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TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A PKELIMINARY DISCOURSE. BY GEOKGE SALE, GENT. "Nulla falsa rtoctrlna est, qna? non aliqtild verl permisccat."— AirGnsTm. Qu^.st. Evano. 1, 2, c. 40. WITH A MEMOni OE THE TRMSLATOE, AND -WrrH VAWOtrS readings and nXUSTRATTNTE NOTES FEOM SAVARY'S \'EK9rON OF THE KOIIAN, LONDON: WILLIAM TEGQ, 1861. ^ n -^1 ^ (5 TO THE BIGHT HON. JOHN LOED CAETEKET, ONE OF THE LOEDS OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HONOUEABLE PKIVY COUNCIL. My Lord, Notwithstanding the great honour and respect generally and deservedly paid to the memories of those who have founded states, or obliged a people by the institution of laws which have made them prosperous and considerable in the world, yet the legislator of the Arabs has been treated in so very different a manner by all who acknowledge not his claim to a divine mission, and by Christians especially, that were not your lordship s just discernment sufficiently known, I should think myself under a necessity of making an apology for presenting the follovring translation. The remembrance of the calamities brought on so many nations by the conquests of the Arabians may possibly raise some indig- nation against him who formed them to empire; but this being equally applicable to aU conquerors, could not, of itself, occasion all the detestation with which the name of Mohammed is loaded. He has given a new system of religion, which has had still greater success than the arms of his followers, and to estabhsh this religion made use of an imposture ; and on this account it is supposed that he must of necessity have been a most abandoned villain, and his memory is become infamous. But as Mohammed gave his Arabs the best religion he could, as well as the best laws, preferable. iv DEDICATION. at least, to those of the ancient pagan lawgivers, I confess I cannot pee why he deserves not equal respect — though not with Moses or Jesus Chi-ist, whose laws came really from Heaven, yet, with Minos or Numa, notwithstanding the distinction of a learned writer, who seems to think it a greater crime to make use of an imposture to set up a new religion, founded on the acknowledgment of one true God, and to destroy idolatry, than to use the same means to gain reception to rules and regulations for the more orderly practice of heathenism already established. To be acquainted with the various laws and constitutions of civilized nations, esi)ecially of those who flourish in our o^vn time, is, perhaps, the most useful part of knowledge : wherein though your lordship, who shines with so much distinction in the noblest assembly in the world, pecuharly excels; yet as the law of Mohammed, by reason of the odium it hes under, and the strange- ness of the language in which it is written, has been so much neglected, I flatter myself some things in the following sheets may be new even to a person of your lordship's extensive learning ; and if what I have written may be any way entertaining or acceptai^ie to your lordship, I shall not regret the pains it has cost me. I join with the general voice in wishing your lordship aU the honour and happiness yom* known virtues and merit deserve, and am with perfect respect. My Lokd, Your lordship's most humble And most obedient servant, GEORGE SALE. TO THE EEIDEK I IMAGINE it almost needless either to make an apology for publishing the following translation, or to go about to prove it a work of use as well as curiosity. They must have a mean opinion of the Christian religion, or be but ill grounded therein, who can apprehend any danger from so manifest a forgery ; and if the religious and civil institutions of foreign nations are worth our knowledge, those of Mohammed, the lawgiver of the Arabians, and founder of an empire which, in less than a century, spread itself over a greater part of the world than the Romans were ever masters of, must needs be so ; whether we consider their extensive obtaining, or our frequent intercourse with those who are governed thereby. I shall not here inquire into the reasons why the law of Mohammed has met with so unexampled a reception in the world (for they are greatly deceived who imagine it to have been propagated by the sword alone), or by what means it came to be embraced by nations which never felt the force of the Mohammedan arms, and even by those which stripped the Arabians of their conquests, and put an end to the sovereignty and very being of their Khalifs : yet it seems as if there was something more than what is vulgarly imagined, in a religion which has made so surprising a progress. But whatever use an impartial version of the Koran may be of in other respects, it is abso- lutely necessary to undeceive those who, from the ignorant or unfair translations which have appeared, have entertained too favourable an opinion of the original, and also to enable us effectually to expose the imposture : none of those who have hitherto undertaken that province, not excepting Dr. Prideaux himself, having succeeded to the satisfaction of the judicious, for want of being complete masters of the controversy. The writers of the Romish communion, in particular, are so far from having done any service in their refutations of Mohammedism, that by endeavouring to defend their idolatry and other superstitions, they have rather contributed to the increase of that aversion which the Moham- medans in general have to the Christian religion, and given them great advantages in the dispute. The protestants alone are able to attack the Koran with success ; and for them, I trust. Providence has reserved the glory of its overthrow. In the mean time, if I might presume to lay down rules to be observed by those who attempt the conversion of the Mohammedans, they should be the same which the learned and worthy bishop Kidder* has prescribed for the conversion of the Jews, and which may, mutatis mutandis, be equally applied to the former, notwithstanding the despicable opinion that writer, for want of being better acquainted with them, entertained of those people, judging them scarce fit to be argued with. The first of these rules is. To avoid compulsion j which though it be not in our power to employ at present, I hope will not be made use of when it is. The second is. To avoid teaching doctrines against common sense ; the Mohammedans not being such fools (whatever we may think of them) as to be gained over in this case. The worshipping of images and the doctrine of transubstantiation are great stumbling-blocks * In his Demonstr. of the Mcssias, part 3, chap. 2. Vi TO THE READER. to the Mohammeclans, and the church which teacheth them is very unfit to bring those people over. The third is, To avoid weak arguments : for the Mohammedans are not to be converted with these, or hard words. We must use them with humanity, and dispute against them with arguments that are proper and cogent. It is certain that many Christians, who have written against them, have been very defective tliis way : many have used arguments that have no force, and advanced propositions that are void of truth. This method is so for from convincing that it rather serves to harden them. The Mohammedans ^vill be apt to conclude we have little to say, when we ui-ge them with arguments that are trifling or untrue. We do but lose ground when we do this ; and instead of gaining them, we expose ourselves and oiu* cause also. We must not give them ill words neither ; but must avoid all reproachful language, all that is sarcastical and biting : this never did good from pulj^it or Tpveas. The softest words will make the deejDest impression ; and if we think it a fault in them to give ill language, we cannot be excused when we imitate them. The fourth rule is, Not to quit any article of the Christian faith to gain the Mohammedans. It is a fond conceit of the Socinians, that we shall upon their principles be most like to prevail upon the Mohammedans : it is not tiaie in matter of fact. We must not give up any article to gain them : but then the church of Rome ought to part with many practices and some doctrines. We are not to design to gain the Mohammedans over to a system of dogmas, but to the ancient and primitive faith. I believe nobody will deny but that the rules here laid down are just : the latter part of the third, which alone my design has given me occasion to practise, I think so reasonable, that I have not, in speaking of Mohammed or his Koran, allowed myself to use those opprobrious appellations, and unmannerly expressions, which seem to be the strongest arguments of several who have written against them. On the contrary, I have thought myself obliged to treat both with common decency, and even to approve such particulai-s as seemed to me to deserve approbation : for how criminal soever Mohammed may have been in imposing a false religion on mankind, the praises due to his reiil vii-tues ought not to be denied him ; nor can I do other^vi3e than applaud the candoui' of the pious and learned Spanhemius, who,' though he owned him to have been a wicked impostor, yet acknowledged him to have been richly furnished with natural endowments, beautiful in his person, of a subtle wit, agreeable behaviour, showing liberality to the poor, courtesy to every one, fortitude against his enemies, and above all a high reverence for the name of God ; severe against the perjured, adulterei's, murderers, slanderers, prodigals, covetous, false wit- nesses, &c., a great preacher of patience, charity, mercy, beneficence, gi-atitude, honouring of parents and superiors, and a frequent celebrator of the divine praises.* Of the several translations of the Koran now extant, there is but one which tolerably represents the sense of the original ; and that being in Latin, a new version became necessary, at least to an English reader. What Bibliander published for a Latin translation of that book * Id certum, naturalibus egregie dotibus instmctum Muhammedem, forma pr»- stanti, ingenio callido, moribus facetis, ac prse se ferentem liberalitatem in egenos, comitatem in singulos, fortitudinem in hostes, ac prie ceteris reverentiam divini nominis, — Severas fuit in perjnros, adulteros, homicidas, obtrectatores, prodigos, avaros, falsos testes, &c. Magnus idem patientiie, charitatis, misericordiie, bene- ficentiae, gcatitudinis, honoris in parentes ac superioces praeco, ut et dfvinarum laudum. — Hist. Ecdes. stc. 7, c. 7, lein. 5, et 7. TO THE READEB. \n deserves not the name of a translation ; the unaccountable liberties therein taken, and the numberless faults, both of omission and commission, leaving scarce any resemblance of the original. It was made near six hundred years ago, being finished in 1143, by Kobertus Ketenensis, an EngKshman, with the assistance of Hermannus Dalmata, at the request of Peter, abbot of Clugny, who paid them well for their pains. From this Latin version was taken the Italian of Andrea Arrivabene, notwithstanding the pretences in his dedication of its being done imme- diately from the Arabic ;* wherefore it is no wonder if the transcript be yet more faulty and absurd than the copy.t About the end of the fifteenth century, Johannes Andreas, a native of Xativa in the kingdom of Valencia, who fi^om a Mohammedan 'doctor became a Christian priest, translated not only the Koran, but also its glosses, and the seven books of the Sonna, out of Arabic into the Arragonian tongue, at the command of Martin Garcia,;]: bishop of Barcelona, and inquisitor of Arragon. Whether this translation were ever published or not I am wholly ignorant ; but it may be presumed to have been the better done for being the work of one bred up in the Mohammedan religion and learning; though his refutation of that religion, which has had several editions, gives no great idea of his abilities. Some years within the last century, Andrew du Ryer, who had been consul of the French nation in Egypt, and was tolerably skilled in the Turkish and, Arabic languages, took the pains to translate the Koran into his own tongue : but his performance, though it be beyond comparison preferable to that of Retenensis, is far from being a just translation ; there being mistakes in every page, besides frequent transpositions, omissions, and additions, § faults unpardonable in a work of this natiu-e. And what renders it still more incomplete is, the want of notes to explain a vast number of passages, some of which are difficult, and others impossible to be understood, without proper explications, were they translated ever so exactly; which the author is so sensible of that he often refers his reader to the Arabic commentators. || The English version is no other than a translation of Du Kyer's, and that a very bad one ; for Alexander Ross, who did it, being utterly unacquainted with the Arabic, and no great master of the French, has added a number of fresh mistakes of his own to those of Du Ryer; not to mention the mean- ness of his language, which would make a better book ridiculous. * His words are : " Questo libro, che gia havevo a commune utilita di moiti fatto dal proprio testo Arabo tradurre nella nostra volgar lingua Italiana," &c. And afterwards: "Questo e I'Alcorano di Macometto, il quale, come ho gia detto, ho fatto dal suo idioma tradurre," &c. t Vide Joseph. Scalig. Epist. 361 et 362; et Selden. de Success, ad Leges Ebraeor. p. 9. t J. Andreas, in Proef. ad Tractat. suum de Confusione Sectse Mahometanse. § Vide Windet. de Vita Functorum statu, sect. 9. II •' If,'' says Savary, " the Koran, which is extolled throughout the East for tbe perfection of its style, and the magnificence of its imagery, seems, under the pen of Du Ryer, to be only a dull and tiresome rhapsody, the blame must be laid on his manner of translating. This book is divided into verses, like the Psalms of David. This kind of writing, which was adopted by the prophets, enables prose to make use of the bold terms and the figurative expressions of poetry. Du Ryer, paying no respect whatever to the text, has connected the verses together, and made of them a continuous discourse. To accomplish this misshapen assemblage, he has had recourse to frigid conjunctions, and to trivial phrases, which, destroying the dignity of the ideas, and the charm of the diction, render it impossible to recognize the original. While reading his translation, no one could ever imagine that the Koran is the masterpiece of the Arabic language, which is fertile in fine writers j yet this is the judgment which antiquity has passed on it." viii TO THE READER. In 1698, a Latiu tranalation of the Koran, made by Father Lewis Mar- racci, who had been confessor to Pope Innocent XI., was published at Padua, together with the original text, accompanied by explanatory notes and a refutation. This translation of Marracci's, genemlly speaking, is very exact ; but adheres to the Arabic idiom too literally to be easily under- stood, unless I am much deceived, by those who are not vei-sed in the Mohamuiedan learning.* The notes he has added are indeed of great use ; but his refutations, winch swell the work to a large volume, are of little or none at all, being often unsatisfactory, and sometimes impertinent. The work, however, with all its faults, is very valuable, and I should be guilty of ingratitude, did I not acknowledge myself much obliged thereto ; but still, being in Latin, it can be of no use to those who imderstand not that tongue. Having therefore undertaken a new translation, I have endeavoured to do the original impartial justice, not having, to the best of my knowledge, represented it, in any one instance, either better or worse than it really is. I have thought myself obliged, indeed, in a piece which pretends to be the "Word of God, to keep somewhat scrupulously close to the text ; by which means the language may, in some places, seem to express the Arabic a little too literally to be elegant English : but this, I hope, has not happened oft^n ; and I flatter myself that the style I have made use of will not only give a more genuiue idea of the original than if I had taken more liberty (which would have been much more for my ease), but will soon become familiar ; for we must not expect to read a version of so extraordinary a book with the same ease and pleasure as a modem composition. In the notes my view has been briefly to explain the text, and especially the difficult and obscure passages, from the most approved commentators, and that generally in their own words, for whose opinions or expressions, where liable to censure, I am not answerable ; my province being only fairly to represent their expositions, and the little I have added of my own, or from European ^^Titers, being easily discernible. "Where I met with any circumstance which I imagined might be curious or entertaining, I have not failed to produce it. The Preliminary Discourse will acquaint the reader with the most material particulars proper to be kno^^^l previously to the entering on the Koran itself, and which could not so conveniently have been thrown into the notes. And I have taken care, both in the Preliminary Discourse and the notes, constantly to quote my authorities and the writers to whom I have been beholden ; but to none have I been more so than to the learned Dr. Pocock, whose Specimen Historiae Arabum is the most useful and accurate work that has been hitherto published concerning the antiquities of that nation, and ought to be read by ever}^ curious inquirer into thenu As I have had no opportunity of consulting public libraries, the manu- scripts of which I have made use throughout the whole work have been such as I had in my o^\ti study, except only the Commentary of al Bei- dr^vi, and the Gospel of St. Barnabas. The first belongs to the library of the Dutch church in Austin Friars, and for the use of it I have been chiefly • Of ^Marracci's translation Savary says : " Marracci, that learned monk, who spent forty years in translating and refuting the Koran, proceeded on the right system. He divided it into verses, according to the text ; but, neglecting the pre- cepts of a great master, ' Ncc verbum verbo curabis reddere, fidus Interpres,' &c. he translated it literally. He has not expressed the ideas of the Koran, but tra- vestied the words of it into barbarous Latin. Yet, though all the beauties of the original are lost in this translation, it id preferable to that by Du liyer." TO THE READER. IX indebted to the Rev. Dr. Bolton, one of the ministers of that church : the other was very obligingly lent me by the Rev. Dr. Holme, rector of Hedley in Hampshire ; and I take this opportimity of returning both those gentle- men my thanks for their favours. The merit of al Beidawi's Commentary will appear from the frequent quotations I have made thence ; but of the gospel of St. Barnabas (which I had not seen Avhen the little I have said of it in the Preliminaiy Discourse,* and the extract I had borrowed from M. de la Monnoye and Mr. Toland,t were printed ofi), I must beg leave to give some further account. The book is a moderate quarto, in Spanish, written in a very legible hand, but a little damaged towards the latter end. It contains two huit* dred and twenty-two chapters of unequal length, and four hundred and twenty pages ; and is said, in the front, to be translated from the Italian, by an Arragonian Moslem, named Mostafa de Aranda. There is a preface prefixed to it, wherein the discoverer of the original MS., who was a Chris- tian monk, called Fra Marino, tells us, that having accidentally met with a writing of Irenaeus (among others), wherein he speaks against St. Paul, alleging for his authority the gospel of St. Barnabas, he became exceedingly desirous to find this gospel ; and that God, of his mercy, having made him very intimate with Pope Sixtus "V., one day, as they were together in that Pope's library, his holmess fell asleep, and he, to employ himself, reaching down a book to read, the first he laid his hand on proved to be the very gospel he wanted : overjoyed at the discovery, he scrupled not to hide his prize in his sleeve, and on the Pope's awaking, took leave of him, carry- ing with him that celestial treasure, by reading of which he became a convert to Mohammedism. This gospel of Barnabas contains a complete history of Jesus Christ from his birth to his ascension ; and most of the circumstances of the four real gospels are to be found therein, but many of them turned, and some artfully enough, to favour the Mohammedan system. From the design of the whole, and the frequent interpolations of stories and passages wherein Mohammed is spoken of and foretold by name, as the messenger of God, and the great prophet who was to perfect the dispensation of Jesus, it appears to be a most barefaced forgery. One particular I observe therein induces me to believe it to have been dressed up by a renegade Christian, slightly instructed in his new religion, and not educated a Mohammedan (unless the fault be imputed to the Spanish, or perhaps the Italian translator, and not to the original compiler), I mean the giving to Mohammed the title of Messiah, and that not once or twice only, but in several places : whereas the title of the Messiah, or, as the Arabs write it, al Masih, i. e., Christ, is appropriated to Jesus in the Koran, and is constantly applied by the Mohammedans to him, and never to their own prophet. The passages produced from the Italian MS. by M. de la Monnoye are to be seen in this Spanish version almost word for word. But to return to the following work. Though I have freely censured the former translations of the Koran, I would not therefore be suspected of a design to make my own pass as free from faults : I am very sensible it is not ; and I make no doubt but the few who are able to discern them, and know the difficulty of the undertaking, will give me fair quarter. I like- wise flatter myself that they, and all considerate persons, will excuse the delay which has happened in the publication of this work, when they are informed that it was carried on at leisure times only, and amidst the necessary avocations of a troublesome profession. * Sect. iv. p. 53. t In not. ad cap. 3, p. 42. A SKETCH LIFE OF GEORGE SALE. Of tlie life of George Sale, a man of extensive learning, and con- siderable literary talent, very fe^^ particulars have been transmitted to us by his contemporaries. He is said to have been bom in the county of Kent, and the time of his birth must have been not long previous to the close of the seventeenth century. His education he received at the King's School, Canterbury. Yoltaire, who bestovrs high praise on the version of the Koran, asserts him to have spent five-and-twenty years in Arabia, and to have acquired in that coimtiy his profound knowledge of the Arabic language and customs. On vrhat authority this is asserted it would now be fruitless to endeavour to ascertain. But that the assertion is an erroneous one, there can be no reason to doubt ; it being ojiposed by the stubborn evidence of dates and facts. It is almost certain that Sale was brought up to the law, and that he practised it for many years, if not till the end of his career. He is said, by a co-existing wiiter, to have quitted his legal pursuits, for the pui'pose of applying himself to the study of the eastern and other languages, both ancient and modem. His guide through the labyrinth of the oriental dialects was Mr. Dadichi, the king's interpreter. If it be true that he ever relinquished the practice of the law, it would appear that he must have resimied it before his decease ; for, in his address to the reader, prefixed to the Koran, he pleads, as an apology for the delay which had occurred in publishing the volume, that the work " was carried on at leisure times only, and amidst the necessary avocations of a troublesome profession." This alone would suffice to show that Yoltaire was in error. But to this must be added, that the existence of Sale was terminated at an early period, and that, in at least his latter years, he was engaged in literaiy labours of no trifling mag- nitude. The story of his having, during a quarter of a century, resided in Arabia, becomes, therefore, an obvious impossibility, and must be dismissed to take its place among those fictions by which biography has often been encumbered and disgraced. Among the few productions of which Sale is known to be the author is a part of " The General Dictionary," in ten volumes, folio. To the translation of Bayle, which is incorporated with this volu mi nous work, he is stated to have been a large contributor. When the plan of the Universal History was arranged, Sale was one of those who were selected to carry it into execution. His coadjutoi-s were LIFE OP GEORGE SALE. xi Swinton, eminent as an antiquary, and remarkable for absence of mind ; Sbelvocke, originally a naval officer ; the well informed, intelligent, and laborious Campbell ; that singular character, George Psalmanazar ; and Archibald Bower, who afterwards became an object of unenviable noto- riety. The portion of the history which was supplied by Sale comprises " The Introduction, containing the Cosmogony, or Creation of the World ; " and the whole, or nearly the whole, of the succeeding chapter, which traces the narrative of events from the creation to the flood. In the per- formance of his task, he displays a thorough acquaintance with his subject ; and his style, though not polished into elegance, is neat and perspicuous. In a French biographical dictionary, of anti-liberal prin- ciples, a writer accuses him of having adopted a system hostile to tradition and the Scriptures, and composed his account of the Cosmogony with the view of giving currency to his heretical opinions. Either the accuser never read the article which he censures, or he has wilfully misrepresented it j for it affords the fullest contradiction to the charge, as does also the sequent chapter ; and he must, therefore, be contented to choose between the demerit of being a slanderer through blundering and reckless igno- rance, or through sheer malignity of heart. Though his share in these publications affords proof of the erudition and ability of Sale, it probably would not alone have been sufficient to preserve his name from oblivion. His claim to be remembered rests principally on his version of the Koran, which appeared in November, 1734, in a quarto volume, and was inscribed to Lord Carteret. The dedicator does not disgrace himself by descending to that fulsome adula- tory style which was then too frequently employed in addressing the great. As a translator, he had the field almost entirely to himself ; there being at that time no English translation of the Mohammedan civil and spiritual code, except a bad copy of the despicable one by Du Ryer. His per- formance was universally and justly approved of, still remains in repute, and is not likely to be superseded by any other of the kind. It may, perhaps, be regretted, that he did not preserve the division into verses, as Savary has since done, instead of connecting them into a continuous narrative. Some of the poetical spirit is unavoidably lost by the change. But this is all that can be objected to him. It is, I believe, admitted, that he is in no common degree faithful to his original j and his numerous notes, and Preliminary Discourse, manifest such a perfect knowledge of Eastern habits, manners, traditions, and laws, as could have been acquired only by an acute mind, capable of submitting to years of patient toiL But, though his work passed safely through the ordeal of criticism, it has been made the pretext for a calumny against him. It has been declared, that he puts the Christian religion on the same footing with the Mohammedan ; and some charitable persons have even supposed him to have been a disguised professor of the latter. The origin of this slander we may trace back to the strange obliquity of principles, and the blind merciless rage which are characteristic of bigotry. Sale was not one of those who imagine that the end sanctifies the means, and that the best interests of mankind can be advanced by violence, by railing, or by de^^.ating from the laws of truth, in order to blacken an advei-sary. He enters into the consideration of the character of Mohammed with a calm philosophic spirit ; repeatedly censuring his imposture, touching upon his subterfuges and inventions, but doing justice to him on those points on which the pretended prophet is really worthy of praise. The rules which, in his address to the reader, he lays down for the conversion of Mo- Xn XIFE OF GEORGE SALE. hammedans, are dictated by soimd sense and amiable feelings. They are, however, not calculated to satisfy those who think the sword aud the fagot to be the only proper instiiiments for the extirpation of heresy. That he places Islamism on an equality with Christianity is a gi'oss falsehood. " As Mohammed," says he, " gave his Arabs the best religion he could, preferable, at least, to those of the ancient pagan lawgivers, I confess I cannot see why he deserves not equal respect, though not with ]Moses or Jesus Christ, whose laws came really from heaven, yet with Minos or Numa, notwithstanding the distinction of a learned writer, who seems to think it a greater crime to make use of an imposture to set up a new religion, founded on the acknowledgment of one true God, and to destroy idolatry, than to use the same means to gain reception to rules and regulations for the more orderly practice of heathenism already estab- lished." This, and no more, is " the very head and front of his offending ; " and from this it woidd, I think, be difficult to extract any proof of his belief in the divine mission of Mohammed. If the charge brought against him be not groundless, he must have added to his other sins that of being a consummate hypocrite, and that, too, without any obvious necessity ; he having been, till the period of his decease, a member of the Society for the Promoting of Christian Elnowledge. In 173G a society was established for the encouragement of learning. It comprehended many noblemen, and some of the most eminent literary men of that day. Sale was one of the founders of it, and was appointed on the first committee. The meetings were held weekly, and the com- mittee decided upon what works should be printed at the expense of the society, or with its assistance, and what should be the price of them. "When the cost of printing was repaid, the property of the work reverted to the author. This establishment did not, I imagine, exist for any length of time. The attention of the public has been recently called to a plan of a similar kind. Sale did not long surv^ive the carrying of this scheme into effect. He died of a fever, on the 13th of November, 1736, at his house in Surrey- street, Strand, after an illness of only eight days, and was buried at St. Clement Danes. He was under the age of forty when he was thus suddenly snatched from his family, which consisted of a wife and five children. Of his sons, one was educated at New College, Oxford, of which he became Fellow, and he was subsequently elected to a Fellow- ship in Winchester College. Sale is described as having had " a healthy constitution, and a communicative mind in a comely person." His library was valuable, and contained many rare and beautiful manuscripts in the Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and otlier languages ; a cii'cumstance which seems to show that poverty, so often the lot of men whose lives are devoted to literary pursuits, was not one of the evils with which he was compelled to encoimter. R A. DAYENPORT. ADYERTISEMENT. The present Edition of Sale's Translation of the Koran will, it is hoped, be found to possess some advantages over every other. Many useful notes, and several hundred various readings, are added from the French version by Savary. Of the various readings, the major part give a different meaning from that which is adopted by the English translator ; while the others, though agreeing with his idea of the text, are more poetically expressed. Great care has been taken to prevent the work from being disfigured by typo- graphical errors, which are peculiarly objectionable in a work of this kind, because they render it unsafe to be consulted. A Sketch of the Life of Sale is also prefixed, which, though brief, contains several particulars not hitherto stated by any of his biographers, and vindicates, and it is believed satisfactorily, his memory from some aspersions that have been illiberally cast upon it by the prejudiced or the ignorant. CONTENTS A TABLE THE SECnONS Of THE PEELIMlNAfir DISCOUESE. Sect. !Page 1. — Of the Arabs before Mohammed ; or, as tliey express it, in the Tiine of Ignorance J their History, Religion^ Learning, and Customs 1 2. — Of the State of Christianitv, particularly of the Eastern Churches, and of Judaism, at the time of Mohammed's appearance ; and of the methods taken by him for the establishing his Religion, and the circumstances which concurred thereto . • • • • • ,23 3. Of the Koran itself, the Peculiarities of that book ; the Manner of its being vrritten and published, and the general design of it , , 40 4. Of the Doctrines and positive precepts of the Koran which relate to Faith and Religious Duties , . . . • • - 50 5. — Of certain negative Precepts in the Koran . . , • .87 6.— Of the Institutions of the Koran in Civil Affairs ... 94 7. Of the Months commanded by the Koran to be kept sacred ; and of the setting apart Friday for the especial service of God , ^ 105 8. Of the principal Sects among the Mohammedans ; and of those who have pretended to Prophecy among the Arabs, in or since the time of Mo- hammed ....-...• 107 A TABLE OF THE CHAPTEES or THE KORAN.* Chap. Rige. 1 — Intitled, The Preface, or Introduction; containing? verses . . . • , 1 2 — Intltled, The Cow; containing 286 verses . . . . . , , , 2 3.— Intitled, Tho Family of Imr^n; containing 200 (199) verses . . . , .85 4 Intitled, Women ; containing 175 verses . . . . . . . , 59 5.— Intitled, The Table ; containing 120 verses . . . . . , .81 6 — Intitled, Cattle (Flocks) ; containing 165 verses . . • . , . . 98 7.— Intitled, Al Araf; containing 206 (205) verses . . . . . . .116 8.— Intitled, The Spoils; containing 76 verses . ....... 138 9.— Intitled, The Declaration of Immunity (Convfrsion); containing 139 (130) verses . . 148 10.— Intitled, Jonas; containing 109 verses ........ 166 11.— Intitled, Hud; containing 123 verses ........ 175 12. — Intitled, Joseph; containing 111 verses ... • . • * . 187 13. — Intitled, Thunder ; containing 43 verses ........ 200 14. — Intitled, Abraham; containing 52 verses . . . . . • . . 204 L5.— Intitled, Al Hejr; containing 99 (100) verses ....... 209 16.— Intitled, The Bee (r/ie 5ee5); containing 128 verses . , , , , . . 214 17.— Intitled, The Night Journey; containing 110 (111) verses • . . • .226 18.— Intitled, The Cave; containing 111 (110) verses . . . , , . , 237 19.— Intitled, Mary; containing 80 (98) verses ...,.;,, 248 20.— Intitled, T. H. ; containing 134 (135) verses . . . * . , , . , 255 21.— Intitled, The Prophets; containing 112 verses . . ' . . . . 264 22..— Intitled, The Pilgrimage ; containing 78 verses • . ... . , 273 23.— Intitled, The True Believers; containing 118 versea . . . . . .-281 24.— Intitled, Light; containing 74 (64) verses ........ 287 25.— Intitled, Al Forkan (The Koran) ; containing 77 verses ..... 296 26.— Intitled, The Poets ; containing 227 (228) verses . , , , . , . 301 27.— Intitled, The Ant ; containing 93 (95) verses ... .... 309 28.— Intitled, The Story (The History) ; containing 87 (88) verses . . , . . 316 29.— Intitled, The Spider ; containing 69 verses . . , . , . . 325 30.— Intitled, The Greeks; containing 60 verses ........ 330 31.— Intitled, LokmSn; containing 34 verses .....,,. 335 32.— Intitled, Adoration ; containing 29 (30) verses . . ... . , 338 33.— Intitled, The Confederates (The Conspirators) ; containing 73 verses . . , .341 34.— Intitled, Saba ; containing 54 verses ..... .... 351 35.— Intitled, The Creator (7'Atf^ng'g/5); containing 45 verses . ' , . . .357 86 —Intitled, Y. S. (I. S.) ; containing 83 verses . . . . . . . , 361 37.— Intitled, Those who rank themselves in Order (The Classes) ; containing 182 verses . • 365 38.— Intitled, S.; containing 86 (88) verses. . . . . . . . , 371 39.— Intitled, The Troops ; containing 75 verses ..... ^ , 377 40.— Intitled, The True Believer ; containing 85 verses . . . . . ' • . 383 41. — Intitled, Are distinctly explained (2%e iS'jr^Zaraaiion) ; containing 54 (55) verses . . 389 42. — Intitled, Consultation (7%e CoMncj'O; containing 53 verses . . . , , , 398 43.— Intitled, The Ornaments of Gold (Dress) ; containing 89 verses .... 397 44.— Intitled, Smoke; containing 57 (59) verses ... ..... 402 45.— Intitled, The Kneeling; containing 36 verses ..,,,., 404 46.— Intitled, Al Ahkaf ; containing 35 verses . . . . . . , . 406 47.— Intitled, Mohammed (The Battle) ; containing 38 (40) rerses , . . . .410 48.— Intitled, The Victory; containing 29 verses . . . . . . . , 413 49.— Intitled, The Inner Apartments (7%e5anc/«ary); containing 18 verses . . . 417 60.— Intitled, K.; containing 45 verses ..... .... 420 51.— Intitled, The Dispersing (T'^e.BreaiA o/Wfl TFintfi); containing 60 verses . , w 422 62.— Intitled, The Mountain ; containing 48 (49) verses * . . . , . . 425 ♦ The titles and figures within parentheses are those which are given in the translation by Savabt. Chap. 53.— 54.— 55. 56,-: 57. 58 59.— 60.— 61.- G2.- 63. 64 65. TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS, 67.— 70.- 71- 72.- 73.- 74.- 75.- 76.- 77.- 78.- 79.- 80.- 81.- 82.- 83.- 31.- 85.- 86.- 87.- 88.- 89.- SC- SI.. 9i- 93.- 94. 95. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109 no. 111. 112. 113. lU. rag*. . 4'27 , 429 , 432 435 , 438 . 439 , 443 , 446 . 449 . 450 , 451 . 452 . 454 . 455 . 468 . 460 . 462 . 464 . 466 . 467 . 469 . 471 . 473 . 474 . 476 . 477 . 478 . 479 . 480 Intitled, The Star; containing 61 verses . , > . . ■Intitled^ The Moon ; conUining 55 verses .... Intitledi The Mercifal ; containing 78 verses .... Intitled, The Inevitable (The Judgment) ; containing 99 (96) verses Intitled, Iron ; containing 29 verses ..... Intitled, She who disputed (The Complainf) ; containing 22 verses Intitled, The Emigration (^The Assembly) ; containing 24 (25) verses . Intitled, She who is tried {The Proof) ; containing 13 verses Intitled, Battle Array {The Array); containing 14 verses Intitled, The Assembly (Fr/Jay); containing 11 verses Intitled, The Hypocrites {The Impious); containing 11 verses . Intitled, Mutual Deceit (/Tnacery); containing 18 verses . •Intitled, Divorce; containing 12 verses ..... -Intitled, Prohibition; containing 12 verses .... ntitled. The Kingdom; containing 30 verses .... -Intitled, The Pen ; containing 52 verses .... -Intitled, The Infallible {The Inevitable Day) ; containing 52 verses -Intitled, The Steps {The Classes or The Orders) ; containing 44 verses -Intitled, Noah; containing 23 verses ..... -Intitled, The Genii ; containing 28 verses .... -Intitled, The Wrapped np {The Prophet clothed in his Dress) ; containing 19 (20) -Intitled, The Covered {The Mantle); containing 55 verses . -Intitled, The Resurrection; containing 40 verses . -Intitled, Man; containing 31 (30) verses .... -Intitled, Those which are sent {The Messengers); containing 50 verses -Intitled, The News {The Important Xews) ; containing 40 (41) verses -Intitled, Those who tear forth {The Ministers of Vengeance); containing -Intitled, He frowned (The Frotcning Broic) ; containing 42 verses -Intitled, The Folding up {The Darkness) ; containing 29 (28) verses . -Intitled, The Cleaving asunder {The Breaking); containing 19 verses -Intitled, Those who give short Measure or Weight {The Unjust Measure) ; containing 36 verses ............ 482 -Intitled, The Rending in sunder {The Opening) ; containing 23 (25) verses . . 484 -Intitled, The Celestial Signs ; containing 22 verses . . . . . .485 -Intitled, The Star which appeared by Night {The Xocturnal Star) ; containing 17 verses . 486 -Intitled, The Most High ; containing 19 verses . . . . . . . 486 -Intitled The Overwhelming {The Gloomy Veil) ; containing 26 (27) verses . . .487 —Intitled, The Day-break; containing 30 verses . . . . . . . 488 -Intitled, The Territory {The City) ; containing 20 verses . . . . .490 —Intitled, The Sun; containing 15 (16) verses . . . . . , . 491 —Intitled The Night; containing 21 verses . . . . . . ,491 -Intitled, The Brightness (r/ie^urj m AisJ/ertcfjan); containing 11 verses . , . 492 —Intitled, Have we not opened {The Expanding) ; containing 8 verses .... 498 —Intitled, The Fig {The Fig-tree) ; containing 8 verses . . . . , . 493 —Intitled, Congealed Blood {TJie Union of the Sexes) ; containing 19 verses . • . 494 —Intitled, Al Kadr {The Celebrated Night) ; containing 5 verses . . . . . 495 —Intitled, The Evidence ; containing 8 verses ... .... 495 —Intitled, The Earthquake ; containing 8 verses . . . . . , , 406 —Intitled, The War Horses which run swiftly (T/ie Courierj); containing 11 verses . , 497 —Intitled, The Striking (r/i* Z>ay 0/ Ca?aOTir(<5); containing 10 (8) verses . , . 497 —Intitled, The Emulous Desire of Multiplying {The Love of Gain) ; containing 8 verses . 498 —Intitled, The Afternoon; containing 3 verses . . . .... 498 - Intitled, The Slanderer ; containing 9 verses .,..,., 499 -Intitled The Elephant ; containing 5 verses . . . . . , . , 499 Intitled, Koreish {The Koreshites) ; containing 4 verses . . , , . 601 —Intitled, Necessaries {The Succouring Band) ; containing 7 verses . . , , 501 — Intitled, AJ Cawthar; containing 3 verses ....,,, 502 , — Intitled, The Unbelievers; containing 6 verses . . . . . . . 503 ,— Intitled, Assistance; containing 3 verses . . .... 503 —Intitled, Abu lAheb ; containing 5 verses . . ..... 504 —Intitled, The Declaration of God's Unity (TfuVj/); containing 4 verses . . ; 604 —Intitled, The Day-break (T/ie (7od o/i/orntn^); containing 5 Tcrscs . . • . 605 .—Intitled, Men ; containing 6 verses . , . ... , . .505 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE SECTION I. OF THE ARABS BEFORE MOHAMMED, OR, AS THEY EXPRESS IT, IN THE TIME OF IGNORANCE ; THEIR HISTORY, RELIGION, LEARNING, AND CUSTOMS. The Arabs, and the country they inhabit, which themselves call Jezirat al Arab, or the Peninsula of the Ajrabians, but we Arabia, were so named from Araba, a small territoiy in the province of Tehama -^ to which Yarab the son of Kaht&n, the father of the ancient Arabs, gave his name, and where, some ages after, dwelt Ismael the sou of Abraham by Hagar. The Christian writers for several centuries speak of them under the appellation of Saxons; the most certain derivation of which word is from shark, the east, where the descendants of Joctan, the Kahtan of the Arabs, are placed by Moses,' and in which quarter they dwelt in respect to the Jews.^ The name of Arabia (used in a more extensive sense) sometimes com- prehends all that large tract of land bounded by the river Euphrates, the Persian Gulf, the Sindian, Indian, and Red Seas, and part of the Mediter- ranean : above two-thirds of which countiy, that is, Arabia properly so called, the Arabs have possessed almost from the flood; and have mad© themselves masters of the rest, either by settlements, or continual in- cursions ; for which reason the Turks and Persians at this day call the whole Arabistan, or the country of the Arabs. But the limits of Arabia, in its more usual and proper sense, are much narrower, as reaching no farther northward than the Isthmus, which runs from Aila to the head of the Persian Gulf, and the borders of the temtory of Cufa ; which tract of land the Greeks nearly comprehended under the name of Arabia the Happy. The eastern geographers make Arabia Petrsea to belong partly to Egypt, and partly to Shkm or Syria, and the Desert Arabia they call the deserts of Syria.^ Proper Arabia is by the oriental writers generally divided into five pro- vinces,^ viz. Yaman, Hejaz, Tehama, ]^ajd, and Yamama; to which some add Bahrein, as a sixth, but this province the more exact make part of ' Pocock, Specim. Hist. Arab. 33. ^ Gen. x. 30. 3 See Pocock, Specim. 33, 34. * Golius ad Alfragan. 78, 79. ^ Strabo says Arabia Felix was in iiis time divided ioto five kingdoms, lib. 16, p. 1129, .B ^ JPRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 8KCT. i. Ir^ :^ others reduce them all to two, Yaman and Hejaz, the last including the three other provinces of Tehama, Najd, and Yamama. The province of Yaman, so called either from its situation to the right hand, or south of the temple of Mecca, or else from the happiness and verdure of its soil, extends itself along the Indian Ocean from Aden to Cape ilasalgat; part of the Red Sea bounds it on the west and south sides, and the prov^ince of Hejaz on the north. ^ It is subdivided into several lesser provinces, as Hadramaut, Shihr, Oman, Najran, ere and there with some fruitful spots, which receive their greatest advantages from their water and palm trees. Tlie province of Hejaz, so named because it divides Najd from Tehama, is bounded on the south by Yaman and Tehama, on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by the deserts of Syria, and on the east by the province of Najd.* This province is famous for its two chief cities, Mecca and Medina, one of which is celebrated for its temple, and having given birtli to Mohammed; and the other for being the place of his residence for the last ten years of his life, and t>f his interment. Mecca, sometimes also called Becca, which words are synonymous, and signify a place of great concourse, is certainly orie of the most ancient cities iu the world : it is by some^ thought to be the Mesa of the scripture,^ a • Gol. ad Alfrajran. 79. ^ La Roqne, Voyage de I'Arab. henr. 121. « Gol. ad Alfragan. 79, 87. « Vovage de I'Arab. hcur. 232. i Vide Dionvs. Peri- <'ges. V. 927, &c. 2 Strabo. I'ib. 16. p. 1132. Arrian. 161. 3 Vovage de I'Arab. heur. 121, 123, 153. * Vide Gol. ad Alfrag. OS. Abiilfcda Descr. Arab. p. 5. * R. Saadias in version. Arab. Pcntat. Scfcr Jucliasiu. 135 b. " Gen. x. 30. SECT. I. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 3 name not unknown to the Arabians, and supposed to be taken from one of Ismael's sons. "^ It is seated in a stony and barren valley, surrounded on all sidea with mountains.^ The length of Mecca, from south to north, is about two miles, and its breadth, from the foot of the mountain Ajyad to the top of another called Koaikaan, about a mile.^ In the midst of this space stands the city, built of stone cut from the neighbouring mountains.^ There being no springs at Mecca,^ at least none but what are bitter and unfit to drink,^ except only the well Zemzem, the water of which, though far the best, y^ cannot be drank for any continuance, being brackish, and causing eruptions in those who drink plentifully of it,^ the inhabitants are obliged to use rain- water which they catch in cisterns.^ But this not being sufiicient, several attempts were made to bring water thither from other places by aqueducts; and particularly about Mohammed's time, Zobair, one of the principal men of the tribe of Koreish, endeavoured at a great expense to supply the city with water from Mount Arafat, but without success ; yet this was effected not many years ago, being begun at the charge of a wife of Soliman the Turkish emperor.^ But, long before this, another aqueduct had been made from a spring at a considerable distance, which was, after several years* labour, finished by the Khalif al Moktader.^ The soil about Mecca is so very barren as to produce no fruits but what are common in the deserts, though the prince or Sharif has a garden well planted at his castle of Marbaa, about three miles westward from the city, where he usually resides. Having therefore no corn or grain of their own growth, they are obliged to fetch it from other places ; ^ and Hashem, Mohammed's great-grandfather, then prince of his tribe, the more effectually to supply them with provisions, aj^pointed two caravans to set out yearly for that purpose, the one in summer, and the other in winter:^ these caravans of purveyors are mentioned in the Koran. The provisions brought by them were distributed also twice a year, viz. in the month of Rajeb, and at the arrival of the pilgrims. They are supplied with dates in great plenty from the adjacent country, and with grapes from Tayef, about sixty miles distant, very few growing at Mecca. The inhabitants of this city are gene- rally very rich, being considerable gainers by the prodigious concourse of people of almost all nations at the yearly pilgrimage, at which time there is a great fair or mart for all kinds of merchandise. They have also great numbers of cattle, and particularly of camels : however, the poorer sort cannot but live very indifferently in a place where almo^ every necessary of life must be purchased with money. Notwithstanding this great sterility near Mecca, yet you are no sooner out of its territory than you meet on all sides with plenty of good springs and streams of running water, with 4 great many gardens and cultivated lands.^ The temple of Mecca, and the reputed holiness of this t^ritmy, will be treated of in a more proper place. Medina, which till Mohammed's r^reat thither was called Yathreb, is a walled city about half as big as Mecca,^ built in a plain, salt in many places, yet tolerably fruitful, particularly in dates, but more especially near the mountains, two of which, Ohod on the north, and Air on the south, are about two leagues distant. Here lies Mohammed interred ^ in a mag- 7 Gol. ad Alfrag. 82. See Gen. xxv. 15. 8 QqI. ib 98. See Pitts' account of the religion and manners of the Mohammedans, p. 96. ^ Sharif al Edrisi apud Poc. Specim. 122. i Ibid. 2 Gol. ad Alfragan. 99. ^ Sharif al Edrisi ubi supra, 124. * Ibid, and Pitts ubi supra, p. 107. ^ Gol. ad Alfrag 99. _ « Ibid. 7 Sharif al Edrisi ubi supra. s jdem ib. » Poc. Specim. 51. * Sharif al Edrisi ubi supra, 125. ^ Id. Vulgo Geogr. Nubiensis, 5. • Though the notion of Mohammed's being buried at Mecca iias been solong explo*. 4 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. r. nificent buiUling, covered with a cupola, and adjoining to the east side of the great temple, which is built in the midst of the city.'* The province of Tehama was so named from the vehement heat of its sandy soil, and is also called Gaur from its low situation ; it is bounded on the west by the Red Sea, and on the other sides by Hejaz and Yaman, extending almost from Mecca to Aden.* The province of Najd, which word signifies a rising country, lies between those of Yamama, Yaman, and Hojaz, and is bounded on the east by Irak.6 The province of YamTima, also called Arud from its oblique situation, in respect of Yaman, is surrounded by the provinces of Najd, Tehama, Bah- rein, Oman, Shihr, Hadramaut, and Saba. The chief city is Yamama, which gives name to the province : it was anciently called Jaw, and is par- ticularly famous for being the residence of Mohammed's competitor, the false prophet, Moseilama.'' The Arabians, the inhabitants of this spacious country, which they have possessed from the most remote antiquity, are distinguished by their own writers into two classes, viz. the old lost Arabians, and the present. The former were, very numerous, and divided into several tribes, which are now all destroyed, or else lost and swallowed up among the other tribes, nor are any certain memoirs or records extant concerning them ;^ though the memory of some very remarkable events and the catastrophe of some tribes have been preserved by tradition, and since confirmed by the authority of the Koran. The most famous tribes amongst these ancient Arabians were Ad, Tha- jnud, Tasm, Jadis, the former Jorham, and Amalek. The tribe of Ad were descended from Ad, the son of Aws,^ the son of Aram,' the son of Sem, the son of Koah, who, after the confusion of tongues, settled in al Ahkaf, or the winding sands, in the province of Hadramaut, where his posterity greatly multiplied. Their first king was Shedad the son of Ad, of whom the eastern writers deliver many fabulous things, particularly that he finished the magnificent city his father had begun, wherein he built a fine palace, adorned with delicious gardens, to em- bellish which he spared neither cost nor labour, purposing thereby to create in his subjects a superstitious veneration of himself as a God.^ This garden or paradise was called the garden of Irem, and is mentioned in the Konln,* and often alluded to by the oriental writers. The city, they tell us, is still fled, yet several modern writers, whether through ignorance or negligence I will not determine, have fallen into it. I shall here take notice only of two ; one is Dr. Smith, who, having lived some time in Turkey, seems to be inexcusable: that gentleman in his Epistles de Moribus ac Institutis Turcarum, no less tlian thrice mentions the Moham- medans visiting the tomb of their prophet at Mecca, and once his being born at Medi- na, the reverse of which is true (see Ep. 1. p. 22; Ep, 2. p 63 and 64). The other is the publisher of the last edition of Sir J«iviandevile's Travels, who, on his author's Baying very truly (p. 50.) that the said tomb was at Methone (i. e. Medina), undertakes to correct the name of the town, which is something corrupted, by putting at the bottom of the page, Mecca. The Abbot de Vcrtot in his History of the order of Malta (vol . i. p. 410. ed. 8vo.), eecms also to have confounded these two cities together, though he had before mentioned Mohammed's sepulchre at ^ledina. However, he is certainly mistaken, when he says that one point of the religion, both of the Christians and Mo- hammedans, was to visit, at least once in their lives, the tomb of the author of their respective faith. Whatever may be the opinion of some Christians, I am well assured the Mohammedans think themselves under no manner of obligation in this respect. * Gol. ad Alfrag. 97. Abulfeda Descr. Arab. p. 40. * Gol. ubi supra, J)5. » Gol. ubi sup. D4. 7 lb. 95. » Abulfarag, p. 159. » Or Uz, Gen. x. 22, 23. 1 Vide Kor. c. 89. Some make Ad the son of Amelek, the son of Ham ; but the other ifi the rficcived opinion. Sec D'Herbel. 51. ' Vide Euud. 498. » Cap. 89. SECT. I. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. S standing in the deserts of Aden, being preserved by providence as a monu- ment of divine justice, though it be invisible, unless very rarely, when God permits it to be seen ; a favour one Colabah pretended to have received in the reign of the Khalif Moawiyah, who sending for him to know the truth of the matter, Colabah related his whole adventure ; that as he was seeking a camel he had lost, he found himself on a sudden at the gates of this city, and entering it saw not one inhabitant, at which being terrified, he stayed no longer than to take with him some fine stones which he showed the Khalif.* The descendants of Ad in process of time falling from the worship of the true God into idolatry, God sent the prophet Hud (who is generally agreed to be Heber)^ to preach to and reclaim them. But they refusing to acknowledge his mission, or to obey him, God sent a hot and sufibcating wind, which blew seven nights and eight days together, and entering at their nostrils passed through their bodies,^ and destroyed them all, a very few only excepted, who had believed in Hud, and retired with him to another place.' That prophet afterwards returned into Hadramaut, and was buried near Hesec, where there is a small town now standing called Kabr Hud, or the sepulchre of Hud. Before the Adites were thus severely punished God, to humble them, and incline them to hearken to the preaching of his prophet, afflicted them with drought for four years, so that all their cattle perished, and themselves were very near it ; upon which they sent Lokman (different from one of the same name who lived in David's time) with sixty others to Mecca to beg rain, which they not obtaining, Lokman with some of his company .stayed at Mecca, and thereby escaped destruction, giving rise to a tribe called the latter Ad, who were afterwards changed into monkeys.* Some commentators on the Koran^ tell us these old Adites were of pro- digious stature, the largest being a hundred cubits high, and the least sixty; which extraordinary size they pretend to prove by the testimony of the Koran.^ The tribe of Tliamud were the posterity of Thamud the son of Gather' the son of Aram, who falling into idolatry, the prophet Saleh was sent to bring them back to the worship of the true God. This prophet lived between the time of Hud and of Abraham, and therefore cannot be the same with the patriarch Selah, as M. d'Herbelot imagines.^ The learned Bochart with more probability takes him to be Phaleg.* A small number of the people of Thamud hearkened to the remonstrances of Saleh, but the rest requiring, as a proof of his mission, that he should cause a she-camel big with young to come out of a rock in their presence, he accordingly obtained it of God, and the camel was immediately delivered of a young one ready weaned; but they, instead of believing, cut the hamstrings of the camel and killed her ; at which act of impiety God being highly displeased, three days after struck them d«ad in their houses by an earthquake and a terrible noise from heaven, which, some^ say, was the voice of Gabriel the archangel crying aloud, Die all of you. Saleh, with those who were reformed by him, were saved from this destruction ; the prophet going into Palestine, and from thence to Mecca,^ where he ended his days. This tribe first dwelt in Yaman, but being expelled thence by Hamyar * D'Herbel. 51. ^ The Jews acknowledge Heber to have been a great prophet. Seder Olam. p. 2. « Al Beidawi. 7 Poc. Spec. 35, &c. ^ ibid, 36. » Jalla- lo'ddin et Zamakhshari. i Kor. c. 7. ^ Qj. Gether. Vide Gen. x. 23. ' D'Her- bel. Bibl. Orient. 740. * Bochart, Geogr. Sac. « See D'Herbel. 366. « Ebn Shohnah. e PBELEMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. i. the son of Saba/ they settled in the temtoiy of Hejr in the province of Hejaz, where their habitations cut out of the rocks, mentioned in the Koran,* are still to be seen, and also the crack of the rock whence the camel issued, which, as an eye-witness^ hath declared, is sixty cubits wide. These houses of the Tharaudites being of the ordinary proportion, are used as an argument to convince those of a mistake, who make this people to have been of a gigantic stature.^ The tragical destructions of these two potent tribes are often insisted on in the Koran, as instances of God's judgment on obstinate unbelievers. The tribe of Tasm were the posterity of Lud the son of Sem, and Jadis of the descendants of Jether.^ These two tribes dwelt promiscuously together under the government of Tasm, till a certain tyi*ant made a law, that no maid of the tribe of Jadis should marry, unless first defloured by him ;^ which the Jadisians not enduring, formed a conspiracy, and inviting the king and chiefs of Tasm to an entertainment, privately hid their swords in the sand, and in the midst of their mirth fell on them and slew them all, and extirpated the greatest part of that tribe ; however, the few who escaped obtaining aid of the king of Yaman, then (as is said) Dhu Habshan Ebn Akran,* assaulted the Jadis and utterly destroyed them, there being scarce any mention made from that time of either of those tribes.^ The former tribe of Jorham (whose ancestor some pretend was one of the eighty persons saved in the ark with Noah, according to a Moham- medan tradition)® was contemporary with Ad, and utterly perished.'' The tribe of Amalek were descended from Amalek the son of Eliphaz the son of Esau,* though some of the oriental authors say Amalek was the son of Ham the son of Noah,^ and others the son of Azd the son of Sem.^ The posterity of this person rendered themselves very powerful,^ and before the time of Joseph, conquered the lower Egypt under their king Walid, the first who took the name of Pharaoh, as the eastern writers tell us;^ seeming by these Amelekites to mean the same people which the Egyptian histories call Phoenician shepherds.^ But after they had possessed the throne of Egypt for some descents, they were expelled by the natives, and at length totally destroyed by the Israelites.^ The present Arabians, according to their own historians, are sprung from two stocks, Kahtan, the same with Joctan the son of Eber,® and Adnan descended in a direct line from Ismael the son of Abraham and Hagar ; the posterity of the former they call al Arab al Ariba,^ i. e. the genuine or pure Arabs, and those of the latter al Arab al mostareba, i. e. naturalized or in- sititious Arabs, though some reckon the ancient lost tribes to have been the only pure Arabians, and therefore call the posterity of Kahtan also Mota- reba, which word likewise signifies insititious Arabs, though in a nearer degree than Mostareba : the descendants of Ismael being the more distant graff. The posterity of Ismael have no claim to be admitted as pure Arabs ; 7 Foe. Spec. 57. * Kor. cap. xv. * Abu ]SIusa al Ashari. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. 37. ^ Abulfeda. * A like custom is said to have been in some manors in England, and also in Scotland, where it was called Culliage or Cullage, having been established by K. Ewen, and abolished by Malcolm III. See Bayle's Diet. Art. Sixte IV. Eem. H. * Poc. Spec. 60. ^ Ibid. 37, &c. « Ibid 38. 7 Ebn Shohnah. » Gen. xxxvi. 12. » Vide D'Herbelot, p. 110. ^ Ebu Shohnah. ^ Vide Numb. xxiv. 20. ' Mirat Cainat. * Vide Joseph, cont. Apion. lib. i. « Vide Exod. xvii. 18, &c. 1 Sam. xv. 2, &c. lb. xxvii. 8, 9- 1 Chron. iv. 43. ^ R. Saad. in vers. Arab. Pentat. Gen. x. 25. Some writers make Kahtaa a descendant of Ismael, but against the current of oriental historians. See Poc. Spec. 39. ^ An expression something like that of St. Paul, who calls himself aa Hebrew of the Hebrews. PhiL iii. 5. BECT. 1. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 7 their ancestor being by origin and language an Hebrew, but having made an alliance with the Jorhamites, by marrying a daughter of Modad, and accustomed himself to their manner of living and language, his descendants became blended with them into one nation. The uncertainty of the descents between Ismael and Adnan, is the reason why they seldom trace their genealogies higher than the latter, whom they acknowledge as father of their tribes ; the descents from him downwards being pretty certain and uncontroverted.® The genealogy of these tribes being of great use to illustrate the Arabian histoiy, I have taken the pains to form a genealogical table from their most approved authors; to which I refer the curious. Besides these tribes of Arabs, mentioned by their own authors, who were all descended from the race of Sera, others of them were the posterity of Ham by his son Gush, which name is in scripture constantly given to the Arabs and their country, though our version renders it Ethiopia ; but strictly speaking, the Cushites did not inhabit Arabia properly so called, but the banks of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf,, whither they came from Chuzestan or Susiana, the original settlement of their father.^ They might probably mix themselves in process of time with the Arabs of the other race, but the eastern writers take little or no notice of them. The Arabians were for some centuries under the government of the descendants of Kahtan ; Yarab, one of his sons, founding the kingdom of Yaman, and Jorham, another of them, that of Hejaz. The province of Yaman, or the better part of it, particularly the provinces of Saba and Hadramaut, was governed by princes of the tribe of Hamyar* though at length the kingdom was translated to the descen- dants of Gahlan his brother, who yet retained the title of king of Hamyar, and had all of them the general title of Tobba, which signifies successor, and was affected to this race of princes, as that of Gaesar was to the Roman emperors, and Khalif to the successors of Mohammed. There were several lesser princes who reigned in other parts of Yaman, and were mostly, if not altogether, subject to the king of Hamyar, whom they called the great king, but of these history has recorded nothing remarkable or that may be depended upon.^ The first great calamity that befell the tribes settled in Yaman was the inundation of Aram, which happened soon after the time of Alexander the Great, and is famous in the Arabian history. No less than eight tribes were forced to abandon their dwellings-upon this occasion, some of which gave rise to the two kingdoms of Ghassan and Hira. And this was probably the time of the migration of those tribes or colonies which were led into Meso- potamia by three chiefs, Beer, Modar, and Rabia, from whom the three pro- vinces of that country are still named Diyar Beer, Diyar Modar, and Diyar Rabia. ^ Abdshems, surnamed Saba, having built the city from him called Saba, and afterwards Mareb, made a vast mound or dam^ to serve as a basin or reservoir to receive the water which came down from the mountains, not only for the use of the inhabitants, and watering their lands, but also to keep the country they had subjected in greater awe by being masters of the water. This building stood like a mountain above their city, and was by them esteemed so strong, that they were in no apprehension of its ever failing. The water rose to the height of almost twenty fathoms, and was kept in on every side by a work so solid, that many of the inhabitants had ®Poc. Spec. p. 40. ^ Vide Hyde, Hist. Rel. voter. Persar. p. 37, &c. ^ Poc. Spec. p. 65, 66. 2 Vide Gol. ad Alfrag. p. 232. ^ p^c. Spec, p.- 57. S PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. i. their houses built upon it. Every family had a certain portion of this water distributed by aqueducts. But at length God being highly dis- pleased at their great pride and insolence, and resolving to humble and disperse them, sent a mighty flood, which broke down the mound by night while the inhabitants were asleep, and carried away the whole city with the neighbouring towns and people.* The tribes which remained in Yaman after this terrible devastation still continued under the obedience of the former princes, till about 70 years before Mohammed, when the king of Ethiopia sent over forces to assist the Christians of Yaman against the cruel persecution of their king Dhu Nowas, a bigoted Jew, whom they drove to that extremity that he forced his horse into the sea, and so losthis life and crown ;^ after which the country was governed by four Ethiopian princes successively, till Selif \he son of Dhu Yazan of the tribe of Hamyar, obtaining succours from Jihosi'U Anushirwan king of Persia, which had been denied him by the emperor Heraclius, recovered the throne and drove out the Ethiopians, but was himself slain by some of them who were left behind. The Persians appointed the succeeding princes till Yaman fell into the hands of Moham- med, to whom Bazan, or rather Badhan, the last of them, submitted, and embraced this new religion.® This kingdom of the Hamyarites is said to have lasted 2020 years,7 or as others say above 3000 j^ the length of the reign of each prince being very uncertain. It has been already observed that two kingdoms were founded by those who left their country on occasion of the inundation of Aram : they were both out of the proper limits of Arabia. One of them was the kingdom of Ghassan. The founders of this kingdom were of the tribe of Azd, who, settling in Syria Damascena near a water called Ghassan, thence took their name, and drove out the Dajaamian Arabs of the tribe of Salih, who before possessed the country ;9 where they maintained their kingdom 400 years, as others say 600, or, as Abulfeda more exactly computes, 616. Five of these princes were named Hareth, which the Greeks write Aretas : and one of them it was whose governor ordered the gates of Damascus to be watched to take St. Paul.^ This tribe were Christians, their last king being Jabalah the son of al Ayham, who, on the Arabs' successes in Syria, professed Mohammedism under the Khalif Omar ; but receiving a disgust from him, returned to his former faith, and retired to Constantinople.* The other kingdom was that of Hira, which was founded by Malec of the descendants of Cahlan^ in Chaldea or Irak ; but, after three descents, the throne came by marriage to the Lakhniians, called also the Mondars (the general name of those princes), who preserved their dominion, not- withstanding some small interi'uption by the Persians, till the Khalifat of Abubecr, when al Mondar al Maghriir, the last of them, lost his life and crown by the arms of Khaled Ebn al Wahd. This kingdom lasted 622 years eight months,* Its princes were under the protection of the kings of Persia, whose lieutenants they were over the Arabs of Ir^k, as the kings of Ghassan were for the Poman emperors over those of Syria.* Jorham the son of Kahtan reigned in Hejaz, where his posterity kept the throne till the time of Ismael, but on his marrying the daughter of Modad, by whom he had twelve sons, Kidar, one of them, had the crown * Geogr. Nubiens. p. 52. ^ See Prideaux's life of Moham. p. 61. ® Poc Spec. p. 63, 64, 7 Abulfeda, » Al Jannabi and Ahmed Ebn Yusef. » Poc. Spec. p. 7^ » 2 Cor. xi. 32. Acts ix. 24. » Vide Ockley's History of the Saracens, vol. i. p, 174. ' Poc. Spec. p. 66. * lb. p. 74. * lb. and Procop. in Pers. apud Photium, p. 71, <&c. SECT. I. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 9 resigned to him by his uncles the Jol'hamites,^ though others say the de- scendants of Ismael expelled that tribe, who, retiring to Johainah, were, after various fortune, at last all destroyed by an inundation/ Of the kings of Hamyar, Hira, Ghassan, and Jorham, Dr. Pocock has given us catalogues tolerably exact, to which I refer the curious.^ After the expulsion of the Jorham ites, the government of Hejaz seems not to have continued for many centuries in tlie hands of one prince, but to have been divided among the heads of tribes ; almost in the same manner as the Arabs of the desert are governed at this day. At Mecca an aristo- cracy prevailed, where the chief management of affairs till the time of Mohammed was in the tribe of Koreish ; especially after they had gotten the custody of the Caaba from the tribe of Khozaah.^ Besides the kingdoms which have been taken notice of^ thei'e were some other tribes, which, in latter times, had princes of their own, and formed states of lesser note ; particularly the tribe of Kenda : ^ but as I am not writing a just history of the Arabs, and an account of them would be of no great use to my present purpose, I shall waive any further mention of them. After the time of Mohammed, Arabia was for about three centuries under the Khalifs his successors. But in the year 3i5 of the Hejra, great part of that country was in the hands of the Karmatians,^ a new sect who bad committed great outrages and disorders even in Mecca, and to whom the Khalifs were obliged to pay tribute, that the pilgrimage thither might be performed : of this sect I may have occasion to speak in another place. Afterwards Yaman was governed by the house of Thabateba, descended from Ali the son-in-law of Mohammed, whose sovereignty in Arabia some place so high as the time of Charlemagne. However, it was the posterity of Ali, or pretenders to be such who reigned in Yaman and Egypt so early as the tenth century. The present reigning family in Yaman is probably that of Ayub, a branch of which reigned there in the thirteenth century, and took the title of Khalif and Imam, which they still retain.^ They are not possessed of the whole province of Yaman,* there being several other independent kingdoms there, particularly that of Fartach. The crown of Yaman descends not regularly from father to sou, but the prince of the blood royal who is most in favour of the great ones, or has the strongest interest, generally succeeds.^ The governors of Mecca and Medina, wlio have always been of the race of Mohammed, also threw off their subjection to the Khalifs, since which time four principal families, all descended from Hasan the son of Ali, have reigned there under the title of Scharif, which signifies noble, as they reckon themselves to be on account of their descent. These are Banu Kader, Banu Musa Thani, Banu Hashem, and Banu Kitada j^ which last family now is, or lately was, in the throne of Mecca, uhere they liave reigned above 500 years. The reigning family at Medina are the Banu Hashem, who also reigned at Mecca before those of Kitada.' The kings of Yaman, as well as the princes of Mecca and Medina, are absolutely independent,^ and not at all subject to the Turk, as some late authors have imagined.^ These princes often making cruel wars among themselves, gave an opportunity to Selim I. and his son Soliman, to make themselves masters of the coasts of Arabia on the Red Sea, and of part of « Poc. Spec. p. 45. 7 lb. p. 79. 8 j^^ p_ 55^ spq_ 9 yide lb. p. 41, and Prideaux's Life of Moham. p. 2. 1 Vide Poc. Spec. p. 79, &c. 2 yide Elmacin. in vita al Radi. 3 Voyage de I'Arab. heur. p. 255. * lb. 153, 27-3. ^ lb. 254. • lb. 143. 7 lb. 145. 8 lb. 143, 148. » Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 477. 10 PBfiLHIIXJL&T DISCOURSE. sect i, Vf neuKi of a fleet liiiilt mt Saes : hat tlnir saccessors tare not to M^intaiii tkeir conqncBla; fiir, exeept tlie port of Jodda, \rhere IkejlnveaBsslawliofleaiitliorifcf ttToyaBallytlMjpo con- in Ardfaia.^ tlie Anbs jMiiumiui their Wbafj^ of wliidi few nations can lia, wilik TCEj liltie inlernqptioii from tlie very TCTf great anuBB Imtb been sent agiainsk tbem, all to sabdne tiiein wen UBSHOoeaBfiiL The Assyiisji or Median got fcfl*»"g ano^ ihfem.* The Persian monarchs, though tibef wm their fdeodi^ and so fiur reapected hj them as to have an annual pRsent of fiankinoenK^' jet ooold never make them tributary ; ^ and were ■a ftr finoea beii^ tibeir maalen;, tiiat Ghmbyaea^ ec. 161. ^ Abulfarag, p. 161. SECT. n. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 23 the zodiac into as many parts, through one of which the moon passes every night ; * as some of them set in the morning, others rise opposite to them, which happens every thirteenth night, and from their rising and setting the Arabs, by long experience, observed what changes happened in the air j and at length, as has been said, came to ascribe divine power to them, saying, that their rain was from such or such a star j which ex- pression Mohammed condemned and absolutely forbade them to use it in the old sense, unless they meant no more by it than that God had so ordered the seasons, that when the moon was in such or such a mansion or house, or at the rising or setting of such and such a star, it should raia or be windy, hot or cold.^ The old Arabians, therefore, seem to have made no further progress in astronomy, which science they afterwards cultivated with so much success and applause, than to observe the influence of the stars on the weather, and to give them names ; and this it was obvious for thera to do by reason of their pastoral way of life, lying night and day in the open plains. The names they imposed on the stars generally alluded to cattle and flocks, and they were so nice in distinguishing them, that no language has so many names of stars and asterisms as the Arabic ; for though they have since borrowed the names of several constellations from the Greeks, yet the far greater part are of their own growtl^, and much more ancient, particularly those of the more conspicuous stars, dispersed in several constellations, and those of the lesser constellations which are contained within the greater, and were not observed or named by the Greeks.^ Thus have I given the most succinct account I have been able, of the state of the ancient Arabians before Mohammed, or, to use their expres- sion, in the time of ignorance. I shall now proceed briefly to consider the state of religion in the east, and of the two great empires which divided that part of the world between them, at the time of Mohammed's setting up for a prophet, and what were the conducive circumstances and accidents that favoured his success. SECTION IL OF THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY, PARTICULARLY OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES, AND OF JUDAISM, AT THE TIME OF MOHAMMED's APPEARANCE j AND OP THE METHODS TAKEN BY HIM FOR THE ESTABLISHING OF HI3 RELIGION, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH CONCURRED THERETO. If we look into the ecclesiastical historians even from the third century, we shall find the Christian world to have then had a very different aspect from what some authors have represented ; and so far from being endued with active grace, zeal, and devotion, and established within itself with purity of doctrine, union, and firm profession of the faith,* that, on the contrary, what by the ambition of the clergy, and what by drawing the abstrusest niceties into controversy, and dividing and subdividing about them into endless schisms and contentions, they had so destroyed that peace, love, and charity from among them, which the gospel was given to promote ; and instead thereof continually provoked each other to that 1 Vide Hyde, in r -* ad Tabulas stellar, fixar. Ulugh Beigh, p. 5. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. p. 163, &c. ' ^^ule Hyde ubi sup. p 4. * Ricaut's State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 187. 24 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. rt. malice, rancour, and eveiy evil work ; that tliey had lost the whole sub- uiance of their rel'i^on, while they thus eagerly coutended for their own imagiuations concerning it ; and in a manner quite drove Christianity out of the world by those very controversies m which they disputed with each other about it.^ In these dark ages it was that most of those superstitions and corruptions we now justly abhor in the church of Rome were not only broached, but established ; which gave great advantages to the propaga- tion of Mohammedism. The worship of saints and images, in particular, was then arrived of such a scandalous pitch that it even surpassed what is now practised among the Romanists. After the Nicene council, the eastern church was engaged in perpetual controversies, and torn to pieces by the disputes of the Arians, Sabellians, Nestoiians, and Eutychians ; the heresies of the two last of which have been shown to have consisted more in the words and form of expression than in the doctrines themselves :" and were rather the pretences than real motives of those frequent councils, to and from which the contentious prelates were continually riding post, that they might bring every thing to their own will and pleasure.^ And to support themselves by depend- ants and bribery, the clergy in any credit at court undertook the protec- tion of some officer in the army, under the colour of which justice was publicly sold, and all con*uption encouraged. In the western church, Damasus and XJrsicinus carried their contests at Rome for the episcopal seat so high that they came to open violence and murder, which Viventius, the governor, not being able to suppress, he retired into the country, and left them to themselves, till Damasus pre- vailed. It is said that on this occasion, in the church of Siciuinus, there were no less than 137 found killed in one day. And no wonder they were so fond of these seats, when they became by that means enriched by the presents of matrons, and went abroad in their chariots and sedans in great state, feasting sumptuously even beyond the luxury of princes, quite con- trary to the way of the living of the country prelates, who alone seemed to have some temperance and modesty left.® These dissensions were greatly owing to the emperors, and particularly to Constantius, who, confounding the pure and simple Christian religion with anile superstitions, and perplexing it with intricate questions, instead of reconciling different opinions, excited many disputes, which he fomented as they proceeded with infinite altercations.' This grew worse in the time of Justinian, who not to be behind the bishops of the fifth and sixth centuries in zeal, thought it no crime to condemn to death a man of a different persuasion from his own.^ This corruption of doctrine and morals in the princes and clergy was necessarily followed by a general depravity of the people;^ those of all con- ditions making it their sole business to get monej'' by any means, and then to squander it away, when they had got it, in luxury and debauchery.* But, to be more particular as to the nation we are now writing of, Arabia was of old famous for heresies ; * which might be in some measure ^ Pridoanx's Pref. to his Life of Mohammed. ® Vide La vie de Mohammed, par BoulainvilHers, p. 219. &c. ^ Vide Simon, Hist. Crit. de la creance, &c. des nations du Levant. « Ammian. Marcellin. Hb. 21. Vide etiam Euseb Hist. Eccles. lib. 8. c. 1. Sozom lib 1. c. 14, &c. Hilar, and Sulpic. Sever, in Hist, Sacr. p. 112, &c. » Ammian. Marcellin. lib. 27. ^ Idem. lib. 21. ' Procop. in Anecd. p. 60. 3 See an instance of the wickedness of the Christian army even when they were under the terror of the Saracens, in Ocklcy's Hist, of the Sarac. vol. i. p. 239. * Vide Boiilainvilh Vie de Moh. ubi sup. ^ Vide Sozomen. Hist. Eccles. hh 1. c. 16, 17. Sulpic. Sever, ubi supra. SKCT. II. PilELBUJSrAEY DISCOURSE. 25 attributed to the liberty and independency of the tribes. Some of the Christians of that nation believed the soul died with the body, and was to be raised again with it at the last day :^ these Origen is said to have con- vinced.''' Among the Arabs it was that the heresies of Ebion, Beryllus, and the Nazarseans,^ and also that of the Collyridians, were broached, or at least propagated ; the latter introduced the Virgin Mary for God, or worshipped her as such, offering her a sort of twisted cake called colly- ris, whence the sect had its name.^ This notion of the divinity of the virgin Mary was also believed by some at the council of Nice, who said there were two gods besides the Father, viz. Christ and the virgin IMary, and were thence named Maria- mites.^ Others imagined her to be exempt from humanity, and deified ; which goes but little beyond the popish superstition in calling her the com- plement of the Trinity, as if it were imperfect without her. This foolish imagination is justly condemned in the Koran^ as idolatrous, and gave a handle to Mohammed to attack the Trinity itself Other sects there were of many denominations within the borders of Arabia, which took refuge there from the proscriptions of the imperial edicts j several of whose notions Mohammed incorporated with his reli- gion, as may be observed hereafter. Though the Jews were an inconsiderable and despised people in other parts of the world, yet in Arabia, whither many of them fled from the destruction of Jerusalem, they grew very powerful, several tribes and princes embracing their religion ; which made Mohammed at first show great regard to them, adopting many of their opinions, doctrines, and cus- toms; thereby to draw them, if possible, into his interest. But that people, agreeably to their wonted obstinacy, were so far from being his proselytes, that they were some of the bitterest enemies he had, waging continual war with him, so that tlieir reduction cost him infinite trouble and danger, and at last his life. This aversion of theirs created at length as great a one in him to them, so that he used them, for the latter part of his life, much worse than he did the Christians, and frequently exclaims against them in his Koran ; his followers to this day observe the same difference between them and the Christians, treating the foriper as the most abject and con- temptible people on earth. It has been observed by a great politician,^ that it is impossible a person should make himself a prince and found a state without opportunities. If the distracted state of religion favoured the designs of Mohammed on that side, the weakness of the Roman and Persian monarchies might flatter him with no less hopes in any attempt on those once formidable empires, either of which, had they been in their full vigour, must have crushed Mohammedism in its birth ; whereas nothing nourished it more than the success the Arabians met with in their enterprises against those powers, which success they failed not to attribute to their new religion and the divine assistance thereof. The Roman empire declined apace after Constantino, whose successors were for the generality remarkable for their ill qualities, especially cow- ardice and cruelty. By Mohammed's time the western half of the empire was overrun by the Goths ; and the eastern so reduced by the Huns on the one side, and the Persians on the other, that it was not in a capacity of stemming the violence of a powerful invasion. The emperor Maurice paid tiibute to the Khagan or king of the Huns ; and after Phocas « Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. 6. c. 33. 7 Idem, ibid. c. 37. ^ Epiphan. de Haresi, lib. 1. Haer. 40. » Idem, ibid. lib. 3. Ilajres. 75, 79. ^ Elmacin. Eutych. ^ Cap. 5. » Machiavelli, Princ. c. 6, p. 19. 26 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. rr. had murdered his master, sucli lamentable havoc there wiis among the soldiers, tliat when He radius came, not above seven years after, to muster the armv, tiiere were only two soldiers left alive, of all those who had borne arms when Phocas first usurped the empire. And though Heraclius was a prince of admirable courage and conduct, and had done what possibly could be done to restore the discipline of the army, and had had great success against the Persians, so as to drive them not only out of his own dominions, but even out of part of theii' own; yet still the very vitals of the empire seemed to be mortally wounded : that there could no time have happened more fatal to the empire, or more favourable to the enterprises of the Arabs; who seem to have been raised up on purpose by God, to be a scourge to the Christian church, for not living answerably to that most holy religion which they had received.* The general luxury and degeneracy of manners, into which the Grecians were sunk, also contributed not a little to the enervating their forces, which were still further drained by those two great destroyers, monachism and persecution. The Persians had also been in a declining condition for some time before Mohammed, occasioned chiefly by their intestine broils and dissensions ; great part of which arose from the devilish doctrines of Manes and Mazdak. The opinions of the former are tolerably well known : the latter lived in the reign of Khosru Kobad, and pretended himself a prophet sent from God to preach a community of women and possessions, since all men were brothers and descended from the same common parents. This he imagined would put an end to all feuds and quarrels among men, which generally arose on account of one of the two. Kobad himself embraced the opinions of tliis impostor, to whom he gave leave, according to his new doctrine, to lie with the queen his wife ; which permission Anushirwan, his son, with much difficulty prevailed on Mazdak not to make use of These sects had certainly been the immediate ruin of the Persian empire, had not Anushirwan, as soon as he succeeded his father, put Mazdak to death with all his followers, and the Manicheans also, restoring the ancient Magian religion.^ In the reign of this prince, deservedly surnamed the just, Mohammed was bom. He was the last king of Persia who deserved the throne, which after him was almost perpetually contended for, till subverted by the Arabs. His son Hormuz lost the love of his subjects by his excessive cruelty: having had his eyes put out by his wife's brothers, he was obliged to resign the crown to his son Khosru Parviz, who, at the instigation of Baliram Chubin, had rebelled against him, and was afterwards strangled. Parviz was soon obliged to quit the throne to Bahram; but obtaining succours of the Greek emperor Maurice, he recovered the crown : yet towards the latter end of a long reign he gi-ew so tyrannical and hateful to his subjects, that they held a private correspondence with the Arabs; and he was at length deposed, imprisoneil, and slain by his son Shiruyeh.^ After Parvis no less than six princes possessed the throne in less than six years. These domestic broils effectually brought ruin upon the Persians ; for though they did, rather by the weakness of the Greeks than their own force, ra- vage Syria and sack Jerusalem and Damascus under Khosru Parviz; and, while the Arabs were divided and independent, had some power in the province of Yaman, where they set up the four last kings before * Ockloy's Hist, of tlic Saracen?, vol. i. p. 10, &c. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. p. 70. ® Vide Tcixcira, Kelacioucs dc los Reyes de rersia, p. 195, &c. SECT. u. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 27 Mohammed ; yet when attacked by the Greeks under Heraclius, they not only lost their new conquests, but part of their own dominions, and no sooner were the Arabs united by Mohammedism, than they beat them in every battle, and in a few years totally subdued them. As these empires were weak and declining, so Arabia, at Mohammed's setting up, was strong and flourishing ; having been peopled at the expense of the Grecian empire, whence the violent proceedings of the domineering sects forced many to seek refuge in a free country, as Arabia then was, where they who could not enjoy tranquillity and their conscience at home, found a secure retreat. The Arabians were not only a populous nation, but unacquainted with the luxury and delicacies of the Greeks and Persians, and inured to hardships of all sorts; living in a most parsimonious manner, seldom eating any flesh, drinking no wine, and sitting on the ground. Their political government was also such as favoured the designs of Mohammed; for the division and independency of their tribes were so necessary to the first propagation of his religion, and the foundation of his power, that it would have been scarce possible for him to have effected either, had the Arabs been united in one society. Bub when they had embraced his religion, the consequent union of their tribes was no less necessary and conducive to their future conquests and grandeur. This posture of public affairs in the eastern world, both as to its religious and political state, it is more than probable Mohammed was well ac- quainted with; he having had sufficient opportunities of informing himself in those particulars, in his travels as a merchant in his younger years : and though it is not to be supposed his views at first were so extensive as afterwards, when they were enlarged by his good fortune, yet he might reasonably promise himself success in his first attempts from thence. As he was a man of extraordinary parts and address, he knew how to make the best of every incident, and turn what might seem dangerous to another to his own advantage. Mohammed came into the world under some disadvantages, which he soon surmounted. His father Abd'allah was a younger son ^ of Abd'almotalleb, and dying very young and in his father's lifetime, left his widow and infant son in very mean circumstances; his whole substance consisting but of five camels and one Ethiopian she- slave. ^ Abd'almotalleb was therefore obliged to take care of his grand-child Mohammed, which he not only did during his life, but at his death enjoined his eldest son Aba Taleb, who was brother to Abd'allah by the same mother, to provide for him for the future ; which he very affectionately did, and instructed him in the business of a merchant, which he followed; and to that end he took him with him into Syria when he was but thirteen, and afterward recommended him to Khadijah, a noble and rich widow, for her factor, in whose service he behaved himself so well, that by making him her husband she soon raised him to an equality with the richest in Mecca. After he began by this advantageous match to live at his ease it was that he formed the scheme of establishing a new religion, or, as he expressed it, of replanting the only true and ancient one, professed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets,^ by destroying the gross idolatry into which the generality of his countrymen had fallen, and 7 He was not his eldest son, as Dr. Prideaux tells us ; whose reflections built on that foundation must necessarily fail (see his Life of Mohammed, p. 9 ;) nor yet his youngest son, as M. de Boulainvilliers (Vie de Mohammed, p. 182, &c.) supposes; for Hamza and al Abbas were both younger than Abd'allah. 8 Abulfcda, Vit. Moliam. p. 2. » See Koran, c. 2. 28 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ii. wc3clin'^ out the corniptioiis auJ supsrstitions which the latter Jews and Christians had, as he thought, introduced into their religion, and reducing it to its original purity, which consisted chiefly in the worship of one only God. Whether this was the effect of enthusiasm, or only a design to raise himself to the supreme government of his country, I will not pretend to determine. The latter is the general opinion of Christian writers, who agree that ambition and the desire of satisfying his sensuality were the motives of his undertaking. It may be so ; yet his first views perhaps were not so interested. His original design of bringing the pagan Arabs to the knowledge of the true God was certainly noble, and highly to be com- mended ; for I cannot possibly subscribe to the assertion of a late, learned writer,^ that he made that nation exchange their idolatry for another religion altogether as bad. Mohammed was no doubt fully satisfied in his conscience of the truth of his grand point, the unity of God, which was what he chiefly attended to; all his other doctrines and institutions being rather accidental and unavoidable, than premeditated and designed. Since then Mohammed was certainly himself persuaded of his grand article of faith, which, in his opinion, was violated by all the rest of the world; not only by the idolaters, but by the Christians, as well those who rightly worshipped Jesus as God, as those who superstition sly adored the Virgin Mary, saints, and images; and also by the Jews, who are accused in the Koran of taking Ezra for the Son of God ; - it is easy to conceive that he might think it a meritorious work to rescue the world from such ignorance and superstition ; and by degrees, with the help of a warm imagination, which an Arab seldom wants,^ to suppose himself destined by Providence for the effecting that great reformation. And this fancy of his might take still deeper root in his mind during the solitude he there- upon affected, usually retiring for a month in the year to a cave in Mount Hara near Mecca. One thing which may be probably urged against the enthusiasm of this prophet of the Arabs, is the wise conduct and great prudence he all along showed in pursuing his design, which seem incon- sistent with the wild notions of a hot-brained religionist. But, though all enthusiasts or madmen do not behave with the same gravity and circum- spection that he did, yet he will not be the first instance, by several, of a person who has been out of the way only quoad hoc, and in all other respects acted with the greatest decency and precaution. The terrible destruction of the eastern churches, once so glorious and flourishing, by the sudden spreading of Mohammed ism, and the great successes of its professors against the Christians, necessarily inspire a horror of that religion in those to whom it has been so fatal ; and no wonder if they endeavour to set the character of its founder, and its doctrines, in the most infamous light. But the damage done by Mohammed to Christianity seems to have been rather owing to his ignorance than malice ; for his great misfortune was, his not having a competent knowledge of the real and pure doctrines of the Christian religion, which was in his time so abominably coriiipted that it is not surprising if he went too far, and resolved to abolish Avhat he might think incapable of reformation. It is scarce to be doubted but that Mohammed had a violent desire of being reckoned an extraordinary person, which he could attain to by no means more effectually than by pretending to be a messenger sent from God, to inform mankind of his will. This might be at first his utmost 1 Prideaux's Life of Moham. p. 76. 2 Koran, c. 9. 3 See Causaub. of En- thusiasm, p. 148. SECT. n. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 29 ambition, and had his fellow citizens treated him less injuriously, and not obliged him by their persecutions to seek refuge elsewhere, and to take up arms against them in his own defence, he had perhaps continued a private person, and contented himself with the veneration and respect due to his prophetical office ; but being once got at the head of a little army, and en- couraged by success, it is no wonder if he raised his thoughts to attempt what had never before entered into his imagination. That Mohammed was, as the Arabs are by complexion,* a great lover of women, we are assured by his own confessions ; and he is constantly up- braided with it by the controversial writers, who fail not to urge the number of women with whom he had to do as a demonstrative argument of his sensuality, which they think sufficiently proves him to have been a wicked man, and consequently an impostor. But, it must be considered that polygamy, though it be forbidden by the Christian religion, was, in Mohammed's time, frequently practised in Arabia and other parts of the east, and was not counted an immorality, nor was a man the worse esteemed on that account j for which reason Mohammed permitted the plurality of wives, with certain limitations, among his own followers, who argue for the lawfulness of it from several reasons, and particularly from the examples of persons allowed on all hands to have been good men ; some of whom have been honoured with the divine correspondence. The several laws relating to marriages and divorces, and the peculiarprivileges granted to Mohammed in his Koran, were almost all taken by him from the Jewish decisions, as will appear hereafter ; and therefore he might think those institutions the more just and reasonable, as he found them practised or approved by the professors of a religion which was confessedly of divine original. Bat whatever were his motives, Mohammed had certainly the personal qualifications which were necessary to accomplish his undertaking. The Mohammedan authors are excessive in their commendations of him, and speak much of his religious and moral virtues ; as his piety, veracity, justice, liberality, clemency, humility, and abstinence. His charity in par- ticular, they say, was so conspicuous, that he had seldom any money in his house, keeping no more for his own use than was just sufficient to maintain his family ; and he frequently spared even some part of his own provisions to supply the necessities of the poor ; so that before the year's end he had generally little or nothing left.^ " God," says al Bokhari, " offered him the keys of the treasures of the earth, but he would not accept them.'* Though the eulogies of these writers are justly to be suspected of partiality, yet thus much, I think, may be inferred from thence, that for an Arab who had been educated in paganism, and had but a very imperfect knowledge of his duty, he was a man of at least tolerable morals, and not such a mon- ster of wickedness as he is usually represented. And indeed it is scarce possible to conceive that a wretch of so profligate a character should ev^er have succeeded in an enterprise of this nature j a little hypocrisy and saving of appearances, at least, must have been absolutely necessary ; and the sincerity of his intentions is what I pretend not to inquire into. He had indisputably a very piercing an i sagacious wit, and was thoroughly versed in all the arts of insinuation. ^ The eastern historians describe him to have been a man of an excellent judgment, and a happy memory ; and these natural parts were improved by a great experience and knowledge of men, and the observations he had made in his travels. They say he was a * Ammian. Marcell. lib. 14. c. 4. 5 yj^jg Abulfeda, Vit. Moham. p. 144, &C, « Vide Prid. Life of Mohammed, p. 105. 30 PKELBUNARY DISCOURSE. sect. it. person of few -worJs, of an equal, cheerful temper, pleasant and familiar in convei-satiou, of inotfensive behaviour towards his friends, and of great con- descension towards his inferiors.'' To all which were joined a comely, agreeable person, and a jwlite address ; accomplishments of no small ser- vice in preventing those in his favour whom he attempted to persuade. As to acquired learning, it is confessed he had none at all ; having had no other education than what was customary in his tribe, who neglected, and j^erhaps despised, what we call literature ; esteeming no language in comparison with their own, their skill in which they gained by use and not by books, and contenting themselves with improving their private expe- rience, by committing to memory such passages of their poets as they judged might be of use to them in life. This defect was so far from being prejudicial or putting a stop to his design, that he made the greatest use of it ; insisting that the writings which he produced as revelations from Grod, could not possibly be a forgery of his own ; because it was not con- ceivable that a person who could neither write nor read should be able to compose a book of such excellent doctrine, and in so elegant a style ; and thereby obviating an objection that might have carried a great deal of weight.^ And for this reason his followers, instead of being ashamed of their master's ignorance, glory in it as an evident proof of his divine mis- sion, and scruple not to call him (as he is indeed called in the Koran itself)^ the illiterate prophet. The scheme of religion which Mohammed framed, and the design and artful contrivance of those written revelations (as he pretended them to be) which compose his Koran, shall be the subject of the following sec- tions : I shall, therefore, in the remainder of this relate, as briefly as pos- sible, the steps he took towards the eflfecting of his enterprise, and the accidents which concurred to his success therein. Before he made any attempt abroad, he rightly judged that it was ne- cessary for him to begin by the conversion of his own household. Having therefore retired with his family, as he had done several times before, to the above-mentioned cave in Mount Hara, he there opened the secret of his mission to his wife Khadijah : and acquainted her that the angel Gabriel had just before appeared to him, and told him that he was ap- pointed the apostle of God : he also repeated to her a passage ^ which ho l^retended had been revealed to him by the ministry of the angel, with those other circumstances of his first appearance which are related by the Mohammedan writers. Khadijah received the news with great joy;* swearing by him in whose hands her soul was, that she trusted he would be the })rophet of his nation : and immediately communicated what she had heard to her cousin Warakah Ebn Nowfal, who, being a Christian, could write in the Hebrew character, and was tolerably well versed in the Scriptures ; ^ and he as readily came into her opinion, assuring her that the same angel who had formerly appeared unto Moses was now sent to Mo- hammed.* This first overture the prophet made in the montli of Rama- dan, in the fortieth year of his age, which is therefore usually called the year of his mission. 7 Vide Abulfed. ubi stip. ^ gee Koran, chap. xxix. Prid. Life of ^foham. p. 28, &c. " Chap. vii. '^ This passage is generally agreed to be the first five verses of the 90th chapter. ' j do not remember to have read in any eastern author, that Khadijah ever rejected her husband's pretences as delusions, or suspected him of any imposture. Yet see Prideaux's Life of Mohammed, p. 11 ; &c. ' Vide Poc. Spec. p. 157. •* Vide Abulfed. Vit. Mohani. p. 16; where the learned translator hafc mistaken the meaning of this passage. SECT. II. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 31 Encouraged by so good a beginning, he resolved to proceed, and try for BOine time what he could do by private persuasion, not daring to hazard the whole affair by exposing it too suddenly to the public. He soon made proselytes of those under his own roof, viz. his wife Khadijah, his servant Zeid Ebn Haretha (to whom he gave his freedom ^ on that occasion, which afterwards became a rule to his followers), and his cousin and pupil Ali, the son of Abu Taleb, though then very young : but this last, making no account of the other two, used to style himself the first of believers. The next person Mohammed applied to was Abdallah Ebn Abi Kohafa, sur- named Abu Beer, a man of great authority among the Koreish, and one whose interest he well knew would be of great service to him, as it soon appeared j for Abu Beer being gained over, prevailed also on 0th man Ebn Affan, Abd'alrahman Ebn Awf, Saad Ebn Abi Wakkas, al Zobeir Ebn al Awam, and Telha Ebn Obeid'allah, all principal men in Mecca, to follow bis example. These men were the six chief companions, who, with a few more, were converted in the space of three years ; at the end of which Mohammed having, as he hoped, a sufficient interest to support him, made his mission no longer a secret, but gave out that God had commanded him to admonish his near relations,^ and in order to do it with more convenience and prospect of success, he directed Ali to prepare an entertainment, and invite the sons and descendants of Abd'almotalleb, intending then to open his mind to them ; this was done, and about forty of them came, but Abu Laheb, one of his uncles, making the company break up before Mohammed had an opportunity of speaking, obliged bim to give them a second invitation the next day ; and when they were come, he made them the following speech : " I know no man in all Arabia who can offer his kindred a more excellent thing than I now do you ; T offer you happiness both in this life, and in that which is to come : God Almighty hath commanded me to call you uuto him ; who, therefore, among yon will be assisting to me herein, and become my brother, and my vicegerent ?" All of them hesitating, and declining the matter, Ali at length rose up, and declared that he would be his assistant ; and vehemently threatened those who should oppose him. Mohammed upon this embraced Ali with great demonstrations of affection, and desired all who were present to hearken to and obey him as his deputy ; at which the company broke out into great laughter, telling Abu Taleb that he must now pay obedience to his son. This repulse, however, was so far from discouraging Mohammed, that he began to preach in public to the people, who heard him with some patience, till he came to upbraid them with the idolatry, obstinacy, and perverseness of themselves and their fathers; which so highly provoked them, that they declared themselves his enemies, and would soon have procured his ruin, had he not been protected by Abu Taleb. The chief of the Koreish warmly solicited this person to desert his nephew, making frequent remon- strances against the innovations he was attempting ; which proving in- effectual, they at length threatened him with an open rupture if he did not prevail on Mohammed to desist. At this Abu Taleb was so far moved that he earnestly dissuaded his nephew from pursuing the affair any further, representing the great danger he and his friends must otherwise run. But Mohammed was not to be intimidated, telling his uncle plainly, that if they set the sun against him on his right hand, and the moon on his left, he would not leave hi^ enterprise : and Abu Taleb, seeing him so firmly * For he was his purchased slave, as Abtilfeda expressly tells us : an \ not his cousin- german, as M. de Eoulainvilliers asserts (Vic de Moham. p. 273). ^ Koran, c. 74, See the notes thereon. 32 PRELBIINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ii. resolved to proceed, used no further arguments, but promised to stand by liim against all his enemies.^ The Koreish, finding they could prevail neither by fair words nor menaces, tried what they could do by force and ill treatment ; using Mohammed's followers so very injuriously that it was not safe for them to continue at Mecca any longer; whereupon Mohammed gave leave to such of them as had not friends to protect them to seek for refuge elsewhere. And accordingly in the fifth year of the prophet's mission, sixteen of them, four of whom were women, fled into Ethiopia : and among them Othman Ebn AftVm and his wife Rakiah, Mohammed's daughter. This was the first flight ; but afterwards several others followed them, retiring one after another, to the number of eighty-three men and eighteen women, besides children.^ These refugees were kindly received by the Najashi,^ or king of Ethiopia, who refused to deliver them up to those whom the Koreish sent to demand them, and as the Arab writers unanimously attest, even professed the Mohammedan religion. In the sixth year of his mission ^ Mohammed had the pleasure of seeing his party strengthened by the convei*sion of his uucle Hamza, a man of great valour and merit, and of Omar Ebn al Khattab, a person highly esteemed, and once a violent oj:)poser of the prophet. As persecution generally advances rather than obstructs the spreading of a religion, Islamisui made so great a progi'ess among the Arab tribes, that the Koreish, to suppress it efiectually, if possible, in the seventh year of Mohammed's mission,^ made a solemn league or covenant against the Hashemites and the family of Al Motalleb, engaging themselves to contract no marriages with any of them, and to have no communication with them ; and, to give it the greater sanction, reduced it into writing, and laid it up in the Caaba. Upon this the tribe became divided into two factions ; and the family of Hashem all repaired to Abu Taleb, as their head, except only Abd'al Uzza, surnamod Abu Laheb, who, out of his inveterate hatred to his nephew and his doctrine, went over to the oj^posite party, whose chief" was Abu Sofian Ebn Harb, of the family of Ommeya. The families continued thus at variance for three years ; but in the tenth year of his mission, Mohammed told his uncle Abu T&leb, that God had manifestly showed his disapprobation of the league which the Koreish had made against them, by sending a worm to eat out every word of the instrument except the name of God. Of this accident Mohammed had probably some private notice, for Abu Taleb went immediately to the Koreish and acquainted them with it ; ofiering, if it proved false, to deliver his nephew up to them ; but in case it were true, he insisted that they ought to lay aside their animosity, and annul the league they had made against the Hashemites. To this they acquiesced, and, going to inspect the writing, to their great astonishment found it to be as Abu Taleb had said ; and the league was thereupon declared void. In the same year Abu Taleb died, at the age of above fourscore; audit is the general opinion that he died an infidel, though others say, that when he was at the point of death he embraced Mohammedism, and produced some passages out of his poetical compositions to confirm their assertion. About a month, or, as some write, three days after the death of this great benefactor and patron, Mohammed had the additional mortification to lose '' Abulfeda ubi supra, ^ Idem, Ebn Shohnah. ^ Dr. Prideaux seems to take this word for a proper name, but it is only the title the Arabs give to every king of this country. See his Life of Mohammed, p. 55. ^ Ebn Shohnah. ' Al JannabL SECT. IT. PIIELDIINARY DISCOURSE. S3 his wife Khadijali, wlio had so generously made his fortune. For which reason this year is called the year of mourning.^ On the death of these two persons, the Koreish began to be more troublesome than ever to their prophet, and especially some who had formerly been his intimate friends ; insomuch that he found himself obliged to seek for shelter elsewhere, and first pitched upon Tayef, about sixty miles east from Mecca, for the place of his retreat. Thither therefore he went, accompanied by his servant Zeid, and applied himself to two of tlie chief of the tribe of Thakif, who were the inhabitants of that place, bub they received him very coldly. However, he stayed there a month ; and some of the more considerate and better sort of men treated him with a little respect : but the slaves and inferior people at length rose against him, and bringing him to the wall of the city, obliged him to depart, and return to Mecca, where he put himself under the protection of al Motaam Ebn Adi.4 This repulse greatly discouraged his followers : however, Mohammed was not wanting to himself, but boldly continued to preach to the public assemblies at the pilgrimage, and gained several proselytes, and among them six of the inhabitants of Yathreb of the Jewish tribe of Khazraj, who, on their return home, failed not to speak much in commendation of their new religion, and exhorted their fellow-citizens to embrace the same. In the twelfth year of his mission it was that Mohammed gave out that he had made his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven,^ so much spoken of by all that write of him. Dr. Prideaux^ thinks he intended it either to answer the expectations of those who demanded some miracle as a proof of his mission ; or else, by pretending to have conversed with God, to establish the authority of whatever he should think fit to leave behind by way of oral tradition, and make his sayings to serve the same purpose as the oral law of the Jews. But I do not find that Mohammed himself ever expected so great a regard should be paid to his sayings as his followers have since done : and seeing he all along disclaimed any power of performing miracles, it seems rather to have been a fetch of policy to raise his reputation, by pretending to have actually con- versed with God in heaven, as Moses had heretofore done on the mount, and to have received several institutions immediately from him, whereas before he contented himself with persuading them that he had all by the ministry of Gabriel. However, this story seemed so absurd and incredible that several of his followers left him upon it, and it had probably ruined his whole design, had not Abu Beer vouched for its veracity, and declared that if Mohammed af&rmed it to be true, he verily believed the whole. Which happy incident not only retrieved the prophet's credit, but increased it to such a degi-ee, that he was secure of being able to make his disciples swallow whatever he pleased to impose on them for the future. And I am apt to think this fiction, notwithstanding its extravagance, was one of the most artful contrivances Mohammed ever put in practice, and what chiefly contributed to the raising of his reputation to that great height to which it afterwards arrived. In this year, called by Mohammedans the accepted year, twelve men of Yathreb or Medina, of whom ten were of the tribe of Khazraj, and the other two of that of Aws, came to Mecca, and took an oath of fidelity to » Abulfed. p. 28. Ebn Siiohnah. * Ebn Shohnah. 