinary food was dates and water or barley-bread; milk and honey were\nluxuries of which he was fond, but which he rarely allowed himself.\nThe fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him, even when he was\nsovereign of Arabia.\u2019 [13]\n\nMo\u1e25ammad was full forty before he felt himself called to be an apostle\nto his people. If he did not actually worship the local deities of the\nplace, at least he made no public protest against the fetish worship\nof the \u1e32ureysh. Yet in the several phases of his life, in his contact\nwith traders, in his association with Zeyd and other men, he had\ngained an insight into better things than idols and human sacrifices,\ndivining-arrows and mountains and stars. He had heard a dim echo of\nsome \u2018religion of Abraham;\u2019 he had listened to the stories of the\nHaggadah: he knew a very little about Jesus of Nazareth. He seems to\nhave suffered long under the burden of doubt and self-distrust. He\nused to wander about the hills alone, brooding over these things; he\nshunned the society of men, and \u2018solitude became a passion to him.\u2019\n\nAt length came the crisis. He was spending the sacred months on Mount\n\u1e24ir\u00e1, \u2018a huge barren rock, torn by cleft and hollow ravine, standing\nout solitary in the full white glare of the desert sun, shadowless,\nflowerless, without well or rill.\u2019 Here in a cave Mo\u1e25ammad gave\nhimself up to prayer and fasting. Long months or even years of doubt\nhad increased his nervous excitable disposition. He had had, they say,\ncataleptic fits during his childhood, and was evidently more\ndelicately and finely constituted than those around him. Given this\nnervous nature, and the grim solitude of the hill where he had almost\nlived for long weary months, blindly feeling after some truth upon\nwhich to rest his soul, it is not difficult to believe the tradition\nof the cave, that Mo\u1e25ammad heard a voice say, \u2018Cry!\u2019 \u2018What shall I\ncry?\u2019 he answers\u2014the question that has been burning his heart during\nall his mental struggles\u2014\n\n   Cry[14]! in the name of thy Lord, who hath created;\n   He hath created man from a clot of blood.\n   Cry! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful,\n   Who hath taught [writing] by the pen:\n   He hath taught man that which he knew not.\n\nMo\u1e25ammad arose trembling, and went to Khadeejeh, and told her what he\nhad seen; and she did her woman\u2019s part, and believed in him and\nsoothed his terror, and bade him hope for the future. Yet he could not\nbelieve in himself. Was he not perhaps mad, possessed by a devil? Were\nthese voices of a truth from God? And so he went again on his solitary\nwanderings, hearing strange sounds, and thinking them at one time the\ntestimony of Heaven, at another the temptings of Satan or the ravings\nof madness. Doubting, wondering, hoping, he had fain put an end to a\nlife which had become intolerable in its changings from the heaven of\nhope to the hell of despair, when again he heard the voice, \u2018Thou art\nthe messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.\u2019 Conviction at length seized\nhold upon him; he was indeed to bring a message of good tidings to\nthe Arabs, the message of God through His angel Gabriel. He went back\nto Khadeejeh exhausted in mind and body. \u2018Wrap me, wrap me,\u2019 he said;\nand the word came unto him\u2014\n\n   O thou enwrapped in thy mantle\n   Arise and warn!\n   And thy Lord,\u2014magnify Him!\n   And thy raiment,\u2014purify it!\n   And the abomination,\u2014flee it!\n   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase,\n   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.\n\nThere are those who see imposture in all this; for such I have no\nanswer. Nor does it matter whether in a hysterical fit or under any\nphysical disease soever Mo\u1e25ammad saw these visions and heard these\nvoices. We are not concerned to draw the lines of demarcation between\nenthusiasm and ecstasy and inspiration. It is sufficient that Mo\u1e25ammad\n_did_ see these things\u2014the subjective creations of a tormented mind.\nIt is sufficient that he believed them to be a message from on high,\nand that for years of neglect and persecution and for years of triumph\nand conquest he acted upon his belief.\n\nMo\u1e25ammad now (612) came forward as the Apostle of the One God to the\npeople of Arabia: he was at last well assured that his God was of a\ntruth _the_ God, and that He had indeed sent him with a message to his\npeople, that they too might turn from their idols and serve the living\nGod. He was in the minority of one, but he was no longer afraid; he\nhad learnt that self-trust which is the condition of all true work. At\nfirst he spoke to his near kinsmen and friends; and it is impossible\nto overrate the importance of the fact that his closest relations and\nthose who lived under his roof were the first to believe and the\nstaunchest of faith. The prophet who is _with_ honour in his own home\nneed appeal to no stronger proof of his sincerity, and that Mo\u1e25ammad\n_was_ \u2018a hero to his own valet\u2019 is an invincible argument for his\nearnestness. The motherly Khadeejeh had at once, with a woman\u2019s\ninstinct, divined her husband\u2019s heart and confirmed his fainting hope\nby her firm faith in him. His dearest friends, Zeyd and \u00b4Alee, were\nthe next converts; and though, to his grief, he could never induce his\nlifelong protector, Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib, to abandon the gods of his fathers,\nyet the old man loved him none the less, and said, when he heard of\n\u00b4Alee\u2019s conversion, \u2018Well, my son, he will not call thee to aught save\nwhat is good; wherefore thou art free to cleave unto him.\u2019 A priceless\naid was gained in the accession of Aboo-Bekr, who succeeded Mo\u1e25ammad\nas the first Khalif of Isl\u00e1m, and whose calm judgment and quick\nsagacity, joined to a gentle and compassionate heart, were of\nincalculable service to the faith. Aboo-Bekr was one of the wealthiest\nmerchants of Mekka, and exercised no small influence among his\nfellow-citizens, no less by his character than his position. Like\nMo\u1e25ammad, he had a nickname, E\u1e63-\u1e62iddee\u1e33, \u2018The True:\u2019 _The True_ and\n_The Trusty_,\u2014no mean augury for the future of the religion!\n\nFive converts followed in Aboo-Bekr\u2019s steps; among them \u00b4Othm\u00e1n, the\nthird Khalif, and \u1e6cal\u1e25ah, the man of war. The ranks of the faithful\nwere swelled from humbler sources. There were many negro slaves in\nMekka, and of them not a few had been predisposed by earlier teaching\nto join in the worship of the One God; and of those who were first\nconverted was the Abyssinian Bil\u00e1l, the original Mu\u00ebddin of Isl\u00e1m, and\never a devoted disciple of the Prophet. These and others from the\n\u1e32ureysh raised the number of Muslims to more than thirty souls by the\nfourth year of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s mission\u2014thirty in three long years, and few\nof them men of influence!\n\nThis small success had been achieved with very little opposition from\nthe idolaters. Mo\u1e25ammad had not spoken much in public; and when he did\nspeak to strangers, he restrained himself from attacking their\nworship, and only enjoined them to worship the One God who had\ncreated all things. The people were rather interested, and wondered\nwhether he were a soothsayer or madman, or if indeed there were truth\nin his words. But now (A.D. 615) Mo\u1e25ammad entered upon a more public\ncareer. He summoned the \u1e32ureysh to a conference at the hill of\nE\u1e63-\u1e62af\u00e1, and said, \u2018I am come to you as a warner, and as the\nforerunner of a fearful punishment.... I cannot protect you in this\nworld, nor can I promise you aught in the next life, unless ye say,\nThere is no God but All\u00e1h.\u2019 He was laughed to scorn, and the assembly\nbroke up; but from this time he ceased not to preach to the people of\na punishment that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told them,\nin the fiery language of the early soorahs, how God had punished the\nold tribes of the Arabs who would not believe in His messengers, how\nthe Flood had swallowed up the people who would not hearken to Noah.\nHe swore unto them, by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noonday\nbrightness, by the night when she spreadeth her veil, by the day when\nit appeareth in glory, that a like destruction would assuredly come\nupon them if they did not turn away from their idols and serve God\nalone. He enforced his message with every resource of language and\nmetaphor, till he made it burn in the ears of the people. And then he\ntold them of the Last Day, when a just reckoning should be taken of\nthe deeds they had done; and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all\nthe glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved, terrified;\nconversions increased. It was time the \u1e32ureysh should take some step.\nIf the idols were destroyed, what would come to them, the keepers of\nthe idols, and their renown throughout the land? How should they\nretain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came to worship\ntheir several divinities at the Ka\u1ea1beh? That a few should follow the\nravings of a madman or magician who preferred one god above the\nbeautiful deities of Mekka was little matter; but that some leading\nmen of the city should join the sect, and that the magician should\nterrify the people in open day with his denunciations of the worship\nwhich _they_ superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs were seriously\nalarmed, and resolved on a more active policy. Hitherto they had\nmerely ridiculed the professors of this new faith; they would now take\nstronger measures. Mo\u1e25ammad himself they dared not touch; for he\nbelonged to a noble family, which, though it was reduced and\nimpoverished, had deserved well of the city, and which, moreover, was\nnow headed by a man who was reverenced throughout Mekka, and was none\nother than the adoptive father and protector of Mo\u1e25ammad himself. Nor\nwas it safe to attack the other chief men among the Muslims, for the\nblood-revenge was no light risk. They were thus compelled to content\nthemselves with the mean satisfaction of torturing the black slaves\nwho had joined the obnoxious faction. They exposed them on the\nscorching sand, and withheld water till they recanted\u2014which they did,\nonly to profess the faith once more when they were let go. The first\nMu\u00ebddin alone remained steadfast: as he lay half stifled he would only\nanswer, \u2018A\u1e25ad! A\u1e25ad!\u2019\u2014\u2018One [God]! One!\u2019\u2014till Aboo-Bekr came and bought\nhis freedom, as he was wont to do for many of the miserable victims.\nMo\u1e25ammad was very gentle with these forced renegades: he knew what\nstuff men are made of, and he bade them be of good cheer for their\nlips, so that their hearts were sound.\n\nAt last, moved by the sufferings of his lowly followers, he advised\nthem to seek a refuge in Abyssinia\u2014\u2018a land of righteousness, wherein\nno man is wronged;\u2019 and in the fifth year of his mission (616) eleven\nmen and four women left Mekka secretly, and were received in Abyssinia\nwith welcome and peace. These first emigrants were followed by more\nthe next year, till the number reached one hundred. The \u1e32ureysh were\nvery wroth at the escape of their victims, and sent ambassadors to the\nNej\u00e1shee, the Christian king of Abyssinia, to demand that the refugees\nshould be given up to them. But the Nej\u00e1shee assembled his bishops\nand sent for the Muslims and asked them why they had fled; and one of\nthem answered and said\u2014\n\n\u2018O king! we lived in ignorance, idolatry, and unchastity; the strong\noppressed the weak; we spoke untruth; we violated the duties of\nhospitality. Then a prophet arose, one whom we knew from our youth,\nwith whose descent and conduct and good faith and morality we are all\nwell acquainted. He told us to worship one God, to speak truth, to\nkeep good faith, to assist our relations, to fulfil the rights of\nhospitality, and to abstain from all things impure, ungodly,\nunrighteous. And he ordered us to say prayers, give alms, and to fast.\nWe believed in him; we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted us,\ntortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion; and now we\nthrow ourselves upon thy protection. Wilt thou not protect us?\u2019 And he\nrecited a chapter of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, which spoke of Christ; and the king\nand the bishops wept upon their beards. And the king dismissed the\nmessengers and would not give up the men.\n\nThe \u1e32ureysh, foiled in their attempt to recapture the slaves, vented\ntheir malice on those believers who remained. Insults were heaped upon\nthe Muslims, and persecution grew hotter each day. For a moment\nMo\u1e25ammad faltered in his work. Could he not spare his people these\nsufferings? Was it impossible to reconcile the religion of the city\nwith the belief in one supreme God? After all, was the worship of\nthose idols so false a thing? did it not hold the germ of a great\ntruth? And so Mo\u1e25ammad made his first and last concession. He recited\na revelation to the \u1e32ureysh, in which he spoke respectfully of the\nthree moon-goddesses, and asserted that their intercession with God\nmight be hoped for: \u2018Wherefore bow down before God and serve Him;\u2019 and\nthe whole audience, overjoyed at the compromise, bowed down and\nworshipped at the name of the God of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2014the whole city was\nreconciled to the double religion. But this Dreamer of the Desert was\nnot the man to rest upon a lie. At the price of the whole city of\nMekka he would not remain untrue to himself. He came forward and said\nhe had done wrong\u2014the devil had tempted him. He openly and frankly\nretracted what he had said: and \u2018As for their idols, they were but\nempty names which they and their fathers had invented.\u2019\n\nWestern biographers have rejoiced greatly over \u2018Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s fall.\u2019 Yet\nit was a tempting compromise, and few would have withstood it. And the\nlife of Mo\u1e25ammad is not the life of a god, but of a man: from first to\nlast it is intensely human. But if for once he was not superior to the\ntemptation of gaining over the whole city and obtaining peace where\nbefore there was only bitter persecution, what can we say of his\nmanfully thrusting back the rich prize he had gained, freely\nconfessing his fault, and resolutely giving himself over again to the\nold indignities and insults? If he was once insincere\u2014and who is\nnot?\u2014how intrepid was his after-sincerity! He was untrue to himself\nfor a while, and he is ever referring to it in his public preaching\nwith shame and remorse; but the false step was more than atoned for by\nhis magnificent recantation.\n\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s influence with the people at large was certainly weakened\nby this temporary change of front, and the opposition of the leaders\nof the \u1e32ureysh, checked for the moment by the Prophet\u2019s concession,\nnow that he had repudiated it, broke forth into fiercer flame. They\nheaped insults upon him, and he could not traverse the city without\nthe encounter of a curse. They threw unclean things at him, and vexed\nhim in his every doing. The protection of Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib alone saved him\nfrom personal danger. This refuge the \u1e32ureysh determined to remove.\nThey had attempted before, but had been turned back with a soft\nanswer. They now went to the chief, of fourscore years, and demanded\nthat he should either compel his nephew to hold his peace, or else\nthat he should withdraw his protection. Having thus spoken they\ndeparted. The old man sent for Mo\u1e25ammad, and told him what they had\nsaid. \u2018Now therefore save thyself and me also, and cast not upon me a\nburden heavier than I can bear;\u2019 for he was grieved at the strife\nbetween his family and his wider kindred, and would fain have seen\nMo\u1e25ammad temporize with the \u1e32ureysh. But though the Prophet believed\nthat at length his uncle was indeed about to abandon him, his courage\nand high resolve never faltered. \u2018Though they should set the sun on my\nright hand and the moon on my left to persuade me, yet while God\ncommands me I will not renounce my purpose.\u2019 But to lose his uncle\u2019s\nlove!\u2014he burst into tears, and turned to go. But Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib called\naloud, \u2018Son of my brother, come back.\u2019 So he came. And he said,\n\u2018Depart in peace, my nephew, and say whatsoever thou desirest; for, by\nthe Lord, I will never deliver thee up.\u2019\n\nThe faithfulness of Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib was soon to be tried. At first, indeed,\nthings looked brighter. The old chief\u2019s firm bearing overawed the\n\u1e32ureysh, and they were still more cowed by two great additions that\nwere now joined to the Muslim ranks. One was Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s uncle, \u1e24amzeh,\n\u2018the Lion of God,\u2019 a mighty hunter and warrior of the true Arab\nmettle, whose sword was worth twenty of weaker men to the cause of\nIsl\u00e1m. The other was \u00b4Omar, afterwards Khalif, whose fierce impulsive\nnature had hitherto marked him as a violent opponent of the new faith,\nbut who afterwards proved himself one of the mainstays of Isl\u00e1m. The\ngain of two such men first frightened then maddened the \u1e32ureysh. The\nleaders met together and consulted what they should do. It was no\nlonger a case of an enthusiast followed by a crowd of slaves and a few\nworthy merchants; it was a faction led by stout warriors, such as\n\u1e24amzeh, \u1e6cal\u1e25ah, \u00b4Omar,\u2014half-a-dozen picked swordsmen; and the Muslims,\nemboldened by their new allies, were boldly surrounding the Ka\u1ea1beh,\nand performing the rites of their religion in the face of all the\npeople. The \u1e32ureysh resolved on extreme measures. They determined to\nshut off the obnoxious family of the H\u00e1shimees from the rest of their\nkindred. The chiefs drew up a document, in which they vowed that they\nwould not marry with the H\u00e1shimees, nor buy and sell with them, nor\nhold with them any communication soever; and this they hung up in the\nKa\u1ea1beh.\n\nThe H\u00e1shimees were not many enough to fight the whole city, so they\nwent every man of them, save one, to the shi-b (or quarter) of\nAboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib,\u2014a long, narrow mountain defile on the eastern skirts of\nMekka, cut off by rocks or walls from the city, except for one narrow\ngateway,\u2014and there shut themselves up. For though the ban did not\nforbid them to go about as heretofore, they knew that no soul would\nspeak with them, and that they would be subject to the maltreatment of\nany vagabond they met. So they collected their stores and waited.\nEvery man of the family, Muslim or Pagan, cast in his lot with their\ncommon kinsman, Mo\u1e25ammad, saving only his own uncle, Aboo-Lahab, a\ndetermined enemy to Isl\u00e1m, to whom a special denunciation is justly\nconsecrated in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\n\nFor two long years the H\u00e1shimees remained shut up in their quarter.\nOnly at the pilgrimage-time\u2014when the blessed institution of the sacred\nmonths made violence sacrilege\u2014could Mo\u1e25ammad come forth and speak\nunto the people of the things that were in his heart to say. Scarcely\nany converts were made during this weary time; and most of those who\nhad previously been converted, and did not belong to the doomed clan,\ntook refuge in Abyssinia; so that in the seventh year of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\nmission there were probably not more than twelve Muslims of any weight\nwho remained by him. Still the H\u00e1shimees remained in their quarter. It\nseemed as if they must all perish: their stores were almost gone, and\nthe cries of starving children could be heard outside. Kind-hearted\nneighbours would sometimes smuggle-in a camel\u2019s load of food, but it\navailed little. The \u1e32ureysh themselves were getting ashamed of their\nwork, and were wishing for an excuse for releasing their kinsmen. The\nexcuse came in time. It was discovered that the deed of ban was eaten\nup by worms, and Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib turned the discovery to his advantage. The\nvenerable old chief went out and met the \u1e32ureysh at the Ka\u1ea1beh, and\npointing to the crumbling leaf he bitterly reproached them with their\nhardness of heart towards their brethren: then he departed. And\nstraightway there rose up five chiefs, heads of great families, and,\namid the murmurs of the fiercer spirits who were still for no quarter,\nthey put on their armour, and going to the shi-b of Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib, bade\nthe H\u00e1shimees come forth in peace. And they came forth.\n\nIt was now the eighth year of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s mission; and for the last two\nyears, wasted in excommunication, Isl\u00e1m had almost stood still, at\nleast externally. For though Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s patient bearing under the ban\nhad gained over a few of his imprisoned clan to his side, he had made\nno converts beyond the walls of his quarter. During the sacred months\nhe had gone forth to speak to the people,\u2014to the caravans of strangers\nand the folk at the fairs,\u2014but he had no success; for hard behind him\nfollowed Aboo-Lahab, the squinter, who mocked at him, and told the\npeople he was only \u2018a liar and a sabian.\u2019 And the people answered that\nhis own kindred must best know what he was, and they would hear\nnothing from him. The bold conduct of the five chiefs had indeed\nsecured for Mo\u1e25ammad a temporary respite from persecution; but this\nrelief was utterly outweighed by the troubles that now fell upon him\nand fitly gave that year the name of \u2018The Year of Mourning.\u2019 For soon\nafter the revoking of the ban Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib died, and five weeks later\nKhadeejeh. In the first Mo\u1e25ammad lost his ancient protector, who,\nthough he would never give up his old belief, had yet faithfully\nguarded the Prophet from his childhood upwards, and, with the true\nArab sentiment of kinship, had subjected himself and his clan to years\nof persecution and poverty in order to defend his brother\u2019s son from\nhis enemies. The death of Khadeejeh was even a heavier calamity to\nMo\u1e25ammad. She first had believed in him, and she had ever been his\nangel of hope and consolation. To his death he cherished a tender\nregret for her; and when his young bride \u00b4\u00c1\u00efsheh, the favourite of his\ndeclining years, jealously abused \u2018that toothless old woman,\u2019 he\nanswered with indignation, \u2018When I was poor, she enriched me; when\nthey called me a liar, she alone believed in me; when all the world\nwas against me, she alone remained true.\u2019\n\nMo\u1e25ammad might well feel himself alone in the world. Most of his\nfollowers were in Abyssinia; only a few tried friends remained at\nMekka. All the city was against him; his protector was dead, and his\nfaithful wife. Dejected, almost hopeless, he would try a new field. If\nMekka rejected him, might not Et-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff give him welcome? He set out on\nfoot on his journey of seventy miles, taking only Zeyd with him; and\nhe told the people of Et-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff his simple message. They stoned him out\nof the city for three miles. Bleeding and fainting, he paused to rest\nin an orchard, to recover strength before he went back to the insults\nof his own people. The owners of the place sent him some grapes; and\nhe gathered up his strength once more, and bent his weary feet towards\nMekka. On the way, as he slept, his fancy called up a strange dream:\nmen had rejected him, and now he thought he saw the Jinn, the spirits\nof the air, falling down and worshipping the One God, and bearing\nwitness to the truth of Isl\u00e1m. Heartened by the vision, he pushed on;\nand when Zeyd asked him if he did not fear to throw himself again into\nthe hands of the \u1e32ureysh, he answered, \u2018God will protect His religion\nand help His prophet.\u2019\n\nSo this lonely man came back to dwell among his enemies. Though a\nbrave Arab gentleman, compassionating his aloneness, gave him the\nBedawee pledge of protection, yet he well knew that the power of his\nfoes made such protection almost useless, and at any time he might be\nassassinated. But the \u1e32ureysh had not yet come to think of the last\nresource, and meanwhile a new prospect was opening out for Mo\u1e25ammad.\nThat same year, as he was visiting the caravans of the pilgrims who\nhad come from all parts of Arabia to worship at the Ka\u1ea1beh, he found a\ngroup of men of Yethrib who were willing to listen to his words. He\nexpounded to them the faith he was sent to preach, and he told them\nhow his people had rejected him, and asked them whether Yethrib would\nreceive him. The men were impressed with his words and professed\nIsl\u00e1m, and promised to bring news the next year; then they returned\nhome and talked of this matter to their brethren. Now at Yethrib,\nbesides two pagan tribes that had migrated upwards from the south,\nthere were three clans of Jewish Arabs. Between the pagans and Jews,\nand then between the two pagan clans, there had been deadly wars; and\nnow there were many parties in the city, and no one was master. The\nJews, on the one hand, were expecting their Messiah; the pagans looked\nfor a prophet. If Mo\u1e25ammad were not the Messiah, the Jews thought that\nhe might at least be their tool to subdue their pagan rivals. \u2018Whether\nhe is a prophet or not,\u2019 said the pagans, \u2018he is our kinsman by his\nmother, and will help us to overawe the Jews; and if he is the coming\nprophet, it is our policy to recognise him before those Jews who are\nalways threatening us with their Messiah.\u2019 The teaching of Mo\u1e25ammad\nwas so nearly Jewish, that a union of the two creeds might be hoped\nfor; whilst to the pagan Arabs of Yethrib monotheism was no strange\ndoctrine. All parties were therefore willing to receive Mo\u1e25ammad and\nat least try the experiment of his influence. As a peace-maker,\nprophet, or messiah, he would be equally welcome in a city torn\nasunder by party jealousies.\n\nWhen the time of pilgrimage again came round, Mo\u1e25ammad waited at the\nappointed place in a secluded glen, and there met him men from the two\npagan tribes of Yethrib\u2014the clans of Khazraj and Aws\u2014ten from one and\ntwo from the other. They told him of the willingness of their people\nto embrace Isl\u00e1m, and their hope to make ready the city for his\nwelcome. They plighted their faith with him in these words: \u2018We will\nnot worship save one God; we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor\nkill our children; we will in nowise slander, nor will we disobey the\nprophet in anything that is right.\u2019 This is the first pledge of the\n\u00b4A\u1e33abeh.\n\nThe twelve men of Yethrib went back and preached Isl\u00e1m to their\npeople. \u2018So prepared was the ground, so zealous the propagation, and\nso apt the method, that the new faith spread rapidly from house to\nhouse and from tribe to tribe. The Jews looked on in amazement at the\npeople, whom they had in vain endeavoured for generations to convince\nof the errors of Polytheism and dissuade from the abominations of\nidolatry, suddenly and of their own accord casting away their idols\nand professing belief in God alone.\u2019 They asked Mo\u1e25ammad to send them\na teacher versed in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, so anxious were they to know Isl\u00e1m\ntruly; and Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab was sent, and taught them and conducted their\nworship; so that Isl\u00e1m took deep root at Yethrib.\n\nMeanwhile Mo\u1e25ammad was still among the \u1e32ureysh at Mekka. His is now an\nattitude of waiting; he is listening for news from his distant\nconverts. Resting his hopes upon them, and despairing of influencing\nthe Mekkans, he does not preach so much as heretofore. He holds his\npeace mainly, and bides his time. One hears little of this interval of\nquietude. Isl\u00e1m seems stationary at Mekka, and its followers are\nsilent and reserved. The \u1e32ureysh are joyful at the ceasing of those\ndenunciations which terrified whilst they angered them, yet they are\nnot quite satisfied. The Muslims have a waiting look, as though there\nwere something at hand.\n\nIt was during this year of expectation that the Prophet\u2019s celebrated\n\u2018Night Journey\u2019 took place. This Mi\u00b4r\u00e1j has been the subject of\nextravagant embellishments on the part of the traditionists and\ncommentators, and the cause of much obloquy to the Prophet from his\nreligious opponents. Mo\u1e25ammad dreamed a dream, and referred to it\nbriefly and obscurely in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n. His followers persisted in\nbelieving it to have been a reality\u2014an ascent to heaven in the\nbody\u2014till Mo\u1e25ammad was sick of repeating his simple assertion that it\nwas a dream. The traditional form of this wonderful vision may be read\nin any life of Mo\u1e25ammad, and though it is doubtless very different\nfrom the story the Prophet himself gave, it is still a grand vision,\nfull of glorious imagery, fraught with deep meaning.\n\nAgain the time of pilgrimage came round, and again Mo\u1e25ammad repaired\nto the glen of the Mountain-road. Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab had told him the good tidings\nof the spread of the faith at Yethrib, and he was met at the\nrendezvous by more than seventy men. They came by twos and threes\nsecretly for fear of the \u1e32ureysh, \u2018waking not the sleeper, nor\ntarrying for the absent.\u2019 Then Mo\u1e25ammad recited to them verses from\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, and in answer to their invitation that he should come to\nthem, and their profession that their lives were at his service, he\nasked them to pledge themselves to defend him as they would their own\nwives and children. And a murmur of eager assent rolled round about\nfrom the seventy, and an old man, one of their chiefs, stood forth and\nsaid, \u2018Stretch out thy hand, O Mo\u1e25ammad.\u2019 And the chief struck his own\nhand into Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s palm in the frank Bedawee fashion, and thus\npledged his fealty. Man after man the others followed, and struck\ntheir hands upon Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s. Then he chose twelve of them as leaders\nover the rest, saying, \u2018Moses chose from among his people twelve\nleaders. Ye shall be the sureties for the rest, even as the apostles\nof Jesus were; and I am the surety for my people.\u2019 A voice of some\nstranger was heard near by, and the assembly hastily dispersed and\nstole back to their camp. This is the second pledge of the \u00b4A\u1e33abeh.\n\nThe \u1e32ureysh knew that some meeting had taken place, and though they\ncould not bring home the offence to any of the Yethrib pilgrims, they\nkept a stricter watch on the movements of Mo\u1e25ammad and his friends\nafter the pilgrims had returned homeward. It was clear that Mekka was\nno longer a safe place for the Muslims, and a few days after the\nsecond pledge Mo\u1e25ammad told his followers to betake themselves\nsecretly to Yethrib. For two months at the beginning of the eleventh\nyear of the mission (622) the Muslims were leaving Mekka in small\ncompanies to make the journey of 250 miles to Yethrib. One hundred\nfamilies had gone, and whole quarters of the city were deserted, left\nwith empty houses and locked doors, \u2018a prey to woe and wind.\u2019 There\nwere but three believers now remaining in Mekka\u2014these were Mo\u1e25ammad,\nAboo-Bekr, and \u00b4Alee. Like the captain of a sinking ship, the Prophet\nwould not leave till all the crew were safe. But now they were all\ngone save his two early friends, and everything was ready for the\njourney; still the Prophet did not go. But the \u1e32ureysh, who had been\ntoo much taken by surprise to prevent the emigration, now prepared\nmeasures for a summary vengeance on the disturber of their peace and\nthe emptier of their city. They set a watch on his house, and, it is\nsaid, commissioned a band of armed youths of different families to\nassassinate him together, that the blood recompense might not fall on\none household alone. But Mo\u1e25ammad had warning of his danger, and\nleaving \u00b4Alee to deceive the enemy, he was concealed with Aboo-Bekr in\na narrow-mouthed cave on Mount Th\u00f3r, an hour-and-a-half\u2019s journey from\nMekka, before the \u1e32ureysh knew of his escape. For three days they\nremained hidden there, while their enemies were searching the country\nfor them. Once they were very near, and Aboo-Bekr trembled:\u2014\u2018We are\nbut two.\u2019 \u2018Nay,\u2019 answered Mo\u1e25ammad, \u2018we are three, for God is with\nus.\u2019 And a spider, they say, wove its web over the entrance of the\ncave, so that the \u1e32ureysh passed on, thinking that no man had entered\nthere.\n\nOn the third night the pursuit had been almost given over, and the two\nfugitives took up their journey again. Mounted on camels they\njourneyed to Yethrib. In eight days they reached the outskirts of the\ncity (September 622). Mo\u1e25ammad was received with acclamation, and took\nup his residence among his kindred. The seat of Isl\u00e1m was transferred\nfrom Mekka to Yethrib, henceforward to be known as\nMedina,\u2014_Medeenet-en-Nebee_, \u2018the City of the Prophet.\u2019\n\nThis is the _Hijreh_, or Flight of the Prophet, from which the Muslims\ndate their history. Their first year began on the 16th day of June of\nthe Year of Grace 622.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nA great change now comes over the Prophet\u2019s life. It is still the same\nman, but the surroundings are totally different; the work to be done\nis on a wider, rougher stage. Thus far we have seen a gentle,\nthoughtful boy tending the sheep round Mekka;\u2014a young man of little\nnote, of whom the people only knew that he was pure and upright and\ntrue;\u2014then a man of forty whose solitary communion with his soul has\npressed him to the last terrible questions that each man, if he will\nthink at all, must some time ask himself\u2014What is life? What does this\nworld mean? What is reality, what is truth? Long months, years\nperhaps, we know not how long and weary, filled with the tortures of\ndoubt and the despair of ever attaining to the truth, filled with the\ndreary thought of his aloneness in the relentless universe, and the\nlonging to end it all, brought at last their fruits\u2014sure conviction of\nthe great secret of life, a firm belief in the Creator in whom all\nthings live and move and have their being, whom to serve is man\u2019s\nhighest duty and privilege, the one thing to be done. And then ten\nyears of struggling with careless, unthinking idolators; ten years of\nslow results, the gaining over of a few close friends, the devoted\nattachment of some slaves and men of the meaner rank; finally, the\nconversion of half-a-dozen great citizen chiefs, ending in the flight\nof the whole brotherhood of believers from their native city and their\nwelcome to a town of strangers, where the faith had forced itself home\nto the hearts of perhaps two hundred citizens. It was but little that\nwas done; so many years of toil, of indomitable courage and\nperseverance and long-suffering, and only about three hundred converts\nat the end! But it was the seed of a great harvest. Mo\u1e25ammad had shown\nmen what he was; the nobility of his character, his strong friendship,\nhis endurance and courage, above all, his earnestness and fiery\nenthusiasm for the truth he came to preach,\u2014these things had revealed\nthe hero, the master whom it was alike impossible to disobey and\nimpossible not to love. Henceforward it is only a question of time. As\nthe men of Medina come to know Mo\u1e25ammad, they too will devote\nthemselves to him body and soul; and the enthusiasm will catch fire\nand spread among the tribes till all Arabia is at the feet of the\nProphet of the One God. \u2018No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this\nman in a cloak of His own clouting.\u2019 He had the gift of influencing\nmen, and he had the nobility only to influence them for good.\n\nWe have now to see Mo\u1e25ammad as king. Though he came as a fugitive,\nrejected as an impostor by his own citizens, yet it was not long\nbefore his word was supreme in his adopted city. He had to rule over a\nmixed and divided people, and this must have helped him to the supreme\nvoice. There were four distinct parties at Medina. First, the\n\u2018Refugees\u2019 (Mu\u1e25\u00e1jiroon), who had fled from Mekka; on these Mo\u1e25ammad\ncould always rely with implicit faith. But he attached equal\nimportance to the early converts of Medina, who had invited him among\nthem and given him a home when the future seemed very hopeless before\nhim, and who were thenceforward known by the honourable title of the\n\u2018Helpers\u2019 (An\u1e63\u00e1r). How devoted was the affection of these men is\nshown by the well-known scene at El-Ji\u00b4r\u00e1neh, when the Helpers were\ndiscontented with their share of the spoils, and Mo\u1e25ammad answered,\n\u2018Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the things of this life\nwherewith I have sought to incline the hearts of these men of Mekka\ninto Isl\u00e1m, whereas ye are already steadfast in the faith? Are ye not\nsatisfied that others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while\nye carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes? Nay, I will not\nleave you for ever. If all mankind went one way, and the men of Medina\nwent another way, verily I would go the way of the men of Medina. The\nLord be favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons, and\ntheir sons\u2019 sons, for ever!\u2019 And the \u2018Helpers\u2019 wept upon their beards,\nand cried with one voice, \u2018Yea, we are well satisfied, O Prophet, with\nour lot.\u2019 To retain the allegiance of the Refugees and the Helpers was\nnever a trouble to Mo\u1e25ammad; the only difficulty was to rein in their\nzeal and hold them back from doing things of blood and vengeance on\nthe enemies of Isl\u00e1m. To prevent the danger of jealousy between the\nRefugees and the Helpers, Mo\u1e25ammad assigned each Refugee to one of the\nAn\u1e63\u00e1r to be his brother; and this tie of gossipry superseded all\nnearer ties, till Mo\u1e25ammad saw the time was over when it was needed.\nThe third party in Medina was that of the \u2018Disaffected,\u2019 or in the\nlanguage of Isl\u00e1m the \u2018Hypocrites\u2019 (Mun\u00e1fi\u1e33oon). This was composed of\nthe large body of men who gave in their nominal allegiance to Mo\u1e25ammad\nand his religion when they saw they could not safely withstand his\npower, but who were always ready to turn about if they thought there\nwas a chance of his overthrow. Mo\u1e25ammad treated these men and their\nleader \u00b4Abdallah ibn Ubayy (who himself aspired to the sovranty of\nMedina) with patient courtesy and friendliness, and, though they\nactually deserted him more than once at vitally critical moments, he\nnever retaliated, even when he was strong enough to crush them, but\nrather sought to win them over heartily to his cause by treating them\nas though they were what he would have them be. The result was that\nthis party gradually diminished and became absorbed in the general\nmass of earnest Muslims, and though up to its leader\u2019s death it\nconstantly called forth Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s powers of conciliation, after that\nit vanished from the history of parties.\n\nThe fourth party was the real thorn in the Prophet\u2019s side. It\nconsisted of the Jews, of whom three tribes were settled in the\nsuburbs of Medina. They had at first been well disposed to Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\ncoming. He could not indeed be the Messiah, because he was not of the\nlineage of David; but he would do very well to pass off upon their\nneighbours, the pagan Arabs, as, if not the Messiah, at least a great\nprophet; and by his influence the Jews might regain their old\nsupremacy in Medina. Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s teaching was very nearly Jewish\u2014they\nhad taught him the fables of their Haggadah, and he believed in their\nprophets\u2014why should he not be one of them and help them to the\ndominion? When Mo\u1e25ammad came, they found out their mistake; instead of\na tool they had a master. He told the people, indeed, the stories of\nthe Midrash, and he professed to revive the religion of Abraham: but\nhe added to this several damning articles; he taught that Jesus _was_\nthe Messiah, and that no other Messiah was to be looked for; and,\nmoreover, whilst reverencing and inculcating the doctrine of the\nHebrew prophets and of Christ, as he knew it, he yet insisted on his\nown mission as in nowise inferior to theirs\u2014as, in fact, the seal of\nprophecy by which all that went before was confirmed or abrogated. The\nillusion was over; the Jews would have nothing to say to Isl\u00e1m: they\nset themselves instead to oppose it, ridicule it, and vex its Preacher\nin every way that their notorious ingenuity could devise.\n\nThe step was false: the Jews missed their game, and they had to pay\nfor it. Whether it was possible to form a coalition,\u2014whether the Jews\nmight have induced Mo\u1e25ammad to waive certain minor points if they\nrecognised his prophetic mission,\u2014it is difficult to say. It seems\nmost probable that Mo\u1e25ammad would not have yielded a jot to their\ndemands, and would have accepted nothing short of unconditional\nsurrender to his religion. And it is at least doubtful whether Isl\u00e1m\nwould have gained anything by a further infusion of Judaism. It\nalready contained all that it could assimilate of the Hebrew faith;\nthe rest was too narrow for the universal scope of Isl\u00e1m. The religion\nof Mo\u1e25ammad lost little, we may be sure, by the standing aloof of the\nArabian Jews; but the Jews themselves lost much. Mo\u1e25ammad, indeed,\ntreated them kindly so long as kindness was possible. He made a treaty\nwith them, whereby the rights of the Muslims and the Jews were\ndefined. They were to practise their several religions unmolested;\nprotection and security were promised to all the parties to the\ntreaty, irrespective of creed; each was to help the other if attacked;\nno alliance was to be made with the \u1e32ureysh; war was to be made in\ncommon, and no war could be made without the consent of Mo\u1e25ammad:\ncrime alone could do away with the protection of this treaty.\n\nBut the Jews would not content themselves with standing aloof; they\nmust needs act on the offensive. They began by asking Mo\u1e25ammad hard\nquestions out of their law, and his answers they easily refuted from\ntheir books. They denied all knowledge of the Jewish stories in the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n\u2014though they knew that they came from their own Haggadah, which\nwas ever in their mouths in their own quarter,\u2014and they showed him\ntheir Bible, where, of course, the Haggadistic legends were not to be\nfound. Mo\u1e25ammad had but one course open to him\u2014to say they had\nsuppressed or changed their books; and he denounced them accordingly,\nand said that his was the true account of the patriarchs and prophets,\nrevealed from heaven. Not satisfied with tormenting Mo\u1e25ammad with\nquestions on that T\u00f3rah which they were always wrangling about\nthemselves, they took hold of the every day formulas of Isl\u00e1m, the\ndaily prayers and ejaculations, and, \u2018twisting their tongues,\u2019\nmispronounced them so that they meant something absurd or blasphemous.\nWhen asked which they preferred, Isl\u00e1m or idolatry, they frankly\navowed that they preferred idolatry. To lie about their own religion\nand to ridicule another religion that was doing a great and good work\naround them was not enough for these Jews; they must set their poets\nto work to lampoon the women of the believers in obscene verse, and\nsuch outrages upon common decency, not to say upon the code of Arab\nhonour and chivalry, became a favourite occupation among the poets of\nthe Jewish clans.\n\nThese were offences against the religion and the persons of the\nMuslims. They also conspired against the state. Mo\u1e25ammad was not only\nthe preacher of Isl\u00e1m, he was also the king of Medina, and was\nresponsible for the safety and peace of the city. As a prophet, he\ncould afford to ignore the jibes of the Jews, though they maddened him\nto fury; but as the chief of the city, the general in a time of almost\ncontinual warfare, when Medina was kept in a state of military defence\nand under a sort of military discipline, he could not overlook\ntreachery. He was bound by his duty to his subjects to suppress a\nparty that might (and nearly did) lead to the sack of the city by\ninvesting armies. The measures he took for this object have furnished\nhis European biographers with a handle for attack. It is, I believe,\nsolely on the ground of his treatment of the Jews that Mo\u1e25ammad has\nbeen called \u2018a bloodthirsty tyrant:\u2019 it would certainly be difficult\nto support the epithet on other grounds.\n\nThe bloodthirstiness consists in this: some half-dozen Jews, who had\ndistinguished themselves by their virulence against the Muslims, or by\ntheir custom of carrying information to the common enemy of Medina,\nwere executed; two of the three Jewish clans were sent into exile,\njust as they had previously come into exile, and the third was\nexterminated\u2014the men killed, and the women and children made slaves.\nThe execution of the half-dozen marked Jews is generally called\nassassination, because a Muslim was sent secretly to kill each of the\ncriminals. The reason is almost too obvious to need explanation. There\nwere no police or law-courts or even courts-martial at Medina; some\none of the followers of Mo\u1e25ammad must therefore be the executor of the\nsentence of death, and it was better it should be done quietly, as the\nexecuting of a man openly before his clan would have caused a brawl\nand more bloodshed and retaliation, till the whole city had become\nmixed up in the quarrel. If secret assassination is the word for such\ndeeds, secret assassination was a necessary part of the internal\ngovernment of Medina. The men must be killed, and best in that way. In\nsaying this I assume that Mo\u1e25ammad was cognisant of the deed, and that\nit was not merely a case of private vengeance; but in several\ninstances the evidence that traces these executions to Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\norder is either entirely wanting or is too doubtful to claim our\ncredence.\n\nOf the sentences upon the three whole clans, that of exile, passed\nupon two of them, was clement enough. They were a turbulent set,\nalways setting the people of Medina by the ears; and finally a brawl\nfollowed by an insurrection resulted in the expulsion of one tribe;\nand insubordination, alliance with enemies, and a suspicion of\nconspiracy against the Prophet\u2019s life, ended similarly for the second.\nBoth tribes had violated the original treaty, and had endeavoured in\nevery way to bring Mo\u1e25ammad and his religion to ridicule and\ndestruction. The only question is whether their punishment was not too\nlight. Of the third clan a fearful example was made, not by Mo\u1e25ammad,\nbut by an arbiter appointed by themselves. When the \u1e32ureysh and their\nallies were besieging Medina, and had well-nigh stormed the defences,\nthis Jewish tribe entered into negotiations with the enemy, which were\nonly circumvented by the diplomacy of the Prophet. When the besiegers\nhad retired, Mo\u1e25ammad naturally demanded an explanation of the Jews.\nThey resisted in their dogged way, and were themselves besieged and\ncompelled to surrender at discretion. Mo\u1e25ammad, however, consented to\nthe appointing of a chief of a tribe allied to the Jews as the judge\nwho should pronounce sentence upon them. The man in question was a\nfierce soldier, who had been wounded in the attack on the Jews, and\nindeed died from his wound the same day. This chief gave sentence that\nthe men, in number some six hundred, should be killed, and the women\nand children enslaved; and the sentence was carried out. It was a\nharsh, bloody sentence, worthy of the episcopal generals of the army\nagainst the Albigenses, or of the deeds of the Augustan age of\nPuritanism; but it must be remembered that the crime of these men was\nhigh treason against the State, during time of siege; and those who\nhave read how Wellington\u2019s march could be traced by the bodies of\ndeserters and pillagers hanging from the trees, need not be surprized\nat the summary execution of a traitorous clan.\n\nWhilst Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s supremacy was being established and maintained among\nthe mixed population of Mekka, a vigorous warfare was being carried on\noutside with his old persecutors, the \u1e32ureysh. On the history of this\nwar, consisting as it did mainly of small raids and attacks upon\ncaravans, I need not dwell; its leading features were the two battles\nof Bedr and O\u1e25ud, in the first of which three hundred Muslims, though\noutnumbered at the odds of three to one, were completely victorious\n(A.D. 624, A.H. 2); whilst at O\u1e25ud, being outnumbered in the like\nproportion and deserted by the \u2018Disaffected\u2019 party, they were almost\nas decisively defeated (A.H. 3). Two years later the \u1e32ureysh,\ngathering together their allies, advanced upon Medina and besieged it\nfor fifteen days; but the foresight of Mo\u1e25ammad in digging a trench,\nand the enthusiasm of the Muslims in defending it, resisted all\nassaults, and the coming of the heavy storms for which the climate of\nMedina is noted drove the enemy back to Mekka. The next year (A.H. 6)\na ten years\u2019 truce was concluded with the \u1e32ureysh, in pursuance of\nwhich a strange scene took place in the following spring. It was\nagreed that Mo\u1e25ammad and his people should perform the Lesser\nPilgrimage, and that the \u1e32ureysh should for that purpose vacate Mekka\nfor three days. Accordingly, in March 629, about two thousand Muslims,\nwith Mo\u1e25ammad at their head on his famous camel El-\u1e32a\u1e63w\u00e1\u2014the same on\nwhich he had fled from Mekka\u2014trooped down the valley and performed the\nrites which every Muslim to this day observes.\n\n\u2018It was surely a strange sight which at this time presented itself in\nthe vale of Mekka,\u2014a sight unique in the history of the world. The\nancient city is for three days evacuated by all its inhabitants, high\nand low, every house deserted; and, as they retire, the exiled\nconverts, many years banished from their birthplace, approach in a\ngreat body, accompanied by their allies, revisit the empty homes of\ntheir childhood, and within the short allotted space fulfil the rites\nof pilgrimage. The ousted inhabitants, climbing the heights around,\ntake refuge under tents or other shelter among the hills and glens;\nand, clustering on the overhanging peak of Aboo-\u1e32ubeys, thence watch\nthe movements of the visitors beneath, as with the Prophet at their\nhead they make the circuit of the Ka\u1ea1beh and the rapid procession\nbetween E\u1e63-\u1e62af\u00e1 and Marwah; and anxiously scan every figure if\nperchance they may recognise among the worshippers some long-lost\nfriend or relative. It was a scene rendered possible only by the\nthroes which gave birth to Isl\u00e1m.\u2019[15]\n\nWhen the three days were over, Mo\u1e25ammad and his party peaceably\nreturned to Medina; and the Mekkans re-entered their homes. But this\npilgrimage, and the self-restraint of the Muslims therein, advanced\nthe cause of Isl\u00e1m among its enemies. Converts increased daily, and\nsome leading men of the \u1e32ureysh now went over to Mo\u1e25ammad. The clans\naround were sending in their deputations of homage. But the final\nkeystone was set in the eighth year of the flight (A.D. 630), when a\nbody of \u1e32ureysh broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims;\nand Mo\u1e25ammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten thousand men, and\nthe city, defence being hopeless, surrendered. Now was the time for\nthe Prophet to show his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are\nat his feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge\nhimself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will come forward in\nhis true colours: we may prepare our horror, and cry shame beforehand.\n\nBut what is this? Is there no blood in the streets? Where are the\nbodies of the thousands that have been butchered? Facts are hard\nthings; and it is a fact that the day of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s greatest triumph\nover his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over\nhimself. He freely forgave the \u1e32ureysh all the years of sorrow and\ncruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an amnesty to the whole\npopulation of Mekka. Four criminals, whom justice condemned, made up\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s proscription list when he entered as a conqueror the city\nof his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered\nquietly and peaceably; no house was robbed, no woman insulted. One\nthing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Ka\u1ea1beh, Mo\u1e25ammad stood\nbefore each of the three hundred and sixty idols and pointed to it\nwith his staff, saying, \u2018Truth is come and lying is undone,\u2019 and at\nthese words his attendants hewed it down; and all the idols and\nhousehold gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.\n\nIt was thus that Mo\u1e25ammad entered again his native city. Through all\nthe annals of conquest, there is no triumphant entry like unto this\none.\n\nThe taking of Mekka was soon followed by the adhesion of all Arabia.\nEvery reader knows the story of the spread of Isl\u00e1m. The tribes of\nevery part of the peninsula sent embassies to do homage to the\nProphet. Arabia was not enough: the Prophet had written in his bold\nuncompromising way to the great kings of the East, to the Persian\nKhusru, and the Greek Emperor; and these little knew how soon his\ninvitation to the faith would be repeated, and how quickly Isl\u00e1m would\nbe knocking at their doors with no faltering hand.\n\nThe Prophet\u2019s career was near its end. In the tenth year of the\nFlight, twenty years after he had first felt the Spirit move him to\npreach to his people, he resolved once more to leave his adopted city\nand go to Mekka to perform a farewell pilgrimage. And when the rites\nwere done in the valley of Min\u00e1, the Prophet spoke unto the\nmultitude\u2014the forty thousand pilgrims\u2014with solemn last words.[16]\n\n\u2018YE PEOPLE! Hearken to my words; for I know not whether after this\nyear I shall ever be amongst you here again.\n\n\u2018Your Lives and your Property are sacred and inviolable amongst one\nanother until the end of time.\n\n\u2018The Lord hath ordained to every man the share of his inheritance: a\nTestament is not lawful to the prejudice of heirs.\n\n\u2018The child belongeth to the Parent; and the violator of Wedlock shall\nbe stoned.\n\n\u2018Ye people! Ye have rights demandable of your Wives, and they have\nrights demandable of you. Treat your women well.\n\n\u2018And your Slaves, see that you feed them with such food as ye eat\nyourselves, and clothe them with the stuff ye wear. And if they commit\na fault which ye are not willing to forgive, then sell them, for they\nare the servants of the Lord, and are not to be tormented.\n\n\u2018Ye people! Hearken unto my speech and comprehend it. Know that every\nMuslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are on the\nsame equality: ye are one Brotherhood.\u2019\n\nThen, looking up to heaven, he cried, \u2018O Lord! I have delivered my\nmessage and fulfilled my mission.\u2019 And all the multitude answered,\n\u2018Yea, verily hast thou\u2019!\u2014\u2018O Lord! I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to\nit\u2019! and, like Moses, he lifted up his hands and blessed the people.\n\n\nThree months more and Mo\u1e25ammad was dead.\n\n   A.H. 11. June, 632.\n\n\nIt is a hard thing to form a calm estimate of the Dreamer of the\nDesert. There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so\nheroic, about the man, that one is in peril of finding the judgment\nunconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love\nthat such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years\nthe hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to\nwithdraw his hand from another\u2019s clasp, the beloved of children, who\nnever passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful\neyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that\nsweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the\ndauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism in\nadmiration.\n\nIn telling in brief outline the story of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s life I have\nendeavoured to avoid controversial points. I have tried to convey in\nthe simplest manner the view of that life which a study of the\nauthorities must force upon every unbiassed mind. Many of the events\nof Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s life have been distorted and credited with ignoble\nmotives by European biographers; but on the facts they mainly agree,\nand these I have narrated, without encumbering them with the\ningenious adumbrations of their learned recorders. But there are some\nthings in the Prophet\u2019s life which have given rise to charges too\nweighty to be dismissed without discussion. He has been accused of\ncruelty, sensuality, and insincerity; he has been called a\n\u2018bloodthirsty tyrant,\u2019 a voluptuary, and an impostor.\n\nThe charge of cruelty scarcely deserves consideration. I have already\nspoken of the punishment of the Jews, which forms the ground of the\naccusation. One has but to refer to Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s conduct to the\nprisoners after the battle of Bedr, to his patient tolerance towards\nhis enemies at Medina, his gentleness to his people, his love of\nchildren and the dumb creatures, and above all, his bloodless entry\ninto Mekka, and the complete amnesty he gave to those who had been his\nbitter enemies during eighteen years of insult and persecution and\nfinally open war, to show that cruelty was no part of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\nnature.\n\nTo say that Mo\u1e25ammad, or any other Arab, was sensual in a higher\ndegree than an ordinary European is simply to enounce a well-worn\naxiom: the passions of the men of the sunland are not as those of the\nchill north. But to say that Mo\u1e25ammad was a voluptuary is false. The\nsimple austerity of his daily life, to the very last, his hard mat for\nsleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him\nout as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary in most senses of the word.\nTwo things he loved, perfumes and women; the first was harmless\nenough, and the special case of his wives has its special answer. A\ngreat deal too much has been said about these wives. It is a\nmelancholy spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers gloating\nover the stories and fables of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s domestic relations like the\nwriters and readers of \u2018society\u2019 journals. It is, of course, a fact\nthat whilst the Prophet allowed his followers only four wives he took\nmore than a dozen himself; but be it remembered that, with his\nunlimited power, he need not have restricted himself to a number\ninsignificant compared with the \u1e25areems of some of his successors,\nthat he never divorced one of his wives, that all of them save one\nwere widows, and that one of these widows was endowed with so terrific\na temper that Aboo-Bekr and \u00b4Othm\u00e1n had already politely declined the\nhonour of her alliance before the Prophet married her: the\ngratification of living with a vixen cannot surely be excessive.\nSeveral of these marriages must have been entered into from the\nfeeling that those women whose husbands had fallen in battle for the\nfaith, and who had thus been left unprotected, had a claim upon the\ngenerosity of him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were\ncontracted from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the heads of\nrival factions. It was not a high motive, but one does not look for\nvery romantic ideas about love-matches from a man who regarded women\nas \u2018crooked ribs,\u2019 and whose system certainly does its best to make\nmarriage from love impossible; yet, on the other hand, it was not a\nsensual motive. Perhaps the strongest reason\u2014one of which it is\nimpossible to over-estimate the force\u2014that impelled Mo\u1e25ammad to take\nwife after wife was his desire for male offspring. It was a natural\nwish that he should have a son who should follow in his steps and\ncarry on his work; but the wish was never gratified, Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s sons\ndied young. After all, the overwhelming argument is his fidelity to\nhis first wife. When he was little more than a boy he married\nKhadeejeh, who was fifteen years older than himself, with all the\nadded age that women gain so quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty\nyears Mo\u1e25ammad remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when she was\nsixty-five, and they might have celebrated their \u2018silver wedding,\u2019 he\nwas as devoted to her as when first he married her. During all those\nyears there was never a breath of scandal. Thus far Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s life\nwill bear microscopic scrutiny. Then Khadeejeh died; and though he\nmarried many women afterwards, some of them rich in youth and beauty,\nhe never forgot his old wife, and loved her best to the end: \u2018when I\nwas poor she enriched me, when they called me a liar she alone\nbelieved in me, when all the world was against me she alone remained\ntrue.\u2019 This loving, tender memory of an old wife laid in the grave\nbelongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be looked for in a\nvoluptuary.[17]\n\nWhen, however, all has been said, when it has been shown that Mo\u1e25ammad\nwas not the rapacious voluptuary some have taken him for, and that his\nviolation of his own marriage-law may be due to motives reasonable and\njust from his point of view rather than to common sensuality, there\nremains the fact that some of the soorahs of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n bear\nunmistakable marks of self-accommodation and personal convenience;\nthat Mo\u1e25ammad justified his domestic excesses by words which he gave\nas from God. And hence the third and gravest charge, the charge of\nimposture. We must clearly understand what is meant by this\naccusation. It is meant that the Prophet _consciously_ fabricated\nspeeches, and palmed them off upon the people as the very word of God.\nThe question, it will at once be perceived, has nothing whatever to\ndo with the truth or untruth of the revelations. Many an earnest\nenthusiast has uttered prophecies and exhortations which he firmly\nbelieved to be the promptings of the Spirit, and no man can charge\nsuch an one with imposture. He thoroughly believes what he says, and\nthe fault is in the judgment, not the conscience. The question is\nclearly narrowed to this: Did Mo\u1e25ammad believe he was speaking the\nwords of God equally when he declared that permission was given him to\ntake unto him more wives, as when he proclaimed \u2018There is no god but\nGod\u2019? It is a question that concerns the conscience of man; and each\nmust answer it for himself. How far a man may be deluded into\nbelieving everything he says is inspired it is impossible to define.\nThere are men to-day who would seem to claim infallibility; and in\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s time it was so much easier to believe in one\u2019s self. Now,\none never wants a friend to remind him of his weakness; then, there\nwere hundreds who would fain have made the man think himself God. It\nis wonderful, with his temptations, how great a humility was ever his,\nhow little he assumed of all the god-like attributes men forced upon\nhim. His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to truth. He\nhad but one answer for his worshippers, \u2018I am no more than a man, I am\nonly human.\u2019 \u2018Do none enter Paradise save by the mercy of God?\u2019 asked\n\u00b4\u00c1\u00efsheh. \u2018None, none, none,\u2019 he answered. \u2018Not even thou by thy own\nmerits?\u2019 \u2018Neither shall I enter Paradise unless God cover me with His\nmercy.\u2019 He was a man like unto his brethren in all things save one,\nand that one difference served only to increase his humbleness, and\nrender him the more sensitive to his shortcomings. He was sublimely\nconfident of this single attribute, that he was the messenger of the\nLord of the Daybreak, and that the words he spake came verily from\nHim. He was fully persuaded\u2014and no man dare dispute his right to the\nbelief\u2014that God had sent him to do a great work among his people in\nArabia. Nervous to the verge of madness, subject to hysteria, given to\nwild dreamings in solitary places, his was a temperament that easily\nleads itself to religious enthusiasm. He felt a subtle influence\nwithin him which he believed to be the movings of the Spirit: he\nthought he heard a voice; it became real and audible to him, awed and\nterrified him, so that he fell into frantic fits. Then he would arise\nand utter some noble saying; and what wonder if he thought it came\nstraight from highest heaven? It was not without a sore struggle that\nhe convinced himself of his own inspiration; but once admitted, the\nconviction grew with his years and his widening influence for good,\nand nothing then could shake his belief that he was the literal\nmouthpiece of the All-Merciful. When a man has come to this point, he\ncannot be expected to discriminate between this saying and that. As\nthe instrument of God he has lost his individuality; he believes God\nis ever speaking through his lips; he dare not question the\ninspiration of the speech lest he should seem to doubt the Giver.\n\nYet there must surely be a limit to this delusion. There are some\npassages in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n which it is difficult to think Mo\u1e25ammad truly\nbelieved to be the voice of the Lord of the Worlds. Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s was a\nsensitive conscience in the early years of his teaching, and it is\nhard to think that it could have been so obscured in later times that\nhe could really believe in the inspired source of some of his\nrevelations. He may have thought the commands they conveyed necessary,\nbut he could hardly have deemed them divine. In some cases he could\nscarcely fail to be aware that the object of the \u2018revelation\u2019 was his\nown comfort or pleasure or reputation, and not the _major Dei gloria_,\nnor the good of the people.\n\nThe truth would seem to be that in the latter part of his life\nMo\u1e25ammad was forced to enlarge the limits of his revelations as the\nsphere of his influence increased. From a private citizen of Mekka he\nhad become the Emeer, the chief of the Arabs, the ruler of a\nfactious, jealous, turbulent people; and the change must have had its\neffect upon his character. The man who from addressing a few devout\nfollowers in a tent in the desert finds himself the head of a nation\nof many tribes, king of a country twice the size of France, will find\nmany things difficult that before seemed easy. As a statesman Mo\u1e25ammad\nwas as great as he was as a preacher of righteousness; but as his\nfield of work enlarged, his mind had to accommodate itself to the\nneeds of commoner minds. He learnt to see the expedient where before\nhe knew only the right. His revelations now deal with the things of\nearth, when before they looked only towards the things of heaven; and\npetty social rules, \u2018general orders,\u2019 selfish permissions, are\npromulgated with the same authority and as from the same divine source\nas the command to worship one God alone. He governed the nation as a\nprophet and not as a king, and as a prophet his ordinances must be\nendorsed with the divine afflatus. He found he must regulate the\nmeanest details of the people\u2019s life, and he believed he could only do\nthis by using God\u2019s name for his decrees. He doubtless argued himself\ninto the belief that even these petty, and to us sometimes immoral,\nregulations, being for the good of the people, as he conceived the\ngood, were really God\u2019s ordinances; but even thus he had lowered the\nstandard of his teaching, and alloyed with base metal the pure gold of\nhis early ideal. It was a temptation that few men have withstood, but\nit was, nevertheless, a falling-off from the Mo\u1e25ammad we loved at\nMekka, the simple truth-loving bearer of good tidings to the Arabs.\n\nYet behind this engrafted character, formed by the difficulties of his\nposition, by the invincible jealousy and treachery of the tribes he\ngoverned, the old nature still lived, and ever and anon broke forth in\nfervid words of faith and hope in the cause and the promises that had\nbeen the light and support of his early years of trial. In the late\nchapters of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, among complicated directions for the Muslim\u2019s\nguidance in all the circumstances of life, we suddenly hear an echo of\nthe old fiery eloquence and the expression of the strong faith which\nnever deserted him.\n\nSurely the character of Mo\u1e25ammad has been misjudged. He was not the\nambitious schemer some would have him, still less the hypocrite and\nsham prophet others have imagined. He was an enthusiast in that\nnoblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one\nthing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is\noften used despitefully, because it is joined to an unworthy cause, or\nfalls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with\nMo\u1e25ammad. He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing\nneeded to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a\nnoble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the\nsupreme joy of making one great truth their very life-spring. He was\nthe messenger of the One God, and never to his life\u2019s end did he\nforget who he was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.\nHe brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity, sprung from\nthe consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet\nhumility, whose roots lay in the knowledge of his own weakness. Well\ndid Carlyle choose him for his prophet-hero! There have been purer\nlives and higher aspirations than Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s; but no man was ever more\nthoroughly filled with the sense of his mission or carried out that\nmission more heroically.\n\n\n\n\nIII.\u2014ISLAM.\n\n   \u2018Your turning your faces in prayer towards the east and the\n   west is not piety; but the pious is he who believeth in God\n   and the Last Day, and in the Angels, and the Scripture, and\n   who giveth money, notwithstanding his love thereof, to\n   relations and orphans, and to the needy and the son of the\n   road, and to the askers, and for the freeing of slaves, and\n   who performeth prayer and giveth the appointed alms; and those\n   who perform their covenant when they covenant, and the patient\n   in adversity and affliction and in the time of violence. These\n   are they who have been true: and these are they who fear\n   God.\u2019\u2014_\u1e32ur-\u00e1n_, ii. 172.\n\nWhen it was noised abroad that the Prophet was dead, \u00b4Omar, the\nfiery-hearted, the Simon Peter of Isl\u00e1m, rushed among the people, and\nfiercely told them they lied, it could not be true, Mo\u1e25ammad was not\ndead. And Aboo-Bekr came and said, \u2018Ye people! he that hath worshipped\nMo\u1e25ammad, let him know that Mo\u1e25ammad is dead; but he that hath\nworshipped God,\u2014that the Lord liveth, and doth not die.\u2019\n\nMany have sought to answer the questions\u2014Why was the triumph of Isl\u00e1m\nso speedy and so complete? Why have so many millions embraced the\nreligion of Mo\u1e25ammad, and scarcely a hundred ever recanted? Why do a\nthousand Christians become Muslims to one Muslim who adopts\nChristianity? Why do a hundred and fifty millions of human beings\nstill cling to the faith of Isl\u00e1m? Some have attempted to explain the\nfirst overwhelming success of the Mo\u1e25ammadan religion by the argument\nof the sword. They forget Carlyle\u2019s laconic reply, \u2018First get your\nsword.\u2019 You must win men\u2019s hearts before you can induce them to peril\ntheir lives for you, and the first conquerors of Isl\u00e1m must have been\nmade Muslims before they were made \u2018fighters on the path of God.\u2019\nOthers allege the low morality of the religion and the sensual\nparadise it promises as a sufficient cause for the zeal of its\nfollowers; but even were these admitted to the full, to say that such\nreasons could win the hearts of millions of men who have the same\nhopes and longings after the right and the noble as we, is to libel\nmankind. No religion has ever gained a lasting hold upon the souls of\nmen by the force of its sensual permissions and fleshly promises. It\nis urged, again, that Isl\u00e1m met no fair foe, that the worn-out forms\nof Christianity and Judaism it encountered were no test of its power\nas a quickening faith, and that it prevailed simply because there was\nnothing to prevent it; and this was undoubtedly a help to the progress\nof the new creed, but it could not have been the cause of its victory.\n\nIn all these reasons the religion itself is left out of the question.\nDecidedly Isl\u00e1m itself was the main cause of its triumph. By some\nstrange intuition Mo\u1e25ammad succeeded in finding the one form of\nMonotheism that has ever commended itself to any wide section of the\nEastern world. It was only a remnant of the Jews that learned to\nworship the one God of the prophets after the hard lessons of the\nCaptivity. Christianity has never gained a hold upon the East. Isl\u00e1m\nnot only was at once accepted (partly in earnest, partly in name, but\naccepted) by Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, Northern Africa, and\nSouthern Spain at its first outburst, but, with the exception of\nSpain, it has never lost its vantage-ground; it has seen no country\nthat has once embraced its doctrine turn to another faith; it has\nadded great multitudes in India and China and Turkestan to its\nsubjects; and in quite recent times it has been spreading in wide and\nswiftly\u2014following waves over Africa, and has left but a small part of\nthat vast continent unconverted to its creed. Admitting the mixed\ncauses that contributed to the rapidity of the first torrent of\nMo\u1e25ammadan conquest, they do not account for the duration of Isl\u00e1m.\nThere must be something in the religion itself to explain its\npersistence and increase, and to account for its present hold over so\nlarge a proportion of the dwellers on the earth.\n\nMen trained in European ideas of religion have always found a\ndifficulty in understanding the fascination which the Muslim faith has\nfor so many minds in the East. \u2018There is no god but God, and Mo\u1e25ammad\nis His Prophet.\u2019 There is nothing in this, they say, to move the\nheart. Yet this creed has stirred an enthusiasm that has never been\nsurpassed. Isl\u00e1m has had its martyrs, its self-tormentors, its\nrecluses, who have renounced all that life offered and have accepted\ndeath with a smile for the sake of the faith that was in them. It is\nidle to say the eternity of happiness will explain this. The truest\nmartyrs of Isl\u00e1m, as well as of Christianity, did not die to gain\nparadise. And if they did, the belief in the promises of the creed\nmust follow the hearty belief in the creed. Isl\u00e1m must have possessed\na power of seizing men\u2019s belief before it could have inspired them\nwith such a love of its paradise.\n\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s conception of God has, I think, been misunderstood, and its\neffect upon the people consequently under-estimated. The God of Isl\u00e1m\nis commonly represented as a pitiless tyrant, who plays with humanity\nas on a chessboard, and works out his game without regard to the\nsacrifice of the pieces; and there is a certain truth in the figure.\nThere is more in Isl\u00e1m of the potter who shapes the clay than of the\nfather pitying his children. Mo\u1e25ammad conceived of God as the Semitic\nmind has always preferred to think of Him: his God is the All-Mighty,\nthe All-Knowing, the All-Just. Irresistible Power is the first\nattribute he thinks of: the Lord of the Worlds, the Author of the\nHeavens and the Earth, who hath created Life and Death, in whose hand\nis Dominion, who maketh the Dawn to appear and causeth the Night to\ncover the Day, the Great, All-Powerful Lord of the glorious Throne;\nthe Thunder proclaimeth His perfection, the whole earth is His\nhandful, and the Heavens shall be folded together in His right hand.\nAnd with the Power He conceives the Knowledge that directs it to\nright ends. God is the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in\nreckoning, who knoweth every ant\u2019s weight of good and of ill that each\nman hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to\nperish.\n\n   \u2018God! There is no God but He, the Ever-Living, the\n   Ever-Subsisting. Slumber seizeth Him not nor sleep. To Him\n   belongeth whatsoever is in the Heavens and whatsoever is in\n   the Earth. Who is he that shall intercede with Him, save by\n   His permission? He knoweth the things that have gone before\n   and the things that follow after, and men shall not compass\n   aught of His knowledge, save what He willeth. His Throne\n   comprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth, and the care of them\n   burdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.\u2019\u2014_\u1e32ur-\u00e1n_,\n   ii. 256.\n\nBut with this Power there is also the gentleness that belongs only to\ngreat strength. God is the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer\nof the orphan, the Guider of the erring, the Deliverer from every\naffliction; in His hand is Good, and He is the Generous Lord, the\nGracious, the Hearer, the Near-at-Hand. Every soorah of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n\nbegins with the words, \u2018In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the\nMerciful,\u2019 and Mo\u1e25ammad was never tired of telling the people how God\nwas Very-Forgiving, that His love for man was more tender than the\nmother-bird for her young.\n\nIt is too often forgotten how much there is in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n of the\nloving-kindness of God, but it must be allowed that these are not the\nmain thoughts in Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s teaching. It is the doctrine of the Might\nof God that most held his imagination, and that has impressed itself\nmost strongly upon Muslims of all ages. The fear rather than the love\nof God is the spur of Isl\u00e1m. There can be no question which is the\nhigher incentive to good; but it is nearly certain that the love of\nGod is an idea absolutely foreign to most of the races that have\naccepted Isl\u00e1m, and to preach such a doctrine would have been to\nmistake the leaning of the Semitic mind.\n\nThe leading doctrine of Mo\u1e25ammad, then, is the belief in One\nAll-Powerful God. Isl\u00e1m is the self-surrender of every man to the will\nof God. Its danger lies in the stress laid on the power of God, which\nhas brought about the stifling effects of fatalism. Mo\u1e25ammad taught\nthe foreknowledge of God, but he did not lay down precisely the\ndoctrine of Predestination. He found it, as all have found it, a\nstumbling-block in the way of man\u2019s progress. It perplexed him, and he\nspoke of it, but often contradicted himself; and he would become angry\nif the subject were mooted in his presence: \u2018Sit not with a disputer\nabout fate,\u2019 he said, \u2018nor begin a conversation with him.\u2019 Mo\u1e25ammad\nvaguely recognised that little margin of Free Will which makes life\nnot wholly mechanical.\n\nThis doctrine of one Supreme God, to whose will it is the duty of\nevery man to surrender himself, is the kernel of Isl\u00e1m, the truth for\nwhich Mo\u1e25ammad lived and suffered and triumphed. But it was no new\nteaching, as he himself was constantly saying. His was only the last\nof revelations. Many prophets\u2014Abraham, Moses, and Christ\u2014had taught\nthe same faith before; but people had hearkened little to their words.\nSo Mo\u1e25ammad was sent, not different from them, only a messenger, yet\nthe last and greatest of them, the \u2018seal of prophecy,\u2019 the \u2018most\nexcellent of the creation of God.\u2019 This is the second dogma of Isl\u00e1m:\nMo\u1e25ammad is the apostle of God. It is well worthy of notice that it is\nnot said, \u2018Mo\u1e25ammad is the only apostle of God.\u2019 Isl\u00e1m is more\ntolerant in this matter than other religions. Its prophet is not the\nsole commissioner of the Most High, nor is his teaching the only true\nteaching the world has ever received. Many other messengers had been\nsent by God to guide men to the right, and these taught the same\nreligion that was in the mouth of the preacher of Isl\u00e1m. Hence Muslims\nreverence Moses and Christ only next to Mo\u1e25ammad. All they claim for\ntheir founder is that he was the last and best of the messengers of\nthe one God.[18]\n\nAfter the belief in God and his prophets and scriptures, the Muslim\nmust believe in angels, good and evil genii, in the resurrection and\nthe judgment, and in future rewards and punishments. What the teaching\nof the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is upon these points may be seen in the First Part of\nthe \u2018Selections.\u2019 They form a very common weapon of attack on the\nground of their superstition, their anthropomorphism, and their\nsensuality. Yet these minor beliefs have their place in all religions,\nand they are conceived in scarcely more absurdly realistic a manner in\nIsl\u00e1m than in any other creed. Every religion seems to need an\nimprobable, almost a ludicrous, side, in order to provide material for\nthe faith of the masses. Mo\u1e25ammad himself was what is called a\nsuperstitious man, and the improbable side thus found its way easily\ninto his creed. With all the fancies floating in Arabia in his time,\nit would have been strange if he had introduced nothing of the\nsuperstitious into Isl\u00e1m. The Jinn, the Afreets, and the other beings\nof the air and water, have not done much harm to the Mohammadan mind;\nand they have given so many a delightful fable to the West, that we\nmust feel a certain grateful respect for them. The realistic pictures\nof paradise and hell have exercised a more serious influence. The\nminute details of these infernal and celestial pictures must move\nalternately the disgust and the contemptuous amusement of a Western\nreader; yet these same things were very real facts to Mo\u1e25ammad, and\nhave been of the utmost importance to generation after generation of\nMuslims. In the present day there are cultured men who receive these\ndescriptions in the same allegorical sense as some Christians accept\nthe Revelation of S. John\u2014which, indeed, in some respects offers a\nclose parallel to the pictorial parts of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n; but the vast\nmajority of believers (like many Christians in the parallel case) take\nthe descriptions literally, and there can be no doubt that the belief\nfounded on such pictures, accepted literally, must work an ill effect\non the professors of the faith of which these doctrines form a minor,\nbut a too prominent, part; and it is the aim of rational Muslims to\nsweep away such cobwebs from their sky.\n\nIsl\u00e1m lies more in doing than in believing. That \u2018faith without works\nis dead\u2019 is a doctrine which every day\u2019s routine must bring home to\nthe mind of the devout Muslim. The practical duties of the Mohammadan\nreligion, beyond the actual profession of faith, are the performance\nof prayer, the giving of alms, the keeping of the fasts, and the\naccomplishing the pilgrimage. Mr. Lane has so minutely described the\nregular prayers used over all the Mohammadan East, that it is only\nnecessary here to refer to his account of them in the \u2018Modern\nEgyptians.\u2019 There it will be seen that they form no light part of the\nreligious duties of the Muslim, especially since they involve careful\npreparatory ablutions; for Mo\u1e25ammad impressed upon his followers the\nsalutary doctrine that cleanliness is an essential part of godliness,\nand the scrupulous cleanliness of the Mohammadan, which contrasts so\nfavourably with the unsavoury state of Easterns of other creeds, is an\nexcellent feature in the practical influence of Isl\u00e1m. The charge\nwhich missionaries and the like are fond of bringing against the\nMuslim prayers, that they are merely lifeless forms and vain\nrepetitions, is an exaggeration. There is a vast deal of repetition in\nthe Mohammadan ritual, just as the paternoster is repeated again and\nagain in the principal Christian liturgies; but iteration does not\nnecessarily kill devotion. There is plenty of real fervour in the\nprayers of the Mosque, and they are joined-in by the worshippers with\nan earnest attention which shames the listless sleepy bearing of most\ncongregations in England. It is true the greater part of the prayers\nare laid down in prescribed forms; but there is an interval set apart\nfor private supplication, and the original congregations in the\nmosques availed themselves of this permission more generally than is\nnow the case, when the old fervour has become comparatively cool; and\nMo\u1e25ammad frequently enjoins private prayer at home, and specially\npraises him who \u2018passeth his night worshipping God.\u2019\n\nAlmsgiving was originally compulsory, and the tax was collected by the\nofficers of the Khalif; but now the Muslim is merely expected to give\nvoluntarily about a fortieth part of his income in charity each year.\nThe great fast of Rama\u1e0d\u00e1n is too well known to need more than a\npassing mention here; but it is not so well known that Mo\u1e25ammad,\nascetic as he was himself in this as in many other matters, whilst he\nordained the month of fasting for the chastening of his able-bodied\nfollowers, was a determined enemy to useless mortification of the\nflesh, and boldly affirmed that God took no pleasure in a man\u2019s\nwantonly injuring himself; and so if one that was weakly and sick\ncould not keep the fast without bodily detriment he was to omit it.\nAnd the same wise leniency was shown by the Arab prophet in respect of\nprayer,\u2014which may be curtailed or omitted in certain cases,\u2014and with\nregard to the pilgrimage, which no one was to perform to his hurt.\nThis same pilgrimage is often urged as a sign of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s tendency\nto superstition and even idolatry. It is asked how the destroyer of\nidols could have reconciled his conscience to the circuits of the\nKa\u1ea1beh and the veneration of the black stone covered with adoring\nkisses. The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be defended\nagainst the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see why Mo\u1e25ammad\nenjoined them. They were hallowed to him by the memories of his\nancestors, who had been the guardians of the sacred temple, and by the\ntraditional reverence of all his people; and besides this tie of\nassociation, which in itself was enough to make it impossible for him\nto do away with the rites, Mo\u1e25ammad perceived that the worship in the\nKa\u1ea1beh would prove of real value to his religion. He swept away the\nmore idolatrous and immoral part of the ceremonies, but he retained\nthe pilgrimage to Mekka and the old veneration of the temple for\nreasons of which it is impossible to dispute the wisdom. He well knew\nthe consolidating effect of forming a centre to which his followers\nshould gather; and hence he reasserted the sanctity of the black stone\nthat \u2018came down from Heaven;\u2019 he ordained that everywhere throughout\nthe world the Muslim should pray looking towards the Ka\u1ea1beh, and he\nenjoined him to make the pilgrimage thither. Mekka is to the Muslim\nwhat Jerusalem is to the Jew. It bears with it all the influence of\ncenturies of associations. It carries the Muslim back to the cradle of\nhis faith, the childhood of his prophet; it reminds him of the\nstruggle between the old faith and the new, of the overthrow of the\nidols, and the establishment of the worship of the One God. And, most\nof all, it bids him remember that all his brother Muslims are\nworshipping towards the same sacred spot; that he is one of a great\ncompany of believers, united by one faith, filled with the same hopes,\nreverencing the same things, worshipping the same God. Mo\u1e25ammad showed\nhis knowledge of the religious emotions in man when he preserved the\nsanctity of the temple of Isl\u00e1m.\n\nIt would take too much space to look closely into the lesser duties of\nIsl\u00e1m, many of which suggest exceedingly wholesome lessons to Western\ncivilisation. But we must not pass over one of these minor duties, for\nit reflects the highest credit upon the founder and the professors of\nMohammadanism\u2014I mean the humane treatment of animals.\n\n\u2018There is no religion which has taken a higher view in its\nauthoritative documents of animal life, and none wherein the precept\nhas been so much honoured by its practical observance. \u2018There is no\nbeast on earth,\u2019 says the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, \u2018nor bird which flieth with its\nwings, but the same is a people like unto you\u2014unto the Lord shall they\nreturn;\u2019 and it is the current belief that animals will share with men\nthe general resurrection, and be judged according to their works. At\nthe slaughter of an animal, the Prophet ordered that the name of God\nshould always be named; but the words, \u2018the Compassionate, the\nMerciful,\u2019 were to be omitted; for, on the one hand, such an\nexpression seemed a mockery to the sufferer, and, on the other, he\ncould not bring himself to believe that the destruction of any life,\nhowever necessary, could be altogether pleasing to the All-Merciful.\n\u2018In the name of God,\u2019 says a pious Musalman before he strikes the\nfatal blow; \u2018God is most great; God give thee patience to endure the\naffliction which He hath allotted thee!\u2019 In the East there has been no\nmoralist like Bentham to insist in noble words on the extension of the\nsphere of morality to all sentient beings, and to be ridiculed for it\nby people who call themselves religious; there has been no naturalist\nlike Darwin, to demonstrate by his marvellous powers of observation\nhow large a part of the mental and moral faculties which we usually\nclaim for ourselves alone we share with other beings; there has been\nno Oriental \u2018Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.\u2019 But\none reason of this is not far to seek. What the legislation of the\nlast few years has at length attempted to do, and, from the mere fact\nthat it is legislation, must do ineffectually, has been long effected\nin the East by the moral and religious sentiment which, like almost\neverything that is good in that part of the world, can be traced back,\nin part at least, to the great Prophet of Arabia. In the East, so far\nas it has not been hardened by the West, there is a real sympathy\nbetween man and the domestic animals; they understand one another; and\nthe cruelties which the most humane of our countrymen unconsciously\neffect in the habitual use, for instance, of the muzzle or the\nbearing-rein on the most docile, the most patient, the most faithful,\nand the most intelligent of their companions, are impossible in the\nEast. An Arab _cannot_ ill-treat his horse; and Mr. Lane bears\nemphatic testimony to the fact that in his long residence in Egypt he\nnever saw an ass or a dog (though the latter is there looked upon as\nan unclean animal) treated with cruelty, except in those cities which\nwere overrun by Europeans.\u2019[19]\n\nThere are some very beautiful traditions of the Prophet, showing the\ntenderness with which he always treated animals and which he ever\nenjoined on his people. A man once came to him with a carpet and said,\n\u2018O Prophet, I passed through a wood and heard the voices of the young\nof birds, and I took and put them into my carpet, and their mother\ncame fluttering round my head.\u2019 And the Prophet said, \u2018Put them down;\u2019\nand when he had put them down the mother joined the young. And the\nProphet said, \u2018Do you wonder at the affection of the mother towards\nher young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily God is more loving\nto his servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to\nthe place from which ye took them, and let their mother be with them.\u2019\n\u2018Fear God with regard to animals,\u2019 said Mo\u1e25ammad; \u2018ride them when they\nare fit to be ridden, and get off when they are tired. Verily there\nare rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water\nto drink.\u2019\n\n\nSuch, in brief outline, is the religion of Mo\u1e25ammad. It is a form of\npure theism, simpler and more austere than the theism of most forms of\nmodern Christianity, lofty in its conception of the relation of man to\nGod, and noble in its doctrine of the duty of man to man, and of man\nto the lower creation. There is little in it of superstition, less of\ncomplexity of dogmas; it is an exacting religion, without the\nrepulsiveness of asceticism; severe, but not merciless. On the other\nhand, it is over-rigid and formal; it leaves too little to the\nbeliever and too much to his ritual; it places a prophet and a book\nbetween man and God, and practically discourages the desire for a\ndirect relation between the Deity and his servant; it draws the\npicture of that God in too harsh outlines, and leaves out too much of\nthe tenderness and loving-kindness of the God of Christ\u2019s teaching,\nand hence it has been the source of more intolerance and fanatical\nhatred than most creeds.\n\nThis religion is Isl\u00e1m as understood and taught by its Prophet, so far\nas we can gather it from the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, aided by those traditions which\nseem to have the stamp of authenticity. It need hardly be said that it\nis not identical with the Isl\u00e1m with which the philosophers of Baghd\u00e1d\namused themselves, nor with the fantastic creed which the F\u00e1\u1e6dimee\nKhalifs of Egypt represented, and brought in the person of El-\u1e24\u00e1kim to\nits limit of extravagance; nor is it the Isl\u00e1m with which as much as\nwith their ferocity the Karma\u1e6dees aroused the fear and abhorrence of\nall good Muslims. Neither the Soofism of Persia nor the dervish\nsensation-religion of Turkey conform to this ancient Isl\u00e1m, to which\nperhaps a modification of the Wa\u1e25\u1e25\u00e1bee puritanism would be the\nnearest approach. The original faith of Mo\u1e25ammad has not gained by its\ndevelopment in foreign lands and alien minds, and perhaps the best we\ncan hope for modern Isl\u00e1m is that it may try the experiment of\nretrogression, or rather seek to regain the simplicity of the old form\nwithout losing the advantages (if there be any) which it has acquired\nfrom contact with Western civilisation.\n\n\nIsl\u00e1m is unfortunately a social system as well as a religion; and\nherein lies the great difficulty of fairly estimating its good and its\nbad influence on the world. It is but in the nature of things that the\nteacher who lays down the law of the relation of man to God should\nalso endeavour to appoint the proper relation between man and his\nneighbour. Christianity was undoubtedly a social even more than a\nreligious reform, but the social regulations were too indefinite, or\nat all events too impracticable, for any wide acceptance among the\nprofessors of the religion. Isl\u00e1m was less fortunate. Mo\u1e25ammad not\nonly promulgated a religion; he laid down a complete social system,\ncontaining minute regulations for a man\u2019s conduct in all circumstances\nof life, with due rewards or penalties according to his fulfilment of\nthese rules. As a religion Isl\u00e1m is great: it has taught men to\nworship one God with a pure worship who formerly worshipped many gods\nimpurely. As a social system Isl\u00e1m is a complete failure: it has\nmisunderstood the relations of the sexes, upon which the whole\ncharacter of a nation\u2019s life hangs, and, by degrading women, has\ndegraded each successive generation of their children down an\nincreasing scale of infamy and corruption, until it seems almost\nimpossible to reach a lower level of vice.\n\nThe fatal spot in Isl\u00e1m is the degradation of women. The true test of\na nation\u2019s place in the ranks of civilisation is the position of its\nwomen. When they are held in reverence, when it is considered the most\ninfamous of crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest\ndistinction to protect her from wrong; when the family life is real\nand strong, of which the mother-wife is the heart; when each man\u2019s\npulse beats loyal to womanhood, then is a nation great. When women are\ntreated as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if they have\nbeauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour; when sex is considered the\nchief thing in a woman, and heart and mind are forgotten; when a man\nbuys women for his pleasure and dismisses them when his appetite is\nglutted, then is a nation despicable.\n\nAnd so is it in the East. Yet it would be hard to lay the blame\naltogether on Mo\u1e25ammad. The real roots of the degradation of women lie\nmuch deeper. When Isl\u00e1m was instituted, polygamy was almost\nnecessitated by the number of women and their need of support; and the\nfacility of divorce was quite necessitated by the separation of the\nsexes, and the consequence that a man could not know or even see the\nwoman he was about to marry before the marriage ceremony was\naccomplished. It is not Mo\u1e25ammad whom we must blame for these great\nevils, polygamy and divorce; it is the state of society which demanded\nthe separation of the sexes, and in which it was not safe to allow men\nand women freely to associate; in other words, it was the sensual\nconstitution of the Arab that lay at the root of the matter. Mo\u1e25ammad\nmight have done better. He might boldly have swept away the traditions\nof Arab society, unveiled the women, intermingled the sexes, and\npunished by the most severe measures any license which such\nassociation might at first encourage. With his boundless influence, it\nis possible that he might have done this, and, the new system once\nfairly settled, and the people accustomed to it, the good effects of\nthe change would have begun to show themselves. But such an idea could\nnever have occurred to him. We must always remember that we are\ndealing with a social system of the seventh century, not of the\nnineteenth. Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s ideas about women were like those of the rest\nof his contemporaries. He looked upon them as charming snares to the\nbeliever, ornamental articles of furniture difficult to keep in order,\npretty playthings; but that a woman should be the counsellor and\ncompanion of a man does not seem to have occurred to him. It is to be\nwondered that the feeling of respect he always entertained for his\nfirst wife, Khadeejeh, (which, however, is partly accounted for by the\nfact that she was old enough to have been his mother,) found no\ncounterpart in his general opinion of womankind: \u2018Woman was made from\na crooked rib, and if you try to bend it straight, it will break;\ntherefore treat your wives kindly.\u2019 Mo\u1e25ammad was not the man to make a\nsocial reform affecting women, nor was Arabia the country in which\nsuch a change should be made, nor Arab ladies perhaps the best\nsubjects for the experiment. Still he did something towards bettering\nthe condition of women: he limited the number of wives to four; laid\nhis hand with the utmost severity on the incestuous marriages that\nwere then rife in Arabia; compelled husbands to support their divorced\nwives during their four months of probation; made irrevocable divorce\nless common by adding the rough, but deterring, condition that a woman\ntriply divorced could not return to her husband without first being\nmarried to some one else\u2014a condition exceedingly disagreeable to the\nfirst husband; and required four witnesses to prove a charge of\nadultery against a wife\u2014a merciful provision, difficult to be\nfulfilled. The evil permitted by Mo\u1e25ammad in leaving the number of\nwives four instead of insisting on monogamy was not great. Without\nconsidering the sacrifice of family peace which the possession of a\nlarge harem entails, the expense of keeping several wives, each of\nwhom must have a separate suite of apartments or a separate house, is\nso great that not more than one in twenty can afford it. It is not so\nmuch in the matter of wives as in that of concubines that Mo\u1e25ammad\nmade an irretrievable mistake. The condition of the female slave in\nthe East is indeed deplorable. She is at the entire mercy of her\nmaster, who can do what he pleases with her and her companions; for\nthe Muslim is not restricted in the number of his concubines, as he is\nin that of his wives. The female white slave is kept solely for the\nmaster\u2019s sensual gratification, and is sold when he is tired of her,\nand so she passes from master to master, a very wreck of womanhood.\nHer condition is a little improved if she bear a son to her tyrant;\nbut even then he is at liberty to refuse to acknowledge the child as\nhis own, though it must be owned he seldom does this. Kind as the\nProphet was himself towards bondswomen, one cannot forget the\nunutterable brutalities which he suffered his followers to inflict\nupon conquered nations in the taking of slaves. The Muslim soldier was\nallowed to do as he pleased with any \u2018infidel\u2019 woman he might meet\nwith on his victorious march. When one thinks of the thousands of\nwomen, mothers and daughters, who must have suffered untold shame and\ndishonour by this license, he cannot find words to express his horror.\nAnd this cruel indulgence has left its mark on the Muslim character,\nnay, on the whole character of Eastern life. Now, as at the first,\nyoung Christian girls are dragged away from their homes and given over\nto the unhallowed lusts of a Turkish voluptuary; and not only to\nTurks, but to Englishmen; for the contagion has spread, and\nEnglishmen, even those who by their sacred order should know better,\ninstead of uttering their protest, as men of honour and Christians,\nagainst the degradation, have followed the example of the Turk, and\nhelped in the ruin of women. Concubinage is the black stain in Isl\u00e1m.\nWith Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s views of women, we could hardly expect him to do\nbetter; but, on the other hand, he could scarcely have done worse.\nThere are, however, one or two alleviating circumstances. One is the\nfact that the canker has not eaten into the whole of Eastern society;\nit is chiefly among the rich that the evil effects of the system are\nfelt. And another fact which shows that the Mohammadan system, bad as\nit is, is free from a defect which social systems better in other\nrespects than Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s are subject to is the extreme rarity of\nprostitution in Muslim towns. The courtesan forms a very small item in\nthe census of a Mohammadan city, and is retained more for strangers\nfrom Europe than for the Muslim inhabitants. Instances are frequently\noccurring in the Indian law courts which show the strong feeling that\nexists on the subject among the Mohammadans of India. They consider it\nquite inconceivable that a Muslim should have illicit intercourse with\na free Muslimeh woman, and this inconceivableness of the action is\nurged as evidence in trials of the legitimacy of children. But whilst\nadmitting the importance of this remarkable feature in Isl\u00e1m, it must\nnot be forgotten that the liberty allowed by their law to Muslims in\nthe matter of concubines does not very materially differ from\nprostitution, and whilst the latter is directly forbidden by the\ndominant religion of Europe, concubinage is as directly permitted by\nIsl\u00e1m.\n\nOne would think that long intercourse with Europeans might have\nsomewhat raised the estimation of women in the East; but either\nbecause travellers in the East are not always the best specimens of\nWestern morality, or because the Eastern mind has an unequalled\naptitude for assimilating the bad and rejecting the good in any system\nit meets, it is certain that women are no better off now than they\nwere in the East. A well-known correspondent of a leading daily print\nwrites thus of Turkish home life:\u2014\n\n   \u2018It is obvious that the home life of any people will depend\n   almost entirely on the position which is assigned to women. It\n   is not necessary to inquire what this position is according to\n   the teaching of the sacred books of a race. Between\n   Christianity and Isl\u00e1m it is enough to notice that there is\n   apparently no country where the first is the prevailing\n   religion in which woman is hindered by religion from obtaining\n   a position almost, if not quite, on an equality with man, and\n   similarly, no country where the second prevails where woman is\n   not in a degraded position.... Under Christianity she is\n   everywhere free. Under Isl\u00e1m she is everywhere a slave. The\n   pious Mohammadan, like the pious Jew, thanks God that he has\n   not been made a woman. The pious Mohammadan woman, like the\n   pious Jewess, thanks God that she has been made according to\n   the Creator\u2019s will. Man and woman alike recognise that to be a\n   woman is to be in an inferior condition. This feeling of the\n   degradation of woman so pervades Turkey that the poorer\n   classes of Christians have even become infected by it. When a\n   son is born there is nothing but congratulations. When a\n   daughter, nothing but condolences. A polite Turk, if he has\n   occasion to mention his wife, will do so with an apology....\n   He regards it as a piece of rudeness to mention the fact to\n   you, and it would be equally rude for him to inquire after\n   your wife, or to hint that he knew you were guilty of anything\n   so unmentionable as to have one. Charles the Twelfth told his\n   queen that she had been chosen to give children, and not\n   advice. The Turk regards woman as destined solely for the same\n   purpose and for his pleasure. Probably polygamy is of itself\n   sufficient to account for the way in which Mohammadans regard\n   woman. But whether this is so or not, there is one influence\n   which polygamy asserts which accounts for the low ideal of\n   woman prevalent in all Muslim countries. When a man has a\n   number of wives it is impossible that they can all become his\n   companions and his confidantes, or that one of them can become\n   his companion or confidante to the same extent as if the man\n   had only one wife. Hence a man who is limited to one will not\n   be contented with beauty alone. He must have a certain amount\n   of intelligence and education. The Turk, on the other hand,\n   has no reason whatever to think of anything except beauty. As\n   he never means to see much of his wife, intelligence or\n   education is a matter of small account. If he can afford it he\n   will have a Circassian wife, a woman who has been reared with\n   the intention of being sold, who has not an idea in her head,\n   who has seen nothing, and knows nothing. Such a woman would be\n   as objectionable as a wife to the great majority of Europeans\n   as a South Sea Island beauty. But she satisfies the ideal of\n   the Turk. She is beautiful, and beauty is all that he\n   requires.\u2019\n\nIt is this sensual and degraded view of woman that destroys to so\ngreat an extent the good influence which the better part of the\nteaching of Isl\u00e1m might exert in the East. So long as women are held\nin so light an esteem, they will remain ignorant, and bigoted, and\nsensual; and so long as mothers are what most Muslim mothers are now,\ntheir children will be ignorant and fanatical and vicious. In Turkey\nthere are other influences at work besides the Mohammadan social\nsystem; but Turkish women may serve as an instance of the state of\nthings which that system encourages. \u2018In those early years spent at\nhome, when the child ought to have instilled into him some germ of\nthose principles of conduct by which men must walk in the world if\nthey are to hold up their heads among civilised nations, the Turkish\nchild is only taught the first steps towards those vicious habits of\nmind and body which have made his race what it is. The root of the\nevil is partly found in the harem system. So long as that system keeps\nTurkish women in their present depressed state, so long will Turkish\nboys and girls be vicious and ignorant.\u2019 As I have said elsewhere,[20]\n\u2018It is quite certain that there is no hope for the Turks so long as\nTurkish women remain what they are, and home-training is the\ninitiation of vice.\u2019 If the mother is ignorant and vicious, the son\ncannot form a high ideal of womanhood, and thus is barred off from the\nchivalrous spirit wherewith alone a man may reach to the highest\nlove:\u2014that\n\n           \u2018Subtle master under heaven,\n   Not only to keep down the base in man,\n   But teach high thought, and amiable words,\n   And courtliness, and the desire of fame,\n   And love of truth, and all that makes a man.\u2019\n\nThe Muslin has no ideal of chivalry like this to make his life pure\nand honourable: his religion encourages an opposite view, and the\nwomen among whom he is brought up only confirm it.\n\nIf Isl\u00e1m is to be a power for good in the future, it is imperatively\nnecessary to cut off the social system from the religion. At the\nbeginning, among a people who had advanced but a little way on the\nroad of civilisation, the defects of the social system were not so\napparent; but now, when Easterns are endeavouring to mix on equal\nterms with Europeans, and are trying to adopt the manners and customs\nof the West, it is clear that the condition of their women must be\nradically changed if any good is to come of the Europeanising\ntendency. The difficulty lies in the close connection between the\nreligious and social ordinances in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n: the two are so\nintermingled that it is hard to see how they can be disentangled\nwithout destroying both. The theory of revelation would have to be\nmodified. Muslims would have to give up their doctrine of the syllabic\ninspiration of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n and exercise their moral sense in\ndistinguishing between the particular and the general, the temporary\nand the permanent: they would have to recognise that there was much in\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s teaching which, though useful at the time, is inapplicable\nto the present conditions of life; that his knowledge was often\npartial, and his judgment sometimes at fault; that the moral sense is\ncapable of education as much as the intellect, and, therefore, that\nwhat was apparently moral and wise in the seventh century may quite\npossibly be immoral and suicidal in a society of the nineteenth\ncentury. Mo\u1e25ammad himself said, according to tradition, \u2018I am no more\nthan a man: when I order you anything respecting religion, receive it;\nand when I order you about the affairs of the world, then I am nothing\nmore than man.\u2019 And he seemed to foresee that the time would come when\nhis minor regulations would call for revision: \u2018Ye are in an age,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018in which, if ye abandon one-tenth of what is ordered, ye will\nbe ruined. After this, a time will come when he who shall observe\none-tenth of what is now ordered will be redeemed.\u2019[21]\n\nIf Muslims would take these warnings of their prophet to heart, there\nwould be some hope for Isl\u00e1m. Some few of the higher intellects among\nthem have already admitted the principle of moral criticism applied to\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n; but it is very doubtful whether \u2018rational Isl\u00e1m\u2019 will ever\ngain a wide following, any more than \u2018rational Christianity.\u2019 People\nin general do not care to think for themselves in matters religious.\nThey like their creed served up to them as cooked meat, not raw flesh.\nThey must have definite texts and hard-and-fast commandments to appeal\nto. They will not believe in the spirit, but prefer the letter. They\nwill have nothing to say to tendencies, but must have facts. It is of\nno avail to speak to them of the spirit of a life or of a whole book;\nthey must hang their doctrine on a solitary sentence. They will either\nbelieve every letter of their scripture, or they will believe nothing.\n\nSuch people make up the majority of the professors of Isl\u00e1m; and with\nthem no reform, within Isl\u00e1m, seems possible. Among the upper (I will\nnot call them the higher) classes, they are either fanatics or\nconcealed infidels; and their lives are a proof of the\nincompatibility of ordinary Mohammadanism, real or nominal, with a\nhigh social and national life. Among the poorer classes, the social\nsystem has a more restricted field of operation, for the poor are\nnaturally less able to avail themselves of the permissions of their\nProphet. In a poor community Isl\u00e1m exerts an eminently salutary\ninfluence, as the condition of the Mohammadan converts in Western\nAfrica conclusively proves. An able observer,[22] whose African birth\nand training qualify him in a high degree for properly understanding\nthe true state of his countrymen, whilst his Christian profession\nserves as a guarantee against excessive prejudice in favour of Isl\u00e1m,\nhas recorded his experience of the work of Mohammadan missionaries in\nLiberia and the neighbouring parts of Africa. \u2018All careful and candid\nobservers,\u2019 he remarks, \u2018agree that the influence of Isl\u00e1m in Central\nand West Africa has been, upon the whole, of a most salutary\ncharacter.... As an eliminatory and subversive agency it has displaced\nor unsettled nothing as good as itself.\u2019 It has inculcated habits of\nmoderation and soberness over the whole of the vast region covered by\nits emissaries; and so great is the influence of its teaching, that\nwhere there are Muslim inhabitants, even in pagan towns, it is a very\nrare thing to see a person intoxicated. The Mohammadan converts drink\nnothing but water. \u2018From Senegal to Lagos, over two thousand miles,\nthere is scarcely an important town on the seaboard where there is not\nat least one mosque and active representatives of Isl\u00e1m, side by side\nwith the Christian teacher. And as soon as a pagan, however obscure or\ndegraded, embraces the Muslim faith, he is at once admitted as an\nequal to the society.... The pagan village possessing a Muslim teacher\nis always found to be in advance of its neighbours in all the elements\nof civilisation.... The introduction of Isl\u00e1m into Central and West\nAfrica has been the most important, if not the sole, preservative\nagainst the desolations of the slave trade. Mohammadanism furnished a\nprotection to the tribes who embraced it, by effectually binding them\ntogether in one strong religious fraternity, and enabling them by\ntheir united efforts to baffle the attempts of powerful slave-hunters.\nEnjoying this comparative immunity from sudden hostile incursion,\nindustry was stimulated among them; industry diminished their poverty;\nand as they increased in worldly substance, they also increased in\ndesire for knowledge. Receiving a desire of letters by a study of the\nArabic language, they acquired loftier views, wider tastes, and those\nenergetic habits which so pleasingly distinguish them from their pagan\nneighbours.\u2019 Students often travel on foot from the west coast right\nacross Africa to study at the great mosque of the Azhar in Cairo. It\nmust be remembered that these results were observed in the very centre\nof African Christianity, in Sierra Leone and other coast settlements.\nIt is said that in Sierra Leone three-fourths of the Muslim population\nwere not born Muslims, but were converted from Christianity or\npaganism; and this, although \u2018all liberated Africans are always handed\nover to Christian missionaries for instruction, and their children are\nbaptized and brought up at the public expense in Christian schools,\nand are thus, in a sense, ready-made Christians.\u2019\n\nThese facts show that, even in the present day, and with the\ncompetition of Christian missionary societies, Isl\u00e1m may be a power\nfor good in poor communities\u2014that it can not only give them a pure\ninstead of a degraded faith, but can raise them socially and\nintellectually. The effects of a simple form of Isl\u00e1m on these African\nconverts may give one some notion of its influence on its hearers in\nthe early days, before the theologians had corrupted it.\n\nBut this good influence is very partial and limited, even among the\npoorer classes. In communities where all are poor, Isl\u00e1m is an\nexcellent agent for improvement; but in countries where there are\nmany grades of wealth and rank, the poor only ape in a humble manner\nthe vices of those whom they are taught to regard as their \u2018betters.\u2019\nIn all civilised and wealthy countries the social system of Isl\u00e1m\nexerts a ruinous influence on all classes, and if there is to be any\ngreat future for the Mohammadan world, that system of society must be\ndone away.\n\n   THE WOMAN\u2019S CAUSE IS MAN\u2019S; THEY RISE OR SINK\n   TOGETHER, DWARFED OR GODLIKE, BOND OR FREE.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\u2014_THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N._\n\n   The Muslim who reads the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is like the orange-fruit,\n   whose smell and taste are sweet; and the Muslim who reads not\n   the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is like the date, which hath no smell, but its\n   taste is sweet; and the Hypocrite who reads not the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is\n   like the colocynth, without a smell, and with a bitter taste;\n   and the Hypocrite who reads it is like the sweet bazil, whose\n   smell is sweet, but its taste bitter.\u2014_Tradition._\n\n\nIt is an immense merit in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n that there is no doubt as to its\ngenuineness. The \u2018Word of the Lord\u2019 came to Mo\u1e25ammad, and he uttered\nit, and the people wrote it down or committed it to memory; and that\nvery word we can now read with full confidence that it has remained\nunchanged through nearly thirteen hundred years.\n\nThe revelations came to Mo\u1e25ammad in many ways and at all times, but\nnever \u2018in visions bright, transcendant, exalted. They came ghastly,\nweird, most horrible. After long solitary broodings, a something used\nto move Mo\u1e25ammad, all of a sudden, with frightful vehemence. He\n\u201croared like a camel,\u201d his eyes rolled and glowed like red coals, and\non the coldest day terrible perspirations would break out all over his\nbody. When the terror ceased, it seemed to him as if he had heard\nbells ringing, \u201cthe sound whereof seemed to rend him to pieces\u201d\u2014as if\nhe had heard the voice of a man\u2014as if he had seen Gabriel\u2014or as if\nwords _had been written in his heart_. Such was the agony he endured,\nthat some of the verses revealed to him well-nigh made his hair turn\nwhite.\u2019\n\nNo collection of these revelations was made during Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\nlifetime; at his death, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n existed only as scattered\nchaotically among the believers. But about a year later, the death in\nbattle of some of the men who had specially committed passages of the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n to memory, and the dread that the whole of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s teaching\nmight vanish at the end of a generation or two, induced Aboo-Bekr to\nmake the innovation from which every one shrank, and he gave orders to\nthe Prophet\u2019s secretary, Zeyd ibn Th\u00e1bit, to collect the fragments of\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n in one book. So Zeyd gathered the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n from palm-leaves,\nskins, shoulder-blades, stones, and the hearts of men, arranged the\nchapters in a certain order, and presented Aboo-Bekr with a \u1e32ur-\u00e1n\nwhich probably differed in no essential particular from the book we\nhave now. All scholars are agreed that Zeyd did his work faithfully,\nand neither inserted nor omitted anything from party motives. But he\nseems to have occasionally mixed up fragments of very different date\nin one chapter\u2014Mo\u1e25ammad himself countenanced this\u2014and may possibly\nhave omitted some portions that were not found till afterwards.\n\nSome twenty years later a second recension was ordered by the Khalif\n\u00b4Othm\u00e1n. Slight varieties of reading, mainly dialectal, had arisen;\nswords were near being drawn over them; and it was evident that a\nserious schism would come about if a uniform authorised text of the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n were not provided. These slight dialectal differences were not\nsufficiently settled, it would seem, in Aboo-Bekr\u2019s edition, so this\nnew recension was made by Zeyd and three men of the \u1e32ureysh, for they\nwould best know the original dialect of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n. The new edition\nfollowed the first one, apparently, both in order and in matter;\ndefinitely fixing, however, the true text in the dialect of the\n\u1e32ureysh, and possibly adding any verses that might have been\ndiscovered since Zeyd\u2019s first edition. This second recension was\nconducted with the same careful fidelity and scrupulous impartiality\nas the first; and it was accepted by all the different parties that\nwere then disputing the supremacy. Copies of this edition were then\ndistributed to the principal cities of the empire, and the old copies\nand fragments were called-in and burned.\n\nThis edition of \u00b4Othm\u00e1n, made about A.D. 660, is the one that has ever\nsince been the authorised and only version of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n throughout\nthe Muslim world and in the studies of European linguists. The only\ndifferences that have since crept into the text are certain\nunimportant varieties in vocalisation and orthography and in the\ndivision of verses.\n\nIt was a singular system these early revisers went upon. They seem,\nindeed, to have established the authenticity of each saying\nsatisfactorily; but in the arrangement of them they showed an\nextraordinary dulness. The tradition of the year when each revelation\nwas spoken appears to have been lost even in the short time that had\nelapsed since it had been spoken. People remembered the words, but\nseldom the occasion of the words. Hence the revisers had to devise an\nartificial order; not according to subject, nor after the development\nof the style, but simply in order of length! They put the longest\nchapters first and the shortest last; that is to say, they inverted,\nroughly speaking, the true order, for the early soorahs were short and\nthe later ones long.