2 See the notes on the 17th chap, of the Koran. « Life of Moham. p. 41, 51, &c. D £4 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect.il MohamnieJ at al Akaba, a hill on the north of that city. This oath was called the woman's oath ; not that any women were present at this time, but because a man was not thereby obliged to take up arms in defence of Mohammed or his religion ; it being the same oath that was afterwards exacted of the women, the form of which we have in the Koran/ and is to this effect, viz. — "That they should renounce all idolatry j that they should not steal, nor conimit foi*uication, nor kill their children (as the pagan Arabs used to do when they apprehended they should not be able to maintain them^), nor forge calumnies ; and that they should obey the prophet in all things that were reasonable." When they had solemnly engaged to do all this, Mohammed sent one of his disciples, named Masab Ebn Omair, home with them, to instruct them more fully in the grounds and ceremonies of his new religion. Masab, being arrived at Medina, by the assistance of those who had been formerly converted, gained several proselytes, particularly Osaid Ebn Ho- deira, a chief man of the city, andSaad Ebn Moj\dh, prince of the tribe of Aws ; Mohammedism spreading so fast that there was scarce a house "wherein there were not some who had embraced it. The next year, being the thirteenth of Mohammed's mission, Masab returned to Mecca, accompanied by seventy-three men and two women of Meilina who had professed Islamism, besides some others who were as yet unbelievei^. On their arrival, they immediately sent to Mohammed, and offered him their assistance, of which he was now in gi-eat need, for his advei-saries were by this time grown so powerful in Mecca, that he could not stay there much longer without imminent danger. Wherefore he accepted their proposal, and met them one night, by appointment, at al Akaba above mentioned, attended by his uncle al Abbas, who, though he was not then a believer, wished his nephew well, and made a speech to those of Medina, wherein he told them, that, as Mohammed was obliged to quit his native city and seek an asylum elsewhere, and they had offered him their protec- tion, they would do well not to deceive him ; and that, if they were not firmly resolved to defend and not betmy him, they had better declare their minds, and let him provide for his safety in some other manner. Upon their protesting their sincerity, Mohammed swore to be faithful to them ; on condition that they should protect him against all insults, as heartily as they would their own wives and families. They then asked him what recompense they were to expect if they shoidd happen to be killed in his quarrel ; he answered paradise. Whereupon they pledged their faith to him, and so returaed home ;^ after Mohammed had chosen twelve out of theii- number, who were to have the same authority among them as the twelve apostles of Christ had among his di.erish ; another to Hawdha Ebn Ali, king of Yamama, who was a Christian, and having some time before professed Islanilsm, had lately returned to his former faith ; this prince sent back a very rough answer, upon which, Mohammed cursing him, he died soon after; a third to al Mondar Ebn Sawa, king of Bahrein, who embraced Mohammedism, and all the Arabs of that country followed his example.^ The eighth year of the Hejra was a very fortunate year to Mohammed. In the beginning of it Khaled EbnalWalidand AmruEbnal As,both excellent soldiers, the first of whom afterwards conquered Syria and other countries, and the latter Egypt, became proselytes of Mohammedism. And soon after the prophet sent 3000 men against the Grecian forces, to revenge the death of one of his ambassiidors, who being sent to the governor of Bosra, on the same errand as those who went to the above-mentioned princes, was slain bv an Amb of the tribe of Ghassan at Muta, a town in the territory of Balka in Syria, about three days' journey eastward from Jerusalem, near ' Abulfcda, Vit. Moh. p. 85. ^ gee before, p. 8. » Abulfcda, Vit. Mob. p. 92. &c * Al Jannabi. ' It is however a difterent name from that of the Virgin Marv, which the orientals always write Maryam or Miriam, whereas this is written Mar'iya. « This prince is'omittcd in Dr. Focock's list of the kings of Ghassan, Spec. p. 77. " Abulfeda, ubi sup. p. 94, &c. SECT. n. PRELmiNARY DISCOURSE. 39 which town they encountered. The Grecians being vastly superior in number (for, including the auxiliary Arabs, they had an army of 100,000 men), the Mohammedans were repulsed in the first attack, and lost succes- sively three of their generals, viz. Zeid Ebn Haretha, Mohammed's freed- man, Jaafar the son of Abu Taleb, and AbdMlah Ebn Rawaha ; but Khaled Ebn al Walid, succeeding to the command, overthrew the Greeks with a great slaughter, and brought away abundance of rich spoil ; ^ on occasion of which action Mohammed gave him the honourable title of Seif min soyuf Allah, one of the swords of God.^ In this year also Mohammed took the city of Mecca, the inhabitants whereof had broken the truce concluded on two years before. For the tribe of Beer, who were confederates of the Koreish, attacking those of Khozaah, who were allies of Mohammed, killed several of them, being supported in the action by a j)arty of the Koreish themselves. The consequence of this violation was soon apprehended ; and Abu Sofi|,n himself made a journey to Medina on purpose to heal the breach and renew the truce j^ but in vain; for Moham- med, glad of this opportunity, refused to see him; whereupon he applied to Abu Beer and Ali, but they giving him no answer, he was obliged to return to Mecca as he came. Mohammed immediately gave orders for preparations to be made, that he might surprise the Meccans while they were unprovided to receive him : in a little time he began his march thither, and by the time he came near the city his forces were increased to 10,000 men. Those of Mecca being not in a condition to defend themselves against so formidable an army, surrendered at discretion; and Abu Sofiin saved his life by turning Mohammedan. About twenty-eight of the idolaters were killed by a party under the command of Khaled ; but this happened contrary to Mohammed's orders, who, when he entered the town, pardoned all the Koreish on their submission, except only six men and four women, who were more obnoxious than ordinary (some of them having a))ostatized), and were solemnly pro- scribed by the prophet himself ; but of these no more than three men and one woman were i^ut to death, the rest obtaining pardon on their embracing Mohammed ism, and one of the women making her escape.^ The remainder of this year Mohammed employed in destroying the idols in and round about Mecca, sending several of his generals on expeditious for that purpose, and to invite the Arabs to Islamism ; wherein it is no wonder if they now met with success. The next year, being the ninth of the Hejra, the Mohammedans call the year of embassies : for the Arabs had been hitherto expecting the issue of the war between Mohammed and the Koreish ; but so soon as that tribe, the principal of the whole nation, and the genuine descendants of Ishmael, whose prerogatives none offered to dispute, had submitted, they were satis- fied that it was not in their power to oppose Mohammed, and therefore began to come in to him in great numbers, and to send embassies to make their submissions to him, both to Mecca while he staid there, and also to Medina whither he returned this year.^ Among the rest, five kings of the tribe of Hamyar professed Mohammedism, and sent ambassadors to notify the same.* In the tenth year Ali was sent into Yaman to propagate the Moham- ^ 8 Abulf. Vit. Moh. p. 99, 100, &c. » Al Bokhari in Sonna. i This circumstance 18 a plain proof that the Koreish had actually broken the truce, and that it was not a mere pretence of Mohammed's, as Dr. Prideaux insinuates. Life of Moh. p. 94. 2 Vide Abulfed. ubi sup. c. Si, 62. s vide Gagnier, Not. ad Abulfed. p. 1:-^1. * Abulfeda, ubi sup. p. 128. 40 PRELIlVnis^AIiY DISCOURSE. sect. iu. medan faitli tbere, and, as it is said, converted the whole tribe of Hamdan in one day. Their example was quickly followed by all the inhabitants of that province, except only those of Najran, who, being Christians, chose rather to pay tribute.^ Thus was Mohammedism established, and idolatry rooted out, even in Mohammed's life time (for he died the next year) throughout all Arabia, except only Yamama ; where Moseilama, who set up also for a prophet as Mohammed's competitor, had a great party, and was not reduced till the Khalifat of Abu Beer. And the Arabs being then united in one faith and under one prince, found themselves iu a condition of making those con- quests which extended the Mohammedan faith over so great a part of the world. SECTION III. OF THE KORAN ITSELF, THE PECULIAEITIES OF THAT BOOK j THE MAN^TIB OF ITS BEEN'G ^^^lITTEN A^^) PUBLISHED, AXD THE GENERAL DESIGN OF IT. The word Koran, derived from the verb karaa, to read, signifies properly in Arabic, the reading, or rather, that which ought to be read ; by which name the Mohammedans denote not only the entire book or volume of the Koran, but also any particular chapter or section of it ; just as the Jews call either the whole scripture, or any part of it by the name of Karah, or Mikra,^ words of the same origin and imj^ort. Which observation seems to overthrow the opinion of some learned Arabians, who would have the Koriln so named, because it is a collection of the loose chapters or sheets which compose it ; the verb karaa signifying also to gather or collect : ^ and may also, by the way, serve as an answer to those who object^ that the Koran must be a book forged at once, and could not possibly be revealed by parcels at different times, during the course of several years, as the Mohammedans affirm ; because the Koran is often mentioned, and called by that name, in the very book itself. It may not be amiss to observe, that the syllable Al in the word Alkoran is only the Arabic article, signifying ilie ; and therefore ought to be omitted when the English article is prefixed. Beside this peculiar name, the Kor^n is also honoured with several appellations common to other books of scripture : as al Forkan, from the verb faraka, to divide or distinguish; not as the Mohammedan doctors say, because those books are divided into chaptei-s or sections, or distinguish between good and evil, but in the same notion that the Jews use the word Perek, or Pirka, from the same root, to denote a section or portion of Scripture.^ It is also called al Moshaf, the volume, and al Kitab, the book, by way of eminence, which answers to the Biblia of the Greeks ; and al Dhikr, the admonition, which name is also given to the Pentateuch and Gospel, The Koran is divided into one hundred and fourteen larger portions of 8 Abulfcda, ubi sup. p. 129. « This name was at first given to the Pentateuch only. >^ehem. viii. Vide Simon. Hist. Grit, du Vieux Test. lib. 1. c. 9. ^ vide Erpen. Not. ad Hist. Joseph, p. 3. 8 Marracc. de Alcor. p. 41. » Vide Gol. in append, ad Gram. Arab. Erpen. 175. A chapter or sub-division of the Massic- toth of the Mishna is also called Perek. Maimon. praef. in Seder Zeraim, p. 57. BECT. iii PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE 41 very unequal length, which we call chajoters, but the Arabians Sowar, in the singular Sura, a word rarely used on any other occasion, and properly signifying a row, order, or regular series; as a course of bricks in building, or a rank of soldiers in an army; and is the same in use and import with the Sura, or Tora of the Jews, who also call the fifty-three sections of the Pentateuch Sedarim, a word of the same signification.^ These chapters are not in the manuscript copies distinguished by their numerical order, though, for the reader's ease, they are numbered in this edition, but by particular titles, which (except that of the first, which is the initial chapter, or introduction to the rest, and by the old Latin translator not numbered among the chapters) are taken sometimes from a particular matter treated of, or person mentioned therein ; but usually from the first word of note, exactly in the same manner as the Jews have named their Sedarim ; though the word from which some chapters are denominated be very far distant, towards the middle, or perhaps the end of the chapter, which seems ridiculous. But the occasion of this seems to have been, that the verse or passage wherein such word occurs was, in point of time, revealed and committed to writing before the other verses of the same chapter which precede it in order; and the title being given to the chapter before it was completed, or the passages reduced to their present order, the verse from whence such title was taken did not always haj^pen to begin tlie chapter. Some chapters have two or piore titles, occasioned by the difference of the copies. . Some of the chapters having been revealed at Mecca, and others at Medina, the noting this difference makes a part of the title : but the reader will observe that several of the chapters are said to have been revealed partly at Mecca, and partly at Medina ; and as to others, it is yet a dispute among the commentators to which place of the two they belong. Every chapter is subdivided into smaller portions, of very unequal length also, which we customarily call verses; but the Arabic word is Ay at, the same with the Hebrew Ototh, and signifies signs, or wonders; such as are the secrets of God, his attributes, works, judgments, and ordinances, de- livered in those verses; many of which have their particular titles also, imposed in the same manner as those of the chapters. Notwithstanding this subdivision is common, and well known, yet I have never yet seen any manuscript wherein the verses are actually num- bered ; though in some copies the number of verses in each chapter is set down after the title, which we have therefore added in the table of the chapters. And the Mohammedans seem to have some scruple in making an actual distinction in their copies, because the chief disagreement between their several editions of the Koran consists in the division and number of the verses ; and for this reason I have not taken upon me to make any such division. Having mentioned the different editions of the Koran, it may not be amiss here to acquaint the reader, that there are seven principal editions, if I may so call them, or ancient copies of that book; two of which were published and used at Medina, a third at Mecca, a fourth at Cufa, a fifth at Basra, a sixth in Syria, and a seventh called the common or vulgar edition. Of these editions, the first of Medina makes the whole number of the verses six thousand; the second and fifth, six thousand two hundred and fourteen; the third, six thousand two hundred and nineteen; the fourth, 1 Vide Gol. ubi sup. 377. Each of the six grand divisions of the Mishna is also called Seder. Maimon. ubi sup. p. 55. 42 PRELIM72JAKY DISCOURSE. sect. m. six thousand two hundred and thirty-six ; the sixth, six thousand two hundred and twenty-six ; and the last, six thousand two hundred and twenty-five. But they are all said to contain the same number of words, namely seventy-seven thousand six hundred and thirty-nine,^ and the same number of letters, viz., three hundred and twenty-three thousand and fifteen :^ for the Mohammedans have in this also imitated the Jews, that they have superstitiously numbered the very words and letters of their law; nay, they have taken the pains to compute (how exactly I know not) the number of times each particular letter of the alphabet is contained in the Koran.* Besides these unequal divisions of chapter and veree, the Mohammedans have also divided their Koran into sixty equal portions, which they call Ahzab, in the singulai- Hizb, each subdivided into four equal parts ; which is also an imitation of the Jews, who have an ancient division of their Mishna into sixty portions called Massictoth:^ but the Koran is more usually divided into thirty sections only, named Ajza, from the singular Joz, each of twice the length of the former, and in the like manner sub- divided into four parts. These divisions are for the use of the readers of the Koran in the royal temples, or in the adjoining chapels where the emperors and great men are inteiTed. There are thirty of these readei-s belonging to every chapel, and each reads his section every day, so that the whole Koi-an is read over once a day.^ I have seen several copies divided in this manner, and bound up in as many volumes ; and have thought it proper to mark these divisions in the margin of this translation by nu- meral letters. Next after the title, at the head of every chapter except only the ninth, is prefixed the following solemn form, by the Mohammedans called the Bismillah, " In the name of the most merciful God ; " which form they constantly place at the beginning of all their books and wiitings in general, as a peculiar mark or distinguishing characteristic of their religion, it being counted a sort of impiety to omit it. The Jews for the same purpose make use of the form. In the name of the Lord, or, in the name of the great God : and the eastern Christians that of, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. But I am apt to believe Mohammed really took this form, as he did many other things, from the Persian Magi, who used to begin their books in these words, Benam Yezdan baklishaishgher dadar, that is. In the name of the most merciful, just God.' This auspicatory form, and also the titles of the chaptei-s, are, by the generality of the doctors and commentators, believed to be of divine original, no less than the text itself; but the more moderate are of opinion they are only human additions, and not the very word of God. There are twenty-nine chapters of the Koran, which have this peculiarity, that they begin with certain lettei-s of the alphabet, some with a single one, othei-s with more. These letters the Mohammedans believe to be the |->eculiar marks of the Koran, and to conceal several profound mysteries, the certain undei^tanding of which, the more intelligent confess has not been communicated to any mortal, their prophet only excepted. Notwith- standing which, some will take the liberty of guessing at their meaning by ' Or as others reckon them, ninetv-nine thousand four hundred and sixty-four. Reland, de Kel. Moh. p. 25. s Or according to another computation, three hundred and thirtv thousand one hundred and thirteen. Ibid. V. Gol. ubi sup. p. 178. D-Herbelo't, BibL Orient, p. 87. * Vide Reland. de Relig. Moh. p. 25. * Vide Gol. ubi sup. p. 178. Maimon. praef. in Seder Zeraim, p. 57. ' Vide Smith, de Moribus et Instit. Turcar. p. 58. 7 Hyde, Hist. Rel. Vet. Pcrs. p. 14. SECT. III. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 43 that species of Cabbala called by the Jews Notarikon,® and suppose the letters to stand for as many words expressing the names and attributes of God, his works, ordinances, and decrees; and therefore these mysterious letters, as well as the verses themselves, seem in the Koran to be called signs. Others explain the intent of these letters from the nature or organ, or else from their value in numbers, according to another species of the Jewish Cabbala called Gematria;® the uncertainty of which conjec- tures sufficiently appears from their disagreement. Thus, for example, five chapters, one of which is the second, begin with these letters, A. L, M. which some imagine to stand for Allah latif magid; God is gracious and to be glorified ; or, Ana li minni, to me and from me, viz. belongs all per- fection, and proceeds all good : or else for Ana Allah alam, I am the most wise God, taking the first letter to mark the beginning of the first word, the second the middle of the second word, and the third the last of the third word ; or for Allah, Gabriel, Mohammed, the author, revealer, and preacher of the Koran. Others say, that as the letter A belongs to the lower part of the throat, the first of the organs of speech ; L to the palate, the middle organ; and M to the lips, which are the last organ; so these letters signify that God is the beginning, middle, and end, or ought to be praised in the beginning, middle, and end, of all our words and actions : or, as the total value of those three letters in numbers is seventy-one, they signify that in the space of so many years, the religion preached in the Koran should be fully established. The conjecture of a learned Christian^ is at least as certain as any of the former, who supposes these letters were set there by the amanuensis, for Amar li Mohammed, i. e. At the com- mand of Mohammed, as the five letters prefixed to the nineteenth chapter seem to be there written by a Jewish scribe. Cob Yaas, i. e. Thus he commanded. The Koran is universally allowed to be written with the utmost ele- gance and jmrity of language, in the dialect of the tribe of Koreish, the most noble and polite of all the Arabians, but with some mixture, though very rarely, of other dialects. It is confessedly the standard of the Arabic tongue, and as the more orthodox believe, and are taught by the book itself, inimitable by any human pen, (though some sectaries have been of another opinion,)^ and therefore insisted on as a permanent miracle, greater than that of raising the dead,^ and alone sufficient to convince the world of its divine original. And to this miracle did Mohammed himself chiefly appeal for the con- firmation of his mission, publicly challenging the most eloquent men in Arabia, which was at this time stocked with thousands whose sole study and ambition it was to excel in elegance of style and composition,* to produce even a single chapter that might be compared with it.^ I will mention but one instance out of several, to show that this book was really admired for the beauty of its composure by those who must be allowed to have been competent judges. A poem of Labid Ebn Rabia, one of the greatest wits in Arabia in Mohammed's time, being fixed up on the gate of 8 Vide Buxtorf. Lexicon Rabbin. » Vide lb. See also Schiekardi Bechinat hap- perushim, p. 62, &c. i Golius in append, ad Gram. Erp. p. 182. 2 gee after. ' Ahmed Abd'albalim apud Marracc. de Ale. p. 43. * A noble writer therefore mis- takes the question when he says, these eastern religionists leave their sacred writ the sole standard of literate performance, by extinguishing all true learning. For though they were destitute of what we call learning, yet they were far from being ignorant, or unable to compose elegantly in their own tongue. See L. Shaftesbury's Charac- teristics, vol. iii. p. 235. « Al Gazali, apud Poc. Spec. 191. See Koran, c. 17, and also c. 2, p. 3, and c. 11, &c. 44 PRELE^IINARY DISCOURSE. sect. hi. the temple of Mecca, an honour allowed to none but the most esteemed performances, none of the other poets durst offer any of their own in com- petition with it. But the second chapter of the Koran being fixed up by it soon after, Labid himself (then an idolater) on reading the first verses only, was struck with admiration, and immediately professed the religion taught thereby, declaring that such words could proceed from an inspired person only. This Labid was afterwards of great service to Mohammed, in writing answers to the satires and invectives that w^ere made on him and his religion by the infidels, and particularly by Amri al Kais,^ prince of the tribe of Asad,^ and author of one of those seven famous poems called al Moallakat.^ The style of the Koran is generally beautiful and fluent, especially "where it imitates the prophetic manner, and scripture phrases. It is con- cise, and often obscure, adorned with bold figures after the eastern taste, enlivened with florid and sententious expressions, and in many places, especially where the majesty and attributes of God are described, sublime and magnificent ; of which the reader cannot but observe several in- stances, though he must not imagine the translation comes up to the original, notwithstanding my endeavours to do it justice. Though it be written in prose, yet the sentences generally conclude in a long continued rhyme, for the sake of which the sense is often interrupted, and unnecessary repetitions too frequently made, which appear still more ridiculous in a translation, where the ornament, such as it is, for whose sake they were made, cannot be perceived. However, the Arabians are so mightily delighted with this jingling that they employ it in their most elaborate compositions, which they also embellish with frequent passages of and allusions to the Koran, so that it is next to impossible to under- stand them without being well versed in this book. It is probable the harmony of expression which the Arabians find in the Koran might contribute not a little to make them relish the doctrine therein taught, and give an efficacy to arguments, which, had they been nakedly proposed without this rhetorical dress, might not have so easily prevailed. Very extraordinary efiects are related of the power of words well chosen and artfully placed, which are no less powerful either to ravish or amaze than music itself; wherefore as much has been ascribed by the best ora- tors to this part of rhetoric as to any other.^ He must have a very bad ear, who is not uncommonly moved with the very cadence of a well-turned sentence; and Mohammed seems not to have been ignorant of the enthu- siastic operation of rhetoric on the minds of men; for which reason he has not only employed his utmost skill in these his pretended revelations, to preserve that dignity and sublimity of style, which might seem not un- worthy of the majesty of that Being, whom he gave out to be the author of them ; and to imitate the prophetic manner of the Old Testament; but he has not neglected even the other arts of oratory; wherein he succeeded so well, and so strangely captivated the minds of his audience, that several of his opponents thought it the effect of witchcraft and enchantment, as he sometimes complains.^ " The general design of the Koran," (to use the words of a very learned jx^rson,) " seems to be this. To unite the professors of the three different religions then followed in the populous country of Arabia, who, for the most part, lived promiscuously, and wandered without guides, the far greater number being idolaters, and the rest Jews and Christians mostly of « D'Herbel. BibL Orient, p. 512, &c. 7 Poc. Spec. p. 80. ^ gee before, p. 20. * See Casaubon, of Enthusiasm, chap. iv. ^ Koran, chap. 15, 21, &c. 8ECT. III. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 45 erroneous and heterodox belief, in the knowledge and worship of one eternal, invisible God, by whose power all things were made, and those which are not, may be, the supreme Governor, Judge, and absolute Lord of the creation ; established under the sanction of certain laws, and the outward signs of certain ceremonies, partly of ancient and partly of novel institution, and enforced by setting before them rewards and punish- ments, both temporal and eternal : and to bring them all to the obedience of Mohammed, as the prophet and ambassador of God, who after the repeated admonitions, promises, and threats of former ages, was at last to establish and propagate God's religion on earth by force of arms, and to be acknowledged chief pontiff in spiritual matters, as well as supreme prince in temporal."^ The great doctrine then of the Koran is the unity of God ; to restore which point Mohammed pretended was the chief end of his mission ; it being laid down by him as a fundamental truth, that there never was nor ever can be more than one true orthodox religion. Tor though the particular laws or ceremonies are only temporary, and subject to altera- tion according to the divine direction, yet the substance of it being eternal truth, is not liable to change, but continues immutably the same. And he taught that whenever this religion became neglected, or corrupted in essentials, God had the goodness to reinform and readmonish mankind thereof, by several prophets, of whom Moses and Jesus were the most distinguished, till the appearance of Mohammed, who is their seal, no other being to be expected after him. And the more effectually to engage peo- ple to hearken to him, great part of the Koran is employed in relating examples of dreadful punishments formerly inflicted by God on those who rejected and abused his messengers; several of which stories or some circumstances of them are taken from the Old and New Testament, but many more from the apocryphal books and traditions of the Jews and Christians of those ages, set up in the Koran as truths in opposition to the scriptures, which the Jews and Christians are charged with having altered ; and I am apt to believe that few or none of the relations or cir- cumstances in the Koran were invented by Mohammed, as is generally supposed, it being easy to trace the gi^eatest part of them much higher, as the rest -might be, were more of those books extant, and it was worth while to make the inquiry. The other pai-t of the Koran is taken up in giving necessary laws and directions, in frequent admonitions to moral and divine virtues, and above all to the worshipping and reverencing of the only true God, and resig- nation to his will ; among which are many excellent things intermixed, not unworthy even a Christian's perusal. But, besides these, there are a great number of passages which are occasional, and relate to particular emergencies. For whenever any thing happened which perplexed and gravelled Mohammed, and which he could not otherwise get over, he had constant recourse to a new revelation, as an infallible expedient in all nice cases ; and he found the success of this method answer his expectation. It was certainly an admirable and politic contrivance of his to bring down the whole Koran at once to the lowest heaven only, and not to the earth, as a bungling prophet would have done; for if the whole had been published at once, innumerable objec- tions might have been made, which it would have been very hard, if not impossible, for him to solve : but as he pretended to have received it by parcels, as God saw proper that they should be published for the con- 2 Golius, in append, ad Gram. Erp. p. 17C. 46 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ni. version and instruction of the people, he hacl a sure way to answer all emergencies, and to extricate himself with honour from any difficulty which might occur. If any objection be hence made to that eternity of the Koran, which the Mohammedans are taught to believe, they easily answer it by their doctrine of absolute predestination ; according to which all the accidents for the sake of which these occasional passages were revealed were predetermined by God from all eternity. That Mohammed was really the author and chief contriver of the Koran, is beyond dispute ; though it is highly probable that he had no small assistance in his design from others, as his countrymen failed not to object to him ;^ however they differed so much in their conjectures as to the particular persons who gave him such assistance,^ that they were not able, it seems, to prove the charge ; Mohammed, it is to be presumed, having taken his measm-es too well to be discovered Dr. Prideaux^ has given the most probable account of this matter, though chiefly from Chi'istian wiiters, who generally mix such ridiculous fables with what they deliver, that they deserve not much credit. However it be, the Mohammedans absolutely deny the Koran was com- posed by their prophet himself, or any other for him ; it being their general and orthodox belief that it is of divine original, nay that it is eternal and uncreated, remaining, as some express it, in the very essence of God ; that the first transcript has been from everlasting by God's throne, written on a table of vast bigness, called the preserved table, in which are also recorded the divine decrees past and future, that a copy from this table, in one volume on paper, was, by the ministry of the angel Gabriel, sent down to the lowest heaven, in the month of Ramadan, on the night of power : ^ from whence Gabriel revealed it to Mohammed by parcels, some at Mecca and some at Medina, at different times, during the space of twenty -three years, as the exigency of affairs requii-ed : giving him however the consolation to show him the whole (which they tell us was bound in silk, and adorned vrith. gold and pre cious stones of paradise) once a year : but in the last year of his life he had the favour to see it twice. They say that few chapters were delivered entire, the most part being revealed piecemeal, and written down from time to time by the prophet's amanuensis in such or such a part of such or such a chapter till they were completed, according to the direc- tions of the angel. ^ The first parcel that was revealed is generally agi*eed to have been the first five verses of the ninety-sixth chapter.^ After the new revealed passages had been fi-om the prophet's mouth taken do^wn in writing by his scribe, they were published to his follow- ei'S, several of whom took copies for their private use, but the far greater number got them by heart. The originals, when returned, were put })ro- miscuously into a chest, observing no order of time, for which reason it is uncertain when many passages were revealed. ^^hen Mohammed died, he left his revelations in the same disorder I have mentioned, and not digested into the method, such as it is, which we now find them in. This was the work of his successor Abu Beer, who, consider- ing that a great number of passages were committed to the memory of Mo- hammed's followers, many of whom were slain in theii' wai-s, ordered the 3 Vide Koran, chap. 16. and chap. 25. * See the notes on those passages. 5 Life of Mobam. p. 31, &c. « Vide Koran, c. 97, and note ibid. ^ Therefore it is a mistake of Dr. Prideaux to say it was brought him chapter by chapter. Life of Moham. p. 6. The Jews also say the law was given to Moses by parcels. Vide Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Mobam. p. 365. ^ Not the whole chapter, as Gohus says. Append, ad Gr. Erp. p. 180, 8BCT. m, PRELIIl^IINARY DISCOURSE. 47 whole to be collected, not only from the palm-leaves and skins on which they had been wiitten, and which were kept between two boards or covers, but also from the mouths of such as had gotten them by heart. And this transcript, when completed, he committed to the custody of Hafsa the daughter of Omar, one of the prophet's widows.^ From this relation it is generally imagined, that Abu Beer was really the compiler of the Kor^n ; though for aught appears to the contrary, Moham- med left the chapters complete as we now have them, excepting such passages as his successor might add or coiTect from those who had gotten them by heart ; what Abu Beer did else being perhaps no more than to range the chapters in their present order, which he seems to have done without any regard to time, having generally placed the longest first. However, in the thirtieth year of the Hejra, Othman being then Khalif, and observing the great disagreement in the copies of the Koran in the several provinces of the empire, those of Irak, for example, following the reading of Abu Musa al Ashari, and the Syiians that of Macdad Ebn Aswad, he, by advice of the companions, ordered a great number of copies to be transcribed from that of Abu Beer, in Hafsa's care, under the in- spection of Zeid Ebn Thabet, Abd'allah Ebn Zobair, Said Ebn al As, and Abd'alrahman Ebn al Hareth the Makhzumite; whom he directed that wherever they disagreed about any word, they should ^vrite it in the dialect of the Koreish, iu which it was at first delivered.^ These copies when made were dispersed in the several provinces of the empire, and the old ones burnt and suppressed. Though many things in Hafsa's copy were corrected by the above-mentioned supervisors, yet some few various readings still occur; the most material of which will be taken notice of in their proper places. The want of vowels^ in the Arabic character made Moki-is, or readers, whose peculiar study and profession it was to read the Koran with its proper vowels, absolutely necessary. But these difiering in their manner of reading, occasioned still further variations in the copies of the Koran, as they are now written mth the vowels ; and herein consist much the greater part of the various readings throughout the book. The readers whose authority the commentator chiefly allege, in admitting these va- rious readings, are seven in number. There being some passages in the Koran which are contradictory, the Mohammedan doctors obviate any objection from thence, by the doctrine of abrogation; for they say, that God in the Koran commanded several things which were, for good reasons, afterward revoked and abrogated. Passages abrogated are distinguished into three kinds : the first, where the letter and sense are both abrogated ; the second, where the letter only is abrogated, but the sense remains; and the third where the sense is abrogated, though the letter remaius. Of the first kind were several verses, which, by the tradition of Malec Ebn Ans, were in the prophet's liietime read in the chapter of repentance, but are not now extant ; one of which, being all he remembered of them, was the following, " If a son of Adam had two rivers of gold, he would covet yet a third; and if he had three, he would covet yet a fourth (to be added) unto them ; neither shall the belly of a son of Adam be filled, but with ° Elmacin. in Vita Abu Beer. Abulfeda« ^ Abulfeda, in Vitis Abubecr and Othman. 2 ^he characters or marks of the Arabic vowels were not used till several years after Mohammed, Some ascribe the invention of them to Yahya Ebn Yamer, some to Nasr Ebn Assam, surnamed al Leithi, and others to Abu'laswad al Dili ; all tnrec of whom were doctors of Basra, and immediately succeeded the companions. See D'flerbcl. Bibl. Orient, p. 87. 48 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSI?. sect. m. dust. God will turn unto liim wlio shall repent." Another instance of this kind we have from the tradition of Abd'allah Ebn Ma^ud, who re- ported that the prophet gave him a verse to read which he wrote down; but the next morning looking in his book, he found it was vanished, and the leaf blank : this he acquainted Mohammed with, who assured him the verse was revoked the same night. Of the second kind is a vei-se called the vei-se of stoning, wliich, according to the ti^dition of Omai', afterwai'ds Khalif, was extant while Mohammed was living, though it be not now to be found. The words are these, " Ab- hor not your pai-ents, for this would be ingratitude in you. If a man and woman of reputation commit adultery, ye shall stone them both; it is a punishment ordained by God; for God is mighty and wise." Of the last kind are obsein-ed several verses in sixty-three different chap- ters, to the number of two hundred and twenty-five. Such as the precepts of tiuning in prayer to Jerusalem ; fasting after the old custom ; forbear- ance towards idolaters ; avoiding the ignorant and the like.^ The passages of this sort have been carefully selected by sevei-al wiitei-s, and ai'e most of them remarked in their proper places. Though it is the belief of the Sonnites or orthodox that the Koran is luicreated and eternal, subsistiug in the very essence of God, and Mo- hammed himself is said to have pronounced him an infidel who asserted the contrary,^ yet several have been of a different opinion; particularly the sect of the Motazalites,^ and the followei*s of Isa Ebn Sobeih Abu Musa, sumamed al Mozdar, who stuck not to accuse those who held the Koran to be uncreated of infidelity, as assertei's of two eternal beings.^ This point was controverted with so much heat that it occasioned many calamities under some of the Khalifs of the family of Abbas, al Mamun^ making a pubHc edict declaring the Koran to be created, which was con- fii'med by his successors al Motasem* and al Wathek,^ who whipt, impri- soned, and put to death those of the contraiy opinion. But at length al Motawakkel,^ who succeeded al Wathek, put an end to these persecu- tions, by revoking the former edicts, releasing those that were impri- soned on that account, and leaving every man at liberty as to his belief in this point." Al Ghazali seems to have tolerably reconciled both opinions, saying, that the Koran is read and pronounced with the tongue, wi'itten in books, and kept in memory; and is yet eternal, subsisting in God's essence, and not possible to be separated thence by any transmission into men's me- mories or the leaves of books ;^ by which he seems to mean no more than that the original idea of the Koran only is really- in God, and conse- quently co-essential and co-etemal with him, but that the copies are created, and the work of man. The opinion of al Jahedh, chief of a sect bearing his name, touching the Koran, is too remarkable to be omitted : he used to say it was a body, which might sometimes be turned into a man,* and sometimes into a 5 Abu Hashem Hebatallah, apud Marracc. de Ale. p. 42. * A pud Toe. Spec. 220. « See after in sect. viii. « Vide Poc. Spec. p. 219, &c. 7 Anno Hcj. 218, Abulfarag, p. 245. v. etiam Elmacin. in Vita al Mamun. ^ In the time of Al M6- tasem, a doctor named Abu Harun Ebn al Baca found out a distinction to screen himself, bv affirming that the Koran was ordained, because it is said in that book, "And I have ordained thee the Koian." He went still further to allow that what was ordained was created, and yet he denied it thence followed that the Koran was created. Abulfarag, p. 253. ^ Ibid. p. 257. ^ Anno Hei. 242. 2 Abiil- farag, p. 262. » Al Ghazali in prof. fid. * The Khalif al Walid Ebn Yazitl, who was the eleventh of the race of Ommeya, and is looked on by the Mo- hammedans as a reprobate, and one of no religion, seems to have treated this book as a rational creature. For dipping into it one day, the first words he met SECT :ir. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 49 beast ; wliich seems to agree with the notion of those who assert the Koran to have two faces, one of a man, the other of beast : ^ thereby, as I conceive, intimating the double interpretation it will admit of, according to the letter or the spirit. As some have held the Koran to be created, so there have not been wanting those who have asserted that there is nothing miraculous in that book in respect to style or composition, excepting only the prophetical rela- tions of things past, and predictions of things to come ; and that had God left men to their natural liberty, and not restrained them in that particular, the Arabians could have composed something not only equal, but superior to the Koran in eloquence, method, and purity of language. This was another opinion of the Motazalites, and in particular of al Mozdar above mentioned and al Nodham.' The Koran being the Mohammedans Tule of faith and practice, it is no wonder its expositors and commentators are so very numerous. And it may not be amiss to take notice of the rules they observe in expounding it. One of the most learned commentators^ distinguishes the contents of the Koran, into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the more ob- sciu-e, parabolical, and enigmatical passages, and such as are repealed or abrogated ; the latter those which are plain, perspicuous, liable to no doubt, and in full force. To explain these severally in a right manner, it is necessary from tradi- tion and study to know the time when each passage was revealed, its cir- cumstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular emergencies for the sake of which it was revealed.^ Or more explicitly, whether the pas- sage was revealed at Mecca, or at Medina ; whether it be abrogated, or does itself abrogate any other passage ; whether it be anticipated in order of time, or postponed ; whether it be distinct from the context, or depends thereon ; whether it be particular or general ; and lastly whether it be im- plicit by intention, or explicit in words. ^ By what has been said the reader may easily believe this book is in the greatest reverence and esteem among the Mohammedans. They dare not so much as touch it without being first washed or legally purified ; ^ which lest they should do by inadvertence, they write these words on the cover or label, " Let none touch it, but they who are clean." They read it with great care and respect, never holding it below their girdles. They swear by it, consult it in their weighty occasions,^ carry it with them to war, write sentences of it on their banners, adorn it with gold and precious stones, and knowingly sufier it not to be in the possession of any of a difierent persuasion. The Mohammedans, far from thinking the Koran to be profaned by with were these: " Every rebellious perverse person shall not prosper : " Whereupon he stuck it on a lance and shot it to pieces with arrows, repeating these verses : " Dost thou rebuke every rebellious perverse person ? behold, I am that rebellious perverse person. " When thou appearest before thy Lord on the day of resurrection, say, O Lord, al Walid has torn me thus," — Ebn Shohnah. v. Poc. Spec. 223. ^ Poc. Spec, p. 222. 6 Herbelot, p. 87. ^ Abulfeda, Shahrestani, &c. apud Poc. Spec. p. 222, et Marracc. de Kor. p. 44. ^ ^i Zamakhshari. Vide Koran, chap. 3. p. 35. ^ Ahmed Ebn Moham. al Thalabi, in princip. Expos. Ale. ^ Yahya Ebn al Salam al Basri, in Princip. Expos. Ale. ^ -phe Jews have the same veneration for their law ; not daring to touch it with unwashed hands, nor then either without a cover.- Vide Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Moham. p. 366. 3 This they do by dip- ping into it, and taking an omen from the words which they first light on: which practice they also learned of the Jews, who do the same with the Scriptures. Vido Millium, ubi sup. £ 50 PKELIMINAEY DISCOUESE. sect. iv. a translation, as some authors liave wiitten,* have taken care to have their scriptui-es translated not only into the Persian tongue, but into several others, particularly the Javan and Malayan,^ though out of respect to the original Arabic, these vemons are generally (if not always) interlineary. SECTION TV. OF THE DOCTRINES AND POSITIVE PRECEPTS OF THE KORAN, WHICH RELATE TO FAITH AND RELIGIOUS DUTIES. It has been already observed more than once, that the fundamental position on which Mohammed erected the superstructure of his religion was, that from the beginning to the end of the world there has been, and for ever will be, but one true orthodox belief; consisting, as to matter of faith, in the acknowledging of the only ti-ue God, and the believing in and obeying such messengers or prophets as he should fi'om time to time send, with proper credentials, to reveal his will to mankind ; and as to matter of practice, in the observance of the immutable and eternal laws of right and wi'ong, together with such other precepts and ceremonies as God should think fit to order for the time being, aecording to the different dispensations in different ages of the world : for these last he allowed were things indiflerent in their own nature, and became obligatoiy by God's positive precept only; and were therefore tempoi-aiy and subject to alteration according to his will and pleasure. And to this religion he gives the name of Isliim, which word signifies resignation, ov submission to the serWce and commands of God ; ^ and is used as the proper name of the Mohammedan religion, which they will also have to be the same at bottom with that of all the prophets from Adam. Under pretext that this eternal religion was in his time coriiipted, and professed in its purity by no one sect of men, Mohammed pretended to be a prophet sent by Gid, to reform those abuses which had crept into it, and to reduce it to its primitive simplicity ; with the addition however of peculiar laws and ceremonies, some of which had been used in former times, and others were now fii-st instituted. And he comprehended the whole substance of his doctrine under these two propositions, or articles of faith ; inz. that there is but one God, and thac himself was the apjstle of God; in consequence of which latter article, all such ordinances and institutions as he thought fit to establish must be received as obligatory and of divine authority. The Mohammedans divide their religion, wliich as I just now said they call Islam, into two distinct parts : Iniun, i. e. faith or theory, and Din, i e. religion, or practice; and teach that it is built on five fundamental points, one belonging to faith, and the other four to practice. The first is that confession of faith which I have already mentioned ; that " there is no god but the true God ; and tliat Mohammed is his apostle." Under which they comprehend six distinct branches : viz. 1. Belief in God ; 2. In his angels ; 3. In liis scriptures ; 4. In his pro- * Sionita, de Urb. Orient, p. 41, et Marracc. de Ale. p. 33. » Reland, de Rcl. Mob. p. 265. « The root Salama, from tn hence Islam is formed, in the first and fourth conjugations, signifies also to be saved, or to enter into a state of salvation; according to which, Islam mav be translated the religion or state of salvation ; but the other sense is more approved by the Mohammedans, and allud d to in the Koraa itself. See c. 2, p. 16, and c. 3, p. 37. SECT. rv. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 51 phets; 5. In the resurrection and day of judgment; and, 6. In God's absolute decree and predetermination both of good and evil. The four points relating to practice are, 1. Prayer, under which are comprehended those washings or purifications which are necessary pre- parations required before prayer; 2. Alms; 3. Fasting; and, 4. The pilgrimage to Mecca. Of each of these I shall speak in their order. That both Mohammed and those among his followers who are reckoned orthodox had, and continue to have, just and true notions of God and his attributes (always excepting their obstinate and impious rejecting of the Trinity), appears so plain from the Koran itself, and all the Mohammedan di\ines, that it would be loss of time to refute those who suppose the God of Mohammed to be different from the true God, and only a fictitious deity or idol of his own creation.^ Nor shall I here enter into any of the Mo- hammedan controversies concerning the divine nature and attributes, be- cause I shall have a more proper opportunity of doing it elsewhere.^ The existence of angels and their purity are absolutely required to be believed in the Koran ; and he is reckoned an infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any of them,^ or asserts any distinction of sexes among them. They believe them to have pure and subtle bodies, created of fire ; ^ that they neither eat nor drink, nor propagate tlieir species ; that they have various forms and offices ; some adoring God in different pos- tures, others singing praises to him, or interceding for mankind. They hold that some of them are employed in writing down the actions of men ; others in carrying the throne of God and other services. The four angels whom they look on as more eminently in God's favour, and often mention on account of the offices assigned them, are Gabriel, to whom they give several titles, particularly those of the holy spirit^ and the angel of revelations,^ supposing him to be honoured by God with a greater confidence than any other, and to be employed in writing down the divine decrees ; * Michael, the friend and protector of the Jews ; ^ Azrael, the a7igel of death, who separates men's souls from their bodies ; ^ and Israf il, whose office it will be to sound the trumpet at the resurrection.^ The Mohammedans also believe that two giiarclian angels attend on every man, to observe and wi'ite down his actions,^ being changed every day, and there- fore called al Moakkibat, or the angels who continually succeed one another. This whole doctrine concerning angels Mohammed and his disciples have borrowed from the Jews, who learned the names and offices of those beings from the Persians, as themselves confess.^ The ancient Persians firmly believed the ministry of angels, and their superintendence over the affairs of this world (as the Magians still do), and therefore assigned them distinct charges and provinces, giving their names to their months and the days of their months. Gabriel they called Sorush and Revan bakhsh, or the giver of souls, in opposition to the contrary office of the angel of death, to whom, among other names, they gave that of Mordad, or, the giver of death ; Michael they called Beshter, who, according to them, provides sustenance 7 Marracc. in Ale. p. 102. 8 Sect> viii. » Koran, c. 2, p. 13. i Ibid, c 7, and 38, » Ibid. c. 2, p. 12. s See the notes, Ibid. p. 13. * Vide Hyde, Hist. Rel. Vet. Pers p. 262. s Vide Ibid. p. 271, and note in Kor. p. 15. « Vide note y, Ibid. p. 4. 7 Kor. chap, 6, 13, and 86. The offices of these four angels are described almost in the same manner in the apociyphal gospel of Barnabas ; where it is said that Gabriel re- veals the secrets of God, Michael combats against his enemies, Eaphael receives the Bouls of those who die, and Uriel is to call every one to judgment on the last day. See the Menagiana, tom. iv. p. 333. ^ Kor. c. 10, » Talmud Hieros. in Rosh hashan. 52 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. for mankind.* Tlie Je\rs teach tliat the angels were created of fire :* that they have several offices ;' that they intercede for men,* and attend them.* The angel of death they name Duma, and say he calls dying persons by their respective names at their last hour.^ The devil, whom Mohammed names Eblis, from his despair, was once one of those angels who are nearest to God's presence, called Azazil," and fell, according to the doctrine of the Koran, for refusing to pay homage lo Adam at the command of God* Besides angels and deWls, the Mohammedans are tanght by the Koran to believe the existence of an intermediate order of creatures, which they call Jin or Genii, created also of fire,^ but of a erosser fabric than angels : since they eat and drink, and propagate theii* species, and are subject to death.* Some of these are supposed to be good, and others bad, and capable of future salvation or damnation, as men are ; whence Moham- med pretended to be sent for the convei-sion of Genii as well as men.^ The Orientals pretend that these Genii inhabited the world for many ages before Adam was created, under the government of several succes- sive princes, who all bore the common name of Solomon ; but falling at length into an almost general conniption, Eblis was sent to drive tliem into a remote pai-t of the earth, there to be confined ] that some of that generation still remaining, were by Tahmurath, one of the ancient kings of Pei-sia, who waged war against them, forced to retreat into the famous mountains of Kaf Of which successions and wars they have many fabu- lous and romantic stories. They also make different ranks and degrees among these beings (if they be not rather supposed to be of a different species), some being called absolutely Jin, some Peri or fairies, some Div or giants, others Tacwins or fates.^ The Moliammedan notions concerning these Genii agree almost exactly with what the Jews write of a sort of demons, called Shedim, whom some fancy to have been begotten by two angels named Aza and Azael, on Maamah the daughter of Lamech, before the flood.* However the Shedim, they tell us, agi-ee in thi'ee things with the ministering angels ; for that, like them, they have "wings, and fly fi'om one end of the world to the other, and have some knowledge of futimty ; and in three things they agree with men, like whom they eat and drink, are propagated, and die.* They also say that some believe in the law of Moses, and are consequently good, and that others of them are infidels and reprobates.^ As to the Scriptures, the Mohammedans are taught by the Koran that God, in divei^s ages of the world, gave revelations of his will in wiiting to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is absolutely ne- cessaiy for a good Maslem to believe. The number of these sacred books was, according to them, 104. Of which ten were given to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Edris or Enoch, ten to Abraham ; and the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Koran, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and Mohammed ; which last being the seal of the prophets, those revelations ai-e now closed, and no more are to be expected. All these divine books, except the four last, they 1 Vide Hyde, ubi sup. c. xix. and xx. ' Gemar. in Hagig. and Bereshit rabbah. &c. Vide Psalm civ. 4- ' Yalkut hadash. * Gemar. in Shebet, and Bava Bathra, &c. ^ Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni. ^ Gemar. Beracrioth. ' Vide Reland, de Rel. Moh. p. 189, &c. 6 Koran, c. 2, p. 5. See also c. 7, 38, kc. ^ Koran, c. 55. See the notes there. ^ Jallalo'ddin. in Koran, c. 2, and 18. 2 Vide Koran, c. 55, 72, and 74. ' See D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient, p. 369, 820, &c. * In hbro Zobar. * Gemara, in Hagiga. ^ Igrat Baalc hayyim. c. 15. SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 53 aoree to be now entirely lost, and their contents unknown ; thougli the Sabians have several books which they attribute to some of the antediluvian prophets. And of those four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, they say, have undergone so many alterations and corruptions, that though there may possibly be some part of the true word of God therein, yet no credit is to be given to the present copies in the hands of the Jews and Christians. The Jews in particular are frequently reflected on in the Koran for falsifying and corrupting their copies of their law ; and some instances of such pretended corruptions, both in that book and the two others, are pro- duced by ]\Iohammedan wi-iters ; wherein they merely follow their own prejudices, and the fabulous accounts of spurious legends. Wliether they have any copy of the Pentateuch among them different from that of the Jews or not, I am not entirely satisfied, since a person who travelled into the east was told, that they had the books of Moses, though very much corrupted ; ^ but I know nobody that has ever seen them. However they certainly have and privately read a book which they call the Psalms of David, in Arabic and Persian, to which are added some prayers of Moses, Jonas, and others. ^ This Mr. Peland supposes to be a translation from our copies (though no doubt falsified in more places than one) ; but ]M. D'Herbelot says it contains not the same Psalms which are in our Psalter, being no more than an extract from thence mixed with other very chfierent pieces. ^ The easiest way to reconcile these two learned gentlemen is to presume that they speak of different copies. The Mohammedans have also a Gospel in Arabic, attributed to St. Barnabas, wherein the history of Jesus Christ is related in a manner very different from what we find in the true Gospels, and correspondent to those traditions which Mohammed has followed in his Koran. Of this Gospel the Moriscoes in Africa have a translation in Spanish ; ^^ and there is in the library of prince Eugene of Savoy a manuscript of some antiquity, containing an Italian translation of the same Gospel, ^ made, it is to be supposed, for the use of renegades. Thisbook appears to be no original forgery of the Mohammedans, though they have no doubt interj^olated and altered it since, the better to serve their pur- pose ; and in particular, instead of the Paraclete or Comforter, ^ they have in this apocryphal gospel inserted the word Periclyte, that is, the famous or illus- trious, by which they pretend their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signification of Mohammed in Arabic :^ and this they say to justify that passage of the Koran, ^ where Jesus Christ is formally asserted to have fore- told his coming, under his other name of Ahmed ; which is derived from the same root as Mohammed, and of the same import. Prom these or some other forgeries of the same stamp it is that the Mohammedans quote several pas- sages of which there are not the least footsteps in the New Testament. But after all we must not hence infer that the Mohammedans, much less all of them, hold these copies of theirs to be the ancient and genuine Scriptures themselves. If any argue, from the corruption which they insist has hap- pened to the Pentateuch and Gospel, that the Koran may possibly be corrupted also ; they answer, that God has promised that he will take care of the latter, and preserve it from any addition or diminution ; ^ but that lie left the two others to the care of men. However, they confess there are some various readings in the Koran, ^ as has been observed. ^ Terry's Voyage to the East Indies, p. 277. ^ De Rel. Moham. p. 23- ^ A copy of this kind he tells us is in the library of the Duke of Tuscany, Bibl. Orient, p. 924. 1^ Reland, ubi sup. ^ Menagian. torn. iv. p. 321, &c. 2 John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26, and xvi. 7, compared with Luke, xxiv. 49. ^ See Toland's Nazarenus, the first eight chapters. * Chap. 61. « Kor. c. 15. « Reland, ubi sup. p. 24, 27. 54 PRilLIMINAliY DISCOURSE. sect. iv. Besides the boobs above mentioned, the Mohammedans also take notico of the wi-itings of Daniel and several other prophets, and even make quotations thence : but these they do not believe to be divine scripture, or of any authority in matters of religion. ' The number of the prophets, which have been from time to time sent by God into the world, amoimts to no less than 224,000, according to one ]\Iohammedan tradition, or to 124,000, according to another; among whom 313 were apostles, sent mth special commissions to reclaim man- kind from infidelity and superstition ; and six of them brought new laws or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding : these were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. All the prophets in general the Mohammedans believe to have been free fi-om great sins, and erroi-s of consequence, and professors of one' and the same religion, that is Islam, notwithstanding the different laws and institutions which they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and hold some of them to be more excellent and honourable than others. ^ The first place they give to the revealers and establishers of new dispensations, and the next to the apostles. In this great number of prophets, they not only reckon divei-s patriarchs and persons named in Scriptui-e, but not recorded to have been prophets, (wherein the Jewish and Christian wi'iters have sometimes led the way^), as Adam, Seth, Lot, Ismael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of tlicm imder different names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethi-o, who are called in the Koran, Edi-is, Hud, and Shoaib ; but several others, whose very- names do not appear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there to fix them on), as Saleh, Kheck, Dhu'lkefl, &c. Several of their fabidous traditions concerning these prophets we shall occasionally mention in the notes on the Koran. . As Mohammed acknowledged the divine authority of the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, he often appeals to the consonancy of the Koran ^vith those writings, and to the prophecies which he pretended were therein con- cerning himself, as proofs of his mission ; and he frequently charges the Jews and Christians ^vdth stifling the passages which bear witness to liim. ^ His followers also fail not to produce several texts even from our present copies of the Old and New Testament, to support their master's cause. ^ The next article of faith required by the Koran is the belief of a general resiirrection and a future judgment. But before we consider the Moham- medan tenets in those points, it will be proper to mention what they are taught to believe concerning the intermediate state, both of the body and of the soul, after death. When a corpse is laid in the grave, they say he is received by an angel, "^v'ho gives him notice of the coming of the two Examiners ; who are two black livid angels, of a terrible appearance, named Monker and Nakir. These order the dead person to sit upright, and examine him concerning his faith, as to the unity of God, and the mission of Mohammed : if he answer rightly, they suffer the body to rest in peace, and it is refreshed by the air of paradise ; but if not, they beat him on the temples with iron maces, till he roars out for anguish so loud, that he is heard by all jfrom east to west, except men and genii. Then they press the earth on the 7 Reland, ubi sup. p. 41. ^ Kqi-^ q 2, p. 30, &c. * Thus Heber is said to have been a prophet by the Jews ; (Seder Olam. p. 2.) and Adam by Epiphanius. (Adv. Hasres. p. 6.; See also Joseph. Ant. Ub. i. c. 2. ^ Kor. c. 2, pp. 6, 12, 18, c. 3, &c 2 Some of these texts are produced by Dr. Prideaux at the end of his Life of Moham- med, and more by Marracci in Aleor, p. 26, &c. SECT. IT. PKELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 55 corpse, whicli is gna^red and stung till the resurrection by ninety-nine dragons with seven heads each : or, as others say, their sins will become venomous beasts, the grievous ones stinging like dragons, the smaller like scorpions, and the others like serpents : circumstances which some under- stand in a figurative sense.' This examination of the sepulchre is not only founded on an express tradition of Mohammed, but is also plainly hinted at, though not directly taught, in the.Koran,^ as the commentators agree. It is therefore believed by the orthodox Mohammedans in general, who take care to have their gi-aves made hollow, that they may sit up with more ease while they are examined by the angels;^ but is utterly rejected by the sect of the Motazalites, and perhaps by some others. These notions Mohammed certainly borrowed from the Jews, among whom they were very anciently received. ^ They say that the angel of death coming and sitting on the grave, the soul immediately enters the body and raises it on its feet ; that he then examines the departed pei-son, and strikes him with a chain half of iron and half of fire ; at the first blow all his limbs are loosened, at the second the bones are scattered, which are gathered to- gether again by angels, and the thii'd stroke reduces the body to dust and ashes, and it returns into the grave. This rack or torture they call Hibbut hakkeber, or the beating of the sepulchre, and pretend that all men in general must undergo it, except only those who die on the evening of the sabbath, or have dwelt in the land of Israel.'' If it be objected to the Mohammedans that the cry of the persons under such examination has been never heard ; or if they be asked how those can imdergo it whose bodies are burnt or devoured by beasts or bii'ds, or otherwise consumed without burial ; they answer, that it is very possible notwithstanding, since men are not able to perceive what is transacted on the other side the gi^ave ; and that it is sufficient to restore to life any part of the body which is capable of understanding the questions put by the angels.^ As to the soul, they hold that when it is separated from the body by the angel of death, who performs his office with ease and gentleness towards the good, and with violence towards the wicked,^ it enters into that state which they call al Berzakh,^ or the interval between death and the resurrection. If the departed person was a beKever, they say two angels meet it, who convey it to heaven, that its place there may be assigned, according to its merit and degree. For they distinguish the souls of the faithful into three classes : the first of prophets, whose souls are admitted into paradise immediately; the second of martyrs, whose spirits, according to a tradition of Mohammed, rest in the crops of green birds which eat of the fruits and drink of the river of paradise; and the third of other believers, concerning the state of whose souls before the resurrection there are various opinions. For, 1. Some say they stay near the sepulchres, with liberty however of going wherever they please ; which they confirm from. Mohammed's manner of saluting them at their graves, and his affii^ming that the dead heard those salutations as well as the living, though they could not answer. Whence perhaps proceeded the custom of visiting the tombs of relations, so common among the Mohammedans.^ 2. Others 3 Al Ghazali. Vide Poc. not. in. Port. Mosis, p. 241, &c. ^ Cap. 8, and 47, &c. . ^ Smith, De Morib. et Instit. Turcar. Ep. ii. p. 57. ^ Vide Hyde, in notis ad Bobov. de Visit, ^grot. p. 19. '' R. Elias, in Tishbi. See also Buxtoi-f. Synag. Judaic, and Lexic. Talmud. ^ Vide Poc. nbi sup. ^ Ivor. c. 79. The Jews say the same, in Nishmat bayim, f. 77. ^ Vide Kor. c. 23, and note ibid, a Poc ubi sup. p. 247. 56 PRELIMINAKY DISCOURSE. sect. iv. imagine tliey are with Adam, in the lowest heaven ; and also support their opinion by the authority of their prophet, who gave out that in his retura from the upper heavens in his pretended night journey, he saw there the souls of those who were destined to paradise on the right hand of Adam, and of those who were condemned to hell on his left.' 3. Others fancy the souls of believers remain in the well Zemzem, and those of infidels in a cei-tain well in the province of Hadi-amaut, called Borbut ; but this opinion is branded as heretical. 4. Othei^ say they stay near the gi-aves for seven days ; but that whither they go afterwards is uncei-tain. 5. Others, that they are all in the ti-umpet whose sound is to raise the dead. And, 6. Others, that the souls of the good dwell in the fonns of white bii'ds, under the throne of God.* As to the condition of the souls of the wicked, besides the opinions that have been already mentioned, the more orthodox hold that they are ofiered by the angels to heaven, from whence being repulsed as stinking and filthy, they are ofiered to the earth, and being also refused a place there, are cai-ried down to the seventh earth, and thi'o^Ti into a dungeon, which they call Sajin, under a gi-een rock, or according to a tradition of Mohammed, under the devil's jaw,^ to be there tormented, till they are called up to be joined again to their bodies. Though some among the Mohammedans have thought that the resur- rection will be merely sj^iritual, and no more than the returning of th« soul to the place whence it first came (an opinion defended by Ebn Siua,® and called by some the opinion of the philosophers) ; " and others, who allow man to consist of body only, that it will be merely corporeal ; the received oj^inion is, that both body and soul will be raised, and their doctors argue strenuously for the possibility of the resurrection of the body, and dispute with great subtlety concerning the manner of it.^ But Mohammed has taken care to preserve one pai-t of the body, whatever becomes of the rest, to serv'e for a basis of the future edifice, or rather a leaven for the mass which is to be joined to it. For he taught, that a man's body was entirely consumed by the earth, except only the bone called Ajb, which we name the OS coccygis, or rump-bone; and that as it was the first formed in the human body, it will also remain uncorrupted till the last day, as a seed fi'om whence the whole is to be renewed : and this he said will be efiected by a forty days' rain which God should send, and which would cover the earth to the height of twelve cubits, and cause the bodies to sprout forth like plants.^ Herein also is Mohammed beholden to the Jews ; who say the same things of the bone Luz,^ excepting that what he attributes to a great rain will be efiected according to them by a dew, impregDating the dust of the earth. The time of the resurrection the Mohammedans allow to be a perfect secret to all but God alone ; the angel Gabriel himself aclaiowledging his ignorance in this point when Mohammed asked him about it. However they say the approach of that day may be known from certain signs which are to precede it. These signs they distinguish into two sorts, the lesser, and the greater; which I shall briefly enumerate after Dr. Pocock.^ The lesser signs are, 1. The decay of faith among men.' 2. The advancing of the meanest persons to eminent dignity. 3. That a maid- servant shall become the mother of her mistress (or master) ; by wliich is ' Poc, ubi sup. p. 248. Consonant hereto are the Jewish notions of the souls of the just being on high, under the throne of glor}'. Vide ibid. p. 156. * Ibid. p. 250. * Al Beidawi. Vide Poc. ubi sup. p. 252. ^ Or, as we corruptly name him, Avicenna. " Kenz al afrar. ^ Vide Poc. ubi sup. p. 254. ^ Idem, ibid, p. 255, &c. ^ Bereshit. rabbah, &c. Tide Poc. ubi sup. p. 117 ^c 2 Ibii'-^i. p. 2o8, &c. 3 Sec Luke, xviii. 8. SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 07 mejint either that towards the end of the world men shall be much given to sensuality, or that the Mohammedans shall then take many captives. 4. Tumults and seditions. 5. A war with the Turks. 6. Great dis- tress in the world, so that a man when he passes by another's grave shall say, Would to God I were in his place ! 7. That the provinces of Irak and Syria shall refuse to pay their tribute. And, 8. That the buildings of Medina shall reach to Ahab, or Yahab. The greater signs are, 1. The sun's rising in the west. Which some have imagined it ori- ginally did.^ 2. The appearance of the beast, which shall rise out of the earth, in the temple of Mecca, or on mount Safa, or in the territory of Tayef, or some other ])lace. This beast they say is to be sixty cubits high ; though others, not satisfied with so small a size, will have her reach to the clouds and to heaven, when her head only is out ; and that she will appear for three days, but show only a third part of her body. They describe this mon- ster, as to her form, to be a compound of various species j having the head of a bull, the eyes of a hog, the ears of an elephant, the horns of a stag, the neck of an ostrich, the breast of a lion, the colour of a tiger, the back of a cat, the tail of a ram, the legs of a camel, and the voice of an ass. Some say this beast is to appear three times in several places, and that she will bring with her the rod of Moses, and the seal of Solomon ; and being so swift that none can overtake or escape her, will with the first strike all the believers on the face, and mark them with the word Mumen, i. e. believer; and with the latter will mark the unbelievers on the face likewise, with the word Oafer, i. e. infidel, that every person may be known for what he really is. They add that the same beast is to demonstrate the vanity of all religions except Islam, and to speak Arabic. All this stuff seems to be the result of a confused idea of the beast in the Revelations.^ 3. War with the Greeks, and the taking of Constantinople by seventy thousand of the posterity of Isaac, who shall not win that city by force of arms, but the walls shall fall down while they cry out. There is no god but God : God is most great ! As they are dividing the spoil, news will come to them of the appearance of Antichrist; whereupon they shall leave all, and return back. 4. The coming of Antichrist, whom the Mohammedans call al Masih al Dajjal, i. e. th^ false or lying Christ, and simply al Dajjal. He is to be one-eyed, and marked on the forehead with the letters C. F. R. signifying Cafer, or infidel. They say that the Jews give him the name of Messiah Ben David, and pretend he is to come in the last days, and to be lord both of laud and sea, and that he will restore the kingdom to them. According to the traditions of Mohammed, he is to appear first between Irak and Syria, or according to others, in the province of Khorasan; they add that he is to ride on an ass ; that he will be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Ispahan, and continue on earth forty days, of which one will be equal in length to a year, another to a month, another to a week, and the rest will be common days ; that he is to lay waste all places, but will not enter Mecca or Medina, which are to be guarded by angels ; and that at length he will be slain by Jesus, who is to encounter him at the gate of Lud. It is said that Mohammed foretold several Antichrists, to the number of about thirty ; but one of greater note than the rest. 5. The descent of Jesus on earth. They pretend that he is to descend * See Whiston's Theory of the Earth, book ii. p. 98, &c. ^ Chap. xiii. 58 PRELIMINAKY DISCOURSE. sect. iv. near the white tower to the east of Damascus, when the people are returned from the taking of Constantinople ; that he is to embrace the Mohammedan religion, marry a wife, get children, kill Antichrist, and at length die after forty years', or according to othei's twenty-four years'*^ continuance on earth. Under him they say there will be great security and plenty in the world, all hatred and malice being laid aside ; when lions and camels, beai-s and sheep, shall live in peace, and a child shall play with serpents unhurt,^ 6. War with the Jews; of whom the Mohammedans are to make a pro- digious slaughter, the very trees and stones discovering such of them as hide themselves, except only the tree called Gharkad, which is the tree of the Jews. 7. The eniption of Gog and ^Magog, or, as they are called in the east, Yajuj and Majuj; of whom many things are related in the Koran,* and the traditions of Mohammed. These barbarians, they tell us, having passed the lake of Tiberias, which the vanguard of their vast army will drink dry, will come to Jerusalem, and there greatly distress Jesus and hi>? compa- nions; till at his request God will destroy them, and fill the earth with their carcasses, which after some time God will send birds to carry away, at the jn'ayers of Jesus and his followers. Their bows, arrows, and quivci-s the Moslems will burn for seven years together;^ and at last God will send a rain to cleanse the earth, and to make it fertile. 8. A smoke, which shall fill the whole earth. ^ 9. An eclipse of the moon. Mohammed is reported to have said, that there would be three eclipses before the last hour ; one to be seen in the east, another in the west, and the third in Arabia. 10. The returning of the Arabs to the worship of Allat and al Uzza, and the rest of their ancient idols; after the decease of every one in whose heart there was faith equal to a grain of mustard seed, none but the very worst of men being left alive. For God, they say, will send a cold odori- ferous wind, blowing from Sp'ia Damascena, which shall sweep away the souls of all the faithful, and the Koran itself, so that men will remain in the grossest ignorance for a hundred years. 11. The discovery of a vast heap of gold and silver by the retreating of the Euphrates, wliich will be the destruction of many. 12. The demolition of the Caaba, or temple of Mecca, by the Ethio- pians.2 13. The speaking of beasts and inanimate things. 14. The breaking out of fire in the province of Hcjaz; or, according to others, in Yamau. \b. The appearance of a man of the descendants of Kahtan, who shall drive men before him with his staff. 16. The coming of the Mohdi, or director; concerning whom Moham- med prophesied, that the world should not have an end till one of his own family should govern the Arabians, whose name should be the same with his own name, and whose father's name should also be the same with liis fa- ther's name; and who should fill the earth with righteousness. This per- son the Shiitcs believe to be now alive, and concealed in some secret place, till the time of his manifestation ; for they suppose him to be no other than the last of the twelve Imams, named Mohammed Abu'lkasem, as their prophet was, and the son of Hassan al Askeri, the eleventh of that suc- cession. He was born at Sermanrai in the two hundred and fifty-fifili Al Thalabi, in Kor. chap. 4. 7 Sec Isaiah xi. 6, &c. « Chap. 18. and 21 9 See Ezek. x.xxix. 9. Revel, xx. 8. ^ See Koran, chap. 44, and the notes thereon. ComDare also Joel ii. 30, and Rev. ix. 2. ^ See after, in this section. SECT. IT. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. o9 year of the Hejra.^ From tliis tradition, it is to be presumed, a,n opinion pretty current among the Christians took its rise, that the Mohammedans are in expectation of their prophet's return. 17. A wind which shall sweep away the souls of all who have but a grain of faith in their hearts, as has been mentioned under the tenth sign. These are the greater signs which, according to their doctrine, are to pre- cede the resurrection, but still leave the hour of it uncertain : for the im- mediate sign of its being come will be the first blast of the trumpet ; which they believe will be sounded three times. The first they call the blast of consternation ; at the hearing of which all creatures in heaven and earth shall be struck with terror, except those whom God shall please to exempt from it. The effects attributed to this first sound of the trumpet are very wonderful : for they say, the earth will be shaken, and not only all build- ings, but the very mountains, levelled; that the heavens shall melt, the sun be darkened, the stars fall on the death of the angels, who, as some imagine, hold them suspended between heaven and earth, and the sea shall be trou- bled and dried up, or, according to others, turned into flames, the sun, moon, and stars being thrown into it : the Koran, to express the greatness of the terror of that day, adds that women who give suck shall abandon the care of their infants, and even the she-camels which have gone ten months with young (a most valuable part of the substance of that nation) shall be utterly- neglected. A farther effect of this blast will be that concourse of beasts mentioned in the Koran,* though some doubt whether it be to precede the resurrection or not. They who suppose it will precede, think that all kinds of animals, forgetting their respective natural fierceness and timidity, will run together into one place, being terrified by the sound of the trumpet and the sudden shock of nature. The Mohammedans believe that this first blast will be followed by a second, which they call the blast of exanimation;^ when all creatures both in heaven and earth shall die or be annihilated, except those which God shall please to exempt from the common fate ; ^ and this, they say, shall happen in the twinkling of an eye, nay in an instant j nothing surviving except God alone, with paradise and hell, and the inhabitants of those two places, and the throne of glory.'' The last who shall die will be the angel of death. Forty years after this will be heard the blast of resur^^ection, when the trumpet shall be sounded the third time by Israfi], who, together with Ga- briel and Michael, will be previously restored to life, and standing on the rock of the temple of Jerusalem,^ shall at God's command call together all the dry and rotten bones, and other dispersed parts of the bodies, and the very hairs, to judgment. This angel having, by the divine order, set the trumpet to his mouth, and called together all the souls from all parts, will throw them into his trumpet, from whence, on his giving the last sound, at the command of God, they shall fly forth like bees, and fill the whole space between heaven and earth, and then repair to their respective bodies, which the opening earth will suffer to arise ; and the first who shall so arise, 3 Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 531. * Chap. 81. ^ Several writers, however, make no distinction between this blast and the first, supposing the trumpet will sound but twice. See the notes to Kor. chap. 39. ^ Ivor. chap. 39. ? To these some add the spirit who bears the waters on which the throne is placed, the preserved Table, wherein the decrees of God are registei-ed, and the pen wherewith they are written ; all which things the Mohammedans imagine were created before the world. ^ la this circumstance the Mohammedans follow the Jews, who also agree that the trum- pet will sound more than once. Vide R. Bechai in Biur hattorah, and Otioth shel R. Akiba. 60 rUELliUNARY DISCOURSE. sect. iv. accor Jing o a tradition of Moliammed, will be himself. For this birth the earth will be prepared by the rain above mentioned, which is to fall conti- nually for forty years,'' and will resemble the seed of a man, and be supplied from the water under the throne of God, which is called living icater; by the efficacy and virtue of which the dead bodies shall spring forth from their gi-aves, as they did in their mother's womb, or as corn sprouts forth by com- mon rain, till they become perfect ; after which, breath will be breathed into them, and they will sleep in their sepulchres till they are raised to life at the last trump. As to the length of the day of judgment, the Koran in one place tells us that it will last one thousand years,^ and in another fifty thousand.^ To reconcile this apparent contradiction, the commentators use several shifts: some saying, they know not what measure of time God intends in those passages; others, that these forms of speaking are figurative, and not to be strictly taken, and were designed only to express the terribleness of that day, it being usual for the Arabs to describe what they dislike as of long con- tinuance, and what they like as the contrary ; and others suppose them spoken only in reference to the difficulty of the business of the day, which if God should commit to any of his creatures, they would not be able to go through it in so many thousand years ; to omit some other opinions which we may take notice of elsewhere. Having said so much in relation to the time of the resurrection, let us now see who are to be raised fi'om the dead, in what manner and form they shall be raised, in what place they shall be assembled, and to what end ; according to the doctrine of the Mohammedans. That the resurrection will be general, and extend to all creatures, both angels, genii, men, and animals, is the received opinion, which they sujiport by the authority of the Koran ; though that passage which is produced to prove the resuiTection of brutes be otherwise interpreted by some.^ The manner of their resurrection will be very difierent. Those who are destined to be partakei*s of eternal happiness will arise in honour and security; and those who are doomed to misery, in disgrace and under dis- mal apprehensions. As to mankind, they say, that they will be raised peifect in all their parts and members, and in the same state as they came out of their mother's wombs, that is, barefooted, naked, and uncircumcised ; which circumstances when Mohammed was telling his wife Ayesha, she, fearing the rules of modesty might be thereby violated, objected that it would be very indecent for men and women to look upon one another in that condition : but he answered her, that the business of the day would be too weighty and serious to allow them the making use of that liberty. Others, however, allege the authority of their prophet for a contrary opinion as to their nakedness, and pretend he asserted that the dead should arise dressed in the same clothes in which they died; ■* unless we interpret these words, as some do, not so much of the outward dress of the body, as the inward clothing of the mind; and understand thereby that every person will rise again in the same state as to his faith or infidelity, knowledge or ignorance, his good or bad works. Mohammed is also said to have farther taught, by another tradition, that mankind shall be assembled at the last day, distinguished into three classes. The first, of those who go on foot ; ® Elsewhere (see hcfore, p. 56) this rain is said to continue only forty days; hut it rather seems that it is to fall during; the whole interval hetwcen the second and third blasts. 1 Kor. chap. 32. * lb. chap 70. ' See the notes to Ivor. chap. 81, and the preceding page. * In this also they follow their old guides, the Jews ; who say that if the wheat which is sown naked rise clothed, it is no wonder the pious who arc buried in their clothes should rise with them* Gemax. Sanlicdr foL 00, SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 61 the second, of those who ride; and the third, of those who creep grovelling with their faces on the ground. The first class is to consist of those believers whose good works have been few; the second of those who are in greater honour with God, and more acceptable to him ; whence Ali affirmed that the pious, when they come forth from the sepulchres, shall find ready pre- pared for them white winged camels, with saddles of gold ; wherein are to be observed some footstei)s of the doctrine of the ancieat Arabians;^ and the third class, they say, will be composed of the infidels, whom God shall cause to make their appearance with their faces on the earth, blind, dumb, and deaf. But the ungodly will not be thus only distinguished ; for, ac- cording to a tradition of the prophet, there will be ten sorts of wicked men on whom God shall on that day fix certain discretory marks. The first will appear in the form of apes ; these are the professors of Zendicism : the second in that of swine ; these they who have been greedy of filthy lucre, and enriched themselves by public oppression : the third will be brought with their heads reversed, and their feet distorted; these are the usurers: the fourth will wander about blind; these are unjust judges: the fifth will be deaf, dumb, and blind, understanding nothing; these are they who glory in their works : the sixth will gnaw their tongues, which will hang down upon their breasts, corrupted blood flowing from their mouths like spittle, so that every body shall detest therr^ these are the learned men and doctors, whose actions contradict their sayings : the seventh will have their hands and feet cut off; these are they who have injured their neighbours : the eighth will be fixed to the trunks of palm-trees or stakes of wood ; these are the fidse accusers and informers : the ninth will stink worse than a coiTupted corpse ; these are they who have indulged their passions and voluptuous appetites, but refused God such part of their wealth as was due to him: the tenth will be clothed with garments daubed with pitch; and these are the proud, the vainglorious, and the arrogant. As to the place where they are to be assembled to judgment, the Korfm and the traditions of Mohammed agree that it will be on the earth, but in what part of the earth it is not agreed. Some say their prophet mentioned Syria for the place; others, a white and even tract of land, without inhabi- tants or any signs of buildings. Al Ghazali imagines it will be a second earth, which he supposes to be of silver; and others an earth which has nothing in common with ours, but the name ; having, it is possible, heard something of the new heavens and new earth mentioned in Scripture : whence the Koran has this expression, " on the day wherein the earth shall be changed into another earth." ^ The end of the resurrection the Mohammedans declare to be, that they who are so raised may give an account of their actions, and receive the reward thereof. And they believe that not only mankind, but the genii and irrational animals also '' shall be judged on this great day; when the unarmed cattle shall take vengeance on the horned, till entire satisfaction shall be given to the injured.^ ^ See before, sect, i. p. 15. ^ Chap. 14. 7 Kor. chap. vi. Vide Mairaonid. More Nev. part. 3. chap. 17. ^ This opinion the learned Greaves supposed to have taken its rise from the following words of Ezekiel, wrongly understood; "And as for ye, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God, Behold I judge between cattle and cattle, be- tween the rams and the he-goats. — Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle, and between the lean cattle; because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad ; there- fore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle," &c. Ezek. xxxiv. 17, 20, 21, 22. Much might be said concerning brutes deserving future reward and punishment. See Bayle, Diet. Ilist. Art. Eorarius, Rem. U. &c C2 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. As to mankind, they hold that when they are all assembled together, they will not be immediately brought to judgment, but the angels will keep tliem in their ranks and order while they attend for that purpose: and this attendance some say is to last forty years, others seventy, others three liuudred ; nay, some say no less than fifty thousand yeai"s, each of them vouching their prophet's authority. During this space they will stand looking up to heaven, but without receiving any information or orders thence, and are to suffer gi'ievous torments, both the just and the unjust, though with manifest difference. For the limbs of the former, particularly those parts which they used to wash in making the ceremonial ablution before prayer, shall shine gloriously, and their sufferings shall be light in comparison, and shall last no longer than the time necessary to say the ap- pointed prayers ; but the latter will have their faces obscured with black- ness, and disfigured with all the marks of sorrow and deformity. What will then occasion not the lea^t of their pain, is a wonderful and incredible sweat, which will even stop their mouths, and in which they will be immersed in various degrees according to their demerits, some to the ankles only and some to the knees, some to the middle, some so high as their mouth, and others as their ears. And this sweat, they say, will be provoked not only by that vast concourse of all sorts of crea- tures mutually pressing and treading on one another's feet, but by the near and unusual approach of the sun, which will be then no farther from them than the distance of a mile, or (as some translate the word, the sig- nification of which is ambiguou?,) than the length of a bodkin. So that their skulls will boil like a pot,^ and they will be all bathed in sweat. From this inconvenience, however, the good will be protected by the shade of God's throne; but the wicked will be so miserably tormented with it, and also with hunger and thirst, and a stifling air, that they will cry out Lord, deliver us from this awjuish, though thou send us into hdl-jire} What they fable of the extraordinary heat of the sun on this occasion, the Moham- medans certainly boiTOwed from the Jews, who say that, for the punishment of the wicked on the last day, that planet shall be drawn forth from its sheath, in which it is now put up, lest it should destroy all things by its excessive heat.- When those who have risen shall have waited the limited time, the Mohammedans believe God will at length appear to judge them, Moham- med undertaking the office of intercessor, after it shall have been declined by Adam, Xoah, Abraham, and Jesus, who shall beg deliverance only for their ovua. souls. They say that on this solemn occasion God will come in the clouds, surrounded by angels, and will produce the books wherein the actions of every person are recorded by their guardian angels,^ and will command the pro})hets to bear witness against those to whom they have been ra>i)ectively sent. Then every one will be examined concerning all his words and actions, uttered and done by him in this life; not as if God needed any information in those respects, but to oblige the pereon to make public confession and acknowledgment of God's justice. The par- ticulars of which they shall give an account, as Mohammed himself enume- rated them, are : of their time, how they spent it ; of their wealth, by what means they acquired it, and how they employed it; of their bodies, wherein they exercised them; of their knowledge and learning, what use they made of them. It is said, however, that Mohammed has affirmed that no less than seventy thousand of his followers should be permitted to » Al Ghazili. 1 Idem. » Vide Pocock, Not. in Port. Mosis, p. 277 ' Seo before, p. 51. SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 63 enter paradise without any previous examination ; which seems to be con- tradictory to what is said above. To the questions it is said each person shall answer, and make his defence in the best manner he can, endeavour- ing to excuse himself by casting the blame of his evil deeds on others ; so that a dispute shall arise even between the soul and the body, to which of tbem their guilt ought to be imputed : the soul saying, " O Lord, my body I received from thee ; for thou createdst me without a hand to lay hold with, a foot to walk with, an eye to see with, or an understanding to ap- prehend with, till I came and entered into this body ; therefore punish it eternally, but deliver me." The body on the other side will make this apology, " O Lord, thou createdst me like a stock of wood, having neither hand that 1 could lay hold with, nor foot that I could walk with, till this soul, like a ray of light, entered into me, and my tongue began to speak, my eye to see, and my foot to walk ; therefore punish it eternally, but de- liver me." But God will propound to them the following parable of the blind man, and the lame man, which, as well as the preceding dispute, was borrowed by the Mohammedans from the Jews.* A certain king having a pleasant garden, in which were ripe fruits, set two persons to keep it, one of whom was blind, and the other lame, the former not being able to see the fruit, nor the latter to gather it ; the lame man, however, seeing the fruit, persuaded the blind man to take him upon his shoulders ; and by that means he easily gathered the fruit, which they divided between them. The lord of the garden coming some time after, and inquiring after his fruit, each began to excuse himself; the bHnd man said he had no eyes to see with ; and the lame man that he had no feet to approach the trees. But the king, ordering the lame man to be set on the blind, passed sentence on and punished them both. And in the same manner will God deal with the body and the soul. As these apologies will not avail on that day, so will it also be in vain for any one to deny his evil actions, since men and angels and his own members, nay, the very earth itself, will be ready to bear witness against him. Though the Mahommedans assign so long a space for the attendance of the resuscitated before their trial, yet they tell us the trial itself will be over in much less time, and, according to an expression of Mohammed, familiar enough to the Arabs, will last no longer than while one may milk an ewe, or than the space between two milkings of a she-camel.^ Some, explaining those words so frequently used in the Koran, " God will be swift in taking an account," say that he will judge all creatures in the space of half a day, and others that it will be done in less time than the twinkling of an eye.^ At this examination they also believe that each person will have the book wherein all the actions of his life are \vritten delivered to him ; which books the righteous will receive in their right hand, and read with great pleasure and satisfaction ; but the ungodly will be obliged to take them against their wills in their left,'' which will be bound behind their backs, their right hand being tied up to their necks.^ To show the exact justice which will be observed on this great day of trial, the next thing they describe is the halance, wherein all things shall be weighed. They say it will be held by Gabriel, and that it is of so vast a size, that its two scales, one of which hangs over paradise, and the other over hell, are capacious enough to contain both heaven and earth. Though * Gemai-a, Sanhedr, chap. xi. R. Jos. Albo, Serm. 4, chap, xxxiii. See also Epiphan. in Ancorat. sect. Ixxxix. ^ The Arabs use, after they have drawn some milk from the camel, to wait awhile, and let her yoting one suck a little, that she may give down her milk more plentifully at the second milking. ^ Pocock, Kot. in Port. Mosis, p. 278—282. See also Ivor. chap. 2. p. 24. 7 Kor. chap. 17, 18, 69, and 84. § Jallalo'ddin. 64 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. some are willing to understaud what is said in the Korun concerning this balance allegoricallv, and only as a figurative representation of God's equity, yet the more ancient and orthodox opinion is that it is to be taken literally ; and since words and actions, being mere accidents, are not capa- ble of being themselves weighed, they say that the books wherein they are written will be thrown into the scales, and according as those wherein the good or the evil actions are recorded shall preponderate, sentence will bo given ; those whose balances laden with their good works shall be heavy will be saved, but those whose balances are light will be condemned,^ Nor will any one have cause to complain that God suifers any good action to pass unrewarded, because the wicked for the good they do have their re- ward in this life, and therefore can expect no favour in the next. The old Jewish writers make mention as well of the books to be pro- duced at the last day, wherein men's actions are registered,^ as of the balance wherein they shall be weighed f and the Scripture itself seems to have given the first notion of both.^ But what the Persian Magi believe of the balance comes nearest to the Mohammedan opinion. They hold that on the day of judgment two angels, named Milir and Sorush, will stand on the bridge we shall describe by and by, to examine every person as he passes ; that the former, who represents the divine mercy, will hold a ba- lance in his hand, to weigh the actions of men ; that according to the report he shall make thereof to God, sentence will be pronounced, and those whose good works are found more ponderous, if they turn the scale but by the weight of a hair, will be permitted to pass forward to paradise ; but those whose good works shall be found light will be, by the other angel, who represents God's justice, precipitated from the bridge into hell.* This examination being past, and every one's w^orks weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will follow, according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made them for the injuries which they have suffered. And since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be, by taking away a proportionable part of tho good works of him who oflfered the injury, and adding it to those of him who sufiered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, " Lord, we have given to every one his due ; and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth tho weight of an ant," God will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into paradise ; but if, on the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, God will order that an equal w^eight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to hell laden with both. This will be the method of God's dealing with mankind. As to brutes, after they shall have likewise taken vengeance of one another, as we have men- tioned above, he will command them to be changed into dust;^ wicked men being reserved to more grievous punishment : so that they shall cry out, on hwiriug this sentence pronounced on the brutes, " Would to God that we were dust also !" A-S to the genii, many Mohammedans are of opinion that such of them as are true believers will undergo the same •Kor. chap. 33, 7, &c. ^ Midrash, Yalkut Shcmuni, fol. 153, chap. 3. 2 Gcmar. Sanhedr. f. L>1. &c. 'Exod. xxxii. 32, 33. Dan. vii. 10. Rev. xx. 12, &c. and Dan. V. 27. * Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245, 401, &c. ^ Yet they say the dog of the seven sleepers and Ezra's ass, which was raised to life, will, by peculiar fa- vour, be admitted into paradise. See Kor. chap. 18. and chap. '6, SECT.rv'. PRELIMIKAKY DISCOURSE. 65 fate as the irrational animals, and have no other reward than the favour of being converted into dust; and for this they quote the authority of their prophet. But this, however, is judged not so very reasonable, since the genii, being capable of putting themselves in the state of believers as well as men, must consequently deserve, as it seems, to be rewarded for their faith, as well as to be punished for their infidelity. Wherefore some enter- tain a more favourable opinion, and assign the believing genii a place near the confines of paradise, where they will enjoy sufficient felicity, though they be not admitted into that delightful mansion. But the unbelieving genii, it is universally agreed, will be punished eternally, and be thrown into hell with the infidels of mortal race. It may not be improper to observe, that under the denomination of unbelieving genii, the Moham- medans comprehend also the devil and his companions.^ The trials being over and the assembly dissolved, the Mohammedans hold, that those who are to be admitted into paradise will take the right hand way, and those who are destined to hell-fire will take the left, but both of them must first pass the bridge, called in Arabic, al Sirat, which they say is laid over the midst of hell, and described to be finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword ; so that it seems very difficult to conceive how any one shall be able to stand upon it : for which reason most of the sect of the Motazalites reject it as a fable, though the orthodox think it a sufficient proof of the truth of this article, that it was seriously affirmed by him who never asserted a falsehood, meaning their prophet j who, to add to the difficulty of the passage, has likewise declared that this bridge is beset on each side with briars and hooked thorns ; which will however be no impediment to the good, for they shall pass with wonderful ease and swiftness, like lightning, or the wind, Mohammed and his Moslems leading the way ; whereas the wicked, what with the slipperiness and extreme narrowness of the path, the entangling of the thorns, and the extinction of the light wdiich directed the former to paradise, will soon miss their footing, and fall down headlong into hell, vvhich is gaping beneath them.''' This circumstance Mohammed seems also to have borrowed from the Magians, who teach that on the last day all mankind will be obliged to pass a bridge which they call Pul Chinavad, or China 7ar, that is, the strait bridge, leading directly into the other world ; on the midst of which they suppose the angels, appointed by God to perform that office, will stand, who will require of every one a strict account of his actions, and weigh them in the manner we have already mentioned.^ It is true the Jews speak likewise of the bridge of hell, which they say is no broader than a thread ; but then they do not tell us that any shall be obliged to pass it, except the idolaters, who will fall thence into perdition.^ As to the punishment of the wicked, the Mohammedans are taught that hell is divided into seven stories, or apartments, one below another, designed for the reception of as many distinct classes of the damned.^ The first, which they call Jehennam, they say will be the receptacle of those who ac- knowledged one God, that is, the wicked Mohammedans, who, after having there been punished according to their demerits, will at length be released. The second, name;! Ladha, they assign to the Jews ; the third, named al Hotama, to the Christians; the fourth, named al Sair, to the Sabians; the fifth, named Sakar, to the Magians ; the sixth, named al Jahim, to the idolaters ; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, and « Vide Kor. c. 18. 7 Pocock, iibi sup. p. 282—289. ^ Hyde, de Eel. Vet. Ters, pp. 245, 402, &c. ^ Midrash, Yalkut Keubeni, sect, Gehiunom. ^ Kor. c. 15. 6<) rRELLMIXAKY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. is called al Hdwiyat, to the hypocrites, or those who outwardly professed Bome religion, but in their hearts were of none.* Over each of these apart- ments they believe there will be set a guard of angels,^ nineteen in number,* to whom the damned will confess the just judgment of God, and beg them to intercede with him for some alleviation of their pain, or that they may be delivered by being annildlated.^ Mohammed has, in bis Koran and traditions, been very exact in describing the various torments of hell, which, according to him, the wicked will suffer both from intense heat and excessive cold. We shall however enter into no detail of them here, but only observe that the degrees of these pains will also vary, in jjroportion to the crimes of the sufferer, and the a}>artment he is condemned to ; and that he who is punished most lightly of all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervour of which will cause his scull to boil like a cauldron. The condition of these unhappy wretches, as the same prophet teaches, cannot be properly called either life or death ; and their misery will be greatly increased by their despau* of being delivered from that place, since according to that frequent expression in the Koran, " they must remain therein for ever." It must be remarked, however, that the infidels alone ^\*ill be liable to eternity of damnation, for the Moslems, or those who have embraced the true religion, and have been guilty of hei- nous sins, will be delivered thence after they shall have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. The contrary of either of these oj)inions is reckoned heretical ; for it is the constant orthodox doctrine of the Mohammedans that no unbeliever or idolater will ever be released, nor any pei-son who iu his lifetime professe 1 and believed the unity of God be condemned to eternal punishment. As to the time and manner of the deliverance of those believers whose evil actions shall outweigh their good, there is a tradition of Mohammed that they shall be released after they shall have been scorched and their skins burnt black, and shall afterwards be admitted into paradise ; and when the inhabitants of that place shall iu contempt call them infenuds, God will, on their prayers, take from them that oppro- brious appellation. Others say he taught, that while they continue in hell they shall be deprived of life, or (as his words are otherwise interpreted) be cast into a most profound sleep, that they may be the less sensible of their torments ; and that they shall afterwards be received into paradise, and there revive on their being washed with the water of life; though some suppose they will be restored to life before they come forth from their place of punishment, that at their bidding farewell to their pains, they may have some little taste of them. The time which these believers shall be detained there, according to a tradition handed down from theii* prophet, will not be less than nine hundred years, nor more than seven thousand. And as to the manner of their delivery, they say that they shall be distinguished by the marks of jirostratiou on those parts of their bodies with which they used to touch the ground in prayer, and over which the fire will therefore have no power; and that being known by this characteristic, they will be 2 Others fill those ap.irtmonts with different companv. Some place in the second, the idolaters; in the tliird, Gog and Magog, »Scc. ; in the fourth, the devils; in the fifth, those who neglect alms and prayers; and crowd the Jews, Christians, and Magians together in the sixth. Some again will have the first to be prepared for the Dahrians, or those who deny the creation, and believe the eternity of the world; the second, for the Dualists, or Manichees, and the idolatrous Arabs ; the third, for the Bramins of the Indies; the fourth, for the Jews; the fifth, for the Christians; and the sixth, for the Magiaas. But all agree in assigning the seventh to the hvpocrites. Vide Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Mohara. p. 412. D'HerbcL Bibl. Orient, p. 308, &c. 3 Kor. c. 40, 43, 74, &c. * Ibid. c. 74. ^ xbid. c. 40, 43. SECT. IV. PRELIMINAEY DISCOURSE. 67 released by tlie mercy of God, at the intercession of Mohammed and the blessed ; whereujoon those who shall have been dead will be restored to life, as has been said ; and those whose bodies shall have contracted any sootiness or filth from the flames and smoke of hell will be immersed in one of the rivers of paradise, called the rivei' of life, which will wash them whiter than pearls.® Por most of these circumstances relating to hell and the state of the danuied, Mohammed was likewise in all probability indebted to the Jews and in part to the Magians ; both of whom agree in making seven distinct apartments in hell,^ though they vary in other particulars. The former place an angel as a guard over each of these infernal apartments, and suppose he will intercede for the miserable wretches there imprisoned, who will openly acknowledge the justice of God in their condemnation.^ They also teach that the wicked will sufl:er a diversity of punishments, and that by intolerable cold^ as well as heat, and that their faces shall become black ; ^ and believe those of their own religion shall also be punished in hell hereafter, according to their crimes, (for they hold that few or none will be found so exactly righteous as to deserve no punishment at all,) but will soon be delivered thence, when they shall be sufficiently j^urged from their sins, by their father Abraham, or at the intercession of him or some other of the prophets.^ The Magians allow but one angel to j^reside over all the seven hells, who is named by them Vanand Yezad, and, as they teach, assigns punishments proportionate to each person's crimes, restraining also the t}Tranny and excessive cimelty of the devil, who would, if left to him- self, torment the damned beyond their sentence.