\n\nRead in this order, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is an unintelligible jumble. Carlyle\nmay well say that \u2018nothing but a sense of duty could carry any\nEuropean through the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\u2019 You can trace no development of mind or\ndoctrine in the present arrangement; it is indeed a confused mass of\n\u2018endless iterations, long-windedness, entanglement, most crude,\nincondite.\u2019 But scholars have long discovered certain signs of a true\norder\u2014several kinds of evidence by which a chronological arrangement\nof the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n may be attempted. These are\u2014(1.) The _references to\nhistorical events_ in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, as identified by tradition. These,\nhowever, are but few, and occur chiefly in quite the latest soorahs;\nand tradition is apt to identify any reference with any event it\nchooses. A much more important test is (2.) the _style_; for a\ndistinct development can be traced in the rime, in the length of\nverses, and in the words employed. And then there is (3.) the\n_matter_ test, based on what we know of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s life, from which we\ncan argue a certain change in his preaching at Mekka, and still more\nwhen, from addressing idolaters in his birthplace, he came to preach\nto Jews and Christians at Medina. The danger of this last test is that\neach man forms his own theory of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s mental and religious\ngrowth, and may arrange the soorahs in accordance with that theory.\nEven with these three tests, used by the most accomplished critics, it\nis impossible to arrive at an exact order, and to determine the\nprecise chronological position of each soorah. But whilst it is\nadmitted that an exact chronological arrangement of each individual\nchapter of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is impossible, it is yet no less certain that\nthe soorahs may be roughly grouped together, and that these groups can\nbe definitely assigned to certain periods of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s career.\n\nProfessor Th. N\u00f6ldeke\u2019s _Geschichte des Qor\u00e2ns_ has established his\nright to the first place in this science of \u1e32ur-\u00e1n arrangement, and\nhis order of soorahs may fairly be accepted as authoritative. Of this\norder Mr. Rodwell\u2019s English version of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is an example,\nexcept that a few of the earliest soorahs are transposed. N\u00f6ldeke has\ntwo great divisions of the soorahs: those revealed at Mekka, and those\nrevealed during the Medina period. Further, he divides the Mekkan\ndivision into three groups.[23]\n\n\n         {   I. A.D. 612-617 (Rodwell, pp. 1-64)\u2014To the Abyssinian\n         {         exile (fifth year).\n         {\n         {  II. A.D. 617-619 (Rodwell, pp. 64-192)\u2014Fifth and sixth\n   Mekka {         years of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s mission.\n         {\n         { III. A.D. 619-622 (Rodwell, pp. 193-366)\u2014From the\n         {         seventh year to the Flight.\n\n   Medina       A.D. 622-633 (Rodwell, pp. 366-555)\u2014At Medina.\n\n\nRead in this order the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n becomes intelligible. It is still\nconfused in its progression and strangely mixed in its contents; but\nthe development of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s faith can be traced in it, and we can\nsee dimly into the workings of his mind, as it struggles with the deep\nthings of God, wrestles with the doubts which echoed the cavils of the\nunbelievers, soars upwards on the wings of ecstatic faith, till at\nlast it gains the repose of fruition. Studied thus, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is no\nlonger dull reading to one who cares to look upon the working of a\npassionate troubled human soul, and who can enter into its trials and\nshare in the joy of its triumphs.\n\nIn the soorahs revealed at Mekka, Mo\u1e25ammad has but one theme\u2014God; and\none object\u2014to draw his people away from their idols and bring them to\nthe feet of that God. He tells them of Him in glowing language, that\ncomes from the heart\u2019s white heat. He points to the glories of nature,\nand tells them these are God\u2019s works. With all the brilliant imagery\nof the Arab, he tries to show them what God is, to convince them of\nHis power and His wisdom and His justice. The soorahs of this period\nare short, for they are pitched in too high a key to be long\nsustained. The language has the ring of poetry, though no part of the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n complies with the demands of Arab metre. The sentences are\nshort and full of half-restrained energy, yet with a musical cadence.\nThe thought is often only half expressed; one feels the speaker has\nessayed a thing beyond words, and has suddenly discovered the\nimpotence of language, and broken off with the sentence unfinished.\nThere is the fascination of true poetry about these earliest soorahs;\nas we read them we understand the enthusiasm of the Prophet\u2019s\nfollowers, though we cannot fully realise the beauty and the power,\ninasmuch as we cannot hear them hurled forth with Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s fiery\neloquence. From first to last the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is essentially a book to be\nheard, not read, but this is especially the case with the earliest\nchapters.\n\nIn the soorahs of the second period of Mekka we begin to trace the\ndecline of the Prophet\u2019s eloquence. There are still the same earnest\nappeals to the people, the same gorgeous pictures of the Last Day and\nthe world to come; but the language begins to approach the quiet of\nprose, the sentences become longer, the same words and phrases are\nfrequently repeated, and the wearisome stories of the Jewish prophets\nand patriarchs, which fill so large a place in the later portion of\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, now make their appearance. The fierce passion of the\nearliest soorahs, that could not out save in short burning verses,\ngives place to a calmer more argumentative style. Mo\u1e25ammad appeals\nless to the works of God as proofs of his teaching, and more to the\nhistory of former teachers, and the punishments of the people who\nwould not hear them. And the characteristic oaths of the first period,\nwhen Mo\u1e25ammad swears by all the varied sights of nature as they\nmirrored themselves in his imagination, have gone, and in their place\nwe find only the weaker oath \u2018by the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\u2019 And this declension is\ncarried still further in the last group of the soorahs revealed at\nMekka. The style becomes more involved and the sentences longer, and\nthough the old enthusiasm bursts forth ever and anon, it is rather an\necho of former things than a new and present intoxication of faith.\nThe fables and repetitions become more and more dreary, and but for\nthe rich eloquence of the old Arabic tongue, which gives some charm\neven to inextricable sentences and dull stories, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n at this\nperiod would be unreadable. As it is, we feel we have fallen the whole\ndepth from poetry to prose, and the matter of the prose is not so\nsuperlative as to give us amends for the loss of the poetic thought\nof the earlier time and the musical fall of the sentences.\n\nIn the soorahs of the Medina period these faults reach their climax.\nWe read a singularly varied collection of criminal laws, social\nregulations, orders for battle, harangues to the Jews, first\nconciliatory, then denunciatory, and exhortations to spread the faith,\nand such-like heterogeneous matters. Happily the Jewish stories\ndisappear in the latest soorahs, but their place is filled by scarcely\nmore palatable materials. The chapters of this period are interesting\nchiefly as containing the laws which have guided every Muslim state,\nregulated every Muslim society, and directed in their smallest acts\nevery Mohammadan man and woman in all parts of the world from the\nProphet\u2019s time till now. The Medina part of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is the most\nimportant part for Isl\u00e1m, considered as a scheme of ritual and a\nsystem of manners; the earliest Mekka revelations are those which\ncontain what is highest in a great religion and what was purest in a\ngreat man.\n\nThe word _\u1e32ur-\u00e1n_ means the _crying_, _reciting_, _reading_, and is\napplied not only to the whole book, but to any chapter or section of\nit. The \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is also called El-Fur\u1e33\u00e1n, \u2018the Distinguisher,\u2019 and\nEl-Mu\u1e63\u1e25af, \u2018the Volume,\u2019 and El-Kit\u00e1b, \u2018the Book,\u2019 and Edh-Dhikr, \u2018the\nAdmonition.\u2019 The \u1e32ur-\u00e1n contains, in its ordinary form, 114 chapters\n(_soorahs_), 6616 verses (_\u00e1y\u00e1t_, literally \u2018signs\u2019 or \u2018wonders\u2019),\n77,934 words, and 323,671 letters, according to the estimates of\nlaborious Muslim divines, which differ, however, in a slight manner in\nconsequence of the various divisions of verses. After the first\nchapter, which is a short prayer (the F\u00e1ti\u1e25ah), the soorahs gradually\ndecrease in length from 289 verses in the second to from three to six\nin the ten concluding chapters. Each chapter is headed by a title,\ntaken from same prominent word in it (as the \u2018Chapter of the\nStriking,\u2019 \u2018of the Cow,\u2019 &c.); beneath which is noted whether it was\npromulgated (according to tradition) at Mekka or Medina, and the\nnumber of its verses. Then follow the words:\u2014\u2018In the Name of God, the\nCompassionate, the Merciful;\u2019 after which the chapter begins. To\ntwenty-nine chapters are prefixed certain letters (_e.g._, ch. ii. on\np. 4), or a single letter, which have never been successfully\ninterpreted. The Muslims believe them to conceal profound mysteries.\nIn Soorah 55 a refrain is found, and traces of a like imitation in\nSoorahs 54 and 17. It is probable that the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n was originally\n_chanted_ in somewhat the same manner as it is in the present day.\n\nThe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is also divided in thirty sections, and these are again\nsubdivided; and from this division rather than from chapter and verse\ndo the Muslims generally quote.\n\n\u2018The Muslims absolutely deny that the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n was composed by their\nProphet himself, or by any other for him; it being their general and\northodox belief that it is of divine original; nay, that it is eternal\nand uncreated, remaining, as some express it, in the very essence of\nGod; that the first transcript has been from everlasting by God\u2019s\nthrone, written on a tablet of vast size, called the Preserved Tablet,\nin which are also recorded the divine decrees, past and future; that a\ncopy from this tablet, in one volume on paper, was, by the ministry of\nthe angel Gabriel, sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of\nRama\u1e0d\u00e1n, on the Night of Power;[24] whence Gabriel revealed it to\nMo\u1e25ammad by parcels, some at Mekka, and some at Medina, at different\ntimes during the space of twenty-three years, as the exigency of\naffairs required; giving him, however, the consolation to show him the\nwhole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned with gold and\nprecious stones of Paradise) once a year; but in the last year of his\nlife he had the favour to see it twice. They say that few chapters\nwere delivered entire, the most part being revealed piecemeal, and\nwritten down from time to time by the Prophet\u2019s amanuensis, in such or\nsuch a part of such or such a chapter, till they were completed,\naccording to the directions of the angel. The first parcel that was\nrevealed is generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the\nninety-sixth chapter. After the new revealed passages had been from\nthe Prophet\u2019s mouth taken down in writing by his scribe, they were\npublished to his followers, several of whom took copies for their\nprivate use; but the far greater number got them by heart. The\noriginals, when returned, were put promiscuously into a chest, without\nregard to any order of time, for which reason it is uncertain when\nmany passages were revealed.\n\n\u2018The \u1e32ur-\u00e1n being the Muslims\u2019 rule of faith and practice, it is no\nwonder its expositors and commentators are so very numerous; and it\nmay not be amiss to take notice of the rules they observe in\nexpounding it.\n\n\u2018One of the most learned commentators distinguishes the contents of\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the\nmore obscure, parabolical, and enigmatical passages, and such as are\nrepealed or abrogated; the latter, those which are plain, perspicuous,\nliable to no doubt, and in full force.\n\n\u2018To explain these severally in a right manner, it is necessary, from\ntradition and study, to know the time when each passage was revealed,\nits circumstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular\nemergencies for the sake of which it was revealed. Or, more\nexplicitly, whether the passage was revealed at Mekka or at Medina;\nwhether it be abrogated, or does itself abrogate any other passage;\nwhether it be anticipated in order of time or postponed; whether it be\ndistinct from the context or depend thereon; whether it be particular\nor general; and lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or\nexplicit in words.\n\n\u2018By what has been said, the reader may easily believe that this book\nis held by the Muslims in the greatest reverence and esteem. The more\nstrict among them dare not touch it without being first washed or\nlegally purified; which lest they should do by inadvertence, they\nsometimes write these words of the book itself on the cover or label,\n\u201cNone shall touch it but they who are purified.\u201d They read it with\ngreat care and respect, never holding it below their girdles. They\nswear by it, consult it in their weighty occasions, carry it with them\nto war, inscribe sentences from it on their banners, sometimes adorn\nit with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in\nthe possession of any person of a different persuasion. It is the\nfoundation of their education; and the children in the schools are\ntaught to chant it, and commit the whole of it to memory.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nBOOKS.\n\n\nIn reading a large number of works bearing upon the subjects of this\nIntroduction, I have remarked a curious freedom of quotation in most\nof the writers. I find the same sentence, or at least the same\nthought, repeated in several books without any reference to the author\nwho first put it forth. Each writer seems to have studied his\npredecessors with such minuteness that he can quote their very words,\nbut he does not appear to remember whence the words came. When a\nthought has once been perfectly expressed, it were a ridiculous vanity\nto seek to frame it in different words, and so far it is undoubtedly\nwise to make use of the best of what has preceded us; nevertheless, it\nis well to acknowledge our debt. Yet thoughts, and even phrases,\nimpress themselves on the memory till one unconsciously comes to\nappropriate them as his own; and this, I doubt not, is the cause of\nmuch of the plagiarism I have noticed. It is extremely probable that I\nhave been guilty of the same sin. I have crowded my pages with marks\nof quotation, sometimes with foot references, sometimes without (for\nthe student of the subject will know where to look for them), but it\nis quite likely that I have often unconsciously used another\u2019s phrase\nor metaphor without rendering thanks. So I now append a list of the\nprincipal European books I have used, and beg once and for all to\nrecord my indebtedness to their writers. The original Arabic\nauthorities will dispense with my acknowledgments, and the catalogue\nof them would not assist the English reader who wishes to proceed\nfurther in the study of the subject, for whom this list may prove\nuseful.\n\n   BURCKHARDT, J. L. _Notes on the Bedouins and Wah\u00e1bys._ 2 vols.\n       1831.\n\n   DEUTSCH, EMANUEL. _Literary Remains._ 1874.\n\n   DOZY, R. _Essai sur l\u00b4Histoire de l\u00b4Islamisme_, trad. par V.\n       Chauvin. 1879.\n\n   FRESNEL, F. _Lettres sur l\u00b4Histoire des Arabes avant\n       l\u00b4Islamisme._ 1836-38.\n\n   HUGHES, REV. T. P. _Notes on Muhammadanism._ 2d ed. 1877.\n\n   KREMER, A. VON. _Geschichte der herrschenden Ideen des\n       Isl\u00e1ms._ 1868.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 _Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen._ 2 vols.\n   1876, 1877.\n\n   LANE, E. W. _The Modern Egyptians._ 5th ed. 1 vol. 1860.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 _The Thousand and One Nights_ (notes). 2d ed. 3 vols.\n       1859, 1860.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 _Selections from the Kur-\u00e1n._ 1st ed. 1843.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 _Arabic-English Lexicon_, Preface, &c. 1863.\n\n   LYALL, C. J. _Translations from the Ham\u00e2seh and the Agh\u00e2n\u00ee; The\n       Mo\u00b4allaqah of Zuheyr._ (Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1878.)\n\n   MUIR, SIR W. _The Life of Mahomet._ 4 vols. New edition.[25]\n       1867.\n\n   N\u00d6LDEKE, TH. _Geschichte des Qor\u00e2ns._ 1860.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 _Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der Poesie der alten Araber._\n       1864.\n\n   PALGRAVE, W. GIFFORD. _Central and Eastern Arabia._ 6th ed.\n       1871.\n\n   PERCEVAL, A.-P. CAUSSIN DE. _Essai sur l\u00b4Histoire des Arabes\n       avant l\u00b4Islamisme._ 3 vols. 1847, 1848.\n\n   POOLE, R. STUART. _Pagan and Muslim Arabs._ (Fortnightly\n       Review, October 15, 1865.)\n\n   RODWELL, J. M. _El-Kor\u00e2n._ 2d ed. 1876.\n\n   SALE, G. _The Koran._ 1836.\n\n   S\u00c9DILLOT, L.-A. _Histoire G\u00e9n\u00e9rale des Arabes._ 2d ed. 2 vols.\n       1877.\n\n   SMITH, R. BOSWORTH. _Mohammed and Mohammedanism._ 2d ed. 1876.\n\n   SPRENGER, A. _Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad._ 2d ed. 3\n       vols. 1869.\n\n   ST. HILAIRE, T.-BARTH\u00c9LEMY. _Mahomet et le Coran._ 2d ed.\n   1865.\n\n   TIELE, C. P. _Outlines of the History of Religion_, translated\n       by J. E. Carpenter. (Tr\u00fcbner\u2019s Philosophical Library. Vol.\n       vii. 1877.)\n\n   WEIL, G. _Das Leben Mohammed\u2019s nach Ibn Ishak_ bearbeitet von\n       Ibn Hischam. 2 vols. 1864.\n\n\n\n\nSELECTIONS FROM THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N.\n\n_PART THE FIRST._\n\nNOTE.\n\n\nThe following extracts were all translated by Mr. Lane, with the\nexception of those to which an obelus (\u2020) is prefixed, for\nwhich I alone am responsible. In the text, the words in italics are\ninserted from the commentary of the Jel\u00e1leyn; words in square brackets\n[] are Mr. Lane\u2019s additions, inserted where the difference between the\nArabic and English idioms required them.\n\nIn the foot-notes, words in italics are from the commentary of the\nJel\u00e1leyn; notes followed by the initial S., from Sale\u2019s _Koran_; the\nletters B., Z., and A. F., following S. in parenthesis, point to the\nauthorities from which Sale\u2019s note was derived, the great commentaries\nof El-Beyd\u00e1wee and Ez-Zamakhsharee, and Abu-l-Fid\u00e1\u2019s Life of Mo\u1e25ammad,\nrespectively. The other notes are Mr. Lane\u2019s, either from the original\nedition or extracted from his _Modern Egyptians_ (5th 1 vol. ed.\n1860), or his notes to the _Thousand and One Nights_ (2d ed. 1859);\nexcept those enclosed in square brackets, which are due to myself.\n\nThe numbers at the end of each extract refer to the chapter (soorah)\nand verse in Fl\u00fcgel\u2019s text of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n (Lipsi\u00e6, 1869).\n\n   S. L. P.\n\n\n\n\n_PART THE FIRST._\n\n\n_THE OPENING PRAYER._[26]\n\n_EL-F\u00c1TI\u1e24AH._\n\n\nI.\n\n   In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.\n\n   Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds,[27]\n   The Compassionate, the Merciful,\n   The King of the day of judgment.\n   Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help.[28]\n   Guide us in the right way,\n   The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious,\n   Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring.\n\n   (i.)\n\n\n\n\n_PREMONITION._\n\n\nII.\n\nA.L.M.[29] Respecting this Book there is no doubt;[30] _it is_ a\nguidance for them that fear Him,\n\nWho believe in the unseen,[31] and perform the prayer, and of what We\nhave bestowed on them expend,\n\nAnd who believe in that which hath been sent down to thee,[32] and\nwhat hath been sent down before thee,[33] and have firm assurance of\nthe life to come.\n\nThose follow a right direction from their Lord, and those are they who\nshall prosper.\n\nAs for those who have disbelieved, it will be equal to them whether\nthou admonish them or admonish them not: they will not believe.\n\nGod hath sealed their hearts and their ears, and over their eyes is a\ncovering, and for them is [ordained] a great punishment.\n\n   (ii. 1-6.)\n\n\n\n\n_GOD._\n\n\nIII.\n\n   SAY, He is God, One [God];\n   God, the Eternal.\n   He begetteth not nor is begotten,\n   And there is none equal unto Him.\n\n   (cxii.)[34]\n\n\nIV.\n\n_The Throne-Verse._[35]\n\nGod! There is no God but He, the _Ever_-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.\nSlumber seizeth Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongeth whatsoever is in\nthe Heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth. Who is he that shall\nintercede with Him, unless by His permission? He knoweth what [hath\nbeen] before them and what [shall be] after them, and they shall not\ncompass aught of His knowledge save what He willeth. His Throne\ncomprehendeth the Heavens and the Earth,[36] and the care of them\nburdeneth Him not. And He is the High, the Great.\n\n   (ii. 256.)\n\n\nV.\n\n\u2020SAY, O God, to whom belongeth dominion, Thou givest dominion\nto whom Thou wilt, and from whom Thou wilt Thou takest it away; Thou\nexaltest whom Thou wilt, and whom Thou wilt Thou humblest. In Thy hand\nis good. Verily Thou art all-powerful.\n\nThou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day\nto pass into the night; and Thou bringest forth the living from the\ndead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living; and thou\ngivest sustenance to whom Thou wilt without measure.\n\n   (iii. 25, 26.)\n\n\nVI.\n\nBlessed be He in whose hand is the dominion and who is\nall-powerful;[37]\n\nWho hath created death and life, that He may prove you, which of you\n[will be] best in works: and He is the Mighty, the Very-Forgiving:\n\nWho hath created seven heavens, one above another. Thou seest not any\nfault in the creation of the Compassionate. But lift up the eyes again\n_to heaven_. Dost thou see any fissures?\n\nThen lift up the eyes again twice; the sight shall return unto thee\ndull and dim.\n\n   (lxvii. 1-4.)\n\n\nVII.\n\nVerily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six\ndays: then He ascended the throne. He causeth the night to cover the\nday; it followeth it swiftly: and _He created_ the sun and the moon\nand the stars, made subject utterly to His command. Do not the _whole_\ncreation and command belong to Him? Blessed be God, the Lord of the\nWorlds.\n\n   (vii. 52.)\n\n\nVIII.\n\nWe have placed in heaven _the twelve_ signs _of the Zodiac_, and\nadorned them for the beholders _with the constellations_;\n\nAnd We have guarded them (_by means of shooting stars_) from every\naccursed devil,[38]\n\nExcepting him who listeneth by stealth, whom a manifest shooting star\npursueth.\n\nWe have also spread forth the earth, and thrown thereon firm\n_mountains_,[39] and We have caused to spring forth in it every kind\n[of green thing] weighed.[40]\n\nAnd We have provided for you therein necessaries of life, and _for_\nhim whom ye do not sustain;[41]\n\nAnd there is not a thing but the storehouses thereof are with Us, and\nWe send it not down save in determined quantities.\n\nWe also send the fertilizing winds,[42] and We send down water from\nheaven, and give you to drink thereof; and ye are not the storers of\nit.\n\nAnd verily We give life and death, and We are the heirs _of all the\ncreation_.\n\nWe also know those who have gone before you, and We know those who\nfollow after [you].\n\nAnd verily thy Lord will assemble them together: for He is Wise,\nKnowing.\n\n   (xv. 16-25.)\n\n\nIX.\n\nAnd your God is One God: there is no god but He, the Compassionate,\nthe Merciful.\n\nVerily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the varying\nof night and day, and the ships that course upon the sea _laden_ with\nwhat is profitable to mankind, and the water that God hath sent down\nfrom heaven, quickening the earth thereby after its death, and\nscattering about it all kinds of beasts; and in the changing of the\nwinds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven\nand earth, are signs unto a people who understand.\n\nYet among men are those who take to themselves, beside God, idols,\nwhich they love as _with_ the love for God: but those who have\nbelieved are more loving towards God _than these towards their idols_.\n\n   (ii. 158-160.)\n\n\nX.\n\nVerily God causeth the grain to come forth, and the date-stone: He\nbringeth forth the living from the dead,[43] and He bringeth forth the\ndead from the living:[44] This is God; then wherefore are ye turned\naway?\n\nHe causeth the dawn to appear, and hath ordained the night for rest,\nand the sun and the moon for reckoning _time_: this is the appointment\nof the Mighty, the Wise.\n\nAnd it is He who hath ordained for you the stars, that ye may be\nguided by them in the darknesses of the land and of the sea: We have\nclearly shown the signs _of Our power_ unto the people who know.[45]\n\nAnd it is He who hath produced you from one soul, and _there is_ a\nplace of rest and of storing:[46] We have clearly shown the signs to\nthe people who understand.\n\nAnd it is He who hath sent down water from heaven, and We have\nproduced thereby the germs of everything, and We have caused the\ngreen thing to come forth therefrom, from which We draw forth grains\nmassed; and from the palm-tree, from its fruit-branch, clusters of\ndates heaped together:[47] and gardens of grapes, and the olive and\nthe pomegranate, like one another[48] and not like.[49] Look ye at\ntheir fruits when they bear fruit, and their ripening. Verily therein\nare signs unto the people who believe.\n\nYet they have set up the Jinn[50] as partners of God, though He hath\ncreated them, and without knowledge have they falsely attributed to\nHim sons and daughters. Extolled be His purity, and high be He exalted\nabove that which they attribute [to Him]!\n\n_He is_ the Author of the heavens and the earth. How then should He\nhave offspring, when He hath no consort, and hath created everything\nand knoweth everything?\n\nThis is God your Lord. There is no God but He, the Creator of\neverything: therefore worship ye Him;[51] and He is guardian over\neverything.\n\nThe eyes see Him not, but He seeth the eyes: and He is the Gracious,\nthe Knowing.\n\n   (vi. 95-103.)\n\n\nXI.\n\nIt is He who maketh the lightning to appear unto you, [causing] fear\nand hope _of rain_, and formeth the pregnant clouds.\n\nAnd the thunder proclaimeth His perfection with His praise; and\n[likewise] the angels, in fear of Him. And He sendeth the\nthunderbolts, and striketh with them whom He pleaseth, whilst they\ndispute concerning God; for He is mighty in power.[52]\n\n   (xiii. 13, 14.)\n\n\nXII.\n\nWith Him are the keys of the hidden things: none knoweth them but He:\nand He knoweth whatsoever is on the land and in the sea, and there\nfalleth not a leaf but He knoweth it, nor a grain in the dark parts of\nthe earth, nor a moist thing nor a dry thing, but [it is noted] in a\ndistinct writing.[53]\n\nAnd it is He who taketh your souls at night, and knoweth what ye have\ngained in the day; then He reviveth you therein,[54] that an appointed\ntime[55] may be fulfilled. Then unto Him shall ye return: then will He\ndeclare unto you what ye have done.\n\nAnd He is the Supreme[56] over His servants, and He sendeth watchers\nover you,[57] until when death cometh unto any one of you, Our\nmessengers take his soul, and they fail not.\n\nThen are they[58] returned unto God their Lord, the True.[59] Doth not\njudgment belong to Him? And He is the most quick of reckoners.\n\nSAY,[60] Who delivereth you from the darknesses of the land and of the\nsea, _when_ ye supplicate Him humbly and in secret, _saying_, \u2018If Thou\ndeliver us from these _dangers_, we will assuredly be of [the number\nof] the thankful\u2019?\n\nSAY, God delivereth you from them and from every affliction.\n\n   (vi. 59-64.)\n\n\nXIII.\n\nVerily God will not forgive the associating with Him [any other being\nas a god], but will forgive other _sins_ unto whom He pleaseth; and\nwhoso associateth [another] with God hath wrought a great wickedness.\n\n   (iv. 51.)\n\n\nXIV.\n\nThey[61] say, \u2018The Compassionate hath gotten offspring:\u2019 Ye have done\nan impious thing.\n\nIt wanteth little but that the heavens be rent thereat, and that the\nearth cleave asunder, and that the mountains fall down in pieces.[62]\n\n_For_ that they have attributed offspring to the Compassionate, when\nit beseemeth not the Compassionate to get offspring.\n\nThere is none of all that are in the heavens and the earth but he\nshall come unto the Compassionate as a servant.[63] He hath known them\nand numbered them with an _exact_ numbering.\n\nAnd each of them shall come unto Him on the day of resurrection,\nalone.[64]\n\n\u2020Verily those who have believed and have done the things that\nare right, on them the Compassionate will bestow [His] love.\n\n   (xix. 91-96.)\n\n\nXV.\n\nO men _of Mekkeh_, a parable is propounded, wherefore hearken unto it.\nVerily, those _idols_ which ye invoke beside God can never create a\nfly, although they assembled for it: and if the fly carry off from\nthem aught,[65] they cannot recover the same from it. Weak are the\nseeker and the sought!\n\n   (xxii. 72.)\n\n\nXVI.\n\nThe likeness of those who take to themselves Tutelars[66] instead of\nGod is as the likeness of the spider, which maketh for herself a\ndwelling; and the frailest of dwellings surely is the dwelling of the\nspider! If they knew[67]\u2014\u2014!\n\nVerily God knoweth whatever thing they invoke in His stead; and He is\nthe Mighty, the Wise.\n\nAnd these parables[68] we propound unto men; but none understand them\nexcept the wise.\n\nGod hath created the heavens and the earth in truth: verily therein is\na sign unto the believers.\n\n   (xxix. 40-43.)\n\n\n\n\n_MO\u1e24AMMAD AND THE \u1e32UR-\u00c1N._\n\n\nXVII.\n\n   \u2020O thou enwrapped _in thy mantle_,[69]\n   Arise and warn!\n   And thy Lord\u2014magnify Him!\n   And thy raiment\u2014purify it!\n   And the abomination[70]\u2014flee it!\n   And bestow not favours that thou mayest receive again with increase.\n   And for thy Lord wait thou patiently.[71]\n\n   (lxxiv. 1-7.)\n\n\nXVIII.\n\n   \u2020By the morning-brightness,\n   And by the still of night,[72]\n   Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, neither hath He hated thee.\n   And surely the Future will be better for thee than the Present,\n   And thy Lord will give to thee, and thou wilt be well-pleased.\n   Did He not find thee an orphan, and sheltered thee?\n   And He found thee erring, and guided thee,\n   And found thee needy, and enriched thee.\n   Then, as to the orphan, oppress him not;\n   And as to him that asketh of thee, chide him not away;\n   And as for the bounty of thy Lord, tell it then [abroad].\n\n   (xciii.)\n\n\nXIX.\n\nSAY, I do not say unto you, \u2018With me[73] are the treasures of God,\u2019\nnor, \u2018I know what is unseen,\u2019 nor do I say unto you, \u2018Verily I am an\nangel.\u2019 I follow not [aught] but what is revealed unto me.\n\n   (vi. 50.)\n\n\nXX.\n\n\u2020SAY, I am only a man like unto you. It is only revealed unto\nme that your God is One God. He then that hopeth to meet his Lord, let\nhim work a righteous work, and in the worship of his Lord let him not\nassociate any [other god].\n\n   (xviii. 110.)\n\n\nXXI.\n\n\u2020SAY, If I err, only against myself shall I err, but if I am\nrightly-guided, it [is] of what my Lord hath revealed to me. Verily,\nHe is the Hearer, the Near-at-hand!\n\n   (xxxiv. 49.)\n\n\nXXII.\n\nMo\u1e25ammad is nought but a Messenger.[74] The Messengers have passed\naway before him. If then he die or be slain, will ye turn round upon\nyour heels?[75] But he who turneth round upon his heels will not\ninjure God a whit;[76] and God will reward the thankful.\n\n   (iii. 138.)\n\n\nXXIII.\n\nVerily We have revealed unto thee as we revealed unto Noah and the\nprophets after him, and _as_ We revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael,\nand Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,\nand Aaron, and Solomon; and We gave unto David the Psalms.\n\n   (iv. 161.)\n\n\nXXIV.\n\n[77] SAY _unto them_, Do ye argue with us concerning God, when\nHe is our Lord and your Lord,[78] and when we have our works and ye\nhave your works, and when we are sincere towards Him?\n\nNay, do ye say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the\ntribes were Jews or Christians? SAY _unto them_, Are ye the more\nknowing, or is God?[79] And who is more unrighteous than they who\nconceal a testimony that they have from God?[80] But God is not\nheedless of that which ye do.\n\n   (ii. 133, 134.)\n\n\nXXV.\n\n_Remember_, when Jesus the son of Mary said, \u2018O children of Israel,\nVerily I am the Messenger of God unto you, confirming the Law which\n[was] before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come\nafter me, whose name [shall be] A\u1e25mad.\u2019[81] But when he (_A\u1e25mad_) came\nunto them with evident proofs, they said, \u2018This is manifest magic!\u2019\n\nAnd who is more unrighteous than he who forgeth falsehood against God,\nwhen he is invited unto El-Isl\u00e1m? And God directeth not the\nunrighteous people.\n\nThey desire to put out the light of God with their mouths: but God\nwill perfect His light, though the unbelievers be loth _thereto_.\n\nIt is He who hath sent His messenger with the direction and the\nreligion of truth, that He may exalt above every religion, though the\npolytheists be loth _thereto_.\n\n   (lxi. 6-9.)\n\n\nXXVI.\n\nThose to whom We have given the Scripture know him (_Mo\u1e25ammad_) as\nthey know their children.[82] But a party of them do conceal the\ntruth[83] while they know.\n\n   (ii. 141.)\n\n\nXXVII.\n\n_The Jews said unto Mo\u1e25ammad_, \u2018Verily God hath enjoined us[84] that\nwe should not believe an apostle until he bring us a sacrifice which\nfire shall devour.\u2019\n\nSAY, Apostles have come unto you before me with manifest proofs,[85]\nand with that ye have mentioned:[86] then wherefore did ye slay them,\nif ye be speakers of truth?\n\n   (iii. 179, 180.)\n\n\nXXVIII.\n\n_The unbelievers of Mekkeh_ have sworn by God, with the mightiest of\ntheir oaths, that if a sign come unto them they will assuredly believe\ntherein. SAY, Signs are only with God. And what will make you to\nknow?[87] Verily if they come they will not believe.\n\nAnd We will turn away their hearts and their eyes,[88] as they\nbelieved not therein the first time; and We will leave them in their\ntransgression, wandering about in perplexity.\n\nAnd though We had sent down unto them the angels, and the dead had\nspoken unto them, and We had gathered together about them everything\nin tribes, they had not believed unless God had pleased; but the\ngreater number of them know not.\n\n   (vi. 109-111.)\n\n\nXXIX.\n\nAnd they have said, \u2018O thou unto whom the Admonition[89] hath been\nsent down, thou art certainly possessed by a Jinnee.[90]\n\nWhy dost thou not come unto us with the angels, if thou be of those\nthat speak truth?\u2019\n\nWe send not down the angels save with justice,[91] nor would they then\nbe respited.\n\nVerily, We have sent down the Admonition, and We will surely preserve\nit.\n\nAnd We have sent _Messengers_ before thee among the sects of the\nformer generations;\n\nAnd there came not unto them any Messenger but they had him in\nderision:\n\nIn like manner will We put it into the hearts of the sinners _of\nMekkeh to do so_;\n\nThey shall not believe in him, and the punishment of the former\ngenerations hath passed.\n\nAnd if We should open above them a gate in heaven, and they should\npass the day mounting up to it,\n\nThey would say, \u2018Our eyes are only intoxicated, or rather we are a\npeople enchanted.\u2019\n\n   (xv. 6-15.)\n\n\nXXX.\n\n   \u2020Verily, it is the excellent \u1e32ur-\u00e1n,\n   Written in the Preserved Book.[92]\n   None shall touch it but they who are purified.[93]\n   It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.\n\n   (lvi. 76-79.)\n\n\nXXXI.\n\nSAY, Verily if mankind and the Jinn assembled together for the purpose\nof producing the like of this \u1e32ur-\u00e1n,[94] they could not produce the\nlike thereof, although they helped one another.[95]\n\nAnd We have explained unto men in this \u1e32ur-\u00e1n every _kind of_\nparable,[96] but the greater number of men have refused [all else]\nsave unbelief,\n\nAnd have said, \u2018We will by no means believe in thee until thou cause a\nfountain to gush forth for us from the earth,\n\n_Or_ thou have a garden of palm-trees and grapes, and thou cause\nrivers to spring forth in the midst thereof in abundance,\n\n_Or_ thou cause heaven to fall down upon us, as thou hast pretended,\nin pieces, or thou bring God and the angels before _us_,\n\n_Or_ thou have a house of gold, or thou ascend into heaven, and we\nwill not believe thy ascending until thou cause a book to descend unto\nus which we may read.\u2019 SAY, Extolled be the perfection of my Lord! Am\nI [aught] save a man, [sent] as a Messenger?\n\nAnd nothing hath hindered men from believing when the direction hath\ncome unto them, but their saying, \u2018Hath God sent a man as a\nMessenger?\u2019[97]\n\nSAY, If there were upon the earth angels walking at ease,[98] We had\nsent down unto them from heaven an angel as a Messenger.[99]\n\nSAY, God is a sufficient witness between me and you: for He knoweth\nand seeth His servants.\n\n   (xvii. 90-98.)\n\n\nXXXII.\n\nAnd this \u1e32ur-\u00e1n is not an invention[100] of one who is not God, but\n_it hath been sent down_ as a confirmation of those _books which have\nbeen_ before it, and an explanation of the Scripture\u2014there is no doubt\nthereof\u2014from the Lord of the Worlds.\n\nDo they say, \u2018He[101] hath forged it?\u2019 SAY, Then bring ye a\nSoorah[102] like unto it and call whom ye can,[103] other than God, if\nye speak truth.\n\nNay they have charged with falsehood that which they comprehend not,\nand the explanation thereof[104] hath not yet come unto them. In like\nmanner did those who were before them charge _their Messengers_ with\nfalsehood; but see how was the end of the offenders!\n\n   (x. 38-40.)\n\n\nXXXIII.\n\nIf ye be in doubt concerning that which We have sent down unto Our\nservant _Mo\u1e25ammad_,[105] bring ye a Soorah like unto it,[106] and\ninvoke your witnesses,[107] other than God, if ye be speakers of\ntruth.\n\nBut if ye do _it_ not (and do _it_ ye shall not), fear the fire whose\nfuel is men and stones: it is prepared for the unbelievers.\n\n   (ii. 21, 22.)\n\n\nXXXIV.\n\nWhatsoever[108] verse We abrogate or cause _thee_ to forget, We will\nproduce one better than it or like unto it. Dost thou not know that\nGod is all-powerful?\n\nDost thou not know that to God _belongeth_ the dominion of the heavens\nand the earth, and that beside God ye have no protector or defender?\n\n   (ii. 100, 101.)\n\n\nXXXV.\n\nWhen We substitute a verse in the stead of a verse (and God best\nknoweth what He revealeth), they say, \u2018Thou art but a forger!\u2019\u2014but the\ngreater number of them know not!\n\nSAY, The Holy Spirit _Gabriel_ hath brought it down from thy Lord with\ntruth, to stablish those who have believed, and as a direction and\ngood tidings unto the Muslims.\n\nAnd We well know that they say, \u2018Only a man[109] teacheth him.\u2019 The\ntongue of him to whom they incline is foreign, and this _is the_\nperspicuous Arabic tongue.\n\n   (xvi. 103-105).\n\n\nXXXVI.\n\nSAY, If the sea were ink, for _writing_ the words of my Lord, the sea\nwould be dried up or ever the words of my Lord were exhausted; and\n[so] if we brought its like in aid.[110]\n\n   (xviii. 109).\n\n\n\n\n_THE RESURRECTION, PARADISE, AND HELL._\n\n\nXXXVII.\n\n   \u2020The Striking! what is the Striking?\n   And what shall teach thee what the Striking is?\n   _It is_ a day when men shall be like scattered moths,\n   And the mountains like carded wool!\n   Then as for him whose balances are heavy, his shall be a life\n     well-pleasing.\n   As for him whose balances are light, his abode shall be the Pit.\n   And what shall teach thee what that is?\n   A raging fire!\n\n   (ci.)\n\n\nXXXVIII.\n\n   \u2020When the earth is shaken with her shaking,\n   And the earth hath cast forth her dead,[111]\n   And man shall say, \u2018What aileth her?\u2019\n   On that day shall she tell out her tidings,\n   Because thy Lord hath inspired her.\n   On that day shall men come one by one to behold their works,\n   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant\u2019s weight of good shall\n     behold it,\n   And whosoever shall have wrought an ant\u2019s weight of ill shall\n     behold it.\n\n   (xcix.)\n\n\nXXXIX.\n\n\n   \u2020When the heaven shall be cloven asunder,\n   And when the stars shall be scattered,\n   And when the seas shall be let loose,\n   And when the graves shall be turned upside-down,\n   _Every_ soul shall know what it hath done and left undone.\n   O man! what hath seduced thee from thy generous Lord,\n   Who created thee and fashioned thee and disposed thee aright?\n   In the form which pleased Him hath He fashioned thee.\n   Nay, but ye treat the Judgment as a lie.\n   Verily there are watchers over you,\n   Worthy recorders,\n   Knowing what ye do.\n   Verily in delight shall the righteous dwell;\n   And verily the wicked in Hell[-Fire];\n   They shall be burnt at it on the day of doom,\n   And they shall not be hidden from it.\n   And what shall teach thee what the Day of Judgment is?\n   Again: What shall teach thee what is the Day of Judgment?\n   _It is_ a day when one soul shall be powerless for another soul;\n     and all on that day shall be in the hands of God.\n\n   (lxxxii.)\n\n\nXL.\n\n   When the sun shall be wrapped up,\n   And when the stars shall fall down,\n   And when the mountains shall be made to pass away,\n   And when the camels ten months gone with young[112] shall be neglected,\n   And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together,\n   And when the seas shall overflow,[113]\n   And when the souls shall be joined _to their bodies_,\n   And when the child[114] that hath been buried alive shall be asked\n   For what crime she was put to death,\n   And when the books[115] shall be laid open,\n   And when the heaven shall be removed,[116]\n   And when Hell shall be made to burn,\n   And when Paradise shall be brought near,\u2014\n   _Then every_ soul shall know what it hath done.\n\n   (lxxxi. 1-14.)\n\n\nXLI.\n\n\n   Hath the news of the Overwhelming reached thee?\n   Countenances on that day [shall be] abased,\n   Labouring, toiling:\n   They shall feel the heat of scorching fire,\n   They shall be given to drink from a fountain fiercely boiling,\n   There shall be no food for them but of daree\u2019,[117]\u2014\n   It shall not fatten nor satisfy hunger.\n\n   (lxxxviii. 1-7.)\n\n\nXLII.\n\n   When one blast shall be blown on the trumpet,\n   And the earth shall be raised and the mountains, and be broken to\n     dust with one breaking,\n   On that day the Calamity shall come to pass:\n   And the heaven shall cleave asunder, being frail on that day,\n   And the angels on the sides thereof; and over them on that day\n     eight _of the angels_[118] shall bear the throne of thy Lord.\n   On that day ye shall be presented _for the reckoning_; none of\n     your secrets shall be hidden.\n   And as to him who shall have his book given to him in his right\n     hand, he shall say,[119] \u2018Take ye, read my book;\n   Verily I was sure I should come to my reckoning.\n   And his [shall be] a pleasant life\n   In a lofty garden,\n   Whose clusters [shall be] near at hand.\n   [120]\u2018Eat ye and drink with benefit on account of that which ye paid\n      beforehand in the past days.\u2019\n\n\n   But as to him who shall have his book given to him in his left\n     hand, he shall say, \u2018O would that I had not had my book given\n     to me,\n   Nor known what [was] my reckoning!\n   O would that _my death_ had been the ending _of me_!\n   My wealth hath not profited me!\n   My power is passed away from me!\u2019\n   \u2018[121]Take him and chain him,\n   Then cast him into hell to be burnt,\n   Then in a chain of seventy cubits bind him:\n   For he believed not in God, the Great,\n   Nor urged to feed the poor;\n   Therefore he shall not have here this day a friend,\n   Nor any food save filth\n   Which none but the sinners shall eat.\u2019\n\n   (lxix. 13-37.)\n\n\nXLIII.\n\n   When the Calamity shall come to pass\n   There shall not be _a soul_ that will deny its happening,[122]\n   [It will be] an abaser _of some_, an exalter _of others_;\n   When the earth shall be shaken with a _violent_ shaking,\n   And the mountains shall be crumbled with a [violent] crumbling,\n   And shall become fine dust scattered abroad;\n   And ye shall be three classes.\n   And the people of the right hand,[123] what [shall be] the people\n     of the right hand![124]\n   And the people of the left hand, what the people of the left\n     hand![125]\n   And the Preceders,[126] the Preceders!\n   These [shall be] the brought-nigh [unto God]\n   In the gardens of delight,\u2014\n   A crowd of the former generations,\n   And a few of the latter generations,\n   Upon inwrought couches\n   Reclining thereon, face to face.\n   Youths ever-young[127] shall go unto them round about\n   With goblets and ewers and a cup of flowing wine,\n   Their [heads] shall ache not with it neither shall they be drunken;\n   And with fruits of the [sorts] which they shall choose,\n   And the flesh of birds of the [kinds] which they shall desire.\n   And damsels[128] with eyes[129] like pearls laid up\n   _We will give them_ as a reward for that which they have done.\n   Therein shall they hear no vain discourse nor accusation of sin,\n   But [only] the saying, \u2018Peace! Peace!\u2019\n\n   And the people of the right hand\u2014what [shall be] the people of\n     the right hand!\n   [They shall dwell] among lote-trees without thorns\n   And bananas loaded with fruit,[130]\n   And a shade _ever_-spread,\n   And water _ever_-flowing,\n   And fruits abundant\n   Unstayed and unforbidden,\n   And couches raised.\n   Verily we have created them[131] by a [peculiar] creation,\n   And have made them virgins,\n   Beloved of their husbands, of equal age [with them],\n   For the people of the right hand,\n   A crowd of the former generations\n   And a crowd of the latter generations.\n\n   And the people of the left hand\u2014what [shall be] the people of\n     the left hand!\n   [They shall dwell] amidst burning wind and scalding water,\n   And a shade of blackest smoke,\n   Not cool and not grateful.\n   For before this they were blest with worldly goods,\n   And they persisted in heinous sin,[132]\n   And said, \u2018When we shall have died and become dust and bones,\n     shall we indeed be raised to life,\n   And our fathers the former generations?\u2019\n   SAY, Verily the former and the latter generations\n   Shall be gathered together for the appointed time of a known day.\n   Then ye, O ye erring, belying [people],\n   Shall surely eat of the tree of Ez-Za\u1e33\u1e33oom,\n   And fill therewith [your] bellies,\n   And drink thereon boiling water,\n   And ye shall drink as thirsty camels drink.\u2014\n   This [shall be] their entertainment on the day of retribution.\n\n   (lvi. 1-56.)\n\n\nXLIV.\n\nVerily We have prepared for the offenders fire, the smoke of which\nshall encompass them; and if they ask relief, they shall be relieved\nwith water like the dregs of oil, which shall scald _their_ faces.\nMiserable shall be the drink, and evil shall be the couch.\n\nAs for those who have believed and done the things that are right,\nverily We will not suffer the reward of him that hath done well to\nperish:\n\nFor these are gardens of perpetual abode, beneath them[133] shall\nrivers run; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and\nshall wear green garments of fine brocade and of thick brocade,\nreclining therein on the thrones. Excellent shall be the reward, and\npleasant shall be the couch.\n\n   (xviii. 28-30.)\n\n\nXLV.\n\n_Call to mind_ the day when We will cause the mountains to pass away\nand thou shalt see the earth plain; and We will assemble them[134] and\nnot leave of them any one.\n\nAnd they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks: \u2018Now are ye come unto\nUs as We created you the first time.[135] Nay, ye thought that We\nwould not perform [Our] promise to you.\u2019[136]\n\nAnd the book shall be put [in every man\u2019s hand], and thou shalt see\nthe sinners fearful because of that which is [written] therein, and\nthey shall say, \u2018O woe is us! what meaneth this book? It leaveth\nneither a small _sin_ nor a great _sin_, but it enumerateth it!\u2019 And\nthey shall find that which they shall have wrought present;[137] and\nthy Lord will not deal unjustly with any one.\n\n   (xviii. 45-47.)\n\n\nXLVI.\n\nThey have not esteemed God with the estimation due unto Him, since the\nwhole earth [shall be] His handful on the day of resurrection, and the\nheavens [shall be] folded together by His right hand. Extolled be His\nperfection and high be He exalted above the [things] they associate\n_with Him_!\n\nAnd the trumpet shall be blown, and they that are in the heavens and\nthey that are in the earth shall die, except those whom God shall\nplease. Then it shall be blown another time; and lo, they shall arise,\nwaiting.\n\nAnd the earth shall shine with the light of its Lord. And the book\nshall be placed, and the prophets shall be brought and the witnesses,\nand judgment shall be given between them with truth, and they shall\nnot be treated unjustly.\n\nAnd every soul shall be fully paid _the reward_ of what it hath done,\nand He well knoweth what they do.\n\nAnd those who have disbelieved shall be driven in troops unto hell,\nuntil when they come to it, its gates shall be opened, and its\nguardians shall say unto them, \u2018Did not Messengers from among you come\nunto you rehearsing the signs of your Lord, and warning you of the\nmeeting of this your day?\u2019 They shall answer, \u2018Yea:\u2019 (But the sentence\nof punishment[138] hath been justly pronounced against the\nunbelievers:)\n\nIt shall be said, \u2018Enter ye the gates of hell to remain therein for\never:\u2019 and evil shall be the abode of the proud.\n\n\nAnd those who have feared their Lord shall be urged on in troops unto\nparadise, until when they come unto it, its gates are already opened,\nand its guardians say unto them: \u2018Peace be on you! Ye have been good:\ntherefore enter it to abide _therein_ for ever.\u2019\n\nAnd they shall say, \u2018Praise be to God, who hath performed unto us His\npromise, and hath made us to inherit the land, that we may dwell in\nParadise wheresoever we please; and how excellent is the reward of the\nworkers!\u2019[139]\n\nAnd thou shalt see the angels encompassing the throne, extolling the\nperfection with the praise of their Lord. And judgment shall be given\nbetween them[140] with truth: and it shall be said,\u2018Praise be to God,\nthe Lord of the Worlds!\u2019\n\n   (xxxix. 67-75.)\n\n\nXLVII.\n\nParadise shall be brought near unto the pious, _to a place_ not\ndistant _from them, so that they shall see it_.\n\n_And it shall be said unto them_, \u2018This is what ye have been promised,\nunto every one who hath earnestly turned himself unto God and kept\n_His laws_,\n\nWho hath feared the Compassionate in secret, and come with a penitent\nheart:\n\nEnter it in peace: this is the Day of Eternity.\u2019\n\n   (l. 30-33.)\n\n\nXLVIII.\n\n\u2020Fairseeming to men is the love of pleasures from women and\nchildren, and hoarded riches of gold and silver, and pastured[141]\nhorses, and flocks, and corn-fields. Such is the enjoyment of this\nworld\u2019s life! But God, goodly is the home with Him!\n\nSAY, Shall I tell you of better things than these prepared in the\npresence of their Lord for those that fear [God]? Theirs shall be\ngardens beneath which rivers run, and in which they shall abide for\never, and stainless wives, and acceptance with God: for God regardeth\nHis servants,\n\n\u2014Who say, \u2018O our Lord, verily we have believed; forgive us then our\nsins, and keep us from the torment of the fire,\u2019\u2014\n\nThe patient, and the truthful, and the lowly, and the charitable, and\nthey who seek pardon at each daybreak.\n\n   (iii. 12-15.)\n\n\nXLIX.\n\n\u2020And repute not those slain in God\u2019s cause[142] to be dead:\nnay, alive with their Lord, they are provided for;\n\nJoyful in what God of His bounty hath vouchsafed them, and rejoicing\nfor those that follow after them, but have not yet overtaken them,\nthat on them no fear shall come, neither shall they grieve;\n\nRejoicing at the favour of God and His bounty, and that God suffereth\nnot the reward of the faithful to perish.\n\n   (iii. 163-165.)\n\n\nL.\n\nWhosoever doeth the things that are right, whether male or female,\nbeing a believer,\u2014these shall enter paradise, and shall not be wronged\nin the least degree.\n\n   (iv. 123.)\n\n\nLI.\n\nFor those who have disbelieved in their Lord [is prepared] the\npunishment of hell; and evil [shall be] the journey.[143]\n\nWhen they shall be cast into it they shall hear it braying,[144] while\nit boileth, well-nigh bursting with fury.\n\n   (lxvii. 6-8.)\n\n\nLII.\n\nIf thou shouldst see[145] those who have offended[146] when they see\nthe punishment![147]\u2014for power belongeth altogether unto God, and God\nis severe in punishing:\n\nWhen those who have been followed will declare themselves clear of\nthose who have followed [them],[148] when they have seen the\npunishment, and the ties [that bound them together] shall be severed\nfrom them:\n\nAnd those who have followed shall say, \u2018O that there were for us a\nreturn _to the world_! then would we declare ourselves clear of them,\nlike as they have _now_ declared themselves clear of us!\u2019 After this\nmanner will God show them their _evil_ works, for which [they shall\npour forth] lamentations; and they shall not come forth from the fire.\n\n   (ii. 160-162.)\n\n\nLIII.\n\nAnd the Devil[149] shall say, when the matter shall have been\ndetermined,[150] \u2018Verily God promised you the promise of truth;[151]\nand I promised you,[152] but I deceived you: yet had I no power over\nyou;\n\nBut I only called you and ye answered me. Therefore blame not me, but\nblame your own selves. I am not a helper of you, neither are ye\nhelpers of me. Verily I renounce your having associated me _with God_\nheretofore.\u2019\n\n   (xiv. 26, 27).\n\n\nLIV.\n\nVerily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire, and\nthou shalt not find for them any defender.\n\n   (iv. 144.)\n\n\nLV.\n\nThey[153] will ask thee respecting the Hour,[154] at what time is its\ncoming fixed. SAY, The knowledge of it is only with my Lord: none\nshall manifest it in its time but He. It is grievous in the heavens\nand in the earth. It shall not come upon you otherwise than suddenly.\n\nThey will ask thee as though thou wert well acquainted therewith. SAY,\nThe knowledge of it is only with God: but the greater number of men\nknow not!\n\nSAY, I possess not for myself _power to procure_ advantage nor _to\navert_ mischief, save as God pleaseth: and if I knew things unseen, I\nshould obtain abundance of good, and evil should not happen unto me. I\nam only a denouncer of threats _unto the unbelievers_, and an\nannouncer of good tidings unto the people who believe.\n\n   (vii. 186-188.)\n\n\n\n\n_PREDESTINATION._\n\n\nLVI.\n\nA soul cannot die unless by permission of God, according to a writing\n_of God_, definite _as to time_.\n\n   (iii. 139.)\n\n\nLVII.\n\nThey say [whose companions were slain at the battle of O\u1e25od], \u2018If\naught of the affair had been _submitted_ to us we had not been slain\nhere.\u2019[155] SAY, Had ye been in your houses, those _of you_ who were\ndecreed to be slain had gone forth to the places where they lie.\n\n   (iii. 148.)\n\n\nLVIII.\n\nWheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although you be in lofty\ntowers. If good fortune betide them,[156] they say, \u2018This is from\nGod!\u2019 But if evil betide them, they say, \u2018This is from thee, _O\nMo\u1e25ammad_!\u2019 SAY, All is from God. And what aileth this people that\nthey are not near to understanding what is said _unto them_?\n\nWhatsoever good betideth thee, _O man, it is_ from God; and whatsoever\nevil betideth thee, from thyself _is it_.\n\n   (iv. 80, 81.)\n\n\nLIX.\n\n\u2020No soul can believe but by the permission of God.\n\n   (x. 100.)\n\n\nLX.\n\n\u2020And whoso willeth taketh the way to his Lord: But ye shall\nnot will it, unless God will it.\n\n   (lxxvi. 29, 30.)\n\n\nLXI.\n\n\u2020Expend in the way of God, and throw not yourselves into\ndestruction.[157]\n\n   (ii. 191.)\n\n\n_ANGELS AND JINN._[158]\n\n\nLXII.\n\nThey say, \u2018The Compassionate hath gotten offspring.\u2019[159] Extolled be\nHis purity! Nay, _they are_ honoured servants.\n\nThey prevent Him not in speech,[160] and according to His command they\nact.\n\nHe knoweth what is before them and what is behind them, and they shall\nnot intercede\n\nSave for whom He shall please, and they fear in dread of Him.\n\nAnd him[161] among them who saith, \u2018I am a god beside Him,\u2019 that\n[angel] We will recompense with Hell.\n\n   (xxi. 26-30.)\n\n\nLXIII.\n\n\u2020SAY, It hath been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn\nlistened [to me] and said, \u2018Verily we have heard a wonderful\ndiscourse[162]\n\nWhich guideth unto right: wherefore we believed in it, and we will by\nno means associate any one with our Lord....\n\nWe tried the heaven, but we found it filled with a mighty garrison and\ndarting flames;\n\nWe sat on some of its seats to listen, but whosoever listeneth now\nfindeth a darting flame in ambush for him.\n\nWe know not whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or\nwhether their Lord intendeth for them a right guidance.\n\nThere are among us the good, and among us _those who are_ not so,\u2014we\nare of various ways.\n\n   (lxxii. 1, 2, 8-11.)\n\n\n\n\n_TRUE RELIGION AND FALSE._\n\n\nLXIV.\n\nVerily God commandeth justice and the doing of good and the giving\nunto the relation: and He forbiddeth wickedness and iniquity and\noppression. He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.\n\n   (xvi. 92.)[163]\n\n\nLXV.\n\n\n   \u2020By the Night when she spreadeth her veil,\n   By the Day when it appeareth in glory,\n   By Him who made male and female;\n   Verily your aims are indeed different!\n   As then for him who giveth [alms] and feareth [God],\n   And yieldeth assent to the Good,\n   To him will We therefore make easy the path to happiness.\n   But as to him who is covetous and bent on riches,\n   And calleth the Good a lie,\n   To him will We make easy the path to distress;\n   And what shall his wealth avail him when he goeth down headlong?\n   Truly man\u2019s guidance is with Us,\n   And Ours the next Life and this life Present.\n   I warn you therefore of the flaming fire;\n   None shall be burned at it but the most wretched,\u2014\n   Who hath called the truth a lie and turned his back.\n   But the greatly God-fearing shall escape it,\u2014\n   Who giveth away his substance that he may become pure,\n   And who [offereth] not favours to any one for the sake\n     of recompense,\n   But only as seeking the face of his Lord the Most High.\n   And assuredly in the end he shall be well content.[1]\n\n   (xcii.)\n\n\nLXVI.\n\n   \u2020What thinkest thou of him who treateth the day of judgment as a lie?\n   It is he who thrusteth away the orphan,\n   And stirreth not [others] up to feed the poor.\n   Woe, then, to those who pray,\n   Who in their prayer are careless,\n   Who make a show [of devotion],\n   But refuse help [to the needy].[164]\n\n   (cvii.)\n\n\nLXVII.\n\nYour turning your faces _in prayer_ towards the east and the west is\nnot piety: but the pious is he who believeth in God and the Last Day,\nand in the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets, and who giveth\nmoney, notwithstanding his love _of it_, to relations and orphans, and\nto the needy and the son of the road,[165] and to the askers and for\n_the freeing_ of slaves, and who performeth prayer and giveth the\n[appointed] alms, and those who perform their covenant when they\ncovenant, and the patient in adversity and affliction and in the time\nof violence. These are they who have been true: and these are they who\nfear God.\n\n   (ii. 172.)\n\n\nLXVIII.\n\n\u2020He only shall visit the temples of God who believeth in God\nand the Last Day, and observeth prayer, and payeth the [appointed]\nalms, and dreadeth none but God: for these are among the\nrightly-guided.\n\n   (ix. 18.)\n\n\nLXIX.\n\nO ye who have believed, make not your alms of no effect by reproach\nand harm, like him who expendeth his wealth to make a vain show unto\nmen, and believeth not in God and the Last Day. For his likeness is as\nthe likeness of a smooth stone upon which was earth, and a violent\nrain hath fallen upon it, and left it smooth and hard. [Such] cannot\nhave aught that they have gained, and God directeth not the\nunbelieving people.\n\nAnd the likeness of those who expend their wealth from a desire of\nGod\u2019s being pleased, and from assurance on their part,[166] is as the\nlikeness of a garden upon a hill, on which a violent rain hath fallen,\nand it hath produced its fruit twofold: and if a violent rain fall not\nupon it, a gentle rain _falleth_.\n\n   (ii. 266, 267.)\n\n\nLXX.\n\nIf ye manifest alms, good will it be: but if ye conceal them and give\nthem to the poor, it will be better for you; and it will expiate\n_some_ of your sins.\n\n   (ii. 273.)\n\n\nLXXI.\n\nA kind speech and forgiveness are better than alms which hurt[167]\nfolloweth.\n\n   (ii. 265.)\n\n\nLXXII.\n\nRevile not what they invoke in preference to God,[168] lest they\nrevile God evilly without knowledge.\n\n   (vi. 108.)\n\n\nLXXIII.\n\nTurn away _evil_ by that which is better: and lo, he between whom and\nthyself [was] enmity [shall become] as though he were a warm friend:\n\nBut none is endowed with this[169] except those who have been patient,\nand none is endowed with it except he who is greatly favoured.[170]\n\n   (xli. 34, 35.)\n\n\nLXXIV.\n\n\u2020If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a\nbetter greeting, or at least return it: verily God taketh count of all\nthings.\n\n   (iv. 88.)\n\n\nLXXV.\n\n\u2020If there be any [debtor] under a difficulty [of paying his\ndebt], let [his creditor] wait until it be easy: but if ye remit it as\nalms, it will be better for you.\n\n   (ii. 280.)[171]\n\n\n\n\n_BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS._\n\n\nLXXVI.\n\n\u2020Dispute not with the people of the Scripture[172] unless in\nthe kindliest[173] manner, except against such of them as deal evilly\n[with you]; and say [unto them], We believe in that which hath been\nsent down unto us and [that which] hath been sent down unto you, and\nour God and your God is one, and to Him are we self-surrendered.[174]\n\n   (xxix. 45.)\n\n\nLXXVII.\n\nVerily those who have believed,[175] and those who have become Jews,\nand the Christians, and the Sabians, whosoever hath believed in God\nand the Last Day, and hath done that which is right,\u2014they shall have\ntheir reward with their Lord, and _there shall come_ no fear upon\nthem, neither shall they grieve.\n\n   (ii. 59.)[176]\n\n\nLXVIII.\n\nWhoso desireth any other religion than El-Isl\u00e1m, it shall not be\naccepted of him, and in the world to come he [shall be] of those that\nperish.\n\n   (iii. 79.)\n\n\nLXXIX.\n\nThe likeness of those who have disbelieved[177] is as the likeness of\nhim who crieth out to that which heareth not [aught] save a calling\nand a voice. _They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they do not\nunderstand.\n\n   (ii. 166.)\n\n\nLXXX.\n\n[As to] the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour[178] in a\nplain, which the thirsty imagineth to be water, until when he cometh\nto it he findeth it not aught:[179] (but he findeth God there, and He\nfully payeth him his account: and God is swift in reckoning:)\n\nOr, like darknesses in a deep sea, covered by waves over waves,\u2014over\nthem clouds,\u2014darknesses one over another: when [one] putteth forth his\nhand he is not nearly able to see it. And unto whomsoever God giveth\nnot light, he hath no light.\n\n   (xxiv. 39, 40.)\n\n\nLXXXI.\n\nPropound unto them as a parable two men, on one of whom[180] We\nbestowed two gardens of grape-vines, and We surrounded them with\npalm-trees, and put corn between them; each of the gardens brought\nforth its fruit, and failed not thereof at all;\n\nAnd We caused a river to flow between them; and he had abundance. And\nhe said unto his companion, disputing with him, \u2018I am greater than\nthou in wealth and more mighty in family.\u2019\n\nAnd he entered his garden, being unjust to his own soul.[181] He said,\n\u2018I do not think that this will ever perish,\n\nAnd I do not think that the [Last] Hour will come; and if I should be\ntaken back unto my Lord, I shall assuredly find a better [garden] than\nit in return.\u2019\n\nHis companion said unto him, disputing with him, \u2018Dost thou disbelieve\nin Him who created thee of dust, then completely fashioned thee into a\nman?\n\nGod is my Lord, and I will not associate any one with my Lord.\n\nAnd why when thou enteredst thy garden didst thou not say, \u2018What God\nwilleth[182] [cometh to pass]: there is no power but in God?\u2019 If thou\nseest me to be inferior to thee in amount of wealth and in number of\nchildren,\n\nPerhaps my Lord may give me [what will be] better than thy garden; and\nmay send upon [thine] thunderbolts from heaven, so that it shall\nbecome a smooth and slippery ground;\n\nOr its water may become deep-sunk [in the earth], so that thou shalt\nnot be able to draw it.\u2019\u2014\n\nAnd his possessions were encompassed _with destruction_, and he began\nto turn down the palms of his hands for that which he had expended\nthereon; for it[s vines were] falling down upon its trellises; and he\nsaid, \u2018O would that I had not associated any one with my Lord!\u2019\n\nAnd there was no party for him to assist him instead of God, nor was\nhe able to defend himself.\n\nIn that case[183] protection [belongeth] unto God, the True; He is the\nbest rewarder and the best giver of success.\n\n   (xviii. 31-42.)\n\n\nLXXXII.\n\nThou shalt certainly find[184] the Jews and those who have attributed\npartners to God[185] the most violent of men in hatred of those who\nhave believed; and thou shalt certainly find the nearest of them to\nfriendship to those who have believed those who say, \u2018We are\nChristians.\u2019 This is because there are among them priests and monks,\nand because they are not proud.[186]\n\nAnd when they hear that which hath been sent down unto the Apostle,\nthou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth that\nthey know: they say, \u2018O our Lord, we believe, therefore write us down\namong those who bear witness.\u2019\n\n   (v. 85, 86.)\n\n\nLXXXIII.\n\nThe likeness of those who were charged to bear in mind the Law [of\nMoses], then bore it not in mind,[187] is as the likeness of the ass\nthat beareth books. Evil is the likeness of the people who have\ncharged the signs of God with falsehood: and God directeth not the\nunjust people.\n\n   (lxii. 5.)\n\n\nLXXXIV.\n\n[188] Among men are those who say, We believe in God and in\nthe Last Day: but they are not believers.\n\nThey try to deceive God and those who have believed; but they deceive\nnot any except themselves, and they know [it] not.\n\nIn their hearts is a disease, and God hath increased their disease,\nand for them [is ordained] a painful punishment, because they have\ncharged with falsehood _the prophet of God_.\n\nAnd when it is said unto them, Corrupt not in the earth, they reply,\n\u2018We are only rectifiers.\u2019\n\nAssuredly they are the corrupters; but they know [it] not.\n\nAnd when it is said unto them, Believe ye as _other_ men have\nbelieved, they say, \u2018Shall we believe as the fools have believed?\u2019\nAssuredly they are the fools; but they know it not.\n\nAnd when they meet those who have believed, they say, \u2018We believe:\u2019\nbut when they retire privately to their devils,[189] they say, \u2018We\n_hold_ with you: we only mock _at them_.\u2019\n\nGod will mock at them, and keep them in their exceeding wickedness,\nwandering about in perplexity.\n\nThese are they who have purchased error in exchange for right\nguidance: but their traffic hath not been profitable; and they have\nnot been rightly guided.\n\nTheir likeness is as the likeness of those who have kindled a fire _in\nthe dark_, and when it hath enlightened what is around them, God\ntaketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, seeing not.\n\n_They are_ deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they will not turn back.\n\nOr _they are_ like _people in_ a storm of rain from heaven, wherein\nare darkness and thunder and lightning: they put their fingers in\ntheir ears because of the vehement sounds of the thunder, for fear of\ndeath. And God encompasseth the unbelievers.\n\nThe lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes: whenever it shineth on\nthem they walk in _the light of_ it, but when darkness cometh on them\nthey stand still. And if God pleased He would certainly take away\ntheir ears and eyes: for God is all-powerful.\n\n   (ii. 7-19.)\n\n\nLXXXV.\n\nO ye who have believed, take not the Jews and Christians as friends.\nThey are friends one to another; and whosoever of you taketh them as\nhis friends, verily he is _of the number_ of them.\n\nO ye who have believed, take not as friends those who have made your\nreligion a laughing-stock and a jest, of those who have received the\nScripture before you, and the unbelievers: (But fear God if ye be\nbelievers:)\n\nAnd _those who_ when ye call to prayer make it a laughing-stock and a\njest. This _they do_ because they are a people who do not understand.\n\n   (v. 56, 62, 63.)\n\n\nLXXXVI.\n\n\u2020The servants of the Merciful are they that walk upon the\nearth softly; and when the ignorant speak unto them, they reply\n\u2018Peace!\u2019\u2014\n\nAnd they that pass the night worshipping their Lord, prostrate and\nstanding;\u2014\n\nAnd that say, \u2018O our Lord, turn away from us the torment of Hell:\nverily its torment is endless; verily it is an ill abode and\nresting-place!\u2019\u2014\n\nAnd those who when they spend are neither lavish nor niggard, but keep\nthe mean;\u2014\n\nAnd those who call on no other gods with God, nor slay whom God hath\nforbidden to be slain, except for a just cause; nor are unchaste;\u2014\n\nAnd they who bear not witness to a lie, and when they pass by vain\ndiscourse pass it by with dignity;\u2014\n\nThese shall be rewarded with the highest Heaven, for that they\npersevered, and they shall be accosted therein with \u2018Welcome and\nPeace,\u2019 to live therein for ever\u2014a fair abode and resting-place!\n\n   (xxv. 64-75.)\n\n\n\n\n_PART THE SECOND._\n\n_PROPHETS, APOSTLES, AND DIVINE BOOKS._[190]\n\n\nSAY YE, We believe in God, and in that which hath been sent down unto\nus (_namely, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_), and what hath been sent down unto Abraham\n(_the ten books_), and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes,\n_his children_, and what Moses received (_namely, the Pentateuch_),\nand Jesus (_namely, the Gospel_), and what the prophets received from\ntheir Lord (_namely, books and signs_): we make no separation of any\nof them, _believing in some, and disbelieving in some, like the Jews\nand the Christians_; and we resign ourselves unto Him.\n\n   (ii. 130.)\n\n\n\n\n_ADAM AND EVE._\n\n\n_Remember, O Mo\u1e25ammad_, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about\nto place in the earth a vicegerent _to act for me in the execution of\nmy ordinances therein, namely, Adam_,\u2014they said, Wilt Thou place in it\none who will corrupt in it _by disobediences_, and will shed blood\n(_as did the sons of El-J\u00e1nn,[191] who were in it; wherefore, when\nthey acted corruptly, God sent to them the angels, who drove them away\nto the islands and the mountains_), when we [on the contrary]\ncelebrate the divine perfection, _occupying ourselves_ with Thy\npraise, and extol Thy holiness? _Therefore we are more worthy of the\nvicegerency._\u2014_God_ replied, Verily, I know that which ye know not,\n_as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his\nposterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will\nbe manifest among them. And He created Adam from the surface of the\nearth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was\nkneaded with various waters; and He completely formed it, and breathed\ninto it the soul: so it became an animated sentient being._[192] And\nHe taught Adam the names of all things, _infusing the knowledge of\nthem into his heart_. Then He showed them (_namely, the things_) to\nthe angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these _things_, if\nye say truth _in your assertion that I will not create any more\nknowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency_. They\nreplied, [_We extol_] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting\nwhat Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise.\u2014_God_\nsaid, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their\nnames, _God_ said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of\nthe heavens and the earth, and know what ye reveal _of your words,\nsaying, Wilt thou place in it_, etc., and what ye did conceal _of your\nwords, saying, He will not create any more generous towards Him than\nwe, nor any more knowing_?\n\n   (ii. 28-31.)\n\n\nWe created you; _that is, your father Adam_: then we formed you; _we\nformed him, and you in him_: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate\nyourselves unto Adam, _by way of salutation_; whereupon they\nprostrated themselves, except Iblees, _the father of the jinn, who was\namid the angels_: he was not of those who prostrated themselves. _God_\nsaid, What hath hindered thee from prostrating thyself, when I\ncommanded thee? He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me\nof fire, and Thou hast created him of earth. [God] said, Then descend\nthou from it; _that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the\nheavens_; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself proudly\ntherein: so go thou forth: verily thou [shalt be] of the contemptible.\nHe replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (_that is,\nmankind_) shall be raised from the dead. He said, Thou shalt be of\nthose [who are] respited: _and, in another verse_ [in xv. 38, it is\nsaid], _until the day of the known period; that is, until the period\nof the first blast_ [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as\nThou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (_that\nis, for the sons of Adam_) in Thy right way, _the way that leadeth to\nThee_: then I will surely come upon them, from before them, and from\nbehind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, _and\nhinder them from pursuing the way_ (_but, saith Ibn-\u00b4Abb\u00e1s, he cannot\ncome upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and\nGod\u2019s mercy_), and Thou shalt not find the greater number of them\ngrateful, _or believing_. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and\ndriven away _from mercy_. Whosoever of them (_that is, of mankind_)\nshall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; _with thee,\nand thy offspring, and with men_.\n\n   (vii. 10-17.)\n\n\nAnd we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife (_Howw\u00e1_ [or Eve], _whom\nGod created from a rib of his left side_) in the garden, and eat ye\ntherefrom plentifully, wherever ye will; but approach ye not this\ntree, _to eat thereof_; (_and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some\nother tree_;) for _if ye do so_, ye will be of _the number of_ the\noffenders. But the devil, _Iblees_, caused them to slip from it, _that\nis, from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way\nto the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one\nof the faithful advisers to them: so they ate of it_, and He ejected\nthem from that _state of delight_ in which they were. And We said,\nDescend ye[193] _to the earth, ye two with the offspring that ye\ncomprise_ [yet unborn], one of you (_that is, of your offspring_) an\nenemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of\nabode, and a provision, _of its vegetable produce_, for a time, _until\nthe period of the expiration of your terms of life_. And Adam learned,\nfrom his Lord, words, _which were these_:\u2014_O Lord, we have acted\nunjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be\nmerciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss_.[194]\n_And he prayed in these words_; and He became propitious towards him,\n_accepting his repentance_; for He is the Very Propitious, the\nMerciful. We said, Descend ye from it (_from the garden_) altogether;\nand if there come unto you from Me a direction (_a book and an\napostle_), those who follow my direction, _there shall come_ no fear\non them, nor shall they grieve _in the world to come; for they shall\nenter paradise_: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs[195] of\nfalsehood, these shall be the companions of the fire: they shall\nremain therein for ever.\n\n   (ii. 33-37.)\n\n\n\n\n_ABEL AND CAIN._\n\n\nRecite, _O Mo\u1e25ammad_, unto them (_that is, to thy people_) the history\nof the two sons of Adam, _namely, Abel and Cain_,[196] with truth.\nWhen they offered [their] offering _to God_[197] (_Abel\u2019s being a ram,\nand Cain\u2019s being produce of the earth_), and it was accepted from one\nof them (_that is, from Abel; for fire descended from heaven, and\ndevoured his offering_), and it was not accepted from the other, _Cain\nwas enraged; but he concealed his envy until Adam performed a\npilgrimage, when_ he said _unto his brother_, I will assuredly slay\nthee. _Abel said, Wherefore? Cain answered, Because of the acceptance\nof thine offering to the exclusion of mine. Abel_ replied, God only\naccepteth from the pious. If thou stretch forth to me thy hand to slay\nme, I will not stretch forth to thee my hand to slay thee; for I fear\nGod, the Lord of the worlds. I desire that thou shouldst bear the sin\n[which thou intendest to commit] against me, _by slaying me_, and thy\nsin _which thou hast committed before_, and thou wilt be of the\ncompanions of the fire.\u2014And that is the recompense of the\noffenders.\u2014But his soul suffered him to slay his brother: so he slew\nhim; and he became of [the number of] those who suffer loss. _And he\nknew not what to do with him; for he was the first dead person upon\nthe face of the earth of the sons of Adam. So he carried him upon his\nback._ And God sent a raven, which scratched up the earth _with its\nbill and its talons and raised it over a dead raven that was with it\nuntil it hid it_, to show him how he should hide the corpse of his\nbrother. He said, O my disgrace! Am I unable to be like this raven,\nand to hide the corpse of my brother?\u2014And he became of [the number of]\nthe repentant. _And he digged_ [a grave] _for him, and hid him_.\u2014On\naccount of this _which Cain did_ We commanded the children of Israel\nthat he who should slay a soul (not for _the latter\u2019s having slain_ a\nsoul or _committed_ wickedness in the earth, _such as infidelity, or\nadultery, or intercepting the way, and the like_) [should be regarded]\nas though he had slain all mankind; and he who saveth it alive, _by\nabstaining from slaying it_, as though he had saved alive all mankind.\n\n   (v. 30-35.)\n\n\n\n\n_NOAH AND THE FLOOD._\n\n\nWe formerly sent Noah [Noo\u1e25] unto his people, _saying_, Verily I am\nunto you a plain admonisher that ye worship not [any] but God. Verily\nI fear for you, _if ye worship any other_, the punishment of an\nafflictive day _in this world and in the world to come_.\u2014But the\nchiefs who disbelieved among his people replied, We see thee not to be\nother than a man, like unto us; and we see not any to have followed\nthee except the meanest of us, _as the weavers and the cobblers_, at\nfirst thought (_or rashly_), nor do we see you to have any excellence\nabove us: nay, we imagine you to be liars _in your claim to the\napostolic commission_. He said, O my people, tell me, if I have an\nevident proof from my Lord and He hath bestowed on me mercy (_the gift\nof prophecy_) from Himself which is hidden from you, shall we compel\nyou to _receive_ it when ye are averse thereto? _We cannot do so._\nAnd, O my people, I ask not of you any riches for it; _namely, for\ndelivering my message_. My reward is not due from any but God; and I\nwill not drive away those who have believed _as ye have commanded me_\n[because they are poor people]. Verily they shall meet their Lord _at\nthe resurrection, and He will recompense them, and will exact for\nthem_ [reparation] _from those who have treated them with injustice,\nand driven them away_. But I see you [to be] a people who are ignorant\n_of the end of your case_. And, O my people, who will defend me\nagainst God if I drive them away? Will ye not then consider? And I do\nnot say unto you, I have the treasures of God; nor [do I say], I know\nthe things unseen; nor do I say, Verily I am an angel; nor do I say,\nof those whom your eyes contemn, God will by no means bestow on them\ngood: (God best knoweth what is in their minds:) verily I should in\nthat case be [one] of the offenders.\u2014They replied, O Noah, thou hast\ndisputed with us and multiplied disputes with us: now bring upon us\nthat _punishment_ wherewith thou threatenest us, if thou be of those\nthat speak truth. He said, Only God will bring it upon you, if He\nplease _to hasten it unto you; for it is His affair, not mine_; and ye\nshall not escape _God_: nor will my counsel profit you, if I desire to\ncounsel you, if God desire to lead you into error. He is your Lord;\nand unto Him shall ye be brought back.\n\n   (xi. 27-36.)\n\n\nAnd it was said by revelation unto Noah, Verily there shalt not\nbelieve of thy people [any] but they who have already believed;\ntherefore be not grieved for that which they have done.\n\n   (xi. 38.)\n\n\n_And he uttered an imprecation upon them, saying_, O my Lord, leave\nnot upon the earth any one of the unbelievers; for if Thou leave them,\nthey will lead Thy servants into error, and will not beget [any] but a\nwicked, ungrateful [offspring]. O my Lord, forgive me and my parents\n(_for they were believers_), and whomsoever entereth my house (_my\nabode, or my place of worship_), being a believer, and the believing\nmen, and the believing women, (_to the day of resurrection_), and add\nnot to the offenders [aught] save destruction.\n\n   (lxxi. 27-29.)\n\n\n_And God answered his prayer, and said_, Construct the ark in our\nsight and according to our revelation, and speak not unto Me\nconcerning those who have offended, _to beg Me not to destroy them_;\nfor they [shall be] drowned. And he constructed the ark; and whenever\na company of his people passed by him, they derided him. He said, If\nye deride us, we will deride you, like as ye deride, _when we are\nsaved and ye are drowned_, and ye shall know on whom shall come a\npunishment which shall render him vile, and whom shall befall a\nlasting punishment. [Thus he was employed] until when Our decree _for\ntheir destruction_ came to pass, and the _baker\u2019s_ oven overflowed\n_with water_[198] (_for this was a signal unto Noah_), We said, Carry\ninto it (_that is, into the ark_) of every pair, _male and female, of\neach of these descriptions_, two (_and it is related that God\nassembled for Noah the wild beasts and the birds and other creatures,\nand he proceeded to put his hands upon each kind, and his right hand\nfell always upon the male, and his left upon the female, and he\ncarried them into the ark_), and thy family (excepting him upon whom\nthe sentence _of destruction_ hath already been pronounced, _namely,\nNoah\u2019s wife, and his son Canaan: but Shem and Ham and Japheth and\ntheir three wives he took_), and those who have believed; but there\nbelieved not with him save a few: _they were six men and their wives:\nand it is said that all who were in the ark were eighty, half of whom\nwere men and half women_. And _Noah_ said, Embark ye therein. In the\nname of God [be] its course and its mooring.[199] Verily my Lord is\nvery forgiving [and] merciful.\u2014And it moved along with them amid\nwaves like mountains; and Noah called unto his son, _Canaan_, who was\napart _from the ark_, O my child, embark with us, and be not with the\nunbelievers! He replied, I will betake me to a mountain which will\nsecure me from the water. [Noah] said, There is nought that will\nsecure to-day from the decree of God [any] but him on whom He hath\nmercy. And the waves intervened between them; so he became [one] of\nthe drowned. And it was said, O earth, swallow up thy water\n(_whereupon it drank it up, except what had descended from heaven,\nwhich became rivers and seas_), and, O heaven, cease _from\nraining_;\u2014and the water abated, and the decree was fulfilled, and it\n(_namely, the ark_) rested on El-Joodee (_a mountain of El-Jezeereh,\nnear El-M\u00f3sil_); and it was said, Perdition to the offending\npeople![200]\n\n   (xi. 38-46.)\n\n\nAnd Noah called upon his Lord, and said, O my Lord, verily my son is\nof my family, _and Thou hast promised me to save them_, and verily Thy\npromise is true, and Thou art the most just of those who exercise\njudgment. _God_ replied, O Noah, verily he is not of thy family _who\nshould be saved, or of the people of thy religion_. Verily it\n(_namely, thine asking me to save him_) is not a righteous act; _for\nhe was an unbeliever, and there is no safety for the unbelievers_;\ntherefore ask not of me that wherein thou hast no knowledge. I\nadmonish thee, lest thou become [one] of the ignorant.\u2014_Noah_ said, O\nmy Lord, I beg Thee to preserve me from asking Thee that wherein I\nhave no knowledge; and if Thou do not forgive me and have mercy upon\nme, I shall be of those who suffer loss.\u2014It was said, O Noah, descend\n_from the ark_,[201] with peace from Us, and blessings, upon thee and\nupon peoples [that shall proceed] from those who are with thee _in the\nark_ (_that is, their believing posterity_); but peoples [that shall\nproceed] _from those who are with thee_ We will permit to enjoy _the\nprovisions of this world_; then a painful punishment shall befall them\nfrom Us, _in the world to come; they being unbelievers_.\n\n   (xi. 47-50.)\n\n\n\n\n_\u00b4AD AND THAMOOD._\n\n\nAnd _we sent_ unto _the former_ [tribe of] \u00b4\u00c1d[202] their brother\nHood.[203] He said, O my people, worship God: _assert His unity_. Ye\nhave no other deity than Him. Will ye not then fear _Him, and\nbelieve_?\u2014The chiefs who disbelieved among his people answered, Verily\nwe see thee to be in a foolish way, and verily we esteem thee one of\nthe liars _with respect to the apostolic commission_. He replied, O my\npeople, there is no folly in me; but I am an apostle from the Lord of\nthe worlds. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord, and I am unto\nyou a counsellor, intrusted _with the apostolic office_. Do ye wonder\nthat an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by _the tongue\nof_ a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember how He\nhath appointed you vicegerents _in the earth_ after the people of\nNoah, and increased you in tallness of stature. (_For the tall among\nthem was a hundred cubits, and the short among them sixty._) Remember,\nthen, the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said, Art thou\ncome unto us that we may worship God alone, and relinquish what our\nfathers worshipped? Then bring upon us that _punishment_ with which\nthou threatenest us, if thou be of those who speak truth.\u2014He replied,\nPunishment and indignation from your Lord have become necessary for\nyou. Do ye dispute with me concerning names which ye and your fathers\nhave given _to idols which ye worship_, concerning which (_that is,\nthe worship of which_) God hath not set down any convincing proof?\nThen await ye _the punishment_. I am with you, of those who await\n_that, for your accusing me of falsehood. And the unprofitable wind\nwas sent upon them._ But We delivered him (_namely, Hood_) and them\nwho were with him (_of the believers_) by Our mercy; and We cut off\nthe uppermost part of those who charged Our signs with falsehood and\nwho were not believers.\n\n   (vii. 63-70.)\n\n\nAnd _We sent_ unto _the tribe of_ Thamood[204] their brother \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25.\nHe said, O my people, worship God. Ye have no other deity than Him. A\n_miraculous_ proof _of my veracity_ hath come unto you from your Lord,\nthis she-camel of God being a sign unto you. [He had caused her, at\ntheir demand, to come forth from the heart of a rock.] Therefore let\nher feed in God\u2019s earth, and do her no harm, lest a painful punishment\nseize you. And remember how He hath appointed you vicegerents _in the\nearth_ after [the tribe of] \u00b4\u00c1d, and given you a habitation in the\nearth: ye make yourselves, on its plains, pavilions _wherein ye dwell\nin summer_, and cut the mountains into houses _wherein ye dwell in\nwinter_. Remember then the benefits of God, and do not evil in the\nearth, acting corruptly.\u2014The chiefs who were elated with pride, among\nhis people, said unto those who were esteemed weak, _namely_, to those\nwho had believed among them, Do ye know that \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25 hath been sent\n_unto you_ from his Lord? They answered, _Yea_: verily we believe in\nthat wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride\nreplied, Verily we disbelieve in that wherein ye have believed.\u2014_And\nthe she-camel had a day to water; and they had a day; and they became\nweary of this._ And they hamstrung the she-camel (_\u1e32ud\u00e1r_ [the son of\nS\u00e1lif] _doing so by their order and slaying her with the sword_);[205]\nand they impiously transgressed the command of their Lord,[206] and\nsaid, O \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25, bring upon us that _punishment_ with which thou\nthreatenest us _for killing her_, if thou be [one] of the apostles.\nAnd the violent convulsion (_a great earthquake, and a cry from\nheaven_[207]) assailed them, and in the morning they were in their\ndwellings prostrate _and dead_. So he turned away from them, and said,\nO my people, I have brought unto you the message of my Lord and given\nyou faithful counsel; but ye loved not faithful counsellors.\n\n   (vii. 71-77.)\n\n\n\n\n_DHU-L-\u1e32ARNEYN._\n\n\nThey (_namely, the Jews_) will ask thee concerning Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn.[208]\n(_His name was El-Iskender, and he was not a prophet._) Answer, I will\nrecite unto you an account of him. We gave him ability in the earth,\n_by facilitating his journeying therein_, and gave him a way to\n_attain_ everything _that he required_. And he followed a way _towards\na place where the sun setteth_, until, when he came to the place where\nthe sun setteth, he found that it set in a spring of black mud, _as it\nappeared to the eye; but really that spring was greater than the\nworld_; and he found near it a people _who were unbelievers_.[209] We\nsaid, _by inspiration_, O Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn, either punish _the people by\nslaughter_, or proceed against them gently, _taking them captive_. He\nsaid, As to him who offendeth _by polytheism_, we will punish him _by\nslaughter_: then he shall be taken back to his Lord, and He will\npunish him with a severe punishment, _in the fire of hell_. But as\nto him who believeth, and doeth that which is right, he shall have as\na reward paradise, and We will say unto him, in Our command, _that\nwhich will be_ easy _unto him_.\u2014Then he followed a way _towards the\nplace where the sun riseth_, until, when he came to the place where\nthe sun riseth, he found that it rose upon a people (_namely, the\nZenj_) unto whom We had not given anything wherewith to shelter\nthemselves therefrom, _neither clothing nor roof; for their land bore\nno building; but they had subterranean dwellings, into which they\nretired at sunrise, and they came forth when the sun was high_. Thus\n_was the case_; and We comprehended with Our knowledge what were with\nhim (_namely, Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn_), _of weapons and forces and other\nthings_.\u2014Then he followed a way until, when he came between the two\nbarriers (_or mountains, at the confines of the country of the Turks,\nbetween which is the barrier of El-Iskender, as will be related\npresently_), he found before them a people who could scarce understand\nspeech. They said, O Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn, verily Y\u00e1jooj and M\u00e1jooj [Gog and\nMagog[210]] are corrupting in the earth, _by plunder and tyranny, when\nthey came forth unto us_. Shall we therefore pay thee tribute, on the\ncondition that thou make a barrier between us and them?\u2014He answered,\nThe ability which my Lord hath given me, _by wealth and other things_,\nis better _than your tribute, which I need not. I will make the\nbarrier for you gratuitously_: but assist me strenuously _by doing\nthat which I desire_: I will make between you and them a strong\nbarrier. Bring me pieces of iron _of the size of the blocks of stone\nused in building.\u2014And he built with them, and placed amid them\nfirewood and charcoal_, until, when it [the mass] filled up the space\nbetween the upper parts of the two mountains, _and he had put the\nbellows and fire around that mass_, he said, Blow ye [with the\nbellows]. _So they blew_ until, when he had made it (_that is, the\niron_) _like_ fire, he said, Bring me molten brass, that I may pour\nupon it. _And he poured the molten brass upon the heated iron, so that\nit entered between its pieces and the whole became one mass._ And they\n(_namely, Y\u00e1jooj and M\u00e1jooj_) were not able to ascend to its top _by\nreason of its height and smoothness_; nor were they able to perforate\nit _by reason of its hardness and thickness_. _Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn_ said,\nThis (_namely, the barrier, or the gift of the ability to construct\nit_) is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord, _as to\nthe eruption of Y\u00e1jooj and M\u00e1jooj shortly before the resurrection_,\nshall come _to be fulfilled_, He will reduce it (_namely, the\nbarrier_) to dust; and the promise of my Lord concerning _their\neruption and other events_ is true. And We will suffer some of them,\non that day (_the day of their eruption_), to pour tumultuously among\nothers: and the trumpet shall be blown _for the resurrection_, and We\nwill gather them (_namely, all creatures_) together in a body, _in one\nplace_. And We will set hell, on that day, _near_ before the\nunbelievers, whose eyes have been veiled from my admonition (_the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n_), _and who, being blind, have not been directed by it_, and\nwho could not hear _what the prophet recited unto them, by reason of\ntheir hatred of him; wherefore they believed not in him_.\n\n   (xviii. 82-101.)\n\n\n\n\n_ABRAHAM, ISHMAEL, ISAAC._\n\n\n_Remember_ when Abraham [Ibr\u00e1heem] said to his father A\u00b4zar (_this was\nthe surname of Terah_), Dost thou take images as deities?[211] Verily\nI see thee and thy people to be in a manifest error.\u2014(And thus, _as We\nshowed him the error of his father and his people_, did We show\nAbraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and [We did so] that\nhe might be of [the number of] those who firmly believe.) And when the\nnight overshadowed him, he saw a star (_it is said that it was\nVenus_), [and] he said _unto his people, who were astrologers_, This\nis my Lord, _according to your assertion_.\u2014But when it set, he said, I\nlike not those that set, _to take them as Lords, since it is not meet\nfor a Lord to experience alteration and change of place, as they are\nof the nature of accidents_. _Yet this had no effect upon them._ And\nwhen he saw the moon rising, he said _unto them_, This is my Lord.\u2014But\nwhen it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not (_if He confirm\nme not in the right way_), I shall assuredly be of the erring\npeople.\u2014_This was a hint to his people that they were in error; but it\nhad no effect upon them._ And when he saw the sun rising, he said,\nThis is my Lord. This is greater _than the star and the moon_.\u2014But\nwhen it set, _and the proof had been rendered more strong to them, yet\nthey desisted not_, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of the\n[things] which ye associate _with God; namely, the images and the\nheavenly bodies_. _So they said unto him, What dost thou worship? He\nanswered_, Verily I direct my face unto Him who hath created the\nheavens and the earth, following the right religion, and I am not of\nthe polytheists.\u2014And his people argued with him; [but] he said, Do ye\nargue with me respecting God, when He hath directed me, and I fear not\nwhat ye associate with Him, unless my Lord will _that_ aught\n_displeasing should befall me_? My Lord comprehendeth everything by\n_His_ knowledge. Will ye not therefore consider? And wherefore should\nI fear what ye have associated _with God_, when ye fear not for your\nhaving associated with God that of which He hath not sent down unto\nyou a proof? Then which of the two parties is the more worthy of\nsafety? _Are we, or you?_ If ye know _who is the more worthy of it,\nfollow him_.\u2014_God saith_, They who have believed, and not mixed their\nbelief with injustice (_that is, polytheism_), for these shall be\nsafety _from punishment_, and they are rightly directed.\n\n   (vi. 74-82.)\n\n\nRelate _unto them_, in the book (_that is, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_), _the history\nof_ Abraham. Verily he was a person of great veracity, a prophet. When\nhe said unto his father _A\u00b4zar, who worshipped idols_, O my father,\nwherefore dost thou worship that which heareth not, nor seeth, nor\naverteth from thee aught, _whether of advantage or of injury_? O my\nfather, verily [a degree] of knowledge hath come unto me, that hath\nnot come unto thee: therefore follow me: I will direct thee into a\nright way. O my father, serve not the devil, _by obeying him in\nserving idols_; for the devil is very rebellious unto the\nCompassionate. O my father, verily I fear that a punishment will\nbetide thee from the Compassionate, _if thou repent not_, and that\nthou wilt be unto the devil an aider, _and a companion in\nhell-fire_.\u2014He replied, Art thou a rejector of my Gods, O Abraham,\n_and dost thou revile them_? If thou abstain not, I will assuredly\nassail thee _with stones or with ill words; therefore beware of me_,\nand leave me for a long time.\u2014_Abraham_ said, Peace _from me_ be on\nthee! I will ask pardon for thee of my Lord; for He is gracious unto\nme: and I will separate myself from you and from what ye invoke\ninstead of God; and I will call upon my Lord: perhaps I shall not be\nunsuccessful in calling upon my Lord, _as ye are in calling upon\nidols_.\u2014And when he had separated himself from them, and from what\nthey worshipped instead of God, _by going to the Holy Land_, We gave\nhim _two sons, that he might cheer himself thereby, namely_, Isaac and\nJacob; and each [of them] We made a prophet; and We bestowed upon them\n(_namely, the three_), of our mercy, _wealth and children_; and We\ncaused them to receive high commendation.\n\n   (xix. 42-51.)\n\n\nWe gave unto Abraham his direction formerly, _before he had attained\nto manhood_; and We knew him _to be worthy of it_. When he said unto\nhis father and his people, What are these images, to _the worship of_\nwhich ye are devoted?\u2014they answered, We found our fathers worshipping\nthem, _and we have followed their example_. He said _unto them_,\nVerily ye and your fathers have been in a manifest error. They said,\nHast thou come unto us with truth _in saying this_, or art thou of\nthose who jest? He answered, Nay, your Lord (_the being who deserveth\nto be worshipped_) is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who\ncreated them, _not after the similitude of anything pre-existing_; and\nI am of those who bear witness thereof. And, by God, I will assuredly\ndevise a plot against your idols after ye shall have retired, turning\nyour backs.\u2014So, _after they had gone to their place of assembly, on a\nday when they held a festival_, he brake them in pieces _with an axe_,\nexcept the chief of them, _upon whose neck he hung the axe_; that they\nmight return unto it (_namely, the chief_) _and see what he had done\nwith the others_. They said, _after they had returned and seen what he\nhad done_, Who hath done this unto our gods? Verily he is of the\nunjust.\u2014_And some of them_ said, We heard a young man mention them\n_reproachfully_: he is called Abraham. They said, Then bring him\nbefore the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness _against him\nof his having done it_. They said _unto him, when he had been\nbrought_, Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham? He answered,\nNay, this their chief did it: and ask ye them, if they [can] speak.\nAnd they returned unto themselves, _upon reflection_, and said _unto\nthemselves_, Verily ye are the unjust, _in worshipping that which\nspeaketh not_. Then they reverted to their obstinacy, _and said_,\nVerily thou knowest that these speak not: _then wherefore dost thou\norder us to ask them?_ He said, Do ye then worship, instead of God,\nthat which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you _if ye worship\nit not_? Fy on you, and on that which ye worship instead of God! Do ye\nnot then understand?\u2014They said, Burn ye him, and avenge your gods, if\nye will do _so_. _So they collected abundance of firewood for him, and\nset fire to it; and they bound Abraham, and put him into an engine,\nand cast him into the fire. But, saith God_, We said, O fire, be\nthou cold, and a security unto Abraham! _So nought of him was burned\nsave his bonds: the heat of the fire ceased, but its light remained;\nand by God\u2019s saying, Security,\u2014Abraham was saved from dying, by reason\nof its cold._ And they intended against him a plot; but he caused them\nto be the sufferers.[212] And We delivered him and Lot, _the son of_\n_his brother Haran, from El-\u00b4Er\u00e1\u1e33_, [bringing them] unto the land\nwhich we blessed for the peoples, _by the abundance of its rivers and\ntrees, namely, Syria. Abraham took up his abode in Palestine, and Lot\nin El-Mu-tekifeh, between which is a day\u2019s journey._ And _when Abraham\nhad asked a son_, We gave unto him Isaac, and Jacob as an additional\ngift, _beyond what he had asked, being a son\u2019s son_; and all of them\nWe made righteous persons _and prophets_. And We made them models of\nreligion who directed _men_ by Our command _unto Our religion_; and We\ncommanded them by inspiration to do good works and to perform prayer\nand to give the appointed alms; and they served Us. And unto Lot We\ngave judgment and knowledge; and We delivered him from the city which\ncommitted filthy actions; for they were a people of evil, shameful\ndoers; and We admitted him into our mercy; for he was [one] of the\nrighteous.\n\n   (xxi. 52-75.)\n\n\nHast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his\nLord, because God had given him the kingdom? _And he was Nimrod._ When\nAbraham said, (_upon his saying unto him, Who is thy Lord, unto whom\nthou invitest us?_), My Lord is He who giveth life and causeth to\ndie,\u2014he replied, I give life and cause to die.\u2014_And he summoned two\nmen, and slew one of them, and left the other. So when he saw that he\nunderstood not_, Abraham said, And verily God bringeth the sun from\nthe east: now do thou bring it from the west.\u2014And he who disbelieved\nwas confounded; and God directeth not the offending people.\n\n   (ii. 260.)\n\n\nAnd Our messengers came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings _of\nIsaac and Jacob, who should be after him_. They said, Peace. He\nreplied, _Peace be on you_. And he tarried not, but brought a roasted\ncalf. And when he saw that their hands touched it not, he disliked\nthem and conceived a fear of them. They said, Fear not: for we are\nsent unto the people of Lot, _that we may destroy them_. And his wife\n_Sarah_ was standing _serving them_, and she laughed, _rejoicing at\nthe tidings of their destruction_. And we gave her good tidings of\nIsaac [Is\u1e25\u00e1\u1e33]; and after Isaac, Jacob [Ya\u1ea1\u1e33oob]. She said, Alas! shall\nI bear a child when I am an old woman, _of nine and ninety years_, and\nwhen this my husband is an old man, _of a hundred or a hundred and\ntwenty years_? Verily this [would be] a wonderful thing.\u2014They said,\nDost thou wonder at the command of God? The mercy of God and His\nblessings be on you, O people of the house (_of Abraham_)! for He is\npraiseworthy, glorious.\u2014And when the terror had departed from Abraham,\nand the good tidings had come unto him, he disputed with Us (_that is,\nwith Our messengers_) respecting the people of Lot; for Abraham was\ngentle, compassionate, repentant. _And he said unto them, Will ye\ndestroy a city wherein are three hundred believers? They answered, No.\nHe said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are two hundred believers?\nThey answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a city wherein are\nforty believers? They answered, No. He said, And will ye destroy a\ncity wherein are fourteen believers? They answered, No. He said, And\ntell me, if there be in it one believer? They answered, No. He said,\nVerily in it is Lot. They replied, We know best who is in it. And when\ntheir dispute had become tedious, they said_, O Abraham, abstain from\nthis _disputation_; for the command of thy Lord hath come _for their\ndestruction_, and a punishment not [to be] averted is coming upon\nthem.\n\n   (xi. 72-78.)\n\n\nAnd when Our decree for _the destruction of the people of Lot_ came\n[to be executed], We turned them (_that is, their cities_)\nupside-down; _for Gabriel raised them to heaven, and let them fall\nupside-down to the earth_;[213] and We rained upon them stones of\nbaked clay, sent one after another, marked with thy Lord, _each with\nthe name of him upon whom it should be cast_: and they [are] not far\ndistant from the offenders; _that is, the stones are not, or the\ncities of the people of Lot were not, far distant from the people of\nMekkeh_.\n\n   (xi. 84.)\n\n\nAnd [Abraham] said [after his escape from Nimrod], Verily I am going\nunto my Lord, who will direct me _unto the place whither He hath\ncommanded me to go, namely, Syria. And when he had arrived at the Holy\nLand, he said_, O my Lord, give me _a son_ [who shall be one] of the\nrighteous. Whereupon We gave him the glad tidings of a mild youth. And\nwhen he had attained to the age when he could work with him (_as some\nsay, seven years; and some, thirteen_), he said, O my child, verily I\nhave seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee (_and the dreams of\nprophets are true; and their actions, by the command of God_);\ntherefore consider what thou seest advisable _for me to do_. He\nreplied, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me,\nif God please, [of the number] of the patient. And when they had\nresigned themselves, and he had laid him down on his temple, _in_ [the\nvalley of] _Mind, and had drawn the knife across his throat_ (_but it\nproduced no effect, by reason of an obstacle interposed by the divine\npower_), We called unto him, O Abraham, thou hast verified the vision.\nVerily thus do We reward the well-doers. Verily this was the manifest\ntrial. And We ransomed him _whom he had been commanded to sacrifice_\n(_and he was Ishm\u0227el_ [Ism\u00e1\u00b4eel] _or Isaac; for there are two\nopinions_)[214] with an excellent victim, _a ram from Paradise, the\nsame that Abel had offered: Gabriel_ (_on whom be peace!_) _brought\nit, and the lord Abraham sacrificed it, saying, God is most great!_\nAnd We left _this salutation_ [to be bestowed] on him by the latter\ngenerations, Peace [be] on Abraham! Thus do We reward the well-doers:\nfor he was of our believing servants.\n\n   (xxxvii. 97-111.)\n\n\n_Remember_ when Abraham said, O my Lord, show me how Thou will raise\nto life the dead.[215]\u2014He said, Hast thou not believed? He answered,\nYea: but _I have asked Thee_ that my heart may be at ease. He replied,\nThen take four birds and draw them towards thee, _and cut them in\npieces and mingle together their flesh and their feathers_; then place\nupon each mountain _of thy land_ a portion of them, then call them\n_unto thee_: they shall come unto thee quickly: and know thou that God\nis mighty [and] wise.\u2014_And he took a peacock and a vulture and a raven\nand a cock, and did with them as hath been described, and kept their\nheads with him, and called them; whereupon the portions flew about,\none to another, until they became complete: then they came to their\nheads._\n\n   (ii. 262.)\n\n\n_Remember_ when his Lord had tried Abraham by [certain] words,\n_commands and prohibitions_, and he fulfilled them, _God_ said _unto\nhim_, I constitute thee a model of religion unto men.[216] He replied,\nAnd of my offspring _constitute models of religion_. [God] said, My\ncovenant doth not apply to the offenders, _the unbelievers among\nthem_.\u2014And when We appointed the house (_that is, the Ka\u1ea1beh_) to be a\nplace for the resort of men, and a place of security (_a man would\nmeet the slayer of his father there and he would not provoke him_ [to\nrevenge],) and [said], Take, _O men_, the station of Abraham (_the\nstone upon which he stood at the time of building the House_) as a\nplace of prayer, _that ye may perform behind it the prayers of the two\nrek\u00b4ahs_[217] [which are ordained to be performed after the ceremony]\n_of the circuiting_ [of the Ka\u1ea1beh].\u2014And We commanded Abraham and\nIshmael, [saying], Purify my House (_rid it of the idols_) for those\nwho shall compass [it], and those who shall abide _there_, and those\nwho shall bow down and prostrate themselves.\u2014And when Abraham said, O\nmy Lord, make this _place_ a secure territory (_and God hath answered\nhis prayer, and made it a sacred place, wherein the blood of man is\nnot shed, nor is any one oppressed in it, nor is its game hunted_ [or\nshot], _nor are its plants cut or pulled up_), and supply its\ninhabitants with fruits _which hath been done by the transporting of\nE\u1e6d-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff from Syria thither, when it_ [that is, the territory of\nMekkeh] _was desert, without sown land or water_,[218] such of them as\nshall believe in God and the last day.\u2014_He mentioned them peculiarly\nin the prayer agreeably with the saying of God, My covenant doth not\napply to the offenders._\u2014_God_ replied, And _I will supply_ him who\ndisbelieveth: I will make him to enjoy _a supply of food in this\nworld_, a little _while_: then I will force him, _in the world to\ncome_, to the punishment of the fire; and evil shall be the transit.\n\n   (ii. 118-120.)\n\n\nAnd _remember_ when Abraham was raising the foundations of the\nHouse[219] (_that is, building it_), together with Ishmael, _and they\nsaid_, O our Lord, accept of us _our building_; for Thou art the\nHearer _of what is said_, the Knower _of what is done_. O our Lord,\nalso make us resigned[220] unto Thee, and _make_ from among our\noffspring a people resigned unto Thee, and show us our rites (_the\nordinances of our worship, or our pilgrimage_), and be propitious\ntowards us; for Thou art the Very Propitious, the Merciful. (_They\nbegged Him to be propitious to them, notwithstanding their honesty,\nfrom a motive of humility, and by way of instruction to their\noffspring._) O our Lord, also send unto them (_that is, the people of\nthe House_) an apostle from among them (_and God hath answered their\nprayer by sending Mo\u1e25ammad_), who shall recite unto them Thy signs\n(the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n), and shall teach them the book (_the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_), and the\nknowledge _that it containeth_, and shall purify them _from\npolytheism_; for Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.\u2014And who will be averse\nfrom the religion of Abraham but he who maketh his soul foolish, _who\nis ignorant that it is God\u2019s creation, and that the worship of Him is\nincumbent on it; or who lightly esteemeth it and applieth it to vile\npurposes_; when We have chosen him in this world _as an apostle and a\nfriend_, and he shall be in the world to come one of the righteous\n_for whom are high ranks?\u2014And remember_ when his lord said unto\nhim, Resign thyself:\u2014he replied, I resign myself unto the Lord of the\nworlds.\u2014And Abraham commanded his children to follow it (_namely, the\nreligion_); and Jacob,_ his children; saying_, O my children, verily\nGod hath chosen for you the religion _of El-Isl\u00e1m_;[221] therefore die\nnot without your being Muslims.\u2014_It was a prohibition from abandoning\nEl-Isl\u00e1m and a command to persevere therein unto death._\n\n   (ii. 121-126.)\n\n\n_When the Jews said, Abraham was a Jew, and we are of his\nreligion,\u2014and the Christians said the like_, [the following] _was\nrevealed_:\u2014O people of the Scripture, wherefore do ye argue respecting\nAbraham, _asserting that he was of your religion_, when the Pentateuch\nand the Gospel were not sent down but after him _a long time_? Do ye\nnot then understand the _falsity of your saying_? So ye, O people,\nhave argued respecting that of which ye have knowledge, _concerning\nMoses and Jesus, and have asserted that ye are of their religion_:\nthen wherefore do ye argue respecting that of which ye have no\nknowledge, _concerning Abraham_? But God knoweth _his case_, and ye\nknow _it_ not. Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian: but he was\northodox, a Muslim [or one resigned], _a unitarian_, and he was not of\nthe polytheists.\n\n   (iii. 58-60.)\n\n\n\n\n_JACOB, JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN._\n\n\n_Remember_, when Joseph [Yoosuf] said unto his father, O my father,\nverily I saw _in sleep_ eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw\nthem making obeisance unto me. He replied, O my child, relate not thy\nvision to thy brethren, lest they contrive a plot against thee,\n_knowing its interpretation to be that they are the stars and that the\nsun is thy mother and the moon thy father_; for the devil is unto man\na manifest enemy. And thus, _as thou sawest_, thy Lord will choose\nthee, and teach thee the interpretation of events, _or dreams_, and\nwill accomplish his favour upon thee _by the gift of prophecy_, and\nupon the family of Jacob, as He accomplished it upon thy fathers\nbefore, Abraham and Isaac; for thy Lord is knowing [and] wise.\u2014Verily\nin _the history of_ Joseph and his brethren are signs to the\ninquirers.\u2014When they (_the brethren of Joseph_) said, _one to\nanother_, Verily Joseph and his brother _Benjamin_ are dearer unto our\nfather than we, and we are a number of men; verily our father is in a\nmanifest error; slay ye Joseph, or drive him away into a _distant_\nland; so the face of your father shall be directed alone unto you,\n_regarding no other_, and ye shall be after it a just people:\u2014a\nspeaker among them, _namely, Judah_, said, Slay not Joseph, but throw\nhim to the bottom of the well; then some of the travellers may light\nupon him, if ye do _this_. _And they were satisfied therewith_. They\nsaid, O our father, wherefore dost thou not intrust us with Joseph,\nwhen verily we are faithful unto him? Send him with us tomorrow _into\nthe plain_, that he may divert himself and sport; and we will surely\ntake care of him.\u2014He replied, Verily your taking him away will grieve\nme, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him.\nThey said, Surely if the wolf devour him, when we are a number of men,\nwe shall in that case be indeed weak. _So he sent him with them._ And\nwhen they went away with him, and agreed to put him at the bottom of\nthe well, _they did so_.[222] _They pulled off his shirt, after they\nhad beaten him and had treated him with contempt and had desired to\nslay him; and they let him down; and when he had arrived half-way down\nthe well they let him fall, that he might die; and he fell into the\nwater. He then betook himself to a mass of rock; and they called to\nhim; so he answered them, imagining that they would have mercy upon\nhim. They however desired to crush him with a piece of rock; but Judah\nprevented them._ And We said unto him by revelation, _while he was in\nthe well (and he was seventeen years of age, or less), to quiet his\nheart_, Thou shalt assuredly declare unto them this their action, and\nthey shall not know _thee at the time_.[223] And they came to their\nfather at nightfall weeping. They said, O our father, we went to run\nraces,[224] and left Joseph with our clothes, and the wolf devoured\nhim; and thou wilt not believe us, though we speak truth. And they\nbrought false blood upon his shirt. _Jacob_ said _unto them_, Nay,\nyour minds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done\nit_;[225] but patience is seemly, and God\u2019s assistance is implored\nwith respect to that which ye relate.\n\nAnd travellers came _on their way from Midian (Medyen) to Egypt, and\nalighted near the well_;[226] and they sent their drawer of\nwater,[227] and he let down his bucket _into the well: so Joseph\ncaught hold upon it, and the man drew him forth; and when he saw him_,\nhe said, O good news! This is a young man!\u2014_And his brethren thereupon\nknew his case; wherefore they came unto him_, and they[228] concealed\nhis case, _making him_ as a piece of merchandise; _for they said, He\nis our slave who hath absconded. And Joseph was silent, fearing lest\nthey should slay him._ And God knew that which they did. And they sold\nhim for a mean price, [for] some dirhems counted down, _twenty, or\ntwo-and-twenty_; and they were indifferent to him. _The travellers\nthen brought him to Egypt, and he who had bought him sold him for\ntwenty deen\u00e1rs and a pair of shoes and two garments._ And the Egyptian\nwho bought him, _namely, \u1e32i\u1e6dfeer_,[229] said unto his wife _Zeleekha_,\nTreat him hospitably; peradventure he may be advantageous to us, or\nwe may adopt him as a son. _For he was childless._ And thus We\nprepared an establishment for Joseph in the land _of Egypt_, to teach\nhim the interpretation of events, _or dreams_; for God is well able to\neffect His purpose; but the greater number of men, _namely, the\nunbelievers_, know not _this_. And when he had attained his age of\nstrength (_thirty years, or three-and-thirty_), We bestowed on him\nwisdom and knowledge _in matters of religion, before he was sent as a\nprophet_; for thus do We recompense the well-doers. (xii. 4-22.\u2014_Then\nfollows an account of his temptation by his mistress, Zeleekha._)\n\nThen it seemed good unto them,[230] after they had seen the signs of\n_his innocence, to imprison him_. They will assuredly imprison him for\na time, _until the talk of the people respecting him cease_. _So they\nimprisoned him._ And there entered with him into the prison two young\nmen, _servants of the king, one of whom was his cup-bearer and the\nother was his victualler_. _And they found that he interpreted dreams;\nwherefore_ one of them, _namely, the cup-bearer_, said, I dreamed that\nI was pressing grapes: and the other said, I dreamed that I was\ncarrying upon my head some bread, whereof the birds did eat: acquaint\nus with the interpretation thereof; for we see thee to be [one] of the\nbeneficent.\u2014He replied, There shall not come unto you any food\nwherewith ye shall be fed _in a dream_, but I will acquaint you with\nthe interpretation thereof _when ye are awake_, before _the\ninterpretation of_ it come unto you. This is _a part_ of that which my\nLord hath taught me. Verily I have abandoned the religion of a people\nwho believe not in God and who disbelieve in the world to come; and I\nfollow the religion of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. It is\nnot _fit_ for us to associate anything with God. This _knowledge of\nthe unity_ [hath been given us] of the bounty of God towards us and\ntowards mankind; but the greater number of men are not thankful. O ye\ntwo companions (_or inmates_) of the prison, are sundry lords better,\nor is God, the One, the Almighty? Ye worship not, beside Him, [aught]\nsave names which ye and your fathers have given _to idols_, concerning\nwhich God hath not sent down any convincing proof. Judgment belongeth\nnot [unto any] save unto God _alone_. He hath commanded that ye\nworship not [any] but Him. This is the right religion; but the greater\nnumber of men know not. O ye two companions of the prison, as to one\nof you, _namely, the cup-bearer_, he will serve wine unto his lord _as\nformerly_; and as to the other, he will be crucified, and the birds\nwill eat from off his head.\u2014_Upon this they said, We dreamed not\naught. He replied_, The thing is decreed concerning which ye [did]\nask a determination, _whether ye have spoken truth or have lied_. And\nhe said unto him whom he judged to be the person who should escape of\nthem two, _namely the cup-bearer_, Mention me unto thy Lord, _and say\nunto him, In the prison is a young man imprisoned unjustly.\u2014And he\nwent forth._ But the devil caused him to forget to mention _Joseph_\nunto his lord:[231] so he remained in the prison some years: _it is\nsaid, seven; and it is said, twelve._\n\nAnd the king of _Egypt,[232] Er-Reiy\u00e1n the son of El-Weleed_ said,\nVerily I saw [in a dream] seven fat kine which seven lean _kine_\ndevoured, and seven green ears of corn and _seven_ other _ears_ dried\nup. O ye nobles, explain unto me my dream, if ye interpret a\ndream.\u2014They replied, _These are_ confused dreams, and we know not the\ninterpretation of dreams. And he who had escaped, of the two _young\nmen, namely the cup-bearer_, said (for he remembered after a time _the\ncondition of Joseph_), I will acquaint you with the interpretation\nthereof; wherefore send me. _So they sent him; and he came unto\nJoseph, and said_, O Joseph, O thou of great veracity, give us an\nexplanation respecting seven fat kine which seven lean [kine]\ndevoured, and seven green ears of corn and other [seven] dried up,\nthat I may return unto the men (_the king and his companions_), that\nthey may know _the interpretation thereof_. He replied, Ye shall sow\nseven years as usual: (_this is the interpretation of the seven fat\nkine_:) and what ye reap do ye leave in its ear, _lest it spoil_;\nexcept a little, whereof ye shall eat. Then there shall come, after\nthat, seven grievous [years]: (_this is the interpretation of the\nseven lean kine_:) they shall consume what ye shall have provided for\nthem, _of the grain sown in the seven years of plenty_, except a\nlittle which ye shall have kept. Then there shall come, after that, a\nyear wherein men shall be aided _with rain_, and wherein they shall\npress _grapes and other fruits_.