^ Those of this religion do also mention and describe various kinds of torments, wherewith the wicked will be punished in the next life ; among which though they reckon extreme cold to be one, yet they do not admit fire, out of respect, as it seems, to that element, which they take to be the representation of the divine nature ; and therefore they rather choose to describe the damned souls as suffering by other kinds of punishment : such as an intolerable stink, the stinging and biting of serpents and wild beasts, the cutting and tearing of the fiesh by the devils, excessive hunger and thirst, and the like.'' Before we proceed to a description of the Mohammedan paradise, we must not forget to say something of the wall or partition which they imagine to be between that place and hell, and seems to be copied from the great gulf of separation mentioned in Scripture.^ They call it al Orf, and more frequently in the plural, al Araf, a word derived from the verb ara/a, which signifies to distinguish between things, or to part them ; though some commentators give another reason for the imposition of this name, because, say they, those who stand on this partition will know and disti7iguish the blessed from the damned, by their respective marks or characteristics : ^ and others say the word properly intends any thing that is high raised or elevated, as such a wall of separation must be supposed to be.^ The Mohammedan writers gi-eatly differ as to the persons who are to be found on al Araf Some imagine it to be a sort of Umbo, for the patriarchs and prophets, or for the martyi-s and those who have been most eminent for « Poc. Not. in Port. Mosis, p. 289—291. 7 Nishmat hayim, f. 32. Gemar. in Arubin, f. 19. Zohar. ad Exod. xxvi. 2, &c. and Hvde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245. 8 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, part 11, f. 116. » Zohar. ad Exod. xix. ^ Yalkut Shcmuni, ubi sup. f. 86. 2 Nishmat hayim, f. 82. Gemar. Arubin, f. 19. Vide Ivor. c. 2. p. 11, and 3, p. 38, and notes there. 3 Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 182. * Vide Eundem, ibid, p 399, &c. SLukexvi.26. « Jallalo'ddin, Vide Kor. c. 7. "AlBeidawi. 68 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. if. sanctity, among whom they say there will be also angels in the form of men. Others- place here such whose good and evil works are so equal that they exactly counterpoise each other, and therefore deserve neither reward nor punishment ; and these, they say, will on the last day be admitted into pai*adise, after they shall have performed an act of adoration, which will bo imputed to them as a merit, and will make the scale of their good works to overbalance. Others sup})ose this intermediate space will be a receptacle for those who have gone to war, without their parents' leave, and therein suffered martvi'dom ; being excluded paradise for their disobedience, and escaping hell because they are martyrs. The breadth of this partition wall cannot be supposed to be exceeding great, since not only those who shall stand thereon will hold conference \vith the inhabitants both of paradise and of hell, but the blessed and the damned themselves will also be able to talk to one another.^ If Mohammed did not take his notions of the partition we have been describing from Scripture, he must at least have borrowed it at second-hand from the Jews, who mention a thin wall dividing pai-adise from hell.^ The righteous, as the Mohammedans are taught to believe, having sur- mounted the difficulties, and passed the sharp bridge above mentioned, before they enter pai-adise will be refreshed by drinking at the pond of their prophet, who describes it to be an exact square, of a month's journey in compass ; its water, which is supplied by two pipes from al Ca\vi:har, one of the rivers of paradise, being whiter than milk or silver, and more odoriferous than musk, with as many cups set around it as there are stara in the firmament ; of which water whoever di'inks will thirst no more for ever.^ This is the first taste which the blessed will have of their futui'O and now near approaching felicity. Though paradise be so very frequently mentioned in the Koran, yet it is a dispute among the Mohammedans whether it be akeady created, or to be created hereafter ; the Motazalites and some other sectaries asserting that there is not at present any such place in nature, and that the paradise which the righteous will inhabit in the next life ^vill be difi'erent from that from which Adam was expelled. However the orthodox profess the contraiy, maintaining that it was created even before the world, and describe it, from their prophet's traditions, in the following manner : — They say it is situate above the seven heavens (or in the seventh heaven), and next under the throne of God ; and to express the amenity of the place tell us, that the earth of it is of the finest wheat flour, or of the purest musk ; or, as othei*s will have it, of safl*ron ; that its stones are pearls and jacinths, the walls of its buildings enriched with gold and silver, and that the trunks of all its trees are of gold ; among which the most remarkable is the tree called Tiiba, or the tree of happiness. Concerning this tree they fable that it stands in the palace of Mohammed, though a branch of it will reach to the house of every true believer ;^ that it will be loaden with pomegranates, grapes, dates, and other fruits of surprising bigness, and of tiistes unknown to mortals. So that if a man desire to eat of any par- ticular kind of fruit, it will immediately be presented to him, or if he choose flesh, birds ready dressed will be set before him, according to his wish. They add, that the boughs of this tree will spontaneously bend down to the hand of the person who would gather of its fiiiits, and that it will supply the blessed not only with food, but also with silken garments, and beasts to ride on ready saddled and bridled, and adorned with rich trappings, which •Kor. ubi sup. Vide D'lTcrbel. Bihl. Orient, p. 121, &c. » Midrash, Yulkut Sioni, fix. 1 Al Ghazuli. * Yahya, in Kor. c. U. SECT. IV. PEELIMINAPvY DISCOURSE. 69 will burst fortli from its fruits ; and that this tree is so large that a person mounted on the fleetest horse would not be able to gallop from one end of its shade to the other in a hundred years.^ As plenty of water is one of the greatest additions to the pleasantness of any place, the Koran often speaks of the rivers of paradise as a principal ornament thereof : some of these rivers they say, flow with water, some with milk, some with wine, and others with honey ; all taking their rise from the root of the tree Tuba ; two of which rivers, named al Cawthar and the river of life, we have already mentioned. And, lest these should not be sufl&cient, we are told this garden is also watered by a great number of lesser springs and fountains, whose pebbles are rubies and emeralds, their earth of camphire, their beds of musk, and their sides of saflfron ; the most remarkable among them being Salsabil and Tasnim. But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent and ravishing girls of paradise, called, from their large black eyes, Hur al oyun, the en- joyment of whose company will be a principal felicity of the faithful. These, they say, are created, not of clay, as mortal women are, but of jxire musk; being, as their prophet often affirms in his Koran, free from all natural impurities^ defects, and inconveniences incident to the sex, of the strictest modesty, and secluded from public view in pavilions of hollow pearls, so large that, as some traditions have it, one of them will be no less than four parasangs (or as others .say, sixty miles) long, and as many broad. The name which the Mohammedans usually give to this happy mansion is al Jannat, or the garden; and sometimes they call it, with an addition, Jannat al Ferdaws, the garden of paradise, Jannat Aden, the garden of Eden (though they generally interpret the word Eden, not according to its acceptation in Hebrew, but according to its meaning in their own tongue, wherein it signifies a settled or perpetual hahitation), Jannat al jilawa, the garden of abode, Jannat al I^aim, the garden of pleasure, and the like ; by which several appellations some understand so many diflfer- ent gardens, or at least places of different degrees of felicity (for they reckon no less than a hundred such in all), the very meanest whereof will afford its inhabitants so many pleasures and delights, that one would con- clude they must even sink under them, had not Mohammed declared, that, in order to qualify the blessed for a full enjoyment of them, God will give to every one the abilities of a hundred men. We have already described Mohammed's pond, whereof the righteous are to drink before their admission into this delicious seat; besides which some authors* mention two fountains, springing from under a certain tre(; near the gate of paradise, and say that the blessed will also drink of one of them, to purge their bodies and carry off" all excrementitious dregs, and will wash themselves in the other. When they are arrived at the gate itself, each person will there be met and saluted by the beautiful youths appointed to serve and wait upon him, one of them running before, to carry the news of his arrival to the wives destined for him; and also by two angels, bearing the presents sent him by God, one of whom will invest him with a garment of paradise, and the other will put a ring on each of his fingers, with in- scriptions on them alluding to the happiness of his condition. By which of the eight gates (for so many they suppose paradise to have) they are respectively to enter, is not worth inquiry; but it must be observed that Mohammed has declared that no person's good works will gain him ad- mittance, and that even himself shall be saved, not by his merits, but merely ' Jallalo'ddiii, in Kor. c. 13. * Al Ghazali, Kenz al Afrar. 70 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. by the mercy of Go J. It is, however, the constant doctrine of the Koran, that the felicity of each person will be proportioned to his deserts, and that there will be abodes of different degrees of ha])piness ; the most emi- nent den^ree being reserved for the prophets, the second for the doctors and teachers of God's woi*ship, the next for the martyrs, and the lower for the rest of the righteons, according to their several merits. There will also some distinction be made in respect to the time of their admission ; Mo- hammed (to whom, if you will believe him, the gates will first be opened) having affirmed, that the poor will enter paradise five hundred years before the rich ; nor is this the only privilege which they will enjoy in the next life ; since the same prophet has also declared, that when he took a view of paradise, he saw the majority of its inhabitants to be the poor, and when he looked dowTi into hell, he saw the greater part of the wretches confined there to be women. For the first entertainment of the blessed on their admission, they fable that the whole earth will then be as one loaf of bread, which God will reach to them with his hand, holding it like a cake ; and that for meat that will have the ox Balam, and the fish Nijn, the lobes of whose livers will suffice seventy thousand men, being, as some imagine, to be set before the principal guests, viz. those who, to that number, will be admitted into paradise without examination,^ th?>ugh others suppose that a definite number is here put for an indefinite, and that nothing more is meant thereby than to express a great multitude of people. From this feast every one will be dismissed to the mansion designed for him, where (as has been said) he will enjoy such a share of felicity as will be proportioned to his merits, but vastly exceed comprehension or expectation ; since the very meanest in paradise (as he who, it is pre- tended, must know best, has declared) will have eighty thousand servants, seventy-two wives of the girls of paradise, besides the wives he had in this world, and a tent erected for him of pearls, jacinths, and emeralds, of a very large extent; and, according to another tradition, will be waited on by three hundred attendants while he eats, will be served in dishes of gold, whereof three hundred shall be set before him at once, containing each a different kind of food, the last morsel of which will be as grateful as the first ; and will also be supplied with as many sorts of liquors in vessels of the same metal : and, to complete the entertainment, there will be no want of wine, which, though forbidden in this life, will yet be freely allowed to be drank in the next, and without danger, since the wine of paradise will not inebriate, as that we drink here. The flavour of this wine we may conceive to be delicious without a description, since the water of Tasnim, and the other fountains which will be used to dilute it, is said to be won- derfully sweet and fragrant. If any object to these pleasures, as an im- pudent Jew did to Mohammed, that so much eating and drinking must necessarily require proper evacuations, we answer, as the prophet did, that the inhabitants of paradise will not need to ease themselves, nor even to blow their nose, for that all superfluities will be discharged and carried off by perspiration, or a sweat as odoriferous as musk, after which their appetite shall return afresh. The magnificence of the garments and furniture promised by the Koran to the godly in the next life is answerable to the delicacy of their diet : for they are to be clothed in the nchest silks and brocades, chiefly of gi-een, which will burst forth from the fruits of paradise, and will be also supplied by the leaves of the tree Tuba ; they will be adorned with bracelets of gold 'See before, p. 62. SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 71 and silver, and crowns set with pearls of incomparable lustre ; and will make use of silken carpets, litters of a prodigious size, couclies, pillows, and other rich furniture embroidered with gold and precious stones. That we may the more readOy believe what has been mentioned of the extraordinary abilities of the inhabitants of paradise to taste these plea- sures in their height, it is said they will enjoy a perpetual youth j that in whatever age they happen to die, they will be raised in their prime and vigour, that is, of about thirty years of age, which age they will never exceed (and the same they say of the damned), and that when they enter paradise they will be of the same stature with Adam, who, as they fable, was no less than sixty cubits high. And to this age and stature their children, if they shall desire any (for otherwise their wives will not conceive), shall immediately attain; according to that saiyng of their prophet, " If any of the faithful in paradise be desirous of issue, it shall be conceived, born, and grown up, within the space of an hour. And in the same manner, if any one shall have a fancy to em ploy himself in agriculture (which rustic pleasure may suit the wanton fancy of some), what he shall sow will spring upandcometo maturity in amoment. Lest any of the senses should want their proper delight, we are told the ear will there be entertained, not only with the ravishing songs of the angel Israfil, who has the most melodious voice of all God's creatures, and of the daughters of paradise ; but even the trees themselves will celebrate the divine praises with a harmony exceeding whatever mortals have heard; to which will be joined the sound of the bells hanging on the trees, which will be put in motion by the wind proceeding from the throne of God, so often as the blessed wish for music: nay, the very clashing of the golden-bodied trees, whose fruits are pearls and emeralds, will surpass human imagina- tion; so that the pleasures of this sense will not be the least of the enjoy- ments of paradise. The delights we have hitherto taken a view of, it is said, will be common to all the inhabitants of paradise, even those of the lowestorder. What then, think we, must they enjoy who shall obtain a superior degree of honour a!id felicity 1 To these they say, there are prepared, besides all this, '•' such things as eye hath not seen, nor hath ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive; " an expression most certainly borrowed from Scripture.^ That we may know wherein the felicity of those who shall attain the highest degree will consist, Mohammed is reported to have said, that the meanest of the inhabitants of paradise will see his gardens, wives, servants, furniture, and other possessions, take up the space of a thousand years' journey (for so far and farther will the blessed see in the next life) ; but that he will be in the highest honour with God, who shall behold his face morning and evening : and this favour al Ghazali supposes to be that additional or superabundant recompence, promised in the Koran,* which will give such exquisite delight that, in respect thereof, all the otlier pleasures of paradise will be forgotten and lightly esteemed ; and not with- out reason, since, as the author says, every other enjoyment is equally tasted by the very brute beast who is turned loose into luxuriant pasture.^ The reader will observe, by the way, that tliis is a full confutation of those who pretend the Mohammedans admit of no spiritual pleasure in the next life, but make the happiness of the blessed to consist wholly in corporeal enjoyments. 2 Whence Mohammed took the greatest part of his paradise, it is easy to ^ Isaiah Ixiv. 4. 1 Corinth, ii. 9. ^ Chap. 10, &c. ^ Vide Poc. in not. ad Port. Mosis, p. 305. 3 vide Roland, dc Rel. Moham. lib. 2. sect. 17. 72 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. show. The Jews constantly describe the future mansion of the just as a delicious garden, and make it also reach to the seventh heaven ;3 they also say it has three gates,* or, as others will have it, two,* and four rivers (which last circumstance they copied, to be sure, from those of the garden of Eden),^ flowing with milk, wine, balsam, and honey.' Their Behemoth and Leviathan, which they jn-etend will be slain for the entertainment of the blessed,^ are so apparently the Balum and Nun of Mohammed that his followers themselves confess he is obliged to them for both.^ The llahbins likewise mention seven difterent degrees of felicity,^ and say that the highest will be of those who perpetually contemplate the face of God.' The Jr'ersian INIagi had also an idea of the future happy estate of the good, veiy little different from that of Mohaiumc 1. Paradise they call Behisht, and ]Minu which signifies crystal, where they believe the righteous shall enjoy all manner of delights, and particularly the company of the Hurani behisht, or hlack-eyed nympJis 'f paradise,^ the care of whom they say is committed to the angel Zamiyad;* and hence Mohammed seems to have taken the first hint of his paradisiacal ladies. It is not improbable, however, but that he might have been obliged, in some respect, to the Christian accounts of the felicity of the good in the next life. As it is scarce possible to convey, especially to the apprehensions of the f^enerality of mankind, an idea of spiritual pleasures without intro- ducing sensible objects, the Scriptures have been obliged to represent the celestial enjoyments by corporeal images; and to describe the mansion of the blessed as a glorious and magnificent city, built of gold and precious stones, with twelve gates; through the streets of which there runs a river of water of life, and having on either side the tree of life, wl)ich bears twelve sorts of fruits, and leaves of a healing virtue.^ Our Saviour likewise speaks of the future state of the blessed as of a kingdom, where they shall eat and drink at his table. ^ But then these descriptions have none of those puerile imaginations^ which reign throughout that of Mohammed, much less any the most distant intimation of sensual delights, which he was so fond of; on the contrary, we are expressly assured, that "in the resur- rection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be as the aut^els of God in heaven."^ Mohammed, however, to enhance the value of paradise with his Arabians, chose rather to imitate the indecency of the Magians than the modesty of the Christians in this particular, and lest his beatified ISIoslems should complain thatany thing was wanting, bestows on them wives, as well as the other comforts of life; judging, it is to be pre- sumed, from his own inclinations, that, like Panurgus's ass,^ they would » Vide Gcmar. Tanith, f. 25. Bcracoth, f. 34, and JMidrash sabboth, f. 37. * Mcgillah, Anikoth, p. 78. ^ Midrash, Yalkut Sliomuni. « Genesis ii. 10, 8iC. " .Midrasb, Yalk. Shcm. ^ Gemar. IJava Bathra. f. 78. Rashi, in Job i. ^ V;do Pjc. not. in port. Mosis, p. 298. ' Nishmat hayim, f. 32. ^ Midrash, Tehillim, f. 11. * Sadder, porta 5. « Ilyde, do Rol. Vet. Pers. p. 265. ^ Rev. xxi. 10. &c. and xxii. 1,2. " Luke xxii. 29, 30, kc. ^ I -would not, however, undertake to defend all the Christian writers in this particular ; witness that one passage of Ircnicus, wherein he introduces a tradition of St. John, that our Lord should sav, The daya shall come in which there shall he vines, which shall have each (en t/iousand branches, and cvrri/ of those branches shall have ten tJiousand lesser branches, and every of these branches shall have ten thousand twigs, and every one of these twi^/s shall have (en thousand clusters of grapes, and in every one of these clusters there shall be ten tliousand (jrajtes, and every one of t^ese grapes being pressed shall yield two hundred and seventy-five gallons of wine; and when a man shall take hold of one of these sacred bunches, another bunch shall cry out, I ant a better bunch, take me, and bless the Lord hy me, &c. Iren. lib. 5. c. 3.S. » Matt. xxii. .30. i Vide Rabelais, Pantajrr. lib. 5. c. 7. A better authority than this might however be alleged in favour cif Mohammed's judgment in this respect; I mean that of Plato, who is said to have SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 73 think all otlier enjoyments not worth their acceptance if they were to be debarred from this. Had Mohammed, after all, intimated to his followers that what he had told them of paradise was to be taken, not literally, but in a metaphorical sense (as it is said the Magians do the description of Zoroaster's),^ this might, perhaps, make some atonement ; but the contrary is so evident from the whole tenor of the Koran, that although some Mohammedans, whose understandings are too refined to admit such gross conceptions, look on their prophet's descriptions as parabolical, and are willing to receive them in an allegorical or spiritual acceptation,^ yet the general and orthodox doc- trine is, that the whole is to be strictly believed in the obvious and literal acceptation ; to prove which I need only urge the oath they exact from Christians (who they know abhor such fancies), when they would bind them in the most strong and sacred manner ; for in such a case they make them swear that if they falsify their engagement they will aflSrm that there will be black-eyed girls in the next world, and corporeal pleasures/ Before we quit this subject, it may not be improper to observe the false- hood of a vulgar imputation on the Mohammedans, who are by several writers^ reported to hold that women have no souls, or, if they have, that they will perish, like those of brute beasts, and will not be rewarded in the next life. But whatever may be the opinion of some ignorant people among them, it is certain that Mohammed had too great a respect for the fair sex to teach such a doctrine; and there are several passages in the Koran which affirm that women, in the next life, will not only be punished for their evil actions, but will also receive the rewards of their good deeds, as well as the men, and that in this case God will make no distinction of sexes.® It is true, the general notion is, that they will not be admitted into the same abode as the men are, because their places will be supplied by the para- disiacal females (though some allow that a man will there also have the company of those who were his wives in this world, or at least such of them as he shall desire) ; ^ but that good women will go into a separate place of happiness, where they will enjoy all sorts of delights •/ but whether one of those delights will be the enjoyment of agreeable paramours created for them, to complete the economy of the Mohammedan system, is what I have nowhere found decided. One circumstance relating to these beatified females, conformable to what he had asserted of the men, he acquainted his followers with in the answer he returned to an old woman, who desiring him to intercede with God that she might be admitted into paradise, he told her that no old woman would enter that place ; which setting the poor old woman a crying, he explained himself by saving, that God would then make her young again.'' The sixth great point of faith which the Mohammedans are taught by the Koran to believe, is God's absolute decree, and predestination both of good and evil. For the orthodox doctrine is, that whatever hath or shall come to pass in this world, whether it be good, or whether it be bad, pro- proposed, in his ideal commonwealtii, as the reward of valiant men and consummate soldiers, the kisses of boys and beauteous damsels. Vide Gell Noct. Att. lib. 18. c. 2. 2 Vide Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pcrs. p. 266. ^Yide Eund. in not. ad Bobov. Lit. Turcar. p. 21. *Poc. ad Tort. Mos. p. 305. ^ Hornbek, Sum. Contr. p. 16. Grelot, Voyage de Constant, p. 275. Ricaut's Present State of the Ottoman Empire, lib. 2. c 21. « See Kor. c. 3, p. 58, c. 4, p. 75, And also c. 13, 16, 40, 48, 57 &c. Vide etiam Reland, de Rel. Moh. lib. 2. sect. 18. and Hyde, in Not. ad Bobov. de Visit MgT. p. 21. 7 See before, p. 70. § y^ae Chardin, Voy. torn. ii. p. 328, ami Bayle, Diet. Hist. Art. Moham. Rem, Q. ^ See Koran, c, 56, and notes there ; and Gagnier. not. in Abulfedoi Vit. iMoh. p. 145. 74 rrv7XIMINAKY DISCOURSE. si:^;T. ir. ceedeth entirely from the divine will, and is in-evocably fixed and recorded from all eteruity iu the preserccd table ; ^ God having secretly predeter- mineil not only the adverse ami prosjjerous fortune of every person in this world, iu the most minute particulars, but also his faith or infidelity, his obedience or disobedience, and consequently his everlasting happiness or misery after death ; which fate or predestination it is not possible, by any foresight or wisdom, to avoid. Of this doctrine Mohammed makes great use in his Korftn, for the ad- vancement of his designs ; encouraging his followers to fight without fear, and even desi)erately, for the propagation of their faith, by representing to them that all their caution could not avert their inevitable destiny, or pro- long their lives for a moment ;' and deterring them from disobeying or i*ejecting him as an impostor, by setting before them the danger they might thereby incur of being, by the judgment of God, abandoned to seduction, liardness of heart, and a reprobate mind, as a punishment for their ob- stinacy.^ As this doctrine of absolute election and reprobation has been thought by many of the Mohammedan divines to be derogatory to the goodness and justice of God, and to make God the author of evil ; several subtle distinc- tions have been invented, and disputes raised, to explicate or soften it ; and ditlerent sects have been formed, according to their several opinions, or methotls of explaining this point : some of them going so far as even to hold the direct contrary position — of absolute free will in man, as we shall see hereafter.* Of the four fundamental points of religious practice required by the Iloi'im, the fii*st is prayer, under which, as has been said, are also compre- hended those legal washings or purifications which are necessary prepara- tions thereto. Of these purifications there are two degrees, one called Glwst, being a total immersion or bathing of the body in water ; and the other called WodA (by the Persians, ahdest), which is the washing of their faces, hands, and feet, after a certain manner. The first is required in some extra- ordinary cases only, as after having lain with a woman, or been polluted by emission of seed, or by ai)proaching a dead body ; women also being obliged to it after their coui*ses or childbirth. The latter is the ordinary ablution in common cases, and before prayer, and must necessarily bo used by every i)ei-son before he can enter upon that duty.^ It is performed with certain formal ceremonies, which have been described by some writers, but are much easier apprehended by seeing them done than by the best desciiption. These purifications were perhaps borrowed by Mohammed of the Jews, at least they agree in a great measure with those used by that nation,^ who in process of time burdened the precepts of Moses in this point with so many traditionary ceremonies, that whole books have been written about them, and who were so exact and superstitious therein even in our Saviour's time, that they are often reproved by hini for it.^ But as it is certain that the pagan Arabs used lustrations of this kind,^ long before the time of Mohammed, as most nations did, and still do in the east, where the warmth of the climate requires a greater nicety and degree of cleanliness than these colder jjarts ; perhaps Mohammed only recalled his countrymen to a more 1 See before, p. 40. ' Kor. c. 3, p. 51, note /, 53, and c. 4, p. 69, &c. »Kor. c. 4, p. 67 and 78, 79. And c. 2, p. 2, &c. passim. * Sect. viii. * Kor. c. 4, p. r,"), and c. .5, p. 82. Vide Keland, de Rel. Moli. lib. i. c. 8. • Poc. not. in Port. Mosis, D. 356. &C. ^ Mark vii, 3, kc, » Vide Herodot. lib. 3, c. 198. SECT. IV. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 75 strict observance of those purifying rites, wliich had been probablj neg- lected by them, or at least performed in a careless and perfunctory manner. The Mohammedans, however, will have it that they are as ancient as Abraham,^ who, they say, was enjoined by God to observe them, and was showed the manner of making the ablution by the angel Gabriel, in the form of a beautiful youth. ^ i^ay, some deduce the matter higher, and im- agine that these ceremonies were taught our first parents by the angels.^ That his followers might be the more punctual in this duty, Moham- med is said to have declared, that the practice of religion is founded on cleanliness, which is the one half of the faith, and the key of prayer, with- out which it will not be heard by God.^ That these expressions may be the better understood, al Ghazali reckons four degrees of purification ; of which the first is, the cleansing of the body from all pollution, filth, and excrements ; the second, the cleansing of the members of the body from all wickedness and unjust actions ; the third, the cleansing of the heart from all blameable inclinations, and odious vices ; and the fourth, the purging of a man's secret thoughts from all affections which may divert their attendance on God : adding that the body is but as the outward shell in respect to the heart, which is as the kernel. And for this reason he highly complains of those who are superstitiously solicitous in exterior purifications, avoiding those persons as unclean who are not so scrupu- lously nice as themselves, and at the same time have their minds lying waste, and overrun with pride, ignorance, and hypocrisy.* Whence it plainly appears with how little foundation the Mohammedans have been charged, by some writers,^ with teaching or imagining that these formal washings alone cleanse them from their sins.^ Lest so necessary a preparation to their devotions should be omitted, either where water cannot be had, or when it may be of prejudice to a person's health, they are allowed in such cases to make use of fine sand or dust in lieu of it ; '' and then they perform this duty by clapping their open hands on the sand, and passing them over the parts, in the same manner as if they were dipped in water. But for this expedient Moham- med was not so much indebted to his own cunning,^ as to the example of the Jews, or perhaps that of the Persian Magi, almost as scrupulous as the Jews themselves in their lustrations, who both of them prescribe the same method in cases of necessity;^ and there is a famous instance, in ecclesiastical history, of sand being used, for the same reason, instead of water, in the administration of the Christian sacrament of baptism, many years before Mohammed's time.^ Neither are the Mohammedans contented with bare washing, but think themselves obliged to several other necessary points of cleanliness, which " Al Jannabi in Yita Abrah. Vide Poc. Spec, p, 303. ^ Herewith agrees the spurious Gospel of S. Barnabas, the Spanish translation of which (chap. 29.) has these words : — Dixo Abraham Que hare yo para servir al Dios de los sanctos y pro- jphetas? Respondib el angel, Ve a aquella fuente y Invade, porque Dios quiere hahlar cordigo. Dixo Abraham, Como tengo de lavarme ? Luego el angel se le apparecto como uno hello mancebo, y se lavo en la fuente, y le dixo, Abraham, haz como yo. F Abra- ham, se lavo, &c. 2 Al Kessai, Vide Reland, de Rel. Moham. p. 81. "^ Al Ghazali, Ebn al Athir. * Vide Poc. Spec. p. 302, &c. 5 Barthol. Edessen. Confut. Hagaren. p. 360. G. Sionita and J. Hesronita, in Tract, de Urb. et Morib. Orient, ad Cal- cem. Geogr. Nubiens. c. 15. Du Ryer, dans le Sommaire de la Rel. des Turcs, mis a la Tete de sa Version de I'AIcor. St. Olon, Descr. du Royaume de Maroc, c. 2. Hyde, in Not. ad Bobov. de Prec. Moh. p. 1. Smith, de Morib. et Instit. Turcar. Ep. 1. p. 32. 6 Vide Reland, de Rel. Moh. lib. 2. c. 11. 7 Koran, c. 3. p. 66 and 6. p. 82. 8 Vide Smith, ubi sup. ^ Gemar. Berachoth. c. 2. Vide Poc. not. ad Port. Mosis, p. 389. Sadder, porta 84. i Cedren. p. 250. 76 rnELOIINARY DISCO L^KSE. sect. iv. tlicv malce also parts of their duty; such as combing the hair, cutting the beard, paring the nail:^, pulling out tlie hairs of their arm-pits, shaving their private parts, and circumcision;* of which last I will add a word or two, lest 1 should not find a more proper place. Circumcision, though it be not so much as once mentioned in the Koran, is yet held by the Mohammedans to be an ancient divine institution, con- firmed by the religion of Ishim, and though not so absolutely necessary but that it might be disj^ensed with in some cases,^ yet highly proper and expedient. The Arabs used this rite for many ages before Mohammed, having probably learned it from Ismael, though not only his descendants, but the Hamyarites,* and other tribes, practised the same. The Tsmael- ites, Ave are told,^ used to circumcise their children, not on the eighth day, as is the custom of the Jews, but when about twelve or thirteen years old, at which age their father underwent that operation :^ and the Moham- medans imitate them so far as not to circumcise children 'before they be able, at least, distinctly to pronounce that profession of their faith. There is no God but God, Mohammed is tJie apostle o/God ;^ but pitch on what age they please for the purpose between six and sixteen, or thereabouts.® Though Moslem doctors are generally of opinion, conformably to the Scripture, that this precept w^as originally given to Abraham, yet some have imagined that Adam was tauGjht it by the angel Gabriel, to satisfy an oath he had made to cut off that flesh which, after his fall, had rebelled a^-ainst his spirit ; w^hence an odd argument has been drawn for the uni- versal obligation of circumcision.^ Though I cannot say the Jews led the Mohammedans the way here, yet they seem so unwdlling to believe any of the principal patriarchs or prophets before Abraham were really uncir- cumcised, that they pretend several of them, as well as some holy men who lived after his time, were born ready circumcised, or without a fore- skin, and that Adam, in particular, was so created;^ whence the Moham- medans aflirm the same thing of their prophet,^ Prayer was by Mohammed thought so necessary a duty, that he used to call it tlie 2)iUar of reJicjion^ and tJie key of paradise ; and when the Thakifites, who dw^elt at Ttiyef, sending in the ninth year of the Hejra to make their submission to that prophet, after the keeping of their fa- vourite idol had been denied them,^ begged, at least, that they might bo dispensed with as to their saying of the appointed prayers, he answered, TJiat tliere could he no good in tJiat religion wlierein was no prayer} That so important a duty, therefore, might not be neglected, Mohammed obliged his followers to pmy five times every twenty-four hours, at certain stated times; viz. 1. In the morning, before sunrise: 2. When noon is past, and the sun begins to decline from the mei'idian : 3. In the afternoon, before sunset: 4. In the evening, after sunset, and before day be shut in : » Vide Poc. Spec. p. 303. s vide Bobov. de Circumcis. p. 22. * rhiloptoi-rv. Hist. Eccl. lib. 3. « Joscpb. Ant. lib. 1, c. 23. » Gen. xvii. 25. 7 Vide Bobov. ubi sup. and Poc. Spec. p. 19. ^ Vide Roland, de Pel, Mob. lib. 1, p. 75. ^ This is the substance of the following passaf,'C of the Gospel of Barnabas, (chap. 23.) viz. £ntot\ces dixo Jcpus; A(\Ti\\\ d primer homhre aviendo comulo por enguno del demonio la comida prohibida por Dios en el paraijso, se le rebelu su came a sxi es/jiHtii; por lo qual jura diziendo, Por Dios que yo te quiero cortfir ; y rompiendo una piedra tomo su carve 2>ara covturla con el corte de la piedra. Por loqual/iie reprehendido del angd Gabriel, y cl le dixo ; Yo he jurado por Dios que lo he de cortar, y mentiroso no le sere jamas. Ala hora el angel le enseno la superfluidad de su came, y a quella corto. De manera que atisi como todo homhre toma came de Adam, ansi esta obliyado a cum- f)lir oquella que Ad;. in cnnjnratncnto prometio. i Shalsjiel. hakkabala. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 320. Gagnier, Not. in Al.ulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 2. » Vide Poc. Spec, p. 304. 8 See before, p. 13. ♦ Abulfcd. Vit. ]Moh. p. 127. se<:t. it. preliminary DISCOURSE. 77 and, 5. After the day is shut in, and before tlie first watch of the night.* For this institution he pretenr^ed to have received the divine command froni the throne of God himself, when he took his night journey to heaven : and the observing of the stated times of prayer is frequently insisted on in the Koran, though they be not particularly prescribed therein. Accordingly, at the aforesaid times, of which public notice is given by the Muedhdhins or Criers, from the steeples of their mosques (for they use no bell), every conscientious Moslem prepares himself for prayer, which he performs either in the mosque or any other place, j^rovided it be clean, after a prescribed form, and with a certain number of plirases or ejaculations (which the more scrupulous count by a string of beads), and using certain postures of wor- ship ; all which have been ^particularly set down and described, though with some few mistakes by other writers,^ and though not to be abridged, unless in some special cases-; as on a journey, on pre^mring for battle, &c. For the regular performance of the duty of prayer among the Mo- hammedans, besides the particulars above mentioned, it is also requisite that they turn their faces, while they pray, toward the temple of Mecca ;^ the quarter where the same is situate being for that reason pointed out within their mosques by a niche, which- they call al Mehrab, and without, by the situation of the doors opening into the galleries of the steeples : there are also tables calculated for the ready finding out their Keblah, or part to which they ouglit to pray, in places where they have no other direction.^ But what is principally to be regarded in the discharge of this duty, say the Moslem doctors, is the inward disposition of the heart, which is the life and spirit of prayer;^ the most punctual observance of the external rites and ceremonies before mentioned being of little or no avail, if per- formed without due attention, reverence, devotion, and hope : ^ so that we must not think the Mohammedans, or the considerate part of them at least, content themselves with the mere opus operatum, or imagine their whole religion to be placed therein.^ I had like to have omitted two things which, in my mind, deserve mention on this head, and may, perhaps, be better defended than our con- trary practice. One is, that the Mohammedans never address themselves to God in sumptuous apparel, though they are obliged to be decently clothed j but lay aside their costly habits and pompous ornaments, if they wear any, when they approach the divine presence, lest they should seem proud and arrogant.^ The other is, that tliey admit not their women to pray with them in public ; that sex being obliged to perform their devotions at home, or if they visit the mosques, it must be at a time when the men are not there : for the Moslems are of opinion that their presence inspires a different kind of devotion from that which is requisite in a place dedicated to the worship of God.* s Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 38, 39. ^ \t{^q Hotting. Hist. Eccles. torn. 8. p. 470 — 529. Bobov. in Liturg, Turcic. p-. 1, &c. Grelot. Voyage de Constant, p. 253—264. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, torn, ii. p» 388, &c. and Smith, de Moribus ac Instit. Turcar: Ep. 1, p. 33. &c. 7 Koran, chap. 2. p. 17. See the notes there. ^ Vide Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 8, 9, and 126. » Al Ghazali. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. p. 305. 2 Vide Smith, i;bi sup. p. 40. 3 Rehmd-, de Rel. Moham. p. 96. See Kor. chap. 7. * A Moor, named Ahmed Ebn Abdalla, in a Latin epistle by him written to Maurice prince of Orange, and Emanuel prince of Portugal, containing a censare of the Chris- tian religion (a copy of which once belonging to Mr. Selden, who has thence tran- scribed a considerable passage in his Treatise De Synedriis Vet. Ebrseor. lib. 1. c. 12. is now in the Bodleian library), finds great fault with the unedifying manner in which mass is said among the Roman Catholics, for this very reason among others. His words are : Uhicunque congreganttir simul viri et fcemince^ ibi mens non est intenta et 78 tRELIMrXARY DISCOURSE. eect. it. The civatcr part of tlie partioulai-s comprised in the Mohamraedan iustilution of prayer their prophet seems to have copieil from others, and esj^ecially the Jews ; exceeding their institutions only in the number of daily prayers.* The Jews are directed to pray three times a day,* in the morning, in the evening, and within night ; in imitation of xVbmham/ Isaac* anl Jacob^ and the practice was as early, at least, as the time of Dimiel.^ The several postures used by the Mohammedans in their prayei-s are also the same with those prescribed by the Jewish Rabbins, and particularly the most solemn act of adoration by prostrating themselves so as to touch the ground with their forehead;- notwithstanding the latter pretend the pn\ctice of the former, in this resj>ect, to be a relic of their ancient manner of paying their devotions to Baal- Poor.' The Jews like- wise constantly pray with their faces turned towards the temple of Jeinisa- lem,* which ha^ been their Keblah from the time it was first dedicated by Solomon;* for which reason Daniel, praying in Chaldea, had the windows of his chamber open towards that city ;^ and the same was the Keblah of Mohammed and his foUowei-s for six or seven months,' and till he found himself obliged to change it for the Caaba. The Jews moreover are obliged by the precepts of theii- religion to be careful that the place they pray in, and the garments they have on when they perform their duty be clean;* the men and women also among them pray apart (in which particular they are imitated by the eastern Christians) ; and several other conformities might be remarked between the Jewish public worship and that of the Mohammedans.^ The next point of the Mohammedan religion is the giving of alms ; which are of two sorts, legal and voluntary. The Ugal alms are of in- dispensable obligation, being commanded by the law, which directs and determines both the portion which is to be given, and of what things it ought to be given ; but the voluntary ahns are left to every one's liberty, to give more or less, as he shall see tit. The former kind of alms some think to be properly called Zacat, and the latter Sadakat ; though this name be also frequently given to the legal alms. They are called Zacat, either because they increase a man's store, by drawing down a blessing thereon, and j/foduce in his soul the virtue of liberality,^ or because they purify the remaining i)art of one's substance from pollution, and the soul from the filth of avarice;"^ and Sadakat, because they are a proof of a man's sincerity in the worship of God. Some writers have called the legal alms tytlies, but improperly, since in some cases they fall short, and in others exceed that proix)i'tion. The giving of alms is frequently commanded in the Koran, and often recommended therein jointly with prayer ; the former being held of great devota : nam inter celi brandum missam et sacri/cia, foemintB etviri mutuis afpectlbus, giffnis. ac nutil/tis accendunt pravorum appetitum, et desideriorum sitorum ignes : et qxiando hoc nonfieret^ saftem humana fragilitas dehctatur mutxio et reciproco aspectu j et ita non pote?t esse mens quietn^ attenta, et devota. * The Sabians, according to some, exceed the Mohammedans in this point, pray- ing seven times a day. Sec before, p, 11. <» Gcmar. Beiachoth. 'Gen. xix. 27. 8 Gen. xxiv. 63. "Gen. xxviii. 11, &c. ^ Dan. vi. 10. » Vide Millium, de Mohammedismo ante M<.ham. p. 427, kc. and Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 5, &c. ■ Maimonid. in Ejiist. ad Prosclyt. Reli{r. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 306. * Gemar. Bava Bathra, and Berachoth. * 1 Kings viii. 29, &c. « Dan. vi. 10. ' Some say eigh- teen months. Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moham. p. 54. ^ Maimon. in Halachoth. TephilUi, chap. 9, sect. 8. 9. Menura hammeor, fol. 28. 2. ^ Vide Millium, ubi siij-ra, p. 424, ct seq, * Al Bcidawi. See Kor. chap. 2. p, 32 — 34. ' Idem. Compare this with what our Saviour says, Luke xi. 41. "Give alms of such things as ye have; and beliold, all things are clean unto you." SECT. IV. PRELIMINAEY DISCOURSE. 79 efficacy in causing the latter to be lieard of God : for wJiicli reason tho Khalif Omar Ebn Abd'alaziz used to say, '' that prayer carries us half way to God, fasting brings us to the door of his palace, and alms procure us admissio ."^ The Mohammedans therefore esteem alms-deeds to be highly meritorious, and many of them have been illustrious for the exercise thereof. Hasan the son of Alt, and grandson of Mohammed, in particular, is related to have thrice in his life divided his substance equally between himself and the poor, and twice to have given away all he had : ^ and the generality are so addicted to the doing of good, that they extend their charity even to brutes.^ Alms, according to the prescriptions of the Mohammedan law, are to be given of five things; 1. Of cattle, that is to say, of camels, kine, and sheep. 2. Of money. 3. Of corn. 4. Of fruits, viz., dates and raisins. And 5. Of wares sold. Of each of these a certain portion is to be given in alms, being usually one part in forty, or two and a half per cent, of the value. But no alms are due for them, unless they amount to a certain quantity or number ; nor until a man has been in possession of them eleven months, he not being obliged to give alms thereout before the twelfth month is begun : nor are alms due for cattle employed in tilling the ground, or in carrying of burdens. In some cases a much larger portion than the before mentioned is reckoned due for alms : thus of what is gotten out of mines, or the sea, or by any art or profession over and above what is sufficient for the reasonable support of a man's family, and especially where there is a mixture or suspicion of unjust gain, a fifth part ought to be given in alms. Moreover, at the end of the fast of Ramadan, every Moslem is obliged to give in alms for himself and fur every one of his family, if he has any, a measure ^ of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice, or other provisions commonly eaten.^ The legal alms were at first collected by Mohammed himself, who employed them as he thought fit, in the relief of his poor relations and followers, but chiefly applied them to the maintenance of those who served in his wars, and fought, as he termed it, in the way of God. His successors continued to do the same, till, in process of time, other taxes and tributes being imposed for the support of the government, they seem to have been weary of acting as almoners to their subjects, and to have left the paying them to their consciences. In the foregoing rules concerning alms, we may observe also footsteps of what the Jews taught and practised in respect thereto. Alms, which they also call Sedaka, i, e. justice, or righteousness,^ are greatly recommended by their Rabbins, and preferred even to sacrifices;^ as a duty the frequent exercise whereof will efiectually free a man from hell fire,^ and merit ever- lasting life : ^ wherefore, besides the corners of the field, and the gleanings of their harvest and vineyard, commanded to be left for the poor and the stranger by the law of Moses,^ a certain portion of their corn and fruits is directed to be set apart for their relief, which portion is called the tithes of the poor.* The Jews likewise were formerly very conspicuous for tlieir charity. Zaccheus gave the half of his goods to the poor; and we 3 D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 5. * Idem. p. 422. ^ Vide Busbeq. Epist. iii. p. 178. Smith, de Morib. Turc. Epist. i. p. QQ, &c. Compare Eccles. xi. 1, and Prov. xii. 10. * This measure is a Saa, and contains about six or seven pounds weight. '' Vide Re- land, de Rel. Mohammed, lib. i. p. 99, &c. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, tom. ii. p. 415, &c. ^ Hence alms are in the New Testament termed Afxaios-i^vn. Matt. vi. 1. (Ed. ^teph.) and 2 Cor. ix. 10. » Gemar. in Bava bathra. ^ Ibid- in Gittin. ^ Ibid, in Rosh hashana. s Lev. xix. 9, 10. Deut. xxiv. 19, &c. * Vide Gemar. Hierosol. inPeah, and Maimon. in Halachoth matanoth Anivjim. c. 6. Confer Pirke Avoth, v. &. * Luke xix. 8. 80 PRELBUNARY DISCOURSK. sect. ir. are tolJ that some gave their whole substance : so that their doctors, at length, decreed that no man should give above a fifth part of his goods in alms.'' There were also persons publicly aj^poiuted in every synagogue to Collect and distribute the people's contributions.'^ The third point of religious practice is fasting ; a duty of so great moment, that Mohammed used to s;iy it was " the gate of religion," and that " the odour of the mouth of him who fusteth is more grateful to God than that of musk ; " and al Ghazali reckons fasting " one fourth part of the faith." According to the Mohammedan divines, there are three degrees of fasting : 1. The restraining the belly and other parts of the body fi*om satisfying their lusts; 2. The restraining the ears, eyes, tongue, hands, feet, and other members, from sin ; and 3. The fiisting of tlie heart from worldly c-ares, and refraining the thoughts from every thing besides God.® The Mohammedans are obliged, by the express command of the Koran, to fast the whole mouth of Ramadan, from the time the new moon first appears, till the appearance of the next new moon; during which time they must abstain from eating, drinking, and women, from daybreak till night,^ or sunset. And this injunction they observe so strictly, that while they fast they sufler nothing to enter their mouths, or other parts of their body, esteeming the fast broken and null if they smell perfumes, take a clyster or injection, bathe, or even purposely swallow their spittle; some being so cautious that they will not open their mouths to speak, lest they should breathe the air too freely : ^ the fast is also deemed void if a man kiss or touch a woman, or if he vomit designedly. But after sunset they are allowed to refresh themselves, and to eat and drink, and enjoy the company of their wives till daybreak ; ^ though the more rigid begin the fast again at midnight.^ This fast is extremely rigorous and mortifying when the month of Ramadan happens to fall in summer, (for the Arabian year being lunar,* each month iims through all the different seasons in the course of thirty-three years,) the length and heat of the days making the observauco of it much more difficult and uneasy then than in winter. The reason given why the month of Ramadtln was pitched on for this purpose is, that on that month the Koran w%is sent down from heaven.* Some pretend that Abraham, ]\Ioses, and Jesus received their respective revelations in the same month. ^ From the fast of Ramadan none are excused, except only travellers and sick persons (under which last denomination the doctors comprehend all whose health would manifestly be injured by tlieii' keeping the fast; ■« Vide Rcland. Ant. Saer. Vet. Hcbr. p. 402. 7 Vide ibid. p. 138. 8 Al Ghazali, al ^lostatraf. '' Koran, chap. 2, p. 21, 22. ^ Ilcnce we read that the Virgin Mary, to avoid answering the reflections cast on her fur bringing home a chiM, was advised by the angel Gabriel to feign she had vowed a fast, and therefore ought not to speak. See Koran, chaj). 19. - The words of tlie Koran (chap 2, p. 22.) are, " Until ye can distinguish a wJiite thread from a black tliroad by the davbreak;" a form of speaking borrowed by Moliammed from the Jews, who determine the time when they are to begin their morning lesson to be so soon as a man can discern blue from white, i. e. the blae threads -from the white threads in the fringes of their garments. But this explication the commentators do not approve; pretending that by the "white thread and the black thread '' are to be understood the light and dark streaks of the day- break: and they say the passage was at first revealed without the words "of tho daybreak;" but Mohammed's followers taking the expression in the first sense, regulated their practice accordingly, and continued eating and drinking till they could distinguish a white thread from a black thread, as they lay "before them ; to prevent which for the future, the words " of the daybrefik " were added as ex[)lana- tory of the former. Al Beidawi. Vide Pocock, Not. in Carmen Tograi, p. 89, &c Ch'ardiu, Voy. de Perse, torn. ii. p. 423. ' Vide Chardin, ibid. p. 421, &c. Rclan-J, .de Rel. Mohara. p. 109, &c. * See hereafter, sect. vi. * Ivor. chap. 2, p. 22. bee also chap. 97. ^ Al Beidawi, ex Trad. Moliammedis. SECT. IV. PEELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 81 as women with eliild, and giving suck, ancient people and young cliildren) ; but then they are obliged, as soon as the impediment is removed, to fast an equal number of other days ; and the breaking the fast is ordered to be expiated by gi"v^ng alms to the poor.^ Mohammed seems to have followed the guidance of the Jews in his ordinances concerning fasting, no less than in the former particulars. That nation, when they fast, abstain not only from eating and drinking, but from women, and from anointing themselves,^ from daybreak until sunset, and the stars begin to appear ; ^ spending the night in taking what refreshments they please.^ And they allow women with child and giving suck, old per- sons, and young children, to be exempted from keeping most of the public fasts.2 Though my design here be briefiy to treat of those points only which are of indispensable obligation on a Moslem, and expressly required by the Koran, without entering into their practice as to voluntary and supereroga- tory works ; yet to show how closely Mohammed's institutions follow the Jemsh, I shall add a word or two of the voluntary fasts of the Moham- medans. These are such as have been recommended either by the example or approbation of their prophet ; and especially certain days of those months which they esteem sacred : there being a tradition that he used to say. That a fast of one day in a sacred month was better than a fast of tliirty days in another month : and that the fast of one day in Kamadan was more meritorious than a fast of thirty days in a sacred month.^ Among the more commendable days is that of Ashura, the tenth of Moharram ; which, though some wi-iters tell us it was observed by the Arabs, and particularly the tribe of Koreish, before Mohammed's time,'^ yet, as others assm-e us, that prophet borrowed both the name and the fast from the Jews ; it being, with them, the tenth of the seventh month, or Tisri, and the great day of exioiation commanded to be kept by the law of Moses.^ Al KazAvini relates, that when Mohammed came to Medina and found the Jews there fasted on the day of Ashura, he asked them the reason of it ; and they told him it was because on that day Pharaoh and his people were drowned, Moses, and those who were A\T.th him escaping : whereuj)on he said, that he bore a nearer relation to Moses than they ; and ordered his followers to fast on that day. However, it seems, afterwards he was not so well pleased in having imitated the Jews herein ; and therefore de- clared, that if he lived another year, he would alter the day, and fast on the ninth, abhorring so near an agreement with them.*^ The pilgiimage to Mecca is so necessary a point of practice, that accord- ing to a tradition of Mohammed, he who dies -without performing it may as well die a Jew or a Christian ; '' and the same is expressly commanded in the Koran. ^ Before I speak of the time and manner of performing this pilgrimage, it may be proper to give a short account of the temple of Mecca, the chief scene of the Mohammedan worship ; in doing which I need be the less prolix, because that edifice has been already described by several writers,^ though they, following different relations, have been led into some 7 See Koran, chap. 2, p. 22. ^ Siphra, fol. 252. 2. » Tosephoth ad Gemar. Yoma. f. 34. ^ Vide Gemar, Yoma, f. 40, and Maimon. in Halachoth Tanioth, c. 5. sect. V. 2 Yije Gemar. Tanith, f. 12, and Yoma, f. 83, and Es Hayim, Tanith, c. 1, 3 Al Ghazali. * Al Barczi, in comment, ad Orat. Ebn Nobatae. * Levit. xvi. 29, and xxiii. 27. ^ Ebn al Athir. Vide Pocock, Spec. p. 309. 7 Al Ghazali. ^ chap. 3, p 47. See also chap. 22. and chap. 2, p. 16, &c. " Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. ii. p. 428. &c Bremond, Descrittioni dell' Egitto, &c. lib. i c. 29. Pitt's account of the Rel. &c. of the Mohammedans, p. 98, &c. and Boulainvilliers, Vie de Mohaauned, p. 54, &c. which last author is the most particular. 82 PRELDIDsARY DISCOUTvSE. shot. it. mistakes, and agi'ce not with one anotlier in seveml iiai'ticulars : nor, iudeai, cl(i the Arab authoi-s agive in all things, one great reason whereof is their S]K'aking of diiferent times. The temple of Mecca stands in the midst of the city, and is honoured with the title of M:i.-=!Jad al alharam, i. e. tlie sacred or inviolable temple. AVhat is principally reverenced in this place, and gives s:inctity to the whole, is a square stone building, called the Caaba, as some fancy from its height, which surpasses that of the other buildings at Mecca,* but moi*e pro- bably from its quadrangular form, and Beit AUali, i. e. the house o/God, being pecidiarly hallowed and set apart for liis woi-ship. The length of this editice, from north to south, is twenty-four cubits, its breadth from east to west twenty-three cubits, and its^ height twenty-seven cubits : the door, which is on the east side, stands about four cubits from the ground ; the floor being level with the bottom of the door.'* In the comer next this door is tlie black stone, of which I shall take notice by and by. On the north side of the Caaba, within a semicircular enclosui-e fifty cubits long, lies the ichite stone, said to be the sepulclu-e of Ismael, which receives the rain- water that iiills off the Caaba by a spout, foimerly of wood,^ but now of gold The Caiiba has a double roof, supported within by three octan- gular pillars of aloes wood : between which, on a bar of iron, hang some silver lamps. The outside is covered with rich black damask, adorned with an embroidered band of gold, which is changed every year, and was formerly sent by the Khalifs, aftersvai'ds by the Soltans of Egypt, and is now pro^-ided by the Turkish emperors. At a small distance from the Caaba, on the east side, is the station or place of Abraham, where is another stone much resj^ected by the Mohanmiedans, of which something will be said hereafter. The Caaba, at some distance, is surrounded, but not entirely, by a circular enclosure of pillars joined towards the bottom by a low balustrade, and towards the top by bars of silver. Just without this inner enclosure, on the south, north, and west sides of the Caaba, are three buildings, which are the oi-atories or places where three of the orthodox sects assemble to perfoiTn their devotions (the fourth sect, viz. that of al ShafeT, making use of the station of Abraham for that purjxDse) ; and towards the south- east stands the edihce which covers thfe well Zemzem, the treasury, and the cupola of al Abbas.* All these buildings are enclosed, at a considerable distance, by a magni- ficent piazza, or square colonnade, like that of the Royal Exchange in London, but mudi larger, covered -vs-ith small domes or cuj^olas ; from th« four comers whereof rise as many minarets or steeples, with double gallexies, and adorned with gilde I sjiires and crescents, as are the cupolas wliich cover tiie piazza and the other buildings. Between the pillars of both enclosures hang a great number of lamps, which are constantly lighted at night. The fii'st foundations of this outwai-d enclosure were laid by Umar, the second Khallf, who built no more than a low wall, to prevent the court of the Csiaba, which before lay open, from being encroached on by j)rivate buildings; but the structure has been since raised, by the liberality of many succeeding princes and great men, to its present lustre.* This is properly idl that is called the temple, but the whole territory of Mecca being also Haram or sacred, there is a third enclosure, distinguished at certain distances by small turrets, some five, some seven, and others ten ^ Ahmrd Ebn Yusff. * Sharif al Evlrisi, and Kitab Ma5aleo, apud Toe Spec, p. 11:5, i^c. ' tjharif al Edrisi, ibid. * Idem, ibid. ^ Toe. Spec. p. 116. SECT. ir. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 83 miles distant from the city.^ Witliin this compass of ground it is not law- ful to attack an enemy, or even to hunt or fowl, or cut a branch from a tree ; which is the true reason why the pigeons at Mecca are reckoned sacred, and not that they are supposed to be of the race of that imaginary pigeon which some authors, who should have known better, would persuade us Mohammed made pass for the Holy Ghost/ The temple of Mecca was a place of worship, and in singular veneration with the Arabs from great antiquity, and many centuries before Mohammed. Though it was most probably dedicated at first to an idolatrous use,^ yet the Mohammedans are generally persuaded that the Caaba is almost coeval with the world ; for they say that Adam, after his expulsion from para- dise, begged of God that he might erect a building like that he had seen there, called Beit al Mamur, or the frequented house, and al Dorah to- wards which he might direct his prayers, and which he might compass, as the angels do the celestial one. "VYhereupon God let down a representation of that house in curtains of light,^ and set it in Mecca, perpendicularly under its original,^ ordering tlie patriarch to turn towards it when he prayed, and to compass it by way of devotion.^ After Adam's death, his son Seth built a house in the same form, of stones and clay, which being destroyed by the deluge, was rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael,^ at God's command, in the place where the former had stood, and after the same mo- del, they being directed therein by revelation.* After this edifice had undergone several reparations, it was a few years after the birth of Mohammed rebuilt by the Koreish on the old foundation,^ and afterwards repaired by Abd'allah Ebn Zobeir, the Khalif of Mecca, and at length again rebuilt by Yusef, surnamed al Hejaj Ebn Yusff; in the seventy-fourth year of the Hejra, with some alterations, in the form wherein it now remains.^ Some years after, however, the Khalif Harilm al Kashid (or, as others write, his father al IMohdi, or his grandfather al Mansur,) intended again to change what had been altered by al Hejaj, and to reduce the Caaba to the old form in which it was left by Abd'allah ; but was dissuaded from meddling with it, lest so holy a place should become the sport of princes, and being new-modelled after every one's fancy, should lose that reverence which was justly paid it.''^ But notwithstanding the antiquity and holiness of this building, they have a prophecy, by tradition from Mohammed, that in the last times the Ethiopians shall come and utterly demolish it ; after which it will not be rebuilt again for ever.^ Before we leave the temple of Mecca, two or three particulars deserve further notice. One is the celebrated black stone, which is set in silver, 6 Gol. Not. in Alfrag. p. 99. 7 Qab. Sionita, et Job. Hesronita, de nonnullis Orient. Urbib. ad Calc. Geogi*. Nub. p. 21. Al Mogholtai, in bis Life of Moham- med, says the pigeons of the temple of Mecca are of the breed of those which laid their eggs at the raouth of the cave, where the prophet and Abu Beer hid them- selves when they fled from that city. See befox-e, p. 36. ^ gee before, p. 12. " Some say that the Beit al Mamiir itself was the Caaba of Adam, which, having been let down to him from heaven, was, at the flood taken up again into heaven, and is there kept. Al Zamakh. in Ivor. c. 2. i Al Juzi ex Trad. Eben Abbas. It lias been observed, that the primitive Christian church held a parallel opinion as to the situation of the celestial Jerusalem Avith respect to the terrestrial: for in the apocryphal book of the revelations of St. Peter, (chap, xxvii.) after Jesus had men- tioned unto Peter the creation of the seven heavens (whence by the way, it appears that this number of heavens was not devised by Mohammed), and of the angels, begins the description of the heavenly Jerusalem in these words : We have created the upper Jerusalem above the waters which are above the third heaven, hanging directly over the lower Jerusalem, ^c. Vide Gagnier, Not. ad Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 28. 2 Al Shahrestani. 3 vide Kor. chap. 2, p. 16, 17. * Al Jannabi, in Vita Abrah. ^ Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 13. « Idem, in Hist. Gen. Al Jannabi. ^ Al Jannabi, &c. ^xdem, Ahmed Ebn Yusef, Vide Poc. Spec. p. 115, &c. S4 PUELIMINAKY DISCOURSE. sect. iv. p.nd lixed in the south-east corner of the CiiAba, being that which looks towards Basi^, about two cubits and one-third, or, whicli is the same thing, seven spans from tlie ground. This stone is exceedingly respected ])y the Moliammedans, and is kissed by the pilgrims with great devotion, being called by some the right hand of God on earth. They f:ible that it is one of the precious stones of paradise, and fell down to the earth with Adam, and being taken up again, or otherwise preserved at the deluge, the angel Gabriel afterwards brought it back to Abraham when he was building the Caaba. It was at fii*st whiter than milk, but grew black long since by the touch of a menstruous woman, or, as others tell us, by the sins of raaukind,' or rather by the touches and kisses of so many people ; the superficies only being black, and the inside still remaining white.^ When the Karma- tians,^ among other profanations by them otfered to the temple of Mecca, took away this stone, they could not be prevailed on for love or money to restore it, though those of Mecca offered no less than five thousand pieces of gold for it.' However, after they had kept it twenty-two years, seeing they could not thereby draw the pilgrims from Mecca, they sent it back of their own accord ; at the same time bantering its devotees by telling them it was not the true stone : but, as it is said, it was proved to be no coun- terfeit by its peculiar quality of swimming on water.* Another thing obsei-vable in this temple is the stone in Abraham's place, wherein fhey pretend to show his footsteps, telling us he stood on it when he built the Caaba,'' and that it served him for a scaffold, rising and fall- ing of itself as he had occasion f though another tradition says he stood upon it while the wife of his son Ismael, whom he paid a visit to, washed his head.' It is now enclosed in an iron chest, out of which the pilgrims drink the water of Zemzem,® and are ordered to pray at it by the Kortin.' The officers of the temple took care to liide this stone when the Karma- tians took the other.^ The last thing I shall take notice of in the temple is the well Zemzem on the east side of the Caaba, and which is covered with a small building and cupola. The Mohammedans are persuaded it is the very spring which gushed out for the relief of Ismael, when Hagar his mother wandered with iiim in the desert ; * and some pretend it was so named from her calling to him, when she spied it, in the Egyptian tongue, Zem, zem, that is, Stay, stay,' though it seems rather to have had the name from the murmuring of its waters. The water of this well is reckoned holy and is liighly re- verenced ; being not only drank with particular devotion by the pilgrims, but also sent in bottles, as a great rarity, to most parts of the Mohamme- dan dominions. Abd'allah, surnamed al Ilafedh, from his great memory particularly as to tlie traditions of Mohammed, gave out that he acquired that faculty by drinking large draughts of Zemzem water,* to which I really believe it as efficacious as that of Helicon to the inspiring of a l>oet. To this temple every Mohammedan, who has health and means sufficient,' ought once at least in his life to go on pilgrimage ; nor are women excused from the performance of this duty. The pilgrims meet at different places » Al Zamakh, &c. in Ivor. Ahmed. Kbn Yuscf. ^ Poc. Spec p. 117, &c. ' These Karmatians were a sect which arose in the year of the Hejra 278, and whose opinions ovcrtunicd the funflamontal jioints of Mohainincdism. See D'Herbelot's Bibl. Orient. Art. Carmalh, and hereafter, .«cct. viii. 3])-jJerbcl. p. 40. 4 Ahmed Ebn Yusef. Abulfcda. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 119. « Abulfed. « Vide Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 35. " Ahmed Ebn Yusef, Safio'ddin. " Ahmed Ebn Yusef. " Chap. 2, p. 16. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 120. » Gen. xxi. 19. ' G. Sionit. et J. Hesr. de nunnnll. Urb. Orient, p. 19. *D'IIerbcl. p. 5, ^ .'^cc Kor. chap. 3, p. 47, and the notes thereon. Si::T. ir. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 85 near Mecca, according to the different parts from whence they come,' during the months of Shawal and Dhu'lkaada ; being obliged to be there by the beginning of Dhu'lhajja ; which month, as its name imports, is pecu- liarly set apart for the celebration of this solemnity. At the places above mentioned the jDilgrims properly commence such ; when the men put on the Ihram or sacred habit, which consists only of two woollen wrappers, one wrapped about their middle to cover their privates, and the other thrown over their shoulders, having their heads bare, and a kind of slippers which cover neither heel nor the instep, and so enter the sacred territory in their way to Mecca. While they have this habit on they must neither hunt nor fowl,' (though they are allowed to fish,)^ which precept is so i:)unctually observed, that they will not kill even a louse or a flea, if they hnd them on their bodies; there are some noxious animals, however, which they have permission to kill during the pilgrimage, as kites, ravens, scorpions, mice, and dogs given to bite. ^ During the pilgrimage it behoves a man to have a constant guard over his words and actions, and to avoid all quarrelling, or ill language, and all converse with women, and obscene discourse, and to apply his whole intention to the good work he is engaged in. The pilgrims, being arrived at Mecca, immediately visit the temple, and then enter on the performance of the prescribed ceremonies, which consist chiefly in going in procession round the Caaba, in running between the mounts Safa and Merwa, in making the station on Mount Arafat, and slay- ing the victims, and shaving their heads in the valley of Mina. These ceremonies have been so particularly described by others,^ that I may be excused if I but just mention the most material circumstances thereof. In compassing the Caaba, which they do seven times, beginning at the corner where the black stone is fixed, they use a short quick pace the three first times they go round it, and a grave ordinary pace the four last; which it is said was ordered by Mohammed, that his followers might show tJiem- selves strong and active, to cut off the hopes of the infidels, who gave out that the immoderate heats of Medina had rendered them weak.^ But the aforesaid quick pace they are not obliged to use every time they perform this piece of devotion, but only at some particular times. ^ So often as they pass by the black stone they either kiss it, or touch it with their hand, and kiss that. The running between Safa and Merwa'* is also performed seven times, partly with a slow pace, and partly running : ^ for they walk gravely till they come to a place between two pillars ; and there they run, and afterwards walk again; sometimes looking back, and sometimes stopping, like one who has lost something, to represent Hagar seeking water for her son :® for the ceremony is said to be as ancient as her time.' On the ninth of Dhul'hajja, after morning prayer, the pilgrims leave the valley of Mina, whither they come the day before, and proceed in a tumul- tuous and rushing manner to mount Arafat,^ where they stay to perform their devotions till sunset : then they go to Mozdalifa, an oratory between Arafat and IMina, and there spend the night in prayer, and reading the Koran. The next morning by daybreak they visit al Masher al haram, or ^ Vide Bobov. de Peregr. Mecc. p. 12, &c. "^ Koran, chap. 5. ^ Ibid. ^ Al Beid. 1 Bobov. dc Peregr. Mecc. p. 11, &c. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, torn, 2, p. 440, &c. See also Pitt's account of the rel. &e. of Mohammedans, p. 92, &c. Gugnier, Vie de Moh. torn. 2, p. 258, &c. Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 130, &c. and Reland, de Rel. Moh. p. 113, &c. 2Ebnal Athir. ^Yide Pocock. Spec. p. 314. * See before, p. 15. «A1 Ghazali. « Reland, de Rel. Moh. p. 121. 7 Ebn al Athir. » See Kor. chap. 2, p. 23. 86 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ir. the sacred monument,® and departing thence before sunrise, naste by Batn !Mob:isser to the valley of Miua, where they throw seven stones* at threo marks or pillars, in imitation of Abraham, who meeting the devil in that place, and being by him di^^turbed in his devotions, or tempted to dis- obedience, when he was going to sacrifice his son, was commanded by God to drive him away by throwing stones at him;' though others pretend this rite to be as old as Adam, who also put the devil to flight ia the same place, and by the same means,^ This ceremony being over, on the same day, the tenth of Dhui'hajja, the pilgrims slay their victims in the said valley of Mina; of which they and their friends eat part, and the rest is given to the poor. These victims must be either sheep, goats, kine, or camels ; males, of either of the two former kinds, and females if of either of the latter, and of a fit age.^ The sacrifices being over, they shave their heads and cut their nails, bur}'ing them in the same place; after which the pilgrimage is looked on as com- pleted : ^ though they again visit the Caaba, to take their leave of that sacred building. The above-mentioned ceremonies, by the confession of the Moham- medans themselves, were almost all of them observed by the Pagan Arabs many ages before their prophets appearance ; and particularly the compass- ing of the Caaba, the running be'tween Safaand Merwa, and the throwing of the stones in Mina; and were confirmed by Mohammed, with some alterations in such points as seemed most exceptionable : thus, for example, he ordered that when they compassed the Caaba, they should be clothed ; ^ whereas before his time they performed that piece of devotion naked, throw- ing oti' their clothes as a mark that they had cast oflf their sins,' or as signs of their disobedience towards God.* It is also acknowledged that the greater pai*t of these rites are of no intrinsic worth, neither affecting the soul, nor agreeing with natui*al reason, but altogether arbitrary, and commanded merely to tiy the obe- dience of mankind, without any further view; and are therefore to be complied with, not that they are good in themselves, but because God has so appointed.® Some, however, have endeavoured to find out some reasons for the arbitrary injunctions of this kind; and one writer,* supposing men ought to imitate the heavenly bodie:J, not only in their purity but in their circular motion, seems to argue the procession round the Caaba to be therefore a rational practice. Reland^ has observed that the Romans had something like this in their worship, being ordered by Numa to use a circular motionin theadoration of the gods, either to represent the orbicular motion of the world, or the perfecting the whole office of prayer to that God who is maker of the universe, or else in allusion to th^ Egyptian wheels, which were hieroglyphics of the instability of human fortune.^ The pilgrimage to Mecca, and the ceremonies prescribed to those who perform it, are, i>erhaps, liable to greater exception than any other of • See Koran, chap. 2, p. 23. M. Gagnicr has been twice guilty of a mistake in confounding this monument with the sacred enclosure of the Caaba. A idc Gagn. Not. ad Abulfcd. Vit. Moh. p. 131, et Vic dc Moh. torn. 2, p. 262. » Dr. Tocock, from al Ghazali, says seventy, at different times and places. Spec. p. 315. ' Al Ghazali, Ahmed Y^hn Yusef. ' Ebn al Athir. * Vide Reland, ubi sup. p. 117. • See Kor chap. 2, p. 23. « Idem. chap. 7. ^ Al Faik, de Tempore Ignor. Arabum, apud >MiUium de Mohammedismo ante Moh. p. 322. Compare Isaiah Ixiv. 6. * Jallal. al Beid. This notion comes very near, if it be not the same, with that of the Adamites. » Al Ghazali. vide Abulfar. Hist. Dyn. p. 171. ^ Abu Jaafar Ebu Tofail, in Vita Hai Ebn Yokdhan, p. 151, See Mr' Ocklev's English translatiou thereof, p. 117 ' Dc Kcl. Moh. p. 123. ' Plutarch, in Numa. SECT. V. PEELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 87 3Ioliainmed's institutions; not only as silly and ridiculous in tliemselves, but as relics of idolatrous superstition.* Yet whoever seriously considers how difficult it is to make people submit to the abolishing of ancient customs, how unreasonable soever, which they are fond of, especially where the interest of a considerable party is also concerned, and that a man may with less danger change many things than one great one,^ must excuse Mohammed's yielding some points of less moment, to gain the principal. The temple of Mecca was held in excessive veneration by all the Arabs in general (if we except only the tribes of Tay, and Khathaam, and some of the posterity of al Hareth Ebn Catib,^ who used not to go in pilgrimage thereto), and especially by those of Mecca, who had a particular interest to support that veneration ; and as the most silly and insignificant things are generally the objects of the greatest superstition, Mohammed found it much easier to abolish idolatry itself than to eradicate the superstitious bigotry with which they were addicted to that temple, and the rites performed there : wherefore, after several fruitless trials to wean them therefrom,^ he thought it best to compromise the matter, and, rather than to frustrate his whole design, to allow them to go on pilgrimage thither, and to direct their prayers tliereto : contenting himself with transferring the devotions there paid from their idols to the true God, and changing such circumstances therein as he judged might give scandal. And herein he followed the example of the most famous legislators, who instituted not such laws as were absolutely the best in themselves, but the best their people were capable of receiving : and we find God himself had the same condescendence for the Jews, whose hardness of heart he humoured in many things, giving them therefore statutes that were not good, and judgment^ wJiQreby they should not live.^ SECTION Y. OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE PRECEPTS IN THE KORAN. Having in the preceding section spoken of the fundamental points of the Mohammedan religion, relating both to faith and to practice, I shall in this and the two following discourses, speak in the same brief method of some other precepts and institutions of the Koran, which deserve peculiar notice, and first of certain things which are thereby prohibited. The drinkingof wine, under which name all sorts of strong and inebriating liquors are comprehended, is forbidden in the Koran in more places than one.^ Some, indeed, have imagined that only excess therein is forbidden, and that the moderate use of wine is allowed by two passages in the same book : ^ but the more received opinion is, that to drink any strong liquors, either in a lesser quantity or in a greater, is absolutely unlawful ; and though libertines indulge themselves in the contrary practice,'^ yet the more conscientious are so strict, especially if they have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca,^ that they hold it unlawful not only to taste wine, but to press * Maimonidcs (in Epist. ad Prosel. Eel.) pretends that the worship of Mercury was performed by throwing of stones, and that of Chemosh by making bare the head, and putting on unsewn garments. ^ According to the maxim, Tutius est multa mutare gudm unum magnum. ^ Al Shahrestani. 7 gee Kor. chap. 2, p. 17. ^ Ezek. xx. 25. Vide Spencer, de Urim et Thummim, cap. 4, sect. 7. ^ See chap. 2, p. 25, and chap. 5. 1 Chap. 2, p. 25, and chap, la Vide D'Hcrbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 696. ^ Vide Smith, de Morib. et Instit. Turcar. Ep. 2, p. 28, &c. ^ Vide Chardin, ubi supra, p. 212. 88 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. SECT.r. gnipes for the making of it, to buy or to sell it, or even to maintain them- selves with the money arising by the sale of the liquor. The Pei-sians, liowever, as well as the Turks, are very fond of wine ; and if one asks them how it comes to pass that they venture to drink it, when it is so directly forbidden by their religion, they answer, that it is with them aa with the Christians, whose religion prohibits drunkenness and whoredom as great sins, and who glory, notwithstanding, some iu debauching girls and married women, and othei^s in drinking to excess.^ It has been a question whether coffee comes not under the above mentioned prohibition,^ because the fumes of it have some effect on the imagination. This drink, which was fii-st publicly used at Aden, in Arabia Felix, about the middle of the ninth century of the Hejra, and thence gradually introduced into Mecca, ^Medina, Eg\'pt, Syria, and other parts of the Levant, has been the occasion of great disputes and disorders, having been sometimes publicly condemned and forbidden, and again declared lawful and allowed,*^ At present the use of cotfee is generally tolerated, if not granted, as is that of tobacco, though the more religious make a scruple of taking the latter, not only because it inebriates, but also out of respect to a traditional saying of their prophet (which, if it could be made out to be his, would prove him a prophet indeed), TJuU ii^ the latter days tJiere shovld he men who should bear the name of Moslems, hut should iwt he reaJ.bj such ; and that tliey sliould smoke a certain weeil, which sJiould be ccdled tobacco : however, the eastern nations are generally so addicted to both, that they say, a dish of coffee and a pipe of tobacco are a cmipUte entertainment ; and the Persians have a proverb, that coffee without tobacco is meat icithout salt J Opium and beng (which latter is the leaves of hemp in pills or consei*\'e) are also by the rigid ^Mohammedans esteemed uidawful, though not men- tioned in the Koran, because they intoxicate and disturb the undei*standing as wine does, and iu a more extraordinary manner : yet these drugs are now commonly taken in the east; but they who are addicted to them are generally looked upon as debauchees.* Several stories have been told as the occasion of ^lohammed's prohibit- ing the drinking of wine :^ but the true reasons are given in the Koran, viz., because the ill qualities of that liquor surpass its good ones, the common effects thereof being quarrels and disturbances in company, and neglect, or at least indecencies, in the performance of reliijious duties.* For these reasons it was, that the priests were, by the Levitical law, fur- bidden to drink wine or strong drink when they entered the tabernacle,' and that the Nazarites ' and Rechabites,^ and many pious persons among the Jews and primitive Christians, wholly abstained therefrom; nay, some of the latter went so fi\r as to condemn the use of wine as sinful.* But Mohammed is said to have had a nearer example than any of these, in the more devout persons of his own tribe.^ * Chardin, nbi sup. p. 344. * Abd'alkader Mohammed al Ansari has written a treatise concerning coffee, wherein he argues for its lawfuhicss. Vide D'Herl>el, Art. Cahvah. • Vide Le Traiie Historiquc de I'Origine et du Progres du Cafe a la Fin da Vov. de I'Arabic Ileur. de la Koque. " Rcland. Dissert. Miscell. torn. 2, p. 280. Vide' Chardin, Voy. do Perse, torn. 2, p. 14, and (JG. « Vide Chardin, ibid, p. 68, &c. and ir}Ier])el. p. 2f)(K » Vide Prid. Life of Moh. p. S2. &c. Busbeq. Epist. 3, p. 255, and Maundcville's Travels, p. 170. ^ Kor. chap. 2, p. 25, chap. 5, and chap. 4, p. 06. See Prov. xxiii. 29, &c. ' Levit. x. 9. ' Num. vi. 2. * Jerem. XXXV. 5, ikc. * This was the heresy of those called Kncratitae, and Aquarij. Khwat, a Magian heretic, also declared wine unlawful ; but this was after Mohammed's time. Hyde, de Kel. Vet. Pers. p. 300. « Vide Kcl*nd, de ReL Moh. p. 271. 8ECT. V. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 89 Gaining is prohibited by the Koran' in the same passages, and for the same reasons, as wine. The word al Meisar, which is there used, signifies a particular manner of casting lots by arrows, much practised by the pagan Arabs, and performed in the following manner. A young camel being bought and killed, and diAdded into ten, or twenty-eight parts, the persons who cast lots for them, to the number of seven, met for that pui'pose ; and eleven arrows were provided, without heads of feathers, seven of which were marked, the first with one notch, the second with two, and so on, and the other four had no mark at all ; ^ these arrows were put promis- cuously into a bag, and then drawn by an indifierent person, who had another near him to receive them, and to see he acted fairly ; those to whom the marked arrows fell won shares in proportion to their lot, and those to whom the blanks fell Avere entitled to no part of the camel at all, but were obliged to pay the full jDrice of it. The winners, however, tasted not of the flesh, any more than the losers, but the whole was distributed among the poor ; and this they did out of pride and ostentation, it be- ing reckoned a shame for a man to stand out, and not venture his money on such an occasion.^ This custom, therefore, though it was of some use to the poor, and diversion to the rich, was forbidden by Mohammed,^ as the source of greater inconveniences, by occasioning quarrels and heart- burninofs, which arose from the Avinners' insulting of those who lost. Under the name of lots the commentators agree that all other games whatsoever, which are subject to hazard or chance, are compreheuded and forbidden ; as dice, cards, tables, &c. And they are reckoned so ill in themselves, that the testimony of him who plays at them is, by the more rigid, judged to be of no validity in a court of justice. Chess is almost the only game which the Mohammedan doctors allow to be lawful (though it has been a doubt with some),^ because it depends wholly on skill and management, and not at all on chance : but then it is allowed under ceHain restrictions, viz. that it be no hinderance to the regular performance of their devotions, and that no money or other thing be played for or betted ; which last the Turks and Sonnites religiously observe, but the Per- sians and Moguls do not.^ But what Mohammed is supposed chiefly to have disliked in the game of chess, was the carved pieces, or men, with which the Pagan Arabs played, being little figures of men, elephants, horses, and dromedaries ; * and these are thought, by some commentators, to be truly meant by the images prohibited in one of the passages of the Koran ^ quoted above. That the Arabs in Mohammed's time actually used such images for chessmen appears from what is related, in the Sonna, of Ali, who passing accidentally by some who were playing at chess, asked, What images they were which they v:ere so intent upon ? ^ for they were j^erfectly new to him, that game having been but very lately introduced into Arabia, and not long before into Persia, whither it was first brought from India, in the reign of Khosru Nushirv/an.' Hence the Mohammedan doctors infer that the game was disapproved only for the sake of the images : wherefore the Sonnites always play with plain pieces of wood or ivory ; but the Per- sians and Indians, who are not so scimpulous, continue to make use of the carved ones.^ 7 Chap. 2, p. 25. chap. 5. ^ Some writers, as al Zamakh. and al Shirazi, mention but three blank arrows. ^ Auctores Nodham ul dorr, and Nothr al dorr, al Zamakh., al Firauzabadi, al Shirazi in Orat. al Hariri, al Beidawi, &c. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 324, &c. 1 Koran, chap. 5, p. 81. 2 vide Hyde, de Ludis Oriental, in Proleg. ad Shahiludium. 3 Vide Eund. ibid. * Vide Eundem, ibid, and in Hist. Shahiludij, p. 135, &c. « Chap. 5. « Sokeiker al Dimishki, and Auctor libri al Mostatraf, apud Hyde, ubi sup. p. 8. 7 Khondemir, apud eund. ibid. p. 41. ^ Vide Hyde, ubi sup. p. 9. 90 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. v. The Moliajnmedans comply witli the prohibition of gaining much better than they do \vith that of wine ; for though the common people, among the Turks more frequently, and the Persians more rarely, are addicted to play, yet the better sort are seldom guilty of it.' Gaming, at least to excess, has been forbidden in all well-ordered states. Gaming-houses were reckoned scandalous places among the Greeks, and a gamester is declai-ed by Aristotle ^ to be no better than a thief : the Roman senate made very severe laws against playing at games of hazard,* except only during the Saturnalia ; though the peo})le played often at other times, notwithstanding the prohibition : the civil law forbade all pernicious games :' and though the laity were, in some cases, permitted to play for money, pro^'ided they kept within reasonable bounds, yet the clergy were forbidden to play at tables (which is a game of hazard), or even to look on while others played.* Accursius, indeed, is of opinion they may play at chess, notwithstanding that law, because it is a game not subject to chance,^ and being but newly invented in the time of Justinian, was not then known in the western parts. However the monks for some time were not allowed even chess, ^ As to the Jews, Mohammed's chief guides, they also highly disapprove gaming : gamestei-s being severely censui'ed in the Salmud, and their testi- mony declared invalid." Another practice of the idolatrous Arabs, forbidden also in one of the alx)ve-mentioned passages,® was that of divining by arraws. The aiTOws used by them for this pui-pose were like those with which they cast lots, be- incr without heads or feathers, and were kept in the temple of some idol, in whose presence they were consulted. Seven such an'ows were kept at the temple of !Mecca ; ' but generally in divination they made use of three only, on one of which was written, J/y Lord hath commnided nie: on another My Lord hath forbidden me ; and the thii'd was blank. If the first was drawn, they looked on it as an approbation of the enterprise in question ; if the second, they made a contraiy conclusion ; but if the third happened to be dra^vn, they mixed them and di'ew over again, till a decisive answer •was given by one of the othei-s. These di^^ining arrows were generally con- sulted before any thing of moment was undertaken ; as when a man was about to many, or about to go a journey, or the like.* This superstitious practice of di\'ining by arrows was used by the ancient Greeks,* and other nations ; and is particularly mentioned in Scriptui'e,^ wheare it is said, that •* the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use di^ination ; he made his aiTOws bright " (or, according to the version of the vulgate, which seems preferable in tliis place, he mixed tof/et/ier, or shook the arrows), he consulted imth images, kc. : the com- mentary of St. Jerome on which passage wonderfully agrees with what we are told of the aforesaid custom of the old Arabs : " He shall stand," says he, " in the highway, and consult the oracle after the manner of his nation, that he may cast arrows into a quiver, and mix them together, being written » Vide Eundem, in Prolog:, and Chardin, Voy. dc Perse, torn. 2, p. 46. * Lib. 4. ad Nicom. » vide Horat. lib. 3. Carm. Od. 24. ' De Aleatoribus. Novell. Just. 123, &c. Vide Hyde, ubi sup. in Hist. Alea;, p. 119. * Authent. interdicimus, c. dc episcopis. * In' Com. ad Legem Pra'd. ^ Du Fresne, in Gloss. ' Bava Messia, 84. 1. Rosh hashana, and Sanhedr. 24. 2. Vide ctiam Maimon. in Tract. Gezila. Among the modem civilians, Mascardus thought common gamesters were not to be admitted as witnesses, being infamous persons. Vide Hyde, ubi sup. in Proleg. ct in Hist. Alea?, sect. iii. ^ Kor. chap. 5. » See before, p. 14. Ebn al Athir, al Zamakh. and al Beid. in Kor. c. 5. Al Mostatraf, &c. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 327, &c. and D'Her- bel. Bibl. Orient. Art Acdah. ' Viae Potter, Antiq. of Greece, voL 1. p. 334. 'Ezek. xxi. 21. gECT. T. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 91 upon or marked with tlio names of each people, that he may see whoso arrow will come forth, and which city he ought first to attack." * A distinction of meats was so generally used by the eastern nations, that it is no wonder that Mohammed made some regulations in that matter. The Koran, therefore, prohibits the eating of blood, and swine's flesh, and w^hatever dies of itself, or is slain in the name or in honoiu- of any idol, or is strangled, or killed by a blow, or a fall, or by any other beast. ^ In which particulars Mohammed seems chiefly to have imitated the Jews, by whose law, as is well known, all those things are forbidden ; but he allowed some things to be eaten which Moses did not,^ as camels' flesh ^ in particular. In cases of necessity, however, where a man may be in danger of starving, he is allowed by the Mohammedan law to eat any of the said prohibited kinds of food ; ^ and the Jewish doctors grant the same liberty in the like case.^ Though the aversion to blood and what dies of itself may seem na- tural, yet some of the pagan Arabs used to eat both ; of their eating of the latter some instances will be given hereafter : and as to the former, it is said they used to pour blood, which they sometimes drew from a live ca.mel, into a gut, and then broiled it on the fire, or boiled it, and ate it : ^ this food they called moswadd, from asioad, which signifies black; the same nearly resembling our hlack-puddings in name as well as composition.'' The eating of meat ofiered to idols I take to be commonly practised by all idolaters, being looked on as a sort of communion in their worship, and for that reason esteemed by Chi'istians, if not absolutely unlawful, yet as what may be the occasion of great scandal :^ but the Arabs were particularly superstitious in this matter, killing what they ate on stones erected on purpose round the Caaba, or near their own houses, and calling, at the same time, on the name of some idol.* Swine's flesh, indeed, the old Arabs seem not to have eaten ; and their prophet, in prohibiting the same, appears to have only confirmed the common aversion of the nation. Foreign writers tell us that the Arabs wholly abstained from swine's flesh,^ thinking it unlawful to feed thereon,^ and that very few, if any, of those animals are found in their country, because it produces not proper food for them ; '' which has made one writer imagine that if a hog were carried thither, it would immediately die.^ In the prohibition of usury ^ I presume Mohammed also followed the Jews, who are strictly forbidden by their law to exercise it among one another, though they are so infamously guilty of it in their dealing with those of a difierent religion : but I do not find the prophet of the Arabs has made any distinction in this matter. Several superstitious customs relating to cattle, which seem to have been peculiar to the pagan Arabs, were also abolished by Mohammed. The Koran ^° mentions four names by them given to certain camels or sheep, which for some particular reasons were left at Jfree liberty, and were not made use of as other cattle of the same kind. These names are Bahira, Saiba, Wasila, and Hami : of each whereof in their order. As to the first it is said that when a she-camel, or a sheep, had borne young ten times, they used to slit her ear, and tui-n her loose to feed at full * Vide Poc. Spec, p^ 329, &c. « Chap. 2, p. 20, chap. 5. p. 81, chap. 6, and chap. 16. ^ Lev. xi. 4. ^ See Ivor. chap. 3, pp. 42, 47, and chap. 6. ® Kor. chap. 5. p. 81, and in the other passages last quoted. ^ Vide Maimon. in Halachoth Melachim chap. 8, sect. 1, &c. ^ Nothr al dorr, al Firauz., al Zaraakh. and al Beid. ^ poo. Spec. p. 320. 3 Compare Acts xv. 29 with 1 Cor. viii. 40, &c. * See the fifth chap, of the Kor. p. 81, and the notes there. ^ Solin. de Arab. cap. 33. ^ Hieronym. in .Tovin. lib. 2, c. 6. ^ Idem, ibid. ^ Solinus, ubi supra. » Kor. chap. 2, p. 33, 34. ■^^ Chap. 5. ... 92 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. r. liberty ; and when she died, her flesh was eaten by the men only, tho women being forbidden to eat thereof : and such a camel or sheej), from the fluting of her ear, they ctilled Bahira. Or the Bahira was a she- camel, which was turned loose to feed, and whose fifth young one, if it proved a male, was killed and eaten by men and women promiscuously : but if it proved a female, had its ear slit, and was dismissed to free pas- ture, none being permitted to make use of its flesh or milk, or to ride on it ; though the women were allowed to eat the flesh of it, when it died : or it was the female young of the Saiba, which was used in the same manner as its dam; or else an ewe, which had yeaned five times. ^ These, however, are not all the opinions concerning the Baliira : for some suppose that name was given to a she-camel, which, after haWng brought forth young fi^'e times (if the last was a male), had her ear slit as a mark thereof, and was let go loose to feed, none dri^'ing her from pasture or water, nor using her for carriage ;' and others tell us, that when a camel had newly brought forth, they used to slit the ear of her young one, sajTxig, " God, if it live, it shall be for our use, but if it die, it shall be deemed rightly slain ;" and when it died, they ate it.' Siuba signifies a she-camel turned loose to go where she wilL And this "was done on various accounts : as when she had brought forth females ten times together; or in satisfaction of a vow; or when a man had recovered fix>m sickness, or returned safe from a jouraey, or liis camel had escaped some signal danger either in battle or otherwise. A camel so turned loor^e was declared to be Saiba, and, as a mark of it, one of the vertebrce or bones was taken out of her back, after which none might drive her from pasture or water, or ride on her.* Some say that the Saiba, when she had ten times together brought forth females, was suffered to go at liberty, none being allowed to ride on her, and that her milk was not to be drank by any but her young one, or a guest, till she died ; and then her flesli was eaten by men as well as women, and her last female young one had her ear slit, and was called Bahira, and turned loose as her dam had been."^ This appellation, however, vas not so strictly proper to female camels, but that it was given to the male when his young one had begotten another young one '.^ nay a servant set at liberty and dismissed by his master wiis also called Saiba : ^ and some are of opinion that the word denotes any animal which the Araos used to turn loose in honour of their idols, allow- ing none to make use of them thereafter, except women only.® Wasila is, by one author,^ explained to signify a she-camel which had brought forth ten times, or an ewe wliich had yeaned seven times, and every time twins; and if the seventh time she brought forth a male and a female, they said, Wosilat akhaha, i e. S?ie is joined or was hrougJit foi'th loith lier brother, after wliich none might drink the dam's milk, except men only; and she was used as the Saiba. Or Wasila was particularly meant of sheep ; as wlien an ewe brought forth a female, they took it to them- selves, but when she brought forth a male, they consecrated it to their gods, but if both a male and a female, they said. She is joined to Jier brother, and did not sacrifice that male to their gods : or Wasila was an ewe which brought forth first a male, and then a female, on which account, or because she followed her brotlver, the male was not killed; but if she brought forth a male only, they said, Let this be an offering to our gods} Another' writes, 1 Al Firauzabadi. ' Al Zamakh., al Bcidawi, al Mostatraf. ' Ebn al Athir. * Al Firanzab., al Zamakh. * Al Jawhari. Ebn al Athir. « Al Firauz. ' Idem, al .Tawhari, &c. ^ Nothr al dorr, and Nodhm al dorr. • Al Firauz. * Idem, ul Zamakh. ' Al Jawhari. SRCT. V. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 03 tliafc if an ewe brought forth twins seven times together, and the eighth time a male, they sacrificed that male to their gods ; but if the eighth time she brought forth a male and a female, they used v^j say. She is joined to her brother, and for the female's sake they spared the male, and permitted not the dam's milk to be drank by women. A third writer tells us, that Wasila was an ewe, which having yeaned seven times, if that which she brought forth the seventh time was a male, they sacrificed it, but if a female, it was sufifered to go loose, and was made use of by women only ; and if tho seventh time she brought forth both a male and a female, they held them both to be sacred, so that men ouly were allowed to make any use of them, or to drink the milk of the female : and a fourth^ describes it to be an ewe which brought forth ten females at five births one after another, i.e., every time twins, and whatever she brought forth afterwards was allowed to men, and not to women, &c. Hami was a male camel used for a stallion, which, if the females had conceived ten times by him, was after ward syreec? from labour, and let go loose, none driving him from pasture or from water; nor was any allowed to receive the least benefit from him, not even to shear his hair.^ These things were observed by the old Arabs in honour of their false gods,^ and as part of the worship which they paid them, and were ascribed to the divine institution ; but are all condemned in the Koran, and de- clared to be impious superstitions.^ The law of Mohammed also put a stop to the inhuman custom, which had been long practised by the pagan Arabs, of burying their daughters alive, lest they should be reduced to poverty by providing for them, or else to avoid the disgrace which would follow, if they should happen to be made captives, or to become scandalous by their behaviour; ^ the birth of a daughter being, for these reasons, reckoned a great misfortune,^ and the death of one as great a happiness.^ The manner of their doing this is dif- ferently related; some say that when an Arab had a daughter born, if he intended to bring her up, he sent her, clothed in a garment of wool or hair, to keep camels or sheep in the desert; but if he designed to put her to death, he let her live till she became six years old, and then said to her mother, " Perfume her, and adorn her, that I may carry her to her mothers ;" which being done, the father led her to a well or pit dug for that purpose, and having bid her to look down into it, pushed her in headlong, as he stood behind her, and then filling up the pit, levelled it with the rest of the ground : but others say, that when a woman was ready to fall in labour, they dug a pit, on the brink whereof she was to be delivered, and if the child happened to be a daughter, they threw it into the pit, but if a son, they saved it alive.^ This custom, though not observed by all the Arabs in general, was yet very common among several of their tribes, and particularly those of Koreish and Kendall ; the formerusing to bury their daughters alive in mount Abu Dalama, near Mecca.^ In the time of ignorance, while they used this method to get rid of their daughters, Sasaa, grandfather to the cele- brated poet al Farazdak, frequently redeemed female children from death, giving for every one two she-camels big with young, and a he-camel; and hereto al Farazdak alluded when, vaunting himself before one of the Kha- lifs of the family of Omeyya, he said, " I am the son of the giver of life to the dead; for which expression being censured, he excused himself by 3 Al Motarrezi. * ^1 Eirauz. al Jawhari. ^ Jallal. in Kor. ^ Kor. chap. 5, p. 95, and chap. 6. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 330 334. 7 Al Beidawi, al Zamakh. al Mostatraf. s gee Koian, chap. 16. ^ Al Meidani. i Al Zamakh. » Al Mostatraf. 9 i PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. ti. alleging the following words of the Koran,' *' He who saveth a soul alive shall be as if he had saved the lives of all mankind.""' The Arabs, in thus murdering of their children, were fiir from being singular; the practice of cxjxjsiug infiints and putting them to death being so common among the ancients, that it is remarked as a thing very extraordinary in the Egyptians, that they brought up all their children ;^ and by tlie laws of Lycurgus^ no child was allowed to be brought up, without the approbation of public officers. At this day, it is said, in China, the poorer sort of people frequently put their children, the females especially, to death, with impunity." This wicked practice is condemned by the Koran in several passages;® one of which, as some commentators^ judge, may also condemn another custom of the Arabians, altogether as wicked, and as common among other nations of old, viz., the sacriticing of their children to their idols; as was fi-equently done, in particular, in satisfaction of a vow they used to make, that if they had a certain number of sons born, they would offer one of them in sacrifice. Several other superstitious customs were likewise aVjrogated by Mo- hammed; but the same being of less moment, and not particularly mentioned in the Koran, or having been occasionally taken notice of else- where, I shall say nothing of them in this place. SECTION VI. OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE KORAN IN CIVIL AFFAIRS. The Mohammedan civil law is founded on the precepts and determi- nations of the Koran, as the civil laws of the Jews were on those of the Pentateuch ; yet being variously interpreted, according to the different de- cisions of their civilians, and especially of their four great doctoi-s, Abu Hanifa, Malec, al Shafei, and Ebn Hanbal,' to treat thereof fully and distinctly, in the manner the curiosity and usefulness of the subject deserves, would require a large volume: wherefore the most that can be expected here is a summary view of the principal institutions, without minutely entering into a detail of particulars. We shall begin with those relating to marriage and divorce. That poli/(jajni/, for the moral lawfulness of which the Mohammedan doctors advance several arguments,' is allowed by the Koran, every one knows; though few are acquainted with the limitations with which it is allowed. Several learned men have fallen into the vulgar mistake, that ' Koran, chap. 5, p. 8C. * Al ^fostatraf. Vide Ebn Khalekan, in Vita al Farazdak, and Poc. Spec. p. 334. ^ Strabo, lib. 17. Vidi- Diodor. Sic. lib. I. c. SO. " Vierty to disjx)se of herself as she pleases ; but if she prove with child, she must wait till she be delivered : and during her whole tenn of waiting, she may continue in the husband's house, and is to be maintained at his expense ; it being forbidden to turn a woman out before the expiration of the term, unless she be guilty of dishonesty.^ Where a man divorces a woman before consummation, she is not obliged to wait any particular time;' nor is he obliged to give her more than one-half of her dower.^ If the divorced woman have a young cliild, she is to suckle it till it be two years old ; the father, in the mean time, maintaining her in all respects : a widow is also obliged to do the same, and to wait four months and ten days before she many again.* These mles are also copied from those of the Jews, according to whom a divorced woman, or a widow, cannot many another man till ninety days be past, after the divorce or death of the husband :^ and she who gives suck is to be maintained for two years, to be computed from the birth of the child ; within which time she must not many, unless the child die, or her milk be dried up.*' Whoredom, in single women as well as married, was, in the beginning of Moharamedism, veiy severely punished ; such being ordered to be shut up in prison till they died : but aftel•^vards it was ordained by the Sonna, that an adulteress should be stoned,' and an immamed woman guilty of forni- cation scourged with an hundred stripes, and banished for a year.® A she- slave, if convicted of adultery, is to suffer but half the punishment of a free woman,^ viz. fifty stripes, and banishment for six months ; b\4 is not to be put to death. To convict a woman of adultery, so as to make it capital, four witnesses are expressly requii-ed,' and those, as the commentators say, ouf'ht to be men : and if a man falsely accuse a woman of reputation of whoredom of any kind, and is not able to support the charge by that num- ber of witnesses, he is to receive fourscore stripes, and his testimony is to be held invalid for the future.* Fornication, in either sex, is by the sentence of the Konm to be pimished with an hundred stripes.' If a man accuse his w-ife of infidelity, and is not able to prove it by suf- ficient evidence, and will swear four times that it is true, and the fifth time imprecate God's vengeance on him if it be false, she is to be looked on as conWcted, unless she will take the like oaths, and make the like impreca- tion, in testimony of her inuocency ; which if she do, she is free from punishment, though the marriage ought to be dissolved.* Biisbcq. Ep. 3, p. 134. Smith, de Morib. ac Instit. Turcar. Ep. 2, p. 52, and Chardin, Voy. dc rcrse, torn 1, \>. lOf). ^ Koran, chap. 4, p. 62, «33. » Mem, chap. 2, p. 26, and 27, and chap. 05. 2 ii/,,!. chap. 33. ' Ibid. chap. 2, p. 27. * Ibid. chap. 2, p. 27, and chap. Qo. * Mishna, tit. Yabimoth, c. 4. Gcniar. Babyl. ad cund. tit. Maimon. in Halach. Girushin, ShvUian Aruch, part 3. • JMislina, and Gcmara, and Mairaon. ubi supra. Gem. Babyl. ad tit. Cetuboth, c. 5. and Jos. Karo, in Shylhan Aruch, c. 50, sect. 2. Vide' Scldcni Ux. Ilebr. lib. 2, c. 11, and lib. 3, c. 10 in fin. ^ .\nd the adulterer also, according to a passage once extant in the Koran, and still in force as some suppose. See the notes to Kor. chap. 3, p. 37, and the Prel. Disc. p. 48. «Kor. chap. 4, p. Gl, 62. See the notes there. » Ibid. p. 03. ^ K<9r. chap. 4, p. 61, 62. See notes there. 'Kor. chap, 24. » Ibid. This law relates not to married people, as Scldcn supposes} Ux. Ilcb. lib. 3, c. 12. * Ibid. See the notes there. SECT. VI. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 97 In most of the last-mentioned particulars, the decisions of the Koran also agree with those of the Jews. By the law of Moses, adultery, whether in a married woman or a vii'gin betrothed, was punished with death ; and the man who debauched them was to suffer the same punishment.^ The penalty of simple fornication was scourging, the general punishment in cases where none is particularly appointed : and a betrothed bond-maid, if convicted of adultery, underwent the same punishment, being exempted from death, hecause she ivas notfree.^ By the same law, no person was to be put to death on the oath of one witness : ^ and a man who slandered his wife was also to be chastised, that is, scourged, and fined one hundred shekels of silver.® The method of trying a woman suspected of adulteiy, where evidence was wanting, by forcing her to drink the bitter water of jea- lousy,^ though disused by the Jews long before the time of Mohammed,^ yet, by reason of the oath of cursing with which the woman was charged, and to which she was obliged to say Ameji, bears great resemblance to the expedient devised by that prophet on the like occasion. The institutions of Mohammed relating to the pollution of women during their courses,^ the taking of slaves to wife,^ and the prohibiting of mar- riage witliin certain degrees,* have likewise no small affinity with the in- stitutions of Moses ; ^ and the parallel might be carried farther in several other particulars. As to the prohibited degrees, it may be observed, that the Pagan Arabs abstained from marrying their mothers, daughters, and aunts, both on the fa- ther's side and on the mother's, and held it a most scandalous thing to marry two sisters, or for a man to take his father's wife ;^ which last was notwith- standing too frequently practised,^ and is expressly forbidden in the Koran.