\u2014And the king said, _when the\nmessenger came unto him and acquainted him with the interpretation of\nthe dream_, Bring unto me him _who hath interpreted it_.\n\n   (xii. 35-50.)\n\n\nAnd when he had spoken unto him,[233] he said _unto him_, Thou art\nthis day firmly established with us, and intrusted _with our affairs_.\n_What then seest thou fit for us to do?\u2014He answered, Collect\nprovision, and sow abundant seed in these plentiful years, and\nstore up the grain in its ear: then the people will come unto thee\nthat they may obtain provision from thee. The king said, And who\nwill act for me in this affair? Joseph_ said, Set me over the\ngranaries of the land; for I am careful [and] knowing.\u2014Thus did We\nprepare an establishment for Joseph in the land, that he might take\nfor himself a dwelling therein wherever he pleased.\u2014_And it is related\nthat the king crowned him, and put a ring on his finger, and instated\nhim in the place of \u1e32i\u1e6dfeer, whom he dismissed from his office; after\nwhich, \u1e32i\u1e6dfeer died, and thereupon the king married him to his wife\nZeleekha, and she bore him two sons._[234] We bestow Our mercy on whom\nWe please, and We cause not the reward of the well-doers to perish:\nand certainly the reward of the world to come is better for those who\nhave believed and have feared.\n\n_And the years of scarcity began, and afflicted the land of Canaan and\nSyria_, and the brethren of Joseph came, _except Benjamin, to procure\nprovision, having heard that the governor of Egypt gave food for its\nprice_.[235] And they went in unto him, and he knew them; but they\nknew him not; _and they spake unto him in the Hebrew language;\nwhereupon he said, as one who distrusted them, What hath brought you\nto my country? So they answered, For corn. But he said, Perhaps ye are\nspies. They replied, God preserve us_ [_from being spies_]! _He said,\nThen whence are ye? They answered, From the land of Canaan, and our\nfather is Jacob, the prophet of God. He said, And hath he sons beside\nyou? They answered, Yea: we were twelve; but the youngest of us went\naway, and perished in the desert, and he was the dearest of us unto\nhim; and his uterine brother remained, and he retained him that he\nmight console himself thereby for the loss of the other._[236] _And\nJoseph gave orders to lodge them, and to treat them generously._ And\nwhen he had furnished them with their provision, _and given them their\nfull measure_, he said, Bring me your brother from your father,\n_namely, Benjamin, that I may know your veracity in that ye have\nsaid_. Do ye not see that I give full measure, and that I am the most\nhospitable of the receivers of guests? But if ye bring him not, there\nshall be no measuring _of corn_ for you from me, nor shall ye approach\nme.\u2014They replied, We will solicit his father for him, and we will\nsurely perform _that_. And he said unto his young men, Put their\nmoney,[237] _which they brought as the price of the corn_, in their\nsacks, that they may know it when they have returned to their family:\nperadventure they will return _to us; for they will not deem it lawful\nto keep it_.\u2014And when they returned to their father, they said, O our\nfather, the measuring [of corn] is denied us _if thou send not our\nbrother unto him_; therefore send with us our brother, that we may\nobtain measure; and we will surely take care of him. He said, Shall I\nintrust you with him otherwise than as I intrusted you with his\nbrother _Joseph_ before? But God is the best guardian, and He is the\nmost merciful of those who show mercy.\u2014And when they opened their\ngoods, they found their money had been returned unto them. They said,\nO our father, what desire we _of the, generosity of the king greater\nthan this?_ This our money hath been returned unto us; and we will\nprovide corn for our family, and will take care of our brother, and\nshall receive a camel-load more, _for our brother_. This is a quantity\neasy _unto the king, by reason of his munificence_.\u2014He said, I will by\nno means send him with you until ye give me a solemn promise by God\nthat ye will assuredly bring him back unto me unless _an inevitable\nand insuperable impediment_ encompass you. _And they complied with\nthis his desire._ And when they had given him their solemn promise, he\nsaid, God is witness of what we say. _And he sent him with them_; and\nhe said, O my sons, enter not _the city of Mi\u1e63r_ by one gate; but\nenter by different gates; _lest the_ [evil] _eye fall upon you_.[238]\nBut I shall not avert from you, _by my saying this_, anything _decreed\nto befall you_ from God: _I only say this from a feeling of\ncompassion._ Judgment belongeth not [unto any] save unto God _alone_.\nOn Him do I rely, and on Him let those rely who rely.\n\nAnd when they entered as their father had commanded them,\n_separately_, it did not avert from them anything _decreed to befall\nthem_ from God, but [only satisfied] a desire in the soul of Jacob,\nwhich he accomplished; _that is, the desire of averting the_ [evil]\n_eye, arising from a feeling of compassion:_ and he was endowed with\nknowledge, because We had taught him: but the greater number of men,\n_namely the unbelievers_, know not _God\u2019s inspiration of His saints_.\nAnd when they went in unto Joseph, he received unto him (_or pressed\nunto him_) his brother. He said, Verily I am thy brother;[239]\ntherefore be not sorrowful for that which they did _from envy to us_.\n_And he commanded him that he should not inform them, and agree with\nhim that he should employ a stratagem to retain him with him._ And\nwhen he had furnished them with their provision, he put the cup,\n_which was a measure made of gold set with jewels_,[240] in the sack\nof his brother _Benjamin_. Then a crier cried, _after they had gone\nforth from the chamber of Joseph_, O company of travellers, ye are\nsurely thieves. They said (and turned unto them), What is it that ye\nmiss? They answered, We miss the king\u2019s measure; and to him who shall\nbring it [shall be given] a camel-load _of corn_, and I am surety for\nit, _namely the load_. They replied, By God! ye well know that we have\nnot come to act corruptly in the land, and we have not been thieves.\n_The crier and his companions said_, Then what shall be the recompense\nof him _who hath stolen it_, if ye be liars _in your saying, We have\nnot been thieves,\u2014and it be found among you?_ They answered, His\nrecompense [shall be that] he in whose sack it shall be found _shall\nbe made a slave:_ he, _the thief_, shall be compensation for it;\n_namely, for the thing stolen. Such was the usage of the family of\nJacob._ Thus do We recompense the offenders _who are guilty of\ntheft.\u2014So they turned towards Joseph, that he might search their\nsacks._ And he began with their sacks, _and searched them_ before the\nsack of his brother [Benjamin], _lest he should be suspected_. Then he\ntook it forth (_namely, the measure_) from the sack of his brother.\nThus, _saith God_, did We contrive a stratagem for Joseph. It was not\n[lawful] for him to take his brother _as a slave for theft_ by the law\nof the king of _Egypt_ (_for his recompense by his law was beating,\nand a fine of twice the value of the thing stolen; not the being made\na slave_), unless God had pleased, _by inspiring him to inquire of his\nbrethren and inspiring them to reply according to their usage_. We\nexalt unto degrees [of knowledge and honour] whom We please, _as\nJoseph_; and [there is who is] knowing above every one [else] endowed\nwith knowledge.\u2014They said, If he steal, a brother of his hath stolen\nbefore; _namely, Joseph;[241] for he stole an idol of gold belonging\nto the father of his mother, and broke it, that he might not worship\nit._ And Joseph concealed it in his mind, and did not discover it to\nthem. He said _within himself_, Ye are in a worse condition _than\nJoseph and his brother, by reason of your having stolen your brother\nfrom your father and your having treated him unjustly_; and God well\nknoweth what ye state _concerning him_.\u2014They said, O prince, verily he\nhath a father, a very old man, _who loveth him more than us, and\nconsoleth himself by him for the loss of his son who hath perished,\nand the separation of him grieveth him_; therefore take one of us _as\na slave_ in his stead; for we see thee [to be one] of the beneficent.\nHe replied, God preserve us from taking [any] save him in whose\npossession we found our property; for then (_if we took another_), we\n[should be] unjust.\n\nAnd when they despaired of [obtaining] him, they retired to confer\nprivately together. The chief of them _in age_ (_namely, Reuben, or in\njudgment, namely, Judah_), said, Do ye not know that your father hath\nobtained of you a solemn promise in the name of God, _with respect of\nyour brother_, and how ye formerly failed of your duty with respect to\nJoseph? Therefore I will by no means depart from the land _of Egypt_\nuntil my father give me permission _to return to him_, or God decide\nfor me _by the delivery of my brother_; and He is the best, _the most\njust_, of those who decide. Return ye to your father, and say, O our\nfather, verily thy son hath committed theft, and we bore not testimony\n_against him_ save according to that which we knew _of a certainty, by\nour seeing the cup in his sack_; and we were not acquainted with what\nwas unseen _by us when we gave the solemn promise: had we known that\nhe would commit theft, we had not taken him. And send thou_, and ask\n_the people of_ the city in which we have been (_namely, Mi\u1e63r_)[242]\nand the company of travellers with whom we have arrived (_who were a\npeople of Canaan_): and we are surely speakers of truth.\u2014_So they\nreturned to him, and said unto him those words_. He replied, Nay, your\nminds have made a thing seem pleasant unto you, _and ye have done it_\n(_he suspected them, on account of their former conduct in the case of\nJoseph_); but patience is seemly: peradventure God will bring them\nback (_namely, Joseph and his brother_) unto me, together; for He is\nthe Knowing _with respect to my case_, the Wise _in His acts_. And\nhe turned from them, and said, O! my sorrow for Joseph! And his eyes\nbecame white in consequence of mourning, and he was oppressed with\nsilent grief. They said, By God, thou wilt not cease to think upon\nJoseph until thou be at the point of death, or be of [the number of]\nthe dead. He replied, I only complain of my great and unconcealable\ngrief and my sorrow unto God; _not unto any beside Him; for He it is\nunto whom complaint is made with advantage_; and I know [by\nrevelation] from God what ye know not; _namely, that the dream of\nJoseph was true, and that he is living_. _Then he said_, O my sons, go\nand seek news of Joseph and his brother; and despair not of the mercy\nof God; for none despaireth of the mercy of God except the unbelieving\npeople.\n\n_So they departed towards Egypt, unto Joseph_; and when they went in\nunto him, they said, O Prince, distress (_that is, hunger_) hath\naffected us and our family, and we have come with paltry money (_it\nwas base money, or some other sort_): yet give us full measure, and be\ncharitable to us, _by excusing the badness of our money_; for God\nrecompenseth those who act charitably. _And he had pity upon them, and\ncompassion affected him, and he lifted up the curtain that was between\nhim and them: then_ he said _unto them in reproach_, Do ye know what\nye did unto Joseph, _in beating and selling and other actions_, and\nhis brother, _by your injurious conduct to him after the separation of\nhis brother_, when ye were ignorant _of what would be the result of\nthe case of Joseph?_[243] They replied, _after they had recognised him\n(desiring confirmation)_, Art thou indeed Joseph? He answered, I am\nJoseph, and this is my brother. God hath been gracious unto us, _by\nbringing us together_; for whosoever feareth _God_ and is patient\n[will be rewarded]: God will not suffer the reward of the well-doers\nto perish. They replied, By God, verily God hath preferred thee above\nus, and we have been indeed sinners. He said, [There shall be] no\nreproach [cast] on you this day: God forgive you; for He is the most\nmerciful of those that show mercy. _And he asked them respecting his\nfather: so they answered, His eyes are gone. And he said_, Go ye\nwith this my shirt (_it was the shirt of Abraham, which he wore when\nhe was cast into the fire: it was on his_ [that is, Joseph\u2019s] _neck_\n[appended as an amulet] _in the well; and it was from paradise:\nGabriel commanded him to send it, and said, In it is its odour_ [that\nis, the odour of paradise], _and it shall not be cast upon any one\nafflicted_ [with a disease] _but he shall be restored to health_), and\ncast it [said Joseph] upon the face of my father: he shall recover his\nsight; and bring unto me all your family.\u2014And when the company of\ntravellers had gone forth _from El-\u00b4Areesh[244] of Egypt_, their\nfather said, _unto those who were present of his offspring_, Verily I\nperceive the smell of Joseph (_for the zephyr had conveyed it to him,\nby permission of Him whose name be exalted, from the distance of three\ndays\u2019 journey, or eight, or more_): were it not that ye think I dote,\n_ye would believe me._ They replied, By God, thou art surely in thine\nold error. And when the messenger of good tidings (_namely, Judah_)\ncame _with the shirt_ (_and he had borne the bloody shirt; wherefore\nhe desired to rejoice him, as he had grieved him_), he cast it upon\nhis face, and he recovered his sight. [Thereupon Jacob] said, Did I\nnot say unto you, I know, from God, what ye know not? They said, O our\nfather, ask pardon of our crimes for us; for we have been sinners. He\nreplied, I will ask pardon for you of my Lord; for He is the Very\nforgiving, the Merciful.\u2014_He delayed doing so until the first\nappearance of the dawn_, _that the prayer might be more likely to be\nanswered; or, as some say, until the night of_ [that is, preceding]\n_Friday_.\n\n_They then repaired to Egypt, and Joseph and the great men came forth\nto meet them_; and when they went in unto Joseph, _in his pavilion or\ntent_, he received unto him (_or pressed unto him_) his parents (_his\nfather and his mother and his maternal aunt_), and said unto _them_,\nEnter ye Mi\u1e63r, if God please, in safety.[245] _So they entered; and\nJoseph seated himself upon his couch_, and he caused his parents to\nascend upon the seat of state, and they (_that is, his parents and his\nbrethren_) fell down, bowing themselves unto him[246] (_bending, but\nnot putting the forehead_) [upon the ground]: _such being their mode\nof obeisance in that time_. And he said, O my father, this is the\ninterpretation of my dream of former times: my Lord hath made it true;\nand He hath shown favour unto me, since He took me forth from the\nprison (_he said not, from the well,\u2014from a motive of generosity, that\nhis brethren might not be abashed_), and hath brought you from the\ndesert, after that the devil had excited discord between me and my\nbrethren; for my Lord is gracious unto whom He pleaseth; for He is the\nKnowing, the Wise.\u2014_And his father resided with him four and twenty\nyears, or seventeen; and the period of his separation was eighteen, or\nforty, or eighty years. And death came unto him; and thereupon he\ncharged Joseph that he should carry him and bury him by his fathers.\nSo he went himself and buried him. Then he returned to Egypt and\nremained after him three and twenty years; and when his case was\nended, and he knew that he should not last_ [upon earth], _and his\nsoul desired the lasting possession, he said_, O my Lord, Thou hast\ngiven me dominion, and taught me the interpretation of events (_or\ndreams_): Creator of the heavens and the earth, Thou art my guardian\nin this world and in the world to come. Make me to die a Muslim, and\njoin me with the righteous _among my forefathers. And he lived after\nthat a week, or more, and died a hundred and twenty years old. And the\nEgyptians disputed concerning his burial: so they put him in a chest\nof marble, and buried him in the upper part of the Nile, that the\nblessing_ [resulting from him] _might be general to the tracts on each\nside of it.[247] Extolled be the perfection of Him to whose dominion\nthere is no end!_\n\n   (xii. 54-102).\n\n\n\n\nJOB.\n\n\nAnd remember Our servant Job [Eiyoob[248]] when he called unto his\nLord, Verily the devil hath afflicted me with calamity and pain. (_The\naffliction is attributed to the devil, though all was from God._) _And\nit was said unto him_, Strike _the earth_ with thy foot. _And he did\nso; whereupon a fountain of water sprang forth.[249] And it was said_,\nThis _is_ cool _water for thee_ to wash with, and to drink. _So he\nwashed himself and drank; and every disease that he had, external and\ninternal, quitted him._ And We gave unto him his family, and as many\nmore with them (_that is, God raised to life for him those of his\nchildren who had died, and blest him with as many more_),[250] in Our\nmercy and as an admonition unto those who are endowed with faculties\nof understanding. [And We said unto him,] Take in thy hand a handful\n_of dry grass, or of twigs_,[251] and strike with it _thy wife_ (_for\nhe had sworn that he would inflict upon her a hundred blows, because\nshe had staid away from him too long one day_[252]) and break not\nthine oath _by abstaining from striking her._\u2014_So he took a hundred\nstalks of schoemanthus, or some other plant, and gave her one blow\nwith them._ Verily We found him a patient person. How excellent a\nservant _was he_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto\nGod.\n\n   (xxxviii. 40-44.)\n\n\n\n\nSHO\u00b4EYB.\n\n\nAnd _we sent_ unto Midian [Medyen] their brother Sho\u00b4eyb.[253] He\nsaid, O my people, worship God; _assert His unity_. Ye have no other\ndeity but Him. And give not short measure and weight. Verily I see you\n[to be] in a state of prosperity _that placeth you above the need of\ndoing so_; and verily I fear for you, _if ye believe not_, the\npunishment of a day that will encompass _you with destruction_. And, O\nmy people, give full measure and weight with equity; and diminish not\nunto men _aught_ of their things nor commit injustice in the earth,\nacting corruptly, _by murder or other offences_. The residue of God\n(_His supply that remaineth to you after the completion of the\nmeasure_) will be better for you _than diminution_, if ye be\nbelievers. And I am not a guardian over you, _to recompense you for\nyour actions: I have only been sent as an admonisher_.\u2014They replied,\n_in mockery_, O Sho\u00b4eyb, do thy prayers command thee that we are to\nleave what our fathers worshipped, or _cease_ to do with our riches\nwhat we please? Verily thou art the mild, the right director. _This\nthey said in mockery._\u2014He said, O my people, tell me, if I act\naccording to an evident proof from my Lord, and He hath supplied me\nwith a good _lawful_ provision, shall I mix it up with what is\nforbidden, and shall I not desire to oppose you, _and shall I betake\nmyself_ to that which I forbid you? I desire not [aught] but _your_\nreformation, as far as I am able [to effect it], and my help is not\n[in any] but in God: on Him do I rely, and unto Him do I turn me. And,\nO my people, let not the opposition of me procure for you the\nbefalling you of the like of that which befell the people of Noah or\nthe people of Hood or the people of \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25. And _the abodes of the_\npeople of Lot [are] not distant from you: (_or the time of their\ndestruction was not long ago:_) _therefore be admonished_. And ask ye\nforgiveness of your Lord, and turn unto Him with repentance; for my\nLord is merciful _to the believers_, loving _to them_. They replied, O\nSho\u00b4eyb, we understand not much of what thou sayest, and verily we see\nthee to be weak[254] among us; and were it not for thy family, we had\nstoned thee; for thou art not, in our estimation, an honourable\nperson: _thy family only are the honourable_. He said, O my people,\nare my family more honourable in your estimation than God, _and do ye\nabstain from slaying me for their sake, and not preserve me for God_,\nand have ye cast Him behind you as a thing neglected? Verily my Lord\ncomprehendeth that which ye do, _and He will recompense you_. And, O\nmy people, act ye according to your condition: verily I will act\n_according to mine_. Ye shall know on whom shall come a punishment\nthat shall render him vile, and who is a liar: and await ye _the issue\nof your case_: verily I await with you.\u2014And when Our degree _for their\ndestruction_ came [to be executed], we delivered Sho\u00b4eyb and those who\nbelieved with him, in our mercy, and the cry _of Gabriel_ assailed\nthose who had offended, so that in the morning they were in their\nabodes prostrate _and dead_, as though they had not dwelt therein. Was\nnot Midian removed as Thamood had been removed?\n\n   (xi. 85-98.)\n\n\n\n\nMOSES AND HIS PEOPLE.\n\n\nWe will rehearse unto thee, [O Mo\u1e25ammad, somewhat] of the history of\nMoses [Moos\u00e1] and Pharaoh [Fir\u00b4own or Far\u00b4oon],[255] with truth, for\n_the sake of_ people who believe. Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in\nthe land _of Egypt_, and divided its inhabitants into parties _to\nserve him_. He rendered weak one class of them, _namely the children\nof Israel_, slaughtering their male children, and preserving alive\ntheir females, _because one of the diviners said unto him, A child\nwill be born among the children of Israel, who will be the means of\nthe loss of thy kingdom;_\u2014for he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And\nWe desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed weak in the\nland, and to make them models of religion, and to make them the heirs\n_of the possessions of Pharaoh_, and to establish them in the land _of\nEgypt, and in Syria_, and to show Pharaoh and H\u00e1m\u00e1n[256] and their\nforces what they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto\nthe mother of Moses, _the child above-mentioned, of whose birth none\nknew save his sister_, Suckle him; and when thou fearest for him cast\nhim in the river _Nile_, and fear not _his being drowned_, nor mourn\n_for his separation_; for We will restore him unto thee, and will make\nhim [one] of the apostles.[257] _So she suckled him three months,\nduring which he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she\nput him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed for him,\nand she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by night._ And the\nfamily (_or servants_) of Pharaoh lighted upon him _in the ark on the\nmorrow of that night_;[258] _so they put it before him, and it was\nopened, and Moses was taken forth from it, sucking milk from his\nthumb:_ [this happened] that he might be unto them _eventually_ an\nenemy (_slaying their men_) and an affliction (_making slaves of their\nwomen_); for Pharaoh and H\u00e1m\u00e1n (_his Wezeer_) and their forces were\nsinners; _wherefore they were punished by his hand_. And the wife of\nPharaoh said, _when he and his servants had proposed to kill him_, He\n_is_ delight of the eye unto me and unto thee: do not ye kill him:\nperadventure he may be serviceable unto us, or we may adopt him as a\nson. _And they complied with her desire_; and they knew not _the\nconsequence_.\n\nAnd the heart of the mother of Moses, _when she knew of his having\nbeen lighted upon_, became disquieted; and she had almost made him\nknown _to be her son_, had We not fortified her heart with patience,\nthat she might be [one] of the believers _in Our promise_. And she\nsaid unto his sister _Maryam_ [or Mary], Trace him, _that thou mayest\nknow his case_. And she watched him from a distance, while they knew\nnot _that she was his sister and that she was watching him_. And We\nforbade him the breasts, _preventing him from taking the breast of any\nnurse except his mother_, before _his restoration to her_: so _his\nsister_ said, Shall I direct you unto the people of a house who will\nnurse him for you, and who will be faithful unto him? _And her offer\nwas accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he took her\nbreast: so she returned with him to her house, as God hath said_,\u2014And\nWe restored him to his mother, that her eye might be cheerful and that\nshe might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of God\n_to restore him unto her_ was true: but the greater number of them\n(_that is, of mankind_) know not _this_. _And it appeared not that\nthis was his sister and this his mother; and he remained with her\nuntil she had weaned him; and her hire was paid her, for every day a\ndeen\u00e1r, which she took_ [without scruple] _because it was the wealth\nof a hostile person. She then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was\nbrought up in his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of\nthe Poets,_[259] [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] _Have we not brought\nthee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt among us_ [thirty]\n_years of thy life?_\n\nAnd when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years or thirty\nand three_), and had become of full age (_forty years_), We bestowed\non him wisdom and knowledge _in religion, before he was sent as a\nprophet_; and thus do We reward the well-doers. And he entered the\ncity _of Pharaoh, which was Munf_ [or Memphis], _after he had been\nabsent from him a while_, at a time when its inhabitants were\ninadvertent, _at the hour of the noon-sleep_, and he found therein two\nmen fighting; this [being] of his party (_namely an Israelite_), and\nthis of his enemies (_an Egyptian_), _who was compelling the Israelite\nto carry firewood to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay_: and he who\nwas of his party begged him to aid him against him who was of his\nenemies. _So Moses said unto the latter, Let him go. And it is said\nthat he replied to Moses, I have a mind to put the burden upon thee._\nAnd Moses struck him with his fist, and killed him. _But he intended\nnot to kill him; and he buried him in the sand._ He said, This is of\nthe work of the devil, _who hath excited my anger_; for he is an enemy\n_unto the son of Adam_, a manifest misleader _of him_. He said, _in\nrepentance_, O my Lord, verily I have acted injuriously unto mine own\nsoul, _by killing him_; therefore forgive me. So He forgave him: for\nHe is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.\u2014He said, O my Lord, by the\nfavours with which Thou hast favoured me, _defend me_, and I will by\nno means be an assistant to the sinners _after this_.\u2014And the next\nmorning he was afraid in the city, watching _for what might happen\nunto him on account of the slain man_; and lo, he who had begged his\nassistance the day before was crying out to him for aid _against\nanother Egyptian_. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art a person\nmanifestly in error, _because of that which thou hast done yesterday\nand to-day_. But when he was about to lay violent hands upon him who\nwas an enemy unto them both, (_namely unto Moses and him who begged\nhis aid_,) _the latter_ said, _imagining that he would lay violent\nhands upon him, because of that which he had said unto him_, O Moses,\ndost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul yesterday? Thou\ndesirest not [aught] but to be an oppressor in the land, and thou\ndesirest not to be [one] of the reconcilers.\u2014_And the Egyptian heard\nthat: so he knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed\nunto Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh commanded the\nexecutioners to slay Moses, and they betook themselves to seek him._\nBut a man _who was a believer of the family of Pharaoh_[260] came from\nthe furthest part of the city, running _by a way that was nearer than\nthe way by which they had come_: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs\n_of the people of Pharaoh_ are consulting respecting thee, to slay\nthee; therefore go forth _from the city_: verily I am unto thee [one]\nof the admonishers. So he went forth from it in fear, watching _in\nfear of pursuer, or for the aid of God_. He said, O my Lord, deliver\nme from the unjust people _of Pharaoh_![261]\n\nAnd when he was journeying towards Medyen, _which was the city of\nSho\u00b4eyb, eight days\u2019 journey from Mi\u1e63r (named after Medyen the son of\nAbraham), and he knew not the way unto it_, he said, Peradventure my\nLord will direct me unto the right way, _or the middle way. And God\nsent unto him an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went\nwith him thither._[262] And when he came unto the water (_or well_) of\nMedyen, he found at it a company of men watering _their animals_; and\nhe found besides them two women keeping away _their sheep from the\nwater_. He said _unto them_ (_namely the two women_), What is the\nmatter with you _that ye water not_? They answered, We shall not water\nuntil the pastors shall have driven away _their animals_; and our\nfather is a very old man, _who cannot water the sheep_. And he watered\nfor them _from another well near unto them, from which he lifted a\nstone that none could lift but ten persons._ Then he retired to the\nshade _of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the\nheat of the sun; and he was hungry_, and he said, O my Lord, verily I\nam in need of the good _provision_ which Thou shalt send down unto me.\n_And the two women returned unto their father in less time than they\nwere accustomed to do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they\ninformed him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he said\nunto one of them, Call him unto me._\n\nAnd one of them[263] came unto him, walking bashfully, _with the\nsleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her abashment at him_:\nshe said, My father calleth thee, that he may recompense thee with the\nreward of thy having watered for us. _And he assented to her call,\ndisliking in his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that\nshe intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it. And\nshe walked before him; and the wind blew her garment, and her legs\nwere discovered: so he said unto her, Walk behind me and direct me in\nthe way. And she did so, until she came unto her father, who was\nSho\u00b4eyb, on whom be peace! and with him was_ [prepared] _a supper. He\nsaid unto him, Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a\ncompensation for my having watered for them, and we are a family who\nseek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is my custom\nand hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain the guest and to\ngive food. So he ate; and acquainted, him with his case._ And when he\nhad come unto him, and had related to him the story _of his having\nkilled the Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of\nPharaoh_, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from the unjust\npeople. (_For Pharaoh had no dominion over Medyen._) One of them\n[namely of the women] said (_and she was the one who had been sent_),\nO my father, hire him _to tend our sheep in our stead_; for the best\nwhom thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. _So he asked her\nrespecting him, and she acquainted him with what hath been above\nrelated, his lifting up the stone of the well, and his saying unto\nher, Walk behind me;\u2014and moreover, that when she had come unto him,\nand he knew of her presence, he hung down his head and raised it not._\nHe _therefore_ said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these\nmy two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a hired servant\nto me, _to tend my sheep_, eight years; and if thou fulfil ten\n_years_, it shall be of thine own will; and I desire not to lay a\ndifficulty upon thee _by imposing as a condition the ten years_: thou\nshalt find me, if God please, [one] of the just, _who are faithful to\ntheir covenants_. He replied, This [be the covenant] between me and\nthee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no injustice\nagainst me _by demanding an addition thereto_; and God is witness of\nwhat we say. _And the marriage-contract was concluded according to\nthis; and Sho\u00b4eyb ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod\nwherewith to drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods\nof the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of the\nmyrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took it, with the\nknowledge of Sho\u00b4eyb._\n\n   (xxviii. 21-28.)\n\n\nHath the history of Moses been related to thee? when he saw fire,[264]\n_during his journey from Medyen, on his way to Egypt_, and said unto\nhis family, _or his wife_, Tarry ye _here_; for I have seen fire:\nperhaps I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide\n_to direct me in the way. For he had missed the way in consequence of\nthe darkness of the night._ And when he came unto it (_and it was a\nbramble-bush_), he was called to [by a voice saying], O Moses, verily\nI am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy shoes;[265] for thou art in the\nholy valley of \u1e6cuwa. And I have chosen thee _from among thy people_;\nwherefore hearken attentively unto that which is revealed _unto thee\nby Me_. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me; therefore\nworship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance of Me. Verily the hour\nis coming: I will manifest it _unto mankind, and its nearness shall\nappear unto them by its signs_, that every soul may be recompensed\n_therein_ for its good and evil work: therefore let not him who\nbelieveth not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from\n_believing in_ it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right\nhand, O Moses?\u2014He answered, It is my rod, whereon I lean and wherewith\nI beat down leaves for my sheep _that they may eat them_; and I have\nother uses for it, _as the carrying of provision and the water-skin,\nand the driving away of reptiles_. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So\nhe cast it down; and lo, it was a serpent,[266] running along. _God_\nsaid, Take it, and fear _it_ not:[267] we will restore it to its\nformer state. _And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon it became\nagain a rod._ [And God said,] And put thy _right_ hand to thy _left_\narm-pit, _and take it forth_: it shall come forth white, without evil,\n(_that is, without leprosy; shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling\nthe sight,_) as another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of\nour signs _of thine apostleship_. (_And when he desired to restore his\nhand to its first state, he put it as before described, and drew it\nforth._) Go _as an apostle_ unto Pharaoh _and those who are with\nhim_; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety _by arrogating to\nhimself divinity_.\u2014_Moses_ said, O my Lord, dilate my bosom, _that it\nmay hear the message_, and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the\nknot of my tongue (_this had arisen from his having been burned in his\nmouth by a live coal when he was a child_),[268] that they may\nunderstand my speech _when I deliver the message_. And appoint unto me\na Wezeer of my family, _namely_ Aaron [H\u00e1roon] my brother. Strengthen\nmy back by him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may\nglorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou knowest us.\n\nGod replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses, and We have\nbeen gracious unto thee another time: forasmuch as We revealed unto\nthy mother what was revealed, _when she gave birth to thee and feared\nthat Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born_,\n[saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, _in the ark_, into\nthe river _Nile_, and the river shall throw him on the shore; then an\nenemy unto Me and an enemy unto him (_namely Pharaoh_) shall take him.\nAnd I bestowed on thee, _after he had taken thee_, love from Me, _that\nthou mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw thee\nloved thee_; and that thou mightest be bred up in Mine eye. [Also]\nforasmuch as thy sister _Maryam_ went _that she might learn what\nbecame of thee, after they had brought nurses and thou hadst refused\nto take the breast of any one of them_, and she said, Shall I direct\nyou unto one who will nurse him? (_whereupon her proposal was_\n_accepted, and she brought his mother_): so We restored thee to thy\nmother, that her eye might become cheerful and that she might not\ngrieve. And thou slewest a soul, _namely the Copt in Egypt, and wast\nsorry for his slaughter, on account of Pharaoh_, and We delivered thee\nfrom sorrow; and We tried thee with _other_ trial, _and delivered thee\nfrom it_.[269] And thou stayedst _ten_ years among the people of\nMedyen, _after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the abode of\nSho\u00b4eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his daughter._ Then thou\ncamest according to _My_ decree, _as to the time of thy mission, when\nthou hadst attained the age of forty years_, O Moses; and I have\nchosen thee for Myself. Go thou and thy brother[270] _unto the\npeople_, with My _nine_ signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye\nunto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety, _by arrogating\nto himself divinity_, and speak unto him with gentle speech,\n_exhorting him to relinquish that conduct_: peradventure he will\nconsider, or will fear _God, and repent_. (_The_ [mere] _hope with\nrespect to the two_ [results is expressed] _because of God\u2019s knowledge\nthat he would not repent._)\u2014They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear\nthat he may be precipitately violent against us, _hastening to punish\nus_, or that he may act with exceeding injustice _towards us_. He\nsaid, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I will hear and will see.\nTherefore go ye unto him, and say, Verily we are the apostles of thy\nLord: therefore send with us the children of Israel _unto Syria_, and\ndo not afflict them, _but cease to employ them in thy difficult works,\nsuch as digging and building and carrying the heavy burden_. We have\ncome unto thee with a sign from thy Lord, _attesting our veracity in\nasserting ourselves apostles_: and peace be on him who followeth the\nright direction:\u2014_that is, he shall be secure from punishment_. Verily\nit hath been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted]\nupon him who chargeth with falsehood _that wherewith we have come_,\nand turneth away _from it_.\n\n   (xx. 8-50.)\n\n\nThen We sent after them, _namely the apostles before mentioned_ [who\nwere Sho\u00b4eyb and his predecessors], Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh\nand his nobles, and they acted unjustly with respect to them,\n_disbelieving in the signs_: but see what was the end of the corrupt\ndoers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from the Lord\nof the worlds _unto thee_. _But he charged him with falsehood: so he\nsaid, I am_ right not to say of God aught but the truth. I have come\nunto you with a proof from your Lord: therefore send with me _to\nSyria_ the children of Israel.\u2014_Pharaoh_ said _unto him_, If thou hast\ncome with a sign _confirmatory of thy pretension_, produce it, if thou\nbe of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod; and lo, it was a\nmanifest serpent.[271] And he drew forth his hand _from his bosom_;\nand lo, it was white _and radiant_ unto the beholders.[272] The nobles\nof the people of Pharaoh said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he\ndesireth to expel you from your land. What then do ye command?\u2014They\nanswered, Put off for a time him and his brother, and send unto the\ncities collectors [of the inhabitants], that they may bring unto thee\nevery knowing enchanter. And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They\nsaid, Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who overcome?\nHe answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of those who are admitted\nnear [unto my person]. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down\n_thy rod_, or we will cast down _what we have with us_. He replied,\nCast ye. And when they cast down _their cords and their rods_, they\nenchanted the eyes of the men, _diverting them from the true\nperception of them_; and they terrified them; _for they imagined them\nto be serpents running_; and they performed a great enchantment.[273]\nAnd We spake by revelation unto Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod.\nAnd lo, it swallowed up what they had caused to appear changed.[274]\nSo the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought became\nvain; and they were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible.\nAnd the enchanters cast themselves down prostrate:[275] they said, We\nbelieve in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.\nPharaoh said, Have ye believed in Him before I have given you\npermission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived in the city,\nthat ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth from it. But ye shall\nknow _what shall happen unto you at my hand_. I will assuredly cut off\nyour hands and your feet on the opposite sides\u2014_the right hand of each\nand his left foot_: then I will crucify you all.\u2014They replied. Verily\nunto our Lord shall we return, _after our death, of whatever kind it\nbe_; and thou dost not take vengeance on us but because we believed in\nthe signs of our Lord when they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us\npatience, and cause us to die Muslims![276]\n\n   (vii. 101-123.)\n\n\nAnd Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses, (_for they had\ndiverted him from killing him_,) and let him call upon his Lord _to\ndefend him from me_. Verily I fear lest he change your religion, _and\nprevent your worshipping me_, or that he may cause corruption to\nappear in the earth (_that is, slaughter, and other offences_).\u2014And\nMoses said _unto his people, having heard this_, Verily I have\nrecourse for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every proud\nperson who believeth not in the day of account. And a man [who was] a\nbeliever, of the family of Pharaoh (_it is said that he was the son of\nhis paternal uncle_,)[277] who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill\na man because he saith, My Lord is God,\u2014when he hath come unto you\nwith evident proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him [will\nbe] _the evil consequence of_ his lie; but if he be a speaker of\ntruth, somewhat of that _punishment with_ which he threateneth you\nwill befall you _speedily_. Verily God directeth not him who is a\ntransgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have the\ndominion to-day, being overcomers in the land _of Egypt_; but who will\ndefend us from the punishment of God _if ye kill his favourite\nservants_, if it come unto us?[278]\u2014Pharaoh said, I will not advise\nyou to do [aught] save what I see to be advisable, _which is, to kill\nMoses_; and I will not direct you save into the right way. And he who\nhad believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the like of the\nday of the confederates,[279] the like of the condition of the people\nof Noah and \u00b4\u00c1d and Thamood and those who [have lived] after them: and\nGod willeth not injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people,\nverily I fear for you the day of calling (_that is, the day of\nresurrection, when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall\noften call one to another_). On the day when ye shall turn back _from\nthe place of reckoning unto hell_, ye shall have no protector against\nGod. And he whom God shall cause to err shall have no director.\nMoreover, Joseph (_who was Joseph the son of Jacob according to one\nopinion, and who lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of\nAbraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to another\nopinion_) came unto you before _Moses_, with evident _miraculous_\nproofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting that wherewith he\ncame unto you, until, when he died, ye said _without proof_ God will\nby no means send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him who\nis a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a sceptic. They who dispute\nrespecting the signs of God, without any convincing proof having come\nunto them, _their disputing_ is very hateful with God and with those\nwho have believed. Thus God sealeth every heart (_or the whole heart_)\nof a proud contumacious person.\n\nAnd Pharaoh said, O H\u00e1m\u00e1n, build for me a tower, that I may reach the\navenues, the avenues of the heavens, and ascend unto the God of\nMoses;[280] but verily I think him, _namely Moses_, a liar _in his\nassertion that he hath any god but myself_. And thus the wickedness of\nhis deed was made to seem comely unto Pharaoh, and he was turned away\nfrom the path _of rectitude_; and the artifice of Pharaoh [ended] not\nsave in loss. And he who had believed said, O my people, follow me: I\nwill direct you into the right way. O my people, this present life is\nonly a temporary enjoyment; but the world to come is the mansion of\nfirm continuance. Whosoever doeth evil, he shall not be recompensed\nsave with the like of it; and whosoever doeth good, whether male or\nfemale, and is a believer, these shall enter Paradise; they shall be\nprovided for therein without reckoning. And, O my people, how is it\nthat I invite you unto salvation, and ye invite me unto the Fire? Ye\ninvite me to deny God, and to associate with Him that of which I have\nno knowledge; but I invite you unto the Mighty, the Very Forgiving.\n[There is] no doubt but that the [false gods] _to the worship of_\nwhich ye invite me are not to be invoked in this world, nor in the\nworld to come, and that our return [shall be] unto God, and that the\ntransgressors [shall be] the companions of the Fire. And ye shall\nremember, _when ye see the punishment_, what I say unto you; and I\ncommit my case unto God; for God seeth [His] servants.\u2014_This he said\nwhen they threatened him for his opposing their religion._ Therefore\nGod preserved him from the evils which they had artfully devised\n(_namely slaughter_), and a most evil punishment encompassed the\npeople of Pharaoh,[281] _with Pharaoh himself (namely the\ndrowning); then_ they shall be exposed to the Fire morning and\nevening;[282] and on the day when the hour [of judgment] shall come,\n_it shall be said unto the angels_, Introduce the people of Pharaoh\ninto the most severe punishment.\n\n   (xl. 27-49.)\n\n\nAnd the nobles of the people of Pharaoh said _unto him_, Wilt thou let\nMoses and his people go that they may act corruptly in the earth, _by\ninviting to disobey thee_, and leave thee and thy gods? (_For he had\nmade for them little idols for them to worship, and he said, I am your\nLord and their Lord;\u2014and therefore he said, I am your Lord the Most\nHigh._) He answered, We will slaughter their male children and will\nsuffer their females to live: and verily we shall prevail over them.\n_And thus they did unto them; wherefore the children of Israel\ncomplained, and_ Moses said unto his people, Seek aid of God, and be\npatient; for the earth belongeth unto God: He causeth whomsoever He\nwill of His servants to inherit it; and the _prosperous_ end is for\nthose who fear _God_. They replied, We have been afflicted before thou\ncamest unto us and since thou hast come unto us. He said, Perhaps your\nLord will destroy your enemy and cause you to succeed [him] in the\nearth, and He will see how ye will act _therein_.\u2014And We had punished\nthe family of Pharaoh with dearth and with scarcity of fruits, that\nthey might be admonished _and might believe_. But when good betided\nthem, they said, This is ours:\u2014_that is, we deserve it;\u2014and they were\nnot grateful for it_; and if evil befell them, they ascribed it to\nthe ill luck of Moses and those _believers_ who were with him. Nay,\ntheir ill luck was only with God: _He brought it upon them_: but the\ngreater number of them know not _this_. And they said _unto Moses_,\nWhatsoever sign thou bring unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will\nnot believe in thee. _So he uttered an imprecation upon them_, and We\nsent upon them the flood, _which entered their houses and reached to\nthe throats of the persons sitting, seven days_,[283] and the locusts,\n_which ate their corn and their fruits_, and the \u1e33ummal, _or grubs, or\na kind of tick, which sought after what the locusts had left_, and the\nfrogs, _which filled their houses and their food_, and the blood _in\ntheir waters_; distinct signs: but they were proud, _refusing to\nbelieve in them_, and were a wicked people. And when the punishment\nfell upon them, they said, O Moses, supplicate for us thy Lord,\naccording to that which He hath covenanted with thee, _namely that He\nwill withdraw from us the punishment if we believe_: verily, if thou\nremove from us the punishment, we will assuredly believe thee, and we\nwill assuredly send with thee the children of Israel. But when We\nremoved from them the punishment until a period at which they should\narrive, lo, they brake their promise. Wherefore We took vengeance on\nthem, and drowned them in the sea, because they charged our signs with\nfalsehood and were heedless of them. And We caused the people who had\nbeen rendered weak, _by being enslaved_, to inherit the eastern parts\nof the earth and its western parts,[284] which we blessed _with water\nand trees, (namely Syria)_; and the gracious word of thy Lord was\nfulfilled on the children of Israel, because they had been patient;\nand We destroyed the _structures_ which Pharaoh and his people had\nbuilt and what they had erected.[285]\n\n   (vii. 124-133.)\n\n\nWe brought the children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his\ntroops pursued them with violence and hostility, until, when drowning\novertook him, he said, I believe that there is no deity but He in whom\nthe children of Israel believe, and I am [one] of the Muslims. _But\nGabriel thrust into his mouth some of the mire of the sea, lest mercy\nshould be granted him, and said_, Now _thou believest_, and thou hast\nbeen rebellious hitherto, and wast [one] of the corrupters. But to-day\nwe will raise thee with thy lifeless body _from the sea_, that thou\nmayest be a sign unto those [who shall come] after thee. (_It is\nrelated, on the authority of Ibn-\u00b4Abb\u00e1s, that some of the children of\nIsrael doubted his death; wherefore he was brought forth to them that\nthey might see him._)[286] But verily many men are heedless of Our\nsigns.\n\n   (x. 90-92.)\n\n\nAnd We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and they came\nunto a people who gave themselves up to _the worship of_ idols\nbelonging to them;[287] [whereupon] they said, O Moses, make for us a\ngod (_an idol for us to worship_), like as they have gods. He replied,\nVerily ye are a people who are ignorant, _since ye have requited God\u2019s\nfavour towards you with that which ye have said_; for that [religion]\nin which these are [occupied shall be] destroyed, and vain is that\nwhich they do. He said, Shall I seek for you any other deity than God,\nwhen He hath preferred you above the peoples _of your time_?\n\n   (vii. 134-136.)\n\n\nAnd We caused the thin clouds to shade you _from the heat of the sun\nin the desert_, and caused the manna and the quails[288] to descend\nupon you, _and said_, Eat of the good things which We have given you\nfor food, _and store not up.\u2014But they were ungrateful for the benefit,\nand stored up; wherefore it was cut off from them_. And they injured\nnot Us _thereby_; but they did injure their own souls.\n\n   (ii. 54.)\n\n\n[Remember, O children of Israel,] when ye said, O Moses, we will not\nbear patiently the having one _kind of_ food, _the manna and the\nquails_; therefore supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may produce for\nus _somewhat_ of that which the earth bringeth forth, of its herbs and\nits cucumbers and its wheat and its lentils and its onions:\u2014he said\n_unto them_, Will ye take in exchange that which is worse for that\nwhich is better?\u2014_But they refused to recede; therefore he supplicated\nGod, and He said_, Get ye down into a great city;[289] for ye shall\nhave _therein_ what ye have asked.\u2014And the _marks of_ abjection and\npoverty were stamped upon them: _so these characteristics necessarily\nbelong to them, even if they are rich, as necessarily as the stamped\ncoin belongeth to its die_; and they returned with indignation from\nGod. This was because they did disbelieve in the signs of God, and\nslay the prophets (_as Zechariah and John_) unjustly: this was because\nthey rebelled and did transgress.\n\n   (ii. 58.)\n\n\nAnd _remember_ when Moses asked drink for his people, _who had become\nthirsty in the desert_, and We said, Strike with thy rod the stone.\n(_It was the stone that fled away with his garment:[290] it was\nlight, square, like the head of a man, marble or kedhdh\u00e1n._[291])\n_Accordingly he struck it_; and there gushed out from it twelve\nfountains, _according to the number of the tribes_, all men (_each\ntribe of them_) knowing their drinking-place. _And We said unto them_,\nEat ye and drink of the supply of God, and commit not evil in the\nearth, acting corruptly.\n\n   (ii. 57.)\n\n\n_Remember_ also when We obtained your bond _that ye would do according\nto that which is contained in the Law_, and _had_ lifted up over you\nthe mountain [namely Mount Sinai], _pulled it up by the roots and\nraised it over you when ye had refused to accept the Law, and We\nsaid_, Receive that which We have given you, with resolution, and\nremember that which is contained in it, _to do according thereto_:\nperadventure ye will fear _the Fire, or acts of disobedience_.\u2014Then ye\nturned back after that; and had it not been for the grace of God\ntowards you and His mercy, ye had certainly been of those who perish.\nAnd ye know those of you who transgressed on the Sabbath, _by catching\nfish, when We had forbidden them to do so_ (_and they were the people\nof Eyleh_[292],) and We said unto them, Be ye apes, driven away from\nthe society of men.\u2014_Thereupon they became such, and they perished\nafter three days._\u2014And We made it (_namely that punishment_) an\nexample unto those who were contemporary with them and those who came\nafter them, and a warning to the pious.\n\n   (ii. 60-62.)\n\n\nAnd We appointed unto Moses thirty nights, _at the expiration of which\nWe would speak to him, on the condition of his fasting during them;\nand they were_ [the nights of the month of] _Dhu-l-\u1e32a\u1ea1deh; and he\nfasted during them: but, when they were ended, he disliked the smell\nof his breath; so he used a tooth-stick; whereupon God commanded him\nto fast ten other nights, that He might speak to Him with the odour of\nhis breath,[293] as He whose name be exalted hath said_,\u2014and We\ncompleted them by [adding] ten _nights of Dhu-l-\u1e24ijjeh_: so the stated\ntime of his Lord was completed, forty nights. And Moses said unto his\nbrother Aaron, _at his departure to the mountain for the private\ncollocution_, Be thou my deputy among my people, and act rightly, and\nfollow not the way of the corrupt doers _by agreeing with them in acts\nof disobedience_. And when Moses came at Our appointed time, and his\nLord spake unto him _without an intermediary_, he said, O my Lord,\nshow me _Thyself_, that I may see Thee. He replied, Thou shalt not see\nMe: but look at the mountain, _which is stronger than thou_; and if it\nremain firm in its place, then shalt thou see Me. And when his Lord\ndisplayed Himself to the mountain (_that is, when there appeared, of\nHis light, half of the tip of His little finger, as related in a\ntradition which El-\u1e24\u00e1kim hath verified_), He reduced it to powder,\n_levelling it even with the ground around it_; and Moses fell down in\na swoon. And when he recovered, he said, Extolled be Thy perfection! I\nturn unto Thee repenting, and I am the first of the believers _in my\ntime_.\u2014_God_ said _unto him_, O Moses, I have chosen thee above the\npeople _of thy time_ [by honouring thee] by My commissions and by My\nspeaking _unto thee_: therefore receive what I have given thee, and be\nof those who are grateful. And We wrote for him upon the tables of\n_the Law_[294] (_which were of the lote-tree of Paradise, or of\nchrysolite, or of emerald; in number seven, or ten_) an admonition\nconcerning every _requisite_ matter _of religion_, and a distinct\nexplanation of everything; _and said_, Therefore receive it with\nresolution, and command thy people to act according to the most\nexcellent [precepts] thereof.\n\n   (vii. 138-142.)\n\n\nAnd the people of Moses, after it (_that is, after his departure for\nthe private collocution_), made, of their ornaments (_which they had\nborrowed of the people of Pharaoh_), a corporeal calf[295] _which\nEs-S\u00e1miree cast for them,_[296] _and_ which lowed; _for he had the\nfaculty of doing so in consequence of their having put into its mouth\nsome dust taken from_ [beneath] _the hoof of the horse of Gabriel; and\nthey took it as a god_. Did they not see that it spake not to them,\nnor directed them in the way? They took it _as a god_, and were\noffenders. But when they repented, and saw that they had erred, _which\nwas after the return of Moses_, they said, Verily if our Lord do not\nhave mercy upon us and forgive us, we shall assuredly be of those who\nperish.\n\n   (vii. 146-148.)\n\n\nAnd Moses returned unto his people[297] enraged _against them_,\nexceedingly sorrowful. He said, O my people, did not your Lord promise\nyou a good _true_ promise, _that He would give you the Law?_ But did\nthe time of _my absence_ seem tedious to you, or did ye desire that\nindignation from your Lord should befall you, and therefore did ye\nbreak your promise to me, _and abstain from coming after one?_\u2014They\nanswered, We did not break our promise to thee of our own authority;\nbut we were made to carry loads of the ornaments of the people _of\nPharaoh_ (_which the children of Israel had borrowed of them under\npretence of_ [requiring them for] _a wedding, and which remained in\ntheir possession_), and we cast them _into the fire, by order of\nEs-S\u00e1miree_. And in like manner also Es-S\u00e1miree cast _their ornaments\nwhich he had, and some of the dust which he had taken from the traces\nof the hoofs of the horse of Gabriel;_ and he produced unto them a\ncorporeal calf, _of flesh and blood_, which lowed, _by reason of the\ndust, the property of which is to give life to that into which it is\nput; and he had put it, after he had moulded the calf, into its\nmouth_. And they (_namely, Es-S\u00e1miree and his followers_) said, This\nis your god, and the god of Moses; but he hath forgotten _his lord\nhere, and gone to seek him. God saith_, But did they not see that it\nreturned them not an answer, nor was able to cause them hurt or\nprofit? And Aaron had said unto them, before _the return of Moses_, O\nmy people, ye are only tried by it; and verily your Lord is the\nCompassionate; therefore follow me, _by worshipping Him_, and obey my\ncommand. They replied, We will by no means cease to be devoted to _the\nworship of_ it until Moses return unto us. _Moses_ said _after his\nreturn_, O Aaron, what hindered thee, when thou sawest that they had\ngone astray, from following me? Hast thou then been disobedient to my\ncommand, _by remaining among them who worshipped another than God_?\n\u2014He answered, O son of my mother, seize me not by my beard (_for he\nhad taken hold of his beard with his left hand_), nor by [the hair of]\nmy head (_for he had taken hold of his hair with his right hand, in\nanger_). Verily I feared lest _if I followed thee (for a company of\nthose who worshipped the calf would inevitably have followed me)_ thou\nshouldst say, Thou hast made a division among the children of Israel,\nand hast not waited for my sentence. _Moses_ said, And what was thy\nmotive _for doing as thou hast_, O S\u00e1miree? He answered, I saw that\nwhich they saw not;[298] therefore I took a handful _of dust_ from the\nfoot-marks _of the horse_ of the apostle _Gabriel_, and cast it _into\nthe molten calf_; and thus my soul allured me _to take a handful of\nthe dust above-mentioned, and to cast it upon that which had no life,\nthat it might have life; and I saw that thy people had demanded of\nthee that thou wouldst make them a god; so my soul suggested to me\nthat this calf should be their god. Moses_ said _unto him_, Then get\nthee gone _from among us_, and [the punishment] for thee during _the\nperiod of thy_ life [shall be], that thou shalt say _unto whomsoever\nthou shalt see_, Touch _me_ not:\u2014(_so he used to wander about the\ndesert, and when he touched any one, or any one touched him, they both\nbecame affected with a burning fever:_) and verily for thee is a\nthreat which thou shalt by no means find to be false. And look at thy\ngod, to _the worship of_ which thou hast continued devoted. We will\nassuredly burn it: then we will assuredly reduce it to powder and\nscatter it in the sea. (_And Moses, after he had slaughtered it, did\nthis._) Your deity is God only, except whom there is no deity. He\ncomprehendeth all things by _His_ knowledge.\u2014Thus, _O Mo\u1e25ammad_, do We\nrelate unto thee accounts of what hath happened heretofore; and We\nhave given thee, from Us, an admonition; _namely the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_.\n\n   (xx. 88-99.)\n\n\nAnd they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts,[299]\n(_that is, the love of it mingled with their hearts as drink\nmingleth_,) because of their unbelief.\n\n   (ii. 87.)\n\n\n[Remember, O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people _who\nworshipped the calf_, O my people, verily ye have injured your own\nsouls by your taking to yourselves the calf _as a god_; therefore turn\nwith repentance unto your Creator _from the worship of it_, and slay\none another: (_that is, let the innocent among you slay the\ncriminal_:) this will be best for you in the estimation of your\nCreator. _And He aided you to do that, sending upon you a black cloud,\nlest one of you should see another and have compassion on him, until\nthere were slain of you about seventy thousand._ And _thereupon_ He\nbecame propitious towards you, _accepting your repentance_; for He is\nthe Very Propitious, the Merciful.\n\n   (ii. 51.)\n\n\n[Remember also, O children of Israel,] when ye said, _having gone\nforth with Moses to beg pardon of God for your worship of the calf,\nand having heard his words_, O Moses, we will not believe thee until\nwe see God manifestly:\u2014whereupon the vehement sound assailed you, _and\nye died_, while ye beheld _what happened to you_. Then We raised you\nto life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give\nthanks.[300]\n\n   (ii. 52, 53.)\n\n\nAnd Moses chose _from_ his people seventy men, _of those who had not\nworshipped the calf, by the command of God_, at the time appointed by\nUs _for their coming to ask pardon for their companions\u2019 worship of\nthe calf; and he went forth with them_; and when the convulsion (_the\nviolent earthquake_) took them away (_because, saith Ibn-\u00b4Abb\u00e1s, they\ndid not separate themselves from their people when the latter\nworshipped the calf_), _Moses_ said, O my Lord, if Thou hadst pleased,\nThou hadst destroyed them before _my going forth with them, that the\nchildren of Israel might have beheld it and might not suspect me_; and\nme [also]. Wilt Thou destroy us for that which the foolish among us\nhave done? It is naught but Thy trial: Thou wilt cause to err thereby\nwhom Thou pleasest, and Thou wilt rightly guide whom Thou pleasest.\nThou art our guardian; and do Thou forgive us and have mercy upon us;\nfor Thou art the best of those who forgive: and appoint for us in this\nworld what is good, and in the world to come; for unto Thee have we\nturned with repentance.\u2014_God_ replied, I will afflict with My\npunishment whom I please, and My mercy extendeth over everything _in\nthe world_; and I will appoint it, _in the world to come_, for those\nwho fear and give the legal alms, and those who believe on Our signs,\nwho shall follow the apostle, the illiterate [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab]\nprophet, _Mo\u1e25ammad_, whom they shall find written down with them in the\nPentateuch and the Gospel, _by his name and his description_. He will\ncommand them that which is right, and forbid them that which is evil;\nand will allow them as lawful the good things _among those forbidden in\ntheir law_, and prohibit them the impure, _as carrion and other things_,\nand will take off from them their burden and the yokes that were upon\nthem, _as the slaying of a soul_ [for an atonement] _in repentance, and\nthe cutting off of the mark left by impurity_. And those who shall\nbelieve in him and honour him and assist him and follow the light which\nshall be sent down with him, _namely the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_, these shall be the\nprosperous.\n\n   (vii. 154-156).\n\n\nAnd _remember_ when Moses said unto his people, O my people, remember\nthe favour of God towards you, since He hath appointed prophets from\namong you, and made you princes (_masters of servants and other\nattendants_), and given you what He hath not given any [other] of the\npeoples (_as the manna and the quails and other things_). O my people,\nenter the Holy Land which God hath decreed for you (_namely Syria_),\nand turn not back, lest ye turn losers.\u2014They replied, O Moses, verily\nthere is in it a gigantic people, _of the remains of the tribe of\n\u00b4Ad_, and we will not enter it until they go forth from it; but if\nthey go forth from it, then we will enter.\u2014[Thereupon] two men, of\nthose who feared _to disobey God, namely Joshua and Caleb, of the\nchiefs whom Moses sent to discover the circumstances of the giants,\nand_ upon whom God had conferred favour, _and who had concealed what\nthey had seen of the state of the giants, excepting from Moses,\nwherefore the other chiefs became cowardly_, said _unto them_, Enter\nye upon them through the gate _of the city, and fear them not; for\nthey are bodies without hearts_; and when ye enter it, ye overcome;\nand upon God place your dependence, if ye be believers.\u2014[But] they\nsaid, O Moses, we will never enter it while they remain therein.\nTherefore go thou and thy Lord, and fight: for we remain here.\u2014_Then\nMoses_ said, O my Lord, verily I am not master of any but myself and\nmy brother: therefore distinguish between us and the unrighteous\npeople.\u2014_God_ replied, Verily it (_namely the Holy Land_) shall be\nforbidden them forty years; they shall wander in perplexity in the\nland: and be not thou solicitous for the unrighteous people.\u2014_The\nland_ [through which they wandered] _was_ [only] _nine leagues_ [in\nextent]. _They used to journey during the night with diligence; but in\nthe morning they found themselves in the place whence they had set\nforth; and they journeyed during the day in like manner. Thus they did\nuntil all of them had become extinct, excepting those who had not\nattained the age of twenty years; and it is said that they were six\nhundred thousand. Aaron and Moses died in the desert; and mercy was\ntheir lot: but punishment was the lot of those. And Moses begged his\nLord, when he was about to die, that He would bring him as near as a\nstone\u2019s throw to the Holy Land: wherefore He did so. And Joshua was\nmade a prophet after the forty [years], and he gave orders to fight\nagainst the giants. So he went with those who were with him, and\nfought against them: and it was Friday; and the sun stood still for\nhim awhile, until he had made an end of fighting against them._\n\n   (v. 23-29).\n\n\n\u1e32\u00e1roon[301] [or Korah] was of the people of Moses (_he was the son of\nhis paternal uncle, and the son of his maternal aunt, and he believed\nin him_); but he behaved insolently towards them; for We had bestowed\nupon him such treasures that their keys were heavy burdens for a\ncompany of men endowed with strength, _in number, as some say,\nseventy; and some, forty; and some, ten; and some, another number.\nRemember when his people (the believers among the children of Israel)_\nsaid unto him, Rejoice not _exultingly in the abundance of thy\nwealth_; for God loveth not those who _so_ rejoice; but seek to\nattain, by means of the _wealth_ which God hath given thee, the latter\nabode [of Paradise], _by expending thy wealth in the service of God_;\nand neglect not thy part in this world, _to work therein for the world\nto come_; but be beneficent _unto mankind, by bestowing alms_, as God\nhath been beneficent unto thee; and seek not to act corruptly in the\nearth; for God loveth not the corrupt doers. He replied, I have only\nbeen given it on account of the knowledge that I possess. _For he was\nthe most learned of the children of Israel in the Law, after Moses and\nAaron. God saith_, Did he not know that God had destroyed before him,\nof the generations, those that were mightier than he in strength and\nwho had amassed more abundance _of wealth_? And the wicked shall not\nbe asked respecting their sins, _because God knoweth them: therefore\nthey shall be sent into the Fire without a reckoning_. And _\u1e32\u00e1roon_\nwent forth unto his people in his pomp, _with his many dependants\nmounted, adorned with garments of gold and silk, upon decked horses\nand mules_. Those who desired the present life said, O would that we\nhad the like of that which hath been bestowed on \u1e32\u00e1roon _in this\nworld_! Verily he is possessed of great good fortune!\u2014But those unto\nwhom knowledge _of what God hath promised in the world to come_ had\nbeen given, said _unto them_, Woe to you! The reward of God _in the\nworld to come_ (_which is Paradise_) is better for him who believeth\nand worketh righteousness _than that which hath been bestowed on\n\u1e32\u00e1roon in the present world_; and none shall receive it but the\npatient _in the service of God_. And We caused the earth to cleave\nasunder and swallow up him and his mansion,[302] and he had no forces\nto defend him, in the place of God, nor was he of the [number of the]\nsaved. And the next morning, those who had wished for his place the\nday before said, Aha! God enlargeth provision unto whom He pleaseth of\nHis servants, and is sparing _of it unto whom He pleaseth!_ Had not\nGod been gracious unto us, He had caused [the earth] to cleave asunder\nand swallow up us! Aha! the ungrateful _for His benefits_ do not\nprosper!\n\n   (xxviii. 76-82.)\n\n\n_Remember_, [O children of Israel,] when Moses said unto his people\n(_when one of them had been slain, whose murderer was not known, and\nthey asked him to beg God that He would discover him to them,\nwherefore he supplicated Him_), Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice\na cow. They said, Dost thou make a jest of us? He said, I beg God to\npreserve me from being _one_ of the foolish. _So when they knew that\nhe decidedly intended_ [what he had ordered], they said, Supplicate\nfor us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what she is; _that is,\nwhat is her age_. _Moses_ replied, He saith, She is a cow neither old\nnor young; _but_ of a middle age, between those _two_: therefore do as\nye are commanded. They said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may\nmanifest to us what is her colour. He replied, He saith, She is a\nred[303] cow: her colour is very bright: she rejoiceth the beholders.\nThey said, Supplicate for us thy Lord, that He may manifest to us what\nshe is, _whether she be a pasturing or a working cow_; for cows _of\nthe description mentioned_ are to us like one another; and we, if God\nplease, shall indeed be rightly directed _to her_. (_In a tradition it\nis said, Had they not said, \u2018If God please,\u2019\u2014she had not ever been\nmanifested to them._) He replied, He saith, She is a cow not subdued\n_by work_ that plougheth the ground, nor doth she water the field:\n[she is] free _from defects and the marks of work_; there is no colour\nin her different from the rest of her colour. They said, Now thou hast\nbrought the truth. _And they sought her, and found her in the\npossession of the young man who acted piously towards his mother, and\nthey bought her for as much gold as her hide would contain._[304]\nThen they sacrificed her; but they were near to leaving it undone, on\n_account of the greatness of her price_. (_And in a tradition it is\nsaid, Had they sacrificed any cow whatever, He had satisfied them: but\nthey acted hardly towards themselves; so God acted hardly towards\nthem._) And when ye slew a soul, and contended together respecting it,\n(and God brought forth [to light] that which ye did conceal\u2014_this is\nthe beginning of the story_ [and was the occasion of the order to\nsacrifice this particular cow,]) We said, Strike him (_that is, the\nslain person_) with part of her. _So he was struck with her tongue, or\nthe root of her tail, or, as some say, with her right thigh; whereupon\nhe came to life, and said, Such-a-one and such-a-one slew me,\u2014to the\ntwo sons of his uncle. And he died. They two_ [the murderers] _were\ntherefore deprived of the inheritance, and were slain._[305] Thus God\nraiseth to life the dead, and showeth you His signs (_the proof of His\npower_), that peradventure ye may understand, _and know that He who is\nable to raise to life one soul is able to raise to life many souls._\nThen your hearts became hard, _O ye Jews, so as not to accept the\ntruth_, after that, and they [were] as stones, or more hard: for of\nstones there are indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them\nthere are indeed some that cleave asunder and water issueth from them;\nand of them there are indeed some that fall down through fear of God;\n_whereas your hearts are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do\nthey become humble._ But God is not heedless of that which ye do: _He\nonly reserveth you unto your time._\n\n   (ii. 63-69.)\n\n\n_Remember_ when Moses said to his young man _Joshua the son of Nun,\nwho served him and acquired knowledge from him_, I will not cease _to\ngo forward_ until I reach the place where the two seas (_the Sea of\nGreece and the Sea of Persia_) meet, or travel for a long space of\ntime. And when they reached the place where they (_the two seas_) met\nthey forgot their fish: _Joshua forgot to take it up, on their\ndeparture; and Moses forgot to remind him_; and it made its way in the\nsea by a hollow passage, _God withholding the water from it_. And when\nthey had passed beyond _that place, and proceeded until the time of\nthe morning-meal on the following day_, [Moses] said unto his young\nman, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this\nour journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the\nrock to rest _at that place_, I forgot the fish, and none made me\nforget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in\na wonderful manner.\u2014_Moses_ said, That (_namely our loss of the fish_)\nis what we were desiring; _for it is a sign unto us of our finding him\nwhom we seek_. And they returned by the way that they had come,\nfollowing the footsteps, _and came to the rock_. And they found one of\nOur servants (_namely El-Khi\u1e0dr_[306]) unto whom We had granted mercy\nfrom Us (_that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the\nrank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned\nhold_), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things\nunseen.\u2014_El-Bukh\u00e1ree hath related a tradition stating that Moses\nperformed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and\nwas asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered,\nI:\u2014whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the\nknowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation,\nVerily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he\nis more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my Lord, and how shall I meet\nwith him? He answered, Thou shalt take with thee a fish, and put it\ninto a measuring-vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is\nhe. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and\nJoshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock,\nwhere they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became\nagitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea,\nand it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding\nthe water from the fish so that it became like a vault over it: and\nwhen Moses\u2019 companion awoke, he forgot to inform him of the fish._\n\nMoses said unto him [namely El-Khi\u1e0dr], Shall I follow thee, that thou\nmayest teach me [part] of that which thou hast been taught, for a\ndirection _unto me_? He answered, Verily thou canst not have patience\nwith me. For how canst thou be patient with respect to that whereof\nthou comprehendest not the knowledge?\u2014He replied, Thou shalt find me,\nif God please, patient; and I will not disobey any command of thine.\nHe said, Then if thou follow me, ask me not respecting anything: _but\nbe patient_ until I give thee an account thereof. _And Moses assented\nto his condition._ And they departed, _walking along the shore of the\nsea_, until, when they embarked in the ship _that passed by them_, he\n(El-Khi\u1e0dr) made a hole in it, _by pulling out a plank or two planks\nfrom it on the outside by means of an axe when it reached the middle\nof the sea. Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou made a hole in it that\nthou mayest drown its people? Thou hast done a grievous thing.\u2014(_But\nit is related that the water entered not the hole._) He replied, Did I\nnot say that thou couldst not have patience with me? [Moses] said,\nChastise me not for my forgetfulness, nor impose on me a difficulty in\nmy case.\u2014And they departed, _after they had gone forth from the\nvessel_, _walking on_, until, when they found a boy _who had not\nattained the age of knowing right and wrong, playing with other\nchildren, and he was the most beautiful of them in countenance_, and\nhe (_El-Khi\u1e0dr_) slew him, _Moses_ said _unto him_, Hast thou slain an\ninnocent soul, without _his having slain_ a soul? Thou hast done an\niniquitous thing.\u2014He replied, Did I not say that thou couldst not have\npatience with me? [Moses] said, If I ask thee concerning anything\nafter this _time_, suffer me not to accompany thee. Now hast thou\nreceived from me an excuse _for thy separating thyself from me_.\u2014And\nthey departed [and proceeded] until, when they came to the people of a\ncity (_which was Antioch[307]_), they asked food of its people; but\nthey refused to entertain them: and they found therein a wall, _the\nheight whereof was a hundred cubits_, which was about to fall down;\nwhereupon he (_El-Khi\u1e0dr_) set it upright _with his hand_. _Moses_ said\n_unto him_, If thou wouldst, thou mightest have obtained pay for it,\n_since they did not entertain us, notwithstanding our want of food_.\n_El-Khi\u1e0dr_ said _unto him_, This shall be a separation between me and\nthee; _but before my separation from thee_, I will declare unto thee\nthe interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with patience.\n\nAs to the vessel, it belonged to _ten_ poor men,[308] who pursued\ntheir business on the sea; and I desired to render it unsound; for\nthere was behind them a king, _an unbeliever_, who took every _sound_\nvessel by force. And as to the boy, his parents were believers, and we\nfeared that he would transgress against them rebelliously and\nimpiously: _for, according to a tradition related by Muslim, he was\nconstituted by nature an unbeliever, and had he lived he had so\nacted_; wherefore we desired that their Lord should create for them a\nbetter than he in virtue, and [one] more disposed than he to filial\npiety. _And God created for them a daughter, who married a prophet,\nand gave birth to a prophet, by means of whom God directed a people\nto the right way_. And as to the wall, it belonged to two orphan\nyouths in the city, and beneath it was a treasure _buried_, _of gold\nand silver_, belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man;\nand thy Lord desired that they should attain their age of strength and\ntake forth their treasure through the mercy of thy Lord. And I did it\nnot (_namely what hath been mentioned_) of mine own will, _but by\ndirection of God_. This is the interpretation of that which thou\ncouldst not bear with patience.\n\n   (Chap. xviii. 59-81.)\n\n\n\n\nSAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON.\n\n\nHast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel after\n_the death of_ Moses, when they said unto a prophet of theirs, _namely\nSamuel_, Set up for us a king, _under whom_ we will fight in the way\nof God? He said _unto them_, If fighting be prescribed as incumbent on\nyou, will ye, peradventure, abstain from fighting? They replied, And\nwherefore should we not fight in the way of God, since we have been\nexpelled from our habitations and our children _by their having been\ntaken prisoners and slain?_\u2014_The people of Goliath_ [J\u00e1loot] _had done\nthus unto them_.\u2014But when fighting was commanded them, they turned\nback, excepting a few of them, _who crossed the river with Saul_\n[\u1e6c\u00e1loot], _as will be related_. And God knoweth the offenders. _And\nthe prophet begged his Lord to send a king; whereupon he consented to\nsend Saul._ And their prophet said unto them, Verily God hath set up\nSaul as your king. They said, How shall he have the dominion over us,\nwhen we are more worthy of the dominion than he, (_for he was not of\nthe royal lineage, nor of the prophetic, and he was a tanner, or a\ntender of flocks or herds,_) and he hath not been endowed with ample\nwealth? He replied, Verily God hath chosen him _as king_ over you, and\nincreased him in largeness of knowledge and of body, (_for he was the\nwisest of the children of Israel at that time, and the most comely of\nthem, and the most perfect of them in make,_) and God giveth his\nkingdom unto whom He pleaseth; and God is ample _in His beneficence_,\nknowing _with respect to him who is worthy of the kingdom_.\u2014And their\nprophet said unto them, _when they demanded of him a sign in proof of\nhis kingship_, Verily the sign of his kingship shall be that the ark\nshall come unto you (_in it were the images of the prophets: God sent\nit down unto Adam, and it passed into their possession; but the\nAmalekites took it from them by force: and they used to seek victory\nthereby over their enemy, and to advance it in the fight, and to trust\nin it, as He\u2014whose name be exalted!\u2014hath said_); therein [shall be]\ntranquillity from your Lord,[309] and relics of what the family of\nMoses and the family of Aaron have left: _namely, the two shoes (or\nsandals) of Moses, and his rod, and the turban of Aaron, and a measure\nof the manna that used to descend upon them, and the fragments of the\ntables_ [of the Law]: the angels shall bear it. Verily in this shall\nbe a sign unto you _of his kingship_, if ye be believers. _Accordingly\nthe angels bore it between heaven and earth, while they looked at it,\nuntil they placed it by Saul; whereupon they acknowledged his\nkingship, and hastened to the holy war; and he chose of their young\nmen seventy thousand._\n\nAnd when Saul went forth with the troops _from Jerusalem, and it was\nviolently hot weather, and they demanded of him water_, he said,\nVerily God will try you by a river, _that the obedient among you, and\nthe disobedient, may appear_, (_and it was between the Jordan and\nPalestine_,) and whoso drinketh thereof, he is not of my party (but he\nwho tasteth not thereof, he is of my party), excepting him who taketh\nforth a draught in his hand, _and is satisfied therewith, not adding\nto it; for he is of my party_;\u2014then they drank thereof abundantly,\nexcepting a few of them, _who were content only with the handful of\nwater. It is related that it sufficed them for their own drinking and\nfor their beasts, and they were three hundred, and somewhat more\nthan ten._ And when he had passed over it, he and those who believed\nwith him, they (_that is, those who had drunk_ [plentifully]) said, We\nhave no power to-day _to contend_ against Goliath and his troops. _And\nthey were cowardly, and passed not over it._ They [however] who held\nit as certain that they should meet God _at the resurrection_ (_and\nthey were those who had passed over it_) said, How many a small body\nof men hath overcome a great body by the permission (_or will_) of\nGod! And God is with the patient, _to defend and aid_.\u2014And when they\nwent forth to battle against Goliath and his troops, they said, O our\nLord, pour upon us patience, and make firm our feet, _by strengthening\nour hearts for the holy war_, and help us against the unbelieving\npeople!\u2014And they routed them by the permission (_or will_) of God, and\nDavid [D\u00e1wood, vulg. D\u00e1ood], _who was in the army of Saul_, slew\nGoliath. And God gave him (_David_) the kingship _over the children of\nIsrael_, and wisdom (_that is prophecy_), _after the death of Samuel\nand Saul, and they_ [namely these two gifts] _had not been given\ntogether to any one before him_; and He taught him what He\npleased,[310] _as the art of making coats of mail, and the language of\nbirds_. And were it not for God\u2019s repelling men, one by another,\nsurely the earth had become corrupt _by the predominance of the\npolytheists and the slaughter of the Muslims and the ruin of the\nplaces of worship_: but God is beneficent to the peoples, _and hath\nrepelled some by others_.\n\n   (ii. 247-252.)\n\n\nHath the story of the two opposing parties come unto thee, _O\nMo\u1e25ammad_, when they ascended over the walls of the oratory of _David,\nhaving been prevented going in unto him by the door, because of his\nbeing engaged in devotion?_ When they went in unto David, and he was\nfrightened at them, they said, Fear not: _we are_ two opposing\nparties. _It is said that they were two parties of more than one each;\nand it is said that they were two individuals, angels, who came as two\nlitigants, to admonish David, who had ninety-nine wives, and had\ndesired the wife of a person who had none but her, and married her and\ntaken her as his wife._[311] [One of them said,] One of us hath\nwronged the other; therefore judge between us with truth, and be not\nunjust, but direct us into the right way. Verily this my brother _in\nreligion_ had nine-and-ninety ewes, and I had one ewe; and he said,\nMake me her keeper. And he overcame me in the dispute.\u2014_And the other\nconfessed him to have spoken truth._\u2014[David] said, Verily he hath\nwronged thee in demanding thy ewe _to add her_ to his ewes; and verily\nmany associates wrong one another, except those who believe and do\nrighteous deeds: and few indeed are they.\u2014_And the two angels said,\nascending in their_ [proper or assumed] _forms to heaven, The man hath\npassed sentence against himself. So David was admonished._ And David\nperceived that We had tried him _by his love of that woman_; wherefore\nhe asked pardon of his Lord, and fell down bowing himself (_or\nprostrating himself_), and repented. So We forgave him that; and\nverily for him [was ordained] a high rank with Us (_that is, an\nincrease of good fortune in this world_), and [there shall be for\nhim] an excellent retreat _in the world to come_.\n\n   (xxxviii. 20-24.)\n\n\nWe compelled the mountains to glorify Us, with David, and the birds\n_also, on his commanding them to do so, when he experienced languor_;\nand We did _this_. And We taught him the art of making coats of mail\n(_for before his time plates of metal were used_) for you _among\nmankind in general_, that they might defend you from your suffering\n_in warring with your enemies_.\u2014Will ye then, _O people of Mekkeh_, be\nthankful _for My favours, believing the apostles_?\u2014And _We subjected_\nunto Solomon [Suleym\u00e1n] the wind, blowing strongly, _and being light\nat his desire_, which ran at his command[312] to the land that We\nblessed (_namely Syria_);[313] and We knew all things (_knowing that\nwhat We gave him would stimulate him to be submissive to his Lord_).\nAnd _We subjected_, of the devils, those who should dive for him _in\nthe sea and bring forth from it jewels for him_, and do other work\nbesides that; _that is, building, and performing other services_; and\nWe watched over them, _that they might not spoil what they executed;\nfor they used, when they had finished a work before night, to spoil\nit, if they were not employed in something else_.\n\n   (xxi. 79-82.)\n\n\nWe gave unto David Solomon _his son_. How excellent a servant _was\nhe_! For he was one who earnestly turned himself unto God, _glorifying\nand praising Him at all times_. [Remember] when, in the latter part of\nthe day, _after the commencement of the declining of the sun_, the\n_mares_ standing on three feet and touching the ground with the edge\nof the fourth foot, swift in the course, were displayed before him.\n_They were a thousand mares, which were displayed before him after he\nhad performed the noon-prayers, on the occasion of his desiring to\nmake use of them in a holy war; and when nine hundred of them had been\ndisplayed, the sun set, and he had not performed the\nafternoon-prayers. So he was grieved_, and he said, Verily I have\npreferred the love of [earthly] goods above the remembrance of my\nLord, (_that is, the performance of the afternoon-prayers_,) so that\n_the sun_ is concealed by the veil. Bring them (_namely the horses_)\nback unto me. _Therefore they brought them back._ And he began to\nsever _with his sword_ the legs and the necks, _slaughtering them,\nand_ [then] _cutting off their legs, as a sacrifice unto God, and gave\ntheir flesh in alms; and God gave him in compensation what was better\nthan they were and swifter, namely the wind, which travelled by his\ncommand whithersoever he desired._\u2014And We tried Solomon _by depriving\nhim of his kingdom. This was because he married a woman of whom he\nbecame enamoured, and she used to worship an idol in his palace\nwithout his knowledge. His dominion was in his signet; and he pulled\nit off once and deposited it with his wife, who was named El-Emeeneh;\nand a jinnee came unto her in the form of Solomon, and took it from\nher._ And We placed upon his throne a [counterfeit] body; _namely that\njinnee, who was \u1e62akhr, or another. He sat upon the throne of\nSolomon, and the birds and other creatures surrounded him; and Solomon\nwent forth, with a changed appearance, and saw him upon his throne,\nand said unto the people, I am Solomon:\u2014but they denied him._ Then he\nreturned _unto his kingdom, after some days, having obtained the\nsignet and put it on, and seated himself upon his throne._[314] He\nsaid, O my Lord, forgive me, and give me a dominion that may not be\nto any one after me (_or beside me_); for Thou art the Liberal Giver.\nSo We subjected unto him the wind, which ran gently at his command\nwhithersoever he desired; and the devils [also], every builder _of\nwonderful structures_, and diver _that brought up pearls from the\nsea_, and others bound in chains _which connected their hands to their\nnecks. And We said unto him_, This is Our gift, and bestow thou\n_thereof upon whomsoever thou wilt_, or refrain _from bestowing_,\nwithout _rendering_ an account. And verily for him [was ordained] a\nhigh rank with Us, and an excellent retreat.\n\n   (xxxviii. 29-39.)\n\n\nWe bestowed on David and Solomon knowledge _in judging men and in the\nlanguage of the birds and other matters_; and they said, Praise be to\nGod who hath made us to excel many of His believing servants, _by the\ngift of prophecy and by the subjection of the jinn and mankind and the\ndevils_. And Solomon inherited from David _the gift of prophecy and\nknowledge_; and he said, O men, we have been taught the language of\nthe birds,[315] and have had bestowed on us of everything _wherewith\nprophets and kings are gifted_. Verily this is manifest\nexcellence.\u2014And his armies of jinn and men and birds were gathered\ntogether unto Solomon, and they were led on in order, until, when they\ncame unto the valley of ants, (_which_ [was] _at E\u1e6d-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff or in Syria,\nthe ants whereof_ [were] _small or great_,) an ant (_the queen of the\nants_), _having seen the troops of Solomon_, said, O ants, enter your\nhabitations, lest Solomon and his troops crush you violently, while\nthey perceive not. And _Solomon_ smiled, _afterwards_ laughing at her\nsaying, _which he heard from the distance of three miles, the wind\nconveying it to him: so he withheld his forces when he came in sight\nof their valley, until the ants had entered their dwellings: and his\ntroops were on horses and on foot in this expedition_. And he said, O\nmy Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Thy favour which Thou hast\nbestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness which\nThou shalt approve, and admit me, in Thy mercy, among Thy servants,\nthe righteous, _the prophets and the saints_.\n\nAnd he examined the birds,[316] _that he might see the lapwing, that\nsaw the water beneath the earth, and directed to it by pecking the\nearth, whereupon the devils used to draw it forth when Solomon wanted\nit_ [to perform the ablution] _for prayer; but he saw it not_: and he\nsaid, Wherefore do I not see the lapwing? Is it [one] of the\nabsent?\u2014_And when he was certain of the case he said_, I will\nassuredly punish it with a severe punishment, _by plucking out its\nfeathers and its tail and casting it in the sun so that it shall not\nbe able to guard against excessive thirst_; or I will slaughter it; or\nit shall bring me a manifest convincing proof _showing its\nexcuse_.\u2014And it tarried not long _before it presented itself unto\nSolomon submissively, and raised its head and relaxed its tail and its\nwings: so he forgave it; and he asked it what it had met with during\nits absence_; and it said, I have become acquainted with that\nwherewith thou hast not become acquainted, and I have come unto thee\nfrom Seba (_a tribe of El-Yemen_) with a sure piece of news. I found a\nwoman reigning over them, _named Bil\u1e33ees_, and she hath been gifted\nwith everything _that princes require_, and hath a magnificent throne.\n_(Its length was eighty cubits; and its breadth, forty cubits; and its\nheight, thirty cubits: it was composed of gold and silver set with\nfine pearls and with rubies and chrysolites, and its legs were of\nrubies and chrysolites and emeralds: upon it_ [were closed] _seven\ndoors: to each chamber_ [through which one passed to it was] _a closed\ndoor_.) I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of God,\nand the devil hath made their works to seem comely unto them, so that\nhe hath hindered them from the _right_ way, wherefore they are not\nrightly directed to the worship of God, who produceth what is hidden\n(_namely the rain and vegetables_) in the heavens and the earth, and\nknoweth what they [that is, mankind and others] conceal _in their\nhearts_, and what they reveal _with their tongues_. God: there is no\ndeity but He, the Lord of the magnificent throne, _between which and\nthe throne of Bil\u1e33ees is a vast difference_.\n\n_Solomon_ said _to the lapwing_, We will see whether thou hast spoken\ntruth or whether thou art of the liars. _Then the lapwing guided them\nto the water, and it was drawn forth_ [by the devils]; _and they\nquenched their thirst and performed the ablution and prayed. Then\nSolomon wrote a letter, the form whereof was this:\u2014From the servant of\nGod, Solomon the son of David, to Bil\u1e33ees the queen of Seba. In the\nname of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Peace be on whomsoever\nfolloweth the right direction. After_ [this salutation, I say], _Act\nye not proudly towards me; but come unto me submitting.\u2014He then sealed\nit with musk, and stamped it with his signet, and said unto the\nlapwing_, Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them (_namely\nBil\u1e33ees and her people_): then turn away from them, _but stay near\nthem_, and see what _reply_ they will return. _So the lapwing took it,\nand came unto her, and around her were her forces; and he threw it\ndown into her lap; and when she saw it, she trembled with fear. Then\nshe considered what was in it, and_ she said _unto the nobles of her\npeople_, O nobles, an honourable (_sealed_) letter hath been thrown\ndown unto me. It is from Solomon; and it is _this_:\u2014In the name of\nGod, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Act ye not proudly towards me:\nbut come unto me submitting.\u2014She said, O nobles, advise me in mine\naffair. I will not decide upon a thing unless ye bear me\nwitness.\u2014They replied, We are endowed with strength and endowed with\ngreat valour; but the command [belongeth] to thee; therefore see what\nthou wilt command _us to do, and we will obey thee_. She said, Verily\nkings, when they enter a city, waste it, and render the mighty of its\ninhabitants abject; and thus will they do _who have sent the letter_.\nBut I will send unto them with a gift, and I will see with what the\nmessengers will return, _whether the gift will be accepted, or whether\nit will be rejected. If he be_ [merely] _a king, he will accept it;\nand if he be a prophet, he will not accept it.\u2014And she sent male and\nfemale servants, a thousand in equal numbers_ [five hundred of each\nsex], _and five hundred bricks of gold, and a crown set with jewels,\nand musk and ambergris and other things, by a messenger with a\nletter.[317] And the lapwing hastened unto Solomon, to tell him the\nnews; on hearing which, he commanded that bricks of gold and silver\nshould be cast, and that a horse-course should be extended to the\nlength of nine leagues from the place where he was, and that they\nshould build around it a wall with battlements, of gold and silver,\nand that the handsomest of the beasts of the land and of the sea\nshould be brought with the sons of the jinn on the right side of the\nhorse-course and on its left._\n\nAnd when _the messenger_ came _with the gift, and with him his\nattendants_, unto Solomon, he [Solomon] said, Do ye aid me with\nwealth? But what God hath given me (_namely the gift of prophecy and\nthe kingdom_) is better than what He hath given you, _of worldly\ngoods_; yet ye rejoice in your gift, _because ye glory in the showy\nthings of this world_. Return unto them _with the gift that thou hast\nbrought_; for we will surely come unto them with forces with which\nthey have not power [to contend], and we will surely drive them out\nfrom it, (_that is, from their country, Seba, which was named after\nthe father of their tribe_,) abject and contemptible, _if they come\nnot unto us submitting. And when the messenger returned unto her with\nthe gift, she placed her throne within seven doors, within her palace,\nand her palace was within seven palaces; and she closed the doors, and\nset guards to them, and prepared to go unto Solomon, that she might\nsee what he would command her to do. She departed with twelve thousand\nkings, each king having with him many thousands, and proceeded until\nshe came as near to him as a league\u2019s distance; when he knew of her_\n[approach,] he said, O nobles, which of you will bring unto me her\nthrone before they come unto me submitting? An \u00b4efreet, of the jinn,\nanswered, I will bring it unto thee before thou shalt arise from thy\nplace _wherein thou sittest to judge from morning until mid-day_; for\nI am able to do it, [and] trustworthy _with respect to the jewels that\nit compriseth and other matters. Solomon said, I desire it more\nspeedily._ [And thereupon] he with whom was knowledge of the\n_revealed_ scripture (_namely_ [his Wezeer] _\u00c1\u1e63af the son of Barkhiya,\nwho was a just person, acquainted with the most great name of God,\nwhich ensured an answer to him who invoked thereby_[318]) said, I will\nbring it unto thee before thy glance can be withdrawn _from any\nobject. And he said unto him, Look at the sky. So he looked at it;\nthen he withdrew his glance, and found it placed before him: for\nduring his look towards the sky, \u00c1\u1e63af prayed, by the most great name,\nthat God would bring it; and it so happened, the throne passing under\nthe ground until it came up before the throne of Solomon._ And when he\nsaw it firmly placed before him, he said, This is of the favour of my\nLord, that He may try me, whether I shall be thankful or whether I\nshall be unthankful. And he who is thankful is thankful for _the sake\nof_ his own soul, _which will have the reward of his thankfulness_;\nand [as to] him who is ungrateful, my Lord is independent [and]\nbountiful.\n\n[Then Solomon] said, Alter ye her throne so that it may not be known\nby her, that we may see whether she be rightly directed _to the\nknowledge thereof_, or whether she be of those who are not rightly\ndirected _to the knowledge of that which is altered. He desired\nthereby to try her intelligence. So they altered it, by adding to it,\nor taking from it, or in some other manner._ And when she came, it was\nsaid _unto her_, Is thy throne like this? She answered, As though it\nwere the same. (_She answered them ambiguously like as they had\nquestioned her ambiguously, not saying, Is this thy throne?\u2014and had\nthey so said, she had answered, Yes._) _And when Solomon saw her\nknowledge, he said_, And we have had knowledge bestowed on us before\nher, and have been Muslims. But what she worshipped instead of God\nhindered her _from worshipping Him_; for she was of an unbelieving\npeople.\u2014It was said unto her _also_, Enter the palace. _It had a floor\nof white, transparent glass, beneath which was running water, wherein\nwere fish. Solomon had made it on its being said unto him that her\nlegs and feet were_ [hairy] _like the legs of an ass._ And when she\nsaw it, she imagined it to be a great water, and she uncovered her\nlegs, _that she might wade through it; and Solomon was on his throne\nat the upper end of the palace, and he saw that her legs and her feet\nwere handsome_. He said _unto her_, Verily it is a palace evenly\nspread with glass. _And he invited her to embrace El-Isl\u00e1m_,\n[whereupon] she said, O my Lord, verily I have acted unjustly towards\nmine own soul, _by worshipping another than Thee_, and I resign\nmyself, with Solomon, unto God, the Lord of the worlds. _And he\ndesired to marry her; but he disliked the hair upon her legs; so the\ndevils made for him the depilatory of quick-lime, wherewith she\nremoved the hair, and he married her; and he loved her, and confirmed\nher in her kingdom. He used to visit her every month once, and to\nremain with her three days; and her reign expired on the expiration\nof the reign of Solomon. It is related that he began to reign when he\nwas thirteen years of age, and died at the age of three and fifty\nyears. Extolled be the perfection of Him to the duration of whose\ndominion there is no end!_\n\n   (xxvii. 15-45.)\n\n\n_We subjected_ unto Solomon the wind, which travelled in the morning\n(_unto the period when the sun began to decline_) _the distance of_ a\nmonth\u2019s _journey_, and in the evening _from the commencement of the\ndeclining of the sun into its setting_ a month\u2019s _journey_. And We\nmade the fountain of molten brass to flow for him _three days with\ntheir nights_ [in every month], _as water floweth;[319] and the people\nworked until the day_ [of its flowing], _with that which had been\ngiven into Solomon_. And of the jinn [were] those who worked in his\npresence, by the will of his Lord; and such of them as swerved from\n_obedience to_ Our command We will cause to taste of the punishment of\nhell _in the world to come_ (_or, as it is said by some, We cause to\ntaste of its punishment in the present world, an angel beating them\nwith a scourge from hell, the stripe of which burneth them_). They\nmade for him whatever he pleased, of lofty halls (_with steps whereby\nto ascend to them_), and images (_for they were not forbidden by his\nlaw_[320]), and large dishes, like great tanks for watering camels,\n_around each of which assembled a thousand men, eating from it_, and\ncooking-pots standing firmly _on their legs, cut out from the\nmountains in El-Yemen, and to which they ascended by ladders_. _And We\nsaid_, Work, O family of David, _in the service of God_, with\nthanksgiving _unto Him for what He hath given you_:\u2014but few of My\nservants are the thankful. And when We decreed that he (_namely,\nSolomon_) should die, _and he died, and remained standing, and leaning\nupon his staff for a year, dead, the jinn meanwhile performing those\ndifficult works as they were accustomed to do, not knowing of his\ndeath, until the worm ate his staff, whereupon he fell down_, nothing\nshowed them his death but the eating reptile (_the worm_) that ate his\nstaff.[321] And when he fell down, the jinn plainly perceived that if\nthey had known things unseen (_of which things was the death of\nSolomon_), they had not continued in the ignominious affliction (_that\nis, in their difficult works_), _imagining that he was alive,\ninconsistently with their opinion that they knew things unseen. And\nthat the period was a year was known by calculating what the worm had\neaten of his staff since his death in each day and night or other\nspace of time._ (xxxiv. 11-13.)\n\n\n\n\n_JONAH._\n\n\nVerily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember] when he fled\nunto the laden ship, _being angry with his people, because the\npunishment wherewith he had threatened them did not fall upon them;\nwherefore he embarked in the ship; and it became stationary in the\nmidst of the sea: so the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled\nfrom his master, and the lot will discover him_:\u2014and he cast lots\n_with those who were in the ship_, and he was [the] one upon whom the\nlot fell. _They therefore cast him into the sea_, and the fish\nswallowed him; and he was reprehensible, _for having gone to the sea,\nand embarked in the ship, without the permission of his Lord_. And had\nhe not been of those who glorified God (_by his saying often in the\nbelly of the fish, There is no god but Thou! I extol Thy perfection!\nVerily I have been of the offenders!_), he had remained in his belly\nuntil the day of resurrection.[322] And We cast him on the plain land,\n_the same day, or after three or seven days, or twenty or forty days_;\nand he was sick; and We caused a gourd plant[323] to grow up over him,\n_to shade him_. _It had a trunk, contrary to what is the case of\ngourds in general, being miraculously produced for him._[324] _And a\nwild she-goat came to him evening and morning, of whose milk he\ndrank until he became strong._ And We sent him _after that, as\nbefore_, unto _his people in Nineveh, in the land of El-Mo\u1e63il_, a\nhundred thousand, or they were a greater number by _twenty or thirty\nor seventy thousand_; and they believed _on beholding the punishment\nwherewith they had been threatened_;[325] wherefore We allowed them\nenjoyment _of their goods_ for a time, _until the expiration of their\nterms of life_.\n\n   (xxxvii. 139-148.)\n\n\n\n\n_EZRA._\n\n\n[Hast thou not considered] him who passed by a city (_which was\nJerusalem_), _riding upon an ass, and having with him a basket of figs\nand a vessel of the juice of grapes_ (_and he was \u00b4Ozeyr_ [Ezra]), and\nit was falling down upon its roofs, _Nebuchadnezzar having ruined it_?\nHe said, _wondering at the power of God_, How will God quicken this\nafter its death?\u2014And God caused him to die for a hundred years. Then\nHe raised him to life: [and] He said _unto him_, How long hast thou\ntarried _here_?\u2014He answered I have tarried a day, or part of a\nday.\u2014_For he slept in the first part of the day, and was deprived of\nhis life, and was reanimated at sunset._ He said Nay, thou hast\ntarried a hundred years: but look at thy food and thy drink: they have\nnot become changed by time: and look at thine ass.\u2014_And he beheld it\ndead, and its bones white and shining.\u2014We have done this that thou\nmayest know_, and that We may make thee a sign _of the resurrection_\nunto men. And look at the bones _of thine ass_, how We will raise\nthem; then We will clothe them with flesh.\u2014_So he looked at them, and\nthey had become put together, and were clothed with flesh, and life\nwas breathed into it, and it brayed._ Therefore when it had been made\nmanifest to him he said, I know that God is able to accomplish\neverything. (ii. 261.)\n\n\n\n\n_THE MESSIAH._\n\n\n_Remember_ when the wife of \u00b4Imr\u00e1n[326] said, (_when she had become\naged, and desired offspring, wherefore she supplicated God, and became\nsensible of pregnancy_,) O my Lord, verily I devote unto Thee what is\nin my womb, to be dedicated _to the service of Thy holy house_: then\naccept [it] from me; for Thou art the Hearer _of prayer_, the Knower\n_of intentions_. _And \u00b4Imr\u00e1n perished while she was pregnant._ And\nwhen she gave birth to it, (_namely her daughter; and she was hoping\nthat it might be a boy; since none but boys were dedicated_,) she\nsaid, O my Lord, verily I have brought forth a female, (and God well\nknew what she had brought forth,) and the male is not as the female,\n_the latter not being fit for the service_ [of the temple]; and I have\nnamed her Mary [Maryam]; and I beg thy protection for her and her\noffspring from the accursed devil.[327] (_In the traditions_ [it is\nsaid], _No child is born but the devil hath touched it at the time of\nits birth, wherefore it first raiseth its voice by crying, excepting\nMary and her son._[328]) And her Lord accepted her (_that is, He\naccepted Mary from her mother_) with a gracious acceptance, and caused\nher to grow with an excellent growth, _as though she grew in a day as\na child_ [generally] _groweth in a month_. _Her mother took her to the\ndoctors, the keepers of the Holy House, and said, Receive ye this\ndevoted child. And they eagerly desired her, because she was the\ndaughter of their chief. But Zechariah said, I am more worthy of\nhaving her; for her maternal aunt is with me. They however replied,\nNay, but we will cast lots.\u2014So they departed (and they were nine and\ntwenty) to the river Jordan, and cast their divining arrows on the\nunderstanding that he whose arrow should become steady in the water\nand rise should be_ [acknowledged] _most worthy of her; and the arrow\nof Zechariah became steady, and he took her, and built for her a\nchamber in the temple, with stairs to which no one ascended but\nhimself. And he used to bring her her food and her drink and her\nointment; and used to find with her the fruits of winter in summer,\nand the fruits of summer in winter, as He\u2014whose name be exalted!\u2014hath\nsaid_, And Zechariah maintained her. Whenever Zechariah went in to her\nin the chamber, he found with her provisions. He said, O Mary, whence\ncame to thee this? She answered, (_being then a little child_,) It is\nfrom God: _He bringeth it to me from Paradise_: for God supplieth whom\nHe pleaseth without reckoning.\n\nThen, _when he saw this, and knew that He who was able to produce a\nthing out of its season was able to give a child in old age, (and the\npeople of his house had become extinct,)_ Zechariah supplicated his\nLord, _when he had entered the chamber to pray in the latter part of\nthe night_. He said, O my Lord, give me from Thee a good offspring (_a\nrighteous son_); for Thou art the Hearer of prayer.\u2014And the angels\n(_by which is meant Gabriel_) called to him as he stood praying in the\nchamber (_that is, the temple_), saying, God promiseth thee John\n[Ya\u1e25y\u00e1], who shall be a verifier of [the] Word _which cometh_ from\nGod, (_that is, Jesus_ [\u00b4Eesa]; _for he is the Spirit of God, and was\nnamed_ [the] _Word because he was created by the word Be_,) and a\nchief, (_or one followed_,) and chaste, and a prophet, of the\nrighteous. (_It is related that he neither did any sin nor intended\nany._)\u2014He said, O my Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath\ncome upon me, _when I have attained the utmost age, a hundred and\ntwenty years_, and my wife is barren, _and hath attained the age of\neight and ninety_?\u2014He answered, _It shall be_ thus. God will do what\nHe pleaseth.\u2014He said, O my Lord, give me a sign.\u2014He replied, Thy sign\n[shall be] that thou shalt not speak unto men for three days, except\nby signal; but remember thy Lord often, and glorify [Him] in the\nevening and in the morning.\n\n   (iii. 31-36.)\n\n\nAnd he went forth unto his people from the chamber, and made a sign\nunto them, [as though he would say] Glorify [God] in the morning and\nin the evening _as usual_. _And he knew by his being prevented from\nspeaking unto them that his wife had conceived John. And after his\nbirth, by some years, God said unto him_, O John, receive the book\n(_that is, the Law_) with resolution. And We bestowed on him wisdom\n(_the gift of prophecy_) [when he was yet] a child, _three years of\nage_, and compassion from Us _for mankind_, and [a disposition to\nbestow] alms _upon them_. And he was pious, and dutiful to his\nparents, and was not proud [nor] rebellious _toward his Lord_; and\npeace _from Us_ [was] on him on the day when he was born, and on the\nday of his death, and [shall be] on the day when he shall be raised to\nlife. (xix. 12-15.)\n\nAnd _remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,\nverily God hath chosen thee and hath purified thee and hath chosen\nthee above the women of the peoples _of thy time_. O Mary, be devout\ntowards thy Lord and prostrate thyself and bow down with those who bow\ndown: _pray with those who pray_.\u2014This is [one] of the announcements\nof things unseen _by thee_: We reveal it unto thee, _O Mo\u1e25ammad_; for\nthou wast not with them when they cast their divining arrows _that it\nmight appear to them_ which of them should rear Mary, and thou wast\nnot with them when they disputed together _as to rearing\nher_.\u2014_Remember_ when the angels (_that is, Gabriel_) said, O Mary,\nverily God promiseth thee [the] Word from Him, whose name [shall be]\nthe Messiah [El-Mesee\u1e25], Jesus the son of Mary, honourable in this\nworld _by his prophetic office_, and in the world to come _by his\nintercession and high stations_, and of those admitted near _unto\nGod_; and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when of full\nage,[329] and [he shall be] of the righteous.\u2014She said, O my Lord, how\nshall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me?\u2014He answered, _It\nshall be_ thus; God will create what He pleaseth: when He determineth\na thing, He only saith unto it, Be,\u2014and it is. And He will teach him\nwriting and wisdom and the Law and the Gospel, and _constitute him_ an\napostle to the children of Israel, _in youth or after adolescence_.\n_And Gabriel breathed into the bosom of her shift; whereupon she\nconceived; and those events of her history which are related in the\nSoorat Maryam_ [\u1e32ur. xix.] _happened_.\n\n   (iii. 37-43.)\n\n\nRelate in the book (_that is, the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n_) _the history of_ Mary, when\nshe retired from her family to a place towards the east, _in the\nhouse_, and she took a veil [to conceal herself] from them; and We\nsent unto her our spirit _Gabriel_, and he appeared unto her as a\nperfect man. She said, I beg the Compassionate to preserve me from\nthee! If thou be a pious person, _thou wilt withdraw from me_.\u2014He\nreplied, I am only the messenger of thy Lord [to inform thee] that He\nwill give thee a pure son, _endowed with the gift of prophecy_. She\nsaid, How shall I have a son, when a man hath not touched me, and I am\nnot a harlot? He answered, Thus _shall it be: a son shall be created\nunto thee without a father_. Thy Lord saith, This is easy unto Me; and\n_thus shall it be_ that We may make him a sign unto men, _showing Our\npower_, and a mercy from Us _unto him who shall believe in him_: for\nit is a thing decreed.\u2014And she conceived him; and she retired with\nhim [yet unborn] to a distant place _far from her family_; and the\npains of childbirth urged her to repair to the trunk of a palm-tree\n_that she might lean against it_. _And she gave birth to the child,\nwhich was conceived and formed and born in an hour._[330] She said,\nOh! would that I had died before this _event_, and had been a thing\nforgotten [and] unnoticed!\u2014But he who was below her (_namely Gabriel,\nwho was on a lower place than she_) called to her, Grieve not. God\nhath made below thee a rivulet: and shake thou towards thee the trunk\nof the palm-tree (_which was dried-up_); it shall let fall upon thee\nripe dates, fresh-gathered: therefore eat _of the dates_, and drink\n_of the water of the rivulet_, and be of cheerful eye _on account of\nthe child_: and if thou see any one of mankind, _asking thee\nconcerning the child_, say, I have vowed unto the Compassionate an\nabstinence _from speech with mankind respecting him and other\nmatters_; therefore I will not speak to-day unto a man _after this_.\n\nAnd she brought him [namely the child] unto her people, carrying him.\nThey said, O Mary, thou hast done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron,\n(_he was a righteous man; and the meaning is, O thou who art like him\nin chastity_,[331]) thy father was not a man of wickedness, nor was\nthy mother a harlot. _Then whence gottest thou this child?_\u2014And she\nmade a sign _to them_, [pointing] towards him, [namely the child, as\nthough she would say,] _Speak ye unto him._ They said, How shall we\nspeak unto him who is in the cradle, an infant? He [however] said,\nVerily I am the servant of God:[332] He hath given me the book _of the\nGospel_, and hath appointed me a prophet; and He hath made me blessed\nwherever I shall be, and hath commanded me to observe prayer and give\nalms as long as I shall live, and _hath made me_ dutiful to my mother,\nand hath not made me proud [nor] wicked. And peace _from God_ [was] on\nme on the day when I was born, and [will be] on the day when I shall\ndie, and on the day when I shall be raised to life.\u2014This [was] Jesus\nthe son of Mary. _I have spoken_ the saying of truth, concerning which\nthey (_namely the Christians_) doubt, _saying that Jesus is the son of\nGod_. It is not [meet] for God to get a son. Extolled be His purity\n_from that_ [imputation]! When He decreeth a thing _that He desireth\nto bring into existence_, He only saith unto it, Be,\u2014and it is: _and\nthus He created Jesus the son of Mary without a father_.\u2014And _say_,\nVerily God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore worship ye Him: this is\na right way, _leading to Paradise_. But the sects have differed among\nthemselves; _that is, the Christians have differed concerning Jesus,\nas to whether he be the son of God, or a deity with Him, or the third\nof three_. And woe unto them who have disbelieved _in that which hath\nbeen stated, or in other matters_, on account of the assembly of a\ngreat day, _the day of resurrection, and its terrors_. How will they\nhear, and how _will they_ see, on the day when they shall come unto Us\n_in the world to come_! But the offenders to-day (_that is, in the\npresent world_) are in a manifest error: _they are deaf, so that they\nhear not the truth; and blind, so that they see it not_. And do thou,\n_O Mo\u1e25ammad_, warn them (_namely the unbelievers of Mekkeh_) of the\nday of sighing (_the day of resurrection, when the evil-doer shall\nsigh for his having neglected to do good in the present world_),\nwhen the command _for their punishment_ shall be fulfilled, while they\n(_in the present world_) are in a state of heedlessness _with respect\nto it_, and while they believe not _therein_. Verily We shall inherit\nthe earth and whomsoever are upon it (_the heedless and others; they\nbeing destroyed_); and unto Us shall they be brought back _to be\nrecompensed_.\n\n   (xix. 16-41.)\n\n\n_And when God sent him_ [Jesus] _to the children of Israel, he said\nunto them, Verily I am the apostle of God unto you_; for I have come\nunto you with a sign from your Lord; for I will make for you of earth\nthe similitude of a bird, and will breathe into it, and it shall be a\nbird,[333] by the permission (_or will_) of God;[334] (_and he made\nfor them a bat; for it is the most perfect of birds in make; and it\nflew, while they looked at it; but when it had gone out of their\nsight, it fell down dead_;) and I will cure the blind from his birth,\nand the leper; (_and he cured in one day fifty thousand, by prayer, on\nthe condition of faith_;) and I will raise to life the dead, by the\npermission of God; (_this he repeated to deny his divinity: and he\nraised to life \u00b4\u00c1riz_ [Lazarus] _a friend of his; and a son of the old\nwoman, and the daughter of the publican; and they lived, and children\nwere born to them; and Shem the son of Noah, who died immediately_;)\nand I will tell you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses.\nVerily therein will be a sign unto you, if ye be believers. And _I\nhave come unto you_ as a verifier of that which was before me, of the\nLaw, and to make lawful unto you part of what was made unlawful to\nyou _therein_; (_and he made lawful to them, of fish and fowls,\nwhatsoever is without fin or spur; and it is said that he made lawful\nall, and that \u2018part\u2019 is used in the sense of \u2018the whole:\u2019_) and I have\ncome unto you with a sign from your Lord; therefore fear ye God, and\nobey me _in that which I command you, as to the confession of the\nunity of God and the service of Him_. Verily God is my Lord and your\nLord; therefore worship Him. This is [the] right way. _But they\naccused him of falsehood and believed not in him._ And when Jesus\nperceived their unbelief, he said, Who [will be] my helpers for God?\nThe apostles[335] answered, We [will be] the helpers of God. We have\nbelieved in God; and bear thou witness, _O Jesus_, that we are Muslims\n[or resigned]. O our Lord, we have believed in that which Thou hast\nsent down _of the Gospel_, and we have followed the Apostle, _Jesus_;\ntherefore write us down among those who bear witness _of Thy unity and\nof the truth of Thine apostle_.\u2014And they (_that is, the unbelievers\namong the children of Israel_) devised a stratagem _against Jesus, to\nslay him treacherously_; but God devised a stratagem _against them;\nfor He put the likeness of Jesus upon one who intended his slaughter,\nand they slew him; and Jesus was taken up_ [into heaven],[336] and\nGod is the best of those who devise stratagems.... _It is related that\nGod sent a cloud to Jesus, and it took him up; but his mother clung\nunto him and wept: whereupon he said unto her, Verily the resurrection\nwill unite us.\u2014It is also related that he will descend shortly before\nthe resurrection and judge according to the law of our prophet_\n[Mo\u1e25ammad], _slay Antichrist and the swine, break the cross, and\nimpose the capitation-tax_ [on unbelievers].\u2014_Also, that he will\nremain, according to one tradition, seven years; according to another,\nforty years; and die, and be prayed over: but it is probable that_ [by\nthe latter period] _is meant the whole time of his tarrying upon the\nearth, before the ascension and after_.\n\n   (iii. 43\u201447.)\n\n\n_Remember_ when the apostle said, O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord\nable to cause a table to descend unto us from heaven?[337] He replied,\nFear God, _in demanding signs_, if ye be believers. They said, We\ndesire that we may eat therefrom, and that our hearts may be at ease\n_in consequence of additional evidence_, and we may know, _with\nincreased knowledge_, that thou hast spoken truth unto us _in\nasserting thyself to be a prophet_, and may be witnesses\nthereof.