® Before I leave the subject of marriages, it may be proper to take notice of peculiar privileges in relation thereto, which were granted by God to Mohammed, as he gave out, exclusive of all other Moslems. One of them was, that he might lawftilly many as many wives, and have as many con- cubines as he pleased, without being confined to any particular number;^ and this he pretended to have been the privilege of the prophets before him. Another was, that he might alter the turns of his wives, and take such of them to his bed as he thought fit, without being tied to that order and equality which others are obliged to observe.^ A third privilege was, that no man might marry any of his wives,^ either such as he should divorce during his lifetime, or such as he should leave widows at his death : which last particular exactly agrees with what the Jewish doctors have determined concerning the wives of their princes ; it being judged by them to be a thing very indecent, and for that reason un- s Lev. XX. 10. Deut. xxii. 22. The kind of death to be inflicted on adulterers in common cases being not expressed, the Talmudists generally suppose it to be strangling ; which they think is designed wherever the phrase shall he put to death, or shall die the death, is used, as they imagine stoning is by the expression his blood shall be upon him : and hence it has been concluded by some, that the woman taken in adultery, mentioned in the gospel (John viii.) was a betrothed inaiden, because such a one and her accomplice were plainly ordered to be stoned. (Deut. xxii. 23, 24.) But the ancients seem to be of a different opinion, and to have understood stoning to be the punishment of adulterers in general. Vide Selden. Ux. Hebr. lib. 3, c. 11, and 12. ^ Levit. xix. 20. 7 Deut. xix. 15, xvii. 6, and Num. xxxv. 30. s Deut. xxii. 13—19. » Num v. 11, &c. i Vide Selden. ubi supr. lib. 3, c. 15, and Leon. Modena, de' Riti Hebvaici, parte 4, c. 6. ^ Kqj.^ ^hap. 2, p. 26. s Ibid, chap. 4, p. 60, and 63, &c. * Chap. 4, p. 62. « See Lev. xv. 24, xviii. 19, and XX. 18. Exod. xxi, 8—11. Deut. xxi. 10—14. Lev. xviii. and xx. « Abulfed. Hist. Gen. al Shahrestani, apud Poc. Spec. p. 321. and 338. ^ Vide Poc. Ibid. p. 337, &c. 8 Chap. 4, p. 62. » Kor. chap. 33. See also chap. QQ, and the notes there. ^ Kor. chap. 33. See the notes there. 2 Kor. chap. 33. U 9 3 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. n. lawful, for another to many either the divorced wife or the widow of a king ; ^ and Mohammed, it seems, thought an equal respect, at least, due to the prophetic Jis to the regal dignity, and therefore ordered that his re- licts should pass the remainder of their lives in perpetual widowhood. The laws of the Koran conceniing inheritances are also in several respects conformable to those of the Jews, though principally designed to abolish certain pi^actices of the pagan Arabs, who used to treat widows and orphan children with great injustice, frequently denying them any share in the inheritance of their fathei's or their husbands, on pretence that the same ought to be distributed among those only who were able to bear aruLS, and disposing of the widows, even against their consent, as j)art of their husband's possessions.* To prevent such injuries for the future, Mohammed ordered that women should be respected, and orphans have no "WTong done them ; and in particidar that women should not be taken against their wills, as by right of inheritance, but should themselves be entitled to a distributive part of what their parents, husbands, and near relations, should leave behind them, in a certain proportion.^ The general rule to be observed in the distribution of the deceased's estate is, that a male shall have twice as much as a female : ® but to this rule there are some few exceptions : a man's parents, for example, and also his brothers and sisters, where they are entitled not to the whole, but a small part of the inheritance, being to have equal shares with one another in the distribution thereof, without making any difference on account of sex.' The particular proportions, in several cases, distinctly and suffi- ciently declare the intention of Mohammed ; whose decisions expressed in the Koran ® seem to be pretty equitable, preferring a man's childi'en first, and then his nearest relations. If a man dispose of any part of his estate by will, two witnesses, at the least, are required to render the same valid ; and such witnesses ought to be of liis own tribe, and of the Mohammedan religion, if such can be had." Though there be no express law to the contrary, yet the Mohammedan doctors reckon it very wrong for a man to give away any part of his sub- stance from his family, unless it be in legacies for pious uses ; and even in that case a man ought not to give all that he has in charity, but only a rea- sonable part in proportion to his substance. On the other hand, though a man make no will, and bequeath nothing for charitable uses, yet the heirs are directed, on the distribution of the estate, if the value will per- mit, to bestow something on the poor, especially such as are of kin to the deceased, and to the orphans. '° The first law, however, laid down by IVIohammed touching inheri- timces wa.s not very equitable ; for he declared that those who had fled with him from Mecca, and those who had received and assisted him at Medina, shoidd be deemed the nearest of kin, and consequently heirs to one another, preferably to and in exclusion of their relations by blood ; nay, though a man were a true believer, yet if he had not fled his country for the sake of religion and joined the prophet, he wjis to be looked on as a Btranger : ' but this law continued not long in force,being quickly abrogated.' It must be observed that among the Mohammedans the children of their ' Mishna, tit. Sanhcdr. c. 2. and Gemar. in ennd. tit. Maimon. Halachoth ^fe- lacliim, c. 2. Vide Scldcn. Ux. Hebr. lib. i. c. 10. Prid. Life of Moham. p. 118. * Sec c. 4. p. 59—62, and the notes there. Vide etiam Poc. Spec. p. 337. * Ivor, c. 4. ubi sup. « Ibid. p. 60, and 80. Vide Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. ii. p. 293. ^ Kor. Ibid. p. 60, 61. Ibid, and p. 80. » Kor. c. 5, p. 9G. ^o Ibid. c. 4, p. GO. 1 Ibid, c 8. 2 n,id. and c. 33. SECT. vr. PRELIMINAEY DISCOURSE. 99 concubines or slaves are esteemed as equally legitimate with those of their legal and ingenuous wives ; none being accounted bastards, except such only as are born of common women, and whose fathers are unknown. As to private contracts between man and man, the conscientious perform- ance of them is frequently recommended in the Koran.^ For the preventing of disputes, all contracts are directed to be made before witnesses ;* and in case such contracts are not immediately executed, the same ou^ht to be reduced into writing in the presence of two witnesses'^ at least, who ought to be Moslems and of the male sex ; but if two men cannot be con- veniently had, then one man and two women may suffice : the same method is also directed to be taken for the security of debts to be paid at a future day ; and where a writer is not to be found, pledges are to be taken.^ Hence, if people trust one another without writing, witnesses, or pledge, the party on whom the demand is made is always acquitted if he denies the charge on oath, and swears that he owes the plaintiff nothinf^, unless the contrary be proved by very convincing circumstances/ Wilful murder, though forbidden by the Koran under the severest penalties to be inflicted in the next life,^ is yet by the same book allowed to be compounded for, on payment of a fine to the family of the deceased, and freeing a Moslem from captivity : but it is in the election of the next of kin, or the revenger of hlood, as he is called in the Pentateuch, either to accept of such satisfaction, or to refuse it ; for he may, if he pleases, insist on having the murderer delivered into his hands, to put to death in such a manner as he shall think fit.^ In this particular Mohammed has gone against the express letter of the Mosaic law, which declares that no satis- faction shall be taken for the life of a murderer;^ and he seems, in so doing, to have had respect to the customs of the Arabs in his time who, being of a vindictive temper, used to revenge murder in too unmer- ciful a manner,^ whole tribes frequently engaging in bloody wars on such occasions, the natural consequence of their independency, and havin^y no common judge or superior. If the Mohammedan laws seem light in case of murder, thev may perhaps be deemed too rigorous in case of manslaughter, or the killi'no- of k man undesignedly; which must be redeemed by fine (unless the°next of kin shall think fit to remit it out of charity), and the freeing of a captive : but if a man be not able to do this, he is to fast two months together, by way of penance.^ The fine for a man's blood is set in the Sonna at a hundred camels ;* and is to be distributed among the relations of the deceased, according to the laws of inheritances ; but it must be observed, that though the person slain be a Moslem, yet if he be of a nation or party at enmity, or not in confe.ieracy with those to whom the slayer belongs, he is not then bound to pay any fine at all ; the redeeming a captive being, in such case, declared a sufficient penalty,^ I imagine that Mohammed^ by these regulations, laid so heavy a punishment on involuntary manslaughter, not only to make people beware incurring the same, but also to humour, in some degree, the revengeful temper of his countrymen, which might be with difficulty, if at all, prevailed on to accept a lighter satisfaction. Among the 3 Kor. c. 5, p. 81. c. 17. c. 2, p. 34, &c. * Chap. 2, p. 34. « The same seems to have been required by the Jewish law, even in cases where life was not concerned See Dcut. xix. 15. Matt, xviii, 16. John viii. 17. 2 Cor. xiii. 1. e Kor. c 2 p 34* 7 Vide Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. ii. p. 294, &c. and the notes to Kor' c' 5' p' 96* Kor. c. 4, p. 72. ^Ibid. c. 2, p. 20, 21. c. 17. Vide Chardin, ubi sup. p. 229,' &c. 1 Numb. XXXV. 31. 2 xhis is particularly forbidden in the Koran c 17. 8 Kor. c. 4, p. 72. * See the notes to c. 37. ^ Kor. c. 4, p. 72. lOQ PK.KLIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. vi. Jews, who seem to have been no less addicted to revenge than their neigh- boui-s, the manslayer who had escaped to a city of refuge was obliged to keep himself within that citv, and to abide there till the death of the person who was high priest at the time the fact was committed, that his absence and time might cool the passion and mitigate the resentment of the friends of the deceased ; bat if he quitted his asylum before that time, the revenger of blood, if lie found him, might kill him without guilt;* nor could any satisfaction be made for the slayer to return home before the pre- scribed time.'^ Theft is ordered to be punished by cutting oflf the offending part, the hand ;* which, at firet sight, seems just enough : but the law of Justinian, forbidding a thief to be maimed,® is more reasonable; because stealing being generally the effect of indigence, to cut off that limb would be to de- prive him of the means of getting his livelihood in an honest manner.' The Sonna forbids the inflicting of this punishment, unless the thing stolen be of a certain value. I have mentioned in another place the further penalties which those incur who continue to steal, and of those who rob or assault people on the road.' As to injuries done to men in their persons, the law of retaliation which was ordained by the law of Moses, ^ is also proved by the Koran:* but this law, which seems to have been allowed by Mohammed to his Arabians for the same reason as it was to the Jews, viz. to prevent particular revenges, to which both nations were extremely addicted,^ being neither strictly just, nor practicable in many cases, is seldom put in execution, the punishment being generally turned into a mulct or fine, which is paid to the party injured.^ Or rather Mohammed designed the works of the Koran relating thereto should be understood in the same manner as those of the Pentateuch most probably ought to be ; that is, not of an actual re- taliation, according to the strict literal meaning, but of a retribution propor- tionable to the injury : for a criminal had not his eyes put out, nor was a man mutilated, according to the law of Moses, which, besides, condemned those who had wounded any person, where death did not ensue, to pay a fine only ;^ the expression eye for eye, and tooth for tooth, being only a j)ro- verbial manner of speaking, the sense whereof amounts to this, Tlmt every one shall he punished hy the judges, according to tJce lieinoiisness oj the fact? In injaries and crimes of an inferior nature, where no particular punish- ment is provided by the Koran, and where a pecuniary compensation will not do, the Mohammedans, according to the practice of the Jews in the like case, have recourse to stripes or drubbing,^ the most common chastisement used in the east at this day, as well aa formerly ; the cudgel, which, for its virtue and efficacy in keeping the people in good order, and within the bounds of duty, they say came down from heaven, being the instrument wherewith the judge's sentence is generally executed.' Notwithstanding the Koran is by the Mohammedans in general regarded aA the fundamental part of their civil law, and the decisions of the Sonna, « See Numb. xxxv. 20, 27, 2R. 7 ibid. vcr. 32. » Kor. c. 5, p. SG. » Novell. 134. c. 13. ^ Vide Puffendorf, dc Jure Nat. et. Gent, lib, viii. c. 3. sect. 26. 2 See the notes to c. 5. p. 86. ' Exod. xxi. 24, kc. Lev. xxiv. 20. Deut. xix. 21. * Chap. 5, p. 88. » Vide Grotium, de Jure Belli et Pacis, lib. i. c. 2. sect. 3. ^ Vide Chardin, t. ii. p. 2\)\). 1 he talio, likewise estabhshcd among the old Romans by the laws of the twelve tables, was not to be inflicted, unless the d<'- linquent could not agree with the person injured. Vide A. Gell. Noct. Attic, lib. XX. c. 1. and Festum, in voce talio. ^ See Exod. xxi. 18, 19, and 22. ^ Rar- bevrac, in Grot, ubi sup. Vide Cleric, in Exod. xxi. 24, and Deut. xix. 21.. " See Dent. XXV, 2, 3. ^ Vide Grelot, Voy. de Constant, p. 220, and Chardin, nbi sup. p. 3 )2. SKCT. VI. PKELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 101 among tlie Turks, and of the Imams, among those of the Persian sect, with the explications of their several doctors, are usually followed in judicial determinations, yet the secular tribunals do not think themselves bound to observe the same in all cases, but frequently give judgment against those decisions, which are not always consonant to equity and reason; and there- fore distinction is to be made between the written civil law, as administered iu the ecclesiastical courts, and the law of nature or common law, (if I may so call it,) which takes place in the secular courts, and has the exe- cutive power on its side.^ Under the head of civil laws may be comprehended the injunction of warring against the infidels, which is repeated in several passages of the Koran,^ and declared to be of high merit in the sight of God, those who are slain fighting in defence of the faith being reckoned martyrs, and promised immediate admission into paradise.* Hence this duty is greatly magnified by the Mohammedan divines, who call the sword the key of heaven and hell, and persuade their people that the least drop of blood spilt in the way of God, as it is called, is most acceptable unto him, and that the de- fending the territories of the Moslems forone night is more meritorious than a fast of two months : ^ on the other hand, desertion, or refusing to serve in these holy wars, or to contribute towards the carrying them on, if a man has ability, is accounted a most heinous crime, being frequently declaimed against in the Koran.^ Such a doctrine, which Mohammed ventured not to teach till his circumstances enabled him to put it in practice,'' it must be allowed, was well calculated for his purpose, and stood him and his suc- cessors in great stead : for what dangers and difficulties may not be despised and overcome by the courage and constancy which these sentiments neces- sarily inspire ? Nor have the Jews and Christians, how much soever they detest such principles in others, been ignorant of the force of enthusiastic heroism, or omitted to spirit up their respective partizans, by the like argu- ments and promises. " Let him who has listed himself hi defence of the law," says Maimonides,® " rely on^him who is the hope of Israel, and the saviour thereof in the time of trouble ;^ and let him know that he fights for the ])rofession of the divine unity : wherefore let him put his life in his hand,^ and think neither of wife nor children, but banish the memory of them from his heart, having his mind wholly fixed on the war. For if he should begin to waver in his thoughts, he would not only confound himself, but sin against the law; nay, the blood of the whole peo2)le hangeth on his neck ; for if they are discomfited, and he has not fought stoutly with all his might, it is equally the same as if he had shed the blood of them all ; according to that saying, let him return, lest his brethren's heart fail as his own."* To the same purpose doth the Kabala accommodate that other pass- age, " Cursed be he who doth the work of the Lord negligently, and cursed be he who keepeth back his sword from blood. ^ On the contrary, he who behaveth bravely in battle, to the utmost of his endeavour, without trem- bling, with intent to glorify God's name, he ought to expect the victory with confidence, and to apprehend no danger or misfortune, but may be assured that he will have a house built him in Israel, appropriated to him and his children for ever; as it is said, God shall certainly make my lord a sure house, because he hath fought the battles of the Lord, and his life 2 Vide Chardin, ubi sup. p. 290, &c. 3 chap. 22, c. 2, p. 22, c. 4, p. 69, &c. c. 8, c. 9, c. 47, and c. 61, &c. * Chap. 2. p. 18, c. 8, p. 51, 55, c. 47, and c. 61. « Eeland, de Jure Milit. Moham. p. 5, &c. « y^^^ ^ 9^ ^nd c. 3, p. 52, &c- ^ See before, p. 34. 8 Halach. Melachim, c. 7. ^ Jer. xiv. 8. 1 Job xiii. 14. * Dent. xx. 8. 3 Jer. xlviii. 10. 102 PRELIAHNARY DISCOUBSE. sect. n. shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord his God."* More passaijes of this kind might bo produced from the Jewish writers ; and the Christians come not far behind them. " We are desirous of knowing," says one,* writing to the Franks engaged in the holy war, "the charity of you all ; for that every one (which we speak not because we wish it) who shall faithfully lose his life in this warfare shall be by no means denied the kingdom of heaven." And another*^ gives the following ex- hortation; ** Laying aside all fear and dread, endeavour to act eflectualiy against the eneniits of the holy faith, and the adversaries of all religions • for the Almightly knoweth, if any of you die, that lie dieth for the trutL of the faith, and the salvation of his country, and the defence of Christians; and therefore he shall obtain of him a celestial reward." The Jews, in- deed, had a divine commission, extensive and explicit enough, to attack, subdue, and destroy the enemies of their religion : and Mohammed pre- tended to have received one in favour of himself and his Moslems, in terms equally plain and full ; and therefore it is no wonder that they should act consistently with their avowed principles : but that Christians should teach and practise a doctrine so opposite to the temper and whole tenor of the gospel, seems very strange ; and yet the latter have can*ied matters farther, and shown a more violent spirit of intolerance than either of the former. The laws of war according to the Mohammedans have been already so exactly set down by the learned Reland/ that I need Siiy very little of them. I shall therefore only observe some conformity between their military laws and those of the Jews. TVhile Mohammedism was in its infancy, the opposers thereof taken in battle were doomed to death without mercy ; but this was judged too severe to be put into practice when that religi(m came to be sufficiently established, and past the danger of being subverted by its enemies.^ The same sentence was pronounced not only against the seven Canaanitish nations,^ whose possessions were given to the Israelites, and without whose destruction, in a manner, they could not have settled themselves in the country designed them, but against the Amalekites^ and Midianites,* who had done their utmost to cut them off in their passage thither. AVhen the Mohammedans declare war against people of a different faith, they give them their choice of three offers, viz. eitlier to embrace Mohammedism, in which case they become not only secure in their persons, families, and fortunes, but entitled to all the privileges of other ^Moslems; or to submit and pay tribute,' by doing which they are allowed to profess their own religion, provided it be not gross idolatry, or against the moral law ; or else to decide the quarrel by the sword ; in which last Ciise, if the Moslems prevail, the women and children which arc made captives become absolute slaves, and the men taken in the battle may either be slain, unless they turn ^lohammedans, or otherwise disposed of at the pleasure of the prince.* Herewith agree the laws of war given to the Jews, which relate to the nations not devoted to destruction ;^ and Joshua is said to have sent even to the inhabitants of Canaan, before he entered the land, three schedules, in one of which was written, Lei himjly, who xcill; in the second, Let him surrender^ who will; and in the third, Let him JigJU, who vsill ;^ though * 1 Sam. XXV. 28, 29. * Nicolaus, in Jure Canon, c. Omnium, 23. qurcst, 5. " Leo IV. ib. qufest. 8. ' In his treatise De Jure Militari Mohammedanor. in the third vol. of his Dissertatlones Miscellanea. ^ See Kor. c. 47, and the notes there; and c. 4, p. 71, c. 5. p. 86. » Deut. xx. 16—18. i Ib. c. xxv. 17—19. « Numb. xxxi. 17. ' See c. 9, and the notes there. * See the notes to c. 47. * Deut. xx. 10 — 15. * Talmud, SECT. VI. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 103 none of those nations made peace with the Israelites (except only the Gibeonites, who obtained terms of security by stratagem, after they had refused those offered by Joshua), it being of the Lord to harden their hearts^ that he might destroy them utterly. "^ On the first considerable success of Mohammed in war, the dispute which happened among his followers, in relation to the dividing of the spoil, ren- dered it necessary for him to make some regulation therein : he therefore pretended to have received the divine commission to distribute the spoil among the soldiers at his own discretion,^ reserving thereout, in the first place, one-fifth part ^ for the uses after mentioned ; and in consequence hereof, he took himself to be authorized on extraordinary occasions to distribute it as he thought fit, without obser^T.ng an equality. Thus he did, for example, with the spoil of the tribe of Hawazen taken at the battle of Honein, which he bestowed by way of presents on the Meccans only, passing by those of Medina, and highly distinguishing the principal Kora- shites, that he might ingratiate himself with them, after he had become master of their city. ^^ He was also allowed in the expedition against those of al Nadir to take the whole booty to himself, and to dispose thereof as he pleased, because no horses or camels were made use of in that expedition,^ but the whole army went on foot; and this became thenceforward a law :^ the reason of which seems to be, that the spoil taken by a pai-ty consisting of infantry only should be considered as the more immediate gift of God,^ and therefore property left to the disposition of his Apostle. According to the Jews, the spoil ought be be divided into two equal parts, one to be shared among the captors, and the other to be taken by the prince,^ and by him employed for his own support and the use of the public. Moses, it is true, divided one-half of the plunder of the Midianites among those who went to battle, and the other half among all the congi*egation : ^ but this, they say, being a peculiar case, and done by the exjDress order of God himself, must not be looked on as a precedent.^ It should seem, however, from the words of Joshua to the two tribes and a half, when he sent them home into Gilead after the conquest and division of the land of Canaan, that they were to divide the spoil of their enemies with their brethren, after their return :'' and the half which was in succeeding times taken by the king was in all probability taken by him as head of the community, and representing the whole body. It is remarkable, that the dispute among Mohammed's men about sharing the booty at Bedr,^ arose on the same occasion as did that among David's soldiers in relation to the spoils recovered from the Amalekites f those who had been in the action insisting that they who tarried by the stuff should have no part of the spoil ; and that tlie Hierosol, apud Maimonid. Halach. Mclachim, c 6, sect. v. R. Bechai, ex lib. Siphre, Vide Selden. de Jure Nat. et Gent. sec. Hebr. lib. 6, c. 13, 14, and Schickardi Jus Re- gium Hebr. c. 5, Theor. 16. ^ Josh. xi. 20. The Jews, however, say that the Girga- shitcs, believing they could not escape the destruction with which they were threatened by God, if they persisted to defend themselves, fled into Africa in great numbers (vide Talm. Hieras. ubi sup.) And this is assigned as the reason why the Girgashites are not mentioned among the other Canaanitish nations who assembled to fight against Joshua (Josh. ix. 1), and who were doomed to utter extirpation (Ueut. xx. 17). But it is observable, that the Girgashites are not omitted by the Septuagint in either of those texts, and that their name appears in the latter of them in the Sama- I'itan Pentateuch: they are also joined with the other Canaanites as having fought against Israel, in Josh. xxiv. 11. ^ i^^r. c. 8. » Ibid. ^^ Abulfed. in Vit. IVIoh. p. 118, &c. Vide Kor, c. 9, and the notes there. i Kor. c. 59, and the notes there. 2 Vide Abulfed. ubi sup. p. 91. ' Vide Kor. c, 59, ubi sup. * Geraar. Babyl. ad tit. Sanhedr. c. 2. Vide Selden. de Jure Nat. et Gent. sec. Hebr. lib. 6. c. 16. ^ Num. xxxi. 27. ^ Vide Maim. Halach. Melach. c. 4. ? Josh. xxii. 8, ^ See Kor. c. 8, and the notes there. » 1 Sam. xxx. 21—25. 104 PRELLMINiVKY DISCOURSE. sect. vi. same decision was given in both cases, which became a law for the future, to vdt, that they shoukl part alike. , The fifth i):irt, directed by the Korrin to be taken out of the s2>oil before it be divided among the captore, is dcchired to belong to God, and to the apostle and his kindred, and the orphans, and the poor, and the traveller:* which words are variously understood- Al Shafei was of opinion that the whole ought to be diWded into five parts ; the first, which he called God's part, to go to the treasury, and be employed in building and repairing fortresses, bridges, and other public works, and in paying salaries to magi- strates, civil officers, professors of learning, ministers of public worship, eople used to be a.ssemblcd long before his time,*^ though such assemblies were had, perhaps, rather on a civil than a religious account. However it * Al Makrizi, npud Poc. ubi sup. ct Auctor Ncshk nl Azhiir, il»id. 'Sec Koran, c. 106. * Al Edrisi apud Poc. Specim. p. 127. ^' Chap. 9, c. 2, p. 23. c. 4, p. 81, c. 5, p. 9.5, kc. « Chap. 9, c. 2, p. 23. ' See the notes to c. 9, ubi sup. 8 Chap. 9, ibid. » Life of Moham. p. 66. ^ In Alfrag. p. 12. - See Prid. Jfreface to the first vol. of his Connect, p. vi. &c. ' Vide Gol. ubi sup. * Kor. c. {). * See c. 63, and the notes there. ^ Al BeiJawi. SECT. vin. PRELIMINAEY DISCOURSE. 107 be, the Mohammedan writers bestow very extraordinary encomiums on this day, calling it the prince of days, and the most excellent day on which the sun rises j'^ pretending also that it will be the day whereon the last judgment will be solemnized:® and they esteem it a peculiar honour to Islam, that God has been pleased to appoint this day to be the feast-day of the Moslems, and granted them the advantage of having first observed it.^ Though the Mohammedans do not think themselves bound to keep their day of public worship so holy as the Jews and Christians are certainly obliged to keep tlieirs, there being a permission, as is generally supposed, in the Koran,^° allowing them to return to theii' employments or diversion after divine service is over ; yet the most devout disapprove the applying of any part of that day to worldly affairs, and require it to be wholly de- dicated to the business of the life to come.^ Since I have mentioned the Mohammedan weekly feast, I beg leave just to take notice of their two Beirams,^ or principal annual feasts. The first of them is called, in Arabic, Id al fetr, i. e. The feast of breaking the fast, and begins the first of Shawal immediately succeeding the fast of Ramadan ; and the other is called Id al korban, or Id al adha, i. e. The feast of the sacrifice, and begins on the tenth of Dhu'lhajja, when the vic- tims are slain at the pilgrimage of Mecca.^ The former of these feasts is properly the lesser l^eiram, and the latter the greater Beiram:* but the vulgar, and most authors who have written of the Mohammedan affairs,^ exchange the epithets, and call that which follows Ramadan the greater Beiram, because it is observed in an extraordinary manner, and kept for three days together at Constantinople and in other parts of Turkey, and in Persia for five or six days, by the common people at least, with great de- monstrations of public joy, to make themselves amends, as it were, for the mortification of the preceding month ; ^ whereas the feast of sacrifices, though it be also kept for three days, and the first of them be the most so- lemn day of the pilgrimage, the principal act of devotion among the Mo- hammedans, is taken much less notice of by the generality of people, who are not struck therewith, because the ceremonies with which the same is observed are performed at Mecca, the only scene of that solemnity. SECTION YIII. OF THE PRINCIPAL SECTS AMONG THE MOHAMMEDANS; AND OF THOSB WHO HAVE PRETENDED TO PROPHECY AMONG THE ARABS, IN OR SINCE THE TIME OF MOHAMMED. Before we take a view of the sects of the Mohammedans, it will be necessary to say something of the two sciences by which all disputed questions among them are determined, viz. their Scholastic and Practical Divinity. Their scholastic divinity is a mongrel science, consisting of logical, me- taphysical, theological and philosophical disquisitions, and built on princi- ples and methods of reasoning very different from what are used by those 7 Ebn al Athir, et al Ghazali, apud Poc. Spec. p. 317. ^ lidem. » Al Ghazali, Ibid._ I*' Chap. 63, ubi snp. lAl Ghazali, ubi sup. p. 318. 2 The word Beiram is Turkish, and properly signifies a feast-day or holiday. 3 gee chap. 9, and before, sect. iv. p. 86. * Vide Eeland, de Ilel. Moham. p. 109, et D'Herbel, Bibl. Orient. Art. Beiram. ^ Hyde, in notis ad Bobov. p. 16. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, torn. ii. p. 450. Ricaut's State of the Ottoman Empire, lib. ii. c. 24. &c. ^ Vide Chardin, et Ricant, ubi sup. 108 rRELDkUNAUY DISCO UKSE. sect. vui. who pass among the Mohammedans themselves for the sounder divines or more able philosopher/ and therefore in the partition of the sciences this is generally left out, as unworthy a place among them.* The learned Waimonides' has laboured to expose the priucij)le3 and systems of the schuhistic divines, as frequently repugnant to the nature of the world and the order of the creation, and intolerably absurd. This art of handling religious disputes was not known in the infancy of ^lohamniedism, but was brought in when sects s})rang up, and articles of religion began to be called in question, and was at lirst made use of to defend the truth of those articles against innovator ;^ and while it keeps within those bounds is allowed to be a commendable study, being neces- sary for the defence of the faith: but when it proceeds farther, out of an itch of disputation, it is judged worthy of censure. This is the opinion of al Ghazali,^ who observes a medium between tliose who have too high a value for this science, and those who absolutely reject it. Among the latter was al Shafei, who declared that, in his judgment, if any man employed his time that way, he deserved to be fixed to a stake, and carried about through all the Arab tribes, with the following pro- clamation to be made before him : This is the reward of him who, leaving tlie Koran and the Sonna, applied himself to the study of scholastic divi- nity.^ Al Ghazi'di, on the other hand, thinks that it was introduced by the invasion of heresies, it is necessary to be retained in order to quell them : but then in the person who studies this science he requires three things, diligence, acuteness of judgment, and probity of manners; and is by no means for suffering the san^.e to be publicly explained.* This science, there- fore, among the Mohammedans, is the art of controversy, by which they discuss points of faith, concerning the essence and attributes of God, and the conditions of all possible things, either in respect to their creation, or final restoration, according to the rules of the religion of lelam.^ The other science is practical divinity or jurisprudence, and is the know- ledge of the decisions of the law which regard practice, gathered from dis- tinct proofs. Al Ghazfdi declares that he had much the same opinion of this science as of the former, its original being owing to the corruption of religion and moi-ality; and therefore judged both sciences to be necessary not in them- selves, but by accident only, to curb the irregular imaginations and pas.'^ions of mankind (as guards become necessary in the highways by reason of robbei-s) ; the end of the first being the suppressing of heresies, and of the other the decision of legal controversies, for the quiet and peaceable living of mankind in this world, and for the })resorving the rule by which the magistrate may prevent one man from injuring another, by declaring what is lawful and what is unlawful, by determining the satisfaction to be given, or punishment to be inflicted, and by regulating other outward actions; and not only so, but to decide of religion itself and its conditions, so far as re- lates to the profession made by the mouth, it not being the business of the civilian to inquire into the heart:® the depravity of men's mannei-s, how- ever, has made this knowledge of the laws so very requisite, that it is usually called the science by way of excellence, nor is any man reckoned learned who has not applied himself thereto/ ^Poc, Spec. p. 196. • Apud Ebn Sina. in Librllo dc Divisionc Scientiar. et Nasiro'ddin al 'I Asi, in pracfat. ad Ethic, ^ More Nevoch. lib. i. c. 71, et 73. ^ Al Gliazali, aj)ud Toe. ubi sup. 'Ibid. 'Vide Poc. Ibid. p. 197. * Al Ghazali, Ibid. *Ebn al Kossa, apud eund. Ibid. p. 198. "Al Ghazali. Vide Ibid. p. 198—204. 7 Vide Ibid. p. 204. SECT. VIII. PRKLIMTNAKY DISCOURSE. 109 The points of faith, subject to the examination and discussion of the scholastic divines, are reduced to four general heads, which they call the four bases, or great fundamental articles.^ The first basis relates to the attributes of God, and his unity consistent therewith. Under this head are comprehended the questions concerning the eternal attributes, which are asserted by some, and denied by others ; and also the explication of the essential attributes, and attributes of action ; what is proper for God to do, and what may be affinned of him, and what it is impossible for him to do. These things are controverted between the Asharians, the Keramians, the Mojassemians or Corporealists, and the Motazalites.^ The second basis regards predestination, and the justice thereof : which comprises the questions concerning God's pui-pose and decree, man's com- pulsion or necessity to act, and his co-operation in producing actions, by which he may gain to himself good or evil ; and also those which concern God's willing good and e\dl, and what things are subject to his power, and what to his knowledge ; some maintaining the affirmative, and others the negative. These points are disputed among the Kadarians, the Najarians, the Jabarians, the Asharians, and the Keramians.^ The third basis concerns the promises and threats, the precise acceptation of names used in divinity, and the divine decisions ; and comprehends questions relating to faith, repentance, promises, threats, forbearance, infi- delity, and error. The controversies under this head are on foot between the Morgians, the Waidians, the Motazalites, the Asharians, and the Keramians. The fourth basis regards history and reason, that is, the just weight they ought to have in matters belonging to faith and religion ; and also the mission of prophets, and the office of Imam, or chief pontiffi Under this head are comprised all casuistical questions relating to the moral beauty or turpitude of actions ; inquiring whether things are allowed or forbidden by reason of their own nature, or by the positive law ; and also questions con- cerning the preference of actions, the favour or gi^ace of God, the innocence which ought to attend the prophetical office, and the conditions requisite in the office of Imam ; some asserting it depends on right of succession, others on the consent of the faithful, and also the method of transferring it, with the former, and of confirming it, with the latter. These matters are the subjects of dispute between the Shiites, the Motazalites, the Keramians, and the Asharians.^ The different sects of Mohammedans may be distinguished into two sorts j those generally esteemed orthodox, and those which are esteemed heretical. The former, by a general name, are called Sonnites or Traditionists ; because they acknowledge the authority of the Sonna, or collection of moral traditions of the sayings and actions of their prophet, which is a sort of supplement to the Koran, directing the observance of several things omitted in that book, and in name, as well as design, answering to the Mishna of the Jews.* The Sonnites are subdivided into four chief sects, which, notwithstanding some differences as to legal conclusions in their interpretation of the Koran, and matters of practice, are generally acknowledged to be orthodox in 8 Vide Abu'lfarag. Hist. Dynast, p. 166. » Al Shahrestani, apud Poc. -nbi sup. p. 204, &c. 1 Idem, ibid. p. 205. 2 j^q^^ i^jd^ p 2O6. 3 Idem, ibid. * Vide Poc Spec. p. 208. Prid. Life of Moham. p. 51, &c. Reland, de Pel. Mobam. p. 68, Sec. Milluim, de Mohammedismo ante Moham. p. 368, 369. 110 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. viii. radicals, or matters of faith, and capable of salvation, and have each of them their several stations or oratories in the temple of Mecca. ^ The founders of these sects are looked uj)on as the great masters di jurispi-udence, and are said to have been men of gi-eat devotion and self- denial, well versed in the knowledge of those things which belong to the next life and to man's right conduct here, and directing all their know- ledge to the g\ory of God. This is all Ghazidi's encomium of them, who thinks it derogatory to their honour that their names should be used by those who, neglecting to imitate the other ^-irtues wliich make up their character, apply themselves only to attain their skill, and follow their opinions in matters of legal practice.^ The first of the four orthodox sects is that of the Hanefites, so named from their founder, Abu Hanifa al Nomfin Ebn Thabet, who was bom at Cufa, in the eightieth year of the Hejra, and died in the one hundred and fiftieth, according to the more ] (referable opinion as to the time.' He ended his life in prison at Baghdad, where he had been confined because he refused to be made Kadi or judge ;® on which account he was very hardly dealt yrith by his superiors, yet could not be prevailed on, either by threats or ill treatment, to undertake the charge, choosing rather to be punished by them than by God, says al Ghazali ; who adds, that when he excused himself from accepting the office by alleging that he was unfit for it, being asked the reason, he replied, *' If I speak the truth, I am unfit ; but if I tell a lie, a liar is not fit to be a judge." It is said that he read over the Koran in the prison where he died, no less than seven thousand times. ^ The Hanefites are called by an Arabian wi-iter ' the followers of reason, and those of the three other sects, followers of ti-ndition ; the former being principally guided by their own judgment in their decisions, and the latter adhering more tenaciously to the traditions of Mohammed. The sect of Abu Hanifa heretofore obtained chiefly in Inik,- but now generally prevails among the Turks and Tartars : his doctrine was brought into great credit by Abu Yuso^ chief justice under the Khaliis al Hiidi and Harun al Rashid.^ The second orthodox sect is that of Malec Ebn Ans, who was bom at Medina, in the year of the Hejra, 90, 93, 94,* or 95,^ and died there in 1 ??,''• ITS,' or 179' (for so much do authors differ). This doctor is said to have paid great regard to the traditions of Mohammed.^ In his last illnes.s, a friend going to visit him found him in tears, and a.sking him the reason of it, he answered, " How should I not weep ? and who has more reason to weep than 1 1 Would to God that for every question decided by me according to my own opinion I had received so many stripes ! then would my accounts be easier. Would to God I had never given any decision of my o^s-n !"* Al Ghazali thinks it a sufficient proof of Malec's directing his knowledge to the glory of God, that being once asked his opinion as to forty-eight questions, his answer to thirty-two of them was, that he did not » See before, p. S2. « Vide Poc. Spec. p. 293. '' Ebn Khalcciin. » This was the true cause of his imprisonment and death, and not his refusinf? to subscribe to the opinion of absolute predestination, as D'Herbelot writes (Bibl. Orient, p. 21), misled hj the dubious acceptation of the word Kada, which signifies not only God's decree in particular, but also the giving sentence as a judge in general : nor could Abu Hanifa have been reckoned orthodox had he denied one of the principal articles of faith. » Poc. Spec. p. 297, 298. i Al Shahrestani, ibid. » Idem. =» Vjde D'llerbel. BiBi. Orient, p. 21, 22. * Abulfeda. ^ Ebn Khalecan. « Idem. ? Abulfeda. « Elmacinus, p. 114. » Ebn Khalec. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 294. » Idem. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. Ill know ; it being no easy matter for one who has any other view than God's glory to make so frank a confession of his ignorance.^ The doctrine of Malec is chiefly followed in Barbary and other parts of Africa. The author of the third orthodox sect was Mohammed Ebn Edi'is al Shafei, born either at Gaza or Ascalon in Palestine, in the year of the Hejra one hundred and fifty, the same day (as some will have it), that Abu Hanifa died, and was carried to Mecca at two years of age, and there educated. 3 He died in two hundred and four,* in Egypt, whither he went about five years before.^ This doctor is celebrated for his excellency in all parts of learning, and was much esteemed by Ebn Hanbal his contemporary, who used to say that " he was as the sun to the world, and as health to the body." Ebn Hanbal, however, had so ill an opinion of al Shafei, at first, that he forbade his scholars to go near him ; but some time after one of them, meeting his master trudging on foot after al Shafei, who rode on a mule, asked him how it came about that he forbade them to follow him, and did it himself? to which Ebn Hanbal replied, " Hold thy peace ; if thou but attend his mule thou wilt profit thereby." ^ Al Shafei is said to have been the first who discoursed of jurisprudence, and reduced that science into a method;^ one wittily saying, that the relators of the traditions of Mohammed were asleep till al Shafei came and waked them.^ He was a great enemy to the scholastic divines, as has been already observed.^ Al Ghazali tells us that al Shafei used to divide the night into three parts, one for study, another for prayer, and the third for sleep. It is also related of him that he never so much as once swore by God, either to confirm a truth, or to afiirm a falsehood ; and that being once asked his opinion, he remained silent for some time, and when the reason of his silence was demanded he answered, " I am considering first whether it be better to speak or to hold my tongue." The following saying is also recorded of him, viz., " Whoever pretends to love the world and its Creator at the same time is a liar." ^ The followers of this doctor are from him called Shafeites, and were formerly spread into Mawara'lnahr and other parts eastward, but are now chiefly of Arabia and Persia. Ahmed Ebn Hanbal, the founder of the fourth sect, was born in the year of the Hejra one hundred and sixty-four j but as to the place of his birth there are two traditions : some say he was born at Meru in Elhorasan, of which city his parents were, and that his mother brought him fi'om thence to Baghdad at her breast ; while others assure us that she was with child of him when she came to Baghdad, and that he was bom there. ^ Ebn Hanbal in process of time attained a great reputation on account of his virtue and knowledge ; being so well versed in the traditions of Mohammed, in particular, that it is said he could repeat no less than a million of them.^ He was very intimate with al Shafei, from whom he received most of his traditionary knowledge, being his constant attendant till his departure for Egypt.* Refusing to acknowledge the Koran to be created,^ he v/as, by order of the Kalif al Motasem, severely scourged and imprisoned.^ Ebn Hanbal died at Baghdad, in the year two hundred and forty-one, and was followed to liis grave by eight hundred thousand men, and sixty thousand women. It is related, as something very extraordinary, if not miraculous, 2 Al Ghazali. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 294. 3 Ebn Khalecan. * Yet Abulfeda says he lived fifty-eight years. 5 Ebn Khalecan. e Idem. 7 Idem. ^ a1 Zafarani, apud Poc. Spec. p. 296. ^ See before, p. 109. i Vide Poc. Spec. p. 295—297. * Ebn Khalecan. s idem. * Idem. ^ g^e before, sect. iii. p. 48, &c. ^ Ebn Khalecan, Abu'lfarag. Hist. Dyn. p. 252, &c. 11'2 PKELIMINAIIY DISCOURSE. sect. vuL that on the day of his death no less than twenty thousand Christians, Jews, and Magians, embraced the Mohammedan laitL' This sect increased so fast, and became so powerful ami lx)ld, that in the year three himdred and twenty-three, in the Kalifat of al Radi, they raised a great commotion in Baghdad, entering people's houses, and spilling their wine, if they found any, and heating the singing women they met with, and breaking their instruments ; and a severe edict was published against them, before they could be reduced to their duty :* but the Hanbalites at present are not ver}- numerous, few of them being to be met with out of the limits of Arabia. The heretical sects among the Mohammedans are those which hold heterodox opinions in fundamentals or matters of faith. The first controversies relating to fundamentals began when most of the companions of Mohammed were dead : ^ for in their days was no dispute, unless about things of small moment, if we except only the dissensions con- cerning the Imams, or rightful successors of their prophet, which were stirred up and fomented by interest and ambition ; the Arabs' continual employment in the wars, duiiug that time, allowing them little or no leisure to enter into nice inquiries and subtle distinctions : but no sooner was the ardour of conquest a little abated than they began to examine the Koran more nearly ; whereupon differences in opinion became unavoidable, and at length so greatly multiplied, that the number of their sects, according to the common opinion, are seventy-three. For the Mohammedans seem ambitious that their religion should exceed others even in this respect ; saying, that the Magians are di\'ided into seventy sects, the Jews into seventy-one, the Christians into seventy-two, and the Moslems into seventy- three, as Mohammed had foretold : ^ of which sects they reckon one to be always orthodox, and entitled to salvation.^ The first heresy was that of the Kharejitea, who revolted from Ali in the thirty-seventh year of the Hejra ; and not long after, Mabad al Johni, . Ghailan of Damascus, and Jonas al Aswari broached heterodox opinions concerning predestination, and the ascribing of good and evil unto God ; whose opinions were followed by Wiisel Ebn Ata.^ This latter was the scholar of Hasan of Basi*a, in wliose school a question being proposed, whether he who had committed a gi-ievous sin was to be deemed an infidel or not, the Kharejites (who used to come and dispute there) maintaining the affirmative, and the orthodox the negative, Wasel, without waiting his master's decision, "withdrew abruptly, and began to publish among his fellow-scholars a new opinion of his ovm, to wit, that such a sinner was in a middle state ; and he was thereujwn expelled the school ; he and his followers being thenceforth called Motazidites, or Separatists.* The several sects which have arisen since this time are variously com- pounded and decompounded of the opinions of four chief sects, the Mota- zalites, the Sefatians, the Kharejites, and the Shiites.* I. The Motazalitee were the followers of the before-mentioned Wasel 7 Ebn Khalccan. » Abulfar. ul.i sup. 301. &c. "> Al Sliahrcstani, apud Poc. Spec. p. 194, Auctor Sharh al Mawakef, apud eund. p. 210. ' Vide Poc. Spec, p. 194. 2 Al Shahrestani. apud eund. p. 211. * Idem, and Auctor Sharh al MawakcC ubi sup. ♦ lidem, ib. p. 211, 212. Et Ebn Khalecan, in Vita Wascli. * Al Shahrestani, who also reduces them to four chief sects, puts the Kadarians in the place of the M6tazalitcs. Abulfaragius (Hist. Dyn. p. 1G6) reckons six principal sects, adding the Jabarians and the Morpians ; and the author of Sharh al Mawakef; eight, viz., the Motazalites, the Shiitcs, the Kharejites, the Morgians, the Najarians, the Jabarians, the Moshabbehites, an9. SECT. viiT. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 113 Ebn Ata. As to their chief and general tenets, 1. They entirely rejected all eternal attributes of God, to avoid the distinction of persons made by the Christians ; saying that eternity is the proper or formal attribute of his essence ; that God knows by his essence, and not by his knowledge ;^ and the same they affirmed of liis other attributes "^ (though all the Motazalites - do not understand these words in one sense) ; and hence this sect were also named Moattalites, from their divesting God of his attributes : ^ and they went so far as to say, that to affirm these attributes is the same thing as to make more eternals than one, and that the unity of God is inconsis- tent with such an opinion ; ^ and this was the true doctrine of Wasel their master, who declared that whoever asserted an eternal attribute as- serted there were two gods.^ This point of speculation concerning the divine attributes was not ripe at first, but was at length brought to ma- turity by Yv^asel's followers, after they had read the books of the philoso- phers.^ 2. They believed the word of God to have been created in sub- jecto (as the schoolmen term it), and to consist of letters and sound ; copies thereof being written in books, to express or imitate the original. They also went farther, and affirmed that whatever was created i?j suhjecfo is also an accident, and liable to perish.^ They denied absolute predes- tination, holding that God was not the author of evil, but of good only ; and tha.t man was a free agent : * which being properly the opinion of the Kadarians, we defer what may be farther said thereof till we come to speak of that sect. On account of this tenet and the first, the Motazalites look on themselves as the defenders of the imity and justice of God.^ 4. They held that if a professor of the true religion be guilty of a grievous sin, and die without repentance, he will be eternally damned, though his punish- ment will be lighter than that of the infidels.^ 5. They denied all vision of God in paradise by the corporeal eye, and rejected all comparisons or similitudes ajoplied to God.'^ This sect are said to have been the first inventors of scholastic divinity,^ and are subdivided into several inferior sects, amounting, as some reckon, to twenty, which mutually brand one another with infidelity ; ^ the most remarkable of them are : — 1. The Hodeilians, or followers of Hamdan Abu Hodeil, a Motazalite doctor, who difi'ered something from the common form of expression used by this sect, saying that God knew by his knowledge, but that his know- ledge was his essence ; and so of the other attributes : which opinion he took from the philosophers, who affirm the essence of God to be simple, and without multiplicity, and that his attributes are not posterior or ac- cessory to his essence, or subsisting therein, but are his essence itself : and this the more orthodox take to be next kin to making distinctions in the deity, which is the thing they so much abhor in the Christians.^ As to the Koran's being uncreated, he made some distinction ; holding the word of God to be partly not in subjecto (and therefore uncreated), as when he spake the word Kun. i. e. Fiat, at the creation, and partly in ^ Maimonides teaches the same, not as the doctrine of the J^Iotazalites, but his own. Yide More Nev. lib. 1, c 57. ^ Al Shahrestani, apud Poc. Spec p. 214. Abu'lfarag. p. 167. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. p. 224. » Sharh al jNIaAvakef, and al Shah- rest, apud Poc, p. 216. Maimonides (in Proleg. ad Pirke Aboth, sect, viii.) asserts the same thing. i Vide Poc. ibid. 2 a1 Shahrest. ib. p. 215. 2 Abu Ifarag. and al Shahrest. ubi sup. p. 217. See before, sect. iii. p. 48. * Vide Poc, Spec. p. 240. * Al Shahrest. and Sharh al Mawakef, apud Poc. ubi sup. p. 214. ^ Maracc. Prodr. ad Ref. Alcor. part. iii. p. 74. 7 idem, ib. s vide Poc. Spec. p. 213, and D'Herbe]. Art. Motazelah. » Auctor al Mawakef. apud Poc. ib. 1 Al Shahrestani, apud i'oc. p. 215—217. I 114 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. tiii. tttbjecto, as the precepts, prohibitions, &c' Marracci' mentions an opinion of Abu Hodeil's concerning predestination, from an Arab %\Titer/ which being by him expressed in a manner not very intelligible, I choose to omit. 2. The Jobbaians, or followers of Abu Ali Mohammed Ebn Abd al "Wahhab, sumamed al JobbaT, whose meaning when he made use of the common expression of the Motazalites, that God knows by liis essence, d could be seen in paratlise without the assistaDce of corporeal eyes ; and held that man pro- duced his acts by a power superadded to health of body and soundness of limbs ; that he who was guilty of a mortal sin was neither a believer nor an infidel, but a transgressor (which was the original opinion of Wasel), and, if he died in his sins, would be doomed to hell for eternity ; and that God conceals nothing of whatever he knows from his servants.' 3. The Hashemians ; who were so named from their master Abu Hashem al Salam, the son of Abu Ali al JobbaT, and whose tenets nearly agreed ■v^-ith those of the preceding sect.® Abu Hashem took the Motazalite form of expression, that God knows by his essence, in a diiferent sense from others, supposing it to mean, that God hath or is endued with a dis- position, which is a kno^sTi property, or quality, posterior or accessory to his existence.' His followers were so much afraid of making God the author of e\'il, that they would not allow him to be said to create an in- fidel ; because, according to their way of arguing, an infidel is a compound of infidelity and man, and God is not the creator of infidelity.^ Abu Hashem, and his father Abu Ali al Jobbai, were both celebrated for their skill in scholastic divinity.* 4. The Nodhamians, or followers of Ibrahim al Nodham ; who, ha\'ing read books of pliilosophy, set up a new sect, and, imagining he could not sufficiently remove God from being the author of evil, without divesting liim of liis power in respect thereto, taught that no power ought to be ascribed to God concerning evil and rebellious actions : but this he affinned against the opinion of his own disciples, who allowed that God could do evil, but did not, because of its turpitude.' Of his opinion as to the Koran being created we have spoken elsewhere.* 5. The Hayetians, so named from Ahmed Ebn Hayet, who had been of the sect of the Nodliamians, but broached some new notions on reading the philosophers. His peculiar opinions were, 1. That Christ was the eter- nal Word incarnate, and took a true and real body, and will judge all crea- tures in the life to come : ^ he also farther asserted, that there are two gods, or creators ; the one eternal, viz. the most high God, and the other not eternal, viz. Clirist ; ® which opinion, though Dr. Pocock urges the same as an ar- gument that he did not rightly understand the Cliristian mysteries,' is not much different from that of the Arians and Socinians. 2. That there is a successive tiTmsmigration of the soul from one body into another ; and that » Al Sliahrcptani, npud Toe. p. 217, Ac. » In Trodr. part 3, p. 74. * Al Shahrest. ^ Idem, apud Poc. Spec. p. 215. « Idem, and Anctor al Mawakef, ib. p. 218. 7 Marracci, ubi sup. p. 75, ex al Shahrest. ^ Vide Eund. ib. » Al f^hahrest. arud Poc. p. 215. ^ Idem. p. 242. ' Ebn Khalccan, in vitis eornm. » Al Shahrest. ubi snp. p. 241. 242. Vide Marrncc. Prod. part. 3, p. 74. * See before, sect. iii. p. 49. Al Shahrest. ubi snp. p. 218. Abn'lfarag. p. 167. ^ Al Shahrest., al Iklawakef, ct Etn Kossa, aputl Poc. ubi sup r- 211>. ^ Vide Poc. ib. SECT. Till. PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 115 tlie last body will enjoy the reward or suffer tlie punisliment due to each soul;^ and 3. That God will be seen at the resurrection, not with the bodily eyes, but those of the understanding.^ 6. The Jahedhians, or followers of Ami'u Ebn Bahr, surnamed al Jahedh, a great doctor of the Motazalites, and very much admired for the elegance of his composures;^ who differed from his brethren in that he imagined the damned would not be eternally tormented in hell, but should be changed into the nature of fire, and that the fire would of itself attract them, with- out any necessity of their going into it.^ He also taught that if a man believed God to be his Lord, and Mohammed the apostle of God, he became one of the faithful, and was obliged to nothing farther.^ His peculiar opinion as to the Koran has been taken notice of before.^ 7. The Mozdarians, who embraced the opinions of Isa Ebn Sobeih al Mozdar, and those very absurd ones : for, besides his notions relating to the Koran,^ he went so directly counter to the opinion of those who abridged God of the power to do evil, that he affirmed it possible for God to be a liar, and unjust^ He also pronounced him to be an infidel who thrust himself into the supreme government : ^ nay he went so far as to as- sert men to be infidels while they said, There is no God but God, and even condemned all the rest of mankind as guilty of infidelity ; upon which Ibrahim Ebn al Sendi asked him whether paradise, whose breadth equals that of heaven and earth, was created only for him and two or three more who thought as he did? to which it is said he could return no answer.^ 8. The Basharians, who maintained the tenets of Bashar Ebn Motamer, the master of al Mozdar,^ and a principal man among the Motazalites. He differed in some things from the general opinion of that sect, carrying man's free agency to a gi-eat excess, making it even independent : and yet he thought God might doom an infant to eternal punishment, but granted he would be unjust in so doing. He taught that God is not always obliged to do that which is best, for if he pleased he could make all men true believers. These sectaries eJso held, that if a man repent of a mortal sin, and afterwards return to it, he will be liable to suffer the punishment due to the former transgression.^ 9. The Thamamians, who followed Thamama Ebn Bashar, a chief Mota- zalite. Their peculiar opinions were, 1. That sinners should remain in heU for ever. 2. That free actions have no producing author. 3. That at the resurrection all infidels, idolaters, atheists, Jews, Christians, Magians, and heretics, shall be reduced to dust.^ 10. The Kadarians; which is really a more ancient name than that of Motazalites ; Mabad al Johni and his adherents being so called, who dis- puted the doctrine of predestination before Wasel quitted his master;^ for which reason some use the denomination of Kadarians as more extensive than the other, and comprehend all the Motazalites under it."* This sect deny absolute predestination, saying that evil and injustice ought not to be attributed to God, but to man, who is a free agent, and may therefore be rewarded or punished for his actions, which God has granted him power either to do or to let alone. ^ And hence it is said they are called Kada- rians, because they deny al Kadr, or God's absolute decree ; though others, • Marracc. et al Shahrest. ubi sup. ^ Marracc. ibid. p. 75. i Yide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, art. Giahedh. 2 ^l Sbahrest. ubi sup. p. 260. s Marracc. ubi sup. * Sect. iii. p. 49. ^ Vide ibid, et p. 48. ^ Al Shahrest apud Poc. p. 241. < Mar- racc. ubi sup. p. 75. ^ Al Shahrestani, ubi sup. p. 220. ^ Foe. Spec, p 22. ' Marracc. ubi sup. ^ idem, ibid. s ^1 Shahrest. ♦ Al Firauzab. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 231, 532, et 214. Al Shahrctt. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 235, et 240, &c. 116 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, bkct. vin. thinking it not so proper to affix a name to a sect from a doctrine which they combat, will have it come from Kadr, or Kodnit, i. e. power, l>ecaiise they assert man's power to act freely.^ Those, however, who give the name of Kadarians to the M6tazalites are their enemies, for they disclaim it, and give it to their antagonists the Jabarians, who likewise refuse it as an infamous appellation,' because Mohammed is said to have declared the Ka- darians to be the Magians of his followers.* But what the opinion of these Kadarians in ^lohammed's time was, is very uncei-tain : tlie Motaza- lites say the name belongs to those who assert predestination, and make God the author of good and cvil,^ xiz. the JaV\irians; but all the other Moham- medan sects agree to fix it on the Motazalites who, they say, are like the Magians in establishing two pi-inciples, light, or God, the author of good, and darkness, or the devil, the author of evil : but this cannot absolutely bo said of the Motazalites. for they (at least the generality of them) ascribe men's good deeds to God, but their e^-il deeds to themselves; meaning thereby that man has a free liberty and power to do either good or evil, and is master of his actions ; and for this reason it is said that the other Moham- medans call them Magians, because they assei-t another author of actions besides God.^ And, indeed, it is a difficult matter to say what Moham- med's own opinion was in this matter; for, on the one side, the Koran itself is pretty plain for absolute predestination, and many sayings of Mohammed are recorded to that purpose,^ and one in particular, wherein he introduces Adam and Moses disputing before God in this manner: Thou, says IMoses, art Adam ; whom God created, and animated with the breath of life, and caused to be worshipped by the angels, and placed in paradise, from whence mankind have been expelled for thy fault: whereto Adam answered, Thou art Moses; whom God chose for his apostle, and intrusted' him with his word, by gi^'ing thee the tables of the law, and whom he vouchsafed to admit to discourse with himself: how many years dost thou find the law was wi'itten before I was created ? Says Moses, Forty : And dost thou not find, replied Adam, these words therein ; And Adam rebelled against his Lord and transgressed ? which Moses con- fessing, Dost thou therefore blame me, contin^ied he, for doing that which God wrote of me that I should do, forty years before I was created ; nay, for what was decreed concerning me fifty thousand years before the creation of heaven and earth?' In the conclusion of which dispute Mohammed declared that Adam had the better of Moses. On the other side, it is urged in the behalf of the Motazalites, that Mohammed declaring that the Kada- rians and Magians had been cursed by the tongues of seventy prophets, and being asked who the Kadarians were, answered, Those who assert that God predestinated them to be guilty of rebellion, and yet punishes them for it : al Hasan is also said to have declared, that God sent Mohammed to the Arabs while they were Kadarians, or Jabarians, and laid their sins upon God : and to confirm the matter this sentence of the Koran is quoted;* "When they commit a filthy action, they say. We found our fathers practising the same, and God hath commanded us so to do : Say, Verily Clod commandeth not filthy actions.* II. The Sefatians held the opix)site opinion to the Motazalites in respect to the eternal attributes of God, wliich they affiraied; making no distinc- tion between the essential attributes and those of operation : and hence « Vide Poo. Spec p. 238. 7 a1 Motarrezi, al Shnhrcst. Vide ibid. p. 232. ^ lidem, &c. ibid. 9 lidem, ibid. ^ Vide Poc. Spec. p. 233, &c. » Vide ibid. p. 237. » Ebn al Aihir, al Bokhari, apud Poc. p. 236. * Chap. 7. * Al Motarrczi, apud cund, p. 237, 238. SECT. vm. PKELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 117 they Avere named Sef atians, or Attributists. Their doctrine was that of tlie first Mohammedans^ who were not yet acquainted with these nice dis- tinctions; but this sect afterwards introduced another species of declarative attributes, or such as were necessarily used in historical narration, as hands, face, eyes, &c. which they did not offer to explain, but contented them- selves with saying they were in the law, and that they called them declarative attributes.^ However, at length, by giving various explications and interpretations of these attributes, they divided into many different opinions : some, by taking the words in the literal sense, fell into the notion of a likeness or similitude between God and created beings; to which it is said the Karaites an^.ong the Jews, who are for the literal interpretation of Moses's law, had shown them the way : ' others explained them in another manner, saying that no creature was like God, but that they neither understood, nor thought it necessary to explain the precise signification of the words which seem to affirm the same of both; it being sufficient to believe that God hath no companion or similitude. Of this opinion was Malec Ebn Ans, who declared as to the expression of God's sitting on his throne, in particular, that though the meaning is known, yet the manner is unknown; and that it is necessary to believe it, but heresy to make any question about it.** The sects of the Sef atians are, 1. The Asharians, the followers of Abu'l Hasan al Ashari, who was fir^t a Motazalite, and the scholar of Abu Ali al Jobbai, but disagreeing from his master in opinion as to God's being bound (as the Motazalites assert) to do always that which is be.st or most expedient, left him, and set up a new sect of himself The occasion of this difference was the putting a case concerning three brothers, the first of v/honi lived in obedience to God, the second in rebellion against him, and the third died an infant. Al Jobbai being asked what he thought would become of them, answered, that the first would be rewarded in paradise, the second punished in hell, and the third neither rewarded nor punished : but what, objected al Ashari, if the third say, O Lord, if thou hadst given me longer life, that I might have entered paradise with my believing brother, it would have been better for me ; to which al Jobbai replied, that God would answer, I knew that if thou hadst lived longer, thou wouldst have been a wicked person, and therefore cast into hell ! Then, retorted al Ashari, the second will say, O Lord, why didst thou not take me away while I was an infant, as thou didst my brother, that I might not have deserved to be punished for my sins, nor be cast into hell? To which al Jobbai could return no other answer, than that God prolonged his life to give him an opportunity of obtaining the highest degree of perfection, which was best for him : but al Ashari demand- ing farther, why he did not for the same reason grant the other a longer life, to whom it would have been equally advantageous; al Jobbai was so put to it, that he asked whether the devil possessed him? No, says al Ashari, but the master's ass will not pass the bridge;^ i. e. he is posed. The opinions of the Asharians were, 1. That they allowed the attributes of God to be distinct from his essence, yet so as to forbid any comparison to be made between God and his creatures.^ This was also the opinion of Ahraen Ebn Llanbal, and David al Ispahani, and others, who herein followed Malec Ebn Ans, and were so cautious of any assimilation of God to created beings, that they declared whoever moved his hand while he read « Al Shahrest. apud Poc. Spec. p. 228. 7 vide Poc. ibid. p. 224. « Vide eund. ibid. 1 Auctor al Mawakef, et al Safadi, apud Poc. ubi sup. p. 230, &c. El-Q Khalec. in Vita al Jobbai. ^ j^\ Shahrest. apud Poc. Spec. p. 230. 118 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. viii. these words : I have created with mj hand ; or stretclied forth his fiuger in repeating this saving of Mohammed: The heart of the believer is between two fingers of the Merciful ; ought to have his finger cut off:' and the reasons they gJive for not explaining any such words were, that it is forbidden in the Koran, and that such ex}»licationswere necessarily founded on conjecture and opinion, from which no man ought to speak of the attri- butes of God, because the words of the Koran might by that means come to be understood differently from the author s meaning : nay some have been so sui>erstitiously scnipulous in tliis matter as not to allow the words hand, face, and the like, when they occur in the Koran, to be rendered into Persian or any other language, but require them to be read in the very original words, and this they call the &il"e way.* "2. As to predestination, they held that God hath one eternal will, which is applied to whatsoever he willeth, being created by him, and that the power of man hath no influence at all on that which he is empowered to do ; but that both the power, and what is subject thereto, fall under the power of God : al Kjidi Abu Beer says that the essence or suV^ance of the action is the effect of the power of God, but its being either an action of obedience, as prayer, or an action of disobedi- ence, as fornication, are qualities of the action, which proceed from the jwwer of man ; A>>d'almalec, known by the title of Imam al Harameiu, ' Al Sliahrcst. apu Ex Abu'lfarafr. Hist. Dyn. p. 220. Lobb al Tawarikh, Ebn Shohnah al Tabari, et Khondamir. Vide Dllcrbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Hakem Ben Hascliem. » ^^ Abu'ltarag. p. 252, kc. Elinacin. p. 141, &c and Khondamir. Vide D'llerbel. Art. Babec. »Ebn Shohnah. Vide D'Herbel. p. 537. EBCT. VIII. PKELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 131 Karmata, came from Khuzistan to the villages near C-lfa, and there feigned gi-eat sanctity and strictness of life, and that God had enjoined him to pray fifty times a day, pretending also to invite people to the obedience of a cer- tain Imam of the family of Mohammed : and this way of life he continued till he had made a very great party, out of whom he chose tvv^elve, as his apostles, to govern the rest, and to propagate his doctrines. But the governor of the province, finding men neglected their work, and their husbandry in particular, to say those fifty prayers a day, seized the fellow, and having put him in prison, swore that he should die ; which being over- heard by a gii'l belonging to the governor, she, pitying the man, at night took the key of the dungeon fi'om under her master's head as he slept, and having let the prisoner out, returned the key to the place whence she had it. The next morning the governor found the bird flown ; and the acci- dent being publicly known raised great admiration, his adherents giving it out that God had taken him into heaven. Afterwards he appeared in another province, and declared to a gi'eat number of people he had got about him, that it was not in the power of any to do him hurt ; notwith- standing which, his courage failing him, he retired into Syida, and was not heard of any more. His sect, however, continued and increased, pre- tending that their master had manifested himself to be a true prophet, and had left them a new law, wherein he had changed the ceremonies and form of prayer used by the Moslems, and introduced a new kind of fast ; and that he had also allowed them to drink wine, and dispensed with several things commanded in the Koran. They also turned the precepts of that Dook into allegory ; teaching that prayer was the symbol of obedience to theii' Imam, and fasting that of silence, or concealing their dogmas from strangers ; they also believed fornication to be the sin of infidelity ; and the guilt thereof to be incurred by those who revealed the mysteries of their religion, or paid not a blind obedience to their chief. They are said to have produced a book, wherein was written (among other things), " In the name of the most merciful God. Al Faraj Ebn Othman, of the town of Nasrana, saith, that Christ appeared unto him in a human form, and said. Thou art the invitation : thou art the demonstration : thou art the camel : thou art the beast : thou art John the son of Zacharias : thou art the Holy Ghost."* Prom the year above mentioned the Karma- tians, under several leaders, gave almost continual disturbance to the Khalifs and their Mohammedan subjects for several years ; committing great disorders and outrages in Chaldea, Arabia, ,Syi'ia, and Mesopotamia, and at length establishing a considerable principality, the power whereof was in its meridian in the reign of Abu Dhaher, famous for his taking of Mecca, and the indignities by him offered to the temple there, but winch declined soon after his time, and came to nothing.^ To the Karmatians the Ismaelians of Asia were very near of kin, if they were not a branch of them : for these, who were also called at Molahedah, or the impious, and by the wiiters of the history of the holy wars. Assas- sins, agreed with the former in many respects ; such as their inveterate malice against those of other religions, and especially the Mohammedan ; their unlimited obedience to their prince, at whose command they were ready for assassinations, or any other bloody and dangerous enterprise ; their pretended attachment to a certain Imam of the house of Ali, &c. These Ismaelians, in the year 488, possessed themselves of al Jebal,-in the Persian Irak, under the conduct of Hasan Sabah ; and that prince and his * Apud Abulfar. p. 275. « Ex Abulfar. ibid. Elmacino, p. 174, &c. Ebn Sbohnah, Khondamir. Vide D'llerbel. Art. Carmath. 132 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sect. viiL (lesccndants enjoyed the same for a hundred and seventy-one years, till the whole i"ace of them "v\ii.s destroyed by Ilohigu the Tartar.^ The Batenites, "^hich name is also given to the Ismaelians by some authors, and likewise to the Karmatians," were a sect which professed the same abominable principles, and were dispersed over several parts of the East.^ The word signilies Esoterics, or people of inward or hidden light or knowledge, Abu'l Teyyob Ahmed, surnamed al Mutanabbi, of the tribe of Jofa, is too famous on another account not to claim a place here. He was one of the most excellent poets among the Arabians, there being none besides Abu Temam who can dispute the prize with him. His ix)etical inspi- ration was so warm and exalted, that he either mistook it, or thought he could pei-suade others to believe it to be prophetical, and therefore g:\ve himself out to be a prophet indeed ; and thence acquired his sur- name, by which he is genei'ally known. His accomplishments were too great not to have some success ; for several tribes of the Arabs of the desei-ts, particularly that of Kelab, acknowledged liim to be what he pretended. But Lulu, governor of those parts for Akhshid king of Egypt and Syria, soon put a stop to the farther progi'ess of this new sect, by imprisoning their prophet, and obliging him to renounce his chimerical dignity ; which having done, he regained his liberty, and ap- plied himself solely to his poetry, by means whereof he got very consi- derable riches, being in high esteem at the courts of several princes. Al Motanabbi lost his life, together with his son, on the bank of the Tigi'is, in defending the money which had been given him by Adado- 'ddawla, soltan of Persia, against some Ai-abian robbers who demanded it of him ; with which money he was returning to Ciifa, his native city. This accident happened in the year 354.* The last pretender to prophecy I shall now take notice of is one who appeared in the city of Amasia, in Natolia, in the year G38, and by his wonderful feats seduced a gi-eat multitude of the people there. He was by nation a Turkmim, and called himself Baba, and had a disciple named Isaac, whom he sent about to incite those of his own nation to join him, Isaac accordingly, coming to the territory of Somesat, published his com- mission, and prevailed on many to embrace his master's sect, especially among the Turkmans ; so that at last he had six thousand horse at his heels, besides foot. \Vith these Baba and his disciples made open war on all who would ncjt cry out with them. There is no God \mt God ; Baba is the apostle of God ; and they put great numbers of ^Mohammedans, as well as Christians, to the sword in those parts ; till at length both Moham- medans and Christians, joined together, gave them battle, and ha^^ng entirely routed them, put them all to the sword, except their two chiefs, who, l>eing taken alive, had their lieads struck off by the executioner.'** I could mention several other impostors of the same kind, which have arisen among the Mohammedans since their prophet's time, and very near enough to complete tlie number foretold by him : but I apprehend the reader is by this time tired as well as myself, and shall therefore here conclude this discourse, which may be thought already too long for an introduction. « Vide Al)iilfar. p. 505, &c. B'lTcrhcl. p. 104. 4.'^7, .'05, 620, and 784. 7 Vide Flmacin. p. 174, and 286. D'Hcrbel. p. U>4. « yiac Abulfar. p. 361, 374. 380, 4aS, I' Prscf. in Opera Motanabbis MS. Vide D'llerbcl. p. 638, &c. ^^ Abulfar. p. 479. Lbn Shohnab, DHcrbcl. Art. Baba. AL KORAN. CHAPTER I. INTITLED, THE PREFACE, OR INTRODUCTION ;* REVEALED AT MECCA. IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.* Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures;'' the most merciful, the king of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious ; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray." « In Arabic al Fdtihat. This chapter is a prayer, and held in great veneration by the Mohammedans, who give it several other honourable titles ; as the chapter of prayer, oi praise, of thanksgiving, of treasure, &c. They esteem it as the quint- essence of the whole Koran, and often repeat it in their devotions both pubUc and private, as the Christians do the Lord's Prayer.^ * " This formula is prefixed to all the chapters (with the exception of one). It is expressly recommended in the Koran. The Mohammedans pronounce it Avhen- ever they slaughter an animal, and at the commencement of their reading, and of all important actions. It is with them that which the sign of the cross is with Christians. Giaab, one of their celebrated authors, says that when these words were sent down from heaven, the clouds fled on the side of the east, the winds were lulled, the sea was moved, the animals erected their ears to listen, the devils were precipitated from the celestial spheres," &;c. — Savary, ^ The original words are Rabbi' Idlamina, which literally signify. Lord of the worlds ; but cilamina, in this and other places of the Koran, properly means the three species of rational creatures, men, genii, and angels. Father Marracci has endea- voured to prove from this passage that Mohammed believed a plurality of worlds, which he calls the error of the Manichees, &c. r^ but this imputation the learned Reland has shown to be entirely groundless.^ Savary translates it " Sovereign of the worlds." c This last sentence contains a petition, that God would lead the supplicants into the true religion, by which is meant the Mohammedan, in the Koran often called the right way ; in this place more particularly defined to be, the way of those to ivhom God hath been gracious, that is, of the prophets and faithful who preceded Moham- med; under which appellations are also comprehended the Jews and Christians, such as they were in the times of their primitive purity, before they had deviated from their respective institutions ; not the way of the modern Jews, whose signal calamities are marks of the just anger of God against them for their obstinacy and 1 Vide Bobovium de Precib. Mohammed, p. 3, et seq. ^ In Prodrome ad Refut. Alcorani, part iv. p. 76, et in notis ad Ale. cap. 1. 3 Do Religione Mohammed, p. 262. AL KORAN. cuAP. ii. CHAPTER II. INTTTLED THE COW;"* REVEALED P^VRTLY AT MECCA, AND r^VRTLY AT MEDINA IN THE XJLME OF TIIE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. A. L. M.* There is no doubt iu this book ; it is a direction to the pious, who believe in the mysteries' ©/"yai^A, who observe the appointed times of prayer, and distribute alms out of what we liave bestowed on them ; and who believe in that revelation, which hath been sent down unto thee, and that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee,^ and have firm assurance of the life to come :** these are directed by their Lord, and they shall prosper. As for the unbelievers, it will be equal to them whether thou admonish them, or do not admonish them ; they will not believe. God hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing ; a dim- ness covereth their sight, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. There are some who say. We believe in God, and the last da}' ; but are not realli/ believers ; they seek to deceive God, and those who do believe, but they deceive themselves only, and are not sensible thereof. There is an infirmity in their hearts, and GoD hath increased that infirmity ; * and they shall suffer a most painful punishment, because they have dis- believed. When one saith unto them, Act not cori-uptly'' in the earth ; disobedience ; nor of the Christians of this age, who have departed from the true doctrine of Jesus, and are bewildered in a labyrinth of error,* This is the common exposition of the passage ; though al Zamakhshari, and some others, by a ditferent application of the negatives, refer the whole to the tnie believers; and then the sense will run thus: The way of those to whom thoxi hast been pracious, against whom thou art not incensed, and who have not erred. Which trans- lation the original will very well bear. ^ This title was occasioned by the story of the red heifer, mentioned pp. 9, 10. • As to the meaning of these letters, see the preliminary discourse, sect. 3. f The Arabic word is gheib, which properly signifies a thing that is absent, at a great distance, or invisible, such as the resurrection, paradise, and hell. And this is agreeable to the language of scripture, which defines faith to be the evidence of things not seen.^ « The Mohammedans believe that God gave written revelations not only to Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, but to several other prophets;^ though they ac- knowledge none of those which preceded the Koran to be now extant, except the Pentateuch of Moses, the Psahns of David, and the Gospel of Jesus; which yet they say were even before Mohammed's time altered and corrupted by tlie Jews and Christians ; and therefore will not allow our present copies to be genuine. ^ The original word ul-dkherat properly signifies the latter part of any thing, and by way of excellence the next life, the latter or future state after death ; and is op- posed to al-donya, this world; and al-oida, the former or jyresent life. The Hebrew word ahharith, from the same root, is used by Moses in this sense, and is translated latter end.' ' Mohammed, here and elsewhere, frequently imitates the truly inspired writers, in making God, by operation on the minds of reprobates, to prevent their conver- sion. This fatality or predestination, as believed by the Mohammedans, hath been sufficiently treated of in the preliminary discourse. ^ Literally corrupt not in the earth, by which some expositors understand the sowing of false doctrine, and corrupting people's princii)lcs. * Jallalo'ddin. Al Beidawi, &c. * Hcb. xi. 1. See also Rom. xxiv. 25. 2 Cor. iv. 18, and v. 7. ^ vidc Rcland, De Kolig. Moham. p. 34, ct Dissert, de Samari- tauifi, p. 34, &.C. ' Kunib. xxiv. 20. Deut. viii. 16. CHAr. II. AL KORA.N. 3 tliey reply, Yerily we are men of integrity.^ Are not they themselves corrupt doers ? but they are not sensible thereof. And when one saith unto them, Believe ye as others™ believe ; they answer. Shall we believe as fools believe ? Ai.'e not they themselves fools ? but they know it not. When they meet those who believe, they say, We do believe : but when they retire privately to their devils," they say, We really hold v/ith you, and only mock at those people : God shall mock at them, and continue them in their impiety ; they shall wander in confusion. These are the men who have purchased error at the price of true direction : but their traffic hath not been gainful, neither have they been rightly directed. They are like unto one who kindleth a fire," and when it hath enlight- ened all around him,^ God taketh away their light ^ and leaveth them in darkness, they shall not see ; they are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore will they not repent. Or like a stormy cloud from heaven, fraught with darkness, thunder, and lightning,'^ they put their fingers in their ears, because of the noise of the thunder, for fear of death ; God encompasseth the infidels : the lightning wanteth but little of taking away their sight ; so often as it enlighteneth them, they walk therein, but when darkness Cometh on them, they stand still ; and if God so pleased, he would certainly deprive them of their hearing and their sight, for God is almighty. O men of Mecca, serve your Lord who hath created you, and those who have been before you : peradventure ye will fear him ; who hath spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a covering, and hath caused water to descend from heaven, and thereby produced fruits for your sustenance. Set not up therefore any equals unto God, against your own knowledge. If ye be in doubt concerning that revelation which we have sent down unto our servant, produce a chapter like unto it, and call upon your witnesses, ^ According to the explication in the preceding note, this word must be trans- lated reformers, who promote true piety by their doctrine and example. ™ The first companions and followers of Mohammed.^ ^ The prophet, making use of the liberty zealots of all religions have, by pre- scription, of giving ill language, bestows this name on the Jewish rabbins and Christian priests ; though he seems chiefly to mean the former, against whom he had by much the greater spleen. ° In this passage, Mohammed compares those who believed not in him to a man who wants to kindle a fire, but as soon as it burns up, and the flames give a light, shuts his eyes, lest he should see. As if he had said, You, O Arabians, have long desired a prophet of your own nation, and now I am sent unto you, and have plainly- proved my mission by the excellence of my doctrine and revelation, you resist con- viction, and. refuse to believe in me ; therefore shall God leave you in your ignorance. p The sense seems to be here imperfect, and may be completed, by adding the words, he turns from it, shuts his eyes, or the like. 1 That is of the believers, to whom the word theif> being in the plural, seems to refer ; though it is not unusual for Mohammed, in affectation of the prophetic style, suddenly to change the number against all rules of grammar. "■ Here he compares the unbelieving Arabs to people caught in a violent storm. To perceive the beauty of this comparison, it must be observed, that the Moham- medan doctors say, this tempest is a type or image of the Koran itself: the thun- der signifying the threats therein contained ; the lightning, the promises ; an'd the darkness, the mysteries. The terror of the threats makes them stop their ears, unwilling to hear truths so disagreeable ; when the promises are read to them they attend with pleasure ; but when any thing mysterious or difficult of belief occurs, they stand stock still, and will not submit to be directed. ^ Jallalo'ddin. ) V 4 AL KOR.VN. CII17. II. besides God,^ if ye say tnith. But if ye do it not, nor shall ever be ahle to do it ; justly fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, prej>ai"cd for the imbclievers. But bear good tidings unto those who believe, and do good works, that they shall have gai-dens watered by rivers ; so often as they eat of the fruit thereof for sustenance, they shall say, this is what we have for- merly eaten of ; and they shall be supjilied with several sorts of fruit having a mutual resemblance to one another.^ There shall they enjoy wives subject to no impurity, and there shall they continue for ever. Moreover, God will not be ashamed to propound in a parable a gnat,* or even a more despicable thing : " for they who believe will know it to be the truth from their Lord ; but the unbelievei-s %\'ill say. What meaneth God l>y this pamble ] he will thereby mislead many, and will direct many thereby : but he will not mislead any thereby,- except the trans- gressors, who make void the covenant of God after the establishing thereof, and cut in sunder that which God hath commanded to be joined, and act coiTuptly in the earth ; they shall perish. How is it that ye believe not in God ? Since ye were dead, and he gave you life ;^ he will hereafter cause you to die, and will again restore you to life ; then shall ye return unto him. It is he who hath created for you whatsoever is on earth, and then set his mind to the creation of heaven, and formed it into seven heavens ; he knoweth all things. "When thy Lord said nnto the angels, T am going to place a substitute on earth ; ^ they said, Wilt thou place there one who * i. e. Your false gods and idols. Some commentators ° approve of this sense, supposing the fruits of paradise," though of various tastes, are alike in colour and outward appearance: but others* think the meaning to be, that the inhabitants of that place will find their fruits of the same or the like kinds, as they used to eat while on earth. * " God is no more ashamed to propound a gnat as a parable, than to use a more dignified illustration." — Savary. " This was revealed to take off an objection made to the Koran by the infidels, for condescending to speak of such insignificant insects, as the spider, the pismire, the bee, &c.3 * i. e. Ye were dead while in the loins of your fathers, and he gave you life in your mothers' wombs ; and after death ye shall be again raised at the resurrection.* y Concerning the creation of Adam, here intimated, the Mohammedans have se- veral peculiar traditions. They say the angels Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil were sent by God, one after another, to fetch for that purpose seven handfuls of earth from different depths, and of difterent colours; (whence some account for the various complexions of mankind ;*j but the earth being apprehensive of the consequence, and desiring them to represent her fear to (Jod, that the creature he designed to form would rebel against him, and draw down his curse upon her, they returned without performing God's command ; whereupon he sent Azrail on the same errand, who executed his commission without remorse; for which reason, God appointed that angel to separate the souls from the bodies, being therefore called the angel of deaiii. The earth he had taken was carried into Arabia, to a place between Mecca and Tayef, where being first kneaded by the angels, it was afterwards fashioned by GoD himself into a human form, and left to dry * for the space of forty days, or, as others say, as many years ; the angels in the moan time often visiting it, and Eblis (then one of the angels who arc nearest to God's presence, afterwards the devil) among the rest: but he, not contented with looking on it, kicked it with his loot till it rung, and knowing God designed that creature to be hia superior, took a secret resolution never to acknowledge him as .such. After this, God animated the figure of clay, and endued it with an intelligent soul, and when he had placed him in paradise, formed Eve out of his left side.<» » Jallalo'ddin. ^ Al Zamakhshari. » Yahya. » Jallalo'ddin. * AI Termed i, from a tradition of Abu Musa al Ashari. * Koran, c. 55. ^ Khond amir. Jal- lalo'ddin. Comment, in Koran, &c Vide D'Herbelot, Biblioth. Orient, p. 55. I CHAP. LI. AL KORAN. 5 will do evil therein, and slied blood 1 but we celebrate thy praise, and sanctify thee. God answered, Yerily I know that which ye know not ; and he tanght Adam, the names of all things, and then proposed them to the angels, and said. Declare unto me the names of these things if ye say truth. They answered. Praise be unto thee ; we have no knowledge but what thou teachest us, for thou art knowing and wise. God said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and know that which ye discover, and that which ye conceal 1 ^ And when we said unto the angels, AYorship^ Adam; they all worshipped him, except Eblis, wlio refused, and was puffed up with pride, and became of the number of unbe- lievers.'' And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden,*' and eat of the fruit thereof plentifully wherever ye will ; but approach not this tree,*^ lest ye become of the number of the transgressors. But Satan caused them to forfeit paradise,^ and turned them out of the state of happiness wherein they had been ; whereupon we said. Get ye down,' the one of you an enemy unto the other ; and there shall be a dwelling-place for you on ^ This story Mohammed borrowed from the Jewish traditions ; which say, that the angels having spolcen of man with some contempt, when God consulted them about his creation, God made answer, that the man was wiser than they ; and to convince them of it, he brought all kinds of animals to them, and asked them their names ; which they not being able to tell, he put the same question to the man, who named them one after another; and being asked his own name, and God's name, he an- swered very justly, and gave God the name of Jehovah.^ — The angels adoring of Adam is also mentioned in the Talmud.^ * The original word signifies properly to prostrate one^s self, till the forehead touches the ground, which is the humblest posture of adoration, and strictly due to God only; but it is sometimes, as in this place, used to express that civil worship or homage, which may be paid to creatures.^ ^ This occasion of the devil's fall has some affinity with an opinion which has been pretty much entertained among Christians,'^ viz. that the angels being informed of God's intention to create man after his own image, and to dignify human nature by Christ's assuming it, some of them, thinking their glory to be eclipsed thereby, envied man's happiness, and so revolted. •= Mohammed, as appears by what presently follows, does not place this garden or paradise on earth, but in the seventh heaven.^ ^ Concerning this tree, or the forbidden fruit, the Mohammedans, as well as the Christians, have various opinions. Some say it was an ear of wheat ; some will have it to have been a fig-tree, and others a vine.^ The story of the fall is told, with some further circumstances, in the beginning of the seventh chapter. * They have a tradition that the devil, offering to get into paradise to tempt Adam, was not admitted by the guard ; whereupon he begged of the animals, one after another, to carry him in, that he might speak to Adam and his wife ; but they all refused him, except the serpent, who took him between two of his teeth, and so introduced him. They add, that the serpent was then of a beautiful form, and not in the shape he now bears.* f The Mohammedans say, that when they were cast do-^Ti from paradise, Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon or Serendib, and Eve near Joddah (the port of Mecca), in Arabia; and that, after a separation of 200 years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Mecca, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named Arafat ; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon, where they continued to propagate their species.^ It may not be improper here to mention another tradition concerning the gigantic stature of our first parents. Their prophet, they say, affirmed Adam to have been as tall as a high palm-tree ;^ but this would be too much in proportion, if that were really the pdnt of his foot, which is pretended to be such, on the top of a mountain in the ^ Vide Rivin. Serpent. Seduct. p. 56. ^ R. Moses Haddarshan, in Beresbit rabbah. » Jallalo'ddin. ^ Irenseus, Lact. Greg. Nyssen, &c. ^ yid. Marracc. in Ale. p. 24. * Vide ibid. p. 22. * Vide ib. ^ D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient, p. 55. « Yahya. i6 AL KOR.VN. cuAP. n. earth,* and a provision for a season. And Adam learned words of prayer from his Lord, and God turned unto him, for ho is easy to be reconciled and merciful. We said, Get ye all down from hence ; hereafter shall there come unto you a direction from me,^ and whoever shall follow my direction, on them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved ; but they who shall be unbelievers, and accuse our signs ^ of falsehood, they shall be the companions of liell fire, therein shall they remain for ever. O children of Israel,' remember my favour wlierc^vith I have favoured you ; and perform your covenant with me, and I will perform my covenant with you ; and revere me : and believe in the revelation which I have sent down, con- ■firming that which is with you, and be not the first who believe not therein, neither exchange my signs for a small price ; t and fear me. Clothe not the truth with vanity, neither conceal the tiiith against your own knowledge ; observe the stated times of prayer, and pay your legal alms, and bow down youi'selves with those who bow dowm Will ye command men to do justice, and forget your own souls ? yet ye read the book nf the laio : do ye not therefore understand 1 Ask help with perseverance and prayer ; this indeed is gi-ievous imless to the humble, who seriously think they shall meet their Lord, and that to him they shall return. O children of Israel, remember my favour wherewith I have favoured you, and that I have pre- ferred you above all nations ; dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for another soul, neither shall any intercession be accepted fix)m them, nor shall any compensation be received, neither shall they be helped. Remember when we delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who grievously oppressed you, they slew your male children, and let your females live : therein was a great trial from your Lord. A-nd when we divided the sea for you and delivered you, and drowned Pharaoh's people while ye looked on.^ And. when we treated A\dth Moses forty nights; isle of Ceylon, thence named Pico de Adam, and by the Arab writers Rahun, being somewhat above two spans long" (though others say it is seventy cubits long, and that when Adam set one foot here, he had the other in the sca);^ and too little, if Eve were of so enormous a size, as it is said, that when her head lay on one hill near Mecca, her knees rested on two others in the plain, about two musket shots asundtjr.'-* ♦ "We said to them, Get ye down. You have been mutual enemies. The earth shall be your habitation, and your inheritance, till the time." — Savary. ^ God here promises Adam that his will should be revealed to him and his posterity ; which promise the Mohammedans believe was fulfilled at several times by the minis- try of several prophets from Adam himself, who was the first, to Mohammed, who was the last. The number of books revealed unto Adam they say was ten.^ *• This word has various si;^nifications in the Koran ; sometimes, as in this passage, it signifies divine revelation or scripture in general ; sometimes the verses of the Koran in particular ; and at other times visible miracles. But the sense is easily distinguished by the context. 1 The Jews are here called upon to receive the Koran, as verifying and confirming the Pentateuch, particularly with respect to the uiiity of God and the mission of Mohammed,' And they are exhorted not to conceal the passages of their law, which bear witness to those truths, nor to corrupt them by publishing false copies of the Pentateuch, for which the writers were but poorly paid.' t •' Corrupt not my doctrine for vile gain. Fear nje." — Savanj. ^ See the story of Moses and Pharaoh more particularly related chap. vii. and XX. &c. 7 Monconys, Voyage, part I. p. 372, &:c. See Knox's Account of Ceylon. • Anci- ennes Relations dcs Indes, &c. p. 3. ^ Monconys, uhi sup. ^ Vide Ilottinger, Iliit. • Orient, p. 11, Reland, de Relig. Mohammed, j). 21. ^ Yahya. ' Jallalo'ddiu. CHAP. II. AL KORAN. 7 then ye took the calf^ for your God^ aud did evil; yet afterwards we forgave you, that perad venture ye might give thanks. And when we gave Moses the book of the law, and the distinction between good and evil, that peradventure ye might be directed. And when Moses said unto his people, O my people, verily ye have injured your own souls,* by your taking the calf /or your God; therefore be turned unto your creator, and slay those among you luho have been guilty of that crime ;™ this will be better for you in the sight of your Creator : and thereupon he turned unto you, for he is easy to be reconciled, and merciful. And when ye said, O Moses we will not believe thee, until we see God manifestly ; therefore a punishment came upon you, while ye looked on ; then we raised you to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give thanks ° And we caused clouds to overshadow you, and manna and quails** to descend upon you, saying, Eat of the good things which we have given you for food: and they injured not us,t but injured their own souls. And when we said, Enter into this city,^ and eat of the provisions thereof plentifully as ye will j and enter the gate worshipping, and say, Forgiveness I*" we will ' The person who cast this calf, the Mohammedans say, was (not Aaron, but) al Sameri, one of the principal men among the children of Israel, some of whose descendants, it is pretended, still inhabit an island of that name in the Arabian Gulf.* It was made of the rings ^ and bracelets of gold, silver, and other materials, which the Israelites had borrowed of the Egyptians : for Aaron, who commanded in his brother's absence, having ordered Sameri to collect those ornaments from the people, who carried on a wicked commerce with them, and to keep them together till the return of Moses ; al Sameri, understanding the founder's art, put them all together into a furnace, to melt them down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf,^ The Israelites, accustomed to the Egyptian idolatry, paying a religious wor- ship to this image, al Sameri went further, and took some dust from the footsteps of the horse of the angel Gabriel, who marched at the head of the people, and threw it into the mouth of the calf, which immediately began to low, and became animated ;'^ for such was the virtue of that dust.^ One writer says that all the Israelites adored this calf, except only 12,000.'' * " O my people, why did ye give yourselves up to wickedness, by worshipping a calf V " — Savary. ^ In this particular, the narration agrees with that of Moses, who ordered the Levites to slay every man his brother : i but the scripture says, there fell of the people that day about 3000 (the Vulgate says 23,000) men;^ whereas the commentators of the Koran make the number of the slain to amount to 70,000 ; and add, that God sent a dark cloud which hindered them from seeing one another, lest the sight should move those who executed the sentence to compassion.^ ° The persons here meant are said to have been seventy men, who were made choice of by Moses, and heard the voice of God talking with him. But not being satisfied with that, they demanded to see God ; whereupon they were all struck dead by lightning, and on Moses's intercession restored to life.* The eastern Avriters say, these quails were of a peculiar kind, to be found nowhere but in Yam an, from whence they were brought by a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites' camp in the desert.^ The Arabs call these birds Salwa, which is plainly the same with the Hebrew Salwim, and say they have no bones, but are eaten whole. « f " Your murmurs have been injurious only to yourselves." — Savary. P Some commentators suppose it to be Jericho ; others, Jerusalem. 1 The Arabic word is Hittaton, which some take to signify that profession of the unity of God, so frequently used by the Mohammedans, La ildha ilia Ulaho, There is no god but God. *■ Geogr. Nubiens. p. 45. ^ Koran, c. 7. ^ See Exod. xxxii. 24. 7 Koran, c. 7. 8 Jallalo'ddin, Vide D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient, p. 650. » Abu'lfeda. ^ Exod. xxxii. 26, 27. 2 Ibid. 28. 3 Jallalo'ddin, &c. * Ismael Ebuali. • See Psalm Ixxviii. 26. « Vide D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient, p. 477. 8 AL KOR.VN. ciLU*. ir; pardon you your sins, and gave increase unto the well-doers. But the im- godlv changed the expression into another/ different from what had been spoken unto them ; and we sent down upon the ungodly indignation from heaven," because they had transgi-essed. And when INIoses asked drink for his people, we said, Strike the rock* with thy rod ; and there gushed thereout twelve fountains" according to live number of the tribes^ and all men knew their respective drinking-place. Ei\t and drink of the bounty of God, and commit not evil on the earth, acting unjustly. And when ye said, O Moses, we will by no means be satisfied with one kind of food ; pray unto thy Lord therefore for us, that he would produce for us of that which the earth bringeth forth, herbs and cucumbers, and garlic, and lentils, and onions ; * Moses answered,* "Will ye exchange that which is better, for that which is worse ? Get ye down into Egypt, for there shall ye find what ye desire : and they were smitten with vileness and misery, and drew on themselves indignation from God. This they suffered^ because they believed not in the signs of God, and killed the prophets unjustly; this, because they rebelled and transgressed. Surely those who *■ According to Jallalo'ddin, instead o? Eittaton, they cried Habhatfi shairat, i.e. a grain in an ear of barley ; and ia ridicule of the divine command to enter the city in an humble posture, they indecently crept in upon their breech. • A pestilence which carried off near 70,000 of them.^ * The commentators say this was a stone -which Moses brought from Mount Sinai, and the same that fled away with his garments which he laid upon it one day, while lie washed ; they add that Moses ran after the stone naked, till he found himself, ero he was aware, in the midst of the people, who on this accident were convinced of the falsehood of a report, which had been raised of their prophet, that he was bursten, or, as others write, an hermaphrodite.^ They describe it to be a square piece of white marble, shaped like a man's head; wherein they diflfer not much from the accounts of European travellers, who say this rock stands" among several lesser ones, about 100 paces from Mount Horeb, and appears to have been loosened from the neighbouring mountains, having no coher- ence with the others ; that it is a huge mass of red granite, almost round on one side, and flat on the other ; twelve feet high, and as many thick, but broader than it is high, and about sixty feet in circumference.* " Marracci thinks'this circumstance looks like a Rabbinical fiction, or else that Mohammed confounds the water of the rock at Horeb, with the twelve wells at Elim ;i for he says, several who have been on the spot, affirm there are but three orifices whence the water issued. ' But it is to be presumed that Mohammed had better means of information in this respect, than to fall into such a mistake; for the rock stands within the borders of Arabia, and some of his countrymen must ueeds have seen it, if he himself had not, as it is most probable he had. And in effect he seems to be in the right. For one who went into those parts in the end of the fifteenth century tells us expressly, that the water issued from twelve places of the rock, according to the number of the tribes of Israel ; egresses sunt aqnce largissimce in duodecim locis petrce,juxta numerum dxiodecim tribuum Israel.^ A late curious traveller* observes, that there are twenty-four holes in the stone, which may be easily counted ; that is to say, twelve on the flat side, and as many on the opposite round side, every one being a foot deep, and an inch wide ; and he adds, that the holes on one side do not communicate with those on the other; which a less accurate spectator not perceiving (for they are placed horizontally, within two feet of the top of the rock) might conclude they pierced quite through the stone, and so reckon them to be but twelve. « See Numb. xi. 5, &c. ♦'* Moses replied, Do ye wish to enjoy a more advantageous lot? Return to Egypt; you will find there that which you desire." — Savary. "^ Jallalo'ddin. ^ Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. ^ Breydenbach, Itinerar, charta m. p. 1. Sicard, dans les Memoires des Missions, vol. vii. p. 14. » Exod. xv. 27. Numb, xxxiii. 9. ' Marracc. Prodr. part iv. p. 80. ' Breydenbach, ubi sup. * Sicard, ubi sup. CHAP. TT. AL KORAN. y believe, and those who Judaize, and Christians, and Sabians/ whoever believeth in God, and the hist day, and doth that which is right, thej shall have their reward with their Lord ; there shall cojne no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved. Call to mind also when we accepted your covenant, and lifted np the mountain of Sinai over you,^ saying, Receive the law which we have given you, with a resolution to keep it, and remem- ber that which is contained therein, that ye may beware. After this ye again turned back, so that if it had not been for God's indulgence and mercy towards you, ye had certainly been destroyed. Moreover ye know what befell those of your nation who transgressed on the sabbath day;* We said unto them, Be ye changed into apes, driven away yrowj the society of 'men. And we made them an example unto those who were contemporary with them, and unto those who came after them, and a warning to the pious. And when Moses said unto his people, verily God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow;^ they answered. Dost thou make a y From these words, which are repeated in the fifth chapter, several Avriters^ have wrongly concluded that the Mohammedans hold it to be the doctrine of their prophet, that every man may be saved in his own religion, provided he be sincere and lead a good life. It is true, some of their doctors do agree this to be the purport of the words ;^ but then they say the latitude hereby granted was soon revoked, for that this passage is abrogated by several others in the Koran, which expressly declare, that none can be saved who is not of the Mohammedan faith ; and particularly by those words of the third chapter, Whoever foUoweth any other religion than Islam (i. e. the Mohammedan), it shall not be accepted of him, and at the last day he shall be of those who perishj However, others are of opinion that this passage is not abrogated, but interpret it differently ; taking the meaning of it to be, that no man, whether he be a Jew, a Christian, or a Sabian, shall be excluded from salvation, provided he quit his erroneous religion and become a Moslem, which they say is intended by the following words. Whoever believeth in God and the last day, and doth that ivhich is right. And this interpretation is approved by Mr. Reland, who thinks the words here import no more than those of the apostle, In every nation he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness is accepted of him ;^ from which it must not be inferred, that the religion of nature, or any other, is sufficient to save, without faith in Christ.* '^ The Mohammedan tradition is, that the Israelites refusing to receive the law of Moses, God tore up the mountain by the roots, and shook it over their heads, to terrify them into a compliance.^ ^ The story to which this passage refers is as follows : — In the days of David some Israelites dwelt at Ailah, or Elath, on the Red Sea, where on the night of the sabbath the fish used to come in great numbers to the shore, and stay there all the sabbath, to tempt them ; but the night following they returned into the sea again. At length, some of the inhabitants, neglecting God's command, catched the fish on the sabbath, and dressed and ate them ; and afterwards cut canals from the sea, for the fish to enter, with sluices, which they shut on the sabbath, to prevent their return to the sea. The other part of the inhabitants, who strictly observed the abb ath, used both persuasion and force to stop this impiety, but to no purpose, the offenders growing only more and more obstinate; Avhereupon David cursed the sabbath- breakers, and God transformed them into apes. It is said, that one going to see a friend of his that was among them, found him in the shape of an ape, moving his eyes about wildly; and asking him whether he was not such a one, the ape made a sign with his head that it was he; whereupon the friend said to him, Did not I advise you to desist? at which the ape wept. They add, that these unhappy people remained three days in this condition) and were afterwards destroyed by a wind which swept them all into the sea.^ ^'The occasion of this sacrifice is thus related. A certain man at his death left his son, then a child, a cow- calf, which wandered in the desert till he came to age ; " Selden. de Jure Nat. et Gentium sec. Hebr. 1. 6, c. 12. Angel, a S. Joseph. Gazophylac. Persic, p. 365. ^'ic. Cusanus in Cribratione Alcorani, 1. 3, c. 2, &c. « See Chardin's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 326, 331. 7 Abu'lkasem Ilebatalhih de Abrogante et Abrogato. 8 Acts x. 35. » Vide Reland. de Rel. Moham. p. 128, &c. i Jalla- Jo'ddin. 2 Abu'lfeda. 10 AL KORAN. CH.VP. n. jest of us? Moses said, GrOD forbid tbat I should be om of the foolish. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would show us what cow it is. Moses answered, He saith, She is neither an ohl cow, nor a young heifer, but of a middle age between both: do ye therefore that which ye are commanded. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, tbat he would show us what colour she is of. Moses answered, He saith, She is a red cow,' intensely red, her colour rejoiceth the beholders. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would /i^rf/ter show us what cow it is, for several cows with us are like one another, and we, if God please, will be directed. !Moses answered, He saith. She is a cow not broken to plough the earth, or water the field, a sound one,* there is no blemish in her. They said, Now hast thou brought the truth. Then they sacrificed her; yet they wanted but little of leaving it undone.** And when ye slew a man, and contended among youi-selves concerning him, God brought forth to Vigld that which ye concealed. For we said, Strike tJte dead hody with part of ilie sacriiiced cow:* so God raiseth the dead to life, and showeth you his signs, that perad venture ye may understand. Then were your hearts hardened after this, even as stones, or exceeding theni in hardness : for from some stones have rivers bui*sted forth, othei's have been rent in sunder, and water hath issued from them, and others have fallen down for fear of God. But God is not regardless of that which ye do. Do ye therefore desire that the Jews should believe you ? yet a part of them heard the word of God, and then perverted it, after they had understood it, against their own conscience. And when they meet the true believers, they say, We believe : but when they are privately assembled together, they say, ^Vill ye acquaint them at which time his mother told him that the heifer was his, and bid him fetch her, and sell her fur three pieces of {rold. When the yonng man came to the market with his heifer, an angel in the shape of a man accosted him, and bid him six pieces of gold for her ; but he would not take the money till he had asked his mother's con- sent; which when he had obtained he returned to the market-place, and met the angel, who now oflfered him twice as much for the heifer, provided he would say nothing of it to his mother; but the young man refusing, went and acquainted her with the additional offer. The woman perceiving it was an angel, bid her son go back and ask him what must be dune with the heifer; whereupon the angel told the young man, that, in a little time, the children of Israel would buy that heifer of him at any price. And soon after it happened that an Israelite, named Ilammiel, was killed by a relation of his, who, to prevent discovery, conveyed the body to a place considerably distant from that where the fact was committed. The friends of the slain man accused some other persons of the murder before Moses; but they deny- ing the fact, and there being no evidence to convict them, God commanded a cow, of such and such particular marks, to be killed; but there being no other which answered the description, except the orphan's heifer, they were obliged to buy her for as much gold as her hide would hold ; according to some, for her full weight in gold, and as others say, for ten times as much. This heifer they sacrificed, and the dead body being, by divine direction, struck with a part of it, revived, and standing up, named the person who had killed him ; after which it immediately fell down dead again.' 'Die whole story seems to be borrowed from the red heifer, which was ordered by the Jewish law to be burnt, and the ashes kept for purifying those who happened to touch a dead corpse;* and from the heifer directed to be slain for the expiation of an uncertain murder. See Deut. xxi. 1 — 9. ' The epithet in the original is yellow ; but this word we do not use in speaking of the colour of cattle. * •' That hath not suffered the approach of the male." — Savary. •* Because of the exorbitant price which they were obliged to pay for the heifer. • t. e. ller tongue, or the end of her tail.* « AbuTifeda. * Numb. xix. ^ Jallalo'ddin. OHAP. n. AL KOEAN. 11 with what GoD has revealed imto yon, that they may dispute with you coneerDing it in the presence of your Lord? Do ye not therefore* under- stand? Do not they know that God knoweth that which they conceal as well as that which they publish 1 But there are illiterate men among them, who know not the book of the law,'\ but only lying stories, although they think otherwise. And woe unto them, who transcribe corruptly the book of the ^aw;^ with their hands, and then say, This is from God : that they may sell it for a small price. Therefore woe unto them because of that which their hands have written; and woe unto them for that which they have gained. They say, The fire of hell shall not touch us but for a certain number of days.^ Answer, Have ye received any promise from God to that pwrpose? for God will not act contrary to his promise: or do ye speak concerning God that which ye know not? Yerily whoso doetli evil,'' and is encompassed by his iniquity, they shall he the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein for ever : but they who believe and do good works, they shall be the companions of paradise, they shall continue therein for ever. Rerriewher also, when we accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall not worship any other except God, and ye shall show kind- ness to your parents and kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and speak that which is good unto men, and be constant at prayer, and give alms. Afterwards ye turned back, except a few of you, and retired afar off. And when we accepted your covenant, saying, Ye shall not shed your hrothers blood, nor dispossess one another of your habitations ; then ye confirmed ii, and were witnesses tliereto. Afterwards ye were they who slew one another,* and turned several of your brethren out of their houses, mutually assisting each other against them with injustice and enmity; but if they come cap- tives unto you, ye redeem them : yet it is equally unlawful for you to dis- possess them. Do ye therefore believe in part of the book of the law, and reject other part thereof? But whoso among you doth this, shall have no other reward than shame in this life, and on the day of resurrection they * " See -we not the consequences thereof?" — Savary. + " Among them the vulgar know the Pentateuch only \>j tradition. They have but a blind belief." — Savary. ^Mohammed again accuses the Jews of corrupting their scripture. g That is, says Jallalo'ddin, forty ; being the number of days that their fore- fathers worshipped the golden calf; after which they gave out that their punish- ment should cease. It is a received opinion among the Jews at present, that no person, be he ever so wicked, or of whatever sect, shall remain in hell above eleven months, or at most a year; except Dathan and Abiram, and atheists, who will be tormented there to all eternity.^ ^ By evil in this case the commentators generally understand polytheism or idola- try ; which sin, the Mohammedans believe, unless repented of in this life, is unpar- donable, and will be punished by eternal damnation ; but all other sins they hold will at length be forgiven. This therefore is that irremissible impiety, in their opi- nion, which in the New Testament is called the sin against the Holy Ghost. 'This passage was revealed on occasion of some quarrels which arose between the Jews of the tribes of Koreidha, and those of al Aws, al Nadhir, and al Khazraj, and came to that height that they took arms and destroyed one another's habita- tions, and turned one another out of their houses; but when any were taken cap- tive, they redeemed them. When they were asked the reason of their acting in tliis manner, they answered, That they were commanded by their law to redeem the captives, but that they fought out of shame, lest their chiefs should be despised.^ ^ Vide Bartoloccii Biblioth. Rabbinic, torn. 2, p. 128, et t. 3, p. 421. ' Jallalo'ddia. 12 AL KORAN. CHAP. n. shall be sent to a most grievous punishment ; for God is not regardless of that which ye do. These are they who have purchased tins present life, at the price of that which is to come; wherefore their punishment shall not he mitigated, neither shall they be helped. We formerly delivered the book of the law unto Moses, and caused apostles to succeed him, and gave evident miracles to Jesus the son of Mary, and strengthened him with the holy spirit.^ Do ye therefore, whenever an apostle coineth unto you with that which your souls desire not, proudly reject him, and accuse some of im- posture, and slay others? The Jews say, Our hearts are uncircumcised : but God hath cursed them with their infidelity ;* therefore few shall be- lieve. And when a book came unto them from God, confirming tlie scrips tures which were with them, although they had before prayed for assistance against those who believed not,' yet when that came unto them which they knew to he from God, they would not believe therein: therefore the curso of God shall be on the infidels. For a vile price have they sold their souls, that they should not believe in that which God hath sent down;™ out of envy, because God sendeth down his favoui*s to such of his sei-vants as he pleaseth : therefore they brought on themselves indignation on indignation ; and the unbelievers shall suffer an ignominious punishment. When one saith unto them. Believe in that which God hath sent down ; they answer, We believe in that which hath been sent down unto us:° and they reject what hath been revealed since, although it be the truth, confirming that which is with them. Say, Why therefore have ye slain the prophets of God in times past, if ye be true believers? Moses formerly came unto you with evident signs, but ye afterwards took the calf/or your God and did wickedly. And when we accepted your covenant, and lifted the mountain of Sinai over you.° sayin/j, Receive the law which we have given you, with a reso- lution to perform it, and hear; they said, We have heard, and have rebelled : and they were made to drink down the calf into their hearts p for their un- belief. Say, A gi'ievous thing hath your faith commanded you, if ye be true believers?'' Suv, if the future mansion with God ho prepared lyecii- ^We must not imagine Mohammed here means the Holv Ghost, in the Chris- tian acceptation. The commentators say, this spirit was the angcl Gabriel, who sanctified Jesus, and constantly attended on him.'' ♦ '• God hath cursed them because of their perfidy. O how small is the number of the true believers." — Savary. ' The Jews, in expectation of the coming of Mohammed (according to the tra- dition of his followers) used this prayer, O God, Iielp us agaiiut the unbelievers, by Uie propliet who is to be sent in tlie last times.^ '° The Koran. » The Pentateuch. Sec before, p. 9. P Moses look the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire^ and fjround it to powder, and streiced it u)>on t/ui water (of the brook that Jesceiuied Jrcm t/ie mount) and made the children of Israel drink of it.^ 1 Mohammed here inters from their lorofuthers' disobedience in worshipping the calf, at the same time that they pretended to believe in the law of Moses, that the faith of the Jews in his time was as vain and hypocritical, since they rejected him who was foretold therein as an impostor.' « Jallalo-ddin. » Idem. ^ Exod. xxxii. 20; Dcut. ix. 21. « Jallalo'ddin, Toliya, al Bcidawi. J3HAP. IL AL KORAN. 13 liarly for you, exclusive of tb3 rest of mankind, wish for death, if ye say truth : but they will never wish for it, because of that which their hands have sent before them;' God knoweth the wicked-doers; and thou shalt surely find them of all men the most covetous of life, eveu more than the idolaters : one of them would desire his life to be prolonged a thousand years, but none shall reprieve himself from punishment, that his life may be prolonged : God seeth that which they do. Say, Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel ^ (for he hath caused the. Koran to descend on thy heart, by the per- mission of God, confirming that which was before revealed^ a direction, and good tidings to the faithful) ; whosoever is an enemy to God, or his angels, or his apostles, or to Gabriel, or Michael, verily God is an enemy to the unbelievers. And now we have sent down unto thee evident signs,* and none will disbelieve them but the evil-doers. Whenever they make a covenant, will some of them, reject it ? yea the greater part of them do not believe. And when there came unto them an apostle from God, confirming that scripture which was with them, some of those to whom the scriptures were given cast the book of God behind their backs, as if they knew it not : and they followed ^Aec^emce. which the devils devised against the kingdom of Solomon; " and Solomon was not an unbeliever; but the devils believed not, they taught men sorcery, and that which was sent down to the two angels at Babel,* Ilarut and Marut :'' yet those two taught no man until *■ That is, by reason of the wicked forgeries which they have been guilty of in re- spect to the scriptures. An expression, much like that of St. Paul, where he says, that some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment.^ s The commentators say, that the Jews asked, what angel it was that brought the divine revelations to Mohammed; and being told that it was Gabriel, they replied, that he was their enemy, and the messenger of wrath and punishment; but if it had been Michael, they would have believed in him, because that angel was their friend, and the messenger of peace and plenty. And on this occasion, they say, this passage was revealed.* That Michael was really the protector or guardian angel of the Jews, we know from scripture ;5 and it seems that Gabriel was, as the Persians call him, the angel of reve- lations, being frequently sent on messages of that kind;6 for which reason, it is pro- bable, Mohammed pretended he was the angel from whom he received the Koran. * i. e. The revelations of this book. « The devils having, by God's permission, tempted Solomon without success, they made use of a trick to blast his character. For they wrote several books of magic, and hid them under that prince's throne, and after his death told the chief men that if they wanted to knovv by what means Solomon had obtained his absolute power over men, genii, and the winds, they should dig under his throne; which having done, they found the aforesaid books, which contained impious superstitions. The better sort refused to learn the evil arts therein delivered, but the common people did; and the priests pub- lished this scandalous story of Solomon, which obtained credit among the Jews till God, say the Mohammedans, cleared that king by the mouth of their prophet,' de- claring that Solomon was no idolater.7 * " He^(the devil) taught unto men magic and the science of the two angels, Harui and Marut, who are condemned to remain at Babylon." — Savary. ^ Some say only that these were two magicians or angels sent by God to teach men magic, and to tempt them.^ But others tell a longer fable ; that the angels expressing their surprise at the wickedness of the sons of Adam, after prophets had been sent to them with divine commissions, God bid them choose two out of their own number to be sent down to be judges on earth. Whereupon they pitched upon Harut and Marut, who executed their office with integrity for some time, till Zohara, or the planet Venus, de- scended and appeared before them in the shape of a beautiful woman, bringing a c'om- 3 1 Tim. V. 24. * Jallalo'ddin. al Zamakh. Yahya. ^ Dan. xii. 1. « Ibid. ch. viii. 16. and ix. 21.; Luke i. 19, 26. See Hyde de EeL Vet. Persar. p. 263. ^ Yahya. Jallalo'ddin. ^ Jallalo'ddin. Xi 14 AL KORAN. ohap. h. they had said, Verilj we are a temptation, therefore be not an unbeliever. So men learned from those two a charm by which they might cause division between a man and his wife;* but they hurt none thereby, unless by God's permission; and they learned that which would hurt them, and not profit them; and yet they knew that he who bought that art should have no part in the life to come, and woful is the jrrice for which they have sold their souls, if thoy knew it. But if they had believed, and feared God, verily the reward they would have had from God would have been better, if they had known it. O true believers, say not to our apostle, E,a*ina; but say Ondhorna; ^ and hearken : the infidels shall suffer a grievous punishment. It is not the desire of the unbelievei-s, either among those unto whom the scriptures have been given, or among the idolaters, that any good should be sent down unto you from your Lord : But God will appropriate his mercy unto whom he pleaseth ; for God is exceeding beneficent. Whatever verse we shall abrogate, or cause thee to forget, we will bring a better than it, or one like unto it. Dost thou not know that God is almighty 1 Dost thou not know that unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and Ciirth ? neither have ye any protector or helper except God. Will ye require of your apostle according to that which was formerly required of Moses ?^ but he that hath exchanged faith for infidelity, hath already erred from the straight way. Many of those unto whom the scriptures have been given, desire to render you again unbelievers, after ye have believed; out of envy from their souls, even after the truth is become manifest unto them; but forgive them, and avoid them, till God shall send his command ; for God is omnipotent. Be constant in prayer, and give alms ; and what good ye have sent before for your souls, ye shall find it with God; surely GoD seeth that which ye do. They say. Verily none shall enter paradise, except they who ai'e Jews or Christians : ^ this is their wish. Say, Produce your proof of plaint against her husband, (though others say she was a real woman.) As soon as they saw her they fell in love with her, and endeavoured to prevail on her to satisfy their de- sires; but she flew up again to heaven, whither the two angels also returned, but were not admitted. However, on the intercession of a certain pious man, they were allowed to choose whether they would be punished in this life, or in the other; whereupon they chose the former, and now suffer punishment accordingly in Babel, whore they are to remain till the day of judgment. They add that if a man has a fancy to learn magic, he may go to them, and hear their voice, but cannot see tliem.^ This story Mohammed took directly from the Persian Magi, who mention two rebel- lious angels of the same names, now hung up by the feet, with their heads downwards, in the territory of Babel. ^ And the Jews have something like this, of the angel Sham- hozai, who, having debauched himself with women, repented, and by way of penance, hung himself up between heaven and earth.' * " They taught the difference between man and woman." — Savar}/. * Those two Arabic words have both the same signification, viz. Look on us; and are a kind of salutation. Mohammed had a great aversion to the first, because the .Jews frequently used it in derision, it being a word of reproach in their tongue.' They alluded, it s>eems, to the Hebrew verb yi"! rud, which signifies to be bad or mis- c/iitious. y Namely, to see God manifestly.* ' This passage was revealed on occasion of a dispute which ^fohammed had with the Jews of Medina, and the Christians of Najran, each of them asserting th^.t those of tlicir religion only should be saved.^ » Yahya, &c. ^ Vide Ilydc, ubi sup. cap. 12. ' Bereshit rab oh. in Genes, vi. 2. » Jalialo'ddiu. * See before p. 9. ^ Jallalo'ddin. CHAP. n. AL KORAN. 15 this, if ye speak tnitli. Nay, but he who resigneth himself* to God, and doth that which is right,^ he shall have his reward with his Lord : there shall co77ie no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved. The Jews say, The Christians are grounded on nothing f and the Christians say. The Jews are grounded on nothing ; yet they both read the scriptures. So likewise say they who know not the scripture, according to their saying. But God shall judge between them on the day of the resurrection, concerning that about which they noio disagi'ee. "Who is more unjust than he who prohibiteth the temples of GoD,^ that his name should be remembered therein, and who hasteth to destroy them ? Those men cannot enter therein, but with fear : they shall have shame in this world, and in the next a grievous punishment. To God helongeth the east and the west j therefore, whither- soever ye turn yourselves to pray, there is the face of God ; for God is omnipresent and omniscient. They say, God hath begotten children : ® God forbid ! To him helongeth whatever is in heaven, and on earth ; all is pos- sessed by him, the Creator of heaven and earth ; and when he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is. And they who know not the scriptures say. Unless God speak unto us, or thou show us a sign, we lOiU not believe. So said those before them, according to their saying : their hearts resemble each other. We have already shown manifest signs unto people who firmly believe ; we have sent thee in truth, a bearer of good tidings, and a preacher j and thou shalt not be questioned concerning the companions of hell. But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion ; say. The dii-ection of God is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or pro- tector against GoD. They to whom we have given the book oftlie Koran, and who read it with its true reading, they believe therein ; and whoever believeth not therein, they shall perish. O childi-en of Israel, remember my favour wherewith I have favoured you, and that I have preferred you before all nations ; and dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satis- faction for another soul, neither shall any compensation be accepted from them, nor shall any intercession avail, neither shall they be helped. £e7nejnher when the Lord tried Abraham by ceHain words,^ which he ■ Literally, resigneth his face, &c. •» That is, asserteth the unity of God.*^ * The Jews and Christians are here accused of denying the truth of each other's religion, notwithstanding they read the scriptures. Whereas the Pentateuch bears testimony to Jesus, and the gospel bears testimony to Moses. '^ ^ Or hindereth men from paying their adorations to God in those sacred places. This passage, says Jallalo'ddin, was revealed on news being brought that the Romans had spoiled the temple of Jerusalem ; or else when the idolatrous Arabs obstructed Mohammed's visiting the temple of Mecca, in the expedition of al Hodeibiya, which happened in the sixth, year of the Hejra.^ « This is spoken not only of the Christians, and of the Jews (for they are accused of holding Ozair, or Ezra, to be the son of God), but also the pagan Arabs, who imagined the angels to be daughters of God. ' God tried Abraham chiefly by commanding him to leave his native country, and to offer his son. But the commentators suppose the trial here meant related only to « Jallalo'ddin. 7 i^jem, ^ yi^jc Abu'lfedae Vit. Moham. p. 84, &c 16 AL KORAN. CUAP. U. fulfilled : God said, Yerilj I will constitute thee a model of religion^ * unto mankind ; he answered, And also of my posterity ; God said, My covenant doth not comprehend the ungodly. And when we appointed the holy house ^ of Mecca to be a place of resort for mankind, and a place of security ; and said. Take the station of Abraham* for a place of prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and Ismael, that they should cleanse my house for those who should compass it, t and those who should be devoutly assiduous there, and those who should bow do\N-n and worship. And when Abraham said. Lord make this a territory of security, and boun- teously bestow fruits on its inhabitants, such of them as believe in God and the last day ; God answered. And whoever believeth not, I will bestow on him little, % afterwards I will diive him to the punishment of hM fire; an ill journey shall it be ! And when Abraham and Ismael raised the foundations of the house, saying, Lord, accept it from us, for thou art he who heareth and knoweth : Lord, make us also resigned ^ Tinto thee, and of our posterity a people resigned unto thee, and show us our holy ceremonies, and be turned unto us, for thou art easy to be reconciled, and merciful : Lord, send them likewise an apostle from among them, who may declare thy signs unto them, and teach them the book of the Koran and wisdom, and may puiify them ; for thou art mighty and wise. Who will be averse to the religion of Abraham, but he whose mind is infatuated ? Surely we have chosen bim in this world, and in that which is to come he shall be one of the righteous. When his Lord said unto him^ Resign thyself unio me ; he answered, I have resigned myself unto the Lord of all creatures. And Abraham bequeathed this rdiffion to his children, and Jacob did the same, saying, My children, verily God hath tjhosen this religion for you, therefore die not, unless ye also bo resigned- Were ye present when Jacob was at the point of death 1 when some particular ceremonies, such as circumcision, pilgrimage to the Caaba, several rites of purification, and the like.^ f I have rather expressed the meaning, than trulj translated the Arabic word Imam, which answers to the Latin Antistes. This title the Mohammedans give to their priests, who begin the prayers in their Mosques, and whom all the congregation follow. * •• I will establish thee the leader of the people."— ^'arary. * That is, the Caaba, which is usually called, by way of eminence, the House. Of the sanctity of this building and other paniculars relating to it, see the Pre- liminary Discourse, sect. ir. ' A place so called within the inner enclosure of the Caaba, where they pretend to show the print of his foot in a stone,^ t " Purify my temple' from the idols which are around it, and from those which are within it, and from their worshippers.'' — Savary. J " I will extend, replied the Lord, my gifts even to the unbelievers, but they Ehall enjoy little. They shall be condemned to the flames, and deplorable shall be their end.*' — Savartj. •'The Arabic v.orl is Moslemflna, in the singular Moslem, which the Moham- medans take as a title peculiar to themselves. The Europeans generally write and pronounce it Musulman. * Jallalo'ddin. ' See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * The descendants of Abraham and of Ishmael lost the belief of an only God. They still reverenced the temple of Mecca as the work of those two patriarchs, but around it and within it they had placed idols, to which they paid divine worship. 3Iahomet overthrew them, and restored the worship of the only true God.— Savary. enAP. 11. • AL KORAN. 17 he said to liis sons, Whom will ye worship after me? Thev answered, We will worship thy God, and the God of thy fathers Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, one God, and to him will we be resigned. That people are now passed away, they have what they have gained,^ and ye shall have what ye gain ; and ye shall not be questioned concerning that which they have done. They say. Become Jews or Christians that ye may be dkected. Say, l^ajfWe follow the religion of Abraham the orthodox, who was no idola- ter. Say, We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down unto us, and that which hath been sent down unto Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto Moses, and Jesus, and that which was delivered unto the prophets from their Lord : We make no distinction between any of them, and to God are we resigned. Now if they believe according to what ye believe, they are surely directed, but if they turn back, they are in schism. God shall support thee against them, for he is in the hearer, the wise. The baptism of God"* have we received, and who is better than God to baptize ? him do we worship. Say, Will ye dispute with us concerning God,° who is our Lord, and your Lord? we have our works, and ye have your works, and unto him are we sincerely devoted. Will ye say, truly Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes were Jews or Christians 1 Say, Are ye wiser, or God? And v/ho is more unjust than he who hideth the testimony which he hath received from God?" But God is not regardless of that which ye do. Tliat people are passed away, they have what they have gained, and ye shall have what ye gain, nor shall ye be questioned concerning that which they have done. [* II.] The foolish men will say. What hath turned them from their Keblah, towards which they formerly yrayed ? ^ Say unto God belongeth the east and the west : he directed whom he pleaseth into the right way. Thus ha^'e we placed you, Arabians,"^ an J Or deserved. The Mohammedan notion, as to the imputation of moral actions to man, which they call gain, or acquisition, is suflSciently explained in the Preliminary Discoui'se. » By baptism is to be understood the religion which Gor> instituted at the beginning ; because the signs of it appear in the person who professes it, as the signs of water appear in the clothes of him that is baptized.^ ° These words were revealed, because the Jews insisted, that they first received the scriptures, that their Keblah was more ancient, and that no prophets could arise among the Arabs ; and therefore if Mohammed was a prophet, he must have been of their nation.* ** The Jews are again accused of corrupting and suppressing the prophecies in the Pentateuch relating to Mohammed. P At first, Mohammed and his followers observed no particular rite in turning their faces towards any certain place, or quarter of the world, when they prayed ; it being declared to be perfectly indifferent.^ Afterwards, when the prophet fled to Medina, he directed them to turn towards the temple of Jerusalem (probably to ingratiate himself with the Jews), which continued to be their Keblah for six or seven months; but either finding the Jews too intractable, or despairing otherwise to gain the pagan Arabs, who could not forget their respect to the temple of Mecca, he ordered that prayers for the future should be towards the last. This change was made in the second year of the Hejra,« and occasioned many to fall from him, taking ofience at his inconstancy.'' •J This seems to be the sense of the words ; though the commentators ^ will have the meaning to be, that the Arabians are here declared to be a most just and good nation. 3 Jallalo'ddin. * Idem. ^ See before, p. 15. e vide Abulf. Vit. Moham. p. 54. 7 Jallalo'ddin. ^ JaUalo'ddin, Yahya, &c. 18 AL KORAN. CHAP. II. intermediate nation,* tliat yo may be witness against the rest of mankind, and that tlie apostle may be a witness agiiinst yoiL We appointed the Kebhih towards which thou didst formerly jn-aij, only that we might know him who foUoweth the apostle, from liim who tumeth back on the heels;' though this change seem a great matter, unless unto those whom God hath directed. But God will not render your f:iith of none effect;* for God ia gracious and merciful unto man. We have seen thee turn about thy face towards heaven with uncertainty/, but we will cause thee to turn thyself towards a Keblah that will please thee. Turn, therefore, thy face towards the holy temple of Mecca; and wherever ye be, turn your faces towards tliat place. They to whom the scripture hath been given, know this to be truth from their Lord, God is not regardless of that which ye do. Verily althouf'h thou shouldest show imto those to whom the scripture hath been given all kinds of signs, yet they will not follow thy Keblah, neither shalt thou follow their Keblah ; nor aWII one pai-t of them follow the Keblah of the other. And if thou follow their dosires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, verily thou wilt become OTie of the ungodly. They to whom we have given the scripture, know our ajmstle, even as they know their ovm children; but some of them hide the truth, against their own knowledge. Truth is from thy Lord, therefore thou slmlt not doubt, Evervsect hath a certain tract oflieaven to which they turn themselves in lyrayer; but do ye strive to run after good things: wherever ye be, God Avill bring you all back at t/ie resurrection, for God is almighty. And from what place soever thou comest fortli, tui-n thy face towards the holy temple ; for this is truth from thy Lord ; neither is God regardless of that which ye do. From what place soever thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple ; and wherever ye be, thitherward turn your faces, lest men have matter of dispute against you ; but as for those among them who are unjust doers, fear them not, but fear me, that I may accomplish my grace upon you, and that ye may be directed. As we have sent unto you an apostle from among you,' to rehearse our signs unto you, and to purify you, and to teach you the book o/the Kordn and wisdom, and to teach you that which ye knew not : therefore remember me, and I will remember you, and give thanks unto me, and be not unbelievers. O true ]>elievers, beg assistance with patience and prayer, for God is with tlie patient. And say not of those who are slain in fight for the religion of God," that they are dead ; yea, tJiey are liWng : ' but ye do not understand. We will surely prove you hy ajjiicting you in some measure with fear, and hunger, and * " We have estabhshcd you, O chosen people, to bear witness against the rest of the nation, as your apostle will bear it against you." — Havary. * i. e. Iij all who hear them, that is, by all creatures except men and genii. ^ Or, as Jallalo'ddin expounds it, God will not wait for their repentance. ^ The original word signifies properly that are pressed or compelled to do personal service without hire ; which kind of service is often exacted by the eastern princes of their subjects, and is called by the Greek and Latin writers, Angaria. The scripture often mentions this sort of compulsion or force.** " See the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. ^ See before, p. 16. 2 yiJe Marracc. in Alo. p. 69, &c. 3 See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * Jallalo'ddin. ^ See Prelim. Disc sect, iv, ® Matt. v. 41. ; xxvii. 32, &c. 20 AL KOR^VN. ciiAP. IT. that they who act unjustly did perceive,** when they behold their punish- ment, that all power belongeth unto God, and that he is severe in punish- ing! A\'hen those who have been followed shall separate themselves from their followers,*" and shall see the punishment, and the cords of relation be- tween them shall be cut in sunder ; the followers shall say, If we could return to life, we would separate ourselves from them, as they have noia separated themselves from us. So GoD will show them their works; they shall sigh grievously, and shall not come forth from the fire o/ftell. O men, eat of that which is lawful and good on the earth ; and tread not in the steps of the devil, for he is your open enemy. Verily he commandeth you evil and wickedness, and that ye should say that of God which ye know not. And when it is said unto them ic/io believe not, Follow that which God hath sent down; they answer, Nay, but we will follow that which we found our fathers practise. What ? though their fathers knew nothing, and were not rightly directed ] The unbelievers are like unto one who crieth aloud to that wbich heareth not so much as his calling,* or the sound of his voice. They are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore do they not understand. O true believers, eat of the good things which we have bestowed on you for food, and return thanks unto God, if ye serve him. Verily he hath for- bidden you to eat that which dieth of itself, and blood and swine's flesh, and that on which any other name but God's hath been invocated.^ But he who is forced by necessity, not lusting, nor retiu-ning to tratisgress, it shall be no crime in him if he eat of those things, for God is gracious and merciful. Moreover they who conceal any part of the scripture which God hath sent down unto them, and sell it for a small price, they shall swallow into their bellies nothing but fire; God shall not speak unto them on the day of resurrection, neither shall he purify them, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. These are they who have sold du'cction for error, and pardon for punishment: but how great will their suflering be in the fire ! This they shall endure, because God sent down the book of the Koran with truth, and they who disagree concerning that book are certainly in a wide mistake. It is not rigliteousness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards the eaat and the west, but righteousness is of him who believeth in God and the last day, and the angels, and the scriptures, and the prophets; who giveth money for God's sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and for redemption of captives ; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms ; and of those who perform their covenant, when they have covenanted, and who behave themselves patiently in adversity, and hardships, and in time of violence: <* Or it may be translated, AUhoxigh the ungodhi will perceive, &c. But some copies instead of ynra, in the third person, read Una, in the second ; and then it must bo rendered, Oh if thou didst see. when the tmgod/y behold their punishment, &c. • That in, when the broachers or heads of new sects shall at the last day forsake or ■wash their hands of their disciples, as if they were not accomplices in their superstitions. • "The unbelievers are like unto him who heareth the sound of the voice with- out comprehending any thing. J)caf, dumb, and blind, they have no understand- ing." — Savary. ' For this reason, whenever the Mohammedans kill any animal for food, they always say BwHi'llah, or In the name q/'God ; which if it be neglected, they think it not law- ful to eat of it. CHAP. II. AL KORAN. 21 these are tliey who are true, and these are they who fear God. O true believers, the law of retaliation is ordained you for the slain : the free shall die for the free, and the servant for the servant, and a woman for a woman :^ but he whom his brother shall forgive maybe prosecuted,* and obliged to make satisfaction according to what is just, and a fine shall be set on him^ with humanity. This is indulgence from your Lord, and mercy. And he who shall transgress after this, by hilling the murderer, shall suffer a grievous punishment. And in this law of retaliation ye have life, O ye of understanding, that peradventure ye may fear. It is ordained you, when any of you is at the point of death, if he leave any goods, that he bequeath a legacy to his parents, and kindred, according to what shall be reasonable. ^ This is a duty incumbent on those who fear God. But he who shall change the legacy, after he hath heard it bequeathed by the dying person, surely the sin thereof shall be on those who change it, for God is he who heareth and knoweth. Howbeit he who apprehendeth from the testator any mistake or injustice, and shall compose tJie matter between them, that shall be no crime in him, for God is gracious and merciful. O true believers, a fast is ordained you, as it was ordained unto those before you, that ye may fear God. A certain number of days shall ye fast : but he among you who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast an equal number of other days. And those who can^ keep it, and do not, must redeem their neglect by maintaining of a poor man. ^ And he who volun- tarily dealeth better with tJie poor man than he is obliged, this shall be tf This is hot to be strictly taken ; for, according to the Sonna, a man is also to be put to death for the murder of a woman. Regard is also to be had to difference in religion, so that a Mohammedan, though a slave, is not to be put to death for an infidel, though a freeman. But the civil magistrates do not think themselves always obliged to conform to this last determination of the Sonna. * " He who forgiveth the murderer of his brother, shall have the right of requiring a reasonable reparation, which shall be thankfully paid." — Savary. ^ This is the common practice in Mohammedan countries, particularly in Persia; 8 where the relations of the deceased may take their choice, either to have the murderer put into their hands to be put to death ; or else to accept of a pecuniary satisfaction- ^ That is, the legacy was not to exceed a third part of the testator's substance, nor to be given where there was no necessity. But this injunction is abrogated by the law concerning inheritances. ^ The expositors differ much about the meaning of this passage, thinking it very improbable that people should be left entirely at liberty either to fast or not, on com- pounding for it in this manner. Jallalo'ddin therefore supposes the negative particle not to be understood, and that this is allowed only to those who are not able to fast, by reason of age or dangerous sickness : but afterwards he says, that in the beginning of MoKammedisro it was free for them to choose whether they would fast or maintain a poor man ; which liberty was soon after taken away, and this passage abrogated by the following Therefore let him who shall be present in this month, fast the same month. Yet this abrogation, he says, does not extend to women with child, or that give suck, lest the infant suffer. Al Zamakhshari, having first given an explanation of Ebn Abbas, who by a differert interpretation of the Arabic word Yotikunaho, which signifies can or are able to fast, renders it, Those who find great difficulty therein, &c , adds an exposition of his own, by supposing something to be understood ; according to which the sense will be, Those who can fast, and yet have a legal excuse to break it, must redeem it, &c. ' According to the usual quantity which a man eats in a day, and the custom Oi the country.^ ' Jallalo'ddin. ^ Vide Chardin, Voyage de Perse, t, ii. p. 299, &.c. » Jallalo'ddin. 22 AL KORAN. CUAT. II, better for him. But if ye fast it will be better for you, if ye knew it The month of Ramadan shall ye fast, in which the Koran was sent down from heaven^ a direction unto men, and declai-ations of direction, and the distinction between good and evil Therefore, let him among you who shall be present ° in this mouth, fast the same month ; but he who shall be sick, or on a journey, 5/ui// /a^i the like number of other days. God would make this &n ease unto you, and W'ould not mak^ it a cUiliculty unto you ; that ye may fulhl the number of days, and glorify God, for that he hatU directed you, and that ye may give thanks. When my servants ask thee concerning me, Verily I am near ; I will hear the prayer of him that prayeth, when he prayeth unto me : but let them hearken unto me, and believe in me, that they may be rightly directetL It is lawful for you, on the night of the fast, to go in unto your wives ;" they are a garment^' unt6 you, and ye are a garment unto them. God knoweth that ye defraud yourselves tlierein, wherefore he tumeth unto you, and forgiveth you. Now, therefore, go in unto them ; and earnestly desire that which God ordaineth you, and eat and diink, until ye can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daybreak: : then keep the fast until night, and go not in unto them, but be constantly present in the places of worship. These are the prescribed bounds of God, therefore draw not near them to transgress them. Thus God declareth his signs unto men, that ye may feai* him. Consume not your wealth among yourselves in vain ; nor present it imto judges, that ye may devour part of men's substance unjustly, against your own consciences. They will ask thee concerning the phases of the moon. Answer, They are times appointed unto men, and to show the season of the pilgi-image to Mecca. It is not righteousness that ye enter yow houses by the back parts thereof, ^ but righteousness is of him -who feareth God. Therefore enter your houses by their doors ; and fear God, that ye may be happy. And fight for the religion of God against those who fight against you ; but transgress not hy aitacking tJi>em first, for God lovetli not the transgressors. And kill them wherever ye find them, and turn them out of that whereof they have dispossessed you ; for temptation to idolatry is more grievous than slaughter ; yet fight not against them in the holy temple, until they attack you therein ; but if they attack you, slay them tliere. This shall be the reward of infidels. But if they desist, God is gracious and mer- ciful. Fight therefore against them, until there be no temptation to idola- try, and the religion be God's ; but if they desist, then let there be no «■ Sec the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. » f. e. At home, and not in a strange country, where the fast cannot be performed, or on a journey. " In the beginning of Mnhammcdism, during the fast, they neither lay with their wives nor ato nor drank aftf r supper. But both are permitted by this passage.^ p A meta])horical expression, to signify the mutual comfort a nian and his wife find in each other. 1 Some of the Arabs had a superstitious custom after they had been at Mecca, (in pilgrimage, as it seems) on their return home, not to enter their house by the old door, but to make a hole through the back part for a passage, which practice is herer reprehended. * Jallalo'ddin, CHAP. n. AL KORAN. 23 hostility, except against the nngodly. A sacred montli for a sacred montli,' and the holy limits of Mecca, if they attax^k you therein^ do ye also attack them therein in retaliation ; and whoever transgresseth against you hy so doing, do ye transgress against him in like manner as he hath transgressed against you, and fear God, and know that God is with those who fear him. Contribute out of your substance towards the defence of the religion of God, and throw not yourselves with your own hands into perdition;^ and do good, for God loveth those who do good. Perform the pilgrimage of Mecca, and the visitation of God ; and, if ye be besieged, send that offering which shall be the easiest; and shave not your heads,*^ until your offering reacheth the place of sacrifice. But, whoever among you is sick, or is troubled with any distemper of the head, must redeem the shaving his head, by fasting, or alms, or some offering.^ When ye are secure from enemies, he who tarrieth'' in the visitation of the temple of Mecca until the l)ilgrimage, shall bring that offering which shall be the easiest. But he who findeth not any thing to offer, shall fast three days in the pilgrimage, and seven when ye are returned : they shall be ten days complete. This is incumbent on him whose family shall not be present at the holy temple. And fear God, and know that God is severe in punishing. The pilgrimage rnvst be performed in the known months :^ whosoever, therefore, purposeth to go on pilgrimage therein, let him not know a woman, nor transgress, nor quarrel in the pilgrimage. The good which ye do, God knoweth it. Make provision for your journey; but the best provision is piety : and fear me, O ye of understanding. It shall be no crime in you, if ye seek an increase from your Lord, by trading during the pilgrimage. And when ye go in procession^ from Arafat^ remember God near the holy monument ;* and remember him for that he hath directed you, although ye were before *■ As to these sacred months, wherein it was unlawful for the ancient Arabs to attack one another, see the Prelim. Disc. sect. vii. * i. e. Be not accessary to your own destruction, by neglecting your contributions towards the wars against infidels, and thereby suffer them to gather strength. t For this was a sign they had completed their vow, and performed all the cere- monies of the pilgrimage.2 ^ That is, either by fasting three days, or feeding six poor people, or sacrificing a sheep. ^ This passage is somewhat obscure. Yahya interprets it of him who marries a wife during the visitation, and performs the pilgrimage the year following. But Jallalo'ddiu expounds it of him who stays within the sacred enclosm-es, in order to complete the ceremonies, which (as it should seem) he had not been able to do within the prescribed time. ^ i. e. Shawal, Dhu'lkaada, and Dhu'lhajja. See the Prelim, Disc. sect. iv. y The original word signifies to rush forward impetuously ; as the pilgrims do when they proceed from Arafat to Mozdalifa. ^ A mountain near Mecca, so called, because Adam there met and knew his wife, after a long separation.^ Yet others say that Gabriel, after he had instructed Abra- ham in all the sacred ceremonies, coming to Arafat, there asked him if he knew the ceremonies which had been shown him ; to which Abraham answering in the aflSr- mative, the mountain had thence its name.* " In Arabic, al Masher al haram. It is a mountain in the farther part of Moz- dalifa, where it is said Mohammed stood praying and praising God, till his face became extremely shining,^ Bobovius calls it Porkh,^ but the true name seems to be Kazah ; the variation being occasioned only by the different pointing of the Arabic letters. ^ Jallalo'ddin. s gge before, p. 5, note f. * Al Hasan. ^ Jallalo'ddin, ® Bobov. de Peregr. Meccana, p. 15. 24 AL KORAN. CHAP, ii.' tliis of the number of tliose who go astray. Therefore go in procession from whence the j>eople go in procession, and ask pardon of God, for God is gracious and merciful. And when ye have finished your holy cere- monies, remember God, according as ye remember your fathers, or with a more reverent commemoration. There are some men who say, O Lord, give us our portion in this world ; but such shall have no portion in the next life : and there are others who say, O Lord, give us good in this world, and also good in the next world, and deliver us from the torment of hdl fire. They shall have a portion of that which they have gained : GoD is swift in taking an account.** Romcmber God the appointed number of days;*^ but if any liaste to depart from the value of Mina in two days, it shall he no crime in him. And if any tarry longer, it shall be no crime in liim, in him who feareth God. Therefore fear God, and know that imto him ye shall be gathered. There is a man who causeth thee to marvel^ by his speech concerning tliis present life, and calleth God to witness that which is in his heart, yet he is most intent in opposing thee; and when he tumeth away from thee, he hasteth to act corruptly in the earth, and to destroy that which is sown, and springeth up:® but God loveth not corrupt doing. And if one say unto him, Fear God ; pride seizeth him, together with wickedness ; but hell shall be his reward, and an unhappy couch shall it be. There is also a man who selleth his soul for the sake of those things which are pleasing unto God;^ and God is gracious unto Ji is servants. true believers, enter into the true religion wholly, and follow not the stej)s of Satan, for he is your open enemy. If ye have slipped after the declarations of our will have come unto you, know that God is mighty and wise. Do tJie infidels expect less than that God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds, and the angels also? but the thing is decreed, and to God shall all tilings return. Ask the children of Israel how many evident signs we have showed them; and whoever shall change the gi-tice of God after it shall have come unto him, verily God will be severe in punishing him. The present life waa ordained for those who believe not,* and they laugh the faithful to scorn; but they who fear God shall be above them, on the day of the resur- rection : for God is bountiful unto whom he pleaseth without measure. Mankind was of one faith, and God sent prophets bearing good tidings, and denouncing threats, and sent down -with them the scripture in *• For ho will judge all creatures, says Jallalo'ddin, in the space of half a day. • 1. e. Three days after slaying the sacrifices. "1 This person was al Akhnas Ebn Slioraik, a fair-spoken dissembler, who sworo that he believed in Mohammed, and pretended to be one of his friends, and to con- temn this world. But God here reveals to the prophet his hypocrisy and wicked- ness.' • Setting fire to his neighbour's corn, and killing his asses by night.® ' The person here meant was one Soheib, who being persecuted by the idolaters of Mecca, forsook all he had. and fled to Medina.' • "The life of this world is strewed with flowers for the unbelievers. They make a scoff of the faithful. Those who have the fear of the Lord shall be raised above them at the day of resurrection. God dispenseth as he pleaseth his innumer- able gifts."— 5af(n-y." 7 Jallalo'ddin. ' Idem. » Idem. CHAP. ir. AL KOKAN. 25 truth, that it miglit judge between men of that concerning which they disagreed : and none disagreed concerDing it, except those to whom the same scriptures were delivered, after the declarations of God's wUl had come unto them, out of envy among themselves. And God directed those who believed, to that truth concerning which they disagreed, by his will : for God directeth whom he pleaseth into the right way. Did ye think ye should enter paradise, when as yet no such thing had happened unto you, as hath happened unto those who have been before you ? They suffered calamity, and tribulation, and were afflicted ; so that the apostle, and they who believed with him, said, When will the help of God come ? Is not the help of God nigh ? They will ask thee what they shall bestow in alms : Answer, The good which ye bestow, let it be given to parents, and kindred, and orphans, and the poor, and the stranger. Whatsoever good ye do, God knoweth it. War is enjoined you against the Infidels; but this is hateful unto you : yet perchance ye hate a thing which is better for you, and perchance ye love a thing which is worse for you : but God knoweth and ye know not. They will ask thee concerning the sacred month, whether they may war therein : Answer, To war therein is grievous ; but to obstruct the way of God, and infidelity towards him, and to keep men from the holy temple, and to drive out his people from thence, is more grievous in the sight of God, and the temptation to idolatry is more grievous than to kill in the sacred months. They will not cease to war against you, until they turn you from your religion, if they be able : but whoever among you shall turn back from his religion, and die an infidel, their works shall be vain in this world, and the next ; they shall be the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein for ever. But they who believe, and who fly for the sake of religion, and fight in God's cause, they shall hope for the mercy of God ; for God is gracious and mer- ciful. They will ask thee concerning wine^ and lots :^ Answer, In both there is great sin, and also some things of use unto men ;^ but their sinful- ness is greater than their use. They will ask thee also what they shall bestow in alms : Answer, What ye have to spare. Thus God showeth his signs unto you, that peradventure ye might seriously think of this present world, and of the next. They will also ask thee concerning orphans : Answer, To deal righteously with them is best ; and if ye intermeddle with the management of what belongs to them, do them no wrong ; they are your brethren : God knoweth the corrupt dealer from the righteous ; e Under the name of wine all sorts of strong and inebriating liquors are com- prehended.i ^ The original word, al Meiser, properly signifies a particular game performed with arrows, and much in use with the pagan Arabs. But by lots we are here to understand all games whatsoever, which are subject to chance or hazard, as dice, cards, Sec? i From these words some suppose that only drinking to excess, and to frequent gaming are prohibited.^ And the moderate use of wine they also think is allowed by these words of the 16th chapter, And of the fruits of palm-trees and grapes ye obtain inebriating drink, and also good nourishment. But the more received opinion is, that both drinking wine or other strong liquors in any quantity, and playing at any game of chance, are absolutely forbidden.* ^ See the Prelim, Disc. sect. v. 2 g^e ibid. ^ Y'ldiQ Jallalo'ddiu et al Zamakhshari. * See the Prelim. Disc, ubi sup 26 AL KORAN. CHAP. ii. and if GoD please, he will surely ili-^tress you,^ for GoD is mighty and wise. Marry not u\>ui^n ivho are idohiters, until they believe : Terily a maid-servant who believeth, is better than an idolatress, although she please you ffiare. And give not women who believe in mairiage to the idolaters, until they believe : for verily a servant, who is a true believer, is better than an idolater, though he please you more. They invite unto fiell fire, but God inviteth unto paradise and pardon through his will, and declareth his signs unto men, that they may remember. They will ask thee also concerning the courses of women : Answer, They are a pollution : therefore separate yourselves from women in their courses, and go not near them, until they be cleansed. But when they are cleansed, go in unto them as God hath commanded you,' for God loveth those who rei>ent, and loveth those who ai-e clean. Your wives are your tillage; go in therefore unto your tillage in what manner soever ye will :™ and do first some act that may he projitahh unto your souls;" and fear God, and know that ye must meet him ; and bear good tidings unto the faithful. Make not God the object of your oaths," that ye will deal justly, and be devout, and make peace among men ;P for God is he who heareth and knoweth. God will not punish you for an inconsiderate word** in your oaths ; but he will punish you for that which your hearts have assented uuto : GoD is merciful and gracious. They who vow to abstain from their wives, are aUoiced to wait four months :^ but if they go back /ram tJieir voio, verily God is gracious and merciful ;" and if they resolve on a divorce, God is he who heareth and knoweth. The women tcho are divorced shall wait con- cerning themselves until thoy have their coui'ses thrice,* and it shall not be k viz. By his curse, which will certainly bring to nothing what ye shall wrong the orphans of. ' But not while they have their courses, nor by using preposterous venery.' ■■ That is, in any posture ; either standing, sitting, lying, forwards, or back- wards. And this i)assa<;e, it is said, was revealed to answer the Jews, who pre- tended that if a man lay with liis wife backwards, he would get a more witty child." It has been imaj:ineei*son shall be obliged beyond his ability. A mother shall not be comi)elled to what is unreasonable on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child. And the heir of the father shall be obliged to do in like manner. But if they chose to wean the child before the end of two years, by common consent, and on mutual consideration, it shall be no crime in them. And if ye hav« a mind to provide a nurse for your children, it shall be no crime in you, in case ye fully ix\v what ye offer her, according to that which is just. And fear God, and know that God seeth whatsoever ye do. Such of you as die, and leave wives, their wives must wait concerning themselves four months and ten days,'^ and when they shall have fulfilled their term, it shall be no crime in you, for that which they shall do with themselves,^ according to what is reasonable. God well knoweth that which ye do. And it shall be no crime in you, whether ye make public overtures of marriage unto such women, within tJie said four months and ten days, or whether ye conceal such your designs in your minds : God knoweth that ye will remember them.* But make no promise unto them privately, unless ye sj^eak honourable words; and resolve not on the knot of marriage until the j)rescribed time be accomplished; and know that God knoweth that which is in your minds, therefore beware of him, and know that GoD is gi^acious and merciful. It shall be no crime in you, if ye divorce your wives, so long as ye have not touched them, nor settled any dowry on them. Ajid provide for them (he who is at his ease must provide according to his circumstances, and he who is straitened according to his circumstances) necessaries, according to what shall be reasonable. This is a duty incumbent on the righteous. But if ye divorce them before ye have touched them, and have already settled a dowry on them, ye shall give them half of what ye have settled, unless they release any part, or he release part in whose hand the knot of marriage is;*' and if ye release tlie wlwle, it will approach nearer unto piety. And not forget libe- rality among you, for God seeth that which ye do. Carefully observe the a>ppointed prayers, and the middle prayer,^ and be assiduous tlierein, with devotion towards God. But if ye fear any danger, pray on foot or on * That is to sar, before they marry again ; and this not only for decency sake, but that it may be known whether tlicy be with child by the deceased or not. *» That is, if they leave off' their mourning weeds, and look out for new husbands. * " The desire of marrying a wife, whether you show it openly, or conceal it in your own breasts, shall not render you guilty in the sight of God. He knoweth that ye cannot prevent yourselves from thinking of women; but make to them no promise in secret, unless ye veil your love in decorous language." — Savary. <> 1. e. Unless the wife agree to take less than half her dowry, or unless the husband be so generous as to give her more than half, or the whole ; which is here approved of as most commendable. «! Yahya interprets this from a tradition of ]kIoharamed, who being asked which was the middle pray «r, answered, The evening prayer, which was instituted by the prophet Solomon. But Jallalo'ddin allows a greater latitude, and supposes it may De the afternoon prayer, the morning prayer, the noon prayer, or any other. CHAP. II. AL KORA^. 29 horseback; and when ye are safe remember God, how he hath taught you what as yet ye knew not. And such of you as shall die and leave wives, ought to bequeath their wives a year's maintenance, without patting them out of their houses : but if they go out voluntarily, it shall be no crime in you, for that which they shall do with themselves, according to what shall be reasonable; God is mighty and wise. And unto those who are divorced, a reasonable provision is also due; this is a duty incumbent on those who fear God. Thus God declareth his signs unto you, that ye may understand. Hast thou not considered those, who left their habitations, (and they were thousands) for fear of death ?® And God said unto them, Die; then he restored them to life, for God is gracious towards mankind; but the greater part of men do not give thanks. Fight for the religion of God, and know that God is he who heareth and knoweth. Who is he that will lend unto God on good usury 1^ verily he will double it unto him manifold ; for God contracteth and extendeth his hand as he pleaseth, and to him shall ye return. Hast thou not considered the assembly of the children of Israel, after the time of Moses ; when they said unto their prophet Samuel, Set a king over us, that we may fight for the religion of God. The prophet answered,* If ye are enjoined to go to war, will ye be near refusing to fight ? They answered. And what should ail us that we should not fight for the religion of God, seeing we are dispossessed of our habitations, and deprived of our children 1 But when they were enjoined to go to war, they turned back, except a few of them ': and God knew the ungodly. And their prophet said unto them. Verily God hath set Talut,^ king over you : they answered, How shall he reign over us, seeing we are more worthy of the kingdom than he, neither is he pos- sessed of great riches? Samuel said Verily God hath chosen him before you, and hath caused him to increase in knowledge and stature, t for * These were some of the children of Israel, who abandoned their dwellings be- cause of a pestilence; or, as others say, to avoid serving in a religious war: but as they fled, God struck them all dead in a certain valley. About eight days or more after, when their bodies were corrupted, the prophet Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, happening to pass that way, at the sight of their bones, wept; whereupon God said to him, Call to them, O Ezekiel, and I will restore them to life. And accordingly on the prophet's call they all arose, and lived several years after ; but they re- tained the colour and stench of dead corpses, as long as they lived, and the clothes they wore changed as black as pitch ; which qualities they transmitted to their posterity .2 As to the number of these Israelites, the commentators are not agreed, they who reckon least say they' were 3000, and they who reckon most, 70,000. This story seems to have been taken from Ezekiel's vision of the resurrection of dry bones,' Some of the Mohammedan writers will have Ezekiel to have been one of the judges of Israel, and to have succeeded Othoniel, the son of Caleb. They also call this prophet Ebn al ajuz, or the son of the old woman; because they say his mother obtained him by her prayers in her old age.* ^ viz. By contributing towards the establishment of his true religion. ^ ♦ " Will you be ready to go forth to fight (said the prophet to them) when the time shall be come? And who, replied they, could prevent us from marching under the banner of the faith ? " — Savary. s So the Mohammedans name Saul. t "The Lord, replied Samuel, hath chosen him to be your leader. He hath enlightened his mind, and strengthened his arm." — Savary. 2 Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, Abu'lfeda, &c. » Ezek. xxxvii. 1—10. * Al Thalabi, Abu Ishak, &c. 30 AL KORAN. cn.vp. ir. God givcth his kiugdom uuto whom he pleaseth; Gk)D Is bounteous aud viiie. And their prophet said unto them, Verily the sign of his kingdom shall be, that the ark shall come uuto you :^ therein shall be ti-anquillity from your Lord,* and the relics^ which have been left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron; the angels shall bring it. Verily this shall be a sign unto you, if ye believe. And when Talut departed with his soldiers he said, Verily God will prove you by the river : for he who drinketh thereof shall not be on my side (but he who shall not taste thereof he shall be on my side), except he who drinketh a diuught out of his hand. And they drank thereof, except a few of them.^ And when they had passed the ricer, he and those who believed with him, they said, We have no strength to-day, against Jalut°^ and his forces. But they who considered that they should meet God at the resurrection^ said, How often hath a small army discomfited a great one, by the will of God ! and GtOD is with those who patiently persevere. And when they went forth to battle against Jalut and his forces, they said, O Lord, pour on us patience, and confirm our feet, and help us against the unbelieving people. Therefore they discomSted them, by the will of God, and David slew Jalut. And God gave him the kingdom and wisdom, and taught him his will;" and if God had not prevented men, the one by the other, verily the earth had been corrupted : but God is beneficent towards his creatures. These are the signs of God : we rehearse them unto thee with truth, and thou art surely one of those who have been sent by God. [• III,] These are the apostles; we have preferred some of them before others; some of them hath God spoken unto, and hath exalted the degree of others of them. And we gave unto Jesus the son of Mary mani- fest signs, and strengthened him with the Iioly spirit.® And if God had pleased, they who came after those apjdles would not have con- ^ This ark, says Jallalo'ddin, contained the images of the prophets, and was sent down from heaven to Adam, and at length came to the Israelites, who put preat confidence therein, and continually carried it in the front of their army, till it was taken by the Amalekites. But on this occasion the angels brought it back, in the sight of all the people, and placed it at the feet of Taliit, who was there- upon unanimously acknowledged for their king. This relation seems to have arisen from some imperfect tradition of the taking and sending back the ark by the Philistiues.* ' That is, because of the great confidence the Israelites placed in it, having won several battles by its miraculous assistance. I imagine, however, that the Arabic word S'lkinat which signifies tranquillity or securitu of mind, and is so understood by the commentators, may not improbably mean the divine presence or glory, which used to appear on the ark, and which the Jews expressed by the same word Shechinah. ^ These were the shoes and rod of Moses, the mitre of Aaron, a pot of manna, and the broken pieces of the two tables of the law.* ' The number of those who drank out of their hands was about 313.'' It seems thht Mohammed has here confounded Saul with Gideon, who, by the divine direc- tion, took with him against the Midianites such of his army only as lapped water out of their hands, which were 300 men.^ ' " Or Goliah. ■ Or ichat he pleased to teach him. Yahya most rationally understands hereby the divine revelations which David received from God; but Jallalo'ddin the art of making coats of mail (which the Mohammedans believe was that prophet's pectdiar trade) and the knowledge of the language of birds. • See before, p. 12, Note k. • 1 Sam. iv. r. and vi. « Jallalo'ddin. ' Idem. Tahya. ■ Judges vii. CnAP.n. AL KORAN. 31 tended among themselves, after manifest signs had been shown unto them. But they fell to variance ; therefore some of them believed, and some of them believed not; and if God had so pleased, they would not have contended among themselves, but God doth what he will. O true be- lievers, give alms of that which we have bestowed unto you, before the day Cometh wherein there shall be no merchandising, nor friendship, nor inter- cession. The infidels are unjust doers. God! there is no God but he;^^ the living, the self-subsisting : neither slumber nor sleep seizeth him ; to him helongeth whatsoever is in heaven, and on earth. Who is he that can intercede with him, but through his good pleasure*? He knoweth that which is past, and that which is to come unto them, and they shall not compre- hend any thing of his knowledge, but so far as he pleaseth. His throne is extended over heaven and earth,^ and the preservation of both is no burden unto him. He is the high, the mighty. Let there be no violence in religion.^ Now is right direction manifestly distinguished from deceit : whoever therefore shall deny Tagut,® and believe in God, he shall surely take hold on a strong handle, which shall not be broken ; God is he who heareth and seeth. God is the patron of those who believe; he shall lead them out of darkness into light: but as to those who believe not, their patrons are Tagut; they shall lead tliem from the light into darkness; they shall be the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein for ever. Hast thou not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his LoRD,^ because God had given him the kingdom? When Abraham said, My Lord is he who giveth life, and killeth : he answered, I give life, and I kill. Abraham said, "Verily God bringeth the sun from the east, now do thou bring it from the west. Whereupon the infidel was confounded; for God directeth not the ungodly people. Or hast thou not considered how he behaved who passed by a city which had been destroyed, even to her founda- tions?" He said. How shall God quicken this city, after she hath been p The following seven lines contain a magnificent description of the divine majesty and providence; but it must not be supposed the translation comes up to the dignity of the original. This passage is justly admired by the Mohammedans, who recite it in their prayers ; and some of them wear it about them, engraved on an agate or other precious stone. ^ q This throne, in Arabic called Corsi, is by the Mohammedans supposed to be God's tribunal, or seat of justice ; being placed under that other called al Arsh, which they say is his imperial throne. The Corsi allegorically signifies the divine providence, which sustains and governs the heaven and the earth, and is infinitely above human comprehension.^ "■ This passage was particularly directed to some of Mohammed's first proselytes, who having sons that had been brought up in idolatiy or Judaism, would oblige them to embrace Mohammedism by force.^ • This word properly signifies an idol, or whatever is worshipped besides God; particularly the two idols of the Meccans, Allat and al Uzza ; and also the devil, or any seducer. ♦This was Nimrod ; M^ho, as the commentators say, to prove his power of life and death by ocular demonstration, caused two men to be brought before him at the same time, one of whom he slew, and saved the other alive. As to this tyrant's persecution of Abraham, see chap. 21, and the notes thereon. " The person here meant was Ozair or Ezra, who riding on an ass by the ruins of Jerusalem, after it had been destroyed by the Chaldeans, doubted in his mind by what means God could raise the city and its inhabitants again; whereupon Go<\ ' Vide Bobov. de Free. Moham. p. 5, et Reland. Dissert, de Gemmis Arab. pp. 235, 239. 1 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Corsi. 2 Jallalo'ddin. ^-^ AL KOKAK. CUAI-. XI. dead ? And GoD caused him to die for an hundred years, and aflerw aids raised him to life. And God said, How long hast thou tamed here? He answered, A day, or ]>art of a day. God said, Xay, thou hast tarried here a hundred years. Now look on thy food and thy di-ink, they are not yet corrupted ; and look on thine ass : and this have ice done that we might make thee a sign unto mem And look on the bones of thine ass, how we raise them, and aflen^'ards clothe them with flesh. And when this was shown unto him, he said, I know that God is able to do all things. And when Abraham s;ud, O Lord, show me how thou wilt raise the dead ;^ God said, Dost thuu not yet believe ? He answered, Yea, but / ask this that my heart may rest at ease. God said, take therefore four bii-ds, and diWde them;^ then lay a part of them on every mountain; then call them, and they shall come s^viftly unto thee : and know that God is mighty and -sWse. Tlie similitude of those who lay out their substance for advancing the religion of God, is as a grain of corn wliich produceth seven ears, and in every ear an hundred grains; for God giveth twofold unto whom he pleaseth : God is bounteous and wise. They who lay out their substance for the religion of God, and afterwards follow not what they have so laid out by reproaches or mischief,^ they shall have their reward with their Lord ; upon them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved- A fair speech, and to forgive,* is better than alms followed by mischief God is rich and merciful. O true believers, make not your alms of none effect by reproach- ing, or mischief, as he v.ho layeth out what he hath to appear imto men to men to giv': alms, and bulieveth not in God and the last day. The like- ness of such a one is as a flint covered with earth, on wliich a ^'iolent rain falleth, and leaveth it hard. They cannot prosper in any thing wliicli they have gained, for God directeth not the unbelieving people. And the caused him to die, and he remained in that condition 100 years ; at the end of which God restored him to life, and he found a basket of figs and a cruise of wine he had vrith him, not in the least spoiled or corrupted, but his ass was dead, the bones only remaining; and these, while the prophet looked on, were raised and clothed with flt-sh, becoming an ass again, which being inspired with life, began immediately to bray.' This apocryphal story may perhaps have taken its rise from Nchemiah's viewing of the ruins of Jerusalem.* » The occasion of this request of Abraham is said to have been on a doubt pro- posed to him by the devil, in human form, how it was possible for the several parts of the corps' of a man which lay on the sea-shore, and had been partly devoured by the wild beasts, the birds, and the fish, to be brought together at the resurrection.* y These birds, according to the commentators, were an eagle (a dove, say others), a peacock, a raven, and a cock ; which Abraham cut to pieces, and mingled their riesh and feathers together, or, as some tell us, pounded all in a mortar, and diviiling the mass into four parts, laid them on so many mountains, but kept the heads, which he had preserved whole, in his hand. Then he called them each by their name, and immediately one part flew to the other, till they all recovered their first shape, and then came to be joined to their respective heads.* This seems to be taken from Abraham's sacrifice of birds mentioned by Moses,' with some additional circumstances. ■ t. e. Either by reproaching the person whom they have relieved, with what they have done for him ; or by exposing his poverty to his prejudice.^ ♦ " Humanity in word's and actions is better than alms after injustice." — Savary. * Jallalo'ddin, Yahva, &c. See LOIerbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Ozair. * Nehem. ii. 12, Ac. i See li'llerbclot, p. 13. «» Jallaloddin. txc D' Uerbelot, ubi supra. ^ Cjen. XV. 8 Jallalo'ddin. CHAi-. II. AL KOKAK. 33 likeness of those wlio lay out tlieir substance from a desii-e to please God, and for an establishment for their souls, is as a garden on a hill, on which a violent rainfalleth, and it bringeth forth its fruits twofold ; and if a violent rain falleth not on it, yet the dew falleth thereon : and God seeth that wliich ye do. Doth any of you desire to have a garden of palm trees and vines,* through which rivers flow, wherein he may have all kinds q/fraits, and that he may attain to old age, and have a weak offspring? then a violent fiery wind shall strike it, so that it shall be burned.* Thus God declareth his signs unto you, that ye may consider. tine believers, bestow alms of the good things which ye have gained, and of that which we have produced for you out of the earth, and choose not the bad thereof, to give it in alms, such as ye would not accept yourselves, otherwise than by connivance : ^ and know that God is rich and worthy to be praised. The devil threateneth you with poverty, and commandeth you filthy covet- ousnessj but God promiseth you pardon from himself and abundance: God is bounteous and wise. He giveth wisdom unto whom he pleaseth ; and he unto whom wisdom is given hath received much good : but none will consider, except the wise of heart. And whatever alms ye shall give, or whatever vow ye shall vow, verily God knoweth it j but the ungodly shall have none to help them. If ye make your alms to appear, it is well ; but if ye conceal them, and give them unto the poor, this will be better for you, and will atone for your sins : and God is well informed of that wliich ye do. The direction of them belongeth not unto thee ; but God directeth whom he pleaseth. The good that ye shall give in alms shall redound unto yourselves ; and ye shall not give unless out of desire of seeing the face of God." And what good thing ye shall give in alms, it shall be repaid you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly; unto the poor who are wholly em- ployed in fighting for the religion of God, and cannot go to and fro on the earth ; whom the ignorant man thinketh rich, because of their modesty : thou shalt know them by this mark, they ask not men with importunity ; and what good ye shall give in alms, verily God knoweth it. They who distribute alms of their substance night and day, in private and in public, shall have their reward with the Lord; on them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved. They who devour usury shall not ariseyrom the dead, but as he ariseth whom Satan hath infected by a touch i*^ this shall happen to tl^em because they say. Truly selling is but as usury : and * This garden is an emblem of alms given out of hypocrisy, or attended with re- proaches, which perish, and will be of no service hereafter to the giver.^ * "Who among you would desire to possess a garden planted with palm trees, adorned with vines, intersected by rivulets, and enriched with all the fruits of the earth ; and to be then seized by old age, to leave infants in the cradle, and to see this garden devastated by a whirlwind of flame ? Thus doth God reveal his mysteries unto you, that you may turn your thoughts unto him." — Savary. ^ That is, on having some amends made by the seller of such goods, either by abatement of the price, or giving something else to the buyer to make up the value. •^ i. e. For the sake of a reward hereafter, and not for any worldly consideration. ^ ^ viz. Like demoniacs or possessed persons, that is, in great horror and distraction of mind, and convulsive agitation of body. 9 Jallalo'ddin. i Idem. 34 AL KOILVN. CHAP. n. yet God liath permitted selling and forbidden usury. He therefore who, ■when there cometh unto him an admonition from his Lord, abstaineth from u^ury for the JKiture, shall have what is past fonjiven him, and his affair belongeth unto God. But whoever retumeth to usury, they shall be the companions ofliell fire, they shall continue therein for ever. God shall take his blessing from usury, and shall increase alms : for God loveth no infidel, or ungodly persou. But they who believe, and do that w^hich is right, and observe tlie stated times of prayer, and pay their legal alms, they shall have their reward ^Wth their Lord : there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved- true believers, feai' God, and remit that which remaineth of usury,' if ye really believe; but if ye do it not, hearken unto war, ichich is declared against you from GoD and his apostle : yet if ye rei)ent, ye shall have the capital of your money. Deal not un- justly with others, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly. K there be any debtor under a difficulty of paying his debt, let his creditor wait till it bo easy for him to do it; but if ye remit it as alms, it will be better for you, if ye knew it. And fear the day wherein ye shall return unto God ; then shall eveiy soul be paid what it hath gained, and they shall not be treated unjustly. O true believers, when ye bind yourselves one to the other in a debt for a certain time, vrvitc it down ; and let a writer wi'ite between you according to justice, and let not the writer refuse writing according to what God hath taught him ; but let him write, and let him who oweth the debt dictate, and let him fear God his Lord, and not diminish aught thereof. But if he who oweth the debt be foolish, or weak, or be not able to dictate himself let his agent ^ dictate according to equity; and call to witness two witnesses of your neiglthouring men ; but if there be not two men, let there be a man and two women of those whom ye shall choose for witnesses : if one of those women should mistake, the other of them will cause her to recollect. And the witnesses shall not refuse, whensoever they shall be called. And disdain not to write it down, be it a large debt, or be it a small one, untd its time of payment: this will be more just in the sight of God, and more right for bearing witness, and more easy, that ye may not doubt. But if it be a present bargain which ye transact between your- selves, it shall be no crime lq you, if ye write it not down. And take witnesses when ye sell one to the other, and let no harm be done to the writer, nor to the witness; xchich if ye do, it will surely be injustice in you : and fear God, and God will instruct you, for God knoweth all things. And if ye be on a journey, and find no writer, let pledges be taken : but if one of you trust the other, let him who is trusted return what he is trusted with, and fear God his Lord. And conceal not the testimony, for he who concealeth it hath surely a wicked heart : God knoweth that which ye do. Whatever is in heaven and on earth is God's ; and whether ye manifest • Or the interest due before usury was prohibited. For this some of Mohammed'i followers exacted of their debtors, supposinp they lawfully might.' ' Whoever manages bis affairs, whether his father, heir, guardian, or interpreter.' Jallalo'ddin. * Idem. CHAP. m. AL KORAN. 35 that wliich is in your minds, or conceal it, God will call you to account for it, and will forgive whom he pleaseth, and will punish whom he pleaseth ; for God is almighty. The apostle believeth in that which hath been sent down unto him from his Lord, and the faithful also. Every one of them believeth in God, and his angels, and his scriptures, and his apostles : we make no distinction at all between his apostles.^ And they say, We have heard, and do obey : we implore thy mercy, O Lord, for unto thee must we return. God will not force any soul beyond its capacity : it shall have the good which it gaineth, and it shall suffer the evil which it gaineth. O Lord, punish us not, if we forget, or act sinfully : Lord, lay not on us a burden like that which thou hast laid on those who have been before us ;^ neither make us, Lord, to bear what we have not strength to bear^ but be favourable unto us, and spare us, and be merciful unto us. Thou art our patron, help us therefore against the unbelieving nations. CHAPTER III. INTITLED, THE FAMILY OF IMRAM;» REVEALIJD AT MEDINA IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. Al. M.^ There is no God but God, the living, the self-subsisting : he hath sent down unto thee the book of the Kordn with truth, confinning that which was revealed before it j for he had formerly sent down the law, and the gospel, a direction unto men ; and he had also sent down the dis- tinction between good and evil. Yerily those who believe not the signs of God shall suffer a grievous punishment ; for God is mighty, able to revenge. Surely nothing is hidden from God, of that which is on earth, or in heaven : it is he who formeth you in the wombs, as he pleaseth ; there is no God but he, the mighty, the wise. It is he who hath sent down unto thee the book, wherein are some verses clear to be under- stood, they are the foundation of the book ; and others are parabolical.^ But they whose hearts are perverse will follow that which is parabolical therein, out of love of schism, and a desire of the interpretation thereof; e But this, say the Mohammedans, the Jews do, who receive Moses, but reject Jesus ; and the Christians, who receive both those prophets, but reject Mohammed.* ^ That is, on the Jews, who, as the commentators tell us, were ordered to kill a man by way of atonement, to give one-fourth of their substance in alms, and to cut oiF an unclean ulcerous part,^ and were forbidden to eat fat, or animals that divide the hoof, and were obliged to observe the sabbath, and other particulars wherein the Mohammedans are at liberty.^ ' This name is given in the Koran to the father of the Virgin Mary. See below, p. 39. ^ For the meaning of these letters, the reader is referred to the Preliminary Dis- conrse, sect. iii. 1 This passage is translated according to the exposition of al Zamakhshari and Beidawi, which seems to be the truest. The contents of the Koran are here distinguished into such passages as aie to * Jallalo'ddin. * Idem. « Yahya. 36 AL KORAN. CUAP. iii. yet none knoweth the interpretation thereof, except Gou. But they who arc well grounded in the knowledge say, We believe therein, the whole is from our Lord ; and none will consider exce])t the prudent.* O Lord, cause not our hearts to swerve y/*o//i truth, after thou hast directed us : and give us from thee mercy, for thou art he who giveth. O Lord, thou shalt surely gather mankind together, unto a day of resurrection : there is no doubt of it, for God will not be contrary to the promise. As for the infi- dels, their wealth shall not profit them any thing, nor their children, against God : they shall be the fuel of hell fire. According to the wont of the people of Pharaoh, and of those who went before them,, they charged our signs with a lie ; but God caught them in their wickedness, and God is severe in punishing. Say unto those who believe not, Ye shall be over- come, and thrown together into hell ; and an unhappy couch sliall it he. Ye have already had a miracle sJiown you in two armies, which at- tacked each other :™ one army fought for God's true religion, but the other were infidels ; they saw the faithful twice as many as themselves in tJieir eye-sight ; for God strengtheneth with his help whom he pleaseth. Surely herein was an example unto men of understanding. The love and eager desire of wives, and children, and sums heaped up of gold and silver, and excellent hoi-ses, and cattle, and land, is prepared for men : this is the provision of the present life;t but unto God shall be the most excellent return. Say, Shall I declare unto you better things than this ? For those be taken in the literal sense, and such .is require a figurative acceptation. The former being plain and obvious to be understood, compose the fundamental part, or, as the original expresses it, the mother of the book, and contain the principal doctrines and precepts ; agreeably to, and consistently with which, those passaf;e3 which are wrapt up in metaphors, and delivered in enigmatical, allegorical style, are always to be interpreted." * " This languaf^e is that of tlic wi:"e." — Savanj. " The sign or miracle here meant was the victory gained by Mohammed in the second year of the Ilcjra, over the idolatrous Meccans, headed by Abu Sofian, ia the valley of Bedr, which is situate near the sea between Mecca and Mcdin.a. Mo- hammed's forces consisted of no more than three hundred and nineteen men, but the enemies' army of near a thousand ; notwithstanding which odds, he put them to flight, having killed seventy of the principal Koreish, and taken as many pri- soners, with the loss of only fourteen of his own men.^ This was the first victory obtained by the prophet, and though it may seem no very considerable action, yet it was of great advanta;:e to him, and the foundation of all his future power and success. For which reason it is famous in the Arabian history, and more than once vaunted in the Koran, ^ as an effect of the divine assistance. The rairaclo, it is said, consisted in three thinj^s : 1. Mohammed, by the direction of the angel Gabriel, took a handful of gravel and threw it towards the enemy in the attack, Haying, Maji their faces be confounded; whereupon they immediately turned their backs and fled. lint, thoui,'h the prophet seemingly threw the gravel himself, yet it is told in the Koran,* that it was not he, but (Jod, who throw it; that is to say, by the ministry of his angel. 2. The Mohammedan troops seemed to the Infidels to be twice as many in number as themselves, which greatly discouraged them. And, 3. God sent down to their assistance first a thousand, and afterwards three thousand angels, led by Gabriel, mounted on his horse Ilai/.ilm ; and according to the Koran,' these celestial auxiliaries really did all the execution, though Moham- med's men imagined themselves did it, and fought stoutly at the same time. f •' Such are the enjoyments of this earthly life ; but the asylum which is prepared by God ia far more delectable." — Savary. ^ See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iii. ^ See Elmacin. j). 6. Hot linger. Hist. Orient, 1. 2, c. 4. Abulfed. Vit. Moham p. 66, &c. Prideaux's Life of Moham, p. 71, &c. " See this chap, below, and chaps. 8 and 32. i Chap. 8, not far from the beginning, *lbid. cuAP. m. AL KORAN. 37 who are devout are prepared with their Lord gardens through which rivers flow; therein shall they continue for ever : and they shall enjoy wives free from impurity, and the favour of God ; for God regardeth his servants ; who say, O Lord, we do sincerely believe ; forgive us therefore our sins, and deliver us from the ])ain of hell fire : the patient, and the lovers of truth, and the devout, and the almsgivers, and those who ask pardon early in the morning. God hath borne witness that there is no God but he ; and the angels, and those who are endowed with wisdom, profess the same; who executeth righteousness; there is no God but he; the mighty, the wise. Verily the trtie religion in the sight of God is Islam j^ and they who had received the scriptures dissented not therefrom, until after the knowledge of God's unity had come unto them, out of envy among themselves; but whosoever believeth not in the signs of God, verily God will be swift in bringing him to account. If they dispute with thee, say, I have resigned myself unto God, and he who folio weth me doth the same : and say unto them who have received the scriptures, and to the ignorant," Do ye profess the religion of Islam ? now if they embrace Islam, they are surely directed ; but if they turn their backs, verily unto thee hdongeth preaching only; for God regardeth his servants. And unto those who believe not in the signs of God, and slay the pi'ophets without a cause, and put those men to death who teach justice; denounce unto them a painful punishment. These are they whose works perish in this world, and in that which is to come ; and they shall have none to help them. Hast thou not observed those unto whom part of the scripture was given 1 ^ They were called unto the book of God, that it might judge between them ; ^ then some of them turned their backs, and retired afar off. This they did n The proper name of the Mohammedan religion, which signifies the resigning or devoting one's self entirely to God, and his service. This they say is the religion which all the prophets were sent to teach, being founded on the unity of God.' i. e. The pagan Arabs, who had no knowledge of the scriptures.* P That is, the Jews. 1 This passage was revealed on occasion of a dispute Mohammed had with some Jews, which is differently related by the commentators. Al Beidawi says, that Mohammed going one day into a Jewish synagogue, Nairn Ebn Amru and al Hareth Ebn Zeid asked him what religion he was of? To which he answering, Of the religion of Abraham ; they replied, Abraham was a Jew; but on Mohammed's proposing that the Pentateuch might decide the question, they would by no means agree to it. But Jallalo'ddin tells us, That two persons of the Jewish religion having com- mitted adultery, their punishment was referred to IMohammed, who gave sentence that they should be stoned, according to the law of Moses. This the Jews refused to submit to, alleging there was no such command in the Pentateuch : but on Mo- hammed's appealing to the book, the said law was found therein. Whereupon the criminals were stoned, to the great mortification of the Jews. It is very remarkable that this law of Moses concerning the stoning of adulterers is mentioned in the New Testament ^ (though I know some dispute the authenticity of that whole passage), but it is not now to be found, either in the Hebrew or Samaritan Pentateuch, or in the Septuagint ; it being only said that such shall be put to death.^ This omission is insisted on by the Mohammedans as one instance of the corruption of the law of Moses by the Jews. It is also observable that there was a verse once extant in the Koran, commanding * Jallalo'ddin ; AT Beidawi. * lidera. * John viii. 5. ^ Lev. xx, 10. Sea "Whiston's Essay towards restoring the true Text of the Old Test. p. 99» 100. 38 AL KORAN. ciiAP. iii. because they said, the fire of hell shall by no means touch us, but for a certain number of days: *" and that which they had falsely devised hath deceived them in their religion. How then will it be icilh tJiem, when wo shall gather them together at the day of judgment,* of which there is no doubt ; and every soul shall be paid that which it hath gained, neither shall they be treated unjustly? Say, O God, who possessest the kingdom; thou givest the kingdom unto whom thou wilt, and thou takest away tho kingdom from whom thou wilt: thou cxaltest whom thou wilt, and thou humblest whom thou wilt : in thy hand is good, for thou art almighty. Thou makest the night to succeed the day : thou bringest forth the living out of the dead, and thou bringest forth the dead out of the living;' and providest food for whom thou wilt without meiisure. Let not the faithful take the infidels for their protectors, rather than the faithful: he who doth this shall not be protected of God at all; unless ye fear any danger from them: But God wameth you to beware of himself; for unto God must ye return. Say, Whether ye conceal that which is in your breasts, or whether ye declare it, God knoweth it ; for he knoweth what- ever is in heaven, and whatever is on earth : God is almighty. On the last day every soul shall find the good which it hath wrought, present; and the evil which it hath wrought, it shall wish that between itself and that were a wide distance: but God wameth you to beware of himself;* for God is gracious unto his servants. Say, If ye love God, follow me : then God shall love you, and forgive you your sins ; for God is gracious and merciful. Say, Obey God, and /iw apostle; but if ye go back, verily God loveth not the unbelievers. God hath surely chosen Adam, and Noali, and the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran" adulterers to be stoned ; and the commentators say the words only are abrogated, the sense or law still remaining in forcc.^ 'I.e. Forty; the time their forefathers worshipped the calf.^ Al Beidawi adds, that some of them pretended their punishment was to last but seven days, that is a day for every thousand years which they supposed the world was to endure ; and that they imagined they were to be so mildly dealt with, either by reason of the intercession of their fathers the prophets, or because God had promised Jacob, that his offspring should be punished but slightly. • The Mohammedans have a tradition, that the first banner of the infidels that shall be set up, on the day of judgment, will be that of the Jews ; and that God will first reproach them with their wickedness, over the heads of those who are present, and then order them to hell.® ' As a man from seed, and a bird from an Qg^:, and vice versa. * " The Lord exhorteth you to dread his anger. He looketh on his servants with a propitious eye." — Savary. " Or Amran, is the name of two several persons, according to the Mohammedan tradition. One was the father of Moses and Aaron ; and the other was the father of the Virgin Mary;' but he is called by some Christian writers Joachim. Tho commentators suppose the first, or rather both of them, to be meant in this place; however, the i>erson intended in the next passage, it is agreed, was the latter; who besides Mary the mother of Jesus, had also a son named Aaron,' and a sister named Isha (or Elizabeth), who married Zacharias, and was the mother of John the Baptist ; whence that prophet and Jesus are usually called by the Mohammedans The two sons of tlie aunt, or the cousins gerraan. From the identity of names it has been generally imagined by Christian writers* that 7 See the Prelim Disc sect. 3. « See before, p. 11. » Al IJcidawi, i Jal- lalo'ddin. ^ Al Zaniakhshari, al Beidawi. ' Koran, c. 19. * Vide Keland, de Kcl. Moh. p. 211. Marracc. in Ale. p. 115, &c. Pridcaux, Letter to tho Deists, p. l«o. CHAP. III. AL KORAN. 39 above the rest of the world ; a race descending the one from the other; God is he who heareth and knoweth. Rememher when the wife of ImraD* said, Lord, verily I have vowed unto thee that which is in my womb, to be dedicated to thy service:^ accept it therefore of me ; for then art he who heareth and knoweth. And when she was delivered of it, she said. Lord, verily I have brought forth a female (and God well knew what she had brought forth), and a male is not as a female,^* I have called her Mary ; and I commend her to thy protection, and also her issue, against Satan driven away with stones.* Therefore the Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance,^ and caused her to bear an excellent offspring. And the Koran here confounds Mary the mother of Jesus with Mary or Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron ; which intolerable anachronism, if it were certain, is suflScient of itself to destroy the pretended authority of this book. But though Mohammed may be supposed to have been ignorant enough in ancient history and chronology, to have committed so gross a blunder ; yet I do not see how it can be made out from the words of the Koran. For it does not follow, because two persons have the same name, and have each a father and brother who bare the same names, that they must therefore necessarily be the same person : besides, such a mistake is inconsistent with a number of other places in the Koran, whereby it manifestly appears that Mohammed well knew and asserted that Moses preceded Jesus several ages. And the commentators accordingly fail not to tell us, that there had passed about one thousand eight hundred years between Amran the father of Moses, and Amran the father of the Virgin Mary : they also make them the sons of different persons ; the first, they say, was the son of Yeshar, or Izhar (though he was really his brother)^ the son of Kahaih, the sou of Levi ; and the other was the son of Matthan,^ whose genealogy they trace, but in a very corrupt and imperfect manner, up to David, and thence to Adam.^ It must be observed, that though the Virgin Mary is called in the Koran^ the sister of Aaron, yet she is no where called the sister of Moses ; however some Moham- medan writers have imagined that the same individual Mary, the sister of Moses, was miraculously preserved alive from his time till that of Jesus Christ, purposely to become the mother of the latter.^ * The Imran here mentioned was the father of the Virgin Mary, and his wife's name was Hannah or Ann, the daughter of Fakudh, This woman, say the com- mentators, being aged, and barren, on seeing a bird feed her young ones, became very desirous of issue, and begged a child of God, promising to consecrate it to his service in the temple : whereupon she had a child, but it proved a daughter.i ^The Arabic word is free ; but here signifies particularly one that is free or de- tached from all worldly desires and occupations, and wholly devoted to God's service.^ ^ Because a female could not minister in the temple as a male could.s * " God knew to what she had given birth. Obvious characters distinguish the two sexes." — Savary. ^ * This expression alludes to a tradition, that Abraham, when the devil tempted him to disobey Godinnot sacrificing his son, drove the fiend away by throwing stones at him; in memory of which the Mohammedans, at the pilgrimage of Mecca, throw a certain number of stones at the devil, with certain ceremonies, in the valley of Mina.* It is not improbable that the pretended immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary is intimated in this passage. For according to a tradition of Mohammed, every per- son that comes into the world is touched at his birth by the devil, and therefore cries out, Mary and her son only excepted ; between whom and the evil spirit God placed a veil, so that his touch did not reach them.^ And for this reason, they say, neither of them were guilty of any sin, like the rest of the children of Adam ; ^ which peculiar grace they obtained by virtue of this recommendation of them by Hannah to God's protection. !> Though the child happened not to be a male, yet her mother presented her to the priests who had care of the temple, as one dedicated to God; and they having ^ Exod. vi. 18. « Al Zamakh. al Beidawi. 7 y'iHq Reland, ubi sup. D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient, p. 583. ^ chap. 19. » Vide Guadagnol, Apolog. pro Eel. Christ. contra Ahmed Ebn Zein al Abedin, p. 279. i Al Beidawi, al Thalabi. 2 Jallalo'ddin, al Zamakhshari. 3 Jallalo'ddin. * See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * Jallalo'ddin. Al Beidawi, ^ Kitada. 4J AL KORA^^ CHAP. rir. Zacharias tcoTc care of tlie child; wlienever Zacharias went into the chamber to her, he found provisions with her:*' and he said, O Maiy, whence hadst thou this 1 she answered, This is from God : for God provideth for whom lie pleaseth without measure.^ There Zacharias chilled on his Lord, and said, Lord, give me from thee a good offspring, for thou tilt the hearer of prayer. And tlie angels® called to him, while he stood praying in the chamber, saying, Verily God promiseth thee a son named John, wlio shall bear witness to the Word^ which cometh from God; an honourable person, chaste,^ and one of the righteous prophets. He answered. Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath overtaken me, ^ and my wife is barren ? The angd said, So God doth that which he pleaseth. Zacharias answered, Lord, give me a sign. The angd said, Thy sign shall be, that thou shalt speak unto no man* for three days, otherwise than by gesture ; remember thy Lord often, and praise him evening and moniiug. And when the angels said, O Mary, verily God hath chosen thee, and hath purified thee and hath chosen thee above all the women of the world : O Mary, be devout towards thy Lord, and wor- ship, and bow down with those who bow down. This is a secret history ; we reveal it unto thee, although thou wast not present with them when they threw in their rods to cast lots which of them should have the education of Mary ;^ neither wast thou with them, when they strove among them- selves. When the angels said ; O Mary, verily God sendeth thee good received her, she was committed to the care of Zacharias, as will be observed by and bye, and he built her an apartment in the temple, and supplied her with necessaries.' '<= The commentators say that none went into Mary's apartment but Zacharias himself, and that he locked seven doors upon her; yet he found she had always winter fruits in summer, and summer fruits in winter.^ •* There is a story of Fatcraa, Mohammed's daughter, that she once brought two loaves and a piece of flesh to her father, who returned them to her, and having called for her again, when she uncovered the dish, it Avas full of bread and meat; and on Mohammed's asking her whence she had it; she answered in the words of this pas- sage, This is from God; for Ood provideth for xchom he pleaseth without measure* NVhereupon he blessed God, who thus favoured her, as he had the most excellent of the daughters of Israel." • Though the word be in the plural, yet the commentators say it was the angel Gabriel only. The same is to be understood where it occurs in the following passages. ' That is Jesus ; who, al Beidawi says, is so called, because he was conceived by the word or command of God, without a father. K The original word signifies one who refrains not only from women, but from all other worldly delights and desires. Al Beidawi mentions a tradition, that during his childhood some boys invited him to play, but he refu.sed, saying that he was not created to play. •• Zacharias was then ninety-nine years ol»l, and his wife eighty-nine.^ ' Though he cuuld not speak to any body else, yet his tongue was at liberty to praise God ; as he is directed to do by the following words. ^ Wht-n Mary was first brought to the temple, the priests, because she was the daughter of one of their chiefs, disputed among themselves who should have the education of her. Zacharias insisted that he ought to be preferred, because he had married her aunt; but the others not consenting that it should be so, they agreed to decide the matter by casting of lots; whereupon twenty-seven of them went to the river Jordan, and threw in their rods (or arrows without heads or feathers, such as the Arabs used fostles'" answered, We u^l be the helpers of God ; we l>elieve in God, and do thou bear witness that we are ta-ue believers. O Lord, we believe in that which thou hast sent down, and we have followed thy apostle ; write us down therefore with those who bear witness o/hinu Aud the Jews devised a stratagem against him;^ but God devised a stratagem agaiji^t t/iem;i^ and God is the best deviser of <> Such as the eating of fish that have neither fins nor scales, the cawl and fat of animals, and camels' flesh, and to work on the sabbath. These things, say the com- mentators, being arbitrary institutions in the law of Moses, were abrogated by Jesus ; as several of the same kind instituted by the latter have been since abrogated by Mohammed.* * " God has given unto me the power of miracles."- -/S^avary. ' In Arabic al Hnwdriyum ; which word they derive from Hara, to he white, and suppose the apostles were so called either from the candour and sincerity of their minds, or because they were princes and wore white garments, or else because they were by trade fullers.^' According to which last opinion, their vocation is thus re- lated : That as Je?us passed by the sea side, he saw some fullers at work, and ac- costing them, said, Te cleanse these cloths, but cleanse not your hearts ; upon which they believed on him. But the true etymology seems to be frcrm the Ethiopic verb Ila'wyra, to go ; whence Hatvdrya signifies one that is sent, a messenger or apostle.* * I. e. They laid a design to take away his life. f " Th'? Jews were treacherous unto Jesus. God frustrated their treachery. Ho is more powerful tlian the deceivers." — Savary. t This stratagem of God's was the taking of Jesus up into heaven, and stamping his likeness on another person, who was apprehended and crucified in his stead. For it is the constant doctrine of the Mohammedans, that it was not Jesus himself who underwent that ignominious death, but somebody else in his shape an The commentators to explain this passage say, that Caab Ebn al Ashraf and Malec Ebn al Seif (tAvo Jews of Medina) advised their companions, when the Kebla was changed,^ to make as if they believed it was done by the divine direc- tion, and to pray towards the Caaba in the morning, but that in the evening they should pray as formerly towards the temple of Jerusalem ; that Mohammed's fol- lowers, imagining that the Jews were better judges of this matter than themselves, might imitate their example. But others say these were certain Jewish priests ot Khaibar, who directed some of their people to pretend in the morning that they had embraced Mohammedism, but in the close of the day to say that they had looked into their books of scripture, and consulted their Raljbins, and could not find that Mohammed was the person described and intended in the law ; by which trick they hoped to raise doubts in the minds of the Mohammedans.^ ^ As an instance of this, the commentators bring Abd'allah Ebn Salam, a Jew, very intimate with Mohammed,^ to whom one of the Koreish lent 1200 ounces of gold, which he very punctually paid at the time appointed.^ 1 Al Beidawi produces an example of such a piece of injustice in one Phineas Ebn Azura, a Jew, who borrowed a dinar, which is a gold coin worth about ten shil- lings, of a Koreishite, and afterwards had the conscience to deny it. But the person more directly struck at in this passage Avas the above-mentioned Caab Ebn al Ashraf, a most inveterate enemy of Mohammed and his religion, of whom Jallalo'ddin relates the same story as al Beidawi does of Phineas. This Caab after the battle of Bedr went to Mecca, and there, to excite the Koreish to revenge themselves, made and recited verses lamenting the death of those who w^cre slain in that battle, and reflecting very severely on IMohammed; and he afterwards returned to Medina, and had the boldness to repeat them publicly there also ; at which Mohammed was so exceedingly provoked, that he proscribed him, and sent a party of men to kill him, and he was circumvented and slain by Mo- hammed Ebn Moslema in the third year of the Hejra.^ Dr. Prideaux ^ has con- founded the Caab Ave are noAV speaking of, Avith another very different person of the same name, and a famous poet, but Avho Avas the son of Zohair, and no Jcav ; as a learned gentleman has already observed.^ In consequence of Avhich mistake, the doctor attributes what the Arabian historians wTite of the latter, to the former, and wrongly affirms that he Avas not put to death by Mohammed. Some of the commentators however suppose that in the former part of this pas- sage the Christians are intended, who, they say, are generally people of some honour and justice ; and in the latter part the Jcavs, Avho they think are more given to cheating and dishonesty .^ * See before, c. 2. p. 17. « Al Beidawi. '' See Prideaux's Life of Moham. p. 33.8 Al BeidfiAvi. Jallalo'ddin. ^ Al Jannabi. Elmacin. i Life of Moham. p. 78, &c. 2 Vide Gagnier, in Not. ad Abulfed. Vit. Mob. p. &l, et 122. 3 Al BcidaAvi. N 46 AL KORAN. CHAP. ni. they shall snflcr a grieyoiis punishment. And there ai-e certainly some of tluni who read the scrij»tiires perversely, that ye may think wluit t/ur/ rend to be really in the scriptui-es, yet it is not in the scripture; and they say, This is from God; but it is not from God: and they speak that which is false concerning God, against their own knowledge. It is not Jit for a man, that God should give him a hook of revelations, and wisdom, and pro- phecy; and then he should say unto men. Be ye worsliip|^i-s of me, besides QoD ; but he ought to say. Be ye perfect in knowledge and in works, since S'i know the scrij^tures, and exercise yourselves therein."