\u2014Jesus the son of Mary said, O God, our Lord, cause a table to\ndescend unto us from heaven, that it (_namely the day of its descent_)\nmay be unto us a festival,[338] unto the first of us and the last of\nus (_or those who shall come after us_), and a sign from Thee _of Thy\npower, and of my prophetic office_; and provide us with food\n_thereby_; for Thou art the best of providers.\u2014God said, _in reply to\nhim_, Verily I will cause it to descend unto you; but whosoever of you\nshall disbelieve after _its descent_, I will surely punish him with a\npunishment wherewith I will not punish any [other] of the\npeoples.\u2014_And the angels descended with it from heaven: upon it\nwere seven cakes of bread and seven fishes; and they ate of them until\nthey were satisfied. And in a tradition related by Ibn-\u00b4Abb\u00e1s it is\nsaid that the table brought down from heaven bread and flesh, and they\nwere commanded not to act deceitfully, nor to store up for the morrow;\nbut they_ [that is, some of the people] _did so, and were transformed\ninto apes and swine_.\n\n   (v. 112-115.)\n\n\nPropound unto them, as an example, the inhabitants of the city _of\nAntioch_, when the apostles _of Jesus_ came unto it;[339] when We sent\nunto them two,[340] and they charged them with falsehood; wherefore\nWe strengthened _them_ with a third;[341] and they said, Verily we are\nsent unto you. They replied, Ye are not [aught] save men like us, and\nthe Compassionate hath not revealed anything: ye do nothing but lie.\nThey said, Our Lord knoweth that we are indeed sent unto you; and\nnaught is imposed on us but the delivering of a plain message, _shown\nto be true by manifest proofs, namely the cure of him who hath been\nborn blind and of the leper and the sick, and the raising of the\ndead_. [The people of Antioch] said, Verily we presage evil from you;\n_for the rain is withheld from us on your account_: if ye desist not,\nwe will assuredly stone you, and a painful punishment shall surely\nbetide you from us. [The apostles] replied, Your evil luck is with you\n_because of your unbelief_. If ye have been warned, _will ye presage\nevil and disbelieve_? Nay, ye are an exorbitant people.\u2014And there came\nfrom the furthest part of the city a man (_namely \u1e24abeeb the\ncarpenter, who had believed in the apostles_) running: he said, O my\npeople, follow the apostles: follow those who ask not of you a\nrecompense, and who are rightly directed. _And it was said unto him,\nArt thou of their religion? He replied_, And why should I not worship\nHim who hath created me, and unto whom ye shall be brought back _after\ndeath_? Shall I take deities beside Him? If the Compassionate be\npleased to afflict me, their intercession will not avert from me\naught, nor will they deliver. Verily, in that case (_if I worshipped\naught but God_), I should be in a manifest error. Verily I believe in\nyour Lord; therefore hear ye me.\u2014_But they stoned him, and he\ndied;[342] and_ it was said _unto him at his death_, Enter thou into\nParadise. _And it is said that he entered it alive._ He said, O would\nthat my people knew my Lord\u2019s forgiveness of me and His having made me\n[one] of those who are honoured?\u2014And We sent not down against his\npeople after him (_that is, after his death_) an army _of angels_ from\nheaven _to destroy them_, nor were We sending down _angels to destroy\nany one_. It (_namely their punishment_) was naught but one cry _which\nGabriel uttered against them_; and lo, they were extinct.\n\n   (xxxvi. 12-28.)\n\n\n_We have cursed the Jews_ ... for their disbelief _in Jesus_ and their\nuttering against Mary a great calumny and their saying, We have killed\nthe Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God,\u2014Yet they\nkilled him not nor crucified him; but one (_namely the person whom\nthey crucified_) was made to appear to them like _Jesus_; and verily\nthose who disagreed respecting him were in doubt concerning him, _or\nhis slaughter; for some of them said, when they saw the slain person,\nThe face is the face of Jesus; but the body is not his body:\u2014and\nothers said, It is he_:[343]\u2014they had no knowledge of him; but only\nfollowed an opinion. And they did not really kill him; but God took\nhim up unto Himself; and God is mighty [and] wise. And there is not of\nthe people of the Scripture _one_ but he shall assuredly believe in\nhim (_namely Jesus_) before his death; _that is, before his own death,\nor before the death of Jesus, when he descendeth shortly before the\nresurrection_;[344] and on the day of resurrection he (_namely\nJesus_) shall be a witness against them.\n\n   (iv. 155-157.)\n\n\nWhen God shall say, _on the day of resurrection_, O Jesus, son of\nMary, hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother as two deities,\nbeside God?\u2014_Jesus_ shall answer, _after being agitated_ (_or after it\nshall have thundered_), Extolled be Thy purity _from the imputation of\naught that is unsuitable to Thee, as the having a partner, and other\nthings_! It is not for me to say that which is not right for me. Had I\nsaid it, Thou hadst known it. Thou knowest what is in me; but I know\nnot what is in Thee; for Thou well-knowest things unseen. I said not\nunto them aught but that which Thou commandedst me; _namely_ Worship\nye God, my Lord and your Lord;\u2014and I was a watcher over them,\n_commanding them to abstain from what they said_, while I remained\namong them: but since Thou hast taken me to Thyself,[345] Thou hast\nbeen the watcher over them, and Thou art the witness of all things. If\nThou punish them, (_that is, such of them as have continued in\nunbelief_,) they are Thy servants _and Thou mayest do with them as\nThou pleasest_; and if Thou forgive them, (_that is, such of them as\nhave believed_,) Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.\n\n   (v. 116-118.)\n\n\nWhen the son of Mary was proposed as an instance (_when the saying of\nGod was revealed, Verily ye and what ye worship beside God_ [shall be]\n_fuel of hell_ [Kur. xxi. 98], _and the polytheists said, We are\ncontent for our gods to be with Jesus, for he hath been worshipped\nbeside God_,[346]) lo, thy people, _the polytheists_, cried out _in\njoy_ thereat, and they said, [Are] our gods better, or [is] he? _We\nare content for our gods to be with him._\u2014They proposed not it\n(_namely the instance_) unto thee otherwise than as a cause of dispute\n(_knowing that the word \u2018what\u2019 applieth to that which is not endowed\nwith reason; so that it doth not reflect upon Jesus, on whom be\npeace!_): yea, they are a contentious people. He (_namely Jesus_) is\nno other than a servant whom We favoured _with the gift of prophecy_;\nand We proposed him, _by reason of his having come into existence\nwithout a father_, as an instance _of the divine power_ unto the\nchildren of Israel. And if We pleased, We would substitute for you\nangels to succeed in the earth.[347] And verily he (_namely Jesus_)\n_shall be_ a sign of the [last] hour:[348] _it shall be known by his\ndescending_: wherefore doubt not thereof.\u2014And _say unto them_, Follow\nye me _in confessing the unity of God_: this, _which I command you to\nfollow_, is a right way. And let not the devil turn you away _from the\nreligion of God_; for he is unto you a manifest enemy.\u2014And when Jesus\ncame with manifest proofs (_with miracles and ordinances_), he said, I\nhave come unto you with wisdom (_with prophecy and with the ordinances\nof the Gospel_), and to explain unto you part of [the things]\nconcerning which ye disagree: therefore fear ye God, and obey me.\nVerily God is my Lord and your Lord; wherefore worship ye Him: this is\na right way.\u2014But the parties disagreed among themselves _respecting\nJesus, whether he were God, or the son of God, or the third of three_:\nand woe unto them that transgressed _in that which they said\nrespecting Jesus_, because of the punishment of an afflicting day!\n\n   (xliii. 57-65.)\n\n\nVerily the similitude of Jesus in the sight of God is as the\nsimilitude of Adam. He created him (_Adam_) of earth: then He said\nunto him, Be,\u2014and he was. _In like manner he said unto Jesus, Be,\nwithout a father,\u2014and he was. This is_ the truth from thy Lord:\ntherefore be not thou of those who doubt. And whosoever _of the\nChristians_ argueth with thee respecting him, after the knowledge that\nhath come unto thee _concerning him_, say, Come ye, let us call our\nsons and your sons and our wives and your wives, and ourselves and\nyourselves _will assemble_: then we will invoke, and will lay the\ncurse of God on those who lie, _saying, O God, curse the liar\nrespecting the nature of Jesus!\u2014And the prophet invited a company from\nNejr\u00e1n to do so, when they had argued with him respecting Jesus; and\nthey said_, [Wait] _until we consider our case: then we will come unto\nthee. And their counsellor said, Ye know his prophetic office, and\nthat no people have execrated a prophet but they have perished. They\nhowever quieted the man, and departed, and came unto the prophet. And\nhe had come forth, having with him El-\u1e24asan and El-\u1e24oseyn and F\u00e1\u1e6dimeh\nand \u00b4Alee; and he said unto them, When I pray, say ye Amen. But they\nrefused to execrate, and made peace with him on the condition of their\npaying tribute._\u2014Verily this is indeed the true history, and there is\nno deity but God, and verily God is indeed the Mighty, the Wise.\n\n   (iii. 52-55.)\n\n\nO people of the Scripture (_that is, of the Gospel_), exceed not the\njust bounds in your religion,[349] nor say of God [aught] but the\ntruth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, [was] only the apostle of\nGod, and His Word, which he transmitted unto Mary, and a spirit (_that\nis, a being possessing a spirit_) from Him. (_He is mentioned in\nconjunction with God, in order to show him honour, and is not, as ye\nassert, the son of God, or a God with Him, or the third of three; for\nthe being possessing a spirit is compound, and the Deity must be\nconfessed to be pure from the imputation of composition and the\nrelationship of a compound being to Him._) Therefore believe in God\nand His apostles, and say not, _There are_ three _gods, God and Jesus\nand his mother_.[350] Abstain _from this, and say what will be_ better\nfor you; _that is, assert the unity of God_. God is only one god.\nExtolled be His purity from the imputation of His having a son! To Him\nbelongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth:\nand God is a sufficient witness _thereof_. The Messiah doth not\ndisdain to be a servant unto God, nor do the angels who are admitted\nnear _unto Him_. (iv. 169, 170.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] See prefatory note, p. 2.\n\n[2] _i.e._, the glory of the clan.\n\n[3] Battles.\n\n[4] This and the other verses quoted in this chapter are taken from\nthe translations of old Arab poetry contributed by Mr. C. J. Lyall to\nthe _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Translations from\nthe Ham\u00e2seh and the Agh\u00e2n\u00ee; The Mo`allaqah of Zuheyr)_. They imitate\nthe metres of the original Arabic verse, but are nevertheless as\nliteral as need be. The transliteration of proper names in the verses\n(and in other quotations) has been assimilated to the system adopted\nby Mr. Lane, from which in this work I only depart in the case of\nnames which by frequent use have become almost the property of the\nEnglish language.\n\n[5] A tribe.\n\n[6] The subject of the poem, mentioned in the second hemistich of the\nthird verse as \u2018thou,\u2019 whose death the supposed author (\u2018one valiant\u2019)\navenged.\n\n[7] For these and other stories about \u1e24\u00e1tim, see Caussin de Perceval\u2019s\n_Essai sur l\u2019Histoire des Arabes_, ii. 607-628: a book which is a\ntreasury of Arab life, and abounds in those anecdotes which reveal\nmore of the character of the people than whole volumes of ethnological\ntreatise.\n\n[8] The later Arabic poets were mostly incapable of the genius of the\nold singers: the times had changed, and the ancient poetry appeared\nalmost as exotic to their ideas as it does to our own. No greater\nmistake can be made than to judge of the old poets by such a writer as\nBeh\u00e1-ed-deen Zoheyr, of whom Professor E. H. Palmer has lately given\nus so beautiful a version. There is nothing in common between El-Beh\u00e1\nand \u00b4Antarah\u2014scarcely even the language.\n\n[9] Deutsch, _Lit. Remains_, 453, 454: cp. N\u00f6ldeke, _Beitr\u00e4ge zur\nKennt. d. Poesie d. alten Araber_, xxiii., xxiv.\n\n[10] Ezekiel xxvii. 19-24. The identifications of the various names\nwith Arabian towns are partly conjectural, but the general reference\nis clearly to Arabia. Cf. the \u2018Speaker\u2019s\u2019 _Commentary_, vi. 122; and\nthe interpretations of Hitzig, Movers, Tuch, and M\u00e9nant.\n\n[11] C. P. Tiele, _Outlines of the History of Religion_: tr. J. E.\nCarpenter, p. 63.\n\n[12] Deutsch. _Lit. Remains_, pp. 70-72.\n\n[13] R. Bosworth Smith, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed. p. 131.\n\n[14] Or \u2018read,\u2019 \u2018recite.\u2019 These lines are the beginning of the 96th\nSoorah of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\n\n[15] Sir W. Muir,_ Life of Mahomet_, 402.\n\n[16] The following is an abridgment: cp. Muir 485, and the\n_Seeret-er-Rasool_, tr. Weil, ii. 316, 317.\n\n[17] An attempt has been made to explain away Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s fidelity to\nKhadeejeh, by adducing the motive of pecuniary prudence. Mo\u1e25ammad,\nthey say, was a poor man, Khadeejeh rich and powerfully connected; any\n_affaire de c\u0153ur_ on the husband\u2019s part would have been followed by\na divorce and the simultaneous loss of property and position. It is\nhardly necessary to point out that the fear of poverty\u2014a matter of\nlittle consequence in Arabia and at that time\u2014would not restrain a\nreally sensual man for five-and-twenty years; especially when it is by\nno means certain that Khadeejeh, who loved him with all her heart in a\nmotherly sort of way, would have procured a divorce for any cause\nsoever. And this explanation leaves Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s loving remembrance of\nhis old wife unaccounted for. If her money alone had curbed him for\ntwenty-five years, one would expect him at her death to throw off the\ncloak, thank Heaven for the deliverance, and enter at once upon the\nrake\u2019s progress. He does none of those things. The story of Zeyneb,\nthe divorced wife of Zeyd, is a favourite weapon with Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s\naccusers. It is not one to enter upon here; but I may say that the\nlady\u2019s own share in the transaction has never been sufficiently\nconsidered. In all probability Zeyd, the freed slave, was glad enough\nto get rid of his too well-born wife, and certainly he bore no rancour\nagainst Mo\u1e25ammad. The real point of the story is the question of\nforged revelations, which is discussed below.\n\n[18] \u2018The Prophet said: Whosoever shall bear witness that there is one\nGod; and that Mo\u1e25ammad is His servant and messenger; and that Jesus\nChrist is His servant and messenger, and that he is the son of the\nhand-maid of God, and that he is the Word of God, the word which was\nsent to Mary, and Spirit from God; and [shall bear witness] that there\nis truth in Heaven and Hell, will enter into paradise, whatever sins\nhe may be chargeable with.\u2019\u2014_Mishk\u00e1t-el-Mas\u00e1beeh_, i. 11.\n\n[19] R. Bosworth Smith: _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, 2d ed., 255-257.\n\n[20] _The People of Turkey_, by a Consul\u2019s Daughter, preface, xxii.\n\n[21] _Mishk\u00e1t-el-Mas\u00e1beeh_, i. 46, 51.\n\n[22] Dr. E. Blyden. See his article on Mohammadanism in Western Africa\nin _The People of Africa_. (New York, 1871.)\n\n[23] It may be interesting to some readers to judge for themselves of\nthe different characteristics of these four groups of soorahs; and\nthough in a series of translated selections it will hardly be possible\nto gain a thorough appreciation of the change of style or matter, some\nnotion may nevertheless be obtained by reading the First Part of these\nSelections in the following order (the numbers referring to the\nfigures at the head of each extract):\u2014\n\nMekka\u2014First Period:\u2014xvii., lxvi., lxv., xviii., xxxvii., xxxviii.,\nxxxix., xl., xli., xlii., xliii., xxx., iii., i.\n\nSecond Period:\u2014lx., xlvii., xxix., viii., xiv., lxiii., vi., li.,\nlxii., xxxi., xliv., lxxxvi., lxxxi., xlv., xxxvi., xx.\n\nThird Period:\u2014lxxiii., lxiv., xxxv., liii., xlvi., xvi., lxxvi.,\nxxxii., lix., xxi., vii., lv., xix., xii., x., lxxii., xxviii., xi.\n\nMedina:\u2014ii., lxxxiv., xxxiii., lxxvii., xxxiv., xxiv., xxvi., ix.,\nlii., lxxix., lxvii., lxi., iv., lxxi., lxix., lxx., lxxv., lxxxiii.,\nxlviii., v., lxxviii., xxii., lvi., lvii., xlix., xxvii., xxv., xiii.,\nlviii., lxxiv., l., liv., xxiii., lxxx., xv., lxviii., lxxxv., lxxxii.\n\n[24] This is generally believed to be the night of (that is,\npreceding) the 27th day of the month.\n\n[25] In the Introduction, the references are to the new one volume\nedition, 1877. Since writing my chapter on the early Arabs, Sir W.\nMuir has published an interesting essay on old Arabic poetry in the\n_Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_ (xi part i. 1879).\n\n[26] The \u2018Lord\u2019s Prayer\u2019 of the Muslims, recited several times in each\nof the five daily prayers, and on many other occasions.\n\n[27] _That is, of all creatures._\n\n[28] [\u2018Do we beg assistance,\u2019 in the original ed.]\n\n[29] _God knoweth best what He meaneth by these letters._\n\n[30] _That it is from God._\n\n[31] _In the resurrection and paradise and hell._\n\n[32] _The \u1e32ur-\u00e1n._\n\n[33] _The Pentateuch and the Gospel and other books._\n\n[34] This chapter is held in particular veneration by the Mo\u1e25ammadans,\nand declared, by a tradition of their prophet, to be equal in value to\na third part of the whole Kor\u00e2n.\u2014S.\n\n[35] One of the most admired passages in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, recited (though\nnot by all Muslims) at the close of each of the five daily prayers,\nand often engraved on an ornament of gold or silver or a precious\nstone to be worn as an amulet.\n\n[36] \u2018The seven heavens and earths in comparison with the Throne are\nnought but as seven dirhems [silver coins] cast into a shield.\u2019\u2014Trad.\n\n[37] [\u2018Able to do everything,\u2019 orig. ed. Lit. \u2018potent over\neverything.\u2019]\n\n[38] Lit. \u2018driven away with stones.\u2019 This expression alludes to a\ntradition, that Abraham, when the devil tempted him to disobey God, in\nnot sacrificing his son, drove the fiend away by throwing stones at\nhim; in memory of which, the Mo\u1e25ammadans, at the pilgrimage of Mecca,\nthrow a certain number of stones at the devil, with certain\nceremonies, in the valley of Mina.\u2014S. The devils, or evil jinn, it is\nsaid, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of\nJesus, when they were excluded from three of them; on the birth of\nMo\u1e25ammad they were forbidden the other four. They continue, however,\nto ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there, listening\nto the conversation of the angels respecting things decreed by God,\nobtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who\nby means of talismans or certain invocations make them to serve the\npurposes of magical performances. Shooting stars are often hurled at\nthe devils when they thus listen.\n\n[39] _That it may not move with its inhabitants._\n\n[40] _Or determined._\n\n[41] _Slaves and beasts and cattle: for it is God only who sustaineth\nthem._\n\n[42] _Which cause the clouds to fill with water._\n\n[43] _As the bird from the egg._\n\n[44] _As the egg from the bird._\n\n[45] _Or consider._\n\n[46] _For you previously to birth._\n\n[47] [\u2018Compacted,\u2019 orig. ed. Strictly, words such as \u2018come forth\u2019\nshould be supplied before \u2018clusters.\u2019]\n\n[48] _In leaf._\n\n[49] _In fruit._\n\n[50] [Genii.] _since they have obeyed them in worshipping idols_. See\np. 33.\n\n[51] _Alone._\n\n[52] _This was revealed with reference to a man unto whom the Prophet\nsent one to invite him_ to the faith; _but he said, Who is the apostle\nof God, and what is God? Is he of gold, or silver, or brass? Whereupon\na thunderbolt fell upon him, and struck off his skull_.\n\n[53] _On the Preserved Tablet._\n\n[54] _Restoring your souls in the daytime._\n\n[55] _The term of life._\n\n[56] [\u2018Predominant,\u2019 orig. ed.]\n\n[57] _Angels who register your deeds._\n\n[58] _The creatures._\n\n[59] _That He may recompense them._\n\n[60] _O Mo\u1e25ammad, to the people of Mekkeh._\n\n[61] _Namely, the Jews and the Christians, and those_ [Arabs] _who\nassert that the angels are daughters of God_.\n\n[62] [\u2018Demolished,\u2019 orig. ed.]\n\n[63] _On the day of resurrection._\n\n[64] _Without wealth or helper._\n\n[65] _Of the perfume and saffron with which they are overdaubed._\n\n[66] _Idols._\n\n[67] _This they would not worship them._\n\n[68] [\u2018Similitudes,\u2019 orig. ed. It is the plural of the same word as\nthat translated \u2018parable\u2019 at the beginning of the preceding extract,\nand \u2018likeness\u2019 twice in this extract.]\n\n[69] [It is said that Mo\u1e25ammad, when a revelation came down to him,\nused to say, \u2018Cover ye me with something whereby I may become warm.\u2019\nLane: Lexicon, voce _dathara_.]\n\n[70] [Idolatry.]\n\n[71] [This rendering is Mr. Rodwell\u2019s. I do not think it can be\nbettered.]\n\n[72] [Lit. \u2018And by the night when it becometh still;\u2019 or (but this is\nless strongly supported) \u2018when it darkeneth.\u2019]\n\n[73] [\u2018In my possession,\u2019 orig. ed.]\n\n[74] [\u2018Apostle,\u2019 in the orig. ed.; but Christian associations have\nsomewhat restricted the original meaning of the word, and I have\ntherefore in this and other instances substituted \u2018Messenger,\u2019 which\nexactly represents the Arabic _rasool_.]\n\n[75] _To unbelief._\n\n[76] _He will only injure himself._\n\n[77] _The Jews said unto the Muslims, We are the people of the first\nbook_ (the Pentateuch), _and our \u1e32ibleh_ (the point to which we turn\nour faces in praying) _is the more ancient, and the prophets have not\nbeen of the Arabs, and if Mo\u1e25ammad were a prophet, he had been of us_.\n_Therefore_ the following _was revealed_.\n\n[78] _So that He may choose of His servants whom He pleaseth._\n\n[79] _That is, God is; and He hath acquitted Abraham of belonging to\nthem by His saying_ [\u1e32ur. iii. 60], _Abraham was not a Jew nor a\nChristian; and the other persons above-mentioned with him were\nfollowers of him_.\n\n\n[80] _They are the Jews, who have concealed the testimony of God, in\nthe Pentateuch, of Abraham\u2019s orthodoxy._\n\n[81] [Mo\u1e25ammad and A\u1e25mad are from the same root, _\u1e25amd_, meaning\n\u2018praise;\u2019 and both names were borne by the Prophet. The supposed\nprediction of Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s coming arose, perhaps, from a confusion\nbetween Parakletos and Perikleitos or possibly Periklytos in Evang. S.\nJo. xvi. 7, where the coming of \u2018the Paraclete\u2019 is promised; in some\nArabic version of which the word may have been ignorantly rendered by\n\u2018A\u1e25mad,\u2019 and thus reported to Mo\u1e25ammad.]\n\n[82] _By the description of him in their books._\n\n[83] _The description of him._\n\n[84] _In the Law._\n\n[85] _Or miracles._\n\n[86] _As Zechariah and John, and ye slew them._\n\n[87] _Their belief, if the signs come._ The copies of the original\ndiffer in this verse, but not in an important manner.\n\n[88] _From the truth, so that they shall not believe._\n\n[89] _The \u1e32ur-\u00e1n._\n\n[90] Or art mad.\n\n[91] _That is, with punishment._\n\n[92] [The original copy kept by God.]\n\n[93] [This line is often inscribed on the covers of copies of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.]\n\n[94] _In eloquence._\n\n[95] [In orig. edition, and literally, \u2018Although some of them assisted\nothers.\u2019]\n\n[96] _That they may be admonished._\n\n[97] _And not sent an angel?_\n\n[98] _Instead of mankind._\n\n[99] _For no apostle is sent unto a people but one of their own kind._\n\n[100] Forgery.\n\n[101] _Mo\u1e25ammad._\n\n[102] Chapter.\n\n[103] _To assist you._\n\n[104] _The result of the threat that it containeth._\n\n[105] _As to its being from God._\n\n[106] _In eloquence and beauty of composition and information\nconcerning what is unseen._\n\n[107] _Your deities whom ye worship, that they may aid you._\n\n[108] _When the unbelievers cavilled at abrogation, and said,\n\u2018Mo\u1e25ammad commandeth his companions to-day to do a thing and\nforbiddeth it tomorrow,\u2019_ the following _was revealed_.\n\n[109] _Namely, a Christian slave whom the Prophet used to visit._ [The\nMekkans accounted for the production of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n by an unlearned man\nlike Mo\u1e25ammad by ascribing it to the teaching of some Christian, whom\nis doubtful. Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s reply is that the Christian\u2019s was a foreign\ntongue, whilst the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n was in Arabic.]\n\n[110] [\u2018As a further supply,\u2019 orig. ed.]\n\n[111] [Lit. \u2018Burdens:\u2019 explained by El-Bey\u1e0d\u00e1wee and others _as buried\ntreasures_ and as _dead_.]\n\n[112] _The most highly esteemed of property._\n\n[113] [\u2018Be set on fire,\u2019 orig. ed. Both these renderings, and also \u2018be\ndried up,\u2019 are supported by various authorities. See Lane: Lex. voce\n_sejera_.]\n\n[114] Woman-child.\n\n[115] _Of men\u2019s actions._\n\n[116] _As the skin is plucked off a_ slaughtered _sheep_.\n\n[117] _A kind of thorn which no beast eateth, by reason of its\nimpurity._\n\n[118] _Or eight ranks of them._\n\n[119] _Unto a company, by reason of his joy thereat._\n\n[120] _And it shall be said unto such._\n\n[121] _And it shall be said unto the keepers of hell._\n\n[122] _As it hath denied it in the present world._\n\n[123] _Those who shall receive their books in their right hands._\n\n[124] _How honourable shall they be!_\n\n[125] _How contemptible shall they be!_\n\n[126] _In the way to good fortune (namely, the Prophets), how\nhonourable shall be!_\n\n[127] [\u2018Destined to continue for ever _in boyhood_,\u2019 orig. ed.]\n\n[128] [\u1e24ooreeyehs.]\n\n[129] Intensely black and white, large-eyed.\n\n[130] From bottom to top.\n\n[131] [The \u1e24ooreeyehs.]\n\n[132] _Polytheism._\n\n[133] Beneath the tents thereof.\n\n[134] _The believers and the unbelievers._\n\n[135] _One after another, barefooted, naked, unarmed._\n\n[136] _Of the resurrection._\n\n[137] _Written in their books._\n\n[138] _I will surely fill Hell_, &c. [\u1e32ur. vii. 17, given below, p.\n51].\n\n[139] Of righteousness.\n\n[140] _Between all creatures._\n\n[141] [Or \u2018marked\u2019 or \u2018goodly.\u2019]\n\n[142] [Fighting for the faith.]\n\n[143] [Or \u2018end,\u2019 \u2018result.\u2019]\n\n[144] \u201cArms on armour clashing bray\u2019d Horrible discord.\u201d\u2014_Par. Lost_,\nvi. 209.\n\n[145] _O Mo\u1e25ammad._ The copies of the original differ here, but the\ndifferences are unimportant.\n\n[146] _By taking to themselves idols._\n\n[147] _Thou wouldst see a great thing!_\n\n[148] _Denying their having led them into error._\n\n[149] _Iblees._\n\n[150] _And the people of paradise are introduced into paradise, and\nthe people of the fire into the fire, and when the latter have\nassembled around him._\n\n[151] _Respecting the resurrection and retribution._\n\n[152] _The contrary._\n\n[153] _The people of Mekkeh._\n\n[154] _Of the resurrection._\n\n[155] _If the choice had been given us we had not gone forth and had\nnot been slain._\n\n[156] _Namely, the Jews._\n\n[157] [See _Modern Egyptians_, 5th ed., p 284.]\n\n[158] [On the various orders of the Jinn, see Lane\u2019s _Thousand and One\nNights_, Introduction, note 21. And see above, pp. 7, 9.]\n\n[159] _Consisting of the angels._\n\n[160] _They speak not until after He hath spoken._\n\n[161] _Iblees_ [the devil].\n\n[162] [In the Arabic, \u2018\u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\u2019]\n\n[163] _This is said to be the most comprehensive verse in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n\nwith respect to good and evil._ [The commentators say it contains the\nwhole duty of man, both in respect of doing and of shunning. It is\nneedless to enumerate the various virtues and sins which they consider\nare implied in each of the simple words of the text.]\n\n[164] [Mr. Rodwell\u2019s rendering.]\n\n[165] The traveller.\n\n[166] _Of being rewarded for so doing._\n\n[167] _Or reproach._\n\n[168] _Their idols._\n\n[169] _Disposition._\n\n[170] [Lit., and in orig. ed., \u2018hath great good fortune.\u2019]\n\n[171] [_Mod. Egypt._, 104.]\n\n[172] [The Christians and Jews.]\n\n[173] [Or \u2018best:\u2019 so in _Mod. Egypt._, 280.]\n\n[174] [This is Mr. Rodwell\u2019s word, and is, I think, more expressive of\nthe original (_muslimoona_) than \u2018resigned.\u2019]\n\n[175] _In the prophets._\n\n[176] [Some suppose this verse to be abrogated by the next extract:\nothers try to explain it away.]\n\n[177] _And of him who inviteth them to the true religion._\n\n[178] Mirage (_sar\u00e1b_).\n\n[179] _In like manner the unbeliever reckoneth that his works will\nprofit him, until, when he dieth and is brought before his Lord, he\nfindeth not his works._\n\n[180] _The unbeliever._\n\n[181] _By his unbelief._\n\n[182] _In the tradition it is said, \u2018Whosoever hath any good thing\ngiven unto him, whether of family or wealth, and saith on the occasion\nthereof, \u2018What God willeth (`m\u00e1-sh\u00e1\u00e4-ll\u00e1h)! There is no power but in\nGod!\u2019 he will not see in it aught displeasing.\u2019_\n\n[183] _On the day of resurrection._\n\n[184] _O Mo\u1e25ammad._\n\n[185] _Of the people of Mekkeh._\n\n[186] _So as to disdain receiving the truth._ (_This was revealed as\nrespecting the envoys who came from the King of Abyssinia: the Prophet\nrecited the Soorat Y\u00e1-Seen_ [xxxvi.], _whereupon they wept and became\nMuslims, and said, \u2018How like is this to that which was revealed to\nJesus.\u2019_)\n\n[187] _Not believing in Mo\u1e25ammad._\n\n[188] _With respect to the hypocrites_ the following _was revealed_.\n\n[189] _Their chiefs._\n\n[190] The number of the prophets which have been from time to time\nsent by God into the world amounts to no less than 224,000, according\nto one Mo\u1e25ammadan tradition, or to 124,000 according to another; among\nwhom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim\nmankind from infidelity and superstition; and six of them brought new\nlaws or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding:\nthese were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mo\u1e25ammad. All the\nprophets in general the Mo\u1e25ammadans believe to have been free from\ngreat sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the\nsame religion, that is, El-Isl\u00e1m, notwithstanding the different laws\nand institutions which they observed. In this great number of\nprophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in\nScripture but not recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish\nand Christian writers have sometimes led the way), as Adam, Seth, Lot,\nIshmael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under different\nnames, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n,\nIdrees, Hood, and Sho\u00b4eyb; but several others whose very names do not\nappear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there\nto fix them on), as \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25, El-Khi\u1e0dr, Dhu-l-Kifl.\n\nAs to the Scriptures, the Mo\u1e25ammadans are taught by the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n that\nGod, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of His will in\nwriting to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is\nabsolutely necessary for a good Muslim to believe. The number of these\nsacred books was, according to them, 104; of which ten were given to\nAdam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Idrees or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and\nthe other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the\n\u1e32ur-\u00e1n, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and\nMo\u1e25ammad; which last being the _seal_ of the prophets, those\nrevelations are now closed and no more are to be expected. All these\ndivine books, except the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost\nand their contents unknown; though the Sabians have several books\nwhich they attribute to some of the antediluvian prophets. And of\nthose four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, they say, have\nundergone so many alterations and corruptions, that though there may\npossibly be some part of the true word of God therein, yet no credit\nis to be given to the present copies in the hands of the Jews and\nChristians.\u2014S.\n\n[191] \u2018El-J\u00e1nn\u2019 is here used as a name of Iblees, the father of the\njinn. It also signifies the jinn themselves.\n\n[192] According to a tradition of the Prophet, the height of Adam was\nequal to that of a tall palm-tree.\n\n[193] The Mo\u1e25ammadans say, that when they were cast down from Paradise\n[which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or\nSarandeeb, and Eve near Juddah (the port of Mekkeh) in Arabia; and\nthat, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his\nrepentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mekkeh,\nwhere he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named\n\u00b4Araf\u00e1t; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon.\u2014S.\n\n[194] The prayer is inserted by the commentary from \u1e32ur. vii. 22.\n\n[195] This word has various significations in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n; sometimes,\nas in this passage, it signifies _divine revelation_, or _scripture_\nin general; sometimes the _verses_ of the _\u1e32ur-\u00e1n_ in particular; and\nat other times, _visible miracles_. But the sense is easily\ndistinguished by the context.\u2014S.\n\n[196] Called in Arabic H\u00e1beel and \u1e32\u00e1beel.\n\n[197] The occasion of their making this offering is thus related,\naccording to the common tradition in the East. Each of them being born\nwith a twin-sister, when they were grown up, Adam by God\u2019s direction\nordered Cain to marry Abel\u2019s twin-sister, and Abel to marry Cain\u2019s;\n(for it being the common opinion that marriages ought not to be had in\nthe nearest degrees of consanguinity, since they must necessarily\nmarry their sisters, it seemed reasonable to suppose they ought to\ntake those of the remoter degree;) but this Cain refusing to agree to,\nbecause his own sister was the handsomest, Adam ordered them to make\ntheir offerings to God, thereby referring the dispute to His\ndetermination. The commentators say Cain\u2019s offering was a sheaf of the\nvery worst of his corn; but Abel\u2019s a fat lamb of the best of his\nflock.\u2014S.\n\n[198] Or, as the original literally signifies, boiled over [or\nboiled], which is consonant to what the Rabbins say, that the waters\nof the deluge were boiling hot.\u2014This oven was, as some say, at\nEl-Koofeh, in a spot whereon a mosque now stands; or, as others rather\nthink, in a certain place in India, or else at \u00b4Eyn-el-Wardeh in\nMesopotamia. Some pretend that it was the same oven which Eve made use\nof to bake her bread in, being of a form different from those we use,\nhaving the mouth in the upper part, and that it descended from\npatriarch to patriarch till it came to Noah. It is remarkable that\nMo\u1e25ammad, in all probability, borrowed this circumstance from the\nPersian Magi, who also fancied that the first waters of the deluge\ngushed out of the oven of a certain old woman named Zala C\u00fbfa.\u2014But the\nword \u201ctennoor,\u201d which is here translated \u201coven,\u201d also signifying \u201cthe\nsuperficies of the earth,\u201d or \u201ca place whence waters spring forth,\u201d or\n\u201cwhere they are collected,\u201d some suppose it means no more in this\npassage than the spot or fissure whence the first eruption of waters\nbroke forth.\u2014S.\n\n[199] It is a custom of many Muslims to pronounce these words, \u2018In the\nname of God be its course and its mooring,\u2019 on embarking for any\nvoyage.\u2014L. The commentators tell us that Noah was two years in\nbuilding the ark, which was framed of Indian plane-tree; that it was\ndivided into three stories, of which the lower was designed for the\nbeasts, the middle one for the men and women, and the upper for the\nbirds; and the men were separated from the women by the body of Adam,\nwhich Noah had taken into the ark. This last is a tradition of the\nEastern Christians.\u2014S.\n\n[200] The original of this passage is considered the most sublime in\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n.\n\n[201] The Mo\u1e25ammadans say that Noah went into the ark on the tenth of\nRejeb, and came out of it on the tenth of Mo\u1e25arram; which therefore\nbecame a fast: so that the whole time of Noah\u2019s being in the ark\naccording to them was six months.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[202] \u00b4\u00c1d was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs, and zealous\nidolaters. They chiefly worshipped four deities, S\u00e1kiyeh, \u1e24\u00e1fi\u1e0dhah,\nR\u00e1zi\u1e33ah, and S\u00e1limeh; the first, as they imagined, supplying them with\nrain, the second preserving them from all dangers abroad, the third\nproviding food for their sustenance, and the fourth restoring them to\nhealth when afflicted with sickness; according to the signification of\nthe several names.\u2014S.\n\n[203] Generally supposed to be the same person as Heber.\u2014S.\n\n[204] Thamood was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into\nidolatry. They dwelt first in the country of the \u00b4\u00c1dites, but their\nnumbers increasing, they removed to the territory of \u1e24ejr.\u2014S.\n\n[205] This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their\npasture, a certain rich woman, named \u00b4Oneyzeh Umm-Gh\u00e1nim, having four\ndaughters, dressed them out, and offered one \u1e32ud\u00e1r his choice of them,\nif he would kill the camel. Whereupon he chose one, and with the\nassistance of eight other men hamstrung and killed the dam, and\npursuing the young one which fled to the mountain, killed that also,\nand divided his flesh among them. Others tell the story somewhat\ndifferently, adding \u1e62ada\u1e33ah Bint-El-Mukht\u00e1r as a\njoint-conspiratress with \u00b4Oneyzeh, and pretending that the young one\nwas not killed.\u2019\u2014S. (A.F., B.)\n\n[206] Defying the vengeance with which they were threatened; because\nthey trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that\nthe tribe of \u00b4\u00c1d perished only because their houses were not built\nwith sufficient strength.\u2014S.\n\n[207] Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was\nno other than the voice of the angel Gabriel, which rent their hearts.\nIt is said that after they had killed the camel, \u1e62\u00e1li\u1e25 told them\nthat on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next day red,\nand the third day black; and that on the fourth God\u2019s vengeance should\nlight on them: and that, the first three signs happening accordingly,\nthey sought to put him to death; but God delivered him by sending him\ninto Palestine.\u2014S. (A.F., B.)\n\n[208] In the Mir-\u00e1t-ez-Zem\u00e1n it is stated that there are various\nopinions respecting the age in which this person lived: 1. That he\nlived in the first century after the Deluge, and was of the sons of\nJapheth, and was born in the land of the Greeks: so said \u00b4Alee; 2.\nThat he was after Thamood: so said El-\u1e24asan; 3. That he was of the\nlineage of Esau, the son of Isaac: so said Mu\u1e33\u00e1til; 4. That he lived\nbetween the times of Moses and Jesus; 5. That he lived between Jesus\nand Mo\u1e25ammad; and 6. That he was of the lineage of Yoon\u00e1n, son [as\nsome say] of Noah, in the days of Abraham; and this, adds the author,\nis the most correct.\u2014But some suppose him to be the same with\nAlexander the Great.\u2014Respecting his surname of \u2018Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn,\u2019 the\nmost obvious signification of which is \u2018the two-horned,\u2019 the more\njudicious in general are of opinion that he received it because he\nmade expeditions to the extreme parts of the east and west, and\ntherefore that it signifies \u2018Lord of the two extreme parts of the\nearth.\u2019\n\n[209] Who were clothed in the skins of wild beasts, and lived upon\nwhat the sea cast on shore.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[210] The Arabs call them Y\u00e1jooj and M\u00e1jooj, and say they are two\nnations or tribes descended from Japheth the son of Noah; or, as\nothers write, Gog are a tribe of the Turks, and Magog of those of\nGeel\u00e1n, the Geli and Gel\u00e6 of Ptolemy and Strabo.\u2014It is said these\nbarbarous people made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries\nin the spring, and destroyed and carried off all the fruits of the\nearth; and some pretend they were man-eaters.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[211] The Eastern authors unanimously agree that he (\u00c1zar) was a\nstatuary, or carver of idols; and he is represented as the first who\nmade images of clay, pictures only having been in use before, and\ntaught that they were to be adored as gods. However, we are told his\nemployment was a very honourable one, and that he was a great lord and\nin high favour with Nimrod, whose son-in-law he was, because he made\nhis idols for him and was excellent in his art. Some of the Rabbins\nsay Terah was a priest and chief of the order.\u2014S.\n\n[212] Some tell us that Nimrod, on seeing this miraculous deliverance\nfrom his palace, cried out that he would make an offering to the God\nof Abraham; and that he accordingly sacrificed four thousand kine.\n[B.] But, if he ever relented, he soon relapsed into his former\ninfidelity: for he built a tower that he might ascend to heaven to see\nAbraham\u2019s God; which being overthrown [\u1e32ur. xvi. 28], still\npersisting in his design, he would be carried to heaven in a chest\nborne by four monstrous birds; but after wandering for some time\nthrough the air, he fell down on a mountain with such force that he\nmade it shake, whereto (as some fancy) a passage in the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n [xiv.\n47] alludes, which may be translated, \u2018although their contrivances be\nsuch as to make the mountains tremble.\u2019\u2014Nimrod, disappointed in his\ndesign of making war with God, turned his arms against Abraham, who,\nbeing a great prince, raised forces to defend himself; but God,\ndividing Nimrod\u2019s subjects, and confounding their language, deprived\nhim of the greater part of his people, and plagued those who adhered\nto him by swarms of gnats, which destroyed almost all of them; and one\nof those gnats having entered into the nostril, or ear, of Nimrod,\npenetrated to one of the membranes of his brain, where, growing bigger\nevery day, it gave him such intolerable pain, that he was obliged to\ncause his head to be beaten with a mallet, in order to procure some\nease, which torture he suffered four hundred years; God being willing\nto punish, by one of the smallest of His creatures, him who insolently\nboasted himself to be lord of all. A Syrian calendar places the death\nof Nimrod, as if the time were well known, on the eighth of Tamooz, or\nJuly.\u2014S.\n\n[213] They tell us that Gabriel thrust his wing under them and lifted\nthem up so high that the inhabitants of the lower heaven heard the\nbarking of the dogs and the crowing of the cocks; and then, inverting\nthem, threw them down to the earth.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[214] It is the most received opinion among the Mo\u1e25ammadans that the\nson whom Abraham offered was Ishmael and not Isaac; Ishmael being his\nonly son at that time: for the promise of Isaac\u2019s birth is mentioned\nlower, as subsequent in time to this transaction. They also allege the\ntestimony of their prophet, who is reported to have said, \u2018I am the\nson of the two who were offered in sacrifice;\u2019 meaning his great\nancestor, Ishmael, and his own father \u00b4Abd-Allah: for\n\u00b4Abd-el-Mu\u1e6d\u1e6dalib had made a vow that if God would permit him to\nfind out and open the well Zemzem and should give him ten sons he\nwould sacrifice one of them; accordingly, when he had obtained his\ndesire in both respects, he cast lots on his sons, and the lot falling\non \u00b4Abd-Allah, he redeemed him by offering a hundred camels, which was\ntherefore ordered to be the price of a man\u2019s blood in the Sunneh.\u2014S.\n(B., Z.)\n\n[215] The occasion of this request of Abraham is said to have been a\ndoubt proposed to him by the devil in human form, how it was possible\nfor the several parts of a corpse of a man which lay on the sea-shore\nand had been partly devoured by the wild beasts, the birds, and the\nfish, to be brought together at the resurrection.\u2014S.\n\n[216] In the original, \u2018Im\u00e1m,\u2019 which answers to the Latin _Antistes_.\nThis title the Mo\u1e25ammadans give to their priests [if such a title may\nbe used, for want of one more correct] who begin the prayers in their\nmosques, and whom all the congregation follow.\u2014S.\n\n[217] The term \u2018rek\u00b4ah\u2019 signifies the repetition of a set form of\nwords, chiefly from the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, and ejaculations of \u2018God is most\nGreat!\u2019 etc., accompanied by particular postures; part of the words\nbeing repeated in an erect posture, part sitting, and part in other\npostures: an inclination of the head and body, followed by two\nprostrations, distinguishing each rek\u00b4ah. Each of the five daily\nprayers of the Muslims consist of a certain number of rek\u00b4ahs.\n\n[218] The city of E\u1e6d-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff was so called, according to Abu-l-Fida and\nseveral other Arab authors, because it, with the adjacent fields,\nwas separated from Syria during the Deluge, and after floating round\nabout upon the water at length rested in its present situation, where\nits soil has continued to produce the fruits of Syria.\n\n[219] Namely, the Ka\u1ea1beh.\n\n[220] In the original, \u2018Muslims,\u2019 which is the peculiar and very\nappropriate title of the believers in the religion taught by Mo\u1e25ammad;\nand as he professed not to teach a religion essentially _new_, this\ntitle is given to all true believers before him.\n\n[221] \u2018El-Islam\u2019 signifies the _resigning_ oneself to God and to His\nservice, and is the name given by Mo\u1e25ammad to that religion which, he\nasserted, all the prophets before him had taught, and he restored; the\nfoundation of which was the unity of God.\n\n[222] This well, say some, was a certain well near Jerusalem, or not\nfar from the river Jordan; but others call it the well of Egypt, or\nMidian. The commentators tell us that when the sons of Jacob had\ngotten Joseph with them in the field, they began to abuse and to beat\nhim so unmercifully that they had killed him had not Judah on his\ncrying out for help insisted on the promise they had made not to kill\nhim but to cast him into the well. Whereupon they let him down a\nlittle way; but as he held by the sides of the well, they bound him,\nand took off his inner garment, designing to stain it with blood to\ndeceive their father. Joseph begged hard to have his garment returned\nto him, but to no purpose, his brothers telling him, with a sneer,\nthat the eleven stars and the sun and the moon might clothe him and\nkeep him company.\u2014S. (B., Z.)\n\n[223] The commentators pretend that Gabriel also clothed him in the\nwell with a garment of silk of Paradise. For they say that when\nAbraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod, he was stripped; and that\nGabriel brought him this garment and put it on him; and that from\nAbraham it descended to Jacob, who folded it up and put it into an\namulet, which he hung about Joseph\u2019s neck, whence Gabriel drew it\nout.\u2014S. (B., Z.)\n\n[224] These races they used by way of exercise; and the commentators\ngenerally understand here that kind of race wherein they also showed\ntheir dexterity in throwing darts, which is still used in the East.\u2014S.\n\n[225] This Jacob had reason to suspect, because when the garment was\nbrought to him, he observed that, though it was bloody, yet it was not\ntorn.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[226] Three days after Joseph had been thrown into it.\u2014S.\n\n[227] The commentators are so exact as to give us the name of this\nman, who as they pretend, was M\u00e1lik Ibn-Do\u1ea1r, of the tribe of\nKhuz\u00e1\u00b4ah.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[228] The expositors are not agreed whether the pronoun _they_ relates\nto M\u00e1lik and his companions, or to Joseph\u2019s brethren. They who espouse\nthe former opinion say that those who came to draw water concealed the\nmanner of their coming by him from the rest of the caravan, that they\nmight keep him to themselves; pretending that some people of the place\nhad given him to them to sell for them in Egypt. And they who prefer\nthe latter opinion tell us that Judah carried victuals to Joseph every\nday while he was in the well; but not finding him there on the fourth\nday, he acquainted his brothers with it: whereupon they all went to\nthe caravan and claimed Joseph as their slave, he not daring to\ndiscover that he was their brother, lest something worse should befall\nhim; and at length they agreed to sell him to them.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[229] A corruption of Potiphar. He was a man of great consideration,\nbeing superintendent of the royal treasury.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[230] That is, to \u1e32i\u1e6dfeer and his friends. The occasion of Joseph\u2019s\nimprisonment is said to be either that they suspected him to be guilty\nnotwithstanding the proofs which had been given of his innocence, or\nelse that Zeleekha desired it, feigning, to deceive her husband, that\nshe wanted to have Joseph removed from her sight till she could\nconquer her passion by time; though her real design was to force him\nto compliance.\u2014S.\n\n[231] According to the explication of some who take the pronoun _him_\nto relate to Joseph, this passage may be rendered, \u2018But the devil\ncaused him (_i.e._, Joseph) to forget to make his application unto his\nlord;\u2019 and to beg the good offices of his fellow-prisoner for his\ndeliverance, instead of relying on God alone, as it became a prophet,\nespecially, to have done.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[232] This prince, as the Oriental writers generally agree, was\nEr-Reiy\u00e1n the son of El-Weleed the Amalekite, who was converted by\nJoseph to the worship of the true God, and died in the lifetime of\nthat prophet. But some pretend that the Pharaoh of Joseph and of Moses\nwere one and the same person, and that he lived (or rather reigned)\nfour hundred years.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[233] The commentators say that Joseph, being taken out of prison,\nafter he had washed and changed his clothes, was introduced to the\nking, whom he saluted in the Hebrew tongue, and on the king\u2019s asking\nwhat language that was, he answered that it was the language of his\nfathers. This prince, they say, understood no less than seventy\nlanguages, in every one of which he discoursed with Joseph, who\nanswered him in the same; at which the king, greatly marvelling,\ndesired him to relate his dream, which he did, describing the most\nminute circumstances: whereupon the king placed Joseph by him on his\nthrone, and made him his Wezeer, or chief minister.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[234] Namely, Ephraim and Manasses: so that according to this\ntradition, she was the same woman who is called Asenath by \u2018Moses.\u2019\nThis supposed marriage, which authorized their amours, probably\nencouraged the Mo\u1e25ammadan divines to make use of the loves of Joseph\nand Zeleekha as an allegorical emblem of the spiritual love between\nthe Creator and the creature, God and the soul; just as the Christians\napply the Song of Solomon to the same mystical purpose.\u2014S.\n\n[235] Joseph, being made Wezeer, governed with great wisdom; for he\nnot only caused justice to be impartially administered and encouraged\nthe people to industry and the improvement of agriculture during the\nseven years of plenty, but began and perfected several works of great\nbenefit; the natives at this day ascribing to the patriarch Joseph\nalmost all the ancient works of public utility throughout the kingdom;\nas particularly the rendering the province of El-Feiyoom, from a\nstanding pool or marsh, the most fertile and best-cultivated land in\nall Egypt. When the years of famine came, the effects of which were\nfelt not only in Egypt but in Syria and the neighbouring countries,\nthe inhabitants were obliged to apply to Joseph for corn, which he\nsold to them, first for their money, jewels, and ornaments, then for\ntheir cattle and lands, and at length for their persons; so that all\nthe Egyptians in general became slaves to the king, though Joseph by\nhis consent soon released them and returned them their substance.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[236] At length Joseph asked them whom they had to vouch for their\nveracity; but they told him they knew no man who could vouch for them\nin Egypt. Then, replied he, one of you shall stay behind with me as a\npledge, and the others may return home with their provision; and when\nye come again, ye shall bring your younger brother with you, that I\nmay know ye have told me the truth. Whereupon, it being in vain to\ndispute the matter, they cast lots who should stay behind, and the lot\nfell upon Simeon. When they departed, Joseph gave each of them a\ncamel, and another for their brother.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[237] The original word signifying not only money but also goods\nbartered or given in exchange for other merchandise, some commentators\ntell us that they paid for their corn, not in money, but in shoes and\ndressed skins.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[238] The belief in the influence of the evil eye prevails among all\nthe Muslims, even the most religious and learned; for their prophet\nsaid, \u2018The eye hath a complete influence; because verily, if there\nwere a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant\neye.\u2019 Hence he permitted charms (which he disallowed in almost every\nother case) to be employed for the purpose of counteracting its\ninfluence.\n\n[239] It is related that Joseph, having invited his brethren to an\nentertainment, ordered them to be placed two and two together; by\nwhich means, Benjamin, the eleventh, was obliged to sit alone, and,\nbursting into tears, said, If my brother Joseph were alive, he would\nhave sat with me. Whereupon Joseph ordered him to be seated at the\nsame table with himself, and when the entertainment was over,\ndismissed the rest, ordering that they should be lodged two and two in\na house, but kept Benjamin in his own apartment, where he passed the\nnight. The next day, Joseph asked him whether he would accept of\nhimself for his brother, in the room of him whom he had lost; to which\nBenjamin replied, \u2018Who can find a brother comparable unto thee? Yet\nthou art not the son of Jacob and Rachel.\u2019 And upon this, Joseph\ndiscovered himself to him.\u2014S. (B.).\n\n[240] Some, however, are of opinion that it was a drinking-cup.\n\n[241] The occasion of this suspicion, it is said, was that Joseph\nhaving been brought up by his father\u2019s sister, she became so fond of\nhim, that when he grew up and Jacob designed to take him from her she\ncontrived the following stratagem to keep him. Having a girdle which\nhad once belonged to Abraham, she girt it about the child, and then\npretending she had lost it, caused strict search to be made for it;\nand it being at length found on Joseph, he was adjudged, according to\nthe above-mentioned law of the family, to be delivered to her as her\nproperty. Some, however, say that Joseph actually stole an idol of\ngold, which belonged to his mother\u2019s father, and destroyed it; a story\nprobably taken from Rachel\u2019s stealing the images of Laban: and others\ntell us that he once stole a goat or a hen, to give to a poor man.\u2014S.\n\n[242] Mi\u1e63r is the name both of Egypt and its capital.\n\n[243] The injury they did Benjamin was the separating him from his\nbrother, after which they kept him in so great subjection that he\ndurst not speak to them but with the utmost submission. Some say that\nthese words were occasioned by a letter which Joseph\u2019s brethren\ndelivered to him from their father, requesting the releasement of\nBenjamin, and by their representing his extreme affliction at the loss\nof him and his brother. The commentators observe that Joseph, to\nexcuse his brethren\u2019s behaviour towards him, attributes it to their\nignorance and the heat of youth.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[244] The frontier town of Egypt towards Syria.\n\n[245] El-Bey\u1e0d\u00e1wee tell us that Joseph sent carriages and provisions\nfor his father and his family; and that he and the king of Egypt went\nforth to meet them. He adds that the number of the children of Israel\nwho entered Egypt with him was seventy-two; and that when they were\nled out thence by Moses, they were increased to six hundred thousand\nfive hundred and seventy men, and upwards, besides the old people and\nchildren.\u2014S.\n\n[246] A transposition is supposed to be in these words:\u2014he seated his\nfather and mother after they had bowed down to him, and not before.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[247] But when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he took up the\ncoffin, and carried Joseph\u2019s bones with him into Canaan, where he\nburied them by his ancestors.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[248] The Mo\u1e25ammadan writers tell us that Job was of the race of Esau,\nand was blessed with a numerous family and abundant riches; but that\nGod proved him by taking away all that he had, even his children, who\nwere killed by the fall of a house; notwithstanding which he continued\nto serve God and to return Him thanks as usual; that he was then\nstruck with a filthy disease, his body being full of worms and so\noffensive that as he lay on the dunghill none could bear to come near\nhim: that his wife, however (whom some call Ra\u1e25meh the daughter of\nEphraim the son of Joseph, and others Makhir the daughter of\nManasses), attended him with great patience, supporting him with what\nshe earned by her labour; but that the devil appearing to her one day,\nafter having reminded her of her past prosperity, promised her that if\nshe would worship him, he would restore all they had lost; whereupon\nshe asked her husband\u2019s consent, who was so angry at the proposal,\nthat he swore, if he recovered, to give his wife a hundred stripes.\u2014S.\n(B., J., A.F.)\n\n[249] Some say there were two springs, one of hot water wherein he\nbathed, and the other of cold of which he drank.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[250] His wife also becoming young and handsome again, and bearing him\ntwenty-six sons. Some, to express the great riches which were bestowed\non Job after his sufferings, say he had two threshing-floors, one for\nwheat and the other for barley, and that God sent two clouds, which\nrained gold on the one and silver on the other till they ran\nover.\u2014(J.) The traditions differ as to the continuance of Job\u2019s\ncalamities: one will have it to be eighteen years; another, thirteen;\nanother, three; and another, exactly seven years seven months and\nseven hours.\u2014S.\n\n[251] Or \u2018a palm-branch having a hundred leaves.\u2019\u2014S.\n\n[252] But see note 1 (248).\n\n[253] The commentators generally suppose him to be the same person\nwith the father-in-law of Moses, who is named in Scripture Reuel or\nRaguel, and Jethro. But A\u1e25mad Ibn-\u00b4Abd-El-\u1e24aleem charges those who\nentertain this opinion with ignorance. They say (after the Jews) that\nhe gave his son-in-law [Moses] that wonder-working rod with which he\nperformed all those miracles in Egypt and the Desert, and also\nexcellent advice and instructions; whence he had the surname of\n\u2018Kha\u1e6deeb-el-Ambiya,\u2019 or \u2018the Preacher to the Prophets.\u2019\u2014S.\n\n[254] The Arabic word \u2018\u1e0da\u00b4eef\u2019 (weak) signifying also in the\n\u1e24imyaritic dialect \u2018blind,\u2019 some suppose that Sho\u00b4eyb was so, and that\nthe Midianites objected that to him as a defect which disqualified him\nfor the prophetic office.\u2014S.\n\n[255] Which of the kings of Egypt this Pharaoh of Moses was is\nuncertain. Not to mention the opinions of the European writers, those\nof the East generally suppose him to have been El-Weleed, who\naccording to some was an Arab of the tribe of \u00b4\u00c1d, or according to\nothers the son of Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab the son of Er-Reiy\u00e1n the son of El-Weleed the\nAmalekite. There are historians, however, who suppose \u1e32\u00e1boos the\nbrother and predecessor of El-Weleed was the prince we are speaking\nof, and pretend he lived six hundred and twenty years and reigned four\nhundred. Which is more reasonable, at least, than the opinion of those\nwho imagine it was his father Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab or grandfather Er-Reiy\u00e1n.\nAbu-l-Fida says the Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab, being one hundred and seventy years old\nand having no child, while he kept the herds saw a cow calve, and\nheard her say at the same time, \u2018O Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab, be not grieved, for thou\nshalt have a wicked son, who will be at length cast into hell.