^ God hath not commanded you to take the angels and the prophets for your lords: Will he command you to become infidels, after ye have been true believers 1 And remember when God accepted the covenant of the prophets," sayi/jrjr, This verily is the scripture and the wisdom which I have given you : here- after shall an apostle come unto you, confirming the truth of that scripture which is with you; ye shall surely believe in him, and ye shall assist him. God said. Are ye firmly resolved, and do ye accept my covenant on this coiulitionl They answered. We are firmly resolved : God said, Be ye therefore witnesses; and I also bear witness with you : and whosoever turn- eth back after this, they are surely the transgressoi-s. Do they, therefore, seek any other religion but God's 1 since to him is resigned whosoever is in heaven or on earth, voluntarily or of force: and to him shall they return. Say, We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down unto us, and that which was sent down unto Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered to iVIoses, and Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them; and to liim are we resigned. Whoever followeth any other religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him : and in the next life he shall be of those who perish." How shall GoD direct men who have become infidels after they had believed, and borne witness that the apostle was true, and manifest declarations of the divine will had come unto them? for God directed not the ungodly }>eople. Their reward shall be, that on them shall fall the curse of GoD, and of angels, and of all mankind : they shall remain under the same for e^'er; their torment shall not be mitigated, neither shall they be regarded; except those who repent after this, and amend ; for God is gnicious and merciful. iMoreover they who become infidels after they have believed, and yet increase in infidelity, their repen- tance shall in no wise be accepted, and they are those who go astray. Verily they who believe not, and die in their unbelief^ the world full of gold V "This passacrc was revealed, say the commentators, in answer to the Chris- tians, who insistc«l that Jesus had commandctl them to worsliip him as God. Al Beidawi adds, that two Christians, named Ahu Kafe al Koradhi and al Seyid al Kajrani, offered to ocknowledpe Mohammed for their Lord, and to worship him ; to wliich he answered, ore than one horse, besides his own, in his whole army. With these forces he formed a camp in a village near (Jhod, which moun- tain he contrived to have on his back; and the better to secure his men from being surrountled, he placed 50 archers in the rear, with strict orders not to quit their post. When they came to engage, Mohammed had the bitter at first, but after- wards by the fault of his archers, who left their ranks for the sake of the plunder, and suflered the enemies' horse to encompass the Mohammedans and attack them in the rear, he lost the day, and was very near losing his life; being struck down by a shower of stones, and wounded in the face with two arrows, ou pulling out of which, his two foreteeth droj)pod out. Of the Moslems 70 men were slain, and among them Hamza the uncle of Mohammed, and of the infidels 22.'* To excuse the ill success of this battle, and to raise the drooping courage of his followers, is Mohammed's drift in the remaining part of this chapter. ^ These were some of the families of Banu Salma of the tribe of al Khazraj, and Banul Ilareth of the tribe of al Aws, who composed the two wings of Mohammed's army. Some ill impression had been made on them by Abdallah Ebn Obba Solul, then an infidel, who having drawn otf 30e ye not afraid of them ; hut fe.ar nie, if ye be true believei*s. They shall not grieve thee, who emulously hasten unto infidelity ; for they shall never hurt God at all. God will not give them a part in the next life, and tluy shall suffer a givat punishment. Surely those who pur- cha.se infidelity with faith* shall by no means hurt God at all, but they shall sufier a grievous punishment. And let not the unbelievers think, because we gi-.int them lives long and prosperous, that it is better for their souls : we grant them long and prosperous lives only that their iniqmty may be increased; and they shall sufier an ignominious punishment. God is not disposed to leave the faithful in the condition which ye are now in," until he sever the wicked from the good;t nor is God disposed to make you acquainted with what is a liidden secret, but God chooseth such of his apostles as he pleiiseth, to reveal his mind unto :"" believe therefore in God and his apostles ; and if ye believe, and fear God, ye shall receive a great reward. And let not those who are covetous of what God of his bounty hath granted them imagine that their avance is better for them : nay, rather it is worse for them. That which they have covetously reserved shall be bound as a collar about their neck,^ on the day of the resuiTection : unto God hdongeth the inheritance of heaven and earth; and God is well acquainted with what ye do. God hath already heard the saying of those who said, Verily God is poor, and we are rich:*^ we will surely write down what they have said, and the slaughter which they have made of the prophets without a cause ; and we will say unto them, Taste ye the pain of burning. This shall tlccy suffer for the evil which their hands have sent before them, and because God is not unjust towards mankind ; who also say. Surely God hath commanded us, that we should not give credit to any apostle, until one should come unto us with a sacrifice, which should » While they staid at Bcdr expecting the cucmy, they opened a kind of fair there, and traded to a very considerable profit.* y Meaning cither Noaim, or Abu Solian liinisclf. • " Those who apostatize from interest do not hurt the Highest. Hell shall be their abode." — (Salary. « That is, he will not suffer the good and sincere among you to continue indis- criminately mixed with the wicked and hypocritical. f "God Icavi'th the believers in the state which they now arc, only till he shall have discriminated the wicked from the righteous." — Savary. » This passage was revealed on the rebellious and disobedient ^lohammedans telling Mohammed, that if he was a true i)rophet, he could easily distinguish those who sincerely believed from the dissemblers. ^ Mohammed is said to have declared, that whoever pays not his legal contribu- tions of alms duly, shall have a sequent twisted about his neck at the re>urrcclion.7 « It is related that Muliammed, writing to the Jews of the tribe of KainokA to invite them to Islam, and exhorting them, among other things, in the words of the Koran,® to lend vnto God on good ttsuri/, I'hineas Kbn Aziira, on hearing that ex- pression, said Surebj God is poor, fince they ask to borrow for him. "\V]iercuj)on Abu Beer, who was the bearer of that letter, struck him on the face, and told him, that, if it had not been for the truce between them, he would have struck off" his head : and on Phineas's complaining to Mohammed of Abu Beers ill usage, this passage was revealed.' « Al Beidawi. « Idem. " Idem, Jallalo'ddin. ^ chap. ii. p. 2i). » Al Beiduwi. CHAP. III. AL KORAN. 57 be consumed by fire.^ Say, Ajiostles have already come unto you before me,® with plain proofs, and with the miracle which ye mention : why therefore have ye slain them, if ye speak truth % If they accuse thee of imposture, the apostles before thee have also been accounted impostors, who brought evident demonstrations, and the scriptures, and the book which enlighteneth the understanding. Every soul shall taste of death, and ye shall have your reward on the day of resurrection; and he who shall be far removed from hell fire, and shall be admitted into paradise, shall be happy : but the present life is only a deceitful provision.* Ye shall surely be proved in your possessions, and in your persons; and ye shall bear from those unto whom the scripture was delivered before you, and from the idolaters, much hurt : but if ye be patient and fear God, this is a matter that is absolutely determined. And when God accepted the covenant of those to whom the book of the law was given, saying, Ye shall surely publish it unto mankind, ye shall not hide it : yet they threw it beliind their backs, and sold it for a small price ; but woeful is the price for which they have sold it.^ Think not that they who rejoice at what they have done, and expect to be praised for what they have not done;^ think not, irrofhet, that they shall escape from punishment, for they shall suffer a painful punishment; and unto God helongeth the kingdom of heave:i and earth : God is almighty. Now in the creation of heaven and earth, and the vicissitude of night and day, are signs unto d The Jews, say the commentators, insisted that it was a peculiar proof of the mission of all the prophets sent to them, that they could, by their prayers, bring down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, and'therefore they expected Moham- med should do the like. And some Mohammedan doctors agree that God appointed this miracle as the test of all their prophets, except only Jesus and Mohammed ;i though others say any other miracle was a proof full as sufficient as the bringing down fire from heaven, 2 The Arabian Jews seem to have drawn a general consequence from some particular instances of this miracle in the Old Testament.^ And the Jews at this day say, that first the fire which fell from heaven on the altar of the tabernacle,* after the con- secration of Aaron and his sons, and afterwards that wliich descended on the altar of Solomon's temple, at the dedication of that structure,^ was fed and constantly maintained there by the priests, both day and night, without being suffered once to go out; till it was extinguished, as some think, in the reign of Manasses,'' but accord- ing to the more received opinion, when the temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans. Several Christians ^ have given credit to this assertion of the Jews, with what reason I shall not here inquire; and the Jews, in consequence of this notion might probably expect, that a prophet who came to restore God's true religion should rekindle for them this heavenly fire, which they had not been favoured with since the Babylonish captivity. e Among these the commentators reckon Zacharias and John the Baptist. * "Human life is no more than a deceitful enjoyment." — Savary. <■ i. e. Dearly shall they pay hereafter for taking bribes to stifle the truth. Who- ever concealeth the knowledge which God has given him, says Mohammed, God shall put on him a bridle of fire on the day of resurrection. & i. e. Who think they have done a commendable deed in concealing and dissembling the testimonies in the Pentateuch concerning Mohammed, and in disobeying God's commands to the contrary. It is said that Mohammed once asking some Jews con- cerning a passage in their law, they gave him an answer very different from the truth, and were mightily pleased that they had, as they thought, deceived him. Others, however, think this passage relates to some pretended Mohammedans who rejoiced in their hypocrisy, and expected to be commended for their wickedness.^ 1 Jallalo'ddin. 2 Al Bcidawi. s x,ev. ix. 24. 1 Chron. xxi. 26. 2 Chron, vii. 1. 1 Kings xviii. 38. * Lev. ix. 24. ^ 2 Chron. vii. 1. e Talmud, Zebachin, c. 6. ^ See Prideaux's Connect, part 1, book 3, p. 158. » Al Beidawi. 53 AL KORAN. CHAP. m. those who are endued with understanding; who remember God standing, and sitting, and hjing on their sides ;*^ and meditate on the creation of heaven and earth, t^aijiiuj, O Lord, thou hast not created this in vain; far be it from thee : therefore deliver us from the torment of Ml fire : O Lord, surely whom thou shalt throw into the fire, thou wilt also cover with shame : nor shall the ungodly have any to heli> them. O Lord, we have heard a pi-eacher' inviting us to the faith and sayinfj, Believe in your Lord : and we believed. O Lord, forgive us therefore our sins, and exi>iate our evil deeds from us, and make us to die with the righteous. O Lord, give us, also the reward which thou hast promised by thy apostles; and cover us not with shame on the day of resurrection; for thou art not contrary to the promise.* Their Lord therefore answered them, saying, I will not suffer tlie work of him among you who worketh to be lost, whether he be male, or female :^ the one of you is from the other. They therefore who have left their coimtiy, and have been turned out of their houses, and have suf- fered for my sake, and have been slain in battle ; verily I will expiate their evil deeils from them, and I will surely bring them into gaidens watered by rivers ; a reward from GoD ; and with God is the most ex- cellent reward. Let not the prosperous dealing of the unbelievers in the land deceive thee ;^ it in hut a slender pro\'ision ; ^ and then theii* receptacle shall be hell ; an unliappy couch shall it be. But they who fear the Lord shall have gardens through which rivei-s flow, they shall continue therein for ever : this is the gift of God ; t for what is with God shall be better for the righteous than shorlliced icorldly prosperilt/. There ai-e some of those wlio have received the scriptures, who believe in God, and that which hath been sent do^vn unto you, and that which hath been sent do^^^l to them, submitting themselves unto God ;^ they sell not the signs of God for a small >• viz. At all times and in all postures. Al Beidawi mentions a saying of Moham- med to one Imran Ebn llosein, to this purpose: pray standing, if thou art able ; if not, sitting ; and if thou canst not sit up, then as thou liesi along. Af Shafci directs tliat the sick should pray lying on their right side. ' Namely Mohainnied, with the Koran. * " Since thou failest not in thy promises." — Savory. ^ These words were added, as some relate, on Onim Salma, one of the prophet's wives, telling him that she had observed God often made mention of the jnen who fled their country for the sake of their faith, but took no notice of the women.^ ' Tlic original word j>rujierly signiHcs success in the affairs of life, and particularly in trade. It is said that some of Mohammed's followers observing the prosperity the idolaters enjoyed, ex]iress(Hl their regret that those enemies of God should live in such case and plenty, while themselves were i)crishing lor hunger and fatigue ; whereupon tliis passage was rcvcaled.*^ " Because of its sliort continuance. ■\ " They who fear the Lord shall dwell in the p.irdcns of delights. They shall dwell in them eternally. Tliey shall be the guests of the Lord. Who is more able than he to load witli favours the just? " — Savmy. ° The persons here meant, some will have to be Abd'allah Ebn Salam' and his companions; others suppose they were forty Arabs of Najran, or thirty-two Ethio- pians, or else eight Greeks, who were converted from Chri>tianity to Mohammcdism and others say this passjigc was revealed in the ninth year of the Hojra, when Mohammed, on Gabriel's bringing liim the news of the death of Ashama king of Ethiopia, who had embraced the Mohammedan religion some years before,^ prayed for the soul of the departed ; at which some of his hypocritical followers were » Al BeidawL * Idem, ' See before, p. 45. » See the Prelim. Disc sect, ii. cnAP. IV. AL KORAN. 59 price; these shall have their reward with their Lord; for God is swift in takino- an account." O true believers, be patient, and strive to excel in patience, and be constant-minded, and fear God, that ye may be happy. CHAPTER lY. INTITLED, WOMEN ;P REVE^VLED AT MEDINA. IN THE KAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. MEN", fear your Lord, who hath created you out of one man, and out of him created his wife, and from them two hath multiplied many men and women:* and fear God by whom ye beseech one another;** and respect women "^ who have home you, for God is watching over you. And give the orphans ivhen they come to age their substance ; and render them not in exchange bad for good : ^ and devoiu* not their substance, by adding it to your own substance; for this is a great sin. And if ye fear that ye shall not act with equity towards orphans of the female sex,"^' take in maniage of such other women as please you, two, or three, or four, and not more.^ displeased, and wondered that he should pray for a Christian proselyte whom he had never seen.* ° See before, p. 24, and the Preliminary Discourse, sect. iv. p This title was given to this chapter, because it chiefly treats of matters relating to women ; as, marriages, divorces, dower, prohibited degrees, &c. * " Mortals ! fear the Lord, who created you all from one man, of whom he formed a woman, and who has covered the earth with their posterity. Fear the Lord, in the name of whom ye beseech each other. Revere the ties of consan- guinity. God observcth your actions." — Savary. 1 Saying, I beseech thee for God's sake.^ ' Literally, the wombs. 8 That is, take not what ye find of value among their effects to your own use, and give them worse in its stead. * "If ye fear to be unjust unto orphans, fear also to be unjust unto your wives. Marry only two, three, or four."^ * The commentators understand this passage differently. The true meaning seems to be, as it is here translated: Mohammed advising his followers that if they found they should wrong the female orphans imder their care, either by marrying them against their inclinations, for the sake of their riches or beauty, or by not using or maintaining them so well as they ought, by reason of their having already several wives, they should rather choose to marry other women, to avoid all occa- sion of sin.7 Others say that, when this passage was revealed, many of the Ara- bians, fearing trouble and temptation, refused to take upon them the charge of orphans, and yet multiplied wives to a great excess, and used them ill; or, as othei-s write, gave themselves up to fornication ; which occasioned the passage. And according to these its meamng must be either, that if they feared they could not act justly towards orphans, they had as great reason to apprehend they could not deal equitably with so many wives, and therefore are commanded to marry but a certain number; or else, that since fornication was a crime as well as a wronging of orphans, they ought to avoid that also, by marrying according to their abilities.^ * Al Beidawi. ^ l^em. ® " When this verse was sent down from heaven, the greatest part of the Arabs had each of them eight or ten wiv^s; and they often treated them badly. Poly- gamy has always been established in the east. Mahomet restrained it within nar- rower bounds." — Savary. 1 Al Beidawi. 8 Idem. Jallalo'ddin. 60 AL KORAN. CHAP. IT. But if ye fe«ir that ye cannot act equitably towards so viani/, marry one ofdy, or the slaves which ye shall liave acquired." This will be easier, that ye swerve not from rvjhteousness. And give women their dowry freely ; but if tliey voluntarily remit unto you any |>art of it, enjoy it with Siitisfaction and advantage. And give not unto those wlio are weak of understanding the substance wliich Gou liath appointed you to preserve /or tliem; but maintain them thereout, and clothe them, and six-ak kindly unto them- And examine the oq)hans^ until they attain the age o/ mar- riage 'J but if ye perceive they are able to manage their afTuii-s well, deliver their substance unto them ; and waste it not extravagantly, or hastily,* because they grow up.* Let him who is rich abstain entirely from the orphans estates; and let him who is poor take thereof according to what shall be reasonable.* And when ye deliver their substance unto them, call witnesses tJiereof in their presence : God taketh sufficient account of your actions. Men ought to have a part of what tJieir parents and kindred leave beJiind them when tliey die : and women also ought to have a part of what tMr parents and kindred leave,^ whether it be little, or whether it be much ; a determinate part is due to titem. And when they who are of kin ai*e present at the diWding of icltat is left, and also the orphans, and the poor; distribute unto them som^ part thereof; and if the estate be too small, at least speak comfortably unto them. And let those fear to abuse orphans, who if they leave behind them a weak offspring, are solicitous fur them : let them therefore fear God, and speak that which is convenient.*^ Surely they who devour the possessions of orphans un- justly shall swallow down nothing but fire into their bellies, and shall broil in raging flames. God hath thus commanded you concerning your children. A male shall have as much as the share of two females;** but if they be females only and above two in number, they shall have two-third parts of what the deceased shall leave ; ® and if there be hut « For slaves requiring not so large a dower, nor so good and plentiful a main- tenance as free women, a man might keep several of the former, as easily as one of the latter. « i. e. Try whether they be well-grounded in the principles of religion, and have sufficient prudence for the management of their afhiirs. Under this expression is also comprehended the duty of a curator's instructing his pupils in those respects. r Or age of maturity, which is generally reckoned to he fifteen ; a decision sup- ported by a tradition of their prophet ; though Abu Hanifah thinks eighteen the proper age.' • " Beware of dissipating it by prodigality, or by hastening to entrust them ■with it, when they are ton young." — Snvart/. « i. e. Because they will shortly be of agf, to receive what belongs to thorn. •Thatis no more than what shall make sufficient recompense for the troublo of their education. ^ *> This law was piven to abolish a ctistom of thfi pagan Arabs, who suffered not women or children to have any part of their husband's or father's inheritance ; on pretence that they only should inherit who were able to go to war.^ '^viz. Kithcr to comfort the children, or to assure the dying father they shall be justly dealt by.' ** This is the general rule to be followed in the distribution of the estate of fho Ueceasod, as may be observed in the following cases.' • Or if there be two and no more, they will have the sime share. • Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. ' Idem. = Vide Trelira. Disc. sect. vL CHAP. IV. AL KOKAN. 61 one, she shall have the half/ And the parents of the deceased shall have each, of them a sixth part of what he shall leave, if he have a child ; but if he have no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the thii'd part.s And if he have brethren, his mother shall have a sixth part, after the legacies^ which he shall bequeath, and his debts he paid. Ye know not whether your parents or your children be of greater use unto you. This is an ordinance from God, and God is knowing and wise. Moreover ye may claim half of what your wives shall leave, if they have no issue ; but if they have issue, then ye shall have the fourth part of what they shall leave, after the legacies which they shall bequeath, and the debts be paid. They also shall have the fourth part of what ye shall leave, in case ye have no issue ; but if ye have issue, then they shall have the eighth part of what ye shall leave, after the legacies which ye shall bequeath, and your debts be paid. And if a man or woman's substance be inherited by a distant relation,^ and he or she have a brother or sister ; each of them two shall have a sixth part of the estate.^ But if there be more than this number , they shall be equal sharers in a third part, after payment of the legacies which shall be bequeathed, and the debts, without prejudice to the heirs. This is an ordinance from God : and God is knowing and gracious. These are the statutes of God. And whoso obeyeth God and his apostle, God shall lead him into gardens wherein rivers flow, they shall continue there- iu for ever; and this shall be great happiness. But whoso disobeyetli God and his apostle, and transgresseth his statutes, God shall cast him into hell fire ; he shall remain therein for ever, and he shall suffer a shameful punishment. If any of your women be guilty of whoredom,^ produce four witnesses from among you against them, and if they bear witness against them, imprison them in separate apartments until death release them, or God affordeth them a way to escape.^ And if two 'And the remaining third part, or the remaining moiety of the estate, which is not here expressly disposed of, if the deceased leaves behind him no son, nor a father, goes to the public treasury. It must be observed, that Mr. Selden is certainly mis- taken, when, in explaining this passage of the Koran, he says, that where there is a son and an only daughter, each of them will have a moiety:* for the daughter can have a moiety but in one case only, that is, whei-e there is no son ; for if there be a son, she can have but a third, according to the above-mentioned rule. & And his father consequently the other two-thirds.^ ^ By legacies in this and the following passages are chiefly meant those bequeathed to pious uses ; for the Mohammedans approve not of a person's giving away his sub- stance from his family and near relations on any other account. » For this may happen by contract, or on some other special occasion. ^ Here, and in the next case, the brother and sister are made equiil sharers, which is an exception to the general rule, of giving a male twice as much as a fe- male ; and the reason is said to be, because of the smallness of the portions, which deserve not such exactness of distribution; for in other cases the rule holds be- tween brother and sister, as well as other relations.^' 1 Either adultery or fornication. "" Their punishment in the beginning of Mohammedism was to be immured till they died, but afterwards this cruel doom was mitigated, and they might avoid it < Selden, de Success, ad Leges Ebrteor. lib. I. chap. i. ^ x\ Beidawi. « See this chap, near the end. 62 AL KORAN. CHAP. iv. of yon commit the like wickedness,^ punish them both ;® bnt if they repent and amend, let them both alone; for God is easy to be reconciled and mer- ciful. Verily repentance will be accepted with God from those who do evil ignorantly, and then repent speedily; unto them will God be turned : for God is knowing and wise. But no reix?ntance shall be accepted from those who do evil until the (inic when death pi-esenteth itself nnto one of them, and he saith, Verily I i*epent now ; nor unto those who die unbelievers; for them have we prepared a grievous punishment. O true believers, it is not lawful for you to be heirs of women against their will,P nor to hinder them from marrying others,'^ that ye may Udce away part of what ye have given them in dowry ; unless they have been guilty of a manifest crime:' but convei*se kindly with them. And if yo hate them it may happen that ye may hate a thing wherein God hath placed much good. If ye be desirous to exchange a wife for anotlver wife,' and ye have already given one of them a talent :* take not away any thing therefrom :" will ye take it by slanJering her, and doing her manifest injustice ? And how can ye take it, since the one of you hath gone in unto the other, and they have received from you a firm covenant 1 Marry not women whom your fathers have had to wife ; (except what is already past :) for this is uncleanness, and an abomination, and an evil way. Ye are forbidden to marry your mothers, and your daughtei-s, and your sisters, and your aunts both on the by nndergoing the punishment ordained in its stead by the Sonna; according to which the maidens are to be scourged with a hundred stripes, and to be banished for a full year; and the married women to be stoned.^ » The commentators are not agreed vs-hethcr the text speaks of foraication or so- domv. AI Zamakhshari, and from liim, al Bcidawi supjioses the former is here meant : but Jallalo'ddin is of opinion that the crime intended in this passage must be committed between two men, and not between a man and a woman ; not only be- cause the pronouns arc in the masculine gender, but because both are ordered to suffer the same slight punishment, and are both allowed the sanixj repentance and indulgence : and especially for that a different and much severer punishment is ap- pointed f(ir the women in the preceding words. Abu'l Kiiscm Ilebatallah takes ample fornication to be the crime intended, and that this passage is abrogated l)y that of the 24th chapter, where the man and the woman who shall be guilty of for- nication are ordered to be scourged with a hundred stripes each. ** The original is, Do them some hurt or damage ; by which some understand that they are only to reproach them in public,^ or strike them on tlie head with their slippers,* (a great indignity in the east ;) though some imagine they may be scourged.^ P It was customary among the pagan Arabs, when a man died, for one of his re- lations to claim a right to his widow, whieh he asserted by throwing his garment over her: and then he cither married lior himself, if he thought fit, on assigning her the same dower that her former husband had done, or kept her dower and married her to another, or else refused to let her marry unless she redeemed herself by quit- ting what she might claim of her husbands goods.' This unjust custom is abolished by this passage. ^ Souie say these words are directcly to him by prayer. " A precept confor^uable to an old custom of the Arabs, that where persons mutually entered into a strict frieiMlship or confederacy, the surviving friend should have a sixth j)art cf the deceased's estate. But this was aftcnvnrds abro- gated, according to Jallalo'ddin and Zamakhshari, at least as t-o infidels. 'J'hc jiaiisage may likewise be understood of a private contract, whereby tJie survivor is lo inlierit a certain part of the substance of him that dies tirst.*^ •Such an supciior uivdcrstanding and strength, and tin? otlier privileges of the male sex, •vrhich enjoys tlie dignities in church and state, goes to war in defence of God's true religion, and claims a double share of their deceased ancestors' c^tates.^ • Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. ' liikra. * Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. See before, chap. 2, p. 11. • Idem. Jallalo'ddin. ' Vide Al Beidawi. 8 idem. cnAP. IV. AL KORAN. . 65 husbands,^ for tliat GoD preserveth theiii, hy committing them to the care and protection of the men.* But those, whose perverseness ye shall be apprehensive of, rebuke ; and remove them into separate apartments,*^ and chastise them.^ But if they shall be obedient unto you, seek not an occasion of quarrel against them : for God is high and great. And if ye fear a breach between the husband and wife, send a judge ^ out of his family, and a judge out of her family : if they shall desire a reconciliation, God will cause them to agree ; for God is knowing and wise. Serve God, and associate no creature with him ; and show kindness unto parents, and relations, and orphans, and the poor, and Tjour neighbour who is of kin to you,* and also your neighbour who is a stranger, and to your familiar com- panion, and the traveller, and tJie captives whom your right hands shall possess ; for God loveth not the proud or vainglorious, who are covetous, and recommend covetousness unto men, and conceal that which God of his bounty hath given them;^ (we have prepared a shameful punishment for the unbelievers;) and who bestow their wealth in charity to be observed of men, and believe not in God, nor in the last day ; and whoever hath Satan for a companion, an evil companion hath he 1 And what harm would befall them if they should believe in God, and the last day, and give alms out of that which God hath bestowed on them % since God knoweth them who do this. Yerily God will not wrong any one even the weight of an ant :^ and if it be a good action, he will double it, and will recompense it in his sight with a great reward. How will it be with the unbelievers when we shall bring a witness out of each nation against itself^ and shall bring thee, Mohammed, a witness against these people?^ In that day they who have not believed, and have rebelled against the apostle of God, shall wish the earth was levelled with them j t and they shall not be able to hide any matter from God. O true believers, come not to prayers when ye are p Both to preserve their husbands* substance from loss or waste, and themselves. from all degrees of immodesty.'' * " Wives ought to be obedient, and keep the secrets of their husbands, because that .Heaven hath entrusted them ta their care." — Savary. «i That is, banish them from your bed. ' By this passage the Mohammedans are in plain terms allowed to beat their wives, in case of stubborn disobedience ; but not in a violent or dangerous manner.^ » i. e. Let the magistrates first send two arbitrators or mediators, one on each side, to compose the difference, and prevent, if possible, the ill consequences of an open rupture. ' Either of your own nation or religion. " Whether it be wealth, knowledge, or any other talent whereby they may help their neighbour. ^ Either by diminishing the recompense due to his good actions, or to severely punishing his sins. On the contrary, he will reward the former in the next life, far above their deserts. The Arabic word dharra, which is translated an ant, signifies a, very small sort of that insect, and is used to denote a thing that is exceeding small, as a viite. y When the Prophet, who was sent to each nation in particular, shall on the last day be produced to give evidence against such of them as refused to believe in him, or observed not the laws which he brought. * That is, the Arabians, to whom Mohammed was, as he pretended, more pecu- liarly sent.2 t •' In that terrible day they shall wish to be reduced into dust." — Savary, • Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. ^ Al Beidawi. » See before, c. 2, p. 17. 60 AL KORAN. CIIjLP. IV. dnmk* until ye understand what ye say; nor when ye are polluted by emission of seed, unless ye be travelling on the road, until ye wash your- selves. But if ye be sick, or on a journey, or any of you come from easing nature, or have touched women, and find no water; t:\ke fine clean sand and rub your faces and your hands therewit/i,;^ for God is merciful and inclined to forgive. Hast thou not observed those unto whom part of the scripture* was delivercd ? they sell error, and desire that ye may wander from the ri'jfU way ; but God well knoweth your enemies. God is asuf- ficient patron ; and God is a sufficient helper. Of the Jews there are some who pervert words from their places;** and say, We have heard, and have disobeyed ; and do thou hear without understanding our meaning,^ and look upon us:^ perplexing with their tongues, and reviling the true religion. But if they had said, We have heard, and do obey; and do thou hear, and regard us ;* certainly it were better for them, and more right. But GoD hath cursed them by reason of their infidelity ; therefore a few of them only shall believe. O ye to whom the scriptures have been given, believ^e ia the rev^latvm which we have sent down, confirming that which is with yoo; befjre we deface your countenances, and render them as the back parts thereof;^ or curse them, as we cursed those who transgressed oq the sabbath dny ;' and the command of God was fulfilled. Surely God will not pardon the giving him an equal ;^ but will pardon any other «n, except that to whom he pleaseth •} and whoso giveth a companion unto God, hath devised a great wickedness. Hast thou not observed those who justify themselves ? °^ But God justifieth whomsoever he pleaseth, nor » It is related, that before the prohibition of wine, Abd'alrahman Ebn Awf made an entertainment, to which he invited several of the apostle's companions; and after they had eaten and drank plentifuUv, the hour of evening; prayer being come, one of the company rose up to pray, but bfting overcome with liquor, made a shameful blunder in reciting a passage of the Koran ; whereupon to prevent the danger of any 8uch indecency for the future, this passage was revealed.* ^ See the Prelim, l^sc. sect. iv. « Meaning the Jews, and particularly their Rabbins. * That is, (according to the commentators,) who change the true sense of tlie Pen- tateuch by dislocating passages, or by wresting the words according to tlieir own fancies and lusts.* But Mohammed seems chieHy to intend here the Jews' bantering of him in their addresses, by making use of equivocal words, seeming to bear a good sense in Arabic, but spoken by them in derision according to their acceptation ia Hebrew; an instance of which he gives in the following words. • Literally tcithout being made to heir, or apprehend what we say. ' The original word is Baina, which being a term of reproach in Hebrew, Mo- hammed forbad their using to him.* » In Arabic, Ondhorna ; which having no ill equivocal meaning, the po'ophet or- dered them to use instead of the former. '" That is, perfectly plain, without eyes, nose, or month. The original howerer may also be translated, arvl turn them behind, by wringing their necks backward. 'And were therefore changed into apes.' ^ That is, idolatry of all kinds. ' vtz. To those who repent.' » t. «. The Christians and Jews, who called themseWes the children of Qod, and his beloved people.^ ' Al Beidawi. * Idem, Jallalo'ddin. • See before, c. 2, p. 14. • See before, c. 2, p. 9. 7 Al Beidawi. ^ Idem, Jallalo'ddin. See c. 5, not far from the beginning. CHAP. ir. " AL KORAN. 67 sliall they be wronged a Hair." Beliold, how t"hey imagine a lie against God ; and therein is iniquity sufficiently manifest. Hast thou not con- sidered those to whom part of the scripture hath been given ? They believe in false gods and idols,° and say of those who believe not. These are more rightly directed in the way of truth, than they who believe on Mohammed. Those are the Tnen whom God hath cursed ; and unto him whom God shall curse, thou shalt surely find no helper. Shall they have a part of the kingdom/* since even then they would not bestow the smallest matter^ on men 1 Do they envy otiier men that which God of his bounty hath given them 1^ We formerly gave unto the family of Abraham a book of revelations and wisdom ; and we gave them a great kingdom.^ There is of them who believeth on him ;* and there is of them who turneth aside from him : but the raging fire of hell is a suffi.cienfe punishment. Yerily those who disbelieve our signs, we will surely cast to be broiled in hell fire ; so often as their skins shall be well burned, we will give them other skins in exchange, that they may taste the sharper tor- ment ; for God is mighty and wise. But those who believe and do that which is right, we will bring into gardens watered by rivers, therein shall they remain for ever, and there shall they enjoy wives free from all im- purity ; and we will lead them into perpetual shades. Moreover God com- mandeth you to restore what ye are trusted with, to the owners :° and when ^ The original word signifies a little skin in the cleft of a date-stone, and is used to express a thing of no value, ° The Arabic is, in Jibt and Taghut. The former is supposed to have been the proper name of some idol; but it seems rather to signify any fa,l&e deity in general. The latter we have explained already.* It is said that this passage was revealed on the following occasion. Hoyai Ebn Akhtab and Caab Ebn al Ashraf/ two chief men among the Jews, with several others of that religion, went to Mecca, and offered to enter into a confederacy with the Koreish, and to join their forces against Mohammed. But the Koreish, en- tertaining some jealousy of them, told them, that thfi Jews pretended to have a written revelation from heaven, as well as Mohammed, and their doctrines and worslnp approached much nearer to what he taught than the religion of their tribe; wherefore said they, if you would satisfy us that you are sincere in the matter, do as we do, and worship our gods. Which proposal, if the story be true, these Jews complied with, out of their inveterate hatred to Mohammed.^ p For the Jews gave out that they should be restored to their ancient power and gi*andeur;2 depending, it is to be presumed, on the victorious Messiah whom they expected. * " Shall they have a portion in the kingdom of heaven, they who would grudge a farthing bestowed on their fellow creatures ? " — Savary. 1 The original word properly signifies a small dent on the back of a date-stone ; and is commonly used to express a thing of little or no value. •■ Viz. the spiritual gifts of prophecy, and divine revelations ; and the temporal blessings of victory and success, bestowed on Mohammed and his followers. * Wherefore God will doubtless show equal favour to this prophet, (a descendant also of Abraham,) and those who believe on him,* * Namely, on Mohammed- ** This passage, it is said, was revealed on the day of the taking of Mecca, the primary design of it being to direct Mohammed to return the keys of the Caaba to Othman Ebn Telha Ebn Abdaldar, who had then the honour to be keeper of that holy place,^ and not to deliver them to his uncle al Abbas, who having- already the custody of the well Zemzem, would fain have had also tliat of Caaba. The prophet obeying the divine order, Othman was so affected with the justice of the action, notwithstanding he had at first refused him * Sec p. 31, note s. See before, p. 45, note I. 2 Al Beidawi. » Idem. < Idem. ^See Trideaux's I4fe of Mahom., p. 2. , 58 AL KORA!^. CHAP. ir. 'y« judge between men, that ye judge according to eqiiitv : and surely an excellent virtue it is to which God exhoiteth you ; for God both heareth and seetli. G true believers, obey God, and obey the apostle ; and those who are in authority among you : and if ye differ in any thing, refer it unto God* and the apostle, if ye believe in God, and the last day: this is bettei, and a fairer method (y* determination. Hast thou not observed those who pretend thev believe in what hath been revealed unto thee, and what hath been revealed before thee 1 They desire to go to judgment before Tugliut,^ although thev have been commanded not to believe in him ; and SSatafi desireth to seduce them into a wide error. And when it is said unto them. Come unto the hook which God hath sent down, and to the apostle ; thou seest the ungodly turn aside from thee, with great aversion. But how will they behave when a misfortune shall befall them, for that which their hands have sent before them? Then will they come unto thee, and swear by God, saj/ing, If we intended any other than to do good, and to reconcile the parlies.^ God knoweth what is in the hearts of these men; therefore let them alone, and admonish them, and speak unto them a word which may affect their souls. We have not sent any apostle, but that he miglit be obeyed by the permission of God : but if they, after they have injured their own souls,* come unto thee, and ask pardon of God, and the apostle ask pardon for them, they shall surely find God easy to be reconciled and merciful. And by thy Lord they will not perfectly be- lieve, until they make thee judge of their controversies ; and shall not afterwards find in their own minds any hardship in what thou shalt determine, but shall acquiesce therein with etUire submission. And if we had commanded them, saying, Slay yourselves, or depart from your houses ;•* they would not have done it, except a few of them. And if they had done entrance, that he immediately embraced Muhammedism; whereupon the guardian- ship of the Caiiba was confinned to this Othman and his heirs for ever.® » t. e. To the decision of the Koran. y That is, before the tribunals of intidels. This passaj^c was occasioned bv the following remarkable accident. A certain Jew having a dispute with a wicked ^luhammedan, the latter appealed to the jud;?ment of Caab Ebn al Ashraf, a principal Jew, and tlie former to Mohammed. IJut at lon;^^th they agreed to refer the matter to the prophet singly, who giving it in favour of the Jew, the Moham- medan refused to acquiesce in his sentence, but would needs have it re-heard by Omar, afterwards Khalif. When they came to him, the Jew told him that Mo- hammed had already decided tlic affair in his favour, but tliat the other would not submit to his determination ; and the Mohammedan confessing this to be true, Omar bid them stay a little, and fetching his sword, struck off the obstinate Moslem's head, saying aloud, This is the reward of him who nfitscth to submit to the jwlfjment of (iod and his apostle. And from this action Omar had tlie surname of al Farflk, which alludes both to his separating that knave's head from his body, and to his distinguishing between truth and fiilsehood.' The name of Taghui'* thtrefore in this place seems to be given to Caab Ebn al Ashraf. ■ For this was the excuse of the friends of the Mohammedan whom Omar slew, when they came to demand satisfaction for his blood.' • Viz. by acting wickedly, and apj)oaling to the judgment of iufidcls. '^ Some understand these words of their venturing their lives in a religions ex- pedition; and others, of their undergoing the same punishments which the Israelites did, for their idolatry in worshipping the golden calf.* « Al Beidawi. Sec DTIerbel. Bibl. Orient, pp. 220, 221. 7 Jallalo'ddin, Al Beidawi. See D'llerbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 688, and Ockley's Hist, of the Sarac.. ▼. i. p. 365. ® See before, p. 31. • Al Beidawi. * Idem. Sec before, p. 7. CHAP. rr. AL KORAN. 69 what thev were admonislied, it would certainly liave been better for thenir and more efficacious for confirming their faith; and we should then have surely given them in our sight an exceeding great reward, and we should have directed them in the right way. Whoever obeyeth God and the apostle, they shall be with those unto whom God hath been gracious, of the prophets, and the sincere, and the martp's, and the righteous ; and these are the most excellent company. This is bounty from God ; and God is sufficiently knowing. O true believers, take your necessary precaution ° against your enemies, and either go foi-th to war in separate parties,* or go forth altogether in a body. There is of you who tarrieth behind ; ^ and if a misfortune befall you, he saith, Yerily God hath been gracious unto me, that I was not present with them : but if success attend you from God, he will say (as if there was no friendship between you and him ®), Would to God I had been with them, for I should have acquired great merit. Let them therefore fight for the religion of God, who part with the present life in exchange for that which is to come ; ^ for whosoever fighteth for the religion of God, wdiether he be slain, or be victorious,^' we will surely give him a great reward. And what ails you, that ye fight not for God's true religion, and in defence of the weak among men, women, and children,^ who say, O Lord, bring us forth from this city, whose inhabitants are wicked ; grant us from before thee a protector, and grant us fi'om before thee a defender.^ They who believe fight for the religion of God ; but they who believe not fight for the religion of Taghut.^ Fight therefore against the friends of Satan, for the stratagem of Satan is weak. Hast thou not observed those unto whom it was said. Withhold your hands /ro77i war, and be constant at prayers, and pay the legal alms ^^ But when war is commanded them, behold, a part of them fear men as they should fear God, or with a greater fear, and say, O Lord, wherefore hast '^ i. e. Be vigilant, and provide yourselves with arms and necessaries. * " O believers, be prudent in battle, whether you attack separately, or in a body." — Savary. ^ Mohammed here upbraids the hypocritical Moslems, who for want of faith and constancy in their religion were backward in going to war for its defence. « i. e. As one who attendeth not to the public but his own private interest. Or else these may be the words of the hypocritical Mohammedan himself, insinuating that he staid not behind the rest of the army by his own fault, but was left by Mohammed, who chose to let the others share in his good fortune, preferably to him.^ f By venturing their lives and fortunes in defence of the faith. s For no man ought to quit the field, till he either fall a martyr, or gain some advantage for the cause.^ ^ Viz., those believers who staid behind at Mecca, being detained there either forcibly by the idolaters, or for Avant of means to fly for refuge to Medina. Al Beidawi observes that children are mentioned here to show the inhumanity of the Koreish, who persecuted even that tender age. i This petition, the commentators say, was heard. For God afforded several of them an opportunity and means of escaping, and delivered the rest at the taking of Mecca by Mohammed, who left Otab Ebn Osaid governor of the city : and under his care and protection those who had suffered for their religion became the most considerable men in the place. ^ See before, p. 31. ^ These were some of Mohammed's followers, who readily performed the duties of their religion, so long as they were commanded nothing that might endanger their hves. 3 Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. 70 AL KOR.VN. CHAP. nr. thou commanded us to go to war, and hast not suffered us to wait our approaching end 1 "^ Say nntc tJiem, The provision of this life is hut small ; but the future sfuill be better for him who feareth God ;* and ye shall not be in the least injured at the day of judgment. AVheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although ye be in lofty towers. If good befall them, they say, This is from God ; but if evil befall them they say, This is from thee, Mohammed : " say, All is from God ; and what aileth these people, that they are so far from undei-standing what is said unto them? What- ever good befalk'th thee, man, it is from God ; and whatever evil befalleth thee, it is from thyself." We have sent thee an apostle unto men, and CtOD is a sulHeient witness tJiereof. Whoever obeyeth the apostle, obeyeth GrOD ; and whoever tumeth back, we have not sent thee to he a keeper over them.^ They say, Obedience : yet when they go forth from thee, part of them meditate by night a matter different from what thou speakest ; but God shall write do%vn what they meditate by night : there- fore let them alone, and ti*ust in God, for God is a sufficient protector. Do they not attentively consider the Koran ? if it had been from any besides GrOD, they would certainly have found therein many contradictions. When any news cometh unto them, either of security or fear, they immediately di\'ulge it ; but if they told it to the apostle and to those who are in authority among them, such of them would understand the truth of the matter, as inform themselves thereof from the apostle and his chiefs. And if the favour of GoD and his mercy had not heen upon you, ye had followed the devil, except a few of you.^ Fight therefore for the religion of God, and oblige not any to what is difficult,' except thyself; however excite the faitlifol to tear, perhaps God will restrain the courage of the unbelievers ; for God is stronger than they, and more able to punish. He who intercedeth between Tuen with a good intercession* shall have a poi-tion thereof; and he who intercedeth with an evil intercession shall have a portion thereof; iox God overlooketh all "» That is, a natural doatli. • " Say unto them, The enjoyments of tliis world arc transient ; the future Ufe \B the real treasure for those who fear God." — Savary. " As the Jews in particular, who pretended that their land was grown barren, and provisions scarce, since Mohammed came to Medina.* ** These words are not to be understood as contradictory lo the preceding, That all proceeds from God ; since the evil which befalls mankind, though ordered by God, is yet the consequence of their own wicked actions. P Or, to take an account of their actions ; for this is God's part. •^ That is, if God had not sent his apostle with the Koran to instruct you in your duty, ye had continued in idolatry and been doomed to destruction ; except only those who, by God's favour, and their superior understanding, should have true notions of the divinity ; such, for ej^ample, as Zeid Ebn Amru Ebn Nofail,* and "Waraka Ebn Na\vfal,« who left idols, and acknowledged but one God, before the mission of Mohammed. ^ 'It is said this passage was revealed when the Mohammedans refused to follow their prophet to the les*er expedition of Bedr, so that he was obliged to set out with no more than seventy .^ Some copies varv- in this place, and instead o{ la tnknllafo, in the second jicrson singular, read la nokalla/o, in the first person plural. We do not oblige, ire. The meaning being, that the prophet only was under an indispensable necessity of obeying Gods commands, however ditEcult, but others might choose, though at their peril. • I. e. To maintain the right of a believer, or to prevent his being wronged. • Al Beidawi, « Vide Millium. de Mohammedismo ante Moh. p. 311. « See the Prelim. Di*c. sect ii. ^ Al Beidawi. • See before, ch. iii. p. 54. I CHAP. IV. AL KORAN. 71 things. When ye are saluted with a salutation, salute the person with a better salutation,* or at least return the same; for God taketh an account of all things. God! there is no God but he; he Avill surely gather you together on the clay of resurrection ; there is no doubt of it : and who is more true than God in what he saith 1 Why are ye divided concerning the ungodly into two parties;" since God hath overturned them for what they have committed? Will ye direct him whom God hath led astray; since for him whom GoD shall lead astray, thou shalt find no ^rwepath? Tliey desire that ye should become infidels, as they are infidels, and that ye should be equally wicked with themselves. Therefore take no friends from among them, until they fly their country for the religion of God; and if they turn back/ro?/i tliefaith^ take them, and kill them wherever ye find them; and take no friend from among them, nor any helper, except those who go unto a people who are in alliance with you,^ or those who come tmto you, their hearts forbidding them either to fight against you, or to fight against their own people.^ And if God pleased he would have permitted them to have prevailed against.you, and they would have fought against you. But if they depart from you, and fight not against you, and oflfer you peace, God doth not allow you to take or kill them. Ye shall find others who are desirous to enter into confidence with you,* and at the same time to preserve a confidence with their own people : ^ so often as they return to sedition, they shall be subverted therein ; and if they depart not from you, and ofier you peace, and restrain their hands from warring against you., take them and kill them wheresoever ye find them ; over these have we granted you a manifest power. It is not lawful for a believer to kill a believer, unless it happen by mistake;^ and whoso killeth a believer by mistake, the penalty shall be the freeing of a believer from slavery, and a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased,'^ unless they remit it as alms : * By adding something farther. As when one salutes another by this fonn, Peace be upon thee, he ought not only to return the salutation, but to add, and the mercy q/God, and his blessing. " This passage was revealed, according to some, when certain of Mohammed's followers, pretending not to like Medina, desired leave to go elsewhere, and having obtained it, went farther and farther, till they joined the idolaters ; or, as others say, on occasion of some deserters at the battle of Ohod ; concerning whom the Moslems were divided in opinion whether they should be slain as infidels, or not. * The people here meant, say some, were the tribe of Khozaah, or, according to others, the Aslamians, whose chief, named Helal Ebn Owaimar, agreed with Mohammed, when he set out against Mecca, to stand neuter ; or, as others rather think, Banu Beer Ebn Zeid.^ y These, it is said, were the tribe of Modlaj, who came in to Mohammed, but would not be obliged to assist him in war. * " There are others who wish to allyyour belief with that of their own nation." — Savary. '^ The persons hinted at here were the tribes of Asad and Chatfan, or, as some Bay, Banu Abdaldar, who came to Medina and pretended to embrace Mohammedism, that they might be trusted by the Moslems, but when they returned, fell back to their old idolatry. ^ * That is, by accident and without design. This passage was revealed to decido the case of Ayash Ebn Abi Eabia, the brother, by the mother's side, of Abu Jahl, who, meeting Hareth Ebn Zeid on the road, and not knowing that he had embraced Mohammedism, slew him.2 ^ Which fine is to be distributed according to the law of inheritances given in the » Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. ^ Al Beidawi. ^ idem. 72 AL KORAN. CHAP. IV. and \i the slain persjji be of a people at enmity with yon, and be a true believer, the penalty shall he the fi-eeing of a believer ;« but if he be of a i>eople in confederacy with you, a fine to be paid to his family, and the freeing of a believer. And he who findeth not wlierewith to do this shall fust two muntlis conj-ecu lively as a jKiiance enjoined from God; and God is knowing and wise. But whoso killeth a believer designedly, his reward shall be hell; he shall renoain therein for ever;^ and God shall be angry with him, and shall cui-se him, and shall prepare for him a great punish- ment. O true believers, when ye are on a march in defence of the true religion, justly discern such as ye slwll happen to meet, and say not unto him who saluteth you, thou art not a true believer;^ seeking the accidental goods of the present life;^ for with God is much spoil. Such have ye for- merlv been; but God hath been gracious unto you;^ therefore make a just discernment, for God is well acquainted with that which ye do. Those believers who sit still at heme, not having any hurt,^ and those who eni- plov their fortunes and their persons for the religion of God, shall not be held equal. GoD hath prefen-ed those who employ their fortunes and their persons in that case to a degree of honour above those who sit at home; God hath indeed promised every one paradise, but God hath preferred those who fight/t/r the faith before those who sit still, by adding unto them a great reward hy degrees of honour conferred en them fi-om him, and by granting them forgiveness, and mercy ; for God is indulgent and merciful. More- over unto those whom the angels put to death, having injured their own souls,* tlie angels said, Of what religion were ye? They answered, We were weak in the earth.^ The angels replied, Was not God's earth wide enough, that ye might fly therein to a place of refuge ? ^ Therefore their habitation beginning of this chapter.' — "The sum fixed by the law is the price of a hundred camels." — iSfivary. « And no fine sRall be paid, because in such case his relations, being infidels and at open war with the Moslems, have no right to inherit what he leaves. ** That is, unless he repent. Others, however, understand not here an eternity of damnation (for it is the general doctrine of the Mohammedans that none who profess that faith shall continue in hell for ever), but only a long space of time* • On pretence that he only feigns to be a Moslem, that he might escape from you. The commentators mention more instances than one of persons slain and plundered by Mohammed's men under this pretext, notwithstanding they declared themselves 3ioslem8 by repeating the usual form of words, and saluting them ; for which reason this passage was revealed, to prevent such rash judgments for the future. ' Thatis, being willing to judgehim an infidel, only that ye may kill and plunder him. « Viz., at your first profession of Islamism, before ye had givcu any demonstra- tfons of your sincerity and zeal therein. •" I. e. Not being disabled from going to war by sickness, or other just impediment. It is said that when the passage was first revealed, there was no such exception therein, whi( h occasioned Ebn Omm MactQm, on his hearing it repeated, to object, And what though I he blind? Whereupon, Mohammed, falling into a kind of trance, which was succeeded by strong agitations, pretended he had received the divine direction to add these w ords to the text.* ' These were certain inhabitants of Mecca, who held with the hare and ran with the hounds; for though they embraced Mohammedism, yet they would not leave that city to join the prophet, as the rest of the Moslems did, but on the contrary, went out with the idolaters, and were therefore slain with them at the i»attle of Bcdr.'' ^ Being unable to fly, and compelled to follow the infidels to war. 1 As they did who fled to Ethiopia and to Medina. 'AlBtidawL * Idem. * Idem. * Idcn), Jallalu'ddin. CHAP. IV. AL KORAN. 73 shall be hell? and an evil journey shall it he ihitlmr : except the weak among men, and women, and children, who were not able to find means, and were not directed in the way; these perad venture God will pardon, for God is ready to forgive, an^/ gracious. Whosoever ^ieth from his country for the sake of God's true religion, shall find in the earth many forced to do the same and plenty of provisions. And whoever departeth from his house, and ilieth unto God and his apostle, if death overtake him in the way^ God will be obliged to reward him, for God is gracious and merciful. When ye march to loar in th^ earth, it shall be no crime in you if ye shorten your prayers, in case ye fear the infidels may attack you; for the infidels are your open enemy. But when thou, propliet, shalt be among them, and shalt pray with them, let a party of them arise to prayer with thee, and let them take their arms ; and when they shall have worshipped, let them stand behind you,° and let another party come that hath not prayed, and let them pray with thee, and let them be cautious and take their arms. The unbelievers would that ye should neglect your arms and your baggage while ye pray, that they might turn upon you at once. It shall be no crime in you, if you be incommoded by rain, or be sick, that ye lay down your arms ; but take your necessary precaution :° God hath pre- pared for the unbelievers an ignominious punishment. And when ye shall have ended your prayer, remember God, standing, and sitting, and lying on your sides.P But when ye are ^qcwvq from danger, complete your prayers : for prayer is commanded the faithful, and appointed to he said at the stated times. Be not negligent in seeking out the unbelieving people, tliough ye suffer some inconvenience; for they also shall suffer as ye suffer, and ye hope for a reward from God which they cannot hope for; and God is knowing and wise.^ We have sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, that thou mayest judge between men through that wisdom which God showeth thee therein ; and be not an advocate for the fraudulent ;^ but ask pardon of GoDybr thy wrong intention, since God is indulgent a?i<^ merciful. Dispute not for those who deceive one another, for God loveth not him who •" This passage was revealed, says Al Beidav\n, on account of Jondob Ebn Damra. This person being sick, was, in his flight, carried by his sons on a couch, and before he arrived at Medina, perceiving his end approached, he clapped his right hand on his left, and solemnly plighting his faith to God and his apostle, died. » To defend those -who are at prayers and to face the enemy. o By keeping strict guard. P That is, in such posture as ye shall he able.'' •1 This verse was revealed on occasion of the unwillingness of Mohammed's men to accompany him in the lesser expedition of Bedr.^ >■ Tima Abn Obeirak of the sons of Dhafar, one of Mohammed's companions, stole a coat of mail from his neighbour Kitada Ebn al Noman, in a bag of meal; and hid it at a Jew's, named Zeid Ebn al Samin : Tima being suspected, the coat of mail was demanded of him, but he denying he knew any thing of it, they followed the track of the meal, which had run through a hole in the bag, to the Jew's house, and there seized it, accusing him of the theft ; but he producing witnesses of his own religion that he had it of Tima, the sons of Dhafar came to Mohammed, and desired him to defend his companion's reputation, and condemn the Jew; which he having some thoughts of doing, this passage was revealed, reprehending him for his rash intention, and commanding him to judge, not according to his own prejudice and opinion, but according to the merit of the case.^ 7 Sec before, ch. iii. p. 58. s Al Beidawi. » Idem, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. 74 AL KORAN. cuAP iv. is a deceiver or unjust." Such conceal themselves from men, but they con- ceal not themselves from GoD ; for he is witli them when they imagine by night a saying which pleased h\m not,' and GoD conipreheudoth what they do. Bohohl, ye are tlioy who liave disputed for tliem in tins present life; but who shall disput^i with God for them on the day of resurrection, or who will become their patron \ yet lie who doeth evil, or injureth his own soul, and afterwanls asketh pardon of God, shall find God gracious anc/ merciful. Whoso cummitteth wickedness, committeth it against his own soul : GoD is knowin" and wise. And whoso committeth a sin or iniquity, and after- wards laveth it on the innocent, he shall surely bear the fjudt o/' calumny and manifest injustice. If the indulgence and mercy of God had not been upon thee, surely a part of them had studied to seduce thee;" but they shall seduce themselves only,* and shall not hurt thee at all. God hath sent down unto thee the book of tlie Koran and wisdom, and hath taught thee that which thou knewest not;* foi- the iiivour of God hath been great towards thee. There is no good in the multitude of their private discourses, unless in tite discourse of him who recommended alms, or that which isright, or agreement amongst men : whoever doeth this out of a desire to please God, we will surely give him a great reward. But whoso separateth him- self from the apostle, after true direction hath been manifested unto him, and followeth any other way than that of the true believers, we will cause him to obtain that to which he is inclined,^ and will cast him to be burned in hell; and an unhappy journey shall it be thiUier. Verily God will not pardon the giWng him a companion, but he wall pardon any crime besides that, unto whom he pleaseth : and he who giveth a companion unto God is surely led aside into a wide mistake ; the infidels invoke beside him only fe- male deities;^* and only invoke rebellious Satan. God cui-sed him ; and he said, Verily I will take of thy servants a part cut off/rom tlie rest,°' and I will seduce them, and will insinuate vain desires into them, and I will com- mand them and they shall cut offtheeai-s of cattle;'' and I will command them and they shall change God's creature.*^ But whoever taketh Satan * Al Bcidawi, as an instance of tlic divine justice, adds, that Tima, after the fact above mentioned, lied to Mecca, and returned to idolatry; and there undermining the wall of a house, in order to commit a robbery, the wall fell in upon him and crushed him to death. » That is, when they secretly contrive means, by false evidence or otherwise, to lay their crimes on innocent persons. " Meaning the sons of Dliafar. * ''A part of the unbelievers conspired thy ruin; but they l)rouglit ruin on them- selves. '1 he divine goodness watched over thy safety. Thi-y had not power to hurt thee." — Sav,'^ shall surely perish with a manifest destruction. He maketh them promises, and insinuateth into them vain desires ; yet Satan maketh them only deceitful promises. The receptacle of these shall be hell, they shall find no refuge from it. But they who believe, and do good works, we will surely lead them into gardens, through which rivers flow, they shall continue therein for ever, according to the true promise of God j and who is more true than God in what he saith 1 It shall not be according to your desires, nor according to the desires of those who have received the scriptures.® Whoso doeth evil shall be rewarded for it ; and shall not find any patron or helper, besides God ; but whoso doth good works, whether he be male or female, and is a tnie believer, they shall be admitted into paradise, and shall not in the least be unjustly dealt with. Who is better in point of religion than he who resigneth himself unto God, and is a worker of righteousness, and followeth the law of Abraham the orthodox ? since God took Abraham for his friend : ^ and to God helongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth ; God comprehendeth all things. They will consult thee concerning women ;^ Answer, God instructeth you concerning them,^ and that which is read unto you in the book of the Koran concerning female orphans, to v/hom ye give not that which is ordained them, neither will ye marry ihem,^ and concerning weak supposes the text to intend not only the superstitious amputations of the ears and other parts of the cattle, but the castration of slaves, the marking their bodies with figures, by pricking and dyeing them with woad or indigo (as the Arabs did and still do), the sharpening their teeth by filing ; and also sodomy, and the unnatural amours between those of the female sex, the worship of the sun, moon, and other parts of nature, and the like. ^ i. e. By leaving the service of God, and doing the works of the devil. « That is, the promises of God are not to^be gained by acting after your o\m fancies, nor yet after the fancies of the Jews or Christians, but by obeying the commands of God. This passage, they say, was revealed on a dispute which arose between those of the three religions, each preferring his own, and condemning the others. Some hoR'ever suppose the persons here spoken to in the second person were not the Mo- hammedans, but the idolaters.^ f Therefore the Mohammedans usually call that patriarch, as the scripture also does, Khalil Allah, t\\Q friend of Gox), and simply al Khalil; and they tell the following story :— That Abraham in a time of dearth sent to a friend of his in Egypt for a sup- ply of corn; but the friend denied him, saying in his excuse, that thouah there Avas a famine in their country, also, yet had it been for Abraham's own family, he would have sent what he desired, but he knew he wanted it only to entertain his guests, and give away to the poor, according to his usual hospitality. The servants whom Abraham had sent on this message, being ashamed to return empty, to conceal the matter from their neighbours, filled their sacks with fine white sand, which in the East pretty much resembles meal. Abraham being informed by his servants, on their return, of their ill success, the concern he was under threw him into a sleep; and in the mean time Sarah, knowing nothing of what had happened, opening one of the Backs, found good flour in it, and immediately set out about making of bread. Abraham awaking and smelling the new bread, asked her whence she had the flour. Why, says she, /row your friend in Egypt; Nay, replied the patriarch, it must have come from no other than my friend God Almighty,^ s i. e. As to the share they are to have in the distribution of the inheritances of their deceased relations; for it seems the Arabs were not satisfied with Mohammed's decision on this point, against the old customs. ^ i. e. He hath already made known his will unto you, by revealing the passages concerning inheritances in the beginning of this chapter. 1 Or the words may be rendered in the affinnative, and whom ye desire tj marry. For 2 Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. » Al Beidawi. See D' Ilerbel. Bibl. Orient. p. M, and Morgan's Mabomctism Explained, vol. i. p. .132, 76 AL KOEAN. CHAP. IV. infants,^ and that ye observe justice towards orphans : whatever good ye do, God knoweth it. If a woman fear ill usage,* or aversion from her husband, it shall be no crime in them if thev agi'ce the matter amicably between themselves ;^ for a reconciliation is bett^^r than a separation. J/en'ssouls are naturally inclined to covetousness : ™ butif ycbekind^>M;ar(/« trom^n, and fear to xcroug tliem, God is well acquainted with what ye do. Ye cart by no means carry yourselves equally between women in aM re«/x?(7. So that the woman, on the one side, is unwilling to part with any of lier right, and the husband, on the other, cares not to retain one he has no atlcction for; or, if lie should retain her, she can scarce expect he will use her in all respects as he ought." ° t. e. Though you cr.nnot use her equally well with a beloved wife, yet observe some measures of justice towards her; lor if a man is not able perfectly to perform his duty, he ou;:ht not, for tliat rea>on, entirely to neglect it.^ o Or like one that neither li;u a husband, nor is divorced and at liberty to marry elsewhere. f That is, either will bless them with a better and more advantageous match, or with peace and tranquillity of mind.** n Wanting the service of no creature. ' Either another race of men, or a different species of creatures. rop}iets and reject others of litem, and seek to take a midl ; some insisted that it was not Jesus who suffered, but another who resembled him in the face, pre- tending the other parts of his body, by their unlikeness, plainly discovered the * Exod. xxiv. 9, 10, 11. « See the Koran, ch. xix. and that virulent book en- titled Toldoth Jesu. €nAi\ ir: AL KORAN. 79 as to this matter, and had no sure knowledge thereof, but followed only an uncertain opinion. They did not really kill him; but God took him up unto himself : and God is mighty a?zc^ wise. And there shall not he one of those who have received the scriptures, who shall not believe in him, before his death ; p and on the day of resurrection he shall be a witness ao^ainst them.^ Because of the iniquity of those who Judaize, we have for- bidden them good things, which had been formerly allowed them ; ' and because they shut out many from the way of God, and have taken usury, which was forbidden them hy the law, and devoured men's substance vainly : we have prepared for such of them as are unbelievers a painful punishment. But those among them who are well grounded in know- ledge," and the faithful, who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee, and that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee, and who observe the stated times of prayer, and give alms, and believe in God and the last day : unto these will we give a great reward. Yerily we have revealed our will unto thee, as we have revealed it unto Noah and the prophets who succeeded him ; and as we revealed it unto Abraham, and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and unto Jesus, and Job, and Jonas, and Aaron, and Solomon ; and we have given thee the Koran, as we gave the psalms unto David : some apostles have we sent, whom we have formerly mentioned unto thee ; and other apostles have we sent, whom we have not mentioned unto thee ; and God spake unto Moses, discoursing with him; apostles declaring good tidings, and denouncing threats, lest men should have an argument of excuse against God, after the apostles Agw? been soit unto them ; God is mighty and wise. God is witness of that revelation which he hath sent down unto thee ; he sent it down with his special knowledge : the angels also are witnesses thereof; but God is a sufficient witness. They who believe not, and turn aside others from the imposition ; some said he was taken up into heaven ; and others, that his manhood only suffered, and that his godhead ascended into heaveu.7 P This passage is expounded two ways : — Some, referring the relative his, to the first antecedent, take the meaning to be, that no Jew or Christian shall die before he believes in Jesus; for they say that when one of either of those religions is ready to breathe his last, and sees the angel of death before him, he shall then believe in that prophet as he ought, though his faith will not then be of any avail. According to a tradition of Hejaj, when a Jew is expiring, the angels will strike him on the back and face, and say unto him, thou enemy of God, Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe in him; to which he will answer, I now believe him to be the servant of God; and to a dying Christian they will say, Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee, and thou hast imagined him to he God, or the Son of God; whereupon he will believe him to be the servant of God only, and his apostle. » Others, taking the above-mentioned relative to refer to Jesus, suppose the intent of the passage to be, that all Jews and Christians in general shall have a right faith in that prophet before his death ; that is, when he descends from heaven and returns into the world, where he is to kill Antichrist, and to estabhsh the Mohammedan religion, and a most perfect tranquillity and security on earth.^ .** i- e. Against the Jews for rejecting him; and against the Christians, for calling him God, and the Son of God.^ •■ See chap. iii. p 42, and 47, and the notes there. " As Abdallah Ebn Salam, and his companions.^ 7 Al Beidawi. 8 Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, Al Zamakhshari, and Al Beidawi the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. » Al Beidawi. i Idem. 80 AL KORAN. CHAP. IT. way of God, have erred in a wide mistake. Verily tliose who believe not, aud act unjustly, God will by no means forgive, neither will he direct them into any oilier way than tlie way of hell 3 they shall remain therein for ever: and this is e;isy with God. O men, now is the apostle come unto you, with truth from your LoiU) ; believe therefore, it will be better for yon. But if ye disbelieve, verily unto God hdongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth ; and God is knowing ami wise. O ye who liave received the scriptures, exceed not the just bounds in your religion,* neither say of GoD any other than the truth. Verily Christ Jesus the son of ^lary is the apostle of God, and his Word, which he conveyed into Mary, and a spirit proceeding from him. Believe therefore in God, and his apostles, and sjiy not. There are three Gods;"" forbear this ; it will be better for you. God is but one God. Far be it from him that he should have a son ! unto him hd ngeth whatever is in heaven and on earth ; and God is a sufficient pro- tector.* Christ doth not proudly disdain to be a servant unto God; neither the angels who approach near to his presence : and whoso disdaineth his service, and is puffed up with pride, God will gather them all to himself, on i/ie last day. Unto those who believe, and do that which is right, he shall give their rewards, and shall superabundantly add unto them of his libe- rality : but those who are disdainful and proud, he will punish with a grievous punishment ; and they shall not find any to protect or to help them, besides God. O men, now is an evident proof come unto you from your Lord, and we have sent down unto you manifest light.* They who believe in God and firmly adhere to him, he will lead them into mercy from him aud abundance ; and he will direct them in the right way to himself.^ They will consult thee/or thy decision in certain cases ; say unto them, God giveth you tJiese determinations, concerning the more remote degrees of kindred.^ If a man die without issue, and have a sister, she shall have the half of what he shall leave:* and he shall be heir to her,** in case she have no issue. But if there be two sisters they shall have between them two-third parts of what he shall leave; and if there be several, both brothers and sisters, a male shall have as much as the portion of two females. God declareth unto you tliese precepts, lest ye err : and GoD knoweth all things. t Either by rejecting and contemning of Jesus, as the Jews do ; or raising him to an equality with God, as do tlic Christians.' " Namely, God, Jesus, and Mary.' For the eastern writers mention a sect of Christians which held the Trinity to be composed of those three ; * but it is allowed that this heresy has been long 'since extinct.* The passage, however, is equally levelled against the Holy Trinity, according to the doctrine of the orthodox Christ- ians, who, as Al Beidawi acknowledges, believe the divine nature to consist of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Gho Al Beiadwi. CHAP. V. AL KORAN. 81 CHAPTER V. INTITLED, THE TABLE ;c REVEALED AT MEDINA IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. O TRUE believers, perform your contracts. Ye are allowed to eat tlie brute cattle,"* otlier than what ye are commanded to abstain from ; except the game which ye are allowed at other times, but not while ye are on pil- grimage io Jl/ecc« ; God ordaineth that which he pleaseth. O true be- lievers, violate not the holy rites of God,^ nor the sacred month,^ nor the offering, nor the ornaments hung ihereon^^ nor those who are travelling to the holy house, seeking favour from their Lord, and to please him. But when ye shall have finished your 'pilgrimage ; then hunt. And let not the malice of some, in that they hindered you from entering the sacred tem- ple,*" provoke you to transgress, by taking revenge on them in the sacred months. Assist one another according to justice and piety, but assist not one another in injustice and malice : therefore fear God ; for God is severe in punishing. Ye are forbidden to eat that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine's flesh, and that on which the name of any besides God hath been invocated ;^ and that which hath been strangled, or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by the horns of another beast, and that which hath been eaten by a wild beast,'^ except what ye shall kill yourselves ;^ and that which hath been sacrificed unto idols.™ It is likewise unlawful for you to make division by casting lots with arrows." This is an impiety. On this day," woe be unto those who have apostatized from their religion ; therefore fear not them, but fear me. This day have I perfected your religion for you,^ and have '^ This title is taken from the Table, which, towards the end of the chapter, is fabled to have been let down from heaven to Jesus. It is sometimes also called the chapter of Contracts, which word occurs in the first verse. By having piven von a true and perfect religion-, or, by the taking of Mecca, and the destruction of idohitry, ' Not such as nre filthy, or unwholosomo. * Whether beasts or birds. * Either wlion ye let go the hound, hawk, or other animal, after the game, or when ye kill it ° Vi:., slain or dressed by Jews or Christians. » These words are the form used at the inauguration of a prince; and Moham- med here inteuds the oath of fidelity which his followers had taken to him at al Akaba.« * •' Justice is the sister of piety." — .S:^farv. « Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moham. p. 43, and the Prelim. Pisc. sect. ii. CHAP. ▼. AL KORAS. 83 you, but he restrained their hands from hurting you ; ^ therefore fear God and in God let the faithful trust. God formerly accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, and we appointed out of them twelve leaders : and God said, Verily I am with you : ^ if ye observe prayer, and give alms, and believe in my apostles, and assist them, and lend unto God on o-ood usury,** I will surely expiate your evil deeds from you, and I will lead you into gardens, wherein rivers flow : but he among you who disbelieveth after this, erreth from the straight path. Wherefore because they have broken their covenant, we have cursed them, and hardened their hearts ; they dislocate the words of the Pentateuch from their places, and have for- gotten part of what they were admonished j and thou wilt not cease to discover deceitful practices among them, except a few of them. But forgive them, ^ and pardon them, for God loveth the beneficent. And from those who say. We are Christians, we have received their covenant j but they have forgotten part of what they were admonished ; wherefore we have raised up onmity and hatred among them, till the day of resurrection; and God will then surely declare unto them what they have been doing. O ye who have received the scripture^, now is our apostle come unto you, to make manifest unto you many things which ye concealed in the scriptures ;° y The commentators tell several stories as the occasion of this passage. One says, that Mohammed and some of his followers being at Osfan, (a place not far from IVIecca, in the way to Medina,) and performing their noon devotions, a company of idolaters, who were in view, repented they had not taken that opportunity of attack- ing them, and therefore waited till the hour of evening prayer, intending to fall upon them then : but God defeated their design, by revealing the verse of fear. Another relates, that the prophet going to the tribe of Koreidha (who Avere Jews) to levy a fine for the blood of two Moslems, who had been killed by mistake, by Amru Ebn Orameya al Dimri, they desired him to sit down and eat with them, and they would pay the fine : Mohammed complying with their request, while he was sitting, they laid a design against his life, one Amru Ebn Jahash undertaking to throw a mill- stone upon him ; but God withheld his hand, and Gabriel immediately descended to acquaint the prophet with their treachery, upon which he rose up and went his way, A third story is, that Mohammed having hung up his arms on a tree, under which he was resting himself, and his companions being dispersed some distance from him, an Arab of the desert came up to him, and drew his sword, saying, Who hindereth me from killing thee ? to which Mohammed answered, God : and Gabriel beating the sword out of the Arab's hand, Mohammed took it up, and asked him the same question, Who hinders me from killing thee? the Arab replied, Nobody ; and imme- diately professed Mohammedism.7 Abulfeda ^ tells the same story, with some varia- tion of circumstances. =« After the Israelites had escaped from Pharaoh, God ordered them to go against Jericho, which was then inhabited by giants, of the race of the Canaanites, promising to give it into their hands; and Moses, by the divine direction, appointed a prince or captain over each tribe, to lead them in that expedition,^ and when they came to the borders of the land of Canaan, sent the captains as spies to get information of the state of the country, enjoining them secresy ; but they being terrified at the prodigious size and strength of the inhabitants, disheartened the people by publicly telling what they had seen, except only Caleb the son of Yufanna (Jephunneh) and Joshua the son of Nun.^ * By contributing towards this holy war. * "Employ your riches iu the defence of the holy religion.'' — Savary. > J> That is, if they repent and believe, or submit to pay tribute. Some, however, think these words are abrogated by the verse of the swordJ^ « Such as the verse of stoning adulterers, ^ the description of Mohammed, and Christ's prophecy of him by the name of Ahmed.* - 7 Al Beidawi. ^ yit. Moh. p. 73. » See Num. i. 4. 5. i Al Beidawi. See Numb. xiii. and xiv. ^ Al Beidawi. s See chap. iii. p. 37, * Al Beidawi 84 AL KORAN. CHAP. T. and to pass over** many things. Now is light and a perspicuous book of revelations come unto you from God. Thereby will God direct him who shall follow his good ple;isure, into the paths of peace ; and shall lead them out of darkness into light, by liis will, and shall direct them in the right way. They are infidels, who 5ay, Yerily God is Christ the son of Mary, Say unto them, And who could obtain any thing from God to the contrary, if he pleased to destroy Christ the son of Mary, and his mother, and all those who are on the earth? For unto God hdongcth the kingdom of heaven and earth, and whatsoever j;? contained heiwoen them; he createth what he pleaseth, and God is almighty. The Jews and the Christians say, We are the children of God, and his beloved. Answer, Why therefore doth he punish you for your sinsi Nay, but ye are men, of those whom he hath created- He furgiveth whom he ple;iseth, and punisheth whom he pleaseth; and unto God bdongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth, and oi what is contained heivreen them both; and unto him shall all things return. O ye who have received the scriptures, now is our apostle come unto you, declaring unto you the true rdigion, during the cessation of apostles,® lest ye should say, There came unto us no bearer of good tidings, nor any Warner : but now is a bearer of good tidings, and a warner come unto you ; fur God is almighty. Call to mind when Moses said unto his people, my people, remember the favour of God towards you, since he hath apix)inted prophets among you, and constituted you kings,^ and bestowed on you what he hath given to no other nation in the world.^ O my people, enter the holy land, which God hath decreed you, and turn not your backs, lest ye be subverted and perish. They answered, O Moses, verily there are a gigantic people in the land;^ and we will by no means enter it, until they depart thence ; but if they depart thence, then will we enter therein. A nd two men* of those who feared God, unto whom God had been gracious, said, Enter ye upon them suddenly by the gate o/tJie city ; and when ye shall have entered the same, ye shall surely be victorious : therefore trust in God, if ye are ti-ue believers. They replied, O Moses, we will never enter e slain, or crucified, or liave their hands and their feet cut off on the opposite sides, or be banished the land." Tlus shall be their disgrace in this world, and in the next world they shall sufier a grievous punishment; except those who shall repent, before ye prevail against them ; for know that God is inclined to forgive, aiid merciful. O true believers, fear God, and earnestly desii-e a near conjunction with him, and fight for his religion, that ye may be happy. Moreover they who believe not, although they had whatever w in the earth, and as much more withal, that they might therewith redeem themselves from punishment on the day of resurrection ; it shall not be accepted from them, but they shall siifier a painful punishment They shall desire to go forth from the fire, but they shall not go forth fi'om it, and their pimishment shall be permanent. If a man or a woman steal, cut oflT their hands,^ in retribution for that which they have com- mitted; this is an exemplary punishment appointed by God; and God is mighty and wise. But whoever shall repent after his iniquity, and amend, verily God will be turned unto him,^ for God is inclined to forgive, and merciful. Dost thou not know that the kingdom of heaven and earth is ♦ " lie who sliall slay a man, without liavin^ suficred violence from him, shall be puihy of the blood of all the human race ; and he who shall save the life of a man shall be rewarded as if he had saved it to all the human race." — Savury. • Such as id'datry, or robbing on the high way.^ * Having broken the commandment which forbids the shedding of blood. " The lawyers are not agreed as to the applying of these punishments. But the commentators suppose, that they who commit murder only, are to be put to death in the ordinar}- way; those who murder and rob too, to be crucified; those who rob w ithout committing murder, to have their right hand and their left foot cut off ; and they who assault persons and put them in fear, to be banished.^ It is also a doubt whether ihcy who are to be crucified shall be crucified alive, or be first put to death, or whether they shall hang on the cross till they die.^ " But this punishment, according to the Sonna, is not to be inflicted, unless the value of the thing stolen amount to four dinars, or about forty shillings. For the first ofTi-nce the criminal is to lose his right hand, which is to be cut off at the wrist ; for the second l>ffencc, his left foot, at the ankle ; for the third, his left hand ; for the fourth, his right foot; and if he continue to offend, he shall be scourged at the discretion of the judge." — " This law is no longer in use among the Turks. The bastonnude is the usual punishment for theft. Robbers are often beheaded. This crime is verj- rare in the Turkish towns; but the defective state of the police renders it common on the high roads, and especially in the deserts." — Savari/. y That is, God will not j-unish him for it hereaft'er; but his repentance does not supersede the execution of the law here, nor excuse him from making restitution. Yet, according to al Shafei, he shall not be punished if the party wronged forgive him bcl'ore he be carried before a magistrate.' « Al Beidawi. ' Idem, Jallalo'ddin. s ^1 BeidawL » Jallalo'ddin, AI Beidawi. ' lidem. CHAP. r. AL KORAN. 87 God's 1 He punisheth whom he pleases, and he pardoneth wliora he pleaseth ; for God is almighty. apostle, let not them grieve thee, who hasten to infidelity,^ either of those who say, We believe, with their mouths, but whose hearts believe not ; ^ or of the Jews, who hearken to a lie, and hearken to other people ;^ who come unto thee : they pervert the words of the law from their true places,*^ cmd say, If this be brought unto you, receive it ; but if it be not brought unto you, beware of receiving alight else ; '^ and in behalf of him whom God shall resolve to reduce, thou shalt not prevail with God at all. They whose hearts God shall not please to cleanse shall suffer shame in this world, and a giievous punishment in the next : who hearken to a lie, and eat that which is forbidden.® But if they come unto thee for judgment, either judge between them, or leave them ; ^ and if thou leave them they shall not hurt thee at all. But if thou undertake to judge, judge between them with equity; for God loveth those who observe justice. And how will they submit to thy decision, since they have the law, containing the judgment of God ? ^ Then will they turn their backs,* after this ; ^ but those are not true believers.' We have surely sent down the law, containing direction, and t. e. Who take the first opportunity to throw off the mask, and to join the un- believers. « Viz., the hypocritical ]\Iohammedans. ^ These words are capable of two senses ; and may either mean that they attended to the lies and forgeries of their Rabbins, neglecting the remonstrances of Moham- med ; or else, that they came to hear Mohammed as spies only, that they might report what he said to their companions, and represent him as a liar.2 <= See chap. iv. p. 66, note d. ^ That is, if what Mohammed tells you agrees with scripture, as corrupted and dislocated by us, then you may accept it as the word of God, but if not, reject it. These words, it is said, relate to the sentence pronounced by that prophet, on an adulterer and adulteress,^ both persons of some figure among the Jews. For they, it seems, though they referred the matter to Mohammed, yet directed the persons who carried the criminals before him, that if he ordered them to be scourged, and to have their faces blackened (by way of ignominy) they should acquiesce in his determination, but in case he condemned them to be stoned, they should not. And Mohammed pronouncing the latter sentence against them, they refused to execute it, till Ebn Suriya (a Jew), who was called upon to decide the matter, acknowledged the law to be so. Whereupon they were stoned at the door of the mosque.* • Some understand this of unlawful meats ; but others of taking or devouring, as it is expressed, of usury and bribes.^ ^ i. e. Take thy choice, whether thou wilt determine their differences or not. Hence al Shafei was of opinion that a judge v/as not obliged to decide causes be- tween Jews or Christians ; though if one or both of them be tributaries, or under the protection of the Mohammedans, they are obliged : this verse not regarding them. Abu Hanifa however thought that the magistrates were obliged to judge all cases which were submitted to them.'' e In the following passage, Mohammed endeavoiirs to answer the objections of the Jews and Christians, who insisted that they ought to be judged, the former by the law of Moses, and the latter by the gospel. He allows that the law was the proper rule of judging till the coming of Jesus Christ, after which the gospel was the rule ; but pretends that both are set aside by the revelation of the Koran, Avhich is so far from being contradictory to either of the former, that it is more full and explicit ; declaring several points which had been stifled, or corrupted therein, and requiring a vigorous execution of the precepts in both, which had been too remissly observed, or rather neglected, by the latter professors of those religions. * " But they fluctuate in doubt, and believe not." — Suvary. ^ That is, notwithstanding their outward submission, they will not abide by thy sen- tence, though conformable to the law, if it contradict their own false and loose decisions. > As gainsaying the doctrine of the books which they acknowledge for scripture. 2 Al Beidawi. s ggQ chap. iii. p. 37, note q. * Al Beid3,wi. « Idem. « Idem. 88 AL KORATT. CHiP. V. liglit : thcrcTiy did the prophets, wlio professed the tnie r cligi >u, judge those who Judaized ; and the doctors and priests alao jiuhjed by the book of God, which had been committed to their custody ; and they were witnesses thereof.^ Therefore fear not men, but fear me ; neither sell my signs foi a small price. And whoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they are infidels. We have therein commanded them, that tJtey ahouU (jive life for life,' and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and ear for ear, and tooth for tooth ; and that wounds should also he punished by re- taliation : ™ but whoever should remit it as alms, it should be accepted as an atonement for him. And whoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they are unjust. We also caused Jesus the son of Mary to follo"W the footsteps of the prophets, confirming the law wliich was sent down before him ; and we gave him the gospel, containing direction and light ; confirming also the law which was given before it, and a direction and admonition unto those who fear God : that they who have received the gospelmight judge according to what God hath revealed therein: andwhoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they are transgressors. We have also sent down unto thee the hook of the Kordn with truth, con- firming that scripture which wa< revealed before it ; * and preserving the same safe ^rom corruption. Judge therefore between them according to that which God hath revealed ; and follow not their desires, by swerving from the truth which hath come unto thee. Unto every of you have we given a law, and an open path ; tind if God had pleased, he had surely made you one people ;° but he hath thought jil to give you different laws, that he might try you in that which he hath given you respectively. There- fore strive \.o excel each otlier in good works : unto God shall ye all return, and tlven will he declare unto you that concerning which je have disagreed. Wherefore do thou, O prophet, ^udge between them according to that which God hath revealed, and follow not their desires ; but beware of them, lest they cause thee to err ° from part of those jirecepts which God hath sent dowTi unto thee ; and if they turn back,^' know that God is pleased to punish them for some of their crimes ; for a* great number of men are transgressors. Do they therefore desire the judgment of tJic time of ignorance ? "^ but who is better than God, to judge between people who ^ That is, vij^ilant, to prevent any corruptions therein. J The original wonl is goul. "' See Exod. xxi. 24, &c. • " We have sent thee down the book of truth, which confirmeth the scriptures that came before it, and bcareth witness to them." — S wary. " t. e. He had given you the same laws, whicli should have continued in force through all ages, without being abolislied or changed by now dispensations; or he could have forced you all to embrace tlic Mohammoilan religion.^ " It is related, that certain of the Jewish priests came to I^fohammod with a design to entrap him ; and having first represented to him, that if they acknowledged him for a prophet, the rest of the Jews would certainly follow their example, made this proposal; that if he wouM give judgment for them in a controversy of moment which they pretended to hnvc with their own people, and which was agreed to be referred to his decision, they would believe in him: but this Mohammed absolutely refused to comply with.^ p Or refuse to be judged by the Koran. « That is, to be judged according to the customs of paganism, wjiioh indulge tho 7 Al Bcidawi. ^ Idem. CHAP. r. AL KORAN. 89 reason ariglit? true believers, take not the Jews or Christians iovyour friends ; they are friends the one to the other ; but whoso among you taketh them for his friends, he is surely one of tbem : Yerily God directeth not unjust people. Thou shalt see those in whose hearts there is an infirmity, to hasten unto them, saying. We fear lest some adversity befall us / but it is easy for God to give victory, or a command from him,^ that they may repent of that which they concealed in their minds. And they who believe Avill say, Are these the men who have sworn by God, with a most firm oath, that they surely held with you ?^ their works are become vain, and they are of those who perish. O true believers, whoever of you apostatizeth from his religion, God will certainly bring other people to supply hisplace,^ whom he will love, and who will love him ; who shall be humble towards the believers,* but severe to the unbelievers : they shall fight for the religion of God, and shall not fear the obloquy of the detractor. This is the bounty of God, he bestoweth it on whom he pleaseth : God is extensive a7id wise. Yerily your protector is God, and his apostle, and those who believe, who observe the stated times of prayer, passions and vicious appetites of mankind : for this, it seems, was demanded by the Jewish tribes of Koreidha and al Nadir.^ ^ These were the words of Ebn Obba, who, when Obadah Ebn al Samat pnblicly renounced the friendship of the infidels, and professed that he took God and his apostle for his patrons, said that he was a man apprehensive of the fickleness of fortune, and therefore would not throw off his old friends, who might be of service to him hereafter.^ ®To extirpate and banish the Jews ; to detect and punish the hypocrites. These words may be spoken by the Mohammedans either to one another, or to the Jews : since these hypocrites had given their oaths to both.^ ^ This is one of those accidents which it is pretended, were foretold by the Koran long before they came to pass. For in the latter days of Mohammed, and after liis death, considerable numbers of the Arabs quitted his religion, and returned to Paganism, Judaism, or Christianity. Al Beidawi reckons them up in the follow- ing order. 1. Three companies of Banu Modlaj, seduced by Dhu'lhamar al Aswad al Ansi, who set up for a prophet in Yaman, and grew very powerful there.^ 2. Banu Honeifa, who followed the famous false prophet Moseilama.* 3. Banu Assad, who acknowledged ToleihaEbn Kho wailed, another pretender to divine revelation,^ for their prophet. All these fell off in Mohammed's lifetime. The following, except only the last, apostatized in the reign of Abu Beer. 4. Certain of the tribe of Eezarah, headed by Oyeyma Ebn Hosein. 5. Some of the tribe of Ghatfan, whose leader was Korrah Ebn Salma. 6. Banu Soleim, who followed al Fahjaah Ebn Abd Yalil. 7. Banu Yarbu, whose captain was Malec Ebn Noweirah Ebn Kais. 8. Part of the tribe of Tamin, the proselytes of Sajaj the daughter of al Mondhar, who gave herself out for a prophetess.^ 9. The tribe of Kendah, led by al Ashath Ebn Kais. 10. Banu Beer Ebn al Wayel in the province of Bahrein, headed by al Hotam Ebn Zeid. And 11. Some of the tribes of Ghassan, who, with their prmce Jabalah Ebn al Aysham, renounced IMohammedism in the time of Omar, and re- turned to their former profession of Christianity.^ But as to the persons who fulfilled the other part of this prophecy, by supplying the loss of so many renegades, the commentators are not agreed. Some Mill have them to be the inhabitants of Yaman, and others the Persians ; the authority of Mohammed himself being vouched for both opinions. Others, however, suppose them to be two thousand of the tribe of al Nakha (who dwelt in Yaman), five thou- sand of those of Kenda and Bajilah, and three thousand of unknown descent, who were present at the famous battle of Kadesia,^ fought in the Khalifat of Omar, and which put an end to the Persian empire.^ * " If they are inferior to the believers, they shall be superior to the infidels." — Savary. ® Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. 2 Idem. s gee the Prelim. Disc. sect. viii. * See ib. 5 See ib. « See ib. '' See ib. sect. i. « Vide D ' Hcrbcl. Bibl. Orient. p. 226. 9 Al Beidawi. 90 AL KORAN. CHAP. ▼. and "^ive alms, and who bow down to worship. And whoso takcth God, and his apostle, and the believers for his friends, thet/ are the party of GoP, and they shall be victorious. O true believers, take not such of those to whom the scriptures were delivered before you, or of the infidels, for your friends, who make a laughing-stock, and a jest of your religion ;^ but fear God, if ye be true believei-s ; Tier those wlu) when ye call to prayer, make a laughing-stock and a jest of it;^ this they do ^ because they are people who do Dot understand. Say, O ye who have received the scriptures, do ye rtject us /or any other reason than because we believe in God, and that revelati'jn which hath been sent down unto us, and that which was formerly sent down, and fur that the greater jxirt of you are transgressors? Say, Shall I denounce unto you a worse thing than this, as to the reward which ye are to expect with God ?* He whom God hath cursed, and with whom he hath been angry, having changed svwie of them into apes and swine," and who worship Taghut,** they are in the worst condition, and eiT more vndely from the straightness of the path. When they came unto you, they said, "We believe : yet they entered into your company with infidelity, and went forth from you with the same ; but God well knew what they con- cealed. Thou shalt see many of tliem hastening unto iniquity and malice, and to eat things forbidden;'' and woe unto them fi/r what they have done. Unless their doctors and priests forbid them uttering wickedness, and eating things forbidden ; woe unto t1iemf>r what they shall have com- mitted. The Jews say. The hand of God is tied up.*^ Their hands shall be tied up,<* and they shall be cursed for that which they have said. Nay his hands are both stretched forth ; he bestowcth as he pleaseth : that which * Tills passage was primarily intended to forbid the Moslems entering into a friend>hip with two hypocrites named Refaa Ebn Zeid, and Soweid Ebn al Hareth, who, though they had embraced Mohammedism, yet ridiculed it on all occasions, and were notwithstanding greatly beloved among the prophet's followers. ^ These words were added on occiision of a certain Christian, who hearing tho Muadhdhin, or crier, in calling to prayers, repeat this part of the usual form, / pro- fe&i that Mohammed is tfie apostle o/"6ou, said aloud, Muy God burn tfte liar : but a few nights after his own house was accidentally set on fire by a servant, and himself and his family perished in the flames.*^ * " What can I describe unto you more terrible than the vengeance which God hath exercised against you? He hath cursed you in his anger. Some of you hath he transformed into apes and into swine, because that ye have burned incense before idols, and that ye have been plunged into utter darkness.'' — Savarv. * The former were the Jews of Ailah, who broke the sabbath;' and the latter those who believed not in the miracle of the Table which was let down from heaven to Jesus.' Some however, imagine that the Jews of Ailah only are meant in this place, pretending that the y'>ung men among them were metamorphosed into ape>, and the old men into swine.* * See chap, ii, p. 31. * See before, p. '^1. * That is, he '\^ become niggardly and closefisted. These were the word.* «p1 Phincaa Ebn Azura (another indecent expression of whom, almost to the je turned unto God, and ask pardon of him? since God is gracious and merciful. Christ the son of Mary is no more than an apostle ; otlter aix)stles have preceded him ; and his mother was a woman of veracity : ° they both ate food.^ Behold, how we declare unto them the signs of God's nnitij ; and then behold, how they turn i\&\iXQ from the tnUL Say uiUo them, Will ye woi>hip, besides God, that which can cause you neither hann nor profit ? God is he who heareth a?ic? seeth. Siiy, O ye who have received the scri^jtures, exceed not tJie just hounds iu your religion,^ by speaking beside the truth ; neither follow the desires of l>eople who have heretofore erred, and who have seduced many, and have gone astray from the straight path.*" Those among the children of Israel who believed not were cui-sed bv the tongue of David, and of Jesus the son of Mary.* This befell tJum because they were rebellious and transgressed : they forbade not one another the wickedness which they committed ; and woe U7ito them for what they committed. Thou shalt see many of them oake for their friends those who believe not. Woe unto tJiem for what their souls have sent before them,*^ for that God is incensed against them, and thev shall remain in torment /or ever. But, if they had believed in God, and the prophet, and that which hath been revealed unto him, they had not taken them for their friends ; but many of them are evil doers. Thou shalt surely find the most violent of all men in enmity against the true believers to be the Jews, and the idolaters : and thou shalt surely find those among them to be the most inclinable to entertain friendshi]) for the true believers, who say. We are Christians. This cometh to jmss, because there are priests and monks among them ; and because they are not elated with pride :" * [VII.] and when they hear that which hath been sent down to the apostle read unto them, thou shalt see their eyes overflow with tears, because of the truth which they perceive tJierein,^ saying, O Lord, we «" Sec chap. iv. p. 80. o Never pretending to partake of the divine nature, or to be the mother of God.^ p Being obliged to support tlu'ir lives l»r the same means, and hring subject to the same necessities antl infirmities as the rest of mankind, and therefore no gods.' <> See chup. iv, p. 80. But here the words are i)riucipally directed to the Chris- tians. ' That 18, of their prelates and predecessors, who erred in ascribing divinitv to Christ, before the mission of Mohammed.* • See before, p. 90. note z. » See chap. ii. p. 13, note r. " Having not that high conceit of themselves, as the Jews have ; but being humble and well disposed to receive the truth ; qualities, says Al Beidawi, which arc to bo commended even in infidels. » The persons directly intended in this passage were, either Ashama, king of Ethiopia, and several bishops and priests, who being assembled for that purpose, * Jallalo'ddin. ' Idem, Al Beidawi. ' lidom. CHAP. V. AL KOliAN. 93 belicTe ; write us down therefore with those who bear witness to the truth : and what should hinder us from believing in God, and the truth which hath come unto us, and from earnestly desiring that our Lord would in- troduce us into paradise with the righteous people? Therefore hath God rewarded them, for what they have said, with gardens through which rivers flow; they shall continue therein /or ever; and this is the reward of the righteous. But they who believe not, and accuse our signs of false- hood, they shall he the companions of hell. O true believers, forbid not the good things which God hath allowed you;^ but transgress not, for God lovetli not the transgressors. And eat of what God hath given you for food that which is lawful atid good: and fear God, in whom ye believe. God will not punish you for an inconsiderate word in your oaths ;^ but h© will punish you for what ye solemnly swear with deliberation. And the expiation of such an oath shall he the feeding of ten poor men with such moderate /oo(^ as ye feed your own families withal; or to clothe them;'^ or to free the neck of a true hel lever /rom captivity : but he who shall not find wlierewith to perform one of these three things shall fast three days.** This is the expiation of your oaths, when ye swear inadvertently. Therefore keep your oaths. Thus God declareth unto yoiThis signs, that ye may give thanks. true believers, surely wine, and lots,^ and images,*^ and divining arrows,^ are an abomination of the work of Satan ; therefore avoid them, that ye may prosper. Satan seeketh to sow dissension and hatred among you, by means of wine and lots, and to divert you from remembering heard Jaafar Ebn Taleb, who fled to that country in the first flight, * read the 29th and 30th, and afterwards the 18th and 19th chapters of the Koran; on hearing of which the king and the rest of the company burst into tears, and confessed what was written therein to be conformable to truth ; that prince himself, in particular, becoming a proselyte to Mohammedism : ^ or else, thirty, or as others say. seventy persons, sent ambassadors to Mohammed by the same king of Ethiopia, to whom the prophet himself read the 36th chapter, intitled Y. S. Whereupon they began to weep, saying, How like is this to that which loas revealed unto Jesus ! and imme- diately professed themselves Moslems. "^ y These words were revealed, when certain of Mohammed's companions agreed to oblige themselves to continual fasting and watching, and to abstain from women, eating flesh, sleeping on beds, and other lawful enjoyments of life, in imitation of some self-denying Christians; but this the prophet disapproved, declaring, that he would have no monks in his religion.^ ^ See chap. ii. p. 26. » The commentators give us the different opinions of the doctors, as to the quantity of food and clothes to be given in this case ; which I think scarcely worth trani cribing. ^ That is, three days together, says Abu Hanifa. But this is not observed in practice, being neither explicitly commanded in the Koran, nor ordered in the Sonna.8 «= That is, all inehriating liquors, and games of chance. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. V. and chap. ii. p. 25. •^ Al Beidawi and some other commentators expound this of idols; but others, with more probability, of the carved pieces, or men, with which the pagan Arabs played at chess, being little figures of men, elephants, horses, and dromedaries ; and this is supposed to be the only thing which JNIohammed disliked in that game : for which reason the Sonnites play with plain pieces of ^H)od, or ivory; but the Persians and Indians, who are not so scrupulous, still make use of the carved ones.^ " See the Prelim. Disc. sect. v. * See the Prelim. Disc. sect. ii. ^ Al Beidawi, al Thalabi. Vide AbTilfed. Vit. Moh. p. 25, (fcc. Marracc. Prodr. ad Pefut. Alcoi'. part 1. p. 45. *' Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. V-ide Marracc. ubi sup. ^ Jallalo'ddin, Al BeidawL ^ Al Beidawi. ^ Vide Prelim. Disc. sect. v. 94 AL KOKAX. CHAT-. T God, and from prayer : will ye not therefore abstain/rom tJtem l Obey God, and obey the apostle, and take heed to ycnirsdves : but if ye turn back, know- that the duty of our apostle is only to preach publicly/ In those who believe and do good works, it is no sin that they have tasted wine or gaming hefoie they were forbidden; if they fear God, and believe, and do good works, and shall for the future fear God, and believe, and shall persevere to fear him and to do good;^ for God loveth those who do good. O true believers, God will surely prove you in offering ytnt, plenty o/*game, which ye may take with your hands or your lances,*^ that God may know who feareth him in secret ; but whoever transgresseth after this shall suffer a grievons punishment. O true believers, kill no game while ye are on pilgrimage;* whosoever among you shall kill any designedly shall restore the like of what he shall have killed,* in domestic animals,^ according to the deter- mination of two just persons among you, to be brought as an offering to the Caaba; or in atonement thereof shall feed the jwor; or instead thereof shall fast, that he may taste the heinousness of his deed. God hath for- given what is past, but whoever returncth to transgress, God will tfike vengeance on him ; for God is mighty and able to avenge. It is lawful for you to. fish in the sea,' and to eat what ye shall catch, as a provision for you and for those who travel; but it is unlawful for you to hunt by land, while ye are performing the rites of pilgrimage;™ therefore fear God, before whom ye shall be assembled at the last day. God hath appointed tho Caaba, theholy house, an establishment" formankind; and haih ordained the * Sec the Prelim. Disc. sect. ii. » The commentators endeavour to excuse the tautolopr of this passage, by sup- posing the threefold repetition of fearinp and believing refers eitlier to the three parts of time, past, present, and future, or to the threefold duty of man, towards God, him- self, and his neighbour, &c^ •» This temptation or trial was at al Hodeibiya, where Mohammed's men, who had attended him thither witli an intent to perfonn a pilp^rimape to the Caaba, and had initiated themselves with the usual rites, were surrounded by so great a number of birds and beasts, that they impeded their march ; from wliich unusual accident, some of them concluded that God had allowed them to be taken; but this passage was to convince them of the contrary.' ' Litcrallv wldle ye are Muhrinis, or have actually initiated yourselves as pilgrims, by y.utting on the garment worn at that solemnity. Hunting and fowling are hereby absolutely forbidden to persons in this state; though they are allowed to kill certain kinds of noxious animals.' « " He who violateth this prohibition shall be punished as though he had killed a domestic animal." — Savary. , , . , k That is. he shall bring an offering to the temple of Mecca, to be slam there end distributed among the poor, of some domestic or tame animal, equal in value to what he shall have killed; as a sheep, for example, in lieu of an antelope; a pigeon for a partridge, &c And of this value two prudent persons were to be judges. If the ofTondcr was not able to do this, he was to give a certain quantity of food to one or more poor men ; or if he could not afford that, to fast a propor- tionable number of days.* , T ,. , , . ^ > This, says .lallalo'ddin, is to be understood offish that live altogether m the sea, and not of those that live in the sea and on land botli, as crabs, A:c. The Turks, who are Hanirites. never eat this sort of fish; but the sect of Malec Ebn Ans, and perhaps some others, make no scruple of it. n* See above, note i. • ■ •,• a ■ That is, the place where the practice of their religious ceremonies is chiefly 1 Al Beidawi. > Idem, Jallalo'ddin. » See the PrcUm. Disc. sect. v. * Jalla- lo'ddin, Al Bcida\^i. CHAP. V. AL KORAN. 95 sacred raout}i^°and the offering, and the ornaments hung thereon.v This hath he done that ye might know that God knoweth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth, and that God is omniscient. Know that God is severe in punishing, and that God is also ready to forgive, and merciful. The duty of our apostle is to preach only ;^ and God knoweth that which ye discover, and that which ye conceal. Say, Evil and good shall not be equally esteemed of, though the abundance of evil pleaseth thee j *■ therefore fear God, O ye of understanding, that ye may be happy. O true believers inquire not concerning things, which, if they be declared unto you, may give you pain;" but if ye ask concerning them when the Koran is sent down, they will be declared unto you : God pardoneth you as to these matters ; for God is ready to forgive, a?«c/ gracious. People who have been before you formerly inquired concerning them ; and afterwards disbelieved therein. God hath not ordained a?^y thing concerning Bahira, nor Saiba, nor Wasila, nor Hami ;* but the unbelievers have invented a lie against God : and the greater part of them do not understand. And when it was said unto them, Come unto that which God hath revealed, and to the apostle ; they answered, That religion which we found our fathers ^oyb/^oz^ is sufficient for us. What, though their fathers knew- nothing and were not rightly directed? O true believers, take care of your souls 1 He who erreth shall not hurt you, while ye are rightly directed :" unto God shall ye all return, and he will tell you that which ye have done. O true believers, let witnesses be taken between you, when death approaches anyof you, at the time of making the testament ; let tliere established ; where diose who are under any apprehension of danger may find a sure asylum^ and the merchant certain gain, &c.^ o Al Beidawi understands this of the month of Dhu'lhajja, wherein the ceremonies of the pilgrimage are performed ; but Jallalo'ddin supposes all the four sacred months are here intended.^ p See before, p. 81. note g. Al Bcidawi. ' Idem. ' Idem. CHAP. V. Ali KORAN. 97 holy spirit,^^ that thou shouldest speak unto men in the cradle, and when thou wast grown up ;^ and when I taught thee the scripture, and wisdom, and the law, and the gospel ; and when thou didst create of clay as it were the figure of a bird, by my permission, and didst breathe thereon, and it became a bird, by my permission : and thou didst heal one blind from his birth, and the leper, by my permission ; and when thou didst bring forth the dead from their graves by my permission/ and when I withheld the children of Israel from killing thee,^ when thou hadst come unto them with evident miracles^ and such of them as believed not said, This is nothing but manifest sorcery. And when I commanded the apostles of Jesus saying, Believe in me, and in my messenger; they answered, We do believe ; and do thou bear witness that we are resigned unto thee. Re- member when the apostles said, O Jesus son of Mary, is thy Lord able to cause a table to descend unto us from heaven ?^ He answered, Fear God, if ye be true believers. They said. We desire to eat thereof, and that our hearts may rest at ease, and that we may know that thou hast told us the truth, and that we may be witnesses thereof. Jesus, the son of Mary said, O God our Lord^ cause a table ta descend unto us from heaven, that the day of its descent may become a festival day i untous, unto the first of us, and unto the last of us, and a sign from thee ; and do thou provide food for us, for thou art the best provider. God said, Yerily I will cause it to ^ See chap. ii. p. 12. ^ gee chap. iii. p. 41. f See ibid. & See ibid. p. 42. ^ This miracle is thus related by the commentators, Jesus having, at the request of his followers, asked it of God, a red table immediately descended, in their sight, between two clouds, and was set before them ; whereupon he rose up, and having made the ablution, prayed, and then took off the cloth which covered the table, saying, In the name of God, the befit provider of food. What the provisions were, with Avhich this table was furnished, is a matter wherein the expositors are not agreed. One will have them to be nine cakes of bread and nine fishes; another, bread and flesh ; another, all sorts of food except flesh ; another, all sorts of food, except bread and flesh ; another, all except bread and fish ; another, one fish, which had the taste of all manner of food ; and another, fruits of paradise : but the most received tradition is, that Avhen the table was uncovered, there appeared a fish ready dressed, without scales or prickly fins, dropping with fat, having salt placed at its head, and vinegar at its tail, and round it all sorts of herbs, except leeks, and five loaves of bread, on one of which there were olives, on the second honey, on the third butter, on the fourth cheese, and on the fifth dried flesh. They add, that Jesus, at the request of the apostles, showed them another miracle, by restoring the fish to life, and causing its scales and fins to return to it; at which the standers-by being affrighted, he caused it to become as it was before : that one thousand three hundred men and women, all afilicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these provisions, and were satisfied j the fish remaining whole as it was at first : that then the table flew up to heaven in the sight of all ; and every one who had partaken of this food were delivered from their infirmities and misfortunes : and that it continued to descend for forty days together, at dinner-time, and stood on the ground till the sun declined, and was then taken up into the clouds. Some of the Mohammedan writers are of opinion that this table did not really descend, but that it was only a parable ; but most think the words of the Koran are plain to the contrary. A fur- ther tradition is, that several men were changed into swine for disbelieving this miracle and attributing it to magic art; or, as others pretend, for stealing some of the victuals from off it.* Several other fabulous circumstances are also told, which are scarce worth transcribing.^ ' Some say the table descended on a Sunday, which was the reason of the Christians observing that day as sacred. Others pretend that this day is still kept among them as a very great festival ; and it seems as if the story had its rise from. an imperfect notion of Christ's last supper, and the institution of the Eucharist. * Al Beidawi, al ITialabi. « Vide Marracc. in Ale. p. 238, &o. 98 AL KOIUVN. cn-vp vl descend unto you ; but whoever among you shall disbelieve hereafler, I will surely puuish him with a punishment, wherewith I will not puuish any other creature. And when God shall say unto Jews, at the last day, O Jesus, Bon of ;Mar}% hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother for two gods, beside God ? He shall answer. Praise be unto thee ! it is not for me to say that which I ought not ; if I had said so, thou wouldest surely have known it : thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is in thee ; for thou art the knower of secrets. I have not spoken to them any other than what thou didst command me ; namdy, Woi-ship GoD, my Lord and your LoBD : and I was a witness of t/^eir actions while I staid among them ; but since thou hast taken me to thyself,'^ thou hast been the watcher over them ; for thou art witness of all things. If thou punish them, they are surely thy servants ; and if thou forgive them, thou art mighty and wise. GoD will say, This day shall their veracity be of advantage unto thofte who speak truth ; they shall have gardens wherein rivei-s flow, they shall remain therein for ever : GoD hath been well pleased in them, and they have been well pleased in him. This shall be great felicity. Unto God bdongeth the kingdom of heaven and of earth, and of whatever therein is ; and he is almighty. CHAPTER VI. INTITLED, CATTLE :«IIEVEAJLED AT MECCA™ IN THE K.VME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. Praise be unto God, who hath created the heavens and the earth, and hath ordained the darkness and the light ; nevertheless they who believe not in the Lord equalize otJter gods icith him. It is he who hath created you of clay ; and then decreed the term of your lives; and the pre6xed term is with him :^ yet do ye doubt i/iereof He is God in heaven and in earth ; he knoweth what ye keep secret, and what ye publish, and knoweth what ye deserve. There came not unto them any sign, of the signs of their Lord, but they retired from the same ; and they have gainsaid the truth, after that it hath come imto them : but a message shall come unto them, ^ Or, since thou hart caused me to die ; but as it is a dispute among ^rohamtnedans whether Christ actually died or not, before his assumption,' and the orifjinal may be translated either way, I have chosen the former expression, which leaves the matter undecided. ' This chapter is so intitled, because some superstitious customs of the Meccans, as to certain cattle, are therein incidentally mentioned. ° Except only six verses, or, say othcrs,'three verses, which are taken notice of in the notes. ° By the last terra some understand the time of the resurrection. Others think that by the first term is intended the space between creation and death, and by the latter, that between death and the resurrection. « See chap, iii. p. 43. CHAP. VI. AL KORAN. 90 coaceruing tliat wliicli they have mocked at. ° Do they not consider how inany generations we have destroyed before them ? We had established them in the earth in a manner wherein we have not established you;P we sent the heaven to rain abundantly upon them^ and we gave them rivers which flowed under tJieir feet : yet we destroyed them in their sins, and raised up other generations after them. Although we had caused to descend unto thee a book vjritten on paper, and they had handled it with their hands, the unbelievers had surely said. This is no other than manifest sorcery.* They said. Unless an angel be sent down unto him, ive will not believe. But if we had sent down an angel, veiily the matter had been decreed, ^ and they should not have been borne with, 6y having time granted them to repent. And if we had appointed an angel for our messenger, we should have sent him in the form of o, man,^' and have clothed him before them, as they are clothed. Other apostles have been laughed to scorn, before thee, but tlve judgment which they made a jest of encompassed those who laughed them to scorn. Say, Go through the earth, and behold what hath been the end of those, who accused our frophets of imposture. Say, Unto whom belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and earth 1 Say, Unto God. He hath prescribed unto himself mercy. He will surely gather you together on the day of resiu'rection ; there is no doubt of it. They who destroy their own souls are those who will not believe. Unto him is owing whatsoever happeneth by night or by day ; t it is he who heareth and knoweth. Say, Shall I take any other protector than God, the creator of heaven, and earth, who feedeth all and is not fed hy ayiy ? Say, Yerily I am commanded to be the first to profess Islam, ^ and it was said unto me, Thou shalt by no means be one of the idolaters. Say, Verily I fear, if I should rebel against my Lord, the punishment of the great day : from whomsoever it shall be averted on that day, God will have been merciful unto him ', this will he manifest salvation. If God afflict thee with any hurt, there is none who can take it oEfrom thee, except himself; but if he cause good to befall thee, he is almighty j he is the supreme Lord over his servants : and he is o That is, they shall be convinced of the truth which they have made a jest of, when they see the punishment which they shall suffer for so doing, both in this world and the next ; or when they shall see the glorious success of Mohammedism. p i. e. We had blessed them with greater power and length of prosperity than we haA^e granted you, O men of MeccaJ Mohammed seems here to mean the ancient and potent tribes of Ad and Thamud, &c.8 * " It is an imposture." — Savary. ^ That is to say, As they would not have believed, even if an angel had descended to them from heaven, God has shown his mercy in not complying with their de- mands ; for if he had, they would have suffered immediate condemnation, and would have been allowed no time for repentance. ' As Gabriel generally appeared to Mohammed ; who, though a prophet, was no< able to bear the sight of him when he appeared in his proper form, much less would others be able to support it. t '' He possesseth all that night veileth, all that day enlighteneth. He knoweth and heareth all things." — Savary. • That is, the first of my nation.' 7AlBeidawi. » ggg the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. » Al Beidawi. loo AL KORAN. CHAP. vj. •wise and knowing. Say, What thing is the strongest in hearing testimony 1 ' Sav, God ; he is witness hetwecn me and you. And this Konin was revealed unto me, that I should admonish you thereby, and also those unto whom it shall reach. Do you really profess that there are other gods together viiih God ? Say, I do not profess this. Say, Verily he is one God ; and I am guiltless of what ye associate with him. They unto whom we have given the scripture know our apostle, even as they know their own c}61- dren ;^ hut they >vho destroy their own souls \sill not believe. Who is more unjust than he who inventcth a lie against God,* or chargeth his signs -with imiwsture ? Surely the unjust shall not prospey. And on the day of resurrection we will assemble them all ; then will we say unto those who associated otft£rs icith God, Where are your companions,^' whom ye imagined to he those of God ? But they shall have no other excuse, than that they shall say. By God our Lord, we have not been idolaters. Behold, how they lie against themselves, and what they have hlasp/iemously imagined to he the companion of God flieth from them.^ There is of them who hearkeneth imto thee wfien thou readest the Koran ;^ but we have cast veils over their hearts, that they should not understand it, and a deafness in their ears : and though they should see all hinds of signs, they will not believe therein ; and their infiddity will arrive to that lieight that they will even come unto thee, to dispute with thee. The unbelievers will say. This is nothing but Billy fables of ancient tirnes. And they ydW forbid otJiers from helieving therein, and will retire afar oft' from it ; but they will destroy their own souls only, and they are not sensible tJiereof. If thou didst see when they shall be set over the fire of JieU I and they shall say, Would to God we might be sent back into the world; we would not charge the signs of our Lord with imposture, and we would become true believers : nay, but that is become manifest unto them, which they formerly concealed ; ^ and though they should be sent back into the world, they would surely return to that which was forbidden them ; and they are surely liars. And they said, There is no other life than our present life ; neither shall we be raised again. But if thou couldest see, when they shall be set before their Lord !° He shaU say unto them, Is not this in truth c me to pass 1 They t This passage was revealed when the Koreish told ^Mohammed that they had asked the Jews and Christians concerning him, who assured them they found no mention or description of him in their books of scripture; Therefore^ said they, who bears witness to thee, thai thou art t/ie apostle of Qod H^ " See chap. ii. p. 18. • Saying the angels arc the daughters of God, and intercessors for us witli him, &c.' 7 i. e. Your idols and false gods. « That is, their imaginary deities prove to be nothing, and disappear like vain phantoms and chimeras. • The persons here meant were Abu Sofian al Walid, al Nodar, Otba. Al»u Jahl, and their comrades, who went to hear Mohammed repeat some of the Koran; and Kodar being asked what he said, answered with an oath, that he knew not, only that he moved his tongue, and told a parcel of foolish stories, as he had done to them.' ^ Viz. their hypocrisy and vile actions : nor docs tlieir promise proceed from any sincere intention of amendment, but from the anguish and misery of their condition.* • Viz. in order for judgment. ^ Al Bcidawi, Jallalo'ddin. ' Al Bcidawi. » Idem. * Idera. CHAP. VI. ^^ KORAN. 101 sliall answer, Yea, by our Lord. God shall say, Taste therefore the punish- ment due unto you^ for that ye have disbelieved. They are lost who reject as a falsehood the meeting of God in the next life, until the hour^ eometh suddenly upon them. Then will they say, Alas ! for that we have behaved ourselves negligently in our lifetime; and they shall carry their burdens on their backs;® will it not be evil which they snail be loaden with] This present life is no other than a play and a vain amusement ; but surely the future mansion shall he better for those who fear God: will they not there- fore understand? Now we know that what they speak grieveth thee: yet they do not accuse thee of falsehood j but the ungodly contradict the signs of GoD.^ And apostles before thee have been accounted liars : but they patiently bore their being accounted liars, and their being vexed, until our help came unto them; for there is none who can change the words of God : and thou hast received some infonnation concerning those who have been formerly sent f)'om him.^ If their aversion to thy admonitions be grievous unto thee, if thou canst seek out a den whereby thou mayest penetrate into the inward parts of the earth, or a ladder by which thou mayest aseend into heaven, that thou mayest show them a sign, do so, but thy search will be fruitless; for if God pleased he would bring them all to the true direction : be not therefore 07ie of the ignorant.^ He will give a favourable answer unto those only who shall hearken with attention : and God will raise the dead ; then unto him shall they return. The infdels say, Unless some sign be sent down unto him from his Lord, we will not believe: answer, Yerily God is able to send down a sign: but the greater part of them know it not.* There is no kind of beast on earth, nor fowl which flieth with its wings, but tlie same is a people like ^ The last day is here called the Hour, as it is in scripture ; ^ and the preceding expression of meeting God on that day is also agreeable to the same,^ « When an infidel comes forth from his grave, says Jallalo'ddin, his works shall De represented to him under the ugliest form that ever he beheld, having a most deformed countenance, a filthy smell, and a disagreeable voice ; so that he shall cry out, God defend me from thee, ivhat art thou? I never saw any thing more de- testable! To which the figure will answer, Why dost thou wonder at my ufliness ? 1 am thy evd works ;'^ thou didst ride xipon me, while thou wast in the world, but now wUl I ride upon thee, and thou shalt carry me. And immediately it shall get upon him ; and whatever he shall meet shall terrify him, and say, Hail, thou enemy of God, thou art he who was meant by (these words of the Koran) and they shall carry their burdens, 6fc.^ f That is, it is not thou but God whom they injure by their impious gainsaying of what has been revealed to thee. It is said that Abu Jahl once told Mohammed, that they did not accuse him of falsehood, because he was known to be a man of veracity, but only they did not believe the revelations which he brought them; which occasioned this passage.^ s i. e. Thou hast been acquainted with the stories of several of the preceding prophets ; what persecutions they suffered from those to whom they were sent, and in what manner God supported them and punished their enemies, according to his unalterable promise.^ s ^ In this passage Mohammed is reproved for his impatience, in not bearing with the obstinacy of his countrymen, and for his indiscreet desire of effecting what God hath not decreed, namely, the conversion and salvation of all men.^ ' Being both ignorant of God's almighty power, and of the consequence of what they ask, which might prove their utter destruction. * 1 John V. 25, &c. ^ i Thess. iv. 17. ^ See Milton's Paradise Lost, book ii. ver. 737, &c. 8 gee ^Iso ch. iii. p. 54. ^ Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. * Idem. 102 AL KORAN. ciiAP. vi. unto yon ;^ we have not omitted anything in the book^ of (mr decrees:* then unto their Lord shall they return.™ They who accuse our signs of falsehood are deaf and dumb, walking in darkness : God will lead into error whom he pleaseth, and whom he j)leaseth ho will put in the right way. Say, What think ye? is the punishment of God come upon you, or the hour ofiJiA resurrection come uj)on you, will ye call upon any other than God, if ye speak ti-uthi yea, him shall ye call uj)on, and he shall free you from that which ye shall ask him to deliver y an from, if he pleaseth ; and ye shall forget that which ye associated \oith him.^ We have already sent fnessengers unto sundry nations before thee, and we afflicted them with trouble and adversity that they might humble themselves: yet when the affliction which we sent came upon them, they did not humble themselves; but their liearts became hardened,t and Satan prepared for them that which they committed. And when they had forgotten that concerning which they had been admonished, we of)ened unto them the gates of all things ;° until, while they were rejoicing for that which had been given them, we suddenly laid hold on them, and behold, they icere seized with despair; and the utmost parts of the people which had acted wickedly was cut off: praise be unto God, the Lord of all creatures! Say, What think ye? if God should take away your hearing and your sight, and should seal up your hearts; what god besides God will restore them unto you] See how variously we show forth the signs of Gods unity ;^ yet do they turn &&iAefrom tfiem. Say unto them, What think ye? if the punishment <»f God come upon you suddenly, or in open view;*^ will any perish, except the ungodly people? We send not our messengers otherwise than bearing good tidings and denouncing threats. Whoso therefore shall believe and amend, on them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved : bub ^ Being created and preserved by the same omnipotence and providence as yc are. ' That is, in the preserved table, wherein God's decrees are written, and all things which come to pass in the world, as well the most minute as the more momentous, are exactly registered.' * " The beasts which cover the earth, the birds which traverse the air, are creatures like yourselves. All are wiittcn in the book. They will appear again before him." — Savary. ™ For, according to the Mohammedan belief, the irrational animals will also be restored to life at the resurrection, that they may be brought to judgment, and have vengeance taken on them for the injuries they did one another while in this world.* ° That is. Ye shall then forsake your false gods, when ye shall be effectually con- vinced that God alone is able to deliver you from eternal punishment. But others rather think that this forgetting will be the eflfect of the distress aud terror which they will then be in.' f " Tlicir hearts grew hard, and Satan caused them to find charms in rebellion." — Savary. *" That is, we gave them all manner of plenty; that since they took no warning by their aflflictions, their prosperity might become a snare to them, and they might bring down upon themselves swifter destruction. P Laying them before you in different views, and making use of arguments and motives drawn from various considerations. "» That is, says al Beidawi, either without any previous notice, or after some warning given. » iSce the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * See ibid, » Al BeidiwL CHAP. VI. AL KORAN. 103 whoso shall accuse our signs of falsehood, a punishment shall fall on them, because they have done wickedly. Say, I say not unto you, The treasures of God are in my power : neither do I say, I know the secrets of God: neither do I say unto you, Verily I am an angel : I follow only that which is revealed unto me. Say, Shall the blind and the seeing be held equal ? do ye not therefore consider ? Preach it unto those who fear that they shall be assembled before their Lord : they shall have no patron nor inter- cessor, except him ; that peradventure they may take heed to themselves. Drive not away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, desiring to see his face;' it belongeth not unto thee to pass any judgment on them," nor doth it belong unto them to pass any judgment on thee : therefore if thou drive them away, thou wilt become one of the unjust. Thus have we proved some part of them by other part, that they may say, Are these the people among us unto whom God hath been gracious]* Doth not God most truly know tJwse who are thankful 1 And when they who believe in our signs shall come unto thee, say. Peace he upon you. Your Lord hath prescribed unto himself mercy ; so whoever among you worketh evil through ignorance, and afterwards repenteth and amendeth ; unto him will he surely be gracious and merciful. Thus have we distinctly propounded our signs, that the path of the wicked might be made known. Say, Yerily I am forbidden to worship the false deities which ye invoke, besides God. Say, I will not follow your desires; for then should I err, neither should I be one of those who are rightly directed. Say, I behave according to the plain declaration, which I have received from my I^ord ;. but ye have forged lies concerning him. That which ye desii'e should be hastened, is not in my power ;^ judgment belongeth only unto God; he will determine the truth ; and he is the best discerner. Say, If what ye desire should be hastened were in my power, the matter had been determined between me and you :^ but God well knoweth the unjust. With him are the keys of the secret things; none knoweth them besides himself: he knoweth that which is on the dry land and in the sea ; there falleth no ' These words were occasioned when the Koreish desired Mohammed not to ad- mit the poor or more inferior people, such as Ammar, Soheib, Khobbab, and Salman, into his company, pretending that then they would come and discourse with him ; but he refusing to turn away any believers, they insisted at least that he should order them to rise up and withdraw when they came, which he agreed to do. Others say, that the chief men of Mecca expelled all the poor out of their city, bidding them go to Mohammed ; which they did, and offered to embrace his religion ; but he made some difficulty to receive them, suspecting their motive to be necessity, and not real conviction ; ^ whereupon this passage was revealed. ^i. e. Rashly to decide whether their intentions be sincere or not; since thou canst not know their heart, and their faith may possibly be more firm than that of those who would persuade thee to discard them. * That is to say, the noble by those of mean extraction, and the rich by the poor; in that God chose to call the latter to the faith by the former.' " This passage is an answer to the audacious defiances of the infidels, who bid Mohammed, if he were a true prophet, to call for a shower of stones from heaven, or some other sudden and miraculous punishment, to destroy them,^ *For I should ere now have destroyed you, out of zeal for God's honour, had it been in my power .^ «AlBeidawi. Jallalo'ddin. "^ lidQm. ^AlBeidawi. » Idem. 10^ AL KOR^VN. cnxp. rr. leaf, but he knowetb it ; neither is tliere a single grain in the dark parts of the earth, neither a green thing, nor a dry thing, but it is lorUten in the perspicuous book/ It is lie who causeth you to sleep by night, and knoweth what ye merit by day; he also awaketh you therein, that the prefixed term of your lives may be fulfilled : then unto liim shall ye return, and he shall declare unto you that which ye have wrought. He is supreme over his servants, and seudeth the guardian angels to watch over you,* until, when death overtaketh one of you, our messengeiii* cause him to die : and they will not neglect our commands. Afterwards shall they return unto God, their true Lord : doth not judgment belong unto him ? he is the most quick in taking an account.*' Say, Who delivereth you from the darkness" of the land, and of the sea, wJien ye call upon him humbly and in private, scujing^ Verily if thou deliver us*^ from these dangers, we will surely be thankful ? Say, God delivereth you from them, and from every grief of mind ; yet afterwards ye give him companions.' Say, He is able to send on you a punishment from above you,^ or from under your feet,^ or to engage you in dissension, and to make some of you taste the violence of others. Observe how variously we show forth our signs, that perad ven- ture they may understand. This people hath accused the revelation which thou Jiast brought of falsehood, although it be the truth. Say, I am not a guardian over you : every prophecy hath its fixed time of aocomplishment ; and ye will hereafter know it. AVhen thou seest those who are engaged in cavilling at, or ridiculing our signs, depart from them, until they be engaged in some other discourse : * and if Satan cause thee to forget this precept, do not sit with the ungodly people after recollection. They who fear God are not at all accountable for them, but t/ieir duty is to remember, that they may take heed to themselves.^ Abandon those who make their religion a sport and a jest ; and whom the present life hath deceived: and admonish tliem by t/ie Kordn, that a soul becometh liable to destruction for that which it committeth : it shall have no patron nor intercessor besides God ; and if it could pay the utmost price of redemption, it would not be accepted from it. They who are delivered over to perdition for that which y I. e. The preserved table, or register of God's decrees. ■ See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. • That is, the angel of death and his assistants.^ *> See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * That is, the dangers and distresses. <* The Cufic copies read it in the tliird person, i/he deliver lis, 6fC. • Returning to your old idolatry. ' That is, hy storms from heaven, as he destroyed the unhelieving people of Noah, and of Lot, and the army of Abraha, the lord of the elephant.' ' Either by drowning you, as he did Pharaoh and his host, or causing the earth to open and swallow you up, as happened to Korah, or (as the Mohammedans name him) Karun.' ♦ " Fly from those who revile religion, until thev change their discourse." — Savanj. »» And therefore need not be troul)lcd at the indecent and impious talk of the in- fidels; provided they take care not to bo infected by them. When the preceding passage was revealed, the Moslems told their prophet, that if they were obliged to rue up whenever the idolaters spoke irreverently of the Koran, they could never fit quietly in the temple, nor perform their devotions there ; whereupon these wordi were added.* > See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. ' Al Beidawi. » Idem. * Idem, Jallalo'ddin, CHAP. VI. AL KORAN. 105 tliey have committed shall have boiling water to drink, and shall suffer a grievous punishment, because they have disbelieved. Say, Shall we call upon that, besides God, which can neither profit us nor hurt us 1 and shall we turn back on our heels, after that God hath directed us ; like him whom the devils have infatuated, wandering amazedly in the earth, and yet having companions who call him into the true direction, saying, Come unto us 1 Say, The direction of God is the true direction : we are com- manded to resign ourselves unto the Lord of all creatures ; and it is also commanded us, saying, Observe the stated times of prayer, and fear him ; for it is he before whom ye shall be assembled. It is he who hath created the heavens and the earth in truth ; and whenever he saith unto a thing, Be, it is. His word is the truth ; and his will be the kingdom on the day whereon the trumpet shall be sounded : ^ he knoweth whatever is secret, and whatever is public ; he is the wise, the knowing. Call to mind when Abraham said unto his father Azer,^ Dost thou take images for gods 1 ^ Verily I perceive that thou and thy people are in a manifest error. And thus did we show unto Abraham the kingdom of heaven and earth, that he might become one of those who firmly believe."" And when • See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. ^ This is the name which the Mohammedans give to Abraham's father, named in scripture Terah. However some of their writers pretend that Azer was the son of Terah,^ and D'Herbelot says that the Arabs always distinguish them in their gene- alogies as different persons ; but that because Abraham was the son of Terah ac- cording to Moses, it is therefore supposed (by European writers) that Terah is the same with the Azer of the Arabs.*^ How true this observation may be, in relation to some authors, I cannot say, but I am sure it cannot be true of all ; for several Arab and Turkish writers expressly make Azer and Terah the same person.^ Azer, in ancient times, was the name of the planet Mars, and the month of March was so called by the most ancient Persians ; for the word originally signifying fire (as it still does), it was therefore given by them and the Chaldeans to that planet,^ which partaking, as was supposed, of a fiery nature, was acknowledged by the Chaldeans and Assyrians as a god or planetary deity, whom in old times they worshipped under the form of a pillar ; whence Azer became a name among the nobility, who esteemed it honourable to be denominated from their gods,^ and is found in the composition of several Babylonish names. For these reasons a learned author supposes Azer to have been the heathen name of Terah, and that the other was given hira on his con- version. ^ Al Beidawi confirms this conjecture, saying that Azer was the name of the idol which he worshipped. It may be observed that Abraham's father is also called Zarah in the Talmud, and Athar by Eusebius. (The sui-name of Azer was given to him in consequence ot his idolatry. It is derived from iazar, *' thou who art in error." — Savary.) ^ That Azar or Terah was an idolater, is allowed on all hands ; nor can it be denied, since he is expressly said in scripture to have served strange gods.^ The eastern authors unanimously agree that he was a statuary, or carver of idols ; and he is represented as the first who made images of clay, pictures only having been in use before,^ and taught that they were to be adored as gods.* However we are told his employment was a very honourable one,^ and that he was a great lord, and in high favour with Nimrod, whose son-in-law he Avas,^ because he made his idols for him, and was excellent in his art. Some of the Rabbins say Terah was a priest, and chief of the order.'^ ™ That is, we gave him a right apprehension of the goverament of the world and of the heavenly bodies, that he might know them all to be ruled by God, by putting him on making the following reflections. « Tarikh Montakhab, apud D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 12. « D'Herbel. ibid. 7 Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, Ebn 8hohnah, Mirat Kainat, &,c. Vide etiam Pharhang Jehanghiri, apud Hyde de Rel. Vet. Persar. p. 68. ^ Hyde, ibid. p. 63. ® Idem, ib. p. 64. i Idem, ibid. p. 62. ^ Josh. xxiv. 2, 14. 3 Epiphan. adv, Hfer. lib. 1, p. 7, 8. * Suidas in Lexico, voce lipovx. ^ Vide Hyde, ubi supra, p. Ga. e u'Hcrbel. ubi sup. 7 Shalshel. Uakkab. p. 94. lOG AL KORAN. cnAP. vi, the niglit overshadowed him, he saw a star, a?id he said, This is my Lord ; ° but when it set, he Siiid, I like not god^ which set. And when he saw tho moon rising, he said, This is my Lord ; but when he saw it set, he said, Verily if my Lord direct me not, I shall become ofie of the people who go astniy. And when he saw the sun rising, he said. This is my Lord, this is the greatest ; but when it set, he said, O my people, verily I am clear of that which ye associate with God : I direct my face unto him who hath crejited the heavens and the earth ; / am orthodox, and am not one of the idolaters. And his people disputed with him : and he said, Will ye dispute with me concerning God ? since he hath now directed me, and I fear not that which ye associate tvith him, unless that my Lord willeth a thing ; /or my Lord comprehendeth all things by his knf)wledge : ° will ye not therefore consider ? And how should I fear that which ye associate ivith God, since ye fear not to have associated with God that concerning which he hath sent down unto you no authority ? which therefore of the two parties is the more safe, if ye understand aright 1 They who believe, and clothe not their faith with injustice,^ they shall enjoy security, and they are rigidly directed. And this is our argument wherewith we furnished Abra- ham that lie might iruike ttse of it against his people : we exalt unto degrees 0/ ivisdom and knowledge whom we please ; for thy Lord is "vsdse and kno'W'ing. And we gave unto them Isaac and Jacob ; we directed " Since Abraham's parents were idolaters, it seems to be a necessary consequence that himself was one also in his younger years; the scripture not obscurely intimates as much; ^ and the Jews themselves acknowledge it," At what age he came to the knowledge of the true God and left idolatry, opinions arc various. Some Jewish writers tell us, he was then but three years old,^ and the Mohammedans likewise suppose him very young, and that he asked his father and mother several shrewd questions when a child.' Others however allow him to have been a middle-aged man at that time.' Maimonides, in particular, and H. Abraham Zacuth think him to have been forty years old, which age is also mentioned in the Koran. But the general opinion of the ^fohammedans is, that he was about fifteen or sixteen.* As the religion wherein Abraham was educated was the Sabian, which consisted chiefly in the worship of the heavenly bodies,* he is introduced examining their nature aud properties, to see whether they had a right to the worship which was paid them or not ; and the first which he observed was the planet Venus, or, as others will have it, Jupiter.' This method of Abraham's attaining to the knowledge of the supreme Creator of all things is conformable to what Joscphus writes : viz. That he drew his notions from the changes which he had observed in the earth and the sea, and in the sun and the moon, and the rest of the celestial bodies ; concluding that they were subject to tlie command of a su]>crior power, to whom alone all honour and thanks are due.'' The story itself is certainly taken from the Talmud.' Some of the commentators however suppose this reasoning of Abraham with himself was not the first means of his conversions, but that he used it only by way of argu- ment to convince the idolaters among whom he then lived. • That is, I am not afraid of your false gods, which cannot hurt me, except God permitteth it, or is pleased to afflict mc himself. p By injustice, in this place, the commentators understand idolatry, or open re- bellion against God. * Vide Josh. xxiv. 2, 14, and Hyde, nbi sup. p, 59. 'Joseph. Ant. lib. 1. c. 7. Maimon. More Nev. part iii. c. 29, et Yad Ilazzak, de Id. c. 1, hic. ^ Tanchuma, Talmud, Nedarim, 32,1, et apud Maimon. Yad llazz. ubi sup. ' Vide D'Herbel, Bibl. Orient. Art. Abraham. ' Maimon. nbi snp. K. Abr. Zacuth in Sefer Juchasin, Shalshcl. hakkab, &c. * Vide Hyde, ubi sup. pp. 00, 61. et Hotting. Smegma Orient, p. 29U, ic, Gencbr. in Chron. * See the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. p. 10. ' Al Beidawi. ' Joseph. Ant. lib. i. c. 7. ^ li. Bechai, in Midrash- Vide Bartolocc. Bibl. Kabb. part i. p. G^iO. CHAP. VT. AL KORAN. 107 them both : and Noah had we before directed, and of his posterity^ David and Solomon ; and Job/ and Joseph, and Moses, and Aaron : thus do we reward the righteous : and Zacharias, and John, and Jesus, and Elias/ all of them were upright men : and Ismael, and Elisha,* and Jonas, ^^ and Lot ;^ all these have we favoured above the rest of the world ; and also divers of their fathers, and their issue, and their brethren ; and we chose them, and directed them into the right way. This is the direction of God, he directeth thereby such of his servants as he pleaseth ; but if they had been guilty of idolatry, that which they wrought would have become utterly fruitless unto them. Those were the persons unto whom we gave the scripture, and wisdom, and prophecy ; but if these ^ believe not therein, we will commit the care of them to a people who shall not disbelieve the same. Those were tJie persons whom God hath directed, therefore follow their direction. Say unto the inhabitants of Mecca, I ask of you no recompense for preaching the Koran; it is no other than an admonition unto all creatures. They make not a due estimation of God,^ when they say, God hath not sent down unto man any thing at all : ^ Say, Who sent down the book which Moses brought, a light and a direction unto men ; which ye transcribe on papers, whereof ye publish some part, and great part wliereof ye conceal 1 and ye have been taught It/ Mohammed what ye knew not, neither your fathers. Say, God sent it down : then leave them to amuse themselves with their vain discourse. This book which we have sent down is blessed ; confirming that which was revealed before it ; and is delivered unto thee that thou mayest preach it unto the metropolis of Mecca and to those who are round about it. And they who believe in the next life will believe therein, and they will dili"gently observe their times of prayer. Who is more wicked than he who forgeth a lie concerning God?^* or ^ Some refer the relative his to Abraham, the person chiefly spoken of in this passage ; some to Noah, the next antecedent, because Jonas and Lot were not (say they) of Abraham's seed: and others suppose the persons named in this and the next verse are to be understood as the descendants of Abraham, and those in the following verse as those of Noah,^ ' The Mohammedans say he was of the race of Esau. See chap. xxi. and xxxviii. » See chap, xxxvii. t This prophet was the successor of Elias, and, as the commentators will have it, the son of Okhtub ; though the scripture makes him the son of Shaphat. " See chap, x., xxi., and xxxvii. ^ See chap, vii., &c. y That is, the Koreish.i * That is, they know him not truly, nor have just notions of his goodness and mercy towards man. The persons here meant, according to some commentators, ai-e the Jews, and according to others, the idolaters.^ This verse and the two next, as Jallalo'ddin thinks, were revealed at Medina. * By these words the Jews_ (if they were the persons meant) chiefly intended to deny the Koran to be of divine revelation : though they might in strictness insist that God never revealed, or sent down, as the Koran expresses it, any real compo- sition or material writing from heaven, in the manner that Mohammed pretended his revelations were delivered, 3 if we except only the decalogue ; God having left to the inspired penmen, not only the labour of writing, but the liberty, in a great mea- sure at least, of putting the truths into their own words and manner of expression. ^ Palsely pretending to have received revelations from him ; as did Moscilama, al Aswad al Ansi, and others. * " What can be more impious than to make God the accomplice of a falsehood ?"" • — Savaiy. « Al Bcidawi. i Idem. 3 ijem. « See th« Prelim. Disc. sect. iii. 108 AL KORAN. CHAP. vi. naith, This was revealed unto me ; when nothing hath been revealed unto him 1^ and who saith, I will produce a revelation like unto that which God hath sent doNvn ?^ If thou did.st sec wlien the ungodly are in tlie pangs of death, and the angels'' reach out their liands saylnj, Cast forth your souls; this day shall ye receive an ignominious punishment for that which ye have falsely spoken concerning God ; and because ye have proudly rejected his signs. And now are ye come unto us alone/ as we created you at first, ""' and ye have left that which we had bestowed on you, behind your backs ; neither do we see with yi^u your intercessors,^ whom ye thought to have been partners with God among you : now is the relation between you cut off, and what ye imagined hath deceived you.* God causcth the grain and the date-stone to put forth : he bringeth forth the living from the dead, and he bringeth forth the dead from the living. ^ This is God. Why therefore are ye turned away //-owi him 1 He causeth the morning to appear ; and liath ordained the uiglit for rest, and the sun and the moon for the computing of tiuie* Tliis is the disposition of the mighty, the vrv&o, God. It is he who hatli ordained the stars for you, that ye may be directed thereby in the darkness of the land and of the sea. "NVe have clearly shown forth our signs, unto people who underetand. It is he who hath produced you from one soul ; and luith j>rovideAfoT you a sure receptacle and a repository. ^ We have clearly shown forth our signs, unto people who are wise. It is he who sendeth down water from heaven, and we have thereby produced the springing buds of all things, and have there- out produced the green thing, from which we produce the grain growing in rows, and palm-trees from whose branches proceed clusters of dates hanging close together ; and gardens of grapes, and olives, and pomegranates, both like and unlike to one another. Look on their fruits, when they bear fi-uit, and their growing to maturity. Verily herein are signs, unto people who f As did Abda'Uah Ehn Saad Kbn Abi Sarali, who for some time was the propliet's amanuensis, and when these words were dictated to him as revealed, viz. We created truiti of a purer kitid of claij, 4rc.* cried out, by way of admiration, Blessed be God, the best Creator ! and beinj^ ordered by Mohammed to write tlu'sc words down also, as part of the inspired passage, bepan to think liimself as preat a prophet as liis master.* Wliereupon he took uj)on himself to corrupt and alter the Koran accordinjj: to his own fancy, and at len;^th apostatizing. w;is one of the ten who were proscribed at the taking of Mecca,* and narrowly escaped with Hfc on his recantation, by the interposition of Othman Ebn Atlan, whose foster-brother he was.' ^ For some Arabs, it seems, had the vanity to imaji^ine, and gave out, that if they pleased, thej could wiitc a book nothing inferior to the Koran. •See before, p. 104, note *. 'That is, without your wealth, your children, or your friends, whic-li ye so much depended on in your lifetime. » I. e. Naked and helpless. *" Or false gods. ' Concerning the intercession of your idols, or the disbelief of future rewards and punishments. ^ See chap. iii. p. 38. • " He is your Lord. How can lie deceive yoti? He divideth the dawn from the darkness. He hath appointed the night for rest. The sun and the moon mark the course of time." — Snvarij. ' Namely, in the loins of your fathers, and the wombs of your mothers.' * Koran, c. 23. * Al Beidawi. « Src the Prelim. Disc, end of sect. ii. ^ Vide Abulfcd. Vide Moh. p. 10i>. ^ a1 BcidawL CHAP. YT. AL KORAN. 109 believe. Yet they "have set np the genii™ as partners with God, although he created them : and they have falsely attributed unto him sons and daughters/' without knowledge. Praise be unto him j and far be that from him which they attribute unto him ! He is the maker of heaven and earth: how should he have issue since he hath no consort? he hath created all things, and he is omniscient. This is God your Lord ; there is no God but he, the creator of all things ; therefore serve him : for he taketh care of all things. The sight comprehendeth him not, but he, com- prehendeth the sight; he is the gracious," the wise. Now have evident demonstrations come unto you from your Lord; whoso seeth them, the advantage thereof will redound to his own soul : and whoso is ivilfully blind, the consequence iviU be to himself. I am not a keeper over you. Thus do we variously explain our signs; that they may say, Thou hast studied diligently ;P and that we may declare them unto people of understanding. Follow that which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord ; there is no God but he : retire therefore from the idolaters. If God had so pleased, they had not been guilty of idolatry. We have not appointed thee a keeper over them; neither art thou a guardian over them. Revile not the idols which they invoke besides God, lest they maliciously revile God, without knowledge. Thus have we prepared for every nation their works : hereafter unto God shall they return, and he shall declare unto them that which they have done. They have sworn by God, by the most solemn oath, that if a sign came unto them, they would certainly believe therein: Say, Verily signs are in the power of God alone ; and he permitteth you not to understand, that when they come, they will not believe."^ And we will turn aside their hearts and their sight y)'07?i the truth, as they believed not therein ^ the first time ; and we will leave them to wander in their error. [* YIIL] And though we had sent down angels unto them, and the dead had spoken unto them, and we had gathered together before them all things in one view;^ they would not have believed, ™ This signifies properly the ffenus of rational, invisible beings, whether angels, flevils, or that intermediate species usually called genii. Some of the commentators, therefore, in this place, iinderstand the angels, whom the pagan Arabs worshipped ; and others the devils, either because they became their servants by adoring idols at their instigation, or else because, according to the Magian system, they looked on the devil as a sort of creator, making him the author and principle of all evil, and God the author of good only.^ n See the Prelim. Discourse, sect. i. and sect. ii. o Or, as the word may be translated, the incomprehensible}- p That is, thou hast been instructed by the Jews and Christians in these matters, and only retailest to us w^hat thou hast learned of them. For this the infidels objected to Mohammed, thinking it impossible for him to discourse on subjects of so high a nature, and in so clear and pertinent a manner, Avithout being well versed in the doctrines and sacred writings of those people. 1 1n this passage Mohammed endeavours to excuse his inability of working a miracle, as had been demanded of him; declaring that God did not think fit to comply with their desires ; and that if he had so thought fit, yet it had been in vain, because if they were not convinced by the Koran, they would not be convinced by the greatest miracle. ^ *■ i. e. In the Koran. • For the Meccans required that Mohammed should either show them an angftl descending from heaven in their sight, or raise their dead fathers, that tliey might discourse with them, or prevail on God and his angels to appear to them in a body. » Al Beidawi. i Idem. 2 Confer Luke xvi. 31. 1 10 AL KOUAN. CHAP. n. unless God had so pleased: but the greater jurt of tliom know t£ not. Thus have we aj)pointcil unto every i»roi)het an enemy; the devils of men, and of geuii: who j)rivately suggest the one to the other specious discourses to deceive; but if tliy Lord pleased, they would not have douo it. Therefore leave them, and that wliich they have falsely imagined ; and let the hearts of those be inclined thereto, who believe not in the life to come; and let them please themselves therein, and let them gain that wliich they are gaining. Shall I seek after any oMer judge besides God to judge between nsi It is he who hath sent down unto you the book of tJie Koran distinguishing between good and evil; and they to whom we gave the scripture know that it is sent down from thy Lord, with truth. Be not therefore one of those who doubt tlurerf. The words of thy Lord are perfect, in truth and justice; there is none who can change his words :<^ he both heareth and knoweth. But if thou obey the gi-eater part of them who are in the earth, they will lead thee aside from the path of God: they follow an uncertain opinion only," and speak nothing but lies; verily thy Lord well knoweth those who go astray from his path, and well knoweth those who are rightly directed. Eat of that whereon the name of God hath been commemorated,"' if ye believe in his signs : and why do ye not eat of that whereon the name of God hath been commemorated? since he hath plainly deckired unto you what he hath forbidden you; except that which ye be compelled to eat of by necessity; many lead others into error,* because of their appetites, being void of know- ledge; but thy Lord well knoweth icho are the transgressors. Leave both the outside of iniquity and the inside thereof:^ for they who commit ini(iuity shall receive the reward of that which they shall have gained. Eat not therefore of that whereon the name of God hath not been comme- morated; for this is certainly wickedness: but the devils will suggest unto their friends, that they dispute with you concerning this precept; but if ye obey them, ye are suix)ly idolaters. Shall he who hath been dead, and whom we have restored nnto life, and unto whom we have ordained a light, whereby he may walk among men, be as he whose similitude is in darkness, from whence he shall not come forth ?^' Thus was that which the infidels are doing prepared for them.t And thus have we placed in * Some interpret this of the imiTiutability of God's decree, and the certainty of l)is tlireats and i)rumi.svs; others, of his particuhir promise to preserve the Koran from any such alterations or cormi)tions as they imagine to liave happened to the Tenta- tcuch and the Go.sj><.l,3 and (.thers, of the nnahenibU' duration of the Mohannnedan law, uhich tlit-y hold is to h-ist tili tlie end of the world, there beinj,' no other prophet, law, or disp(ii>ation, to be cxpectcMl jiftcr it. " Imaj,Mning that the true religion was that which their idolatrous ancestors professed. ' Sec chap. ii. p. 20, and chap. v. p. 81. * "The j,'reatest part of men go astray, seduced by their passions, and blinded by ignorance." — Savar^. * That is, lioth open and scent sins. y 'Die i)f rsons primarily iiiim the posterity of other people. Verily that which is threat- ened you, shall surely come to pass; neither shall ye cause it to fail. Say unto those of Mecca, O my people, act according to your power; verily I will act according to my duty :^ and hereafter shall ye know whose will be the reward of paradise. The ungodly shall not prosper. Those of Mecca set apart unto God a portion of that which he hath produced of the fruits of the earth, and of cattle ; and say, This belongeth unto God (according to their imagination), and this unto our companions." And that which is destined for their companions comcth not unto God ; yet that which is set apart unto God cometh unto their companions." How ill do they judge ! In like manner have their companions induced many of the idolaters to slay their children,^ that they might bring them to perdition, and that they might render their religion obscure and confused unto them.** But if GoD had pleased, they had not done this : therefore leave them, and that which they falsely imagine. They also say, These cattle and fruits of the earth are sacred ; none shall eat thereof but who we please "■ (according to their imagination) ; and there arc cattle whose backs are forbidden to be rode on, cular, who pretended to have a commission to preach to hoth kinds); according to this passage, it seems there must have been prophets of the race of genii also, though their mission be a secret to us. ' Or considered not their danger; but God first sent some prophet to them to warn them of it, and to invite them to repentance. * " Say unto man, Labour according unto thy strength ; I will proportion my benefits unto my power." — Savary. ™ That is, Ye may proceed in your rebellion against God and yonr malice towards me, and be confirmed 'in your infidelity ; but I will persevere to boar your insults with patience, and to publish those revelations whicli God has comn)andod me." ** i. e. Our idols. In which strree this word is to be taken through the whole passage. o As to this custom of the pagan Arabs, sec the Prelim. Disc, sect i. To what is there said we may add, that the share set apart for God was employed chiefly in relieving the poor, and strangers ; and the share of the idols, for paying their priests, and providing sacrifices for them.'® p Either by that inhuman custom, which prevailed among those of Kendah and some other tribes, of burying their daughters alive, so soon as they were born, if they apprehended they could not maintain them ; ^ or else by otfering them to their idols, at the instigation of those who had the custody of their tmiples.' •» By corrupting with horrid superstitions that religion which l:>mael had left to his posterity.^ ' That is,' Those who serve our idols, and are of the male sex ; for the women were noC allowed to eat of them.* ' Al Beiflawi. ^° Idem, JaUalo'dJin. ^ See chap. Ixxxi. ' Al BcidiwL ' Idem. * Idem. en A p. VI. AL KORAK 113 or loaden with burdens ;^ aiid tliere are cattle on whicli they commemorate not the name of God lohen they slay them ;^ devising a lie againsfc him : God shall reward them for that which they falsely devise. And they say, That which is in the bellies of these cattle" is allowed our males to eat and is forbidden to our wives : but if it prove abortive, then they are both partakers thereof^ God shall give them the reward of their attributing these things to him : he is knowing a7id wise. They are utterly lost who 'have slain their children foolishly/ without knowledge '/ and have for- bidden that which God hath given them for food, devising a lie against God. They have erred, and were not rightly directed. He it is who produceth gardens of vines, both those which are supported on trails of wood, and those which are not supported,^ and palm-trees, and the corn affording various food, and olives, and pomegranates, alike and unlike unto one another. Eat of their fruit, when they bear fruit, and pay the due thereof on the day whereon ye shall gather it ;^ but be not profuse," for God loveth not those who are too profuse. And God hath given you some cattle fit for bearing of burdens, and som£ fit for slaughter only. Eat of what God hath given you for food ; and follow not the steps of Satan, for he is your declared enemy. Four pair "^ of cattle hath God given you; of sheep one pair, and of goats one pair. Say unto them, hath God forbidden the two males, of sheep and of goats, or the two females ; or that which the wombs of the two females contain 1 Tell me with certainty, if ye speak truth. And of camels hath God given you one pair, and of oxen one pair. Say, Hath he forbidden the two males of these, or the two females ; or that which the wombs of the two females contain ^^ Were ye present when God commanded you this ? And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie against GoD,^that he Hjay seduce men without understanding ? Verily God directeth not unjust 8 Which they superstitiously exempted from such services, in some particular cases ; as they did the Bahira. the Saiba, and the Hami.^ t See chap. 5. ^ That is, the foetus or embryos of the Bahira and the Saiba, which shall he brought forth alive. ^ For if those cattle cast their young, the women might eat thereof as well as the men. y See p. 112, note p. " Not having a due sense of God's providence. a Or, as some choose to interpret the Avords, trees or plants which are planted ly the labour of man^ and those which grow naturally in the deserts and on mountains. *> That is, give alms thereof to the poor. And these alms, as al- Beidawi observes, were what they used to give before the Zacat, -or legal alms, was instituted ; which was done after Mohammed had retired from Mecca, where this verse was revealed. Yet some are of another opinion, and for this very reason will have the verse to have been revealed at Medina. • <= i. e. Give not so much thereof in alms, as to leave your own families in want ; for charity begins at home. ^ Or, literally, eight males and females paired together ; that is, four of each sex, and two of every distinct kind. _» In this passage Mohammed endeavours to convince the Arabs of their super- stitious folly in making it unlawful, one while, to eat the males of these four kinds of cattle ; another while, the females ; and at another time, their young.^ f The person particularly intended here, some say, was Amru Ebn Lohai, king of Hajaz, a great introducer of idolatry and superstition among the Arabs.7 * See chap. 5. p. 95, and Prelim. Disc. sect. v. « Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. See Prelim. Disc. p. 14, and Pocock. spec. p. 80. Hi AL KORAN. CHAP. VI. peoi)le. Say, I find not in that wliich hatb been revealed unto me any thing forbidden unto the eater, that he eat it not, except it be that which dieth of itself, or blood poure See Lovit. vii. 23, and iii. 16. ' Viz. the fat of the rumps or tails of sheop, which nre very lar^c in the cast; a small one weighing ten or twelve pounds, and some no less than threescore. ^ This and the two following verses Jallalo'ddin supposes to have been revealed at Medina. 1 The original word signifies peculiarly fornication aud avarice. ■» As for murder, apostasy, or adultery." • Al Beidawi. Jallalo'ddin. " Al Beidawi. ciiAr. VT. AL KOHAIT. 115 t](,at ye may know that this is my right way : therefore follow it, and follow not the path of others, lest ye be scattered from the path of God. This hath he commanded you that ye may take heed. "We gave also unto Moses the book oftlie Law; a perfect rule unto him who should do right, and a determination concerning all things needful, and a direction, and mercy; that the children of Israel might believe the meeting of their Lord. And this book which we have now sent down is blessed ; therefore follow it, and fear God that ye may obtain mercy ; lest ye should say, The scrip- tures were only sent down unto two people^ before us; and we neglected to peruse them with attention:*' or lest ye should say, If a book of divine revelations had been sent down unto us, we would surely have been better directed than they.'* And now hath a manifest declaration come unto you from your Lord, and a direction and mercy : and who is more unjust than he who deviseth lies against the signs of God, and turneth aside from them ? We will reward those who turn aside from our signs with a grievous punishment, because they have turned aside. Do they wait for any other than that the angels should come unto them, to part their souls from their bodies ; or that thy Lord should come to punish them ; or that some of the signs of thy Lord should come to pass, showing the day o^ judg- ment to he at hand ?^ On the day whereon some of thy Lord's signs shall come to pass, its faith shall not profit a soul which believed not before, or wrought not good in its faith.' Say, Wait ye/or this day; we surely do wait for it. They who make a division in their religion,^ and become sectaries, have thou nothing to do with them ; their affair hdongeth only unto God. Hereafter shall he declare unto them that which they have done. He who shall appear with good works, shall receive a tenfold recompense for the same; but he who shall appear with evil works, shall receive only an equal 'punishment for the same; and they shall not be treated unjustly. Say, Verily my Lord hath directed me into a right way, a true religion, the sect of Abraham the orthodox ; and he was no idolater. Say, Verily my prayers, and my worship, and my life, and my death are dedicated unto God, the Lord of all creatures : he hath no companioja. This have I been ° That is, the Jews and the Christians. " Either because we knew nothing of them, or did not understand the language wherein they were written. p Because of the acuteness of our wit, the clearness of our understanding, and our facility of learning sciences ; as appears from our excelling in history, poetry, and oratory, notwithstanding we are an illiterate people,^ 1 Al BeidaAvi, from a tradition of Mohammed, says that ten signs will precede the last day ; viz. the smoke, the beast of the earth, an eclipse in the east, another in the west, and a third in the peninsula of Arabia, the appearance of Antichrist, the sun's rising in the west, the irruption of Gog and Magog, the descent of JesuS on the earth, and fire which shall break forth from Aden.2 ^ For faith in the next life will be of no advantage to those who have not believed in this ; nor yet faith in this life, without good works. 8 ^ That is, who believe in part of it, and disbelieve other part of it ; or who form schisms therein. Mohammed is reported to have declared, that the Jews were divided into seventy-one sects, and the Christians into seventy-two: and that his own followers would be split into seventy-three sects ; and that all of them would be damned, except only one of each.^ ^ Al Beidawi. ^ gge t^g Prelim. Disc. sect. iy. 3 Al Beidawi. 116 AL KORAN. cnAr. vil commanded : I am the first Moslem.* Say, shall I desire any other Lord besides God? since he is the Lord of all things; and no soul shall acquire liny merits cr demerits but for itself; and no burdened soid shall bear the burden of another." Moreover unto your Lord shall ye return; and he shall declare unto you that concerning which ye now dispute. It is he Avho hath appointed you to succeed your predecessors in the earth, and hath raised some of you above others by various degrees 0/ ux>rldly advantages, that he might prove you by that which he hath bestowed on you. Thy Lord is swift in pimisking; and he is also gracious and mercifal. CHAPTEPv YIL DfTITLED, AL ARAF;« RE\T:^VLED AT MECCA^ IN XIIE N.VME OF TUE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. Al. M. S.'' a book hath been sent down unto thee : and therefore let there be no doubt in thy breast concerning it ; * that thou mayest preach the same, and that it may he an admonition unto the faithful. Follow that which hath been sent down unto you from your Lord ; and follow no guides besides him : how little will ye be warned ! How many cities have "we destroyed ; which our vengeance overtook by night,** or while they "were reposing themselves at noon-day ! ^ And their supplication, when our punishment came upon them, was no other than that they said, Verily we have been unjust. We will surely call those to an account, unto Avhom a vrophei hath been sent; and we will also call those to account who have been sent U7ito iltem. And we will declare their actiojis unto them with knowledge; for we are not absent yVom M^m. The weighing of mens actions on that day shall 6e just ;° and they whose balances laden trith their good works shall be heavy, are those who shall be happy; but they whose balances shall be light, are those who have lost their souls, because they injured our signs. And now have we placed you on the earth, and have » See before, p. 99. ° This was revealed in answer to the pressing instances of the idolaters, who offered to take the crime upon themselves, if Mohammed would confonn to their worship,* " Al Araf sifrnifics the partition between paradise and hell, wliich is mentioned in this chapter.* y Some however except five or eight verses, beginning at tlicse words, And ask them concerning the city. ^e. » The signification of those letters the more sober ^fohammedans confess God alone knows. Some however imagine they stand for Allah, Gabriel, Mohammed, on whom be peace. • " Fear not to use it for the purpose of threatening the wicked, and exhorting the true believers." — Sivary. • As it did the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, to whom Lot was sent. *» As happened to the Midianites, to whom Shoaib preached. « See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. * Al JBcidawi. * See tLc Ticlim. Disc. sect. iv. CHAr. rir. AL KORAN. 117 provided you food thereia : but how little are ye thankful ! We created you, and afterwards formed you ; and then said unto the angels, Worship Adam; and they all worshipped him, except Eblis, who was not one of those who worshipped.'^ God said U7ito hirriy What hindered thee from worshipping Adam, since I had commanded thee? He answered, I am more excellent than he : thou hast created me of fire, and hast created him of clay. God said. Get thee down therefore from paradise ; for it is not fit that thou behave thyself proudly therein : get thee hence ; thou shalt Ijd one of the contemptible. He answered. Give me respite until the day of resurrection. God said, Yerily thou shalt be one of those who are respited.® The devil said, Because thou hast depraved me, I will lay wait for imn iu thy strait way j then will I come upon them from before, and from behind, and from their right hands, and from their left ; ^ and thou shalt not find the greater part of them thankful. God said unto him. Get thee hence, desjDised, and driven /ar away : verily whoever of them shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all : but as for thee, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in paradise ; and eat of the fruit thereof wherever ye will; but aj^proach not this tree, lest ye become of the number of the unjust. And Satan suggested to them both, that he would discover unto them their nakedness, which was hidden from them ; and he said, your Lord hath not forbidden you thi^ivee, for any other reason but lest ye should become angels, or lest ye become immortal. And he sware unto them, saying, Yerily I am one of those who counsel you aright. And he caused them to fall through deceit.^ And when they had tasted of the tree, their naked- ness appeared unto them j ^ and they began to join together the leaves of paradise,^ to cover themselves. And their Lord called to them, saying, Did I not forbid you this tree : and did I not say unto you, Yerily Satan is d See chap. 2, p. 5, &c. e As the time till which the devil is reprieved is not particularly expressed, the commentators suppose his request was not wholly granted : but agree that he shall die, as well as other creatures, at the second soimd of the trumpet.^ . ^ i. e.l will attack them on every side that I shall be able. The other two ways, viz. from above, and from under their feet, are omitted, say the commentators, to show that the devil's powder is limited.^ & The Mohammedan gospel of Barnabas tells us, that the sentence which God pronounced on the serpent for introducing the devil into paradise ^ was, that he should not only be turned out of paradise, but that he should have his legs cut off by the angel Michael, with the sword of God ; and that the devil himself, since he had rendered our first parents unclean, was condemned to eat the excrements of them and all their posterity ; which two last circumstances I do not remember to have read elsewhere. The words of the manuscript are these : — Yllamo {Dios) a la serpiente, y a Michael, aquel que tienne la espada de Dios, y le dixo ; Aquesta sierpe es acelerada, echa/a la primera del parayso, y cortale las piernas, y si quisieri caminar, arrastrara la vidapor tierra. Yllamo a Satanas, el qual vino riendo, y dixole; Porque tu reprobo has enganado a aquestos, y los has hecho immimdos ? Yo quiero que toda immundicia suya, y de todos sus hijos, en saliendo de sus cuerpos entre j)or tu boca, porque en verdad ellos haran penitencia, y tu qtiedaras harto de immundicia. ^ Which they had not perceived before ; being clothed, as some say, with light, or garments of paradise, which fell from them on their disobedience, Yahya imOr. gines'their nakedness was hidden by their hair.^ ' Which it is said were fig leaves.''^ ° Al Beidawi. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. and DTTcrbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Eblis. 7 Al Beidawi. ^ See the notes to chap. 2, p 5. ^ Idem. ^^ Idem. 118 AL KOIiAN. CHAP, vn. your declared enemy? Tl icy answered, O JjOUD, we liave deait unjustly with our own souls ; and if thou forgive us not, and be not merciful unto ns, we shall sitrdrj be of those who i>erish. God said, Get ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the other ) and ye shall have a dwelling-place \i\>on the earth, and a provision for a season. Ho said, Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die, and from thence shall ye be taken forth at the resurrection. O children of Adam, we have sent down unto you apparel,^ to conceal your nakeilness, and ftiir garments ; but the clothing of piety is better. This is one of the signs of God ; that peradventure ye may consider. O children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you, as ho expelled your parents out of paradise, by stripping them of their clothing, that ho mi^ht show them their nakedness : verily he seeth you, both he and his companions, whereas ye see not them.' — We have appointed the devils to he patrons of those who believe not : and when they commit a filthy action, they say. We found our fathers 'practising the same ; and God hath commanded us to do it. Say, Verily God commandeth not filthy actions. Do ye speak concerning God that which ye know not ? Say, My Lord hath commanded me to observe justice ; therefore set your faces to pray at eveiy place of worship, and call upon him, approving unto him the sincerity of your religion. As he produced you at fii-st, so unto him shall ye return. A part of mankind hath he directed ; and a part hath been justly led into error, because they have taken the devils for tlieir patrons besides God, and imagine they are rir/htly directed. O children of Adam, take your decent apparel at every place of worship,*" and eat and drink,*^ but be not guilty of excess ; for he loveth not those who arc guilty of excess. Say, Who hath forbidden the decent apparel of God, which he hath produced for his servants, and the good things which lie hath 2^rovided for food 1 Say, these things are for those who believe, in this j)resent life, but peculiarly on the day of resurrection.** Thus do we distinctly explain our signs unto people who understand. Say, Verily my Lord hath forbidden filthy actions, both that which is discovered thereof, and that which is concealed, and also iniquity, and unjust violence ; ^ Xot only proper materials, but also ingenuity of mind and dexterity of hand to make use of them.^ 1 Because of the subtlety of their bodies, and their being void of all colour.' m This passage was revealed to reprove an immodest custom of the pagan Arab?, who used to encompass the Caaba naked, because clothes, they said, were the signs of their disobedience to God.' The Sonna orders that when a man goes to prayers he should put on his better apparel, out of respect to the divine majesty before wlioni he is to appear. But as the Mohammedans think it indecent, on the one liand, to come into (Jod's presence in a slovenly manner; so they imagine, on the otlier, that they ought not to appear before him in habits too rich or sumptuous, and particu- larly in clothes adorned with gold or silver, lest they should seem proud. n The sons of Amer, it is said, when they performed tlic pilgrimage to Mecca, used to cat no more than was absolutely necossarj', and that not of the more deli- cious sort of food neither; which abstinence they looked upon as apiece of merit, but thoy are here told the contrary.* ° Because then the wicked, who also partook of the blessings of this life, will have no share in the enjoyments of the next. ' Sec the notes to chap. ii. p. 5. ' Jallulo'ddin. * Idem, Al Bcidawi. * lidcm. , ciiAr. vit. AL KORAN. 119 aud hath fo7'hulden you to associate witli God tliat concerning wliich lie liath sent you do^vn no authority, or to speak of God that which ye Imow not. TJnto eveiy nation there is a prefixed term ; * therefore when their term is expired, they shall not have respite for an hour, neither shall they be anticipated. O children of Adam, verily apostles from among you shall come unto you, who shall expound my signs unto you : whosoever there- fore shall fear God and amend, there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be giieved. But they who shall accuse our signs of falsehood, and shall proudly reject them, they shall be the companions of heU fire : they shall remain therein for ever. And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie concerning God, or accuseth his signs of imposture 1, Unto these shall be given their portion of worldly happiness, according to what is written in the book of God's decrees, until our messengei-s ^' come unto them, a?ic? shall cause them to die ; saying, Where are the icZo^s which ye called upon, besides God ? They shall answer, They have disappeared from us. And they shall bear witness against themselves that they were unbelievers. God shall say unto them at the resurrection, Enter ye with the nations which have pre- ceded you, of genii and of men, into hell fire : so often as one nation shall enter, it shall curse its sister,^ until they shall all have successively entered therein. The latter of them shall say of the former of them : O Lord, these have seduced us j therefore inflict on them a double punishment of the fire of hell. God shall answer, It shall he doubled unto all : ^ but ye know it not : and the former of them shall say unto the latter of them, Ye have not therefore any favour above us ; taste the punishment for that which ye have gained. Yerily they who shall charge our signs with falsehood, and shall proudly reject them, the gates of heaven shall not be opened unto them,^ neither shall they enter into paradise, until a eamel pass through the eye of a needle,* and thus will we reward the wicked doers. Their couch shall be in hell, and over them shall be coverings of fire; and thus will we reward the unjust But they who believe, and do that which is right, (we will not load any soul but according to its ability,) they shall be the companions of paradise ; they shall remain therein for ever. And we will remove all grudges iroxn. their minds ; ^ rivers shall run at their feet, * " The term of life is fixed. No one can either anticipate or protract it for a single instant." — Savary. p Viz., the angel of death and his assistants. 1 That is, the nation whose example betrayed them into their idolatry and other wickedness. >■ Unto those who set the example, because they not only transgressed themselves, but were also the occasion of the others' trangression ; and unto those Avho followed them, because of their own infidelity, and their imitating an ill example.^ 8 That is, when their souls shall, after death, ascend to heaven, they shall not be admitted, but shall be thrown down into the dungeon under the seventh earth.* * This expression was probably taken from our Saviour's words in the gospel ; '' though it be proverbial in the east. " So that whatever differences or animosities there had been between them in their lifetime, they shall now be forgotten, and give place to sincere love and amity, • * Jallalo'ddin, al Beidawi. « Jallalo'ddin. See the Prelim. Disc ubi sup. p. 56. 7 Matt. xix. 24. 1*20 AL KOUAN. CHAP. yvL and they shall say, Praised be GrOD, who hatli directed us unto thia/elicili/ 1 for we should not have been ricjldhj directtd, if God liad not directed us : now are we convinced bi/ demonstration that the apostles of our Lord came U)ito us with truth. And it shall be proclaimed unto them, This is paradise, wliereof ye are made heirs, as a reward for that which ye have wrought And tlie inhabitants ^ of paradise shall caU out to the inhabitants of hcU fire, saying, Now have we foimd that which our Lord promised us to he true : have ye also found that which your Lord promised you to he true ? They shall answer, Yea. And a crier ^' shall proclaim bet ween them, The curse of God shall he on the wicked ; who turn men aside from the way of God, and seek to render it crooked, and who deny the life to come. And between the Messed and the damned there shall be a veil ; and men s/uiU stand on Al Arjif ^ who shall know ever}" one of them by their marks ;** and shall call unto the inhabitants of paradise, saying, Peace be upon you : yd tlicy shall not enter therein, although they earnestly desire it.^ And when they shall turn their eyes towards the companions of Iiell fire, they say, O Lord, place us not with the ungodly people ! And those who stand on Al Aruf shall call imto certain men,*^ whom they shall know by their marks, atid shall say, What hath your gathering of riches availed you, and that ye were puficd up with pride 1 Are these the men on whom ye sware that God would not bestow mercy 1 '^ Enter ye into paradise ; there shall come no fear on you, neither shall ye be grieved.** And the inhabitants of hell fire shall call unto the inhabitants of paradise, saying^ Pour upon us some water, or of those refreshments which God hath bestowed on you.^ They shall answer, Yerily God hath forbidden them unto the unbelievers ; This All is said to have hoped would prove true to himself and his inreteratc enemies, Othman, Telha, and al Zobcir.s • Literally, the companions. y This crier, some say, will be the angel Israfil. ■ Al Araf is the name of a wall or partition which, as Mohammed tanglit, will separate paradise from hell.' But as to the persons who are to be placed thereon, the commentators differ, as has been elsewhere observed.^ • t. e. Who shall distinguish the blessed from the damned by their proper characteristics; &ueh as the whiteness and splendour of the faces of the former and the blackness of those of the latter.' *> From this circumstance it seems that their opinion is the most probable who make this intermediate partition a sort of purgatory for those, who though they deserve not to be sent to hell, yet have not morits sufficient to gain them immediate admittance into paradise, and will be tantalized here for a certain time with a bare view of the felicity of that place. « That is, the chiefs and ringleaders of the infidels.' d These were the inferior and poorer among the believers, whom they despised ia their lifetimes as unworthy of God's favour. • These words are directed, by an apostrophe, to the poor and dcspi.«ed believers above mentioned. Some commentators however imagine these and the next pre- ceding words are to be understood of those who will be confined in Al Araf; and that the damned will, in return for their reproachful speech, swear that thev shall never enter paradise themselves; whereupon God of his mercy shall order them to be admitted by these words.* f I, e. Of the other liquors or fruits of paradise. Compare this passage with the parable of Dives and Lazarus. » Al Bcidiwi. » See the Prelim. Disc sect. iv. ^ Sec Ibid. ' Al Beidawi. 'Idem- * Idem. CHAP. VII. AL KORAN. 121 who made a laughing- stock and a sport of their religion, and -vrhom the life of the world hath deceived : therefore this day will we forget them, as they did forget the meeting of this day, and for that they denied our signs to he from God. And now have we brought unto those (/Mecca a book of divine revelations: we have explained it with knowledge; a direction and mercy unto people who shall believe. Do they wait/or any oth&i' than the inter- pretation thereof?^ On the day whereon the interpretation thereof shall come, they who had forgotten the same before shall say, Now are we con- vinced hy demonstration that the messengers of our Lord c2i.me.unto lis with truth : shall we therefore have any intercessors who will intercede for us? or shall we be sent back into the world, that we may do other ivorks than what we did in our lifetime ? But now have they lost their souls ; and that which they impiously imagined hath fled from them.^ Yerily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days; and then ascended At5 throne : he causeththe night to cover the day; itsucceedeth the same swiftly : he also created the sun and the moon, and the stars which are absolutely subject unto his command. Is not the whole creation, and the em^ixe thereof , his? Blessed be God, the Lord of all creatures ! Call unto your Lord humbly and in secret :* for he loveth not those who transgress.' And act not corruptly in the earth, after its reformation :^ and call upon him with fear and desire : for the mercy of God is near unto the righteous. It is he who sendeth the winds, si)read abroad^ before his mercy,"* until they bring a cloud heavy with rain, which we drive into a dead country; ° and we cause water to descend thereon, by which we cause all sorts 0/ fruits to spring forth. Thus will we bring forth the dead /rowi their graves ;" that peradventure ye may consider. From a good country shall its fruit spring forth abundantly, by the permission of its Lord • but from the land which ia bad, it shall not spring forth otherwise than scarcely. Thus do we explain the signs of divine providence nnto people who are thankful. "We formerly sent IsToah^ unto his people : and he said, s That is, the event of the promises and menaces therein. ^ See eh. 6, p. 100, note ^ * " Call upon the Lord, in public and private, but avoid ostenta-tion. He hateth the haughty." — Savary. 'Behaving themselves arrogantly while they pray; or praying with an obstre- perous voice, or a multitude of words and vain repetitions.^ ^ i. e. After that God hath sent his prophets, and revealed his la^vs for the refor- mation and amendment of mankind. ' 1 Or ranging over a large extent of land. Some copies instead of noshratn, which is the reading I have here followed, have boshran, Avhich signifies oood tidings- the rising of the wind in such a manner being the forerunner of rain. ' ™ That is, rain. For the east wind, says Al Beidawi, raises the clouds, the north wind drives them together, the south wind agitates them, so as to make the rain fall and the west wind disperses them again.^ * ° Or a dry and parched land. *• See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. p Koah, the son of Lamech, according to the Mohammedan writers, was one of the six principal prophets,7 though he had no Avritten revelations delivered to him ^ and the first who appeared after Ms great grandfather Edns or Enoch. They also « Al Beidawi. « Idem. " See the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. s Vide Reland d3 Kelig. Mob. p. 34. \ 122 AL KOT^AN. cn.u>. vu, my people, worsliip God: ye have do other God than him.** Verily I fear for you the piiuishuient of the great clay/ The chiefs of his people answered Ai//i, We surely ixn'ceive thee to be in & manifest error. Ho replied, O my people, there is no error in me; but I am a messenger from the Lord of all creatures. I bring unto you the messages of my Lord ; and 1 counsel you aright : for I know from God, that which ye know not. Do ye wonder that an admonition hath come unto you from your Lord by a man* from among you, to warn you, that ye may take heed to yourselves, and tliat peradventure ye may obtain mercy? And they accused him of impostuix> : but we delivered him and those who icere with him in the ark,' and we drowned those who charged our sins with falsehood ; for they were a blind people. And unto the tribe of Ad° we, sent their brother Hud.* He said, my people, worship God : ye have no other God than him; will ye not fear him ? The chiefs of those among his people who believed not,^ answered, Verily we i)erceive that thou art (juided by folly; and we say he was by trade a carpenter, which they iufer from his building the ark, and that the year of his niissiou was the fiftieth, or, a3 others say, the fortieth of his age.' That Noah was a preacher of righteousness unto the wicked antediluvians is testified by scripture.^ The eastern Christians say, that when God ordered Noah to build the ark, lie also directed him to make an instrument of wood, such as they make use of at this day in the east, instead of bells, to call the people to church, and named in Arabic Nakds, and in modem Greek, Semandra; on which he was to strike three times every day, not only to call together the workmen that were building the ark, but to give him an opportunity of daily admonishing his people of the impending danger of the deluge, which would certainly destroy them if they did not npent.' Some Mohjimmedan authors pretend that Noah was sent to convert Zohak, one of the Persian kings of the first race, who refused to hearken to him; and that he afterwards preached God's unity publicly.* 1 From these words, and other ])as;;agcs of the Koran where Noah's preaching is mentioned, it appears that, according to Mohammed's opinion, a principal crime of c antediluvians was idolatry-.* »■ Viz., either the day of resurrection, or that whereon the flood was to begin. • For, said they, if (iod hail i)k'ased, he would have sent an angel, and not a man ; since we never heard of such an instance in the times of our fathers.* » That is, those belie\-cd in him, and entered into that vessel with him. Though there be a tradition among the Mohammedans, said to have been received from the ]»rophet himself, and conformable to the scrii)turc, that eight persons and no more were saved in the ark, yet some of them report the number variously. One says they were but six, another ten, another twelve, another seventy-eight, and another ftui'rscore, half men and half women;" and that one of them was the elder Jorham,^ the preserver, as some pretend, of the Arabian language.' " Ad was an ancient and potent tribe of Arabs,^ and zealous idolaters.' They chiefly worshipped four deities, Sakia, Hafodha, Kazeka, and Saleina; the first, as they imagined, supplying them with rain, the second preserving them from all dangers abroad, the third providing food for their sustenance, and the fourth restor- ing them to health when afliicted with bickness;' according to the signification of the fccvcral names. « Generally supposed to be the same person with Ilcbcr;' but others say he was the son of Abd'allah, the son of liibah, the son of KholAd, the son of Ad, the son of Aws or Uz, the son of Aram, the son of Sem.* >■ Tliese words were added because some of the principal men among them believed on Uud, one of whom was Morthed Ebn Saad.* » Al Zamakhshari. i 2 Pet. ii. 5. » Eutych. Ann. p. 37. ^ Vide D'llerbel. Bibl. Orient, p. G75. * See ch. 61, and the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. * Al Ikidaui. • Al Zamakhshari, Jallalo'ddin, Ebn Shohnah. ^ lidem. See the I'rdini. Disc, sect, i. • Vide Pocock, Orat. pra^fix. Carm. Tograi. • See the Prelim. Disc, sect. i. 1 Abulfeda. » Vide DTIerbel. Ribl. Orient. Art. Houd. 'isccthc Prcliin. Disc. sect. i. *A1 Bcidawi. * Idcui. CHAP. VII. AL KOPvAN. 123 certainly esteem tliee to he one of the liars. He replied, my people, / am not guided hy folly ; but I am a messenger unto you from the Lord of all creatures : I bring unto you the messages of my Lord ; and I am a faithful, counsellor unto you. Do ye wonder that an admonition hath come imto you from your Lord, by a man from among you, that he may warn you 1 Call to mind how he hath appointed you successors unto the people of Noah, ^ and hath added unto you in stature largely.^* Remember the benefits of God, that ye may prosper. They said. Art thou come imto us, that we should worship God alone, and leave the deities which our fathers worshipj^ed 1 Now bring down that judgment upon us, with which thou threatenest us, if thou speakest truth. Hud answered, Now shall there suddenly fall uj)on you from your Lord vengeance and indignation. Will ye dispute with me concerning the names which ye have named, '' and your fathers ; as to which God hath not revealed unto you any authority 1 Do ye wait therefore, and I will be one of those who wait with you.t And we delivered him, and them who believed with him by our mercy; and we cut ofi* the uttermost part of those who charged our signs with falsehood, and were not believers." And unto the tribe q/Thamud'^ ive sent their brother Saleh.^ He said, O my people, worship God : ye have no God besides him. Now hath a manifest proof come unto you ^ Dwelling in the habitations of the antediluvians, who preceded them not many centuries ; or having the chief sway in the earth after them. For the kingdom of Shedad, the son of Ad, is said to have extended from the sands of Alaj to the trees of Oman.« a See the Prelim. Disc. p. 5. * " And that multiplied you, and increased your power." — Savaty. ^ That is, concerning the idols and imaginary objects of your worship, to which ye wickedly give the names, attributes, and honour due to the only true God. f " Wait ! I shall soon be spectator of your ruin." — Savary. <= The dreadful destruction of the Adites we have mentioned in another place,"^ and shall only add here some further circumstances of that calamity, and which differ a little from what is there said; for the Arab writers acknowledge many inconsistencies in the histories of these ancient tribes.^ The tribe of Ad, having been for their incredulity previously chastised with a three years' drought, sent Kail Ebn Ithar and Morthed Ebn Saad, with seventy other principal men, to the temple of Mecca to obtain rain. Mecca was then in the hands of the tribe of Amalek, whose prince was Moawiyah Ebn Beer ; and he, being without the city when the ambassadors arrived, entertained them there for a month in so hospitable a manner, that they had forgotten the business they came about, had not the king reminded them of it, not as from himself, lest they should think he wanted to be rid of them, but by some verses which he put into the mouth of a singing-woman. At which, being roused from their lethargy, Morthed told them the only way they had to obtain Avhat they wanted would be to repent and obey their prophet : but this displeasing the rest, they desired Moawiyah to imprison him, lest he should go with him ; which being done. Kail with the rest entering Mecca, begged of God that he would send rain to the people of Ad. Whereupon three clouds appeared, a white one, a red one, and a black one ; and a voice from heaven ordered Kail to choose which he would. Kail failed not to make choice of the last, thinking it to be loaden with the most rain; but when this cloud passed over them, it proved to be fraught with the divine vengeance, and a tempest broke forth from it which destroyed them all.^ ^ ThamAd was another tribe of the ancient Arabs who fell into idolatry. See the Prelim. Disc. sect, i, ® Al Beidawi deduces his genealogy thus : Saleh, the son of Obeid, the son of Asaf, the son of Masekh, the son of Obeid, the son of Hadher, the son of Thamiid.^ * Al Beidawi. "^ Prelim. Disc. sect. i. ^ Al Beidawi. Vide D'Herbclot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Houd. » See the Prelim. T>\sq. sect, i. ^ Abulfeda, Al Zamakhshaii. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. Art. Saleh. 124 AL KORAN. CHAP. vn. from your Lord. This she-camel of God is a sign unto you : ^ therefore dismiss her freely, that she may feed in God's eai-th ; and do her no hurt, lost a painful punishment seize you. And call to mind how ho hath appointed you successors unto the tribe of Ad, and hath given you a habi- tiition on earth; ye build yourselves castles on the plains thereof, and cut out the mountiiins into houses.^ Remember therefore the benefits of God, and commit not A^olence in tlie earth, acting conniptly. The chiefs among his people, who were puffed up with pride, said unto those who were esteemed weak, namch/, unto those who believed among them. Do ye know that Saleh hath been sent from his Lord ? They answered, We do surely believe in that wherewith he hath been sent. Those who were elated with pride replied, verily we believe not in that wherein ye believe. And they cut off the feet of the camel,^ and insolently transgi*essed the command of their Lord,' and said, O Sfdeh, cause that to come upon us which tliou hast threatened us-, if thou art one of those who have been sent by God. Whereupon a terrible noise from heaven^ assailed ' The Thamiulitcp, insisting- on a miracle, proposed to Snleh that he should go with them to tlieir festival, and that they should call on their gods, and he on his, promising to follow that deity which should answer. But after they had called on their idols a long time to no purpose, Jonda Ebn Amru, their prince, pointed to a rock standing by itself, and bade Saleh cause a she camel big with young to come forth from it, solemnly engaging that if he did, he would believe ; and his people promised the same. \Vhereupon Saleh asked it of God, and presently the rock, after several throes, as if in labour, was delivered of a she camel answering the description of Jonda, which immediately brought forth a young one ready weaned, and, a>i some say, as big as herself. Jonda, seeing this miracle, believed on the prophet, and some few with him ; but the greater ])art of the Thamudites remained, not- withstanding, incredulous. Of this camel the commeutators tell several very absurd stories; as that when she went to drink she never raised her head from the well or river till she had drank up all the water in it, and then she offered herself to be milked, the people drawing from her as much as they pleased; and some say that she went about the town crying aloud, If any icunts viilk let him come forth? ^ The tribe of ThamAd dwelt first in the country of the Aditos, but their numbers increasing, they removed to the territory of Hejr for the sake of the mountains, where they cut themselves habitations in the rocks, to be seen at this day. *• This extraordinary camel frighting the other cattle from their pasture, a cer- tain rich woman named Oneiza Omm Gancra, having four daughters, dressed them out, and offered one Kedar his choice of them if he would kill the ounel. Where- upon he chose one, and with the assistance of eight other men, hamstrung and killed the dam, and pursuing the young one, which fled to the mountain, killed that also, and divided his flesh among them.' Others tell the story somewhat differently, adding Sadaka Bint al Mokhtjir as a joint conspiratrcss with Oneiza, and pretending that tiie young one was not killed ; for they say that having fled to a certain mountain named Kara, he there cried three times, and Saleh bade them catch him if they could, for then there might bo hopes of their avoiding the divine vengeance; but this they were not able to do, the rock opening after he had cried, and receiving him within it.* • Defying the vengeance with which thev were threatened; because they trusted in their strong dwellings hewn in the rocks, saying that the tribe of Ad perished only because their houses were not built with suilicient strength.^ ^ Like violent and repeated claps of thunder; which some say was no other than the voice of the angel Gabriel,** and which rent their hearts." It is .«:aid that after they had killed the camel, Saleh told them that on the morrow their faces should become yellow, the next d.iy red, and the third day black, and that on the fourth God's vengeance should light on them; and that the first three signs happening accordingly, they sought to put him to death, but God delivered him, by sending him into Palestine.^ 2 vSee the Prelim. Disc. sect. i. » Abulfeda. * Al Bcidawi. Vide D'llerbel. ubi supra. ^ Al Kessai. « Sec the Prelim. Disc. p. o. ^ Abulfeda, Al Beidawi. 8 Al Beidawi. CHAP. v^r. AL KORAN. 125 tliemj* and in the morning tliey were fonnd in their dwellings prostrate on their breasts and dead} And Sideh departed from them, and said,'^ O my people, now have I delivered unto you the message of my Lord ; and I advised you well, but ye love not those who advise you well. And remember Lot,'^ when he said unto his people, Do ye commit a wickedness, wherein no creature hath set you an example? Do ye approach lustfully unto men, leaving the women ? Certainly ye are people who transgress all modesty * But the answer of his people was no other than that they said the one to tJie other, Expel them° your city; for they are men who preserve themselves pure fi^om the crimes which ye commit. Therefore we delivered him and his family, except his wife ; she was one of those who stayed behind: ^ and we rained a shower of stones upon them.** Behold therefore what was the end of the wicked. And unto Madian'' we sent their brother Shoaib.^ He said unto them, my people, worship * " At that instant they felt the earth tremble under their feet." — Savary. ^ Mohammed, in the expedition of Tabuc, which he undertook against the Greeks in the ninth year of the Hejra, passing by Hejr, Avhere this ancient tribe had dwelt, forbad his army, though much depressed with heat and thirst, to draw any water there, but ordered them if they had drank of that water to bring it up again, or if they had kneaded any meal with it, to give it their camels ; ^ and wrapping up his face in his garment, he set spurs to his mule, crying out, Enter not the houses of those wicked men, hut rather weep, lest that happen unto you which befell them ; and having so said, he continued galloping full speed with his face mufSed up, till he had passed the valley.^ ™ Whether this speech was made by Saleh to them at parting, as seems most pro- bable, or after the judgment had fallen on them, the commentators are not agreed. ° The commentators say, conformably to the scripture, that Lot was the son of Harun, the son of Azer or Terah, and consequently Abraham's nephew, who brought him with him from Chaldea into Palestine, where, they say, he was sent by God to reclaim the inhabitants of Sodom and the other neighbouring cities which were over- thrown with it, from the unnatural vice to which they were addicted.^ And this Mohammedan tradition seems to be countenanced by the words of the apostle, that this righteous man dwelling amoiig them, in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous sotd from day to day with their unlawful deeds,'^ whence it is probable that he omitted no opportunity of endeavouring their reformation. The story of Lot is told with further circumstances in the eleventh chapter. * " Will you violate the laws of nature?" — Savary. <* Viz. Lot, and those who believe on him. p See chap. 11. i See ibid. ^ Madian, or Midian, was a city of Hejaz, and the habitation of a tribe of the same name, the descendants of Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah,* who afterwards coalesced with the Ismaelites, as it seems ; Moses naming the same mer- cliants who sold Joseph to Potiphar, in one place Ismaelites,^ and in another Midianites.® This city was situated on the Red Sea, south-east of Mount Sinai, and is doubt- less the same with the Modiana of Ptolemy ; what was remaining of it in Moham- med's time was soon after demolished in the succeeding wars,'' and it remains desolate to this day. The people of the country pretend to show the well whence Moses watered Jethro's flocks.^ 8 Some Mohammedan writers make him the son of Mika'il, the son of Yashjar, the son of Madian ; ^ and they generally suppose him to be the same person with the father-in-law of Moses, who is named in scripture Reuel or Ragtiel, and Jethro.'- -But Ahmed Ebn Abd'alhalim charges those who entertain this opinion with igno- •ranee. Al Kessai says that his name was Sanun, and that he was first called 9Boyun, and afterwards Shoaib ; and adds that he was a comely person, but spare and lean, very thoughtful, and of few words. Doctor Prideaux writes this name, after the French translation, Chaib.^ » Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 124. i Al Bokhari. 2 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Loth. 3 2 Pet. ii. 8. * Gen. xxv. 2. ^ Qen. xxxix. 1. ^ Gen. xxxvii. 36. "! Vide Golii not. in Alfrag. p. 143. ^ Abulfeda, Desc. Arab. p. 42. Geogr. Nub. p. 109. 9 Al Bcidawi, Tarikh Montakhab. i Exod. ii. 18, iii. 1. * Life of Moham. p. 24. s 126 AL KORAN. cn;a-.vu. God ; ye have no God besides him. Now hath an evident demonstration, come unto you from your Lord. Therefore give full measure and ju^Jt weight, and dimiuLsh not unto men auglU of their matters;" neither act corruptly in the earth, after its i*efonnation.* This will be better for you, if ye believe. And beset not every way, threateuiug Vie passenger;^ and turning aside from the path of God him who believeth in him, and seeking to make it crooked. And remember, when ye were few, and God multi- plied you: and behold, what hath been the end of those who acted corruptly. And if part of you believe in that wherewith I am sent, and part believe not, wait patiently until God judge between ns ; for he is the best judge. [* IX.] The chiefs of his people, who were elated with pride, answered, We will surely cast thee, O Shoaib, and those who believe with thee, out of oar city ; or else thou shalt certainly return unto our religion. He said, "What, though we be averse thereto i We shall surely imagine a lie against GoD, if we return unto your religion, after that God hath delivered us from the same : and we have no reason to return unto it, unless God our Lord shall please to abandon us. Our Lord comprehendeth every thing by his knowledge. In God do we put our trust. O Lord, do thou judge between us and our nation with truth; for thou art the best judge. And the chiefs of his people who believed not said. If ye follow Shoaib, ye shall surely perish. Therefore a storm from heaven^ assailed them,* and in the morning they were found in their dwellings dead and prostrate. They who accused Shoaib of imposture became as though they had never dwelt therein; they who accused Shoaib of imposture perished themselves. And he departed from them, and said, O my people, now have I performed unto you the messages of my Lord ; and I advised you aright : but why should I be grieved for an unbelieving people. We have never sent any prophet unto a city, but we afflicted the inhabitants thereof with calamity and adversity, that they might humble themselves. Then we gave thern in exchange good in lieu of evil, until they abounded, and said, Advei*sity and prosperity formerly happened unto our fathers, as unto us. Tlierefore we took vengeance on them suddenly, and they perceived it not beforehand. But if the inhabitants of t1u>se cities had believed and feared God, we * This demonstration the commentators suppose to liave been a power of working miracles, though the Koran rat*ntions none in j>articuhir. However they say (after the Jews) that he gave his son-in-law that wonder-working rod^ with which he per- formed all those miracles in K^iypt and the desert, and also excellent advice and instructions ; * whence he had the surname of Klratib al anbiya, or the preacher to tfie profJif^ts.^ » For one of the great crimes which the Midianites were guilty of was the using of diverse measures and weights, a great and a small, buying by one and selling by another.^ * See before, p. 121, note •'. y Robbing on the highway, it seems, was another crying sin, frequent among theert magician. So the magicians ^ catae unto Pharaoh ; and they said, Shall we surel/ receive a reward, if we do overcome ? He answered, Yea ; and ye shall certainly be of those who appro^icli near unto my throjie. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast do^v^l thj rod first, or we will cast down ours, ^foses ans\s'ered. Do ye cast down 7/our rods first. And wlien they had ca-st thein down, they enchanted the eyes of the men who tcere present, and terrified them : and they performed a great enchantment.* And we spake by reve- lation iinto Moses, saying, Throw down thy rod. And behold, it swallowed up tlie reds which they had caused falsely to appear changed into serpents.^ AVherefore the tnith was confirmed, and that which they had ^\Tought Vanished. And Pharaoh and his magicians were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible. And the magicians prostrated themselves, wor- shipping ; and they said, We believe in the Lord of all creatures, the Lord of 3Ioses and Aaron.' Pharaoh said, Have ye believed on him, before I and that the -whole assembly also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than 25,rX)0 of them lost their lives in the press. They add also that Pharaoh upon this adjured Moses by God who had sent him, to take away the serpent, and promised he would believe on him, and let the Israelites {lo; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed, and grew as hardened as before. ^ • There is a tradition that Moses was a very swarthy man ; and that when he put his hand into his bosom, and drew it out again, it became extremely white and splendid, surpassing the brightness of the sun.* Marracci^ says we do not read in scripture that Moses showed this sign before Pharaoh. It is true, the scripture does not expressly say so, but it seems to be no more than a necessar}- inference from tliat passage, where God tells Moses that if they will not hearken to the first Fign, they will believe the latter sign, and if they will not believe these two signs, then directs him to turn the water into blood.^ ' The Arabian writers name several of these magicians, besides their chief priest Simeon, viz. Sadiir and Gliadur, Jaath and Mosfa, Waran and Zaman, each of whom came attended with their disciples, amounting in all to several thousands.^ » They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and long pieces of wood, Mhich they contrived, by some means, to move, and make them twist thcm- Bolves one over the other ; and so imposed on the beholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents.^ •> The expositors add, that when this serpent had swallowed up all the rods and cords, he made directly towards the assembly, and put tliem into so great a terror, that they fled, and a considerable number were killed in the crowd: then Moses took it up, and it became a rod in his hand as before. "Whereupon the magicians declared that it could be no enchantment, because in such case their rods and cords would not have disappeared.' • It seems probable that all the magicians were not converted by this miracle, for some writers introduce Sadurand Ghadiir only, acknowledging Moses's miracle to be wrought by the power of God. These two, they say, were brothers, and the sons of a famous magician, then dead ; but on their being sent for to court on this occasion, their mother persuaded them to go to their father's tomb to ask his advice. Being come to the tomb, the father answered their call, and when they had acquainted him with the affair, he told them, that they should inform themselves whether the rod of which they spoke became a serpent while its masfers slept, or only when they were awake; for, said he, enchantments have no effect while the enchanter is asleep, and there- fore, if it be otherwise in this case, you may be assured that they act by a divine power. ' Al Bei(l;"iui. « Idem. » In Alcor. p. 284. f> Exod. iv 8, 9. ^ Vide i:)*Herl>el. Bihl. Orient, art. Monsa, \\ G43 &c. AI Kessai. ^ Al Beidawi Vi.lo D'Herbclot, ubi sup. and Koran, c. 20. ° Al BcidawL CHAP. VII. AL KORAN. 129 have given you permission ? Yerily tliis is a plot wliicli ye have contrived in the city, that ye might cast forth from thence the inliabitants thereof.^ But ye shall surely know that I am your master ; for I will cause your hands and your feet to be cut off on the opposite sides,^ then will I cause you all to be crucified."^ The magicians answered, We shall certainly return unto our Lord, in the next life; for thou takest vengeance on us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord, when they have come unto us. O Lord, pour on us patience ; and cause us to die Moslems. '^ And the chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, Wilt thou let Moses and his people go, that they may act corruptly in the earth, and leave thee and thy gods ? ° Pharaoh answered, We will cause their male children to be slain, and we will suffer their females to live ; p and hy that ineans we shall prevail over them. Moses said unto his people, Ask assistance of God, and suffer patiently : for the earth is God's, he giveth it for an inheritance unto such of his servants as he pleaseth; and the 'prosperous end shall he unto those who fear him. They answered, We have been afflicted hy having our male children slain, before thou camest unto us, and also since thou hast come unto us. Moses said, Peradventure it may happen that our Lord will destroy your enemy and will cause you to succeed Mm in the earth, that he may see how ye will act tlierein. And we formerly punished the people of Pharaoh with dearth and scarcity of fruits, that they might be warned. Yet when good happened unto them, they said,* This is owing unto us : but if evil befell them^ they attributed the same to the ill luck of Moses, and those who were with him.'^ Was not their ill luck with God ? ' but most of them knew it not. And they said unto Moses What- Thcse two magicians, then arriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry founcl, to their great astonishment, that when Moses and Aaron went to rest, their rod became a serpent, and guarded them while they slept.^ And this was the first step towards their conversion. '^ i, e. This is a confederacy between you and Moses, entered into before ye left the city to go to the place of appointment, to turn out the Copts, or native Egyptians, and establish the Israelites in their stead.^ 1 That is, your right hands, and your left feet. ^ Some say Pharaoh was the first inventor of this ignominious and painful punish- ment. ^ Some think these converted magicians were executed accordingly: but others deny it, and say that the king was not able to put them to death ; insisting on these words of the Koran.s You two, and they who follow you, shall overcome. ° Which were the stars, or other idols. But some of the commentators, from certain impious expressions of this prince, recorded in the Koran,* whereby he sets up himself as the only god of his subjects, suppose that he was the object of their worship, and therefore instead of alihataca, thy gods, read ilahataca, thy worship.^ P That is, We will continue to make use of the same cruel policy to keep the Israelites in subjection as we have hitherto done. The commentators say that Pharaoh came to this resolution because he had either been admonished in a dream, or by the astrologers or divines, that one of that nation should subvert his kingdom.<5 * "The good which they had enjoyed they considered as a debt to them." Savary. *J Looking on him and his followers as the occasion of those calamities. The original word properly signifies to take an ominous and sinister presage of any future event, from the flight of birds, or the like. ■• By whose will and decree they were so afflicted, as a punishment for their wickedness. J Vide D'Herbel. ubi sup. » Al Beidawi. 3 Koran, chap. 28. Koran, chap. 26, 28. « Al BeidHwi. e ijem Jallalo'ddin. 130 AL KORAM. cuAP. VII. ever sign thou show unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will not believe on thee. Wherefore we sent upon them a flooil,' and locusts, and lice,* and frogs, and blood; distinct mimcles : but tliey behaved j)roudly, and became a wicked people. And when the plague" fell on tiiera, they said, O Moses, entreat thy Lord for us, according to that which he hath covenanted with thee: verily, if thou take the plague from off us, we will surely believe thee, and we will let the children of Ismel go with thee. But when we had taken the plague from off them, until the term wJdch God had (/ranted i^icni was expired, behold, they broke their promise. Wherefore we took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the lied Soa;^ because they charged our signs with falsehood, and neglected them. And we caused the people who had been rendered weak to inherit the eastern jxarts of the earth and the western parts thereof,^ which we blessed loith ferlility ; and the gracious word of tliy Lord was fulfilled on the children of Israel, for that they had endured with patience : and we destroyed the structures which Pharaoh and his people had made, and that whicli they had erected.^ And we caused the children of Israel to pass through the sea, and they came unto a people who gave themselves up to tlie worship q/* their idols,^ ami they said, O Moses, make us a god, in like manner as these people have gods. Moses answered, Yerily ye are an ignorant peo})le : for the religion which these follow loill be destroyed, and that which they do is vain. He said, Shall I seek for you any other god than God; since he hath preferred you to the rest of tlie world ] And remember when we delivered you from the ])eople of Pharaoh, who giievously oppressed you ; they slew your male children, and let your females live : therein was a great trial from your Lord. * And we appointed unto Moses a/asl of thirty nights before we gave * This inundation, they say, was occasioned by unnsnal rains which contiimed ei^^ht days together, and the overflowing of the Nile; and not only covered their lands, but came into their houses, and rose as high as their backs and necks ; but the children of Israel had no rain in their quarters.^ As there is no mention of any such miraculous inundation in the Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have been cither a pestilence, or the small-pox, or some other epidemical distemper.^ For the word tu/an, which is used in this place, and is generally ren- dered a dehiffe, may also signify any other universal destruction or mortality. I Some will have these insects to have been a larger sort of tick; others, the young locusts before they have wings.* » Viz. any of the calamities already mentioned, or the pestilence which God sent upon them afterwards. " Sec this wonderful event more particularly described-in the tenth and twentieth chapters. * That is, the land of Syria, of which the eastern geographers reckon Palestine a part, and wherein the commentators say the children of Israel succeeded the kings of Eg>'pt and the Amalekites.^ y Tarticularly the lofty tower which Pharaoh caused to be built, that he niiglit attack the God of Moses'.' ■ These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalck, whom Moses was commanded to destroy, and others of the tribe of Lakhm, Their idols, it is said, were images of oxen, which gave the first hint to the making of the golden calf.' * Savary, referring the final clause to the deliverance, translates it, " This was an eminent favour from the divine goodncfs." 7 Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Abnlfed. ' Al Beiddwi. » Idem. * Idem. ' Vide Koran, chap. 28, and 40. ' Al Beidawi CIIAP. VII. AL KORAN. 131 him the lavo^ and we completed tlaem by adding q/ten more; and the stated time of Lds Lord was fulfilled in forty niglits. And Moses said unto his brother Aaron, Be thou my deputy among my people during my ahsince; and behave uprightly, and follow not the way of the corrupt doers. And when Moses came at oiu* appointed time, and his Lord spake unto him,^ he said, O Lord, show me thy glory, that I may behold thee. God answered, Thou shalt in no wise behold me ; but look towards the mountain,^ and if it stand firm in its place, then thou shalt see me. But when his Lord ap- peared with glory in the mount,^ he reduced it to dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. And when he came to him-self, he said. Praise be unto thee ! I turn unto thee with repentance, and I am the first of true believers.® God said unto him, O Moses, I have chosen thee above all men, hy Iwnouring thee with my commissions, and by my speaking unto thee : receive therefore that which I have brought thee, and be 07ie of those who give thanks.^ And we wrote for him on the tables^ an admonition con- cerning every matter, and a decision in every case,^ a7id said, Receive this with reverence ; and command thy people that they live according to the most excellent precepts thereof. I will show you the dwelling of the wicked.^ I will turn aside from my signs those who behave themselves * The commentators say that God, having promised Moses to give him the law, directed him to prepare himself for the high favour of speaking with God in person, by a fast of thirty days ; and that Moses accordingly fasted the whole month of Dhu'lkaada, but not liking the savour of his breath, he rubbed his teeth with a dentifrice, upon which the angels told him, that his breath before had the odour of musk ; * but that his rubbing his teeth had taken it away. Wherefore God ordered him to fast ten days more, which he did ; and these were the first ten days of the succeeding month Dhu'lhajja. Others, however, supposed that Moses was commanded to fast and pray thirty days only, and that during the other ten God discoursed with him.^ " The Arabs reckon by nights as we do by dui/s. This custom doubtless had its rise from the excessive heat of their climate. They dwell amidst burning sands, and while the sun is above the horizon they usually keep within their tents. When he sets they quit them, and enjoy coolness and a most delightful sky. Night is, in a great measure, to them that which day is to us. Their poets, therefore, never cele- brate the charms of a beautiful day ; but these words, Leili ! Leili ! night ! O night! are repeated in all their songs." — Savary. b Without the mediation of any other, and face to face, as he speaks unto tho angels.s ^ This mountain the Mohammedans name al Zabir. ^ Or, as it is literally, uyito the mount. For some of the expositors pretend that God endued the mountain with life and the sense of seeing. e This is not to be taken strictly. See the like expression in chap. vi. p. 99. f The Mohammedans have a tradition, that Moses asked to see God on the day of Arafat, and that he received the law on the day they slay the victims at the pilgrimage of Mecca, which days are the ninth and tenth of Dhu'lhajja. g These tables, according to some, were seven in number, and according to others ten. Nor are the commentators agreed whether they were cut out of a kind of lote- tree in Paradise called al Sedra, or whether they were chrysolites, emeralds, rubies, or common stone,7 But they say that they were each ten or twelve cubits long ; for they suppose that not only the ten commandments but the whole law was written thereon : and some add that the letters were cut quite through the tables, so that they might be read on both sides,^ which is a fable of the Jews. ^ That is, a perfect law, comprehending all necessary instructions, as well in regard to religious and moral duties as the administration of justice. » Viz., the desolate habitations of the Egyptians, or those of the impious tribes of Ad and Thamud, or perhaps hell, the dwelling of the ungodly in the other world. * See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. s ai Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. « Al Beidawi. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 650. ? Al Beidawi. s Vide D'Herbel. ubi supra. 132 AL KOR^VN. CHAP. vu. proudly in the earth, without justice : and although they see every sign, yet they shall not believe therein; and although they see the way of righteous- ness, yet they shall not take that way ; but if they see the way of error, they shall take that way. This shall come to pass because they accuse our signs of imposture, and neglect the Siime, But as for them who deny the truth of our signs and the meeting of the life to come, their works shall be vain : shall they be rewartled other^vise than according to what they shall have wrought? And the people of Closes, after his departure, took a corporeal ciilf,^' vuiile of their ornaments,* which lowed.*" Did they not see that it sjiake not unto them, neither directed them in the way ? yet they took it for their god, and acted wickedly. But when they repented with sorrow," and saw that they had gone astniy, they said, Yerily, if our Lord have not mercy upon us, and forgive us not, we shall cei-tainly become of the number of those who perish. And when Moses returned unto his people, full of wrath and indignation, he said. An evil thing is it that ye have committed after my departure; have ye hastened the command of your Lord ] ° And he tlirew down the table6,P and took his brother by the hair of the head, and dragged him unto him. AtuI Aaron said imto him. Son of my mother, Yerily the people prevailed against me,*^ and it wanted little but they had slain me : make not m^/ enemies therefore to rejoice over me, neither place me vrith. the wicked people. Moses said, Lord, forgive me and my brother, and receive us into thy mercy; for thou art the most merciful of those who exercise mercy. Verily, as for them who took the calf /or their god, indignation shall overtake them from their Lord,^ and ignominy in this life : thus will we reward those who imagine falsehood. But unto them who do evil, and afterwards repent, and believe «7i God, verily thy Lord will thereafter be clement and merciful. And when the anger of Moses was appeased, he took the tables;* and in what was written thereon was a direction and mercy unto those who feared their Lord. And Moses chose out of his people seventy men, to go up vAtJh him to tlie mountain at the time appointed by us : and when a storm of thunder and lightning had taken them away,** he said, O Lord, if thou hadst pleased, thou hadst destroyed them before, and me also; wilt thou destroy us for ^ That is, as some understand it, consistinp of flesh and blood ; or, as others, beinij a mere body or mass of metal, without a soul.^ ' Such as their rings and bracelets of gold and silver. '^ "» See chap, xx., and the nutcs to chaj). ii. p. 7. " Father Marracci seems not to have understood the meaning of this phrase, havinix literally translated the Arabic words, tea lamina sokitafi eidihim, without any manner of sense, Et cum cadere factus fuisset in manibus eorum. <* By neglecting his precepts, and bringing down his vengeance on you. ** Which were all bruktn and taken up to herotected by the angels ? But afterwards he was prevailed on by gifts ; and he had no sooner done it than he began to put his tongue out like a dog, and it hung down upon his breast.^ "^ Loving the wages of unrighteousness, and running greedily after error for reward.^ 7 Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient, p. 54. ^ A\ Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, al Zamakhshari. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Balaam, »2Pet.ii.5. JudeU. 13G AL KORAN. cm P. VII. the similitude of those people who accuse our signs of falsehood, and injure their o^^'u souls. Whomsoever God shall direct, he loill be rightly directed ; and whomsoever he shall lead astray, they shall perish. Moreover we have created fur hell many of the genii and of men ; they have hearts by which they undei-stand not, and tliey have eyes by which they see not; and they have ears by which they hear not. These ai'e like the brute beasts ; yea they go more astray : these are the negligent. God hath most excellent names :* therefore call on him by the same ; and withdraw from those who use his name perversely : ' they shall be rewarded for that which they shall have ^vrought. And of those whom we have created there are a f»eoj)le who direct others with truth, and act justly according thereto." But those who devise lies against our signs, we will suffer them to fall gi^adually into ruin, by a method wliich they knew not :^ and I will grant them to enjoy a long and prosperous life ;* for my stratagem is effectual. Do they not consider that there is no devil in their companion 1^ He is no other than a public preacher. Or do they not contem})late the kingdom of heaven and eartli, and the things which God hath created ; and consider that pei-atl venture it may be that their end draweth nigh ? And in what new declaration \nl\ they believe, after this 1 ^ He whom God shall cause to err, shall have no director ; and he shall leave them in their impiety, wandering in confusion. They Avill ask thee concerning the last hour; at what time its coming is fixed ? Answer, Verily the knowledge thereof is with my Lord ; none shall declare the fixed time thereof, except he. I'he expectation tJiereofis, grievous in heaven and on earth :" it shall come ujton you no othersvise than suddenly. They will ask thee, as though thou wast well acquainted there^vith. Answer, Verily the knowledge thereof is with God alone : but the greater part of men know it not. Say, I am able neither to procure advantage unto myself, nor to avert mischief /yowi 7;k3, l»ut as God pleascth. If I knew the secrets of God, I should surely enjoy abundance of good, neither should evil befall me. Verily I am no other than a denouncer of threats, and a messenger of good tidings unto people * Expressing his glorious attributes. Of tlicsc the ^lohanunedan Arabs have no less than ninety-nine, which are reckoned up by Marracci.^ t As did Walid Ebn al Moghcira; who hearing Mohammed give God the title of al Rahman, or the merciful, laughed aloud, saying that he knew none of that name, except a certain man who dwelt in Yamama:^ or as the idolatrous Mcccans did, who deduced tlic names of tlieir idols from those of the true God; deriving, for ex- ample, Allat from Allah; al Uzza from al Aziz, the mighty; and Manat from al 3Iannan, tfie bountiful} "As it is said a little above, that God had created many to eternal miser}', so here he is said to have created others to eternal happiness.* ^ By flattering them with i-rospcrity in this life, and permitting them to sin in an uninterrupted security ; till they lind themselves unexpectedly ruined.* * " Though my vengeance be slow, it is only the more terrible." — Savary. y Viz. in Mohammed ; whom they gave out to be possessed when he went op to mount Safa, and from thence called to the several families of each res|)0Ctive tribe, in order to warn them of Gods vengeance if they continued in their idolatry." * t. e. After they have rejected the Koran. For what more evident revelation can they hereafter expect ?7 ' Not only to men and genii, but to the angels also. * In Ale. p. 414. 2 Marracc. Vit. Moh. p. 19. s Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. See the I'rclim. Disc. sect. i. * ^Vl Beidawi. '" Idem. • Idem. ' Idem. CHAP. VIL AL KOKAN. 137 wlio believe. It is he who hath created you from one person, and out of him produced his wife, that he might dwell with her : and when he had known her, she carried a light burden for a time, wherefore she walked easily therewith. But when it became more heavy,^ she called upon God their Lord, saying, If thou give us a child rightly shaped, we will surely be thankful. Yet when he had given them a child rightly shaped, they attri- buted companions unto him, for that which he had given them.° But far be that from God, which they associated loith him ! Will they associate with him false gods which create nothing, but are themselves created ; and can neither give them assistance, nor help themselves ? And if ye invite them to the true direction, they will not follow you : it will be equal unto you, whether ye invite them, or whether ye hold your peace. Yerily, the ^alse deities whom ye invoke besides God are servants like unto you.* Call therefore upon them, and let them give you an answer, if ye speak truth. Have they feet, to walk with 1 Or have they hands, to lay hold with ? Or have they eyes, to see with 1 Or have they ears, to hear with % Say, Call upon your companions, and then lay a snare for me, and defer it not ; for God is my protector, who sent down the book of the Koran ; and he protecteth the righteous. But they whom ye invoke besides him cannot assist you, neither do they help themselves ; and if ye call on them to direct you, they will not hear. Thou seest them look towards thee, but they see not. Use indulgence,® and command that which is just, and withdraw far from the ignorant. And if an evil suggestion from Satan be ^ That is, when the child grew bigger in her womb. ^ For the explaining of this whole passage the commentators tell the following story. They say that when Eve was big with her first child, the devil came to her and asked her whether she knew what she carried within her, and which way she should be delivered of it ; suggesting that possibly it might be a beast. She, being unable to give an answer to this question, went in a fright to Adam, and acquainted him with the matter, who not knowing what to think of it, grew sad and pensive. Whereupon, the devil appeared to her again (or, as others say, to Adam,) and pre- tended that he by his prayers would obtain of God that she might be safely delivered of a son in Adam's likeness, provided they would promise to name him Abd'alhareth, or the servant ofal Hareth (which was the devil's name among the angels,) instead of Abd'allah, or the servant of God, as Adam had designed. This proposal was agreed to, and accordingly, when the child was born, they gave it that name : upon which it immediately died.^ And with this Adam and Eve are here taxed, as an act of idolatry. The story looks like a rabbinical fiction, and seems to have no other foundation than Cain's being called by Moses Obed adamah, that is, a tiller of the ground, which might be translated into Arabic by Abd'alhareth. But al Beidawi, thinking it unlikely that a prophet (as Adam is by the Moham- medans supposed to have been) should be guilty of such an action, imagines the Koran in this place means Kosai, one of Mohammed's ancestors, and his wife ; who begged issue of God, and having four sons granted them, called their names Abd Menaf, Abd Shams, Abd' al Uzza, and Abd' al Dar, after the names of four princi- pal idols of the Koreish. And the following words also he supposes to relate to their idolatrous posterity. Except seven verses, beginning at these words, And call to mind wlien the un- believers plotted against thee, iSfc. Which some think were revealed at Mecca, ' It is related that Saarl Ebn Abi Wakkas, one of the companions, whose brother Omair was slain in this battle, having killed Said Ebn al As, took his sword, and carrying it to Mohammed, desired that he might be pennittcd to keep it; but the prophet told him, that it was not his to give away, and ordered him to lay it with the other spoUs. At this repulse, and the loss of his brother, iSaad was greatly disturbed; but in a very little while this chapter was revealed, and thereupon Mo- hammed gave him the swonl, saying, You asked this sword of me when I had no power to dispose of it, but now I have received authority from God to distribute the spoils, you may take it.* « Sec chap. 3. p. 36. » Al Beidilwi, Jallalo'ddin. * Al Beidawi. cnAP. VIII. AL KORAN. 139 times of prayer, and give alms out of that wliich we have bestowed on them. These are really believers : they shall have superior degrees of felicity with their Lord, and forgiveness, and an honourable provision. As thy Lord brought thee forth from thy house ^ with truth ; and part of the believers were averse to thy directions :^ they disputed with thee conceruing the truth, after it had been made known unto them ;°^ no otherwise than as if they had been led forth to death, and had seen it with their eyesJ^ And call to Qnindwhen God promised you one of the two parties, that it should be delivered unto you,° and ye desired that the party which was not furnished with arms^ should be delivered unto you : but God purposed to make known the truth in his words, and to cut off the uttermost part of the ^ i. e. From Medina. The particle as having nothing in the following words to answer it, al Beidawi supposes the connection to be, that the division of the spoils belonged to the prophet, notwithstanding his followers were averse to it, as they had been averse to the expedition itself, 1 For the better understanding of this passage, it will be necessary to mention some farther particulars relating to the expedition of Bedr. Mohammed having received private information (for which he pretended he was obliged to the angel Gabriel) of the approach of a caravan belonging to the Koreish, which was on its return from Syria with a large quantity of valuable merchandise, and was guarded by no more than thirty, or, as others say, forty men, set out with a party to intercept it. Abu Sofian, who commanded the little convoy, having notice of Mohammed's motions, sent to Mecca for succours: upon which Abu Jahl, and all the principal men of the city, except only Abu Laheb, marched to his assis- tance with a body of nine hundred and fifty men. Mohammed had no sooner received advice of this, than Gabriel descended with a promise that he should either take the caravan, or beat the succours ; whereupon he consulted with his companions which of the two he should attack. Some of them were for setting upon the cara- van, saying that they were not prepared to fight such a body of troops as were coming with Abu Jahl : but this proposal Mohammed rejected, telling them that the caravan was at a considerable distance by the sea-side, whereas Abu Jahl was just upon them. The others, however, insisted so obstinately on pursuing the first design of falling on the caravan, that the prophet grew angry, but by the interposi- tion of Abu Beer, Omar, Saad Ebn Obadah, and Mokdad Ebn Amru, they at length acquiesced in his opinion. Mokdad, in particular, assured him they were all ready to obey his orders, and would not say to him, as the children of Israel did to Moses, Go thou and thy Lord to fight, for we loiU. sit here;^ but Go thou and thy Lord to fight, and we will fight with yon. At this Mohammed smiled, and again sat down to consult with them, applying himself chiefly to the Ansars, or helpers ; because they were the greater part of his foi'ces, and he had some apprehension lest they should not think themselves obliged by the oath they had taken to him at al Akaba,*' to assist him against any other than such as should attack him in Medina. But Saad Ebn Moadh, in the name of the rest, told him that they had received him as the apostle of God, and had promised him obedience, and were therefore all to a man ready to follow him where he pleased, though it were into the sea. Upon which the prophet ordered them in God's name to attack the succours, assuring them ot the victory.^ ™ That is, concerning their success against Abu Jahl and the Koreish ; notwith- standing they had God's promise to encourage them. " The reason of this great backwardness was the smallness of their number, in comparison of the enemy, and their being unprepared ; for they were all foot, having but two horses among them, whereas the Koreish had no less than a hundred horse.*' ** That is, either the caravan, or the succours fi'om Mecca. Father Marracci, mis- taking al ir and al naftr, which are appellatives, and signify the caravan and the troop or body of succours, for proper names, has thence coined two families of the Koreish never heard of before, which he calls Airenses and Naphirenses,'' * Viz., the caravan, which was guarded by no more than forty horse ; whereas the other party was strong and Avell appointed. * Koran, chap. 5, p. 84. ^ See the Prelim. Disc. p. 34. 7 Al Bciduwi. 8 Idem. Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh, p. 66. » Marracc. in Ale. p. 297. 140 AL KORAN. CHAP. Tin. unbelievers ;** that lio might verify the truth, and destroy falsehood, although the wicked were averse thereto. Wlien ye asked assistauce of your Lord/ and he answered you, Verily, I will assist you with a thousand " angels, following one another in onlir. And this God designed only as good tidings* for you, and that your hearts might thereby rest secure : f>r victoiy is from God alone ; and God is mighty and wise. When a sleep fell on you as a security from him, and he sent down upon you water from heaven, that he might thereby purify you, and take from you tlie abomination of Satan," and that he might confirm your hearts, and establish your feet thereby. Also when thy LoRD spake uuto the angels, saying. Verily, I am with you ; wherefore con firm those who believe. I will cast a dread into the hearts of the unbelievers. Therefore strike off their heads, and strike off all the ends of tXioiv fingers.^ This shall they suffer, because they have resisted God and his apostle : and whosoever shall oppose God and his apostle, verily God v:iU he severe in punishing him. ThUsluillbe your punishment ; taste it therefore : and the infidels shall also suffer the torment of hell fire. O time believers, when ye meet the unbelievers marching {?i great numbers against you, turn not your ]>acks unto them : for whoso shall turn his back unto thera in that day, unless he turneth aside to fight, or retreateth to another party of tlie faithful^'' shall draw on himself the indignation of God, and his abode shall be in hell ; an ill journey shall it he thillterl And ye slew not those wlu) were slain at Bedr yourselves, but God slew them.^ Neither didst thou, O IMohamnied, Ciist tlt^ gravel into their eyes, when thou didst seem to cast it ; but God cast q As if he had said. Your view was only to gain the spoils of the caravan, and to avoid danjjcr; but God designed to exalt his true religion by extirpating its adversaries.^ ' When Mohammed's men saw they could not avoid fighting, they recommended themselves to God's protection; and their prophet prayed with great earnestness, crying out, O God, fulfil that which thou hast promised vie : (> God, if this partif be cut off, thou u-ilt be no more worshipped on earth. And he continued to repeat these words till his cloak fell from oft" his back.- ■ Which were afterwards reinforced with three thousand more.' Wherefore some copies, instead of a Uiousand, read thousands in the plural. t See chap. 3, p. 51. " It is related, that tlic spot where Mohammed's little army lay was a drj- and deep sand, into uhich their feet sank as they walked, the enemy liaving the command of tlie water; and that having fallen asleep, the greater part of them were disturbed with dreams, wherein the devil suggested to them that they could never expect God's assistance in the battle, since tliey were cut from the water, and, besides suffering the inconveniency of thirst, must be t>l)liged to pray without washing, though they imagined themselves to be the favourites of God, and that they had his apostle among them. But in tljc night rain fell so j)lentifuliy, that it formed a little brook, and not only supplied them with water for all their uses, but marayer8, pretending to be at prayers also themselves,'* » Al Bcidawi. See the Prelim. i:>isc. p. 35. ' See ibid. ' Al Rcidawi. ' See the rrclim. Disc. p. 37- * See chap. 4. p. G7, note ". * See cliap. 7. p. 118. « Al Bcid-awi. CHAP. viri. AL KORAN. 143 the way of God :^ tliey shall expend it, but afterwards it shall become matter of sighing a7icl regret unto them, and at length they shall be over- come ; and the unbelievers shall be gathered together into hell ; that God may distinguish the wicked from the good, and may throw the wicked one upon the other, and may gather them all in a heap, and cast them into hell. These are they who shall perish. Say unto the unbelievers, that if they desist from opposing thee, what is already past shall be forgiven them; but if they return to attack thee, the exemplary punishment of the former opposers of the prophets is already past, and the like shall be inflicted on them. Therefore fight against them until there be no opposition in favour oj- idolatry, and the religion be wholly God's. If they desist, verily God seeth that which they do : but if they turn back, know that God is your patron ; he is the best patron, and the best helper. *[X.] And know that whenever ye gain any spoils, a fifth part thereof belongeth unto God, and to the apostle, and his kindred, and the orphans, and the poor, and the traveller/ if ye believe in God, and that which we have sent down unto our servant on the day of distinction,^ on the day whereon the two armies met : and God is almighty. When ye were encamped on the hithermost side of the valley,* and they were encainped on the further side, and the caravan was below you;^'^ and if ye had mutually appointed to come to a battle, ye would certainly have declined the appointment;^ hut ye icere brought to an engagement without any previous appointment, that God might accomplish the thing which was decreed to be done;^ that he who perisheth liereafter may perish after demonstrative evidence, and that he who liveth may live by the same evidence ; God both heareth a7id knoweth. When thy Lord caused the enemy to appear unto thee in thy sleep few in num- q The persons particularly meant in this passage were twelve of the Koreish who gave each of them ten camels every day to be killed for provisions for their army in the expedition of Bedr ; or, according to others, the owners of the effects brought by the caravan, who gave great part of them to the support of the succours from Mecca. It is also said that Abu Soffan, in the expedition of Ohod, hired two thou- sand Arabs, who cost him a considerable sum, besides the auxiliaries which he had obtained gratis J ' According to this law, a fifth part of the spoils is appropriated to the particular uses here mentioned, and the other four-fifths are to be equally divided among those who were present at the action : but in what manner, or to whom the first fifth is to be distributed, the Mohammedan doctors differ, as we have elsewhere observed.^ Though it be the general opinion that this verse was revealed at Bedr, yet there are some who suppose it was revealed in the expedition against the Jewish tribe of Kainoka, which happened a little above a month after.^ » i. e. Of the battle of Bedr; which is so called because it distinguished the true believers from the infidels. t Which was much more inconvenient than the other, because of the deep sand and want of water. « Viz., by the sea side, making the best of their way to Mecca. * " You were encamped near the rivulet,^ the enemies were on the opposite bank. Your cavalry was inferior." — Savary. ^ Because of the great superiority of the enemy, and the disadvantages ye lay under. y By granting a miraculous victory to the faithful, and overthrowing their enemies for the conviction of the latter, and the confirmation of the former.2 "^ Al Beidawi. ^ gee the Prelim. Disc. sect. vi. » Al Beidawi. i " Mahomet was encamped near Bedr. This is the name of a well. This post was a very ad- vantageous one, because it enabled him to procure water, which is exceedingly scarce in Ai-abia." — Savary. 2 ^1 Beidawi. 144 AL KORAN. CHAP. viii. 6er;' and if lie had caused them to appear numerous unto thee, ye would have been disheartened, and woukl have disputed concerning the matter:* but God preserved you from this; for he knoweth the innermost pai-ts of the bi-easts of nien. And when he caused them to ai)i)ear unto you, when ye met, to be few in your eyes;^ and diminished your numbers in their eyes;' that God might accomplish the thing which icas decreed to Redone; and unto God shall all things return. O true believers, when ye meet a party of the infidels, stand firm, and remember God frequently, that ye may prosper: and obey God and his apostle, and be not refmctorj', lest ye bo discouraged, and your success depart from you ; but persevere with patience, for God is with those who persevere. And be not as those who went out of their houses in an insolent manner, and to appear with ostentation unto men,** and turned aside from the way of God ; for God comprehendeth that which they do. And remember when Satan prepared their works for them,® and said, No man shall prevail against you to-day; and I will surely be near to assist you. But when the two armies appeared in sight of each other, he turned back on his heels, and said, Verily I am clear of you: I certainly see that which ye see not ; I fear God, for God is severe in punishing.' When the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts tliere was an « With whidi vision ^lohamnied acquainted his companions for their encouragement. ■ Whether ye should attack the enctoy or flee. *> It is paid that Ebn Masud asked the man wlio was next him, whether he did not seo t^icm to be about seventy ; to which he replied that he took ihcin to be a hundred.' « This seeming contradictory to a passage in the third chapter,* where it is sail that the Moslems appeared to the intidels to be twice their own number, the com- mentators reconcile the matter, by telling us that just before the battle bc;j;an, thu prophet's party seemed fewer than they really were, to draw the enemy to an en- gagement ; but that so soon as the armies were fully engaged, they appeared superior, to terrify and dismay their adversaries. It is related that Abu Jahl at first thought them' so inconsiderable a handful, that he said one camel would be as much as they could all eat.^ ^ These were the Meccans, who, marching to the assistance of the caravan, and being come as far as Johfa, were there met by a messenger from Abu Sofian, to acquaint them that he thought hiiuself out of danger, and therefore they might return home; upon which Abu Jahl, to give the greater opinion of the courage of himself and his comrades, and of their readiness to assist their friends, swore that thev would not return till they had been at Bedr, and had there drunk wine, aud entertained those who should be present, and diverted themselves with singing- women.** The event of wliicli bravado was very fatal, several of the principal Koreish, and Abu Jahl in particular, losing their lives in the expedition. * By inciting them to opjjose tlie projihet. '"Some understand this passage tiguratively, of the private instigation of the devil, and of the defeating of his designs and the hopes with which he had inspired the idolaters. But others take the whole literally, and tell us that when the Koreish, on their march, bethought themselves of the enmity between them and the tribe of Kenana, who were masters of the country about Bedr, that consideration would have prevailed on them to return, had not the devil appeared in the likeness of Snraka Ebn Make, a prinrij)al person of that tribe, and promised them t!iat they should not be molested, and that himself would go witli theni. But when they came to join battle, and the devil saw the angels descending to the assistance of the Mi)slems, he retired; and al llan-th Ebn Ilesham, who had him then by the hand, asking him whither he was going, and if he intended to betray tljcm at such a juncture, he answered in the words of this passage, / am clear of yon all, for I ."ee that which t/e see not ; meaning the celestial succours. They say further, that when the Koreish, on their return, laid the blame of their overthrow on fcsoraka, he swore that he did not so much as know of their march till he heard they were routed: and ttftcnvnrds, when they embraced Mohammedism, they were satisfied it was thedevil.' ' Al Bcidawi. * Page 36. * Al Beidawi, JuUalo'ddin, Yahya. • Al Bcidawi. 7 Idem. Jallalo'ddin. CHAP. VIII. AL KORAN. 145 infinnity, said, Their religion hath deceived these men : ^ but whosoever confideth in God cannot he deceived ; for God is mighty and wise. And if thou didst behold when the angels cause the unbelievers to die : they strike their faces and their backs,^ and say unto them, Taste ye the pain of burn- ing : this shall ye suffer for that which your hands have sent before you;^ and because God is not unjust towards his servants. These have acted according to the wont of the people of Pharaoh, and of those before them, who disbelieved in the signs of God : therefore God took them away in theii' iniquity ; for God is mighty ancZ severe in punishing. This hath come to pass because God changeth not his grace, where^\dth he hath favoured any people, until they change that which is in their souls ; and for that God both heareth and seeth. According to the wont of the people of Pharaoh, and of those before them, who charged the signs of their Lord with imposture, have they acted : wherefore we destroyed them in theii* sins, and we drowned the people of Pharaoh ; for they were all unjust persons. Yerily, the worst cattle in the sight of God are those who are obstinate infidels, and will not believe. As to those who enter in to a league with thee, and afterwards violate their league at every convenient oppor- tunity,^ and fear not God; if thou take them in war, disperse, by making them an example, those ivho shall come after them, that they may be warned ; or, if thou apprehend treachery from any people, throw back tlieir league unto them with like treatment j for God loveth not the treacherous. And think not ^ that the unbelievers have escaped God's vengeance,^ for they shall not weaken the power of God. Therefore pre- pare against them what force ye are able, and troops of horse, whereby ye may strike a terror into the enemy of God, and your enemy, and into other infidels besides them, whom ye know not, but God knoweth them. And whatsoever ye shall expend in the defence of religion of God, it shall bo repaid unto you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly. And if they incline unto peace, do thou also incline thereto ; and put thy confidence in God, for it is he who heareth and knoweth. But if they seek to deceive thee, verily God ivill be thy support. It is he who hath strengthened thee with liis help, and with that of the faithful ; and hath united their hearts. If thou hadst expended whatever riches are in the earth, thou couldst not have united their hearts,'^ but God united them ; for he is mighty and wise. e In tempting them to so great a piece of folly, as to attack so large a body of men with such a handful. ^ This passage is generally imderstood of the angels who slew the infidels at Bedr, and who fought (as the commentators pretend) with iron maces, which shot forth flames of fire at every stroke.^ Some, however, imagine that the words hint, at least, at the examination of the sepulchre, which the Mohammedans believe every man must undergo after death, and will be very terrible to the unbelievers.^ i See chap. 2. p. 13. note «•, ^ As did the tribe of Koreidha.^ J Some copies read it in the third person. Let not the unbelievers think, ^-c. ™ Viz., those who made their escape from Bedr. » Because of the inveterate enmity w^hich reigned among many of the Arab tribes; * Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. ^ See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. p. 5-i, &c. 1 See before, p. 141, and chap. 33. 146 AT. KuIvAX. ciiAi-. VIII. prophet, Cod Is thy siippoi-t, ami siioli of the tiiio bolievoi-s who followeth thee.° O pi-ophet, stir up the fuitliful to war : if twenty of you persevere with constanqf, they shall overcome two hundred, and if there be one hun- dred of you, they shall overcome a thousand of those who believe not ; because they arc a people which do not understand- Now hath God eased you, for he knew that yo were weak. If there be an hundred of you who persevere u^ith constancy, tlioy shall overcome two hundred ; and if thero be a thousand of you, they shall overcome two thousand,'' by the permission of God ; for God is with those who persevere. It hath not been granted unto any prophet, that ho shoiUd po.sscss captives, until ho hath made a j:p:t?at slaught<'r of tlie injidds in the earth.^ Ye seek the accidental goods of this world, but GoD regardoth the life to come ; and God is mighty and wise. Unless a revelation had been previously delivered from God, verily a severe punishment had been inflicted on you, for tJie ransom which yo took /ror/i tlie captives at BedrJ Eat therefore of what ye have acquired," that which is la\vful and good ; for God is gracious and merciful O pro- phet, say unto the captives who are in your hands, If God shall know any good to be in your hearts, he will give you better than what hath been and therefore this reconciliation is reckoned by the commentators as no inconsider- able miracle, and a strong proof of their prophet's mission. ° This passage, as some say, was revealed in a plain called al Beida, between Mecca and Medina, during the expedition of Bedr; and, as others, in the sixth year of the prophet's mission, ou the occasion of Omar's embracing Mohammedism. P See Lev. xxvi. 8 ; Josh, xxiii. 10. q Because severity ouffht to be used where circumstances require it. though cle- mency be more preferable where it may be exercised with safety. While the Mo- hammedans therefore were weak, and their religion in its infancy, God's pleasure was that the opposers of it should be cut ofT, as is particularly directed in this chapter. For which reason they are here upbraided with their preferring the lucre of the ransom to their duty. ' That is, had not the ransom been, in strictness, lawful for you to accept, by Gods having in geucral terms allowed you the spoil and the captives, ye had been Beverely punished. Among the seventy prisoners whom the Moslems took in this battle were al Abbas, one of Mohammed's uncles, and Okail the son of Abu Taleb and brother of Ali : when they were brought before Mohammed, he asking the advice of his companions what should bo done with them, Abu Beer was for releasing them on their paying ransom, saying, that they were near relations to the proj)het, and God might possibly for- give them on their repentance ; but Omar was for striking otV their heads, as pro- fessed patrons of infidelity. ]^Iohammed ditl not approve of the latter advice, but observed that Abu Beer resembled Abraham, who interceded for oftenders, and that Omar was like Noah, who prayed for the utter extirpation of the wicked antediluvians ; and thereupon it was agreed to accept a ransom from them and their fellow-captives. Soon after which, Omar, going into the proj)hct's tent, found him and Abu Beer weeping, and asking them the reason of their tears, Mohammed acquainted him that this verse had been revealed condemning their ill-timed lenity towards their prisoners, and that ihcy had narrowly escaped the divine vengeance for it, adding, that if God had not passed the matter over, they had certainly been destroyed to a man, ex- cepting only Omar, and Saad Ebn Aloadii, a person of as great severity, and who was also for putting the prisoners U) death.' Yet did not this crime go absolutely unpunished neither; for in the battle of Ohod the Moslems lost seventy men, equal to the number of prisoners taken at Bedr;' which was so ordered by God, as a re- taliation or atonement for the same. • i. e. Of the ransom which ye have received of your prisoners. For it seems, on this rebuke, they had some scruple of conscience whether they might convert it to their own use or not.* « See before, p. 141, and chap. 33. » See chap 3, p. 51. " Al BeiJawi. CHAP. VIII. AL KORAN. l-i7 taken from you ;* and he will forgive you, for GoD is gracious and merciful. But if they seek to deceive thee," verily they have deceived God ; where- fore he hath given thee power over them : and God is knowing and wise. Moreover, they who have believed, and have fled their country, and em- ployed their substance and their persons in fighting for the religion of God, and they who have given the prophet a refuge among them, and have as- sisted him, these shall he deemed the one nearest of kin to the other.* ^ But they who have believed, but have not fled their country, shall have no right of kindred at all with you, until they also fly. Yet if they ask assistance of you on account of religion, it helongeth unto you to give them assistance; except against a people between whom and youi'selves there shall he a league suhsisting : and God seeth that which ye do. And as to the infidels, let them be deemed of kin the one to the other. Unless ye do this, there will be a sedition in the earth, and grievous corruption. But as for them who have believed, and left their country, and have fought for God's true religion, and who have allowed the prophet a retreat among them, and have assisted him, these are really believers ; they shall receive mercy, and an honourable provision. And they who have believed since, and have fled their country, and have fought with you, these also are of you. And those who are related by consanguinity shall he deemed the nearest of kin to each other, irreferahly to strangers according to the book of God ; God knoweth all things. * That is, If ye repent and believe, God will make yon abundant retribution for tbe ransom ye have now paid. It is said that this passage was revealed on the particular account of al Abbas, who being obliged by Mohammed, though his uncle, to ransom both himself and his two nephews, Okail, and Nawfal Ebn al Hareth, complained that he should be reduced to beg alms of the Koreish as long as he lived. Whereupon Mohammed asked him what was become of the gold which ho delivered to 0mm al Fadl when he left Mecca, telling her that he kncAV not what might befall him in the expedition, and therefore, if he lost his life, she might keep it herself for the use of her and her children? Al Abbas demanded who told him this ; to which Mohammed replied, that God had revealed it to him. And upon tliis al Abbas immediately professed Islamism, declaring that none could know of that affair except God, because he gave her the money at midnight. Some years after, al Abbas reflecting on this passage, confessed it to be fulfilled ; for he was then not only possessed of a large substance, but had the custody of the well Zem- zem, which, he said, he preferred to all the riches of Mecca.s ^ By not paying the ransom agreed on. * " The believers, who have abandoned their families to defend the cause of God with their substance and their lives, shall share the spoil with those who have given assistance and an asylum to the prophet." — Savary. y And shall consequently inherit one another's substance, preferably to their re- lations by blood. And this, they say, was practised for some time, the Mohajerun and Ansars being judged heirs to one another, exclusive of the deceased's other kindred, till this passage was abrogated by the following : Those who are related by blood shall be deemed the nearest of kin to each other, « Al Beidawi. Vide D'llerbel. Bill. Orient. Art. Abbas. 148 AL KUKAN. CHAP- IX. CHAPTER IX. INTITLED, THE DECLARATION OF IMMUNITY ;» KEVEALED AT MEDLNA. A DECLARATION of immunity from God and his apostle, unto the idolaters, with whom ye have entered into league.'' Go to and fro in the eai-th securely four months ;* and know that ye shall not weaken God, and that God vrHl disgrace the unbelievers. And a declaration from God and his apostle unto the people, on the day of the greater pilgrimage,** that God • The reason why the chapter had this title appears from the last verse. Some, lirwcvcr, pve it other titles, and particularly that of Repentance, which is mentioned immediately after. It is observable that this chapter alone has not the auspicatory form, In the name of the most merciful God, prefixed to it; the reason of which omission, as some think, was, because these words imply a concession of security, which is utterly taken awav bv this chapter, after a fixed time; wherefore some have called it the chapter of Punishment : others say that Mohammed (who died soon after he had received Xliis chapter) having: given no direction where it should be placed, nor for the pre- Jxing the Bi.smillah to it, as had been done to the other chapters; and the argument of this chapter bearing a near resemblance to that of the preceding; his comjtanions differed about it; some saying that both chapters were but one, and together made the seventh of the seven long ones, and others that they were two distinct chapters; whereupon, to accommodate the dispute, they left a space between them, but did not interpose the distinction of the Bismillah.^ It is agreed that this chapter was the last which was revealed ; and the only one, as Mohammed declared, which was revealed entire and at once, except the hundred and tenth. Some will have the last two verses to have been revealed at Mecca. ** Some understand this sentence of the immunity or sfcuriti/ therein granted to the infidels, for the space of four months; but others think that the words properly signify, that Mohammed is here declared by God to be absolutely /ree and discharged from all truce or league with them, after the exjiiration of that time:' and this last seems to be the truest interpretation. Mohammed's thus renouncing all league with those who would not receive him as the apostle of God, or submit to become tributary, was the consequence of the great j)0wer to which he was now arrived. But the pretext he made use of was the treachery he had met with among the .Te\vi>h and idolatrous Arabs; scarce any keeping'faith with him, except Banu Damra, Banu Kenana, and a few others.' * These nionths were Shawj'd, l>hu'lkaada, Dhu'lhajja, and Moharram ; the chapter being revealed in Shawal. Yet others compute them. from the tenth of Dhu'lhajja, when the chapter was published at Mecca, and consequently make them cxjiirc on the tenth of the former Rabi,* •1 Viz., the tenth of Dhu'lhajja, when they slay the victims at Mina; which day is their great feast, and completes the ceremonies of the pilgrimage. Some suppose the adjective ^r€^i/fr \% added here to distinguish the pilgi image made at the ap- pointed time, from ksscr pilfjrimagex^ as tliey may be called, or visitations of the Caaba, >\hich may be performed at any time of the year; or else because the con- course at the pilgrimage this year was greater than ordinary, both Moslems and idolaters being present at it. The promulgation of this chapter was committed by Mohammed to Ali, who redo for that purpoic on the jtrophet's slit-eared camel from Medina to Mecca ; and on ' Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Yahya, &c, » Al Beiadwi. » Idem. * Idem, Al Zamakhsh., Jallalo'ddin. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 149 is clear of the idolaters, and his apostle also. Wherefore, if ye repent, this will be better for you; but if ye turn back, know that ye shall not weaken God : and denounce unto those who believe not, a painful punishment.* Except such of the idolaters with whom ye shall have entered into a league, and who afterwards shall not fail you in any instance, nor assist any other against you.® Wherefore perform the covenant which ye shall have made with them, until their time shall he elapsed; for God loveth those who fear him. And when the months wherein ye are not allowed to attack them shall be past, kill the idolaters wheresoever ye shall find them,^ and take them prisoners, and besiege them, and lay wait for them in every con- venient place. But if they shall repent, and observe the appointed times of prayer, and pay the legal alms, dismiss them freely ; for God is gracious and merciful. And if any of the idolaters shall demand protection of thee, grant him protection, that he may hear the word of God : and afterwards let him reach the place of his security.^ This shalt thou do, because they are people which know not the excellency of the religion thou freachest. How shall the idolaters be admitted into a league with God and with his apostle; except those with whom ye entered into a league at the holy temple?** So long as they behave with fidelity towards you, do ye also behave with fidelity towards them; for God loveth those who fear him. How can they he admitted into a league with you, since, if they prevail against you, they will not regard in you either consanguinity or faith? They will please you with their mouths, but their hearts will be averse/row you; for the greater part of them are wicked doers. They sell the signs of God for a small price, and obstruct his way; it is certainly evil which they do. They regard not in a believer either consanguinity or faith ; and these are the transgressors. Yet if they repent, and observe the appointed times of prayer, and give alms, they shall be deemed your brethren in religion. We distinctly propound our signs unto people who understand. But if they violate their oaths, after their league, and revile your religion, oppose the leaders of infidelity, (for there is no trust in them,) that they may desist from their treachery. Will ye not fight against people who have violated their oaths, and conspired to expel the apostle of God; and who of their the day above-mentioned, standing up before the whole assembly at al Akaba, told them, that he Avas the messenger of the apostle of God unto them; whereupon they asking him what was his errand, he read twenty or thirty verses of the chapter unto them, and then said, I mn commanded to acquaint you with four things, 1. That no idolater is to come near the temple of Mecca after this year ; 2. 'That no man presume to compass the Caaba naked for the future;^ 3. That none but true believers shall enter paradise ; and 4, That public faith is to be kept.^ * "God and his apostle declare that, after the days of pilgrimage, there shall be no pardon for the idolaters. It highly concerns ye that ye be converted. Remember that ye cannot suspend the vengeance of Heaven." — Savary. " So that notwithstanding Mohammed renounces all league with those who had deceived him, he declares himself ready to perform his engagements to such as had been true to him, ' Either within or without the sacred territory. & That is, you shall give him a safe conduct, that he may return home again securely, in case he shall not think fit to embrace Mohamraedism. ^ These are the persons before excepted. * See before, chap. 7, p. 118. « AI BeidawL Vide Abulfcd. Yit. Moh. p~ 127, &c. 150 AL KOILVN. CHAP. IX. own accord assaulted you the first timo?^ Will ye fear them? But it is more just that ye shouhl fear God, if ye are true believers. Attack them therefore; God shall punish them by your hands, and will cover them with shame, and will give you the victory over them ; and he will heal the breasts of the people who believe,^ and will tiike away the indignation of their heaii;s: for God will be turned unto whom he pleaseth; and God is knowing and wise. Did ye imagine that ye should be abandoned, whereas God did not yet know those among you who fought for his religion^ and took not any Wsides God, and his apostle, and the faithful^br their friends? God is well acquainted with that which ye do. It is not fitting that the idolaters should visit the temples of God, being witnesses against their own 80uls of their infidelity. The works of tliese men are vain : and they shall remain in hell fire for ever. But he only shall visit the temples of God, who believeth in God and the last day, and is constant at pi-ayer, and payeth the legal alms, and feareth God alone. These perhaps may become of the nnmber of those who are rightly directed.* ^ Do ye reckon the giving drink to the pilgrims, and the visiting of the holy temple, to be actions as meritorious as those performed by him who believeth in God and the last day, and fighteth for the religion of God]™ They shall not be held equal with God : for God directeth not the imrighteous people. They who have believed, and fled their country, and employed their substance and their persons in the defende of God's true religion, shall be in the highest degree of honour with God; and these are they who shall be happy. Their Lord sendeth tliem good tidings of mercy from him, and good will, and of gardens wherein they shall enjoy la^^ting pleasure: they shall continue therein for ever : for with God is a gi-eat reward. O true believei-s, take not your fathers or your brethren for friends, if they love infidelity above faith; and whosoever among you shall take them for his friends, they will be unjust doei"S. Say, if youi' fathers, and your sons, and your brethren, and your wives, and your relations, and your substance which ye have acquired, and your merchandize which ye apprehend may not be sold oflf, and your dwellings wherein ye delight, be more dear unto you than God, and his apostle, and the advancement of his religion ; wait, until God shall ' As did the Korcish in assisting tlic tribe of Beer, against those of Khozaah,^ and laying a design to ruin Mohammed, without any just provocation ; and as several of the Jewish tribes did, by aiding the enemy, and endeavouring to oblige the prophet to leave Medina, as he had been obliged to leave Mecca.^ ^ Viz., those of Khozaah ; or, as others say, certain families of Yaman and Saba, who went to Mecca, and there professed Mohammedism, but were very injuriously treated by the inhabitants; whereupon they complained to Mohammed, who bid them take comfort, for that joy was approaching.* * "For them the path of salvation is easy." — JSavary. • These words are to warn the believers from having too great a confidence in their own merits, and likewise to deter the unbelievers ; for if the faithful will but pei'haps be saved, what can the others hope for? * " This passage was revealed on occasion of some words of al Abbas, Mohammed's uncle ; who when he was taken prisoner, being bitterly reproached by the Moslems, and particularly by his nephew Ali, answered. You rip up our ill actionn, but take no notice of our good ones ; we visit the temple of Mecca, and adorn the Caaba with hang- ings, and give drink to the pilgrims (of Zcmzem water, I suppose) and free captives.^ 7 See the Prelim, Disc. p. 39. ^Al Beidawi. » Idem. ^ Idem. 'Idem. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 151 send his command," for God directetli not the ungodly people. Now hath God assisted yon in many engagements, and i:)aTticularly at the battle of Honein," when ye pleased yourselves in your multitude, but it was no manner of advantage unto you, and the earth became too strait for you,^ notwithstanding it was spacious;* then did ye retreat, and turn your backs. Afterwards God sent down his security*^ upon his apostle and upon the faithful, and sent down troops of angels^ which ye saNV not ; and he punished those who disbelieved : and this was the reward of the unbelievers. Nevertheless God will hereafter be turned unto whom he pleaseth;^ for God is gracious and merciful. true believers, verily the idolaters are unclean j let them not therefore come near unto the holy temple after this year.* And if ye fear want, hy the cutting off trade and communication with them, God will enrich you of bis abundance,'' if he pleaseth : for God is knowing and wise. Fight against them who believe not in God, nor the last day,^ and forbid not that which God and his apostle have ^ Or shall punish you. Some suppose the taking of Mecca to be here intended.^ ° The battle was fought in the eighth year of the Hejra in the valley of Honein, which lies about three miles from Mecca towards Tayef, between Mohammed, Avho had an army of twelve thousand men, and the tribes of Hawazen and Thakif, whose forces did not exceed four thousand. The Mohammedans, seeing themselves so greatly superior to their enemies, made sure of the victory ; a certain person, whom some suppose to have been the prophet himself, crying out, These can never he overcome by so few. But God was so highly displeased with this confidence, that in the first encounter the Moslems were put to flight,* some of them running away quite to Mecca, so that none stood their ground except Mohammed himself and some few of his family ; and they say the prophet's courage was so great, that his uncle al Abbas, and his cousin Abu Sofian Ebn al Hareth, had much ado to prevent his spurring his mule into the midst of the enemy, by laying hold of the bridle and stirrup. Then he ordered al Abbas, who had the voice of a Stentor, to recall his flying troops ; upon which they rallied, and the prophet throwing a handful of dust against the enemy, they attacked them a second time, and by the divine assistance gained the victory.^ P For the valley being very deep, and encompassed by craggy mountains, the enemy placed themselves in ambush on every side, attacking them in the straits and narrow passages, and from behind the rocks, with great advantage.** * " How often has the Omnipotent caused you to feel the eficcts of his protection ! Remember ye the battle of Honein, when the number of your troops puffed up your hearts with pride ? Of what avail to you was that formidable army ? The eardi seemed to you to be too narrow in your precipitate flight." — Savary. a The original word is Sakinat, which the commentators interpret in this sense ; but it seems rather to signify the divine presence, or Shechinah, appearing to aid the Moslems." r As to the number of these celestial auxiliaries, the commentators differ: some say they were five thousand ; some eight thousand ; and others, sixteen thousand.^ ^ Besides a great number of proselytes, who were gained by this battle, Moham-^ med, on their request, was so generous as to restore the captives (which were no less than six thousand) to their friends, and offered to make amends himself to any of his men who should not be willing to part with his prisoners ; but they all con- ented to it.^ * Which was the ninth year of the Hejra. In consequence of this prohibition, neither Jews, nor Christians, nor those of any other rehgion, are suffered to come near Mecca to this day. " This promise, says al Beidawi, was fulfilled by God's sending plenty of rain, and disposing the inhabitants of Tebala and Jorash, two towns in Yaman, to em- brace Islam, who thereupon brought sufficient provisions to Mohammed's men ; and also by the subsequent coming in of the Arabs, from all quarters, to him. X That is, who have not a just and true faith in these matters ; but either believa 3 Al Beidawi. * See Prid. Life of Moh. p. 96, &c. Hotting. Hist. Orient, p. 271, &c. D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient, p. 601. « Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Abulfeda, Vit. Moh. p. 112, &c. « Ebn Ishak. 7 See chap. 2, p. 30, note K ^ Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. 152 AL KORAN. cuAP. ix. forbidden, and profess not the true i^eligion, of those unto wliom tho scriptures have been delivered, until they pay tribute by right of gubjection,^ and they be reduced low. The Jews say, Ezra is the son of God:' and the Christians say, Christ is the Son of God. This is their a plurality of gods, or deny the eternity of hell tormcnts.^o or the delights of paradise as described in the Koran. For, as it appears by the following words, the Jews and Christians are the persons here chiefly meant. ^ This I think the time meaning of the words an t/adi7\, which literally signify by or out of hand, and are variously interpreted; some supposing they mean that the tribute is to be paid readily, or by their own hands and not by another ; or that tribute is to be exacted of the rich only, or those who are able to pay it, and not of the poor; or else that it is to be taken SlSsl. favour that the ^lohammedans are satisfied with so small an imposition, &c.^ That the Jews and Christians are, according to this law, to be admitted to pro- tection, on payment of tribute, there is no doubt ; though the Mohammedan doctors difter as to those of other religions. It is said that Omar at first refused to accept tribute from a Magian, till Abd'alrahmad Ebn Awi assured him that Mohammed himself had granted protection to a Magian, and ordered that the professors of that religion should be included among the people of the book, or those who found their religion on some book which they suppose to be of divine original And it is the more received opinion that these three religions only ought to be tolerated on the condition of paying tribute: others, however, admit the Sabians also. Abu Hanifa supposed people of any religion might be suffered, except the idolatrous Arabs ; and Malec excepted only apostates from Mohammedism. The least tribute that can be taken from everv- such person, is generally agreed to be a dinar, or about ten shillings a year; nor can he be obliged to pay more, unless he consent to it : and this, they say, ought to be laid as well on the poor as on the rich.2 But Abu Hanifa decided that the rich should pay forty-eight dirhems (twenty, and sometimes twenty-five of which made a. dinar.) a year; one in middling circumstances half that sum; and a poor man, who was able to get his living, a quarter of it: but that he who was not able to support himself should pay nothing.* ' This grievous charge against the Jews, the commentators endeavour to support by telling us, that it is meant of some ancient heterodox Jews or else of some Jews of Medina ; who said so for no other reason, than for that the law being utterly lost and forgotten during the Babylonish captivity, Ezra, having been raised to life after he had been dead one hundred years,* dictated the whole anew unto the scribes, out of his own memory ; at which they greatly marvelled, and declared that he could not have done it unless he were the son of God.^ Al Beidawi adds, that the impu- tation must be true, because this verse was read to the Jews, and they did not con- tradict it ; which they were ready enough to do in other instances. That Ezra did thus restore not only the Pentateuch, but also the other books ot the Old Testament, by divine revelation, was the opinion of several of the Christian fathers, who are quoted by Dr. Prideaux,^ and of some other writers ; ' which they seem to have first borrowed from a passage in that very ancient apocryphal book, called in our English Bible the second book o/Esdras.' Dr. Prideaux^ tells us, that herein the fathers attributed more to Ezra than the Jews themselves, who suppose that he only collected and set forth a correct edition of the scriptures, which he laboured much in, and went a great way in the perfecting of it. It is not impro- bable, however, that the fiction came originally from the Jews, though they be now of another opinion, and I cannot fix it upon them by any direct proof. For, not to insist upon the testimony of the Mohammedans (which yet I cannot but think of some little weight in a point of this nature), it is allowed by the most sagacious critics, that the second book of Ezra was written by a Christian indeed, ^o but yet one who had been bred a Jew. and was intimately acquainted with the fables of the liabbins ;^ and the story itself is perfectly in the taste and way of thinking of those men. ^^ See chap. 2. p. 11, and chap. 3, p. 37. ^ Vide al Beidawi. » Vide Reland, de Jure Militari Mohammedanor, p. 17, et 50. ' Al Beidawi. < See chap. 2, ?. 31. * Al Beidawi, al Zamakhshari, kc. ° Connect, part. 1, lib. 5, p. 329. Athanasius jnnicr. in Svnopsi S. Script, torn. 2, p. 86. Leontius Bvzantin. de Sectis, p. 428. ^ Cl.ap. xiv. 20, &c. » Loco Citat. i^ Sec 2 Esdfas ii. 43— 47, and vii. 28, kc. ^ Vide Dodwelli Dissert. Cyprian. Dissert. 4, sect. ii. Whis- ton's Essay on the Apostolical Constit. pp. 34, 76, and 304, &c., and Fabricii Codic. Apocryph. Novi Test, part 2, p. 936, &c. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 153 saying in their moutlis ; tliey imitate the saying of those who were un- believers in former times. May God resist them. How are they infatuated ! They take their priests and their monks for their lords, besides God,^ and Christ the son of Mary; although they are commanded to worship one God only : there is no God but he ; far be that from him which they associate with him ! * They seek to extinguish the light of God with their mouths ; but God willeth no other than to perfect his light, although the infidels be averse thereto. It is he who hath sent his apostle with the direction, and true religion : that he may cause it to appear superior to every o^/ier reli- gion j although the idolaters be averse thereto. O true believers, verily many of the priests and monks devour the substance of men in vanity,'' and obstruct the way of God. But unto those who treasure up gold and silver, and employ it not for the advancement of God's true religion, de- nounce a grievous punishment. On the day of judgment their treasures shall be intensely heated in the fire of hell, and their foreheads, and tlieir sides, and their backs shall be stigmatized therewith ; and their tormentors shall say, This is what ye have treasured up for your souls ; taste therefore that which ye have treasured up. Moreover, the complete number of months with God, is twelve months^^ which were ordained in the book of GoD,^ on the day w^iereon he created the heavens and the earth : of these, four are sacred.® This is the right religion : therefore deal not unjustly with yourselves therein. But attack the idolaters in all the months, as they attack you in all ; ^ and know that God is with those who fear him. Verily the transferring of a sacred month to another month, is an additional infidelity.^ The unbelievers are led into an error thereby : they allow a month to be violated one year, and declare it sacred another year,^ that they may agree in the number of montJis which God hath commanded to be * See chap 3, p. 44, note ^. ♦ " The curse be on those whom they associate with him in his worship." — Savory. ^ By taking of bribes, sa}3 Al Beidawi ; meaning, probably, the money ihey took for dispensing with the commands of God, and by way of commutation. •5 According to this passage, the intercalation of a month every third or second year, which the Arabs had learned of the Jews, in order to reduce their lunar years to solar years, is absolutely unlawful. For by this means they fixed the time of the pilgrimage and of tlie feast of Ramadan to certain seasons of the year, which ought to be ambulatory. 2 ^ Viz., the preserved table. *> See the Prelim. Disc. sect. vii. f For it is not reasonable that you should observe the sacred months with regard to those who do not acknowledge them to be sacred, but make war against youtherein.^ e This was an invention or innovation of the idolatrous Arabs, whereby they avoided keeping a sacred month, when it suited not their conveniency, by keeping a profane month in its stead; transferring, for example, the observance of 3Iokarram to the succeeding month Safar. The first man who put this in practice, thcv say, was Jonada Ebn Awf, of the tribe of Kenana.* These ordinances relating to the months were promulgated by Mohammed himself at the pilgrimage of valediction.^ J» As did Jonada, who made public proclamation at the assembly of pilgrims, that their gods had allowed Moharram to be profane, whereupon they observed it not ; but the next year he told them that the gods had ordered it to be kept sacred.^ 2 See Prid. Life of Moh. p. 65, &c. and the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. and vii. s geg chap. 2, p. 23. * Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. Vide Poc. Spec. p. 323, and the Prelim. Disc, sect yU. « Abulf Vit. Moh. p. 132. e ^\ Beidawi 154 AL KOHAX. CHAP. ix. kept sacred ; and they allow that wliich God hath forbid<]en. The evil of their actions hath been pri'pared for them : for UoD directcth not the un- believing people, O true believers, what ailed you, that, when it was said unto you, Go forth to fight for the religion of God, ye inclined heavily towards the earth I ' Do ye prefer tlie present life to tliat which is to come ? But the j)rovision of tliis life, in res})ccl of that whicli is to come, is but slender. Unless ye go forth wlien ye are summoned to war, God will punish you with a grievous punishment ; and he will place another people in your stead, '^ and ye shall not hurt him at all ; for God is almighty. If ye assist not the prophet, verily God icill assist him, as he assisted him for- merly, when the unbelievers drove him out of Mecca, the second of two;^ when they were both in the cave ; when he said unto his companions. Be not grieved, for God is with us.™ And God sent down his security" upon him, and strengthened him with armies of angels, whom ye saw not.° And he made the word of those who believed not to be abased, and the word of God was exalted ; for God is mighty and wise. Go forth to battle, both light and lieavy,^* and employ your substance and your persons for the advancement of God's religion. This will be better for you, if ye know it. If it had been a near advantage, and a moderate journey, they had surely followed thee ; ^ but the way seemed tedious unto them : and yet they will swear by God, saying, If we had been able, we had surely gone forth with you. They destroy their own souls ; for God knoweth that they are liai*s. God forgive thee ! why didst thou give them leave to stay at honie^ until they who speak the truth, wli/en tliey excuse tJieinselves, had become mani- fested unto thee, and thou hadst known the liars ? They who believe in God and the last day, will not ask leave of thee to be excused from em- ploying their substance and their persons for the advancement of God's true religion ; and God knoweth those who fear him. Yerily they only ' Viz., in the expedition of TiibCic, a town situate about half-way between Medina and Damascus, which Molianimed undertook apainst the Greeks, with an amiy of thirtv thousand men, in the ninth year of the Hejra. On this expedition the Moslems set out with great unwillingness, because it was undertaken in the midst of the sum- mer heats, and at a time of great drought and scarcity ; whereby the soldiers suf- lered so much, that this army was called the distressed army ; besides, their fruits were just ripe, and they had much rather have stayed to have gathered them.' k See chap. 5, p. 89. ' That is, having only Abu Beer with him. " See the I'rclini. Disc. sect. ii. p. 36. ° See before, p. G, note '*. ** Who, as some imagine, guarded him in the cave. Or the words may relate to the succours from lieavcn which Mohammed pretended to have received in several encounters ; as at liedr, the war of the ditch, and the battle of Iloncin. p t. e. Whether the expedition be agreeable or not; or whether ye have sufficient arms and jtruvisions or not ; or whether ye be on horseback or on foot, &c. ♦ "Young and ohl, go forth to combat." — ISavan/. 1 That is, had there been no ditlicultics to surmount in the expedition of TabOc, and the march thither had been .vhort and easy, so that the plunder might have cost them little or no trouble, they would not have been so backward. ' FoT Mohammed excusetl'several of his men, on their request, from going on this expedition; as Abda'llah Ebn Obba, and his hypocritical adhcrenl:->, and also three of the Ansars ; for which he is here rci)rchcnded. » Al Bcidawi, Jallalo'ddin. Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 123. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 155 will ask leave of thee to stay heldnd, who believe not in God and the last day, and whose hearts doubt concerning the faith: wherefore they are tossed to and fro in their doubting. If they had been willing to go forth with thee, they had certainly prepared for that purpose a provision of arms and necessaries : but God was averse to their going forth ; wherefore he rendered them sloth- ful, and it was said unto tliem, Sit ye still with those who sit still.® If they had gone forth with you, they had only been a burden unto you, and had run to and fro between you, stiiTing you up to sedition ; and there would have been some among you, who would have given ear unto them : and God knoweth the wicked. They formerly sought to raise a sedition,* and they disturbed thy affairs, until the truth came, and the decree of God was made manifest; although they were averse thereto. There is of them who saith unto thee, Give me leave to stay behind, and expose me not to temptation.^ Have they not fallen into temptation at home ?'^* But hell will surely encompass the unbeliever. If good happen unto thee, it grieveth them : but if a misfortune befall thee, they say, We ordered o^ir business before/ and they turn their backs, and rejoice at thy mishap. Say, Nothing shall befall us, but what God hath decreed for us : he is our patron ; and on God let the faithful trust. Say, Do ye expect any other should befall us, than one of the two most excellent things ; either victory or martyrdom ? But we ex- pect concerning you, that God inflict a punishment on you, either from himself, or by our hands. ^ Wait, therefore, to see what will be the end of both ; for we will wait for you. Say, Expend your money in pious uses, either voluntarily, or by constraint, it shall not be accepted of you ; because ye are wicked people. And nothing hindereth their contributions from being accepted of them, but that they believe not in God and his apostle, and perform not the duty q/* prayer, otherwise than sluggishly ; and expend not their money for God's service, otherwise than unwillingly. Let not therefore their riches, or their children cause thee to marvel. Yerily God intendeth only to punish them by these things in this world ; and that their souls may depart while they are unbelievers. They swear by God that they are of you ;^ yet they are not of you, but are people who stand in fear.^ If they find a place of refuge, or caves, or a retreating hole, they « i. e. With the women and children, and other impotent people. t As they did at the battle of Ohod.^ ^ By obliging me to go, against my will, on an expedition, the hardships of which may tempt me to rebel or to desert. It is related that one Jadd Ebn Kais said that the Ansars well knew he was much given to women, and he dared not trust himself with the Greek girls; Avherefore he desired he might be left behind, and he would assist them with his purse.^ * Discovering their hypocrisy by their backwardness to go to war for the promotion of the true religion. * " Many of them have said, exempt us from war; involve us not in dissension. Were they not already fallen into it?" — Savary. y That is, we took care to keep out of harm's way by staying at home. ^ i. e. Either by some signal judgment from heaven, or by remitting their punish- ment to the true believers, a Viz., staunch Moslems. ^ Hypocritically concealing their infidelity, lest ye should chastise them, as ye 8 Sec chap. 3, p. 53. o ^1 Beidawi. 156 AL KORAN. CHAP. ir. surely turn towards the same, and in a headstrong manner, haste thereto. There is of them also who spreadeth ill rejwrts of thee, in relation to thi; distribution of the alms : yet if they receive part thereof, they are well pleased ; but if they receive not a part thereof, behold, they are angry.* But if they had been pleased with that which God and his apostle had given them, and had said, GoD is our supjx)rt ; God will give unto us of his abundance, and his prophet also ; verily imto GoD do we make our supplications : it would Jiave been more decent. Alms are to he distributed^ only unto the jx>or, and the needy,** and those who are employed in collect- ing and distributin'j the saihc, and unto those whose heails are reconciled,'^ and for the redemption o/* captives, and unto those who are in debt and in- solvent, and for the advancement of God's religion, and unto the traveller. This is an ordinance from GoD ; and God is knowing and wise. There are some of them who injure the prophet, and say, He is an ear.^ Answer, He is an ear of good unto you,^ he believcth in God, and giveth credit to the faitliful, and is a mercy unto such of you who believe. But they who injm*e the ai)Ostle of God, shall suffer a painful punishment. They swear unto you by God, that they may please you ; but it is more just that they should please God and his apostle, if they are true believei*s. Do they not know that he who opposeth God and his apostle, shall without doubt be punished icith the fire of hell ; and shall remain therein for ever? This will be great ignominy. The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a Sura^ should be revealed concerning them, to declare unto them that which is in their hearts. Say luito t/iem, Scoff ye ; but God will surely bring to light that which ye fear sJumld be discovered. And if thou ask them tlie reason of this scoffing, they say, Verily we were only engaged in discoui-se; and jesting among ourselves.^ Say, Do ye scoff at God and his signs, and at have done the professed infidels and apostates ; and yet ready to avow their infidelity, when they think they may do it with safety. * This person was Abu'l Jowadh the hypocrite, who said Mohammed gave them away amonf^ the keepers of sheep only; or, as others suppose, Ebn Dhi'lkhowaisara, who found fault with the prophet's distribution of the spoils taken at llonein, because he gave them all among the Meccans, to reconcile and gain them over to his religion and interest.^ ^ See what is said as to this point in the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. « The commentators make a distinction between these two words in the original, fakir and meskin: one, they say, signifies him who is utterly destitute both of money and means of livelihood ; the other, one who is in want Indeed, but is able to get .something towards his own support. But to which of the two words either of these ditferent significations properly belongs, the critics difl[cr. ' That is, who were lately enemies to the faithful, but have now embraced Mo- hammedism, and entered into amity with them. For Mohammed, to gain their hearts and confirm them in his religion, made large presents to the cliicf of the Koreish out of the spoils at Honein, as has been just now mentioned.' But this law, they ^ay, became of no obligation when the Mohammedan faith was established, and stood not in need of such methods for its support. « t. e. He hears every thing that we say ; and gives credit to all the stories that are carried to him. '' Giving credit to nothing that may do you hurt. 'So the Mohammedans call a chapter of the Koran.' ^ It is related that in the exjHjdition of Tabuc,a company of hypocrites, passing near > Al Beidawi. Vide Abulfed. Viu Moh. pp. 118, 119. » Abulf. ibid. • See the Prelim. Disc sect. iii. p. 41. CHAP. IX. AL KOEAN. 157 Ills apostle 1 offer not an excuse : now are ye become infidels, after your faith. If we forgive a part of you, we will punish a part, for that they have been wicked doers. Hypocritical men and women are the one of them or the other : they command that which is evil, and forbid that which is just, and shut their hands from giving alms. They have forgotten God - wherefore he hath forgotten them : verily the hypocrites are those who act wickedly. God denounceth unto the hypocrites, both men and women, and to the unbelievers, the fire of hell ; they shall remain there /or ever ': this will be their sufiicient reward; God hath cursed them, and they shall endure a lasting torment. As they who have been before you, so are ye. They were superior to you in strength, and had more abundance of wealth and of children ; and they enjoyed their portion in this world; and ye also enjoy your portion here, as they who have preceded you enjoyed their por- tion. And ye engage yourselves in vain discourses, like unto those wherein they engaged themselves. The woi-ks of these are vain both in this world and in that which is to come ; and these are they who perish. Have they not been acquainted with the history of those who have been before them ? of the people of Noah, and of Ad, and of Thamud, and of the people of Abraham, and of the inhabitants of Madian, and of the cities which were overthrown ? ^ Their apostles came unto them with evident demonstra- tions; and God was not disposed to treat them unjustly; but they dealt unjustly with their own souls. And the faithful men, and the faithful women, are friends one to another : they command that which is just, and they forbid that which is evil ; and they are constant at prayer, and pay their appointed alms ; and they obey God and his apostle : unto these will God be merciful ; for he is mighty and wise. God promiseth unto the true believers, both men and women, gardens through which rivers flow, wherein they shall remain for ever ; and delicious dwellings iu the gardens of perpetual abode '.'^ but good-will from God shall he their most excellent reward. This will he great felicity. O prophet, wage war against the -un- believers and the hypocrites, and be severe unto them : for their dwelling shall be hell ; an unhappy journey shall it he thither ! They swear by God that they said not what they are charged with : yet they spake the word of infidelity, and became unbelievers after they hsA embraced Islam. ^ And Mohammed, said to one another, Behold that man ; he would take the strong holds of Syria: away ! away! which being told the prophet, he called them to him, and aske'd them why they had said so ? whereto they replied with an oath, that they Avere not talking of what related to him or his companions, but were only diverting themselves with indifferent discourse, to beguile the tediousness of the way.* Namely, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities which shared their fate, and are thence called Al Motakifat, or the subverted,^ ™ Literally, gardens of Eden ; but the commentators do not take the word Eden in the sense which it bears in Hebrew ; as has been elsewhere observed. ** (In Hebrew it signifies a place of delight. In the Arabic it means a place fit for the pasturing of flocks. — Savary.) ° It is related that al Jallas Ebn So>;.°.id, hearing some passages of this chapter, which sharply reprehended those who refused to go on the above-mentioned expedition of Tabuc, declared, that if what Mohammed said of his brethren was true, they were * Al Beidawi. ^ Sec chap. 11. * See the Prelim. Disc. p. 133. 15S AL KORAN. CIIAP. IX. they designed that which they could not eflect ;* and they did not dis- ap[)rove the design f/r any oilier rciison than because God and his apostle had enriched them of liis bouuty.P Jf they repent, it will be better for them ; but if they relapse, God will punish them with a giievous tonnent in this world and in the next ; and they shall have no patron on eiU*th, nor any protector. There are some of them who made a covenant with God, saying^ Yerily if he give us of his abundance, we will give alms, and become righteous people.*^ Yt-t when he had given unto tliem of his abundance, they became covetous thereof, and tunied back, and retired afar ofll Wherefore he hath caused hypocrisy to succeed in their hearts imtil the day whereon they shall meet him ; for that they failed to perform unto God that which they had promised him, and for that they prevaricated. Do they not know that God knoweth wliatever they conceal, and their private discoui-ses ; and that God is the knower of secrets 1 They who traduce such of the believers as are liberal in giving alms beyond what they are obliged, and those who find nothing to give but uJuit they gain by their industry' ;*" and therefore scoff at them : GoD shall scoff at them, and they worse than asses. Which coming to the prophet's ear, lie sent for liim ; and he denied the words upon oath. But on the immediate revelation of this passage, be confessed his fault, and his repentance was accepted.' ° The commentators tell us, that fifteen men conspired to kill Mohammed in his return from Tabuc, by pushing him from his camel into a precipice, as he rode by night over the highest part of al Akaba. But when they were going to execute their design, Ilodhcifa, who followed, and droN-c the prophet's camel, which was led by Amn)ar Ebn Yaser, hearing the tread of camels and the clashing of arms, gave the alarm, upon which they fled. Some however suppose the design here meant was a plot to expel Mohammed from Medina.* P Fur ilohammed's residing at Medina was of great advantage to the place, the inhabitants being generally j)Oor, and in want of most conveniences of life ; but on the prophet's comiixg among them, they became possessed of large herds of cattle, and money also. Al Beidawi says, that the above-named al Jallas, in particular, having a servant killed, received, by Mohammed's order, no less than ten thousand iiirliems, or about three hundred pounds, as a fine for the redemption of his blood. •1 An instance of this is given in Thdlaba Kbn llateb, who came to Mohammed, and desired him to beg of God that he would bestow riches on him. The prophet at first advised him rather to be thankful for the little he had than to covet more, which might become a temptation to him; but on Thalaba's repeated request and solemn promise that he would make a good use of his riches, he was at length pre- vailed on, and preferred the petition to God. Thalaba in a short time grew vastly rich, which Mohammed being acquainted with, sent two collectors to gather the alms ; otltcr people readily paid them, but when they came to Tlialaba, and n-ad the injunc- tion to him out of the Koran, he told them that it was not alms, but tribute, or next kin to tribute, and bid them go back till he had better considered of it. Upon which this passage was revealed ; and when Thalaba came afterwards and brought his alms, Mohammed told him that God had commanded him not to accept it, and threw dust upon his head, saying, This is what thou hast desoied. He then oflered his alms to Abu Beer, who refused to accept them ; as did Omar some years after, when he was Khalif.3 •■ Al Beidawi relates, that Mohammed exhorting his followers to voluntary alms, among others, Abda'lrahmun Kl)n Awf gave four thousand dirbems, which was one half of what he had; Asem Ebn Adda gave an hundred beasts' loads of dates; and Abu Okail a Saa, which is no more than the sixtieth })art of a load, of the same fruit, but was the half of what he had earned by a night's hard work. This Mohammed accepted; whereupon the hypwrites said that Abd.Vlrahman and Asem gave what they did out of ostentation, and that God and his apostle might well have excused Abu Okail's mite; which occasioned this passage. 1 9up]X)sc this collection was made to defray the charge of the expedition of Tabilc, towards whicli, as another writer tells us, Abu Beer contributed all that he had, and 7 Al Beidawi. ^ Idem. " Idem. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 159 shall suffer a grievous punishment. Ask forgiveness for them, or do not ask forgiveness for them ; it will he equal. If thou ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will by no means forgive them,* This is the divine pleasure, for that they believe not in God, and his apostle; and God directeth not the ungodly people. They who were left at home in the ex2yeditio7i of Tahuc, were glad of their staying behind the apostle of God, and were unv/illing to employ their substance and their persons for the advancement of God's true religion; and they said, Go not forth in the heat.* Say, the fire of hell will be hotter; if they understood this. Wherefore let them laugh little, and weep much, as a reward for that which they have done.* If God bring thee back unto some of them," and they ask thee leave to go forth to war with thee, say, Ye shall not go forth with me for the future, neither shall ye fight an enemy with me ; ye were pleased with sitting at home the first time ; sit ye at home therefore with those who stay behind. Neither do thou ever pray over any of them who shall die,* neither stand at his grave ;^ for that they believed not in God and his apostle, and die in their wickedness. Let not their riches or their children cause thee to marvel : for God intendeth only to punish them therewith in this world ; and that their souls may depart, while they are infidels. When a Sura'' is sent down, whe7'ein it is said, Believe in God, and go forth to war with his apostle; those who are in plentiful circumstances among them ask leave of thee to stay behind, and say, Suffer us to be of the number of those who sit at home. They are well pleased to be with those who stay behind, and their hearts are sealed Othman very largely; viz. as it is said, three hundred camels for slaughter, and a thousand dinars of gold.^ ^ In the last sickness of Abda'llah Ebn Obba the hypocrite, (who died in the ninth year of the Hejra,) his son, named also Abda'llah, came and asked Mohammed to beg pardon of God for him ; which he did, and thereupon the former part of tliis verse was revealed. But the prophet, not taking that for a repulse, said he would pray seventy times for him ; upon which the latter part of the verse was revealed, declaring it would be absolutely in vain. It may be observed, that the numbers seven, and seventy, and seven hundred, are frequently used by the eastern writers to signify, not so many precisely, but only an indefinite number, greater or lesser; 2' several examples of which are to be met with in the scripture.^ * This they spoke in a scoffing manner to one another; because, as has been observed, the expedition to Tabuc was undertaken in a very hot and dry season. * "Let them laugh for a few moments! Long-continued tears will be the conse- quence of their conduct," — Savary. " That is, if thou return in safety to Medina to the hypocrites ; who are here called some of them who stayed behind, because they were not all hypocrites. The whole numbeJ is said to have been twelve,* ^ This passage was also revealed on account of Abda'llah Ebn Obba. In his last illness he desired to see Mohammed, and when he was come, asked him to beg for- giveness of God for him, and requested that his corpse might be wrapped up in the garment that was next his body, (which might have the same efficacy with the habit of a Franciscan,) and that he would pray over him when dead. Accordingly, when he was dead, the prophet sent his shirt, or inner vestment, to shroud the corpse, and was going to pray over it, but was forbidden by these words. Some say they were not revealed till he had actually prayed for him"^ y Either by assisting at his funeral, or visiting his sepulchre. ^ See before, p. 156, note i. and Prelim. Di.sc, p. 4L 1 Ahulfed. Vit. Moh. p. 123. « Al Bcidawi. « Matt, xviii. 22. * Al Beidawi. ? Idem, IGO AL KORAN. ciiAr. ix. up ; whei-efore they do not understantL But the apastle, and those who have believed with him, expose their fortunesaiid theirlives /l»r Goitsservwe; tlicy shall enjoy the good things of either life, and tliey shall be liappy. God hath pi\'pared for them gardens through which rivei*s flow ; they shall remain therein/or ever. This will be great felicity. And certain Ai-abs of the desert came to excuse themselves,* prai/ing that they might be permitted to stay behind; and they sat at home who had renounced God and his apostle. But a painful inmiihmont shall be inflicted on such of them as believe not. In those who are weak, or are afllicted with sickness, or in those who find not wherewith to contribute to tJte war,^ it shall be no crime if t/tey stay at home; provided they behave themselves fiiithfuUy towards God and his a})Ostle. There is no room to lay blanie on the righteous : for God is gracious and merciful : nor on those, unto whom, when they came unto thee, rcquestimj that thou wouldest supply them with necessaries for travelling, thou didst answer, I find not wherewith to supply you, returned, their eyes shedding tears for grief, that they found not wherewith to con- tribate to tJie ex^Kdition.^ But there is reason to blame those who ask leave of thee to sit at home, when they are rich. They are pleased to be with those who stay behind, and God hath scaled up their hearts; wherefore they do not understand. {*XI.] They will excuse themselves unto you, when ye are returned unto them. Say, Excuse not yourselves ; we will by no means believe you : God hath acquainted us with your behaviour; and God will obser\'e his actions, and his apostle also : and hereafter shall ye be brought before him who knoweth that which is hidden, and that which is manifest; and he will declare unto you that which ye have done. They will swear unto you by God, when ye are returned unto them, that ye may let tliem alone.'* Let them alone, therefore, for they are an abomination, and their dwelling shall be hell, a reward for that which they have deserved. They will swear nnto you, that ye may be well pleased with them; but if ye be well pleased with them, verily God will not be well pleased with l)eople who prevaricate. The Arabs of the desert are more obstinate in their unbelief and hypocrisy; and it is easier for them to be ignorant of the ordinances of that which God hath sent down unto his apostle;® and God is kTiowiujr and wise. Of the Arabs of the desert there is who reckoneth ■ These were the tribes of Asad and GliatfTin. who excused themselves on account Of the necessities of their families, which their industry only maintained. But.somc write they were the family of Amer Ebn al Tofail, who said that if they went with the army, the tribe of Tay would take advantage of their absence, and full upon their wives and children, and their cattle.*' *> Bv reason of their extreme poverty ; as those of Jobcina, Mozcina, and Banu Odhrk.7 <= The persons here intcnde., in the expedition of TabAc ; wherein Mohammed's men were driven to such extremities, that, besides what they endured by reason of the excessive heat, ten men were obliged to ride by turns on one camel, and provisions and water were so scarce, that two men divided a date between them, and they were obliged to drink the water out of the camels' stomachs.' » Or, as it may be translated, who icere left in suspense, whether they should be pardoned or not.* These were three Ansars, named Caab Ebn Malec, Helal Ebn Omeyya, and Merara Ebn Rabi, who went not with Mohammed to Tabdc, and were therefore, on his return, secluded from the fellowship of the other Moslems; the prophet forbidding any to salute them, or to hold discourse with them. Under which interdiction they continued fifty days, till, on their sincere repentance, they were at length discharged from it, by the revelation of this passage.' *> By not caring to share with him the dangers an«I fatigues of war. Al Beidawi tells us, that after Mohammed had set out for TabAc, one Abu Khaitharaa sitting in his garden, where his wife, a very beautiful woman, had spread a mat for him in the shade, and had set new dates and fresh water before him, after a little reflection, cried out. This is not well, that I should thus take nvj ease ami pleasure, while the apostle of God is exposed to the scorching of the sunbeams, and the inclemencies of the air ; and immediately mounting his camel, took his sword and lance, and went to join the army. • " That which they expend, the passing of a torrent, all that they do, written in the book of God, are so many claims to his glorious recompenses." — Savaiy. • That is, if some of every tribe or town be left behind, the end of their being so left ' Al Beidawi. » Idem. * See before, p. 162, note ^ » Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin, Abalf: Vit. Moh. pp. 133, 120. CHAP. IX. AL KORAN. 165 people, when they return unto them, that they may take heed to them- selves. O true believers, wage war against such of the infidels as are near you:^ and let them find severity^ in you : and know that God is with those who fear him. Whenever a Sura is sent down, there are some of them who say, Which of you hath this caused to increase in faith 1 It will increase the faith of those who believe, and they shall rejoice : but unto those in whose hearts there is an infirmity, it will q,M farther doubt unto their iwesent doubt ; and they shall die in their infidelity. Do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice % ^ yet they repent not, neither are they warned. And whenever a Sura is sent down, they look at One another, saying^ Doth any one see you^" then do they turn aside.* God shall turn aside their hearts/rom the truth; because they are a peojjle who do not understand. Now hath an apostle come unto you of our own nation," an excellent person : it is grievous unto him that ye commit wick- edness ; he is careful over you, and compassionate and merciful towards the believers. If they turn back, say, God is my support : there is no God but he. On him do I trust ; and he is the Lord of the magnificent throne. is that they may apply themselves to study, and attain a more exact knowledge of the several points of their religion, so as to be able to instruct siich as, by reason of their continual employment in the wars, have no other means of information. They say that after the preceding passages were revealed, reprehending those who had stayed at home during the expedition of Tabuc, every man went to war; so that the study of religion, which is rather more necessary for the defence and propaga- tion of the faith than even arms themselves, became wholly laid aside and neglected ; to prevent which, for the future, a convenieift number are hereby directed to be left behind, that they may have leisure to prosecute their studies. ^ Either of your kindred or neighbours ; for these claim your pity and care in the first place, and their conversion ought first to be endeavoured. The persons particularly meant in this passage are supposed to have been the Jews of the tribes of Khoreidha and Nadhir, and those of Khaibar; or else the Greeks of Syria.^ ^ Or fierceness in war. ™ i. e. By various kinds of trials ; or by being called forth to war, and by being made witnesses of God's miraculous protection to the faithful. » They wink at one another to rise and leave the prophet's presence, if they think they can do it without being observed ; to avoid hearing the severe and deserved reproofs which they apprehend in every new revelation. The persons intended are the hypocritical Moslems. * ''' See they not that, once or twice a year, the anger of heaven weighs heavy upon them? ThesQ warnings open not their eyes, nor excite them to repentance. Should another chapter be sent to them, they would look on each other, and if no «ne saw them would take to flight. God has led their hearts astray, because they iiearken not to -wisdom." — Savary, o See chap. 3, p. 54, note *", • AI Beidawi. 166 AL KORAN. cu\r. x. Cn AFTER X INTITLED, JONAS ;P REVEALED AT MECCA. !>' TUE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. Al. R.^ These are tlie signs of the wise book. Is it a strange thing unto the men of Mecca, that we have revealed our tciU unto a man from among them/ sai/itig, Denounce threats unto men if tliey believe not ; and bear good tidings unto those who believe, that on the merit of tlieir sin- cerity they have an interest with their Lord 1 The unbelievers say, This is manifest sorcery.* Verily your Loud ls God, who hath created the heavens and the earth in six days; and then ascended his throne, to tiike on himself the government of all things. There is no intercessor, but by his permission.* This is God, your Lord ; therefore serve him. Will ye not consider ? Unto him shall ye all return, a/xording to the cer- tain promise of God; for he produceth a creature, and then causeth it to return again ; that he may reward those who believe and do that which is light, with equity. But as for the unbelievers, they shall drink boiling water, and tJiOj shall suffer a grievous punishment, for that they have dis- believed. It is he who hath ordained the sun to shine by day, and the moon for a light by night; and hath appointed her stations, that ye might know the number of years, and the computation of time. God hath not created this, but with truth. He explaineth his signs unto people who understand. Moreover in the vicissitude of night and day, and whatever God hath created in heaven and earth, are surely signs unto men who fear him. Vei-ily they who hope not to meet us at t/ie last day, and delight in this present life, and rest securely in the same, and who are negligent of our signs; their dwelliug shall be Ii£ll fire, for that which they have de- served. But as to those who believe, and work righteousness, their Lord will direct them because of their faith ; they shall have rivers flowing through gardens of pleasure. Their prayer therein sliall be, Praise be unto thee, O God! and their salutation'* therein shall be 'Peace \ and the end of p This prophet is mentioned towards the end of the chapter. (After the name, Savan.' adds, " Peace be with him.") •> See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iii. pp. 42, 43. ' And not one of the most powerful among them neither ; so that the Koreish said it was a wonder God could find out no other messenger than the orphan pupil of Abu Taleb.^ • Meaning the Kor&n. According to the reading of some copies, the words may be rendered, T/iis man (i. e„ Mohammed) is no other than a mutu/est sorcerer. * These words were revealed to refute the foolish opinion of the idolatrous Meccnns, who imagined their idols were intercessors with God for them. " Either the mutual salutation of the blessed to one another, or that of the angels to the blessed. ^ Al BeidawL CHAP. X. AL KORAN. 167 their prayer shall be. Praise be unto God, the Lord of all creatures ! If God should cause evil to hasten unto men, according to their desii-e of hastening good, verily their end hath been decreed. Wherefore we suffer those who hope not to meet us at the resurrection, to wander amazedly in their error. When evil befalleth a man ; he prayeth unto us lying on his side, or sitting, or standing : ^ but when we deliver him from his aiSiction, he continueth his former course of life, as though he had not called upon us to defend hhn against the evil which had befallen him. Thus was that which the transgi-essors committed prepared for them.* We have formerly destroyed the generations ivho were before you, men of Mecca, when they had acted unjustly, and our apostles had come unto them with evident miracles, and they would not believe. Thus do we reward the wicked people. Afterwards did we cause you to succeed them in the earth ; that we might see how ye would act. When our evident signs are recited unto them, they v/ho hope not to meet us at the resun^ection, say, Bring a dif- ferent Koran from this ; or make some change therein. Answer, It is not fit for me, that I should change it at my pleasure : I follow that only which is revealed unto me. Yerily I fear, if I should be disobedient unto my Lord, the punishment' of the great day. Say, if God had so pleased, I had not read it unto you, neither had I taught jow the same. I have already dwelt among you to the age of forty years^ before / received it. Do ye not therefore understand ? And who is more unjust than he who deviseth a lie against God, or accuseth his signs of falsehood % Surely the wicked shall not prosper. They worship besides God, that which can neither hurt them nor profit them, and they say. These are our intercessors with GoD.^ Answer, Will ye tell God that which he knoweth not, neither in heaven nor in earth %^ Praise be unto him ! and far be that from him,t which they associate with him I Men were j^rofessors of one religion only,'^ but they dissented tlierefrom ; and if a decree had not previously issuecl from thy Lord, deferring their 'punishment, n^yAj the matter had been de- cided between them, concerning which they disagreed. They say. Unless a sign be sent down unto him from his Lord, we ivill not believe. Answer, Verily that which is hidden is known only unto God : wait, therefore, the ^ I. e. In all postures, and at all times. * " Thus the ungodly man delighteth in his ingratitude." — Savary. ' ^ For so old was Mohammed before he took upon hiai to be a prophet;^ during which time his fellow citizens well knew that he had not applied himself to learning of any sort, nor frequented learned men, nor had ever exercised himself in com- posing verses or orations, whereby he might acquire the art of rhetoric, or elegance of speech,^ A flagrant proof, says Al Beidawi, that this book could be taught him by none but God. y See the Prelim, Disc. sect. i. p. 11, &c. ^ Viz., that he hath equals or companions either in heaven, or on earth ; since he acknowledgeth none ? f " Accursed be their chimerical deities," — Savary. * That is to say, the true religion, or Islam, which was generally professed, as some say, till Abel was murdered, or, as others, till the days of Noah. Some suppose the first ages after the flood are here intended ; others, the state of religion in Arabia, from the time of Abraham to that of Amru Ebn Lohai, the great introducer of idolatry into that country. 8 See the Prelim. Disc, p. SO. Abulfed. Vit. Moh. c. 7. » See the Prelim. Disc. p. 19, &c. 1C8 AL KORAN. cii.vr. x. pleasure of God ; and I also will wjiit with you. And wlien we caused the men of Mecca to tiisto mercy, after an affliction which had bcfiillcn them, behold, they devised a stratagem against our signs.'' Say unto tlienif God is more swift in executing a stnitagoin, than ye. Verily our mes- sengers'' \sTitc down that which ye deceitfully devise. It is he who hath given you conveniences for travelling by land