\u2019 And he\naccordingly had this Weleed, who afterwards coming to be king of Egypt\nproved an impious tyrant.\u2014S. (A.F., Z.)\n\n[256] This name is given to Pharaoh\u2019s chief minister; from whence it\nis generally inferred that Mo\u1e25ammad had been made Haman the favorite\nof Ahasuerus king of Persia, and who indisputably lived many years\nafter Moses, to be that prophet\u2019s contemporary.\u2014S.\n\n[257] It is related that the midwife appointed to attend the Hebrew\nwomen, terrified by a light which appeared between the eyes of Moses\nat his birth, and touched with an extraordinary affection for the\nchild, did not discover him to the officers, so that his mother kept\nhim in her house, and nursed him three months; after which it was\nimpossible for her to conceal him any longer, the king then giving\norders to make the searches more strictly.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[258] The commentators say that his mother made an ark of the papyrus,\nand pitched it, and put in some cotton; and having laid the child\ntherein, committed it to the river, a branch of which went into\nPharaoh\u2019s garden: that the stream carried the ark thither into a\nfishpond, at the head of which Pharaoh was then sitting with his wife\n\u00c1siyeh the daughter of Muz\u00e1\u1e25em; and that the king, having commanded it\nto be taken up and opened, and finding in it a beautiful child, took a\nfancy to it, and ordered it to be brought up.\u2014Some writers mention a\nmiraculous preservation of Moses before he was put into the ark; and\ntell us, that his mother having hid him from Pharaoh\u2019s officers in an\noven, his sister, in her mother\u2019s absence, kindled a large fire in the\noven to heat it, not knowing the child was there; but that he was\nafterwards taken out unhurt.\u2014S. (B., A.F.)\n\n[259] \u1e32ur. xxvi. 17.\n\n[260] This person, says the tradition, was an Egyptian and Pharaoh\u2019s\nuncle\u2019s son.\u2014S.\n\n[261] The Jews pretend he was actually imprisoned for the fact, and\ncondemned to be beheaded; but that when he should have suffered his\nneck became as hard as ivory, and the sword rebounded on the\nexecutioner.\u2014S.\n\n[262] According to El-Bey\u1e0d\u00e1wee, Moses knew not the way, and, coming to\na place where three roads met, committed himself to the guidance of\nGod, and took the middle road, which was the right; Providence\nlikewise so ordering it that his pursuers took the other two roads,\nand missed him.\u2014S.\n\n[263] This was \u1e62afoora [also called \u1e62afoorah and \u1e62afooriya,\nor Zipporah, the elder, or as others suppose the younger, daughter of\nSho\u00b4eyb, whom Moses afterwards married.\u2014S.]\n\n\n[264] The commentators say, that Moses, having obtained leave of\nSho\u00b4eyb or Jethro, his father-in-law, to visit his mother, departed\nwith his family from Midian towards Egypt; but coming to the valley of\n\u1e6cuwa, wherein Mount Sinai stands, his wife fell in labour and was\ndelivered of a son in a very dark and snowy night: he had also lost\nhis way, and his cattle were scattered from him, when on a sudden he\nsaw a fire by the side of a mountain, which on his nearer approach he\nfound burning in a green bush.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[265] This was a mark of humility and respect: though some fancy there\nwas some uncleanness in the shoes themselves, because they were made\nof the skin of an ass not dressed.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[266] Which was at first no bigger than the rod, but afterwards\nswelled to a prodigious size.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[267] When Moses saw the serpent move about with great nimbleness and\nswallow stones and trees, he was greatly terrified, and fled from it;\nbut recovering his courage at these words of God, he had the boldness\nto take the serpent by the jaws.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[268] Moses had an impediment in his speech, which was occasioned by\nthe following accident. Pharaoh one day carrying him in his arms when\na child, he suddenly laid hold of his beard and plucked it in a very\nrough manner, which put Pharaoh into such a passion that he ordered\nhim to be put to death: but \u00c1siyeh his wife representing to him that\nhe was but a child, who could not distinguish between a burning coal\nand a ruby, he ordered the experiment to be made; and a live coal and\na ruby being set before Moses, he took the coal and put it into his\nmouth, and burnt his tongue: and thereupon he was pardoned.\u2014This is a\nJewish story a little altered.\u2014S.\n\n[269] For he was obliged to abandon his country and his friends, and\nto travel several days in great terror and want of necessary\nprovisions to seek a refuge among strangers; and was afterwards forced\nto serve for hire to gain a livelihood.\u2014S.\n\n[270] Aaron being by this time come out to meet his brother, either by\ndivine inspiration, or having notice of his design to return to\nEgypt.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[271] The Arab writers tell enormous fables of this serpent or dragon.\nFor they say that he was hairy and of so prodigious a size that when\nhe opened his mouth his jaws were fourscore cubits asunder and when he\nlaid his lower jaw on the ground his upper reached to the top of the\npalace [or rather, I believe, the _throne_ of Pharaoh]: that Pharaoh,\nseeing this monster make towards him, fled from it; and that the whole\nassembly also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than\ntwenty-five thousand of them lost their lives in the press. They add\nthat Pharaoh, upon this abjured Moses by God who had sent him to take\naway the serpent, and promised he would believe on Him and let the\nIsraelites go; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed\nand grew as hardened as before.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[272] There is a tradition that Moses was a very swarthy man; and that\nwhen he put his hand into his bosom, and drew it out again, it became\nextremely white and splendid, surpassing the brightness of the sun.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[273] They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and\nlong pieces of wood, which they contrived by some means to move and\nmake them twist themselves one over the other; and so imposed on the\nbeholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents. It is also\nsaid that they rubbed them over with quicksilver, which being wrought\nupon by the heat of the sun caused them to move.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[274] The expositors add that when this serpent had swallowed up all\nthe rods and cords he made directly towards the assembly and put them\ninto so great a terror that they fled and a considerable number were\nkilled in the crowd: then Moses took it up and it became a rod in his\nhand as before. Whereupon the magicians declared that it could be no\nenchantment, because in such case their rods and cords would not have\ndisappeared.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[275] Sale observes that some writers introduce only two of the\nenchanters as acknowledging Moses\u2019 miracle to be wrought by the power\nof God. These two, they say, were brothers, and the sons of a famous\nmagician then dead; but on their being sent for to court on this\noccasion, their mother persuaded them to go to their father\u2019s tomb and\nask his advice. Being come to the tomb, the father answered their\ncall, and when they had acquainted him with the affair, he told them\nthat they should inform themselves whether the rod of which they spoke\nbecame a serpent while its masters slept, or only when they were\nawake; for, said he, enchantments have no effect while the enchanter\nis asleep, and therefore if it be otherwise in this case, you may be\nassured that they act by a divine power. These two magicians then,\narriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry found to their great\nastonishment that when Moses and Aaron went to rest their rod became a\nserpent and guarded them while they slept. And this was the first step\ntowards their conversion.\u2014S.\n\n[276] Some think these converted magicians were executed accordingly:\nbut others deny it, and say that the king was not able to put them to\ndeath; insisting on these words of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n [xxviii. 35], \u2018Ye two,\nand they who follow you, shall overcome.\u2019\u2014S.\n\n[277] See p. 101, l. 5, n. 1 (260).\n\n[278] Cp. Act. Apost. v. 38, 39.\n\n[279] \u2018The people of Noah and of \u00b4\u00c1d and of Thamood, and those whom\nGod destroyed after them.\u2019 So explained in the \u1e32\u00e1moos.\n\n[280] It is said that H\u00e1m\u00e1n having prepared bricks and other materials\nemployed no less than fifty thousand men besides labourers in the\nbuilding, which they carried to so immense a height that the workmen\ncould no longer stand on it: that Pharaoh ascending this tower threw a\njavelin towards heaven, which fell back again stained with blood,\nwhereupon he impiously boasted that he had killed the god of Moses;\nbut at sunset God sent the angel Gabriel, who with one stroke of his\nwing demolished the tower, a part whereof falling on the king\u2019s army\ndestroyed a million of men.\u2014S. (Z.)\n\n[281] Some are of opinion that those who were sent by Pharaoh to seize\nthe true believer, his kinsman, are the persons more particularly\nmeant in this place: for they tell us that the said believer fled to a\nmountain, where they found him at prayers, guarded by the wild beasts,\nwhich ranged themselves in order about him; and that his pursuers\nthereupon returned in a great fright to their master, who put them to\ndeath for not performing his command.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[282] Some expound these words of the previous punishment they are\ndoomed to suffer, according to a tradition of Ibn-Mes\u00b4ood, which\ninforms us that their souls are in the crops of black birds which are\nexposed to hell-fire every morning and evening until the Day of\nJudgment.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[283] As there is no mention of any such miraculous inundation in the\n[so-called] Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have\nbeen either a pestilence, or the smallpox, or some other epidemical\ndistemper. (B.) For the word \u2018\u1e6doof\u00e1n,\u2019 which is used in this place,\nand is generally rendered a \u2018deluge,\u2019 may also signify any other\nuniversal destruction or mortality.\u2014S.\n\n[284] That is, the land of Syria, of which the Eastern geographers\nreckon Palestine a part, and wherein the commentators say the children\nof Israel succeeded the kings of Egypt and the Amalekites.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[285] Particularly the lofty tower [before mentioned] which Pharaoh\ncaused to be built, that he might attack the God of Moses.\u2014S.\n\n[286] The word here translated \u2018body\u2019 signifying also a \u2018coat of\nmail,\u2019 some imagine the meaning to be that his corpse floated armed\nwith his coat of mail, which they tell us was of gold, by which they\nknew it was he.\u2014S.\n\n[287] These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalek, whom\nMoses was commanded to destroy, and others of the tribe of Lakhm.\nTheir idols, it is said, were images of oxen, which gave the first\nhint to the making of the golden calf.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[288] The Eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar kind of\nbe found nowhere else but in El-Yemen, from whence they were brought\nby a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites\u2019 camp in the\ndesert. The Arabs called these birds \u2018selwa,\u2019 which is plainly the\nsame with the Hebrew \u2018salwim,\u2019 and say they have no bones, but are\neaten whole.\u2014S.\n\n[289] The word here rendered \u2018a great city,\u2019 namely \u2018mi\u1e63ran,\u2019 is\nrendered by Marracci and Sale \u2018Egypt,\u2019 and is so understood by many\nlearned Arabs; but according to a general rule, to have this\nsignification it should be \u2018mi\u1e63ra:\u2019 in some copies of the \u1e32ur-\u00e1n,\nhowever, it is thus written.\n\n[290] See Sale\u2019s note _in loc._\n\n[291] A kind of soft stone, like dry mud.\n\n[292] The story here alluded to, though it occurs among passages\nrespecting Moses and his people, is said to relate to a different age\nand to be as follows:\u2014In the days of David, some Israelites dwelt at\nEyleh, or Elath, on the Red Sea, where, on the night of the Sabbath,\nthe fish used to come in great numbers to the shore, and stay there\nall the Sabbath, to tempt them; but the night following they returned\ninto the sea again. At length, some of the inhabitants, neglecting\nGod\u2019s commandment, catched fish on the Sabbath, and dressed and ate\nthem; and afterwards cut canals from the sea, for the fish to enter,\nwith sluices, which they shut on the Sabbath, to prevent their return\nto the sea. The other part of the inhabitants, who strictly observed\nthe Sabbath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but\nto no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate;\nwhereupon David cursed the Sabbath-breakers, and God transformed them\ninto apes. It is said, that one going to see a friend of his that was\namong them found him in the shape of an ape moving his eyes about\nwildly; and asking him whether he was not such a one, the ape made a\nsign with his head that it was he; whereupon the friend said to him,\nDid not I advise you to desist? at which the ape wept. They add, that\nthese unhappy people remained three days in this condition, and were\nafterwards destroyed by a wind which swept them all into the sea.\u2014S.\n(A. F.)\n\n[293] His breath before [he used the tooth-stick] had the odour of\nmusk.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[294] It is said that not only the ten commandments, but the whole law\nwas written thereon.\u2014S.\n\n[295] That is, as some understand it, consisting of flesh and blood;\nor, as others, being a mere body or mass of metal, without a soul.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[296] The person who cast this calf, the Mo\u1e25ammadans say, was not\nAaron but Es-S\u00e1miree, one of the principal men among the children of\nIsrael, some of whose descendants, it is pretended, still inhabit an\nisland of that name in the Arabian Gulf. It was made of the rings and\nbracelets of gold, silver, and other materials, which the Israelites\nhad borrowed of the Egyptians; for Aaron, who commanded in his\nbrother\u2019s absence, having ordered Es-S\u00e1miree to collect those\nornaments from the people, who carried on a wicked commerce with them,\nand to keep them together till the return of Moses, Es-S\u00e1miree,\nunderstanding the founder\u2019s art, put them altogether into a furnace,\nto melt them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf.\nOne writer says, that all the Israelites adored this calf, except only\ntwelve thousand.\u2014S. (A. F.)\n\n[297] After he had completed his forty days\u2019 stay in the mount, and\nhad received the Law.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[298] Or, I knew that which they knew not\u2014that the messenger sent to\nthee from God was a pure spirit, and that his footsteps gave life to\nwhatever they touched; being no other than the angel Gabriel, mounted\non the horse of life: and therefore I made use of the dust of his feet\nto animate the molten calf. It is said, Es-S\u00e1miree knew the angel\nbecause he had saved and taken care of him when a child and exposed by\nhis mother for fear of Pharaoh.\u2014S. (B., Jel\u00e1l.)\n\n[299] The word here rendered \u2018hearts\u2019 often signifies stomachs; and if\nthis be its meaning here, the narrative agrees with the [so-called]\nMosaic account: for Moses \u2018took the calf which they had made, and\nburnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the\nwater, and made the children of Israel to drink of it.\u2019\u2014Exod. xxxii.\n20.\n\n[300] The persons here meant are said to have been seventy men, who\nwere made choice of by Moses, and heard the voice of God talking with\nhim. But not being satisfied with that, they demanded to see God;\nwhereupon they were all struck dead by lightning, and on Moses\u2019\nintercession restored to life.\u2014S.\n\n[301] This person is represented by the commentators as the most\nbeautiful of the Israelites, and so far surpassing them all in\nopulence that the riches of \u1e32\u00e1roon have become a proverb.\u2014S.\n\n[302] Moses, as some say, having complained to God of a false\naccusation brought against him by \u1e32\u00e1roon, He directed him to command\nthe earth what he pleased, and it should obey him; whereupon he said,\n\u2018O earth, swallow them up;\u2019 and immediately the earth opened under\n\u1e32\u00e1roon and his confederates, and swallowed them up, with his palace\nand all his riches.\u2014There goes a tradition that as \u1e32\u00e1roon sank\ngradually into the ground, first to his knees, then to his waist, then\nto his neck, he cried out four several times, \u2018O Moses, have mercy on\nme!\u2019 but that Moses continued to say, \u2018O earth, swallow them up!\u2019 till\nat last he wholly disappeared: upon which God said to Moses, \u2018Thou\nhadst no mercy on \u1e32\u00e1roon, though he asked pardon of thee four times;\nbut I would have had compassion on him if he had asked pardon of me\nbut once.\u2019\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[303] Or rather, fawn-coloured; as are most of the cows of Arabia. The\nword in the original properly signifies yellow.\n\n[304] The story of this young man is thus related:\u2014A certain man at\nhis death left his son, then a child, a cow-calf, which wandered in\nthe desert till he came to age; at which time his mother told him the\nheifer was his, and bid him fetch her and sell her for three pieces of\ngold. When the young man came to the market with his heifer, an angel\nin the shape of a man accosted him and bid him six pieces of gold for\nher; but he would not take the money till he had asked his mother\u2019s\nconsent; which when he had obtained, he returned to the market-place,\nand met the angel, who now offered him twice as much for the heifer,\nprovided he would say nothing of it to his mother; but the young man,\nrefusing, went and acquainted her with the additional offer. The\nwoman, perceiving it was an angel, bid her son go back and ask him\nwhat must be done with the heifer; whereupon the angel told the young\nman that in a little time the children of Israel would buy that heifer\nof him at any price.\u2014S. (A.F.)\n\n[305] The more common tradition seems to be that the man was murdered\nby _one_ person, the son of his brother, who desired to obtain his\nproperty (as his inheritance), or his daughter, or both.\n(Mir-\u00e1t-ez-Zem\u00e1n).\n\n[306] Also called El-Kha\u1e0dir. This mysterious person, whom the vulgar\nand some others regard as a prophet, and identify with Ily\u00e1s (Elias or\nElijah), and whom some confound with St. George, was, according to the\nmore approved opinion of the learned, a just man or saint, the Wezeer\nand counsellor of that equally doubtful personage Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn, whose\nstory has already been related in this volume. El-Khi\u1e0dr is said to\nhave drunk of the Fountain of Life, by virtue of which he still lives,\nand will live till the day of judgment. He is also said to appear\nfrequently to Muslims in perplexity, and to be generally clad in green\ngarments; whence, according to some, his name.\u2014Sale states, in a note\non this passage, that the Muslims usually confound El-Khi\u1e0dr with\nPhineas, as well as Elias and St. George, saying that his soul passed\nby a metempsychosis successively through all three; and he adds, that\npart of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also\nfancy Phineas was Elias.\n\n[307] Or, as some rather think, El-Ubulleh, near El-Basrah, or else\nB\u00e1jarw\u00e1n in Armenia.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[308] They were ten brothers, five of whom were past their labour by\nreason of their age.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[309] That is, because of the great confidence the Israelites placed\nin it, having won several battles by its miraculous assistance. I\nimagine, however, that the Arabic word \u2018sekeeneh,\u2019 which signifies\n\u2018tranquillity\u2019 or \u2018security of mind,\u2019 and is so understood by the\ncommentators, may not improbably mean the \u2018divine presence\u2019 or\n\u2018glory,\u2019 which used to appear on the Ark, and which the Jews express\nby the same word \u2018Shekinah.\u2019\u2014S.\n\n[310] Sale observes that Ya\u1e25y\u00e1 most rationally understands hereby the\ndivine revelations which David received from God, and not the art of\nmaking coats of mail.\u2014The cause of his applying himself to this art is\nthus related in the Mir-\u00e1t-ez-Zem\u00e1n:\u2014He used to go forth in disguise;\nand when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and\nasked them respecting the conduct of David, and they praised him and\nprayed for him; but one day, as he was asking questions respecting\nhimself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human\nbeing, who said, \u2018An excellent man were David if he did not take from\nthe public treasury:\u2019\u2014whereupon the heart of David was contracted, and\nhe begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to\nhim, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat\nof mail for four thousand [pieces of money\u2014whether gold or silver is\nnot said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he\ngave in alms, and with part he fed his family.\u2014Hence an excellent coat\nof mail is often called by the Arabs \u2018D\u00e1woodee,\u2019 _i.e._, \u2018Davidean.\u2019\nSee my translation of \u2018The Thousand and One Nights,\u2019 chap. viii. note\n5.\n\n[311] For David, they say, divided his time regularly, setting apart\none day for the service of God, another day for rendering justice to\nhis people, another day for preaching to them, and another day for his\nown affairs.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[312] They say that he had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne\nwas placed, being of a prodigious length and breadth, and sufficient\nfor all his forces to stand on, the men placing themselves on his\nright hand, and the spirits [or jinn] on his left; and that when all\nwere in order the wind at his command took up the carpet and\ntransported it with all that were upon it wherever he pleased; the\narmy of birds at the same time flying over their heads and forming a\nkind of canopy to shade them from the sun.\u2014S.\n\n[313] Whither the wind brought back Solomon\u2019s throne in the evening,\nafter having carried it to a distant country in the morning.\u2014S.\n\n[314] After the space of forty days, which was the time the image had\nbeen worshipped in his house, the devil [or jinnee] flew away, and\nthrew the signet into the sea: the signet was immediately swallowed by\na fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found the ring in\nits belly, and, having by this means recovered the kingdom, took\n\u1e62akhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the\nLake of Tiberias.\u2014S. (B., A.F.)\n\n[315] See note 30 to the Introduction of my translation of the\n\u2018Thousand and One Nights.\u2019\n\n[316] The Arab historians tell us that Solomon, having finished the\nTemple of Jerusalem, went in pilgrimage to Mekkeh, where having stayed\nas long as he pleased, he proceeded towards El-Yemen; and leaving\nMekkeh in the morning he arrived by noon at \u1e62an\u00b4a, and being\nextremely delighted with the country rested there; but wanting water\nto make the ablution, he looked among the birds for the lapwing which\nfound it for him.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[317] Some add that Bil\u1e33ees, to try whether Solomon was a prophet or\nnot, drest the boys like girls and the girls like boys, and sent him\nin a casket a pearl not drilled and an onyx drilled with a crooked\nhole; and that Solomon distinguished the boys from the girls by the\ndifferent manner of their taking water, and ordered one worm to bore\nthe pearl, and another to pass a thread through the onyx.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[318] Others, however, suppose it was El-Khi\u1e0dr, or else Gabriel, or\nsome other angel; and some imagine it to have been Solomon himself.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[319] This fountain they say was in El-Yemen.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[320] Some say these spirits made him two lions, which were placed at\nthe foot of his throne; and two eagles, which were set above it; and\nthat when he mounted it, the lions stretched out their paws; and when\nhe sat down, the eagles shaded him with their wings.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[321] The commentators to explain this passage tell us that David,\nhaving laid the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was to\nbe in lieu of the tabernacle of Moses, when he died, left it to be\nfinished by his son Solomon, who employed the genii in the work; that\nSolomon, before the edifice was quite completed, perceiving his end\ndrew nigh, begged of God that his death might be concealed from the\ngenii till they had entirely finished it; that God therefore so\nordered it that Solomon died as he stood at his prayers, leaning on\nhis staff, which supported the body in that posture a full year; and\nthe genii, supposing him to be alive, continued their work during that\nterm, at the expiration whereof, the temple being perfectly completed,\na worm, which had gotten into the staff, ate it through, and the\ncorpse fell to the ground and discovered the king\u2019s death.\u2014S. (B.,\nJel\u00e1l.)\n\n[322] It is said that the fish, after it had swallowed Jonah, swam\nafter the ship with its head above water, that the prophet might\nbreathe; who continued to praise God till the fish came to land and\nvomited him out.\u2014S.\n\n[323] Sale states that some imagine Jonah\u2019s plant to have been a fig;\nand others, the m\u00f3z (or banana), which bears very large leaves and\nexcellent fruit.\n\n[324] The commentators add that this plant withered the next morning,\nand that Jonah being much concerned at it God made a remonstrance to\nhim in behalf of the Ninevites, agreeably to what is recorded in\nScripture.\u2014S.\n\n[325] When he first began to exhort them to repentance, instead of\nhearkening to him, they used him very ill, so that he was obliged to\nleave the city, threatening them at his departure that they should be\ndestroyed within three days, or, as others say, within forty. But when\nthe time drew near, and they saw the heavens overcast with a black\ncloud which shot forth fire and filled the air with smoke and hung\ndirectly over the city, they were in a terrible consternation, and\ngetting into the fields, with their families and cattle, they put on\nsackcloth and humbled themselves before God, calling aloud for pardon\nand sincerely repenting of their past wickedness. Whereupon God was\npleased to forgive them, and the storm blew over.\u2014S. (B., Jel\u00e1l, A.F.)\n\n[326] \u00b4Imr\u00e1n, as observed by Sale, is the name of two several persons\naccording to the Muslims: one was the father of Moses and Aaron, and\nthe other was the father of the Virgin Mary. The latter is here meant,\nand his wife\u2019s name was Hannah.\n\n[327] Or the devil driven away with stones.\u2014See note 1. (38), p. 7.\n\n[328] And for this reason, they say, neither of them was guilty of any\nsin, like the rest of the children of Adam.\u2014S. (\u1e32at\u00e1deh.)\n\n[329] That is, between thirty, or thirty-four, and fifty-one: and the\npassage may relate to Christ\u2019s preaching here on earth. But as he had\nscarce attained this age when he was taken up into heaven, the\ncommentators choose to understand it of his second coming.\u2014S.\n\n[330] The age of the Virgin Mary at the time of her conception was\nthirteen, or, as others say, ten; and she went six, seven, eight, or\nnine months with him, according to different traditions; though some\nsay the child was conceived at its full growth of nine months, and\nthat she was delivered of him within an hour after.\u2014S. (B., Yahya.)\n\n[331] Some say the Virgin Mary had really a brother named Aaron, who\nhad the same father but a different mother: others suppose Aaron the\nbrother of Moses is here meant, but say Mary is called his sister\neither because she was of the Levitical race, (as, by her having been\nrelated to Elizabeth, it should seem she was,) or by way of\ncomparison: others say that it was a different person of that name who\nwas contemporary with her and conspicuous for his good or bad\nqualities, and that they likened her to him either by way of\ncommendation or of reproach.\u2014S. (B., Z., &c.)\n\n[332] These were the first words which were put into the mouth of\nJesus, to obviate the imagination of his partaking of the divine\nnature or having a right to the worship of mankind on account of his\nmiraculous speaking so soon after his birth.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[333] It is related in the spurious Gospel of the Infancy of Christ\nthat Jesus being seven years old and at play with several children of\nhis age, they made several figures of birds and beasts of clay for\ntheir diversion; and each preferring his own workmanship, Jesus told\nthem that he would make his walk and leap; which accordingly at his\ncommand they did. He made also several figures of sparrows and other\nbirds, which flew about or stood on his hands as he ordered them, and\nalso ate and drank when he offered them meat and drink. The children,\ntelling this to their parents, were forbidden to play any more with\nJesus, whom they held to be a sorcerer.\u2014S.\n\n[334] The commentators observe that these words are added lest it\nshould be thought Jesus did these miracles by his own power, or was\nGod.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[335] In Arabic, \u2018el-\u1e24aw\u00e1reeyoon;\u2019 which word they derive from \u2018\u1e25\u00e1ra,\u2019\n\u2018to be white\u2019 [or rather, \u2018to whiten\u2019 clothes], and suppose the\napostles were so called either from the _candour_ and _sincerity_ of\ntheir minds, or because they were princes and wore white garments, or\nelse because they were by trade fullers.\u2014(B., Jel\u00e1l.) According to\nwhich last opinion, their vocation is thus related: That as Jesus\npassed by the sea-side, he saw some fullers at work, and, accosting\nthem, said, \u2018Ye cleanse these clothes, but cleanse not your hearts;\u2019\nupon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be\nfrom the Ethiopic verb \u2018hawyra,\u2019 \u2018to go;\u2019 whence \u2018haw\u00e2rya\u2019 signifies\n\u2018one that is sent,\u2019 a \u2018messenger,\u2019 or \u2018apostle.\u2019\u2014S.\n\n[336] The person crucified some will have to be a spy that was sent to\nentrap him; others that it was one Titian, who by the direction of\nJudas entered in at a window of the house where Jesus was; to kill\nhim; and others that it was Judas himself, who agreed with the rulers\nof the Jews to betray him for thirty pieces of silver, and led those\nwho were sent to take him.\u2014They add, that Jesus, after his crucifixion\nin _effigy_, was sent down again to the earth to comfort his mother\nand disciples and acquaint them how the Jews were deceived, and was\nthen taken up a second time into heaven.\n\nIt is supposed by several that this story was an original invention of\nMo\u1e25ammad\u2019s; but they are certainly mistaken: for several sectaries\nheld the same opinion long before his time. The Basilidians, in the\nvery beginning of Christianity, denied that Christ himself suffered,\nbut [asserted] that Simon the Cirenean was crucified in his place. The\nCorinthians before them, and the Carpocratians next (to name no more\nof those who affirmed Jesus to have been a mere man), did believe the\nsame thing, that it was not himself, but one of his followers, very\nlike him, that was crucified. Photius tells us that he read a book\nentitled \u2018The Journeys of the Apostles,\u2019 relating the acts of Peter,\nJohn, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul; and among other things contained\ntherein this was one, that Christ was not crucified, but another in\nhis stead, and that therefore he laughed at his crucifiers, or those\nwho thought they had crucified him.\u2014S.\n\n[337] This miracle is thus related by the commentators. Jesus having\nat the request of his followers asked it of God, a red table\nimmediately descended in their sight between two clouds and was set\nbefore them; whereupon he rose up, and, having made the ablution,\nprayed, and then took off the cloth which covered the table, saying,\n\u2018In the name of God, the best provider of food.\u2019 What the provisions\nwere with which the table was furnished is a matter wherein the\nexpositors are not agreed. One will have them to be nine cakes of\nbread and nine fishes; another, bread and flesh; another, all sorts of\nfood except flesh; another, all sorts of food except bread and flesh;\nanother, all except bread and fish; another, one fish which had the\ntaste of all manner of food; another, fruits of Paradise: but the most\nreceived tradition is that when the table was uncovered there appeared\na fish ready dressed, without scales or prickly fins, dropping with\nfat, having salt placed at its head, and vinegar at its tail, and\nround it all sorts of herbs except leeks, and five loaves of bread, on\none of which there were olives, on the second honey, on the third\nbutter, on the fourth cheese, and on the fifth dried flesh. They add\nthat Jesus at the request of the apostles showed them another miracle\nby restoring the fish to life and causing its scales and fins to\nreturn to it; at which the standers-by being affrighted, he caused it\nto become as it was before: that one thousand three hundred men and\nwomen, all afflicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these\nprovisions and were satisfied, the fish remaining whole as it was at\nthe first: that then the table flew up to heaven in the sight of all;\nand every one who had partaken of this food were delivered from their\ninfirmities and misfortunes: and that it continued to descend for\nforty days together, at dinner-time, and stood on the ground till the\nsun declined, and was then taken up into the clouds. Some of the\nMo\u1e25ammadan writers are of opinion that this table did not really\ndescend, but it was only a parable; but most think that the words of\nthe \u1e32ur-\u00e1n are plain to the contrary. A further tradition is that\nseveral men were changed into swine [and apes] for disbelieving this\nmiracle and attributing it to magic art; or, as others pretend, for\nstealing some of the victuals from off it. Several other fabulous\ncircumstances are also told, which are scarce worth transcribing.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[338] Some say the table descended on a Sunday, which was the reason\nof the Christians\u2019 observing that day as sacred. Others pretend this\nday is still kept among them as a very great festival; and it seems as\nif the story had its rise from an imperfect notion of Christ\u2019s last\nsupper and the institution of the Eucharist.\u2014S.\n\n[339] To explain this passage, the commentators tell the following\nstory:\u2014The people of Antioch being idolaters, Jesus sent two of his\ndisciples thither to preach to them; and when they drew near the city,\nthey found \u1e24abeeb, surnamed En-Nejj\u00e1r, or The Carpenter, feeding\nsheep, and acquainted him with their errand; whereupon he asked them\nwhat proof they had of their veracity, and they told him they could\ncure the sick and the blind and the lepers; and to demonstrate the\ntruth of what they said they laid their hands on a child of his who\nwas sick and immediately restored him to health. \u1e24abeeb was convinced\nby this miracle and believed; after which they went into the city and\npreached the worship of one true God, curing a great number of people\nof several infirmities; but at length, the affair coming to the\nprince\u2019s ear, he ordered them to be imprisoned for endeavouring to\nseduce the people. When Jesus heard of this, he sent another of his\ndisciples, generally supposed to have been Simon Peter; who, coming to\nAntioch, and appearing as a zealous idolater, soon insinuated himself\ninto the favour of the inhabitants and of their prince, and at length\ntook an opportunity to desire the prince would order the two persons\nwho, as he was informed, had been put in prison for broaching new\nopinions to be brought before him to be examined; and accordingly they\nwere brought: when Peter, having previously warned them to take no\nnotice that they knew him, asked them who sent them; to which they\nanswered, God, who had created all things and had no companion. He\nthen required some convincing proof of their mission, upon which they\nrestored a blind person to his sight and performed some other\nmiracles, with which Peter seemed not to be satisfied, for that\naccording to some he did the very same miracles himself, but declared\nthat if their God could enable them to raise the dead he would believe\nthem; which condition the two apostles accepting, a lad was brought\nwho had been dead seven days, and at their prayers he was raised to\nlife; and thereupon Peter acknowledged himself convinced, and ran and\ndemolished the idols, a great many of the people following him and\nembracing the true faith; but those who believed not were destroyed by\nthe cry of the angel Gabriel.\u2014S. (B., Z., &c.)\n\n[340] Some say these two were John and Paul; but others name different\npersons.\u2014S.\n\n[341] Simon Peter.\n\n[342] His tomb is still shown near Antioch, and is much visited by the\nMo\u1e25ammadans.\u2014S.\n\n[343] Also some said he was taken up into heaven; and others, that his\nmanhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaven.\u2014S.\n(B.)\n\n[344] Some, referring the relative _his_ to the first antecedent, take\nthe meaning to be that no Jew or Christian shall die before he\nbelieves in Jesus; for they say that when one of either of those\nreligions is ready to breathe his last, and sees the angel of death\nbefore him, he shall then believe in that prophet as he ought, though\nhis faith will not then be of any avail. According to a tradition of\nEl-Hajj\u00e1j, when a Jew is expiring the angels will strike him on the\nback and face, and say to him, \u2018O thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as\na prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe on him;\u2019 to which he\nwill answer, \u2018I now believe him to be the servant of God:\u2019 and to a\ndying Christian they will say, \u2018Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee,\nand thou hast imagined him to be God, or the son of God;\u2019 whereupon he\nwill believe him to be the servant of God only and His\napostle.\u2014Others, taking the above-mentioned relative to refer to\nJesus, suppose the intent of the passage to be that all Jews and\nChristians in general [the dead being raised to life in their graves]\nshall have a right faith in that prophet before his death, that is,\nwhen he descends from heaven and returns into the world, where he is\nto kill Antichrist and to establish the Mo\u1e25ammadan religion and a most\nperfect tranquillity and security on earth [where he will remain forty\nyears, and then die.\u2014Others again suppose that the words \u2018believe in\nhim\u2019 signify \u2018believe in God.\u2019]\u2014S. (B., Z., Jel\u00e1l, &c.)\n\n[345] It is a dispute among the Mo\u1e25ammadans whether Christ actually\ndied or not before his assumption.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[346] Some, however, are of opinion it [this passage] might have been\nrevealed in answer to certain idolaters, who said that the Christians,\nwho received the Scriptures, worshipped Jesus, supposing him to be the\nson of God; whereas the angels were more worthy of that honour than\nhe.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[347] As easily as We produced Jesus without a father [B.]. The intent\nof the words is to show how just and reasonable it is to think that\nthe angels should bear the relation of children to men rather than to\nGod, they being His creatures as well as men, and equally in His\npower.\u2014S.\n\n[348] For some time before the resurrection Jesus is to descend on\nearth according to the Mo\u1e25ammadans near Damascus, or as some say near\na rock [or rather a mountain-road] named [\u00b4A\u1e33abet] Afeek, with a lance\nin his hand, wherewith he is to kill Antichrist, whom he will\nencounter at Ludd, or Lydda, a small town not far from Joppa. They add\nthat he will arrive at Jerusalem at the time of morning-prayer, that\nhe shall perform his devotions after the Mo\u1e25ammadan institution, and\nofficiate instead of the Im\u00e1m, who shall give place to him; that he\nwill break down the cross, and destroy the churches of the Christians,\nof whom he will also make a general slaughter, excepting only such as\nshall profess El-Isl\u00e1m.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n\n[349] Either by rejecting and contemning Jesus, as the Jews do; or\nraising him to an equality with God, as do the Christians.\u2014S. (B.)\n\n[350] For the Eastern writers mention a sect of Christians which held\nthe Trinity to be composed of those three; but it is allowed that this\nheresy has been long since extinct.\u2014S.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX OF CHAPTERS.\n\n\n   CHAP.                 PAGE\n\n   I. (entire)              3\n\n   II.           1-6        4\n   \u201d            7-19     41-2\n   \u201d            21-2       19\n   \u201d           28-31    49-50\n   \u201d            33-7     51-2\n   \u201d              51      121\n   \u201d            52-3      121\n   \u201d              54      115\n   \u201d              57    115-6\n   \u201d              58      115\n   \u201d              59       38\n   \u201d            60-2    116-7\n   \u201d            63-9    125-7\n   \u201d              87      121\n   \u201d           100-1       19\n   \u201d          118-20     73-5\n   \u201d             130     47-8\n   \u201d           133-4       15\n   \u201d             141       16\n   \u201d          158-60        8\n   \u201d           160-2     30-1\n   \u201d             166       38\n   \u201d             172       35\n   \u201d             191       32\n   \u201d          247-52    132-4\n   \u201d             256        5\n   \u201d             260     70-1\n   \u201d             261      148\n   \u201d             262       73\n   \u201d             265       36\n   \u201d           266-7       36\n   \u201d             273       36\n   \u201d             280       37\n\n   III.        12-15       29\n    \u201d           25-6        6\n    \u201d           31-6   149-51\n    \u201d          37-43    151-2\n    \u201d           43-7    155-7\n    \u201d           52-5      164\n    \u201d          58-60     75-6\n    \u201d             79       38\n    \u201d            138       14\n    \u201d            139       32\n    \u201d            148       32\n    \u201d          163-5       30\n    \u201d         179-80       16\n\n   IV.            51    10-11\n   \u201d            80-1       32\n   \u201d              88       37\n   \u201d             123       30\n   \u201d             144       31\n   \u201d           155-7    161-2\n   \u201d             161       14\n   \u201d          169-70    164-5\n\n   V.           23-9    122-4\n   \u201d            30-5     53-4\n   \u201d        56, 62-3       42\n   \u201d            85-6     40-1\n   \u201d           112-5    157-9\n   \u201d           116-8      162\n\n   VI.            50       14\n   \u201d           59-64       10\n   \u201d           74-82     66-7\n   \u201d          95-103      8-9\n   \u201d             108       36\n   \u201d          109-11     16-7\n\n   VII.        10-17     50-1\n    \u201d             22       51\n    \u201d             52        6\n    \u201d          63-70     60-1\n    \u201d           71-7     61-2\n    \u201d         101-23    107-9\n    \u201d         124-33    112-4\n    \u201d          134-6      114\n    \u201d         138-42    117-8\n    \u201d          146-8      118\n    \u201d          154-6    121-2\n    \u201d          186-8       31\n\n   IX.            18       36\n\n   X.          38-40       19\n   \u201d            90-2      114\n   \u201d             100       32\n\n   XI.         27-36     55-6\n   \u201d              38       56\n   \u201d           38-46     56-8\n   \u201d           47-50     58-9\n   \u201d            72-8       71\n   \u201d              84       72\n   \u201d           85-98     95-6\n\n   XII.         4-22    77-80\n    \u201d          35-50     80-2\n    \u201d         54-102    82-92\n\n   XIII.        13-4        9\n\n   XIV.         26-7       31\n\n   XV.          6-15       17\n   \u201d           16-25        7\n\n   XVI.           92       34\n    \u201d          103-5       20\n\n   XVII.        90-8       18\n\n   XVIII.      28-30       27\n     \u201d         31-42    39-40\n     \u201d          45-7       27\n     \u201d         59-81   127-31\n     \u201d        82-101     63-5\n     \u201d           109       20\n     \u201d           110       14\n\n   XIX.        12-15      151\n    \u201d          16-41    152-5\n    \u201d          42-51     67-8\n    \u201d           91-6       11\n\n   XX.          8-50    103-7\n    \u201d          88-99   119-21\n\n   XXI.        26-30       33\n    \u201d          52-75    68-70\n    \u201d          79-82      136\n\n   XXII.          72       11\n\n   XXIV.       39-40       39\n\n   XXV.        64-75       43\n\n   XXVII.      15-45   138-44\n\n   XXVIII.      21-8   97-103\n     \u201d         76-82    124-5\n\n   XXIX.        40-3       12\n     \u201d            45       38\n\n   XXXIV.      11-13    144-5\n     \u201d            49       14\n\n   XXXVI.      12-28   159-61\n\n   XXXVII.    97-111     72-3\n     \u201d        139-48    146-7\n\n   XXXVIII.     20-4    135-6\n      \u201d        29-39    136-8\n      \u201d         40-4     93-4\n\n   XXXIX.      67-75     28-9\n\n   XL.         27-49   109-12\n\n   XLI.         34-5       37\n\n   XLIII.      57-65    162-4\n\n   L.           30-3       29\n\n   LVI.         1-56     24-6\n    \u201d           76-9       17\n\n   LXI.          6-9    15-16\n\n   LXII.           5       41\n\n   LXVII.        1-4        6\n     \u201d           6-8       30\n\n   LXIX.       13-37     23-4\n\n   LXXI.        27-9       56\n\n   LXXII. 1, 2, 8-11       33\n\n   LXXIV.        1-7       13\n\n   LXXVI.      29-30       32\n\n   LXXXI.       1-14     22-3\n\n   LXXXII.  (entire)       22\n\n   LXXXVIII.     1-7       23\n\n   XCII.    (entire)     34-5\n\n   XCIII.   (entire)       13\n\n   XCVI.         1-6    xliii\n\n   XCIX.    (entire)       21\n\n   CI.      (entire)       21\n\n   CVII.    (entire)       35\n\n   CXII.    (entire)        5\n\n\nGENERAL INDEX.\n\n\n   AARON, 105 ff.\n\n   \u00b4Abb\u00e1s, Ibn-, 50.\n\n   \u00b4Abdallah ibn Ubayy, lx.\n\n   \u00b4Abd-el-Mu\u1e6d\u1e6dalib, xxxvii, 73.\n\n   Abel, 53.\n\n   Aboo-Bekr, xlv, xlvii, lvi, lxxvii.\n\n   Aboo-Fir\u00e1s, xxix.\n\n   Aboo-Lahab, li, lii.\n\n   Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib, xxxviii, xlv, xlvii, xlix, l, lii.\n\n   Abraham, xxxii, 15, 47, 66-76.\n\n   Abrogation of revelations, 19, 20, 38.\n\n   Abyssinia, flight to, xlvii.\n\n   \u00c1d, 60, 61.\n\n   Adam, 47, 49-52, 164.\n\n   Advent of Christ, second, 163.\n\n   African converts, xcvii.\n\n   A\u1e25mad, prophecy of, 15.\n\n   \u00b4A\u00efsheh, liii, lxix, lxxiii.\n\n   \u00b4A\u1e33abeh, pledges of the, lv, lvi.\n\n   \u00b4Alee, xxxix, lvi.\n\n   All\u00e1h Ta\u00b4\u00e1la, xxxiii.\n\n   Alms, lxxxiv, 36.\n\n   Amnesty to Mekka, lxvii.\n\n   Anas, xli.\n\n   Ancestry, pride of, xviii.\n\n   Angels, 33, 49.\n\n   An\u1e63\u00e1r, lix, lx.\n\n   \u00b4An\u1e6darah, xxviii.\n\n   Antichrist, 157, 163.\n\n   Antioch, 159-161.\n\n   Apostles, 14, 47, 156.\n\n   Appearance of Mo\u1e25ammad, xl.\n\n   Arab poetry, examples, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xxix.\n\n   Arabia, xi-xiii.\n\n   Arabia, submission of, lxvii.\n\n   Arabs at Yethrib, liv.\n\n   Arabs before Isl\u00e1m, the, xi-xxxv;\n     their country, xi;\n     influence on their character, xii;\n     the Bedawee nature, xiii;\n     devotion to the clan, xiv;\n     honour, xv;\n     war and plunder, xvi;\n     ferocity, xvi, xvii;\n     family pride, xviii;\n     pledge of protection, xviii;\n     hospitality, xix;\n     \u1e24\u00e1tim the ideal Arab, xix-xxii;\n     Arab poetry, xxii-xxiv;\n     the fair of \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh, xxiv-xxvi;\n     women of Arabia, xxvi;\n     chivalry, xxvii, xxviii;\n     fathers and daughters, xxix;\n     town life, xxx;\n     Mekka, xxx;\n     music and poetry at Mekka, xxxi;\n     dice and drink, xxxi;\n     the Ka\u1ea1beh, xxxii;\n     religion of the early Arabs, xxxii;\n     Christianity and Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv;\n     the \u1e24aneefs, xxxiv;\n     Zeyd ibn \u00b4Amr, xxxv;\n     the change in the Arabs effected by Mo\u1e25ammad, xxxv.\n\n   Aristocracy, hostility of, xlvii.\n\n   Ark, 56, 57, 133.\n\n   \u00c1\u1e63af Solomon\u2019s wezeer, 142.\n\n   Aws, Benee-, liv.\n\n   Azar or Terah, 66.\n\n\n   BABEL, Tower of, 69.\n\n   Bathsheba, 135.\n\n   Bayard of Isl\u00e1m, l.\n\n   Bedr, lxv.\n\n   Beh\u00e1-ed-deen Zoheyr, xxiv.\n\n   Believers and unbelievers, 38-43.\n\n   Benjamin, 77, 84, 86-89.\n\n   Bil\u00e1l, the first Mu\u00ebddin, xlv, xlvii.\n\n   Bil\u1e33ees, Queen of Sheba, 139-143.\n\n   Birds and Solomon, 138-139.\n\n   Book, the preserved, 17.\n\n   Books, divine, 47-48.\n\n   Byzantium, Emperor of, lxviii.\n\n\n   CAIN, 53, 54.\n\n   Caleb, 123.\n\n   Calf, the golden, 118 ff.\n\n   Camel of Mo\u1e25ammad, lxvi.\n\n   Camel of Thamood, 61, 62.\n\n   Camel-driver, Mo\u1e25ammad a, xxxix.\n\n   Caussin de Perceval, M., xxii.\n\n   Chivalry of ancient Arabs, xxvii, xxviii.\n\n   Christ, 47, 149-165.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 divinity of, 154, 162-165.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 the Messiah, lxi.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 the Word of God, lxxxii, 165.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 supposed crucifixion of, 156, 161.\n\n   \u2014\u2014 second advent of, 163.\n\n   Christians, xxxiv, 38, 40, 42, 48, 164.\n\n   Clan feeling, xiv.\n\n   Corruption of Christian and Jewish scriptures, 48.\n\n   Cow, sacrifice of, 125-127.\n\n\n   DAUGHTERS of God, xxxiii, 9, 11, 33.\n\n   Daughters, love of, xxix.\n\n   David, 47, 134-36, 138.\n\n   Davidean coats of mail, 135.\n\n   Day of judgment, 21-31.\n\n   Debtors, 37.\n\n   Destiny, 32.\n\n   Deutsch, Dr. Emanuel, xxiv, xl.\n\n   Devils, 7, 31, 136, 137, 138.\n\n   Dhaf\u00e1r, Christians of, xxxiv.\n\n   Dhu-l-\u1e32arneyn, 63-65, 128.\n\n   Dhu-l-Kifl, 47.\n\n   Dice, xxxi.\n\n   Disaffected party, lx, lxv.\n\n   Divine books, 47-48.\n\n   Divinity of Christ, 154, 162-165.\n\n   Divinity of the Virgin, 162, 165.\n\n   Drink, love of, xxxi.\n\n\n   EDEN, 51.\n\n   Egypt, 79 ff.\n\n   Egypt, plagues of, 112-114.\n\n   Elias, 128.\n\n   Embarcation formula, 57.\n\n   Emeen, El-, xl, xlv.\n\n   Emeeneh, El-, 137.\n\n   Enoch, 47.\n\n   Eve, 51.\n\n   Evil eye, 85.\n\n   Exodus, the, 114 ff.\n\n   Ezekiel, lines from, xxx.\n\n   Ezra, 148.\n\n\n   FAIR, _see_ \u00b4Ok\u00e1\u1e0dh.\n\n   Family pride of Arabs, xviii.\n\n   Famine of Egypt, 83 ff.\n\n   Fanes, xxxiii.\n\n   Fast, lxxxiv, 117.\n\n   Fate, lxxxi, 32.\n\n   Fathers and daughters, xxix.\n\n   F\u00e1ti\u1e25ah, 3.\n\n   Fetishism, xxxiii.\n\n   Fij\u00e1r, war of the, xxxviii.\n\n   Fir\u00e1s, Aboo-, xxix.\n\n   Flight of Mo\u1e25ammad, lvi, lvii.\n\n   Flight to Abyssinia, xlvii.\n\n   Flood, 55-59.\n\n   Forgery, lxvii ff., 19.\n\n\n   GABRIEL, xliv, 72, 73, 78, 111, 152, 161\n\n   God, 5-12.\n\n   \u2014-- unity, profession of, 5.\n\n   \u2014-- has no partners, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.\n\n   \u2014-- the supreme, xxxiii.\n\n   \u2014-- Mo\u1e25ammad doctrine of, lxxx.\n\n   Goddesses, moon, xxxiii, xlviii.\n\n   Gog and Magog, 64, 65.\n\n   Golden calf, 118 ff.\n\n   Goliath, 133, 134.\n\n   Good for evil, 37.\n\n   Gospel, 15, 47, 48, 149 ff.\n\n   Greeting, 37.\n\n\n   HABEEB, 159 ff.\n\n   Haggadah, xliii, lxi, lxii.\n\n   H\u00e1m\u00e1n, 97, 110.\n\n   Haneefs, xxxiv.\n\n   H\u00e1shimees, xxxviii, li, lii.\n\n   \u1e24\u00e1tim, xix-xxii.\n\n   \u1e24aw\u00e1reeyoon, El-, 156.\n\n   Heber, 47, 160, 161.\n\n   Hell, 21-31.\n\n   Helpers, the, lix, lx.\n\n   \u1e24ij\u00e1z;, xii.\n\n   Hijreh, the, lvii.\n\n   \u1e24ir\u00e1, Mount, xliii.\n\n   Honour, Arab, xv.\n\n   Hood, 47, 60, 61.\n\n   \u1e24ooreeyehs, Footnotes 128, 131.\n\n   Hospitality, Arab, xix.\n\n   Howw\u00e1, 51.\n\n   Hubal, xxxii.\n\n   Humanity, lxxxvi.\n\n   Hypocrites, 31, 41.\n\n   \u2018Hypocrites, the,\u2019 lx.\n\n\n   IBLEES, 31, 49, 50.\n\n   Idols, xxxii, xlvi, lxvi, 8, 11, 12, 30.\n\n   Idrees, 47.\n\n   Ily\u00e1s, 128.\n\n   Im\u00e1m, 74, 163.\n\n   \u00b4Imr\u00e1n, 149.\n\n   Infanticide, xxxii, 23.\n\n   Inspiration, lxxiv.\n\n   Isaac, 47, 70-73.\n\n   Ishmael, xxxii, 47, 72-73.\n\n   Iskender, 63.\n\n   Isl\u00e1m, lxxvii-xcix, 76.\n\n\n   JACOB, 47, 70, 71, 77-92.\n\n   Jann, El-, or Iblees, 49.\n\n   Jerusalem, Temple of, 145.\n\n   Jesus of Nazareth, _see_ Christ.\n\n   Jethro, 47, 95 ff.\n\n   Jewish corruption of Scripture, 48.\n\n   Jews, liv, lxii-lxv, 38, 40, 41, 42, 48.\n\n   Jinn, liii, 7, 9, 33, 136-138, 144, 145.\n\n   Jinnee, Mo\u1e25ammad possessed by a, 17.\n\n   Ji\u00b4r\u00e1neh, El-, scene at, lix.\n\n   Job, 93, 94.\n\n   Jonah, 146, 147.\n\n   Joodee, mountain of El-, 58.\n\n   Joseph, 77-92.\n\n   Joseph and Zeleekha, 83.\n\n   Joshua, 47, 123, 124, 127-129.\n\n   Judah, 77-79.\n\n   Judaism in Arabia, xxxiv.\n\n\n   KA\u1ea0BEH, xxxii, lxxxiv, 74-75.\n\n   \u1e32a\u1e63w\u00e1, El-, lxvi.\n\n   Khadeejeh, xxxix, lii, liii, lxxi, lxxii.\n\n   Kha\u1e6deeb-el-Ambiya, 95.\n\n   Khazraj, Benee-, liv.\n\n   Khi\u1e0dr, El-, 47, 128-130.\n\n   Khusru, the, lxvii.\n\n   \u1e32i\u1e6dfeer, 79.\n\n   Korah, 124, 125.\n\n   Kudar ibn S\u00e1lif, 62.\n\n   \u1e32ureysh, xxxvii f, xlv-lviii, lxv-lxvii.\n\n   \u1e32ur-\u00e1n, 4, 13-20, 47;\n     state in which it was left by Mo\u1e25ammad, ci;\n     first revision, ci;\n     second revision, ci;\n     chaotic order, cii;\n     scientific arrangement of N\u00f6ldeke, ciii;\n     characteristics of different groups, civ;\n     statistics, cvi.\n\n\n   LAHAB, Aboo-, li, lii.\n\n   Lapwing and Solomon, 139.\n\n   L\u00e1t, El-, xxxiii.\n\n   Lazarus, 155.\n\n   Lion of God, l.\n\n   Lot, 47, 69, 70.\n\n   Lyall, Mr. C. J., xv.\n\n\n   MARRIAGES of Mo\u1e25ammad, xxxix, lxx ff.\n\n   Martyrs for the faith, 30.\n\n   Mary the Virgin, 149 ff.\n\n   Mary, divinity of, 162, 165.\n\n   Medina, lvii, lix ff., lxv, _and see_ Yethrib.\n\n   Mekka, xxx ff., lxvii.\n\n   Men\u00e1h, xxxiii.\n\n   Messenger or apostle, 14.\n\n   Messiah, _see_ Christ.\n\n   Metempsychosis, xxxiii.\n\n   Midian, 95, 96, 101.\n\n   Migrations of Muslims, xlvii, lvii.\n\n   Mi\u00b4r\u00e1j, lv.\n\n   Misr, 88.\n\n   Miracles or signs, 16, 17, 18, 52.\n\n   Miriam (Maryam), 99, 105.\n\n   Mo\u1e25ammad, 13-20, 47;\n     his family, xxxvii;\n     childhood, xxxvii;\n     youth, xxxviii;\n     shepherding, xxxviii;\n     camel-driving, xxxix;\n     personal appearance, xl;\n     habits, xli, xlii;\n     solitary wanderings, xlii;\n     the call, xliii;\n     public appearance, xliv;\n     first conversions, xlv;\n     address on Mount E\u1e63-\u1e62af\u00e1, xlvi;\n     preaching, xlvi;\n     hostility of the aristocracy, xlvii;\n     torturing of slaves, xlvii;\n     emigration to Abyssinia, xlvii;\n     speech to the Negus, xlviii;\n     persecution by \u1e32ureysh, xlviii;\n     compromise, xlviii;\n     interview with Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib, xlix;\n     conversion of \u00b4Omar and \u1e24amzeh, l;\n     the ban of the H\u00e1shimees, li;\n     its end, lii;\n     death of Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib and Khadeejeh, lii;\n     visit to E\u1e6d-\u1e6c\u00e1\u00eff, liii;\n     pilgrims from Yethrib, liv;\n     state of parties at Yethrib, liv;\n     first pledge of the \u00b4A\u1e33abeh, lv;\n     Yethrib and Mekka, lv;\n     the night journey, lv;\n     second pledge of the \u00b4A\u1e33abeh, lvi;\n     emigration of Muslims to Yethrib, lvii;\n     Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s flight or Hijreh, lvii, lviii;\n     retrospect, lviii;\n     parties at Medina, lix;\n     the Refugees, Helpers, Hypocrites, lix, lx;\n     the Jews, lxi;\n     are conciliated, lxii;\n     but become hostile, lxii;\n     their punishment, lxiii-lxv;\n     war with the \u1e32ureysh, lxv;\n     Bedr, O\u1e25ud, siege of Medina, truce, lxv;\n     the Muslims perform the Lesser Pilgrimage, lxvi;\n     conquest of Mekka, lxvii;\n     complete amnesty, lxvii;\n     submission of Arabia, lxvii;\n     farewell pilgrimage and oration, lxviii;\n     death, lxix;\n     character, lxix;\n     charges of cruelty, sensuality, insincerity, discussed, lxx-lxxvi.\n\n   Mo\u1e25ammad, the illiterate or Gentile apostle, 122.\n\n   Moon-goddesses, xxxiii, xlvii,\n\n   Moses, 92, 97-131.\n\n   Mosques or temples, 36.\n\n   Mountain-worship, xxxiii.\n\n   Mu\u00ebddin, the first, xlv, xlvii.\n\n   Mu\u1e25\u00e1jiroon, lx, lxv.\n\n   Mun\u00e1fi\u1e33oon, lix.\n\n   Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab, lv.\n\n   Mu\u1e63\u00b4ab ibn Er-Reiy\u00e1n, 97.\n\n   Muslim, meaning of, 75.\n\n   Muslim, the true, 43.\n\n\n   NEGRO slaves, xlv, xlvii.\n\n   Negus or Nej\u00e1shee, xli, xlvii, xlviii.\n\n   Nejd, xii.\n\n   Nejr\u00e1n, xxxiv, 164.\n\n   Night journey, lv.\n\n   Nimrod, 66, 69, 70.\n\n   Nineveh, 147.\n\n   Noah, 47, 55-59.\n\n   N\u00f6ldeke, ciii.\n\n   Nun, 47.\n\n\n   O\u1e24UD, battle of, lxv, 32.\n\n   \u00b4Oka\u1e0dh, fair of, xxiv-xxvi, xxxviii.\n\n   \u00b4Omar, l.\n\n   \u00b4Oneyzeh, 62.\n\n   Oration, farewell, lxviii.\n\n   Oratory among the Arabs, xxiv.\n\n   \u00b4Othm\u00e1n, xlv.\n\n   Oven of El-Koofeh, 37.\n\n   \u00b4Ozeyr or Ezra, 148.\n\n\n   PALMER, Prof. E. H., xxiv.\n\n   Parables, 38-40.\n\n   Paraclete, 15.\n\n   Paradise, 21-31.\n\n   Partners with God, 9, 11, 33.\n\n   Parties at Medina, lix.\n\n   Penates, xxxiii.\n\n   Pentateuch, 47, 48.\n\n   People of the Scripture, 38.\n\n   Perceval, M. Caussin de, xxii.\n\n   Person of Mo\u1e25ammad, xl.\n\n   Pharaoh of Joseph, 81, 83.\n\n   Pharaoh of Moses, 97 ff.\n\n   Pilgrimage, lxxxiv;\n     lesser, lxvi;\n     last, lxviii.\n\n   Pilgrims, xxxvii, liv.\n\n   Pledges of the \u00b4A\u1e33abeh, lv, lvi.\n\n   Poetry, Arab, xxii-xxiv.\n\n   Polygamy, lxxxix-xcii.\n\n   Potiphar, 79.\n\n   Potiphar\u2019s wife, 79, 83.\n\n   Prayer, lxxxiii;\n     opening, cvi, 3\n\n   Preaching of Mo\u1e25ammad, xlvi.\n\n   Preceders, the, 25.\n\n   Predestination, 32.\n\n   Premonition, 4.\n\n   Preserved book, the, 17.\n\n   Pride of ancestry, xviii.\n\n   Priests, xxxiii.\n\n   Prophets, 47, 48.\n\n   Protection, xviii.\n\n   Psalms, 47, 48.\n\n\n   QUEEN of Sheba, 139 ff.\n\n\n   REFUGEES, the, lix, lx.\n\n   Reiy\u00e1n, Er-, 81, 97.\n\n   Rek\u00b4ah, 74.\n\n   Religion of early Arabs, xxxii.\n\n   Religion, true and false, 34-37.\n\n   Resurrection, 21-31.\n\n   Reuel, _see_ Sho\u00b4eyb.\n\n   Revelations, series of, 14, 47-48.\n\n   Revelations, Mo\u1e25ammad\u2019s, c, 13.\n\n\n   SABIANS, 38, 48.\n\n   Sabbath-breaking, 116.\n\n   \u1e62ada\u1e33ah, 62.\n\n   E\u1e63-\u1e62af\u00e1, xlvi, lxvi.\n\n   \u1e62afoora, 102.\n\n   S\u00e1li\u1e25, 47, 61, 62.\n\n   S\u00e1miree Es-, 118 ff.\n\n   Samuel, 133.\n\n   Sarah, 71.\n\n   Saul, 132.\n\n   Seers, xxxiii.\n\n   Sensuality of Mo\u1e25ammad, lxx ff.\n\n   Seth, 47.\n\n   Sheba, Queen of, 139 ff.\n\n   Shi-b or quarter, li.\n\n   Shepherding, xxxviii.\n\n   Sho\u00b4eyb, or Jethro, or Reuel, 47, 95 ff.\n\n   \u1e62i\u1e0d\u1e0deek, Es-, xlv.\n\n   Siege of Medina, lxv.\n\n   Sierra Leone, xcviii.\n\n   Signs, _see_ Miracles.\n\n   Sincerity of Mo\u1e25ammad, lxxii ff.\n\n   Slaves, xlv, xlvii, lxviii.\n\n   Smith, Mr. R. Bosworth, xliii, lxxxvii.\n\n   Sodom, 70 ff.\n\n   Solomon, 136-145.\n\n   Sons of God, 9, 11, 33, 154, 162-165.\n\n   Soorah, the first, xliii.\n\n   Soorah, the second, xliv.\n\n   Soorahs, \u201cforged,\u201d lxxii.\n\n\n   TABLE from heaven, the, 157-159.\n\n   Tablet, the preserved, 17.\n\n   \u1e6ca\u00eff, E\u1e6d-, liii, 74, 138.\n\n   Tal\u1e25ah, xlv.\n\n   \u1e6c\u00e1lib, _see_ Aboo-\u1e6c\u00e1lib.\n\n   Terah, 66.\n\n   Temples, xxxiii, 36, 145.\n\n   Thamood, 61, 62.\n\n   Throne-verse, 5.\n\n   Th\u00f3r, Mount, lvii.\n\n   Torturing slaves, xlvii.\n\n   Town-life in Arabia, xxx.\n\n   Treating with Jews, lxii.\n\n   Tree-worship, xxxiii.\n\n   Truce with \u1e32ureysh, lxv.\n\n\n   UBAYY, Ibn-, lx.\n\n   Umm-Gh\u00e1nim, 62.\n\n   Umeyyeh, branch of, xxxviii.\n\n   Unity, profession of the, 5.\n\n   Uzz\u00e1, El-, xxxiii.\n\n\n   WARA\u1e32AH, xxxv.\n\n   Wars of Mo\u1e25ammad, xxxviii, lxv.\n\n   Weleed, El-, 81, 97.\n\n   Wives of Mo\u1e25ammad, lxx ff.\n\n   Wives, command as to, lxviii.\n\n   Women of Arabia, xxvii ff.\n\n   Women in Paradise, 30.\n\n\n   YETHRIB, xxxvii, liv, lv, lvi, _and_ see Medina.\n\n\n   ZELEEKHA, 79, 83.\n\n   Zemzem, xxxii, 73.\n\n   Zeyd, xxxix.\n\n   Zeyd ibn \u00b4Amr, xxxv.\n\n   Zeyd ibn Th\u00e1bit, ci.\n\n   Zeyneb, lxxii.\n\n   Zipporah, 102.\n\n\nERRATUM.\u2014P. 36, line 1, _for_ should _read_ shall.\n\nP. 122, line 21, _after_ illiterate _add_ [or Gentile, _i.e._, Arab].\n\n\n   PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.\n   EDINBURGH AND LONDON","title":"Selections from the Kur-an","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":94457}